Bartholomew Buffet

Ellen’s Summer Bruschetta Pasta

Liza Torborg — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 02:24:49 +0000

My cousin Ellen — an amazing cook and baker — came up with this great recipe this summer. Everyone who had already tried it swore that I would love it and my kids would eat it, and they were right. It really is the perfect summer dish. Fresh basil and garlic are a must (but canned tomatoes make it so easy).

1 12 oz. box bow-tie pasta
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/3 C. olive oil
1 6 oz. package Parmesan cheese
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 to 1/2 C. basil, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
3-4 Chicken Breasts, cooked and sliced (optional)

Cook pasta according to directions on the box. In a medium bowl, mix together tomatoes, olive oil, cheese, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Drain pasta and return noodles to pot. Add tomato mixture to pasta and stir over low heat (only takes a minute or two to warm tomatoes). Add sliced grilled or baked chicken breasts and stir.

Caramel Nut Chews

Scott Torborg — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 18:10:37 +0000

I got this recipe from my co-worker Debi Fasig. She has supplied our work area with some fabulous food over the years. Many of which have been added to this recipe blog. She changed up a portion of the recipe and added some mini M&M’s on a few, but she didn’t like those as much. So, if you got a sweet tooth these certainly won’t disappoint. Thanks Debi, I think I’ll go grab another before they’re gone.

1 (14 to 16 oz.) bag caramels
5 T. butter
2 T. water
6 oz. pkg. chow mein noodles
1-1/2 C. dry roasted peanuts
1/2 C. chocolate chips
1/2 C. milk chocolate chips

Melt together caramels and butter and add water. Stir in chow mein noodles and peanuts. Drop onto well-buttered wax paper. Melt chocolate chips and drizzle over the top.

NOTE: When you store these, make sure they are not placed on paper doilies–the cookie will stick to the paper. I usually store them on greased wax paper in a Tupperware container.

Chocolate Peanut Buttercup Cookies

Mackenzie Danglser — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:21:25 +0000

Recipe from the kitchen of Heather Czarny. During the summer of 2010, my sister Chelsey kept telling my friend Heather not to come over unless she brought these cookies. We had them for the first time at my softball banquet freshman year (2004). Finally, with less than a week of summer left, Heather came over and we made Chelsey the cookies she has been waiting for. They were worth the wait.

1 C. Hershey’s semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 squares unsweetened baking chocolate
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. Crisco
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 C. + 2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
36 Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
1 C. Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips

Heat oven: 350 Degrees
Combine semi-sweet chocolate chips and unsweetened baking squares in bowl. Melt in microwave.
Combine sugar and Crisco in another bowl. Beat in eggs, salt, and vanilla. Add chocolate
Stir in flour and baking soda
Roll into balls
Cook 8-10 minutes
Take out and immediately put in Reese’s cups in center of cookie.

Drizzle:
Put the Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips in freezer zip-lock bag and keep in one corner of the bag. Melt in microwave. Cut off part of corner and drizzle over cookies once cookies have cooled. Let dry.

Amish Peanut Butter Swirl Bars

Scott Torborg — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:32:04 +0000

I got this recipe from Jean my co-worker. She said she found the recipe in the Amish column in the Post Bulletin (Rochester, MN newspaper). These bars are thicker than your standard bars and each bite is packed with a fantastic peanut butter flavor. They will not disappoint.

1 C. creamy peanut butter
2/3 C. butter, softened
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 C. brown sugar
4 eggs
4 tsp. vanilla
2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
12 oz. chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease 9 x 13″ pan. Cream peanut butter, butter, and sugars until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix til smooth. Add flour, baking powder, salt. Spoon into greased pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake 5 minutes. Using a butter knife, swirl melted chips through the dough. Bake 40 more minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean (some chocolate may stick to the knife). Cool one hour. Cut.

Chocolate Revel Bars

Scott Torborg — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:24:31 +0000

This recipe comes to us from Val Lochner, a co-worker of mine. I have had these before at various venues, but could never land the recipe until now. It is a soft chewy oatmeal bar mixed with a sweet, tasty chocolate filling. Just flat out AWESOME!! Val, when you bringing in more? Love it!

Oatmeal Mixture
1 C. shortening
2 C. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 l/2 C. flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
3 C. quick oatmeal

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Sift together flour, soda, and salt. Stir in oatmeal. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Set aside.

Chocolate Filling
15 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
12 oz. package chocolate chips
2 T. butter
1 cup nuts
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla

To make filling, mix chips, condensed milk, butter, and salt; melt over low heat. When smooth, add nuts and vanilla.

Spread 2/3 of oatmeal mixture in a 10 x 15 (or half-sheet, 13 x 18) pan. Cover with chocolate filling. Dot with remaining 1/3 of oatmeal mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Chocolate Mint Dessert Brownies

Liza Torborg — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 16:16:03 +0000

I hosted a Lia Sophia party and made these brownies to share. I was trying to work “green” into the food since the party was on St. Patrick’s Day. The ladies all seemed to like them a lot. I actually used a box brownie mix and then added the mint and chocolate topping from this recipe, which I got from the All Recipes website.

1 C. white sugar
1/2 C. butter, softened
4 eggs
1 1/2 C. chocolate syrup
1 C. all-purpose flour
2 C. confectioners’ sugar
1/2 C. butter, softened
2 T. creme de menthe liqueur
6 T. butter
1 C. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, cream together 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of softened butter until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the chocolate syrup. Stir in the flour until just blended. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until top springs back when lightly touched. Cool completely in the pan.
In a small bowl, beat the confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup butter or margarine and creme de menthe until smooth. Spread evenly over the cooled brownies, then chill until set.
In a small bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter and the chocolate chips, stirring occasionally until smooth. Allow to cool slightly, then spread over the top of the mint layer. Cover, and chill for at least 1 hour before cutting into squares.

Salted Peanut Bars

Scott Torborg — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:19:53 +0000

I got this recipe from a co-worker of mine, Val Lochner. She said they are simple to make! As a the official taste-tester in the office, all I can say is that they were simply delicious to eat. Val also indicated that they are, “not a low-calorie item, but hey”

1 jar of lightly salted Planter’s peanuts
1 pkg. peanut butter chips
3 T. butter
1 can condensed milk
10 oz. bag mini marshmallows

Sprinkle half a jar of peanuts into a greased 9 x 13 pan.

Melt the chips and butter. Add the condensed milk, heat 1-2 minutes more, but do not boil. Add marshmallows. Spread over nuts in pan.

Top with remaining half jar of peanuts. Press together to get peanuts to “stick.”

Chocolate Chip Cookies from the Splendid Table

Scott Torborg — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:46:12 +0000

This recipe came from my co-worker Don. He brought these in on his birthday and they were fabulous. Don found the recipe on the Splendid Table site, a radio program by Minnesota Public Radio. He also had a couple changes from the original recipe:

“I made smaller cookies than the recipe defines, and these were baked for 17 minutes at 350 degrees F. Next time I’ll try 16.5 minutes. A couple of good tricks are to use parchment paper or baking mats, to use thin silver cookie sheets rather than air-bake pans, and to make sure the baking powder is no older than nine months.”

2 C. minus 2 T. (8-1/2 ounces) cake flour
1-2/3 C. (8-1/2 ounces) bread flour
1-1/4 tsp. baking soda
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. coarse salt
2-1/2 sticks (1-1/4 C.) unsalted butter
1-1/4 C. (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 C. plus 2 tablespoons (8 oz.) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. natural vanilla extract
1-1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)
Sea salt

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds.
3. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
5. Scoop 6 3-1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.
Note: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate (www.jacquestorres.com); Valrhona féves (oval-shaped chocolate pieces) are available at Whole Foods.

Makes 1-1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies
Time: 45 minutes, plus at least 24 hours for chilling

Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower

Liza Torborg — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 17:44:01 +0000

I got this recipe from Real Simple magazine. I love baked macaroni and cheese and this seems to be a more healthy version using multigrain pasta and cauliflower. It’s delish!

12 oz. multigrain elbow macaroni
1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
4 slices multigrain bread, torn
1/2 C. flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 T. olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 C. grated extra-sharp Cheddar (6 oz)
1 1/2 C. reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 C. percent milk
1 T. Dijon mustard

Heat oven to 400º F.
Cook the pasta according to the package directions, adding cauliflower during the last 3 minutes of cooking time; drain.
Meanwhile, pulse the bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Add the parsley, 2 tablespoons of the oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and pulse to combine; set aside.
Return the pasta pot to medium heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the onion, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, just until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Mix in pasta, cauliflower, cheese, sour cream, milk and mustard.
Transfer to a shallow 3-quart baking dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 6

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Meg Dolf — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:02:28 +0000

3 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1/2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
2 (14.5) cans chicken broth
1 C. frozen corn kernels
1 C. chopped onion
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 T. lemon juice
1 C. chunky salsa
8 oz. corn tortilla chips
1/2 c. shredded Monterrey jack/pepper jack cheese (optional)

Directions:

In a large pot over medium heat, saute the chicken in the oil for 5 min.
Add the garlic & cumin and mix well.
Then add the broth, corn, onion, chili powder, lemon juice, & salsa.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20-30 minutes.
Break up some tortilla chips into individual bowls* and pour soup over chips.
Top with cheese and a little sour cream.

* We used the chips to eat the soup (instead of spoons) rather than break them into our bowls.

NOTE – The recipe doesn’t call for it, but we added one can of black beans – drained and rinsed.