cooking | Gunsmoke and Knitting

Posts Tagged ‘cooking’

What did we celebrate yesterday?

June 17, 2013

I know, I know . . . yesterday was Fathers Day and I mentioned that, but it was also . . .

Here is a story that ran on NPR about the holiday.

I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up, making fudge was a frequent activity for my friends and me. I remember making fudge one rainy afternoon with my best friend. We reached the point in the recipe where we were supposed to beat the fudge by hand until it was thick and smooth. We decided that it would be much easier to bring some external power to the process and wound up burning out the motor to her mother’s mixer. Oops.

I have not made fudge for years, but the last time I did, I turned to this tried and true and easy recipe from Eagle Brand:

Foolproof Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients

3 cups (18 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
Dash salt
1/2 to 1 cups chopped nuts (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

LINE 8- or 9-inch square pan with foil, extending foil over edges of pan.
MELT chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt in heavy saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Spread evenly into prepared pan.
CHILL 2 hours or until firm. Remove from pan by lifting edges of foil. Cut into squares.
MICROWAVE METHOD
COMBINE chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt in 1-quart glass measure. Cook on HIGH (100% power) 3 minutes or until chips are melted, stirring after 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Proceed as above.
VARIATIONS
CREAMY DARK CHOCOLATE FUDGE: MELT 2 cups miniature marshmallows with chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. Proceed as above.
MILK CHOCOLATE FUDGE: OMIT 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. Add 1 cup milk chocolate chips. Proceed as above.
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CHIP GLAZED FUDGE: FOLLOW above recipe using 3/4 cup peanut butter chips instead of nuts. For glaze, melt 1/2 cup peanut butter chips with 1/2 cup heavy cream. Stir until thick and smooth. Spread over chilled fudge.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged candy, cooking, food, fudge, holidays, National Fudge Day, recipes | Leave a Comment »

What is tattoo Tuesday about?

March 19, 2013

Today is a blend of tattoos and food.

Here is a yummy looking BACO – a taco with a bacon shell – that is being featured at the ball park of the minor league Western Michigan Whitecaps baseball team. Here’s the story.

And here are some tattoos on folks who have immortalized their gustatory passion in ink:

Last, here is my easy and delicious recipe for Taco Torte

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 large onion chopped
Taco seasoning – an envelope or your own blend
1 large can of diced tomatoes
corn or wheat tortillas
lots of shredded cheese

Sautee the meat and onion in a large skillet until the meat is cooked and the onion is translucent. Add the taco seasoning.
Add the can of tomatoes and juice and mix well.

When everything is incorporated and hot it is time to layer the torte in a baking pan. You will need one with high sides to retain the juices.

Start with a tortilla in the bottom of the baking pan
add a layer of the meat mixture
sprinkle with some shredded cheese
Repeat
Finish with a pretty thick layer of cheese.

You can stop here are refrigerate the torte until you are ready to bake it or go right ahead and pop it into a 350 degree oven.

The warm torte will take about half an hour – or until the cheese on top is the desired melty, crispy brownness that you prefer.

If chilled, allow more time – about an hour – until warmed through and melty, brown on top.

Cut in wedges like a pie.
Garnish with sour cream, salsa, anything else you like.
Serve with a green salad.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bacon, baseball, baseball food, cooking, food, recipes, style, tacos, tattoo Tuesday, tattoos, Whitecaps | 3 Comments »

What’s new on tattoo Tuesday?

January 8, 2013

These are baking-related tattoos – from simple line art to the ornate. Cupcakes seem to be very popular as tattoos as well as bakery items. I am impressed by the detail in the cake decorator’s tattoo and the simplicity of the whisk, finishing up with the exuberant, “Bake, Rattle and Roll!”

tools

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged art, baking, cooking, food, food art, tattoos, whimsey | 2 Comments »

What am I eating, or buying, or something?

November 19, 2012

Today’s theme is bacon.

First this story from Orange News about a Chinese farmer who is charging three time the going rate for his bacon. The reason is that his pigs engage in high diving that, he says, makes them more tasty. Here’s the story.

Next, you can decorate your home for the holidays with a bacon theme. These stylish ornaments are available at Artful Home.

Really, there are a lot of bacon-themed decorations to be had. I thought these were kind of classy (as well as glassy.)

Finally, for a touch of home-made, here is a recipe for maple bourbon bacon jam. I have not tried it, but all of the ingredients sound good. Get the recipe at Closet Cooking.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged art, bacon, cooking, food, food art, nature, recipes | 2 Comments »

What am I eating?

October 23, 2012

Bacon, bacon, bacon.
This morning my colleague came to me with a warm, Hungarian bacon biscuit on a plate. Did I mention it was warm? Did I say it contained bacon (and happiness)?

Here is a photo – I turned it around so that you could not see the bite I took out of it.
These are also called, tepertős…or töpörtyüs pogácsa.

Here is a recipe from Food and Thrift.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bacon, biscuits, cooking, food, Hungarian, pogacsa, recipes | 2 Comments »

Why am I raising a glass of cider today?

September 26, 2012

Because September 26 is the birthday of John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, born in Leominster, Massachusetts in 1774.

The popular image is of Johnny Appleseed spreading apple seeds randomly, everywhere he went. In fact, he planted nurseries rather than orchards, built fences around them to protect them from livestock, left the nurseries in the care of a neighbor who sold trees on shares, and returned every year or two to tend the nursery. Although apples grown from seed are rarely sweet or tasty, apple orchards with sour apples were popular among the settlers because apples were mainly used for producing hard cider and apple jack. In some periods of the settlement of the Midwest, settlers were required by law to plant orchards of apples and pears in order to uphold the right to the claimed land. For these reasons, Johnny Appleseed planted orchards made for popular real estate on the frontier. His first nursery was planted on the bank of Brokenstraw Creek, South of Warren, Pennsylvania. Next, he seems to have moved to Venango County along the shore of French Creek, but many of these nurseries were located in the Mohican area of north-central Ohio. This area included the towns of Mansfield, Lucas, Perrysville, and Loudonville.

Okay, here’s another apple recipe – a really easy one for Apple Crisp.

Heat your oven to 350 degrees
Peel, core and slice 4 apples – medium to large in size.

Jonagolds are good for this recipe.

Place them in an 8″ square glass baking dish

Squeeze half a lemon over the apple slices

In a separate bowl mix 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of sugar with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Take a stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter and dice it up into about 1/4 inch cubes

Mix the butter into the flour mixture – use your hands to kind of rub the butter into the flour.

Sprinkle the flour-butter mixture over the apple slices and bake for about 30 minutes – or until the apple slices are soft and kind of bubbly and the top begins to get browned.

The history quote is from Wikipedia; the recipe is from my head.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged apple crisp, apples, baking, cooking, food, history, John Chapman, Johnny Appleseed, recipes | 4 Comments »

What am I baking?

September 20, 2012

It seems that Oreos are in the air. I was just about to post the following, when I read Butter’s post on Oreo Truffles.

This is another in my series of discoveries on recipes from ingredients that I normally would not consider to be ingredients (such as PopTarts) and now, Oreos.

Oreo-stuffed chocolate chip cookies:
Bon Appetit magazine calls these “the new cupcake.” (Pretending to be healthy? Try this oatmeal cookie-oreo version.)

2 sticks softened butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
10 oz bag chocolate chips
1 pkg. Oreo cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars together with a mixer until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined. Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of an Oreo Cookie. Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of Oreo cookie. Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo cookie is enclosed with dough. Place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake cookies 9-13 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Makes about 2 dozen large cookies.
This recipe is from Yahoo’s observance of Oreos 100th birthday in March 2012. Did you know that the design on the cookie was flowers?

Here’s a list of Oreo flavors from Wikipedia:

Chocolate Oreo
Strawberry Milkshake Oreo, introduced in Canada, and sold for a limited time in the United States, is an Oreo cookie with strawberryflavoring.
- Strawberry Oreo, introduced in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Green Tea Oreo, introduced in China and Japan.
Lemon Ice Oreo, introduced in Japan.
Organic Oreo, introduced in 2006, are plain Oreo cookies made with organic flavor and organic sugar.
Blueberry Ice Cream Oreo, introduced in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia in 2010. Also sold in Thailand.
Orange Ice Cream Oreo, introduced in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in 2011.
Golden Oreo, introduced in Indonesia in 2011. Oreo’s chocolate cookies replaced by milk-flavored cookies
- Double Stuf Golden Oreo, introduced in late August 2009. As the name indicates they are Double Stuf Oreos with Golden Oreo wafers instead of normal chocolate Oreo wafers.
- Golden Oreo series have vanilla biscuits with other fillings like vanilla and chocolate as Uh-Oh Oreo until its rebranding in 2007. Introduced in Indonesia in 2011 with milky cookies and cream.
- Oreo Heads or Tails have vanilla creme filling with a chocolate Oreo wafer on one side and a Golden Oreo wafer on the other.
Oreo DQ Blizzard Creme, a limited edition Oreo released in April–May 2010, celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Dairy Queen Blizzard
Double Delight Oreo, introduced in 1987, have chocolate cookies with two fillings, notably peanut butter and chocolate, mint and cream, and coffee and cream flavors.
- Also there are ongoing fruit series: orange and mango, raspberry and blueberry, grape and peach in China.
Cool Mint Creme Oreo are a Double Stuf Oreo with a slight minty creme filling.
Peanut Butter Oreo are a Double Stuf Oreo with a peanut buttery creme filling.
Pure Milk Chocolate Covered Mint Oreo are similar to Milk Chocolate Oreo but have a mint-flavored filling.
Banana Split Creme Oreo with a light yellow banana flavor filling, were available for a limited time in 2008.
Berry Burst Ice Cream Oreo were released in April 2011.
Sugar Free Oreo, introduced in 2006, cost over twice as much as regular Oreos, and had only trace amounts of sugar, 10 fewer calories per serving, 0.5 grams more fat and 450% more fiber.
Reduced Fat Oreo, introduced in 2006, cost the same as regular Oreos, had as much sugar, 10 fewer calories per serving, about 35% less fat and the same amount of fiber.
During springtime, around Halloween, and Christmas, special edition “Double Stuf Oreo” cookies are produced with colored frosting reflecting the current holiday (blue or yellow, orange, and red or green respectively).
Chocolate and Dulce de leche Oreo, sold in Chile and Argentina, has chocolate or Dulce de Leche instead of the usual creme.
Oreos with red creme, introduced in 2010, as a promotion for the movie How To Train Your Dragon
Birthday Cake Oreos were a limited-edition release in February-July 2012 to celebrate Oreo’s 100th birthday, made up of two chocolate Oreo cookies with a birthday-cake flavored filling and sprinkles inside. This edition replaced the traditional design on one of the two cookies with a birthday candle and the words “OREO 100”.
Candy Corn Oreos were a limited-edition release, made up of two golden Oreo cookies with a flavored filling that was half yellow and half orange.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cooking, food, recipes, whimsey | 2 Comments »

What am I celebrating today?

September 17, 2012

Today is Apple Dumpling Day. It is still officially summer, but there’s a little nip in the air and the locally grown apples have begun to appear in our markets.

My mother made the best apple dumplings. I do not have a recipe because she did not use one, but here is approximately how she made them.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare pastry, as for a pie crust – these are approximate measurements:

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt – whisk into flour

1/2 cup shortening (she used Crisco) – cut into flour mixture with a pastry blender (or two knives)

moisten the dough with a couple of tablespoons of ice water
– add this a little at a time until the dough begins to come together

Roll into a rectangle about 1/8 of an inch thick

Cut into squares.

Place a peeled, cored apple in the middle of each square. You probably don’t want apples that are really big for this recipe.

What kind of apple? My mother always said, “Don’t buy the computer apples.” But if you don’t mind mushy apples, go ahead and buy the computer apples (also known as Macintosh.) Granny Smiths are good, as are any apple with a lot of flavor and a little tartness.

Fill the hole in the apple with butter and red cinnamon hearts – these will melt and make a sauce. Alternatively, you can fill the cores with sugar, butter, cinnamon, walnuts, raisins, or any combination of the above.

Splash the apples with maple syrup and fold up the dough to cover the apple.
Bake until the crust is browned and the apples are soft – I’m guessing about 30 to 45 minutes.

In my opinion, these don’t need ice cream or whipped cream or any other embellishment – but if that is what you like, go ahead and enjoy! Actually, I do like them with accompanied by a wedge of cheddar cheese.

I love the names of the old apple varieties: Stayman Winesap, Northern Spy, Pippin, Sheepnose, but they are difficult to find these days. The poster above is from MOFGA’s Common Ground Fair from 2009. The Fair takes place every September in Unity, Maine.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged apple dumplings, apples, baking, cinnamon, Common Ground Fair, cooking, food, holidays, MOFGA | Leave a Comment »

What did I miss posting on August 30?

September 2, 2012

In case you missed it, August 30 was Toasted Marshmallow Day. These days marshmallows are a confection, but they started out as a medicinal product made from the extract of the marshmallow flower, a wildflower with a sticky sap. The concoction was used as a demulcent – a compound that forms a smooth or protective coating over an irritated or inflamed area. This was a time-intensive process, and as industrialization provided commercial gelatin and sugar became more readily available, recipes were developed and marshmallows became easier to create.

Here is a history of marshmallows at About.com.

I’m not sure they are as good for toasting as the commercial ones, but if you are interested in creating your own marshmallows, this recipe is from Ina Garten via the Food Network. I do know from experience that these are terrific when dipped in Belgian chocolate. There are also lots of places – many of them on the internet – that sell gourmet marshmallows in flavors such as White Russian, Key Lime, and Aztec Chocolate. Don’t forget to save room for s’more.

Marshmallows

Prep Time: 20 min
Prep Time: 8 hr
Cook Time: 10 min

Level: Easy
Yield: 20 to 40 marshmallows

Ingredients

3 packages unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions

Combine the gelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.

With a sieve, generously dust an 8 by 12-inch nonmetal baking dish with confectioners’ sugar. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan, smooth the top, and dust with more confectioners’ sugar. Allow to stand uncovered overnight until it dries out.

Turn the marshmallows onto a board and cut them in squares. Dust them with more confectioners’ sugar.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cooking, food, history, marshmallows, recipes, toasted marshmallows, whimsey | Leave a Comment »

What am I waffling on about?

August 24, 2012

Just when you pancake it any longer, it’s time to celebrate – National Waffle Day. On August 24, 1869, the first waffle iron was patented in the U.S. by Cornelius Swarthout.

Some Waffle History from Mr. Breakfast

13th Century A.C. – Ancient Greeks cook flat cakes between two metal plates. These early waffles were called obleios and were primarily savory in nature, prepared with cheeses and herbs.

1620 – The pilgrims bring Dutch “wafles” to America.

1735 – The word “waffle” – with two “f”s – appears in English print for the first time.

Late 1800’s – Thomas Jefferson returns to the U.S. from France with a long handled, patterned waffle iron.

1869 – Cornelius Swarthout patents the first U.S. Waffle Iron.

1953 – Frank Dorsa’s Eggo Frozen Waffles are sold in Supermarkets for the first time.

1964-65 – Brussels restaurateur Maurice Vermersch brings his wife’s Brussels Waffle recipe to the World’s Fair in New York. The fluffy yeast-infused waffle becomes a huge hit and becomes known as the Belgium waffle.