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One thing I get hooked on every so often is spaghetti squash. It makes a great side dish and sometimes I eat a big bowl as meal.

Cut the squash in half length-wise, scrape out strings and seeds.

These can be cooked in the microwave. Place cut side down on a plate with a little bit of water, cover with plastic wrap, and cook on high for about 8-10 minutes.

Scrape the flesh out with a fork. It will be HOT, so you can let it cool a bit before scraping, but I take it off the plastic wrap and put it on a dry plate so it doesn’t get soggy.

I top/mix mine with butter, fresh grated parmesan (not the powder stuff), salt and pepper.

Truly delicious.

I just made some more of this tonight and saved the seeds to roast them with a little olive oil and salt.

Lastly:

I’ve looked up some cold spaghetti squash salad recipes for summer, but haven’t tried any of those yet. :)

Chocolate Kouglof

INGREDIENTS
1 cup water, room temperature
1 envelope + 2 envelopes yeast
1 cup + 4 cups bread flour*
5 large eggs, cold
7 tablespoons Imperial Sugar Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (about 50-60% cocoa mass) or milk chocolate
2 tablespoons, for dusting Imperial Sugar Confectioners Powdered Sugar

DIRECTIONS
Pour water and 1 yeast envelope in a the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk together. Add 1 cup flour and whisk until well combined. Cover with plastic food wrap and let rise for 1 hour or until well doubled in size.
Mix remaining yeast envelopes with 1/4 cup room temperature water and add to risen dough along with remaining flour, eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Do not add butter yet.
Mix on medium speed with a dough hook for 6-7 minutes and until dough becomes elastic and less sticky.
Gradually add pieces of butter to dough allowing it to be fully incorporated before adding next amount. When incorporated stop mixing.
Remove a generous 1/4 of dough from bowl and set aside in another bowl. Cover with plastic.
To remaining dough add chocolate chips and mix until incorporated. Wrap with plastic and set aside for 1 hour.
Meanwhile generously butter a 9-inch Bundt pan with melted, but still thick, butter. Set aside.
Roll dough not containing chocolate chips to a rectangle of 18 x 6-inches on a lightly floured surface.
Remove chocolate chip dough from bowl and stretch into a log of about 15-inches and place onto rolled non chocolate containing dough.
Wrap chocolate containing dough with plain dough to seal in all chocolate chips. Transfer to Bundt pan and press even in thickness.
Cover with plastic and allow to rise until dough exceeds at least 1-inch above the edge of mold. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Gently place mold into oven slightly above bottom rack. Bake for approximately 55 minutes or until an inserted thermometer reads 190°F.
Turn upside down on a cooling rack.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

*Spoon & Sweep method: Use a spoon to fill measuring cup with flour until required amount is obtained. Scooping measuring cup directly into flour bag will firmly pack flour resulting in too much flour required for recipe.

http://www.imperialsugar.com/recipes/category/breads/Chocolate-Kouglof

For the royal fans..

Lemon Elderflower Cake Prince Harry’s and Meghan Markle’s Wedding Cake

Ingredients:
Lemon Cake
2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 cup Cake Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Half and Half
1 Tbsp Lemon Zest
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
1 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
2 cups Sugar
3 Eggs

Elderflower St. Germain Buttercream
1 1/2 cups Unsalted Butter, room temperature
3 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
1/4 cup St. Germain Liquor
1/2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste or Extract
1/4 tsp Salt

Decorations –
Fresh Flowers (I used Dogwood flowers and Heather)
Dusty Pink Food Coloring
Dusty Green Food Coloring
Piping Bag with #3 Round Tip
Angled Spatula

Directions:
For Cake –
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line a 6? cake pan with parchment paper on the bottom. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a 2 cup measuring cup, stir together the milk, half and half, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla bean paste (or extract). Set aside.

In a stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, beat together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy – about three minutes. Scrap the sides if needed. Add in eggs, one at a time, being sure to mix in completely before adding in another. At least 30 seconds should be good between eggs.

Add in the dry ingredients in three parts, adding in some of the milk mixture in between additions of flour. Scrape the bowl to ensure everything is mixed together and the batter is smooth. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes.

Fill the cake pan 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake on the center rack, starting for 30 minutes. Check with a toothpick to test doneness. If it requires additional time, bake in 5 minute intervals until a toothpick comes out clean. For my 6-inch cake pans, it can take up around 40 minutes.

Let the cake rest on a wire rack in the pan for 5-10 minutes, before removing from the pan. Run a knife along the edges to ensure that it hasn’t stuck, and turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.

*If you are using a 9” cake pan – bake for 30-35 minutes. For cupcakes – bake for 20 minutes.

For Elderflower Buttercream –
In a clean stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl to ensure all the butter is creamed and smooth. With the mixer on low, add in the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time until it is fully incorporated. When all the sugar has been added, scrape the sides of the bowl, to ensure it is all mixed in correctly.

Add in the St. Germain, and vanilla and salt. Turn the mixer on, working your way up to medium and allow the frosting to whip for about five minutes. Scrape the bowl every couple of minutes to make sure there is no dry frosting on the bottom. The buttercream will look soft, and then will continue to stiffen as it is beaten and increase in volume. Use right away or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.

To Assemble –
In two or three small bowls, add in 1/2 cup of frosting, and dye to the desired colors. Frosting darkens over time, so be sure to tone your frosting slightly LIGHTER than you want the final color to be. Set aside, or into piping bags.

Level the cakes, and placing the cut side down on a cake serving dish, Spread an even layer of frosting on top of the cake. Place the second layer on top of the cake. Repeat frosting the cake, all around, and smoothing out. This doesn’t need to be perfect, but evening out the frosting here is best to ensure it’s distributed evenly.

With the colored frosting, make dime sized dots of colored frosting sporadically around the cake. Spread the dots out about 3 inches apart, but if they aren’t perfect, it will create a blended effect which is FUN! Using the spatula, spread the dots out to doing a final smoothing on the cake, which will naturally blend the colors dots into the white frosting. Don’t over smooth – this cake is meant to look rustic!

Decorate additionally with a spray of fresh flowers that match your frosting colors! Serve immediately or chill.

http://www.countrycleaver.com/2018/05/lemon-cake-elderflower-buttercream-royal-wedding.html

The picture of this recipe looks amazing. It reminds me of a recipe I made when I was product testing a flavored specialty salt.

Lemon Chicken Romano

Ingredients
2 (8 - 9 oz each) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved through their thickness, and pounded to 1/2-inch thick
1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Whole Milk Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Provolone cheese (or more mozzarella)
1 large egg
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup (packed, 1.25 oz) finely shredded Romano cheese
1 Tbsp minced fresh oregano, plus 1 more tsp for garnish
2 tsp lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
4 lemon wedges for spritzing each serving (you can just use the one that was zested)
2 tsp minced fresh parsley (optional)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle each side of the chicken cutlet lightly with salt and let stand at room temperature 10 minutes.

In a shallow dish, whisk together flour and egg until smooth. In a separate shallow dish, toss together Panko bread crumbs, Romano cheese, oregano, lemon zest, garlic powder and 3/4 tsp pepper.

Pat chicken dry with paper towels then working with 1 chicken cutlet at a time, dredge chicken in egg mixture coating both sides and allowing excess to run off, then immediately transfer to Romano mixture and coat both sides with mixture, while pressing to allow plenty of crumbs to adhere.

Transfer chicken to a plate and repeat process with remaining chicken cutlets. Pour olive oil into a 10-inch non-stick skillet and heat over medium-high heat.
Once oil is shimmering, add 2 coated chicken cutlets and fry without moving them until bottom is crispy and golden brown, about 2 minutes, then using metal tongs rotate to opposite side and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes longer.

Transfer chicken to a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment or spritzed with non-stick cooking spray, repeat process with remaining 2 pieces of chicken.

Toss together Mozzarella and Provolone cheese and sprinkle in a mound over chicken

Transfer to preheated oven to bake until internal temperature registers 165 degrees on an instant read thermometer, about 8 - 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp oregano and the parsley if using and serve warm with lemon wedges for spritzing over each serving.

https://www.cookingclassy.com/lemon-chicken-romano/

Monthly Cooking Thread Update:

I have to tell you about another thing that we did with the Instant Pot recently.

Every March, when the vacuum-packed corned beef with seasoning packet goes on sale, my husband and I stock up the freezer – because we really like that.

Previously, we had always just done it on the stovetop; but the other day we did one in the Instant Pot, and it turned out so much more flavorful. All my husband added was some chopped onion; but doing it in the Instant Pot, for less than half the usual time, causes the meat to really absorb all the seasoning flavor – instead of boiling it for so long, which causes the flavor to become so diluted.

Someday I want to try corning my own brisket; but after this experience, I’ll never do the St. Patty’s day grocery store offering any other way ;-)

-JT

J/T started this thread with a luscious raspberry/chocolate cake.
This recipe brings flavors of lime and cream to new heights of deliciousness.

Creamy Lemon-Lime Cake

BATTER elec/mixer/moisten on low pkg Pillsbury® Key Lime Cake Mix, 1 1/4 c water,
2 tb Canola Oil, 3 lge eggs; then beat 2 min on med.

BAKE in sprayed oblong 350 deg 25-30 min (pick test). Cool 10 min.
Poke holes inch apart almost to bottom w/ wooden spoon handle.
Pour in lemon/cond/milk/cream slowly, spread rest over top. Chill an hour.

FINAL Ice top. Pipe on dollops of cream (6 l/thwise/3 across--total of 18). Garnish w/ lemon curls.

LEMON CREAM Stir 14 oz can sweet/cond/milk, 1/3 cup h/cream, 1/4 c l/juice.

BEAT 2/3 c h/cream stiff. Remove 2/3 cup. Stir in 2 tsp conf. Ziplok for piping.

ICING Beat 16 oz can Pillsbury® Creamy Key Lime Frosting into reserved whipped cream.

Elderflower Lemon Bundt Cake

Ingredients
Bundt Cake
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
3 cups sugar (or caster sugar if you have it)
5 large eggs room temperature
2 Tbsp elderflower syrup (or liqueur)
1 Tbsp Lemon zest from 2 lemons
3 cups all purpose flour

Lemon Elderflower Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar (more as needed)
2 Tbsp elderflower syrup
2 - 3 tsp lemon juice (more if needed)

Elderflower Lemon Cream
2 cups heavy whipping cream
4 Tbsp elderflower syrup (more as desired)
1 teaspoon clear Vanilla (not vanilla bean)
3 - 4 tsp Lemon zest, freshly zested
1/2 cup powdered sugar (more if desired)
Dried Elderflowers
1 or 2 lemons, freshly zested
(Add fresh lemon zest and dried Elderflowers just before serving)

Directions
Bundt Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Prepare Bundt pan with oil and flour.
Beat butter on medium speed with stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
Stir in liqueur and zest. Add flour and Elderflower syrup alternately to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour, beating on low speed just until blended after each addition.
Pour batter into a prepared 10-inch Bundt pan.
Bake for 60 minutes: Tent with non-stick aluminum foil after 45 - 50 minutes to prevent excessive browning, if necessary.
Cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; invert cake onto rack, and cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Lemon Elderflower Glaze
Add glaze ingredients together. Mix icing sugar, syrup, and lemon juice together in bowl until reaching desired consistency. If glaze is too thin, add more icing sugar. If too thick, add few more drops of lemon juice or Syrup.
Spoon Lemon-Elderflower Glaze over cake.

Now to top it off, you must make Lemon Elderflower Cream!

Lemon Elderflower Cream
Add all ingredients but sugar to very clean, preferably chilled mixing bowl. Whisk with stand mixer {fitted with whisk attachment} or use handheld mixer until Cream starts to hold stiff peaks. Add sugar to taste and continue whisking to achieve desired peaks.

Before serving, sprinkle a bit of lemon zest and dried Elderflowers on top of Elderflower Cream. It’s a wedding, after all!

http://dyingforchocolate.blogspot.com/2018/05/elderflower-lemon-bundt-cake-for-royal.html

Coronation Chicken Salad for a Royal Wedding

Dressing
1 tablespoon butter or oil
1 medium onion, chopped
¼ cup red wine
3 tablespoons mango chutney
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 ½ tablespoons curry powder
Juice from ½ lemon
1 bay leaf

Chicken Salad
½ cup mayonnaise
Salt, pepper to taste
2 pounds cooked chicken breast
1 ½ ounces dried fruit (chopped apricots in the original but I used ¼ cup currants)
Rolls or lettuce for serving.

Instructions
Heat butter or oil in a small saucepan. Add chopped onion and cook until translucent. Add remaining dressing ingredients and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Discard bay leaf and place dressing in refrigerator to cool.
When dressing is cool, stir in the mayonnaise. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chop the chicken into bite sized pieces, then add to the dressing along with the dried fruit. Stir to combine.
Serve on soft buns, bread or croissants — or over lettuce. Will also work dolloped on cocktail-sized bread as tea sandwiches or appetizers.

Notes
I cooled my dressing in the freezer, stirring occasionally, to hasten the process.

http://artofnaturalliving.com/2018/05/17/coronation-chicken-salad-for-a-royal-wedding/

Oh my, oh my! ;)

Rice Krispie Treat Fudge

Ingredients:
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
pinch of salt
11 ounces white chocolate chips
7 ounces marshmallow cream
2 1/2 cups rice krispies
3 cups miniature marshmallows
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:
In a large saucepan, add heavy cream, butter, sugar and salt. Heat over medium high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once boiling, continue to stir and boil for a full 4 minutes (a good rolling boil). Remove from heat.
To a large mixing bowl, add white chocolate morsels and marshmallow cream. Pour hot sugar mixture over this. Using an electric mixer, beat until white chocolate is melted and creamy (about 1 minute). Fold in mini marshmallows and cereal.
Pour into an 13 x9-inch baking dish that is lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle immediately with mini chocolate chips Refrigerate for 3 hours, or overnight.
Cut into 64 bite-sized pieces.

https://www.shugarysweets.com/krispie-treat-fudge