Recipe for Classic Florentine Cookies

Yummy, crumbly, sweet, fruity, and chocolatey, the Florentine biscuits are a delight both for the eyes and the palate. You can make these delectable treats that originally came from Italy. Bake these cookies as lovely snacks or gifts for the holidays or just for any occasion.

Ingredients:

¾ cup raisins

2 cups crushed cornflakes

¾ cup nuts (peanuts/ almonds/ or other nuts)

½ cup glazed cherries 

½ can condensed milk

3 oz. sweet baking chocolate

•  Grease the baking sheets and lightly dust with cornstarch.
• In a mixing bowl, mix the cornflakes, raisins, glazed cherries, and condensed milk until well blended. 
•   Spoon cookie mix into small heaps onto the baking sheets.
• Bake in a preheated oven of 375F  for 15 minutes.
• Let it cool in room temperature.
• Melt chocolate using a double boiler. Remove from heat and keep stirring until you get a thick consistency.
• Brush the melted chocolate onto the flat part of the cookie and set aside until it completely cools.

Yields 30 cookies

Oven Baked Fish With White Wine

An easy and elegant way to cook fish fillet that requires the least amount of attention is by baking. This is another one for any lazy city folk who only has access to frozen fish fillet, hurriedly bought from the local supermarket.

Dry white wines add a delightful acidity to counteract the fishy fatty smell of seafood. Go for Italian or Spanish wines like Pinot or Vinho.

If you only have about 45 minutes to spare, including preparation and cleanup, this baked fish dish is a good choice.

Ingredients:

1 pound fish fillets, thawed
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 scallion chopped
1 Tbsp coarsely chopped parsley
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup dry white wine

Arrange fish fillet pieces on a rectangular baking dish.
Add the the herbs and vegetables evenly on top.
Dot the top with butter.
Pour the wine over all the ingredients.
Bake in preheated oven at 350 F for 20 minutes or until the fish can be easily flaked with a fork.

Serves 4






image by David Castillo Dominici / Freedigitalphotos.net

Baked Chicken With Green Apples Recipe

Aside from apple salads, green apples are also great for chicken recipes. A nice blend of savory meat and the tartness that comes from this fruit will make an exciting dish that’s simple to make.





Ingredients:
8 cuts of chicken parts (thighs, breasts, wings, or legs)
1 cup butter
1 pound of green apples, cored and thinly sliced
half cup of salted roasted cashews
1/4 cup of fresh apple juice
2 Tbps washed brown sugar

cooking materials needed:
12" x 8" x 2" baking dish with cover
frying skillet
convection oven

• Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a skillet.
• Brown the chicken pieces and set aside.
• Arrange the sliced apples in a baking dish.
• Spread the remaining butter pieces on the the apples.
• Sprinkle the nuts and sugar.
• Arrange the chicken pieces on top of the apples.
• Pour apple juice over all the ingredients.
• Cover and bake in preheated oven at 375 F for 15 minutes.
• Remove the cover and continue baking for another 20 minutes or until the chicken turns tender.

Serves 4

Other chicken dishes:

Savory Four Flavor Chicken 

Low Calorie Lunch: Chicken Adobo Without Fat



image by rakratchada torsap/ freedigitalphotos.net

Recipe for Sweet Ham Cooked with Wine or Beer

Serving sweet ham during festivities is a popular and pleasant tradition among many families. You'll be surprised to know cooking that sumptuous ham isn't that complex. If you are craving for some festive food or if you feel the need to impress someone with a nice-looking dish worthy of being a centerpiece, try cooking this version of sweet ham.

6 pounds pork ham shoulder
1 cup vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 piece crushed dried laurel leaf
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 head garlic, crushed
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup Anizado wine or 1/8 cup black beer
1/2 cup brown sugar for topping

• In a large pot, immerse the ham in just enough water to cover the meat.
• Add vinegar and boil for at least twenty minutes.
• Remove ham from the pan and scrape the meat to clean it from the excess dirt.
• Immerse the meat in enough water to cover the ham and add the rest of the ingredients except the 1/2 cup of brown sugar.
• Cook until meat is tender.
• Remove the skin to reveal the fat.
• Sprinkle the ham with brown sugar.
• Place on a baking dish and broil the ham until the top turns brown.

Serves 7
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Other pork recipes:

Easy Pork Binagoongan RecipeApplebee's Baby Back Ribs

Savory Four-Flavor Chicken

Any meat can have a sophisticated flavor. It's quite simple. Cook with wine. This savory chicken recipe is so easy to cook yet it is wonderful enough to serve as a dish to impress guests and loved ones during the festive seasons.

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken, cut into serving sizes
3 T raw honey
3 T soy sauce
3 T fresh orange juice
1 t ginger, grated
3 T dry white wine or sherry

• Place the chicken pieces in a bowl.

• Mix the rest of the ingredients well and pour this sauce over the chicken pieces as a marinade.

• Let the mixture stand for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator. Turn the pieces occasionally during this marinating time.

• When it is time to bake, arrange the meat in a single layer in a shallow bake ware or a ceramic baking dish. Do not throw the sauce away, for you will be using this for basting.

• Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F for about 50 minutes or until the meat is tender, while occasionally basting the chicken pieces with the sauce as it cooks.

Serve hot or cold.

This is good for 3 - 4 persons.

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Other Chicken Recipes:
Low Calorie Lunch: Chunky Chicken Soup

Camarones a la Crema (Shrimps in Cream)

I love shrimps. Thankfully nobody in our family is allergic to shrimps. This is one of the dishes we prepare when the shrimp craving comes. It's easy to cook and it doesn't require too many ingredients. This is perfect to pair with rice, a staple food item in Asia. It can also be paired with pasta.

Ingredients:

half kilo medium-sized shrimps, shelled and deveined

2 Tbps butter

4 garlic cloves, minced

½ tsp salt

1/2 parsley, chopped

½ cup heavy cream, warmed

Heat the heavy skillet to a high temperature.

Melt the butter on a skillet and saute the garlic until slightly golden.

Add the shrimps and continue stirring until the color changes.

Add salt and parsley and continue stirring.

Pour in the cream and remove from heat on the first sign of boiling.

Serve immediately.

The cooking time must not be longer than 5 minutes.

photo credit: GregPC via photopin cc

Piroshki Recipe: Russian Turnovers

These little Russian turnovers called Piroshki are sensational finger foods perfect for any occasion.

image via Wikipedia

Ingredients

1/4 cup minced onion
1 cup chopped, cooked fish
2 Tbsp minced parsely
2 Tbsp margarine
1/4 teaspoon crushed dill seed

• Sauté minced onion in the margarine, add the other ingredients
• you may add a little water if the mixture is too dry for your liking
• Place it in the middle of the prepared piroshki pastry, fold over and carefully press the edges together to ensure they stay attached.

 Pastry Recipe
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup margarine
2/3 cup water

• Roll out thin and cut in 3-inch rounds;
• put in filling
• dampen the edges and press together firmly
• Brush lightly with melted margarine and bake in a 400 - degree oven until nicely browned

Simple Guacamole Recipe

image via Wikimedia commons

Whip up an easy appetizer dip with this easy guacamole recipe.

Ingredients:

1 large, ripe avocado
1/3 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons onion, minced or grated

Mix ingredients well and serve alongside tortillas or with raw vegetables such as crudites.

Get Crudites Recipe

Crudites Recipe

Try this low calorie and healthy appetizer made of raw vegetables. Modify and add vegetables as you wish.

image via wikimedia 

Cauliflower, broken into flowerettes
green pepper, sliced
carrot sticks
radishes, peeled back to flowers
green onions
button mushrooms, raw and fresh

• Soak the raw vegetables in salted water and refrigerate.  
• When ready to serve, arrange the vegetables in mounds on a large serving dish or place them in small shot glasses.

Place a dip on a separate bowl.




Dip and serving suggestions:

• Make a dip using safflower oil mayonnaise mixed with soy sauce with some chopped chives and  parsley.
• Serve alongside guacamole and tortillas.  Get Guacamole Recipe