Ingredients:

250 grams (9 ounces) butter or margarine
225 grams (8 ounces) sugar
1 pinch of salt
3 eggs
1 lemon
500 grams (18 ounces) flour
1 yellow of an egg

Procedure:

Stir butter in a bowl until it is smooth. Add sugar, salt and 3 eggs, stir until ingredients are evenly distributed. Grind the skin of the lemon and add to the mixture of the previous step. Add flour, knead to a soft dough. Cover the dough and let rest for about 2 hours in a cool place. Cut dough in parts and roll out on a flat, with flour covered surface, approximately 5 mm (0.2 inches) thick. Put out different shapes and put them on a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Let cool for about 15 minutes. Before baking, sweep with the yellow of an egg. Bake for about 10 minutes in the center of the pre-heated oven at 200 °C (400 °F). Let cool completely before serving.

Ingredients:

4 eggs, beaten, fried and cut into thin strips
1/2 pound lean beef, pork or chicken, cut into thin strips
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 carrot, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup spinach, cooked
10 full-sized sheets of laver
2 cups rice, cooked

Procedure:

Beat eggs and lightly fry in pan, just enough so both sides are a bright yellow. Cut the fried egg in strips and set aside. Stir-fry meat and vegetables with sesame oil, then set aside. Place a sheet of laver on the bamboo roll mat, and have your vegetables and meat ready in separate dishes. Make sure rice is cool, and spread a thin layer on laver. Layer with strips of beef, carrot, egg, and pieces of spinach. Carefully roll it up, and seal the roll by moistening the outer edge of the laver sheet with a dab of water. Dip a knife into some water, and gently cut the roll into one-inch slices. Stack the Kimbab slices on a dish and serve with some soy sauce on the side.

Ingredients:

3 fresh white of egg (about 100 grams)
1 pinch of salt
250 grams (9 ounces) confectioner’s sugar
1½ tablespoons of cinnamon
½ tablespoon of kirsch or lemon juice
350 grams (12 ounces) grind almonds

Procedure:

Stir white of egg and salt in a bowl until it is real stiff. Add confectioner’s sugar, stir until ingredients are evenly distributed. Put 1 dl (0.4 cups) aside for the frosting. Add cinnamon, kirsch (or lemon juice) and almonds, knead to a soft dough. Roll out dough on a flat surface (it may be slightly covered with sugar), approximately 7 mm (0.3 inches) thick. Put out stars or other shapes and put them on a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Let them rest for about 5 to 6 hours or over night in a dry place. Carefully sweep the cookies with the frosting set aside in step 2. Bake for about 3 to 5 minutes in the center of the pre-heated oven at 250 °C (480 °F). Let cool completely before serving.

Ingredients:

Pie Dough:

1 cup self-rising flour
½ tsp. salt
1½ oz/40grams butter
4 tbsp. water

Filling:
3 potatoes
½ cup green peas (optional)
1 tsp. finely chopped fresh ginger root
1 tsp. crushed fresh garlic
½ tsp. white cumin seeds
½ tsp. mixed onion and mustard seeds
1 tsp. salt
2 dried red chilies (optional)
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 small fresh green chilies, finely chopped (optional)
vegetable oil for deep-frying
lemon wedges, to serve

Procedure:

Sift the flour and salt into large bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Pour in the water and mix with a fork to form a dough. Pat the dough into a ball and knead for 5 min or until smooth. Add a little flour if the dough is sticky. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. Meanwhile, cook the potatoes (20-25 min) and separately peas (5-10 min) in lightly salted water. Drain and gently mash the potatoes, then add the ginger, garlic, white cumin seeds, onion and mustard seeds, salt, crushed red chilies, green chilies, green peas, lemon juice and stir well to mix. Break small balls of the dough and roll each out very thinly to form a circle. Cut in half, dampen the edges and form into cones. Fill the cones with a little of the filling, dampen the open edges and pinch together to seal. Set aside. Fill a deep-fat fryer or large, heavy-bottom pan one-third full with vegetable oil and heat to 350-375 °F/180-190 °C. Carefully lower the samosas into the hot oil, in batches, and deep-fry for 2-3 min, or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain thoroughly on paper towel. Serve hot or cold with lemon wedges.

Ingredients:

1 dozen 12-inch plastic decorating pastry bags (available at party supply stores)
4 cups green jelly beans
1 cup total yellow, white, and red jelly beans
tape
12 brown pipe cleaners

Procedure:

Place a few yellow jelly beans in the tip of the plastic decorating bag. Then carefully pour about 1/3 cup of green jelly beans into the bag. For lights and ornaments, you can mix the green jelly beans with yellow, white, and red. For the tree’s trunk, tape the bag shut and twist a brown pipe cleaner around the base. Trim off the excess plastic. (Note: in the photograph, the trees are held upright with fishing line.) Makes 12 trees.

Ingredients:

(1) 10-pack El Monterey beef n bean burritos
40 oz. can chile con carne
1 cup Water
1 lb. corn chips
2 cups cheddar cheese shredded

Procedure:

Heat up El Monterey Burritos according to packaging and keep warm. Heat up Chile Con Carne with the water added, and bring to a simmer. Hold on stove top until assembly. Place corn chips on large serving platter, pour half of the chile over the chips and sprinkle half of the cheese over the chile. Arrange the hot burritos over the chile and cheese and finish by pouring the rest of the chile and cheese over the burritos. Melt cheese under a hot broiler or in a preheated 375°F oven. Serve immediately.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
450 grams (16 ounces) confectioner’s sugar
1 pinch of salt
1½ tablespoons of anise
1 tablespoon of kirsch
550 to 600 grams (19..21 ounces) flour

Procedure:

Put eggs, confectioner’s sugar, salt, anise and kirsch in a bowl and stir about 5 minutes until well mixed. Add flour and mix into a dough. Form rolls of about 1.5 cm (0.6 inches) diameter and cut in pieces of about 5 cm (2 inches) length. Cut in each piece about 3 times slightly angular and bend them slightly. Slightly grease baking sheets and put the rolls onto it to dry. Do not use baking paper sheets. Do not move the pieces. Let them dry for 24 to 48 hours at room temperature. Make sure there is no draught. Bake them for about 25 minutes in the lower part of the pre-heated stove at 140°C (285°F). Keep the door of the stove a bit open. Let the cookies cool down and remove them from the baking sheet with a scraper.

Variations:
Instead of forming rolls, you may roll out dough on a flat surface, approximately 1 cm (0.4 inches) thick. Put out shapes and treat them as described above.
Use models to create forms, then treat them as described above.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound pork tenderloin

Marinade:
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons Shao-Hsing rice wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Sauce:
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons Shao-Hsing wine or dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Other:
4 dried black mushrooms
4 tablespoons dried cloud ears or wood ears
2 tablespoons dried lily buds
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots
2 green onions
2 slices ginger
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons oil for stir-frying, or as needed
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Procedure:

Cut the pork into thin strips. Add the marinade ingredients, adding the cornstarch last. Marinate the pork for 30 minutes. Mix the sauce ingredients, whisking in the cornstarch last. Set aside. Place the dried mushrooms, cloud ears or wood ears, and lily buds in separate bowls and soak for approximately 30 minutes. Squeeze out any excess water. Remove the stems from the black mushrooms and the hard tips from the lily buds. Cut into thin strips. Rinse the bamboo shoots under warm running water to remove any tinny taste. Drain and cut into thin strips. Clean the green onion and cut into thirds. Cut the ginger into thin strips. Lightly beat the eggs with the salt. Heat the wok over medium-high to high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil, swirling along the sides. When the oil is hot, add beaten eggs and scramble until they are quite firm. Remove the eggs from the wok. Clean out the wok. Add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the ginger and stir-fry until aromatic (about 30 seconds). Stir-fry until the pork changes color and is nearly cooked through. Remove from the wok. Add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the wood ears, lily buds, and mushrooms. Stir-fry for about 1 minute. Push up to the sides. Give the sauce a quick re-stir and add in the middle of the wok, stirring quickly to thicken. Add the other pork and scrambled egg back into the pan. Stir in the green onion. Mix everything together. Taste and add extra seasoning if desired. Remove from the heat and stir in the sesame oil.
To Serve: Serve with mandarin crepes and hoisin sauce. Place pancake on a plate and brush with hoisin sauce. Add meat mixture and roll up the pancake. If desired, instead of stir-frying the green onion you can add it to the meat mixture at this point.

Variations:
Deep-fry the pork instead of stir-frying. Serve the mu shu pork over rice.

Ingredients:
For sponge cake:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp. milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 tbsp. butter

For topping:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
4 tbsp. sugar
Various fruits (strawberries, peaches, cherries, and so on)

Procedure:

Whisk eggs in a bowl. Place the bowl over warm water in another large bowl and whisk further. Add sugar little by little. When the egg mixture becomes light yellow, sift flour and add to the bowl. Mix the flour lightly in the egg mixture. Mix butter in warm milk. Add mixture of melted butter and milk in the batter and stir gently. Preheat the oven in 350-degree. Place baking wax papers inside of a round cake pan (18cm). Pour the batter in the pan and bake in the preheated oven for 25-35 min. Remove the cake from the pan and cool it on a rack. Cut the cake in half horizontally. Mix heavy cream and sugar in a bowl. Whip the cream well. Take the half of the whipped cream and mix with chopped fruits. Place the cream on top of a round cake slice. Place another cake slice on top of the cream. Spread the rest of the whipped cream on top and around the cake. Decorate the cake with colorful fruits and Christmas decorations.

Ingredients:

1 pound thinly sliced pork
2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
3 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. mirin
1 tbsp. sake

Procedure:

Mix soy sauce, mirin, sake, and grated ginger in a bowl. Marinate pork for 5 minutes. Heat some oil in a frying pan. Stir-fry the pork slices on medium heat. Served ginger pork with shredded cabbage. Makes 4 servings.