This week’s segment is a fun one, I’m doing “Restaurant Remakes”, taking some of my favorite restaurant menu items and making them at home.  A perfect way to save a few bucks and still enjoy a steakhouse quality meal.  I hope you enjoy them!

• The Wedge
• Steamed Asparagus with a Lemon Hollandaise
• Flat Iron Steak with a Gorgonzola Cream Sauce and Balsamic Mushrooms

This week’s segment is a fun one, I’m doing “Restaurant Remakes”, taking some of my favorite restaurant menu items and making them at home.  A perfect way to save a few bucks and still enjoy a steakhouse quality meal.  I hope you enjoy them!

• The Wedge
• Steamed Asparagus with a Lemon Hollandaise
• Flat Iron Steak with a Gorgonzola Cream Sauce and Balsamic Mushrooms

In this healthy version of the classic appetizer, we are using frozen spinach and frozen artichokes.  Unless you harvest the spinach right out of your garden, frozen is a good way to go because spinach rapidly looses nutrients after it has been harvested.  Frozen spinach is harvested and frozen right away, locking in the nutrients.  Artichokes are best fresh, but very labor intensive, frozen is the next best thing.

Quick Tip: Assemble, but don’t bake.  Keep in the fridge for a day and bake according to the recipe or wrap with plastic and foil and freeze for a few months.  Bake from frozen in a 400° oven for about 1 hour covered, uncover and bake until bubbling.

Serves: about 6-10

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup light mayo
• 1,  8 oz package 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 3/4 + 1/3  cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 3/4 cup artichoke hearts, frozen and thawed, sliced in half
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
• 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, minced

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 375°.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine mayo, cream cheese, mascarpone, 3/4 cup parmesan, sour cream, garlic, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Mix well.
3. Stir in the artichoke hearts, spinach and sun dried tomatoes.
4. Spread into a 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle top with remaining 1/3 cup parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling.
5. Serve with whole wheat crackers.

I’m a big fan of the sugar cookie recipe by Alton Brown of the Food Network. You can use your favorite cookie recipe or in a pinch use the pre-made dough from the store. These cookies are great for Valentines Day as well, just use heart shaped cookie cutters.

If you are making your cookie dough, add 1/2-3/4 (depending on how minty you like it) teaspoon peppermint extract in place of the vanilla extract in your recipe.  Continue to follow your recipe.
If you are in a pinch you can place store bought dough in a bowl, add 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract and kneed well.

Pre-heat your oven according to your recipe.

Once dough is chilled, roll out on a lightly powdered sugared board.

Cut out your cookies and bake according to Alton’s recipe.

Allow the cookies to fully cool.

Add dark chocolate to a medium microwave safe mixing bowl. Microwave for 2-2 1/2 minutes, stopping and stirring the chocolate every 20 seconds or so, until the chocolate has fully melted.

Have a cookie sheet lined with a sil-pat or parchment ready.

Dip one half of each cookie in the melted chocolate. Allow the extra to drizzle off back into the bowl. Place the dipped cookie on to the cookie sheet, dip remaining cookies and allow the chocolate to set for at least 2 hours.

Serve and Enjoy.

Sometimes you find a recipe that simply can’t be topped!  In this case,  I like to use a sugar cookie recipe by Alton Brown of the Food Network.  You can use your favorite cookie recipe or in a pinch use the pre-made dough from the store.  I like to give these cookies as a gift to co-workers or my UPS driver, and they are a perfect party favor or place card holder on your holiday table.

To package as a gift, I sprinkle shredded coconut in the bottom of a cello bag or clear box to dust your tree in a coconut snow!.  Place assembled tree on top of the coconut and secure the package with a decorative ribbon.

You will need 5 metal star cookie cutters from small to large, 6 inch wooden skewers, frosting and cookie decoration.

Pre-heat your oven according to your recipe. After your dough has chilled, on a lightly powdered sugared board roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thick.

Cut out the stars and place on a sil-pat or greased cookie sheet. With a skewer make a hole in the middle of each star big enough for the skewer to fit through.  Make two of the smallest star for each tree so you have one for the tree topper!

Run a skewer up into 1/2 of the smallest stars and place the skewed cookie on the cookie sheet. Bake according to your recipe.

1. Once cookies are baked and cooled. Frost each star leaving room around each hole in the center of the cookie. Decorate the outer points of the star. Frost and decorate the skewed top star. Allow to dry for at least 2 hours.
2. Skew the rest of the stars from smallest to largest on each skewer with a star topper. Cut down the skewer if it is too long.
3. Package, Serve or Enjoy.

I make the frosting up to 5 days ahead. Since the cookies are store bought I keep them on hand throughout the holidays so I always have a quick dessert on hand.

Makes 1 dozen

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup or 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 Tablespoons pumpkin puree
• a scant 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 24 ginger thins or gingersnaps

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl whisk together cream cheese, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar until well incorporated.
2. Spread 1 teaspoon of frosting on the back of 12 cookies.
3. Place the bottom of a un-iced cookie on top of an iced one. Repeat with remaining cookies.
4. Decorate cookies with the remaining icing.

Recipe created by Jill Sharpe of The Lake Kitchen. Visit http://www.thelakekitchen.com for more recipes, cooking tips, videos, blog posts and more! The Lake Kitchen – Creating. Sharing. Coming Together.

Cranberry Orange Ginger Sauce

Makes about 2 cups

Quick Tip: Make ahead and freeze. Once the sauce is cooked cool in the fridge. Place the cooled sauce into ziplock bags and freeze for up to 3 months.
To serve, allow to defrost at room temp for 20-30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 2, 12oz packages fresh cranberries
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 medium orange, zest and juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Directions

1. Place all of the ingredients into a large sauce pot and stir.
2. Cook on medium for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Sauteed Green Beans with Leeks and Bacon
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 Cup –Bacon (sliced in to bits)
• 1 Cup – Leek (sliced 1/4 inch)
• 1 Pound -Haricot Verts (or green beans)
• 1/4 Cup –Almonds (slivered)

Directions

1. In a medium sauté pan, over med/high heat cook bacon until crisp (about 8-10min) stirring occasionally.
2. Remove bacon from pan and set aside, leaving drippings in the pan.
3. Add leeks to pan with drippings, sauté on medium heat for 5-7 min, stirring occasionally.
4. Add green beans to leeks and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. In a separate small pan toast almonds over medium heat stirring so not to burn. Toast almonds until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
6. Toss green beans, bacon and almonds together and serve.

Sausage  Sage and Cranberry Stuffing
Serves 12

Quick Tip: To freeze place in a freezer safe  baking dish and cover with foil. Freezer for up 3 months. From frozen, place covered stuffing in a 400° oven and bake for 1 hour, uncover and bake until heated through. If the stuffing seems a little dry, pour 1/2 cup of chicken broth over the top.

Ingredients

• 2, 14oz cans or 2 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2  teaspoon allspice
• 2 cups dried cranberries
• 1/4 Cup maple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cup sweet onion, medium dice
• 11/2 cup  celery, small dice
• 1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
• 2, 12 oz  low fat or regular sausage (such as jimmy dean)
• 1/4 cup  parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 Tablespoon dried sage
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 9 cups stuffing bread crumbs

Directions

1. Pre heat oven to 375 °
2. In a large bowl mix together chicken broth, allspice, cranberries and maple syrup, set aside.
3. Add olive oil, onions and celery to a large skillet and sauté over medium heat for about 5 min or until onions turn translucent, stirring occasionally.
4. Once onions are translucent, turn heat to low and add garlic, cook 2 minutes.
5. Add onion mixture to the bowl with the broth.
6. Heat the same skillet, over med/high heat. Add sausage, allow to cook for about 5 minutes, breaking up large pieces while sausage starts to brown.
7. Add parsley, sage and thyme to the sausage, mix and cook until sausage is fully cooked about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Add cooked sausage to the rest of the cooked ingredients in the large bowl, stir.
9. Pour the bread cubes in the bowl and stir well.
10. Place stuffing in a 9.5 x 16 baking dish.
11. Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes.  Remove foil and allow to brown for 5-10 minutes.

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Candied Pecans and Blue Cheese

Makes 10 Potatoes

Quick tip: To cut down on fat you can use half and half instead of heavy cream and olive oil instead of butter, the flavor won’t be quite as rich.

Ingredients

• 5 sweet potatoes, I use the darker skinned potatoes with orange flesh
• 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1/2 Tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons butter, room temp
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of ginger
• pinch of nutmeg
• 3/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup blue cheese (optional)

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400°.
2. With a fork prick each potato about 5 times, place on a cookie sheet. (If you have a sil-pat, lay that on your cookie sheet and bake the potatoes on it).
3. Place the potatoes in your hot oven and bake for about 40-60 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.
4. While the potatoes are baking, in a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add butter and brown sugar.
5. Once the butter has melted stir in the salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the sugar has started to bubble, turn off the heat and stir in the pecans. Please the candied pecans on parchment paper or a non stick surface and allow to cool.
6. Once the potatoes are tender, remove them from the oven and slice each potato in half lengthwise.
7. In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, add mascarpone, maple syrup, heavy cream, salt and cinnamon.
8. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, but still warm very gently scoop out the insides leaving the skin in tact, and place the insides in the mixing bowl with the other ingredients, reserving the skin.
9. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk together on high until well incorporated and most of the lumps are gone about 1 minute.
10. With a large spoon scoop about 1/3 of a cup the whipped potatoes into each one of the skins. Top each potato evenly with candied pecans and crumble the blue cheese over the pecans.
11. Bake at 375° for 7-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the potato is heated through.

*If you want to make ahead and freeze: Follow the recipe, after the stuffed potatoes are baked, place in the fridge to cool. Once cool, place the potatoes in a freezer safe container or zip lock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To serve straight from the freezer: Preheat your oven to 400°.  Place the potatoes in an oven safe dish and cover with foil. Bake for about 35 minutes, uncover and finish baking until cheese is melted and potatoes are hot, about 10 minutes. Serve.