1 lb. bacon – cut up and browned crisp
1 lb. hamburger – browned
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbl. minced garlic
Fry hamburger, onion and garlic until cooked. Drain off grease then add bacon.
Choose 5-6 assorted cans of beans, such as kidney, pinto, navy, garbonzo, lima,
black. (The different colors add to the "calico" look.)
Sauce:
mix 3-4 chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2/3 C. brown sugar
4 Tbl. vinegar
2 C. Catsup
2 tsp. prepared mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Simmer and serve (great reheated)
"Debil" Delicious Fudge
For chocolate enthusiasts with distinct preferences, you may use your choice
of either semi-sweetchocolate chips or (Zoey’s favorite) Ghiradelli’s double
chocolate chips.
Directions: chunk one cube of real (salted) butter into a glass bowl and set
it over a pan of very hot water to soften. Add 1 cup chocolate chips.
In a heavy cast iron skillet, mix:
2 C white sugar
1 small can (3/4-C) evaporated milk (or use half-half)
10 large marshmallows
a pinch of salt
Over medium heat, stir ingredients until mixed. Stir constantly to avoid scorching
and bring to a slow bubbling simmer. Remove from heat and add to the butter/chocolate
mixture. Beat until glossy. Add chopped nuts, if desired.
For other variations, add 2 Tbls. peanut butter, Rice Crispies, coconut or
M&Ms.
Turn into a butter pan and cool.
Sour-Cream Raisin Cookies
Ingredients:
2 1/2 C flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 C margarine
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C molasses
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream
raisins
Cream margarine, sugar, egg, molasses. Beat well and add flour and dry ingredients
and spices. Stir until completely blended. Add sour cream and raisins.
Drop by spoonfuls on a cookie sheet and bake in 350-degree oven until done
to touch.
(Zoey prefers them frosted with cream cheese frosting.)
Almond Toffee
Prep and cook time: About 45 minutes, plus at least 1&1/2 hours to cool
Notes: A candy thermometer is useful in making this toffee, but you can also
go by the color; look for a rich caramel shade in step 2.
Makes: 3 pounds
1&1/2 cups whole raw almonds
3&1/3 cups sugar
1&1/2 cups (3/4 lb.) butter
¼ cup light corn syrup
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
12 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (see notes)
1. Place almonds in a baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree regular or convection
oven, shaking pan occasionally, until golden beneath the skins, 10 to 12 minutes.
When cool enough to handle, finely chop.
2. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over medium-low heat, stir sugar, butter, corn syrup,
salt, and ¾ cup water until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Increase
heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is deep golden
brown (300 degrees on a candy thermometer; see notes), 10 to 15 minutes. Remove
from heat and carefully stir in vanilla and half the almonds (mixture may bubble
up). Immediately pour into a 10- by 15-inch baking pan with 1-inch-tall sides.
Let toffee cool at room temperature until set, at least 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, place chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a heatproof
bowl. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in bottom of double boiler or a
pan that the bowl can nest in; remove pan from heat. Place chocolate over water
and let stand, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 10 minutes.
4. Pour chocolate over cooled toffee; with a knife or an offset spatula, spread
level. Sprinkle remaining almonds evenly over chocolate. Let stand at room temperature
until chocolate is set, at least 1 hour (or chill about 30 minutes).
5. To remove, gently twist pan to release toffee, then chop or break into chunks.
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 2 days, or chill airtight up to one
month.
“Cheesy” Tahini Sauce
2 T Tahini
½ cup hot water(or to creamy consistency)
½ tsp parsley flakes
¼ tsp lemon juice
1 ½ tsp nutritional yeast flakes
1/8 tsp turmeric
¼ tsp honey
black pepper to taste
ume plum vinegar, splash (found in health food stores)
Mix tahini with lemon, honey and all dry ingredients. When well mixed add ¼
cup water mix to smoothness. Continue adding water in small increments until creamy
texture is achieved. Splash with ume plum vinegar.
This sauce may be used in pasta dishes, to flavor vegetables or as a dip,
Cucumber Raita
1 cup yogurt
2 T cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced.
½ tsp lemon juice
1 tsp dill weed
1/8 tsp whole cumin seed, toasted
¼ tsp ginger powder
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp black pepper (optional)
Mix all ingredients together. Use as a condiment for curries, or simply to
cool a meal down.
Peanut-Butter Chocolate-Chunk Cookies
Makes 14 large cookies
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup tightly packed dark-brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1. Heat the oven to 350°. Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars until
light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and mix on medium speed until combined.
Sift flour and baking soda together, and add to butter mixture, beating just to
combine. Fold in chocolate chunks.
2. Roll a heaping teaspoon full into a ball and place on a baking sheet, pressing
down with fork to flatten slightly. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.
And from the “Cook Book of the woman’s Art and Industrial
Association of Nevada” circa 1887 (I found this book on one of Esther’s
shelves at the Silver Rose):
Gumbo soup
Fry a chicken in butter, fry one or two slices of ham cut in pieces, fry one-half
or a dozen tomatoes. Put these all together in the soup kettle with the gravy
they have been fried in and two quarts of water. Add one pound of sliced okra.
Boil all until well assimilated, then add one pint of soup stock and season highly
with plenty of Cayenne. Just before taking from the fire, throw in two dozen oysters
and their juice and let it boil up once. Served with a spoonful of rice in each
dish.
Cuckoo pudding
Take good cooking apples, pare four or five, cut into halves and core, fry
in butter and cover while frying. Brown on both sides. Lay them in pudding pan
and sprinkle over pounded almonds and cinnamon to taste. Beat the yolks of six
eggs with one cup of white sugar and one-half cup of stale bread crumbs. Moisten
with brandy or milk; add the whites well beaten. Put all over the apples and bake
in a greased pan.
English pound cake
One pound sugar, one pound butter, one pound flour, ten eggs, one wineglass
of brandy, one-half teaspoon of soda dissolved in a little hot water. Mix and
bake until done.
Oven Caramel Corn
16 cups popped corn, salted
2 sticks butter
2 cups brown sugar
½ cup white (Karo) syrup
1 tsp baking soda
Melt butter. Add sugar and syrup. Bring to boil. Remove from heat and add baking
soda. This will make it bubble up. Stir quickly then pour evenly over the popcorn
which should be spread on a cookie sheet.
Bake at 200-degrees for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. (I stir it once every
15 minutes.)
Variations: add 1 oz. of Kahlua to the liquid mixture. Or add toasted almonds
and coconut to the popcorn before mixing.
Store in airtight container.
Grandma’s Sticky Buns
Butter a 9×13" pan and fill with 25-cent sized balls of dough. (Frozen dough
works great, although Grandma makes her own, of course.)
In a saucepan, combine:
1 package vanilla pudding (the kind you cook, NOT instant)
2 Tbls. Milk
½ Cup butter
1 Cup brown sugar
1Tsp. Cinnamon
Stir over low heat until mixed. Remove from heat and let for a few minutes,
then pour over the dough and allow to rise 2.5 hours. Bake at 325 degrees for
30 minutes. Turn out when slightly cooled.
Fabulous warm, but great any time.
Pistachio Pilaf ala JPS
1½ cup pistachio meats
1 onion, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, diced (optional)
½ cup olive oil or butter
Any or all of the following vegetables for color and taste:
1 can artichoke hearts – chopped (these are NOT the marinated kind)
1 can Heart of Palm – chopped
1-2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 cup rice
2¼ cup water
½ cup brewer’s yeast
2-4 Tbsp Ume plum vinegar (This replaces salt, so amount varies by taste.)
One bunch organic greens such as kale, spinach or collards, washed and loosely
chopped
Sauté pistachios in heavy, dry skillet, browning on each side. Turn down heat
and add onions for 1-2 minutes to lower pan temp, then add oil or butter. Stir
to coat, return heat to medium. Add vegetables and over medium to medium-high
heat cook until onions are translucent and vegetables slightly browned. Add rice,
stirring to coat in oil. Cook for two minutes, then add water and bring to high
simmer. Add greens on top, but don’t stir into mixture. Turn heat to low and cover.
Simmer until water is absorbed and rice is tender.
(serves 6-8 as a side dish, 4-6 as a main dish)
Recipe Box on the extras page is made by Martha Stewart. You can find that here.