Melanies Fennel Bulbs

Serves 4

2x large fennel bulbs
2x tbs Olive Oil
1x carrot finely chopped/diced
1x small onion finely chopped/diced
1x celery rib finely chopped
several Thyme sprigs
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup white wine
1 tbs butter

Cut off Green part of Fennel, and leave only bulb.
Cut in half longways. Remove any bruised outer layers.

Heat oil in a large skillet, add veggies, thyme, and saute over medium heat until onion begins to color.

Move the Veggies to the sides of the pan, place the Fennel halves cut side down.
Pour in 1 cup water. Lower to Med heat, cover and cook until the liquid evaporates. - 10 to 20 min.

Add 1/2 cup of water cover and cook until the Fennel is tender when pierced with a knife- 15 -20 min
(if large amount of fennels cover with water and drain excess when cooked)

Remove the fennel and veggies from the pan and place in a baking dish and grate fresh Parmesan cheese over top and put in the oven under broiler for 4 minutes or until Cheese golden brown.

In the original Pan with the heat add the wine and butter, let it reduce to about half, add slat and pepper.
Take out the Fennel and veggies and put on serving dish, and pour sauce over fennel and serve.

Delicious..

Recipe - Chocolate Martini

• 3 ounces of Absolut Mandrin vodka
• 1.5 ounces of Godiva Chocolate liqueur
• grated chocolate
  
• 2 freezing martini glasses

The mix

• Pour the alcohol ingredients into a shaker 3/4 full of cracked ice.
• Shake vigorously for a full minute.
• Strain your elixir into the martini glasses.
• Add a Chocolate Orange slice or grated chocolate to the rim of each glass.
• Sip and enjoy!

Recipe - Jiffy Stuffed Game Hens

Brents jiffy hens
(serves 2 to 4 - 2 servings if whole hens or 4 servings if halfs)

Ingredients:
------------------------------

-
2X Cornish game hens
4x pieces of turkey bacon
1x box of Jiffy corn bread mix
1/2 cup shredded carrots
Poultry seasoning
1/4 cube butter
splash red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons orange juice
dash Garlic salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

-Hen prepping:
In skillet cook bacon until crisp. Add shredded carrots and cood until
carrots are crisp. (drain excess grease if any)
Mix Jiffy cornbread mix in bowl and follow directions for cornbread.
Add carrots and bacon bits to mix and stir.
After washing hens and patting dry, rub hens with poultry seasoning.
Take hens and stand them on their heads and spoon cornbread mix into
hen. Fill hen leaving a little room for rise of the corn bread.
Place in a Pyrex-glass dish(8x8) for 2. Lay hens in pan and tuck wings
behind the back and close skin around the mix.
Cover with foil and cook for 45 minutes. Basting regularly.
Excess corn bread can be spooned into muffin cups and cooked if desired.

-Sauce prep after hens are in oven:
Mix melted butter, splash of wine vinegar, dash of garlic salt, and
4tbls of orange juice.

After 45 minutes of cooking, remove foil from hens and baste with
orange sauce for remaining 45 minutes uncovered.

Remove hens when legs are tender(loose) or skin is browned.
Cool 5 minutes and serve.
Hens can be halved with a serrated knife.

Recipe - Curried Squash and Pear Bisque

Curried Squash and Pear Bisque
from Scott and Heather Clark via Cooking Light

Ingredients

object2=">1 butternut squash (about 2 3/4 pounds)
object2=">1 tablespoon butter
object2=">2 cups chopped peeled Bartlett pear (about 1 pound)
object2=">1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onion
object2=">2 1/3 cups water
object2=">1 cup pear nectar
object2=">2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans vegetable broth
object2=">2 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
object2=">1/2 teaspoon salt
object2=">1/8 teaspoon black pepper
object2=">1/2 cup half-and-half
object2=">1 small Bartlett pear, cored and thinly sliced

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.

Cut squash in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membrane. Place squash halves, cut sides down, on a baking sheet; bake at 375° for 45 minutes or until tender. Cool. Peel squash; mash pulp. Set aside 3 1/2 cups pulp, reserving remaining squash for another use.

Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped pear and onion; sauté 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Add squash pulp, water, and next 5 ingredients (water through pepper). Bring to a boil; partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 40 minutes. Place one-third of squash mixture in a blender; process until smooth. Pour puréed mixture into a large bowl; repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture. Return squash mixture to pan; stir in half-and-half. Cook over low heat 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Ladle soup into bowls, and garnish with pear slices.

Yield

8 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 149(25% from fat); FAT 4.2g (sat 2g,mono 1g,poly 0.2g); PROTEIN 1.9g; CHOLESTEROL 10mg; CALCIUM 70mg; SODIUM 622mg; FIBER 3.7g; IRON 1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 29.4g

Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2000

Recipe - Green Beans and bacon

Melanie's Green Beans and bacon

1. Put bacon in pan and put brown sugar on top, cayenne pepper– you could put honey and/or use black peppered bacon

2. Steam the beans until a little softer than crunchy (maybe like 2 or 3 minutes)

3. Saute shallots and slivered almonds in a pan with butter

4. Once the beans are done put in pan with shallots and almonds

5. Cut up the bacon and put in pan – mix together and then serve

Sorry I don’t have any measurements – I just do what I think looks right.

Bend Oregons Foodie Group beginnings

So the Bend Foodie group has been in full swing for 4 months.

Why the blog? We wanted a place to document our recipes and the results and a place to talk about ideas and maybe spurt up new groups.

About US:
What is the Bend Foodie Group?
4 couples / friends who meet monthly at each 0thers house on a rotation.

How did it start?
We were out right at the closing of Hans restaurant in Downtown Bend to taste their flavorful meals before it was too late. After a few glasses of wine we started realizing that we all shared something in common... A passion for making foods from deserts to full scale dinners. And then it came; the decision to meet monthly and share recipes that we always to eat were too afraid to cook up ourselves.