Honey Carrot Cake

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Honey-Carrot-Cake/Detail.aspx

This was a moist and tasty cake. It was less sweet than the average carrot cake and that was nice. I did not put frosting on top, but unsweetened whip cream. It calls for honey and no sugar.

Potato and Leek Soup

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/potato-and-leek-soup-recipe2/index.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20110403160232/http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/potato-and-leek-soup-recipe2/index.html

This soup was really good. I didn't bother with the "bouquet garni" thing and just put in some dried thyme (a bit less than 1 tsp), ground fresh pepper, and bay leaves loose. Remember to remove the bay leaves at the end before mixing though. Also, I used only 1/3 cup cream, and 2 leeks. I used a stick blender to puree. I left it with some rough texture, which was nice. My mother-in-law ate it too and we all loved it.

Lime Cheesecake

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Key-Lime-Cheesecake-with-Tropical-Dried-Fruit-Chutney-234822

I didn't make the topping and changed the crust to be basic graham cracker:

24 squares graham cracker (12 rectangle sheets)

6 T butter

crush crackers (a food processor would make it faster) and add melted butter. Press into bottom of pan.

I made this for DH's b-day party. It was great! I cooked it for 1 hr 20 minutes with a pan of water on the shelf below it. I used a 9 inch cheesecake pan.

Beet Greens and White Beans Saute

You can use beet greens, broccoli raab (aka rapini), kale, escarole, collard greens, or turnip greens. I used turnip greens. You can use any kind of white colored bean. This recipe is from the Culinary Institute of America: Vegetables cookbook. I altered it by adding ham.

It was very tasty.

chopped ham

2 T olive oil

2 T minced garlic

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, optional

10 cups coursely chopped beet greens (I didn't use near this much. Just a small bunch of turnip greens.

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tsp salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp ground black pepper, or to taste

2 cups cooked white beans, drained and rinsed

2 tsp malt vinegar, or to taste (no clue what that is, I left it out)

Heat oil in pan and saute garlic until aromatic (about 1 min). Add red pepper, saute until aromatic (30 seconds).

Add greens and cook, stirring and tossing briskly with wooden spoon to coat the greens evenly with the oil. When the greens have cooked down and are a vivid green color, about 5 min, add broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bring broth to a simmer, add beans (and ham) and cook, stirring frequently, until greens are fully wilted and dish is very hot. Season with vinegar.

Rhubarb Cream Pie

I made this for easter. I think. It was a while ago:)

I put in twice the rhubarb it called for because I thought there wasn't enough. It turned out to be too much (in my opinion. Other eaters loved it, but it was too strong for me.) The recipe below is the original (unaltered) from Best Desserts cookbook, which is my favorite dessert cookbook.

I like regular rhubarb pie better. (without cream or meringue...)

1 crust pie.

Filling:

2 cups cut-up fresh rhubarb (do not use frozen)

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup half-and-half

1 cup sugar

2 T flour

1/2 tsp salt

Meringue:

3 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp vanilla

6 T sugar

1. Prepare pie crust for one crust pie in 9 inch pie pan.

2. Heat oven to 400. Put rhubarb in crust-lined pan. In small bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Stir in half-and-half. Add all remaining filling ingredients; blend well. Pour egg mixture over rhubarb.

3. Bake a 400F for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 350F; bake an additional 40 minutes.

4. In small, deep bowl, combine egg whites, cream of tartar and vanilla; beat at medium speed until soft peaks form. Add 6 tablespoons sugar 1 at a time, beating a high speed until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved. Spoon meringue onto hot filling; spread to edge of crust to seal well and prevent shrinkage.

5. Bake at 350F for 15 to 20 minutes or until meringue is light golden brown. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled. Store in fridge.

Apple Cake

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/7915/german-apple-cake-i/

10/20/2016: Do this from now on: 4 cups diced apples (unpeeled is fine, dice small), green if you have them. Reduce sugar to 1.5 cups (still tastes very sweet), leave the rest of the recipe the same. It does cook in 45 minutes in my oven when spread out in a 9x13. You could probably halve the recipe but don't put it in a loaf pan, use an 8x8.

I may try reducing sugar to 1 cup next time and see if there is still the crunchy top. But will leave oil at 1 cup.

6/1/2011
I halved the recipe and baked it in a 9x5 loaf pan (with an extra 5 minutes). It didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, based on the fantastic reviews it gets online. I chopped the apples up in very small pieces, less than 1 cm, so maybe bigger chunks would be better. All the fruit went to the top and since it was in a narrower container the fruit layer was thicker than it should have been (i think) and too wet.

Anyway, it was very tasty. I will make it again with the full recipe sometime and that might improve the current "3" rating.

Update 7/9/2011:
I made this recipe again using the original sized recipe (in a 9x13 pan). I didn't change anything except that I did not peel the apples. And I used tart green apples (which I highly recommend, the tartness was a nice companion to the sweet flavor.) One thing I did do is coat the apples with some of the flour before folding the apples into the cake mixture. I read somewhere recently that will help prevent them from rising to the top. I think it worked too.
The crust on top was so good. I adore this cake. Rating has gone up for sure!

Lowfat/lowsugar version 2/1/2012:
I made this recipe again with half the sugar and substituting half the oil for applesauce. It did not have the awesome crust on top, and was more fluffy and cake like (I think the oil is important for the crusty top). David likes it better than the original. I think I will sprinkle sugar on top next time to get the crispy topping.