Mushroom Tarlets- Great Appetizer

4 ounces light cream cheese
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1. Place cream cheese and 2 tablespoons butter in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater to mixer. Turn to Speed 4 and beat about 1 minute. Stop and scrape bowl. Add 3/4 cup flour. Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 1 minute, or until well blended. Form mixture into ball. Wrap in waxed paper and chill 1 hour. Clean mixer bowl and beater.
2. Divide chilled dough into 24 pieces. Press each piece into miniature muffin cup (greased, if desired).
3. Meanwhile, melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onions. Cook and stir until tender. Remove from heat. Cool slightly.
4. Place egg, remaining 1 tablespoon flour, and thyme in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater to mixer. Turn to Speed 6 and beat about 30 seconds. Stir in cheese and cooled mushroom mixture. Spoon into pastry-lined muffin cups. Bake at 375°F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until egg mixture is puffed and golden brown. Serve warm.

Book Tuesday: Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan

In this novel by Amy Tan, there are twelve American tourists in an art expedition that start in the Himalayan foothills of China and heads south into the jungles of Burma. But when their guide died mysteriously, their plans fall apart and the group falls into disharmony. The twelve American tourist quickly realize that the Burma Road is paved with less than honorable intentions. Then on Christmas morning eleven of the travelers boat across a misty lake for a sunrise cruise and disappear.

Taking from the current political reality in Burma and woven with pure confabulation, Saving Fish from Drowning presents a question: How do we discern what is real and what is fiction in everything we see? How do we know what to believe?

With her unique brand of writing Amy Tan presents a provocative and mesmerizing about the mind and the heart of the individual, the action we choose, and the moral questions we might have of ourselves. It is a journey of self -exploration when we are face with unreachable happiness.

Chicken Parmesan - Tyler Florence

• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 gloves of garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup black olives, pitted
• 1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves
• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
• Pinch sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 skinless, boneless, chicken breast (about 11/2 pounds)
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 cup dried bread crumbs
• 1 cup of mozzarella
• 1/4 cup of Parmesan

Coat a saute pan with olive oil and place over medium heat. When the oil gets hazy, add the onions, garlic, and bay leaves; cook and stir for 5 minutes until fragrant and soft. Add the olives and some hand-torn basil. Carefully add the tomatoes (nothing splashes like tomatoes), cook and stir until the liquid is cooked down and the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes; season with sugar, salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover, and keep warm.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Get the ingredients together for the chicken so you have a little assembly line. Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them. Pound the chicken breasts with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/2-inch thick. Put the flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. In a wide bowl, combine the eggs and water, beat until frothy. Put the bread crumbs  on a plate, season with salt and pepper.
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high flame in a large oven-proof skillet. Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, and then dip them in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off, then dredge in the bread crumbs. When the oil is nice and hot, add the cutlets and fry for 4 minutes on each side until golden and crusty, turning once.
Ladle the tomato-olive sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with mozzarella, Parmesan, and basil. Bake the Chicken Parmesan for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.

TGIF - I Need A Drink - Amaretto Sour

 





4.5 oz Amaretto almond liqueur
4.5 splashes sweet and sour mix


our the amaretto liqueur into a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Add a splash or two of sweet and sour mix, and shake well. Strain or pour into an old-fashioned glass, garnish with a maraschino cherry and a slice of orange, and serve.

Song of the Week: Cursed Me Good by The Heavy

Tres Leches Cake

This is a very sought-after dessert in Latin American. I like it, but it's not something that I do it a lot. However and surprisingly I did this recipe and I enjoy doing it. Hope you like it.

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup milk
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
2. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; mix in eggs and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder; add gradually to butter mixture, stirring to blend. Pour batter into prepared dish, and bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Pierce cake with a fork all over.
3. Combine the 3 milks, and pour on top of cake; cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.
4. Beat whipping cream, powdered sugar, and remaining vanilla at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until thick; spread over cake, and serve.

Book Tuesday: In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner

Rose Feller is a thirty years old, high power attorney who loves romances novels. She is always starting her exercise routine next week and she has a dream of finding a man that would tell her she is beautiful. She also has a little sister whose life is so screwed up that Rose feels obligated to her.

Maggie is twenty eight years old, she is beautiful and doesn't have a steady job. She sings backup in a band called Whiskered Biscuit and she dreams of being famous. Maggie also dreams of getting her big sister to stick to a skin care regime.

These two very different women who share a childhood tragedy, DNA, and the same size feet are about to enter into a journey where they discover, how different their family is and that they have more in common than they'd ever believe. Jennifer Weiner takes us in a journey where Rose and Maggie explore their past, their present and their future.