These are excellent and quite pretty on a plate. Alexa *********************************************************** Holly Berry Cookies Servings: 12 Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter, chilled 1 egg 1/4 cup milk 2/3 cup seedless raspberry jam 2 cups confectioners' sugar 2 tablespoons milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 cup cinnamon red hot candies 4 drops green food coloring Directions: 1. In a large bowl combine the flour, white sugar, ground cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl beat the egg and 1/4 cup of milk. Add this to the crumb mixture until the dough is moistened. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). 3. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut with a 2 inch round cookie cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheets. 4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Once cool spread jam on half of the cookies then top each with another cookie. 5. To Make Glaze: Combine the confectioners' sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla until smooth. Spread glaze over the cookie and decorate with red cinnamon candy before the glaze is set. Let dry. Using a small new paintbrush and green food coloring, paint holly leaves on cookies.

Well, Easter's gone now, but Tyler Florence's Ultimate Gratin recipe is the bomb. It's got scalloped potatoes and cabbage, which doesn't make it taste cabbage-y, but instead gives it a texture and flavor addition that's out of this world. Too bad I didn't see this before Easter! Here is a link that might be useful: Tyler Florence's Ultimate Gratin

Here;s a recipe which i tried last week :Country Apple Dumplings Ingredients: 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored 2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough 1 cup butter 1 1/2 cups white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle Mountain Dew Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. 2. Cut each apple into 8 wedges and set aside. Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the smallest end. Pinch to seal and place in the baking dish. 3. Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Pour over the apple dumplings. Pour Mountain Dew⢠over the dumplings. 4. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Kim, you really should explore the world of seafood, as it is ideal for fast meal prep. The whole secret with cooking shrimp, scallops, and other shellfish is to make sure you don't overcook it. But the particular critter usually gives you a clue. Shrimp turns pink when it's done. Scallops turn opaque. Clams and oysters curl at the edges. The hard ones are calamari and abalone. But even they give you clues. To clean shrimp you need to remove the shells and the mud vein that runs down the back. This can be done before or after cooking, depending on recipes. Hint: Shrimp cooked in their shells are more flavorful. There are special tools for prepping shrimp. But a regular table fork works just as well. Stick one tine into the shell from the head end, pointing into the mud vein. Then push the shrimp onto the tine. The shell and vein will pop right off. If you look at the Nuts & Bolts thread I've posted a simple recipe for Shrimp & Sausage Carbonade that you might want to try. Finned fishes, too, can broaden your choices. Fish does not require a long cooking time in any recipe (the rule of thumb is to cook ten minutes for each inch of thickness). Virtually any cooking method---from poaching to deep fying, baking to barbecuing---can be used for fish cookery.