By popular demand…  the home-made twinkie recipe!   Note that the ingredients in the parentheses are for the chocolate version that I haven’t tried to make yet (melt the chocolate into the butter).    Next time I might try grapeseed or coconut oil instead of the canola.  Likewise I used 2% milk in the filling and I might try whole or half and half to make the filling sweet and creamy instead of just sweet… oh so sweeeet.

Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Yield: 24 cakes

Snack Cakes:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a canoe pan or muffin tins with cooking spray and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until they are very stiff. They should hold their shape when removed from the bowl. Set aside.

Combine the flour, corn starch, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together or beat on low speed for a minute, until combined. Add oil, water, Princess flavoring, and egg yolks. Beat on medium speed until smooth.

Using a rubber spatula, gently scoop 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter. Fold the egg whites in by slicing the spatula through the center of the bowl, gently scooping batter from the bottom and wrapping it over the top. Turn the bowl 1/4 turn and repeat until the egg whites are barely visible. Repeat this process with each remaining 1/3 of the egg whites.

Spoon the batter into the pan, filling the wells 2/3 full. Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until cakes are golden brown and just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cakes will puff up when cooking, but will settle as they cool. Cool the cakes in the pan for 5 minutes, then gently remove them from the pan using a rubber spatula. Allow them to cool, flat side down, directly on the cooling rack.

Filling:

In a small saucepan, heat the flour and milk over medium heat, stirring constantly. When the mixture becomes a paste (about 5 minutes), remove from heat and allow to cool for 1 minute. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming, and set aside to cool completely.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cooled milk mixture and beat for about 5 minutes, until smooth and creamy.

Fill!:
Use the pastry filler that comes with the pan (or a pastry bag with round tip) to fill the cakes. Place the tip about halfway into the cake and squeeze gently. Holding the cake in your palm while filling it will allow you to feel when it is full. Fill each cake 3 times to ensure that each bite contains cream filling!

This appetizer was snarfed down in moments on Christmas this year. It didn’t last long enough for all the dinner guests to arrive!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup light whipped cream cheese
• juice of half a lemon
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley & dill
• 1/4 cup capers
• pinch of kosher salt
• 4 oz package wild salmon
• seeded crackers (“everything” flat bread crackers are a good choice)

Directions

1. Mix the first 5 ingredients (cream cheese through salt) together.
2. Cut the salmon into small pieces.
3. Spoon cream cheese mixture onto the crackers and salmon pieces onto the cream cheese mixture.
4. Sprinkle a little extra dill over the salmon and enjoy.

It’s hard to argue for a U.S. contribution that justifies the term “Pan-American” (french fries are probably Belgian in origin and vegetarianism is far older than our country) but we’ll take the credit for being the critical middle man, until a bridge is built from Mexico to Canada.

Ingredients

• 1 package frozen oven fries (my favorite brand is Ore-Ida crispy fries)
• 8 oz queso fresco
• about 1/2 of this mushroom gravy recipe
• green onions, chopped
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• optional: red pepper flakes, minced garlic

Directions

1. Prepare the mushroom gravy and preheat the oven.
2. Toss frozen french fries in olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Spread the fries on a baking sheet (and sprinkle the optional red pepper flakes and garlic on top) and bake the fries according to the instructions on the package.
4. 5 minutes before the fries are done, top them with queso fresco.
5. Once the fries are done, top with mushroom gravy, green onions, and serve while hot.
6. Enjoy the delicious advantage of living between Canada and Latin America!

Serves 4-5 people.

3 cans artichoke hearts
1 package thawed spinach
5 cloves garlic (chopped)
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
3/4 cup romano cheese
1 1/2 cup light mayo

Chop all ingredients, mix, bake until top is brown. Serve with chips or crackers.