Pesto Biscuits

2 cups flour

1 tbls. sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 c shortening

1/2 c milk

1/4 c basil pesto

Sprinkle with grated Parmesan before baking.

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients and cut in shortening and pesto until misture looks like fine crumbs.
3. Stir in the milk until dough leaves the side of bowl. (dough will be soft and sticky)
4. Place dough on a lightly floured surfacce. Knead lightly 10 times and roll to 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter.
5. Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

Good with Italian Wedding Soup!

Italian Wedding Soup

1 whole chicken
1 c. carrots, chopped *
1 c. celery, chopped
1 sm. onion, diced
Seasoned with 4-6 minced garlic cloves, 2 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. basil, 1 tbls. parsley flakes, and 1/4 cup chicken soup base. (all are approximate – season to taste)
2 pkgs. chopped frozen spinach, thawed & well drained
1 (1 lb.) pkg. acini di pepe, cooled & drained OR ORZO
Meatballs (see below)

Clean chicken and put in pot with 8 quarts of water; simmer for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked and remove to cool enough to handle, remove meat from skin and bones. Add carrots, celery and onion to broth and cook. In the meantime, cut meat into bite-sized pieces and make meatballs.

MEATBALLS FOR ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP:
1 1/2 lbs. ground round
Salt & pepper to taste
1/4 c. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (or more)
1 c. bread crumbs
1 or 2 eggs (to create a moist but not runny)
Combine ingredients and make small meatballs (about 1/2 - 3/4 inch). Brown meatballs in a skillet. Drain and add meatballs to soup.

Add meatballs and simmer for another 30 minutes. Add spinach and chicken and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with acini di pepe and grated Parmesan cheese.

NOTES:
This soup is EXCELLENT! Everyone loved it!
The original recipe called for 1 pkg. 6 to 8 chicken wings + 2 chicken breasts. That would also be fine, but only using boneless chicken isn't a great substitute in any chicken soup recipe.
I usually add the pasta directly to the soup and then regret it when it all turns to hotdish the next day. It's better to keep the pasta separate and just add it to each bowl as it's served. (It just sucks up too darned much moisture as it sits around.)
*I almost always add more veggies than a soup recipe calls for. It's just nice to have more stuff in it, but you be the judge.

Honey Barbecue "Wings" with Blue Cheese Dressing

Serves 3-4.

• 2 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (approx. 1"x 1"x 3")
• 1 1/2 c. buttermilk (or enough to cover chicken pieces)
• 2 T. salt
• 1 c. flour

Combine salt and buttermilk in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add chicken pieces and allow to soak for about 1 hr.

Heat 1/2" of vegetable oil in a deep skillet or saucepan for about 5 minutes over medium heat. In a shallow dish or ziplock bag, combine flour and a dash each of cayenne, oregano, parsley, and thyme. Dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture and fry until browned, turning once. Remove chicken pieces and drain on paper towels.

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 T molasses
• 1-1/2 T ketchup
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 1-1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 1-1/2 tsp meat tenderizer
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp dried oregano
• 1/8 tsp minced garlic
• 2 T steak sauce
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1-1/2 tsp prepared mustard
• 3/4 cup brown sugar

Combine glaze ingredients. Melt 1 stick of butter in a 9x13" baking dish. Stir in glaze. Add chicken pieces, toss to coat, and arrange in a single layer. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes, turning chicken pieces halfway through baking. If desired, serve with blue cheese dressing, below.

Blue cheese dressing:

• 2 1/2 ounces blue cheese
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Mash blue cheese and buttermilk together with a fork until mixture resembles large-curd cottage cheese. Stir in remaining ingredients. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Notes: I'm somewhat torn; the glaze was flavorful enough that the dressing was really superfluous, but it was such a good dressing recipe that I found myself eating quite a bit of it, anyway.

Amazing Cherry Pie Filling

6 cups cherries, rinsed, stemmed and pitted
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/8 cup lemon juice
6 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
Combine cherries, sugar and lemon juice in a mixing bowl, stir and let sit for at least 3 hours, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Drain off and reserve cherry syrup.

Combine a small amount of syrup to cornstarch to make a paste, then whisk cornstarch paste back into syrup. Pour mixture into a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sauce thickens. Stir in the drained cherries and almond extract.

Makes filling for 1 pie

Emily and Brian's Wedding Cake

55 min | 10 min prep

SERVES 40 -50

2 (18 ounce) boxes white cake mix (Betty Crocker or Pillsbury)

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup lemon juice

1 2/3 cups water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons real vanilla

1 teaspoon lemon extract

2 cups sour cream

6 whole eggs

1 tbsp lemon zest

Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir together with a wire whisk.

Add the remaining ingredients and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Pour into greased and floured cake pans, filling each pan a little over half full.

Lightly tap cake pans on counter to bring air bubbles to top.

Bake in preheated 325° F oven until cake tests done.

Baking time varies according to the size and depth of pans being used.

I made several batches (maybe 3 - I don't remember for sure) to bake two each 6", 8", and 10" cakes.  I added poppy seeds to 1/2 the cakes and alternated the layers when everything was put together.

The cakes were split with this cake leveler. (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!  For under $4 this tool will perfectly and easily split the layers.)

I displayed the cakes on this stand, purchased with a 1/2 price coupon at JoAnn's.

To see options for chocolate cake, for liqueur flavors, berry flavors, or white chocolate, see the original recipe here. 

The filling between the layers was Dickinson's Lemon Curd, and it was frosted with buttercream.

We made the cakes several weeks ahead of time and froze them, and then assembled everything the afternoon before the wedding.

Cashew Chicken Salad

75 ounces drained canned chicken

24 oz. water chestnuts, chopped

1 1/2 cups cashews, chopped

12 stalks celery, finely chopped

6 tbsp. finely chopped onion

juice of 1 fresh lemon

3-4 cups mayonnaise/Miracle Whip

6 tsp dill weed

Combine all ingredients and mix well. NOTE: Everything can be made a day or two ahead of time, but add the cashews at the last minute.

Pate au Choux Finger Sandwiches

These little breads are a staple at our church's annual Mother/Daughter Tea (and the exhausted organizers seem to have established the tradition of eating the leftovers for dinner when they get home later that evening)

1/2 c water

1/2 c flour

dash of salt

4 tbls. margarine

2 eggs

1/2 cup shredded cheese (swiss or cheddar)

In a saucepan -Melt margarine in water. Add flour and stir vigorously with a whisk until ball forms or pulls away from sides of pan. Remove from heat.

With an electric mixer, beat in eggs and add cheese.

Beat for about a minute until it looks glossy but no longer wet.

Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

I used a #60 food scoop, capacity- 1 tablespoon.

You can reuse the same sheet of parchment several times.

Bake at 400 º for 20 minutes.

Cool. Split in half and fill with your favorite filling (ham salad, tuna salad, etc.)

Makes approximately 20.

Notes—bake until thoroughly browned and they will not flatten when cool. They keep their nice texture and height even when made a day ahead of time. I made 7 double batches for the Mother Daughter Tea and the Cashew Chicken Salad recipe. I kept 4 baking sheets going at a time so I always had a cool one to put the next batch of batter onto. These can be made ahead of time and frozen.

To watch Alton Brown's take on a similar recipe go here and here.