Banana Phyllo Rolls with Caramel Sabayon Sauce

Here is my interpretation and additional instructions for making this recipe. I made them last night and they were delicious. It would be a great dessert for Valentine's Day.

Ingredients
1 package phyllo dough (14" x 18"), thawed (I used #7 thick phyllo)
1/2 cup butter, melted
8 bananas
3/4 cup white chocolate, grated or mini chips
3/4 cup macadamia nuts, toasted and ground
or
3/4 cup flaked or shredded coconut
1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

Peel bananas and cut in half both lengthwise and widthwise.

Get a damp towel to cover unused phyllo while you are working. Place one sheet of phyllo dough on work surface. Brush with butter. Bring down top short edge and bring up bottom short edge so that you fold it in thirds (diagram 1 and 2). Brush again with butter. Place one piece of banana and 1 T white chocolate and nuts or coconut (diagram 3). Fold up over banana filling once (diagram 4). Fold over long edges to seal in fillings (diagram 5). Roll up rest of phyllo around filling (diagram 6). Brush with butter and place seam side down on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake bananas in preheated 350°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Melt chocolate chips and drizzle over cooled rolls. Serve with Sabayon Sauce (recipe below)

Makes 16 rolls.


Caramel Sabayon Sauce
Ingredients
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream

In top of double boiler, over hot water, mix sugar and egg yolks. Heat until hot to touch, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Using mixer, whip at high speed until stiff and thick. Add cream and whip until fluffy.

I made mine like a loose whip cream. I've never had it before so if anyone knows if it is supposed to be more runny, let me know.

Deviled Ham Spread

1 pound smoked ham, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup prepared dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons hot sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon mustard powder
Salt
Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Great on crackers.

Pecan Pie Bars

These are better than the pie!

Crust:
1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
1/3 c packed dark brown sugar
3/4 c unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350° F. combine using pastry knife until mixed. Press 
into 13x9 pan. Bake 16-20 minutes until golden brown.

Filling:
1 c packed dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 c dark corn syrup
1/4 c unsalted butter, melted
1 t vanilla extract
1/8 t salt
2 c chopped pecans

Mix all filling ingredients but pecans. Stir in pecans. Pour over 
baked crust. Bake additional 35 minutes (or until set) at 350°.

Fried Calamari

I made calamari tonight for dinner, based on this recipe. The squid was from a local Asian grocery store that has the best seafood.

Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1-2 pounds clean squid rings
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c Italian style bread crumbs
2 tablespoons dried parsley
Salt (lots!) and freshly ground black pepper
Marinara sauce

Pour enough oil into a heavy large saucepan to reach the depth of 3 inches. Heat over medium heat to 350 degrees F. Mix the flour, bread crumbs, parsley, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Working in small batches, toss the squid into the flour mixture to coat. Carefully add the squid to the oil and fry until crisp and very pale golden, about 1 minute per batch. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the fried calamari to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

Serve with marinara sauce.

Curried Green Chile Pork

I just served this to friends Sunday night to great reviews. It's great leftover and doubles well.

This recipe and the one I posted for Beef Bourguignonne are variations from this free cookbook pdf download from KitchenAid. If you scroll down in the pdf, there are a bunch of great recipes after you get past some of the instructions and such.

2 1⁄2 pounds lean pork stew meat
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3⁄4 teaspoon ground cumin
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
dash of red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 small can of mild green chiles
1⁄2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup coconut milk

Place pork in Slow Cooker ceramic pot. In small bowl, combine curry powder, brown sugar, thyme, cumin, salt, and red pepper. Stir in garlic and oil until well blended. Add to pork; toss to coat evenly. Add onion, jalapeno peppers, and chicken broth. Cover and cook at HIGH 31⁄2 to 41⁄2 hours, or until pork is very tender. In small bowl, blend flour into coconut milk. Stir into pork mixture. Cover and cook at HIGH 10 to 20 minutes, or until thickened. Serve with hot cooked rice.
Yield: 6 servings (1 cup per serving).

Apple Bread Pudding

This is adapted from the recipe for Apple-Nut Bread Pudding in Fix-It and Forget-It Christmas Cookbook. It smells great cooking, is easy to prepare and is perfect to warm up from the chilly fall weather.

8 slices whole wheat bread, cubed
2 large apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1/4 c raisins
1 c sugar
1 scant T pumpkin pie spice or baking spice
3 eggs
2 c milk
1/4 c apple juice
4 T butter, melted

Place bread cubes, apples and raisins in greased slow cooker and mix gently. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and spice. Add in egg & mix well. Add milk, apple juice and melted butter and combine thoroughly. Pour this mixture over bread mixture in slow cooker and gently stir. Cover. Cook on high for approximately 2 hours or low for 3-4 hours.

Pumpkin Spice "Latte"

I'm enjoying my homemade pumpkin "latte" right now. My recipe: 3 cups of milk, 3 T pumpkin puree, 1 t or so of baking spice (just picked up Tues at a local spice shop and it is yummy!), sugar to taste and instant coffee. Simmer on stovetop to let the flavors meld. This is a generous batch with enough for a friend.

I find using instant makes it creamier while still nofat--no water to dilute it. I sort of just made it up so the measurements may be a wee bit off. Luckily, it's easy to tinker with to get it to taste right.

Slow-cooker Beef Bourguignonne

I just made this and it is yummy. Perfect for fall and makes the house smell delicious! As a bonus, it makes enough for our family to save half for later.

3 lb. beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into chunks
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 T dried parsley - or - 4 T chopped fresh parsley
2 t dried thyme
2 t dried marjoram
1 bay leaf
3/4 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 T bacon drippings
12 oz. mushrooms, cleaned and cut into quarters
1 c red wine (burgundy or similar)
1/2 c condensed beef comsommé
2 T tomato paste
1 c water

Combine beef, onion, carrots, parsley, thyme, marjoram, bay leaf, salt, pepper, garlic, bacon, drippings and mushrooms in slow cooker. In separate bowl, whisk wine, consommé, tomato paste, and water. Pour over beef mixture in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 8 hours. After cooked, thicken with flour and additional consommé and cook at high 10-15 minutes.

Serve over cooked egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

Yummy Balsamic potatoes

I made the potatoes from this link last night for friends. I thought I made waaaay to many and would have leftovers. They were so yummy that they were all gone by the end of the evening.