Uncle Ron's Kitchen

2017-03-12T07:55:00.002-07:00

Mother's Holiday Cinnamon Apples

Every holiday, my Mom would cook a feast. Part of that feast would always be these delicious cinnamon apples. I had my sister send me this recipe in 2003 and have making them ever since.

Here’s what she sent:

Mother’s Apple Recipe

Core and pare 4-6 apples in halves. (Mother told me to use Red Delicious although she didn’t write that in the recipe.) Dissolve a 5 oz package of cinnamon candies, ½ cup sugar, and 1½ cups water. When syrup begins to boil, add apples and simmer until apples are tender and pink. Chill until served.

Then she added this comment:

I have made these 3 times. The first time, they cooked to mush. Mother said I cooked them too slow and didn’t use the right kind of apples. The 2^nd time, they were not pink all the way through. Mother said I cooked them too fast (too high heat.) The 3^rd time, I decided to just eat them when Mother makes them. Haha!

Since then, I have played with the recipe until I got it the way I want it. Here’s how I changed the recipe.

Ron’s Red Hot Apples

Core and pare 4 large or 6 medium red delicious apples.

Dissolve 9 oz package red hots (cinnamon candies) with 1 cup sugar and 3 cups water.

When all candy is dissolved, the mixture will be boiling. Turn down heat to a low boil. Add apple halves.

Simmer uncovered for 60 minutes, turning every fifteen minutes.

Put apples along with juice into bowl, cover and let sit at least three hours before serving.

I think letting them sit in the fridge overnight after cooking is even better.

Sometimes I like to slice them instead of halves. I’ve also done this leaving the skin on. Slices cook a little faster, 35-45 minutes. You want the apples to have a translucent look.

Sometimes, I served these with a spoon full of cottage cheese.

I’ve also used them as dessert with vanilla ice cream.

They are so good! I think you’ll enjoy them.

Stuffing

2014-06-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

Stuffing goes great with anything. Pork, Chicken, Turkey, and yes, even beef. Many use a boxed stuffing and we have too. Ya know what, it ain't that bad, but when we want some good home cookin' our way...... So, try this!

9 slices (half loaf) Bread
6 Tblspn Butter or margarine
1/2 chopped (about a 1/2 cup) Onion
3 ribs Celery
1 tspn Poultry Seasoning
1/2 tspn each Salt and Pepper
1 can (3.8 oz) Black Olives
1 can (10 1/2 oz) Chicken Broth

What you're gonna want to do is dry the bread. I cut it into pieces, spread over a baking sheet and cook about 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Comes out like toast.

Grab a pan like a dutch oven or a big skillet and melt your butter, then add everything else. Stir it up real good.
Then transfer it to a baking dish and bake 350 for 30-40 minutes.

If you're gonna stuff a chicken turkey, pork chops, or a roast, skip the baking. It'll cook up with the meat. If you find it still comes out too soft for you, bake half way then stuff. Like we always say, experiment 'til it's your recipe.

Here's a neat trick for celery. If it's kinda wimpy, you can crisp it up by putting the ribs in a glass of cold water in the fridge for a couple hours. If you're in a hurry, ice it down.

That brings up why we started cooking our own dressing to start with. Being only the two of us, we were finding that a loaf of bread would get stale before we could finish it. We would either throw it away or feed the birds. Same with the celery, we only use a few ribs from a stalk and maybe eat a few raw, but we'd end up throwing some away. So waste not, want not, right?

If you use fresh parsley, you'll find the same thing happening. You can add some to the stuffing. I wouldn't add more than a quarter cup.

Now my parents and my sister make a mean Stuffed Rolled Round Steak. Man it's delicious! There is some differences in the stuffing though. Substitute stuffed green olives for the black and add some mushrooms (canned or fresh). Skip the poultry seasoning and the chicken stock. They roll it up jelly roll style inside a round steak, secure with a toothpick, skewer, or cooking string. Mix 3/4 stick melted butter with some nice red wine and pour over the round steak. Bake 350 for 1 1/2 hours.

Now if you're doubling this recipe, you can substitute water for the second can of broth.

Now, to help make this recipe your very own here's some things I've done from time to time and it still comes out good. Substitute beef broth for the chicken broth. Sometimes, I stuff an Italian meat loaf, so I add a little basil and some oregano. I've added Parmesan cheese. And, don't forget the fruit, like in my apple stuffed pork chop recipe.

I use brown onion but have substituted white or red, and chopped green onions. Many people throw in some oysters at Christmas and I've added lobster and crab. So there's many possibilities.

Have fun with it!

Cherry Coke Jello

2014-06-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

20 oz can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup water
2 small packages cherry jello
1 can cherry pie filling (Comstock)
3/4 cup Coke (regular cola)

Drain pineapple saving juice.
Add the water to the juice and bring to boil and dissolve the two packages of jello.
Stir in the pie filling and the Coke.
Allow to thicken in fridge (about a half hour) then stir in the pineapple.
Return to fridge and let set a couple hours.
Eat!

My sister sent me this recipe in 2006. She told me it was fantastic and I should try it right away. She said I''ll love it. Six years later my wife found the recipe and said "Are we ever gonna try this?" So, we made it. I wish we'd have tried it the day we got it. It's that good! Very rich and oh so yummy!
I hope you like it, too! Enjoy!

2014-06-04T14:27:00.000-07:00

Seafood Salad

In the late 80’s, my wife and I would go to Las Vegas with friends on a regular basis. Back then you could eat at a buffett in almost every casino for practically nothing. These days, even with a coupon, it’ll run ya $30-$45 per person for dinner on a weekend. Even so, we still do it. One of the dishes I always go for in the salad section is the crab salad. Sometimes they’ll have a shrimp salad. And best yet, they sometimes have lobster salad. I’ve even seen a combination they call a seafood salad. Mmmmmmm! It’s so good and so simple. Here’s the recipe I use at home:

Seafood Salad

1 lb imitation crab, shrimp, lobster or a combination

1 small jar (2-4 oz) pimento

1 small can 2.25 oz sliced black olives

2 stalks celery (chopped)

Miracle Whip (salad dressing) or mayonnaise

Mix all ingredients with the mayo for desired consistency.

Be sure to flake of dice the meat. You don't want too big of chunks.

Some people will add green onions and sweet pickles but I don't. Once in a while I will add a cup to a cup and a half cooked small elbow macaroni. Hey this is starting to sound a lot like my Tuna Macaroni Salad. It is pretty close. I guess a little chopped green bell pepper would probably work too.

It's that easy! I hope you like it!

2014-04-04T14:54:00.001-07:00

Easy Tuna Macaroni Salad

1 1/2 cups uncooked salad macaroni
1 5oz can tuna (drained)
1 stalk chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped sweet pickles
3/4 cup mayo (or salad dressing; we use Miracle Whip)
2 chopped hard boiled eggs

Cook macaroni, rinse it, and mix it all together. Refridgerate until ready to eat.

Optional items:
chopped olives
chopped green onions
chopped bell pepper
sweet pickle relish

My wife always made this recipe without instructions. I told her to write down the quantities for me the next time she made it. She did it when I was out of town, so I didn't get a picture. I'll add one next time we make it.

It's a good easy meal when you're in a hurry, and most of the stuff is usually in the kitchen cabinets/ pantry/fridge. It's also really good for a potluck. Add some egg slices and sprinkle the top with paprika for presentation.

Enjoy!

2014-04-03T14:47:00.001-07:00

Little Pies
(some call them Turnovers)

Pie crust

1 cup flour
1 stick frozen butter (1/2 cup)
Mix (I use my Cuisinart)

Add 1 more cup flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons ice cold water
Pulse in food processor, scrape then pulse again

Form into ball, wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge
Let sit min. 1 hr

Cut into 4 pieces and roll each out into 8 inch circle

add 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons pie filling/ Comstock
I used cherry Comstock as filling

Apple filling recipe

2tbsp butter
2-3 apples
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 tblsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp. water

fold over just a little over half, then fold and crimp edges

Egg wash
whisk one egg and wash top of pie

put three holes in top of each pie

bake 400 degrees for 30 minutes

let stand min 15 min to cool before eating

Glaze

1 ½ tablespoons butter
½ cup confectioners sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla
Dash nutmeg
1 tablespoon water

Back in the early 70's, I worked in a generator shop. Our afternoon break, we would walk across the street to a convenience store for a snack. Wild Bill Fetters and I would both get a small Cherry Pie and a can of cola.
A few weeks ago, I had a craving for one of those pies. I put in on the grocery list and got one.
I opened it and my mouth was watering in anticipation. I took that first bite. I was so disappointed. The crust was the same, but it had hardly any filling.
So, my craving was not satisfied. I immediately went on the internet. Don't you love the internet? I checked several recipes and this is what I came up. My craving is satisfied!

Enjoy!

Fried Chicken -or- In Search of the 11 Herbs and Spices

2013-06-28T04:03:00.002-07:00

Fried chicken. I know no one who grew up not having fried chicken as a part of the family menu. My mother made it, usually on a Sunday. And, who doesn’t like fried chicken. I do know people that avoid it like the plague, since it’s fried and is loaded with fat. But, as I tell people, I don’t work out to stay in shape. I work out so I can eat.

As the years went by, fast food chicken seemed to take over and people quit frying their own. Those who have never fried chicken will claim it’s just too much work. Little do they know how easy and cheap it is.

We all have our favorites and those favorites usually have secret recipes. But what happens when those restaurants disappear? One of the best rotisserie chickens around was Kenny Rogers who completely vanished from the United States. (see my rotisserie chicken post Jan 2012) Even Seinfeld’s characters knew how good it was. KFC has been around most of my life, but I remember when the changed from a sage gravy to a beef gravy for their mashed potatoes. I do love KFC chicken and their cole slaw.

When I lived in New Orleans, I became attached to Popeye’s since there was one within walking distance of my apartment. My wife and I drove quite a ways one night to get some Popeye’s and I was so disappointed. I don’t know if my buds had changed or they changed the recipe, or what. I just no longer liked it.

Knott’s Berry farm has some of the best fried chicken ever. I don’t get out that way very often, and they closed most of their Mrs. Knott’s restaurants.

One day I’m at a party and the main dish served was fried chicken. It was pretty good so I asked “Where’d you buy your chicken?” I was surprised to hear that they fried it themselves that morning. They told me how easy it was and how much cheaper it was than fast food. That did it for me, I had to try it.

Luckily for me, I have an outdoor kitchen, plus I live in California, so outside cooking is the way to go. Easier to clean up the mess and the wife doesn’t yell at you because of the mess. I find though, that if you just clean up as you go and make an effort not to make a mess, it’s a whole lot easier.

So the quest began. Now, my wife had made some fried chicken a few times so she was my first resource. She said go to the Better Homes and Garden’s cookbook. It’s a simple recipe that ain’t bad but left me unsatisfied in the quest. It’s simply mixing flour, paprika, salt and pepper, coating the chicken, and frying for about an hour total.

My friend Greg and his wife Barb, took us to Knott’s. Boy that chicken was just like I remembered. Turns out Barb had worked there as a teenager and told me that Knott’s soaked their chicken overnight in salt water. That process is called “brining.” So I started brining my chicken, even for the rotisserie. 1 cup salt and a gallon of water. Remember the salt causes the meat to absorb liquid and gives you really moist chicken.

Then I read a recipe where they too brined the chicken. They also used an egg wash like I do for chicken fried steak. So, now I got salt, pepper, paprika, and flour coating after a bath of milk and egg (the egg wash.) Not bad, but still searching.

I found a recipe saying that it’s from the internet and is Cordelia Knott’s recipe. I have no idea if it is or Knott ( I know) but now we’re getting somewhere. This recipe brined, then used an eggwash with buttermilk. The flour mix had added thyme, garlic, and cayenne. Not bad at all. Plus, they used peanut oil for frying.

Not long ago, I saw a tv show where Todd Wilbur, the Top Secret Recipes guy attempted to duplicate KFC. He actually did some investigating and even used a little science. A chemist examined a piece of KFC and declared the oil to be soybean. Todd visited KFC and found they used a certain type of broaster so he borrowed one. Now, I read in Colonel Sanders bio that he made that original chicken in a cast iron frying pan, but it took about 30-40 minutes and his customer base was growing like crazy. That’s when he started using the broaster, which is a commercial pressure cooker.

In Todd’s research, he interviewed the CEO of the company that makes the broasters and this guy tells Todd the secret is they use Black Tellicherry pepper. Then the Colonel’s old secretary tells him the Colonel always talked about sage and savory. Todd added MSG (Accent), salt, sage, garlic, paprika, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, and onion powder. What he didn’t tell us on the show was how much of each.

The tasting was a panel of KFC folks who did a blind test and all picked out the real KFC over Todd’s, but the CEO of KFC said it was the closest he’d ever seen anyone come to it. Hmmm!

I read a lot of “real” KFC copycat recipes. Ron Douglas, a well known food hacker, uses some of the same but adds oregano, basil, and chili powder.

1 teaspoon ground oregano * 1 teaspoon chili powder * 1 teaspoon ground sage * 1 teaspoon dried basil * 1 teaspoon dried marjoram * 1 teaspoon pepper * 2 teaspoons salt * 2 tablespoons paprika * 1 teaspoon onion salt * 1 teaspoon garlic powder * 2 tablespoons Accent (an MSG-based seasoning)

Another guy who had a video on youtube added bay leaves,coriander, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. What caught my attention on his was that he used a pressure cooker and while it was cooking, someone walked in the kitchen and said “Hey, it smells like KFC in here.” His youtube video is under loxdeaddog- cooking o.r. kfc chicken. He says his recipe came from a KFC forum in the

Yet another said the secret was a buttermilk brine with salt and sugar.

So, as you can see, there’s a lot of experimenting goin’ on. I’ve tried some of it and so far, this is the best I’ve done.

Uncle Ron’s Fried Chicken (for now)

I used a buttermilk brine overnight for 12 hours:

3 cups milk and 3 tblspn white vinegar ( this since I didn’t have real buttermilk)

2 tblspn sugar
1/3 cup kosher salt

I used an eggwash:

1 cup milk

2 eggs

Breading:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tblspn MSG (Accent)
1 tblspn paprika
1 tspn each salt and black pepper (I didn’t have tellicherry but saw some at WalMart)
½ tspn each of garlic pwdr, onion pwdr, cayenne, marjarom, rosemary
¼ tspn each of coriander, sage, thyme, savory, and allspice (I’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout uppin’ these to ½ tspn each on the next round)

Fried 8 pieces (one whole chicken), 4 at a time in soybean oil 350F 40 minutes, turning after 20.

Just to make sure you got it, I brined the cut up pieces overnight. I dried them with a paper towel. Heated my oil to 350 degrees. Dipped each piece in the egg wash then coated with the flour mixture in a shaker bag, and put directly in the hot oil. Turned after 20 minutes and removed after another twenty and let sit on a paper towel covered plate for about 10 minutes before serving.

So right now, I have 13 herbs and spices and I still don’t have it exactly right (for me), although my wife and I both agreed, it’s pretty darn good this way.

Please let me know if you have an idea to make it better, even if it’s removing ingredients.

Enjoy!

Note: Sorry I didn't post any pics for this one. I'll get some on here soon.

2013-06-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

Glazed Donuts – In Search of the “Real Krispy Kreme Recipe”

When I see a recipe on a blog or facebook, I always read the comments. Crazy but hardly, or let’s say almost never do I see a comment from someone who has actually tried the recipe. I see stuff like I’m gonna try this, it looks yummy, etc about 25% . Negative comments about the recipe 50%, and negative about trying it the other 25%. Ya know, like why the heck should I work that hard when I can just go buy it. Ya know, I get ticked and yell at my computer. Don’t people post recipes because they want to share with those who will try them? Geez!

So I think about the comments and the only question semi worthy of a response is why make it. Several reasons come to mind. Some people live where they can’t just go a block and buy the real deal. Sometimes, the real deal disappears. Take Kenny Rogers Chicken for instance. Plus, some of us just like the satisfaction of doing things. I can think of more, but I’ve ranted enough.

Why am I telling you this? It happens every time I search for a so called “copy cat recipe.” Ok, to be fair, I have seen a few (very few) constructive comments. Like today while looking at a “real Krispy Kreme recipe” a lady asked about cream of tarter and commented that it was an ingredient that makes a donut “melt in your mouth.” I’ll take a look at that.

Copycat searches are a lesson in patience. In my search for the Krispy Kreme, I have tried several that are touted as being “finally, the real recipe.” Very few come even close. One guy put the “secret ingredient” of baked potatoes in his recipe. Really, ya think Krispy Kreme bakes a bunch of taters and has somebody back there peeling them and not one employee dimes them off to us copy cat searchers? C’mon! If potato was the secret, don't you think they'd just use potato flour?

My brother,,who was in the restaurant business most of his life, tells me “the best recipes are usually the simplest.” I find that to be true.

To date, I haven’t duplicated Krispy Kremes, but today I found one that’s pretty good and I’ll share it.

It comes from the Yummy Recipes FaceBook page and was apparently submitted by pseudonym “.leannebakes.” at www.leannebakes.com. Yummy Recipes has been on FaceBook less than two months and already has close to 5000 Likes. So thanks Yummy Recipes and .leannebakes for the recipe.

Here it is as given on leannebakes.com. I use this one because it’s just a tad different from her post on Yummy and I think it’s the better of the two. Then afterwards I’ll give you my comments and modifications.

Glazed Doughnut Recipe

3 tbsp. milk

3 tbsp. boiling water

2 tsp dried active yeast

8 oz plain flour (about 2 cups)

1 1/2 oz sugar (about 3 tbsp.)

1 egg beaten

1 oz butter

1/2 tsp salt

Enough oil to cover the bottom a few inches of a wok, or a deep fryer.

Directions:

In a large measuring jug, combine the milk and boiling water. Add a teaspoon of the sugar and the yeast. Stir it gently, then leave it in a warm place for the yeast to activate.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, the rest of the sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter using your fingers or a pastry blender, until it resembles crumbs.

Add the beaten egg and yeast mixture to the flour mix, and blend into a smooth dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured counter and knead for about 10 minutes- it should feel springy and little bubbles should form under the surface. Place it back in the bowl, cover with a cloth or plastic wrap, and let rise for about an hour until double in size.

Once risen, place the dough onto the counter and stretch into a long rectangle (about 14 in by 4 inches). Cut strips about an inch wide, and shape them into circles (much like you would a bagel).

Cover the doughnuts with a cloth while you heat he oil to 375F.

Place the doughnuts into the oil and fry until golden brown on each side, about 2 minutes.

Be sure to fry only a few at a time so they don't overcrowd and stick together.

Drain on a paper towel or wire rack over a cloth, before glazing them. Be sure to glaze them warm, or else they won't get that delicious coverage!

Glaze:

1/3 cup butter

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

4 tablespoons hot water (more added a tspn at a time as needed)

a dash of nutmeg

In a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until smooth.

Take the warm donuts and dip them one at a time into the glaze. Place on a wire rack with parchment underneath.

You're done!

So, I made these babies and Krispy Kreme (or Tim Horton’s for you North of the border), maybe not. But, I still give this recipe a big Thumbs Up because they are delicious!

On her website and on Yummy, leannebakes explains that she’s Canadian (explaining my Tim Horton comment) and uses a scale for measurements. That mixed me up just a little and caused me to use a half stick of butter when I think I should have used a quarter stick. My donuts browned a little too quick and this may be why. Go to her website to see some nice looking pictures of what I think they should look like.

One commenter said that the boiling water would kill the yeast and she’s right, but if you mix it with the cold milk, it comes out warm and the yeast will still activate.

I measured the flour with my scale and it does come out to a little less than two cups.

One of the reasons I like this recipe better than the one on Yummy is that this one says ½ tspn of salt where the other says “dash”. My dash was close to a whole tspn.

I used my Kitchenaid and mixed the dough for 5 minutes on 2. Then I kneaded it for 5 minutes. It came out to bigger than a baseball but smaller than a softball. Now for some reason, my yeast dough doesn’t rise well. Maybe it’s California, but I have never got the rise that I would like to see. Maybe it's because I used the first recipe that says 1 tspn yeast and this one says 2. Hmmm! Happened again this time, didn't rise enough, so I let it rise about an hour, then kneaded it 5 more minutes. Rolled it out about ¾ inch thick and cut my donuts with a coffee mug. I skipped cutting the holes. Take the leftover, knead it some more and repeat. I got 10 donuts out of it. Then I let them rise another hour. They did ok and rose to about an inch, but should have gone another half or more. Any suggestions on how to get it to rise better, let me know.

The glaze recipe yielded enough to do a couple dozen so it could be cut in half (unless you can get my dough to double.) I personally think the vanilla was a bit strong and I would cut it down to ¾ to 1 tspn. Then I would skip the nutmeg altogether. It wasn’t on the Yummy post.

I used Crisco soybean oil because all I had was that and canola on hand. Canola has a lower burn temp at around 350, so soybean got the nod. Probably most anything labeled vegetable oil will work. I cooked/fried them 3 at a time and the first three at 375 browned way too quick and were just a little gooey in the center. I dropped the temp to 325 and cooked longer. They still got just as brown but were done all the way through. Now, if you look at glazed donuts, you’ll see a white line around the middle on the sides. That’s because if the dough rises right, they’ll float higher in the oil. Mine floated but a touch lower which caused them to double cook on that center line making a dark line. I hope that makes sense to you. If you make a lot of donuts, you’ll see it, especially when you compare yeast raised to cake donuts.

So there ya go. This is the best I’ve found so far. It’ll stay until I find that illusive “Real Krispy Kreme.”

Enjoy!

Chief's Potato Salad

2013-06-22T12:38:00.002-07:00

My Dad, Chief made great potato salad. I watched him make it several times and even asked him “how much of that do you put in.?” He always answered “just til it’s enough.” So, that’s how I made it all my life until a couple months ago when someone asked me for the recipe. So last weekend, I made it for a neighborhood get together and I measured and wrote it down.

Chief’s Recipe

Potatoes, eggs, sweet pickles, stuffed green olives, salt and pepper, celery seed, Miracle Whip, mustard

Uncle Ron’s – Chief’s Potato Salad

10 small potatoes

½ cup each sweet pickle relish, stuffed green olives, white onion, celery (all chopped)

2 tablespoons prepared mustard

1 cup Miracle Whip

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon each celery seed, salt, pepper

3 hard boiled eggs chopped

1 hard boiled egg sliced for garnish on top

Paprika- sprinkled on top

I used ten small potatoes because I had bought a 5 pound bag of them. 4-5 regular sized spuds will do. The bigger they are, you may have to use a little more Miracle Whip.

I used to chop sweet pickles instead of the relish but the relish is easier and it has some other colorful stuff in it.

I peel then boil the potatoes in salted water for 40 minutes, soft but not too mushy. Then I drain them and refridgerate until cool a couple hours.

The way I hardboil the eggs, is by putting eggs in cold water in pan and bring to a boil. Then I shut off the heat, cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Rain the water and put in refridgerator with potatoes.

After they’ve cooled, I peel the eggs, then chopped the potatoes and 3 eggs. I leave the fourth egg in the fridge.

Mix everything together in a large bowl and refridgerate. You can eat it right away if you want. I like mine to sit in the fridge overnight to all those flavors can ‘marry’.

Before serving, peel that last egg and slice. Place on top of the salad for garnish and sprinkle with Paprika.

Now, my wife says she likes it better with black olives and we’ve made it that way. I prefer the green, but once we made it with both. It wasn’t bad.

My friends, Kevin and Kristy Farnsworth from Salt Lake (who I haven’t seen in 36 years, although I would love too), don’t use olives. They use ½ teaspn dry mustard instead of the prepared, and add a ½ cup sour cream. This was good enough that I asked for their recipe.

Whichever way you make it, I hope it turns out great!

Enjoy!

Frozen Fruit Salad, Green Rice, and Burgundy Wine and Honey Sauce

2013-06-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

Stephenson’s Apple Farm

Unless you are from Missouri, you probably don’t know that Missouri is a big apple growing state. While growing up, we were told there were more apple trees in Missouri than in Washington state. In the fall, my parents always made sure we made a trip to Stephenson’s apple farm between Independence and Lee’s Summit where we would drink apple cider right out of the barrel and eat apples right out of the bushel baskets. One time I had a loose baby tooth when I bit into that apple. I musta swallowed it because it disappeared. Funny, the Tooth Fairy still left a dime under my pillow that night.

Stephenson’s also had a great restaurant. Of course, being a fruit farm, they specialized in apple butter, jellies, and relishes. The restaurant was so popular that in the 70’s they decided to expand and opened a couple more restaurants.

Skip to today. 35 years and couple recessions, Stephenson’s is now gone. Luckily, someone gave my wife a Stephenson’s “Old Family Secret Recipe’s” booklet. We haven’t made but a few of their recipes but the one’s we’ve tried are just like we remember. Here’s three with our comments and a few tweeks. I hope you enjoy them.

Frozen Fruit Salad

This one is like a frozen ambrosia and is always a hit with guests.

Makes 6-8 servings.

3 oz pkg softened cream cheese

1/3 cup of mayonnaise

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 egg whites

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup whipping cream

5-6 large marshmallows, cut up

¼ cup drained mandarin orange slices

1 lb can fruit cocktail, drained

2 tablespoons chooped maraschino cherries

1 tablespoon chopped walnuts

Blend cream cheese, mayo, and lemon juice. Beat egg whites until foamy, beat in sugar (a tablespoon at a time), until stiff peaks form. Beat whipping cream until stiff. Fold the whip cream into the egg whites. Fold into cheese mixture. Fold in the rest of the ingredients. Pour into an 8 inch square pan. Freeze.

Notes:

We are Miracle Whip people but we use real mayo for this recipe.

We’ve made this with small marshmallows instead of the cut up big ones and it turned out great.

When beating the egg whites and whipping cream, be patient, it’ll get there. It’ll be stiff peaks like a meringue (since it’s exactly that).

We use a glass dish and cover with plastic wrap.

My wife likes this stuff frozen which is how it was served at the restaurant, but I like mine mostly thawed. Careful carrying the dish from the kitchen to the table, this stuff will slide off.

Green Rice – “Specialty of the House”

This side dish is fantastic. Don’t let the number of ingredients scare you off. I’m absolutely sure you’re gonna love it. Everyone I know, that has tried it, does.

Makes 10 servings

3 cups cooked rice

1 cup chopped parsley

½ cup grated cheddar cheese

1/3 cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped green pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

14 ½ oz can evaporated milk

2 eggs, beaten

½ cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon salt

½ teaspoon each seasoned salt and pepper

¼ teaspoon Accent

Juice and grated rind of one lemon

Mix rice, parsley, cheese, onion, green pepper, and garlic in a greased 2 quart casserole. Blend rest of ingredients. Mix into rice. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 degrees about 45 minutes, or until like a soft custard.

My notes:

For the rice, we’ve cooked it with “real” rice and with instant (Minute Rice and Uncle Ben’s). It comes out the same. You make the decision for yourself. Maybe brown rice.

We always use fresh parsley and have discovered “herb scissors” that make it simple. Just trim off the leaves and throw the stems away. No more tedious pulling off leaves and chopping. You can use parsley flakes but be sure to soak them first until soft.

Over the years, a 14 ½ oz can of evaporated milk has disappeared from store shelves. It’s now 12 oz. My wife just adds it at 12 but I make up the difference with regular milk. We’ve seen no difference either way.

We use Lawry’s seasoned salt and regular black pepper.

I hear a lot of people not wanting to use Accent because it’s MSG. Some claim it causes headaches. If that’s you, don’t use it. Personally, I like it as a flavor enhancer.

I use a lemon zester to remove the rind. Then I just cut the lemon in half and squeeze. I’ve seen a nifty bar tool for grating at Williams Sonoma. YouTube has some nifty videos of both.

Burgundy Wine and Honey Sauce

We use this sauce on ham steak, it’s delicious.

Makes about 2 cups

1 cup dark corn syrup

½ cup honey

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

10 whole cloves

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¾ cup burgundy wine

Heat syrup and honey to boiling. Add rind, cloves, and cinnamon. Remove from heat and cool. Stir in wine. Strain. Use for basting baked ham and as a sauce to serve with it.

My Notes:

I love cooking with wine. I usually just use what’s ever available in the fridge. For some reason the sweet flavor of a cheap burgundy works best in this recipe. The problem is that it’s tough to find a small bottle of burgundy, at least around my town. They’ve got gallon and half gallon in bottle or a box. Then you’ve got some extra for the fridge, ha. Or, maybe a nice glass with dinner.

This sauce is pretty thin so if you’d like some thicker, use less wine. I find that if I make the sauce a day ahead, it is just a touch thicker.

We’ve also added some chopped apple and or raisins. Both work well.

So, there ya go! Stephenson’s little recipe guide has some other terrific stuff. Maybe I’ll post some more later, but if you can find a copy of the book on ebay or at a garage sale, pick it up. You’ll be happy you did.

Enjoy!

What's The Difference?

2012-11-07T11:44:00.002-08:00

Different, But the Same!

Ever notice how two people can make the exact same recipe and it turns out different? I do.

I notice it most when I get a family recipe that I just loved as a kid. Then I make it and it’s just not the same. Did my tastes for things change over the years? Maybe! Or maybe it’s something in that dreaded “season to taste” or “dash of” line that you see in many, many recipes. Maybe a manufacturer changed an ingredient. Ya know, like using corn syrup instead of sugar. There could be many, many reasons.

I stumbled on one a while back. One of my wife’s and my favorites is goulash. It’s easy to prepare and always good. We make it at least once a month. She usually makes it.

So awhile back, I tell her, “I’ll cook dinner, what d’ya want?” Goulash. It’s the recipe from my post "Scrambling Hamburger" .

It turned out good, but we both noticed that something was different. We decided to investigate.

I pulled out the recipe and we started going through it. The recipe calls for a medium onion. Maybe that was it. Did I use brown when she uses white or red. Maybe my onion was a bigger medium than hers. How about the medium green pepper. Hmmm, maybe we should change the recipe to being more exact. Maybe ¼ or ½ cup of each and specify brown, white, or red. But, my wife says that wasn’t it. She uses whatever’s available but she likes the idea of exact measurement because sometimes if the onion or pepper seem to be a little big, she’ll not put it all in.

We moved on down the recipe. Maybe it was a different brand chili powder. If you read my post on "Chili Dogs", you know that all chili powder isn’t created equal. Nope, we both used McCormick’s.

Continuing on, we both had used the same amount Tabasco and the same brand (S&W) Mexican style tomatoes. The only thing we could figure was that it had to be the hamburger. Maybe I used a leaner mix than she did. Sure, that must have been it, because we decided, it seemed a little dryer.

Then yesterday, we once again decided on making some goulash. We did it together. That was when we found the missing ingredient.

Amazingly the answer is GREASE! She doesn’t brown the hamburger using my scrambling hamburger method. We discovered that when you use my method the hamburger grease is mostly discarded with the water. That’s good right? But, hey we want that flavor. She drains the hamburger after browning but that good fatty flavor stays there which we decided what was missing.

What other recipes did this affect?

We decided chili was probably better with the grease, but we both liked tacos and burritos to have less. Less with a Bolognese spaghetti sauce.

It all comes down to what I’ve been saying for years. Ya gotta experiment and figure out what you like.

So, for me, lessons learned: Be more specific on how much of each ingredient. Be more specific on methods.

I hope this post gave you some food for thought or visa versa. Hahahaha!

Enjoy!

Blue Cheese Dip - Great for Every Occasion

2012-08-31T10:20:00.001-07:00

Blue Cheese Dip

2 packages of cream cheese (softened)

1 package blue cheese

4 tbsp chopped black olives

4 tbsp chopped onion

Milk

Use just enough milk for a smooth consistency

Beat with mixer

Serve with corn chips.

Fritos or Bugles are best.

photo courtesy of my niece, Melanie Schultz

click on picture to enlarge

As a kid, I never was much of a blue cheese fan. As a aging boomer, I have become a big fan. The above dip recipe is one that my mother made for every family occasion. It was there on every holiday and even for neighborhood taco parties.

With football season getting ready to kick off, I figured I oughta add this to the blog.

Every time someone new tries it, they ask for the recipe and Mom always gave it to them.

Here's a little story of how my Mother got the recipe. In our little town of Liberty, Missouri there was a guy named John Pixlee. Mr. Pixlee threw the paper for the Kansas City Times and Star. All the time I was growing up, I don't remember having another paper man. He had a white van and he would sit in the back rolling papers and threw them out of the van while someone else drove it. Anyway, Mr Pixlee's wife was Eula (Harlow) Pixlee. Mrs. Pixlee brought the Blue Cheese Dip to a party. It was immediately devoured. So, she left and came back with another big bowl and the recipe. My Dad says there's a note about it in one of my Mother's recipe books. The Pixlee's owned a bar in Liberty in the 40's. Both Mr and Mrs Pixlee were born in November 1900 just a couple weeks apart. She died August 1989 and he followed just a month later. There's gotta be a good love story there.

I hope you'll love her dip.

Enjoy it and as always, feel free to share the recipe.

South Seas Chicken

2012-08-12T06:31:00.000-07:00

I always overbuy fruit and veggies. That happens when there’s only two people in the house. This week it was bananas. I bought a half dozen and we only ate a couple. There’s always banana bread but ya really got to time that just right. Those bananas gotta ripen pretty good, and we’re pretty lazy when it’s in the triple digits outside.

Barbi, my Mrs., has a recipe called South Seas Chicken. It’s perfect for this situation, plus it takes a lemon which we always have plenty of. Neither of us really know where this recipe came from but she says she thinks she got it off a cream of coconut can. Who woulda thought you could use cream of coconut for something besides Pina Coladas.

As always, click on the pic to see a larger view.

It’s really good recipe and we use thighs but we have used breasts and it turns out great. We just prefer legs and thighs, unless we’re havin’ company. Ha!

South Seas Chicken

2 bananas

6 pieces chicken

Salt and pepper

1 cup cream of coconut

2 tblspns lemon juice

2 ½ cups cornflake crumbs

¾ cup melted butter or margarine

Rinse and pat dry the chicken pieces

Salt and pepper both sides of chicken

In a bowl mix the cream of coconut and lemon juice

Peel and cut the bananas in half (lengthwise or crosswise)

Dip the chicken and the bananas in the coconut then in the cornflakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Brush bottom of baking dish with butter

Place chicken in dish

Drizzle with half the butter

Bake for 45 minutes

Add bananas

Drizzle with remaining butter

Bake another 15 minutes

If you’re having company, I would cut the bananas in thirds so there’s a banana for each piece of chicken. Or, you can just add another banana.

Here’s something to think about. Drizzling the butter gives a rich buttery flavor, but some say it makes it a little too greasy. Maybe drizzle over half and see how you like it best. We always have leftovers, and the extra moisture is good for the reheat, but you can always add a little when you need it.

Now, I don’t know about where you live, but where I live, cream of coconut comes in a 15 oz can. So you got about a cup left over. My suggestion. Serve with Pina Coladas!

Enjoy!

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4th of July- Chili Dogs

2012-07-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

Chili Dogs

Want to learn how to cook? Experiment.

That’s what I do. At first you have some bad batches of stuff but you learn quickly.

Remember my chili recipe? If not, click here:

Uncle Ron's Chili

Today is the 4^th of July and nothin’ goes better with Independence Day than some real American food.

Chili Dogs

If you make Chief’s recipe and leave out the beans, you have a fantastic chili dog sauce.

With Barbi’s recipe, just leave out the beans and can of water.

You can add the beans too, if you wish, but leave out the water and strain one can of the beans to make it into a thick chili dog sauce.

If you really feel “experimental,” throw in some jalepenos, or for milder, some chopped bell pepper.

Maybe, leave the onion out in case your having a party. There’s lot’s of folks that for some reason that I can’t figure, don’t like onion. I personally, don’t know how you can cook without it.

Here’s a coney island twist, leave out the tomato soup and add a bottle of chili sauce instead.

Chili Powder

All chili powder is not created equal. The chili I made today was a little hot. Spicy, chili powder hot. It was because I used hot New Mexico chili powder. I had bought this stuff in an effort to save some moola. You know, the spices that are about half the price and come in a bag instead of a bottle. I'm not saying these spices are bad, I'm just saying experiment and figure out which ones you like and which ones you don't.

In the Sept/Oct 2000 issue, "Cook's Illustrated" published a taste test article on chili powder. I'm including it here.

Now, I would like to discuss a few helpful hints I have learned when it comes to chili dogs.

People ask me "Uncle Ron, should I grill or boil? Should I toast the bun?" My answer, whatever/ whichever you like. I prefer boiled without toasting.

After you make a pot of chili or hot dog chili sauce, I suggest you dig out those old ice cube trays and freeze the leftovers.This is something I learned from a Marine dependent wife named Bobbi. Bobbi and her mother made a great chili dog sauce but refused to give up the recipe. I suppose they were saving it for after Bobbi's husband, Dennis retired from the Marine Corps. He could start a new career in front of federal buildings or county court houses. Anyway, the ice cube sized chili is perfectly sized for a single hot dog serving.

Remember going tot he ball game or fair and buying a "red hot" or "coney" and how good it tasted. Why did it taste better than you make at home. It didn't. You were just in a situation where that hot dog really hit the spot. Here's a suggestion. When you serve your dog, wrap it in either wax paper or foil. It compresses the dog so when you unwrap it, little of your toppings (including the sauce) fall off the dog. Another idea is to roll it up in a used bread or bun wrapper, then unroll it before placing it in the plate. Believe me, this really does work.

Finally, let's talk ketchup. I think Heinz is the best commercial brand. Once again experiment. Some people will put ketchup on anything. I saw Marines in the chow hall put it on eggs. And yes, some people even put ketchup on their hot dog. Go figure!

I hope this was helpful.

Enjoy!

Ham Smokin'

2012-06-24T17:53:00.007-07:00

Smoked Ham

Yesterday, I was staring at my new smoker and wondering what I should cook up next when my wife saw me. She walks over and says “Ya know, ya oughta smoke a ham.”

So, off to the internet I went looking for some help. I found several sites but the jist of it was that you smoke the ham about 4 hours to an internal temp of 140-150 degrees. Most also used a glaze.

The interesting part was whether or not you use a “cured” ham (already cooked) or a raw one. I don’t ever remember seeing a raw ham in the grocery store, so I decided on a ham already fully cooked.

I went down to the store to see what my selections were. Turns out there was hardly a choice. It not being a holiday, they only had a couple to choose from. They did have an already cooked spiral sliced ham but I thought I’d rather slice it after the smoking. I grabbed a five pound sugar cured ham for $1.99 a pound.

I got this $10 ham home and went to work. First ting, of course, was to clean the smoker from the last time I used it. Smokers, like bbq grills get backwards treatment in that after you use it, you just let ‘er sit. Unlike anything else you use to cook that gets cleaned immediately and put away ready for the next use. Interesting!

The first thing I did was rub a Dijon style honey mustard all over the ham. Then, I rubbed it all over with brown sugar.

I let it sit while I fired up the smoker with a full pan of water and a smoke box of pre-soaked “cherry” wood chips. Once the smoker gets up to about 200, it’ll start smokin’ and your ready to add the ham. I had pulled out two of my three racks and had left the last one close to the bottom. The rubbed ham went directly on the rack.

I’ve learned that the trick to smokin’ with a gas smoker is to make sure there’s plenty of wood chips in there to keep the smoke going and to keep the water pan with water as to provide moisture for whatever you’re cookin’.

After an hour, I turned the ham over, added some more cherry chips and some water and let ‘er go another hour.

After that second hour, I pulled out the entire ham. I placed it on some foil and sprayed that baby with some canned pineapple juice. I had debated whether to use pineapple or apple as another recipe mentioned and decided on the pineapple. Then wrapped the ham with the foil and put it back in the smoker.

Now, at this point, you don’t need to add any more chips cause the smokes not gonna make it through the foil. You might not need the moisture either, but I added some water to the pan. The indirect heat at 225 is what you’re looking for.

After another hour, I pulled out the ham and unwrapped it making sure not to allow any of the juices to run out the foil. One recipe called it making the foil into a “boat.”

I poured brown sugar all over it, then sprayed it with some more pineapple juice. The spray immediately made the brown sugar into a glaze. Then wrapped it back up and back in for another hour. I also added some more water to the pan.

After another and final hour, I pulled it out. I checked the internal temp and got right at about 145. This bad boy was ready and I was dying for a taste, but nope, ya gotta let ‘er rest for a while cause it worked pretty hard in that heat.

Most recipes agreed between 15 and 30 minutes so I figured what the heck 30 minutes oughta do it. That bad boy should be well rested and ready for a knife and fork.

I unwrapped the ham. I slowly cut a circle around the bone, then cut off two slices. The first one had glaze on it, so I let it sit on the plate, while I gave a taste of the second juicy slice.

Oh my god, you gotta try this! Delicious!

Now, I’m not like most recipe publishers who would leave things right here. I want to tell you the bad as well as the good.

First off, some of the meat closest to the outside was a little dry.

There’s a lot of fat on a ham, and there’s skin over that. You have to cut it off.

If you’ve ever carved a small ham with bone, it’s about as easy as carving a turkey or a chicken. You end up with a lot of chunks. That’s ok, ‘cause you can use them and that fat, along with the bone for ham and beans.

Unless you’re using a huge ham like they cook in restaurants, you’re not gonna get a lot of thin sandwich ready slices, even with a slicer. Be prepared to eat delicious smoked ham sandwiches with pieces.

I don’t think it makes a big difference what kind of wood you use. While I was cooking, I thought, “this cherry smoke smells just like hickory and mesquite smoke.” It’s smokey. You experiment and decide if you think it makes a difference. Let me know.

Lastly, a whole ham is covered with that layer of skin and fat. That’s the outside, except for one end. I wonder if there’s a necessity to glaze it. Maybe just spray it or baste it to keep it moist. I don’t know. I’ll try to remember the next time I smoke one, and I’ll let you know.

I’ll definitely do it again but I’m sure this won’t be one of those weekly things, maybe once or twice a year. I’m thinking when I have guests so I can use a huge ham.

All in all, the smoked ham was delish and I give it a thumbs up!

Enjoy!

Cole Slaw

2012-06-22T13:18:00.001-07:00

I was lucky enough to grow up in a household where both Mom and Dad cooked. Mom used the old red and white Better Homes cookbook and lot’s of Family Circle recipes. Dad was a fireman and you know how those guys cook. Plus, Dad had cooked at some lunch counters/ diners as a teenager.

Anyway, one of the things my Dad made best was his cole slaw. This was long before KFC was around. I never saw him use a recipe, he would just throw together the ingredients. He’d slice a head of cabbage and throw in some Miracle Whip, just a little vinegar, and some celery seed. It always turned out great.

Of course, once you get married now you join another person from a household that they believe had the best food around. The trick is to mix and match until you find the right combinations that satisfy you both.

Here’s the Cole Slaw we now make at our house.

Cole Slaw

In a 2 cup measuring cup, mix together:

    1 cup Miracle Whip
    1/8 cup milk
    2 tbspn sugar
    ½ tspn celery seeds
     ½ tblspn apple cider vinegar

Pour this mixture over about 10 ounces of chopped/sliced cabbage. We came up with 10 ounces because our local grocers sell precut cabbage in 10 ounce packs. We use the one with carrots added but you decide if you want carrots or not.

Stir it up real good, cover and refrigerate. We make it at least two hours before we eat to let the ingredients blend or “marry” as many cookbooks call it. If we’re gonna have ribs or chicken for dinner and we want some slaw with it, my wife will make the cole slaw in the morning and let it sit in the fridge all day. Then when you get ready to eat, stir it real good again and serve.

Carrots aren’t the only variation. My brother’s wife adds pineapple and marshmellow. I like ‘em. My Dad would have a “hissy.” We’ve also been known to put some rasins in there (there's a few in the batch in the picture). I have some friends who add chopped onions and green bell pepper, but I tend to skip those. Then, there’s the old Miracle Whip salad dressing or real mayo controversy. You decide.

So, experiment and I hope you find just the right combination that fits your family.

Enjoy!

Note: I updated the recipe on 6-7-2013. I realized I missed an ingredient, the apple cider vinegar.

Grilled Cheese and variations thereof...

2012-06-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

Some people are just nuts for grilled cheese sandwiches. My wife is. Then there’s my niece who used to eat grilled cheese for breakfast. I’ll have to ask her if she still does it. I wonder if her husband does? They’ve also got a new baby who will be old enough before long for a grilled cheese introduction…..hmmmmm.

Anyway, inexpensive, quick, and just down right delicious.

Just in case you live in Siberia and although you are looking at my blog, but have never tried a grilled cheese sandwich, here’s what you do. Butter some bread. Put a piece or two of American cheese in between with butter side out. Grill.

Now, let’s talk variations. One of the easiest is simply changing the cheese. Maybe some provolone or swiss. Then my wife adds some miracle whip. Yep, before grilling. Several years ago, we went to a little Mom and Pop place and they had added red onion and sliced tomato. It’s fantastic and we still do it. I of course, like dead animal products so I’ll add some roast beef, bologna, or chicken. Every so often, we’ll skip the cheese all together and just have some grilled roast beef with bbq sauce (sometimes ham and bbq sauce). How about ham and cheese, grilled… with mayo….. Or, how about a little tuna salad or some salmon. Listen, you could go on and on and on…… I’m really not sure about anchovies….

Enjoy!

Midwestern Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

2012-06-10T08:40:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, my friend Craig and I were talking about home. We’re both from Missouri but both live in California. His dad and my parents both still live back there. We were talking about what we miss and don’t miss about the Midwest. Of course, we talked about humidity, snow, and reminisced about growing up there. Then the subject turned to food. One of the things we both agreed on, we miss those fantastic tenderloins they have in the restaurants back there. So, yesterday, we and our wives got together and made some. They turned out fantastic!

They are so easy to make. It’s basically, flattened pork tenderloin, breaded and fried. Yup, that easy. Here’s our step by step.

Pork tenderloin sandwiches

One package pork tenderloin (NOT pork loin, it’s gotta be tenderloin)

Flour

Salt and pepper

Eggs

Milk

Ritz crackers

Corn oil

Ok, there’s the ingredients. Here’s what we did.

First you gotta fight with that silverskin on the meat. Scrape, cut, and pull ‘til it’s all gone. Sounds difficult but only takes a few minutes. Then cut the tenderloin. If you’ve never had one, the tenderloin is a long muscle about two inches in diameter. So, ya look at it and say, how in the world do I turn this into a bun sized patty. I cuta piece off about 2 -2 ½ inches, then you butterfly it, meaning you cut a slit about half way but you only cut it about half way through. Then fold it out and hammer it flat. The thinner the better. Repeat until you’ve either run outa meat or you have enough to make a sandwich or two for each person. I layer these between some wax paper then put them back in the fridge. Smashing them down is pretty easy. We have one of those tenderizing hammers which work good, but I just use my fists and play Rocky music in the background.

Then you gotta grind the ritz crackers. I use a Cuisinart food processor, but a mortor and pestle work good too. A wooden spoon in a measuring cup does just fine. Speaking of fine, that’s the way you want your cracker meal. I guess you could buy it, but for some reason the stores where I live, don’t carry it..

Put flour in a bowl and mix in a little salt and pepper. Then throw two eggs in another bowl and put in just enough milk to give it the consistency you’d want for scrambles eggs.

Heat some oil to 375 degrees. I use an electric fryer but you can do it on the stove.

Take your tenderloins out of the fridge and separate. Take them one at a time, coat in the flour, dip in the egg wash, then cover with cracker meal.

Put straight into the hot oil and let it cook until it’s a golden like fried chicken or chicken fried steak.. It’ll only take a few minutes. Turn it to ensure you have cooked both sides.

Put them on a plate with a paper towel.

Then prepare a bun (we like sesame) with some mayo or miracle whip, lettuce, tomato, and if you like dill pickle slices. Some like ketchup.

Eat, enjoy, and talk about Missouri!

Smokin’

2012-06-10T08:39:00.001-07:00

Last week I was looking at BBQ grills. I have a nice one and don’t know why I look, but I do anyway. This time of year (spring) they always have a good selection. Anyway, I saw a nice upright, Charbroil, gas smoker ON SALE! I’ve wanted one forever, so I looked at the wife, who said “Happy Father’s Day.” Even though, the holiday is weeks away, I knew that she meant to get it and don’t expect anything else ‘cept maybe a card.

Smokers are so easy to use and the food comes out great. You soak some wood chips. I like hickory and apple but have used citrus. You can buy them at the grocer or hardware store. Don’t use plywood or treated lumber though…. I soak ‘em for about two hours but they say (whoever they are) 30 minutes is enough. I throw about half package in a bucket and let ‘em soak. I pull out what I need and let the rest stay n the water. Fire up the smoker and put some water in for steam and put the wood chips in the smoke box. (Men, read the directions that come with the smoker!) Use your favorite rub on some meat of throw in some veggies or both and let ‘er cook. The smoker will slow cook at about 200-250. If your heat starts going higher, you need to add some water, or turn it down a notch. Veggies only take an hour or so, but meat will need to cook ‘til it’s the right temperature. My pork butt took about six and a half hours to get it to 170 internal temp degrees (measured with a meat thermometer. Baby backs are the best on a smoker. And chicken… Mmmmmm!

Enjoy!

Cream of Mushroom with Chicken

2012-04-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

Frank and Betty Smith owned a restaurant in Hemet, California named Falatico’s. Frank ran the restaurant, and Betty ran the business. Falatico’s was just a great place. The food was fantastic, but the place itself, with all the employees just yelled “Come on in, we’re the friendliest place you’ll ever dine. Plus the food is GREAT!"

Now, I knew Frank from the Elks Lodge. He would never give me his recipes although he would tell me pretty much exactly but after a few beers, I would never remember. One thing Frank used to say was “Ron, you’d be surprised how simple most recipes are.”

Falatico’s specialty was Italian as you may have guessed from the name, but they had great barbeque ribs and steaks. Another thing that “was to die for” was their homemade soups. Especially Thursday night when they would have mushroom.

Sorry to say, Frank and Betty are both gone and so is Falatico’s. I often think about them and have cravings for one of their meals. Start with a small salad with Italian, then the mushroom soup, the main course of ribs with a side of spaghetti, then a little spumoni for dessert.

Ok, so the other night while eating some really great cream of potato soup at the Soboba country club, I started thinking about Falatico’s and their mushroom soup. So, the next morning I started checking recipes and guess what, you’ll be surprised about how simple it is.

Basic is best and here’s the basic.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

½ lb fresh mushrooms (chopped)

1 tbspn chopped chives (green onions, chopped)

3 tbspns butter

¼ tsp salt

¼ tspn blk pepper

4 cups chicken broth

4 tbspns flour

¾ cup cream

Melt the butter and sautee the mushroom s and chives. Add the salt and pepper and chicken broth. Bring to boil. While waiting for it to boil, shake the flour with the cream and add to the boiling broth. Stir until it thickens then drop to a simmer. Serve

__________________________________________________

Now, how easy is that?

So, here’s what happened to me. I didn’t have any chicken broth and I could bitch about the price of gas and how the nearest store is five miles away, but the fact is I was too lazy to go to the store. But, I did have some frozen chicken breasts. So, I crockpot’d it on high for 4 hrs in 4 cups water and made my own. And, since now I had the chicken breasts, I used a half cup chopped in the soup, and that’s why the title says Cream of Mushroom with Chicken.

Now, I know that most people don’t have a half pound of fresh cremini mushrooms in their fridge like I did, so canned is ok, 2 or 3 small cans. And if you do like fresh, feel free to use portabell’s, shiitake’s or whatever suits your fancy.

What I did was slice half and chop the other half cause I wanted some slices in the soup. Whichever mushrooms you use, when you sautee them with the chives, don’t forget the salt. That’s what brings out the flavor. Lot’s of people these days will be tempted to skip it, you know the so called healthy.

I mentioned how simple this is. If you read some of the recipes from famous chef’s like Julia Child, you’ll see where they whipped the heavy cream with an egg yolk then mixed in some arrowroot (which I cannot find in my local grocery stores) and this is what gives the creamy thickness. I say if you got time, go for it. It’ll probably be better, but if you talk to the kitchen help, at the restaurant, it’s thrown together in a pot. It's basically a white sauce and broth with mushrooms and onion. Puck uses corn starch, I used flour. Hey, experiment. Add some bay leaves, thyme, use beef instead of chicken, celery, or whatever. It’s gonna be one of two recipes. One you use again or one you don't. I’m usin’ mine again.

Enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan

2012-04-14T14:06:00.001-07:00

Once again I opened the Parade Magazine and saw a recipe that caught my attention. This one Feb 26, 2012 was for Ree Drummond’s Chicken Parmesan. Ree Drummond is the star of Pioneer Woman on the Food Network. I must admit that I’ve never seen her show but the recipe looks great.

http://www.dashrecipes.com/recipes/sunday-dinner/chicken-parmesan-ree-drummond.html

Here’s mine:

Chicken Parmesan

2-4 boneless chicken breasts – pound them thin (I use my fists, the mallet is just too light.)
1 egg
¼ cup milk

1 cup flour

1 teaspn each Salt and pepper

1 cup oil

Whisk the eggs and milk in a bowl. Mix salt and pepper with flour in shaker bag. Dip chicken in this egg wash then coat with flour and salt and pepper. Do this step twice.

Cook in hot oil then set aside. Keep warm at 250 degrees.

At this point, you could use the pan and make a gravy, then serve with fried potatoes, but that’s another meal. Back to the parmesan.

1 tblspn garlic

¼ to ½ onion

1 chopped (diced) tomato

1 jar Prego or Ragu spaghetti sauce

½ cup wine

Provolone (or mozzarella) cheese slices

Spaghetti (4 servings)

Add garlic and onion to pan drippings and saute. Add the sauce and wine. Let simmer while you cook the spaghetti as per the package. Drain spaghetti and return to pot. Mix in about a ½ cup of the sauce with the spaghetti. This will give it that reddish coating.

Put serving of spaghetti on plate or pasta dish. Sprinkle with parmesan. Lay a chicken breast on top of the spaghetti. Put a generous slice of provolone on chicken. Pour sauce over chicken then top with generous portion of grated parmesan.

This is a simple but delicious meal. Serve with some garlic bread and spumoni ice cream for dessert.

ENJOY!

Rosemary's Baby / St Cloud Cocktail

2012-04-14T14:02:00.002-07:00

A couple years ago, I got interested in genealogy. It happened by accident but I got hooked and have enjoyed many hours researching my relatives. I never met my paternal grandfather and had to use my investigative experience to find him. He had changed his name slightly, changed his birthplace, and even his birth year came into question. Ultimately, the way I found him was in his brother’s obituary. Finding him opened a new branch of the family. I have a second cousin named Carl. Carl probably has no clue that I even exist but I’ve researched him just the same. One afternoon, I found Carl listed in a blog by a Julia Reed. Julia is a friend of Carl and his wife. They apparently have a very good catering business. The story goes that Carl was in Boston and stumbled upon a drink called the St Cloud at the Aquataine French Bistro. The aquataineboston.com menu says the St. Cloud is Svedka Vodka, grapefruit, Rosemary Essence, and lime zest. Julia did some experimatnation and came up with her recipe that is listed on her website www.fetchmagbytaigan.com/food-drink/rosemarys-baby

Anyone following my blog knows that I have rosemary growing in my back yard in abundance and I’m always looking for ways to use it. I also have a grapefruit tree, so this recipe is a natural for me plus it is very, very good. Julia describes it as tasting “seriously like the nectar of the gods.” Thanks Julia for a great recipe. Tell Carl I said hello.

Rosemary’s Baby

“First, make the simple syrup by boiling two cups sugar and two cups water for a few minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved. Take the pot off the heat and steep a healthy handful of rosemary branches in the syrup. Leave it on the counter to cool with the herbs for 30 minutes to an hour (rosemary is so strong you don’t need to do it any longer to get the full effect). Remove branches and strain syrup. This will keep refrigerated in a jar for at least a month, which is why I always make at least two cups of the stuff.

While the syrup is cooling, squeeze fresh grapefruits (the Texas pink variety is sweetest and prettiest) to make as much juice as you need. Strain through a wire mesh strainer, and chill. Put a healthy jigger of ice cold vodka in a highball glass, and top with the chilled grapefruit juice. Stir in a couple of tablespoons of the rosemary syrup and taste (depending on the sweetness of the juice, you may need more). Garnish with a rosemary sprig.”

As always, ENJOY!

Kansas City BBQ Sauce

2012-04-14T13:52:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up in Kansas City, there were two types of barbeque. There was Arthur Bryant’s and there was Gates. Bryant’s was where you went if you were on your way to the baseball game because it was right there down the street from the old municipal stadium. Arthur Bryant’s is my favorite.

http://here-in-california.blogspot.com/2010/01/arthur-bryants-now-thats-barbeque.html

Over the years, I have searched for bbq sauce recipes hoping to duplicate Bryant’s sauce. I’m still looking, but not long ago, I ran across several websites that said this recipe was given to Martha Stewart on her show by Ol’ Mr Gates himself. So I gave it a try. I hoped with all my heart that it was the real thing. Ya know, I have many times run across recipes that say stuff like “this donut is exactly like a Krispy Kreme” so you go for it and the result doesn’t even resemble a glazed donut let alone the real Krispy Kreme. I am happy to report that this recipe is the real deal. It may or may not have come from Mr Gates, but it sure does taste like Gates sauce. At least to me. I played around with it and came up with the following. It may seem a little thick but that can be easily taken care of with just a little water. I like to make this sauce a day or so in advance, but have used it right out of the measuring cup.

Gates BBQ Sauce

1 cup ketchup

      4 tblspns vinegar
      2 tblspns sugar
      ½ tblspn salt
      ¼ tblspn celery seeds
      ¼ tblspn ground cumin
      ¼ tblspn ground red pepper
      ¼ tblspn garlic powder
      ¼ tblspn chili powder
      ¼ teaspn liquid smoke
     1/8 teaspn lemon juice

I hope you ENJOY it!

Stuffed Green Bell Pepper

2012-02-13T14:09:00.000-08:00

I grew up on these things. My Mom and Dad always used the old Better Homes and Gardens red and white checkered cookbook recipe. Mom used to prepare them the night before and cover them with saran wrap then refridgerate. The only thing they needed were to be baked and served. Mom and Dad both worked so whoever got home first baked them. Usually Mom got there first, but one night Dad beat her home. He heated the oven and threw in the stuffed peppers. The only problem was that he forgot to take off the saran wrap. Luckily saran wrap shrivels before melting, so we were able to get most of it off. Also luckily, melted saran wrap didn’t kill us when we ate it.

Dad worked for Remington Arms/ Dupont at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant. For Christmas 1979, Lake City made up a cookbook of “Favorite Lake City Recipes.” 450 pages of about 1500 recipes. On page 146, a primer inspector named Jackie Cort of Bldg 35 listed her Stuffed Pepper recipe. In it, she added the horseradish. It adds a nice little zing. Skip it if it scares you. I like it!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

6 bell peppers

1 tsp Salt (keep the salt shaker on standby)

1 tsp black pepper

1 ½- 2 lbs hamburger

1 chopped onion

2 14.5 oz cans tomatoes

1 cup water

1 cup rice

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

8 oz shredded American or cheddar cheese

1 tblspn horseradish

Cut of tops of peppers and spoon out seeds and membrane.

Boil in salted water 5 minutes (skip this part if you like your peppers very crisp)

Take out of water. Sprinkle inside with salt (shake it like a salt shaker) and set aside on plate.

Scramble the hamburger and onion and drain.(Refer to that post. If not, just brown it.)

Put back in skillet and add salt, pepper, tomatoes, water, rice, Worcestershire sauce, and horseradish.

Bring to boil and let simmer about 5 minutes (until rice is tender). If there's still excess water, let it simmer longer to boil off that liquid. You want the meal mosit and tender but not soggy.
Stir in the shredded cheddar.

Place peppers in a large baking dish (I use a 9x13)

Fill peppers with meat mixture, then spoon the rest of the meat mixture around the peppers.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with grated Parmesan cheese, bread, and butter.

Now that’s some good stuff, or should I say stuffing?

Enjoy!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

2012-02-12T16:01:00.000-08:00

Click on picture to see the whole thing

I have always loved pineapple upside down cake. I'm not sure when I tried it for the first time, but my guess is probably the chow hall at NAS Jax, Florida. I'm also sure I had a big glass of cold milk too. Oops, drooling on the computer, let's get to the recipe.

When you read recipes in the cookbooks, they're all about the same, except for the newer cookbooks don't walk you through making the cake yourself. Instead they recommend using a boxed yellow or white cake mix. I've made my own and I've tried the mixes, and I gotta tell ya, for a buck and a half, get the mix. I would recommend that you at least once make a cake from scratch, though. Sorry, this time I'm using the mix. But, with some adjustments. Don't worry, very minor. : )

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

1/2 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 20 oz can pineapple slices
1 jar marachino cherries, no stem
1 box yellow or white cake mix
1/4 cup sugar
1 orange
plus eggs, oil, etc on cake mix box
crushed walnuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees
Use a 13x9 pan, melt the butter in the oven
Sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter. Spread it out to cover the whole pan.

Drain the pineapple (but save the juice) and place the slices in the pan. Try to arrange them pretty evenly in the pan. Then put a cherry in the middle of each slice and if you want, place a few extra in between. If you want, sprinkle those optional crushed nuts on there, but don't over do it.

Check the mix box and see how much water it calls for. Then substitute the water with a mixture of the left over pineapple juice, the juice of one fresh orange, and water. That's the 1st adjustment. Then mix it all up as directed on the box plus throw in an extra 1/4 cup of sugar. That's the second and final.

Pour the mix over the pineapple and cherries. Bake for 45 minutes (check the side of the cake mix box). Test with a toothpick or a fork to make sure it's done. If it is, the toothpick or fork will come out clean.

Pull from oven and immediately run a knife around he edge of the pan. This will loosen the cake so it won't stick. Now place a plate of pan bigger than the cake pan over the cake pan. Use something that won't melt. Turn the cake over onto the plate. Leave the pan over it for a little over 5 minutes to make sure all that juice soaks into the top of the cake, then pull the pan off. Doesn't taht look yummy? Let it sit for at least 30 minutes before you cut and serve it. If ya feel like it throw on a little whip cream. MMMmmmmmm!

There's that drool again..... Enjoy!