Stuffed Clams

Every year on Christmas Eve my family gets together at my Aunt and Uncle's house for a big pasta dinner. My dad has been making stuffed clams as an appetizer for this event ever since I can remember. Recently I have started helping him make this crowd favorite. This is because as my interest for food grew, so did interest for learning how to make some of my favorite dishes. I love this dish because it is so flavorful and buttery, it just melts in your mouth. I hope you enjoy this sinfully good recipe as much as I do! (this recipe makes 50 stuffed clams)

Ingredients:
7 slices bacon
3 dozen clams
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 onion
5 garlic cloves
1/4 cup clam juice (from cooking clams)
1 1/4 stick butter
Desired amount of Frank's hot sauce

First chop the bacon, onion, and garlic. Then cook the bacon until crisp, add the onion to this and continue cooking the mixture until the bacon and onions are fully cooked. Turn the heat off and add the garlic to the mixture.

Scrub the clams to get off all the dirt, then add to a big pot. Add about 3 cups of water (1 cup per pound of clams) and cook over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes or until the shells have opened.

Once the shells have opened take the clams out of the water. Next open the shell and take out the clams. Pull the shells apart so that you have half shells, and place on a tray. Do this to all the clams and throw away any broken shells and make sure no shell pieces are on the clams.

Chop up the clams and add to a bowl with the bacon, onions, and garlic. To this mixture add the melted butter, clam juice from cooking the clams, hot sauce, and bread crumbs. Mix this all together until it is thick and the bread crumbs are lightly coated with the wet ingredients.

Place the shells onto a baking sheet and stuff the clams with the stuffing, don't be wimpy with the stuffing (the more the better).

Not cooked, wrapped up to bring to my Aunt and Uncles house

Either cook right away at 350 degrees fahrenheit until golden brown or put into the refrigerator until your ready to cook them.

Finished product (sorry for the bad picture I had to use my phone)

Mac and Cheese

One of my favorite dishes of all time is mac and cheese! This is because my mom would make it for me all the time. Whether she made it from scratch or used Kraft Mac and Cheese it was always delicious! From time to time when I am lazy and hungry I will make myself a pot of Kraft Mac and cheese. It is one of those dishes that I can make whenever I want and I never seem to get sick of the taste. For me, it is a comforting dish that reminds me of my childhood. I hope you enjoy my recipe to mac and cheese!

Ingredients: 
1 pound Macaroni
2 cups milk
4 cups cheddar cheese
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
8 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. First boil water, add salt to the water and cook the macaroni. 

Meanwhile melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large (4-quart) pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. 

In the microwave heat up the milk for about a minute and a half or until the milk is hot. While whisking the rue slowly add the milk and continue to still until the rue dissolved in the milk and the sauce is thick. Add the cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper to the sauce and mix until the cheese is dissolved. 

Add the macaroni to the sauce and stir until the sauce completely covers the macaroni. Add the mac and cheese to a baking dish. Cover the mac and cheese with bread crumbs and add to the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the bread crumbs and golden brown. 

Serve the mac and cheese, and enjoy!

Twice Baked Potatoes

When having a BBQ or just having burgers for dinner, the sides are always the best part. Baked beans, green beans, potato chips, and mac and cheese are all great sides but my favorite is twice baked potatoes. The gooey cheese, and the taste of the ranch dressing is just an incredible flavor. It is so easy to make and so delicious that is is a great go to side dish. Ever since I can remember my dad has always made twice baked potatoes, and I have always been his assistant. As I got older and started to cook by myself, this has become a recipe that I now make for the family. I hope you enjoy this fabulously easy recipe that the whole family will enjoy! (this recipe is for 4 people)

Ingredients: 
4 potatoes
1/4 cup ranch dressing
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

First wash the potatoes, and place them in the oven and cook for about 45 minutes or until fully cooked.

When cooked take the potatoes out of the oven, and cut them in half.

Scoop out the inside of the potatoes, and put that into a bowl. In the bowl add the butter, heavy cream, half the cheddar cheese, and ranch dressing to the potatoes. Mix all this together until it looks almost like mashed potatoes. If it is too watery add cheese, and if too dry add more heavy cream.

Then fill the potato skins with the potato mixture.

Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the potatoes and put into the oven for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Put the potato on your plate with a burger or some sort of barbecue dish, and enjoy!

Cheese Fondue

At least once a year around the holidays my dad make cheese fondue. It is a cheesy sauce in which you dip bread, veggies, and meat. Whenever my family has fondue we have broccoli, bread, and some sort of teriyaki chicken my dad makes. I know this sounds weird but to be honest it tastes really good in the fondue, and alone with rice. The main reason I love fondue is because it is in the middle of the table and you can dip whatever and however much food you want into the dish of molten cheese. I hope you enjoy this recipe for cheese fondue as much as I do!

Ingredients:
1/2 pound shredded Swiss Cheese
1/2 pound shredded Gruyere
1 clove garlic
1 1/2 cups white wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
3 tablespoons sherry wine
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

First rub the chopped garlic around the fondue pot, then take it out. Turn the heat on, and add the white wine and lemon juice.

Over a low to medium heat add the swiss cheese and gruyere cheese slowly to the pot while constantly stirring until the cheese is melted. After the cheese is melted bring the mixture to a bubble for 30 seconds.

In a cup add the corn starch and sherry wine, then mix together to make a slurry. Add this slurry mixture to the fondue and let the fondue boil again for 30 seconds. If the fondue is lumpy add more wine, and if too watery add more cheese.

Bring the fondue to the table and serve with your favorite fondue items. Suggestions are bread, potatoes, sausage, grilled chicken, and broccoli.

Enjoy this amazing cheesy dish!

Pumpkin Pie

Ever since I can remember my parents have always had Thanksgiving at our house. Even when we lived in London, England my parents didn't stop celebrating this wonderful holiday about giving thanks to your friends and family. The best part of Thanksgiving is the food, especially the dessert. My favorite dish has always been the pumpkin pie, and no one understands why. People always say, "pecan pie is the best not pumpkin!" My answer to these people is that pumpkin pie is an flaky crust with a sweet creamy filling inside, what could be wrong with that? So this year I took over my moms job of making the pumpkin pie, so I made it myself. I hope you enjoy this family recipe that will make you remember why you love Pumpkin pie!

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 sticks cold, diced butter

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

About 1/4 cup ice water (add slowly until the dough comes together)

Filling

2 eggs

1 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 teaspoon ginger

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

15oz can pumpkin

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup whole milk

First in the food processor mix the four, butter, sugar, and salt together until it looks like little crumbs. Add the mixture into a bowl and slowly add the water until the mixture comes together and forms dough. 

Let the dough cool in the refrigerator for about 2 hours or until ready to use. When the dough is ready to be used roll the dough out into a long sheet. 

Then put the dough into a pie dish, and cut off the extra pieces on the sides so that the pie looks better. Crimp the edges or use a fork to make the edges looks pretty. 

Put the crust into the freezer for about 20 minutes or until the pie is cold. Next put parchment paper over the crust and pour pie weights or beans over the parchment paper. Then cook for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Take the pie weights and paper out of the pie and cook for another 5 minutes under 350. In a bowl mix the eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, pumpkin, heavy cream, and whole milk together using a hand mixer.

Pour the pumpkin filling into the pie crust and cook for 45-50 minutes under 350 degrees until the custard is firm. 

Cut into slices and enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving!

Scotch Eggs

From the ages of 3 to 10 I lived in London, England. While in London I got to try different types of food and English classics. One of my favorites was Scotch Eggs. This is a hard boiled egg covered in sausage and bread crumbs then fried. You could buy these already made in the supermarket. They were always at birthday parties, and in packed lunches. I loved them because the egg taste is covered up by the flavorful sausage, and nothing can taste bad fried and with sausage. Last week my mom went to a luncheon where someone brought Scotch Eggs and she brought some home because she knows I love them. I decided to make them myself. Here is my recipe for Scotch Eggs I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients: 

8 eggs

1 pound ground pork

1 teaspoon Colmans Mustard (dijon will do)

1/2 teaspoon Worcesterchire Sauce 

1/2 teaspoon Fennel Seed

1/2 teaspoon Dried Thyme

A little bit of ground nutmeg

1 cup Flour

2 cups bread crumbs

In a pot put in 6 eggs at room temperature, then cover the eggs with water. Put a lid over the pot and turn the heat on. 

When the water is boiling turn off the heat and let the eggs sit, covered for about 10-12 minutes. When the eggs are done put them into a bowl of cold water and let them sit for 20 minutes until they are not hot anymore. 

In a bowl, put the ground pork, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. In a mortar and pestle crush the thyme and fennel seed, then add to the pork mixture. With your hands, mix the pork and spices together until combined. 

Over the sink peel the shells off the eggs. Split the pork into 6 balls so that there is an even amount of pork for each egg. Flatten a ball of pork with your hands, then put the egg into it and make the pork completely cover the egg, repeat this for all the eggs. 

Next cover the eggs with flour, then eggs, and finally cover with a lot of bread crumbs. 

Lastly, in a pan or pot fry the eggs in about 5 cups of oil, or until the oil goes to about half way up the egg. Cook on each side for about 4 minutes per side or until brown and the sausage is cooked. 

Take the eggs out of the pan and put onto paper towel to drain of the oil. 

Leave out for about an hour or until room temperature, then cut in half an enjoy!

Nutella Mug Cake

A few years ago when my one of my family friends was over we made a mug cake. A mug cake is a cake that you make in a mug and cook in the microwave for about 2 minutes. It is a good recipe for if you don't really know how to cook, and or you want a cake but you don't have an hour to make actual cakes. I completely forgot about mug cakes until I went to a store in my town where they had a mug cake book. Inside this book were millions of mug cake ideas and one grabbed my attention. This is the Nutella mug cake. I hope you enjoy this quick and easy chocolate goodness.

Ingredients: 
3 tablespoons Nutella
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg

First put the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and baking powder into the mug. Mix the dry ingredients until combined. Next add the Nutella and crack an egg into the mug. Mix together until it is all combined and no dry mixture is visible.

Finally put the mug into the microwave for 2 minutes but everyones microwave is different so depending on the strength change the cooking time accordingly. (Tip: don't look at the mug and think that you don't have enough batter because it will get higher as it cooks. If you have too much batter it will overflow) Top with whipped cream and enjoy!

Magic Bars

Every year in my town there is a craft show at the local high school. Last year my mom was in charge of the bake sale, and she had to find some new recipes. She was looking through cook
books and online, here she found a recipe that would become a new household favorite. This recipe is called magic bars, which is a graham cracker crust with chocolate chips, coconut, and sweetened condensed milk. So this year I signed up to make some magic bars for the bake sale, I hope you enjoy this phenomenal dish!

Ingredients:

3 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup melted butter

1 12 oz package semi sweet chocolate chips

1 ½ cups flaked coconut

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Either butter or spray baking spray onto a baking dish or pan. To make graham cracker crumbs either put the graham crackers into a plastic bag a use a rolling pin to crush the graham crackers until they are crumbs.

 Or you can put the graham crackers into the food processor until crumbs are made. Mix together graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together until they are covered in the butter. 

Press evenly into bottom of the pan or baking dish. 

Layer chocolate chips and then coconut evenly over the crust. Drizzle condensed milk evenly over top.

 Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

 Cut into squares and enjoy!

Homemade Pasta

One night, my mom, dad, and I watched the movie "Chef". Its about about a chef who leaves his job after an online fight with a critic. He then goes to Miami and starts a food truck, thus giving him more creativity with the cuisine he serves. This movie was phenomenal and gave my mom and I the idea to make out own pasta. We used the pasta attachments on the Kitchen-Aid to make amazing homemade spaghetti. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Ingredients:

5 eggs

4 cups flour

1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

First put the four in a bowl or on a wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour, add the eggs, olive oil, and salt into the center of the well.

 Using a fork, beat together the eggs and start to add the flour a little bit at a time into the egg mixture. Once the ingredients are incorporated add water a little at a time as needed until the dough has a firm, almost leathery consistency.  Use your hands to form the dough into a ball shape.

Let the pasta sit for an hour with a bowl on top of it. If you are going to leave the pasta for more than an hour wrap it up in plastic wrap and put into the refrigerator. Cut the dough into quarters and sprinkle a little bit of flour over the dough. Then using a pasta machine and or the kitchen-aid put the pasta though the lowest setting once. Next fold the dough in half and put it through the lowest setting again. Until you get to the number 5 put it through twice but don't fold the dough in half.

After the pasta is the thickness you want, put it through the cutter and lay it on a baking sheet covered in flour so that the pasta doesn't stick together.

Then cook the pasta for 1-2 minutes in boiling water, then mix with whatever sauce you would like (I used Eric's Bolognese). Finally enjoy your homemade pasta!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Every October when the wind becomes stronger, the air becomes cooler,  and restaurants start to make pumpkin flavored dishes. My favorite and the simplest to make is the pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. This is a fall favorite, and just heats you up. The taste of it just screams Fall. At home my mom and I tried to make our own rendition of this Starbucks classic. When we made it, it tasted just like the one from Starbucks including the fall flavor that just warms you up from the inside out. So today I made my own version of this easy fall classic, I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon pumpkin butter (Trader Joes)

1 1/2 cups milk

A pinch of pumpkin spice

Desired amount of sugar or sweetener

Coffee

First put the milk and pumpkin butter into a bowl. Mix together until the pumpkin butter has dissolved. Add the pumpkin spice and the sweetener or sugar and mix together. Put into a milk frother and or put into a jam jar and shake for a minute and heat up until warm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1pW2_g9Hus

While the milk is frothing make coffee using either your regular coffee machine or a Nespresso and do the biggest cup on the Nespresso (which fills up about half of the coffee cup). 

To the coffee add the frothed milk and mix together, then add whipped cream on top if desired. Finally enjoy your own homemade pumpkin spice latte.