Recently in Recipes Category

Ripped from the local paper. We tried this last weekend and it was really good, and we ended up with nice leftovers for a few days.

Braised beef Sandwiches

• 1 (2-1/2 pound) boneless chuck roast
• 2 tablespoons oil
• Kosher salt
• 4 cups diced onion
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon granulated onion
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
• 1 cup Jack Daniels
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup ketchup
• 6 to 8 Kaiser rolls
shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. heat the oil in a heavy bottomed Dutch oven pan over high heat. Season the roast with kosher salt, then sear in the Dutch oven for 2 to 3 minutes on all sides on medium-high heat. Remove the roast, and set aside.

Add the onions to the pot and saute or 2 to 3 minutes until lightly caramelized. Mix in the paprika, cumin, granulated onion and garlic, and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and carefully pour in the Jack Daniels. Return to heat, burn off the alcohol (it will catch on fire then burn out), and reduce by half.

Add the beef stock, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, and ketchup. return the roast to the pot and cover the meat with parchment paper, leaving no air pockets. Top the pot with the lid and place into a pre-heated 300 degree oven. Braise for 3 to 4 hours, or until the meat easily falls apart. Remove from the oven, and let cool for 5 minutes. Place the meat in a large bowl and shred with a fork. Return the pot to the stove and bring the liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat. Return the meat to pot, and reduce until liquid is slightly thickened.

Slice the rolls in half and pile the meat onto the bottom half off the roll. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and cover with top part of roll. Makes 6 to 8 sandwiches.

This is probably my favorite cookie recipe ever. They are just so addicting once you start eating them.

Chocolate Crackles

(Moist, Fudgy Type Cookies)

• 4 squares unsweetened chocolate
• 1/2 cup salad oil
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs, unbeaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups sifted flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• (1/2 cup walnuts optional, we've never made it with them)
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Melt chocolate in top of double boiler. Remove from water and let chocolate cool some. Blend in oil and sugar and add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Add vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into chocolate mixture. Add nuts (ew) and mix thoroughly. Chill soft dough for several hours or overnight. Shape into small balls and roll in powdered sugar. bake on greased baking sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. The powdered sugar coating will crack apart, giving an interesting effect. Makes 6 dozen small cookies.

So I've seen anime with giant robots, anime about baseball, anime about playing Go, and anime about tennis (to name a few). But I never thought I'd see one about baking bread. Yakitate!! Japan is about Kazuma and his quest to make a national bread for Japan. He figures that since many other countries have types of bread they are known for, Japan needs one too. He's also blessed with 'Solar Hands', which are abnormally warm and help make the bread rise faster after kneading.

This show is just too much fun. They've compensated for bread not being the most exciting topic by making it insanely over the top. The main character's bread seems to be so good that it makes the people tasting it hallucinate. For instance, when tasting a bread he made with goats milk butter one character hallucinated flying through space to the constellation Capricorn. But mixed in with all the over the top antics are little bits of information about baking bread (I think most of it is fairly accurate).

Now here's a chance for anime to break a bit more into the mainstream. It could be on FoodTV. It was be a perfect match! And finally a show I can share with my mom (who used to teach a bread baking class).

Here's a recipe for some Cider Sorbet that my mom makes. It's really good.

Cider Sorbet

• 4 cups cider
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup dark rum (Myers is what she uses)

Simmer cider with sugar for five minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Process in an ice-cream maker until slushy and firm, then place in containers and freeze. This can also be made by freezing in a shallow container until mushy, then processing in a blender or food processor until smooth and put into containers for freezing.

Ingredients can also be adjusted to taste.

Since I haven't been posting much in the last few days, here's a recipe that my mom made the other day that kicked ass. I think she got it from the New York Times originally.

Updated 11/1: Just found it posted again to the NYTimes web site with corrections (thanks to ellen).

Bolzano Apple Cake

Time: 1 1/4 Hours

• 1 stick butter (4 ounces), plus more for greasing pan
• 1/2 cup flour, plus more for pan
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 1/4 lbs Granny Smith apples (3 to 4 small to medium)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk at room temperature
• Powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 375 Degrees. Line 8-inch square pan with foil, then smear with think layer of butter. Dust with flour; turn pan over, and tap lightly to remove excess flour.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Set aside. Beat together eggs and half of sugar in a bowl. Continue to beat while slowly adding remaining sugar until thick; it should form a ribbon when dropped from spoon.
3. Split vanilla bean in two lengthwise. Scrape seeds into the egg-sugar batter and add pod to melted butter.
4. Peel, quarter and core apples, then trim ends and slice thinly.
5. Remove vanilla pod from butter and stir butter into sugar-egg batter. Combine 1/2 cup flower and baking powerder, then stir it into batter alternately with milk. Stir in apples, coating every piece with batter. Pour batter into pan, using fingers to pat top evenly.
6. Bake for 25 minutes, then rotate the pan; bake for about 25 m minutes more, until cake pulls away from pan and is brown on top; a thin bladed knife inserted into the center will come out clean when it is done. Cool 30 minutes, then cut lengthwise and sprinkle slices with powdered sugar.

Yield: 6 to 8 services

One of my favorite cookies ever. I can easily eat almost a whole batch in one sitting if I'm not careful.

Peanut Blossoms

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/3 cup peanut butter (chunky is okay if you want)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Chocolate Kisses

Cream together butter, peanut butter, and sugars. Add egg and vanilla. Blend in mixed dry ingredients gradually. Shape dough into small balls and roll in sugar. Place on greased baking sheets and bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and press on Kisses. Return to oven for 2-5 minutes more baking. (Watch to make sure the kisses don't melt or burn).

Here's one that my mom found in the local paper that was really good. It's quite quick and easy.

Apple-Ginger Muffins

• 1 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger
• 1 small apple, peeled, cored and minced

In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cinnamon. Cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Beat together egg yolk and milk. Pour into batter and stir briefly to moisten. Quickly stir in ginger and apple. Spoon batter into greased muffin tin, filling 6 to 7 muffin cups 3/4 full.

Bake in preheated 375 degree oven 20 minutes or until muffins are golden and leave no trace of batter when a toothpick is inserted in center. Remove muffins from tin and cool on wire rack. Makes 6 to 7 muffins.

This recipe is based on one that's in this little book called Great Flavors of Louisiana, my mom has tweaked the recipe a little bit and it's quite amazing.

Cajun Meat Loaf

• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 1/4 lbs ground chuck or round
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup catsup
• 1-2 tsps Lea & Perrins
• 3/4 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In skillet with butter, add next 7 ingredients; cook until vegetables are tender, stirring often. In a small bowl or measuring cup combine the catsup and Lea & Perrins. In another bowl, combine meat, egg, oats, half cup catsup mixture, and cheese. Blend in vegetables. Form into a loaf shape and put on a pan (you can optionally put it into a 9 1/2x5x3-inch loaf pan, but I like it better this way). Bake for 20 minutes; spread top with quarter cup catsup mixture. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and cook for 40-45 minutes more.

Some notes. If you think just using cayenne will be too spicy you can use a cajun spice mix instead. My mom can't have real spicy things, so that's what she does. Many times she'll also use a mixture of meats, mixing in some ground pork or veal (or both).

So here's the recipe for the Apple Pie from my mom. I typed it out as they were making it, so It is a bit long so I'll put it behind a more. Enjoy!

For some reason, I feel greatly comforted that there is a National Pasta Association. Their web site is at http://www.ilovepasta.org/. Thanks to them, I now know what kind of sauce to use with what kind of pasta. They actually have lots of cool pasta recipes there too. (Site found thanks to Dane Carlson's Weblog.)

Mom made this tongiht. I used to have a recipe for one that was very similar, but it used more butter (which was also supposed to be melted). This one came out a bit better, and there were no nuts in it because none of us like them in stuff. One thing that is a little annoying is all the chocolate chips sink to the bottom. I wonder if there is a way to keep them from doing that.

Nestle Toll House Coocolate Chip Pie

Makes 8 servings

1 nbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep dish pie shell[1]
2 eggs
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup (6 ounces) NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)
Sweetened whipped cream or ice cream (optional)

PREHEAT oven to 325 deg F.

BEAT eggs in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon into pie shell.

BAKE for 55 to 60 min or until knife inserted halfway between outside edge and center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with whipped cream.

[1] If using frozen pie shell, use deep-dish style, thawed completely. Bake on baking sheet; increase baking time slightly.

Recipe taken from back of package of chocolate chips.

The results are in and yow! It's good chili! It's a tiny bit too hot, but it tastes really really good. I think if I were to do a second batch I'd cut down on the cayenne pepper a little bit (but not much). Yum.

Here's the recipe This came about after getting a chili recipe from a friend online. As I was looking around to find out more about chili I decided to be more daring and try something that was my own original recipe.

Ingredients

1. Cook bacon in the pot you will be using. I was using a dutch oven. Cook it down till it's almost crispy. Scoop bacon and put aside for bacon bits.
2. Add garlic and onion, let cook for about 2 minutes, stirring the whole time, till the onions start to soften.
3. Add the meat, saute it till it gets grey, but not really browned, add tomatos, and beer, bring everything to a boil then simmer at low heat for 30 minutes.
4. Add spices, and simmer for 1 hour.
5. Add honey and simmer for 30 min more.
6. Remove a bit of the hot liquid (or, use approximately 1 cup of water) and mix the flour and corn meal until blended. Add to chili pot and cook 5 minutes more to determine if more water or more thickening is needed. Stir to prevent sticking after adding the thickening.
7. Serve with whatever chili condements you like. I personally like lots of cheese.

So there goes. Warning for anyone making it, it's pretty hot. I recommend a beer with it to help cut the heat some.

My mom made something similar to this on Christmas morning. It was really good, and when looking through some other receipes for stuff like it I found this. This morning a friend of mine had a kind of pot luck brunch and had people bring stuff over. This was perfect (and it came out soooo good).

French Toast Casserole

Ingredients:
1 loaf French bread or Challah
8 large eggs
3 cups whole milk
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon each cinnamon and nutmeg

Topping:
2 sticks butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
2 tablespoons corn syrup (or maple syrup)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Grease a 13 by 9 inch pan. Cut bread into 1 inch thick slices and arrange in baking dish, overlapping slices to fit, if necessary.
Combine eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla and spices until blended.
Pour mixture over bread, making all is covered evenly. Cover pan with foil and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350.
Spread topping evenly over bread and bake, uncovered, for 40 - 50 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned.
Can serve with additional maple syrup and bacon or sausage.

Variations: Could also sprinkle the top of the casserole with blueberries before baking or just sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the top instead of the topping

Yum. I have a tiny bit leftover too that I think I will have right now.

This recipe came with some sundried tomato sauce I picked up the other day. it looked pretty good so I thought I'd make note of it here so I would remember to try it out this weekend.

Sun-Dried Tomato Penne & Shrimp
8 ounces penne rigate, cooked as package directs
1 pound frozen medium cooked shrimp
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine or water
2/3rd cup Classico Creations Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce and Spread

In a medium skillet, cook shrimp in oil for 2 to 3 minutes or until the shrimp are heated through. Add wine, cook and stir until most of wine has evaporated, about 1 minute. In large bowl, gently toss hot penne, sun-dried tomato sauce and shrimp.

Makes 4 Servings

When I made this I ended up using some really yummy sausage instead of the shrimp (since the person I was making it for didn't like shrimp). It came out wonderfully.

Here's a recipe from Dane Carlson (I'm reprinting it here so I have a record of it):

Roland's Teriyaki Glaze Pork Ribs: By popular demand, I'm sharing with you my secret Hawaiian recipe for teriyaki glaze pork ribs... a delightful island treat. Cook it over an outdoor grill, watch yourneighbors make a beeline for your back yard... :)

Roland's famous Hawaiian pork ribs in teriyaki glaze:

Couple big slabs pork ribs

Glaze sauce

• 1 cup soy sauce (Hawaiians say "Aloha Brand" soy sauce is best - can be found at Safeway)
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 heaping tablespoons crushed or grated ginger (mo betta if you peel the skin)
• 3 big fingers of garlic, minced
• 1.5 cups brown sugar (C&H preferably to support the workers on the 'aina)
• 2 tablespoons cooking sherry wine
• 3 cloves star anise (they sell in asian stores, kinda pricey but an important element)

Combine all sauce ingrients in a small pot, bring to boil then quickly turn to simmer, let the full flavors of the exotic ingredients meld, gingerly, full of love and aloha. (This might be a good time to put on a Don Ho album and down a couple of Mai Tai's!)

MEANWHILE, fill a big pot w/water and set to rumbling boil. Cut the ribs down to manageable portions and drop into boiling water. Let boil for an hour, oruntil the meat is tender. After boiling, remove from hot water and drain. Baste with brush with the sauce. Don't over coat with sauce cuz it will burn on the open barbeque fire... the sugar content is very flamable.

Cook on open barbecue, a low flame (let flame mellow first so its not jumping at your meat) for not more than 10 minutes or so - the meat is already cooked, the barbecue should just add a nice crisp and smoke flavoring to it. Baste with sauce using brush at least 2x during cooking time.

Finally, take majority of the sauce and thicken. Use 1 teaspoon of cornstarch mixed into about 1/2 cup of water as a thickening agent... slowly stir this into your reheated sauce - only adding as much as you need to thicken sauce. (Heat the sauce to high - nearly boiling, then quickly reduce to simmer -- watch it thicken with the cornstarch...)

Remove ribs from barbecue, place in serving dish, add sauce as a glaze atop ribs, garnish with diced green onions (scallions)...

Remove and eat... :)

[From the Desktop of Dane Carlson]

Thanks for posting this! I can't wait for a chance to try it out (mmmm Ribs)!

Okay, this is one of the cooler Google related things I've heard of:

Megnut's mom, who once was guest host on Meg's blog, has invented a new idea -- googlecooking. Meg says "My mother types whatever ingredients she has on hand into Google and then picks the most appealing recipe returned in the results." Smart! [Scripting News]

Hmm, I wonder what I should make this weekend.

Boing Boing has a great link to a guide to making summer sorbet in an interesting (and pretty easy looking) way. From the site

today i'm making my special sorbet in a sack. armed with just a couple of plastic bags and some rock salt i will transform this fruit juice into a refreshing sorbet in just minutes. its the perfect snack after a busy day of play, work or adventuring!

It must be seen to fully enjoyed though, as it's being prepared by a stuffed animal. Unfortunately for some folks, it's a Monkey.

From Epicurious, the Gourmet Magazine website, we have a recipe for: Salted Water for Boiling. The comments are great too.

(This one came out perfectly the first time I tried it).

Here's one of my favorite recipes.  I love making this for breakfast.  I think it's perfect served with some sausage too. An additional note that this has to be made in a cast iron skillet. This is a great recipe to help season your skillet too!

2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
dash of salt
4 tablespoons butter

1. Set oven to 450 degrees F and put a large (12" or so) skillet in to heat.
2. In a bowl, beat the eggs, flour, milk and salt together. (Mix in all together at once or it won't .   The more air you beat into the batter the higher it will rise in the oven)
3. When the oven is hot, toss the butter into the skillet and let it melt.
4. Pour batter into the skillet and return it to the oven.
5. Bake 12-15 min or until the pancake is ed and golden.
6. Cut in half and serve immediately with warm maple syrup (and whatever else you want)

This Recipe came with my blender and is a great potato soup.

1 Tbs. margarine or butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can (15 oz) reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup water
2 cups peeled cubed potatoes
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh chives, if desired
Shredded Cheddar cheese, if desired.

Heat margarine in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, 2 to 3 minutes. Add broth, water, potatoes, and carrots. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, around 10 to 15 min. Cool 5 minutes.

Place cooled potato mixture in blender jar 1 or more cups at a time. Cover and blend at STIR abotu 30 seconds after each addition. Blend at PUREE about 30 seconds. Return mixture to saucepan. Add Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Simmer until thoroughly heated, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in cheese and cook, uncovered, over low heat until melted. Sprinkle with fresh chives and additional shredded Cheddar cheese, if desired.
Yield: 4 cups

I'm starting a category for recipes, since I kind of collect them on and off. But I figured I should share the ones that I really enjoy. First off is my dad's favorite brownies. Supposedly his mother gave my mom this recipe when they got married.

2 sq. unsweetened chocolate
2 Tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 t. vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 350 - 375
Butter and flour an 8" square pan (Note, you don't want to use a pan any bigger then 8")
Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Set aside.
Beat eggs and sugar until well blended. Add vanilla and chocolate and butter mixture.
Gently mix in flour.
Spread batter in prepared pan.
Bake for just 20 minutes.

I dig this recipe too. The brownies it makes are quite rich!