Niamh O'Flynn's Cookbook

By: Niamh O’Flynn

Table of Contents Savory Dinners Marinated Flank Steak....................................................... 3 Oven Jambalaya................................................................ 4 Zucchini Fritters................................................................ 5 Shrimp Alfredo.................................................................. 6

Chocolate DesSerts Chocolate Chip Cranraisin Oatmeal Cookies...................... 9 Peppermint Bark............................................................. 10 French Chocolate Bark.................................................... 11 Caramel Chocolate Pretzel Rods...................................... 12

Cakes and Breads Banana Bread................................................................. 15 Irish soda bread.............................................................. 16 Pumpkin Bread............................................................... 17 All Chocolate Cake.......................................................... 18 Carrot Cake.................................................................... 19 Red Velvet Cupcakes....................................................... 20

1

Savory Dinners

2

Marinated Flank Steak From the kitchen of: Marie Lamari

Ingredients

1 ½ - 2lb flank steak Marinating method 20 oz. bottles low sodium soy sauce 12 oz. honey 1 tbsp. lemon juice 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp. chopped garlic 2 tbsp. vegetable oil ⅛ tspn. ginger Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Mix all of the ingredients in a glass or ceramic bowl and stir until the honey is liquified.

2. Score (make diagonal slits) in the flank steak and place in marinade for at least 2 hours, turning half way through.

3. Grill or broil until desired.

3

Oven Jambalaya

From the kitchen of: Christy Hodge

Ingredients

1 pound Andouille, sliced 4 cups chopped cooked chicken Âź cup butter, melted 1 pound converted rice 16 oz can beef broth 10 ounce can tomato sauce 10 oz can French onion soup 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees 2. Brown the sausage in a Dutch oven and drain 3. Add the chicken, butter, rice, broth, tomato sauce, soup, bell pepper, green onions and Creole seasoning to the sausage and mix well 4. Spoon the sausage mixture into a lightly greased 9x13inch baking dish 5. Cover and bake for 1 Âź 6. Sprinkle w addition Creole seasoning before serving

4

Zucchini Fritters

From the kitchen of: Marie Lamari

Ingredients

¾ cup of ricotta ½ cup of chopped scallions 2 tbsp. of chopped fresh Basil 2 tbsp. of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1 cup of all-purpose flour 3 eggs, lightly beaten 3 cups of shredded zucchini ½ cup of shredded Parmesan Cheese 1 tsp. of salt ¼ tsp. of pepper

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine first 4 ingredients. Stir in flour.

Add eggs, stir well.

2. Stir in zucchini, parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Heat 2 tbsp. of olive soil in a large skillet over medium heat.

3. Drop batter by tablespoons full into skillet. Cook 3-4 minutes, turning once until golden.

4. Remove fritters onto a dish lined with paper towels.

Arrange on a platter.

5. Garnish with lemon zest if you choose to.

5

Shrimp Alfredo

From the kitchen of: Lauren A. Brooks

Ingredients

12 ounces penne pasta 1/4 cup butter 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 red bell pepper, diced 1/2 pound Portobello mushrooms, diced 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 (15 ounce) jar Alfredo sauce 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese 1/2 cup cream 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste Salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

2. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

3. Meanwhile, melt butter together with the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook until softened and translucent, about 2 minutes.

4. Stir in garlic, red pepper, and mushroom; cook over medium-high heat until soft, about 2 minutes more.

5. Stir in the shrimp, and cook until firm and pink, then pour in Alfredo sauce, Romano cheese, and cream; bring to a simmer stirring constantly until thickened, about 5 minutes.

6. Season with cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir drained pasta into the sauce, and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.

6

7

Chocolate Desserts

8

Chocolate Chip Cranraisin Oatmeal Cookies From the kitchen of: Lia Tunney

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup light brown sugar, not packed 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg, at room temperature 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 2 cups All-Purpose Flour 1 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 3/4 teaspoon regular table salt 1 cup bitter chocolate chips 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips 2/3 cup cranraisins

Directions:

9

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper, or lightly grease with non-stick vegetable oil spray.

2. Beat together the butter and sugars until smooth.

3. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.

4. Whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and add to the butter mixture in the Mix until everything is thoroughly incorporated. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and mix briefly.

5. Stir in the chocolate chips.

7. Scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2" to 2" between cookies.

8. Bake the cookies for 12 to 17 minutes, until they're a light golden brown, with slightly darker edges. Their middles may still look a tiny bit shiny; that's OK, they'll continue to bake as they cool on the pan.

9. Remove the cookies from the oven, and as soon as they're set enough to handle, transfer them to racks to cool.

Peppermint Bark

From the kitchen of: Kelly Katsoris

Ingredients

12 ounces semisweet chocolate 1 ½ teaspoons peppermint extract 1 pound white chocolate 3 candy canes, crushed

Directions

1. Line a 9-by-13 baking dish with aluminum foil.

2. Melt all semisweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

3. Stir in ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract into the chocolate and pour into the baking dish in an even layer.

4. Melt all white chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

5. Stir in ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract and pour over the semisweet chocolate.

6. Sprinkle crushed candy canes over.

7. Place baking dish in the refrigerator for an hour or until firm. Cut into squares and serve.

10

French Chocolate Bark From the kitchen of Ina Garten

Ingredients

8 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped 8 ounces very good bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 1 cup whole roasted, salted cashews 1 cup chopped dried apricots 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. Melt the 2 chocolates in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.

2. Meanwhile, line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Using a ruler and a pencil, draw a 9 by 10-inch rectangle on the paper. Turn the paper facedown on the baking sheet.

3. Pour the melted chocolate over the paper and spread to form a rectangle, using the outline. Sprinkle the cashews, apricots and cranberries over the chocolate. Set aside for 2 hours until firm.

4. Cut the bark in 1 by 3-inch pieces and serve at room temperature.

11

Caramel Chocolate Pretzel Rods

From the kitchen of: Siobhan Hoffman

Ingredients

1/2 cup light Corn syrup 1/2 cup Sugar 3 tbsp Butter 1/2 cup Heavy Cream 15 Pretzel Rods 8 oz Melting Chocolate Christmas Decorations

Directions

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. Place corn syrup in a medium pan and heat over medium heat.

3. When corn syrup is heated (starting to bubble) add sugar and stir until well mixed.

4. Let syrup cook without stirring until it turns a golden color.

5. Remove from heat add butter and stir until blended and slowly add cream while stirring constantly to blend.

6. Transfer caramel to tall cup for dipping.

7. Dip each pretzel rod in caramel and place on prepared tray. Then refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow caramel to set.

8. Heat chocolate in microwave for 30 seconds and stir.

Repeat until melted and smooth. Transfer to tall cup for dipping.

9. Dip each caramel coated pretzel in chocolate to coat and return to tray.

10. Sprinkle with decorations while still warm. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow chocolate to set.

12

13

Cakes & Breads

14

Banana Bread

From the kitchen of: The Longo Family

Ingredients

2 to 3 very ripe bananas, peeled (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups mashed) 1/3 cup melted butter, unsalted or salted 1 teaspoon baking soda Pinch of salt 3/4 cup sugar (1/2 cup for less sweet, 1 cup for sweeter) 1 large egg, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), and butter a 4x8-inch loaf pan.

2. In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until completely smooth. Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas.

3. Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour.

4. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour at 350°F (175°C), or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

5. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes. Then remove the banana bread from the pan and let cool completely before serving. Slice and serve. (A bread knife helps to make slices that aren’t crumbly.)

15

Irish Soda Bread

From the kitchen of: The O’Flynn’s

Ingredients 4 1 1 1 4 1 1 1

cups of Flour tbsp of sugar teaspoon of salt teaspoon of baking soda tbsp of butter cup of raisins egg ¾ cup of buttermilk

Directions

1. Whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda: Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk 2. together 4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.

3. Work the butter into the flour, add currants or raisins: Using your (clean) fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal, then add in the raisins.

4. Make a well, mix in buttermilk, egg: Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. 5. Add beaten egg and buttermilk to well and mix in with a wooden spoon until dough is too stiff to stir.

6. Lightly knead the dough and form dough mound: Dust hands with a little flour, then gently knead dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add in a little more flour. Do not over-knead!

16

Pumpkin Bread

From the kitchen of: Olivia’s Grandma

Ingredients

2 cups old-fashioned or quick cooking oats 15 ounce can pure pumpkin ½ cup maple syrup 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth and well combined.

3. Bake bread for 30 minutes.

4. Let loaf cool completely in the pan. Store bread in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

17

All Chocolate Cake

From the kitchen of: Kelly Katsoris

Ingredients

2 cups sugar 1-3/4 cups flour ¾ cup Hershey’s Cocoa 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1 cup milk ½ cup vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup boiling water 1 stick butter 2/3 cup Hershey’s Cocoa 3 cups powdered sugar 1/3 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1.Heat over to 350 F. Grease Baking pan.

2.Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into pan.

3.Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Prepare frosting while baking.

4.Melt butter in a medium bowl. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spread consistency.

5.Add a small amount of additional milk if needed, stir in vanilla.

6.Place frosting in refrigerator while cake is continuing to bake.

7.When cake is baked, take out of the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

8.Frost cake.

18

Carrot Cake

From the Kitchen of: Ariana Shafiee

Ingredients

2 cups chopped pecans (1 cup for cake, 1 cup for garnish) 1 and 1/2 cups packed light or dark brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 cup vegetable oil or canola oil 4 large eggs 3/4 cup smooth unsweetened applesauce 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled) 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 2 cups grated carrots (about 4 large)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread chopped pecans on sheet and toast for 7-8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.

2. Turn the ovento 350°. Grease three 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper.

3. Whisk brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla together in a bowl until combined and no lumps remain. In another large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and, using a rubber spatula, fold ingredients together until just combined. Fold in the carrots and 1 cup of the toasted pecans.

4. Pour the batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for 30 min.

Test the center with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the cakes are done. If not, continue to bake until cooked through. Do not over-bake. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack.

19

Red Velvet Cupcakes

From the Kitchen of: Dara Siviglia

Ingredients

½ Cup softened butter 1 ½ Cup sugar 4 eggs ¾ Cup milk 3 teaspoons red food coloring 2 cups flour 4 teaspoons cocoa 1 ½ tablespoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda Frosting: 1 Cup arla original cream cheese spread 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 ¼ powdered sugar

Directions

1. Whip butter and sugar until it is light and airy. Add the eggs one at a time and whip well between each.

2. Stir milk and red food coloring in the dough. Add the flour, cocoa, vanilla extract and salt.

3. Mix well, eliminating any clumps. Mix the vinegar and baking soda and stir it into the dough when it starts to bubble.

4. Distribute the dough into the muffin cups slightly below the edge and place them in the middle of the oven.

5. Bake for 20 min. at 400 °F. Let them cool off.

6. Frosting: Whip cheese, butter and vanilla extract until blended. Add powdered sugar in small portions into the mixture while still whipping. Stop whipping when the frosting is blended.

7. Put the frosting in the fridge for approx. 15 min. Put it in a piping bag with a round tulle. Top the cooled cupcakes with the frosting and decorate them with fresh raspberries.

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NO NIAMH O’FLYNN