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BLEU DE BRESSE BAKED POTATOES

~Submitted by Pat Collins, LA

4 Idaho potatoes (about 8 ounces each) scrubbed and patted dry
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large cloves garlic, very finely minced
1/2 cup sour cream
2 ounces Bleu de Bresse or other mild blue cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons freshly snipped chives
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Paprika, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Prick the potatoes all over and place them on a baking sheet. Bake for 1/14 hours.

Melt the butter in a skillet, add the garlic, and cook over very low heat for 1 1/2 minutes; do not let it brown. Set aside.

Remove the potatoes but leave the oven on. Allow the potatoes to cool slightly. Then cut a lengthwise slit in the top of each potato and carefully remove the pulp. Leaving the skin intact. Place the pulp in a mixing bowl, and set the skins aside.

Mash the potato pulp with a fork. Add the garlic butter, sour cream, cheese, parsley, 1 tablespoon chives, and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly, and then carefully stuff the mixture back into the potato skins, mounding it slightly. Sprinkle the top lightly with paprika.

Arrange the potatoes on a baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining chives and serve immediately.

Serves 4




MACARONI AND CHEESE
(Eastern European flavor)

~Submitted by Tena, MO

6 (6-ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 quart heavy cream
2 tablespoons of thyme
2 pounds of cooked rigatoni
6 ounces goat cheese

Season chicken breasts with paprika salt and pepper and set aside. Heat olive oil in large saute pan and place chicken in it browning on both sides. Place in 400-degree oven for 8 to10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool then dice into large pieces. Heat cream in large saucepan, add herbs, salt, and pepper and reduce by half. Add the cooked rigatoni, cheese and cooked chicken and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.




BISHOP'S HATS

~Submitted by Margo, SW CO

350*

1/2 c soft butter
1/4 c brown sugar
1 c flour
1 jar apricot jam (or one to your taste)
1 pkg large marshmallows (white)
12 small muffin pans

Cream butter; add sugar and cream until evenly blended. Add flour gradually until pastry is pliable and your bowl comes clean. Pat in small muffin pans, slightly greased (Pam). Bake at 350*F for 20-15 minutes until golden brown.

Add 1 TBSP apricot jam to each one and top with 1/2 large marshmallow.

Return to oven (350*F) until marshmallow is golden brown, 10 minutes approximately.

Source: Extra Special - 'Specially for Little People Section - from the cookbook entitled "Sharing with You and Others", Catholic Women's League, Mary Queen of Peace Council, Pierrefonds, Quebec, November, 1999.




NO-BAKE HOLIDAY FRUIT CAKE
Makes 1 - 9x5 inch loaf

~Submitted by Mary, TN

1 (16 ounce) package graham crackers, crushed
6 ounces red candied cherries, coarsely chopped
6 ounces green candied cherries, coarsely chopped
6 ounces candied pineapple, coarsely chopped
2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Line one 9x5 inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, allowing wrap to hang over edges a few inches. In a large bowl, combine the graham crackers, red and green cherries, pineapple, pecans, and the sweetened condensed milk, using your hands mix thoroughly. Place mixture into lined pan and cover well. Freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight before serving. When ready to serve; invert onto a serving platter, remove pan and plastic wrap, and slice. Store any remaining cake in the freezer.

Makes 12 servings.




ORANGE-GLAZED GAME HENS

~Submitted by Larry Holmes, Ontario, Canada

(Marinate the game hens overnight.)

¾ cup fresh orange juice
½ cup orange honey
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons minced orange peel (orange part only)
3 large garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons oriental sesame oil
2 1 ½-pound Cornish game hens, halved

3 oranges, peeled, white pith removed
sesame seeds
6 ounces snow peas

Mix first 8 ingredients in large bowl. Add hens skin-side down. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours, turning once.

Using small sharp knife, cut between membranes of oranges to release segments; set side.

Preheat oven to 400° F. Transfer hens to shallow baking pan. Place marinade in heavy small saucepan and boil until reduced to ¾ cup, about 12 minutes. Brush both sides of hens with reduced marinade. Arrange skin side up ion pan. Roast 5 minutes. Baste hens. Cook 10 minutes longer. Reduce oven temperature to 350° F. Baste hens and cook 10 minutes. Sprinkle hens with sesame seeds and roast until cooked through, about 10 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Cook snow peas in pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain. Place 2 hen half in center of each plate. Alternate snow peas and orange segments around hens.

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For Two...

BACON-WRAPPED GARLIC ASPARAGUS

4 cloves garlic - minced
1 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lb. fresh asparagus
1/2 lb. raw bacon
salt and pepper - to taste

In a sauté pan over medium heat, cook garlic and parsley in oil for 3 minutes.

Break tough ends off asparagus.

Lay 4-5 stalks of asparagus in the center of each strip of bacon; drizzle garlic oil over each bundle of asparagus; wrap the bacon around the stalks and secure with a toothpick.

Lay asparagus bundles on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper; bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until bacon is cooked OR grill on top rack until bacon is cooked.

You'll never "boil" asparagus again!