Decorative Meringue

You can make decorative meringue peaks like the ones shown on Butterscotch Meringue Pie using a small spoon. Dip the back of the spoon into the meringue and pull it upward to form a spiky peak.

Stir-Fried Lobster with Spring Onions, Red Onions and Shallots

A Hong Kong Delight!! LOBSTER 3 (6-8-oz) lobster tails 1/2 small red onion, sliced lengthwise (1/4 inch) 2 TB Chinese rice wine, dry sherry or chicken broth 2 TB soy sauce 6 green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces, cut lengthwise into thin strips GARNISH 1 1/2 TB vegtable oil 2 med shallots, thinly sliced With large knife, Chinese cleaver or kitchen shears, cut lobster through shell in half lengthwise,cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch pieces, keeping shell on.  Heat wok over high heat until hot. Add oil and shallots; stir-fry 1-2 min or until golden brown. Remove wok from heat. Remove shallots using slotted spoon; place on paper towel-lined plate. Return wok with oil to high heat; heat until oil is hot. Add lobster and red onion; stir-fry 4-6 min or until lobster is opaque but not firm. Add wine and soy sauce; stir until combined. Remove from heat; stir in green onions. Place on serving platter; top with shallots. WINE Try a rich white, such as the Rosement DIamond Chardonnay from Australia or the elegant Grove Mill Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. YIELD: 4 servings ( Source: Cooking Club of America)

Turkey Sandwiches with Gorgonzola, Strawberries and Chive Mayonaise

A unique combination of flavors!!  1/4 cup mayonnaise 1 TB finely minced chives 1/2 tsp sugar 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper 8 slices sourdough bread 4 oz. Gorgonzola or other blue cheese, crumbled 4-6 large strawberries, thinly sliced 12 oz. sliced cooked turkey  In small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, chives, sugar and pepper. Evenly sprinkle 4 slices of bread with Gorgonzola cheese; arrange strawberries over cheese. Top each sandwich with one-fourth of the turkey. Spread each of the 4 remaining bread slices with one-fourth of the chive mayonaise; place over turkey. Cut sandwiches in half. YiELD: 4 sandwiches
(Source: Cooking Club of America)

Warm Golden Custard Tarts

A Hong Kong jewel!!  PASTRY  3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 TB sugar 1/8 tsp salt  5 TB unsalted butter, chilled, cut up 2-3 TB ice water  GLAZE  1 egg, beaten  CUSTARD  2 egg yolks 3 TB sugar 3/4 tsp cornstarch 1/2 cup whipping cream 6 drops yellow food coloring, if desired*  In med bowl, stir together flour, 1 TB sugar and salt. With pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces. Add 2 TB of the water, stir until dough starts to form, adding additional water, if necesssary. Shape into thin flat round, cover. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Using 3-inch cutter, cut dough into 12 rounds, re-rolling dough scraps as necessary. Press dough into 12 (2 1/4-inch) tart pans, trimming pastry as necessary. Refrigerate 20 minutes or until firm.  Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees. Place tart pans on baking sheet; line tart shells with foil and pie weights or dry beans. Bake 10 min; remove foil. Bake an additional 3 min or until pastry is lightly browned. Remove from oven, reduce oven temp to 325 degrees. Cool tart shells on wire rack 10 min or until room temp.  Meanwhile, in med bowl, whisk egg yolks, 3 TB sugar and cornstarch until smooth. Whisk in cream and food coloring just until blended. Strain through fine strainer, let stand 15 min. Remove any excess bubbles and foam. Gently pour egg mixture into cooled tart shells. Bake 12-15 min or until custard is just set. Cool on wire rack 15-20 min; serve warm. (Tarts can be made up to 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. To warm, heat tarts in 325 degrees for 3-5 min or until warm.) TIP* The custard tarts in Hong Kong are bright yellow in color. During the summer months, it's sometimes possible to get free-range, organic eggs with yolks that are often bright yellow-orange. Otherwise, food coloring helps create that color,but it's not necessary. YIELD: 12 (2 1/4-inch) tarts (Source: Cooking Club of America)

Cinnamon Lollipops

Fun to make!! :)  2 cups water 6 cinnamon sticks, toasted* 1 cup sugar 2/3 cup light corn syrup Place lillipop sticks in plastic or metal lollipop molds, or arrange sticks 3 inches apart on greased parchment paper. In med saucepan, combine water and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Boil 12-18 min or until reduced to 1/4 cup. Remove and discard cinnamon sticks. Stir in sugar. Bring to a boil, brushing sides of pan with pastry brush dipped in water to wash down any sugar crystals. Stir in corn syrup. Cook 7-10 min or until candy thermometer reaches 295 degrees. Immediately remove from heat; pour syrup into glass measuring cup. Gently pour syrup into molds or over ends of lollipop sticks on parchment. TIP * To toast cinnamon sticks, place on small baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 min or until you can smell toasted aroma of cinnamon. Do not overbake or cinnamon will burn and become bitter. Cool completely. YIELD: 24 lollipops (Source: Cooking Club of America)

Cinnamon Stars

A unique cookie with the icing baked on!  COOKIES- 2 cups slivered almonds 3/4 cup sugar 1 TB freshly ground cinnamon* Dash salt 1 TB honey 1 egg white  ICING- 1 cup.powdered sugar 1 egg white Edible glitter or sprinkles if desired**   In food processor, combine almonds, sugar, cinnamon and salt; pulse 2-3 min or until very finely ground. Add honey; pulse to distribute.  Add 1 egg white; pulse several seconds or until dough pulls together and forms ball. Pat out dough between 2 sheets of parchment or waxed paper to about 1/2- inch thickness. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness(about 12by 10-inch rectangle).  Be careful not to let paper bunch up and wrinkle underneath.  Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.  Meanwhile, in a med bowl, stir together all icing ingredients except edible glitter, beat at med-high speed 5-7 min or until stiff but spreadable. Press plastic wrap directly onto icing to prevent skin from forming. With offset spatula, spread thin layer of icing onto chilled dough. Discard any remaining icing. Sprinkle with edible glitter or sprinkles,if desired. Refrigerate dough 10 min or until icing is set. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut out cookies using 2-inch star-shaped cutter. (Dip cutter into water before each use,shaking off excess). If cookies are difficult to remove from cutter, tap edge of cutter against baking sheet until cookies release. Place cookies on baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time 5-6 min or until cookies have risen slightly(icing should remain white). Cut and bake remaining dough scraps, if desired. Cool cookies completely on wire rack.(Cookies can be made up to 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container).  TIPS * To grind cinnamon, break sticks into smaller pieces. Grind in coffee grinder until finely ground, sift through fine strainer to remove any pieces. (You will need about 4 cinnamon sticks for this recipe.) ** Edible glitter, an all-natural gumarabic, adds beautiful sparkle to cookies. YiELD: 30 cookies  (Source: Cooking Club of America)

Pepsi Pork Chops

Kettle Falls Collection- 8 pork chops  salt and pepper 1 cup ketchup 1 cup Pepsi brown sugar  Place pork chops in baking pan.  Season with salt and pepper.  Mix the ketchup and Pepsi together and pour over the pork chops.  Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until tender. (Source: Kimberly Merritt)