Topping

Frosting

Combine butter, water, & cocoa & bring to a boil.  Mix all ingredients, except topping & frosting ingredients, well (batter will be thin).  Bake at 350°F in a greased 11″x16″ pan for 20 minutes. Cover with the topping ingredients.

Bring to a boil the butter & milk from the frosting ingredients.  Add additional frosting ingredients & beat until smooth.  Frost bars.

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Barbecue Sauce

Combine & bring to a boil.

Place ribs on a flat pan.  Sprinkle ribs with garlic powder.  Arrange onion & lemon slices on top.  Bake, uncovered, in oven at 450°F for 30 minutes.  Drain.  While ribs are baking, make the sauce.  Place ribs, onions, & lemon in heavy baking dish or pan with lid.  Pour hot barbecue sauce over ribs.  Cover and bake in 325°F oven for 1½ hours.

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1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F).  Brush a round 22cm (9″) base measurement cake pan with melted dairy spread to lightly grease.  Line the base with non-stick baking paper.
2. Combine the cocoa powder & hot water in a medium bowl.  Combine the instant coffee powder & boiling water in a cup.  Add the coffee to the cocoa mixture & stir until combined.
3. Add almond meal, sugar, & egg yolks to cocoa mixture, & stir until well combined.
4. Use an electric beater to whisk egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until soft peaks form.  Use a metal spoon to fold a spoonful of egg whites into cocoa mixture until combined.  Gently fold in remaining egg whites until just combined.
5. Pour mixture into prepared pan.  Place cake pan in a roasting pan.  Pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan to reach two-thirds of the way up the side of the cake pan.  Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Remove from the oven.  Remove cake pan from water bath & set aside for 20 minutes to cool  Turn cake onto a wire rack & remove paper.  Set aside for another 20 minutes or until cooled to room temperature.
6. Cut cake into wedges & carefully transfer to serving plates.  Serve with strawberries

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1. Slice the rhubarb thinly and put it, the brown sugar, water, & spices in a saucepan on lowest heat for about an hour, with the lid on, until the rhubarb has totally collapsed. Strain the liquid into a bowl or jug. Remove the cinnamon & star anise & then set the rhubarb aside to cool.
2. Create a batch of sweet shortcrust pastry (see link for recipe). Once you’ve mixed it all up, put it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.
3. Roll out your pastry & place in your tart or pie dish. Cover with parchment paper & fill with rice or baking weights & bake for about 15 minutes. Allow to cool while melting chocolate.
4. Melt 375g (about 13.2 oz) of semi-sweet good quality chocolate. When the chocolate is melted, pour it into the base of the tart. Don’t fill it too much, you want just a thin layer. Refrigerate until chocolate sets.
5. Make custard. You could do this from scratch, or use 1 box of custard powder & make according to the directions on the package.
6. Once your chocolate/pastry has hardened, put a layer of the cooled rhubarb on top of the chocolate. Pour the custard over the rhubarb & put in the refrigerator to set. You need the custard to set to about the firmness of Jell-O before you top with strawberries.
7. Decorate the top with strawberries. It’s hard to say exactly how many you will need, but about three baskets should do it. Once the custard has set, layer the strawberries, halved, on top of the custard in a circle starting from the outer edge until right in the middle. Make a second layer on top to cover any visible gaps where you can see the custard.
8. Sprinkle with fine white sugar & put back in the refrigerator. The strawberries will absorb the sugar & turn into a sort of glaze. If you want to get fancy, you can use a dessert torch to heat the sugar & caramelize it into a nice crust. Serve with vanilla ice cream on the side.

Chef’s Note: You can omit the rhubarb and use more strawberries to turn this into just a strawberry tart.

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1. Cream the shortening, water & sugar together until light & fluffy. Add the molasses & egg yolk & mix until well blended.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. If using a stand mixer, use stir. The dough will be sticky. DO NOT ADD MORE FLOUR REGARDLESS OF HOW TEMPTED YOU MAY BE!!! Too much flour will make the cookies tough. Form into 2 flat disks & put in the freezer for at least an hour or more.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F.
4. When the dough is cold enough to handle, roll it to about ¼” thick between 2 pieces of wax paper (the wax paper keeps you from having to use more flour). I roll mine a little thinner because I like a little crispness on the edges. Gently press together the scraps into another disk & put back in the freezer until ready for use. Bake for 8-10 minutes on parchment lined cookie sheets. Cool on pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before decorating.

Chef’s Note: I use shortening instead of butter or margarine because shortening is flavorless and doesn’t impact the spices. I think butter is best served in sugar cookies. If you decide to substitute butter or margarine for the shortening, omit the water from the recipe.

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1. Dice breasts & prepare to brown in a large skillet.
2. As you get started, add butter as specified on rice box & prepare as if there was no chicken.
3. Chop & add broccoli before the boil off step for the rice & cover as per directions on the box.

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1. Coat bottom of saucepan with canola oil.  Mix in mushrooms & saute.
2. Add onions, garlic, & red wine.  Mix well until wine boils off.  The onions should cook off until they are tiny.  All that should be left are the mushrooms, tiny bits of onion & garlic, & just a bit of the oil.
3. Mix in the flour.  Stir well & often until it becomes a paste-like mixture.
4. Add chicken broth.  Stir often to keep mushrooms from burning onto the surface.  As the broth boils, the gravy should thicken.
5. Add water to the desired consistency.
6. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Chef’s Note: I use baby bella mushrooms. I like mine thick, so I only use ½ cup of water in step 5.

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In a Dutch oven, brown meat in 2 tbsp oil.  Add water, potatoes, carrots, green pepper, garlic, onion, salt & pepper.  Cover & simmer for 2 hours.  Stir in bouillon & tomatoes.  Wash pumpkin; cut a 6-8″ circle around top stem.  Remove top & set aside; discard seeds & loose fibers from inside.

Place pumpkin in a shallow sturdy baking pan.  Spoon stew into pumpkin & replace the top.  Brush outside of pumpkin with remaining oil.  Bake at 325°F for 2 hours or just until the pumpkin is tender (do not over bake).  Serve stew from pumpkin, scooping out a little pumpkin with each serving.

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Submitted by CrabPlace.com
Serves 6

Prepare the steamed crabs for garlic crabs. Place your hand over the backfin leg and pull away the top shell & discard it. Remove & discard the six gills, which look like spongy fingers, & then remove their entrails, using your fingers or a knife. Once clean, tear off the crab’s mouth & any sharp shells that might be protruding. Finally, break the crab in half or leave it whole (you decide). Repeat with the remaining crabs.

When all the crabs are cleaned, place the crabs in the pot along with the cabbage & white wine. You can add the optional salt, pepper, butter, & parsley.

Cover the stockpot & place it on a burner. Raise the heat to medium & cook the crabs until the cabbage & garlic is tender or, about 15 minutes.

Occasionally check the level of liquid, which should increase as the crabs release their juices (but if this does not happen, just make sure there is enough water to continue to cook the crabs). Stir the pot well halfway through so all the crabs get a chance to cook directly in the liquid. Serve immediately in a large bowl with fresh bread to sop up the juices.

Chef’s Note: I love Garlic Crabs & prefer to prepare them with already steamed crabs. You can prepare this recipe with live crabs, but removing the shell is a bit cumbersome. For a tangy, sharp flavor, use raw garlic, however if you like it mild use roasted garlic instead. This is a block party favorite: hot or cold, the crabs & juices maintain their wonderful flavor.

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Bring chicken, water, 2 onion quarters, & 1 tsp salt to a boil, covered, in a 4-5 qt. pot over moderately high heat.  Boil 10 minutes, then remove from heat & let stand, covered, until chicken is just cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Transfer chicken to a plate, reserving broth with onion.  When cool enough to handle, coarsely shred chicken, discarding skin & bones.

While chicken is cooking, heat a dry well-seasoned small cast iron skillet over moderate heat until hot, then brown garlic & remaining 2 onion quarters on all sides, turning with tongs, about 5 minutes.  Peel garlic & transfer with onion to a blender.  Add tomatoes with juice, chilies, & oregano, then puree until smooth.

Cook chorizo (spicy cured pork sausage) in oil in a 12″ heavy skillet over moderately high heat, stirring, until fat is rendered, about 2 minutes.  Carefully add puree (it will splatter & steam) & cook, stirring frequently, until thick, about 10 minutes.

Peel potatoes & cut into ¾” pieces, then add to reserved broth with remaining salt.  Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.  Add potatoes & onions to chorizo mixture along with 2 cups broth.  Stir in chicken & simmer 10 minutes.  Serve sprinkled with cheese.  Garnish with avocado slices & warm corn tortillas, if desired.

Chef’s Note: Ricotta salata or farmer cheese can be substituted for queso fresco.  The remainder of the chicken broth not used can be saved for later use.

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