Eggs Benedict

Ingredients

• 6 English muffins
• 12 slices (7 oz. total) Canadian bacon
• 12 warm perfect poached eggs
• Foolproof hollandaise
• 2 1/2 cups lightly packed watercress sprigs, rinsed

Preparation

• 1. Split muffins in half horizontally and arrange in a single layer, cut sides up, on a 14- by 17-inch baking sheet. Lay bacon slices in a single layer in a 10- by 15-inch pan.
• 2. In a 450° oven, bake muffins and bacon until browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
• 3. Place 2 muffin halves, cut sides up, on each plate. Lay 1 bacon slice on each muffin half; set 1 egg on each slice of bacon. Spoon hollandaise equally over portions. Arrange watercress next to muffins

Cake-mix-easy'! Somewhat lighter in texture than pound cake, yet not as light as chiffon cake, Gem cake is absolutely scrumptious. Alone, it literally melts in your mouth. It can be paired with any number of fillings (like lemon curd, whipped cream, or chocolate frosting) to make it even more fabulous.

Gem Cake

1 (18.5-ounce) package butter recipe golden cake mix
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs

1. Do not preheat oven. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, sugar, sifted flour, sour cream, and oil. Add the eggs and mix on low speed for 1 minute. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat for 4 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
2. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Set the oven temperature to 325°F (160°C) and bake for 50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan.

Makes 18 servings.

Jumbo shrimp cocktail

Please welcome guest author Jaden Hair of the oh-so-steamy SteamyKitchen.com as she shares an oh-so-spicy shrimp cocktail recipe she found on a trip to Asheville, North Carolina. ~Elise

I’ll be honest with you, I never order shrimp cocktail at a restaurant. Why? Because almost always the shrimp is too cold, the sauce is jarred and the dish is way overpriced.

But for some reason, a couple of weeks ago while on a trip to Asheville, North Carolina, I was possessed. It might have been the shock of the fresh mountain air (in Florida, the largest mountain we have is a speed bump)

With the waitress hovering over me, my finger stopped at the “Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail with Fresh Homemade Cocktail Sauce.”

The finger paused a little too long at the word “Sauce” and she took it as a sign of my order and zoomed off to make it happen.

Woooaaahhh.... $18.00 for a shrimp cocktail, are you kidding me? I was too embarrassed to change my order, because really, it was my own lingering finger fault.

When it arrived, I was still sulking (curse my slow finger!) but then I saw the plate. It wasn’t just a chef reaching into a bag of store-bought, pre-cooked rubbery shrimp and glopping a spoonful of jarred sauce. It really was the real-deal. If you make a “C” with your forefinger and thumb, that’s how big the shrimp were. The tangy, spicy sauce was a house-recipe. Instead of just boiling the shrimp in plain water, the spices in their recipe really make the big difference between bland shrimp that serves as a carrier for the cocktail sauce and a shrimp cocktail with layers upon layers of flavors in every bite.

Yeah, $18 was still expensive for shrimp cocktail, so thank goodness I made buddy-buddy friends with Kevin, the Food and Beverage Director at the resort and he snuck me the recipe.

Shrimp Cocktail Recipe

If you are using frozen shrimp, the safest way to defrost them is in a bowl of ice water in the refrigerator. I like to buy tail-on, shell-on, deviened shrimp. Of course, use what you can find at the markets.

INGREDIENTS

For the shrimp:

• 2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 lemon, halved
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 24 extra large tail-on raw shrimp (more if you are using smaller shrimp)

For the cocktail sauce:

• 1/2 cup Heinz chili sauce*
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon horseradish
• 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
• 1/2 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped

* The chef specifically recommends Heinz chili sauce – it’s not very spicy and has a nice sweet taste. If you use other type of hot chili sauce, just start with a couple tablespoons first, then taste and adjust.

METHOD

1 To prepare the cocktail sauce, mix all the cocktail sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.

2 Have a large bowl of ice water ready and set near the sink. To a 8-quart pot of water, add the Old Bay, lemon, granulated garlic, garlic, chili powder, and salt. Bring to a boil. Add the shrimp to the pot and when the water returns to a boil, the shrimp should be done! The shrimp should be bright pink.

3 Immediately drain and place the shrimp into the ice bath to cool for 2 minutes. Peel the shrimp (leaving the tail-on.) Drain and serve with the cocktail sauce.

Belgian Waffle

Belgian waffles are almost a synonym for waffles so what kind of a waffle site would we be if we did not have a Belgian waffle recipe in our waffle arsenal. Not to mention that Belgian waffles taste heavenly. Surprisingly enough, they are named after Belgium and are known worldwide. 

Belgian waffle recipe will give you waffles that are light (because of the yeast) and crispy (because of the egg whites). Our mouths are watering already. And for sure you can mix them and top them with many different flavors. You can eat them with fruits, enjoy them with deserts or whipped cream with some chocolate topping. What also makes Belgian waffles stand out is their size. They are made in XXL waffle irons, but if you do not have one it's OK, they will taste just as good using a normal waffle iron. 

The best way to make Belgian waffles is to use yeast. Yeast will make Belgian waffles fluffy, soft and yummy. You could also use baking powder or cake flour but you will get the best result with yeast. If you use yeast then eat them when they are done. They are not that good the next day...hmmm... we try really hard but we can't see the problem here :). Belgian waffles are in fact a common name for two kinds of waffles -Brussels waffles and Liege Waffles, but people usually imagine Brussels waffles when they talk about Belgian waffles so first we will give you Brussles kind of Belgian waffle recipe. 

Belgian Waffle Recipe

For a Basic Belgian Waffle recipe we will need:
3 1/4 cups (1 lb. - 500g) all purpose flour
one sachet (7g) instant dried yeast
4 medium eggs
whole milk (you can also add some sparkling mineral water and make them even fluffier)
two sticks (1/2 lb. - 250g) butter
vanilla sugar
some salt

Got everything? Right! We will put the belgian waffle recipe into 9 steps so it is easier to follow:

1. Take a cup of milk and heat it until it is lukewarm then mix in your yeast. You can now leave the yeast standing for a while.
2. In the mean time - melt the butter, but stop as soon as it melts, don't over heat it or even burn it - you will lose the taste. You also need to...
3. ...separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and beat the egg whites until you get snow. 
4. Now take a big giant huge bowl and throw in all the flour, vanilla sugar (one sachet) and some salt. Make a hole in the middle of the flour and fill it with melted butter, dissolved yeast and egg yolk.
5. Mix while you are adding milk (and some mineral water if you want). You should mix it really well so there are no lumps. The question you might ask here is how dense should the dough be, how much milk? It should be thick, think pancakes and then make it a bit thicker.
6. OK, now gently mix the beaten egg whites into the dough and STOP! Enough mixing :).
7. We are really hungry right now but the hardest part of this recipe comes next - leave the dough to rest and rise at room temperature for a while. How long? Until the volume of the dough doubles or even triples! We told you to take a really big bowl. If you are in a hurry then wait for 30 minutes to one hour, but if you can, make the waffle dough in the evening and leave it overnight.
8. Use the oil to grease the waffle iron (which should be hot hot hot) so your waffles don't stick to it and pour the dough in it. Bake the until they turn golden brown.
9. This step is really easy. Well, eat them already!

We can't say this Belgian waffle recipe is as easy as some of other recipes on our site but it sure kicks the ass out of every other waffle when it comes to taste. Yummy!

- - - -

Aditional Explanation Posted By One Of Our Readers

For people who need step by step instructions ( not everyone follows a card, most of my recipes don't have a card, and never had, they were passed down by doing it) here is a break down. To the OP, Thank you for sharing this great recipe.

WARNING: Best results if batter is prepared the night before, or at least 4 hrs prior to making the waffles.

-3 1/4 c all purpose flour ( I use 3 1/2)
-One 7 gram packet of dried yeast ( make sure the date is not expired)
- 4 medium eggs ( I add two extra whites to do this you will need 6 eggs)
- whole milk, 1 cup plus appx 3/4 c additional
- 1 c or two sticks of butter ( use real butter for better taste)
- vanilla sugar OR 1 c of white granulated sugar and 1 tsp. of vanilla
1 tsp. of white sugar
- 1 tsp salt

Warm one cup of milk to luke warm ( this is just warmer than body temp ) mix in yeast and add 1 tsp of white sugar ( this is food for the yeast to grow) and set aside in a warm area away from drafts.

Melt the butter just to the point of melting, do not over heat, set aside.

Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. If using 6 egg whites dispose of the 2 extra egg yolks leaving only 4 egg yolks. Mix with an electric beater or stand mixer on med. for 1 minute, then on high until the whites look fluffy and form small peaks. Set aside.

Mix flour, vanilla sugar ( or the 1 x. sugar + 1 tsp of vanilla ), 1 tsp of salt in a large bowl. Make a dip in the middle then add egg yolks, yeast and milk mixture ( should be raised considerably) and melted butter then mix by hand being sure to scrap the bottoms and sides of the bowl often, until well mixed. Mixture will be doughy. Now add milk appx 1/4 c at a time, mixing thoroughly between adding additional milk (Sparkling water can be used in part with the milk to create a fluffier waffle). Continue adding until the batter has a smooth consistency thicker than pancake mix. Consistency should resemble that of white glue. The exact amount of milk will vary depending on ingredients and how thick you chose for the batter to be. Generally the thicker the batter the fluffier the waffle.

Now fold in the whipped egg whites just until blended so you can not differentiate the whites from the batter.

Cover batter and set in a warm area free of drafts to allow the batter to rise. Over night or at least 4 hours is ideal, but in a hurry you can let it rise for 30 - 60 minutes. If you want to quick rise the dough be sure to put it in a warm area to promote the yeast to rise. The quick method will generally result in a heavier, less fluffy waffle.

Be sure to full heat and oil your waffle iron before adding the batter. Bake until golden brown. Use caution when removing the waffle from the iron as it will be very hot.

Top with syrup, fruit, whipped cream, or your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Chicken Tikka Masala Kabobs

Ingredients:

***PART A***
2 pounds boneless chicken breast
1/4 cup yogurt
3 teaspoons minced ginger
3 teaspoons crushed garlic
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon mace
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon green cardamom powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
3 tablespoon lemon juice
4 tablespoon vegetable oil
melted margarine -- (for basting)
***PART B***
5 ounces tomato paste
10 ounces tomato puree
2 pounds tomatoes -- chopped
2 teaspoons ginger paste
2 teaspoons garlic paste
2 teaspoons green chilies
1 tablespoon red chili powder
2 teaspoons cloves
8 green cardamoms
salt to taste
3 tablespoon butter
2/3 cup cream
1 teaspoon fenugreek
2 teaspoons ginger -- julienne
honey to taste

Instructions:

Whisk all of the ingredients in Part A together in a large bowl. Add the chicken breast, cut into 2 inch cubes. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Put chicken on skewers. Prepare grill. Grill the chicken for 8 minutes, basting with margarine twice. Drain excess marinade and grill for another 2 minutes. While doing this, make the sauce in Part B. Deseed and chop green chilies. Put tomatoes, tomato paste and tomato puree in a pot and add approximately 4-1/4 cups of water. Add ginger and garlic paste, green chilies, red chili powder, cloves, cardamoms, and salt. Cook over low heat until reduced to a thick sauce. Strain through a strainer and bring to a boil. Add butter and cream. Stir. If the sauce tastes sour, add honey to taste. Add fenugreek and ginger juliennes, stir, and serve with the chicken.