Cheryl's CHICKEN LASAGNA FLORENTINE

(Posted by Suzi Cooking With the Seasons

2 cups chopped cooked chicken1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted1

10oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese1 6oz jar sliced mushrooms, drained

1/4 tsp pepper1 cup sour cream6 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained1 cup grated parmesan cheese 3/4 to 1 cup chopped pecans
Stir together chicken and next 6 ingredients.

Arrange 3 noodles in a lightly greased 11x7 baking dish; top with half of chicken mixture. Repeat layers with remaining noodles and chicken mixture. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and pecans.

Bake covered at 350F for 45 minutes; uncover and bake 15 minutes or until bubbly. Let lasagna stand 15 minutes before serving.

Harvest Stuffed Pork Loin

(Posted by lesly2005 Cooking With the Seasons)

1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stove Top stuffing mix for chicken
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
3 Tbsp. dried fruit, such as cranberries, raisins or apricots
1 cup chopped toasted planters pecans
1 Tbsp. dried sage leaves
1 center-cut pork loin (4 lb.), butterflied
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Prepare stuffing as directed on package. Remove from heat; gently stir in apples, dried fruit, pecans and sage.

UNROLL meat; place stuffing mixture evenly over meat. Roll up meat, starting at one of the long sides, to enclose filling. Place, seam side down, on foil-covered baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Season with salt and pepper.

BAKE 45 minutes or until meat thermometer reaches 155°F when inserted into the thickest part of the meat. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Makes: 16 servings.

NOTE:
Substitute 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage for the 1 Tbsp. dried sage leaves

BEEF TENDERLOIN WITH ROASTED SHALLOTS, BACON AND PORT
Thinking of Christmas this is one of Nigella Lawsons.

1 1/2 pounds large shallots (about 24), halved lengthwise, peeled
3 tablespoons olive oil

6 cups canned beef broth
1 1/2 cups tawny Port
1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 3- to 3 1/4-pound beef tenderloins (large ends), trimmed
2 teaspoons dried thyme
7 bacon slices, chopped
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 large bunch watercress

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. In 9-inch-diameter pie pan, toss shallots with oil to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until shallots are deep brown and very tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Boil broth and Port in large saucepan until reduced to 3 3/4 cups, about 30 minutes. Whisk in tomato paste. (Shallots and broth mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately; chill.)

Pat beef dry; sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. In large roasting pan set over medium heat, sauté bacon until golden, about 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels. Add beef to pan; brown on all sides over medium-high heat, about 7 minutes. Transfer pan to oven; roast beef until meat thermometer inserted into center registers 125°F for medium-rare, about 45 minutes. Transfer beef to platter. Tent loosely with foil.

Spoon fat off top of pan drippings in roasting pan. Place roasting pan over high heat. Add broth mixture and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Transfer to medium saucepan; bring to simmer. Mix 3 tablespoons butter and flour in small bowl to form smooth paste; whisk into broth mixture and simmer until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Whisk in 3 tablespoons butter. Stir in roasted shallots and reserved bacon. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Cut beef into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Spoon some sauce over. Garnish with watercress. Pass remaining sauce.

Serves 12.

Tiramisu

Posted by Suzi Cooking With the Seasons

This is from Jamie Oliver's Italy.

15 ladyfingers
1 cup good strong coffee, freshly brewed
4 tablespoons sugar
1 pound 2 ounces mascarpone
2 vanilla beans
1/2 cup vin santo or sweet sherry
Zest and juice of 1 orange
3 1/2 ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate (70 % cocoa solids)

Get yourself a medium deep bowl or dish about 8-10 inches in diameter and arrange your ladyfingers snugly in layers on top of each other. Sweeten your coffee with 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Pour the coffee over the ladyfingers, making sure the top layer is completely covered — you'll see the coffee being sucked up by the ladyfinger. While that's soaking, put your mascarpone into a bowl and whisk it up with the rest of the sugar.

Score the vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape the seeds out into the bowl of mascarpone, keeping the beans for making vanilla sugar if you want to. Continue whisking and as you do so, drizzle in the vin santo or sherry. You want to get the mixture to a loose, shiny consistency. If it's still too thick you can use a little of the orange juice to loosen it before you squeeze the rest of the juice over the ladyfingers. Smear the vanilla mascarpone over the ladyfingers and either grate all the chocolate over it or make shavings using a knife or a peeler. Sprinkle lightly with a little finely grated orange zest and keep in the fridge until you're ready to serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Chocky Dessert Cake

(Suxi Cooking With The Seasons)

200g/7oz dark chocolate, chopped
90g/3oz butter
5 eggs, separated
3/4 cup castor/superfine sugar (regular is ok)
1/2 cup self-raising flour, sifted (see Note*)
1 cup thickened/whipping cream, whipped
250g/8oz punnet strawberries, halved (half raspberries is great too)

Melt chocolate and butter over hot water, remove from heat, stir in egg yolks, sugar and flour.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, fold lightly into, chocolate mixture.

Pour into 2 greased and base-lined round sandwich tins, 20cm/8" in diameter.

Bake at 180°C/350F for 20-25 minutes or until cakes shrink slightly from side of tins.

Stand 5 minutes before turning onto wire rack to cool. Join together with whipped cream and strawberries.

To freeze: wrap cold, unfilled, cake in freezer wrap to exclude air; freeze for up to 3 months.

Adapted from womens weekly magazine recipe

Note: It's nice as one cake, cooked longer with the whipped cream and berries on top. You can make it ahead one day, cool then store in an airtight container. Add cream and berries to serve. Great with a rich vanilla ice cream.

Note*. If you only have plain flour use 1 teaspoon of baking powder with 1/2 cup of plain flour.

Serves 6-8.