Parmesan Parsnip Fries

Parsnip is an interesting and healthy twist to potatoes when making french fries. You can slice them into wedges, shoe string fries or chips. They're a delicious side dish to any meal.

Ingredients

6 large parsnips
4 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. onion powder
3 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Peel and slice parsnips in desired shape and place in baking dish. Toss with remaining ingredients. Bake at 350º for about 45 minutes, stirring occassionally.

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Mussels in White Wine Broth

Mussels with white wine can be a very romantic dinner. I like to prepare this for my husband when the kids are away. Serve this to your significant other with a nice glass of your favourite white or red wine, a french baguette and voila! An intimate dinner for two.

Ingredients

2 pounds of fresh mussels (de-bearded and washed well)
2 cups of your favourite white wine
1 package of Knorr vegetable soup mix
1/2 cup of green onions diced
1/2 cup of red peppers diced
1/2 cup celery diced
1 clove of garlic minced
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 can (28 fl.oz.) of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of water

Directions

Using a large saucepan on medium heat, fry green onions, red peppers and celery in olive oil. Cook until translucent. Pour in mussels, water, wine, diced tomatoes and soup mix. Cover and simmer for approx. 30 minutes.

Now some may argue that I'm overcooking the mussels but I like to let them simmer so they absorb all the great flavours. I also didn't add salt and pepper to the ingredients list because I think the soup mix adds enough salt. You can always add salt and pepper after tasting. Enjoy.

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Mashed Potatoes with Fresh Rosemary

These mashed potatoes are a refreshing change from the "same old". Made with chicken stock and fresh rosemary, they're delicious served with any type of meat.


Ingredients

10 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut
3 cups chicken broth
15 fresh rosemary leaves, washed and chopped finely
3 tablespoons of butter, margarine or olive oil
2 teaspoons of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Place potatoes in a pot and add chicken stock. Boil until potatoes are tender enough to mash. The amount of chicken stock you use will vary, depending on the potatoes you're using so you may have to eliminate some of the stock or add more. Once potatoes are mashed, add remaining ingredients. As an alternative, you can use beef stock, leftover stock from your turkey at Thanksgiving or if you're a vegetarian, knorr vegetable soup mix works great.

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Ham and Cheese Rice Balls

Rice balls or "Arancini" (as we Italians like to call them) are a little messy to make but very easy and well worth it, they're delicious.

Arancini simply means little oranges, which is what they resemble after being fried.

This recipe is an excellent way to use up your left-over white rice but if you're making your rice fresh, just be sure to let it cool completely. You'll want to have a large bowl of water nearby to rinse your hands while making them. You can make large ones to serve as a main meal or little ones which make great party appetizers.

The nice thing about rice balls is you can use whatever you have handy. Some people add peas, chicken, etc. If your mixture is to dry, simply add another egg. If it's too moist, add more freshly grated parmesan cheese or rice. Ham and Cheese rice balls are normally coated with bread crumbs before frying but I have used flour and they were just as yummy.

Ingredients

3 cups cooked & cooled white rice
2 eggs
3 tablespoons fresh italian parsley
2 cloves fresh garlic
1/2 cup of finely chopped ham
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 container of mini bocconcini (mozzarella balls)
1/2 cup of finely diced green onions
1 stalk of celery diced
bread crumbs for coating
Italian marinara sauce

Directions

Combine all ingredients except bocconcini and breadcrumbs (mixture will be sticky but that's what helps bind them). Grab a hand full of rice mixture and form into a ball. Using your thumb, make a whole in the center of rice ball and place one mini boccocini inside. Reform into a ball making sure cheese if completely covered with rice.

Heat oil over medium high heat. I usually throw a tiny bit of the rice mixture into the oil to make sure it's hot enough. Fry rice balls until they are golden brown. Serve with your favorite marinara sauce.

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Apple Filled Wontons

Treat your guests to this tasty apple dessert and some hot cinnamon tea. For small turnovers, use wonton wraps. If you prefer larger treats, use eggroll wraps instead. Great served warm with vanilla ice cream!

Ingredients

1 package of wonton or eggroll wraps
5 apples; thinly sliced
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
4 tbsp. brown sugar
vegetable oil
eggwash
icing sugar to garnish

Directions

Peel and core apples, cut into thin slices. In a mixing bowl, toss apple slices with brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Coat edges of wonton wrap with eggwash and add filling to center. Coat the edge of another wrap and place over. Press edges together with fingertips or fork.

For eggroll wraps; coat edges, add filling to one side and fold over into a triangle. Ensure that edges are sealed well.

Fry in hot oil until golden brown and dust with icing sugar.

Note: These apple wraps take only seconds to fry up, so keep an eye on them!

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