Lisa's Homemade Skinnygirl Margarita

Makes 1

1 oz Cointreau (triple sec works just fine)
3/4 oz fresh squeezed lime juice - one half of a juicy lime is the right amount when squeezed with the help of a fork - otherwise use a whole lime if it is drier
2 oz tequila (if this sounds scary, try 1.5 oz first)
Juice of half an orange

Combine ingredients in a shaker. Add ice and shake it like a Polaroid picture - it will be a bit frothy. Poor contents of shaker into glass including ice. Salted rim optional.

Enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Here's a recipe for those awesome Blondies that Katy made at February BC.

Ingredients:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon 
a pinch nutmeg


Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and/or line a 9×13 inch pan. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and set aside.2. In large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar for 3-5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and beat until smooth.3. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan (mixture will be somewhat cookiebatter-ish, so it’s best to spread it out with a greased spatula or your hands). Combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.4. Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool before cutting. Makes 20-24 bars.

Retro Recipe

This retro recipe is from Emily and everyone was talking about it after the last Book Club!

Ingredients:
Loaf of Wonder bread
Center cut bacon
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup blue cheese (more or less depending on your taste)

Directions:
Cut off crust of approximately 1/2--3/4 loaf of bread
Cut bacon slices in half
In a separate bowl, mix together cream cheese and blue cheese
Spread cream/blue cheese mixture on crust-less pieces of bread
Then slice bread into thirds
Wrap bacon around outside of bread and roll into pinwheel-shape, secured with a toothpick.

Cooking:
Place bacon on aluminum foil or nonstick pan
Bake at 325-350 degrees for 20 minutes
May need additional time

Herbed Shrimp Dip

1/2 pound frozen shrimp (any size), thawed
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 scallions, coarsely chopped, plus more for garnish (optional)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Crostini, crackers , or crudites, for serving

In a medium bowl, combine shrimp, sour cream, mayonnaise, scallions, parsley, and lemon zest and juice; season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate shrimp dip until chilled, at least 30 minutes (I would try and do overnight). Serve shrimp dip garnished with scallions, if desired, alongside crostini, crackers, or crudites

(I doubled this at BCCP)

Salted Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
1 Cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened
1 Cup Packed light brown sugar
1/2 Cup White sugar
2 large Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
1 ¼ Cup All Purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
1 teaspoon (1/2 for dough, and 1/2 to sprinkle on top) Morton® All-Purpose Natural Sea Salt
3 Cups Instant Oats
1 Cup Semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Cream butter, brown sugar and white sugar in mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in one egg at a time until combined. Add vanilla.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and ½ tsp of salt and then add to butter and egg mixture and mix until combined.
4. Fold in oats and chocolate chips into entire mix with a wooden spoon until combined.
5. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto parchment-lined baking sheet two inches apart. Use the last ½ tsp of salt to sprinkle a pinch of salt onto the top of each cookie. Bake for about 12 -15 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Amazing! I don't think I will be able to eat another kind of Oatmeal Cookie, it must have Morton Salt moving forward. This Book Club supports Morton Salt. ;)

A cup, A cup, A cup

1 cup artichokes, chopped
1 cup Mayo
1 cup parmesan cheese (best from a shaker)

Mix ingredients, top with paprika, bake at 400 until it bubbles (about 20 minutes)

Love, Love, Love

You can't go wrong with this simple appetizer!

Blue Cheese and Prosciutto Pizza

1 can refrigerated pizza crust
1/3 cup cream cheese
1 cup mozzarella
¼ crumbled blue cheese
4 slices prosciutto
1/3 apricot preserves

Unroll Pizza crust Bake 8 to 10 (light golden brown). In a small microwavable bowl, microwave cream cheese and blue cheese uncovered on high about 30 seconds or until melted. Stir well and spread over partially baked crust. Sprinkle with mozzarella and top with Prosciutto.

Microwave preserves 30 seconds. Stir until smooth and drizzle over pizza. Bake 8 to 12 minutes or until crust is golden brown and preserves start to bubble.

Mini Rye Sammies

1 lb. bulk pork sausage
1 lb. Velveeta, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 tbsp. ketchup
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 loaf mini rye bread

Brown sausage in a heavy skillet; drain. Melt cheese over low heat, stirring frequently. Add sausage, ketchup and next 3 ingredients; mix well. Spread about 2 teaspoons of mixture on each bread slice and bake on ungreased baking sheet at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Blue Cheese and Toasted Pecan Spread

1 pound of good quality blue cheese, crumbled
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
1/2 cup green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley

Place cheese, butter, cream and garlic in food processor and process until smooth. Transfer mixture to serving bowl and fold in pecans, green onions and parsley.

Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. For easier serving, remove from fridge 1 hour before serving. Serve with baguette, crackers, pears, celery or apples.

*Notes: I used a block of blue cheese, not crumble, that worked fine. Also I used a little less butter and heavy cream. Also make sure it has at least an hour out of the fridge before serving, it's very hard when you first take it out of the fridge.

Gooey Pizza Dip

Combine:
1 c. (8 oz.) low fat ricotta cheese
1 c. mayonnaise (low fat can be used)
1 c. shredded low fat mozzarella (of 1 1/2 c. total)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. diced seeded plum tomatoes (of 3/4 c. in total)
6 T. sliced black olives (from a 2 1/2 oz. can)
1/4 c. sliced turkey pepperoni
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. Italian seasoning
1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes

Mix well, place in pie plate sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Top with remaining 1/2 c. mozzarella.

Bake at 350 degrees 25-30 minutes or until edges are bubbly and top is golden brown. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 c. diced tomatoes and sliced black olives
Serve with crackers, bread sticks, or baked boboli.

Recipes from May BC

Salsa-Baked Goat Cheese

1/4 cup pine nuts or coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 4-ounce log goat cheese (there are flavored goat cheeses available, some of which can be good with the salsa, but think about the flavor combination before making your purchase)
1 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup Roasted Jalapeño-Tomato Salsa (use Frontera Double Roasted Salsa at Whole Foods/Jewel)
A tablespoon or so chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread out the nuts on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven until lightly browned and very fragrant, 7 or 8 minutes (the pine nuts will brown quicker than either of the others). Remove and slide them off into a medium-size bowl.
2. Add the cheeses to the bowl and combine thoroughly with the nuts. Scoop it in the center of a baking dish (I like to use a decorative 9-inch pie pan) and form it into a 5-inch-diameter disk. Spoon the salsa over and around the cheese. Place the dish in the oven and bake until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle on the cilantro and set it out for your guests to enjoy as a dip or a spread.

Mini Taco Bites

1 pkg wonton wrappers
1 lb 80/20 ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
½ c salsa
¾ c shredded cheese
1 T chopped cilantro
2 T sour cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Press wonton wrappers into mini-muffin cups and bake for about 6 mins (check frequently)…you want them to begin to crisp but not too brown.

Cook beef in skillet until browned. Drain off fat. Stir in taco seasoning mix, salsa, and ½ c cheese. Spoon beef mixture into wonton cups. Top with another sprinkling of cheese. Bake about 8 minutes more or until tips of wonton are brown and crispy. Garnish with cilantro a dollop of sour cream.

Thanks Jamie!!

Herbed Shrimp Dip

· 1/2 pound shrimp, chopped (I used pre-cooked)
· 1/2 cup sour cream
· 1/2 cup mayonnaise
· 2 scallions, coarsely chopped, more for garnish (optional)
· 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
· 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
· 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
· Coarse salt and ground pepper
· Crostini, crackers , or crudites, for serving

1. In a medium bowl, combine chopped shrimp, sour cream, mayonnaise, scallions, parsley, and lemon zest and juice; season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate shrimp dip until chilled, overnight. Serve shrimp dip garnished with scallions, if desired, alongside crostini, crackers, or crudites.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup mayonnaise

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained

1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapeno peppers, drained (about 1/2 a cup)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (split)

¼ Cup Breadcrumbs (maybe a little more)

Mix top 4 ingredients with ½ cup of Parmesan put in dish, mix other ½ cup of Parmesan with bread crumbs in bowl then sprinkle on top.

Cook at 375* for about 20 minutes or until a little brown on top.

Serve with Lime Tortilla Chips.....Voila!!

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup peanut butter
1 T honey
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sal
t1/2 cup oatmeal
1 bag peanut butter chips
cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.Mix butter and shortening together.
Add sugars and cream together until smooth.
Add egg and egg yolk and mix until combined.
Add peanut butter, honey and vanilla. Mix until combined.
Add flour, baking powder and salt. Add gradually. Mix until a dough is formed.
Stir in oatmeal and peanut butter chips.
In a bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Form dough into golf ball-sized balls. Roll in cinnamon sugar and place on baking sheet. (I skipped this)
Take a fork and press into each cookie.

Bake for 8-9 minutes (I had to cook for 13 mins). I always remove my cookies when they look slightly underdone…They will continue to cook once removed, and this makes for a soft cookie.

(I ate about 10 of these on Sunday when I made them. Big hit at work today, I had to get them out of my apartment!!)

YUM!! Thanks Amanda!!

BCD

The originator of BCD is William Lee Barrett (aka "Bo"). For centuries people have been enjoying the refined appetizer of Buffalo Chicken Dip. ;)

Recipe:

1 C. Ranch Dressing
1 C. Franks Red Hot sauce
1 C. cheddar cheese
2 blocks of cream cheese
2 cans of diced, cooked chicken (or 2 chicken breast cooked)

Sautéed the chicken in olive oil & pepper to add flavor, add cream cheese to soften.

Mix all together on stove top then cook for 30 minutes @ 350 degrees.

*Great for upcoming Super Bowl Parties....February 7, 2010.*

Cranberry Apple Crisp

Remember this awesome crisp Amanda made? Here is the recipe...perfect for the Holidays!

INGREDIENTS:

Topping
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Filling
2 12-ounce packages cranberries
1 1/4 pounds Golden Delicious or Fuji apples (about 3 medium), peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons apple juice or cider
Vanilla ice cream

Preparation
For topping: Combine brown sugar, oats, flour, and salt in large bowl; toss to blend. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture comes together in moist clumps. Cover; chill while preparing filling. (Topping can be prepared 1 day ahead; keep chilled.)

For filling: Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Combine cranberries, apples, sugar, and apple juice in heavy large pot. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring often. Boil until cranberries are tender and juices thicken slightly, about 5 minutes. Transfer filling to prepared dish. Sprinkle topping over. Bake crisp until filling bubbles thickly and topping is crisp and deep golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes. Serve with ice cream.

Delish! Thanks Amanda!

Tiffany's Artichoke Dip

1 can of artichokes finely chopped
1 ½ c. Parmesan cheese
¾ c. sour cream
¾ c. mayo
1 tsp salt
Pepper to your liking
Garlic powder or 2-3 fresh minced garlic cloves (optional)
Lemon juice (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350*. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or until there are light brown bubbles on top

This favorite has been served at many Book Clubs throughout the years. Thanks Tiffany!


(Side Eyes)

Kathy's July BC Recipe

Chili Macs at Briar & Broadway.

Best. Pizza. Ever.

And enjoyed at this year’s July BC.

Chili Mac's
773-404-7252

Directions
Step One...pick up your phone

Step Two...dail the number above

Step Three....order the pizza

Step Four...make your husband go pick it up

Posted by "The Mrs."