Sunday, August 29, 2010

Peach Crepes


On a trip to Fredericksburg, Texas last year I went to the Peachtree Tea Room. For dessert they have peach crepes that are filled with a cream cheese mixture topped with delicious Fredericksburg peaches. My friend brought peaches from there recently and we froze them. Crepes are not all that hard to make, but they take a light touch. I think mine turned out more like burritos! They were good, but next time I will go easier on the crepe batter I think.

PEACH TREE CREPES

Crepes:

2 eggs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/3 cups milk
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

Blend eggs, butter, milk, flour, salt and sugar together in order given. Blend or mix on high speed until well incorporated. The batter may be refrigerated at this time or used immediately.
For each crepe, put 2 to 3 tablespoons batter into a medium warm, slightly greased 6-inch to 7-inch skillet. Tilt to spread batter evenly to make a thin crepe. When the crepe is light brown, turn and cook on second side.

Cream filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream

Blend together until smooth. Refrigerate until time to fill crepes.

Sugared Peaches:

Slice fresh peaches
Add sugar to taste
Macerate to make a sauce

This is easily done if your peaches are frozen as when they defrost they are soft and have quite a bit of liquid on them.

Fill crepes will cream filling. Pour sauce over top.

Cheesy Baked Ziti


One of my best friends moved back into her house after a 2-year recovery from Hurricane Ike. We celebrated this weekend with cooking in her new kitchen.

FOUR-CHEESE BAKED ZITI

1 pound ground beef
1/2 onion chopped fine
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
1 pound ziti
2 jars pasta sauce (I used fire roasted tomato and garlic)
8 ounces mozzarella cheese grated
8 ounces parmesan, asiago, romano mixed grated cheese
8 ounces non-smoked provolone cheese (save for the top)
fresh parsley chopped

Boil ziti according to package instructions. Drain. Saute ground beef with onion until done. Drain. Add pasta sauce. Layer sauce, ziti, cheeses, and parsley. Bake at 375 degrees until brown and bubbly (about 20-25 minutes).

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

7-Up Cake

I have had a huge pile of recipes saved for years and for some reason this recipe is at the top of the list and yet I just tried it out. This cake has been around for a very long time. It tastes better than it looks -- thank goodness!

7-Up Cake with Pineapple Coconut Frosting

3 cups cake flour
3 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
1-1/2 cups butter, softened
3/4 cup 7-Up (poured into a cup first)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon extract

Cream sugar, butter and eggs until creamy. Add flour 1 cup at a time, add vanilla and lemon extract and finally 7-Up. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. This can be simply glazed or use the frosting below. You can also bake this in layers and use the frosting as a filling kind of like a German chocolate cake.

COCONUT PINEAPPLE FROSTING/FILLING

1 large can crushed pineapple
1 stick butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup pecans

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. It will thicken as it cools. Spread on cake.