Sunday, December 26, 2010

Deviled Ham Spread Recipie
















This is not a match for the canned version but its tasty in its own right. I like serving it on crackers or on buttered bread.

Put the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. If the spread is too thick, add more mayonnaise.

3 cups chopped cooked ham
1/2 cup Miracle Whip or mayonnaise
1/4 cup bold and spicy mustard
1/3 cup onion
3 tablespoons chopped sweet pickles or relish
1 1/2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 teaspoons Paprika

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Sweet Potato Pasta

pasta hanging to dry

Put 4 eggs in a bowl
Add 2 mashed sweet potatoes or yams (cooked and cooled)
Mix and add four until the dough becomes very stiff.

Form the noodles with a pasta maker or rolling pin. Let dry and boil in salted water for about 2 minutes. Taste test to ensure they are done the way you like.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Homemade Kettle Corn Recipe



I discovered kettle corn at a flea market many years ago; sweet and salty, is there anything better?

The ingredients:

1/4 cup corn oil

combine the following in a bowl
1/2 cup popcorn
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground sea salt

I use a heavy gauge stock pot to make this in.

1. Heat the oil on high with a few kernels of popcorn. When the kernels pop then the oil is ready.

2. Pour the popcorn, sugar and salt into the pot and stir with a long handled spoon. I find the popcorn cooks better if the ingredients are mixed slightly so there isn't a pile of sugar in the center of the pot.

3. Cover and shake until the popping noise starts to slow down. Do not wait until it stops since the sugar will burn.

4. Immediately pour the popcorn into a large bowl. Be careful since melted sugar is extremely hot. I find it better to make 2 batches rather than doubling the recipe. The popcorn burns easily and it's very hard to make a large batch. The old maids tend to stick to the kernels so we eat kettle corn more causiously than regular popcorn but it's so tasty no one minds.

The photo is of an actual batch of kettle corn.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Flaming Bananas Foster Recipe

I love this dessert but it tends to be too sweet for me in restaurants so I make it a little different. This recipe serves four hearty portions.

Have all the ingredients ready since it cooks quickly and you don't want to feel rushed while using flaming liquids.

1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 stick butter
1 cup nuts

1 shot glass of banana liquor

4 sliced bananas

Vanilla ice cream


















Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 3/4 of a stick of butter and 1 cup nuts in a shallow skillet with sloped sides. Pecans are best but I used walnuts here.






















Have the Banana liquor ready in a dish. I use about half a shot to a shot (I'm guessing since I don't own a shot glass). Do not pour directly from the bottle since that would be dangerous.



















Heat the nut mixture until the edges start to bubble and the sugar is dissolved.



















Add the sliced bananas and lightly stir them.
















Now is the fun but tricky part. Pour the liquor on the inside edge of the pan that is on the far side away from you. Slowly tilt the pan near the burner flame; the liquor is 99 proof and catches fire easily. Do not tilt the pan so far that the liquor goes into the stove flame and make sure you are tilting the pan away from yourself. Have a pot lid handy if necessary to smother the flame. This can be dangerous so think through the steps and be careful. The flames shoot straight up when it ignites so be prepared for it.






























Spoon the mixture while warm over ice cream.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Egg Foo Young Recipe

Brown Gravy
Stir together the following ingredients over medium heat until they thicken.

3 cups beef stock
3 tablespoons corn starch
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar

Egg Foo Young Ingredients

12 eggs
cooked pork chopped
chop half a cabbage
small chopped onion
any other vegetable that pleases you















beat a dozen eggs in a bowl and add cooked meat















chop half a cabbage and an onion and saute until slightly crunchy














add the vegetables to the egg mixture and stir














Put a ladle of egg mixture into the hot oil. Flip carefully. I use a spatula on top and bottom to prevent splashing.

























Drain on a wire rack and flip once on the rack so that they can drain on both sides.