Recipes from Gala 2024

Ruth Purser’s Punch

Serves 30

2 Large cans pineapple juice
1 Small lemonade, frozen (not diluted)
1 Large orange juice, frozen (not diluted)
1 2 Liter bottle Ginger Ale

Ice Ring
Canned pineapple pieces, cherries
Fresh Mint leaves
Mixed lemonade, enough to fill mold

Mix all the ingredients for punch together.

For the ice ring:
In a mold, pour ¼ way with water: after frozen enough so they don’t sink, place cherries and pineapple pieces and mint leaves, pour mixed lemonade to fill rest of mold and frozen solid.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

1 Cup Unsalted butter at room temp
½ Cup Confectioner’s sugar, plus more for coating baked cookies
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¾ Cup All Purpose flour, plus more for dusting hands
1 Cup Pecans, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar at low speed until smooth. Beat in the vanilla. At low speed gradually add the flour. Mix in the pecan pieces with a spatula. With floured hands, take out about 1 Tablespoon of the dough and shape into a crescent. Continue to dust hands with flour as you make more cookies. Place onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 40 minutes. When cool enough to handle but still warm, roll in additional confectioners’ sugar. Cool on wire racks. Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

OPTION: I am told they bake better on a Pampered Chef Stone if you have one–350 degrees for 20 minutes using a stone.

Orange Blossoms

Yield: 48 mini muffins, delicious!!

½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon lemon extract
1 Box 2-layer Yellow cake mix (prepared according to pkg directions)
2 ¾ Cups Sugar
1 Lemon Zested
6 Tablespoons Lemon Juice (you might need 2 lemons)
2/3 Cup Freshly squeezed Orange Juice (I use already squeezed juice from grocery in Produce section)

Add the vanilla and lemon extracts to the batter in a bowl and stir to mix well. Spoon 2 teaspoons of batter into each of 48 greased miniature muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Mix the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and orange juice in a bowl. Add the hot muffins and stir gently to coat. Remove to a wire rack to cool (this helps the excess liquid sugar mixture to drip off–I put a sheet of wax paper under the rack for easy clean up). Let them cool completely and place in freezer container to freeze for up to 1 month.

Roasted Red Pepper Garlic Dip

Serves 8-10

2 Red bell peppers
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 Tablespoons finely chopped basil
1 Tablespoon finely chopped parsley
½ Teaspoon ground white pepper

Roast whole peppers by broiling approximately 6 inches from heat until blackened on all sides. Let then rest for 10 minutes, then peel off skins. Cut in half and remove stems, seeds and ribs. Place peppers in the food processor fitted with steel blade and add remaining ingredients, Process until creamy.

Serve as a dipping sauce with crudités.

Green Herb Dip

Makes 1 ¾ cups
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
½ cup sour cream at room temperature
½ cup good mayonnaise
¾ cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (3scallions)
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, scallions, parsley, dill, salt, and pepper in the bowl of food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse 10 to 12 times, until just blended, but not pureed. Serve at room temperature

Sausage Balls

1 Box of Stove Top Stuffing
1 pound of Sausage
1 cup of shredded cheese

Mix all the ingredients together. Form them into
Balls. Cook them until the sausage is cooked, about
25-30 minutes at 350