Chef Tom Cooks !

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2 cups potatoes, sliced
6 cups water
5 cups tomatoes, sliced
2 cups onions, sliced
1/4 cup butter
1 cup cream
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika

In a small skillet, saute onions in butter until tender. Add potatoes to a pot of boiling water. Add onions and simmer for 30 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar, salt and paprika. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes. Cool. Process in a blender until smooth. Reheat and add cream, but do not boil. Serve immediately.

I’d like to wish everyone a happy new year! I look forward to lots of good eats in 2009!

This is a great gift idea for your friends, family or co-workers. You can buy the ingredients in bulk and get some jars at your local discount store. Decorate the jars
with festive colored ribbons and bows. With this recipe I have included a Recipe Card that you can print out and attach to your jars with ribbon.

1 1/2 Cups granulated sugar
3 Cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 Cups poppy seeds

Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Blend
with a wire whisk. Store the mix in an airtight jar.

Attach these instructions to the jar:

Lemon−Poppy Seed Cake

3/4 Cup butter
6 eggs
1/3 Cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract (not lemon juice)
Zest of 1 lemon
1 jar Lemon Poppy−Seed Cake

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter an 8− to 9−cup Bundt pan.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
Add the milk, extracts and lemon zest. The mixture will look
curdled. Add the jar contents, and continue to beat on medium
speed for 3 to 4 minutes until mixture is smooth. Pour the
batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes.

Lemon Glaze

1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1/2 Cup lemon juice

Combine sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan over
medium heat, and bring to boil for 3 minutes. When cake is
removed from oven, poke cake all over with a wooden skewer
and brush glaze over cake. Let the cake stand for 1 hour and
remove from pan to cool on a wire rack.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake Recipe Card:
http://cheftomcooks.com/LemonCakeRecipeCard.pdf

I needed to get a few last minute gifts for the upcoming holiday and was amazed at this incredible deat at Restaurant.com.  Normally you can get a $25 gift certificate for local restaurants for only $10.  For a limited time, (until December 22) you can enter the code SANTA and receive 80% off a $25 gift certificate.  So you can get a $25 restaurant gift certificate for ONLY 2 BUCKS!

24 whole giant shells
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 (10 oz) package frozen spinach, chopped
1 small onion, minced
2 Tbs butter, melted
1 lb cottage cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
30 oz tomato sauce
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Cook shells in boiling, salted water for 9 minutes, drain. Gently toss shells in oil and set aside. Thaw spinach and drain, squeezing out all water.
Saute onion in butter until soft. Stir in spinach. Transfer to a bowl. Add cottage cheese, egg, onion, salt, and pepper. Fill each shell with mixture. Pour half of sauce into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Arrange stuffed shells in dish and cover with remaining sauce. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese and return to oven until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 3 minutes.
Serves 6

1/2 pint Karo syrup
1 1/2 pint Brown sugar
2 tablespoons Butter
1 teaspoon Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Baking soda
6 quarts Popcorn

Heat the Karo syrup, brown sugar, butter and vinegar in a saucepan until it hardens when dropped in water. Move to back of stove, add baking soda dissolved in 1 Tablespoon of water, and pour over fresh popcorn.  Form the coated popcorn into balls.
Makes about 3 dozen balls.

Everyone loves sugar cookies around the holidays.  These cookies are great to make with your kids as they will love to decorate them with your favorite frosting or sprinkles.  Don’t forget these also make great gifts, you can get holiday tins at your local dollar store.

Holiday Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup sugar
10 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
Frosting of your choice

In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, butter, baking powder, and salt with an
electric mixer at low speed until blended. Increase speed to high and beat
until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add milk, vanilla extract, and
egg then beat until combined. Don’t worry if mixture looks a little lumpy.
Stir in flour until blended. Shape dough into 2 balls, flatten each slightly.
Wrap each with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour or until dough is easy
to handle.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, with floured
rolling pin, roll 1 piece of dough 1/8 inch thick, keeping remaining dough
refrigerated. Using your favorite (floured) holiday shaped cookie cutters, cut dough
into as many cookies as possible, reserve trimmings. Place cookies, about
1 inch apart, on 2 ungreased large cookie sheets. Roll trimmings and cut
out more cookies.

Bake cookies 12 to 15 minutes until golden around edges, rotating cookie
sheets between upper and lower racks halfway through baking time if you
have used both upper and lower oven racks. Remove cookies to wire racks
to cool. Repeat with remaining dough.

When cookies are cool, prepare frosting and use to decorate cookies as
desired. Set cookies aside to allow frosting to dry completely, at least 1
hour. If not using right away, store in tightly covered container.