After a busy couple of weeks, during which I had a rather large number of mouths to feed, I decided to take the afternoon “off” from major cookery. A plate of nachos whipped up entirely of leftovers (no, I didn’t even stop and make some fresh salsa! Alert the media!) fit the bill nicely.
I’m not a marshmallow fan, as anyone who’s been here knows. We go through plenty of styrofoam-like blobs at our house, though, because I’m the minority in this regard and because where there’s a bonfire, there must needs be marshmallows — even I know that! I’ve wondered for a while about making them at home, and whether or not they would be more like… well, I dunno… food, perhaps? I came across a recipe and lots of encouragement on one of my favorite food forums, eGullet, and decided to give it a whirl. (more…)
Sometimes, simple is fine. I had a couple of very ripe pears, so decided to make a little treat for Cat and Tishie. I peeled and sliced them (the pears, not Cat and Tishie,) arranged them in an ovenproof skillet, and drizzed them with brown sugar, melted butter, and crumbled Amish bleu cheese. Next came a sprinkle of cracked black pepper, and into the oven under the broiler they went, just until they began to brown a little.
I burned my mouth eating mine; I couldn’t wait until they cooled.
Since things have been crazy and I’ve not been able to post much, I decided to go ahead and share my dinner roll recipe, even though I only had this one lonely roll to photograph for you. This recipe came about due to an effort to reproduce the amazing, heavy yeast rolls served at Buntyn Cafe in Memphis, Tennessee. My son and I selflessly tested batch after batch as I tweaked the recipe here and there, and one day this is what I came up with. They aren’t as heavy and are a bit different, but are now my family’s favorite, and a heck of a lot easier than anyone need know, to make!
As you might have noticed, I’ve been on hiatus these past two weeks or so, getting ready for our the SpiralGround Halloween Festival. There was a whole lot of fun food there, but it was, alas, too hectic to document as I went along. I did, however, manage to snap a picture of what I made for my family after the hordes had departed — Buffalo Bleu Chicken Pizza.
I’m in Richmond, VA this weekend visiting my family, including my adorable grandbaby, TJ. Last night I made one of my son’s favorite dishes. I have a tendency to forget, being from the South, and from a family of cooks, that there are people who might need or want an actual *recipe* for fried chicken… so here’s mine. This can be used not only on chicken tenders, but on cut-up fryer pieces, as well… you’ll just need to adjust the cooking time (and they do far better in a cast iron skillet, with a lid. I’ll do those one day and post the exact method. Here’s the short version, since I don’t want to cut into my Mammie time too much. 
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These are so easy, you’ll have time to make a special dessert, or just spend a lot less time in the kitchen for a change!
That’s really it! Just mix everything together, wrap in won ton skins, and fry to desired crispness. I like to take a whole chicken, rub it with salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic, chili powder, and cumin, then roast until the meat is falling off the bones for this recipe; you can, however, just grab a rotisserie chicken from the store and debone it for this recipe.
And they say I CAN’T make a meal in 30 minutes. Ok, so it took longer, but only because I made homemade refried beans and what I’ve come to call (rather incorrectly, I might add) Mexi-Rice. Speaking of, I should say a few words about sofrito.
 Now, homemade sofrito is preferable, but I promised “easy” and quick for this recipe, so the bottled stuff is fine. I learned about this tasty addition from my friend Tigre, who’s Puerto Rican (and a great cook, to boot.) It’s like a *very* thick salsa, and is used to flavor rice, beans, soups, and stews (just read the label!) When I make it at home, I include peppers (roasted; red and green,) chiles, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and cilantro. I really should make it in bulk batches and can it. I think I’ll put that on my to-do list…
We seem to have a puffy theme going on this week. This one is for my friends… the ones who are always teasing me that I can’t make *anything* from a can, or from mundane ingredients. These delightful little critters — which are nifty enough to serve guests as finger foods — are easy and inexpensive to make, and yet are wonderfully light and flavorful, with just enough “poof” in them that it’s hard to come up with a better name.
Here we are again, needing to go to the grocery store, so I was playing pickup poker with things in the freezer in order to make dinner tonight. I discovered a languishing box of puff pastry, and some fresh pork sausage from a local friend (home-raised, on good stuff, and no nasty nitrates and such!) and decided to make a stuffed puff pastry.
You gotta remember these things… the stuff of potlucks and funeral wakes, even birthday parties and ladies’ luncheons in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s… jelled salads made with Jell-O, cream cheese, whipped cream (or whipped topping, more likely,) some sort of fruit (often pineapple,) and sometimes nuts. No matter what the flavor of fruit or Jell-O used, they always have one certain “taste” underneath, and I have been craving that for about a year, now.
A few weeks ago, for my grandson’s first birthday party dinner, my mother decided to make (in honor of his and my son’s love of pears, presumably) a recipe she’s been toting around in her binders for at least as long as she’s been home from Saudi (and that’s like 13 years) for something called “Nutty Pear Salad.” I fell upon it like a wolf, no doubt… my over-indulgence made somehow less embarassing by the fact that my daughter-in-law’s stepmother was doing the very same thing. And I vowed to make one (or one similar) at home, soon. Soon was last night, and by the time I was done with it, I had Nutty Pear Citrus Salad.
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