Tag: half

Hot and Cheesy Crab and Artichoke Dip

Hot and cheesy imitation crab and artichoke dip, serve this with baked chips and you have the perfect appetizer for a party.

My husband was craving an imitation crab meat salad and we made the mistake of going food shopping hungry… at a wholesale store no less, so we came home with 3 lbs of imitation crab meat!

What to do with all that imitation crab? I decided to make a hot dip with it using ingredients I had on hand.

I can see using a good light Swiss, such as Jarlsburg or a light mozzarella instead of cheddar, but all I had was cheddar and I thought it was fine.

This is large enough to feed a crowd. If you don’t want as much, you can certainly make half or freeze half for later. Make this a day ahead, then pop it in the oven before you are ready to serve. Let me remind you, this is a dip, so the serving size is 1/4 cup which I think is pretty average knowing people will pick on other stuff. Only 2 points plus per serving, I had to double check and see if I was wrong!

I tried this with pretzel thins, baked lentil chips (pictured here), baked corn chips.. it was great with all. Use what you like, and if you prefer to use real lump crab, go for it! You can even sprinkle some panko on top before baking… I would have but didn’t have any.

Hot and Cheesy Crab and Artichoke Dip
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 16 • Size: 1/4 cup dip • Old Pts: 2 pts • WW Points+: 2 pts
Calories: 78 • Fat: 4 g • Carb: 4 g • Fiber: 0 g • Protein: 6 g • Sugar: 0 g
Sodium: 427 mg

Ingredients:

14 oz can artichoke hearts packed in water, drained (8.5 oz dry wt)
1 lb crab meat, imitation or lump
2 tbsp chives
6 tbsp reduced fat sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
6 tbsp light mayonnaise (Hellman’s)
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
3/4 cups shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
1 – 2 tsp tabasco sauce
1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400°.

Drain the artichoke hearts and chop fine. Chop the crab meat fine. Add them to a medium bowl and add remaining ingredients. Mix well using a rubber spatula, then transfer into a shallow baking dish.

Bake until the cheese is melted and the top becomes golden, about 30 minutes. Serve hot with baked chips.

Makes 4 cups.

Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Icing

by Pam on November 25, 2012

Seriously – these cookies are SO AMAZING! We were invited to a friend’s house for a post Thanksgiving turkey dinner and I was in charge of dessert. I found a recipe for these cookies on Cooking Classy’s^[1] site and couldn’t wait to try them out. Not only did the pumpkin cookies sound tasty but the browned butter frosting really had me intrigued. The cookies turned out to be soft which was a perfect combination with the flavorful and sweet icing. I loved, loved, loved the flavor the browned butter gave to this icing- it was SO GOOD! Make these cookies and I bet you won’t regret it.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove in a bowl until mixed thoroughly set aside. Using a mixer set on medium speed, whip together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 – 4 minutes. Add in egg, mixing after the addition until combined. Mix in the sour cream, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree then mix well. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Transfer the cookie dough to a zip lock bag then cut the tip and pipe 1 1/2-inch rounds onto a nonstick or Silpat lined cookie sheet, spacing cookies at least 1 inch apart.

Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes until tops spring back when touched. Allow to cool several minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.

Prepare the browned butter icing. Measure the powdered sugar into a mixing bowl, set aside. Brown butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling pan occasionally. Remove from heat when the golden brown flecks begin to appear in the center of the foamy bubbles. Carefully pour browned butter over powdered sugar in mixing bowl, use a rubber spatula to scrape any excess butter and browned bits from pan. Add the half and half and stir mixture until smooth and creamy. Spread over cookies with a spoon. Add extra half and half, about 1 – 2 tsp at a time, to icing mixture to thin because it will thicken as it sits.

Store in an airtight container in a single layer in refrigerator and rest at room temperature before serving.

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Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Icing

Yield: 14 large cookies

Prep Time: 15 min.

Cook Time: 10-12 min

Total Time: 30 min.

Ingredients:

Pumpkin Cookies:

1 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
6 tbsp white sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cups canned pumpkin puree
1 recipe Browned Butter Icing, recipe follows

Browned Butter Icing:

2 cups powdered sugar
5 tbsp unsalted butter
2 1/2 tbsp half and half
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove in a bowl until mixed thoroughly set aside. Using a mixer set on medium speed, whip together butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 – 4 minutes. Add in egg, mixing after the addition until combined. Mix in the sour cream, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree then mix well. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Transfer the cookie dough to a zip lock bag then cut the tip and pipe 1 1/2-inch rounds onto a nonstick or Silpat lined cookie sheet, spacing cookies at least 1 inch apart. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes until tops spring back when touched. Allow to cool several minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.

Prepare the browned butter icing. Measure the powdered sugar into a mixing bowl, set aside. Brown butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling pan occasionally. Remove from heat when the golden brown flecks begin to appear in the center of the foamy bubbles. Carefully pour browned butter over powdered sugar in mixing bowl, use a rubber spatula to scrape any excess butter and browned bits from pan. Add the half and half and stir mixture until smooth and creamy. Spread over cookies with a spoon. Add extra half and half, about 1 – 2 tsp at a time, to icing mixture to thin because it will thicken as it sits. Side Note: The icing is very sweet so don’t put it on too thick.
Store in an airtight container in a single layer in refrigerator and rest at room temperature before serving.

Adapted recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net
Original recipe by Cooking Classy

References

^{^} Cooking Classy’s (cookingclassy.blogspot.com)
^{^} Print Recipe (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} Save to ZipList Recipe Box (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)

Gordon Ramsay’s Mutton Stew

Gordon Ramsay made this stew for his viewers on Season One of the F Word^[1]. It looks delicious and he took samples of the stew streets of England. Everyone who sampled the stew was very impressed, and several people even asked if they could have the rest of it!

According to Gordon Ramsay, Mutton is half the cost of lamb, and twice the flavor. It is also tougher, so the key to a great tasting mutton stew is in the cook time. Get this on the stove well before you start getting hungry, and you’ll have what looks to be a delicious and affordable stew ready for supper.

Gordon blazes through this recipe on the show, and doesn’t give exact measurements for anything, so bear with me as I do the best I can to break it down. Keep in mind, this is a stew, don’t finely slice anything. Cut everything into decent sized chunks, and feel free to increase or decrease any of the ingredient’s proportions to fit your taste.

Ingredients:

Around 1 1/2 lbs. Mutton (chopped into 1-1.5 inch cubes)
1 Head of Garlic (skin on, cut in half)
1 Large Onion (chopped)
3 Large Carrots (chopped)
5 Stalks of Celery (chopped)
Leek (I don’t know how much he used so I’m going to say… to taste)
1 Large Sprig Rosemary (whole)
3-4 Sprigs of Thyme (whole)
Flour
Salt
Small Handful of Peppercorn (lightly crushed)
Very Large Spoonful of Tomato Puree (or paste)
House Red Wine (he says half a something, but I could make it out even after playing it back five times. It looks like he uses about half a bottle, but it’s probably more like half a cup)
Cooking oil
Water

Directions:

Heat some cooking oil in a large skillet while you’re preparing your mutton. Lightly season mutton with salt, then coat it with flour, shaking off excess. Add to the hot oil and brown it thoroughly. Gordon lights the pan on fire a few times, but I wasn’t able to see how he went about doing it. Just make sure your mutton has good color. Color changes the meat and adds flavor. Once your meat is browned, place it into a colander to drain, and get to work on your stew base.

Chop all of your vegetables into large chunks. Add the onion to a very large stock pot over medium heat and stir in carrots. Cut a head of garlic in half so it looks like the picture on the right, and add it to the stew. Add celery, leeks, and your beautiful sprigs of fresh herbs. Take a small handful of peppercorns and lightly crush them on the counter with any large object you have. The bottom of a storage container, or a rolling pin will work just fine; add them to the stew. Spoon in your tomato base, and add the wine. Return your mutton to the pan, and stir it into the stew. Pour boiling hot water over the top of the stew until it completely covers all of the ingredients. You want your stew to look like a soup at this point, with a little extra liquid.

Bring everything to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid, and stew over low heat for 2 1/2 hours. Now you can watch a movie, go shopping, or whatever you enjoy for 2 1/2 hours. Come back after the stew has finished cooking and enjoy another F Word^[2] favorite from Gordon Ramsay.

Feel free to leave your experiences, or any improvements in the comments section below.

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References

^{^} F Word (www.amazon.com)
^{^} F Word (www.amazon.com)
^{^} »crosslinked« (gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)