Recipes | From Patty's Pantry

Dog Biscuits

Aug 172006

Manâ€™s best friends, dogs, are truly treated like little kings and queens these days. Growing up I donâ€™t remember dogs having all the luxuries they have today, to name a few: doggy play groups, doggy taxiâ€™s, teething toys, training mats, their own cars, and my favorite, doggy sun glasses.
Recently, I ran into a friend who had some dog treats and told me he could eat them. This made my wheels start turning- Dog Biscuits, why canâ€™t I make them? This would be a perfect gift to give someone as either a thoughtful gesture, hostess gift instead of the proverbial bottle of wine, or a simple gift for a puppy. People LOVE their dogs.

3 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Powdered Milk
3/4 Cup Beef Bouillon Broth
1/2 Cup Margarine
1 Egg
2 Teaspoons Bacon grease
2 Teaspoons of Sugar
2 Teaspoons of Salt
Pre-heat Oven 325 degrees

In a mixing bowl add margarine, powdered milk and hot beef both mixed together. Then mix in egg, bacon grease, sugar, and salt until well combines followed by adding flour 1/2 cup at a time. Knead the dough together for a few minutes and roll out dough to a 1/3 an inch thick and cut with desired cookie cutter. Biscuits can be placed very close to one another since they will not be rising. Bake for 50 minutes

Ready to serve to your little pooch!

Peach Raspberry Jam

Fruit, Recipes 2 Comments »

Aug 132006

Recently, I went berry picking. Whenever I’ve gone fruit picking, I always get excited about what I will do with my pickings. (besides eating one berry for every berry in the basket!) This time I made jam. I had been given these little bottles of champagne and thought it could be a fun addition to regular jam. Bubbles just make everything better.
3 Cups of peeled chopped peaches
1 Cups of raspberries
1 1/2 Cups of sugar
2 Tablespoon of lemon juice
1/2 Cup of champagne
1 package of gelatin

Keeps for about 4 weeks

In a sauce pan add peaches, raspberries, sugar, lemon juice and champagne and bring to a boil and let cook for about 15 minutes. Then add the gelitin (gelitin is usally added in jelly recipes but I added a package to this recipe because of the additional liquids that I had added to the recipe) and refrigerate until complete cooled and place in desired canning jars.

Pasta Station

Recipes 2 Comments »

Aug 072006

This weekend I was making dinner with some friends. We decided we would make pasta. Rather than pick one type, I thought, why not just let everyone decide what they want to have in their own pasta? The options for this pasta dish were: cut up tomatoes, chopped basil, diced garlic, prosciutto, crumbled feta, fresh mozzarella, hot pepper, and olive oil. Of course there are many other variations that can be made, such as Parmesan, olives, pesto, or mushrooms.

This was very simple and fun for us all to make together.

Gazpacho

Appetizers, Recipes No Comments »

Jul 312006

This is the perfect soup to make in the summer when it is really hot. There are many different ways to vary the recipe as well as alternatives to its use. Gazpacho can also be used as a sauce on top of a salad or on grilled fish or chicken. This weekend I stopped by a farm stand and picked up some fresh tomatoes before coming back into the city. I made this in an attempt to prepare for the heat wave that is suppose to come through the east coast this week!1 Cup of chopped red onion
1 Cup of chopped cucumber
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 Cup of peeled seeded chopped tomatoes
2 large cloves of garlic mashed
1/4 Cup tomatoes paste
3 Cups of tomatoes juice
Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon of jalepeno pepper chopped
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of white wine vinegar
Two sprigs of Thyme
Salt and PepperIn a blender combine all ingredients except the thyme and blend for about 10 to 15 seconds. Transfer to pitcher and refrigerate with sprig leaves in soup overnight. Keep chilled in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Nectarine Blueberry Cobbler

Recipes, Sweets 2 Comments »

Jul 212006

Surprisingly, I am not an impulse purchaser when it comes to clothing but I am with food. By my office on Friday afternoons there is a farmers market. Last week, they had fresh corn and it was perfect because I was having a BBQ that weekend for a friend who was visiting. Then I saw nectarines (my favorite fruit) fresh and as ripe as can be sitting there. I thought, okay for dessert I will make a nectarine blueberry cobbler. Although, by the time I was making the cobbler I had eaten some of the nectarines and had to substitute them with some peaches.When I was making the cobbler I got very excited when I figured that I could cover it with biscuits cut outs in different shapes, I chose different sized stars.

Preheat oven to 450Â°F.

8 nectarines/peaches, pitted and sliced thin (about 5 cups)
2 cups blueberries
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Juice of one lemon

For the biscuits
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Â¼ cup sugar2 tablespoons of butter softened
1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 cup heavy cream

heavy cream or milk for brushing the biscuits
sugar for sprinkling the biscuits

Fruit: Combine the nectarines, the blueberries, the water, the sugar, the cornstarch, and the lemon juice, in a baking dish (8Ã—8 inch baking dish) and let stand for about an hour for juices to come out.

Biscuits: In a bowl sift together the flour, the sugar, the baking powder, and the salt, and make a well in the center. In a separate bowl beat the cream until it holds soft peaks, spoon it into the well in the flour mixture with butter and combine the mixture with a fork until it just forms a dough. (Refrigerate for half hour) On a lightly floured surface knead the dough until it is combined well, roll or pat it out about 3/4 inch thick, and cut biscuits into desired shapes with cookie cutter.

Arrange the biscuits on top of the fruit mixture, brush them with the cream, and sprinkle them with the sugar. Bake the cobbler in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, or until the biscuits are browned and the fruit is bubbling.

Serve with either vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Lemon Shrimp Marinade

Appetizers, Recipes 1 Comment »

Jul 142006

Last week I made these with a friend of mine for a dinner party. These shrimp are very lite and fresh which is definitely needed this weekend with the horrible summer heat wave sweeping the nation.

Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon wine or sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 anchovy fillets, coarsely chopped
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf, crumbled
1 pounds large shrimp (leave tails on)
2 to 3 teaspoons salt (for boiling water)

Remove the shells from the shrimp and cook in boiling salted water. This should take about 1 Â½ minutes until they turn pink. Combine all the other Ingredients in a bowl and toss cooked shrimp in marinade. Place in refrigerator and let marinade for at least three hours. Remove shrimp from Marinade and ready to serve.

Nectarine Pancakes and Blueberry Sauce

Recipes No Comments »

Jul 042006

I love brunch. This past holiday weekend I spent it with my girlfriends at the beach. On Sunday morning I made everyone breakfast and this is what I served. We had the best time catching up, eating, and drinking mimosas. If you are not a fan of ginger it can easily be excluded from the recipe.3 Cups of Flour
1/3 Cup of Sugar
1 Teaspoon of baking soda
pinch of salt
2 eggs
2 1/2 Cups of buttermilk
2 teaspoons of ginger zest
1 1/4 Cup of Butter ( 1 cup melted other 1/4 cup is reserved for cooking pancakes with)
3 nectarines, diced into small pieces

Mix all dry ingredients together and then mix in liquid ingredients. It is okay if the mixture is not entirely smooth. Heat pan with butter and pour a third of a cup of the batter in pan and then sprinkle with nectarine pieces. Cook till golden brown.

Blueberry Sauce

2 Cups of Pure Maple Syrup
2 Cups of blueberries
1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon

In a sauce pan combine all of the ingredients and cook until blueberries begin to burst. This should be about 5-7 minutes.

This sauce would also be great with a pie or just plain vanilla ice cream.

Homemade Marshmallows

Make Your Own, Recipes, Sweets No Comments »

Jun 232006

In specialty stores lately, I have seen homemade marshmallows being sold and this intrigued me. I had never really thought about making them because I would always just buy a bag of them from the grocery store. So I thought, “why not? This could be fun and I’m curious!” Plus it is summer and this could make the average s’mores even better when by the camp fire. Overall I found them pretty quick to make and that they tasted better the next day.
1 cup cold water
3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Powdered Sugar to coat the Marshmallows

Vegetable oil to grease the pan

Cut a piece of waxed paper to line the bottom of a 9Ã—13 inch pan and grease the sheet and sides of the pan. (This can be more easily done by inverting the bottom of the pan cutting the proper size sheet)

In a mixing bowl place 1/2 Cup of water and the three packages of gelatin. In a pot add sugar, corn syrup, rest of water over moderate heat until the sugar has dissolved and comes to a boil. At this point you may turn the heat to high and with a candy thermometer bring the mixture to 240 degrees (soft ball stage) It is key when making candies to make sure get the temperature correct otherwise the candy does not come out well. It will either be too soft or too hard.
Once it has reached 240 pour the mixture in mixing bowl and beat for about ten minutes on high. Mixture will be come white and fluffy add vanilla at this time.
Now pour the marshmallow into greased pan and spread evenly. Let stand for about five to seven hours before cutting.
When cutting into desired sizes grease the knife and keep cleaning of the marshmallow. After marshmallow cubes are made, lightly coat them with powdered sugar and keep in an air tight container.

When making these I decided to dip some of them in melted chocolate and it was very tasty.

Crab Cakes

Recipes 1 Comment »

May 122006

Over the past year, I have discovered a new taste for crab cakes. I probably only recently developed an affinity for them because half the time I have them I am very disappointed. I was home visiting my parents and decided I wanted to make them. My mother and I each made our own batch and were able to come to an agreement of which ingredients we liked and disliked in our recipes.

Â½ Pound Fresh Crab Meat
1 Cup Diced Red Onion
Â¾ Cup Diced Red Pepper
Â¾ Cup Diced Celery
1 Tablespoon of Capers
Â½ Lemon Sliced
2 Teaspoons of Old Bay Seasoning
1 Teaspoon of dry mustard
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon of Mayonnaise
Â¾ Cup Bread Crumbs
Â¼ Cup Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a saucepan melt one tablespoon of butter in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add onion, pepper, celery, lemon slices, capers, old bay season, and cook all these ingredients together for about 10 minutes. (Once cooked remove the lemon slices)

In a separate bowl beat the egg, dry mustard and mayonnaise together and then add the Crab Meat and bread crumbs.

Now mix together the crab and the vegetables let this stand for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Using a 1 tablespoon ice-cream scoop, make scoops full and place on a plate until ready to cook.

In a skillet heat the remaining olive oil and butter before frying the crab cakes. Each cake needs about 2-3 minutes on each side or until a golden brown color.

This will make approximately 32 mini crab cakes.

I found that these crab cakes are also great served cold. These would be great to serve on a salad or a sandwich.

Chicken Pot Pies

Recipes 2 Comments »

May 102006

1 Cup of Leeks slices (1/4 inches)
Â¾ Cup of chopped snow peas
1 Cup of Celery sliced (1/4 inches)
1 Cup of Carrots sliced (1/4 inches)
1 Tablespoon of Thyme
2 cloves of Mashed Garlic
3 Tablespoons of Butter
Â½ Cup of Flour
1 Cup of White Wine
Â½ Cup of Cream/ or milk
3 Cups of Chicken Broth
3 Sheets of Puff PastryPre Heat Oven for 450

Bake for 20 minutes

(Makes 12 Individual Pot Pies)

In a saucepan melt butter and garlic until melted, then add flour combine well and then pour in cream and bring to a boil. Pour in chicken stalk and vegetables and chicken. Bring to a simmer and pour in wine and thyme and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes.

Cut 12 circles with a four inch diameter of parchment paper and lightly grease. And place a piece of puff pastry over the paper and insert it into a muffin tin. This will form the cup to hold the pot pie stuffing. Repeat this twelve times. Fill each cup of puff pastry with filling and then top with a piece of puff pastry. Brush top with an egg wash and bake.

If you do not have time or do not want to use as much puff pastry, filling can be used in small souffle dish and just topped with the puff pastry.

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