Nothing very organized here at the moment. That is, there's no organization such that there's anything more than this very page.
Unless otherwise noted, these recipes are taken from the book Plenty A Collection of Sarah McLachlan's Favourite Recipes, with Chef Jaime Laurita. ISBN 1-894160-01-0
Ash and
Sarah's Chai Tea
serves 4 (a little more if you
use 8-10oz coffee mugs -jim)
Mix the water and spices together and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and add the tea bags.
Allow to steep until desired strength is achieved [3 minutes is
good. -jim]
Add milk and bring to a simmer.
Add sugar to taste, or serve unsweetened and allow each person
to sweeten the tea to taste. [We found that about two level teaspoons
per 8-10oz works well but that this formula didn't extend to the
entire recipe simply by multiplying. -jim]
This chai is excellent served with Writer's Block Cookies.
Writer's
Block Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
makes 2 dozen large cookies
Preheat oven to 350°F
Cream butter until light and fluffy.
Gradually add sugar.
Add eggs, vanilla and water and beat until smooth.
Sift dry ingredients together.
Add to the butter mixture and mix well.
Fold in oats and raisins.
Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet, leaving enough
space for the cookies to spread out.
Bake 8-10 minutes, until golden.
Mango
and Cherry Strudel
2 strudels
Preheat oven to 350°F
Mix the cherries and brandy together and let sit for 15 minutes.
Drain.
Mix the mangoes, almonds, honey, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice,
lemon zest, allspice and cinnamon together with the cherries.
Lay a sheet of phyllo dough on top of a piece of waxed paper.
Brush with melted butter, or spray with vegetable spray.
Place another sheet on top and butter or spray, repeating the
procedure six times.
Place the mango mixture on the dough, gently spreading it across
the pastry.
To avoid a wet strudel, gently wring the mixture out with your
hands before placing it on the dough.
Roll the strudel up and tuck in the ends.
Place seam side down on greased baking sheet.
Score the top of the pastry with a sharp knife.
Brush lightly with butter or spray;
bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Variation: Try adding a few pieces of chopped, candied ginger to the mango mixture.
Love
Cake
serves 10
This cake is perfect for any celebration. It uses beet juice,
which gives it a very festive look.
Preheat oven to 350°F
Grease two 9 inch round cake tins.
Cream shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add
eggs and beat 1 minute. In a separate bowl, mix cocoa powder, beet
juice, food colouring and salt together to form a paste. Add to the
shortening mixture and stir until well blended. Mix vanilla and
buttermlik together and add alternately to the shortening mixture with
the flour, about a third at a time.
Mix vinegar and baking soda together in a cup and add to the
batter. Gently stir just until blended. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool cake
in pans for 10 minutes; remove from pans and continue cooling on
racks.
Icing
Mix milk and flour together and cook over medium heat until
thick. Refrigerate until completely cool.
Beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar. Stir in
vanilla. Add cooled milk mixture a little at a time and blend.
Whip ¾ cup sugar into the egg yolks until thick and
pale yellow.
Reduce speed to low and stream in the Kahlua.
Set aside.
Whip cream until soft peaks form.
Place ½ cup of cream in a bowl and gently fold in vanilla
and rum.
Set aside.
Fold the Marsala wine into the remaining whipped cream and reserve.
Whip the egg whites on high speed until frothy.
Stream in the 4 tablespoons of sugar and whip on high for 1 minute.
Reserve.
Gently mix mascarpone or cream cheese with the egg yolk mixture
until just combined.
Gently fold in the ½ cup whipped cream with a plastic spatula,
using slow gentle motions.
Slowly fold in the egg whites.
To assemble
Drizzle the coffee onto the ladyfingers.
Place standing up in a parfait glass or bowl.
Alternate layers of mascarpone mixture, marsala cream and chocolate
shavings.
Dust top with cocoa powder.
My favorite
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
serves 8
Pie Dough
This makes one 9 inch pie shell. You'll need a pastry top and
bottom, so either double this recipe and make the pie top at the
same time, or make the top and bottom separately.
Sift together flour and salt.
Cut butter into chunks and work into the flour until pea-sized
lumps form.
Add 2-3 tablespoons cold water and work as little as possible,
in order to avoid a stiff dough.
As soon as the dough sticks together, stop.
Form into a ball and roll out on a flat, dry, lightly floured
surface or on a piece of cheesecloth lightly dusted with flour.
Roll out until slightly larger than a 9 inch pie plate.
Preheat oven to 400°F
Filling
Cut rhubarb into 1 inch slices.
Cut strawberries in half.
Combine with sugar, orange peel, flour and salt and mix gently.
Pour into an unbaked pie shell and place small dollops of butter
all over the top.
Place a layer of pastry on top, pressing the top and bottom layers
together to create a seal.
Flute the edges any way you like, making sure the mixture is sealed
in, or it will bubble all over the oven and make a real mess.
Score the top of the pastry with a small, sharp knife, cutting
in any design you like.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
Baked
Caramel Custard
serves 6
Preheat oven to 350°F
Melt brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until it turns
to liquid and begins to caramelize.
Pour into 6 custard cups, shaking cups to make sure the sugar
is evenly distributed.
Don't touch the sugar because it will be
very hot.
Mix the remaining ingredients together and pour into each custard
cup.
Fill a large baking pan with 1 inch of hot water.
Place custard cups in the water bath and bake for about 50-60
minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool in the baking pan until they reach
room temperature.
Remove from water bath and chill.
To serve, quickly turn each cup over either onto individual
serving plates or onto a large serving tray.
The sugar will have turned into a delicious syrupy glaze.
For an extra treat, serve with fruit and whipped cream.
Full
of Grace Soufflé
1 serving
Preheat oven to 400°F
Combine pudding with lemon zest, orange zest, candied ginger and lemon juice.
Beat the egg whites to a stiff peak.
Gently fold into the pudding, half at a time.
Brush a soufflé mold with butter, and sugar the sides.
Fill to the brim and level off with a butter knife.
Fill a 9x13 inch baking dish with ½ inch of hot water.
Place soufflé in the water.
Bake until soufflé rises and is golden brown, about 25-30
minutes.
Don't open the oven door while it's cooking
or it will fall.
Preheat oven to 325°F
Bring cream, vanilla bean and half the sugar to a boil.
In a separate bowl, mix together the rest of the sugar, yolks
and whole egg.
Slowly mix about one third of the hot cream into the egg mixture.
When blended, add the egg mixture back into the hot cream.
Strain the mixture and pour into small ramekins.
Fill a 9x13 inch baking dish with ½ inch of hot water.
Place ramekins in the water and bake for about 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool at room temperature for about
30 minutes, keeping the ramekins in the water.
Once the ramekins are cool, remove from the water and store in
the fridge until ready to serve.
Just before serving sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over each
ramekin.
Fill a 9x13 inch baking dish with ½ inch of ice water,
and broil until the sugar forms a hard crust.
Chocolate
Truffles
makes about 2 dozen
Heat cream in a small pot until it reaches a boil.
Immediately remove from heat, pour over chocolate and cover with
plastic wrap to allow the chocolate to melt.
Mix the cream and chocolate together until smooth and refrigerate
until it reaches the consistency of fudge.
When cool, use a spoon or melon baller to scoop out the chocolate.
Roll into firm balls with your hands.
Refrigerate.
To coat the truffles, melt a little bit of chocolate.
Roll each truffle in the melted chocolate and then in the coating
of your choice.
Refrigerate.
Fran's
Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes 3 dozen big ones
Preheat oven to 350
Cream the butter until light and fluffy.
Gradually add the sugar, continuing to cream until all the sugar
is used.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Stir in the vanilla.
Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda.
Add all at once to the butter mixture, stirring well with a wooden
spoon.
Add chocolate chips, pecans and coconut and stir until mixed.
Form dough into large balls and press down lightly on an ungreased
non-stick baking sheet.
Bake until golden, about 15 minutes, being careful not to brown
the edges.
Remove from oven and place baking sheet on a wire rack; cool 5
minutes.
Transfer cookies to rack; cool completely.
Hint: Take half the cookie dough, put it in a ziplock bag and
freeze it for a rainy day.
Other Desserts Return to Top
if you want any of these recipes, let
me know and I'll put it on this page for you.
Baked Peaches
serves 8
Blueberry-Almond Crisp
serves 4-6
Grandma's Upside-Down
Apple Tart
serves 4-6
Mango-Blueberry Napolean
serves 4
Fruit Tart with Lemon Cream
12 tarts
Lemon Phyllo Cups
serves 12
Bittersweet Chocolate
Truffle Cheesecake
serves 12
Banana Bread
1 loaf
Mom's Currant Cake
1 loaf
Baklava
serves about 16
Vij's Ginger-Lemon Drink
serves 4
(this recipe comes from Vij's restaurant in Vancouver, BC)