Florentine Sundae Recipes

FLORENTINES (ITALY)

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
• Pulse the almonds in a food processor until finely chopped, but not pasty. Stir together the nuts, flour, zest and salt in a large bowl.
• Put the sugar, cream, corn syrup and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a rolling boil and sugar is completely dissolved. Continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, then pour mixture into almond mixture and stir just to combine. Set aside until cool enough to handle, 30 minutes.
• Scoop rounded teaspoons (for 3-inch cookies) or rounded tablespoons (for 6-inch cookies) of batter and roll into balls. Place on prepared baking sheet, leaving about 3 to 4 inches between each cookie since they spread.
• Bake 1 pan at a time, until the cookies are thin and an even golden brown color throughout, rotating pans halfway through baking time, about 10 to 11 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve.
• Optional chocolate topping: Put the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very low simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth. (Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue heat until completely melted, about 1 to 2 minutes more.)
• For sandwiches: Drop about 1/2 teaspoon chocolate onto on the flat side of half of the cookies and press together with remaining halves. Return to rack and let chocolate set.
• For chocolate decor: Drizzle melted chocolate over Florentines as desired. Set aside at room temperature until chocolate is set.

BEEF FLORENTINE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef until evenly brown; drain excess fat. Season with oregano, salt and pepper. Stir in tomato sauce and water. Remove from heat, and stir in cooked noodles.
• In a medium bowl, combine spinach, cottage cheese, onion, and Parmesan cheese. Spread half of noodle mixture in a large casserole dish. Layer with all of spinach mixture, then cover with remaining noodle mixture.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Cover with mozzarella, and continue cooking 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

EGGS FLORENTINE MADE EASY

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• First, prepare the spinach. Heat up a pan large enough to hold all the spinach.
• When it is very hot, add a splash of olive oil and throw in the spinach. Turn it over using tongs for 1 to 2 minutes until wilted. Do not overcook the spinach or it will become slimy.
• Tip the spinach into a colander and press out any excess liquid with the back of a spoon. Return the spinach to the pan and divide into four portions. Keep warm by covering with a lid or a tea towel. Preheat the grill.
• To poach the eggs, bring a pan of water to the boil and add the vinegar. When simmering, gently crack the eggs and slip them into the water without breaking the yolks. Poach the eggs for about 3 minutes or until the whites are set, but the yolks are still soft.
• Meanwhile, split the muffins and toast them on both sides on the grill. Butter lightly and place onto warmed plates.
• Put a portion of spinach on each muffin half and keep warm under the grill.
• When the eggs are done, lift them out with a slotted spoon and pat dry with kitchen paper. Place one on each muffin half and spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of hollandaise and grated nutmeg over top and. Serve immediately.
• Enjoy!

FLORENTINE SQUARES

Steps:

• Adjust rack to lower third of oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-x-15 1/2-x-1/2-inch baking sheet with aluminum foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang at each short end.
• Batter: Pour the cream, corn syrup, and sugar into a 1 1/2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir to combine, then add the butter. Stir over medium-low heat until the butter melts. Then raise the heat to medium, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon--especially toward the end of cooking--to prevent scorching. Cook until the mixture reaches 238 degrees F, the soft-ball stage, on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes; the mixture will appear between ivory- and straw-colored. Remove from heat, and stir in almonds.
• Pour the mixture onto the center of the foil-lined baking sheet, and spread it in as thin a layer as possible. A pool about 8 inches in diameter is fine. Bake for 3 minutes; then spread the more liquid mixture evenly over the baking sheet. If the mixture still does not completely cover the baking sheet, bake another minute, then tilt the baking sheet to allow the mixture to spread evenly. Bake for about 5 to 6 minutes total, or until golden but not dark brown. Though the mixture bubbles while baking, the bubbles form more slowly toward the end of baking time than at the beginning.
• Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and cool for 2 to 3 minutes. While the mixture is still warm but no longer liquid, cut 1 1/2-inch squares using a ruler and a pastry wheel. If the mixture is too warm, it will not cut cleanly. If it is too cool, it will splinter or not cut; in that case return it to the oven for a few seconds to soften it a bit.
• Decoration: When the squares are completely cool, place the chocolate in a bowl over water at about 120 degrees F. When about two-thirds of the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the water. With a dry rubber spatula, stir until the liquid chocolate melts the soft or unmelted chocolate that remains. Fill a small handmade paper cone with the chocolate and snip off the tip. Pipe thin lines of chocolate back and forth over the squares' surface. Refrigerate the squares briefly, just to set the chocolate. Remove from the refrigerator and set aside in a cool, dry place.
• To store, remove squares from the foil and place them in layers, separated by strips of aluminum, in an airtight metal or plastic container in a cool place up to 1 week.

FLORENTINE SUNDAES

Steps:

• For each sundae: Fill a bowl, Martini glass, or widemouthed wineglass with 3 generous scoops of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle ice cream with a teaspoon or more of orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier). Coarsely chop half of a Florentine cookie and sprinkle over the ice cream. Garnish with a whole cookie and 1 or 2 thin strips of orange peel (each about 2 to 3 inches long).

SAUCE FLORENTINE

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients except peppers in medium saucepan. Cook on medium heat 3 to 5 min. or until heated through, stirring frequently. Cool slightly.
• Pour into food processor or blender; cover. Blend until smooth. Return to saucepan.
• Add peppers; cook on low heat until heated through, stirring frequently. Serve warm spooned over hot cooked fish, chicken or pasta.

TUNA FLORENTINE

Steps:

• In 12-inch skillet, stir together uncooked pasta and sauce mix from Tuna Helper box, water, milk, butter and garlic powder. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in tuna, spinach and tomatoes.
• Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook 13 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender. Stir in lemon juice; sprinkle with cheese.

FLORENTINE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with aluminum foil.
• Melt butter in a large saucepan. Remove from heat and mix in oats, sugar, flour, corn syrup, milk, vanilla, and salt until well combined. Drop by level teaspoonfuls 3 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Spread cookies out thin with a rubber spatula.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Cool on the cookie sheets.
• Meanwhile, place chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir frequently, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching, until chocolate is melted and smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Peel foil from cookies. Spread melted chocolate on 1/2 of the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies.

CHICKEN WITH FLORENTINE SAUCE

Steps:

• Flatten chicken to 1/2-in. thickness. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the Parmesan cheese, basil and oregano. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time, and shake to coat. , In a large skillet over medium heat, cook chicken in 2 tablespoons butter for 4-5 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 170°. Remove and keep warm. , In the same skillet, saute onions in remaining butter for 2-3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Gradually add flour and salt; stir in milk and sherry or broth until blended. , Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in spinach and pimientos; heat through. , Remove from the heat. Stir in sour cream until blended. Spoon over chicken; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.