melon ball salad

This is just too cute to not do at least a couple times this summer!  My kids LOVE fruit salad, and doing a bowl of melon balls is a fun presentation that really gets them excited!

Reprinted with permission from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazine and Hoffman Media, LLC.

For more information, go to www.semihomemademag.com

Cut favorite melons in half (removing any/all seeds).  Using a melon baller, scoop out the fruit into balls.  Arrange in a clear bowl for a fun presentation!

watermelon cake

Reprinted with permission from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazine and Hoffman Media, LLC.

For more information, go to www.semihomemademag.com

2 (18.25 oz) boxes white cake mix

1/2 tsp red food coloring, divided

5-oz craisins, currants, or raisins (could even use chocolate chips)

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

3 (16 oz) containers fluffy white frosting

green food coloring

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 4 (9″) round cake pans with nonstick baking spray w/ flour; line with parchment paper, spray again.
2. In separate bowls, prepare each cake mix according to package directions.  Stir 1/4 tsp red food coloring into one bowl of batter, leave other bowl white.  Pour pink batter evenly into 2 prepared baking pans.  Pour white batter into remaining pans.
3. In small bowl, combine craisins & flour, toss to coat.  Sprinkle craisins over pink batter.  Bake cakes for 16-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool – in pans – for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.
4. In small bowl, place half of one container of frosting.  Stir in remaining 1/4 tsp red food coloring, leave remaining frosting white.
5. Gradually tint another container of frosting with green food coloring.  Stir to get a pale green color.  Add green food coloring to 3rd container of frosting to achieve dark green.
6. To assemble cake, spread half of remaining white frosting onto 1 white cake layer.  Top with a pink cake layer.  Spread pink frosting on top, top with remaining pink cake layer.  Spread top of pink layer with remaining half of white frosting.  Top with remaining white cake.
7. Spoon green frostings into 2 separate pastry bags, fitted with leaf tips.  Starting at the center of the cake, pipe pale green frosting across the top and down the side, stopping at the bottom edge of cake.  Continue piping lines, 1-inch apart, all around cake.  Repeat process with the dark green frosting, piping in-between the pale green lines.

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adapted slightly from sandra lee semi-homemade

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grandma’s dill pickles

Bring to a boil…

• 1 qt cider vinegar
• 1 cup pickling salt
• 3 qts water

In each quart jar put…

• 1/2 tsp alum
• 1 hot pepper (I forgot, so I just sprinkled some red pepper flakes in)
• several cloves peeled garlic (I used 3 cloves, cut in half)
• dill – top & bottom
• cucumbers (I prefer whole, but I did make spears and circles b/c some were too big)

Pour vinegar mix in jars and seal – steam canner for 10 minutes.

Yield: 9 quarts

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from Grandma’s kitchen

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Sharon’s Clam Chowder

I’ll be honest – I’ve never made homemade clam chowder.  But I have had this and it’s delicous!

1 cup water

1 – 8oz can minced clams, undrained

1 chicken bouillon cube

2 cups potatoes, diced

2 cups carrots, peeled & thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups minced onions

1 Tbsp chopped parsley

1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of celery soup

2 cups milk

2 1/2 tsp seasoning salt (like Johnny’s or Lawry’s)

8 oz shredded monterrey jack cheese

*Pour water plus juice from drained clams into saucepan.  Add potatoes, carrots, bouillon cube, onions, and parsley.  Simmer until verggies are tender.  Add cream of celery, clams, milk, cheese, seasoning salt.  Mix thoroughly.  Heat gently.

*Makes 7 cups

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from Sharon’s Kitchen

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Spencer’s Crab Cakes

As soon as I can eat shellfish again, this will be at the top of my list!  Pretty sure I won’t be making 25 cakes, so I’ll try to scale it down and re-post with the results… after November.

Ingredients

• 7 eggs
• 6 oz heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons dry mustard
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 8 dashes Tabasco
• 1 teaspoon black pepper – freshly ground
• 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 5 pounds Dungeness crabmeat
• 2 cups flour

Preparation

• Mix everything EXCEPT the crabmeat together in a bowl.
• Squeeze the excess moisture from the crabmeat and fold it into the mixture.
• Form into balls and then flatten.
• Sautee in clarified butter and then transfer to 350 degree oven for five to six minutes or until internal temperature of 145 degrees is reached

Makes 25 crab cakes.

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from Spencer’s for Steaks & Chops

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