Baked Gruyère in Pastry with Rosemary & Garlic

The most delicious flavors melting into each other, I made this multiple times at Christmas time. However it is perfect year round! Half Baked Harvest is one of my favorite recipe websites.

Ingredients

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

8 oz gruyere, cubed

8 oz fontina, cubed

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1-2 cloves garlic, grated

2 teaspoons honey, plus more for serving

1 egg, beaten

coarse sugar, for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.

2. Lay the puff pastry flat on a parchment-lined 10-12 inch baking dish/pie plate. Pile the cubes of cheese in the center of the pastry. Mix the rosemary and garlic together with your fingers, then sprinkle over the cheese. Drizzle with honey. Fold the corners of the pastry over the cheese. Brush the pastry with beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with sugar.

3. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is deep golden brown and the cheese bubbly.

4. EAT and enjoy with extra honey, black pepper, and your favorite bread or crackers...or just with a spoon!

Recipe Borrowed from: Half Baked Harvest

Au Gratin Potatoes

I believe people refer to these as "funeral potatoes" cause it's what people bring to a funeral. I call them my "mom's potatoes". This recipe is just straight from a handwritten recipe card and I ate them all the time growing up.

Directions:

32oz (alb) bag OreIda cube hash browns (take out 1 hour ahead of time to start to defrost)

1 pint sour cream

1 small/medium yellow onion, finely chopped

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 bag shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 cup melted butter (1/4 in recipe, 1/2 in topping)

2 cups cornflake crumbs

Mix together hash browns, sour cream, onion, soup, cheese and 1/4 cup butter in a large bowl. Spread in a large baking dish.

Mix cornflakes and 1/2 cup melted butter, then top potatoes with it.

Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.

Recipe Borrowed from: My mom

Tarragon & Sherry Cream Shrimp

A delicious recipe from Rachael Ray! You can serve over pasta, toasted bread (my fav) or by itself. I have actually added cut up sirloin steak to this and its perfect.

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 pound sliced white mushrooms

1 large shallot, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons flour

1/3 cup sherry

3/4 cup cream

A few grates fresh nutmeg or a pinch ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

1 tablespoon olive oil or canola oil

20 large or jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined, with tails on

Juice of 1 small lemon (3 tbsp.)

4 slices good-quality white bread-toasted, buttered and halved corner to corner

A small handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until slightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the shallot and garlic, season with salt and pepper and stir until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the flour until well incorporated. Stir in the sherry, and then the cream. When the sauce bubbles, reduce the heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Add the nutmeg and season. Stir in the tarragon.

In a large skillet, heat the EVOO, one turn of the pan, over medium-high. When the oil ripples and starts to smoke, add the shrimp and toss until they're just opaque in the centers, about 4 minutes. Season, stir in the lemon juice and add the shrimp mixture to the pan with the mushroom sauce.

Place the toast points on dinner plates. Top with the shrimp and mushroom sauce. Garnish with the parsley.

Recipe borrowed from Rachael Ray