French Macarons

1 cup + 3 Tbsp. (4.6 oz.) almond meal or almond flour

1½ cups (7.8 oz.) powdered sugar

4 egg whites (3.9 oz.)

3 Tbsp. (1.4 oz.) white sugar

1 Tbsp. (.35 oz.) egg white powder/meringue powder

Food coloring gel, as desired

Sift almond meal and powdered sugar together.

Whip eggs whites on medium speed until foamy and then add egg white powder and sugar until there is a stiff peak (straight out with no droop and beginning to be glossy.)  Continue beating.  You can turn it down but keep it going.  Color just before stopping the mixer.  (You should be able to turn the bowl over and the whites don’t move!)

Fold ⅓ – ½ the almond/sugar mixture into the meringue and repeat until folded in.

Pipe onto parchment paper lined sheet with template underneath.  Use tip #1a in pastry bag.  Tap the baking sheets once piped to remove air bubbles.

Let skin form for 30 minutes +.  The cookies should be dry to the touch.

Bake at 310° for about 15 minutes, rotating halfway through.  They should have a smooth top with a solid color.  No jiggling.  They should not brown at all.  Let cool.

Chocolate Ganache

2 oz. finely chopped milk chocolate

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 Tbsp. heavy cream

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Pinch kosher salt

Combine the chopped chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowel set over a pot with 1 inch of simmering water, making sure the bowl does not touch the water.

Cook stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth.  Stir in the cream, vanilla and salt and then remove from the heat. 

Set aside until cooled and thickened, stirring occasionally, 30 – 45 minutes.

To assemble the cookies, spread a thin layer of ganache on the bottoms of half the cookies, about ¼ tsp per cookie.  Top with a second cookie, gently pressing to squeeze ganache to the rims.

Refrigerate wrapped tightly in plastic.  They last about a week.

Red Beans and Rice Tortilla Casserole

• 1 package ZATARAIN'S® Red Beans and Rice
  1 can (8 3/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
  1 can (4 1/2 ounces) chopped green chiles, undrained
  6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
  2 cups shredded cooked chicken
  2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  
  
  Prepare Rice Mix as directed on package. Add corn and green chiles; mix well
  Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread ½ cup of the rice mixture on bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with no stick cooking spray. Top with 3 of the tortillas, overlapping as needed. Layer with ½ each of the remaining rice mixture, chicken and cheese. Repeat layering with remaining tortillas, rice mixture, chicken and cheese
  Bake 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
  Serve with assorted toppings, such as sour cream, salsa and chopped green onions, if desired.

This recipe can be found here.

Cake Balls

1 box of cake mix, any flavor

1 can of frosting (any flavor you think would go with the cake mix flavor  two big spoonfuls)

Almond bark (or dipping chocolate)

Instructions

Bake cake following instructions in 13 x 9 pan.  Let cool completely.

Crumble until it resembles fine crumbs in a large bowl.

Using your hands, add in frosting a little bit at a time until cake is moist and can hold a ball shape, yet still slightly crumbly.  Incorporate the frosting into the cake crumbs.

Use a small ice cream scoop to scoop out balls of cake mixture.  Roll each ball into a tight ball and place on a cookie sheet.  Repeat until all the cake mixture has been rolled into balls.

Place the cake balls into the fridge for a couple of hours OR into the freezer for a little while. You want them to be nice and firm. Not frozen solid, but not mushy.

Just before you pull them, melt the almond bark for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each 30-second increment in a Microwave safe container.   Make sure you have enough chocolate to completely submerge the cake ball.  (tall, deep bowls are better then wide, shallow bowls.)

Remove cake balls from freezer.

Dip cake balls carefully into the chocolate until covered.

Tap spoon on the side of the bowl gently to remove excess chocolate.

Place into the freezer to speed up setting time.

Cover with a clear treat bag & ribbon for gift giving, if desired.

Store in a single layer, in an airtight container.

This recipe can be found here.

Roasted Cornish Game Hen

1 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. lemon-pepper
1 Tbsp. dried basil
1 Tbsp. poultry seasoning
2 Tbsp. olive oil
6 Cornish game hens, about 1 1/2 pounds each, rinsed and dried thoroughly
1 green bell pepper, large dice
2 stalks celery, large dice
1 onion, large dice

Preheat oven to 375°.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together salt, lemon pepper, dried basil and poultry seasoning. Rub olive oil all over the hens and season each with the salt mixture. Place the hens on a baking sheet pan with plenty of space between them. You may need to use 2 pans. Loosely stuff the cavities of each hen with some green bell pepper, celery and onion.

Roast the hens in the preheated oven for about 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165° and the juices run clear.

Remove the hens from the oven, loosely tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes before carving or serving.