Fantasy Fudge

This recipe has been around for years, and I've been making it for years.  It is pretty much no-fail and is creamy and delicious.  I only make it at Christmas time and I don't make it every year.  But I did this year to serve at a party, so I thought I would share the recipe:
Fantasy Fudge
1 1/2 cups butter
6 cups sugar
2 cans evaporated milk (you can substitute 1 of the cans of milk with 1 1/2 cups of cream.  It makes the fudge more, well, creamy)
4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 large (13 oz.) jar of marshmallow crème
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 cups chopped nuts, optional

Lightly butter a 13 x 9 pan.  Mix sugar, butter, and milk in a large, heavy pan.  Bring to a full, rolling boil on medium high heat, stirring constantly.  Continue boiling until to softball stage.  Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips, marshmallow crème and vanilla.  Pour into prepared pan and cool.  Cut into squares when completely cool. You can wrap the squares in plastic wrap or serve them in candy paper liners.

Sweet Glazed Salmon

I was served some sweet glazed salmon at a dinner we attended that was out of this world good.  So I went to the internet to find a similar recipe.  I tried this one.  It was good, really quite good, but not out of this world good.  I will keep looking.  But in the meantime, enjoy this one.  It was so easy.

Sweet Glazed Salmon
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 soy sauce
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 Tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes

2-4 salmon filets
oil

In a zip lock bag, mix the garlic, soy sauce, lemon juice, honey, olive oil, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes.  Squeeze the bag to mix.  Add the filets, close the bag and turn and squeeze to cover filets.  Marinate in the fridge for about an hour.  Take out the filets, reserving the marinade.  Heat some oil in a pan over medium heat.  Put the salmon in the skillet and pour the reserved marinade over.  Put a lid on the skillet.  Let cook until salmon is browned.  Turn over and cook on other side until the salmon flakes with a fork.  Occasionally spoon the marinade over the cooking salmon.  It takes about 2-3 minutes on each side.  Sprinkle with sea salt and serve with lemon.

Donair

In September, Ken and I traveled to Prince Edward Island.  In many restaurants and on billboards, we kept seeing the word "Donair."  So I asked the lady at the front desk of our hotel what it was.  She explained that it is a local to Nova Scotia dish that is very popular there.  It is meat prepared a very special and unusual way, with onion, tomato in a pita with a sweet donair sauce drizzled over the top.  Being who I am, I had to order it and try it.  It was delicious!  But I just couldn't figure out the meat.  What is that?  When I got home, I googled recipes and found that the meat is ground meat, usually beef, spiced and compressed, baked, chilled and cut into thin slices, then fried or otherwise reheated.  Ah!  No wonder it was so tender and delicious. It tastes like little tender pieces of steak. Donair is really not hard to make and it is really good.

Our first taste of donair on Prince Edward Island

We later went back to that same restaurant and I ordered the donair pizza.  Man, was that good!!!

The meat has been spiced, compressed, baked, chilled, and sliced into thin squares.

Donair
Preheat the oven to 350

In a small bowl, mix together the following spices:
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon flour
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Put 1 lb. ground beef in a steel mixing bowl.  With your hands, mix in the spice mixture.  Pick the meat up and throw it down with force about 20 times, kneading it after each throw.  This will help the meat hold together when you slice it and really compress it.
Form the meat into a loaf, and place on a broiler pan.  Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes in the oven, turning the loaf over about half way through.  This will ensure even cooking.  Allow the meat to chill before slicing and reheating.  .  When chilled, slice the meat into small, thin squares.  Heat a skillet and fry the little meat pieces in oil until browned. 
To make the donair sauce mix together:
1 can evaporated milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
Gradually whisk in:
4 teaspoons white vinegar, one teaspoon at a time, until thickened to your desired consistency.

Put the meat on wraps or pita bread.  Top with plenty of  chopped onion and chopped tomatoes.  Drizzle with the sauce.

This is how they make it, but we found the raw onion to be a bit overpowering.  So the next time I tried it, I fried the onion with the meat squares.  We liked that much better.  Next I want to try the pizza.

Flourless Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

Turned off already, aren't you?  Flourless?  Gluten-free?  But these are really good.  We have a couple of girls in our young women group who have to eat gluten-free because they have celiac disease.  It is always a challenge to provide treats for them.  I was asked to provide a gluten free option for our young women in excellence night.  I remembered that clear back when I was in college my roommate got so excited about a recipe she found for flourless cookies.  She just was thrilled about it and talked like it was a miracle or something.  We made them and they were good.  Now, fast forward 40 years.  Flourless . . . hmmm . . . that would be gluten-free.  I've long since lost that college recipe, but I googled flourless cookie recipes and was amazed at the many options.  Remembering that the one we tried in college had peanut butter, I opted for the Peanut Butter chocolate chip one.  They were so easy! They could be made in the time it has taken me to type this ridiculously long explanation.  So, even if you don't need  gluten-free, you may want to try these.  They really are good.

Flourless Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 large egg
1/2 cup of well packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon soda
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350
Line baking sheets with parchment or sil pat
In a bowl, beat the egg, then add the brown sugar and baking soda.  Whisk together until well mixed.  Switch to a wooden or other sturdy spoon and stir in the peanut butter.  Mix until smooth.  Mix in the chocolate chips.  Drop by small spoonfuls on the baking sheet.  Wet your hand and lightly press each cookie down.  Bake 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let sit on the baking pan for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack.