Holiday recipe contest winners

Southern Living, Dec 2000 by Florio, Donna, Morten, Linda, Gillespie, Carol, Curry, Jan, Et al

Fifteen readers won starting roles in Southern Living with these outstanding recipes.

This year readers submitted more than 5,300 recipes to our annual JL Holiday Recipe Contest in hopes of winning the grand prize in each of five categories and of having their recipes featured in this issue. Judging the contest proves exciting for the Foods staff. We sort and discuss the recipes, eagerly anticipating tasting them.

Then we narrow the field. This year we chose the best from these categories: Perfect Pies, Make-Ahead Main Dish Casseroles, Easy and Fresh Sides, Quick Party Snacks, and Entrees With Eight Ingredients or Less. We spend an intense two weeks testing and retesting to select the most delicious and innovative recipes. They must be dishes we feel are the best of the best. This year's winners fill the bill admirably.

We're already looking forward to the 2001 contest. Perhaps your recipe will be among the winners announced in next December's issue.

PERFECT PIES

Linda Morten has been cooking since she was a teenager. "My mother was an avid cook who entertained a lot," she says. Linda cooks simple, quick meals during the week and more involved meals on the weekends. She developed this pie from her favorite dessert. "I love tiramisu. I was trying to make it a little different, so I used ready-made pound cake to create a different crust."

TIRAMISU TOFFEE TRIFLE PIE Grand Prize Winner

1 1/2 tablespoons Instant coffee granules

3/4 cup warm water

1 (10.75-ounce) frozen pound cake, thawed

1 (8-ounce) package mascarpone or cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar cup chocolate syrup

1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided

2 (1.4-ounce) English toffee candy bars, coarsely chopped

STIR together coffee and 3/4 cup warm water until coffee is dissolved. Cool.

CUT cake into 14 slices. Cut each slice in half diagonally. Place triangles in bottom and up sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pieplate. Drizzle coffee mixture over cake.

BEAT mascarpone cheese, sugar, and chocolate syrup at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add 2 1/2 cups whipped topping, and beat until light and fluffy.

SPREAD cheese mixture evenly over cake. Dollop remaining whipped topping around edges of pie. Sprinkle with candy. Chill 8 hours. Yield: 8 to 10 servings. Prep: 30 min., Chill: 8 hrs.

Linda Morten

Katy, Texas

FUDGY CHOCOLATE MALT-- PEPPERMINT PIE Runner-up

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 (1-ounce) unsweetened chocolate squares

1 (1-ounce) semisweet chocolate square

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup chocolate malt mix

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1 pint peppermint Ice cream, softened

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup crushed peppermint candy

MELT first 3 ingredients in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat; cool. BEAT chocolate mixture and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until smooth. Add flour and next 3 ingredients, beating until blended. Stir in pecans. Pour into a lightly greased 9-inch pieplate.

BAKE at 325 deg. for 40 minutes. Remove from oven; cool completely on wire rack. PRESS down center of crust gently. Spread ice cream over crust. Cover and freeze 8 hours.

BEAT whipping cream and powdered sugar at medium speed with electric mixer until soft peaks form. Spread over ice cream. Sprinkle with crushed candy. Yield: 1 (9-inch) pie.

Prep: 45 min., Bake: 40 min., Freeze: 8 hrs.

Carol Gillespie

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

NOTE: For testing purposes only, we used Ovaltine Chocolate Malt mix.

MASCARPONE CREAM PIE

WITH BERRY GLAZE

Runner-up

6 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 (6.75-ounce) package Bordeaux cookies, crumbled

1/2 cup chopped pecans

4 cup cornstarch

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 (8-ounce) package mascarpone cheese, softened

2 teaspoons orange liqueur or fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract Berry Glaze

Garnish: orange rind strips

MELT butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook 3 minutes or until golden brown. Stir in cookie crumbs and pecans. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of a lightly greased 9-inch tart pan.

BAKE at 350 deg. for 15 minutes or until golden brown; cool.

COMBINE cornstarch and sugar in a medium saucepan; stir in cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Stir about 1/4 cup hot mixture into egg yolks; add to remaining hot mixture, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Remove mixture from heat.

STIR in mascarpone cheese, liqueur, and vanilla until smooth. Pour into prepared crust.

SPREAD 2/3 cup Berry Glaze over filling; chill 8 hours. Serve with remaining Berry Glaze. Garnish, if desired. Yield:. 1 (9-inch) pie.

Prep: 35 min., Bake: 15 min., Chill: 8 hrs.

BERRY GLAZE:

1 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce

1/3 cup seedless blackberry jam

1 1/2 tablespoons orange liqueur or

fresh orange juice

1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange rind COOK all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring until cranberry sauce and jam melt. Strain mixture, discarding solids. Yield: about 1 1/2 cups. Prep: 10 min.