WW WHITE CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE

I'm in heaven...when you're near me...succulent raspberries...red as my lips...smoother than silk white chocolate...super creamy cheesecake...

10 sheets low-fat graham crackers, crumbled
1 1/4 cups sugar-divided
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 (8oz.) packages fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 (8oz.) package 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup light sour cream, room temperature
1 (4oz.) bar white chocolate (such as Ghirardelli), melted and cooled
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves
2 1/2 cup raspberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place graham crackers and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor; process until finely ground. Transfer to a medium bowl, add butter, stirring until well blended. Firmly press mixture into bottom and 1-inch up sides of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

While crusts cools, place cream cheeses and sour cream in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Gradually add chocolate, beat well. Add remaining 1 cup sugar and flour; beat well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

Pour cheese mixture into prepared crust; bake for 37 minutes or until cheesecake center barely moves when pan is touched. Turn oven off. Leave cheesecake in oven with door partially open for 1 hour. Remove cheesecake from oven, run knife around outside edge. Cool 1 hour on wire rack. Cover and chill at least 8 hours.

Spread preserves over top of cheesecake; top with raspberries.
Yield 16 servings. Serving size: 1 slice. 6 points

No one will ever guess its light!

WW SWEET LIME SUMMER FRUITS

I simply adore watermelon and blueberies. This dish is as pleasing to the eye as it is to the palate.....and only 1 Point!

4 cups cubed watermelon
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup white grape juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon grated lime rind
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Combine melon and berries in bowl.

Combine grape juice and next 3 ingredients. Pour over fruit mixture, toss gently to coat. Cover and chill.
Serves 5 Serving size: 1 cup, 1 Point

VIDALIA ONION RELISH

I love this relish on hotdogs and hamburgers and nestled next to the honey-baked ham soup beans, coleslaw, and fried taters on my plate.

22 cups chopped Vidalia onions (about 10 lbs.)
1 cup chopped sweet red pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup salt
4 cups ice cubes
4 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups white vinegar (5% acidity)
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons celery seeds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric

Combine onions with red pepper, garlic and salt in a large nonmetal container; stir well. Place ice cubes on top of onion mixture and allow to stand at room temperature for 3 hours; drain well. Place in a large Dutch oven; set aside.

Combine sugar and remaining ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. ?Add to onion mixture; bring to a boil, and boil 5 minutes.

Pack hot onion mixture into hot jars with a slotted spoon, fillinf to 1/2-inch from top. Cover with boiling liquid, filling to 1/2-inch from top. Remove air bubbles; wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on bands. Process in boiling water bath 10 minutes.
Yield: 14 pints

“The kitchen, reasonably enough, was the scene of my first gastronomic adventure. I was on all fours. I crawled into the vegetable bin, settled on a giant onion and ate it, skin and all. It must have marked me for life, for I have never ceased to love the hearty flavor of raw onions.”~James Beard (1903-1985)

CARAMELIZED VIDALIA ONION BLT

Here is a sandwich that will literally knock your socks off! Caramelized onions, tomatoes, bacon, basil, Swiss cheese, lettuce...all on sourdough bread...my mouth is watering now...

2 tomatoes
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
8 sourdough bread slices, toasted
12 bacon slices, cooked
4 Swiss cheese slices
salt and pepper
4 lettuce leaves

Cut each tomato into 4 slices. Stir together mayonnaise and basil and spread on 1 side of each bread slice. Top 4 bread slices with 3 bacon slices, 2 tomato slices, and cheese. Top evenly with the caramelized onions; sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Top with lettuce leaves and remaining bread slices.

CARAMELIZED ONIONS

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon bacon drippings
1 medium Vidalia onion, sliced
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Melt butter with bacon drippings in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, salt and pepper; saute 15 to 20 minutes or until golden.

Yield: 4 servings

"Onions can make even heirs and widows weep."~Benjamin Franklin

VIDALIA ONION SOUFFLE

I think the title speaks for itself. It is a 'most requested' recipe.

2 tablespoons butter
4 cups chopped Vidalia onion
2 cups fresh bread cubes
1 (12oz.) can evaporated milk (can use fat-free)
3 big eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add onion and saute 10 to 15 minutes until tender. Put in a large bowl with bread cubes. Stir in milk, eggs, 1 cup cheese, and salt. Pour into a lightly greased 1 1/2-quart souffle or baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until set.
Serves: 8

“The onion and its satin wrappings is among the most beautiful of vegetables and is the only one that represents the essence of things. It can be said to have a soul.”~
Charles Dudley Warner, My Summer in a Garden (1871)

PAN-FRIED TROUT WITH BACON

This is one of my all time favorite ways to cook trout.

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons rinsed drained capers
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon, or 1 1/2 tsp. dried
8 slices bacon
4 (8 to 10-oz.) trout fillets
salt & pepper to taste
flour

Heat 4 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Saute 1 1/4 cups of the green onions in the buter for 3 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, capers and tarragon. Remove from the heat. Cover to keep warm.

Fry the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Remove to a paper towel to drain, reserving the bacon dripings. Crumble the bacon and add to the green onion mixture.

Sprinkle the fillets with the salt and pepper. Coat with the flour. Drain all but 3 tablespoons of the reserved pan drippings. Heat over medium heat until the butter melts. Arrange 2 of the fillets skin side up in the skillet. Cook for 2 minutes, turn. Cook for 2 more minutes or until just opaque in the center. Remove to ovenproof serving plates. Keep warm in the oven. Repeat the process with remaining trout, adding 1 tablespoon unsalted butter to the skillet if needed. Reheat the green onion mixture if needed and spoon over the top of each serving. Sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of the remaining green onions.
Serves: 4

"Give a man a fish and he has food for a day; teach him to fish and you can get rid of him for the entire weekend."~Zenna Schaffer (I don't have a clue who this Zenna person is but let me just say I believe she is as sharp as a tack!)

APRIL'S MACARONI SALAD

My friend April Oaks Potter shared her macaroni salad recipe with me after I begged for it. We had a family get-together and she brought the macaroni salad and I thought it was the best I had ever had. Here is her version of it. I added hard-boiled eggs and a little pickle relish.

1 (1 lb.) box elbow macaroni
2 cups KRAFT mayonnaise
1 tablespoon vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch of radishes chopped finely
1/2 green pepper chopped finely
1/2 red onion chopped finely
1 block of med cheddar cheese cut into small cubes
1 bag of diced ham

Cook macaroni and drain. In a small bowl mix mayo, vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix with macaroni add in chopped veggies, cheese and ham.