Ingredients

• 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 2 Large Eggs
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 1 Teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 Teaspoon salt

Cooking Pasta Directions

1. Always using plenty of boiling water so that the pasta can move around freely.  One half pound of pasta will require at least two quarts of water; one pound will need 6 quarts.  if you want to add salt, now is the time to do it.  Let the water come to full rolling boil before adding the pasta.
2. The length of time required to cook the pasta will depend on the size, weight and particular ingredients for the noodles.  Home made noodles take very little time to cook and should be tested after 3-4 minutes.  It’s better for the pasta to be cooked slightly underdone rather than overdone.  Italians prefer their pasta “al-dente”; not mushy, but tender, yet slightly hard to the bite, “so that you know that you are chewing something.”  Test the pasta for doneness frequently to avoid over cooking.  Remember that pasta can be over cooked very quickly.  Once cooked, drain the pasta but never rinse it.  For the best pasta dish, drain, add sauce and serve it quickly.

What do laid off hedge fund employees do for a second act?  They make cookies at a commercial kitchen designed to help aspiring cooks and gourmets launch their businesses.

The kitchen, rare in its approach, solves many problems. It offers cooks space they do not have at home, is fully equipped and complies with the city’s health code. The place has also fostered an informal network, where cooks combine purchasing orders for things like butter and olive oil to save money, or rely on one another as taste testers.

But like many of its users, the kitchen suffered when the economy cratered. It used to function as a training ground for unionized workers, available for rental to commercial cooks at night and on weekends. Once grants and donations dried up, though, the Consortium for Worker Education, the union-backed nonprofit group that sustained it, could no longer afford to lease the space.

The kitchen was supposed to close at the end of August, but its manager, Kathrine Gregory, hatched a survival plan and enlisted the cooks to help her.

One made vegan pâté. Another baked Finnish ruis bread. Ms. LaBarbara made sun-dried tomato hummus, and Ms. Angebranndt, of course, baked whoopie pies. The food was laid out before a small group of officials from the city and nonprofit groups who had gone to the kitchen to hear Ms. Gregory’s pitch. They left extending a bailout package worth more than $250,000 and a $1-a-year lease agreement for the equipment.

“The way to a funder’s heart,” Ms. Gregory observed, “is through his stomach.”

Ingredients

• 1  pk pizza crust mix (or make your own)
• 3/4 c Crab meat
• 3/4  c Tiny shrimp
• 1/2 c Crushed pineapple
• 5 Mushrooms – sliced
• 4 1/4  oz Canned sliced black olives
• 1/4 c Diced green pepper
• 1 c Mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 c White cheddar cheese grated

Directions

1. Spread pizza dough on to a pizza pan. Top with crab, shrimp, pineapple, mushrooms, olives, green pepper,  mozzarella and cheddar cheese.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes.
   

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups warm water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 3 tablespoons powdered milk
• 2 teaspoons yeast

Topping

• 2 tablespoons dry parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

1. Add the dough ingredients to the bread machine in the order given, and set to first rise. When this has finished, roll the dough out into a rectangle which is 1/2-3/4 inch thick. With a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 1x4 inch strips.
2. Place on greased cookie sheets and allow the bread sticks to rise until doubled. Meanwhile, stir the topping seasonings together with the parmesan cheese.
   Brush the breadsticks heavily with olive oil. Sprinkle with the topping. I use an empty spice bottle to shake it on evenly.  Bake the bread sticks at 350As°F for 12 to 15 minutes until golden. Serve warm with Dipping Sauce. SERVES 12

Pizza Dipping Sauce Recipes

Special Garlic Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup margarine spread
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

1. Combine ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Microwave on 1/2 power for 20 seconds. Stir.

Makes 1/2 cup.

Cheese Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup Cheez Whiz
• 2 teaspoon juice from canned jalapenos (nacho slices)

Directions

1. Combine cornstarch with milk in a small bowl and stir until cornstarch has dissolved.
2. Add Cheez Whiz and stir to combine. Microwave on high for 1 minute, then stir until smooth.
3. Add juice from jalapenos slices, and stir.

Makes 1/2 cup.

Pizza Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 10 3/4-ounce can of tomato puree
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon basil
• 1/8 teaspoon thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

1. Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Makes 1 cup.

Ingredients

• 2 pk 7 1/2 oz pkg refrigerated biscuits
• 3/4 lb ground beef
• 1/2 c  chopped onion
• 1 cn 11 oz condensed Cheddar Cheese soup/sauce
• 2 ts prepared mustard
• 1/8 ts hot pepper sauce
• 1 cn (8 oz) tomatoes,drained and chopped
• 2 tb sliced scallions
• 1/2 c  shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Pat biscuits into a 12″ round greased baking sheet or pizza pan.
2. Bake @ 400  degrees for 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile,cook and stir beef and onion in a skillet until beef is browned and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in soup, mustard and hot pepper sauce.
4. Heat through. Spread beef mixture over biscuits to within 1/2″ of the edge. Top with remaining ingredients.
5. Bake 5 minutes more or until biscuits are golden brown.Garnish with sliced pitted ripe olives and dill pickle chips, if desired. Cut into wedges and serve. Makes 6 servings.
   

So what’s going on?

In 2007 Michelin awarded French chef Anne-Sophie Pic three stars, making her only the fourth woman in her country’s history to receive that honor (fifty years had passed since the last of her sex had garnered that third sparkler).

The following year, in the United Kingdom, it was considered breaking news when ten female chefs won any Michelin stars at all. The tabloid Telegraph announced: “It could be the beginning of the end for the foul-mouthed, macho, and defiantly male master chef. The number of women with Michelin stars has nearly doubled in just 12 months.”

Then came the 2009 James Beard Awards gala, held after the ceremony and annually assigned a theme. “Women in Food” was the chosen motif, but since only sixteen of the evening’s ninety-six nominees were, in fact, women, it seemed like a cruel joke. In the end, only two of those sixteen went home victorious, out of nineteen winners total.

Ingredients

• 2 cups grated carrot
• 2 cups grated potato
• 2 1/2 cups
• Soft bread crumbs
• 2 cups of raisins
• 2 cups currants
• 2 cups of brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cup Suet OR 1 cup margarine
• 4 tablespoons of sour milk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup of flour
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon of Allspice

Directions

1. Mix in order given. Turn into well greased heat proof bowl; cover and steam about 3 hours. Takes a medium sized bowl. Serve with brown sugar sauce, or custard, or whatever you like.

Ingredients

• 9 slices whole wheat bread
• 8 slices white bread
• 3 egg yolks; beaten
• 1 1/2 cup of cream, light
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2/3 cup raisins, light
• 2/3 cup raisins, dark
• 1/3 cup  candied red cherries; halved
• 3/4 cup cream sherry
• 1 cup water
• 2 egg yolks; beaten
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar; sifted
• 2 tablespoon cream sherry
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

Directions

1. Remove crusts from bread; set crusts aside for another use. Cover bread slices with paper towels and let stand overnight.
2. FOR CUSTARD, in a heavy medium saucepan combine 3 egg yolks, light cream, sugar, and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat. Continue cooking till mixture coats a metal spoon. Remove from heat; cool at once by placing saucepan in a sink of ice water and stirring for 1-2 minutes.
3. Stir in 1- 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Cover surface with clear plastic wrap. In a small bowl combine raisins. Place cherries in another bowl. Heat 3/4 c. sherry till warm. Pour 2/3 c. sherry over raisins; pour remaining sherry over cherries. Set aside. Cut bread into 1/2 inch cubes (should have about 9 cups). In a bowl fold bread into custard till coated. Grease a 6-1/2-cup tower mold (without tube).
4. Drain raisins and cherries, reserving sherry. Arrange one-fourth of cherries in bottom of the mold; sprinkle 1/3 c. raisins into the mold. Add one-fourth of bread-cube mixture. Sprinkle with 2 Tablespoons reserved sherry. Repeat layers three times, arranging cherries and raisins near edges of the mold. Lightly press last layer with the back of a spoon. Pour remaining reserved sherry over all.
5. Cover mold tightly with foil. Set mold into a 4 quart crockery cooker with liner in place. Pour 1 cup water into cooker around mold.
6. Cover; cook on low heat setting abut 5 1/2 hours or on high-heat setting about 3 hours or till pudding springs back when touched.
7. Meanwhile, FOR SHERRY SAUCE, in a mixing bowl combine 2 egg yolks, powdered sugar, 2 tablesponns sherry, and 1/4 teaspons vanilla. In a small mixing bowl beat whipping cream with a rotary beater till soft peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into egg-yolk mixture. Cover and chill till serving time. Remove mold from cooker and let stand 10 minutes. Carefully unmold pudding onto a serving platter. Serve warm with sherry sauce. (Or, remove pudding from mold, cover, and chill.  To serve, return pudding to the same mold. Cover with foil and place in the cooker, then pour 1 cup water around mold. Cover; cook on high-heat setting for 1 1/2-2 hours or till warm. Let stand 10 minutes; unmold and serve with sauce.) For 5- or 6- quart crockery cooker: Use 1 1/2 C. water to pour around mold.  Leave remaining ingredient amounts the same.