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Shahrzad's
Monday
Munchies
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| Hello, Well, I had no idea that the mehndi list would include food recipes! I love to cook and I have some popular recipes. I will tell about each before I write the recipe for you. The Best Brownies These
are my favorite brownies..they are very moist and very rich. I
like to eat them with very strong coffee or espresso. They are
totally homemade with is becoming increasingly rare these days, it
seems. They are well worth the extra effort and you will never
eat brownies from a box again!
People at a henna party would like these..you can set them out on a fancy plate and serve strong coffee or whatever is your favorite. They are easy to eat and very satisfying. Also if a person talks too much at a henna party these will slow down the conversation because they are sticky! Ingredients: 1 whole box of Baker's
unsweetened chocolate
5 eggs 3 cups sugar 1 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 Tablespoon vanilla (use good kind) 2 1/2 cups chopped walnuts Instructions: Beat eggs, sugar, vanilla for 10
minutes at high speed.
Melt at very low heat: ( I use a double boiler) butter & chocolate. Stir to mix and let it cool. Combine sugar mixture and chocolate mixture on low speed. Add flour and mix just to blend. Pour into greased and floured 9" x 13 " pan. Do not use glass. A double wall metal one is the very best to use. Bake at 325 F for 40-45 minutes. A knife inserted in the middle should NOT be clean! You can frost them with a buttercream frosting if you like, put half walnuts on top, put powdered sugar on top or whatever you like! I usually eat them "nude". If you want to make them ahead of a party or such you can cut them, wrap them and freeze them. Brandy Iced Walnuts Now
for a very old fashioned recipe from my Grandmother. These are
another sweet that we serve at the holidays. At a henna party
they
would be good to serve because they are clean and taste great.
Actually, you cannot stop eating them.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 cup sugar 3 tablespoons brandy 3 cups walnut halves 1/2 cup water Instructions: Combine corn syrup, sugar, and
water.
Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly. Then stop stirring and cook until syrup reaches soft ball stage (238 F on candy thermometer). A small amount, when dropped into cold water, should form a soft ball. Remove from heat and add brandy. Add walnut halves and stir until nuts are well coated. Pour onto waxed paper and seperate nuts from each other. Makes about 1 pound. Derby Bars Here
is another sweet recipe! You have to have sweets at a party.
These would look nice with the brownies on a plate. All of these finger
foods are good for henna parties because you can just sit around and
eat!
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar 1 cup flour 2-3 teaspoons vanilla 4 eggs 2 cups walnuts, finely chopped 1/4 cup good bourbon (sour mash is good) 2 cups GOOD chocolate chips (Gitard is good and so are Trader Joes) Instructions: Mix liquid stuff together.
Make a pie crust by combining the butter, flour and sugar. Put the crust on the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan. You can use an 11 " x 13" also. Slit the pie crust. Layer the chocolate and walnuts and pour the liquid over it all. Cook at 350 F for 1 hour. Serve with brandy laced whipped cream (maybe not a good idea to serve with the cream at a henna party because it is messy). Fruit Punch Are you thirsty for something? My fruit punch is renowned for its flavor. I serve it only twice a year. It is good for a henna party because you can put a big punchbowl of it out and people can help themselves. It makes a lot of punch and that is great for a henna party...you certainly don't want to run out of drinks! Ingredients:
16 large oranges
16 large lemons 11 1/2 cups of unsweetened pineapple juice...that comes out to 2, 46 oz. cans 3 cups sugar 2 cups water 6, 29 ounce bottles of ginger ale Instructions: Mix sugar and water; bring to
boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.
Cool and add to the juices. Add ginger ale. We like to add champagne also. Add as much as you want. Usually I serve half this recipe with two or more bottles of champagne. Thinly sliced oranges and fresh strawberries make good decorations floating in the punch. Oh I forgot to mention...you have to squeeze the juice out of the oranges and lemons. Don't open anything carbonated until you are ready to serve. I make a base with all the fruit juices ahead of time and freeze it until the holidays come. This makes a lot of punch...but it is SO good! Grandpa's Chicken Now
for something that you probably would not serve with the above
mentioned recipes. It is more of an everyday recipe but it is so
satisfying and EASY! You could make it in a crockpot for a henna
party..especially if it is cold out and people want something that
sticks with them.
Ingredients
and instructions:
Get a chicken in pieces. Put salt, pepper, and a bit of garlic powder in flour. Coat the pieces of chicken in the seasoned flour. Brown the chicken in shortening. Remove chicken and then remove oil. Put the chicken back (or put it in a crockpot now). Add sauterne wine and some water. Put a lid on it and simmer for 1 - 1 1/2 hours..crockpot needs more time...maybe 4 hours...I can't remember.. Add more liquid as needed. Add Wondra flour to the juices to thicken them and make a gravy right before serving. Serve over steamed rice.
The sauterne wine is the secret! This is a very old recipe that was my Grandfather's. It was his favorite and my family loves it too. I would serve it to people at a more informal henna party. You could have good friends over before your holiday and do henna, eat the chicken and then you would be al set for the holidays. It would fun to do mid-week. I hope you like my recipes. If you are interested I can also share with you a very special recipe that was my father's. It is Syrian. It is a marinade for lamb ka-babs. It has never been written down so I will have to figure out the measurements of the ingrediants before I send it to you. It is truly a very special recipe. It has an ingredient that most Americans don't know about...pomegranate juice! That is the secret! Thank you! Shahrzad |
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