The Villa Park Women’s League Dinners come with tested recipes.  They are printed below.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

Chips and Onion Dip

Crab Stuffed Cream Puffs

Stuffed Olives

Bacon Cream Cheese Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

Shrimp Cocktail

Rice Pilaf

Roasted Asparagus with Hollandaise

Veal Cordon Bleu

Baked Alaska

Chips and Onion Dip

Ingredients/Directions

Mix 1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup with 1 16 oz container of sour cream, serve with potato chips.

Crab Stuffed Cream Puffs

Ingredients: Cream Puffs

• 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1/2 c. flour
• 2 eggs
• Dash salt

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°.
2. Bring water and butter to boil.
3. Add flour and salt.
4. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball.
5. Remove from heat;.
6. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth.
7. Drop teaspoons of batter on ungreased cookie sheet.
8. Bake at 400° for 30 to 35 minutes.
9. Remove immediately.
10. Cool.
11. Cut off tops.
12. Fill.
13. Put tops back on.
14. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes.

Can be frozen. Reheat 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Ingredients: Crab Filling

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp. horseradish
• 1 tbsp. milk
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Dash pepper
• 2 tbsp. onion, finely chopped
• 1 (6 1/2) oz. can crab meat, drained

Directions:

Mix until blended. Add 1/3 cup slivered almonds, if desired.

Stuffed Olives

Ingredients:

• 1⁄4 
lb grated cheddar cheese (1 c)
• 1⁄4 
c butter, softened
• 1⁄2 
c flour
• 1⁄4
 tsp salt
• 1/2
 tsp paprika
• 24 
stuffed olives

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Make dough by mixing cheese, butter, flour, salt and paprika.
3. Pinch off dough and wrap around each olive, making little balls.
4. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 10- 15 minutes.
6. Serve warm.

May be made ahead and frozen until ready for baking.

Bacon Cream Cheese Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 20 cherry tomatoes
• 12 oz hardwood smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled, reserve some for topping
• about two-thirds of an 8-oz package cream cheese ( or 6 oz whipped cream cheese)
• 1 Tab chopped fine chives
• 1 Tab chopped basil
• garlic salt
• ⅛ tsp fresh ground black pepper
• parsley, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Bring cream cheese to room temperature.
2. Using a sharp pointed knife, cut just the tops off the cherry tomatoes.
3. Carefully scoop out the seeds, being careful not to go all the way through the tomatoes.
4. Invert the cut and seeded tomatoes onto paper towel and let stand for at least 10 minutes.
5. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, chives, basil, fresh ground black pepper, and a sprinkle of garlic salt.
6. Mix well.
7. Stir in bacon.
8. Lightly sprinkle the cherry tomatoes with garlic salt,.
9. Stuff the tomatoes with the bacon/cream cheese mixture using a small spoon.
10. Garnish with reserved bacon and parsley (if desired)
11. Chill until serving.

Serves: 24 tomatoes

Source:   VPWL Guess Who is Coming to Dinner

Shrimp cocktail

Assume 4 shrimp per person,  mix “Homemade Chili Sauce” (available at Ralphs among others, small spherical jar, blend with horseradish to taste.  Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon wedge. Pass additional horseradish

Rice Pilaf

Ingredients:

• 2 Tab butter
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, minced
• 2 pinches kosher salt
• 2 c long grain rice
• 2 3/4 c chicken broth
• 2 strips orange zest
• Pinch of saffron strands, steeped in 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 c frozen peas, thawed
• Golden raisins and pistachios for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a heavy, wide, lidded pan, melt butter over medium-low heat.
3. Add onion, red pepper, and kosher salt.
4. Sweat the onions and peppers until aromatic, stirring constantly.
5. Add the rice and stir to coat.
6. Continue stirring until rice smells nutty.
7. Add chicken broth, orange zest, saffron and water, and bay leaf.
8. Bring to a boil.
9. Stir once, then cover pan with moistened dish towel (or tea towel).
10. Place lid on pan and fold towel corners over lid.
11. Bake for 15 minutes.
12. Then rest at room temperature for 10 to 20 minutes without removing the cover.
13. Meanwhile, simmer peas in salted water until heated through or heat in a microwave.
14. Remove lid from rice and turn out onto a platter.
15. Add peas and fluff with a large fork.
16. Add raisins and pistachios.

Roasted Asparagus with Hollandaise

Ingredients:

• 12 Tab unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• 4 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 3 Tab freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pinches of cayenne pepper
• 2 pounds fresh asparagus
• Good olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.
2. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan.
3. Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 3/4 teaspoon pepper and cayenne in the jar of a blender.
4. Blend for 15 seconds.
5. With the blender running, slowly pour the hot butter into the blender and blend for 30 seconds, until the sauce is thick. (You can leave it in the blender at room temperature for up to 1 hour. If it is made in advance, add 1 tablespoon hot tap water and blend for a few seconds before serving.)
6. Break off the tough ends of the asparagus and, if they’re thick, peel them.
7. Place the asparagus on a baking sheet.
8. Drizzle with olive oil.
9. Toss to coat the asparagus completely.
10. Spread the asparagus in a single layer.
11. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
12. Roast the asparagus for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender but still crisp.
13. When plating, puddle a bit of hollandaise under the veal and over the asparagus spears, pass any leftover hollandaise sauce

Veal Cordon Bleu

Ingredients: 

• 8 (1/8-inch-thick) veal cutlets (also called scaloppine; all the same size, about 2 1/2 oz each)
• 1 (1/2-lb) piece Gruyère
• 4 (1/8-inch-thick) slices baked ham such as Virginia
• 1 c plain dry bread crumbs
• 2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp black pepper
• 3/4 c all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tab unsalted butter
• 2 Tab olive oil
• Garnish: lemon wedges; fresh parsley sprigs

Directions:

1. If cutlets are thicker than 1/8 inch, pound them between sheets of plastic wrap with flat side of meat pounder.
2. Using cheese plane, shave enough cheese to make a double layer for each of 4 cutlets.
3. Pat dry 2 cutlets of the same shape.
4. Arrange 1 cutlet on a work surface.
5. Put 1 slice of ham on cutlet, trimming ham to leave a 1/4-inch border of veal around the ham.
6. Then arrange a double layer of cheese on ham.
7. Top with second cutlet.
8. Lightly pound 1/4-inch border around cutlets’ outer edges to seal veal sandwich.
9. Make 3 more sandwiches in same manner.
10. Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
11. Stir together bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large shallow baking dish.
12. Stir together flour, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in another large baking dish.
13. Whisk together eggs, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a third large baking dish.
14. Dredge 1 veal sandwich in flour, knocking off excess, then dip in egg to coat, letting excess drip off, and dredge in bread crumbs, patting to help them adhere.
15. Transfer coated sandwich to a rack set on a baking sheet.
16. Dredge and coat remaining sandwiches in same manner.
17. Chill, uncovered, 1 hour.  Chilling coated cutlets helps the coating to adhere when cooking.
18. Then let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before cooking.
19. Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides
20. Add 2 veal sandwiches, then reduce heat to moderate and cook, turning over once, until golden, about 4 minutes total.
21. Transfer to plates and wipe out skillet with paper towels.
22. Cook remaining sandwiches in remaining butter and oil in same manner.

Baked Alaska

Ingredients:

• 1 (10 3/4-oz) frozen pound cake, not thawed
• 2 pints super premium strawberry ice cream (not 1 quart)
• 6 large egg whites
• 1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 c sugar

Directions:

1. Cut frozen cake crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
2. Line bottom of a 9-inch pie plate with cake slices, some halved or cut into pieces to fill in gaps.
3. Halve remaining cake slices lengthwise and place around edge of plate.
4. Patch up any holes with pieces of remaining cake slices. (You may have a couple of slices left over.)
5. Cut paper containers from ice cream,
6. Slice each pint into 3 rounds.
7. Arrange 3 rounds in 1 layer on top of cake in pie plate.
8. Cut each remaining round into 6 wedges.
9. Fill holes in ice cream layer with some of ice cream wedges and mound remainder in center of pie plate.
10. Freeze 25 minutes.
11. Preheat oven to 450°F.
12. After ice cream and cake have been freezing 20 minutes, beat egg whites and a pinch of salt with an electric mixer until foamy.
13. Add lemon juice and continue to beat until whites hold soft peaks.
14. Gradually add sugar, beating, and continue beating until whites just hold stiff, glossy peaks.
15. When time to serve, remove ice-cream base from freezer and mound meringue over it, spreading to edge of plate to cover ice cream completely.
16. Bake in middle of oven until golden brown, about 6 minutes.
17. Serve immediately.

Cooks’notes: • The base can be assembled 2 days ahead and frozen, tightly wrapped. Make meringue and, after topping base, bake Alaska 10 minutes

Serves: 8

Source:   VPWL Guess Who is Coming to Dinner