Experiments with Mustard

Marshmallow Mocha Cookies

2009-06-26T22:20:00.002-05:00

I've been wanting cookies for us for like 3 weeks now. So, tonight after dinner I got off my lazy rear and made these. They are just a basic sugar cookie, with a twist. If you like coffee, you'll love these cookies.

Marshmallow Mocha Cookies

1/2 Cup Softened Unsalted Butter (1 Stick)

1/2 Cup Vegetable Shortening (these are not supposed to be health!! they are cookies damn it!!)

2 Cups of White Sugar

1 tsp. Baking Soda (Not Powder!!)

1 1/2 tsp. Cream of Tartar

1 Tbsp. Instant Coffee

1 Tbsp. Coco Powder

1 tsp. Salt

3 Egg Yokes

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 1/3 All Purpose Unbleached Flour

Bag of Marshmallows

Pre-heat the oven to 300.

In a mixing bowl cream the butter and shortening together on medium speed. Add the sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, coffee, coco powder, and salt and mix well, make sure and scrape the sides a few times. Add your yokes and vanilla, again mix till well incorporated. Add about a cup of the flour or until it stops incorporating and then fold the rest in by hand.

Spoon out the dough onto un-greased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. One thing to note, the first time I made these I scooped a little generously and they ran into one enormous cookie. SO, be aware they will spread out thin in the oven. Now cook them for about 11-13 minutes. While they are cooking, take a handful of marshmallows and cut the in half. When the time goes off pull the cookies out and place the marshmallows sticky side down onto the hot cookies and put them back into the oven for about 2 minutes, just till things start melting. Let 'em cool on the pan for 2 or 3 minutes and munch 'em when they are warm with a shot of milk.

Italian Chicken: A Spin Off

2009-06-25T22:12:00.004-05:00

Well, it's been a long time since I've posted so here's one that's as delicious as it is easy.

Thursday Night Italian Chicken

1.5 lbs of Boneless Chicken Thighs
4 Pieces of Bacon (about 1/2 cup chopped)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Medium Green Pepper
1 Small White Onion
1 Large Yellow Squash
6 or 7 Leaves of Fresh Basil
6 Whole Cloves of Garlic
2 14.5oz. Cans of Diced Tomatoes (or you can skin and chop 6-8 medium sized fresh tomatoes, it really up to you.)
Salt
Pepper
Pinch of Nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 325.

Chop the bacon and chicken into 1/2 inch strips. Pour the olive oil into an oven safe sauce pan (or have an oven safe dish on standby) and turn the heat on medium high. De-seed and rough chop the pepper and rough chop the onion and saute them in the oil with a little salt for 3 to 5 minutes. Cut the squash into 1/2 cubes, lightly salt and toss into the pan. Chop the basil and pull the skin off the garlic and toss them in as well, give this mix a good stir and let it go for a few minutes and you open up the cans of diced tomatoes. Pour in the tomatoes, stir and cover. Let this come up to a soft bubble.

Take your diced bacon toss it into a separate pan and cook on medium high, just till it starts to crisp up. Add your chicken and turning until it's "white" on all sides. Drop this into the sauce mix, stir, and put into the center of the oven. Cook for about an hour.

Serve hot over some angel hair pasta.

There you go, that's it. If you want you can keep it at about 250-275 for another hour and the chicken will get even more tender.

Rice Krispy Goodness

2009-05-02T21:25:00.005-05:00

Um, we just added a 1/2 cup of caramel to so Rice Krispy treats. . . wow. Amazing. I know you all know how to do this, but just in case this is the "official" recipe from Kellogg. Enjoy it!

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 (10 ounce) package regular marshmallows
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
6 cups Rice Krispy Cereal

In large saucepan melt butter over low heat.
Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted.
Remove from heat.
Stir in caramel topping.
Add Rice Krispy cereal.
Stir until well coated.
Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray.
Cool.
Cut into 2-inch squares
Stuff your face
Repeat step #6 till satisfied

Baking Powder Equation

2009-01-13T09:22:00.001-06:00

2 parts Cream of Tarter
1 part Baking Soda

Mix Well.

Just here to help!

Chocolate Cranberry Coffee Cake

2009-01-01T14:05:00.004-06:00

Chocolate Cranberry Coffee Cake

1/2 cup Butter, softened
1/2 cup Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Brown Sugar, Packed
1/4 cup White Sugar
4 Large Eggs
Zest from One Medium Orange
3 tsp Lemon Juice
2 Cups Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 Cups Cranberries

Preheat oven to 350°, coat a 9x9 pan with cooking spray.

Add butter, light cream cheese, brown sugar, and granulated sugar into your mixer on medium speed until fluffy and light. Now turn the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time, orange zest and lemon juice juice; mixing well and scrape the sides of bowl at least once.

Mix flour and baking powder. Slowly beat in the flour mix. Stir in the cranberries and chocolate chips with a spoon.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely and serve.

Christmas Morning Croissants

2008-12-31T08:10:00.004-06:00

So, this is part of the new Christmas tradition around here. At least I've made these 2 Christmas's in a row now. I finally got them to look like croissants so I'm posting the recipe now!!

Christmas Morning Croissants

1 ounce fresh yeast
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/4 cup white or packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk, or more
1 pound unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour, for dusting
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

Use your dough hook, place the yeast, flour, sugar, and the milk and mix for 2 or 3 minutes until a soft moist dough forms on the hook. Add your salt. If the flour isn't moistened with a cup of milk, add more, a tablespoon at a time until it is moistened and smooth, I think I used 4 or 5 tablespoons extra. Crank your mixer on high and let it go for another 4-5 minutes until it's very smooth and elastic.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board, cover with a damp towel and let it rest for 15-20 minutes. This will relax the glutens, you know, to keep the croissants light and flaky. Now, remove the towel and, using a rolling pin, roll it out into a 10 by 9-inch rectangle 1/2 inch thick, or so. One thing to note here, you need to get it close to this size and shape, but this is not surgery and if your rectangle has rounded corners, that's perfectly fine.

Now, wrap that up in plastic then chill for 1 hour or 2, if you need to you can leave it overnight.

10-15 minutes before the dough is "done" resting in the refrigerator, prepare the butter. I bought a big discount block of butter so it was fairly soft and just took some manual manipulation to get it workable. But if you have sticks you'll want to beat up the butter with your rolling pin. Do this on a floured surface and form it up to a rough rectangle 6 by 8 or so.

Place it between 2 pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap and set aside.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it on a floured work surface into a 10 by 15-inch and 1/4-inch thick rectangle. Now, if you want to CAREFULLY trim an edge to get that perfect rectangle, you can do it here.

Make sure and brush any excess flour off the dough through out the process. Place the shorter side of the dough parallel to the front of your body on the work surface. Drop your butter sculpture in the middle, long-ways. Fold the bottom up over the butter and brush off any excess flour and then fold the top down over the butter to overlap. Now take the encased butter and press down lightly with your rolling pin to push all the layers together and make sure they have contact. They won't necessarily stick so just be aware some slippage may occur, you've been warned.

Continue rolling the layered dough to form a new 10 by 15-inch rectangle.

Here's a tip that it'd never heard before: patch any holes in the rolled rectangle with a dusting of flour where butter may have popped through!!

Ok, now fold into thirds, like a letter, brush off any excess flour. Wrap well in plastic and chill for 30 minutes to an 1 hour and up to overnight.

Now here's the easy part, just do this same fold roll, fold, wrap, chill, 3 more times!

After the fourth time, you can let the dough chill overnight or for 1 hour or just roll it out to a 13 by 24-inch square that is a little less than 1/4-inch thick and cut out your croissants and shape them. Now, you will want to trim all your edges to be "cut" edges, this will give you that crispy croissant.

I rolled out my dough and cut it into 6-inch strips. I cut these into triangles, about 4 inches wide at the base of the triangle. Now smash and stretch and pull these till they are about 1 1/2 times the size. Use some flour to keep things from sticking to the counter or board. You'll want to place a piece of scrap dough in the center of the wide end to enclose, this will give you that plump center. Roll the triangles up towards you starting at the wide end and place them 2 inches apart on a parchment lined sheet pan with the tip tucked under and the ends slightly curved in to make a crescent shape. You can freeze the croissants at this point or in a small bowl whisk up your egg wash using the egg and milk and gently brush the croissants.

Here's the step that I missed the first time I made these, so this is the important part!

Proof the croissants! So, place them in an oven that is warm but not turned on, with a pan of hot water in the bottom to create a moist environment like a proof box. Set aside to proof for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours until puffed up and spongy to the touch. Now, you'll see them release some of the butter, that's ok. I leave this melted butter, but you can pour it off if you like.

Take 'em out and heat the oven to 425°.

I take a shallow dish and fill with it boiling water from the kettle put that on the bottom shelf of the oven and close the door. Now, after a minute or two place the croissants in the middle of the oven and spritz with a spray bottle of water. Please make sure you don't hit the oven light, if might shatter and that's a whole lot of work wasted. Close the door and turn the oven down to 400°F. After 10 minutes, rotate your pan and turn the oven down to 375°F. Bake another 5 to 8 minutes until golden brown.

Serve warm with a little honey and nuttella.

10 Best Christmas Beers?

2008-12-08T20:50:00.004-06:00

So, the St. Petersburg Post, just came out with this list. And I have to say the only 2 beers I've had on this list are the Delirium Noel and the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, both fantastic beers - but not for the casual beer drinker - you might need to know a little about beer to really get into these, but I might be on a quest to find and destroy at least one bottle of each over the 10 days of Christmas!

Here's the list, Cheers!

10. Delirium Noel From the makers of Delirium Tremens, this strong dark Belgian ale features sweet caramel and toffee flavors along with dark fruit and light toasted-bread notes. The mouthfeel is smooth and creamy, but quite effervescent. It's $9.99 per 750ml bottle.

9. Penn St. Nicholas Bock Caramelized brown sugar and caramel make a big play in this bock along with raisin and molasses notes. A malt-bomb of a beer, it's $9.99 per six pack.

8. Scaldis Noel At 12 percent alcohol by volume, this is a very warming brew. Loads of sweet dark fruit, rich dark malt and Belgian Candy sugar are on display here. It's $15.99 per 750ml bottle.

7. Lump of Coal This U.K.-brewed stout features strong roasted malt notes, bittersweet chocolate and hints of raisin and fruit esters. It sells for $4.99 per 500ml bottle.

6. Santa's Butt Porter Another U.K. brew, this Porter is defined by chocolate malt flavors and an easy drinking quaffability. Once banned in Maine and New York for its reference to Santa's derrière, you can grab Santa's Butt for $4.99 a 500ml bottle.

5. De Dolle Stille Nacht Another strong ale from Belgian, this brew is a longtime favorite of beer aficionados. Huge flavor concentration, with pale fruits such as apple and pear work with complex malt flavors to create a sweet bready finish that lingers impossibly long on the tongue. An 11.2-ounce bottle is $3.99.

4. Samichlaus A truly unique 14 percent alcohol-by-volume Doppelbock from Austria. Samichlaus packs a boozy malt and fruit-accented punch. Not for folks who like lighter beers. It's $5.99 for an 11-ounce bottle.

3. Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale The Christmas beer for hop lovers, Celebration electrifies the taste buds with waves of pine and citrus flavor, balanced by sweet malt. The cost is $8.99 a sixer.

2. Avery Old Jubilation With rich dark malt notes, light nuttiness and a deceptive hop bite, Old Jubilation appeals to a variety of tastes without being dumbed down. A sixer costs $9.99.

1. Anchor Our Special Ale It changes from year to year, but in 34 years of production this spiced dark ale has never disappointed. Pick one up for $10.99 a sixer.

Read the original article here!

Thanks for your hard research, Joey Redner of Tampa!

Leftovers!

2008-11-28T12:17:00.003-06:00

Hello all! Hope you holiday was as filling as mine. Now, what to do with all the leftovers. Well, I could come up with some wild recipe that requires an antique sandwich maker and call it something completely esoteric like a flying saucer... but instead, I'll just post this link to Better Homes and Gardens and let them suggest marginally bizarre things to do with cranberries and gravy in the same dish!

P.S.- Freya, I totally saw this first, you just beat me to the posting about it! For those you who don't know already, my sister has this amazing online Magazine called Fish nor Foul. Check it out, it's full of fun stuff.

Free Dr. Pepper?!?

2008-11-21T11:45:00.002-06:00

From the AP - this is 18 bloody hours old? Ahead flank!

Dr Pepper to deliver on its free-soda promise

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dr Pepper is making good on its promise of free soda now that the release of Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" is a reality. The soft-drink maker said in March that it would give a free soda to everyone in America if the album dropped in 2008. "Chinese Democracy," infamously delayed since recording began in 1994, goes on sale Sunday.

"We never thought this day would come," Tony Jacobs, Dr Pepper's vice president of marketing, said in a statement. "But now that it's here, all we can say is: The Dr Pepper's on us."

Beginning Sunday at 12:01 a.m., coupons for a free 20-ounce soda will be available for 24 hours on Dr Pepper's Web site. They'll be honored until Feb. 28.
Dr Pepper is owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc.

On the Net:

http://www.drpepper.com

http://www.gunsnroses.com

Sorry!!

2008-11-18T21:42:00.003-06:00

Hey guys and gals,

I'm sorry I have not posted in a while! I promise I'll be better. I'm gonna' drop a few recipe ideas here, not whole meals or whatever, just some ideas. Thanks and I'll be better about posting more regularly!

Egg Sammy for Breakfast.

I toasted an English muffin, butter on one side, mayo on the other, fried up an egg (I like mine runny in the middle), dropped that on the toasted English muffin with a slice of tomato and a piece of extra sharp cheddar . . . ahhh, that's what daddy's talking about.

Tofu-ness

So, I've been putting tofu in my salads lately and sometimes it kinda' kills the flavor, so I thought, tofu is a flavor "magnet," right? Toss a handful of firm tofu in a mix of soy sauce, ranch dressing, and some garlic powder, 'fridge that stuff (in the marinade) over night. Put that in your salad and SNAP! That's some good bean curd. :) Replace the ranch with a dressing of choice, that's just what I had handy.

No mozzarella for your Lasagna?

No worries, it'll never be the same, but it's good and references the flavor and texture of parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Mix about a half cup or so of plain bread crumbs in with an egg, a decent amount of salt (a little more that you would usually add) and set that aside, now in a sauce pan drizzle about 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a medium hot skillet add a few tablespoons of flour - till it looks like wet sand - cook that up on medium for about 5 to 10 minutes, stiring frequently. Just make sure it doesn't go brown on you. Pull that off the heat and into a bowl to cool. Go get the other elements for the rest of the lasagna together. Now once the flower oil mixture is cool add just enough of the breadcrumb and egg mix to get a wet paste, lather that on in between the layers of noodles and sauce and cook as normal. Beleive me, it's not bad - not a good as real cheese but worth trying. You may need to double or triple the proportions of this for a larger lasagna.

That's all for tonight!

11:07PM

2008-10-30T23:18:00.005-05:00

So, it's after 11 and normally I'd be in bed by now, but I had to put this up. Those are homemade french bread loaves (I know - I'm still working on the taper and the 3rd for the dough) and a pot of beef bourguignon, my parents are coming over tomorrow night to hand out candy so I just wanted to make them something yummy to munch as a thank you. Alright, just thought I'd share! Good night all and have a safe holiday!

And yes, Jessica - the recipes will follow very shortly! :)

Self Assignments . . .

2008-09-22T10:01:00.009-05:00

Hello boys and girls, so I am sorry that I've not been posting too many recipes on this blog lately. I've been kinda busy, as many of you know I took a job as the director of photography at cabedge.com. SO, I've got a little less time to goof off in the kitchen. Don't get me wrong, it I knew having a job would have been this fun I would have jumped off that freelance wagon a few years ago . . . or maybe not. ANYWAY, I'm going to to start using this blog as a little more of a multi purpose brain dump. I will still be posting delicious recipes, just adding some new stuff as well.

Couple of links for you before I contiune:

My Flickr.com feed: http://flickr.com/photos/damico

My Website (as if you don't know this one!): http://krisdamicophotography.com

Also, check out my "blog roll" over on the right hand column, so of my peeps and such. Now, after all that advertising here's my new "self-assignment." 36 Photos.

Here are the rules:

no auto focus
no auto exposure (like I do that anytime)
no light meter, that's right - I'll be guessing at my exposure
no specific subject, the photos have to be "random" - I'm not going to say hey let's go for a walk and find some cool signs, nope. I'll just go on a walk and see what happens.
although I'll be shooting digitally, no retouching. I'll still use the digital darkroom that is light room.
no 2 shots of the samething, I'm not going to shoot a stop sign from behind and then turn around and shoot it from the front, at least not as the primary subject matter.
NEW RULE - the last photograph has to taken within in 36 minutes.
I will post ALL the photos on flickr; good, bad, ugly, and brilliant.

So the shoot went really well! I used 24 of my 36 minutes and only grossly missed my exposure on 2 shots! Better than I expected . . .

Here are a few of my favorites . . .

See all the photos here :

36 Images Assignment #1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/damico/sets/72157607608708668/

Careful... Kris has his thinkin' hat on.

2008-09-19T15:21:00.002-05:00

Careful... Kris has his thinkin' hat on.
Originally uploaded by cabedge_schmabedge

Well, I got a 9 to 5 and just look what happened.

Cinnamon Raisin Muffins

2008-09-14T14:39:00.006-05:00

So, uh. . . I made some homemade muffins. First time to make muffins from scratch so if you see a gross "muffin" error, let me know.

Cinnamon Raisin Muffins

2 Cups of Good Unbleached Flour
1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Raisns
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 Large Egg
1/3 Cup of Oil
1 Cup of 2% Milk

Preheat that oven to 400° and grease up a 9 to 12 muffin tin (or use muffin cups).
Alright, you ready for this, mix your egg, oil, and milk in one bowl. Mix everything else in another. Now combine and mix. The batter will be a little lumpy, fill the muffin tins about 2/3 of the way. Cook for 20 minutes the middle of the oven, check with a toothpick.

Broiled Red Snapper

2008-07-22T23:42:00.002-05:00

Well, we just wrapped a shoot where we processed a 9lbs. whole snapper. Not wanting the beast to die in vein, I prepared this tasty selection for my co-workers at the agency . . .

Broiled Red Snapper

4lbs. of Red Snapper Fillets Cut into 8oz. Portions
1 Medium Lemon
3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Large Bell Peppers (One Red, One Green, and One Yellow, for color)
2 tsp each of the following: Paprika, Salt, Pepper, Red Chili Flakes, Nutmeg, Garlic Powder
3 Large Green Onions
1 Tbsp of a Good White Wine, but nothing too "oakie"

Oven to 350 please. Brush the bottom of a medium deep baking dish (at least an 2 in side) with half the oil, dice your peppers and onions, toss these together with the wine and spread evenly along the bottom of the dish. Gently rub the spice mix over the top of each piece of fish. Now lay the fillets out over the top of the onions and peppers. Slice the lemon nice and thin and place a slice on top of each piece of fish, now doesn't that look pretty? Brush the tops of the fish and lemon with the rest of the oil.

Put this into the middle of the oven covered with some foil for 15-18 minutes and check the largest piece of fish, when it's flaky then it's done.

Jerk Rubbed Bone-in Rib Eye

2008-07-22T23:28:00.003-05:00

There's not a whole lot to say about this one, so just pass me another cold one and let's dig in.

Jerk Rubbed Bone-in Rib Eye

3 or 4 1 1/2 to 2 inch thick Bone-in Rib Eye Steaks
Equal Parts - All Spice, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Paprika, Salt, Black Pepper, and Cayenne Pepper (x2 on this last one if you want to feel the burn)
1/2 Stick of Unsalted Butter

Mix all your spice together in a bowl and rub it all over your steaks, generously. Now back to the fridge with the meat for at least 4 hours, preferably over night.

Now that the steaks are ready fire up that grill till it's about 450 or so and toss 'em on. Cut off a tablespoon of butter and drop it right on top of that steak. Sip some beer while you watch it melt slowly over the sides of the steak. 2 minutes up? Great, now carefully turn the steaks 90 degrees. You want the cool grill marks right? Seriously use the lid if you're getting bad flare ups from the butter. After another 2 minutes, flip 'em. Good "X" grill marks, hun? Told you. Now cut the rest of the butter up into the appropriate number of pieces and distribute to the steaks. Leave 'em till they're done. 2-3 minutes rare, 3-4 medium rare, 5 medium, 7-8 mid well, and 10 or so for a hockey puck.

I'd serve these with some saffron rice, black beans, and some grilled pineapples. But that's just me.

Triple Caribbean Pork

2008-07-20T09:24:00.004-05:00

Ok, so this is really a big experiment and I don't really have any idea what I'm doing with pork. Well, I don't work with it on a regular basis.

Three Pork Loins, three different treatments, all one one plate.

Triple Caribbean Pork

One, the Jerk Rub

Equal Parts:
All Spice
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Cayenne Pepper
Paprika
Salt

Two, Island Marinade

1 Cup of Pineapple
1 Cup of Pineapple Juice
1 Head of Garlic
1 tsp. Cloves
1 tsp. Nutmeg
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Paprika
1 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
1/3 Cup of Soy Sauce
3-4 Large Leaves Fresh Chopped Basil
Pinch of Fresh Chopped Sage (I've got some Pineapple Sage that's perfect)

Put the dry ingredients in a food processor and blitz a few times, till the cloves are reduced to crumbs (it's a marinade so it's ok if there are few bits). Now add everything else and blend until smooth.

Three, Apricot Stuffed

3 Tbsp. of Apricot Jam
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Cayenne Powder
Pinch of Black Pepper

Mix 'em up in a little bowl.

3 1lbs. Pork Loins, cleaned and trimmed
1 Large Onion
Olive Oil
2 tsp. Honey
1 Cup Pineapple

Well, take the first pork loin, rub it down with the Jerk and wrap it up tight and set it in the fridge. Next loin goes into the marinade and into the fridge. Then for the last loin, cut 3/4 of the way into the meat and cut lengthwise. Basically, making a large long pocket in the meat, now fill it with the apricot mix and wrap that up and stick it in the fridge.

Now I cooked these wrapped individually in parchment paper at 350, say for about 45-60, till they are 160-170 degrees internally. The just let them rest in a warm place while you cook some rice and black beans and there you are! An enormous Caribbean feast!

Savory Coco Bread

2008-07-12T15:10:00.003-05:00

Made this a few months ago and I forgot where a I wrote this down, make sure you don't squish the sides of this one too much because it likes to go up.

Savory Coco Bread

2 1/4 tsp. Dry Active Yeast
1 tsp. White Sugar
1/4 Cup Warm Water (105F-115F or so)

Take the sugar and mix it in with the warm water, gently stir in the yeast and set it aside and let it froth.

2 1/2 Cups Good Bread Flour
2 Cups Whipped Cream (from the can, you need the CO2, like ready-whip)
3 Tbsp, Softened Butter
1 Tbsp. Paprika
1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
1 Tbsp. Salt
1 1/2 Water
1 Tbsp. Good Coco Powder

Mix the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the coco powder in a big bowl, once they are good and mixed pour your yeast mix into the dry(ish) ingredients. Now slowly mix in the water till you've got a sticky dough.

Dust the countertop and knead the dough 85-90 times or about 10-12 minutes, using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers. If you prefer a firmer bread go for a few more minutes. Put the dough back into the mixing bowl and set it on top of the fridge (or some other place that won't be disturbed) for 45 minutes, till it doubled in size.

Dust the countertop with flour again and smash the dough out flat with the palm of your hands, use a rolling pin to get it rolled out to about 1/2 thick or so. Now dust the surface with the coco powder and smooth it out with your hands till you've got a nice even coat, you'll want to leave an inch or so, un-coco'd.

Now, fold the dough in thirds, like a letter and smash down, using the rolling pin if necessary. Fold in 3rd's again and smash, repeat one more time. Now roll your dough up into a tube, place on a baking sheet with the seam down and let it rise for 30-45 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 325. Bake for 25-30 minutes or till the bread is golden brown and hollow sounding to the tap.

Quick Makeshift This Might Taste Good Pancakes

2008-07-12T08:02:00.002-05:00

I know, I know, so we had a cup of Hungry Jack pancake mix and the box says that'll make 6 to 8 cakes. Yeah right, more like 4, so anyway I had to extend the batter. Turned out pretty good, dang good.

Quick Makeshift This Might Taste Good Pancakes

1 Cup of Powdered Pancake Batter
1 Large Egg
1/4 Cup of Instant Potato Flakes
1/2 tsp of Baking Powder
1/2 Cup of Flour
1 1/2 Water

Mix well, depending on the powdered batter you may need to add something else that it calls for, so just read the directions on the box or can. Heat your griddle up to 375, spray lightly with cooking oil (since there's none in the batter) and scoop the batter out using a 1/4 cup scoop, flip after the bubbles start to pop on top and the edges start to look dry. Keep the cakes lightly covered in a 275 oven till 'erbody wakes up!

Mole Sauce

2008-06-26T17:00:00.001-05:00

Just in case you don't have a mexican deli around the corner or if you just want to try your hand at it . . .

Mole Sauce

10-12 Medium to Large Dried Chili peppers
1 Large Diced Onions and
6 Cloves Whole Garlic (peeled)
2 Cups Chicken Broth
Bread Crumbs
Olive Oil
Salt

Fry up your chilis Onion and Garlic in the oil for a bit, till the onions get transparent and the chilis begin to soften. Bring the chicken broth to a low boil. Pour the pepper, onion mix into a blender and slowly add the chicken broth till it's smooth, depending on the pepper and how much oil you used it may not take all of the chicken broth, or it might take a little more. Take pepper-broth mix and placed in a pot over a low heat and let it reduce for three or four hours stirring often. What are the bread crumbs for? If you don't have the time or the patience to wait that long put a handful in the blender to shorten the time on the heat.

Chicken and Mole Tomales

2008-06-26T16:18:00.005-05:00

Mmm, tomales es muy bueno! Ugly, but very tasty.

Chicken and Mole Tomales

1 1/2 Cups Cornmeal
1/2 Cup Flour
4 Eggs
1/4 Cup Milk
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 tsp. Paprika
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Onion Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix well in a bowl and set aside. If you've got a steamer fire it up now, if you don't use a deep pot and a splatter guard on top. Just start that water boiling now so we don't have to wait to eat!

2 6-8oz. Chicken Breasts
1/2 Large Onion
3 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 Cup of Mole Sauce
Chopped Tomatoes
Few Whole Leaves of Basil
Olive Oil

Butterfly filet the chicken and grill it up for about 5-6 minutes a side, till good a brown, with a fork pull it apart. Chop the onion, garlic, and pulled chicken and drop them into a saute pan with a little oil and salt. Once the onions are good and transparent remove from the heat and set aside.

For assembly of all these ingredients you'll need a receptacle to hold all this stuff while you steam it, right? I'd use parchment paper (unless you've got a banana tree, then just remember to toast your leaves so they'll bend not break!). You'll need six pieces no smaller than 10 inches square. Fold the paper in 3rds like a letter and then turn it 90 degrees and fold it in 3rds again so you've got a little square. Unfold and fill with about 2 Tbsps of cornmeal mix, 1 Tbsp of Chicken goodness, 1 Tbsp of chopped tomatoes, and about a Tbsp of Mole Sauce. Drop a basil leaf on top of all this and fold it back up. Repeat till you run out of ingredients! This should make about 5-7 tomales.

You'll want to steam these guys for about 15-20 minutes or until they are firm.

Good thing it takes that long, 'cause you'll probably wanna' make some rice to go along with this right?

Croissant Bread Pudding

2008-06-18T06:40:00.004-05:00

This is quick! And not too unhealthy . . .

Quick Croissant Bread Pudding

3 Croissants
2 Eggs
1 Egg Yolks
1/3 C Sugar
1 C Milk (2% or Whole)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/8 tsp Freshly Grated Nutmeg
Vegetable Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 475 degrees, with a rack in the middle.

Place a tea-kettle of water on to boil for a water bath. Cut croissants into 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes. Put the cubed croissants in a large mixing bowl. ON TO THE . . . the custard, in another bowl thoroughly whisk together the eggs, yolks, sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and a nice bit of fresh nutmeg. Mix in with the bread, make sure and push the puffy croissants down into the wet mix.   Spray a 6 hole muffin tin with the cooking spray. Spoon the bread mixture gently and evenly into the muffin tins. You'll have some pieces sticking up over the edge of the cups. Place the filled muffin tin in a tall sided cookie sheet or roasting pan. Into the very hot oven we go! Now, carefully pour the hot water from kettle onto sheet pan, creating a water bath for the muffin tin to sit in.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes until the tops are nicely browned, and a toothpick comes clean from the center.

These save great too, eat 'em later with ice cream!

Scariest Picture of Paula Dean EVER!

2008-06-13T17:04:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I'm making some baked beans for a crowd and I figured, what the heck? Let's check to see if Paula Deans got anything good up her sleeves and I found the scariest photo of her I've ever seen. Just say no to photoshop kids, just say no . . .

Keep You Full till Lunch Pancakes . . .

2008-06-08T07:59:00.003-05:00

Alright! Sorry, it's been so long! For those of you who don't know we've had a bit of action over here. We put our house on the market, Holland turned 2 on the 2nd and we had a rained out pool party. I got a job, yeah. For now I am the new director of photography over at cabedge.com. And oh, yeah, we're expecting baby number 2, slated to show up on the 24th of December.

Well, on to the food. Tired of my old pancake recipe I came up with this, this morning. Thought it was a keeper, so here you go, lame name, really good pancakes.

Keep You Full till Lunch Pancakes . . .

3/4 cups of white flour
1/4 cups of whole wheat flour
2 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup of milk

Pre-heat your griddle to 325 and your oven to 275. Mix the dry ingredients, mix the wet ingredients. Now mix 'em together. Use a 1/4 cup scoop to scoop the batter onto the griddle. Flip after you see the edges get dry and bubbles pop on the top.

Keep the finished cakes in the oven till you're done with the rest.

Makes 10-12 cakes.

Malbec and Parmesan Stew

2008-03-31T19:01:00.003-05:00

Alright, let's break some rules. Sound good? Here we go, red wine + chicken . . . ooh. Orange and Milk . . . oooh. . . You'll want to start this the night before.

Malbec and Parmesan Stew

Part One:

2 1/2 lbs. of Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts
1 Can of Coke
3 Tbsp of Chili Powder
3 Tbsp Soy Sauce

Rinse and pat dry the chicken and place all ingredients in a container; cover and refrigerate; marinate overnight or at least 4 hours.

Part Two:

Marinated Chicken
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cups of Chopped Carrots
2 Medium Onions
2 Cups of a good Malbec wine
1 Medium Orange
3 Tbsp Chili Powder
3 Cups Boiling Water

Chop the chicken into about 1 inch cubes and return to marinade while your chop your carrots. Add your olive oil to the pot and drop the chicken in a handful at a time. You'll need your big pot for this one, put it over a medium-hight heat. If it's not all touching the bottom, just remember to stir and flip the pieces. Peel and quarter your onions. Cook your chicken till it's white on all sides. Deglaze the pot with the juice from the orange and add your red wine. Add the onions, carrots, and chili powder. Add your extra water here. Stir well, reduce heat and cover. I let this cook on low, for about an hour.

Part Three:
2 Tbsp. Flour
3 Tbsp. Butter
2 Cups Milk
2 Cups Graded Parmesan

Now, pull all the chicken, onions, and carrots out of the pot and set them aside. Turn the heat back up to medium and slowly add your milk while stirring with a whisk. Keep stirring as you add your flour and butter. Once your butter is melted, you'll need to add your Parmesan. If it doesn't come right into solution, don't worry too much you just want it well mixed. Turn the heat back down to simmer and add the chicken, onions, and carrots back into the soup. Cover and let it alone for at least 45 min. If it's not time to eat for a while you can let the soup rest in a 200 oven, but just be careful not to scorch it, now that it's got milk and cheese in it.

Part Four:
1 lbs. of Tri-Color Rotini
Salt and Pepper
Bit more Parmesean
A little rough cut parsley

Prepare your pasta to al Dente and stir it into the hot soup. Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with fresh parmesan and parsley.

There you go!

Trust me when I say it's worth the work.

Happy Spring

2008-03-09T10:21:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone, sorry I've been out of touch lately. We've had a ton of stuff going on here at the studio and I've not had the time to cook, let alone write it down when I do. I've got several recipes that are working, I just want to double check them before I give 'em out. I've been working on a rosemary and salt roasted chicken, roasted sausage and zucchini gratin, new homemade pasta creations, and a few other vegetable dishes. All to come soon! Thanks for looking and staying in touch, we'll be posting very soon!!

Oh and if you haven't already done so, check out our new photography website, we just won a gold addy.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

2008-01-30T13:19:00.000-06:00

You can buy a pie crust or you can use my graham cracker crust.

When M&M and Nestle came up with white chocolate during the 30's who would have thought it would become an icon of sweets, hun? I just looked that up, I just wanted to check the melting point and now I've got the history of white chocolate running around in my head. Anyway, you'll want to make sure you don't over cook this because the high sugar content, it will burn, quick. And this batter will keep for about three or four days in the fridge.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

8oz. of Cream Cheese, softened
2 1/2 Cups of White Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
9 Eggs . . . yeah, nine . . .
2 1/2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2/3 Cups Heavy Cream
2 Cups Grated White Chocolate + 1 Cup of Coarsely Chopped White Chocolate

Preheat oven to 250, yeah 250.

Place softened cream cheese, sugar, and salt in a bowl and mix till smooth. In a separate bowl crack all the eggs and beat till creamy -- if you want to you can use 12 egg whites, if you want. Add eggs to cream cheese and mix till creamy, remember to scrape down the sides of your bowl. Add everything else except the chopped white chocolate and mix till well Incorporated.

Now add the batter into your crust and bake in a shallow water bath for an hour, turn the cake after about 30 minutes.

Add the chopped chocolate to the top of the cake and put back into the water bath at 250 for about another hour. You'll want to let the cake rest for about an hour before serving. Keeps for about a week covered in the fridge.

Want a printer friendly 4x6 card?

Graham Cracker Pecan Crust

2008-01-30T12:56:00.000-06:00

Did you know the graham cracker was invented by the Presbyterian minister Revrend Sylvester Graham in 1822. He made them with "grahm flour" - unsifted, corse whole wheat flour. They were one of the first "health foods." We make them now with unbleached white flour, sorry Sylvester, so it's no longer considered a health food.

I guess we could me our own crackers with graham flour, or you could just go get some Keebler Grahm Crackers, you know Keebler was started in 1853 by Godfrey Keebler . . . anyway, here we go.

Graham Cracker Pecan Crust

3/4 Cups of Roasted, Crushed Pecans
1 Cup of Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 Brick of Honey Graham Crackers
3/4 Tbsp. Cinnamon
8 oz. (2 Sticks) of Unsalted Butter, softened

Alright, you ready . . . break the whole crackers into small pieces with your hands, mix everything else in a bowl till well mixed, now add the pieces till you've got a crumbly, sweet mix. Push this evenly into the bottom of your pie plate, make sure and leave a 1/2 cup or so to top your pie. You'll want to bake the crust for about 10-12 minutes at 325-350 to firm it up before adding your filling.

Want a printer friendly 4x6 card?

Baba Ganoush

2008-01-30T12:28:00.000-06:00

No, this is not some strange terrorist group, it's a wonderful near east salad/dip, like hummus. Truth be told, you add whatever you would like to this recipe, chopped onions, carrots, tomatoes, whatever.

Baba Ganoush

One Large Eggplant (about 1 1/2 - 2 lbs.)
1 1/2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice (juice from 1/2 Large Lemon)
1 1/2 Tbsp. Lime Juice (juice from one Medium Lime)
2 tsp. Salt
1 Clove Minced Garlic
3 Tbsp. of Tahini (Sesame Seed Paste)
1/4 Cup Chopped Parsley
1/2 Cup Toasted Pine Nuts
2 tsp. Olive Oil

Prick the Eggplant all over and roast at 400 for about 30-45minute, till good n' tender. Now, pull the eggplant out and half it length wise. Scrape all the flesh out into your blender or food processor, add the citrus juice, salt garlic, and Tahini -- Now if you can't find Tahini use one part plain yogurt and one part sour cream. And pulse on high till it's soft and creamy. I'd let this cool till you are ready to eat. When it's time to serve, fold in the nuts and and handful of parsley. Pour into a decorative bowl and drizzle the top with olive oil and sprinkle with the rest of the parsley.

I'd serve this with toast points or triangles of pita bread.

Possibly the World's Best Carrot Cake

2008-01-26T12:59:00.001-06:00

Now, I can't take credit for this recipe, I am merely the translator. Seriously, this is a culmination of a life long obsession with carrot cake and a few recipes from some very respected chefs. This is one of those recipes you'll pass along to everone you know. So with out further ado . . .

Possibly the World's Best Carrot Cake

Step One, the Cake:

3 Cups Flour
1 Tbsp. Baking Soda
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
3/4 tsp. Salt
5 Large Eggs (yup, 5 of 'em)
1 Cup + 2 Tbsp. Canola Oil
1 Cup of Good Buttermilk (go get some buttermilk, don't use the lemon juice + milk cheat)
3 Cups Sugar
1 Tbsp. of Good Vanilla
10oz. of Crushed Pineapple (about one can)
3 Cups of Finely Shredded Carrots (if you want to be fancy you can julienne or burnoise them)
1/2 Cup + 2 Tbsp. (about 5-6 oz.) of Shredded Coconut (just get the bagged stuff, it needs to be a little dry)
1 1/2 Cup crushed pecans
1 Stick of Margarine or Salted Butter

Oven up to 350.

Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Add everything else and mix well.

Grease a deep cake pan extra-well with the butter or margarine. Pour in the batter, you're looking for it to be 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. Cook for 60 to 70 minutes or till a tooth pick comes out clean, sometimes it can take 90 minutes if the cake is good and thick.

Step Two, Irrigation:

1 1/2 Cups of Sugar
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 Cups Buttermilk
6oz. (stick and a half) of Unsalted Butter
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium-low heat till dissolved. Poke the cake with a skewer or tip of a sharp knife every inch or so. While cake is still hot pour the syrup evenly all over the cake. Important! Let the cake sit till all the syrup is absorbed. This may take up to 45 minutes to an hour. Then put this into the fridge to cool.

Step Three, Homemade Cream Cheese Icing:

4oz. (one stick) Butter, softened
8 oz. (one package) of Cream Cheese, softened
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 Cups Confectioners Sugar

Mix all ingredients with a mixer, when cake is completely cooled apply the icing and refrigerate for at least an hour to let the icing setup.

When it's time for desert, cut a few pieces and pop 'em in the microwave or toaster oven for a few minutes to melt the icing and heat the cake through. It's unbelievable -- trust me.

Super Fast Homemade Ice Cream

2008-01-26T12:35:00.000-06:00

Ok, homemade ice cream, gotta' have one of those machines you freeze the thing for 12 hours and then whatever, or maybe the old skool style with the salt and ice packed around the motor driven cylinder that you've gotta' keep wrapped in a towel 'cause it condenses all over the floor . . . yeah. Forget those days here you go ice cream fast without all the special equipment. Seriously, other than the freeze time this takes like 5 minutes.

Fast Homemade Ice Cream

2 Pints of Whipped Cream
2 1/2 Cups of Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Water
2 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract

Add sugar and water over a medium-low heat till the sugar is all dissolved, pour this into bowl and stick it in the freezer (it will only be in there for a few minutes). Now, with your mixer add the cream and vanilla and whip to stiff peaks. Now take your syrup out of the freezer and fold it in, sometimes you'll need to use the mixer again to get it well Incorporated. Pour this into a several styrofoam cups, cover the freeze overnight (or about six to eight hours).

Variations that I've tried:

Add 1/2 Cup of instant Coffee to the cream before mixing

Reduce to 1 Tbsp. Vanilla and add 2 Tbsp. of Coco Powder to the cream before mixing

Reduce to 1 Tbsp. Vanilla add 1 Cup of Frozen Strawberries to your syrup

Boil some Orange Zest, Cloves, and Cinnamon for about 5 minutes before adding sugar to your syrup and strain through a screen before adding to whipped cream.

Really you can add any flavor you want! Yes, Shaball, even ranch -- if you wanted.

Chocolate Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2008-01-26T12:04:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I did say chocolate twice in the title . . . I use these for homemade ice cream sandwiches.

Chocolate Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

8 oz. (2 sticks) of Unsalted Butter, softened to room temp -- mmmm, butter
1 Cup of packed Light Brown Sugar
1 Cup White Sugar
2 tsp. good Vanilla Extract
3 Large Eggs (preferably at room temp.)
1 1/2 Cups Unsweet Coco
2 Cups Unbleached Flour (bread flour can make these a little too chewy -- so now I told ya')
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
8 to 12 oz. of Good Dark Chocolate, coarsely chopped -- I recommend a 40%-60% Cacao

Oven to 350

Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer -- till light and fluffy, yeah, fluffy. Then add your vanilla and eggs, one at a time kids -- don't rush it. Mix till you incorporate everything then add your coco. Now mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add this to your chocolate mix and mix on low till combined. Now fold in the chopped chocolate. Now if you are going to eat these as cookies keep the pieces pretty big, but if you are going to make ice cream sandwiches with these -- chop the chocolate till it's about the size of small peas (peas and chocolate -- sound like a Forest Gump thing . . . sorry).

Now use your ice cream scoop (see a theme here?) or a rounded tablespoon and drop the dough out onto your silpat, these won't flatten out as much as some other cookies so push them down with the back of your scoop slightly. Bake for 12-15 min. they'll look underdone, cool on the pan for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Hearty Soup Loaf

2008-01-20T14:43:00.000-06:00

Alright, I designed this loaf to go with the afore mentioned amerjack, basically a big, hearty loaf that will have a strong flavor profile to pair up well with strong flavors (like amberjack, salmon, maybe a spice roasted rib eye, etc.). And the first line of the directions . . . priceless.

Hearty Soup Loaf

2 1/2 Cups of Unbleached Bread Flour
1 2/3 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour
1/3 Cup of Instant Potatoes (can be left out, but not recommended)
1 Tbsp. Salt
1 Cup of Beer, use an IPA or big red lager, something with a lot of flavor
1 Cup of Unsalted Butter
1/4 Cup Warm Water + 1/2 tsp. Sugar
2 1/4 tsp. (or one package) Active Dry Yeast

Melt one cup of butter in one cup of beer. I tried to tell you it was priceless. It doesn't matter how you do it, stove top or microwave, but it does matter that you get most of the CO2 out of the beer and the butter is all melted. While this is happening mix your yeast and sugar water in a small bowl and set a side. Mix all your other ingredients together and add the yeast water mix. Slowly pour in the butter-beer mix and knead this till it's a soft but not too sticky dough.

Knead this on your lightly floured counter for 120-140 turns (about 5-7 min) only adding enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands!

Put this back in your bowl and let it rise at room temp for 30-45 min, or till it has doubled in size.

Pull out the bread onto your cookie sheet and fold the ends under the body to make a football shape with the bread. Now, dust the top with a little flour and paprika and with a very sharp knife, run six or seven cuts down the length of the bread. Let the rise for 30 to 60 minutes and pop into a 425 oven for 20-25 minutes -- till golden brown and hollow sounding to the thump. I like to serve this while it's still warm.

Grilled Amberjack

2008-01-12T18:16:00.000-06:00

Great dish . . . I'm just saying.

Grilled Amberjack

1lbs. of Fresh Amberjack, skin on

1 Tbsp. Orange Zest

1 large Clove of Garlic

2 Tbsp. of Unsalted Butter

1 Tbsp. Good Oilve Oil

Salt

Black Pepper

Crushed Red Pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 350.

Cut the fish into 4 equal pieces, make sure and leave the skin on (even if you think this is gross, Jessica) and dust the flesh side with a little salt. Now set this aside and crank up your grill to high, 450-500 degrees.

Now melt your butter in your olive oil (yep oil down then in goes the butter) over a medium heat, mince your garlic while the oil-butter comes up to temp. Let this cook for about 2 minutes and add your orange zest. Now, as soon as you do this pour from your sauce pan to a small bowl.

Drop your fish onto the hot grill, skin side down, and DON'T TOUCH IT! Don't wiggle it, don't move it around, let it cook and after about 2-3 minutes you'll be able to just slip your spatula in between skin and fish. Now you can move it, carefully to the warmer part of the grill. Now brush the oil-butter mix liberally on the fish and dust with salt and pepper to taste. Flip after about a little bit, now look, I can't give you a time because you'll want to cook your amberjack for 3 to 4 minutes a side. Now, on the second side of the fish, you'll want to make sure you get some of the garlic and orange zest on top of the fish, as well as dust with salt and peppers.

Pull it from the grill and place it to rest in your hot oven, if you've not used all the mix pour it over the fish before you put it in the oven.

Serve with Rice and Steamed Broccoli.

Thursday Night Cider

2007-12-31T09:42:00.000-06:00

Quick Thursday Night Cider

6 Cups of Apple Juice
4 Package of Powdered Cider (store brand is fine)
Three Cinnamon Stick Broken in Half
Three 1/4 Slice of Orange
1 tsp. of Orange Zest

Add all the ingredients and warm over a medium heat, you'll want to let this steep of at least 20 minutes to let the flavors of the cinnamon and orange infuse. Serve hot with a piece of cinnamon in each cup.

One thing, if you'd prefer to use mulling spices (vs. powdered cider) you'll want to let this come up to temperature, strain out the cloves and other stuff, then add the cinnamon and other ingredients.

Slap Your Mama Beans

2007-12-26T21:44:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I should call these "Jump up, slap your mama, throw your hands in the air, and praise the Lord beans" but we'll stick to the shorter title. One word of caution, these suckers are spicy.

2 Parts to this one and it makes a whole mess of beans, great for the game or for that holiday get together. One thing to note, if you like sweet BBQ sauce try it on some pork or chicken.

Slap Your Mama Beans

The Sauce (do you lika' the sauce)

1 Cup Butter
1 Medium (about 1/2 cup) Onion, diced
32oz. Can of Crushed Tomatoes (Please don't use ketchup, please)
1 Cup Good Cider or Red Wine Vinegar
1 Cup Apple Juice
1/2 Cup Worcestershire Sauce (Thank God for spell check)
4 Tbsp brown sugar
4 Tbsp molasses
4 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp Paprika
2 tsp Chili Powder
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Ground Cayenne Pepper

Melt the butter in saucepan over medium heat. In goes the onion and cook until soft and sweet and tender. Put everything else in the pot and stir well. Bring to a soft boil (little pink bubbles around the edge). Reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally.

Now take half of this mixture and put it in a freezer bag and stick it in the freezer for the next time you make baby back ribs.

Now you've got a hot, sticky, sweet sauce that's stunk up the house. Part Two:

1 Can (15oz) Chili Hot Beans (or dark red kidney beans + extra 1 Tbsp. Chili Powder)
2 Cans (15oz) Pinto Beans
2 Cans (15oz.) Baked Beans
3/4 Cups Chopped Ham (Come on you've got some leftover from the other day, oh and use the fatty part that no body wants to eat, the reason God made that part for things like this!)

Yeah, read, dump it all in cover it and let it go for at least 15 -20 minutes, till everything is warmed thru. I try and let it go for at least an hour, makes it look like more work than it is.

Serve over some steamed rice with a side of cornbread. Stop whining, just go get the boxed stuff and start it right after you put the beans in . . . fine I'll post a cornbread recipe, but not till later. Daddy's gotta' go play some Guitar Hero!

Zucchini Burgers

2007-12-19T10:40:00.001-06:00

Yeah, these are not veggie burgs oh no, these are true burgers with an added twist, zucchini. Easy, tasty and a variation on your standard burger. See the bottom of this post for the Moroccan dressing we put on these burgers.

Zucchini Burgers

3lbs. of Ground Chuck
1 Large Zucchini, grated (looking for about 1 1/2 cups more or less)
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. Paprika
1 Tbsp. Dried Egg Whites (if you don't have use two small or one large egg white)
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Onion Powder
1 tsp. Dried Parsley
1 tsp. Black Pepper
1 tsp. Red Pepper

Alright, put all this into a big bowl and mix well with your hands. Once everything is well incorporated, patty out the burgers -- don't be skimpy now, this should only make 5-6 burgers. Put your burgers onto a sheet of wax paper, wax paper onto a cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap and put them into the freezer for about 20-30 min. Now, this is not to free them, just to make them a bit more solid so they don't fall apart when they hit the grill.

Grill 'em up about 5-7 minutes a side, unless you've got a butcher that grinds your meat for you, you'll want to make sure that you've cooked them pretty well. But, because of the zucchini, they'll stay good and moist. Mmm, burgers.

Charmoula (Spicy Moroccan Herb Sauce)

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp coarse salt (kosher or sea)
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbs water

Combine the parsley, cilantro, and garlic in a food processor and finely chop. Add the salt, spices, lemon juice, oil, and water and process to a coarse purée running the machine in short bursts. Correct the seasoning adding salt and/or lemon juice. Tastes best served within a few hours of making. Makes 1 cup enough to serve four.

Cranberry Scones

2007-12-18T14:43:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I did it . . . finally, broke down and now I'm putting dang cranberries in everything, even in my scones. Well, they turned out pretty freaking amazing. The slight sweet tart of the cranberries ended up being a perfect companion to the buttery soft dough of the scone. Dang, cranberries.

4 Cups of Flour
1 Cup of Milk
2 Eggs + 1 Egg for an Egg Wash
1 1/2 Tbsp. Baking Powder
1/2 Cup of Powdered Sugar (or 1/4 Cup White if you prefer)
4 Tbsp. of softened Unsalted Butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 Cup Fresh Whole Cranberries

Preheat oven to 425, please.

Mix all the dry ingredients together first, then cut in the butter. Add your 2 eggs one at a time, then the milk. I let this go for about two minutes in the mixer, you'll need a little longer if you're doing it by hand. Once it's well mixed, fold in your cranberries. Tip this out onto a lightly floured counter and roll out to about 3/4 inch. Cut this out with a 3 inch biscuit cutter (or the top of a titans cup if you wanna' roll like me!). Make sure your scones are not touching on your cookie sheet. Now, brush the tops (JUST THE TOPS!!) with your egg wash, now you have two options:

1. Cook them in your 425 oven for 12-16 minutes
2. Let them rest for 30-45 minutes in the fridge, re-egg wash the tops (TOPS ONLY!), then cook in your 425 oven for 14-18 minutes

The choice is yours, just remember to serve with lots of butter and some homemade cranberry jam . . . What? You don't know how to make cranberry jam . . . dang.

2 cups of cranberries
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar

Yeah, put them all into one pot and let come to a boil over med-high heat. Stir, cover and reduce heat and cook for 10-15 minutes. Pour into a bowl and spoon this over your scones hot or chilled.

Just Good Bread

2007-12-09T14:26:00.000-06:00

Just a good old bread, easily modifiable. The inclusion of the whipped cream makes for a good "bakery style" crust and lightness.

White Bread

2 1/2 Cups Good Organic Bread Flour
1 Cup of Water
2 1/4 tsp. Active Dry Yeast
1/2 tsp. White Sugar (if you want to use Turbinado use a full tsp.)
1 Tbsp. Salt
1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup Instant Potatoes (Yeah, out of a box)
1/2 Cup of Canned Whipped Cream (like Ready Whip)
1 Egg White

Mix sugar and 1/4 cup water then add yeast and stir. Set aside and let it froth up for about 5 minutes. Mix flour, potatoes, and salt together and then fold in egg whites and whipped cream. Add your yeast and slowly add the water into your mixer, you want the dough to be very sticky. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes or so. Be careful to use only enough flour to keep it from sticking to your hands. Put the loaf back into your bowl and let it rise for 90 minutes. Punch down the loaf and shape into a long loaf and let it rise for another hour. If you want brush the loaf with an egg yolk, I'd mix it half and half with water. 425 for 15-20 minutes, let it cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before cutting.

This is a great day old bread for french toast or cheese fondue.

Pray for Joseph

2007-12-09T12:07:00.000-06:00

Good morning,

It was brought to my attention this morning that a friend from high school, Allen, has a sick child. Now, I don't know about you but I think there is nothing more difficult that sick kids. Joseph, went into the hospital for an MRI on Wednesday, November 28th. They found a tumor on his brain stem. Joseph is 3, so please keep him in your prayers. The link to his blog is http://prayforjoseph.blogspot.com.

Thank you and please be mindful of this family especially during this season.

(We won't mention last names due to a request from the family)

White Bean Pasta

2007-12-02T21:51:00.000-06:00

This is a tribute recipe to that famous dish, pasta fazool. . . please, you've never heard that song, when the moon hits your eye . . . forget it. This is also my first attempt at a diabetic friendly recipe. So, here you go:

White Bean Pasta

1 Medium Eggplant
16 oz. of White Beans
32 oz. of Crushed Tomatoes
2 Cups of Chicken Stock
1/2 Cup Chopped Onions
1 Clove of Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Bit of Parsley and Basil

1 lb Whole Wheat Spaghetti Noodles (I like the "Plus" pasta, all the goodness without the wheat taste when I don't want it)

Heat a dry skillet to Med-High heat. Chop your eggplant, skin and all, into 1/4 inch cubes, toss this into the hot skillet and let it sear for a minute, then stir in your onions and garlic and a pinch of salt. Now, at that magic moment (about 2 mins) you'll want to add one cup of chicken stock. Cover this and let it cook for 5 minutes or so. In the mean time you can drain and rinse your beans and start the pasta water. Now, pull your eggplant off the stovetop and pour this mix into your food processor. Blend on low till baby smooth, add some more stock if you need it. It will be thick. Now, add your crushed tomatoes to the sauce pot, add your eggplant and gently stir in your beans. Add the rest of the chicken stock, a handful of basil and parsley, a little salt and pepper, turn down to medium/medium low, and cover. Cook you pasta for about 7 to 8 minutes, you don't want it to be finished. Drain your pasta and then add the pasta and sauce right into the pasta pot. Let the cook on low heat till the pasta is tender. Serve in shallow bowls with a glass of chianti. Salude!

Mama D's Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

2007-11-28T10:34:00.000-06:00

I guess that title doesn't leave much to the imagination, hun? Maybe we should think of completely ambiguous titles, something more like . . . I Enjoy, You May Not . . . ok, on to the list of ingredients.

Mama D's Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 Cup of Softened Butter (yep . . . Paula Dean inspired)
1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp of Good Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda (NOT POWDER!)
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt
3 Cups of Instant or Quick Oats (we use Quaker, cheap and good)
1 Cup of Chocolate Chips

Preheat your oven to 350. Put everything except the eggs and the chocolate in a mixer and turn on low, add the eggs one at a time. Once this is mixed up and looks good and sticky, fold in those chips! Make sure and set a few chocolate chips aside for snacking. The batter should be very sticky, now take a table spoon and scoop 'em out onto an un-greased cookie sheet (not that you'll have a greased cookie sheet just lying around). Cook in the center of the oven for 8-10 minutes, you'll want to pull them out before they are soild -- keeps the cookies moist and soft -- you are looking for the edges to just turn brown. If they go too long they'll still be delicious, just crunchy and crisp. Let 'em cool on a wire rack for a few minutes and enjoy with a tall glass of cold milk.

Baked Eggs with Swiss

2007-11-26T16:51:00.000-06:00

Alright, now you may have heard of baked eggs in fancy restaurants, but they are really easy and super tasty. They are better if you can get fresh eggs from your farmer's market, but supermarket eggs work just as well!

Baked Eggs with Swiss

Recipe for 2, ciò è romantica!!

4 Eggs
1/4 Cup Cream
2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 Cup of Shredded Swiss
Salt and Pepper

Preheat your oven to 400. Use two 6-8oz ramekin or a small shallow baking dish. First spritz the bottom of your baking instruments with a little cooking oil. Then pack in half of the cheese in each ramekin (or all in the baking dish). Crack the eggs right on top and then half the butter on top of each serving. Then pour the cream around the edge of the eggs. Top with salt and pepper. Now, I use a water bath to keep the eggs from cooking too fast but I've also had good results with ramekins on a cookie sheet, so try both. Temp out your eggs like they are fried, over easy, pull the eggs when the center still jiggles - about 15 min or if like your eggs scrambled dry, let it go till there is a slight crisp to the top - 25 min or so. Either way they are great and definitely an alternative to the traditional egg fare here in the south!

These are also great with a scone and cup of tea for a 10:30 or 3:30 snack.

Pancakes!

2007-11-26T16:30:00.001-06:00

Mmm, is there much better than pancakes from scratch? Yeah, who doesn't like pancakes? This is recipe that is tried and true, I've even accomplished this before my first cup of joe, so you know it's easy !

Homemade Pancakes

Makes about 14-16 cakes

About a cup of Flour
1/4 Cup of Sugar (or more if you've got a mad sweet tooth!)
2 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder (NOT SODA!!)
Pinch of Salt
1 Large Egg (use 2 for more "cake like" pancakes)
1 Cup of Milk
2 Tbsp. of Cooking Oil
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Coco Powder

Ready, put all the dry ingredients in a big bowl, mix. Now add your oil, egg, and milk; mix well.

Not too hard right? The batter will be a little lumpy, I use a flat griddle pan, heat on medium, and use a 1/4 cup measure to scoop out the batter. They'll only need maybe 2 minutes on the heat before the flip; same on the other side. Look for the bubbles to come up to the top and pop. Serve warm with butter and syrup or powdered sugar.

To keep my cakes warm, I use a 275 oven, just a suggestion.

Sparrow Chili

2007-11-26T12:34:00.000-06:00

Family favorite, sorry I'm sharing this with the world mom!

Sparrow Family Chili or 5-Bean Chili

One Pound of Ground Beef

1/2 Cup Chopped Onion

1 Clove of Garlic

One Big Can of Crushed Tomatoes

One Big Can of Baked Beans (we like Van Camps)

One Can of Chili Hot Beans

One Can of Navy Beans

One Can of Pinto Beans

One Can of Dark Red Kidney

Brown the beef, drain the oil, add the onions and garlic and let this cook up of about 5 minutes, you know till the house smells amazing. Then add all the cans, juice and all, and bring it to a simmer over a medium/ medium-low heat. It's important that you don't let this come to a boil. Serve with a little shredded cheddar and a sliced jalapeño!

French Toast?

2007-11-25T07:46:00.000-06:00

Hey not really recipe, but use if you use that thanksgiving bread as french toast . . . quello è buono!

Yellow Squash Soup

2007-11-23T17:07:00.001-06:00

I mean even if you don't like squash this is a good one.

Makes about 4-6 Servings

Yellow Squash Soup

6 Medium/4 Large Yellow Squash
2 Granny Smith Apples
1 Cup Chopped Bacon
1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
1/2 Cup Shredded Carrots
1/2 Cup Good Red Wine
Paprika and Salt

Cook up the bacon for a few minutes then add the carrots and onion plus a dash of salt. Let this cook down for about five minutes. Dice and peel the apples and dice the squash. Add the apples and squash to the bacon and onion mix. Reduce heat to med-low and cover; cook until the apples and squash are soft, about 10-15 minutes. Add the wine and bring it up to a boil. Now pour this into a blender and blend until silky smooth.

White Turkey Lasagna

2007-11-23T15:42:00.000-06:00

I made this for a friend when she was sick. Great for a cold winter night or rainy Thursday afternoon.

White Turkey Lasagna

Sauce:

1 lb. Ground Turkey
1/2 Medium Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic
1 Tbsp. Butter
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Pint of Half and Half
1/2 Cup Parmesan
1 tsp Lemon Zest
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1 tbsp. Herb de Province

Preheat your oven to 350.

Over Med-High heat brown turkey and take this off the heat. Dice onion and peel and dice your garlic. In a smaller pot over medium heat add the olive oil first then butter, then the diced onion. Let that cook for a few minutes till it's almost transparent, then add your garlic with a little salt, cover and cook for a few more minutes, be careful not to burn your garlic! Take the rest of the ingredients and add them into your small sauce pot and stir till it's soft and creamy. If you want a perfectly smooth sauce drop it into your food processor now. Now combine the meat and cheese sauces and your white lasagna sauce is finished.

If you want to make your own pasta follow the pasta recipe here. Obviously you'll want to leave it uncut. I don't cook my noodles before I assemble the lasagna, if they are handmade.

Assembly:
1 lb. Fresh Grated Mozzarella
1 Cup Ricotta Cheese
1 lb. Lasagna Noodles
Little Parmesan
Herb de Provence

Assembly is easy enough, a little sauce on the bottom of your lasagna pan or deep baking dish, a layer of noodles, layer of sauce, a little a graded mozzarella, and few scoops of ricotta and repeat. Top with a sprinkle of parmesan and herbs de provence. Cook uncovered at 350 for 30-35 minutes. You'll want to let the lasagna rest on the counter for about 10 minutes before you cut it (helps to keep it together and not slide all over the place).

I've got a Question for you!

2007-11-23T15:11:00.000-06:00

Take the poll

Free Poll by Blog Flux

Pumpkin Mousse aka "Pumpkin Stuff"

2007-11-23T14:15:00.000-06:00

So, it must be the season or something. I made this after a lunch of turkey leftovers.

Pumpkin Mousse

2 Cups Pumpkin, Mashed
1 Cup Heavy Cream + 3 Tbsp.
1 Cup White Sugar
1 Tbsp. Good Vanilla
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Coco Powder

Whip one cup of cream with the vanilla to a mad froth, fold in the suagar. Fold the whipped cream to your mashed pumpkin till well blended.

To serve put about 2 1/2 Tbps. into chilled martini glasses. Sprinkle a pinch of the cinnamon and coco onto and pour 1/2 tbsp of the cream around the outside of your moose. Serve chilled.

Makes about 6 servings.

Thanksgiving Bread

2007-11-22T20:32:00.001-06:00

Everybody liked this over the big meal! I took the original recipe and flipped this thing on it head. The hard part about this bread is the high sugar content, so this is a middle of the oven bread. Yeah, if you put it on the bottom of the oven it will burn -- just trust me on this one.

Oh, and it makes a "man sized" loaf of bread.

Thanksgiving Bread

5 1/2 Cups of Good Bread Flour
5 Tbsp. Sugar
1 oz. of Yeast (1 Package Dry Active NOT Instant)
1 Cup Warm Skim or 2% Milk
1 Cup Warm Cream
1-2 Cloves of Nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. of Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. of All Spice
1 Tbsp. Salt
6 Tbsp Cold Diced Butter
1 Egg, Beaten
1/4 Cup Local Honey

Mix 1 1/3 cups of flower and the sugar, make a little crater with your finger and put in the yeast. Slowly add the milk and cream all the while stirring. Cover and set this aside for about 20 minutes, it will bubble up and make a great frothy mix.

Now take the rest of the flour (if you didn't pre-measure it's works out to be 4 cups + 8 tsp.) and cut in the butter till you've got little pea size pieces of butter. Mix in the first the spices and then the yeast mix in little by little till you've got a thick, firm dough (vs. soft and sticky). Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured countertop and knead for about 10 minutes, yeah just 10 minutes. Plop this back into a bowl and let it rise for 60-90 minutes, till it doubled in size. I covered the bowl with a damp cloth, but I don't really think it did much (it was raining the day I made the bread though).

Punch down the dough and split it up into 3 equal places. Now, roll each one of these bad daddy's out into 14-16 inch long pieces. Lay them on top of your silpat or baking sheet side by side and braid them into a loaf and tuck the ends under. Cover with a damp cloth, it does make a difference here, and let it rise for another hours or so.

Preheat the oven to 425 and carefully brush the bread with the beaten egg top to bottom, make sure you get all the little crevasses. Cook for 15-20 minutes, turn the bread around, now this is IMPORTANT: reduce the heat to 400, and go for another 15-20 minutes. Tap the middle of the loaf, it should sound hollow -- if not give it another 5 minutes at 350.

Once the bread is out of the oven heat up the honey and brush it all over the bread and let the loaf cool.

Pumpkin Ravioli

2007-11-22T19:42:00.000-06:00

This is great subtile way to impress your friends, the flavor of this pasta is a subdued spice flanked by a soft sweetness. Two things to remember, don't make your dough too thin, it's gonna' need a little strength and if you have to let these sit for more than the time it takes to assemble you'll want a layer of wax paper, layer of flower, then the pasta.

Pumpkin Ravioli

Filling:
1/2 Cup Mascarpone (or cream cheese)
1/2 Cup Ricotta

2 Heaping Tbps. of Pureed Pumpkin (if using fresh add a Tbsp of Flour to stiffen it up a bit)

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Black Pepper

1/4 Cup Diced Onions

1/4 Cup Diced Carrots

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Saute the onions and carrots in your olive oil for about 2-4 minutes, just till the onions become transparent. Put this plus all the other ingredients into a food processor and blend till smooth. Refrigerate until needed.

Pasta:
One and half pounds of fine white flour (about 3 1/2-4 cups)
4 Medium Eggs
2 Egg Yokes + 2 Egg Whites
1 Tbps. Salt
2 Tbps. Pumpkin Puree

Put your flour onto a clean mixing surface, make a hole in the dough with you finger and break the eggs one at a time into the hole making it bigger as you go. I like to wisk the yokes first and add them last to the other eggs. Set your egg whites aside. Put the pumpkin on top and start mixing. Use a dinner fork if you don't want to put your hands in it and mix till you have a soft dough, it will be fairly sticky. If you do this in a mixer make sure you don't over mix it. Knead the dough for 15 minutes, and push the heel of your palm into the dough, fold, and repeat. You'll want to really work this dough, because if you skimp on the knead time it will break when you roll it out.

Split your dough in half and then half again, till you have eight balls of dough. Let this rest for 20 minutes, seriously, go get a latte or play a round of Wii golf. I use the largest setting on my pasta maker and run the dough thru three maybe four times, after each pass you'll want to flour both sides and fold in half. Step down one click at a time till your dough is thin but still has some body (on my machine level 4 is perfect, level 5 is too thin). Lay it out on a wire rack or onto some parchment paper.

Now you'll want to slightly whip up the Egg Whites, not till they turn white just till you've broken down any of the thicker parts of the albumen (or egg whites). Fold your first piece of pasta in half and mark the center. Unfold and paint that side of the pasta with the egg white. Take a tablespoon and scoop the filling on to the left side of the pasta about one half inch from the end and about a third of the way from the top. Repeat this till you've got little dots of cheese two in a row down half the pasta. Fold the sheet of pasta in half and press down around the cheese to make little pockets. If you have a ravioli cutter just cut around the edges, if not use a knife to cut out the pasta and crimp the edges with a fork. Repeat this till you have used up either the dough or the cheese, usually run out of cheese first, but that's just me.

Cook in lots of well salted water for about 5-6 minutes, just be careful when you remove it from the water, it will be really soft. Serve with a little butter, salt, and graded fresh mozzarella.

The unused dough will last 2 weeks in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer; use the cheese mix in two or three days though, it doesn't freeze really well.

Basil Mayo

2007-11-21T21:28:00.000-06:00

Ever want a pop on your afternoon sandwich? Yeah, me too. I came up with this to pair with some fresh deli turkey, garden tomatoes still warm from the sun, a big slice of crisp romaine and some fresh mozzarella on toasted rye. I mean you can't put just mayo on a creation like that, you know?

1/4 Chopped Basil and Parsley
1 tsp Lemon Zest
1 Tbsp Good Vinaigrette (yeah, I know that's cheating!)
1 Tbsp Good Dijon Mustard
1/2 Tbsp Garlic
1 1/2 -2 Cups Mayo
Some Salt

Put it all in a bowl and mix it up! Keeps for weeks and makes enough to last for a while!

Good Old Fashioned Pesto

2007-11-21T20:27:00.000-06:00

Now the size of this recipe can be modified, but this is a late August, before the first frost thing for me. Pesto freezes beautifully, just don't add the cheese if you plan on freezing. It will last for at least 3 month, maybe longer frozen. Honestly, it doesn't stick around too long in this house. So, here you are, my pesto . . .

Homemade Spaghetti with Pesto

Pesto:
30 oz. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (One of the big bottles)
1/2 Cup Parsley
1/3-1/2 Cup Garlic (or 3-4 heads, 5-6 if you're hardcore . . .)
1 Cup of Walnuts
1 Cup of Pine Nuts (Cosco and Sam's both have big bags for cheap)
6 Cups of Parmesan Cheese
13-15 Cups of Basil Leaves (basically go into the garden uproot one of your medium size basil bushes and start plucking)
Health Tbsp of some good sea salt or gray salt

Combine your parmesan and salt in a bowl and set aside

Combine the rest of the other ingredients in a food processor and blend till smooth, one thing to note add the olive oil a little at a time (vs. pouring the whole thing in a once), it will make less of a mess and the texture will be a bit smoother and softer.

Mix this in with the cheese salt mix till well blended!

If you are freezing don't mix with cheese and I would recommend using 1 Quart freezer baggies, fill 90%, close and double bag it. If you freeze the bags flat, they'll take up less space.

Pasta:
One pound of fine white flour (about 2 1/2-3 cups)
4 Medium Eggs
2 Egg Yokes
another health pinch of salt

Put your flour onto a clean mixing surface, make a hole in the dough with you finger and break the eggs one at a time into the hole making it bigger as you go. I like to wisk the yokes first and add them last to the other eggs. Flower on top and start mixing. Use a dinner fork if you don't want to put your hands in it and mix till you have a soft dough. Now you'll need to knead this dough, just take the phone off the hook, get a small bowl of flour for dusting, set the timer for 15 minutes, and push the heel of your palm into the dough, fold, and repeat . . . yeah, till the timer goes off. You'll want to really work this dough, because if you skimp on the knead time it will break when you roll it out.

Split your dough in half and then half again, till you have eight balls of dough. I use the largest setting on my pasta maker and run the dough thru five maybe six times, after each pass you'll want to flour both sides and fold in half. Step down one click at a time till your dough is super thin and almost transparent. BE CAREFUL! This stuff is very fragile. Lay it out on a wire rack or onto some parchment paper and either hand slice your noodles or use a spaghetti attachment on your pasta machine. Cook in lots of well salted water for about 3-5 minutes, depending on altitude and pasta thickness.

This pasta is a little tougher so you can drain in a colander, I like to mix a few big ladle-fills of the pesto into a big bowl with the pasta and just drop it on the table with some fresh parmesan and some cracked black pepper.

Mayan Inspired BBQ Sauce and Marinade

2007-11-21T15:36:00.000-06:00

We try to spend at least one week a year in Mexico. It's such a beautiful country with an amazing history. One of our favorite places on the planet is the Mayan Rivera, last time we were there I got grouper with this amazing sauce, a chef's creation with just local ingredients. This is it or as close as I can get with out the gardens and flavors of Southern Mexico at my disposal.

Mayan Inspired BBQ Sauce and Marinade

5 Large Oranges
2 Lemons
1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 Cup of Chopped Green Bell Pepper
1/2 Cup (yes cup) of Chili Powder
3 Cups Tomato Paste (or 2 cans)
1 1/2 Cups Tomato Sauce (or 1 can)
1 Medium Head of Garlic (yes the whole head)
3 Tbsp of White Wine Vinegar
Olive Oil

Peel the outsides of the lemons and oranges with a parer and set aside. Squeeze all the juice out of the lemons and oranges and strain for pulp and seeds, set aside. Mix the Cayenne and Chili powder together and sit aside. Peel the head of garlic, there’s no need to slice or crush it, unless it makes you feel better. Now combine in a large mixing bowl, lemon and orange juice, tomato sauce, tomato paste and mix till a smooth consistency.

Take a handful of rind, a few cloves of garlic, and some of the chopped pepper in a food processor and add a little oil and blend this to a smooth paste, repeat until all the rind, garlic, and pepper has been purred. Add this mix, the vinegar, and the spice mix to the tomato and juice mixture and stir till it is a blended thick consistency.

Set aside some for basting and dipping and smear thickly on ribs, steaks, or chicken. Let marinate for 24-48 hours.

Variation for a Fish marinade: Leave out the tomato paste and sauce and the juice and rinds of 3-4 fresh limes.

Spicy Italian Rub

2007-11-21T15:30:00.000-06:00

Especially good on a ribeye with pint of stout.

Give this at least 2 hours to sit, overnight for the best flavor and heat.

Spicy Italian Rub

5 Parts Paprika
4 Parts Salt
4 Part Garlic Powder
4 Parts Cayenne Powder (what? No Cayenne! Use Crushed Red Pepper)
2 Parts Onion Powder
2 Parts Oregano (dry)
2 Parts Thyme (dry)
1 Part Black Pepper
1 Part White Pepper
1 Part Cracked Black Pepper

Mix well in bowl and store in a dry, airtight container.

Holiday Poultry Rub

2007-11-21T15:22:00.000-06:00

I love rubs, just rub this powder on something and let it set for a few hours . . . or days. Anyway, they take up less space than a marinate and they taste just as good.

I've tried this on chicken, turkey, game hens, and duck; ok, I've never tried it on duck, or game hens; but it's great on turkey and chicken. Make sure and give it at least 2-4 hours to sit, preferably overnight.

Holiday Poultry Rub

4 Parts Salt
4 Parts Paprika
3 Parts Oregano (dry)
2 Parts Parsley (dry)
1 Part Rosemary (dry)
1 Part Cinnamon
1 Part Crushed Red Pepper*
1 Part Chili Powder

Mix well in bowl and store in a dry, airtight container.

*If you like heat, try adding 2 Parts Chili Powder, 2 Parts Crushed Red Pepper, and 2 Parts Cayenne Pepper . . . mmm, tasty and spicy.

Baked Lime and Herb Chicken

2007-11-21T13:51:00.000-06:00

You can double, triple, or whatever to this recipe. I came up with this one after looking from fridge to freezer and back, saying, "We have nothing in the house." Except the ingredient for this. Then we went shopping on full bellies.

I'd put this with some long grain white rice and call it a night.

Baked Lime and Herb Chicken

2 Chicken Breast, Boneless Skinless
1/2 Green Bell Pepper
1/2 Small White Onion
1 Lime
1/2 Cup Feta Cheese
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
Fresh Basil (or 2 tbsp Dried)
Fresh Parsley, diced (or 2 tbsp Dried)
1 Medium Red Tomato
Crushed Sea Salt or Gray Salt
Cracked Black Pepper
Pinch of Chili Powder
Enough Paprika to dust chicken

Pre-heat oven to 300.

Butterfly filet and pound down the chicken, then massage sea salt and crack black pepper onto both sides. Turn the chicken so it is “open” (where you made the cut) and sprinkle some parsley into each breast, cut the basil into rough cut strips and put about 2 leaves onto each breast. Next put about a 1/4 cup of feta onto each breast. Dust both breast with paprika so there is a light coat of red across both pieces, then about a half a pinch of chili powder on each (maybe some crushed red pepper instead if you like it spicy). Fold your chicken breasts "closed" and set to the side.

Cut the onion into strips and cut the green bell into similar size strips, put into a small but deep oven proof dish. Cut open the lime and add the juice from the whole lime. Next, put the 2 chicken breast on top of your peppers and onions. Place them in the dish cut side towards the center and touching each other. Helps keeps the cheese in place. Cut the tomato into 1/4 inch slices and put top of the chicken breast. A bit more cracked black pepper and sea salt. Cover and bake for about 30 minutes.

IMPORTANT: after the timer goes off you will want to let the chicken “rest” for about 10-15 minutes in a warm oven, in other words, timer goes off turn off the oven, crack the door, and reset the timer for another 10-15 minutes.

Homemade Spinach Pasta with Bolognese Sauce

2007-11-21T13:21:00.000-06:00

A true staple of the Italian-American diet, well really of any American's diet. I mean, have you ever met someone that doesn't like pasta? Yeah, that's what I thought!

Homemade sauce is so easy to make and it tastes so much better than the bottled or canned stuff. You always want to make your own sauce, in my humble opinion . . .

Homemade Spinach Pasta with Bolognese Sauce

Pasta:
10 –12 cups fresh whole leaf spinach
1/2 Medium onion
4 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 Tbs. Soy Sauce
5 Cups Flower
1 Large Egg

Sauce:
1/2 lbs. Ground Beef
24 oz. of drained diced tomatoes or 4 large peeled, diced fresh tomatoes
2 Cloves of Garlic
Salt
Fresh Basil and Parsley

Food process these until a juicy paste consistency (2-5 min) set aside.

In a separate bowl mix 3 1/2 cups flower and a bit of salt.

Make a hole with you finger and add 2 Tbs. of Olive Oil and the spinach and onion mix and one large egg. Mix this with a wooden spoon* or with your hands until it starts to form a dough, you can add about 1/8 cup lukewarm water if it is too dry. Once you have the dough, knead it on a well floured surface for about 7 – 10 minutes. Break in half, then those halves in half again until you have 8 small balls of dough. Set aside and let rest for about 20-30 minutes. It's not imperative that the dough rests, it just makes it easier to work with.

Brown ground beef in sauce pan, DO NOT DRAIN.** Now, peel and dice your garlic cloves and mix in with the meat, let this cook for about 2-3 minutes. This sauce recipe does not include onions in the sauce because there is onion in the pasta, but feel free to sweat 1/2 cup of chopped onion if you'd like. Add the tomatoes (if fresh add about 20 min to cook time to soften) salt and about a 1/8-1/4 cup rough cut basil and parsley, if you are using the dry stuff you'll want to cut back to a Tbsp of each. Cover and let cook for about 20-30 minutes on mid-low heat.

Pasta into the pasta maker roll out on largest setting till the pasta becomes smooth and elastic adding flower in-between passes, remember to add some flower and fold in half, fee it thru, dust it with flower, feed it thru, about 3 or 4 times, go to the next size down, then one more till the pasta is very smooth and thin. Set aside to start to dry, repeat with three more dough balls. Once you have your four pasta sheets, change to your linguine or fettuccini attachment and run these strips thru again. Keep these strips draped over the sides of a pot or across a drying rack so they can dry out a bit. The longer it sits the more brittle it will get, so handle with care.

Once it comes time to cook the pasta, boil your water in an oversized pot, put in only about two servings at a time let them cook for about 45 to 60 seconds and then carefully PULL THE PASTA OUT OF THE WATER, don’t pour the pasta and water into a strainer (it will break the pasta). Add a scoop of sauce and a little Parmesan cheese and you’re ready to eat some pasta the way it was mean to be.

Makes about 5-6 Servings

Cook all the pasta after making and it will last about 3-5 days refrigerated, freeze or refrigerate the remaining dough. (lasts up to 6 months frozen, 2 weeks in the fridge)

*don't use a plastic or metal spoon, it's just not right! Fine you can use whatever you have there in your kitchen -- it just looks more "Italian" when you are covered in flower and holding a wooden spoon.

**if you really want drain the meat, add about a Tbsp or two of olive oil before adding the tomatoes.

Maple and Citrus Salmon

2007-11-21T12:40:00.000-06:00

I love salmon, especially with some saffron rice and steamed broccoli. Well, here's one of those recipes that I was unsure about when I was making it but after I tasted it, I thought "DANG! I've gotta' write this down!" So anyway, here you go. . .

Maple and Citrus Salmon

Marinade:

1/4 cup Maple Syrup
2 Cups of fresh squeezed Orange Juice
2 tsp Ground Ginger
2 tsp Soy Sauce
2 tsp Lemon Juice

This is enough marinade for about 5-6 7 to 8oz. pieces.

Marinade time: 8-12 Hours (overnight or all day).

Heat grill or broiler to about 350 degrees.

Salt and pepper both sides of salmon. Cut 1/4 inch slices of lime and orange. Put a few pieces of both onto salmon. Drizzle with a little olive oil and a little more maple syrup. Then, wrap salmon pieces in foil. Put into a hot oven for 6-7 minutes (or indirect heat on gill). Then, put on the grill or in the broiler for about 8 to 10 minutes (if you like your steaks more medium well to well temp, add 2-3 minutes).

Remember 8 to 10 minutes per one inch of fish, that's 4 to 5 minutes a side!!

Panzerotti

2007-11-21T12:25:00.000-06:00

Now this one is a little tricker, but it's really not bad, if you've got some time. This may be a Saturday afternoon thing, unless of course you're a pasta professional, then whatever man.

Panzerotti (or Ricotta Doughnuts)

Dough:
3 Cups Flower, plus a bit for dusting
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Filling:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Cup Ricotta
1 Cup Mascarpone
Salt and Pepper
Some Rough Chopped Parsley
1/2 lbs. Prosciutto, Rolled and Cut into 1/8 in strips
1/4 Cup Thinly Sliced Fresh Mint Leaves
3 Tbsp. Honey
Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper, for garnish
Powdered Sugar

Combine Flower and Salt and Oil into a bowl mix with warm water until it it forms a good sticky dough (I use about a cup of water, maybe a little less). Knead dough on lightly flowered surface for about 5-7 min. I let the dough rest for about 20-30 min., you can get away with a 5-10 minute "cat nap" if you are in a little bit of a hurry.

Mix the Ricotta and Mascarpone together and add some olive oil gradually till the mixture is really creamy and soft, usually about a 1/4 cup. Then add a good handful of rough cut parsley leaves, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 a cup. A bit of salt and black pepper, let the mixture sit out while you finish the dough.

Divide the dough into 3 pieces. I use my pasta maker at it's widest opening, run a ball of dough thru, lay it out, dust with flower, folded it in half and then half again, and run it thru the machine again, repeat this process about three times, till you've got a good elastic dough about 4 inches wide and 14-16 inches long.

Ok, now on each strip put a rounded teaspoon of your cheese mix about an inch from the end and an dead center top to bottom. Make about four mounds per strip. Sprinkle the sliced mint leaves on the first strip, the rolls of prosciutto on the next, and drizzle honey on the last. Fold the dough length wise in half, so the dough is edge to edge. Press the edges and in between the mounds to form little pockets of ricotta filling. I use a ravioli cutter to cut out the panzerotti, about 2-3 inch squares. Put them on a lightly flowered baking sheet and dust the first two sets with the crushed red pepper. Let these rest for at least an hour in the fridge, again if you're in a hurry, you can get away with 10-15 min.

Deep fry in oil @ 350 degrees (I like 1/2 canola 1/2 extra virgin olive oil) till golden brown; drain on paper towels. Dust the ricotta-honey filled panzerotti with powdered sugar and serve while hot!

Mmm, so good. . .

Eggplant Dip

2007-11-21T12:18:00.000-06:00

So here's a tasty dip to dip. Well, I mean if you've got any of that holiday loaf left the next day, you might could slice it real thin and toast it. But, it still might be lonely with just butter so here a companion that will make your toast and your tummy happy!!

Eggplant Dip

1 Medium Eggplant or 2 Small Eggplant
1/2 cup Chopped Carrots
2 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 Cup Cream
1 tsp. Lemon Zest
1 cup good Red Wine
1 cup Olive Oil
Few Leaves of Fresh Basil
Salt and Pepper

Put 2-3 Tbsp of the oil in a sauce pan a turn on Med-High. Add the chopped carrots. Peel and dice the eggplant and garlic, add to the saute pan with a little salt*. Add the lemon zest. Stir frequently, making sure to turn the mixture. Cook for about 5 minutes, till the eggplant become soft, add the wine and reduce the heat to medium.

Let this reduce for about 10 minutes, pour the whole mix into a food processor.

Low pulse till the mixture is well blended and add the cream first then the rest of the olive oil a little at a time till the mixture is soft and smooth. Toss a few of the basil leaves and pulse the mix a few more times. Pour into a serving bowl and garnish with some sea salt, black pepper and a few leaves of basil. Serve warm or cold with grilled bread or homemade toast points.

*the more fresh (and in season) the eggplant is the less salt you'll need. Just take that into account when buying eggplant in the middle of the summer (or winter for that matter!).

Holiday Bread

2007-11-21T09:42:00.000-06:00

I'm not a huge baker, but I LOVE homemade bread. I got this book by Paul Hollywood, 100 Great Breads, a few years ago and like most of my cookbooks it ended up on the shelf collecting dust. Recently, I rediscovered this book and ol' Paul helped me find the joy of yeast mixed with flour again. So, after not making bread for quite some time here's my first recipe for this blog!! Enjoy it and give me some feedback!

Holiday Bread:

2 3/4 Cups White Flour + More for dusting
2/3 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/3 Cup Cornmeal
1 Tbsp Salt
1/2 Stick (4 Tbsp.) Softened Unsalted Butter
3 1/2 Tbsp. Active Dry Yeast
8oz. Hot (120deg) Water
1/4 tsp. White Sugar
1/4 cup Chopped Pineapple
1/4 cup Chopped Fresh Basil
1/4 Pineapple Juice

Dissolve the sugar in the hot water and mix in the yeast 1/2 Tbsp at a time, slowly stir with a fork till all the yeast is wet, set aside for at least 5 min. and let froth.

Mix flower, cornmeal, salt and butter in a bowl. Put these ingredients in a mixer and turn it on low. Add the basil and pineapple, then slowly add the yeast first and pineapple juice just till the sides pull off the edges.

Lightly flower a clean countertop turn the dough out and knead for 6-7 minutes. Put back into the bowl and let rise for 2 hours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat and turn your dough out onto the counter one more time shape it into a ball. Pat it down with your hands and dust the top with a little flower. With a sharp knife cut a square shape into the top of the dough. Place this onto your baking sheet and let it rise for an hour.

Pre-heat your oven to 425 and bake for 30 min or until golden brown. Let cool for at least 10 minutes on a wire rack before slicing.

A sight variation for tomorrow (Thanksgiving) -->

Lose the basil and pineapple, cut the water to a 2/3 cup and yeast to 2 1/2 Tbsp and then replace juice with 1/2 cup cream . . . mmmm.

Introduction

2007-11-21T09:39:00.000-06:00

Good morning all!!

This blog will serve as the experimental posting ground for new recipes and photos that will eventually be published in a D'Amico Family Cookbook. So, with that said let's cook some food!!

-Kris