Great for Mother’s Day, Graduation, Summer Pot-luck and more!

Marzipan, made from almond paste, gives these muffins a delicious center.

Lemon Marzipan Muffins 

Ingredients:  

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

½ cup butter, room temperature

3 large eggs

¼ tsp. almond extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Zest of one lemon 

Muffin
Center:  ½  Cup Marzipan 

Instructions: Preheat oven to 375?F. 

Cream together butter and sugar until mixture is light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time and mix to incorporate.   Add almond extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest.   

Add dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Do not over mix. 

Divide batter into 12 paper lined muffin cups.   

Divide marzipan into twelve equal parts and roll into a ball.  Place ball into the middle of the muffin batter in each cup making sure the batter is beneath and over the marzipan ball.  

Bake muffins until top is spongy to the touch, approximately 15 minutes.  

Ingredients

Curried Chicken Salad
Ingredients:

¾ Cup mayonnaise
6 Tablespoons plain yogurt
2 ½ teaspoons red curry powder
1 Cup Sultanas (golden raisins)
3 Cups finely diced grilled chicken breast
½ Cup diced red onion
½ Cup diced cucumber
½ Cup slivered Almonds
Salt and pepper

Fennel Salad
Ingredients:

1 large head of romaine lettuce, thoroughly washed, dried, and torn into bite sized pieces
1 large head of fennel thoroughly washed and thinly sliced.
5 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
6 Tablespoons of Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Instructions

Curried Chicken Salad Instructions:

1. Whisk together mayonnaise, curry, and yogurt in a large bowl. Mix in all other ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Serve with savory pooris bread or on a bed of fennel salad.

Fennel Salad Instructions:

1. Whisk together oil and vinegar, season with salt and pepper.

2. Toss together lettuce and fennel. Mix together lettuce, fennel and dressing.

3. Place on a plate and top with curried chicken salad.

I love this dessert because it is so easy and not too sweet.  The strawberries really take center stage in taste!

 Ingredients

1 box Ready Made Pie Crust (two pie sheets)

 2 quarts Fresh Strawberries, ripe

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream 2 eggs

1/3 tightly packed light brown sugar 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Par-bake the pie shells by doing the following. Place each shell on a 9 inch pie baking pan.  Scallop the edges.  Dock the dough of the shell or weigh it down with pie weights.  Bake for 10-15 minutes until shell is lightly golden brown.Remove pie from oven. Remove weights if used and allow shell to cool. Slice washed strawberries and place in the cooled pie shells.  In a kitchen mixer, whip together eggs, brown sugar, and cream for 3-5 minutes. 

 Pour cream mixture over strawberries in pie shell leaving a ¼ inch of space at the top of the shell.  This allows the filling to expand without overflowing the pie.

Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until edges of custard turns a golden brown.  Center will remain slightly liquid.  Allow pie to cool and then place in a refrigerator for at least 2 hours to chill.

Serve with whipped cream, ice cream, or sprinkled with powdered sugar.

 **** If you prefer sweeter pie, mix an additional ¼ of light brown sugar with the strawberries prior to placing in the pie*****

Puff Pastry Wrapped Asparagus and Prosciutto

Ingredients:

12 Asparagus Stalks

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

6 thin slices of Prosciutto di Parma or ham

Egg Wash:

1 egg

2 Tablespoons water, whisked together

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Wash Asparagus, peel skin of stalk if necessary.
3. Cut each Prosciutto slice into two thin strips
4. Cut each puff pastry sheet in half and then each half into three strips each
5. Wrap Prosciutto around each asparagus leaving the asparagus top exposed
6. Wrap each puff pastry strip around each asparagus leaving the asparagus top exposed.
7. Brush puff pastry with a little egg wash
8. Place asparagus on a parchment lined baking sheet
9. Bake for 10-20 minutes until puff pastry is golden brown.
10. Remove from oven and serve warm with red pepper coulis.

Note: You can blanch the asparagus first to make the green color brighter.  Do this by place the asparagus in boiling salted water for 30 seconds, and then immediately stopping the cooking process by placing the asparagus in ice water. Pat the stalks dry and proceed with the recipe above.

Red Pepper CoulisIngredients: