Taste of Home April - May 2014

Blue skies and family-favorite foods, here we come. THE SUN IS SHINING, THE WEATHER IS WARMING—TIME TO PULL OUT YOUR SLOW COOKERS! (Or should I say, don’t put them away?) Readers sent in some inspiring recipes for our Spring Slow Cooker Contest on page 61, including Slow Cooker Tropical Pork Chops, Simple Poached Salmon, Over-the-Rainbow Minestrone and Slow-Roasted Lemon Dill Chicken. Yum. Our Test Kitchen pros love inventing new ways to use this marvelous machine, and I’m pleased to report one of their best discoveries yet: the Very Vanilla Slow Cooker Cheesecake, page 88. You “bake” it in a slow cooker. Now that deserves a happy dance! SPEAKING OF HAPPY, WHO LOVES RHUBARB? You do! I have to admit I never got the magic of rhubarb. During my first months…

Decorating eggs is more fun with dark chocolate. A Pennsylvania home cook shows you how. Peanut Butter Easter Eggs Get the kids involved in making these chocolate and peanut buttery treats, well worth the sticky fingers! —MARY JOYCE JOHNSON UPPER DARBY, PA PREP: 35 MIN. + CHILLING • COOK: 5 MIN. • MAKES: 16 EGGS 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 21/3 cups confectioners’ sugar 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 11/2 cups dark chocolate chips 2 Tbsp. shortening Confectioners’ sugar icing, optional 1. In a large bowl, beat peanut butter, butter and vanilla until creamy. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar and cracker crumbs. Shape mixture into 16 eggs; place on waxed paperlined baking sheets. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm. 2. In a…

Celebrate National Garlic Day—it’s April 19—with these delicious odes to the best-loved bulb. Parmesan & Garlic Fries Toss 5 cups frozen fries with 2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1/4 tsp. salt and 3-4 minced garlic cloves. Arrange in a single layer on a prepared baking sheet and bake at 450° for 15-20 minutes, flipping once, until tender and lightly browned. Toss the fries with 1/4 cup grated Parmesan and serve hot. Great Garlic Bread Combine 1/2 cup melted butter with 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese and 4 minced garlic cloves. Brush over a halved-lengthwise loaf of French bread. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley. Bake bread at 350° for 8 minutes. Slice and serve warm. Garlic Maple Dressing Place 2 minced garlic cloves, 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup pure…

ONE SWEET YEAR Try a new dessert recipe each day of the year, with sweet, fresh ingredients like pears and summer berries—and plenty of chocolate, too—from Kim Laidlaw’s Dessert of the Day. amazon.com $35 JUST ADD COLOR Nothing amps up the fun factor more than rainbow sprinkles (unless you call them jimmies). Sprinkles! by Jackie Alpers bursts with colorful inspiration and recipes for making—and decorating—your happiest treats. quirkbooks.com $19 BUTTER LOVE Dive into homemade recipes, tips and bakers’ secrets from a beloved Vancouver, British Columbia, neighborhood bakery in Butter Baked Goods by Rosie Daykin. Then make tempting goodies to share with your dear ones. randomhouse.com $35…

Feed your need for adventure and load up on fascinating facts this spring break with a family trip to the Smithsonian Institution’s FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950–2000 exhibit in Washington, D.C. Just a few of the delicious curiosities awaiting you: JULIA CHILD’S KITCHEN Yup, the same kitchen from Julia’s Cambridge, Massachusetts, home, where her cooking shows were taped. She donated the whole kit and caboodle to the museum so it’s outfitted with hundreds of her cooking implements. Don’t you wonder what was in her kitchen junk drawer? NEVER A THIRSTY MOMENT Take a gander at a 1962 Ford Falcon and its newfangled glove box with special cup rings. The rings can keep a drink upright...as long as the car is not in motion. Fast forward to 1997, when Chevrolet…

TASTE OF HOME SENIOR FOOD STYLIST Homemade Pasta Dough Go for it. Once you try homemade pasta, you’re hooked. PREP: 15 MIN. + STANDING • MAKES: 6 SERVINGS 2 eggs 1 egg yolk 1/4 cup water 1 Tbsp. olive oil 1/2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper 1/4 tsp. salt 11/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup semolina flour 1. In a small bowl, whisk the first six ingredients. On a clean work surface, mix the all-purpose and semolina flours, forming a mound. Make a large well in the center. Pour egg mixture into the well. Using a fork or fingers, gradually mix flour mixture into egg mixture, forming a soft dough (the dough will be slightly sticky). 2. Lightly dust work surface with flour; knead dough gently five times. Divide into six…