Quesada

This is a really nice dessert which originates from Cantabria, Spain.  It is definitely filling and is usually cut into small squares because it is so rich.  Hope you like it.  This calls for a plain yogurt or a lemon flavoured yogurt and then the milk, sugar, and flour are then measured in the yogurt cup.  Here in Spain, the average yogurt is 125 grams (4.4 ounces) so anything around that size will do.
All you have to do is beat together the following ingredients:
3 eggs
1 plain or lemon flavoured yogurt
2 yogurt cups of milk
2 yogurt cups of sugar

1 yogurt cup of flour

7 fl ounces of cream ( a little over 3/4 cup)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

4 Laughing Cow cheese wedges (This is the second recipe that calls for this cheese.  Oh how it makes me laugh)

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a pie pan with butter.  Bake for one hour.  This is much tastier at room temperature so I would wait for it to cool before eating! Buen provecho.

How to make maple candy

This was my first foray into the magical world of maple sugar, otherwise known as maple syrup, maple candy, and maple sap. I have been wanting to try this for a number of years, but the opportunity never arrived. I was forced to live vicariously through my brother who managed to boil down about 2.5 pints of syrup last year. I have to admit that this was supposed to be a recipe for maple syrup, but. . . Anyways, the recipe follows.

Ingredients:
5 gallons of pure maple sap

Directions:
Convince one of your neighbors that tapping their maple tree will be in their best interest and that it actually will not hurt the tree. Start by checking the tree, drill holes, hammer in taps, tubing, buckets, calm the neighbor, yada yada, etc. Place the tree sap into a large pot or two. Boil the sap for about 8 hours, or until the sap is decreased 40:1 (yes that is right, 8 hours or 40:1). After the 8 hours, you will have about 1.5 pints of "almost syrup." At this point you can put all of the liquid into a smaller pot in order to accurately measure the temperature of the liquid. For syrup, you need the temp to be approximately 220F. For candy. . . well, I'll explain later in the recipe.

Now is the important part. Place the smaller vessle on the stove on HIGH. Then go upstairs to kiss your babies, read them a story, and tuck them into bed. Afterall, it has taken 8 hours to get to this point - what could possible go wrong in ten ^&*$@!* minutes?

When the fire alarm goes off and the digital voice starts saying "FIRE, FIRE, FIRE", run downstairs and put the fire out. Don't relax yet, your work is not done. Place the burning pot on the counter and turn the gas stove off (otherwise the flames do not go away).

Warning: this is not a good time to taste or touch the product. It will be incredibly hot!!!

Now, clean the hell out of your stove and all other affected appliances. After you are finished, you can take stock of the product you have produced. It should be approximately 0.25 pints of useless, gummy, sticky, chewy, candy with the faint taste of burnt tree bark.

Enjoy. You earned it. And remember, never take your eyes off of the pot.

Onion Dip

Just in time for Super Bowl (how does that translate to Spanish??)... This is our favorite appetizer to take to dinner parties and get-togethers.

1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
2 cups chopped sweet onion (vidalias work great)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Mix all ingredients together and place in a shallow dish (9x9 works fine). Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 until bubbly and golden brown on the top. Serve with crackers or pita chips.

Cannellini bean and tomato salad

This is our go-to meal when we are feeling meat overload. It also happens to be what we are having for dinner tonight. Sometimes we switch things up with chick peas instead of the cannellini beans. We usually eat this with sardines or canned tuna and some good bread. The dressing alone is my favorite for any type of salad.

Toss the following salad ingredients together:

2 cans of cannellini beans, drained

1 pint of cherry tomatos, halved

2 stalks of celery with leaves, chopped

4 spring onions, chopped

1/2 bunch of fresh parsley or mint, chopped

The dressing requires:

2 juiced lemons

3/4 cup of good olive oil

2 Tbs of water

1.5 Tbs of kosher salt

2 Tbs of sugar

2 Tbs of dried mint or more for fresh mint

Ground pepper to taste

Combine all of the dressing ingredients and whisk to emulsion. Pour the dressing over the salad and let stand in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Peanut butter, marshmallow, and banana sandwich

This is to be the first of many of my contributions to this blog. Simply take two slices of wonder bread. Then spread peanut butter on one side and marshmallow cream on the other. Before closing the sandwich, add 15 slices of banana to the middle. Cut into diagonal slices and enjoy.

Why a Johnson Family Recipe Swap?

Why not?  This is a place where the family can enjoy recipes from Spain, West Virginia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Delaware etc.  A place to share and to experiment.  Since we all have to cook why not give eachother ideas to answer the question "What's for dinner?" (but in my case "What's for lunch?)
The first recipe I will supply and then I expect everyone to supply their own, plus, any comments and experiences they would like to add about the other recipes etc.  Fun huh?  (I am sure that Andy and Scott will have dozens of smartass comments to add!) (hee)
Here it goes... something simple yet elegant:

Zucchini Puree
Ingredients for four:
2 medium zucchinis
1 large potato
3 laughing cow cheese wedges
Peel and slice the vegetables.  Cook in a pot with water until soft. Drain and set water aside.  Puree the vegetables and add the water until desired thickness.  Add the cheese wedges and blend.  Serve hot with homemade croutons.
(This is a great recipe to get the kids eating their vegetables)
Hope you enjoy!!!