Green Bean French Fries & Basil Aioli Sauce

•          ½ Package of  Trader Joe’s Green Beans (8 ounces)
•          1 cup of flour
•          1 egg
•          1/2 cup of skim or almond milk
•          3 cups of Panko bread crumbs
•          2 teaspoons of garlic powder
•          2 teaspoons of paprika
•          2 teaspoons of salt
•          2 teaspoons of pepper

For Aioli Dipping Sauce:

•          2 tablespoons of olive oil
•          ¼ cup of basil leaves or 3-4 frozen basil tablets
•          ½ teaspoons of lemon juice
•          1 medium garlic clove, pressed
•          1/2 cup of mayonnaise

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Fill a large pan with water and bring to a boil. Blanch the beans for 5 minutes and immediately remove them and drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water to stop cooking.

Gather three medium-sized bowls. In the first bowl, combine the flour, garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper. In the second bowl, combine the egg and milk, whisking to combine. In the third bowl, place the Panko.

Pat the beans dry and dredge in the flour mixture, then into the milk/egg mixture, and finally into the Panko to coat. Arrange the beans in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil which has been sprayed with non-stick spray.

Bake beans for 18-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

While baking, put all your aioli ingredients into a blender and mix together.  Refrigerate until served.

Banana Cream Pocket Pies

I got a Wilton's mini pie press and finally used it this weekend to make mini banana cream pies. I wanted something easy to make and even easier to eat. These mini pocket pies remind me of the ones I used to get during college to crave my sweet tooth, but they only had Bostom cream pies and fruit pies, but not my favorite type of pie - the banana cream pie. I modified a standard banana cream pie recipe and simplified even more by using store bought pie crust.

 
I just rolled out the crust and used the mini pie press to cut out the right size. Then, filled with the pie filling recipe below, a few thin banana slices and baked for around 20-25 mins at 400 degrees on a baking sheet.

They came out great. And for an added bonus I made some whipped cream to dip them in. So, good. My next pie? A savory one for sure.

Banana Cream Pie Filling:

• 1 ½ bananas
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup corn starch
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Fresh Apple Glazed Cookies

Recipe Created By Executive Chef Keith Roberts
Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel

 Photo reposted by Nummy Yummys

Apple Cookies Ingredients:

• 2 cups sifted All Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon of Baking Soda
• ½ cup of Soft Shortening
• 1 1/3 cups of Brown Sugar
• ½ teaspoon of Salt
• 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon of Ground Cloves
• ½ teaspoon of Nutmeg
• 1 Unbeaten Egg
• 1 cup of Chopped Nuts
• 1 cup of finely chopped, unpared apple
• 1 cup of Dark or Light Raisins - chopped
• ¼ cup of Apple Juice or Milk

Vanilla Glaze Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups of sifted Confectioners Sugar
• 1 tablespoon of Soft Butter or Margarine
• ½ teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 1/8 teaspoon of of Salt
• 2 ½ tablespoon of Light Cream or Milk

Apple Cookies Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Sift Flour with baking soda.
3. Mix Shortening, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and egg until well blended
4. Stir in half of flour mixture, then nuts, apple and raisins.
5. Blend in apple juice, then remaining flour mixture
6. Drop round tsps of dough, 2in apart onto a greased cooking sheet
7. Bake 11-14 minutes or until done
8. While cookies are still hot, spread thinly with glaze.

Vanilla Glaze Instructions:
1. In a small bowl blend 1½ cups of sifted confectioners’ sugar, 1tbsp of butter or
margarine, ½ tsp of vanilla extract, 1/8 tsp of salt, and 2½ tbsp of light cream or milk

Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel
1700 Ocean Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90401
T: (310) 458-6700
Website: http://www.loewshotels.com/

Pumpkin Pie Cake

Recipe Created By Executive Chef Keith Roberts
Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel

Photo Reposted by: Sugar & BeanIngredients:

• 1 - 26 ounce can of Libby’s Pumpkin (or other brand)
• 1 - 10oz box of Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix (or other brand)
• ½ cup of Chopped Walnuts
• 1 Stick of unsalted Butter
• Eggs
• Granulated Sugar
• Dark Brown Sugar
• Salt
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Ginger
• Ground Cloves
• Whole Milk
• Evaporated Milk

Instructions:
1. Preheat Oven to 350°
2. Libby’s Pumpkin Can - Follow directions on the can as if to make the filling for
two pies. Add 1 extra egg and 25% more of the liquid ingredient (Liquid
ingredient should be evaporated milk or cream). Pour mixture into a 9x14
ungreased cake pan.
2. Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix- Sprinkle mix (dry, from the box) evenly over
the pumpkin mixture
3. Chopped Walnuts - Sprinkle evenly over the top
4. Unsalted Butter - Melt butter and drizzle over dry cake mix (Do not stir, top will
not be completely covered)
5. Place in oven until ready (Approx 80min)

Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel
1700 Ocean Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90401
T: (310) 458-6700
Website: http://www.loewshotels.com/

Chocolate-Dipped Butter Cookies

Chocolate-Dipped Butter Cookies
Servings: Around 2 dozen
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Ingredients:

•          1 cup butter, softened
•          1 cup of baker’s sugar
•          1 egg
•          2 tablespoons of orange juice
•          1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
•          2-1/2 cups of flour
•          1 teaspoon of baking powder
•          Melted chocolate (light cocoa, mint or dark chocolate)

Instructions:
In large bowl, beat the butter with sugar until creamy. Add the egg, orange juice, and vanilla and beat well to combine. Sift flour and baking powder and add to butter mixture. Mix until a dough forms.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use a small spoon and dish out small balls of the dough, bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 7 minutes until very lightly brown.

When cookies have cooled, melt your favorite chocolate and dip half of the cookie in the chocolate and let cool on wax paper. Can also add sprinkles to chocolate before it hardens.