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Buckeyes

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It’s that time of year when the cookies and fudge and other sweets come out and one of the big things in my house growing up was buckeyes.  I’m originally from Update NY but my mom is an Ohio girl and I’m told these are very popular in the midwest.  Like all other recipes at this time of year it’s about as good for you as a mallet to the head, but hey, diets are for January.

This recipe comes from a letter an aunt sent to my mother back in January 1985.  At some point my mother gave it to me.  I found out later that it actually came from my great aunt (also originally from the midwest ) to my aunt to my mother to me.

This makes between 250-300 pieces, so feel free to adjust accordingly if you like.  Leftover dip can be tightly wrapped and frozen for the next time you need it.

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Buckeyes
Cuisine: Dessert
 
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs chunky peanut butter
  • 3 Tbsp vanilla
  • 1 lb margarine (or butter or butter substitute)
  • 3 lbs powdered sugar
  • Dip:
  • 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate
  • 12 oz sweet chocolate
  • 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
  • ½ bar of food-grade parafin
Instructions
  1. Mix the peanut butter, vanilla, and margarine together. Slowly add the powdered sugar (by the end you'll need to mix by hand)
  2. Shape into small balls and chill for at least 30 min
  3. For the dip, add all ingredients to a double boiler and heat until melted. Stick a toothpick into each buckeye and dip in the chocolate, leaving a space about the size of a dime on the top of the buckeye. Place on wax paper until hardened c3gvqag.
  4. Place in airtight container. Can be frozen for longer term storage.
3.5.3226

 

Brisket

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I’m just going to throw this out there.  I get meat monthly from a local farm that raises their own pigs, chickens, and ‘beefalo’, which is a leaner cow, closer to buffalo.  Believe me when I say you can really taste the difference.  The bad side is that they’re not the kinds of cuts you’ll get from the grocery store or even the butcher.  There’s fat everywhere and makes it difficult to easily trim and still have a hunk to work with.

A few weeks ago, I used a recipe from “America’s Test Kitchen” to make my own corned beef from a hunk of brisket.  I had a 3.5lb and once trimmed it was probably closer to 3 lb.  No matter, still came out great.  So great that I didn’t have leftovers to make corned beef hash a few days later.  So out comes the other brisket from the freezer.  This piece was just terrible to work with and I wound up cutting it in half to get it looking good.  I gave up and went to the local butcher to get another piece.

But now I’m stuck with this brisket.  I can’t do much with it and I can’t put it back in the freezer.  Off to the Internet, and huzzah, I found people talking about using it for hamburger.  On their suggestion, I took the brisket, ran it through my KitchenAid meat grinder and added a few pieces of raw bacon in with the meat (only the equivalent of a slice or two for 1 lb of meat).  Added a few tsp of Worcestershire sauce, some dried onions, and some beef roast seasoning from Penzey’s and out to the grill they went.

Came out amazing.  Everyone enjoyed it.

So that left me with another few pounds left.  That also got ground up and used as a chili base.  Much yum was had.

Chicken Vindaloo

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20-some odd years ago I did cook but it was mostly limited to fairly simple things – chili, soup, pizza, a few others.  Lots of food came out of boxes or cans.  And then I had a friend visit for a few days and taught me one of her favorites.  Between this and the naan that we made it took most of the afternoon and made a wonderful meal for my roommate, his girlfriend and my fiance (now wife).

You can scale this up pretty quickly and you can use bone-in or boneless chicken or a mixture of both.  Using bone-in gives gelatin which adds extra texture.

There’s a lot of goodness left over when you’re done with the chicken.  I usually let it sit in the fridge for a day or two and then make a bit of a spicy soup:  add some water and bring to a boil.  Add a cup of dried rice and bring to a simmer for about 20 minutes.  Add some diced chicken and frozen peas and allow to heat up for about 5 minutes.

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Chicken Vindaloo
 
Ingredients
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 onion, diced
  • 6 cloves of garlic, diced finely
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp ground cloves
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp coriander
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
  • 3 lb chicken
  • ½ cup white vinegar
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in heavy pot. Add onions and cook until they turn brown.
  2. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
  3. Add remaining dry spices and cook until fragrant, about another 30 seconds.
  4. Add vinegar and peppers and carefully bring to a boil.
  5. Add chicken and water and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook about an hour or until meat falls off the bone.

Potato salad

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Potato salad is like opinions:  everyone has one and theirs is right.  Okay, so maybe not everyone.  If you don’t have a recipe or want some ideas, here’s a really easy, tasty, and fast recipe.

There’s only a few ingredients and depending on how well you’re stocked you wont need to leave the house.  Plus it has bacon.

Here’s some tips:

  • If you have the time, make the potatoes the night before and soak in the cider vinegar.  It’s even better if you make the potatoes two nights before and the potato salad the night before and leave it in the fridge.  I usually dont think that far ahead.  You can make this in about an hour if you put the potatoes in an ice water bath to cool.
  • Make the bacon in the microwave.  Put it on some paper towels and go about 30 seconds each time until you have it crispy.  Remember that it takes a little while for the bacon to crisp it it may look wiggly when you take it out.  Be sure to remove the bacon quickly from the paper towels lest they stick.
  • Yes, leave the peas frozen
  • Truth be told, I eyeball the quantities, so these are more estimates than anything.  Keep an eye while you fold and watch it come together.  It’ll take a little bit for the vinegar to mix into the mayo but keep at it and don’t be shy about adding more.

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Potato salad
 
Ingredients
  • 2 lb red skin potatoes, diced and boiled with skin
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 4 pieces of bacon, cooked crispy and then chopped finely
  • 2 tsp tarragon
  • ½ cup frozen peas
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. While the potatoes cool, sprinkle the cider vinegar over them to give an even coating
  2. Once cool, fold in the mayonnaise, adding more if necessary.
  3. Add all other ingredients and fold

 

Christmas Pudding

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“But it’s January”, you say.  “Who wants to think about Christmas now?”

Exactly.

Those of you that know what Christmas pudding is, just skip ahead to find a recipe.  For those of us in the US, here goes.  It’s fruitcake.

Don’t run off, this isn’t the brightly colored stuff that rots your teeth.  It’s got real fruit in it.  And booze.  Lots of booze.  Everyone likes that, right?

So here’s the deal.  Make this now, then put it on a shelf wrapped in cheesecloth for the rest of the year.  Come next Christmas, take it out, steam it again for a few hours, and enjoy.

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Christmas Pudding
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup of golden raisins
  • 1 cup of dried currants
  • 1 cup of chopped prunes (aka dried plums)
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 1½ cups AP flour
  • 2 tbps baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 tsp ground allspice
  • ⅔ cup butter
  • ½ cup brown (of if you can find it, turbinado/raw) sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • Cognac
Instructions
  1. A week before making this, soak the fruits in cognac and give them time to soak up all that alcoholic goodness. A few hours before starting, take out all the ingredients and bring them to room temperature.
  2. Put the eggs, butter, and sugar in a bowl and beat until creamy.
  3. Drain the fruits, reserving the leftover cognac and then coat the fruits in the breadcrumbs.
  4. Sift together all of your remaining dry ingredients (the fruits aren't dry!) in a separate smaller bowl. Once combined, add to the egg mixture and stir a few times until combined.
  5. Add the fruits to the mixture and fold to combine.
  6. Pour the mixture into a greased and floured bundt-style pan.
  7. Cover the bundt pan with aluminum foil and poke a hole in the center to allow steam to escape from underneath.
  8. In a much larger pot, add water and bring to a boil. There should be enough water to come a few inches up the bundt pan without allowing the pan to float.
  9. Once it reaches a boil, add the bundt pan, lower the heat to a simmer and cover.
  10. Cook for 3 hours, checking every 30 minutes to add water if needed.
  11. Remove from water, allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan.
  12. Pour reserved cognac from before over the cake. Cover with cheesecloth and put in a cool dry place. Periodically pour more cognac over the cake. When ready to eat, Put back in bundt pan (without foil lid) and boil for 3-4 hours or until moist and hot. Slice and eat with custard. Yum!

 

Bourbon BBQ sauce

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Bourbon BBQ Sauce
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Tasty BBQ sauce with a good bourbon taste
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup bourbon
  • ½ onion, diced
  • 2 cup ketchup
  • 2 Tbsp liquid smoke
  • 2 Tbsp tomato paste
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp hot sauce
  • 1 Tbsp chili powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
Instructions
  1. Put onion and bourbon in saucepot, heat over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
  2. Add remaining ingredients, cook for 20 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally.
  3. Puree using a stick blender
  4. Allow to cool and store in refrigerator or can.

So this is based off a recipe I found on the internet.  It’s a good base, but you can make changes based off what you want with it.

  • If you’re being adventurous, you can increase the amount of hot sauce.  Since I’m using apple cider vinegar, I have some apple-based hot sauce.  It’s the same sauce I used for my baked beans.
  • Changing the amount of brown sugar will change the sweetness and a bit of the thickness.

As with most alcohol-based recipes, use good-quality bourbon for this.  Jack Daniels is not a bourbon.  It’s Tennessee Whiskey.  One can argue the differences, but this isn’t a Whiskey BBQ sauce, it’s Bourbon.  Remember that much (but not all) of the alcohol will cook out when making this.  Be sure to have the fan in your kitchen going and optionally the windows open, lest you get a bit tipsy standing over it (unless you’re into that sort of thing).

My daughter hates anything with pepper in it, telling me it’s too spicy.  Many of the dishes I make get a nose up from her and she instead makes a PB&J and yogurt.  While making this recipe, the tomato and bourbon smell filled the house and she asked what I was making and when she could have some.

Donuts…I got donuts!

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A friend of mine recently let me borrow a mini donut maker.  He mentioned that the recipe that came with it was pretty bad and I should look for something else.  So off I went.

This isn’t like going to Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts, but if you get a good topping or make slight adjustments to the recipe you’ll find something a bit more to your liking.

I got the original for this from http://bakerbettie.com/baked-cinnamon-sugar-mini-donuts/ but made a few changes.  Notably, the wet and dry ingredients are mixed separately.  Second, make sure all the wet ingredients are at room temperature.  The butter will harden back into chunks and it’ll make it hard to pipe.

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Donuts...I got donuts!
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • 5 tbsp unsalted butter (room temperature)
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 egg (room temperature)
  • ½ cup milk (room temperature)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • pinch salt
  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
  1. Preheat and oil mini donut maker
  2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar
  3. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla and mix until combined.
  4. In a separate bowl, sift the baking powder, salt, and flour
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Stir only until the mixture comes together.
  6. Put into a piping bag and fill the bottom half of the donut mold. Cook until the light goes off and remove with a non-metal utensil.
  7. Add cinnamon sugar, nutella, or just eat as is.
  8. Makes about 2 dozen donuts

 

Pizza

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I’ve been making pizza every Friday for well over ten years.  There isn’t much to it.  One of the nice things about pizza is you can get as complex or simple as you like.  You can buy special gear, make your own dough, sauce, even cheese.  Or you can pick up all the ingredients from your local supermarket.  All you really need to start is an oven and a cookie sheet.

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