Ginger's Spagetti Pie

Ingredients:
12 ounces spagetti
4 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 well beaten eggs
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 8ounce cans tomatoes
2 6 ounce cans of tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
4 teaspoons garlic salt
2 cups (16 ounces) cottage cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) mozzarella cheese

Cook spagetti and drain. Stir in butter, parmesan, and eggs. Form this mixture into a crust in 2 buttered 10 inch pie plates. Cook beef, onion and pepper until browned. Drain excess fat. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, oregano and garlic salt. Heat through. Spread cottage cheese over bottom of spagetti crust. Fie pie with tomato mixture.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. Bake 5 minutes or longer until cheese melts.

Candace's Peanut Butter Fudge

1 & 1/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
1 bag Reese's peanut butter chips

Combine sugar, butter and evaporated milk in large saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Rreduce heat and boil  5 minutes while stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add vanilla, fluff, and chips. Blend until smooth and creamy. Then stir in two very large spoonfuls of peanut butter. Mix well. Pour into 8 X 8 inch pan or 8 inch round pan. Chill.

Nana's Curry Chicken Wings

Every Christmas Eve, the family would gather at Nana's house. Instead of a big sit-down meal, there was a buffet laid out on the dining room for dinner - a meal composed entirely of appetizers. a few years before Nana passed away, I called her to ask for a couple of her recipes. The Curry Chicken Wings were something I looked forward to munching on every year. Was ever surprised to hear her recipe over the phone... It wasn't exact at all. Maybe once upon a time, she had a precise recipe... but by the time I asked about them she wasn't worried about exact amounts of anything. Her instructions went like this...

Well - get some fresh chicken wings.. depending on whos coming you may want more or less.  Then for every so many (I narrowed her down to 'maybe 8' decent sized fresh wings; these are whole wings, not just the little drumettes sold in the frozen section) you'll want some butter... not margarine, that just doesn't work right but you could use it I suppose.  Put a couple of tablespoons of butter along with about a half a cup of honey on the stove and melt it down. Then put a couple of good spoonfuls of dijon mustard in it. Once thats all heated and melted down, make sure its spreadable or you'll need more butter. Add a tablespoon or two of curry to the mix. Taste it, you'll know when its enough.  Once thats mixed and spreadable you can start the chicken. The chicken will stick to the pan, so you might want to use a spray on the pan. place the wings out so they aren't touching. Baste everything with the spread. Bake a bit, then take them out and baste again. Then cook some more, then if not done, baste them again and bake until done.  Oh, and be careful they get dark if the temperature is too much.

So I tried it... Just like she said. They do stick to the pan. I cook them about 350 degrees, cause she never really said what temperature and i was so distracted with the casual instructions I forgot to ask.  They are good, and they do say Christmas Eve to me.  Then I got adventuresome and made the glaze on Chicken thoighs... which was also good.  So have some Curry Chicken Wings and enjoy!

Byron's Buttermilk Scones

Mix dry ingredients:

3 cups Flour
1/2 cup sugar
2&1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
3/4 teaspoon Salt

Then cut into the dry ingredients 3/4 cup cold butter until mixture is in crumbs the size of small peas.

Add 1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange zest & 3/4 cup berries.

Stir briefly and then add 1 cup Buttermilk.

Stir until soft dough hold together. You may need to add liquid as necessary but don't over mix. Dough will be fairly soft. Form into 2 circles 6-8 inches wide and 2-3 inches high. cut them into wedges. Bake on ungreased  cookie sheet at 425 degrees for about 12-15 minutes until lightly browned.

Homemade Tacos

Recipe 1 is a bulk recipe and recipe 2 is something much simplier for a single meal.

Recipe 1:
Taco Mix:
1/4 cup Chili Powder
1/4 cup Flour
3 Tablespoons dried Minced Onion
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
2 & 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoon dried Oregano
2 Teaspoon ground Cumin
1 & 1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 Teaspoon ground Coriander

Combine the above ingredients. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to one year.

Tacos:
1 pound lean ground beef
3/4 cup water
tortillas or taco shells
1/4 cup taco seasoning

In Large skillet cook beef over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. drain meat. Add seasoning and water. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.  Heat Tortillas or taco shells. Fill shells or tortillas with taco meat. Add toppings and eat.

Toppings:

Salsa or Taco sauce
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Cheese
Sour Cream
Or whatever else suits your fancy

Recipe 2:
Brown 1 pound of ground beef and drain off fat.. Add 1 medium chopped onion, 1 clove minced garlic,  3/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon chili powder,  1 cup of tomato sauce, 1/2 cup water. Simmer this together for 15-25 minutes while you warm the shells in a  350 oven and ready the toppings.  Then eat.

Scallops with Citrus Glaze

1 to 1&1/2 pounds of Sea Scallops (not Bay Scallops)
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 Minced Garlic Cloves
1/2 cup Orange Juice
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon grated Orange Peel

Salt & Pepper the scallops. Saute scallops in 1 tablespoon of the oil until firm and opaque. Remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, cook garlic in remaining oil for 1 minute. Add the juices, soy sauce, and orange peel. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 5 minutes or until thickened. Serve over the scallops.

Aunt Jean's Cole Slaw Dressing

1 cup oil
1/2 cup vinegar
1 & 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon celery seed
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1 grated onion

mix really well in blender.

Turkey BBQ Sandwiches

16 oz Can tomatoes; cut up

6 oz Can tomato paste;
1 teaspoon Powdered Mustard;
1/4 cup Onion; chopped
1 teaspoon Chili powder; (or to taste)
2 cup Turkey; chopped, cooked

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the flavors are blended. Spoon the mixture over hamburger buns or toast.

Turkey Kebobs - Hawaiian Style

For that leftover Turkey

1 lb Cooked turkey, 1" cubes

8 oz Can pineapple chunks
1 md Onion, cut into quarters
1 Sweet green pepper in chunks
10 Cherry tomatoes
1 tb Soy sauce
1/2 ts Curry powder
1/4 ts Ground ginger

Begin each skewer with a cube of turkey. Add pineapple. Separate the onion into pieces and add one piece. Add the green pepper and tomato. Repeat. Put the skewers in a baking pan. Combine the soy sauce, pineapple juice, curry powder and ginger. Pour over the kebobs. Bake in 400 F oven for 15 min, turning frequently to coat with sauce. Serve on rice, if desired.

Pumpkin Patch Soup

A family thing...

3 cups butternut squash
2 cups milk, or 1/2 & 1/2 or 1 can evaporated milk.
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon or so of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves or allspice

Mix in pan and heat on stove or in the Crock Pot.

Honeymoon Shrimp & Broccoli

Dressing:
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 Tablespoons white rum
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 chopped scallion
Fresh Ground pepper


Dish:
Boil 1 pound medium shelled shrimp for 5 minutes or until tender in 6 cups water, 1/2 cup 80 proof rum and 1 teaspoon salt. Drain shrimp. Bring a large pot of water to boil add 1 teaspoon of salt and 3 cups of broccoli florets.  Boil for 5 minutes and then drain and rinse broccoli. Dry broccoli and put it in a medium bowl. Add cooked shrimp. Pour dressing over shrimp and broccoli and refrigerate 2 hours or more stirring occasionally. Arrange on platter for serving and sprinkle with 1 cup blanched silvered almonds.

Peppermint Pie

A quick recipe for a delicious dessert.

Ingredients:

1 ready-made chocolate cookie crust
1 Eight ounce package of cream cheese
1 Fourteen ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
3 tablespoons creme de menthe
1 Eight ounce container of cool-whip
Optional: food color.

Beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Strir in creme de menthe. If you are coloring the pie, this is the time to do so. If its green creme de menthe, add green... but  the clear creme de menthe with red food coloring does seem to give a greater contrast with the chocolate crust. Your choice. Lastly, fold in whipped topping, andpour into the pie crust. freeze until set, or 4 hours.  makes 8 servings. 

Spanish Pork Kebobs

This recipe is somewhat different from the usual fare. Good on the grill, or under the broiler. Marinade overnight for the best flavor.


Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoons sweet paprika
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt more or less
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds pork sirloin, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2.5 tablespoons chopped parsley

Combine the olive oil, cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne pepper, turmeric, oregano, salt and pepper in a small skillet over low heat. Cook until warmed through, say 3 minutes or so. Then remove from heat and let cool.

Add spice mixture, garlic, parsley and lemon juice t a 1 gallon bag or marinade container. Add Pork and marinade over night.

when ready to cook, Heat the grill until hot. Skewer the meat and season with salt. Grill on all sides until cooked through, say 12 to 15 minutes.

Bread with Sponge Recipe

From Great-Grandmother Florence Purdy Cornell's 1917 Gold Medal Flour Recipe book:

Bread with Sponge

 Ingredients:

1 pint water

1/2 cake of compressed yeast or 1 dry yeast cake or 1 small cup of homemade yeast

1 quart sifted Gold Metal flour, or enough too make a sufficient medium batter.

Set  the sponge late in the evening by dissolving the yeast in the water then add the flour and mix until the sponge is smooth. The sponge when mixed should have a temperate of 80 to 82 degrees.

In the morning add to the sponge the following ingredients:

1 pint water

2 teaspooons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons lard

2 quarts Gold Medal flour or suffiencent to make a medium dough

Break up the sponge until the ingredients are dissolved and the batter smooth. add flour and knead until smoot. The temperature should be 82 to 84 degrees. Allow the dough to rise until light then knead down gently and allow to rise until nearly light and make until loaves. Place in pans and allow to rise to the top of the pan, then bake in a medium warm oven.

The Best Fudge Ever

My ultimate favorite fudge isn't fancy. It doesn't require fancy equipment. it isn't made with rare ingredients. Its the simple never-fail fudge recipe on the back of the fluff jar. Every year I make this at Christmastime for small gifts. I have to give it away, because if I make a batch of this and it sits in my apartment for more than a day or two, I will eat it. I will eat it all. smooth creamy and very difficult to stop eating - I give you my fave fudge recipe: Never Fail Fudge.

Ingredients:

2 & 1/2 cups of sugar
1/4 cup of butter
1 five ounce can of evaporated milk
1 jar of Marshmallow Fluff (7 & 1/2 oz jar)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 twelve ounce package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine first 5 ingredients. Stir over low heat until blended.
Bring to a boil over moderate heat, being careful not to mistake air bubbles for boiling.
Boil slowly, stirring constantly for five minutes. (soft ball stage)
Remove from heat.
Stir in chocolate and vanilla until chocolate is melted.
Pour into a well-buttered 9 x 9 pan and let cool.
Cut and share.

Almond Cheesecake Brownies

These Almond Cheesecake Brownies are more work than most of my recipes. They are however well worth it. From The Chocolate Lovers Cookie Cookbook, by Tupperware:

Ingredients:
4 1 ounce squares of semi-sweet chocolate
5 Tablespoons butter, divided
1 3 ounce package of cream cheese
1 cup sugar, divided
3 eggs, divided
1/2 cup  plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1&1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup slivered or chopped almonds, divided
Almond Icing

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 - inch square pan.  Melt chocolate and 3 tablespooons of butter in small heavy saucepan over low heat. Set aside. Mix Cream Cheese with remaining 2 tablespoons butter  in small bowl. Slowly add 1/4 cup of the sugar, blending well.  Add 1 egg, the 1 tablespoon of flour, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Set aside.  Beat remaining 2 eggs and 3/4 cup sugar in large bowl until light. Add the baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup flour. Blend in chocolate mixture, remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and the almond extract. Stir in 1/2 cup almonds. Spread half of the the chocolate mixture in prepared pan. Cover with cream cheese mixture, then  spoon rest of the chocolate  mixture over the top. Swirl with Knife or spatula to create a marbled effect.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until set in center. Don not overbake. Meanwhile, prepare almond Icing. Cool brownies 5 minutes, then spread icing evenly over the top. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup almonds.  Cool completely before cutting into small squares.

Almond Icing:
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup powdered sugar

Combine chocolate chips, butter, milk and almond extract in small heavy saucepan. Stir over low heat until chocolate is melted. add powdered sugar and beat until glossy and easy to spread.

Quick Things to do with Chicken

In Peg Bracken's " I Hate to Cook Book" there are many recipes that are easy & enjoyable to do.  As the holiday season approaches, "what's for dinner" becomes more effort after all the other things that need juggling this time of year. So here's a few simple tasty things that don't require a lot of work for those busy evenings.

Coca-Chicken
Salt and pepper 2 to 3 pounds of chicken pieces. Warm about 1/4 of ketchup, and add a cup of coca-cola. Put the pieces of chicken into a casserole, pour over the sauce. Cover the casserole cook for about a half hour (350-375 degrees) Then uncover it, cook for another half hour and you're done.

Bastard Barbeque
Salt and pepper and lavishly garlic-salt a cut-up chicken. put it in a shallow pan and then sprinkle it generously with brown sugar, folowed by dotting it with lots of butter. Bake it uncovered for about an hour at 350 degrees.

Chili Chicken
8-10 chicken drumsticks or thighs , 1/4 jar of chili Seasoning, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, and tinfoil.
Salt and pepper  the chicken. Mix the seasoning with the vinegar. Paint each piece with the seasoning and wrap it in foil. Bake them at 400 degrees for 40 Minutes.

Lemon Cake

A Recipe from the Vt Judiciary I keep meaning to make:

Ingredients
1 box Duncan Hines Lemon Cake Mix
1 box lemon jello instant pudding
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
4 eggs
½ cup lemon juice
2 cups confectioner's sugar

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first five ingredients and bake in a greased bundt pan for 1 hour. Mix lemon juice and confectioner's sugar, and pour over cake while hot. Serve with blueberries and vanilla ice cream. (Can substitute raspberries or strawberries for blueberries).

Mom's Key Lime Pie

Ingredients
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
3 or 4 ounces of Key Lime Juice
1 9' graham cracker shell

Instructions
Combine milk and egg yolks at a low speed. Slowly add juice mixing until well blended. Pour into a 9' graham cracker pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. cool. Top with whipped cream or meringue and enjoy.

Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 cup coconut

Instructions
In large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar, margarine and eggs; beat well. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; mix well. Stir in oats, coconut and nuts. Divide dough in half. On waxed paper, shape each half into a roll 2 inches in diameter. Wrap; refrigerate at least 2 hours or until firm.

Heat oven to 375°F. Cut dough into 1/4-inch slices. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375°F. for 8 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets

Caramel Dip

Great with either Popcorn or sliced apple pieces, this is a great easy dip.

Ingredients
8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
1 cup brown sugar
dash of vanilla extract

Instructions
Combine ingredients well. Enjoy!

Garlic Shrimp

Not to be confused with Shrimp Scampi, Garlic shrimp is my  own revved up concoction using off-the-shelf spagetti sauce. And, because I've never measured it all, it comes out slightly differently every time. This is not a low calorie, low fat low cholesterol dish by any means. It is however very yummy. WIth a Salad  and garlic bread, you've got a nice dinner here for company too.

You'll need

Shrimp
Butter (real butter, not the fake stuff)
Several Cloves of Garlic
A jar of spagetti sauce (I use Ragu's Roasted Garlic but whatever will do)
Pasta (I like fetticine for this myself, but any pasta will do)
Parmesan/Romano Cheese (whichever you like or both)

I heat some butter up (2 tablespoons or so), then add about 2 minced garlic cloves. While thats getting started, I start heating a pot of water to boil the pasta in.  Take the shrimp (shells completely off) rinse them, and then add to the garlic. you don't want to let the butter cook away, nor add too much so I often put a splash of white vermouth in as well. Any dry white wine would work, but I have found cooking with Vermouth works very well. Once the water comes to a boil, drop your pasta in to cook. Using Fetticine I set the timer for 12 minutes.  Keep turning the shrimp so the are cooked all the way through. once they are pink (5-6 minutes), add another clove of garlic, and about a cup of the spagetti sauce. I add at this point parmesan/romano cheeses, less than a 1/4 cup, four or so shakes if you're using the quick stuff from the store. Once the shrimp, sauce, garlic and cheese are integrated, add the rest of the sauce. Stir occasionally to keep it all integrated and so the shrimp don't settle to the bottom. When the timer goes off, drain your pasta. The sauce by this point should be hot all the way through, so its time to serve dinner.  I find its easier when serving the shrimp & sauce over the pasta to use a ladle so the shrimp gets evenly distributed.  For those of us who really like garlic, more can be added. Enjoy!

18th Century Drunken Chicken

Here's an oven based recipe that we converted to a campfire meal.  Pictures of that whole process can be found at MizRebecky's Adventures. Either in the oven or over the fire, this is very easy to do and tasty as well.

Ingredients for a single recipe (we made a quadruple batch):
4 chicken legs-thighs (chicken joints)  - we used chicken thighs for easy cooking & cleanup.
1/4 pint cider  - we used woodchuck cider.
2 teaspoons English mustard powder  - we used pre-made powder. You can make your own by pulverizing equal amounts of brown  and white mustard seeds.
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper
1 tablespoon oil - we used olive oil.
2 tablespoons honey

 The recipe says to put your chicken pieces in a dish (in a single layer). we were making drunken chicken for many people in a dutch oven, so we piled it all in one pot. I suspect single layer you would get more of a glazed result than we did.

Then combine the remaining ingredients, pour over the chicken and allow to stand for a minimum of 1 hour. Ours soaked for about an hour and a half hile we were off doing other tasks.

Oven bake the chicken slowly in a large oven proof dish/pan for approximately 1 hour, basting the joints periodically as they cook.We put much more marinade in ours, as fire can be much less predictable than on oven, and we didn't want it to dry out. So no basting was done, but periodic stirring was essential. I think we cooked ours more like an hour and a half. The chicken was incredibly tender and tasty.

the recipe suggests Serving hot with steamed greens and mashed or baked potatoes. We had boiled potatoes and a salad to round ours out. We discussed doing it again and maybe having dumplings on top, but that will only work if you approached it with plenty of marinade in the pot.


*The original recipe, done in an oven, can be found at http://www.food.com/recipe/18th-century-drunken-english-somerset-cider-chicken-with-honey-238815

Popcorn with a Twist

Here's 4 ways to Spice up 2 quarts of Popcorn (a large bowl full)

Ingredients
Italian
1/4 cup butter melted
1/4 cup grated parmesan Cheese
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp popcorn salt

Chili
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp popcorn salt

Onion/ Garlic
1/4 cup melted butter
l/4 tsp onion salt
l/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp popcorn salt

Taco
1/4 cup Melted butter
3/4 tsp taco seasoning
1/4 tsp popcorn salt

Instructions
Pour Mixture over 2 qts popped corn.
Toss to coat evenly.
For crisper corn, Heat in 300 degree oven for ten minutes

Chicken Diane

Ingredients
About a pound of boneless chicken
3 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup Lime Juice
1 tsp parsley
4 chopped scallions
2/3 cup Vermouth
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 TBSP Butter
2 TBSP Oil
Salt & Pepper

Instructions
Melt butter & oil in frying pan large enough for all the chicken at once. Salt & Pepper the chicken and then place over medium - medium low heat in butter/oil to brown. While that is browning, Mix lime juice, dijon mustard, Parsley, and scallion together. Flip chicken and brown on second side. Once lightly browned, remove shicken to plate and cover to keep warm. Deglaze pan with vermouth. Add lime-mustard mixture. Add chicken broth. blend together over medium-low heat. Return Chicken to pan and cook another 3-4 minutes. Serve.

Notes
I usually serve this with fetticine noodles in a marinara sauce.

Ginger's Peanut Butter Balls

This makes a LOT of peanut butter balls, and is time-intensive. However the end result is worth the work.

Ingredients
2 cups Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup of butter
1 pound of powdered sugar
16 oz of chocolate (I prefer dark or semi-sweet)

Instructions
Mix 2 cups creamy peanut butter with 1/2 cup of butter. Gradually add 1 pound of powdered (confectioner) sugar. Roll into balls the size or large marbles. Put into fridge to chill. Then dip balls into chocolate (usually you need 16 oz. for one batch) and set on wax paper until firm.

Notes
If not using special chocolate for cooking then we add 1 TB veg oil per 6 oz of choc chips when melting in double boiler.

Honey Buttermilk Bread

Honey-Buttermilk Bread

Ingredients

1 & 1/2 cups Non-Fat Buttermilk

4 & 1/2 cups Flour

2 Tsp Sea salt

1/4 cup Butter (melted) or Canola Oil

1/4 cup Honey

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 & 3/4 tsp Active dry Yeast

Instructions

Warm Butter milk & Dissolve yeast in it.

Add Honey, butter, Baking Soda, & Salt.

Add flour until it starts to form a ball.

The dough will be sticky.

Turn out onto floured surface & Knead remander of flour in as needed.

Knead 5 minutes or until dough is elastic.

Let it rise in a greased bowl (turn dough so top is greased as well), covering with a damp cloth.

Punch down dough and form into loaves.

Place into greased pans & let rise til doubled.

Bake in 400 degree oven for 40 minutes or until hollow when tapped.

Note: As you can see from the photo, I've also made this in the fire at Encampments

Twice Cooked Chicken

No, this isn't about leftovers:

Ingredients
6 chicken bone-in thighs
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter
11/2 tablespoons thyme
1/3 cup dry white wine

Instructions
Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper to taste, heat a large frying pan and melt the butter. Brown the chicken lightly on both sides along with the herbs. Remove all to a roasting pan, uncovered. Place in a preheated 350° oven. Bake skin side up for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken and roast 10 minutes more. Remove the chicken to a plate and reserve the fat in the pan.

Heat a lightly oiled flattop griddle or a heavy cast-iron frying pan. Place the chicken skin side down in the pan. Place another heavy cast-iron pan directly on top of the chicken and press it down. Brown the chicken very well on both sides, using the weight of the second frying pan, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken again to the plate.

Heat the roasting pan juices, adding any juice, from the late, and deglaze with the wine. Reduce a bit. Pour the sauce over the chicken.
Note:
Rosemary can be substituted for the Thyme

Susan's Highlander Stew

Ingredients
5 Ibs chuck roast cubed into ~1 inch pieces (lamb may substituted)
3 Ibs baby red potatoes cleaned and halved (regular red potatoes should be cleaned and quartered)
3 Ibs small/medium yellow onions quartered (or cut smaller depending on size of onions)
1 Ib baby carrots (halved or cut in thirds)
2 cans Guinness (Killians may be substituted)
1 box chicken stock
1+ cup flour
kosher salt
pepper
Italian seasoning
olive oil (vegetable oil may be substituted)

Instructions
Combine flour, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning in a container of choice. Dredge meat in flour mixture. In cooking vessel of choice, pour in olive oil to heat. When oil is hot add meat to brown. When meat is brown de-glaze kettle with gooiness, stirring and scraping. Add all of the other ingredients in kettle, allow to cook at a simmer for 1-2 hours (all ingredients should be covered with liquid so if needed add additional chicken stock or water). Season to taste. To thicken further closer to serving time you may add a slurry (mixture of flour and water) allowing cooking for several minutes to lose raw flour taste or a mix of corn starch or arrow root and broth to the stew bringing stew to a boil for a few minutes to thicken to desired consistency

Notes
Try to be consistent with the sizes of all items. The closer to each other in size they will be, the more evenly they will cook.

Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

Ingredients
2 Cups Bisquick
2/3 cups Milk
1/2 cup grated Cheddar Cheese
1/4 cup melted Butter (you may want more)
1/4 tsp Garlic
Dash Italian Seasoning

Instructions
Combine first 3 ingredients. (will be sticky)
Spoon into 12 well-greased muffin tins.
Do not use paper liners.
Combine last 3 ingredients.
Spread evenly over batter.
bake about 10-15 minutes at 450 until nicely browned.

Notes
For a even more decandant taste, make a double amount of the last three ingredients, and spread 1/2 on biscuits as soon as they come out of the oven.

Bordentown Candied Peel

This confection was very popular in the eighteenth century.

Ingredients
2 cups of grapefruit, lemon, or orange peels,
packed
1 cup sugar
½ cup water
fine sugar

Instructions
Remove the peel in 1/8- to 1/4 inch-wide strips. Avoid the bitter white pith. Place the peel in a stainless steel saucepan and cover with cool water. Boil slowly for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, let stand for 5 minutes, and drain. Repeat this process twice more. Cook the sugar in the water until it dissolves. Add the peel and cook until the syrup is almost absorbed and the peel is translucent

Shake fine sugar onto waxed paper and roll the peel in the sugar until it is well coated. Dry on a wire rack.

Notes
This was given to me by our neighbor at Bordentown in 2007 and was a big hit with those of us who were the

Wright's Korean Venison

Ingredients


3 lb Venison meat – (any cut); -sliced as thinly as possible
1 c Soy sauce
1/2 c Sesame oil
1/4 c Hot water
4 ts Sugar
1/4 c Sake or vermouth
1 ts Hot oil
1 ts Red pepper flakes
1/3 ts Freshly-ground white pepper
4 Scallion stalks; chopped -thin
10 Garlic cloves; crushed or -chopped

=== DIPPING SAUCE ===
1/2 c Soy sauce
1/4 c Sesame oil
2 tb Sugar
1/8 c Sake or Vermouth
1/8 c Hot water
1 ts Red pepper flakes
2 Scallion stalks; chopped -thin
2 Garlic cloves; chopped thin

Instructions
Marinate venison in warmest part of refrigerator 2 to 3 days. Broil or grill. Mix all dipping sauce together. Serve venison with two six-packs beer and dipping sauce. If it is too much sesame for your taste, halve the amount of sesame oil, and use canola oil in its place.

Carol's Crock Pot Chili

This is a highly adjustable recipe.
Pour 1 jar of chunky ragu or prego spagetti sauce in a pot. Add one container of Jack Daniels BBQ sauce (i think i used the spicy or the smokehouse kind, depends on what flavor you're shooting for). add 2 cans (20 oz each) of red kidney beans buy a couple of the make your own chili packets in the grocery store in the spice & packet aisle - add them to the pot. add two cans of tomato paste (less if you don't like it thick). add a couple of pounds of slightly browned lean meat. I used venison, turkey or chicken, but beef is fine too. I used to set it up at night say 9 at night, and cook on low til the next morning. Take a serving or two for lunch. The rest I would freeze in lunchsize bowls for some other time. This makes a lot, you could probably half the recipe and still have a lot to eat.

Cocktail Party Meatballs

Ingredients

SAUCE
3 cups catsup
2 cups water
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup onion, chopped
3 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. salt (or to taste)
4 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
12 drops Tabasco sauce

MEATBALLS
3 pounds ground pork*
3 c. fine dried bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. horseradish
8 eggs, beaten
12 drops tabasco sauce
6 Tbsp. minced onion

Instructions
To make the sauce, bring all the ingredients to a boil in a sauce pan, then simmer for 1/2 hr.

To make the meat balls, combine beef, bread crumbs, salt and pepper together in a large bowl. In a small bowl combine horseradish, eggs, tabasco and onion and mix well. Add to the meat mixture and blend well. Roll the mixture into bite size balls, approx. 250 of them. Brown the meatballs in a large fry pan, drain and transfer to 2 large baking dishes and pour the sauce over them. Simmer in the oven for 2-2 1/2 hours. Serve hot on chafing dish. These may be made the day before and reheated or frozen with the sauce on.

Notes
* other ground meats may be used, turkey or beef, or a mixture.

Lemon Thyme Cornmeal Crusted Chicken

If you use fresh herbs, the presentation here is elegant enough for company. I usually serve this with basmati rice and hollandaise sauce.

Ingredients

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 pound thinly sliced chicken breast cutlets

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup flour

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

Lemon wedges and fresh thyme sprigs, for garnish

Instructions
In a shallow dish, combine milk and lemon juice. Add chicken, turning to coat completely. In another shallow dish, combine cornmeal, flour, thyme, salt, and pepper. (for more citrus flavor add a little orange peel)

Dredge chicken in cornmeal, patting coating onto chicken with your hands until fully coated..

In a large frying pan/heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add half of chicken and cook, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through, about 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and repeat with remaining oil and chicken.

Serve chicken garnished with lemon wedges and thyme sprigs. For a vegetable, try steamed broccoli or aspargus, both which are lovely with hollandaise sauce.

Missus Fanny Farmer’s French style Bread receipt

2 + 2/3 tsp yeast (1 pkg)

2  ½ cups warm water

1 Tblsp salt

6 ½ - 7 ½ flour

2 Tblsp cornmeal ( for tins)

Dissolve yeast in warm water . add salt & 5 cups of flour. Add flour as needed, then knead for 5 minutes til elastic. Let rise. Punch down once doubled. Divide & shape into tins which have been greased & sprinkled with Cornmeal. Let rise. Bake  at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Mist with water every 15 minutes for crusty bread (makes steam)

Beer Bread

12 Ounces of beer, any variety except non-alcohol

2 Tablespoons of something really sweet (sugar, honey, fruit juice concentrate, etc.)

3 Cups of self-rising flour

   (For every cup of flour, use 1 ½ tsp baking powder and ½ tsp salt to make it self rising)

Mix the ingredients together. Pour the batter into a lightly greased, pre-heated loaf pan and bake at 400° for 50 minutes (maybe more depending on your oven). The recipe makes one loaf of bread suitable for 2-3 people. If plan for more servings, adjust the ingredients proportionately. This bread tastes best fresh from the oven but is also quite good cold. It will be a rather dense bread with a texture more like muffins or corn bread. I highly recommend using a strong porter or stout (like Guinness or Murphy’s) for the beer and honey as your sweetener.

I've also done this recipe in the fire at 18th century encampments. For that purpose the only really questionable ingredient in the recipe above is the self-rising flour. Self-rising simply means that the flour already has baking powder mixed with it.

 In the period, potash, a.k.a. pearlash (a kind of salt made from refined wood ash) was used to aid the rising process. Baking soda is the modern equivalent of potash, and baking powder is essentially baking soda with some compound starches added as a souring agent.

 In other words, baking powder provides basically the same function as the salt or wood ash by-products but is easier to come by today. Baking powder was first discovered in the late 1700s, but didn’t come into widespread use until around the 1830s

Almost a Mounds Bar

1 lb. coconut
1/4 lb. butter, melted
2 lb. powdered sugar
1 can sweetened milk ( I use Eagle Brand)
12 oz. bag chocolate chips
1 block paraffin (this makes it easier, although you can use less if you'd like)


Mix together coconut, butter, powdered sugar, nuts, and milk. Shape into balls. Refrigerate overnight.
Melt chocolate with paraffin in double boiler.
With toothpick or fork, dip each refrigerated ball.
Place on wax paper and let dry.

Lemon Bread

1/4 c. shortening        2 eggs

1 c. sugar                   1/2 c. milk
1 grated lemon rind    1 1/2 c. sifted flour
1/2 tsp. salt                1 tsp. baking powder

Sift dry ingredients. Cream shortening with sugar. Add eggs and lemon rind. Alternately add dry ingredients to shortening mixture with the milk. Beat well, then pour batter into greased and floured loaf pan. Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. While hot, pour juice of lemon and 1/4 cup of sugar that has been stirred together, over the hot bread. Cool before removing from pan.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Black Bottom Cupcakes

8 oz of cream cheese
1 1/2 c flour
1 egg
1 c. sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 c. cocoa
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6 oz pkg chocolate chips
1 tsp baking soda

In one bowl combine cream cheese, egg, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/3 c sugar. beat well, then stir inchocolate chips.

In second bowl, combine the flour, remaining sugar and salt, cocoa and baking soda.

Add to second bowl: 1 c cold water, 1 Tbsp vinegar, 1/3 c. oil, 1 tsp vanilla.

Beat well.  Fill muffin cups 1/3 c with cocoa mixture; top with heaping teaspoon of cream cheese mixture.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

no frosting needed. Makes 24 small or 18 regular size cupcakes