Category: TOPICS & CATEGORIES

Gnocci with Tomato Sauce

Serves 6

* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 small onion, finely chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/4 cup dry white wine
* 1 can (28 ounces) whole plum tomatoes with juice, crushed by hand
* 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) tomato sauce
* 2 sprigs basil
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
* Gnocchi
* Thinly shaved parmesan cheese, for serving

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add wine; cook until most liquid has evaporated. Add tomatoes and juice, tomato sauce, basil, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until slightly thick, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.

2. Bring a large pot water to a boil; add 1 tablespoon salt. Add half of the gnocchi; when they rise to the top (after about 2 minutes), continue to cook until tender, about 15 seconds more. Transfer gnocchi with a slotted spoon to pan with sauce. Repeat process with remaining gnocchi.

3. Reheat gnocchi over low heat; gently toss. Serve with cheese shavings.

These are from Martha Stewart Web Site

Crispy but Soft Garlic Bread

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 TBL butter
  • 2 TBL olive oil
  • 2 TBL grated garlic
  • 1 tsp garlic powder mixed in 1 tsp water
  • 1 tsp Oregano
  • Cayenne, Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 1 loaf of SOFT crusted Italian bread

STEP BY STEP

  1. Heat 3 TBL butter and the garlic in the microwave for 60 seconds (tames the garlic)
  2. Mix heated butter with garlic powder mixture
  3. Mix in remaining ingredients
  4. Cut Italian loaf lengthwise
  5. Spread both halves with garlic butter mixture
  6. Sprinkle lightly with freshly grated Reggiano cheese
  7. Bake face up on a heavy baking sheet at 450º for 3-4 minutes
  8. Turn face down on the hot baking sheet
  9. Cover with another baking sheet and press lightly
  10. Cook for 8-10 more minutes

Garden Skillet Supper

Ingredients

½ c butter
1 c onion (thinly sliced)
2 zucchini (1/2” slilces)
1 med eggplant (peeled and cut ½” slices)
½ c flour
2 green pepper (cut in strips)
2 tomatoes (wedges)
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp oregano
1/8 tsp pepper
garlic

Instructions

  1. In covered elect skillet melt butter, sauté onions, garlic until onions tender.
  2. Dip zucchini and eggplant in flour to coat lightly. Add to onions along w/green pepper, cover and simmer 30 min.
  3. Add tomatoes, salt, oregano and pepper.
  4. Cook an additional 15 min.
  5. Serve over rice.

Tips: Frying Food

Before we begin…

  1. Very little oil gets absorbed if done properly.
  2. Frying in cast iron increases potential to go rancid.
  3. Dutch oven is good fry vessel because it is heavy and holds the heat
  4. Unless you plan to do a LOT of frying, don’t invest in a dedicated fryer
  5. Have an ABC fire extinguisher on hand (and a lid)
  6. Spider strainer is good for removing fried foods
  7. You will also need a good pair of metal long-reach tongs – no plastic
  8. Try to get pieces to uniform size
  9. Since temperature is critical, a candy thermometer is important – about 315-365º depending on what you are frying.  DO NOT DEVIATE from fry recipe temperatures.  Do not go above 365 or your oil will go rancid.
  10. You need a wire rack so that things won’t get soggy after being removed from the fryer
  11. Canola oil and Peanut oil both have a high smoke point
  12. Fry in small batches because the temperature will change when you put things into it.
  13. Season when your fried food is still hot
  14. When you are done, let it cool before you do anything. Don’t save oil when you fry strong flavors such as fish. Then strain it into a glass jar. Use for up to three times, but then discard. Do not mix new oil with reused oil.
  15. Food to be fried should be patted dry with a towel, or spun in a salad spinner.  Any amount of water will create spatter risks.
  16. Fry in small batches to maintain temperature of oil
  17. Initial sizzle is steam being forced out.   When steam is going out, oil can’t go in.  When steam stops, oil is absorbed, so remove as soon as sizzle stops.

Ingredients to feed 4 people

BASIC FRY MARINATE (4-24 hours)

  • 1 Pieced chicken
  • 1 C Buttermilk
  • 1/4 C cayenne sauce
  • 3 eggs

BASIC FRY DREDGE

  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp Black pepper
  • 2 CU AP flour
  • 1 TBL baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
 BASIC FRY BATTER

  • 1 C Buttermilk
  • 1/4 C cayenne sauce
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp Black pepper
  • 2 CU AP flour
  • 1 TBL baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • enough cold beer to thin your batter

Oh, one more thing…

  • Saturated Fats are BAD.  Althought they have a long shelf life, they are bad for your health.
    (eg) Butter, beef tallow, lard, palm oil. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature
  • Mono Unsaturated Fats are : BETTER for you.  They have a shorter shelf life
    (eg)  Olive oil, nut oils like almond, walnut and hazlenul – Low smoke point.
  • Poly Unsaturated Fats are actually GOOD for you.  They have a short shelf life, so keep refrigerated
    (eg) Canola, peanut, safflower and grapeseed oil. Mild flavor. High smoke point.
  • FRENCH FRY TIP FOR CHICKEN:   Fry twice…
    First for 2-3 minutes to cook, then drain on rack and cool then another 2-3 minutes for final fry to crispen
    Put on drain rack and season, then pop in oven at 200 degrees for 10 minutes
This is a recipe that has been created or modified by Robert (Grandpa) Andrews.
CLICK HERE for a free sample copies of Grandpa's Cookbooks. © 2016, 2017, 2018.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Recipe Ingredients

  • Your favorite bread – Rye or pumpernickel is a good choice
  • Slice of sharp yellow or white Cheddar or Swiss
    You can use processed cheese.  It keeps well because it is shelf-stable.
  • 2 TBL Miracle Whip or Mayo plus 1 TBL Dijon mustard – mixed
  • 2 TBL Butter – softened
  • 1/2 C Apple Cider or White vinegar
  • Optional
    • Thin slice of ham
    • Fresh Poblano pepper – blackened and skinned
    • Beefsteak or other slicing tomato
    • Red onion – paper thin slices

Step by Step

  1. Cut onion into paper-thin slices
  2. Marinate the onion in 1/2 C hot vinegar – set aside to cool
  3. Toast poblano over an open flame, with a blow torch, or under the electric oven broiler until it is blackened
  4. Put the pepper into a plastic bag to sweat for 10 minutes
  5. Use a paper towel to remove the skin – DO NOT RINSE
  6. Cut off top of pepper, slit open and remove seeds and vein
  7. Cut bread into thin slices.
  8. Apply desired mayo or mustard to the cooking side.
  9. Apply chipotle mayo to the inside.
  10. Put optional ham or onion or tomato on the bread.
  11. Put cheese onto the bread and place the other slice on top.
  12. Melt 2 TBL butter in a medium heat (not hot) skillet.
  13. Put sandwich into the skillet, spreading around so that butter coats the bottom slice.
  14. Get another tab of butter ready.
  15. Slip a spatula under the sandwich and hold it while the other tab of butter melts, flip it and place it on the pool of  butter.
  16. Spread it around on the butter.
  17. Put a lid, large mixing bowl or baking sheet over top to help the cheese melt.
  18. Cook about two more minutes
  19. Serve with sides of bread butter pickles, sweet gerkins, capers, etc.
  20. Cut the crust off, as sparingly as possible, then quarter the sandwiches and serve.

Alternatives

Chipotle Spread

  • 1/2 C miracle whip
  • 2 chipotle peppers
  • zest and juice from one lime
  • salt and pepper

 

 

Gravlox (“Grav Lox” = buried salmon)

From Cindy’s Recipe Card

Title of Recipe: Gravlox (“Grav Lox” = buried salmon)

Ingredients:
Salmon
2 tbl salt
3 tbl sugar
1 tbl white pepper
2 tbl honey
1 tbl whole-grain mustard
1 tbl reg. Mustard
1 tbp red wine vinegar

Instructions:
Sprinkle salt, sugar & white pepper mixture in bottom of pan, put salmon in pan, top w/ lots of mixture (be very liberal). Cover with dill sprigs. Baste/drizzle w/ cognac. Put weight on top. Let set 2 hours, then put in refrigerator. Flip & repeat daily for 5 days. Scrape off almost all topping, slice and discard, cut at extreme angle as thin as possible (cut off brown edges).

Sauce; 3 tbl of juice/liquid from Gravlox pan, 2 tbl honey, 1 tbl whole grain mustard, 1 tbl reg. Mustard, 1 tbl red wine vinegar. Slowly pour in 4 tbl veg. Oil, while whisking, will emulsify. Refrigerate, add 1 tbl chopped dill.

Special Steps:
Top w/lemon dill, radish sauce and serve with pumpernickel and chardonnay /or schnapps.

Basic Gravlox

Ingredients

  • Salmon – fresh – skin on
  • 2 TBL salt
  • 3 TBL sugar
  • 1 TBL white pepper
  • 1 TBL black peppercorns
  • 1 TBL corriander seed
  • 2 TBL honey
  • 1 TBL chopped fresh dill
  • 2 TBL ground mustard

Note:  You can tell if it is fresh because the pin bones WILL NOT pull out easily.  There will be just a bit of tug.  If they slide right out, the salmon is not quite fresh.

Step by Step

  1. Mix all dry ingredients
  2. Put salmon in pan, skin side down
  3. Top w/ lots of mixture (be very liberal)
  4. Flip skin side up, and top with more mixture
  5. Flip again, skin side down and top with more mixture – reserve about 2 TBL of the mixture
  6. Layer thickly with slices of lemon and orange
  7. Add last 2 TBL of dry ingredients over top of lemon and orange
  8. Cover and refrigerate for 24-36 hours
  9. Unbury salmon and place on sheet of plastic wrap
  10. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap
  11. Refrigerate about 3 more days
  12. Unwrap and rinse under running water
  13. Pat dry and wipe liberally with olive oil
  14. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for another 2-3 days
  15. Unwrap and cut at extreme angle as thin as possible (cut off brown edges)
  16. Serve with sauce and crackers, or see other preparations below

Sauce

  1. 2 TBL each – honey, sour cream, minced onion
  2. 1 TBL each – whole grain mustard, regular mustard, red wine vinegar, capers
  3. Slowly pour in 1/4 C olive oil, while whisking, will emulsify.
  4. Add 1 TBL each – chopped dill, cives
  5. Refrigerate
  6. Serve with sauce and pumpernickel

Norwegian Gravlox

Ingredients

  • Raw salmon
  • Olive oil
  • Rock salt – fleurdesel
  • Lemon
  • pepper

Step by Step / Serving

  • Slice paper thin, lay out.
  • Eat with salt, pepper, oil, lemon , chervil

American Gravlox

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 2 tablespoons whole white peppercorns
  • 1/2 cup kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 cups chopped dill
  • 2 cups chopped parsley
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 3 tablespoons gin, Hendrick’s preferred
  • One 2-pound, center-cut, skin-on wild salmon fillet, pin bones removed
  • Bagels and cream cheese, blini or scrambled eggs, for serving

Step by Step

  1. In a spice grinder, combine the cumin seeds and white peppercorns and pulse until finely ground.
  2. Transfer to a medium bowl and add the salt, both sugars, dill, parsley, crushed red pepper, lemon zest and aquavit.
  3. Mix well.
  4. Place the salmon in a glass or ceramic dish, skin-side down.
  5. Spread the herb paste evenly over the fillet.
  6. Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the fish feels firm and looks cured in the center, 2 to 3 days.
  7. The sides of the fillet will have the strongest flavor and driest texture.

Serving

  • Sliced gravlox
  • Sliced avocado
  • Toasted Noble Bread
  • Scallion cream cheese spread
  • Grainy mustard honey sauce
  • Boiled egg slices
  • Dill sprigs

 

Mexican Gravlox

Ingredients

  • Fresh Salmon
  • 1 TBL tequila over top
  • Mix handful of chopped cilantro
  • 2 TBL dark brown sugar
  • 2 TBL salt
  • 1 TBL black pepper
  • 1tsp chipotle or cayenne powder
  • 1tsp cumin
  • Grated lime zest

Step by Step

  1. Cover, flip and cover
  2. Cover in plastic and cover with heavy weight
  3. Ready in 3-6 days
  4. Serve on crackers or toast
  5. Top with Crema

Puff Pastry Gravlox

  1. Egg wash (yolk, water, salt) a sheet of room temperature puff pastry
  2. Cut into circles and place on baking tray
  3. Put a 1/4 lattice tray over top of circles, using a spacer so that all of puffs will be the same height
  4. Bake 325º for about 15 minutes
  5. Poke a hole in the center for filling
  6. Pipe mixture of sour cream, dill, salt and pepper onto baked circles
  7. Top with thinly sliced gravlox or roll into a rose
  8. Bake 400º for no more than 2 minutes
  9. Add a dab of sour cream onto the rose and garnish with salmon caviar or sturgeon caviar
  10. Top with the merest bit of dill
  11. Serve on a piece of slate (just to be pretty)

Hash Browns (Hashed Browns)

hash-brownsAccording to Google Hash Browns is correct.  I’ve heard it both ways.  People will also refer to Latkes (which is the Jewish term) and Rostis (which is the German term).  They are cooked SLIGHTLY differently, so I will include a recipe for both of them at this site.  This recipe is for the kind of Hash Browns that you would get if you were to go out to some Mom and Pop diner here in the United States.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 small Yukon Gold potatoes (or two large Russets)
  • 1 small onion
  • Corned beef
  • 1 egg
  • 1 TBL Olive oil
  • 1 TBL salted butter
  • 1 tsp salt

STEP BY STEP

NOTE: For Home Fries, dice the potatoes into cubes the desired size and prepare pretty much the same way.  Toss every 5 minutes or so, and increase cooking time so that they are well browned on most sides.

  1. Wash potatoes well, and pat dry
  2. If you prefer peeled potato hash browns, cut nice big chunks of the skin for cooking on another day as potato skins.  Store them in the fridge in a jar of salted water.
  3. Cut potato meat into thin slices, then cut slices into short strips. 
    Alternately you can grate them.
  4. Mix with grated or diced onion
  5. Mix with shredded corned beef
  6. Add 1 beaten egg
  7. Use salad spinner or a tea towel to dry them as much as possible
  8. Toss in 1 TBL Olive oil and place in large cast iron skillet over medium heat
    – These will cook for about 5-8 minutes.
    Flip when potatoes start to brown at the edges of the pan.
    You can slide onto a plate, then invert the plate for safe flipping
  9. Set the burner to low, then cook for another 5 minutes
  10. They are ready to serve when the second side has browned.
    HERE IS AN OPTION YOU MAY TRY.
  11. Peel onion and chop into small slivers
  12. In small pan, saute onion in 1 TBL olive oil
  13. When translucent, remove from heat and set aside
  14. After potatoes have browned, combine all into a large mixing bowl and toss together with sauteed onion and salt
    READY FOR ANOTHER OPTION?
  15. Put loosely into a preheated (oiled) waffle iron for 10-12 minutes.  DO NOT add too much cheese, or you will have a gooey mess.  Top the cheese with more potatoes to minimize cheese contact.

NOTES

    • If you toss them too frequently the gluten develops and the hashed browns become tough and chewy, rather than crisp.
    • Don’t overcrowd skillet of they will be soggy, rather than crisp. You need space for the steam to escape.

VARIATIONS

  • When hashed browns are almost done, create a hollow, and carefully crack two
    eggs into the hollows. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and allow eggs to soft
    boil for 5-10 minutes.
  • Add one diced sour apple at Step 7. You can also add bell peppers or diced
    chives at Step 7. Another option is to add finely diced corned beef or sausage
    to make hash.
  • I prefer to dump the partially cooked potatoes into a large mixing bowl and toss there, rather than in the skillet. After tossing, return them to the hot skillet.

Harvard Beets

INGREDIENTS – For a full can, just double ingredients

  • 1-2 CU beets (cooked, cubed or sliced) or 1/2 of a16 oz can
  • 1/4 C of the beet water (usually salt, sugar and vinegar)
  • 1/4 CU sugar
  • 1/4 CU red wine or white vinegar
  • 1 TBL cornstarch
  • 1-2 tsp butter
  • salt to taste

STEP BY STEP

  1. Drain 1/4 C beet liquid into a medium saucepan
    Set the beets aside in a bowl until the end
  2. Add all other ingredients to the saucepan
  3. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat
  4. Reduce heat and simmer 2 min or until thickened
  5. Add beets to saucepan and gently fold in until heated

 

Breadsticks – Several Recipes and Tips

{Olive Garden Breadsticks}

From:   http://readableeatables.blogspot.com/

Oh man, I loved these! These would just complete any meal really. Pasta, soup, salad…you name it. Make these when you get a chance. Make sure you serve them hot out of the oven.

*These are a little more dense than Olive Garden’s. But the flavor is incredible and pretty right on with the garlic butter. I also updated the picture, because the other one was too dark. Enjoy 🙂

Dough:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs yeast
1 Tbs salt (yes, the recipe calls for 1 Tablespoon, which I use every time and they turn out great.)
2 Tbs butter, softened
4-5 Cups flour

Topping:
3 Tbs butter melted
sea salt
1 tsp garlic powder

For the dough, pour the water into a stand mixer with the sugar and yeast, let that sit and froth for about 10 minutes. Add salt, butter, and 2 cups of flour. Mix the dough on low. Add the rest of the flour a half cup at a time, until dough scrapes the sides of the bowl clean. Mix the dough about 5 minutes on medium speed, until its soft and easy to work with.
Let the dough rest in the bowl until doubled in size, about 1 hour and then roll it out. Roll the dough out into a long log, spray a knife with cooking spray and cut the dough into 12-14 pieces. Roll those pieces into about 6 inch long snakes. Spray 2 large cookie sheets with cooking spray, ( I usually only use one) and lay the breadsticks out leaving about 2 inches between each one.
Place them in the oven with the temperature turned to 170 degrees. Let them rise for about 15 minutes, or until doubled in size.( I have also let them sit at room temp until they are doubled in size and then bake them in the oven)
Once risen, brush them with the 1 1/2 T of melted butter and sprinkle them with salt. Now preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake them for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. While they are baking combine the rest of the melted butter with 1 tsp garlic powder. When the breadsticks are golden brown, remove them from the oven and brush them with the butter/garlic mixture.

Other Breadstick Notes

Basic ingredients:
Flour, EVOO, Water, Yeast, Milk, Butter

Grissini Bread sticks are thin crisp bread sticks, rather than the chewy ones shown above.
Good flavor enhancers and combinations for this type of bread stick (from Greatest British Cooking Show) follow:

  • Nigella seed and Parmesan cheese
  • Poppy seed, caraway seed and Kalamata olives
  • Lemon and rosemary
  • Ras el hanout is a flavor from Africa
  • Garlic, Parmesan cheese and Bleu cheese
  • You can also entwine two different colors

Knead your dough until you achieve the Window Pane Stage, where it can stretch so thin that light goes through it.
A slow bake will drive out the moisture, making it crispier.

Grissini

    • 1 1/3 C water (warm)
    • 2 tsp yeast
      • Let rest 5 minutes
    • 1/4 C EVOO
    • 1 C AP flour – whisk to combine – this removes lumps
    • 2 C more flour
    • 1.5 tsp sea salt
      • Put on Kitchen Aid with paddle attachment
    • Change to dough hook
      • Add 3/4 C more flour
    • Mix 3-5 minutes with dough hook on medium-slow speed
    • Finish on counter, kneading by hand
    • Stretch dough into a rough rectangle
    • Put dough on surface oiled with EVOO
    • Continue to stretch until it is relatively flat
    • Roll using rolling pin to about 1/2 inch thickness
    • Brush the top with sesame oil
    • Cover with plastic wrap while still on counter
    • Cover plastic with a towel for about 90 minutes
      • You will have only one rise
      • OPTIONAL:  Sprinkle with sesame seeds or caraway seeds
    • As time nears, oil a large baking sheet with sesame oil
    • Cut into half (lengthwise) with a pizza cutter
    • Cut dough about the width of your fingers and move fingers to the baking sheet, stretching to width of baking sheet
    • OPTIONAL:  Stretch far, then twist into a spiral breadstick
    • Bake at 400º for 18-20 minutes
      • Cook until golden/tanned

From Sally’s Baking Addiction

Find it online: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/homemade-breadsticks/

  • Water: Warm water activates the yeast. It should be about 100–110°F (38–43°C). If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast. And your dough will be doomed.
  • Yeast: You need 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (which is 1 standard packet) of instant or active dry yeast to make this dough rise.
  • Sugar: Sugar increases the yeast activity and tenderizes the dough, especially paired with melted butter.
  • Melted Butter: Using butter instead of oil provides delicious flavor, and makes for a rich, soft dough. We’re using melted butter in both the dough and for brushing on top after baking.
  • Salt: For flavor both in the dough and the buttery topping.
  • Bread Flour: Bread flour gives these breadsticks a chewier texture, but if you only have all-purpose flour, you can use that instead.
  • Garlic Powder: We’re mixing garlic powder into the melted butter topping, and if you want extra garlicky flavor, you can include some in the dough as well.

For cheese-topped breadsticks (that you don’t need to individually shape!), see these cheesy breadsticks.

Kneading the Dough Is Key

Kneading dough is a common step in bread baking, and this particular dough definitely benefits from a long kneading step (about 8–10 minutes) to help ensure the thin breadsticks stay soft. You can knead dough with your hands or in a stand mixer. A stand mixer obviously makes the job easier, but if you don’t have one, kneading is a great stress reliever. 😉 On a lightly floured work surface, using the heels of your hands, stretch and fold the dough with gentle motion. If you’re new to yeasted doughs, my how to knead dough post and video can help with this step.

  • Why Do I Knead Dough? Kneading the dough serves a couple purposes. First, it incorporates air into the dough, which helps keep the thin breadsticks nice and soft. It also encourages the proteins in the flour and moisture in the dough to link together, forming a strong gluten network, which is essential for retaining the gas produced by the yeast. Gluten is what makes bread deliciously chewy.

You know your kneaded dough is ready to rise when it stretches without immediately tearing. After kneading, the dough will be soft and supple, and a windowpane test is always helpful. You can always poke the dough with your finger, too. If it slowly bounces back, it’s ready to rise. This is the exact same process we use to knead and test the dough for honey butter rolls.

  • What’s a Windowpane Test? Tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.

Homemade Soft Breadsticks

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 88 reviews
  • Author: Sally McKenney
  • Prep Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes (includes rises)
  • Cook Time: 18 minutes
  • Total Time: 3 hours
  • Yield: 14 breadsticks

Soft, fluffy, garlic butter-topped homemade breadsticks are the perfect accompaniment to pretty much any dinner. The dough requires 2 rises, but the 2nd rise is pretty quick as the oven preheats. Reference my Baking With Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs. 

Ingredients

    • 1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) warm water (between 100–110°F, 38–43°C)
    • 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)*
    • 2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 3 and 1/3 cups (433g) bread flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed and for hands/work surface*
  • optional: 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Topping

  • 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • optional for sprinkling on top: dried parsley or other favorite herb

Instructions

    1. Prepare the dough: Whisk the warm water, yeast, and sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Loosely cover and allow to sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy and frothy on top. *If you do not own a stand mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/silicone spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula is a better choice.*
    2. Add the melted butter, salt, 1 cup (130g) bread flour, and garlic powder, if using. With a dough hook attachment, mix on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then add the remaining flour. Beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If the dough seems too wet to a point where kneading in the next step would be impossible, beat in more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time until you have a workable dough. Keep in mind that dough should be soft and a little tacky, but still manageable to knead with lightly floured hands.
    1. Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 8-10 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 8-10 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
    2. 1st Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1.5–2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking With Yeast Guide.)
    3. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
    1. Shape the breadsticks: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Divide the dough in half—each half should weigh just under 1 pound. Working with 1 half at a time, cut 7 pieces, roughly equal in size (each piece will weigh about 2 ounces, or 55g, but don’t worry about making them exact). Using lightly floured hands and a very lightly floured work surface (you still want some grip for the tacky dough, so do not over-flour), roll each piece of dough into a log about 8 inches (20cm) long. Arrange 7 breadsticks on each prepared baking sheet. Repeat with 2nd half of dough.
    2. 2nd Rise: Cover shaped breadsticks with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until slightly puffy, about 20 minutes.
    3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
    4. Bake the breadsticks: Remove cover from breadsticks and bake for 18–19 minutes or until golden brown on top, rotating the pans (top to bottom, bottom to top) halfway through. If you notice the tops browning too quickly, loosely tent with aluminum foil.
    5. Make the topping: Melt butter, and stir in salt and garlic powder.
    6. Remove breadsticks from the oven, brush with garlic butter topping, and allow breadsticks to cool for a couple minutes before serving. Sprinkle with dried parsley or your favorite herb, if desired, and serve warm.
  1. Cover leftover rolls tightly and store at room temperature for 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat as desired.

Notes

    1. Freezing Instructions for Baked Breadsticks: Freeze the baked and cooled breadsticks for up to 3 months. To thaw, leave out on the counter for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds or covered on a baking sheet in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 10 minutes.
    2. Freezing Instructions for Dough: After the dough rises and you divide the dough in half in step 6, you can freeze half or some of the dough to use at a later time. Or you can simply freeze all of the dough. Lightly coat all sides of the dough you want to freeze with nonstick spray or olive oil. Place the dough into a zipped-top bag and seal tightly, squeezing out all the air. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, place the frozen dough in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or overnight. When ready to use, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to rest for 30 minutes on the counter. Preheat the oven and continue with step 6, punching down the dough to release air if needed.
  1. Overnight/All Day Dough Instructions: Prepare the dough through step 3. Then, grease a large bowl, place dough inside, and coat all sides of dough as instructed in step 4. Cover dough and allow to rise for 8–12 hours in the refrigerator. (If it needs to be in the refrigerator for longer, use cooler water in the dough, which will slow the dough’s rise and allow for more time.) The slow rise gives the dough wonderful flavor! When ready, continue with step 5. If the dough didn’t quite double in size during this time, let it sit at room temperature for 30–45 minutes before punching down (step 6).
  2. Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer or Large Mixing Bowl and Silicone Spatula or Wooden Spoon | Whisk | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Sheets | Bench Scraper | Pastry Brush
  3. Yeast: I usually use instant yeast. You can use active dry yeast instead, with no changes to the preparation. Rise times will be slightly longer. Reference my Baking With Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
  4. Flour: If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose flour. All-purpose flour is convenient for most, but bread flour produces chewier breadsticks. The breadsticks are still soft and fluffy no matter which you use.
  5. Can I Add Cheese on Top? Yes, absolutely. Bake for just 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, carefully push the warm breadsticks together so they are touching, brush with the garlic butter topping, and then top each batch with 1/2 cup (about 55g) of shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese (or a mix). There are 2 batches of 7 breadsticks, so you’ll need 1 cup (about 110g) of shredded cheese total. Return to the oven for 3-4 more minutes until cheese has melted and breadsticks are golden brown. Or try these flatter cheesy breadsticks.

 

Juevos Rancheros – COLLECTION

2016-02-24 08.51.092016-02-24 08.50.57
HIS AND HERS

Grandpa’s Huevos Rancheros

Top with avocado (blue plate) or mushrooms (green plate)

  1. Slice mushrooms and cook in butter, then set aside
  2. Sautee slivered onions, the set aside
  3. Add 1 C enchilada sauce to the pan and bring to simmer
  4. Dip corn tortillas in sauce and put on a small square of aluminum foil placed on a baking tray
  5. Mix refried beans in with remaining sauce and heat
  6. Place on tortillas
  7. Add sliced onion
  8. Create a recess in the center and add a whole egg
  9. Top with avocado (blue plate) or mushrooms (green plate)
  10. Sprinkle with grated cheese
  11. Bake at 350º for 13 minutes
  12. Use foil to move to plates (remove foil or just keep it there) The tortillas will be soft and may fall apart

See also: CAZUELA DE HUEVOS RANCHEROS for a casserole recipe, if you are cooking for more than two people.

When I make Huevos Ranchers it is never the same. Of course, it is served on a corn tortilla, and then spread with refried beans, but sometimes has a fried egg on top, sometimes ham, sometimes green chilis… and then topped with cheese. The concept is a corn tortilla with tasty goodness. Here are several recipes if you want some guidance your first time through.

Juevos rancheros

QUICK AND SIMPLE
PHOTO SHOWN AT RIGHT

Corn tortilla heated and browned on both sides
Smear with refried beans
Sprinkle with diced peppers
Top with scrambled egg disc
Top with shredded beef and salsa mixed together
Top with poached egg
Sprinkle with cheese
Broil about five minutes

Grandma’s Huevos Rancheros

2 fried or poached eggs
½ tsp vegetable oil
1/8 small onion
1/8 sliced bell pepper
¼ clove garlic, chopped
¼ CU Salsa
1 TBL diced green chiles
2 corn tortillas
2 TBS shredded cheese

1. Heat vegetable oil in large skillet
2. Saute onion, bell pepper and garlic
3. Add salsa and chiles – bring to boil, remove from heat
4. Top corn tortilla with 1/3 CU sauce and one egg
5. Sprinkle with cheese

Huevos Rancheros Casserole with Ranchero Sauce

  • Place the canned and fresh tomatoes, the onion, jalapeño, garlic, water, chilies powder, salt, cumin, oregano, sugar and vinegar in a 2-quart saucepan. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • While the sauce is simmering, prepare the tortillas and the eggs.
  • Heat the oil in a skillet.
  • Place a tortilla in the hot oil and fry just until softened.
  • As each tortilla is done, place it on a plate.
  • Repeat this procedure until all the tortillas are cooked.
  • Oil a long baking dish (about 9 x 13 inches).
  • Spoon half of the sauce over the bottom, then arrange the tortillas over the sauce.
  • Top the tortillas with more sauce.
  • Sprinkle with half of the grated cheddar cheese.
  • Crack the eggs onto the cheese layer at intervals so that there will be a few inches between each egg.
  • Spoon the remaining sauce over the length of the eggs and sprinkle with the remaining cheddar cheese.
  • Bake for about 13 minutes at 350º
  • Pierce one of the eggs with a sharp paring knife to check that the eggs are done as you like.
  • After 20 minutes of baking, the eggs are hard- cooked.
  • When the eggs are cooked to your liking, remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
  • To serve, cut the casserole into squares. Sprinkle with freshly grated cotija or feta cheese.

Serves 6 to 8.

Note: Cotija cheese is sold in small rounds, and is available in the dairy case of many supermarkets. It is easily crumbled. You can substitute feta cheese.

Black Olive Huevos

Options
Add Black olives
Use a tomatillo rather than tomatoes
Add Artichokes
Top with cilantro
Include diced green chilies
Use tortilla chips or corn chips rather than corn tortilla
Use poached egg rather than Fried Egg

Special Steps Break your egg into separate bowls. This will assure that you have an unbroken yolk. If you break the yolk, save this for scrambled eggs the following morning.

Huevos Rancheros – SAUCE

The Ranchero Sauce
— 1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes with juice
— 2 fresh tomatoes, diced
— 1 cup diced onion
— 1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
— 2 minced cloves garlic
— 1 cup water
— 2 tablespoons red chile powder
— 1/2 teaspoon salt
— 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
— 1 teaspoon oregano
— 1 teaspoon sugar
— 1 tablespoon vinegar
Adapted from Jacqueline Higuera McMahan, who grew up on a Bay Area rancho, and is the author of “California Rancho Cooking,” “The Salsa Book” and “The Chipotle Chile Cook Book.”

America’s Test Kitchen

  • 1 Can diced tomatoes – strained – reserve liquid
  • 1 C strained reserved tomato juice
  • 2 tsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp  lime
  • 1/2 Onion – diced
  • 4 tsp Chili powder
  • 1/2 C canned green chilies
  • 2 garlic cloves – sliced thin
  • 2 TBL EVOO
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 C pepper jack cheese
  • 4 eggs

STEP BY STEP

  1. Strain diced tomatoes, reserving liquid
  2. Add brown sugar and lime to strained tomato juice
  3. To tomatoes, add onion. green chilies, garlic, EVOO, chili powder and salt/pepper to taste
  4. Stir to combine
  5. Transfer to baking sheet lined with parchment paper or waxed paper
  6. Spread into an even layer
    Alternately you can use a comal or a large cast iron skillet
  7. Bake at 500º for about 40 minutes
  8. Turn oven down to 400º
  9. Put cooked mixture into a glass baking dish, and add the strained/reserved juice back into it, and stir to combine
  10. Sprinkle with pepper jack
  11. Nestle 1 egg at a time into an impression you will make in the sauce
  12. Season with salt and pepper
  13. Bake at 400º for 15 minutes
  14. Tent with aluminum for about 5 minutes
  15. Top with avocado, scallions and cilantro

GZ’s Huevos Rancheros

Geofry Zakarian cooked with his two daughters Anna and Madeline

  • 1 can of Refried beans or chili beans
  • Pico de gallo – Chop, dice and mix:  red chili pepper, roma tomato, lime juice, red onion – add a little bit of chopped cilantro
    Optionally, use a jar of store-bought salsa
  • Crisp corn tortilla taco or tostada
    Optionally, you can use a bag of corn chips
  • Two sunny side up eggs
  1. Heat beans in a skillet
  2. Cook two eggs sunny side up
  3. Put heated beans in the bottom of a bowl
  4. Put corn chips on top of beans
  5. Top with an egg
  6. Garnish with cilantro, avocado, tomato, lime, chili, onion, salt, pepper
  7. Top with fresh salt and pepper

Grandpa’s Old Fashioned Lemonade

This creates a lemonade CONCENTRATE that will store efficiently and is really easy to mix when you are ready.

INGREDIENTS

  • 16 lemons – or enough juice to fill an empty water bottle
  • TWO empty water bottles
  • 1 CU sugar
  • 8 mint leaves
  • water

STEP BY STEP

  1. Fill one water bottle with water and empty into sauce pan
  2. Add sugar to water in the sauce pan and heat until sugar dissolves
  3. Meanwhile, cut lemons in half, and squeeze juice from lemons into measuring cup.  Discard the seeds.
  4. Pour sugar water into the measuring cup with the lemon juice
  5. Make sure that mixture is only warm to the touch, NOT HOT.
  6. Pour lemon/sugar mixture equally into two empty water bottles
  7. Top bottles off with a bit more water and refrigerate
  8. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
    WHEN YOU ARE READY TO SERVE…
  9. Fill glass with ice cubes
  10. Add water only to half-way
  11. Top glass off with lemon concentrate from your bottles

 

Krab Salad

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 LB Krab or lobster
  • 1/2 C Miracle Whip
  • 1/2 pkg cream cheese
  • 1 C Baby spinach – stems removed
  • 2 TBL Dried cranberries
  • 2 TBL Blueberries
  • 2 TBL Walnuts
  • 4 leaves Romaine lettuce (alt – Radiccio)
  • 1/4 Sweet red onion – very thinly sliced
  • Juice and zest from one lemon ( for garnish )

STEP BY STEP

  1. Shred Krab into large pieces – set aside
  2. Mix Miracle Whip and cream cheese
  3. Chiffonade spinach leaves
  4. Roughly chop cranberries, blueberries and walnuts
  5. Mix all of the above together without over-mixing or breaking the Krab apart
  6. Place Romaine lettuce leaves in a bowl creating a lettuce border
  7. Put mixture onto the lettuce leaves
  8. Top with onion slices
  9. Top with lemon juice and zest
  10. Serve with nice rustic crackers

 

 

Grandpa’s Mashed Potatoes

These are not your traditional potato skins, but instead gives you a yummy use for the left-over skins.

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 “regular” russett potatoes – Use starchy, not waxy
  • 1 carrot – julienne strips
  • 1-2 C raw cauliflower – cut into one inch pieces
  • 1/2 onion – slivers
  • 3 TBL olive oil OR 6 TBL butter
  • 2 TBL “chives” or cut green onion tops
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1/4 CU half and half (at the very end) or low-fat buttermilk
    Use whole milk if you must, but not low fat regular milk

STEP BY STEPpotato

  1. Cut the skins off the potatoes into nice large flat hunks. This can be stored in a bowl of salted water and used later for potato skins.
    When ready, bake peels at 400º for 20 minutes.
  2. Rinse remaining potatoes and cut into one inch (or less) sized pieces.
  3. Cut 1/2 onion into slices into mixing bowl
  4. Using a potato peeler, peel the carrot into the mixing bowl.
  5. Toss potatoes, onion and carrot in the mixing bowl
  6. Put the pieces into a steamer basket with one inch of water in the bottom of the pan.
    Alternately you can use a pot of water, but this rinses a lot of the sugars and starches away.
  7. Cook or steam potatoes for about 20 minutes
  8. Drain water from pan and put veggies back into the empty pan.
  9. Add 6 TBL of butter
  10. Using a potato masher, crush the pieces into a mush. If you like “lumpy” potatoes, don’t pot-skinscrush them too much.
  11. Add splashes of milk product, stirring continually, ONLY to the point of giving them a creamy texture
  12. Add chives and oregano and mix with a fork.
  13. Optional:  At this point, you can add a bit of shredded cheddar cheese
  14. For really fancy potatoes, pipe them into mounds using a fluted piping tip, then broil them for about three minutes.  Otherwise, just plate and serve with a side of gravy.
  • Special Steps A “quick release” ice-cream scoop can give you those pretty restaurant mounds of potatoes.
  • Variations For less starch in the potatoes, and less stringent onions, run tap water gently through them after  Step 3.

Healthy Alternative

Use half russet potato and half cauliflower.  Add a bit of extra salt and butter.

Hot Dog Buns / Hamburger Buns

This was originally a recipe for bread sticks. If that is what you want, just roll them a little skinnier and shorten the cooking time by 2-3 minutes.  For hamburger buns, roll them into small baseballs and press them flat to about 1/2 inch thickness – they will rise and thicken.  I frequently roll them into a sheet about 3/4 inch thick, and use a 3 inch biscuit cutter to make the buns.  They end up being about 3.5 inches in diameter.

bunsINGREDIENTS

  • 1 package (or 1 TBL) active dry yeast
  • 2 TBL sugar (split in half for use at two different times)
  • 1/4 C warm water – very warm to the touch, but not hot
  • Three-quarter C milk
  • 1/4 C dried (instant) milk powder
  • 1 tsp Xanthan gum
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 C soft shortening or lard (bacon grease)
  • 3 C sifted all-purpose flour
  • 1 C spelt or whole wheat flour
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • (optional) 1/4 C sour dough starter

STEP BY STEP

  1. ACTIVATE YOUR YEAST
    Mix your yeast, water, and half your sugar in a small glass bowl
    Stir to mix
    Set aside
  2. SCALD YOUR MILK
    Put into microwave for a minute
    Set aside to let it cool
    Put your lard, salt and the rest of your sugar into the milk
  3. PREPARE HALF OF YOUR FLOUR
    In a large mixing bowl…
    Add your sourdough starter if you are using it
    Add the milk mixture and 1/2 cup flour.
    Add the yeast mixture, dried milk, xanthan gum and everything else
    Mix in bread maker at medium speed until smooth, scraping the bowl occasionally. 100 strokes if by hand.
  4. FINISH YOUR DOUGH
    Add more flour, a little at a time, until dough leaves the sides of the bowl, and surface of dough springs back when pressed.  Dough should not be sticky.
    You may not use all of your flour (or you may need more)
    Turn dough onto lightly floured board.
    Knead until smooth and elastic: 4-8 minutes.
    Place in lightly oiled bowl.
    Turn dough over to oil the top also.
    Cover and refrigerate overnight for a more complex flavor
    When ready to make the buns, cover and let rise in warm place for about 30 minutes.
  5. SHAPE YOUR BUNS
    Form your buns on a greased baking sheet, keeping in mind that they will increase in size by about 125%
    Let them rise for about an hour in the (not turned on) oven
  6. BAKE YOUR BUNS
    Pull the trays of buns out of the cold oven and turn oven to 350º
    Brush the tops of your buns with melted butter
    Sprinkle with sesame seeds or lightly with coarse sea salt if you wish
    Bake at 350º for about 10-12 minutes or until browned
    Let cool 10 minutes before removing from tray

Tips: Around the Kitchen

Kitchen Tools and Gadgets

  • A thermometer helps you repeat success and avoid repeating failures. I have two from Thermoworks:
    >   An immersible/insertable thermometer: Good to take the core temperature of meats
    >   An infrared thermometer: Great for everything from preheating your griddle to acting as a candy thermometer.
  • Use tongs to help squeeze limes or lemons.  Gives you leverage.

Cooking tips

  • When cooking pasta, reserve a cup of pasta water for thinning your pasta sauce. Put at least a ladel back into the sauce to make it stick to your pasta better.  Also, you can use the water with a bit of cheese to make a nice creamy sauce.  Also, don’t rinse your pasta after cooking.
  • Use screaming high heat for searing meat, preferably in a cast iron pan.
  • Select the pan which is best suited for your recipe.  (eg) Don’t use an aluminum pan with anything cooked with acidic ingredients.  Cook pancakes in a non-stick pan, but don’t use metal utinsels.
  • Blanche and shock fresh vegetables (boiling water, then ice water) to make them greener and set the flavor.  If doing two, start with the lighter vegetable and work onto the darker vegetables.
  • Let your oven completely preheat before putting your food in.  You will get uneven heating, and even incomplete chemical reactions.

Kitchen Design

  • When replacing your counter consider ceramic tile or porcelain stone tile. Lay with a thin grout line.

Keeping it Clean

  • Stain Removal: Voted best overall was Oxi-Clean. Very inexpensive, very effective. Soak for about an hour. Removed blueberry, mustard, chili, chocolate, red wine, beets and coffee.
  • CAMEO was voted best Aluminum and Stainless Steel cleaner
  • Never ever put cast iron in the dishwasher, or clean it with soap.
  • Barkeepers friend is good for cleaning steel pans
  • The five second rule is bogus unless the item is totally hard and dry.  If it is the least bit moist, you are probably putting feces into your food or mouth.  Yech.

Preserving Food

  • To freeze fresh berries spread out on cookie sheet and freeze 4 hours. Put into freezer zip locks.
  • Store vegetable oils and most seed oils in a cool dark place to minimize spoilage

Safe Kitchen Tips

  • When cutting cherry tomatoes put them between two cottage cheese lids and slice a bunch of them in half at the same time.
  • Use water bottle with a sports top as your barbecue sauce dispenser
  • Don’t pour bacon grease down the sink.  Instead, pour into a can and let it solidify, then just throw it away.

Entertaining

  • When you are preparing a menu for an important event, always test the recipe before the day of your event. Never use your guests as guinea pigs.

 

Meat Skillet

Ingredients:

1 stalk celery (chopped)
1 carrot (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
2 TBL butter
————
1 potato diced small
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp poultry seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
————-
2 TBL flour
2 TBL EVOO or butter
————-
1 CU good white wine
1 tsp grated ginger
————-
1 liter chicken stock or broth
1 LB chicken or other meat (cooked)
1 tsp tarragon
1 sm can peas
1/2 CU asparagus (chopped)

Instructions

  1. Add first four ingredients and saute for about 10 minutes
  2. Add potato, bay, thyme, etc. and saute for 5 more minutes
  3. Add 2 TBL flour and butter/EVOO and stir until combined
  4. Add next ingredients including wine and heat to scrape and deglaze pan
  5. Add chicken stock or broth and bring up to a simmer.
  6. Add 1 LB cooked chicken or other meat
  7. Add tarragon and peas, then simmer 20 more minutes
  8. Add asparagus as it starts to thicken, and cook 10 more minutes

Chocolate Saltine Toffee

(with vegan and gluten free options)

  • 30 to 40 saltine crackers (I have seen recipes call for 40 but I used about 32 crackers)
  • 1 c butter (2 sticks)
  • 1 c brown sugar, packed (I used half light and half dark because that’s what I had on hand and open)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (some recipes I have seen do not call for it, but I recommend it)
  • 1.5 to 2 c chocolate chips (I used one 12-ounce bag of TJ’s semi sweet morsels, also see optional note below)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line a 9 x 11 pan or similar with aluminum foil and spray it very well with cooking spray.  (Do not try to make this without using foil; you will hate yourself).  Place saltine crackers in a single layer on the bottom of the pan.  (Some recipes suggest using a jelly roll pan which may allow for a slightly bigger batch, i.e. 40 crackers, but it’s a bit too shallow for my comfort zone and didn’t want any bubble-overs)

In a saucepan on the stovetop, combine butter and sugar and bring to a boil while stirring constantly.  Once a boil is reached, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture has thickened some.  Take care not that your simmer is not too fast/too high because it will be prone to bubbling over or scorching.  Stir mixture frequently while it simmers to avoid bubbling over or scorching (The taste of burnt butter and sugar is awful so do not burn it)

After mixture has thickened a bit, remove it from the heat, wait 30 seconds, add the vanilla extract and stir.

Pour mixture over the prepared pan with the saltine crackers.  Bake this in the preheated 350F oven for 5- 7 minutes, or until toffee/liquid becomes bubbly.

After removing the pan from the oven, let it sit for 3-5 minutes.

Sprinkle on the chocolate chips and wait for 3-5 minutes, letting them soften and melt a bit, and then spread and smooth them into an even layer with a spatula.

Optional:  After smoothing the chocolate, add nuts, seeds, graham cracker crumbs, toffee bits, dried fruit, candy bits, or swirl in some peanut butter or other nut butter.

Optional: Use other types of chips, such as butterscotch, white, peanut butter, etc. either in addition to or in a half-and-half  combination with the dark chocolate chips for your top layer.

Let cool very well and if desired for expediting purposes, refrigerate or freeze until hardened.  Break into pieces the size of your choice.

Store in an airtight container on the countertop.  Or, for longer term storage, freeze it.  I freeze all my desserts regardless and have been eating this straight out of the freezer.

To keep gluten free, use GF crackers or make your own GF saltine crackers

To keep vegan, use margarine/Earth Balance and use a vegan cracker

 

Alternate from MrFood.com

Brickle Crunch

Serves: 25
Chilling Time: 30 min
Cooking Time: 10 min

What You’ll Need:
  • 35 saltine crackers (about 1 sleeve from a 16-ounce box)
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup (1 six-ounce package) semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup peanut butter chips
What To Do:
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Line a 10- x 15- inch cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Lay out crackers on cookie sheet, packing tightly.
  3. In a medium-sized saucepan, melt butter, then add sugar and boil, stirring frequently, 2 to 3 minutes, until sugar is completely dissolved.
  4. Immediately pour mixture over crackers and bake 7 minutes.
  5. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate and peanut butter morsels over crackers, spreading evenly as they melt.
  6. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, then break into pieces. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes

This is great topped with chopped nuts or flaked coconut – just sprinkle either on top before refrigerating. It’s best not to substitute margarine for butter in this recipe.

Alternate Similar Recipe from Mr. Food – www.mrfood.com

Homemade Cracker Candy

Homemade Cracker CandyWatch Video

It’s hard to believe that this chocolatey Cracker Candy  is made with such an unusual ingredient! But our Test Kitchen guarantees that once you try ’em, you will make this one again and again!

Serves: 10

Cooking Time: 8 min

What You’ll Need:
  • About 24 round buttery crackers
  • 3/4 cup butter (1-1/2 sticks)
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
What To Do:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9- x 13-inch pan with aluminum foil; lightly coat foil with cooking spray. Arrange crackers in a layer in pan.
  2. In a medium saucepan, bring butter and brown sugar to a boil; cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour mixture over crackers.
  3. Bake 5 minutes; turn off oven. Sprinkle crackers with chocolate chips and let stand in oven 3 minutes, or until chocolate is melted. Spread  chocolate evenly over crackers. Sprinkle pecans over chocolate. Let cool, then break into pieces. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator.

 

Basic Gumbo

Gumbo is kind of like saying Casserole. It varies drastically. Use this as a base, then expand to your preferences.

Ingredients
1 large onion (chopped)
4 stalks celery (chopped)
1 large bell pepper (chopped)
2 bay leaves
2 TBL cayenne pepper
2 TBL garlic
1 TBL thyme or oregano
1 TBL Worcestershire
1 tsp each salt and black pepper
——-
2 TBL Emeril’s Essence
1 LB some kind of meat

Instructions
1. After finishing cooking for Basic Roux (see recipe)
2. Add all ingredients up to first line and cook 10 minutes
3. Add 2 CU seafood or chicken stock slowly while stirring
– If roux is hot add cold stock, if roux is cold then heat stock first then add roux
4. Simmer 1 hour while proceeding to Step 5
5. Cook meat pieces (unless fish) in whatever manner you desire, and set aside
6. After simmer of 1 hour, add cooked meat or raw fish (Halibut, Cod, Shrimp or Oyster)
7. Add 2 TBL Emeril’s Essence (see recipe)
8. Ladle into bowls and top with parsley or chives

Gumbo should be the consistency of a hearty chicken soup and should always be served with a couple tablespoons of cooked rice.

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