Preheat oven to 400°

Place in ½ cup warm (not hot) water:

• 1 package active dry yeast
• ½ teaspoon sugar

Let yeast stand 5 minutes, until it bubbles.

Mix in separate bowl:

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 table spoons melted lard
• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ cup evaporated milk, undiluted and warm
• 3 tablespoons mashed potatoes (leftovers or made from dried flakes)

Add activated yeast to flour mixture and beat well with bread hook for at least 5 minutes. If you are not using a mixer, turn this mixture onto a marble slab or floured board and knead it for about 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Allow dough to rise in warm place, covered with cloth and out of drafts, until double in bulk.

Punch down, cover, and let rise until again double in size, about 1 to 2 hours.

After dough has risen twice, divide it into four portions for easy handling. Roll each portion onto lightly floured board or marble slab. Roll each portion of dough very thin into a long strip about 8 inches wide.

Have prepared:

• ½ cup melted butter
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Brush the rolled-out dough portions with the melted butter, using a pastry brush. Sprinkle heavily with sugar and cinnamon.

Carefully roll dough like jelly roll, beginning with long side, and slice in circles ¼ to ½ inch thick.

Place the cinnamon rolls on buttered baking sheet barely touching each other. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon and sugar and let rise in warm place for 15 to 20 minutes. Bake until they smell too good to wait another minute, about 30 minutes. They store well in the refrigerator for a day or two, a month in the freezer.

• Serves 6, or 2 ¼ to 2 ½ cups

• 2 tablespoons chopped yellow onion
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons chopped carrot
• 3/4 pound ground lean beef, preferably chuck or the meat from the neck
• Salt
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 cups canned Italian tomatoes, roughly chopped, with their juice

1. In an earthenware pot or deep, heavy, enameled cast-iron casserole, add the chopped onion with all the oil and butter and sauté briefly over medium heat until just translucent. Add the celery and carrot and cook gently for 2 minutes.

2. Add the ground beef, crumbling it in the pot with a fork. Add 1 teaspoon salt, stir and cook only until the meat has lost its raw, red color. Add the wine, turn the heat up to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the wine has evaporated.

3. Turn the heat down to medium, add the milk and nutmeg, and cook until the milk has evaporated. Stir frequently.

4. When the milk has evaporated, add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly. When the tomatoes have started to bubble, turn the heat down until the sauce cooks at the laziest simmer, just an occasional bubble. Cook, uncovered, for a minimum of 3 ½ to 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste and correct for salt. If you cannot watch the sauce for such a long stretch, you can turn off the heat and resume cooking it later on. But do finish cooking it in one day.

This sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or frozen. Reheat until it simmers for about 15 minutes before using.

• 1 lb wild shrimp, cooked, peeled, deveined and tail removed
• 1 lb penne pasta
• 1/2 cup Kirby cucumber , sliced thin
• 1/2 cup fennel bulb, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup Vidalia onion, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup capers
• 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 2 heads butter lettuce, washed

• Vinaigrette
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup grape seed oil
• 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Meyer lemon, freshly squeezed
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• Place all ingredients in a jar and shake well.

Cook penne according to package directions. Drain well and place in bowl. Pour half the vinaigrette over hot pasta and stir well. Flavor will penetrate the pasta. Add all vegetables, stir well and let sit 30 minutes to marinate.

On a platter, line it with the lettuce leaves. Toss the shrimp with the pasta. Spoon over the lettuce leaves.

Sprinkle the feta, parsley and capers over the shrimp and pasta and serve.

• Serves 6

• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups diced potatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup torn arugula leaves
• 1 cup torn spinach leaves, stems removed
• 2 cups torn lettuce leaves
• Salt and white pepper, to taste
• Sour cream or creme fraiche
• Snipped fresh chives

Saute green onions in butter for 5 minutes until wilted. Add potatoes and salt and 1 cup of stock. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the arugula, spinach and lettuce. Simmer for 10 minutes more and test the potatoes for doneness. Puree vegetables in a food processor. Taste for seasoning, add the rest of the stock and simmer for 1 or 2 minutes.

Serve either hot or at room temperature with a dollop of sour cream or creme fruit and a sprinkling of chopped chives on top.

• Makes approximately 24 cookies
• 9 oz. egg whites (by weight) at room temperature
• Dash of cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons dutch cocoa powder
• 18 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• ¾ cup roughly chopped toasted walnuts

1. In a Kitchen-Aid mixing bowl, beat egg whites, vanilla and cream of tartar to soft peaks. Be careful not to over whip — it should be glossy with soft peaks.

2. Slowly add granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, until add is incorporated.

3. Remove mixer from stand and fold by hand the cocoa, chocolate and walnuts into the meringue.

4. Using a 70# scoop, place scoops of meringue onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

5. Bake at 275 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes, rotating once after half of baking time. Cookies are done when they lift off the paper. Cook completely uncovered and store in an airtight container.

• Courtesy of Joy of Cooking, circa 1956
• Makes about 14 four-inch cakes 

• Sift before measuring:
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• Resift with:
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 ¾ teaspoons double-acting baking powder

•  Beat lightly:
• 1 or 2 eggs

When using 2 eggs, you may separate them. Add the yolks to the milk mixture. Beat the whites until stiff, but not dry and fold them lightly into the blended batter, after adding the milk and butter.

• Add:
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 to 1 ¼ cups milk

• Serves 8

• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
• 1 cup applewood smoked bacon, medium dice
• 1 ½ cup onion, small dice
• 3 quarts potato bread, cubed and toasted
• 2 each eggs, whisked well
• ¼ cup Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
• 2 each scallion, thinly sliced
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1+ gallon chicken stock
• Salt and freshly milled black pepper

1. Heat a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, add oil and cook bacon until half cooked

2. Add onions and continue to cook until onions are soft. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

3. In a large mixing bowl, place the toasted potato bread croutons and add onions, bacon, nutmeg and parsley. Season well with salt and pepper. Moisten with chicken stock and mix well.

4. Lay out a sheet of 20″ x 24″ cheesecloth. At one end, shape the dumpling mix into a large sausage shape. Tightly roll up and tie off each end with cotton twine.

5. Place chicken stock in a pot large enough to hold dumpling. Bring to a simmer and cook for 35 minutes. Shut off heat, cover and hold.

6. When ready to serve, remove from stock, cut strings and unroll. Cut into ¾-inch round discs.

Note: These particular bread dumplings are intended to be served with roasted meats and sauce or pan gravy. They are great for sopping up all that deliciousness.

• 2 pounds wild caught shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 9 garlic cloves , minced
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/8 cup lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• 1 recipe creamy stoneground grits

Heat oil in saute pan and cook the garlic for 30 seconds.

Add chicken broth and lemon juice.

Season with salt, pepper, and Tabasco sauce

Add shrimp and cook 1 – 2 minutes until pink.

Place hot grits in large serving bowl. Pour shrimp and hot liquid over grits.

Garnish with parsley.

• Courtesy of Summerland
• Serves 4 to 6

• 1 whole lobe (1 ½ pounds) foie gras
• 1 (375 ml) bottle sweet or dessert wine
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• Freshly cracked pepper
• 1 pound fresh figs (12 to 14), stems removed and halved
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme

Place the foie gras in a baking dish and generously douse with the wine. Season with the salt and refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, for 12 to 24 hours.

Allow the foie gras to come to room temperature (about 1 hour). Preheat a wood oven or conventional oven to 500 degrees F.

Re-season the foie gras with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Pour off any remaining wine marinade and reserve. Score the lobe on the diagonal, at 1/8-inch intervals, to make a cross-hatch pattern. Line a roasting pan with the fresh figs, rosemary and thyme sprigs, then set the foie gras on top.

Brush the foie gras with the reserved marinade and add about ¼ cup to the bottom of pan. Roast for about 15 minutes. Keep a careful eye on it and rotate and baste it with the marinade and rendered fat from the pan every 2 minutes. If the foie appears to be browning too quickly, loosely tent the top with aluminum foil.

After about 15 minutes, the internal temperature should reach 135 degrees F. Present immediately to your guests in the roasting pan for them to admire, then transfer to a warm platter and garnish with the figs and sprigs of herbs from the pan.

• ¾ cup sugar
• 7 tablespoons flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups eggnog, scalded
• 12 large ginger cookies
• ½ cup heavy cream, whipped
• Crystallized ginger pieces
• Freshly grated nutmeg

Mix together the sugar, flour, salt and eggs. Slowly stir in the eggnog. Return the mixture to low heat, and stir constantly until it begins to boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and continue to stir and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Cool to room temperature.

To assemble:

Place large cookie on individual plates. Spoon desired amount of custard on each cookie. Top with another cookie. Put a dollop of whipped cream on cookie and top with ginger and fresh grated nutmeg if desired.