MARINATED GRILLED SHRIMP

This is my very favorite way to prepare shrimp.  This garlicky, white wine based marinade made with freshly squeezed lime juice and basil picked fresh from the garden makes for the best shrimp you can have.  Keep the leftovers (if you have any) for a fabulous shrimp salad the next day. To make this even better, I got to use the two new kitchen toys I got this weekend, a new cork screw that pulled the cork from my sauvignon blanc very smoothly and a juicer that is not only cute, but got the last drop of juice from my lime.

Marinated Grilled Shrimp

1 lb cleaned shrimp
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup white wine or Sake
4 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of one lemon (or lime)
1 teaspoon dry or 1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil
1 teaspoon dry or 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
Pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and add shrimp. Let marinade 30 to 60 minutes.
Skewer shrimp and grill over hot coals until shrimp is pink. 1 to 3 minutes per side, depending on how hot your coals are.

LAMINGTONS

An Australian favorite supposedly sold at bake sales like cupcakes are here, these are a little more trouble than cupcakes, but definitely worth the extra trouble.  A firm, moist yellow cake cut into squares then dipped in chocolate sauce then rolled in coconut.  What could be more delicious? 
Just one tip, let one of the squares rest on the edge of your bowl to let the excess sauce drip off while you cover one with the coconut.  This will cut down on the amount of  "chocolate clumps" in the coconut.

Lamingtons

24 individual cakes.

Cake:

1 3/4 cups bleached all-purpose fl our, plus more for the pan

2 teaspoons baking powder

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

Chocolate sauce:

4 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) salted butter, melted

2/3 cup boiling water

3 to 4 cups shredded unsweetened coconut

Move oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 x 2–inch baking pan.  Whisk flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.  Add 1/4 cup of the sugar and the vanilla and beat for 30 seconds.  While beating, gradually add the remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar.  Scrape the bowl and beater, then beat for 5 minutes on medium high speed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each.  On low speed, add the fl our mixture in 3 additions alternately with the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and beating only until smooth.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and pulls away slightly from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool the cake in its pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then cover the cake pan with a wire rack and invert the two. Remove the pan, cover the cake with another rack, and invert the cake again to cool completely right side up. Drape the cake loosely with a kitchen towel and leave at room temperature overnight.  To make the chocolate sauce, in a medium metal bowl whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, butter, and boiling water until smooth. Set the bowl into a pan of very hot water to keep the sauce fluid.  Spread the coconut in a shallow dish or pie plate.  Drop a piece of cake into the chocolate sauce and use two long-tined forks to turn the cake quickly in the sauce to coat all surfaces.  Lift the cake out of the sauce, letting excess sauce drip back into the bowl, and transfer the cake to the bowl of coconut.  Use your fingers to sprinkle the cake with coconut, rolling it around to coat all surfaces well. Remove the cake from the coconut and set it on a wire cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining cake.  Leave the cakes on the wire racks to dry for 1 to 2 hours before serving. Lamingtons keep well for 3 to 4 days, stored in an airtight container at room temperature

Dinner Rolls

These were great, two 9x13 pans bit too much for my now small family, but great none the less. Very light & tasty, a little on the sweet side.  I  actually kind of screwed these up when I made them, working from the laptop in a different room sometimes isn't the best idea.  I put in too much water (1 cup) and too much butter (1 stick).  But they still turned out wonderful.  Next time I will halve the recipe and maybe make 20 instead of 12, these were very large rolls!

Dinner Rolls

2 c. whole milk

½ c. + 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1/3 c. (5 1/3 Tbsp.) butter
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 pkgs. active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp.), preferably bread machine yeast
2/3 c. warm (105-115-degree) water
8-9 c. all-purpose flour
3 beaten eggs

Combine milk, 1/2 c. sugar, butter, and salt in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat. Allow to cool to lukewarm.  While the milk mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast and 1 Tbsp. sugar in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes.  In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 c. flour and milk mixture. Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes.  Add beaten eggs. Stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft–it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Don’t worry, it will firm up during the rising process. Part of what makes these rolls so good is that they’re so soft and light; if you add too much flour, they will be heavy and dense. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour.  Punch down dough. Lightly flour your work surface and turn dough out onto surface. Divide in half.  Spray 2 9×13 glass pans with cooking spray. Roll first portion of dough into a rectangle and then cut it into 12 equal-sized pieces.  Shape each piece into a ball and place in prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough in the second pan.  Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. When dough has about 15-20 minutes to go (depending on your oven), preheat oven to 375.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden-brown.  When done, remove from oven.  Rub a stick of cold butter over the tops of the rolls.