Category: Grandpa’s Use Only
These recipes are for Grandpa and his family. This category includes recipes from magazines, TV shows, newspapers, and other sources where I don’t have permission to republish the recipes, but still feels they are recipes that he may want to cook for himself at a later time.
Philly Cheesecake
Eggs Benedict
April 16 is Eggs Benedict Day
:: BASIC RECIPE – A MATTER OF ASSEMBLY
Prepare Hollandaise sauce – RECIPES HERE
Poach eggs – Standard procedure
If you are poaching in simmer water in a pan, put a bit of vinegar into the water. It will help the egg stay together. After you remove it from the water, put it onto a no-lint tea towel to drain slightly. This keeps it from getting your English muffin wet.
Toast English muffin
Heat up ham on medium heat
Alternately you can use prime rib, lobster, scallops, chicken, turkey, pork, or any other kind of protein. Grandma likes steamed spinach, asparagus, etc
Assemble: Muffin, topping, egg, Hollandaise
SPECIAL STEPS
Photo does not show ham cause Grandma does not like ham, and Grandpa likes FAR too much Hollandaise Sauce to appeal to most people or to photograph well.
- On the bottom, one half toasted Thomas English Muffin.
- On the muffin, one or two rounds of ham. I like to use Black Forest ham and cut a circle using a muffin ring or soup can.
- On the ham, 1/4 cup steamed Collards, Kale, Spinach or other IRC Gila Farm green. Chop them, then squeeze the liquid out, then chop again.
- On the greens, one poached egg
- Over the egg use any of THESE RECIPES
Sour Cream Pizza
Prepare a standard pizza crust or Pilsbury canned pizza dough
Roll out flat onto your baking sheet
Cover the dough with
– Sour cream
– Pepper
– Salt
Slice Vidalia onion very thin and spread onto pizza dough
Add 4 pieces of raw bacon cut into bits
Cook at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes
EZ Muffin-Tin Homemade Donuts
2 3/4 C AP flour
1/4 C corn starch
1 C sugar
1 TBL baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 C buttermilk
8 TBL (1 stick) melted butter whisked into the buttermilk
2 eggs plus one yolk
Combine wet and dry ingredients
Do not overmix
Spray 12 C muffin tin and put into muffin tins
Consider using a mini-muffin tin if making these for something like a potluck
Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes
Remove baked muffins to a cooling rack
While they are cooling
Whisk together 1 C granulated sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon together
Melt another stick of butter – 8 TBL
Paint/brush butter mixture all over the muffins
Roll around in the sugar/cinnamon mixture
Press mixture into the muffin – you want to coat it as well as possible
Let them rest about 15 minutes
Rice and Lentils with Crispy Onions
Rice and Lentils with Crispy Onions
Mujaddara from 13th Century Mesopotamia
One pound of Vadallia onions . Sliced
Toss in 1 tsp salt
Microwave 3 minutes
Yogurt Sauce
1/2 C plain yogurt
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 TBL lemon juice
Mix and refrigerate
Rinse salt off onions
Dry well in a lint free cloth
Add to 3/4 C cold vegetable oil in Dutch oven
Cook on medium-high heat for 30 minutes
3/4 C brown or green CLEANED lentils
3/4 C basmati CLEANED rice
Let rice soak in hot tap water 15 minutes
Par cook the lentils in 2 C water with 1 tsp salt
Simmer 15 minutes
Drain onions in colander, reserving oil
Drain on a paper towel
Rinse ALL starch from rice
Strain well
Add 2 TBL onion oil back to skillet
2 cloves minced garlic,
1/2 tsp each cumin and coriander
Large pinches of cinnamon and allspice
Small pinches black pepper and cayenne
Bloom spices
Add rice and cook about 3 minutes
Add 1 1/4 C hot tap water
1/2 tsp each salt and sugar
Bring to rapid boil
Add lentils and reduce heat to low
Cover and cook 12 minutes
Verify liquid is absorbed
Cover with cloth towel gasket, recover, and set off heat for 10 minutes
Fluff with a fork
Add 2 TBL chopped cilantro
1/2 of the cooked onions
Fluff together with fork
Serve topped with the other onions
Drizzle with yogurt sauce
Irish Brown Quick Bread
Combine dry ingredients
1.5 C whole wheat flour
2 C AP white flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp salt
3 TBL sugar
1/2 C toasted wheat germ
– – – – – – –
1.75 C cold buttermilk
2 TBL melted butter
– – – – – – –
Drizzle and whisk butter into cold buttermilk
Drops will congeal
– – – – – – –
For the story of quick bread, CLICK HERE.
– – – – – – –
Pour dry ingredients into liquid and mix
Finish on a mixing board or the counter
Flatten just a bit and put onto a baking paper
Cut a large X across the top so bread can expand
Bake at 400 degrees for about 45-50 minutes
Brush top with melted butter
Cool for at least an hour before cutting
– – – – – – –
Stuffed Mushroom Caps
Use whatever kind of mushroom caps you prefer, but make sure they are big enough to stuff.
- In a Bowl 1 – Stuffing
- Brush 12 mushrooms with a paper towel to clean
- Destem and put clean stems into a bowl
- Add 2 strips crisp cooked bacon
- Several sprigs parsley
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
- Optional: 1-2 TBL sliced jalapenos
- In Bowl 2 – Topping
- 2 TBL grated Parmesan
- 1/4 C cream cheese
- 1/2 C Ricotta
- 1/2 C Panko bread crumbs
- 1 TBL EVOO
- Separate stuffing and topping into twelve little piles
- Half, Half again, then thirds
- Stuff caps with stuffing, and carefully top with the topping
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes
- Let cool 5 minutes before serving
Basic Pie Crust – THREE RECIPES
BASIC PIE CRUST
This is probably the most simple pie crust you will ever make.
2 1/2 c ap flour pulsed
1 tsp salt
12 tbl cold butter
3 ice cubes (better 2 TBL frozen vinegar)
1/2 c cold sour cream
1 egg
Optional: If you are making a savory crust, add some chopped chives to the mixture
Continued at bottom of page
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100 Year Old Pie Crust:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup shortening
1 dash salt
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 cup milk
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TV RECIPE PIE CRUST
3 CU flour – sifted
2 tsp baking powder
2 TBL sugar
1 tsp salt
9 TBL COLD butter
6 TBL vegetable shortening (Crisco)
1/2 CU cold milk
Continued at bottom of page
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Regardless of which recipe you use, your next steps will be as follows:
Combine wet and dry
You can food process to bring the ingredients together, but DO NOT form a ball, or your dough will be over-processed and tough
Dough should be about like “Play Dough”
Divided into two pieces. One for the pie bottom, and one for the pie Top crust.
Form into a thick disk and wrap in plastic wrap
Chill in refrigerator for one hour – or up to a week
At the end of one hour, put on counter for 10 minutes.
Roll flat to 12 inches. Put both in refrigerator for 10 minutes.
=======================
The Best Blind Baked Crust from Scratch
- One stick butter – very cold and sliced as thin as possible
- Put into freezer for 15 minutes
- 150 gm AP flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Spin to combine
- Put in frozen butter and pulse until it is fine meal
- 1/4 C ice water (or 1/4 C nearly frozen vodka) – 5 pulses
- It will look like it needs more water, but it doesn’t
- Put into the center of a large plastic sheet (from a garbage bag)
- Compact into a ball, then flatten into a big hockey puck
- Refrigerate 30-60 minutes
- Chill two pie pans to the freezer during this time
- Put disk on a floured parchment paper and roll slowly until it is about 1/4 inch thick
- Put in between two 1/8 inch cutting boards and roll until consistently flat
- Move the crust to the pie pan
- Put one cold pie pan on top of the crust, then using the parchment as a sling move it over and put it into the second pie pan
- Press down, then invert. Remove the first pan, then remove the parchment paper.
- Put the first pan back on, then invert again
- Trim any excess and put into another garbage bag and freeze overnight
- Preheat oven to 300º
- Put a baking sheet on the lowest rack
- Put the pie pan (upside down) on the top rack
- Bake 1 hour
- Turn up heat to 375º and bake for another 15-20 minutes
- Remove pan and put on a cooling rack (upside down) for 20 minutes
- Invert and remove the top pan
- Let cool a full hour
Rattitouille
This is kind of like saying “Casserole” There are literally thousands of recipes. Here is one of them:
Roma Tomatoes
– canned tomatoes in winter is OK
put a small X on the bottom of the tomato and plunge into boiling water for about 30 seconds
then put into ice water – peel back skin
Toss tomatoes in oil and put onto a tray
Get three yellow bell peppers or Anaheim peppers, halve, and put on tray with the tomatoes
Bake peppers and tomatoes at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes
Put peppers into a plastic bag and let them sweat for a couple of minutes, then peel black skin off of peppers
Cook in separate pans in a bit of oil:
Japanese Eggplant (one inch pieces) Dark purple
Chinese Eggplant (one inch pieces) Light purple – lavender
Squash (one inch pieces)
Zucchini (one inch pieces)
Onion (Sliced thinly)
Salt each of the above ingredients except the onion
Roughly crush the tomatoes
Combine everything into the largest skillet
Add fresh basil chiffonade, kale chiffonade, thyme, pepper
Serve with a French or Italian loaf of bread
Boudin
Potato Peel Pie
Drop potato peels into salted boiling water and cook for 10 minutes
Drain, pat dry, and make crust with potato peels – cut side up
Mix one large cooked beet ( mashed and strained ) with 2 cups mashed potatoes
Spread across bottom
Spread next layer with 2 cups mashed potatoes
Grate one carrot lightly over top
Sprinkle with grated cheese
Bake at 350° 60 minutes
Watermelon Salad
Toss together:
Watermelon pieces. Seedless (toss separately in lime juice)
Yellow tomato . Skinned and seeded
Red tomato . Skinned and seeded
Chervil or Parsley
Dill
Chives
Tarragon
Sea Salt
Pepper
EVOO
Reduced balsamic syrup drizzle on plate
Plate mixture
Top with spring greens
Drizzle with EVOO
Top with grated Parmesan cheese
Granita Parfait
- Cut watermelon into 1/2 inch perfect squares and set aside
- Put imperfect pieces into the blender
- Add 2 TBL honey and zest and juice from one lime into a blender
- Blend till smooth
- Dump into a Ziplock bag
- Pop into the freezer until it is frozen
- Pulverize right in the bag and put back into the freezer
- Take your cubes and sprinkle with coarse salt and sugar
- Sprinkle lightly with Tajin (a Mexican lime-spice)
- Mix whipped cream and lemon sorbet
- In little clear glasses layer first 1/8 with watermelon cubes
- Add 1/8 layer of lemon sorbet
- Add 1/8 whipped cream
- Top last 1/8 with the granita
- Add a few more watermelon cubes, sorbet and whipped cream
- Top with a single blueberry
Quick and Elegant Ice Cream
Quick: Caramel syrup
Elegant: Salted caramel
Paint on the bottom of dessert bowl
Quick: Crushed graham crackers or Vanilla Wafers
Elegant: Cocoa nib and carob
Sprinkle on bottom
Quick and Elegant: Cut the top and bottom off of an orange. Set it flat on a cutting board and shave the sides off. Cut into sections and place on top of the sprinkles.
Quick and Elegant: Put a scoop of high quality ice cream on the orange slices.
Quick and Elegant: merest sprinkle of crumbs over the top
The Humble Lemon
Amazing frozen lemons
All it is…..is a frozen lemon
Many professionals in restaurants and eateries are using or consuming
the entire lemon and nothing is wasted. How can you use the whole
lemon without waste?
Simple.. Place the washed lemon in the freezer section of your
refrigerator. Once the lemon is frozen, get your grater, and shred the
whole lemon (no need to peel it) and sprinkle it on top of your foods.
Sprinkle it to your vegetable salad, ice cream, soup, cereals,
noodles, spaghetti sauce, rice, sushi, fish dishes, whisky…. The
list is endless.
All of the foods will unexpectedly have a wonderful taste, something
that you may have never tasted before. Most likely, you only think of
lemon juice and vitamin C. Not anymore.
Now that you’ve learned this lemon secret, you can use lemon even in
instant cup noodles.
What’s the major advantage of using the whole lemon other than
preventing waste and adding new taste to your dishes?
Well, you see lemon peels contain as much as 5 to 10 times more
vitamins than the lemon juice itself. And yes, that’s what you’ve
been wasting.
But from now on, by following this simple procedure of freezing the
whole lemon, then grating it on top of your dishes, you can consume
all of those nutrients and get even healthier.
It’s also good that lemon peels are health rejuvenators in eradicating
toxic elements in the body.
So place your washed lemon in your freezer, and then grate it on your
meal every day. It is a key to make your foods tastier and you get to
live healthier and longer! That’s the lemon secret! Better late than
never, right? The surprising benefits of lemon!
Lemon (Citrus) is a miraculous product to kill cancer cells. It is
10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy.
Why do we not know about that? Because there are laboratories
interested in making a synthetic version that will bring them huge
profits.
You can now help a friend in need by letting him/her know that lemon
juice is beneficial in preventing the disease. Its taste is pleasant
and it does not produce the horrific effects of chemotherapy.
How many people will die while this closely guarded secret is kept, so
as not to jeopardize the beneficial multimillionaires large
corporations?
As you know, the lemon tree is known for its varieties of lemons and limes.
You can eat the fruit in different ways: you can eat the pulp, juice
press, prepare drinks, sorbets, pastries, etc… It is credited with
many virtues, but the most interesting is the effect it produces on
cysts and tumors.
This plant is a proven remedy against cancers of all types. Some say
it is very useful in all variants of cancer. It is considered also as
an anti microbial spectrum against bacterial infections and fungi,
effective against internal parasites and worms, it regulates blood
pressure which is too high and an antidepressant, combats stress and
nervous disorders.
The source of this information is fascinating: it comes from one of
the largest drug manufacturers in the world, says that after more than
20 laboratory tests since 1970, the extracts revealed that It destroys
the malignant cells in 12 cancers, including colon, breast, prostate,
lung and pancreas…
The compounds of this tree showed 10,000 times better than the product
Adriamycin, a drug normally used chemotherapeutic in the world,
slowing the growth of cancer cells.
And what is even more astonishing: this type of therapy with lemon
extract only destroys malignant cancer cells and it does not affect
healthy cells.
So, give those lemons a good wash, freeze them and grate them. Your
whole body will benefit from it!!!!!
<hr>
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Cauliflower can be used to make a Super Food pizza crust, without sacrificing any of the flavor or texture.
Click the image to view a readable sized image of this recipe from Arizona Republic.
Pork Milonaise
Pork Milonaise
Alt: veal
Pound pork chop (or loin) flat and very thin
. Use butterflied, bone in if possible . Elefante
Season with salt and pepper
Dredging mixtures:
First: Flour
Then: Eggs
Finally: Bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, parsley
Hot well-oiled fry pan
Both sides, then the oven @ 375° for six minutes
Caramelized fresh onions pieces
A touch of balsamic in hot skillet
Add figs just to heat, not to cook
Put in arugula just to wilt
Put onto plated pork chop
Top with gorgonzola or bleu cheese
Drizzle with EVOO
Spinach Pies
These terrific little pastries, stuffed with spinach and two cheeses, are made throughout the town of Chaniá in Crete. Every cook has a version (some use onions; some don’t). Chef Evelina Makrinaki adds a splash of brandy to the dough, making it a little fluffy.
DOUGH
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
FILLING
5 ounces curly spinach, stemmed and finely chopped
1/4 pound Greek feta cheese, finely crumbled
1/4 pound manouri or mild feta cheese, finely crumbled
1/2 small onion, finely grated
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup finely chopped mint
1/2 cup finely chopped fennel fronds or dill
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water
Sesame seeds, for sprinkling
- Make the dough In a bowl, whisk the 2 cups of flour with the salt.
- Make a well in the center and pour in the water and oil,
- using a wooden spoon to gradually incorporate them into the flour until a shaggy dough starts to form.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until a soft dough forms, about 2 minutes.
- Wrap the dough in plastic and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Make the filling In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the egg wash and sesame seeds and mix well.
- Preheat the oven to 450°.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 12-by-16-inch rectangle, a scant 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut the dough into twelve 4-inch squares.
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of the filling into the center of each square; bring up the 4 corners to meet in the center, then pinch together to seal.
- Arrange the pies on a parchment paper–lined baking sheet.
- Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake the pies for about 30 minutes, until lightly browned and the filling is hot.
- Let cool for at least 5 minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature.
Make Ahead
The pies can be baked early in the day.
Suggested Pairing
Try this dish with a vibrant, orange peel-scented white from Crete.
Ohio Buckeyes
CHILL TIME – 1 Hr
This is such an easy desert recipe:
2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cake paraffin wax (see Note)
- In a large bowl, combine peanut butter and butter; mix until smooth.
- Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, stirring until thoroughly mixed.
- Form mixture into 1-inch balls, place on a waxed paper-lined rimmed baking sheet, and chill for 1 hour.
- In a double boiler over medium heat, or in a saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate chips and paraffin wax, stirring until smooth.
- Stick a toothpick in the center of each peanut butter ball and dip each three-quarters of the way into the chocolate mixture, coating all sides except the top quarter.
- Place on the prepared baking sheet and remove toothpick.
- Using your finger, fill in the hole left by the toothpick.
- After dipping all the peanut butter balls, cover, and chill, or freeze until ready to serve.
- Makes about 5 dozen treats.
Notes
Cake paraffin wax is commonly used in chocolate to assist in the process of melting and keep it solid at room temperature. You should be able to find paraffin wax at your grocery store in the aisle where canning supplies and jars are sold. You may also find it in the aisle where baking supplies are sold.
See photos of real buckeyes (left) and confectionery buckeyes (right).
Here is a recipe from Sam the Cooking Guy.
2 C creamy peanut butter
1 C salted butter
16 oz (box) powdered sugar
Blend all together and shape into small golf balls or large marbles… however you envision it.
Place on a small baking sheet and freeze for one hour, or refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
In a double boiler, melt
2 C Nestle chocolate morsals
2 TBL vegetable shortening
2 TBL paraffin wax (also sometimes called baker’s wax or canning wax)
After balls are cooled, use toothpicks to hold them while you dip them ALMOST all the way into the chocolate.
Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.
Six Layer Decadence
aka Sex in a Pan – from http://www.bakingglory.com/cakes/sex-in-a-pan/
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 10 servings
Ingredients
Crust (first layer)
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
- 3 tbsp white sugar
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup flour
Cream cheese (second layer)
- 8oz (225g) package cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup whipped cream or cool whip
Vanilla pudding (third layer)
- 1 package of instant vanilla pudding (5.1 oz or 144 g)
- 2 cups milk
Chocolate Pudding (fourth layer)
- 1 package of instant chocolate pudding (5.1 oz or 144 g)
- 2 cups milk
Whipped Cream (fifth layer)
- 2 cups whipped cream or cool whip
Chocolate (sixth layer)
- shaved chocolate
Preparation Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F / 175° C.
- Oil/spray a 9×13 inch (23x34cm) baking dish.
- Mix chopped pecans or whatever you want to use, with some sugar, butter and flour then press it into your baking dish.
- Bake it for about 20 minutes, let it cool down completely before you add the second layer.
- Prepare your vanilla and chocolate puddings as per instructions on their packages.
- Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and whipped cream until light and fluffy.
- Let them cool for a while then place it evenly over the crust.
- On with the next layers now, evenly spread vanilla pudding.
- Add the chocolate pudding layer as well.
- Fifth layer is whipped cream spread over entire surface.
- Shave a lot of dark chocolate on top of your cake and enjoy!
- I would refrigerate over night but two hours might just be enough.