tasty tuesday

i love cooking. i wish i could do more of it. we got a couple of cook books for the wedding, they're great. but the recipes in them are rather complex and kind of fancy! sometimes you just want something like mom or grandma would make. for my birthday this year, my grandma bought me two cook books that it seems like my mom's whole side of the family has. they're published by angels of easter seal right here in youngstown! i love them. when summer began i had this great idea that i was going to cook a whole meal every week from these books. that hasn't even had the chance to happen, though. however, i did write down and plan eight weeks of meals. so that they don't go to waste, i decided that tuesdays are now tasty tuesdays where i will share recipes from the angels and friends cook books.

the meal for this week is a simple Cajun Chicken over Penne and a Lemon Cheesecake with Glazed Raspberry for dessert.

Cajun Chicken


serves: 2

1/2 cup margarine
1 lb. boneless chicken, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup onion pieces, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
2 sweet peppers, cut in strips
1 lb. fresh whole mushrooms
16 oz. can whole tomatoes
16 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup Red Hot sauce
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. parsley, dried
2 tsp. basil, dried


saute chicken pieces, onions and celery in margarine; sprinkle with paprika and cayenne pepper and cook until chicken pieces are white. add sweet pepper strips and mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes more. then add chicken broth, whole tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and Red Hot sauce. Add mushrooms, parsley and basil. simmer everything for 20 minutes.

-Carol DiFabio

Lemon Cheesecake With Glazed Raspberries


serves: 12

oven: 400*  time: 8 minutes (crust)
          425*          12 minutes
          300*           1 hour

shell:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 large egg yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla


filling:
2 1/2 lbs. cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp. vanilla
3 T. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
4 large whole eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup heavy cream


topping:
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
3 T. cornstarch
2 T. light corn syrup
3 to 4 drops red food coloring
3 to 4 cups raspberries


shell: in a bowl, combine flour, sugar and lemon rind. blend in butter until mixture resembles meal. add the egg yolks and vanilla. combine the mixture until it forms a dough. remove the ring from a 10-inch springform pan. press 1/3 of the dough onto the bottom of the pan. bake the dough in a preheated 400* oven for 8 minutes; let it cool on a rack. return the ring to the pan and pat remaining dough onto the sides of the pan at least 2 inches high.

filling: using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until it is smooth; then beat in sugar, lemon rind and vanilla. beat in flour, salt, whole eggs, and egg yolks, one at a time, and cream. pour filling into the shell and bake on a baking sheet in a preheated 425* oven for 12 minutes. reduce heat to 300* and bake for 1 hour longer. it will not be set. let cheese cake cool on rack.

topping: in saucepan, combine water, sugar, and cornstarch; cook mixture over moderately high heat, stirring until it is thick and clear. remove pan from heat; stir in corn syrup and food coloring. let topping cool until it is lukewarm. arrange raspberries on the cheese cake and pour topping over them. remove from sides of pan and chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.

-Angela Gilliland.


enjoy! if you make one of these, let me know how it turned out!