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Short Bread Recipes are one of the most enjoyable pastry available and if you are into cooking it is also one of the most simple of all the cookie recipes to make. Shortbread cookies have been around from as far back as prehistoric Scotland when food preparation in those times, compared to nowadays standards, was very crude. The original shortbread cookie recipe may have used oat flour but was eventually replaced with wheat flour when the English took it up because at that time in England, oats were thought to be animal food.  Traditional shortbread is baked round and then sliced into wedges, for the Scottish people the cuts represents the sun rays in the winter months. Today the shortbread cookie recipe is one of the most popular enjoyed year round, especially during the Christmas season. The recipe has also advanced far beyond the preliminary components like butter, sugar and flour.

Things you will need:

1/4 cup superfine sugar
2 cups of all-purpose flour (sifted)
2 grams of salt
2 sticks of room temperature unsalted butter
60 grams powdered icing
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions are as follows:

1. Place the melted butter into a medium sized bowl and use an electric mixer or a hand mixer to mix it out until it turns out creamy and even. Then apply the sugar first and then the vanilla extract and mix out all the elements together.

2. Mix the flour and salt into individual bowl and now steadily put in flour until all the contents are consistent in texture.

3. Massage the batter into an orb and then put it in a plastic wrap. Then put the cookie mixture into the refrigerator and allow it to chill for at least an hour, even though this is optional.

4. Take out the dough from refrigerator, then flatten it into a 1/4 inch thickness.

5. Turn the oven to 177 degrees and line the baking tins with parchment paper.

6. Cut out the dough into separate cookies like rounds or whichever other shapes you desire by using a lightly floured cookie cutter. Place cookies on lightly greased cookie tin and place it in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Then remove it out and place it in the oven for approximately 8 – 10 minutes, or until the edges have become slightly brown. This process helps to firm up the batter so the cookies will uphold their shape after being baked.

7.After taking them from the oven, put them into a cooling rack. When cool enough store the cookies in an airtight container. This mixture should be able to bake about 20 Short Bread Recipes.

Tips and Warnings

* You can use a cross section of baking containers to achieve various shape of cakes. Some persons prefer to make round cakes, square cakes, heart shapes and others.

* Feel free to try different flavorings into the mixture to bring out more flavor in your shortbread recipe. This may include extracts from chocolates, nuts, spices, dried fruits, and citrus zests. Rice flour, cornstarch. Semolina can also be applied to replace some of the flour to give a different texture.

* How good your shortbread comes out is dependent on the quality of your ingredients. Purchase the best quality unsalted butter you can get and this will produce a crispy, crumbly, buttery short bread cookie.

Butter cookies are delicious, soft, yummy, confectionaries that everybody loves. The advantage of butter cookies is, they can be made anytime and also they are very easy to make.  They can also be baked in flavors such as vanilla, chocolate and so on.

How to Make Plain Butter Cookies:

1)1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted, softened butter
2)2 cups all-purpose flour
3)1/2 tsp baking powder
4)1 large egg
5)1 cup sugar
6)1/2 tsp vanilla
7)1/2 tsp salt

Instructions:

Combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl and mix it thoroughly.
In another (slightly larger bowl) use a mixer to mix together the butter and sugar. The resulting mixture should be fluffy and pale. It needs to be whisked for some time (6 minutes)
Next, the vanilla and the egg extract must be added. Slowly, add flour to the equation and keep stirring gently
Now the dough to prepare the cookies is ready. Shape the dough with the dimensions of 12 inches long and 2 inch thick. Cover the mixture in a polythene and keep it refrigerated for 4 hours.
Before putting the frozen dough, heat the microwave oven upto 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
From the whole mesh of dough, a heavy knife needs to be used to cut them into cookie shape. The ideal width for cookies can be 1/4 inch thick. Next, they need to be placed on ungreased baking paper and one may garnish them as per need.
The cookies need to be baked till they are or look golden, for approximately 15 minutes. They need to be cooled for approximately 3 minutes
The left over cookie dough can be used to make more cookies or can be wrapped in a polythene cover and can be chilled till 5 days
The cookies can be garnished by chocolates by melting some chocolate pieces and then added after cooling the cookies, as garnishing.

How to Make German Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1)6 cups flour
2)1/4 tsp. Salt
3)1 1/2 tbsp. Ground cinnamon
4)2 1/4 cup sugar
5)1 lb. Butter, softened
6)1/2 cup fruity white wine, such as riesling
7)3 eggs, 1 slightly beaten

Mix the flour, salt and cinnamon together in a large bowl
Whisk the butter thoroughly with an electric mixer, then 2 cups of sugar should be added and beat, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Both the eggs need to be beaten, one at a time, followed by the dry ingredients and wine.
The dough needs to be divided into 5 equal parts which have to be flattened, wrapped in plastic and put in the refrigerator for a night
The oven needs to be preheated till 350 degrees. Next, the dough needs to be rolled out, on about 1/4″ width floured surface. The dough needs to be cut with cookie cutters and transferred to greased cookie sheets
The remaining dough can be brushed with remaining eggs, sprinkled with a little sugar, and baked in batches, until turn golden. The cookies then need to be transferred to a wire rack and cooled completely. The best time for sampling cookies is one week after baking them.

It is fairly easy to make butter cookies if one has an inclination towards culinaries and has enough time to learn something new.

Read here for more information on: No Bake Cookies

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Salmon on the grill is a basic preparation that is hard to mess up once you know what you are doing. It actually takes a few minutes of grilling time to get the flawless savory flavor that salmon can offer.  It always best to purchase salmon that has the skin on it when you are cooking by grill.Before that you have to know how to grill salmon.

There are several ways to prepare salmon for grilling, like using a little salt and pepper and some olive oil which is by far the most straightforward technique of preparation.  Mayonnaise can also be used to one side of the salmon before putting on the grill.

For a  marinade, whip together 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 6 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic and 2 tablespoons mustard. Brush the marinade on top of the fish (skin side down) before putting salmon on the grill. When your salmon is through grilling, pour the last of the marinade on top. This is adequate marinade for three pounds of salmon, or 5-6 servings.

The first key to a great grilled salmon is to prepare the grill the right way.  The grill should be medium-hot when you place the fish on it.   when using a charcoal grill, coals should be bright red and flames should have decrease before the fish is placed on the grill.  Heap the coals to the side so there is a ‘hot’ area and a ‘warm’ area. With a gas grill set temperature between 300 and 325 degrees.   To test grill temperature place your hand 4 inches above the grill and start counting the seconds. If you can keep your hand over the grill for 4-5 seconds, the grill is medium hot. If you have to move your hand in 2-3 seconds, the temperature needs to be reduced.

Lay the salmon on the warm part of the grill.  Turn the salmon over after 3 – 5 minutes. Allow it to cook on the other side for 3 minutes. merely cover the grill if you have a gas grill, but this is discretional.  Place the salmon on the hottest part of the grill to get grill marks on it – about a minute on each side.  Do not overcook the salmon.

When you removeyour salmon fillets from the grill, they will continue to cook a little as they sit,  so they should look a little raw inside upon removal from the grill.To test doneness, touch the fish: if it’s a bit soft it’s not done, but if it’s firm with some give, it is medium rare.  Completely firm is fully done.

Read here for more information on how to cook salmon.

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Grilling is a culinary appetizing way of cooking pork chops allowing you to tie in an array of flavors like honey mustard, barbecue, Cajun, Mexican, French, Italian, Asian and more.  To acquire the perfect pork chops certain steps must be applied.

Lets learn some steps on how to grill pork chops:

Brining is a great way to add moisture to any meat and is especially beneficial with pork specifically with thicker cuts of meat which are appropriate for brining rather than thinner cuts.  Brine is a salt water mixture (about 1 tablespoon table salt to a cup of water) that gets soaked up by meat. Brining thick cut pork chops should take 2 to 4 hours; when brining do not use any other salt-based ingredient.

Marinades are preferable for thinner chops. Marinades cannot sink into meat like brine will but it adds a protective layer to the meat. A great example of a basic marinade is Italian Dressing which composes of oil, vinegar and water as well as herbs and spices. Thin chops can be adequately marinated in 30 minutes. The marinade will moisten the meat and shield it from the intense heat of the grill.

An alternate to the brines and marinades is a dry rub which is applied by seasoning the surface of your chops with herbs and spice (or salt and pepper). This will not add moisture or help to tenderize the chops but it will add a lot of flavor.   Brine can be put together with dry rub, but ensure there is no salt in the dry rub.

Thin chops are to be grilled hot and fast over an acute heat, flipping as little as as you can. Preheat the grill to the most optimum temperature. Put the chops on the grill and lock the lid for one minute. Open the lid and rotate the chops 45 degrees without turning over. Close the lid for another minute.  Toss the chops over and close the lid again. After a minute rotate the chops 45 degrees and finish off.  Cooking time is approximately 5 minutes.

Thick chops will have need of a slower heat to get them cooked while not drying them out.  Preheat to highest temperature grill.  Place the chops on the grill and close the lid. After one minute open the grill and flip the chops. Close the lid for one minute. Now reduce the heat on the grill to medium.  Rotate the chops and let them cook for about 3 more minutes with the lid down.  Turn the chops over and continue cooking for about 4 more minutes. Turn your grill down to its minimum setting.

Once the chops are cooked as required, remove and place them on a plate and cover with aluminum foil for 5 to 10 minutes to let them rest to allow the juice to redistribute in the meat.

Read here for more information on how to bake pork chops.

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BUTTER NUT SQUASH RECIPES

Butter nut squash is a type of winter squash having a sweet, nutty flavor like the taste of a pumpkin. It is a big oblong-shaped vegetable which grows on a vine. It is made of orange fleshy pulp that is held by yellow skin. When it is ripe, it becomes orange – the riper it gets, the deeper the orange colour and it becomes sweeter and richer in flavor. The seeds can also be eaten whether raw or roasted. In Australia and New Zealand, the butter nut squash is known as Butter nut pumpkin.

Butter nut squash can be used to create many mouth-watering meals. It can be used in the following ways:

Butternut Squash Recipes

Roasted

Pureed and used to make soups

Grilled

To make casseroles

To make bread and muffins

Here are a few recommendations of meals that can be created with butter nut squash.

#1 – BUTTER NUT CASSEROLE

The first thing to do is to cook a butter nut squash.

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked butter nut squash, pureed and drained

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ melted butter

8 ounces mashed pineapple with the juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/3 cup chopped walnuts (pecans can also be used)

Tools:

Casserole dish

Bowl

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 325°

2.Use butter to grease a casserole dish and place it aside.

3.Combine the crushed butternut squash, sugar, softened butter, crushed pineapple, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg together in a bowl.

4.Combine well and pour into the greased casserole dish.

5.Sprinkle the walnuts on top.

6.Put in the oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes.

#2 – BUTTER NUT SQUASH PUDDING

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups butter nut squash cooked and mashed

2 eggs

14 ounces evaporated milk

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Tools:

Whisk

Mixing bowl

1 ½ quart baking tin

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 325.

2.Crack eggs and pour into mixing bowl. Use the whisk and whisk the eggs until well beaten.

3.Add the squash and beat the mixture until smooth.

4.Add the remaining ingredients and stir thoroughly.

5. Pour the mixture into the baking tin and place in the oven. Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until a skewer is inserted and comes out clean. For best outcome, put the baking tin in a bigger oven-proof pan with water 1 -2 inches deep.

#3 – BUTTERNUT SQUASH FRIES

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized butter nut squash

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Tools:

Sharp knife

Foil paper

Baking sheet

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2.Peel your butter nut squash, remove the seeds and slice the squash into long strips to make fries.

3.Spread foil paper over a baking sheet and spray with non-stick spray.

4.Fix the slices on the sheet in a single coat.

5.Sprinkle with olive oil and a pinch of salt to taste.

6.Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Fries should be lightly golden, crispy on the exterior and moist on the inside. Serve when hot.

The best way to bring out the flavor is by roasting it. Use a vegetable peeler and get rid of the skin then cut the squash into cubes. Sprinkle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast on a cookie sheet for approximately 40 minutes. Serve as a side dish. You can also mash or puree the roasted squash in a food processor and add it to your favourite soup.

Let’s learn how to cook butternut squash at home.

Creating perfect hard boiled eggs clearly comes with an art. A lot of persons believe that boiling the egg actually means to let the eggs stay in boiling water for a bit of time. This is not so, as the eggs can be overcooked creating a gray-green color. Also the selection of eggs decides how well the eggs will peel once they are cooked.

Fresh eggs are not the better choice for hard-boiling. Ensure the eggs are few days old. Hard boiling farm fresh eggs will customarily lead to eggs that are difficult to peel. If you have boiled a batch that are difficult to peel, crack the eggs all around and place them to soak in cold water for a couple minutes. This will enable the water to enter betweenthe eggs and their shell so they are easier to peel.

Lay the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan, covered by at least an inch or two of cold water. Commencing with cold water and gently bringing the eggs to a boil will help keep them from cracking. Adding a tablespoon of vinegar to the water will help keep the egg whites from leaving any eggs that happen to crack while cooking. Adding a half teaspoon of salt will avoid cracking and make the eggs easier to peel. Put the burner on high and bring the eggs to a boil. As soon as the water starts to boil, removethe pan from the heat for a couple of seconds.

Decrease the heat, and rejoin the pan to the burner. Let simmer for one minute then take the pan from the heat, cover, and let rest for 12 minutes. If you are doing a large amount of eggs, you can check for doneness after 10 minutes by opening one egg. If it isn’t done, cook the other eggs a minute or two more. The eggs should be done completely at 10 minutes, but there are variables which might just affect the timing. These include the shape of the sauce pan, size and number eggs and amount of water in pan. This check will also eliminate the overcooking of the eggs.

Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and lay them into a bowl of ice water (this is if you have a lot of eggs) or strain out the water from the pan, and refresh with cold water. Repeat until eggs are cool.

Peel the eggs if ready for eating or store them in a covered container in the refrigerator. They should be eaten within 5 days.

Did you know that shrimp come in over 300 variety? While there may be a general understanding of the types of shrimp being sold in the supermarket as cooked or uncooked, there are more labels that can be added to shrimp. However, these labels are not specie, but are instead just synonyms. For example prawn and scampi are synonyms for shrimp while gulf shrimp only indicates where the shrimp came from.

Prawns

Now, what is the distinction between a prawn and a shrimp? Nothing, a prawn is a shrimp and vice versa. Some regions and even some countries refer to them prawns, while others refer to them shrimp. Some regions use the word prawn to describe a really large shrimp. Other places just refer to them as large shrimp.

Scampi

This is another tricky term. The waters off Italy are home to a crustacean called scampi, and in Italian the word is actually one word for shrimp. But the dish we call shrimp scampi, refers to any type of shrimp cooked with garlic and butter or olive oil.

Over fishing has made these crustaceans scarce today and what is usually caught as scampi are actually a different type of shrimp called a Norwegian shrimp, or even a Dublin Bay prawn. True scampi are actually not even technically shrimp, since they have big front pincers, making them lobsters.

So, truly there are two main categories of shrimp: freshwater shrimp and saltwater shrimp. The freshwater kinds of shrimp grow comparatively large and are usually treated like lobsters, that is, they are shipped live, and cooked like lobsters. Saltwater shrimp sub classify into cold water or warm water types depending on where they live.

Now that you know a bit about shrimp, it is time to take a look at a tasty way to cook it. Grilling shrimp is one of the easiest ways of cooking shrimp and ensures a tasty meal for you and your family.

Grilled Shrimp Recipe

Ingredients

2 lb. Fresh or frozen jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined

½ cup olive oil

½ cup finely chopped onion

½ cup dry white wine

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup finely chopped parsley

1 tbs Worcestershire

1 tbsp dill weed

½ tsp salt

Directions

1.Thaw shrimp if frozen

2.Combine next 8 ingredients

3.Put shrimp in a plastic bag; set in a deep bowl

4.Pour marinade over shrimp, close bag

5.Marinate for 3 to 4 hours

6.Drain shrimp, keep back marinade

7.Place shrimp on skewers

8.Grill over hot coals for 10 minutes, turning and basting with reserved marinade

9.When shrimp is opaque, they are done.

Did you know that shrimp come in over 300 variety? While there may be a general understanding of the types of shrimp being sold in the supermarket as cooked or raw, there are more names that can be added to shrimp. However, these labels are not specie, but are instead just synonyms. For instance prawn and scampi are synonyms for shrimp while gulf shrimp only indicates where the shrimp came from.

Prawns

Now, what is the distinction between a prawn and a shrimp? None, a prawn is a shrimp and vice versa. Some regions and even some countries call them prawns, while others refer to them shrimp. Some locations use the word prawn to describe a really large shrimp. Other regions simply refer to them as large shrimp.

Scampi

This is another tricky term. The waters off Italy are home to a crustacean called scampi, and in Italian the word is actually one word for shrimp. But the dish we call shrimp scampi, refers to any type of shrimp cooked with garlic and butter or olive oil.

Enthusiastic fishing has made these crustaceans rare today and what is often caught as scampi are actually another type of shrimp called a Norwegian shrimp, or even a Dublin Bay prawn. True scampi are actually not even technically shrimp, since they have big front pincers, making them lobsters.

So, really there are two main classifications of shrimp: freshwater shrimp and saltwater shrimp. The freshwater types of shrimp grow comparatively large and are often treated like lobsters, that is, they are transported live, and cooked like lobsters. Saltwater shrimp sub classify into cold water or warm water kinds depending on where they live.

Grilled Shrimp Recipe

Ingredients

2 lb. Fresh or frozen jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined

½ cup olive oil

½ cup finely chopped onion

½ cup dry white wine

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup finely chopped parsley

1 tbs Worcestershire

1 tbsp dill weed

½ tsp salt

Directions

1.Thaw shrimp if frozen

2.Combine next 8 ingredients

3.Place shrimp in a plastic bag; set in a deep bowl

4.Pour marinade over shrimp, seal bag

5.Marinate for 3 to 4 hours

6.Drain shrimp, keep back marinade

7.Put shrimp on skewers

8.Grill over hot coals for 10 minutes, turning and basting with reserved marinade

9.When shrimp turns opaque, they are done.

Alfredo di Lelio of Rome, Italy, is the creator of the original Alfredo Sauce. Presently there are two types of Alfredo sauce, the Italian or the American kind. Italian Alfredo Sauce is always lots of butter and Parmesan cheese. In American restaurants, more ingredients are added to the Italian combination, including heavy cream, sometimes nutmeg, basil, or other seasonings. Alfredo sauce is common with fetuccine pasta, but can also be served with chicken or vegetables.

Alfredo sauce goes well with a variety of wines, including Chardonnay, Pinot, Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc. Instead of creating the sauce from scratch, Alfredo sauce can also be bought from the supermarket, in jars near the spaghetti sauce. Note, that persons who are lactose intolerant may not handle Alfredo sauce well.

Ingredients

2 cup cream (heavy, or 35% cream is preferred

¼ cup cold butter

¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated

Salt

White pepper

Pasta

Fresh parsley, chopped for garnish

Extra parmesan cheese

Method

1.Heat a large saucepan over high heat until very hot. Add enough cold water to cover the bottom of the pan. Allow the water evaporate but make sure there are a few drops left in the pan. This will keep the cream from scorching and burning on the bottom of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat.

2.Add the cream to the pan and return it to the heat. When the cream comes to boil, reduce heat to medium or medium high and continue to boil until it is reduced by half.

3.In the meantime cook pasta in well salted water according to package directions. Drain well when cooked.

4.when the cream is lessened remove it from the heat. Add butter 1 tablespoon at a time and whisk it in. The cream should thicken and become glossy. Add the cheese and hot pasta to the cream. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

5.Serve immediately with added parmesan if preferred.