Marilyn's Mandelbrodt
Dessert

1/4 teaspoon salt
1-teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups flour
1-cup sugar
3 tablespoons oil (canola, corn or Sunflower)
1-teaspoon vanilla extract (or almond)

1 cup to 1.5 cups almonds (substitution-chopped pecans & dried cranberries, chocolate morsels or raisins & almonds) If you add chocolate or raisins coat them with flour before adding to batter. This will prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

The finished cake should be only 2.5 inches high so use a 9 x 12 inch pan for baking.

Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Beat the eggs until thick, gradually add the sugar, beating until lemon-colored. Stir in the oil and vanilla extract. Gradually add the flour mixture, then the almonds (or substitute). Spray baking pan with Pam.

Bake in a 350-degree oven 35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool and then cut in half inch slices. Arrange on a baking sheet and lightly brown in a 350-degree oven. Watch constantly to avoid burning.

Butter Cookies
Dessert

3 sticks of unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups flour

Cream butter with sugar in food processor.
Add the flour and process until blended to a soft dough.
Roll into walnut sized balls and flatten slightly.

Arrange on wax or parchment paper on a baking sheet 1 inch apart.

Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. They should still be white - not at all colored. They will be very soft and friable and seem uncooked, but they will firm up when they cool. Remove from the paper only when they have hardened, and dredge in confectioners' sugar.

Variations:
. Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon to the dough.
. Press a blanched almond or pecan on the top the
. dough before baking.
. Replace 1/2 cup of the flour with ground almonds or
. ground hazelnuts.

Sponge Cake
Dessert

5 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
A pinch of salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Beat egg yolks with about half the sugar till thick very and pale, then stir in the lemon zest.

Beat egg whites stiff with the salt. Add the remaing sugar and beat to very stiff, shiny meringue. Then fold in the yolk mixture. Sprinkle the flour on top and very gently fold in as lightly as possible.

Turn into a deep, oiled, npnstick spring-form cake pain about 9 inches in diameter and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, until browned on top.

Chocolate Raspberry Torte
Dessert (Gluten Free)

1 1/2 cups pecans
7 oz dark bittersweet chocolate
1 1/4 cups sugar
7 egg whites
raspberry jam

Finely chop pecans and sugar in food processor, then add chocolate and mix well.

Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into the chocolate-pecan mixture.

Spray a 9 inch spring pan with Pam. Line pan with parchment paper. Pour mixture into pan and bake at 300 degrees for one hour, until firm. (test with toothpick)

Cool cake on a cake rack.

Remove cake from spring pan and spread raspberry jam on top of cake.

Optional chocolate glaze:

In a heavy saucepan, melt 4 oz of bittersweet chocolate (broken) with 3 tablespoons butter. Stir constantly, until thick enough to spread over top of cake.

Torta del re (flourless almond torte) Gluten free
Dessert

Torta del re
5 eggs, separated
1 pinch salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups almonds, finely ground
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Grated rind 1 lemon
Confectioners'' sugar

Line bottom of 10-inch with parchment paper and spray surface with vegetable spray. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Using stand mixer whisk attachment, beat egg yolks, salt, and sugar until thick and light in color. Gradually add ground nuts, vanilla, and rind. Set aside.

In another bowl and using whisk attachment, beat egg whites stiff, until peaks are soft. Mix one-third of beaten whites into yolk mixture to lighten it. Fold in remaining whites. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out dry.

Cool in pan for 15 minutes and invert into plate. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Alternate: Spread apricot jam on cake top.

Simple Apple Cake
Dessert

3 cups Flour
2 1/2 cups Sugar
1 cup Applesauce
4 Eggs
1/3 cup Orange juice
2 1/2 tsp Vanilla
3 tsp Baking soda
6 Granny smith apples
2 tsp. Cinnamon
5 tbsp. Sugar

Beat together the first 7 ingredients until smooth. Peel and thinly slice apples. Add 5 tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon to the apples. Spray a tube pan or bundt pan with Pan. Pour a thin layer of batter on the bottom of a prepared pan, then a layer of apples, more batter, more apples and top off with remaining batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 45 minutes. (you may want to put a layer of aluminum foil over the top during the last 15 minutes of baking to avoid too much browning)

Nut Crescents
Dessert

1 cup butter or butter substitute
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup ground pecans, walnuts or almonds
Powdered sugar optional

Cream butter, sugar and vanilla in food processor
Add flour and ground nuts.

Using two teaspoons of dough for each, shape into
crescents.

Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cooled.

Zabaglione Cream
Dessert

8 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup marsala wine
Pince of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
Fresh berries
Mint leaves

Fill a medium saucepan 1/3 full of water. Bring the water to a low boil.

Fill a medium bowl 1/3 full of ice water. Set aside.

In a medium stainless steel bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, marsala and salt. Set the bowl into the saucepan of boiling water. Make sure the bowl fits snugly into the saucepan, but be sure the bottom of the bowl does not touche the water. Cook the zabalglione, whisking constantly, until it is thick. Remove the bowl from the heat and set it in the bowl of ice water until cool.

Beat the heavy whipping cream in a mix master until soft peaks form. Fold the cooled zabaglione mixture into the whipped cream.

Place fresh berries on the bottom of red wine glasses.
Spoon zabaglione cream over berries. Garnish with a berry and fresh mint leaves. Refidgerate until ready to serve.

Serves 6 to 8

Faux Chopped Liver
Appetizer

1 (15 Oz.) can of peas
3 hardboiled eggs
1 large onion, carmelized in vegetable oil
1/2 cup walnuts

Process each ingredient separately in a food processor. The onions should be the consistency of apple sauce. The walnuts should be a paste, not granular. The peas should be well pureed and the eggs should also be well processed so that the egg whites hardly discernable. Mix all ingredients together. Refridgerate and correct seasoning to taste (salt & pepper). The faux chopped liver is sweeter if the pepper is eliminated.

Gravlax & Sweet Mustard Dill Sauce
Appetizer

For the basic version of gravlax, I use:
" one 3 1/2- to 4-pound salmon fillet
" 1 cup sugar
" 1/2 cup salt
" 1 Tbsp. freshly ground pepper
" 2 bunches of fresh dill (don't skimp on the dill, for this is what gives gravlax its unique flavor).

Combine the sugar and salt, then cover the fleshy side of the salmon.

Wash and roughly chop the bunches of dill, stems and all. Cover the fleshy side of the salmon.

Wrap the salmon in two sheets of saran wrap (tightly). Place the wrapped fish in a pan. Place stones or aluminum cans on top of fish.

Refrigerate the weighted gravlax for at least 2 days (48 hours) and up to a week.

Remove the gravlax from the refrigerator. Scrape off most of the dill and seasonings; pat dry with paper towels.

Using a sharp knife, cut the cured gravlax into paper-thin slices, pulling each slice away from the skin (if your fillet has the skin on).

Layer the gravlax slices on crispbread or rye bread. Traditionally accompanied by sweet dill mustard sauce (in Swedish, hovmA??starsA??s), gravlax also pairs well with capers and finely chopped onions as an appetizer or with a variety of garnishes on an open-faced sandwich.

Gravlax can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week and in the freezer for up to a month.

Few things go as beautifully with freshly cured gravlax as this sweet dill mustard sauce.

Sweet Dill Mustard Sauce Ingredients:

" 6 Tbsp. sweet honey mustard
" 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
" 2 tsp. sugar
" pinch of salt
" 2 Tbsp. plain or white wine vinegar
" 2/3 cup canola oil
" 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh dill

Preparation:

Mix together the mustards, sugar, salt, and vinegar. Slowly whisk in 2/3 cup canola oil until well incorporated into a smooth sauce. Stir in chopped dill. Chill until serving. Will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.