With the holidays in full swing, there are parties to attend and parties to host. And with hosting a party, it might mean that you are responsible for the meal. You are in luck-T.W.O. has a fabulous recipe for your main entrée- Leg of Lamb! We absolutely love this dish- it is easy, full of flavor and perfect for a group of people. Plus, it makes for great leftovers!
Ingredients
-4 ½ lb. boneless leg of lamb
-5 garlic cloves, halved
-Montreal Steak Seasoning
-Apricot preserves
Preheat oven to 425°F. Begin by washing the leg of lamb. Place leg of lamb in a roaster pan. Using a knife, poke holes in the leg of lamb for the garlic cloves. Make sure to do this for the bottom of the lamb. Take garlic and stick into each hole.
Next, season both sides with Montreal Steak seasoning.
When the oven has reached its temperature, place the lamb in. Roast for 15 minutes at 425°F. After 20 minutes, turn heat down to 325°F for the remainder of the time. Leg of lamb should be roasted for about 20 minutes per pound or reach an internal temperature of 145°F. A 4 ½ pound lamb takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes. About 15 minutes before the lamb is ready, cover spread apricot preserves on the lamb. Make sure to put a good amount on the top and sides.
Once the lamb has reached an internal temperature of 145°F, take it out and cover with foil. Let the lamb sit for about 10 minutes.
After it has had time to sit, you are ready to slice and service!
Bon appetite!
It’s Friday Night Pizza Night with T.W.O.!! This time, it wasn’t just us cooking in the kitchen – it was some of the most important women in our lives that helped us prepare this meal. Thank you to our Mom, Aunt and Sister In-Law who made this one of the best pizza making nights for the books!!! Soo – what was on the menu? Well, we had six different pizzas all made with what we had in the refrigerator. Yep, that’s right – there was no last minute rush to the market to get the ingredients. Today we are featuring the Fig & Brie Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Spinach. Check out how to make this mouth-watering, savory pizza.
Now Show Me How Much Fun You Are Having!
Ingredients
– Pizza Dough*
– Cornmeal
– Flour
– ¾ cup fig jam**
– ¾ cup caramelized onions
– 6 slices brie cheese
– 2 cups spinach salad tossed in THIS dressing
*T.W.O. used pizza dough from Lucci’s Deli.
** The fig jam was homemade and jarred by our Aunt.
Preheat oven to 425ᴼF. Roll out the pizza dough on a floured/ cornmeal surface. Once the dough is evenly rolled out, transfer the dough to a greased cookie sheet. Next take the fig jam and spread it on the dough, making sure you reach all the edges. Sprinkle caramelized onions evenly on top of the fig jam.
Next add the slices of brie cheese to the top of the pizza. If you want your pizza to have more cheese, T.W.O. isn’t stopping you –go ahead!
Let the pizza rise for about 15 minutes. Note – you don’t want to put the pizza in a cold oven, so make sure your oven reaches 425ᴼF.Once the oven is ready, place the pizza in the oven and watch closely. Do not open the oven door, as you want to keep the heat in. The pizza will take 15-20 minutes. Once done, take the pizza out of the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes prior to cutting.
Add the salad to the top of your pizza and you our friend have the perfect pizza!
Happy Friday Night Pizza!
Waking up in the morning and enjoying a cup of coffee along with a fresh piece of pastry is typical of the European lifestyle. T.W.O. would love to take on that same tradition and bring it to the States. Every day is a vacation, right? Well not exactly, but T.W.O. can help out in the pastry department. Learn how to make this scrumptious cheese pastry that will “WOW” a crowd!
Ingredients
For the Dough:
-2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
– ¼ cup water, lukewarm
– ½ cup 2% milk, lukewarm
-¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
– ¾ cup granulated sugar
-1 Tablespoon vanilla
– 1 egg
– 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
For the Filling:
-8 ounces cream cheese or Neufchâtel, room temperature
-½ cup granulated sugar
-1 egg
-1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
– 2 teaspoons lemon zest or orange zest
-3 Tablespoons flour
– 1 cup of your favorite fruit jam or chocolate chips*
*T.W.O. doubled the recipe and made 3 large braids. They used apricot jam, boysenberry preserves and chocolate chips.
In a small bowl, mix the lukewarm water and the yeast together. Set aside. Mix all the dough ingredients together in a large bowl. (It’s best to use a mixer or a pastry blender) Mix in the water/yeast mixture. The dough should form a soft, smooth ball. Set aside and cover for about 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
While the dough is rising, start making the filling. Using a KitchenAid or handmixer, mix the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the egg, sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Finally, add the lemon/orange zest and flour. Place the filling in the refrigerator to chill.
After the dough has doubled in size, place the dough on a floured surface and divide in half. Roll each dough out into a long rectangle making sure it is rolled out evenly.
Spread the cream cheese filling in the middle of the dough. Top with your favorite jam or chocolate chips. Cut 1 inch wide strips around the edge of the dough. Fold the strips towards the middle to create a lattice top.
Click the thumbnails for a larger photo
Once completed, cover the pastries and set aside to rise for about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350ᴼF.
Right before the pastry is ready to go in the oven, brush the dough with egg whites. Sprinkle with sugar. The pastries will bake for about 30 minutes, but watch them closely so your dough doesn’t get brown.
Ready yet? I think so! Now it’s time to pour yourself some coffee and enjoy your pastry! T.W.O. suggests eating the pastry warm. If you want to reheat the pastry, cover it with foil and place it in a 200ᴼF oven for about 15 minutes.
Happy Baking!
Are you a chocolate lover? Are you a pie lover? Well, you are in luck! T.W.O. has the perfect recipe for your –French Silk Pie. It’s a rich, fluffy, dense mousse pie that will be great for your next dinner party!
Ingredients:
-4 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
-1 teaspoon butter or shortening
-1 cup unsalted butter, softened
-1 ½ cups granulated sugar
-2 tablespoons vanilla extract
-4 eggs, room temperature
-1 fully pre-baked 9 inch pie shell (See recipe HERE)
-3 cups whipped cream
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a microwave safe bowl, head the chocolate and butter/shortening in 20-second intervals, stirring between each interval until completely melted. Cool for 10 minutes.
With a KitchenAid or handmixer, cream together butter, sugar until fluffy. Add the melted chocolate gradually until mixed well. Add vanilla.
Using a whisk or the whisk attachment, add one egg at a time. Each egg should be beat for 5 minutes, totaling 20 minutes. The filling should be thick and fluffy. Once you get the consistency, add the filling to a pre-baked pie shell.
Place the pie in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until a butter knife comes out clean. Let the pie cool for about 30 minutes. Once cooled, place the pie in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours. It’s best to make this pie the night before.
Just when you are ready to serve, put the whipped cream on top of the pie. Garnish the top of the pie with shaved chocolate.
By this time, I am sure you are ready to taste this delectable, chocolaty pie!
Happy Baking!
Ever been to a party, put your wine glass down and come back confused on which glass is yours? It probably happened over Thanksgiving to a lot of people, right? Well, it happened to T.W.O.! We decided to come up with something creative to solve this problem. And that we did! T.W.O. added some foliage to our wine stems to not only give the glass some style, but also as a perfect identifier for everyone’s glass.
T.W.O. and company decided to make this a DIY craft event! We gave each person some raffia and allowed each person to pick his or her own “identifier.” Some of these items were flowers, wine corks, leaves, and twigs. It was a hit and not one glass was mistaken for another’s!
This is a great way to decorate wine glasses when you have a large number of guests using the same wine glass. You can either decorate them ahead of time or allow guests to decorate their own after their arrival! T.W.O. will be decorating their wine glasses this Christmas with some holiday decorations….stay tuned!!
Happy crafting!
Is it just T.W.O. or does everyone have the Monday blues. It’s mostly because we had a fabulous weekend with our family and wish we can do it all over again. Here are some highlights from our Thanksgiving weekend!
Turkey Trot
The Table Decorators
The Cousins! 
The Ladies
Baby Taylen climbing up the stair for the first time!
The Sampler Platter!
HB Pier
Cheers to another successful Thanksgiving!
Galette’s are a quick and easy alternative to making a pie or tart. It doesn’t require a special pan or master technic. Check out how to make this pear & almond galette.
Ingredients
*Flaky Crust:
-2 cups flour
-¾ cup shortening (T.W.O. uses butter flavor)
– 2-3 Tablespoons sugar
– 5-6 Tablespoons cold water
-1 egg white
*Please note this recipe usually makes two pie crusts, so adjust accordingly based on the size you want your galette
Filling:
– 7 ounces almond paste
– 5 Comice Pears, peeled & sliced
– ¼ cup granulated sugar
– 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
– 2 Tablespoons nutmeg
– 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Preheat oven to 425ᴼF. In a bowl mix the flour, shortening, sugar and cold water. T.W.O. uses a pastry blender to mix the dough together until you form it into a ball. Set aside.
In a bowl, carefully mix the sliced pears, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cornstarch. Be careful not to break the pears while mixing.
To roll out the dough, make sure your surface is floured so that the dough doesn’t stick to your countertop or mat. Using your rolling pin, roll the dough out evenly in a circular shape. With the assistance of a spatula, move the rolled out dough into the oiled or “PAM’ed” baking pan or cookie sheet. Next, add the almond paste to the center of the dough. You want to make sure the clumps of paste are distributed evenly, leaving a 1 inch border around the edge of the circle. Next add the pear mixture on top of the almond paste.
Using a knife, cut ½ thick strips along the edge of the dough. Next, take each strip and fold over to make a crust. Each strip should be crisscross. Brush the crust with the egg white and sprinkle sugar on top.
Bake the galette for about 35 minutes or until the fruit mixture is bubbling. Check the crust at 15 minutes and if the pie crust is getting brown, cover with foil. Remove the galette and let it sit for 15 minutes before serving. If you don’t plan to eat the galette right away, T.W.O. suggests warming it up prior to eating. Add a scoop of ice cream and you have yourself a gourmet dessert!!!
Happy Baking!!
Chicken likes to be stuffed “T.W.O.!” It may not replace your Thanksgiving dinner, but definitely is a great dish that all your guests will enjoy before or after Thanksgiving week! It’s simple, healthy, and will make your next dinner party a hit!
Ingredients
– 2 Boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
-Salt & Pepper
-Red Quinoa
-1 Sweet potato, cooked
-Crimini mushroom’s, chopped
-Spinach, chopped
-Dried cranberries
-Goat cheese
First cook your quinoa. Start by bringing 2 cups of water to a boil. Next, add your quinoa into the water. Add salt, pepper, or even garlic powder to the mixture. Once to a boil, reduce quinoa to a low heat. Next, chop up your vegetables, including the yam/sweet potatoes. Add the vegetable mixture and quinoa together.
Next, slice your chicken breast in half.
Stuff each breast with quinoa mixture and wrap.
Secure breast with rotisserie warp. Repeat once again. Place chicken into Pyrex and bake for about 25 minutes or until cooked all the way.
Bam! It’s all about the stuffing!
Is there a way to make noodles that didn’t involve flour, egg and oil? Pshhh – Of course there is a way! T.W.O. will show you how to create noodles out of vegetables and bring some color into your cooking!
Ingredients
– 1 yam
– 2 large carrots, whole
– 2 zucchini
– Krazy Salt
– Pepper
Peel and wash the yam and carrots. Cut the ends off all the vegetables. With the julienne peeler, “peel” each vegetable lengthwise. The longer the “noodles” are, the better! Place all the vegetable noodles in a bowl and add Krazy Salt and pepper to taste. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Once the noodles marinate, lightly squeeze the noodles to eliminate any excess water.
The creative part….what to do with the noodles? Here are a couple ideas:
Stir Fry
T.W.O. sautéed the yam noodles for 6 minutes added the carrots and the zucchini for the last 2 minutes. We added mushrooms and grilled chicken to create a noodle stir-fry!
Salad
Add your favorite dressing, some slivered pistachios and you have your self a great lunch!
Bed of Noodles
Place a grilled piece of meat, chicken or fish over a vegetable medley bed! It’s a great al dente noodle that compliments your protein.
Happy Peeling!!
T.W.O. 