3 cups sugar

Leaves from
15 to 20 mint sprigs

Kentucky
bourbon

Fresh mint
sprigs, for garnish

1 – Place 4 cups water and the sugar in a heavy saucepan and
stir.  Add the mint leaves and bring the
mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat to
medium and simmer for 10 minutes.  Let
cool.  Remove mint leaves.  Put the sugar syrup into a jar and
refrigerate for at least a week and up to 30 days to let the flavor fully develop.

2 – When ready to serve, pour 1 ½ oz. of the cold syrup and
3 oz. of bourbon over crushed ice in a julep cup.  Stir.
Add a sprig of fresh mint and serve with short straws.

Makes enough syrup for 25 drinks.

Bourbon Beef Tenderloin -
serves 8 to 10                                                              (Paula
Deen)

1 cup
bourbon                                                 2
cups water

1 cup brown
sugar                                          3
to 4 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped

2/3 cup soy
sauce                                           1
beef tenderloin, silver connective tissue removed

1 bunch
cilantro, chopped                              Oil
for grill

½ cup lemon
juice

1 TBS.
Worcestershire sauce

Prepare
marinade by combining bourbon, brown sugar, soy sauce, cilantro, lemon juice,
Worcestershire sauce, water, and thyme.
Be sure tenderloin is completely trimmed of any fat and connective
tissue.  Fold the tail end of the beef
back underneath itself so that it is of uniform thickness.  Secure with butcher’s string.  Pour marinade over meat, cover, and
refrigerate 8 to 12 hours.  Turn meat
over several times during that time.
Prepare grill for cooking (or preheat oven to 350 degrees).  When fire is ready, place meat on oiled grill,
reserving marinade.  Cook over high heat
with lid closed, turning often; occasionally baste.  Cooks rare in about 30-45 minutes in the
oven.  Serve with Horseradish Cream on
the side.

Horseradish Cream

1 cup sour
cream

¼ cup
horseradish

A few spray
dollops of whipped cream

Hot sauce to
taste

Best made
the night before.  Makes a lot.

South Georgia “Caviar”   - serves 15                                                                                    (Paula
Deen)

2 – 15oz.
cans black-eyes peas, drained                                ½
cup chopped fresh jalapeno peppers

1 – 15oz can
whole kernel corn, drained                               ½
cup chopped onion

1 – 10oz.
can Ro-Tel diced tomatoes & green chilies                        1
– 8oz. bottle Italian salad dressing

2 cups
chopped red bell pepper                                             1
– 4oz. jar chopped pimentos, drained

Combine all
the ingredients in a large bowl, stir gently to combine, and refrigerate
overnight.  Serve with corn chips.  This recipe will keep in the refrigerator for
up to 2 weeks.

Tomato Grits  - serves 8 to 10                                                                                   (Paula
Deen)

2 cups water                                                               1
– 6 oz. Kraft Garlic Cheese Roll  ***

1 ¼ cups
milk                                                              2
½ cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1 tsp. salt                                                                     1
– 10oz. can Ro-Tel diced tomatoes & green chilies

1 cup
quick-cooking grits                                            2
eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup (1
stick), plus 1 TBS. butter                              1/3
cup diced green onions

Preheat the
oven to 350 degrees.  In a saucepan,
bring the water and milk to a boil.  Add
the salt.  Slowly add the grits and
return to a boil; stir for 1 full minute.
(The secret to preparing good grits is the initial stirring of the
pot.)  Reduce the heat, cover, and cook
for 3 minutes.   Stir the grits and add 1
stick of butter, stirring until it has melted.
Cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the grits are thick and
creamy.  Remove for the heat and set
aside.  Saute’ the onions in the remaining
1 TBS. of butter for 1 minute.  Add the
garlic cheese, 1 ½ cups Cheddar, and onions to the grits, and stir until the
cheese is melted.  Add the tomatoes and
mix well; stir in the beaten eggs.  Pour
the grits mixture into a greased 8x11x2 inch casserole.  Bake the casserole for 40 minutes.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the
casserole for the last 5 minutes of cookie time.

***  I was unable to find the Kraft Garlic Cheese
Roll.  I substituted Boursin Gournay
Cheese Garlic & Fine Herbs.  Very good.

Bananas Foster – serves 4

1/3 cup
butter                                                                         3
ripe bananas, bias-sliced (2 cups)

1/3 cup
brown sugar                                                               ¼
tsp. ground cinnamon

2 TBS. crème
de cocoa or banana liqueur                             ¼
cup rum

Rich vanilla
ice cream (about 2 cups)

In a
skillet, melt butter; stir in the brown sugar till melted. J Add bananas; cook
and gently stir over medium heat about 2 minutes or till heated through.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Stir in crème de cocoa.

In a small
saucepan, heat rum till it almost simmers.
Carefully ignite rum and pour over bananas, coating evenly.  Serve immediately with ice cream.

Ingredients

Directions

1.   Beat sugar and butter
until creamy. Add vanilla.

2.   Sift flour, baking powder
and salt together.

3.   Alternating add milk and
flour to sugar/butter mixture until combined.

4.   Mix cranberries in.

5.   Pour into a greased and
floured square 8 or 9 inch pan. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.

6.   While cake is baking you
can prepare the sauce. In a sauce pan combine the butter, brown sugar, flour
and boiling water. Bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute or until thickened. The sauce
should be thick like a gravy, not too thick. Remove from heat. Add lemon juice
and vanilla.

7.   Cool the cake. Cake can be
served warm from the oven or cool. Serve cake with hot sauce.

8.  You can make the cake and
sauce ahead of time. Store the sauce in a glass jar in the refrigerator and reheat
it when you serve the cake.

Ingredients:

• 2 (10 ounce) cans chicken
• 2 (8 ounce) packets cream cheese
• 3/4 cup hot sauce (I use
  Frank’s)
• 1 cup ranch dressing
• 2 cups mild cheddar cheese
• 2 loaves baguette  (or you can use the big scoop frito
  chips)

Directions:

Drain
canned chicken and put in medium sauce pan.

Add
hot sauce and cook on medium until heated throughout.

Add
cream cheese and stir until blended thoroughly.

Add
ranch dressing and mix.

Add
1-1/2 cups of cheddar cheese and heat for a few minutes until mixed and melted.

Pour
the dip into the crock pot and sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese on the
top. Keep heated on low.

4 Main Course Servings

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless beef sirloin, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large, sweet onion coarsely chopped

8 oz button mushrooms, quartered

2 garlic cloves minced

3 tablespoons water

1-1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup beef stock

1 cup Guinness

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons drained, brined green peppercorns coarsely
chopped

2 sprigs fresh thyme (I use lemon thyme)

¼ lb. stilton, white cheddar or other sharp cheese, crumbled
or shredded

1 sheet puff pastry dough

1 large egg lightly beaten

1 tablespoon water

Put oven rack in the middle position and preheat oven to 350
degrees.

Pat beef dry.  Stir
together flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish.  Add beef, turning to coat, then shake off excess and transfer to a plate.  Heat oil
in a wide 5-6 quart ovenproof heavy pot over moderately high heat until just
smoking and then brown meat in 3 batches, turning occasionally, transfer to a
bowl.  Be sure you don’t overcrowd the
pan or the pieces won’t brown for you.

Add onion, garlic and water to the pan and cook, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot and stirring constantly until onion is softened, about 4-5 minutes.  Add
tomato paste and cooking, stirring for about 1 minute.  Stir in stock, beer, Worcestershire sauce,
beef and any juices from bowl, peppercorns and thyme and bring it up to a
simmer, then cover and transfer to oven.
Braise until beef is very tender and sauce is thickened, about 1-1/4 to
1-1/2 hours.  About a half hour before
beef is finished, add mushrooms so they cook but do not get too soft.

Discard thyme and cool meat mixture completely (can be made
day before).  If stew is warm while
assembling pies, it will melt uncooked pastry top.

Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Mix cheese into
meat mixture and divide  into 4
individual, oven proof dishes or one larger pan.  Roll out puff pastry to 1/8” thick.  If using individual dishes, cut into
quarters.  Stir together egg and water
and brush a 1-inch border of egg wash around each square.  Invert 1 square over each bowl and drape,
pressing sides lightly to adhere.  Brush
pastry tops with some of the remaining egg wash and freeze 15 minutes to
thoroughly chill dough.

Bake pies in preheated shallow baking pan until pastry is
puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees and bake 5 minutes more to fully
cook dough.

7PM
at the Sortlands

Ingredients

2 cups espresso (can use instant)

1 Tablespoon sugar

3 Tablespoons Kahlua

4 large egg yolks (save whites for other use)

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup sweet Marsala wine

1 pound mascarpone cheese

1 cup heavy cream (chilled very well)

36 Italian lady fingers

Unsweetened cocoa

Directions

Add sugar and Kahlua to espresso, stir to dissolve and cool.

In a double boiler (I use a metal bowl over a pot of
simmering water), with a hand mixer beat egg yolks, Marsala wine and ½ cup
sugar about 8 minutes until tripled in volume.

Remove bowl from heat and pour mixture into another bowl.  Beat in the mascarpone until just combined –
do not over beat.

In a separate bowl, beat cream in a large bowl until it
holds stiff peaks.

Fold mascarpone mixture into whipped cream gently but
thoroughly.

Dip lady fingers into espresso mixture quickly and line
bottom of a 13×9 x3 inch baking pan, trimming to fit your pan.  Spread half of mascarpone filling on top and
repeat with another layer of lady fingers.
Spread remaining filling on top and dust with cocoa.  Chill, covered at least 6 hours.

Let tiramisu stand at room temperature 30 minutes before
serving, dust with more cocoa if needed.

8 cups tomatoes, quartered
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
4-6 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine all the above ingredients in a large baking dish. Roast 45-50 minutes, then pulse in a food processor to the consistency you desire.

Finish by stirring in 1/4 cup of thinly sliced basil leaves and season to taste.

Can be frozen in quart size Ziploc bags (I usually double bag and make sure that all air is out of the bag before sealing to prevent freezer burn) for 2-3 months.

Enjoy!
Carole

• 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 pound Ground Turkey
• ½ cups Crumbled Feta Cheese
• ½ cups Sun-dried Tomatoes, Marinated In Olive Oil
• ½ cups Fresh Baby Spinach Leaves, Chopped
• ¼ teaspoons Kosher Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
• ¼ teaspoons Lawry’s Garlic Salt With Parsley

For Assembly:

• 1 cup Mayonnaise
• 2 Tablespoons Sun-dried Tomatoes, Marinated In Olive Oil, Drained
• 12 whole Baby Hamburger Buns Or Dinner Rolls, Split And Warmed
• 2 cups Fresh Baby Spinach Leaves

1. Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Place turkey, feta, sun dried tomatoes, spinach and seasonings into a mixing bowl. Mix until just combined. Form 1/4 Cup little patties and place onto a cookie sheet. Once all are formed, place batches in hot skillet. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown and cooked through.

2. Place mayonnaise and tomatoes into a bowl; mix to combine. Spread over insides of warm rolls. Layer bottom roll with spinach and the burger. Close with top roll and eat!

Makes about 12 little sliders.

Radiant wines from the heart of Spain. Grab a fork. www.tapenawines.com

Ingredients



2 pounds chicken drumettes

2 tsp Spanish paprika

1 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 ½ tsp of minced garlic (about 2 large cloves)

2 tsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp water

3 Tbsp virgin olive oilDirections

Wash and completely dry the drumettes.

Combine the spices, garlic, sugar, water and olive oil. Stir into a thin paste.

Rub the paste mixture over each drumette and put them into a plastic bag or covered glass

container. Refrigerate and marinate for at least 4 hours.

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a jelly roll pan with foil. Arrange wings in an even layer, discard marinade.

Bake 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Turn once to ensure they are cooked

through.

Transfer to a serving platter.

Makes about 18 – 22 drumettes

Radiant wines from the heart of Spain. Grab a fork. www.tapenawines.com

White Bean Tomato Dip

Makes about 2 cups of dip

Ingredients



1 – 14 ounce can Northern White Beans, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup vegetable broth

1 clove garlic minced

1/4 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes

3 Tbsp virgin olive oil

1 tsp minced parsleyDirections

Heat the broth in the microwave until almost boiling, about 1 minute.

Put garlic and dried tomatoes into the hot broth to cook the garlic and reconstitute the

tomatoes.

Put all ingredients together into a food processor and blend until smooth.

Serve with grilled bread, sliced vegetables, or bread sticks.