Kylan's Lemon Meringue Pie



Gioanna Stevenson holding Kylan's pie



Okay, the favorites are coming in; at the Stevenson's, this was the pie of the Thanksgiving dinner.

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups water

2 lemons, juiced and zested

2 tablespoons butter

4 egg yolks, beaten

1 (9 inches) pie crust, baked

4 egg whites

6 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.

3.To Make Meringue: In a large glass

4.Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown

 

Levelle's Traditional Favorites

There’s something special about being home for the holidays, and good food is part of every celebration and get-together! I hope you can add to your own traditional favorites. See you in the kitchen!

Levelle’s Fiesta Guacamole Dip 
2 (15 or 16 ounce) can refried beans (boil and season pinto beans, cook until done, mash beans)
1 94-ounce) can chop green chilies, drained (Fresh: remove seeds from jalapeño peppers)
1 (16-oz) container Sour Cream
1 package taco seasoning mix
3 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
2 tablespoons ReaLime, Lime Juice from Concentrate or Real Lemon Juice
½ teaspoon seasoned saldt1/8 teaspoon garlic salt

Shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, chopped tomatoes (seeded), sliced green onions, sliced ripe olives.

In small bowl, combine re-fried beans and chilies; spread on large serving plate. Combine sour cream and taco seasoning; spoon over bean mixture, spread evenly. In small bowl, mash avocados; stir in ReaLime and salts; spoon evenly over sour cream mixture. Cover; chill several hours. Just before serving, garnish with cheese, tomatoes, green onions and olives. Serve with Tortilla Chips. Refrigerate leftover.

Cream Baked Cheesecake
1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup sugar
1/3  cup margarine or butter, melted
2, (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk (Not evaporated milk)
3 eggs
¼ cup ReaLemon Lemon Juice from Concentrate
1(8oz) container heavy whipping cream, at room temperature
Almond or Butternut flavor

Preheat oven to 300, Combine crumbs, sugar and butter; press firmly on bottom of 9-inch spring form pan. In large mixer bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Gradually bat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add eggs and ReaLemon mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until center is set; top with whip cream. Make 5 minutes longer. Cool Chill. Top with cherries pie filling.
Fresh Cherries.

Elsie’s Market Home for the Holidays,

Levelle's Thanksgiving Dinner 2010

MENU

Honey Glazed Turkey

  Dressing (Black Olives, Cornbread, Breadcrumbs)

Honey Glazed Ham (layered with pineapple, cherries, and cloves)

Sweet Potato Salad (Italian Dressing)

Mixed Greens (Spinach, Mustard, Collard)

Candied Yams

Dinner Rolls/Croissants

Dessert Bar:

Pineapple Upside Down Cake, 

Crump Cake, Pecan Pie,

Cherry Cheese Cream Cake Swirl 

Granny Smith Apple Pie, 

Sweet Potato Pie,

Sweet Tea

Coffee



Honey Glazed Turkey in Dressing

Pineapple Upside Down cake

 

Cherry Cheese Cream Pie, Apple Pies, and Sweet Potato Pies

Guest: Clayton, Anna, Lynette, Damen, Gerald Jr, Alpha, Heidi, and Host Levelle

Sunday Dinner at Babette's November 21, 2010

Try this Glazed Salmon and Pasta Salad if you want a real treat for a Sunday dinner. I had the leftovers on Monday, and the pasta salad was even better the day after for lunch.

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup Smucker's Apricot Simply fruit Spreadable

2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
4 (6 ounces) salmon fillets

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the oil and butter, Smuckers Apricot Simply fruit Spreadable, garlic and almonds; set aside half of the mixture for serving. Before starting baking, coat pan with nonstick cooking spray. Bake salmon, uncovered, over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork, basting frequently with Smuckers Apricot Simply fruit Spreadable mixture. Broil until crisp, remove from oven and serve with Asian Pasta Salad.
Ingredients


1 package of pasta (your choice)
1 cup blanched slivered almonds
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup butter, melted
Medium tomatoes
1 red onion, chopped
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup green onions
1/2  cup broccoli
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions

1.In a medium saucepan over low heat boil noodles, almonds, and dried cranberries with melted butter or margarine. Once boiled take off heat, drain and cool.

2. In a small saucepan bring vegetable oil, sugar, and vinegar to boil for 1 minute. Cool. Add soy sauce.

3.In a large bowl , combine  chopped green onions, red peppers, broccoli. Add the noodle and soy sauce mixture. Toss to coat. Serve.

The Power of Chicken Soup

It is flu season in Chicago, and across the U.S. so I thought I'd repost this blog post.

....Chicken soup is love made visible, it's power may lie in letting a sick person know that matter to someone who cares enough to make them something nourishing and comfortable with their own hands. Soul stirring chicken soup, is Jewish penicillin, from Adeena Sussman who wrote the text for "The Power of Chicken Soup" from Martha Stewart Living.

Chicken soup contains an amino acid chemically similar to those in a drug used for bronchitis and respiratory infections. Betacarotene, potassium, and calcium, as well as antioxidants associated with improved health. Soup is a great way to liquid back into your system."

Basic Chicken Soup

Everyone has a personal spin on the recipe here is mines:  Chicken, 8 cups of water, the chicken is cooked until it is stewed and falling from the bones, skim foam, add salt. Reduce heat and simmer partially covered for 30 minutes. Remove breasts and set aside. Add carrots simmer particle covered for another 40 minutes. Remove remaining chicken, discard back and wings crosswise 1/4 inches thinly sliced to make 1-cup, 3- medium onions, 4-garlic cloves,  2-celery stalks sliced crosswise are added to the pot. All Soup can be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to 3 months.

Thanksgiving Dinner- What's Your Plan

The holidays are here already, what are your plans for dinner? Take lots of pictures, set the table, decorate your place, this year share your special dinner with your blogging buddies. What was the funniest story that happened during the day? What is your family's tradition? Going to the movies, watching sports, raking leaves, or just crashing out due to the "I-tish"

Guest Artist Una from Scotland 2008- Set the table with lots of candles, and decorations.

SUNNIN LEBANESE CAFE

Sunday dinners take on all kinds of traditions, lately, mines are going out to dinner with friends. I am on the road traveling for the holidays Sunday dinner will be shared with family, and friends that I am meeting for the first time, and those that I have known for a lifetime.

I had a wonderful surprise dinner at Sunnin, a Lebanese Cafe in Long Beach, with my cousin Cece Antoinette, and her friend from the Temple, Lorenzo.




Tree in the Parking Lot of the Buddhist Temple

MENU

We started the evening with a Jallab, Lebanese Beer, and a palette of appetizers were summoned to the table, we ended the evening with, Baklawa, Mint Tea, and Lebanese Coffee.

CeCe Antionette, Alpha, and Varee- Cousins in Los Angeles 2010

Cousin Varee treated us to an afternoon lunch, all you can eat buffet. We caught up with what the family is doing, where we all are in life, hugged each other, until the next time.

SUNDAY DINNER AT SUSAN'S - BUTTER SQUASH SOUP

Sunday dinner at Susan's was great, I looked so forward to this get-to-gather with girlfriends of the "Urban Explores." Loreal, Claire, Susan, and me. We get together and talk about politics, clothes, shoes, latest shops, boyfriends, guy friends, lovers, you get my drift.  We usually begin the evening with appetizers. Loreal found these perfect pink candles from Wool's worth 10 cents, now these were really vintage. We exchanged gifts, my birthday was on the 4th, and hers is on the 20th.

Tonight we started the evening with an assortment of appetizers:

Cream Cheese, Salmon, Fruit Spread Pear, and Chiles, on Gourmet Crackers.

Loreal, bought Goat Cheese, and a Green Olive Spread

Wines

Chardonnay and Trader Joe's Red wine

Main Course:

Susan's Butter Squash Soup served with French Bread

Dessert:

Claire's Double Chocolate Cake

Loreal's Gingerbread

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"Butternut Squash Soup II"
Entered by: pegs kitchen
Squash, sweet potato, celery, and onion cook up quickly into a thick, delicious soup.
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 40 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 small sweet potato, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 (32 fluid ounce) container chicken stock
salt and small (pinch) of curry powder to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Put the whole squash in the microwave for about 4 minutes on high to make it easier to peel and split. Cut squash in half, clean out seeds, put cut side down in microwave pan with a small amount of water and microwave for 15 minutes on high. Cut into cubes. Melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion and celery until the onion is transparent. Add cubed squash and chopped sweet potato. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 30 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender. Remove some of the vegetables and set aside.

Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in veggies that were set aside and any remaining stock to attain desired consistency. Season with salt and curry powder to taste.



FOOTNOTES:
I did not use celery, but included a chopped carrot, and also an apple. I used two sweet potatoes, one butternut squash, one apple, one white onion, and sauteed curry powder with the onion, apple and carrot.

I like to also add a dash of Tony Cachere's seasoning to soups to give them a little kick. This is a delicate flavored soup so only add a dash