Featured Recipe of the Month:
Dolce De Leche
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A Little Taste Of Heaven

    Call it the result of the Maillard Reation or the product of an absant minded maid of Juan Manual de Rosas, who left a milk and sugar drink cook to long on the stove, The results were the same, a can of ordinary sweetend condenced milk, boiled in a water bath for a long long long time allowed to cool and opened to reveal a treat that can best described as a little taste of heaven.   

Dolce De Leche

    1.  Take one can of Eaglebrand sweetened condensed milk
    2.  Place UNOPENED can in a pot of water so that water completly covers         can by about 2 inches
    3.  Bring water to a soft boil
    4.  Boil three hours, turn can over every hour (3 hrs results in golden color,         longer you boil the darker it gets)
    5.  Allow can to cool to room temperature I put in the fridge overnight but             you can cool on a counter at least 15 minutes if your going to use it soon.
    6.  Open carefully
          if you refridgerate overnight punch hole in middle of can lid flip can over         and remove the lid on the other end with can opener the little bit of heaven         will slide right out.

                     Use on cake, ice cream, of just get a spoon an enjoy...

DoLce De Leche Scones

Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, cut into chunks
- seeds from 2 vanilla bean pods
- scant 3/4 cup dolce de leche
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon dolce de leche

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. In a bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add 1/2 cup butter and, with a pastry blender or your fingers, cut or rub in until pea-size crumbs form.

2. Using the hooked end of an orange peeler, slice the vanilla beans open lengthwise, taking care to keep the ends together. Using the curved end of the orange peeler, scrape out the seeds into a small bowl. Reserve the empty pods to grind or chop into a future dish. Whisk in the dolce de leche and 1/2 cup milk with the seeds, until well blended. Add milk base to dough and stir just until evenly moistened. Depending on how thick your dulce de leche is, you may need to add a couple more teaspoons of milk to achieve a nice moist dough.

3. Scrape onto a lightly floured board, turn over to coat, and gently knead just until dough comes together, 5 or 6 turns. Pat dough into a 6-inch round 1 1/2 inches thick; cut into 8 equal wedges.

4. Separate wedges and place on a lightly buttered 12- by 15-inch baking sheet. In a small bowl, beat egg yolk and 1 tablespoon milk and 1 tablespoon dolce de leche; brush lightly over tops of scones (discard any remaining egg wash).

5. Bake until scones are golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Icing:
Depending on how much dolce de leche you have left, you can either brush the remaining leche on top of the scones, or drizzle it.

To brush:
Lightly heat the dolce de leche in the microwave for 15 seconds. Using a pastry brush, evenly coat warm scones.

To drizzle:
Place the warm scones on a piece of parchament or wax paper.
Scrape all of the dolce de leche into a plastic sandwich bag. Knead the leche in your hands for a few minutes to warm and soften it up. Cut a corner out of the bag, and starting on the paper, begin drizzling over the scones in a zigzag pattern.

Dust scones with your favorite sugar. I used sugar-in-the-raw, but red or pink dusting sugar would look nice for Valentine's Day!

Yield: 8 scones                                                                                     Source:  Darla M. Wiese                    Check out her website The MessyCuvina

 
 ICE-CREAM SANDWICH
WITH DOLCE DE LECHE


        There is something magical about the marriage of South American and Sicilian tastes. Dolce de leche, much loved in Latin America as a sweet treat, is basically caramelized condensed milk. The practice of sandwiching ice cream in a sweet roll comes from Southern Italy, where bread is eaten with almost everything. Recipe from The ACE Bakery Cookbook by Linda Haynes (Whitecap). Courtesy of CP.

4 large or 8 dinner-size pain au lait, brioche or challah rolls
1 can (11 oz.) Dolce de Leche
4 cups good-quality vanilla, chocolate or hazelnut ice cream
Icing sugar

1. Cut rolls in half and toast under a broiler. Spread a thick layer of dolce de leche on bottom half of each roll, spoon on a scoop of ice cream and top with other half of roll. Dust with icing sugar.

Source: The Calgary Sun

Simple Maple Butter

Ingredients
1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup maple syrup

Instructions
Mix with electric mixer until blended. Serve on toast, cracker or warm muffins.

Yield: about 3/4 cup
Make it more interestine? Add Chopped nuts like Pecans or Hazlenuts




Source: Connecticut Maple Syrup Recipes by Maple Syrup Producers