Passion for food

 These are 3 awesome appetizer recipes for new years day, or any day! Here are the recipes for Sausage Roll wreath / Spinach Artichoke Dip and Fried Mozzarella sticks>          spinach artichoke dip Recipe:    Click for Printable version           Sausage Roll Wreath Recipe:    Click for Printable version          Fried Mozzerella Cheese Sticks Recipe:    Click for Printable version

There's really no way to BARK up the wrong tree with an easy candy recipe like peppermint bark! It combines two smooth layers of chocolate with the minty crunch of the crushed peppermint candy canes! This is a holiday / Christmas classic for sure and it just couldn't be easier to make!           Peppermint Bark Candy Recipe:    Click for Printable version  

  As someone who doesn't love the traditional Christmas Fruit-cake I wanted to come up with my own version that I could actually be excised about eating. And this amazing Fig, Date, Cherry & Chocolate fruitcake is what I came up with, and I love it!           Chocolate, Fig, Date & Cherry Fruitcake Recipe:    Click for Printable version

 Bobotie, a South African classic or national dish? It depends who you ask! But either way this spicy sweet curry dish is a wonder addition to anyone's cookbook! The sweetness of the fruit is perfectly counter-balanced by the spicy curry and slight crunch of the almonds.  South African Bobotie Recipe: 2 medium onions, minced 1 ½ pounds ground beef 4 cloves garlic 1/4th cup raisons 1/4th cup almonds 2 tablespoons chutney 1 tablespoon curry powder 2 teaspoon salt ground black pepper to taste For the topping: 1 cup milk 1 large egg 1 pinch salt 2-3 bay leaf Bake @ 350 for 25 minutes. Enjoy!

This is my new favorite Turkey/Chicken and dumplings recipes! I love the fluffy soft dump style dumplings, and it's so quick and easy to make! You can easily have this Turkey and dumplings recipe ready to eat in 30 minutes! Turkey And Dumpling Recipe: 1-2 lbs turkey or other meat 1/2 cup chicken fat / or butter 1/2 cup flour 1 large onion 2 medium carrots 2-4 stalks celery  3 cloves garlic 8ish cups of chicken stock salt & pepper to taste For the dumplings: 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 cup milk Simmer dumplings in soup 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!  

Today we make this wonderful Lemon Ricotta cake! This cake reminds me of a pound cake, but more moist! And the lemon is the perfect addition to make this cake extra special. And hey putting Ricotta in cake isn't weird, you're weird! Lemon Ricotta Cake Recipe: 1 ½ cups flour 2 teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup white sugar ¾ cup butter, softened (unsalted, or omit the above salt) 3 eggs at room temperature 1 (15 ounce) container whole-milk ricotta cheese 2 lemon, juiced and zested ½ teaspoon vanilla extract Glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar 2 tablespoons lemon juice Bake @ 350 for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Enjoy!

 This type of dish has several names, scalloped potatoes, funeral potatoes, potatoes au gratin, or au gratin potatoes. But this version has no dairy and is meant to taste like a Cornish Pasty, just without the pastry, and it DOES! Beef And Potato Gratin - Beef And Onions Scalloped Potatoes Recipe: 3-5 large potatoes, sliced into rounds 1-2 large onions, sliced into rounds 1 lb beef, ground (80/20) salt & pepper to taste Bake @ 425F covered for 30 minutes, remove foil covering and continue backing for another 30-40 minutes until top lightly browned. Enjoy!