Tasty Recipes from Recipe Wizards

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 3 1/2 hours

Serves 6

This recipe was created by Natalie Benthin, 16, of Grass Valley, a finalist in the 2009 National Beef Cook-Off competition.

Note: The cook time for the pasta overlaps the cook time for the ribs.

INGREDIENTS

3 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 4-by-2-by-2-inch pieces

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup diced onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (14 to 14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium beef broth

1 cup grape juice

1 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons reduced- sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Pasta:

1 package (12 ounces) extra-wide egg noodles

1 teaspoon salt

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) Italian-style stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat stockpot over medium heat until hot. Brown beef short ribs, in batches if necessary, on all sides. Pour off drippings. Season beef with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.

Return beef to stockpot. Add onion and garlic. Combine broth, juice, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce in medium bowl. Pour over beef; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover tightly and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours or until beef is fork-tender.

Meanwhile, prepare pasta. Cook noodles in boiling water with 1 teaspoon salt according to package directions; drain. Return noodles to pan; stir in tomatoes and thyme. Cover; keep warm over low heat.

Remove beef; discard any loose bones. Skim fat from cooking liquid; stir in thyme. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-high. Cook 15 to 20 minutes or until sauce is reduced and thickened.

Place noodle mixture on serving platter; top with beef. Spoon sauce over beef and noodles. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Per serving: 623 cal.; 43 g pro.; 64 g carb.; 21 g fat (9 sat., 8 monounsat.); 156 mg chol.; 1,457 mg sod.; 3 g fiber; 30 percent calories from fat.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Margaret Bloebaum of Grass Valley once tasted a cilantro guacamole dip that contained sour cream, garlic, avocado, cream cheese and green onions, among other ingredients. She was hoping for a recipe.

We heard from Dave Howald, the national retail marketing director for the California Avocado Commission, and he said they have hundreds of avocado recipes, including more than 50 for guacamole. He gave us a link to their Web site, www. avocadocentral.com/ recipes-and-entertaining/search, where we found this recipe that might be a close match for Bloebaum.

Serves about 30

INGREDIENTS

15 ripe medium fresh California avocados, seeded and peeled

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons Tabasco

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large mixing bowl, coarsely mash avocados, leaving some chunks. Add remaining ingredients and mix to blend.

To store guacamole, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole and refrigerate.

Per serving: 198 cal.; 2 g pro.; 8 g carb.; 19 g fat (4 sat., 10 monounsat., 2 polyunsat., 3 other); 4 mg chol.; 267 mg sod.; 5 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 81 percent calories from fat.

Soup’s on

Please explain the differences between soup, chowder and stew. They seem to be used interchangeably in various recipes. Thank you.

– Charlene Pollock, via e-mail

“Soup” is a general term for any combination of meat, fish or vegetables cooked in a liquid. It can be thick or thin, smooth or chunky.

Chowder is an example of a chunky soup. It is rich and thick and contains chunks of food, usually seafood, such as clam chowder. But it can also be vegetable-based, such as corn chowder.

Technically, a stew is any dish prepared by stewing. This is a method of cooking in which the food being cooked is cooked with a liquid over low heat, slowly, covered with a tight-fitting lid. This is the method used to make tough meat more tender.

The dish called “stew” has meat, usually beef, along with vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and onions. A thick broth is produced from the liquid added to the ingredients before cooking (water, wine, stock or broth) and the natural juices from the food itself.

Although Pollock didn’t ask, “bisque” is a related term that can be confusing. Bisque is an example of a smooth soup. Like a chowder, it is rich and thick but it is puréed. It contains seafood, poultry or vegetables along with cream.

Lemon buttermilk cake with strawberries

Prep time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes

Serves 12

R. Voss of Grass Valley was looking for a lemon buttermilk cake recipe that was in a cooking magazine in the mid-1990s. It was a three-layer cake with cream cheese and lemon juice frosting and circled with fresh berries.

Cori Mallonee of Elk Grove shares this recipe, which comes from the June 1995 issue of Bon Appétit. It sounds like an exact match for Voss.

Note: The prep time does not include the cool time after the cake is baked.

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

1¾ cups sugar

3/4 cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons grated lemon peel

3 extra-large eggs

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1½ cups buttermilk

Filling:

One 16-ounce package frozen sliced sweetened strawberries, thawed

Frosting:

12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

5 tablespoons frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

Topping:

Two 1-pint baskets strawberries, hulled

INSTRUCTIONS

For cake: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Butter and flour three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1½-inch-high sides. Beat sugar, butter and lemon peel in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon juice. Sift flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Stir dry ingredients into butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.

Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake until tester inserted in center of cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to racks and cool 15 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks and cool completely. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap tightly in plastic and store at room temperature.)

For filling: Boil sliced sweetened strawberries with juices in small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until mixture is reduced to 2/3 cup and begins to thicken, stirring frequently about 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

For frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in lemonade concentrate and lemon peel.

Divide strawberry mixture between two cake layers and spread over tops, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges. Let stand until slightly set, about 5 minutes. Place one strawberry-topped layer on platter. Drop 3/4 cup frosting atop cake by spoonfuls and gently spread over top. Top with second strawberry-topped layer. Drop another 3/4 cup frosting by spoonfuls atop cake; gently spread over top. Top with remaining cake layer. Using spatula, spread remaining frosting in decorative swirls over sides and top of cake.

(Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and chill. Let cake stand at room temperature 1 hour before continuing.)

Decoratively arrange strawberries, pointed side up, atop cake. Cut into wedges and serve.

Per serving: 607 cal.; 7 g pro.; 78 g carb.; 31 g fat (19 sat., 9 monounsat., 2 polyunsat., 1 other); 137 mg chol.; 290 mg sod.; 2 g fiber; 52 g sugar; 45 percent calories from fat.

Searching for spicy sauce

Does anyone know how to make the spicy sauce served at the Japanese Kitchen Restaurant in Fresno? It is a colorful, bright, orange-red color and is a very thick sauce that they mix with teriyaki sauce. It makes a very tasty and appealing chicken or beef dish.

– Michelle Wilkinson, Modesto

Peanut butter popcorn

We are trying to revise our recipe for peanut butter popcorn (1 cup sugar, 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup Karo corn syrup) to make it low sugar. We think that if we had a recipe for sugar-free caramel candy, we could modify it with peanut butter to come close to the original taste. Can anyone help? Thank you very much.

– Don Weber, Citrus Heights

A well-dressed potato salad

I am looking for a recipe from the 1940s. It was in the Betty Crocker children’s cookbook, and it was for a potato salad that included Italian vinegar and oil dressing as an ingredient. I have had no luck in finding it. Thank you.

– Marion Butts, Los Banos

Lemon buttermilk cake

I am looking for a cake recipe from a cooking magazine that I made in July 1996. I think it was called lemon buttermilk cake or lemon butter cream cake. It had three layers, and between the layers was a cream cheese with lemon juice frosting. Fresh berries circled the cake. It was delicious.

Does anyone have this recipe?

– R. Voss, Grass Valley

Italian lemon-drop cookies

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Makes 36 to 40 small cookies

Sheila Beswick of Lincoln enjoyed the lemon-drop cookies sold at The Joy of Cookies on the K Street Mall. They were moist on the inside, slightly crunchy on the outside. Most of the recipes she found call for flattening the cookies and dipping them in sugar.

This is an adaptation of a recipe shared by Janice Thornton of Merced. These cookies are not too sweet and would be good with a cup of tea.

This recipe may fill the bill for Beswick.

Note: You may freeze these cookies, but freeze unfrosted. Frost after they are thawed.

INGREDIENTS

Cookies:

½ cup sugar

¼ cup butter

3 large eggs

1½ teaspoons lemon extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon peel

Frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar

¼ cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon extract

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For cookies, cream together the sugar and butter. Add eggs and lemon extract, and beat well. Add flour, baking powder, salt and lemon peel. The dough should be soft and sticky.

With a small cookie scoop, drop dough onto a slightly greased cookie sheet or baking stone, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes or until firm and lightly browned. Remove cookies from cookie sheet. Cool completely on wire racks.

For frosting, combine powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon extract, and mix until smooth. Frost the tops of each cookie. Once frosting has dried, they can be stacked. Store in an airtight container.

Per cookie based on 36 cookies: 70 cal.; 1 g pro.; 12 g carb.; 2 g fat (1 sat., 1 monounsat., 0 polyunsat.); 21 mg chol.; 23 mg sod.; 0 g fiber; 7 g sugar; 23 percent calories from fat.

Sand tarts

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Makes about 3 dozen

Linda Hennessy of Sacramento was looking for a cookie recipe that her mother used to make in the 1960s. They were balls, called sand tarts, that included walnuts and were rolled in powdered sugar after being baked.

Betsy Katz of Roseville shares her recipe, which her mother used to make and Katz now makes. Her family loves these cookies, so she doubles the recipe. She says they freeze well.

Note: Prep time does not include 4-hour chill time for the dough.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons water

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Powdered sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Cream butter and granulated sugar. Add water and vanilla, and mix well. Blend in flour and walnuts or pecans. Chill dough for 4 hours. Shape into balls and bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes. Remove from pan, cool slightly. Roll balls in powdered sugar.

Per cookie: 105 cal.; 2 g pro.; 9 g carb.; 7 g fat (3 sat., 2 monounsat., 2 polyunsat.); 14 mg chol.; 1 mg sod.; 0 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 60 percent calories from fat.