28 Friday Oct 2011
Posted in Breads
Tags
What? Yep, that’s right, 7up biscuits. They taste like Popeye’s Biscuits.
28 Friday Oct 2011
Posted in Appetizer
Tags
3 long cucumbers
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup crab meat, excess water removed
1 tsp hot pepper sauce (Tabasco sauce)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp brown mustard
1 tbs minced green onion
Remove the peel from the cucumbers using a vegetable peeler. Cut the cucumber into 2 inch slices. Using a small melon baller, scoop out most of the inside. You want to leave the walls and a thick portion of the bottom intact.
In a bowl, combine the sour cream and the cream cheese with a fork until well combined. add the remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Fill each of the cucumber cups with the crab dip. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve within 2 hours of making.
20 Thursday Oct 2011
Posted in Soups, Sauces & Dips, Uncategorized
We love this potato soup! Perfect for those cool evenings.
In a large slow cooker/crock pot, combine all above ingredients, minus the flour and cream cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. (You can opt to add the bacon at the end as a “garnish”, but I always just throw it in at the beginning.)
Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until potatoes are done.
About an hour before you serve the soup, add the cream cheese. Stir until blended. (The cream cheese adds a whole ‘nother dimension to this soup…so wonderful!)
We always like our soup thick, so you can scoop out about a cup or two of the soup into a separate bowl. Add the flour, whisking constantly to avoid any lumps. Then as you are stirring the soup, add flour/soup mixture back into the slow cooker. Replace lid and allow the soup to cook for another 20-30 minutes (or until you’re ready to serve).
20 Thursday Oct 2011
Tags
Chewy, soft, moist, and spicy. The perfect balance for a Molasses Cookie and the holidays!
In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, light brown sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the molasses. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Mix dry ingredients into the molasses mixture. Cover and chill dough for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls and roll them in the granulated sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Using the bottom of a flat glass, gently press down on the cookies to lightly flatten.
Bake for 7-8 minutes until tops are cracked. Remove from baking sheets and cool on wire racks.
20 Thursday Oct 2011
Posted in Tips
Did you know you can make your own brown sugar?
Add the molasses to the white sugar. Mix well, being sure to scrape down the sides to coat all that nasty white stuff until it’s pleasantly brown. You can do it old school and just go at it with a fork, or an electric mixer will do the job quickly.
It’s that easy! And it tastes and behaves just like store-bought brown sugar, so no more panicky trips to the market.
17 Monday Oct 2011
Posted in Cookies
Yield: 24 cookies
In double boiler over hot water, melt bittersweet chocolate chips and butter. In large bowl with electric mixer or whisk, beat eggs and sugar until thick; stir into chocolate mixture. In small bowl, stir together flour and baking powder; stir into chocolate mixture. Gently mix in semi-sweet chocolate chips and walnuts. Using a sheet of plastic wrap, form dough into two logs, each 2 inches in diameter and about 12 inches long. As dough will be quite soft, use plastic wrap to hold dough in log shape. Wrap tightly; refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm. Heat oven to 375°F. Unwrap dough; with sharp knife, cut into 3/4-inch slices. Place slices 1 1/2 inches apart on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until shiny crust forms on top but interior is still soft. Cool on baking sheet; store in airtight tin up to 1 week.
17 Monday Oct 2011
Posted in Desserts
Tags
I am always looking for a better Brownie recipe, and I finally found my favorite. It was posted on Recipes for Divine Living. The only thing I changed was adding Ghirardelli chocolate. I think it made a difference, because Ghirardelli is so wonderful. These are the best browines if you like gooey chocolate brownies.
8 oz. Ghirardelli chocolate
1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp butter
2 cup sugar
4 lg eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 pkg. semisweet chocolate chips (I used 2 cups milk chocolate chips)
1 ½ cup walnuts, chopped
Heat oven to 350*.
Melt chocolate and butter, 3 minutes on high, in the microwave. Stir until melted and smooth. Whisk in sugar; then whisk in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and salt. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.
Pour into a tinfoil lined and greased 9×13 baking dish; bake for 25-30 minutes or until center is just set. I usually start checking mine about 5 minutes early. Do not over cook. Remove and peel off foil. Makes 24.
10 Monday Oct 2011
Posted in Appetizer, Soups, Sauces & Dips
Tags
28-ounce can whole tomatoes (peeled) with juice
2 10-ounce cans Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chilies)
¼ cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic 1 jalepeño, quartered and sliced thin
Juice from ½ a fresh lime
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Yield: About 6 cups
Add all ingredients to a food processor. Pulse until you get desired consistency. Refrigerate for at least one hour, and then serve with your favorite tortilla chips.
10 Monday Oct 2011
Posted in Meats
6 bone-in short ribs (about 5 3/4 pounds)
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled, cut in 1/2 lengthwise, then cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cloves garlic, smashed
1 1/2 cups tomato paste
2 to 3 cups hearty red wine
2 cups water
1 tablespoon thyme
2 bay leaves
Season each short rib generously with salt. Coat a pot large enough to accommodate all the meat and vegetables with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Add the short ribs to the pan and brown very well, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Do not overcrowd pan. Cook in batches, if necessary.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
While the short ribs are browning, puree all the vegetables and garlic in the food processor until it forms a coarse paste. When the short ribs are very brown on all sides, remove them from the pan. Drain the fat, coat the bottom of same pan with fresh oil and add the pureed vegetables. Season the vegetables generously with salt and brown until they are very dark and a crud has formed on the bottom of the pan, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape the crud and let it reform. Scrape the crud again and add the tomato paste. Brown the tomato paste for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat if things start to burn. Reduce the mixture by half.
Return the short ribs to the pan and add 2 cups water or until the water has just about covered the meat. Add the thyme bundle and bay leaves. Cover the pan and place in the preheated oven for 3 hours. Check periodically during the cooking process and add more water, if needed. Turn the ribs over halfway through the cooking time. Remove the lid during the last 20 minutes of cooking to let things get nice and brown and to let the sauce reduce. When done the meat should be very tender but not falling apart. Serve with the braising liquid.
09 Sunday Oct 2011
Posted in Cupcakes
Tags
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated and the frosting is a Brown Eyed Baker original.
The cupcakes are buttery, melt-in-your-mouth delicious and the frosting definitely is the best.
Yield 12 cupcakes
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
½ cup sour cream
1 large egg , room temperature
2 large egg yolks , room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin/cupcake tin with paper or foil liners.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add butter, sour cream, egg and egg yolks, and vanilla; beat at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula and mix by hand until smooth and no flour pockets remain.
3. Divide batter evenly among cups of prepared tin. Bake until cupcake tops are pale gold and toothpick or skewer inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from tin and transfer to wire rack; cool cupcakes to room temperature before frosting.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Yield: Enough to frost 12 cupcakes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2½ cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1. Using the wire whisk attachment of your stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice.
2. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar. Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and add the vanilla, mixing until incorporated. Whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.
You can store any unused buttercream in the refrigerator in an airtight container; let it come to room temperature and then give it a quick whip in the mixer before using.
