Culinary Treasures Recipes - Fox 28: South Bend, Elkhart IN News, Weather, Sports

Cucumber Dill Dip

Ingredients:

-2 cups sour cream

-1/2 cup of mayonnaise

-1 ½ t freshly squeezed lemon juice

-1 tbsp. minced fresh garlic

-1/4 cup chopped scallions

-1 English cucumber, sliced and chopped fine

-1/2 cup of fresh dill

-grated parmesan cheese

-1 lb of white asparagus

-1 lb of green asparagus

-1 lb of purple (Viola) asparagus

Directions:

1. Mix together sour cream, mayonnaise and lemon juice in large bowl.
2. Let set for 5 minutes, then add fresh garlic, scallions, cucumber and fresh dill to bowl.
3. Fold all ingredients together and let this sit for one hour in the refrigerator.
4. Serve with fresh vegetables or crackers.

Spring Vegetable Wrap with Basil and Boursin Cheese Spread

Ingredients for wrap:

-4 spinach/sun dried tomato wraps

-4 tbsp. of olive oil

-1/4 cup of garlic

-1 cup of chopped leeks

-fresh basil

-1 cup of sugar snap peas

-1 cup of asparagus

-1 jar of artichokes

-1 cup of sliced morel mushrooms/Portobello

-1 cup of fresh spinach

-1 cup of fresh broccoli

-1 ½ cups of alfalfa sprouts

-romaine lettuce

-4 avocados, pitted and each half sliced and peel removed

-mildly sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

-sea salt/pepper

Directions:

1. In large pan or on oven top flat grill, add 2 tbsp. of olive oil and sauté the garlic and leeks until brown.
2. Don't over brown or you will get a bitter taste from the garlic.
3. Take off the grill and set aside.
4. Add 2 more tbsp of olive oil and add the sugar snap peas, asparagus, artichokes, mushrooms, spinach and broccoli. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
5. Lay wrap on surface and place 2 tbsp of Boursin cheese spread in the center and fan out.
6. Layer the romaine, alfalfa sprouts, and avocado slices. Mix the grilled vegetables with the onions and garlic.
7. Take ½ cup of grilled vegetables and layer down the center of the wrap, top with shredded cheese.
8. Take each end of tortilla and fold in, then start rolling. Cut in half and serve.

Ingredients for Boursin Cheese Spread:

-8 oz of Boursin cheese with herbs

-2 tbsp of olive oil

-2 cloves of garlic, minced

-1/2 cup of fresh basil, rolled then cut into "ribbon like" shreds

-1/2 cup of sun dried tomatoes, cut into small pieces

Directions:

1. Let the Boursin cheese set out a room temperature.
2. In a large bowl, add the Boursin, olive oil, garlic, fresh basil, sun dried tomatoes and salt and pepper.
3. Mix all together and sit in refrigerator while assembling ingredients for the wrap.

Chantilly Swans with Rhubarb/Strawberry Sauce

Ingredients for Choux Pastry:

-1 ½ cups of water

-1/2 cup of unsalted butter

-1 tsp of vanilla

-1 ½ cups of all purpose flour, sifted

-1/8 tsp of salt

-6 eggs

Directions:

1. In sauce pan, bring the water and butter to a boil. Add the vanilla, flour and salt and stir rapidly.
2. Reduce the heat and continue to stir until the mixture is a smooth paste and looks like a ball of dough.
3. Remove the pan from heat and let the mixture cool for about 2 minutes.
4. Add the eggs one at a time and mix with hands or wooden spoon. The mixture should be smooth and stiff.
5. Let this pastry cool to room temperature.
6. Preheat the oven to 400 and place 1/3 of the mixture into a pastry bag with a small plain tip.
7. Take a baking sheet and place a piece of parchment paper on the sheet.
8. Pip the shape of a backwards "s" onto the baking sheet to form the head and the neck of a swan. Make a few extra in case of breakage.
9. Place remainder into a  piping bag with a medium size star tip. Pipe 12 egg sized balls of mixture onto separate parchment lined baking sheet.
10. The pastry will expand during baking so leave at least 2 inches in between each ball.
11. Place the sheets in the oven. The neck pieces will take 10 minutes. The balls for the body will take about 10 minutes.
12. Reduce the temperature to 350 and continue to beak for 10 to 15 more minutes or until the bodies are golden brown.
13. Remove and let cool.

Ingredients for Chantilly Cream:

-1 quart of whipping cream

-1 tbsp of clear vanilla extract

-1/2 cup of powdered sugar

Directions:

1. In mixing bowl, whip the cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar together until get medium peaks.
2. Do not over beat or the cream will separate and not be fluffy.

Ingredients for Rhubarb/Strawberry Sauce:

-1 cup of water

-2 cups of rhubarb

-3/4 cups of sugar

-1 tbsp of cornstarch

-1 tbsp of vanilla

-1/4 cup of sauternes wine

-2 cups of strawberries

Directions:

1. In a nonstick saucepan, bring the water, sugar, cornstarch, rhubarb and strawberries to a boil for two minutes.
2. Take off heat and cool.

Assembling Swans:

1. Cut off the tops half of the body using a serrated knife.
2. Split this into two pieces for the wings. Dust with powdered sugar.
3. Fill the bottom of the body with a little Chantilly cream, ¼ cup of cooled rhubarb/strawberry sauce and end by piping Chantilly cream on top of the sauce.
4. Place the neck into the cream and the wings on the top of the cream.
5. Take some extra fruit sauce and place about 2 tbsp on the plate.

6. Sit the swan on top. Cut strawberries in half through the stem part. Slice slits into half the strawberry being careful not to slice all the way through. Take your thumb and place on top of the strawberry and press down slightly turning your thumb towards you to fan the strawberry.