Recipes from 1st cooking club- Valentines theme

Brie Kisses (to have with drinks) ** See Rick's edit's below **
Makes 32 kisses. Perhaps halve this recipe.
1/2 to 2/3 pound brie cheese (wedges are fine)
1 (17.3-ounce) box frozen puff pastry
Hot pepper jelly – red in colour

Cut the brie into 1/2-inch squares (leave the rind on if you like). Place on a dinner plate and put the cheese in the freezer while you thaw the puff pastry for 30 minutes at room temperature.Unfold the thawed pastry, press together seams and roll lightly with a rolling pin to smooth it out. Cut each sheet into fourths, then cut each fourth in half. Cut the halves in half to make 16 squares per sheet.Lightly spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. Fit a piece of dough into each cup, pushing into the cup but leaving the edges sticking up. Place a dab of pepper jelly in each cup, then top with a piece of cheese.Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Serve warm. (Can be prepared ahead and refrigerated until ready to bake, or you can bake them and rewarm about 10 minutes in a 350-degree oven before serving.).

Salad Caprese
Real Italian mozzarella sliced ½ inch thick
Ripe vine tomatoes sliced ½ inch thick
Fresh basil leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
Pesto (purchase ready made)

Make an individual appetizer plate for each person. If tomatoes and mozzarella balls are large enough one slice of each is probably enough per person. Adjust quantity according to size.
Place a few fresh basil leaves on each plate. Leaves can be shredded; depends on leaves.
Place a slice of tomato on the basil leaves and drizzle olive oil on tomato.
Top the tomato with a slice of mozzarella.
Use a toothpick to draw a heart with the pesto on each slice of mozzarella.
Season with salt and ground pepper.

Lamb with Red Peppers and Rioja (Entrée)
1kg/2 ½ lb. lean lamb cubed (Boned or boneless leg, or if available cubed stewing lamb)
Enough flour to coat cubed lamb
60ml/ 4tblspoons olive oil
2 red onions sliced
10mls/ 2 teaspoons paprika
1.5ml /¼ tsp ground cloves
400ml red Rioja
150ml/ 2/3 cup lamb stock
2 bay leaves
2 thyme sprigs
3 red bell peppers seeded and sliced
salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. Season the flour and coat lamb
3. Heat oil in frying pan and brown lamb in batches. Transfer to an ovenproof dish.
4. Fry onion and add to meat
5. Add paprika, cloves, lamb stock, bay leaves and thyme and bring mixture to a simmer.
6. Add the sliced red peppers
7. Cover dish and cook for 30 minutes or until meat is tender.


Fluffy Mashed Potatoes
4 medium russet potatoes (about 21/2 pounds), peeled and quartered
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 to 3/4 cup half-and-half or whole milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In a large saucepan over high heat, combine the potatoes with water to cover and bring to a boil. Add 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well. Return the potatoes to the warm pan, add 1/2 cup of the half-and-half, and beat with an electric mixer or potato masher until smooth. Use additional half-andhalf or milk if needed for desired consistency. Cut 2 tablespoons of the butter into small pieces and beat into the potatoes. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper and fluff with a fork. Transfer to a warmed bowl, dot the remaining butter on top, and serve immediately.

Green Beans with Shallots
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the cooking water
1 pound fresh green beans
1 large shallot
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Bring a medium pot of cold water to a boil over high heat and salt it generously. Trim the stem end off the green beans. Peel and finely chop the shallot.
Drop the green beans into the boiling water and cook, uncovered, until crisp tender, about 4 minutes. Drain in a colander set in the sink and rinse with very cold water until cool. Drain well and pat dry with paper towels. (The vegetables can be prepared up to this point, up to 4 hours ahead.) Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallot is just golden, about 2 minutes. Add the green beans, increase the heat to high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are heated through, about 4 minutes. Season with the 1/2 teaspoon salt and some pepper and serve immediately


Pavlova ** Alternate recipe from Alex below **
4 egg whites
1 ¼ cups finely granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tablespoon cornstarch/cornflour
For decoration: 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream and fruit.
Grease flat baking tray, line with grease-proof paper and grease again (Pam)
Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Place egg whites in a warm dry bowl and beat until very stiff. Gradually beat in 1 cup of sugar – mixture should be very thick and peaks should remain in place if formed.
Quickly fold in remaining ingredients (vanilla cornflour and remaining sugar).
Spread mixture on the greased and lined baking tray in the shape of a heart. Make sure you have a platter that will hold this shape when baked. The raw mixture should be roughly 1 ½ inches thick.
Bake for 1 ¼ hours.
Allow to cool. No longer than two hours before serving, whip cream until soft peaks form and spread on pavlova. Cover the cream with red fruit. Sliced strawberries, raspberries and red currants are ideal. If feeling adventurous, the fruit can be used to decorate in a pattern to accentuate the heart shape.