Social Corner Recipes

This Social Corner page will feature your beloved recipes that you wish to share with your neighbors.  If you have a favorite recipe you wish to share, please send it to social@nullshadowbrook.org.

Homemade Pizza – (August 2021 Splasher) from Meera Desai

INGREDIENTS

For the Dough

  • 1 1/4 c. lukewarm water
  • 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 1 (1/4-oz.) packet active dry yeast (2¼ tsp.)
  • 3 c. all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil

For the Pizza

  • Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
  • 1/4 c. cornmeal, divided
  • 1 c. marinara, divided
  • 16 oz. fresh mozzarella, broken into pieces
  • Fresh basil leaves
  • Pinch red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS

  1. Grease a large bowl with olive oil. In a small bowl add water and sugar and stir to dissolve, then sprinkle yeast over and let sit until frothy, about 8 minutes.
  2. In another large bowl, add flour, salt, and oil. Pour in yeast mixture, then mix with a wooden spoon until everything is combined and a shaggy dough begins to form. Knead against sides of bowl until dough starts to come together, then turn onto your work surface and knead, adding a pinch of flour if needed, until it feels elastic and only slightly tacky, 5 minutes. Form into a tight ball, place into prepared bowl, and cover with a clean dish towel. Let rise in a warm spot in your kitchen until doubled in size, about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
  3. Gently punch down dough, then divide in 2, and roll into balls. Let dough balls rest as you preheat oven to 500° and grease a large baking sheet with olive oil. Sprinkle all over with 2 tablespoons cornmeal.
  4. On your work surface, gently flatten one ball of dough and roll with a rolling pin (or stretch with your hands) until about 12” in diameter (as thin as you can). Carefully transfer to prepared baking sheet and brush dough all over with oil. Then, add your 1/2 cup sauce to middle of dough and spread outwards with a spoon or ladle, leaving about 1” for the crust. Top with mozzarella. Bake until crust is golden and cheese is melty, about 15 minutes.
  5. Top with fresh basil leaves, a drizzle of olive oil, and red pepper flakes. Repeat with second dough.

 

Watermelon Granita – (July 2021 Splasher) from Meera Desai

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 pound watermelon
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

  1. Cut about 1 pound watermelon into small chunks (discarding the rind), and freeze them.
  2. When they’re frozen, put them in a blender with 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and blend until the mixture liquefies.
  3. Pour the mixture into a shallow glass or ceramic pan, and freeze for about 2 hours, breaking up the ice crystals with a fork every 30 minutes or so. It should be slushy and crunchy.

Sausage Rolls – (June 2021 Splasher) from Meera Desai

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb pork sausage
  • 1 – 17.3 oz 2 pack box puff pastry
  • 2 eggs divided
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
  • 2 Tbs parsley
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Pinch of pepper
  • 1 tbs Water

DIRECTIONS

  1. Defrost puff pastry according to package directions.
  2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  3. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
  4. In bowl mix together sausage, bread crumbs, 1 egg, thyme, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
  5. Section off into 6 equal portions and set aside.
  6. On a floured surface unfold your pastry dough and gently roll out a little bit so it gets a little thinner then cut into 3 long rectangle sections.
  7. Place sausage down the center of each section leaving an inch or so of pastry on either side.
  8. Bring sides together and pinch to seal and pat down slightly, repeat with remaining sausage and dough.
  9. Cut easy “log” 6 equal portions about 2″ long and then pierce the top with a knife 2 times to create venting holes.
  10. Place sausage rolls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
  11. In a small bowl whisk together egg and water and then brush on tops of the sausage rolls and bake in oven for about 20 minutes until pastry is puffed and tops are golden.

Greek Salad (May 2021 Splasher) from Meera Desai

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 hothouse cucumber, large-diced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, large-diced
  • 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 pound feta cheese, 1/2-inch diced (not crumbled)
  • 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted
  • For the vinaigrette:
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup good olive oil

DIRECTIONS

  1. Place the cucumber, peppers, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.
  2. For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Still whisking, slowly add the olive oil to make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta and olives and toss lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.

Prickly Pear Margarita (April 2021 Splasher) from Meera Desai

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 ounces clear tequila
  • 2 ounces Cointreau
  • 2 ounces freshly-squeezed lime
    juice
  • 1 ounce prickly pear syrup
  • Lime and kosher salt for garnish

DIRECTIONS

  1. Begin by running a wedge
    of lime around the edge of
    your margarita glass. Dip in
    kosher salt to coat.
  2. In a cocktail shaker filled
    with ice, add the tequila,
    Cointreau, freshlysqueezed lime juice, and
    prickly pear syrup. Shake
    vigorously. Strain into your
    prepared margarita glasses
    filled will ice.

Deviled Eggs with Capers (March 2021 Splasher) from Meera Desai

INGREDIENTS

Garnish with
a lime slice to serve.3 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp whole-grain mustard
1 ½ tsp champaign vinegar
2 tbsp capers (rinsed)
1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
Fine sea salt and 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

  1. Carefully lower eggs with a spoon into boiling water – boil for 10 min
  2. Place boiled eggs into ice bath for 5 minutes, once cool – peel eggs, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out hard-boiled yolks into a food processor.
  3. Add mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, capers, parsley, salt and cayenne pepper to food processor and pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
  4. Spoon mixture into piping bag or zip lock with end cut off and decoratively pipe mixture into egg white halves. Serve immediately and Enjoy!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries (Jan/Feb 2021 Splasher) from Meera Desai

INGREDIENTS

6 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 oz of white chocolate chopped
1 lb of strawberries with stems (about 20) – washed and dried well

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a double-boiler or microwave melt the semi-sweet chocolate until smooth being careful not to burn the chocolate.
  2. Holding the strawberries by the stem carefully dip into the melted chocolate and place on a cook sheet lined with parchment paper.
  3. Once all strawberries are coated, set aside for 30 min or refrigerate for 15 min.
  4. While the chocolate sets melt the white chocolate in the double-boiler or microwave.
  5. Dip a small spoon into the white chocolate and splatter lightly the white chocolate in stripes over the set strawberries. Allow the white chocolate to set and ENJOY!

Classic Mulled Wine (Nov/Dec 2020 Splasher) – from Meera Desai

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 (750 ml) bottle of dry red wine
  • 1 orange, sliced into rounds (also peeled, if you would like a less-bitter drink)
  • 8 whole cloves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 star anise
  • 2–4 tablespoons sugar, honey, or maple syrup to taste (or your desired sweetener)
  • optional add-in: 1/4 cup brandy (or your favorite liqueur)
  • optional garnishes: citrus slices (orange, lemon and/or lime), extra cinnamon sticks, extra star anise

DIRECTIONS

  1. Combine ingredients. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and give them a quick stir.
  2. Heat until the wine just barely reaches a simmer over medium-high heat.  (Avoid letting it bubble — you don’t want to boil off the alcohol.)  Reduce heat to low, cover, and let the wine simmer for at least 15 minutes or up to 3 hours.
  3. Strain and season. Using a fine mesh strainer, remove and discard the orange slices, cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise and ginger.  Give the mulled wine a taste, and stir in your desired amount of extra sweetener if needed.
  4. Serve warm in heatproof mugs, topped with your favorite garnishes.

Pumpkin Angel Food Cake
(October 2020 Splasher) from Sharon Pope

INGREDIENTS

1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla

1 and 1/2 tsp of pumpkin spice

 

OR

(1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp ginger)

1 package angel food cake mix
Cool Whip for topping (optional)
Grated walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Combine pumpkin and spices in large bowl and prepare cake mix using box directions in another bowl
  3. Fold a quarter of the batter into the pumpkin mix. Gently fold in remaining cake batter.
  4. SPOON into ungreased tube pan (not a fluted BUNDT pan) bake for 40-45 minutes or until golden on top.
  5. Serve with Cool Whip, and walnuts if desired.

Pumpkin Spice Mousse
(September 2020 Splasher) – from Meera Desai

INGREDIENTS

1 (3.4-oz.) package instant vanilla pudding
1 tsp. pumpkin spice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon, plus more for garnish
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin purée
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, whisk together pudding mix, spices, and salt. Add pumpkin, maple syrup, vanilla, and whole milk and beat with a hand mixer until smooth.

In another large bowl, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes. Fold two-thirds of the whipped cream into pumpkin mixture until smooth. Spoon or pipe into serving dishes and top with remaining whipped cream. Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon and serve.