Baked Garlic

Cut just the very top off the garlic; pour oil over garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Wrap garlic in aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until soft. Remove from foil, and plate. Serve with toast points, warm, crunchy french bread or crackers.

French Vinaigrette Salad

Whisk vinegar, shallot and mustard together in a small glass bowl. Slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking constantly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Toss with mixed lettuce and serve.
Shown here with a baked goat cheese medallion.

Pumpkin Soup

Melt butter in large soup pot. Saute minced onion and grated ginger in butter until soft. Stir in flour and cook over low heat for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly- stir often. Whisk in chicken broth and pumpkin and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in brown sugar, salt, cayenne, and maple syrup. Whisk in cream and bring to a simmer but do not boil. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

Hint: Pumpkin soup is shown here garnished with pumpkin seeds and fresh sage leaves.

Goat Cheese Souffles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub inside of 3/4-cup soufflé dishes or ramekins with 2 tablespoons butter.Sprinkle dried bread crumbs over buttered ramekins. Set aside.
Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour and cook 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in milk. Increase heat to medium. Simmer mixture until very thick, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Add half of goat cheese and whisk until melted and smooth. Mix in salt and pepper. Whisk egg yolks in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in hot soufflé base. Cool 5 minutes.
Beat whites in large bowl until stiff but not dry. Mix 1/4 of whites into soufflé base to lighten. Fold in remaining whites. Fold in remaining goat cheese. Divide mixture among prepared soufflé dishes. Place in 13 by 9 by 2-inch metal baking pan. Add enough hot water to pan to come halfway up sides of dishes.
Bake soufflés until puffed and golden brown on top and softly set in center, about 20 minutes. Serve soufflés immediately in their dishes. Or for twice-baked version, cool soufflés in dishes in water for five minutes. Remove soufflés from water. Run small sharp knife around sides of dishes to loosen soufflés.
Turn onto buttered baking sheet. Refrigerate up to 4 hours. Before serving, re-warm soufflés on same sheet in 350-degree oven until heated through, about 10 minutes.

Hint: Serve with tossed lettuce salad

Seafood Lasagna

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. If you are using dried lasagna sheets, cook according to directions. No need to cook fresh pasta. Melt butter in large heavy saucepan and saute garlic until soft. Over medium low heat, whisk in flour then gradually whisk in half and half. When the sauce has thickened, add 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and saffron threads (crushed with your fingers). Add the raw shrimp and cook 3-5 minutes, or until shrimp just turn pink. Be careful not to overcook shrimp or they will be tough. Remove from heat and stir in crabmeat and saffron. Spoon 2 tablespoons sauce over bottom of greased 9 by 13 baking dish. Cover bottom of dish with lasagna noodles then spoon one third of the sauce over the noodles, spreading seafood evenly. Add one layer of fontina cheese, thinly sliced. Continue layering noodles, cheese, and sauce. Top with sauce and remaining 1/2-cup Parmesan cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. Allow to stand at room temperature for ten minutes before cutting.

Chocolate Truffle Cakes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter a standard 6-cup muffin tin. Dust with flour, tapping out excess and set aside. Put chocolate, butter, and 1 tablespoon sugar in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water; whisk occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat, and let stand until cool and thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Process eggs and remaining tablespoon sugar in a food processor until pale and doubled in volume, about 2 minutes. Sift flour and salt into egg mixture. Pulse each addition until combined, about 10 times. (Batter will be thick). Spoon mixture into the prepared muffin tins, filling cups three-quarters full; swirl tops with back of spoon. Bake until tops are springy to the touch, 18 to 20 minutes. Immediately turn our onto wire racks; reinvert, and let cool.

Hint: Bake while lunching, then serve warm with vanilla ice cream and berries. Shown here with strawberry sorbet

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