Granola-Ginger Baked Apples

Finely crushed oat-and-honey granola bars, chopped crystallized ginger, and thick Greek yogurt are the secrets to this delectable easy desserts. Baked apples are a customary cold-weather dessert in America, but the French are more likely to pop sweet winter pears in the oven. Enjoy these gourmet recipes with your families and friends.

Ingredients
4 large Golden Delicious or Jonagold apples
3 (1.5-oz.) oat-and-honey granola bars, finely crushed
1/2 cup roasted salted almonds, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 3/4 cups apple cider
1/3 cup cherry preserves
1 (7-oz.) container Greek yogurt

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375°. Cut apples in half, cutting through stem and bottom ends. Scoop out core and pulp, leaving a 3/4-inch shell. Cut about 1/4 inch from opposite side of apple, forming a flat base.

2. Stir together crushed granola bars and next 4 ingredients. Spoon mixture into apple shells, pressing to gently pack. Arrange apples in a 13- x 9-inch pan. Pour cider around apples in pan.

3. Bake at 375° for 25 to 45 minutes or until apples are tender, basting twice with pan juices.

4. Place apples on a serving plate. Add preserves to pan juices, and cook, over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, 5 to 6 minutes or until thickened. Serve apples with warm sauce and Greek yogurt.

Granola-Ginger Baked Pears: Substitute 4 Bosc pears for apples. Proceed with recipe as directed.
Note: Baking times will vary greatly due to the ripeness of your fruit. Begin testing for doneness by inserting a wooden pick directly into the fruit (not granola mixture) after 25 minutes of baking. A wooden pick should be able to pierce the fruit easily with just a little resistance. Overcooking will lead to the fruit losing its natural shape and becoming mushy. For testing purposes only, we used Nature Valley Oats 'N Honey Crunchy Granola Bars.

Easy Party Appetizers

Appetizers are small bites, preceding a meal, designed to whet one’s appetite. When it comes to making small bites, puff pastry is your friend. Puff pastry also is also great for baking Brie en croute or making savory little turnovers. Another fun easy appetizers is wild mushroom quesadillas.

Serving soup in shot glasses is also good as an appetizer recipes. Simply make one batch of soup and then portion it into shot glasses. It is great served either hot or cold, depending on the soup and the time of year. Make sure to garnish the soup with a little something, either a small crouton, a micro green, or a sprinkle of fresh herbs.

Another idea is to make a loaf of crusty garlic bread, slice it into thin sticks and serve it with warm marinara sauce for dipping.

If you want to serve a cheese plate, roasted fruit it always a simple, sophisticated addition. Take a bunch of red grapes, remove them from the vine, and toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast them in a 350° oven for about 20 minutes. When in season, plums work well too.

Skewers are another way to serve fun, easy appetizers. If you have no time stop at the grocery store and purchase Italian parsley, olives, slices of Genoa salami, nuts, and cornichons or other pickled vegetables. Arrange them on a tray and garnish it with the fresh parsley – beautiful, fun and easy.

Nutella Crunch Ice Cream Cake

Three simple ingredients make up this Nutella crunch ice cream cake easy desserts– Nutella, Rice Krispies cereal, and vanilla ice cream – all combined together into one fantastic, and super easy-to-make dessert! First Rice Krispies are coated with melted Nutella and then cooled before stirring into softened vanilla ice cream recipes. The mixture is packed into a springform pan to form a cake, topped with some more of the coated cereal mixture, and then frozen until ready to serve.

Ingredients
2 cups Nutella
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 gallon vanilla ice cream

Instructions

1. Place a 9 or 10 inch springform pan, as well as a very large mixing bowl in the freezer to chill.
2. In a large saucepan over low heat, combine the Nutella and Rice Krispies cereal. Mix well until the Rice Krispies are completely coated with the Nutella. Remove from heat.
3. Line a sheet pan or cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper. Pour the Nutella-Rice Krispies mixture onto the lined sheet pan and spread evenly. Then place in the freezer to chill.
4. While the coated cereal mixture is cooling, remove the ice cream from the freezer and place in the refrigerator to soften.
5. After about 30-45 minutes (you want the Nutella coated cereal to be cooled and firm but not frozen at this point) – using a fork and knife – cut the coated cereal into bite sized pieces. Place back into the freezer, if necessary, until the ice cream is softened.
6. Once your ice cream is softened (it should be just softened enough to stir in the coated cereal but not so melted that it is runny), remove the Nutella-cereal pieces, the large mixing bowl and the springform pan from the freezer.
7. Reserve 2 cups of the Nutella-cereal mixture.
8. Quickly combine the ice cream and remaining coated cereal in the chilled mixing bowl, then pour the mixture into the chilled springform pan, packing it firmly so that there are no air pockets. Top the cake with the reserved Nutella-cereal mixture.
9. Cover with plastic wrap and place the springform pan back into the freezer for at least 4-6 hours or overnight until completely frozen.
10. Remove the cake from the freezer about 30-45 minutes before serving and place in the refrigerator to soften a bit.
11. When ready to serve, place the cake on a platter or cake stand and remove the sides of the springform pan. Cut and serve immediately.

Healthy Pheasant Hot Pot Recipe

Pheasant recipes can make a delicious, warming, winter meal. By far the most valuable part of the bird is the breast. Rich gamey flavors and lean meat make this pheasant dish a healthy alternative to a Sunday roast. A traditional delicacy with cholesterol reducing properties.

Ingredients:

2 pheasants
50g Flora Buttery
2 medium onions
1 Knorr Chicken Stockpot
600ml cider
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of thyme
2 dessert apples
60g granulated sugar
450g (1lb) potatoes
50ml (2fl oz) semi skimmed milk
40g (1½ oz) Flora pro.activ spread
Black pepper


Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170° C/150° C fan assisted/gas mark 3. Heat half the Flora Buttery in a frying pan, and brown the pheasants all over, then place in a suitably sized casserole dish. Season with pepper.

2. Cut the onions into quarters and quarter again. Fry them until golden and add them to the casserole.

3. Pour the cider into the frying pan, add the Knorr Stockpot, and warm gently until the Stockpot has melted. Pour this over the pheasants and add the thyme and bay leaves. Cook for 1¼–1 ½ hours.

4. Cut the apples into eight slices. Heat the remaining Buttery in a frying pan and fry the apple slices until golden, add the sugar and cook until it begins to caramelise.

5. Boil the potatoes until cooked. Drain and mash with the milk and Flora pro.activ. Season with black pepper.

6. Remove the pheasant and onions from the casserole dish to a warm serving plate, and reduce the liquid slightly. Pour over the pheasants and serve garnished with the caramelised apples. Serve with the mash and some vegetables.

Creamy Seafood Chowder

Creamy seafood chowder full of flavor ready to customize with your family's favorite fish or seafood. It may not be an everyday dish, but it is a delectable way to enjoy a mix of cauliflower. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large head cauliflower, coarsely chopped (800g)
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups chicken stock
• Liquid from scallop, shrimp and clams
• 227g mushrooms, sliced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• ½ orange bell pepper, finely chopped
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp black pepper
• 450g frozen cooked white shrimp, thawed *
• 340g frozen bay scallops, thawed*
• 1 can baby yellow clams, drained (do not discard liquid)
• Few grinds fresh nutmeg
• Few grinds star anise
• Lime zest and juice to garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

1. *Thaw the shrimp and bay scallops overnight in the refrigerator; make sure to collect the liquid that will drain from the seafood as it thaws. A good way to do this is to place them in a colander or sieve sitting over a bowl. It also helps to place a little bit of weight on them if you can, but that is not entirely necessary. You can always squeeze them gently once they are completely thawed.
2. Add cauliflower, water, chicken stock, liquid from shrimp, scallop and yellow clams to a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and cook until the cauliflower is really soft and tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook the mushrooms in a large skillet over medium-high heat until golden on both sides. Lower the heat, add onion, bell peppers, salt and pepper and continue cooking until fragrant and onions start to turn translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Reserve.
4. Ladle the cauliflower mixture into your blender and process on high speed until super smooth and silky in consistency. You might have to work in several batches
5. Return that soup base to the stockpot and add the nutmeg, star anise, shrimp, bay scallops, baby clams and reserved vegetables.
6. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the bay scallops start to lose their translucency and the shrimp are heated through, about 4-5 minutes.
7. Serve immediately and hit with a splash of lime juice. Garnish with a little bit lime zest.

Tomato Zucchini Carpaccio

This carpaccio recipe makes great use of fresh garden veggies and it makes for a great starter. It’s light, refreshing, and very flavorful, so it’s a delightful way to begin a meal. The fresh chives and balsamic boost the depth of the flavor profile and it’s beautiful enough to serve at healthy dinner parties.

The key to the success of this dish is the thinly sliced veggies. If you have a mandolin I encourage you to use it, however, I made do with a very sharp knife. You want to make sure that the slices are no more than 1/4″ thick, that way there aren’t a lot of juices running on the plate, which helps with presentation, and diners can just get a bite of both the zucchini and tomato by cutting it with just a fork.

You could also do this with lots of other raw veggies, including mushrooms I found at Fine Foods Specialists and cucumbers, and you could try many different types of vinegars and oils on it to bring out your favorite flavors. Also, you could try changing the flavor profile by switching up the herbs and garnishes. A little pink Himalayan sea salt goes a long way for flavor, too!

Ingredients:

1 medium Tomato

1 medium Zucchini

2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar

1 tbsp Fresh Chives, chopped

1/4 tsp Sea Salt

Directions:

Cut the zucchini and tomato in half lengthwise and then very thinly slice them widthwise (less than 1/4" thick slices).
Arrange on your plates as you like and then drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the top, sprinkle with chives and sea salt, and serve cold or at room temp!

Herb and “Feta” Polenta Appetizers

Easy make-ahead polenta appetizer recipes with dairy-free feta. Learn how to make vegan cheese. Creamy and flavorful tops broiled polenta for an easy, gluten-free, vegetarian appetizer recipes.

These polenta easy appetizers are an easy way to enjoy favorite foods in the form of cornmeal.

For the Polenta:

3 Tbsp (15 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 scallions or green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp (90 ml) polenta or yellow cornmeal
about 1 cup (240 ml) tofu “feta”
small handful of fresh dill, coarsely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8-16 pitted black olives, sliced, to serve

For the Tapenade:

2 ounces (55-60 g) sundried tomatoes, soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes
1/4 cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp (15 ml) balsamic vinegar
1/2 red serrano chile (or less, to taste), seeded and coarsely chopped
small handful of fresh basil leaves

Preparation:

Make the polenta: Line an 8 x 8″ (20 cm) square pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a nonstick frypan or saucepan. Add the garlic and scallions and cook for 10 minutes or so, until the onions are translucent. Pour in 1-1/4 cups (300 ml) boiling water, then add the polenta in a steady stream, whisking to prevent lumps.

Continue cooking according to package directions (probably for 20 minutes or so, over low heat, stirring constantly, until the polenta is very thick). Remove from heat and gently stir in the feta and dill; add salt and pepper to taste. Pour into the prepared pan, cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 6 hours, or overnight.

Meanwhile, make the tapenade: Drain the soaked tomatoes and place in a blender or mini food processor with the 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil, vinegar, chile, and basil. Process until fairly smooth. Store in a covered jar in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To assemble: Remove the plastic wrap and place a cutting board over the top of the pan. Holding them tightly together, flip them both over so that the pan is on top and the polenta falls out onto the board. Peel away parchment. Cut the square of polenta into 16 or 25 smaller squares, depending on how large you’d like them to be.

Top each with a generous spoonful of tapenade and a few slices of black olives. Garnish with a touch more dill, if desired.