JBug's Kitchen Antics

Mushroom Strudel

I'm often at a loss on what to serve as a vegetable side dish other than our usual roasted asparagus or occasional cauliflower. We're a touch limited in choices because the master of the house doesn't like peas or green or yellow beans for that matter and really prefers his veggies raw while I like 'em cooked. Thankfully though he has a particular fondness for mushrooms.

Personally I could take or leave mushrooms having grown up on the canned variety which really don't do the little 'shroom much justice, but I'll be changing my tune considerably if we can have them like this more often.

Inspired by a recipe in St. Louis Souvenirs, the strudel filling includes sliced mushrooms, minced onion, and garlic sauteed in a little butter and flavored with sherry and lots of nutmeg. A touch of flour to thicken the sauce, some fresh parsley, and a little sour cream make the mushrooms creamy and a perfect tasty foil for the crisp layers of phyllo leaves.

Prepped in advance and held in the refrigerator until the very last 20 minutes before serving time, you've got to admit it looks rather fabulous with a little grilled skirt steak on the side. This Mushroom Strudel would also make a great appetizer or luncheon dish along with a salad if you're so inclined. Needless to say, we'll be putting it on our menu again in the very near future.

By the way if you have an aversion to using phyllo pastry, no worries. Just encase the fabulous filling inside your favorite pastry or some of the dough boy's croissants. Heck you could even use won ton wrappers. Dynamite!

Mushroom Strudel (inspired by St. Louis Souvenirs Cookbook)

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 small onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

12 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Salt and coarse ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/4 cup dry sherry

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 package phyllo pastry leaves

1/4 cup butter, melted

Dry Italian flavored breadcrumbs

Heat butter and oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add onions and cook until onion is softened – about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional minute stirring constantly. Stir in mushrooms and cook until mushrooms have softened and start to turn golden – about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir often. Stir in flour and cook for a minute, then add salt, pepper, nutmeg and sherry. Stir well and cook for 30 seconds, then remove from heat. Stir in parsley and sour cream. Cool mixture to lukewarm before continuing.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. Arrange 2 phyllo leaves on a work surface, one on top of the other. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs. Repeat with another 2 leaves of phyllo, melted butter and bread crumbs. Top with an additional 2 phyllo pastry leaves. Place half the filling in a long narrow strip on the short side of the phyllo pastry, leaving approximately 1 inch border around the outside. Fold in edges and roll, encasing filling in phyllo. Brush well with butter and place package with the seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat to make a second strudel. At this point the strudels can be refrigerated.

Preheat oven to 375. Cut slits in the top of the phyllo packages with a sharp knife. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until strudels are golden brown and filling is hot. Slice into pieces before serving. Serve warm. Serves 4.

A year ago - Fish Tacos with Avocado Cream

Two year's ago - Buffalo Chicken Balls

Crab Cakes with Sun Dried Tomato Remoulade

What can I say except these crab cakes are wonderful. From Legal Sea Foods Cookbook, they're everything you want in a crab cake - lots of crab, limited filler, a little spice in the form of Dijon mustard, hot pepper sauce and horseradish too. Moist, flavorful - I mean really; how could they be better?  But they were.

Topped with a creamy spicy kinda' crunchy sun dried tomato remoulade sauce from The Northwest Best Places Cookbook they were stupendeous. Just make 'em OK. You won't be sorry, I promise.

So - now that I have your attention, I really need to start this day off with a good rant and the fact that I'm posting today about crab cakes is rather appropriate coming from someone that's really, really crabby. I had a miserable night and the morning hasn't been all that hot either, although Big Guy's tried his best to make it as good as he can by packing his own lunch, walking the dogs and buying breakfast on his way to work.

My constitution just can't handle super rich food in any quantity so a big piece of banana pudding resulted in raging heartburn all night. Yup, I know. I'm stupid but I really like the stuff. Not only that but I can't seem to eat salad any more either so the combination resulted in my beating a path to the ....well, let's just say it has been a really busy night. 

During the brief times I actually spent sleeping, Big Guy was dreaming about climbing out of the hole and kicking up a storm. Had he connected with Max or me, it's unlikely we would have survived without a broken bone or two. Course I'm not sure he would have either.

Oh and speaking of breaking bones, to top it all off once again our illustrious neighbors decided it was a great idea to water our bedroom carpet through the patio door which I had thoughtlessly left open at 6:30 A.M. to enjoy the cool 68 degree morning breeze. I mean, imagine me thinking I could do that when they had "weeds" to water on the other side of the 6 plus foot brick wall that separates our homes. They truly have to show some dexterity to hit the screen in the first place since it's farthest away from the wall but their aim keeps improving and "requests" for them to take better care obviously fall on deaf ears.  Geez, what do they think our carpet is - a chia pet? I think I might hate Mondays.  

Spicy Crab Cakes (adapted from Legal Sea Foods Cookbook)

1/2 cup good quality mayonnaise

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Dash Hot pepper sauce

1/2 teaspoon bottled horseradish

1 large egg, beaten

Dash Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

1/2 cup finely crushed saltine crackers

16 ounces cleaned crab, fresh or good quality frozen or canned

1/4 cup dried Italian flavored breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine mayonnaise, dry and Dijon mustards, hot pepper sauce, horseradish, egg, Worcestershire sauce, and old bay seasoning together until well mixed. Fold in saltine cracker crumbs and crab until just mixed. Form into 4 patties, cover and refrigerate for minimum half an hour. Preheat oven to 350. Sprinkle both sides of each crab cake with dry breadcrumbs. In an oven proof skillet, melt butter and oil together until hot. Cook crab cakes on both sides until golden brown, then transfer to oven and bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until hot. Serve with remoulade sauce.

Sun Dried Tomato Remoulade Sauce (adapted from Northwest Best Places Cookbook)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Creole style or grainy mustard

2 tablespoons each minced celery, red pepper and green onion

2 tablespoons chopped oil packed sun dried tomatoes

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Dash salt and pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until needed.

Fun in the Kitchen - Make Nachos

One super way to show off your creativity in the kitchen is to make a big pan of nachos for dinner. Afterall, we missed our usual Pink Mountain Friday so it was our excuse to celebrate with a beer and nacho Saturday. I'm not entirely sure why I thought it necessary to make excuses for our unorthodox dinner, but there you have it. 

Big Guy was responsible for darn near all of this as I sat on at our new kitchen island on one of the new barstools and threw in my two cents worth and snitched chips while I was at it. Man, I love it when he cooks!

Anyway, should you need one, there's a ton of recipes on-line for nachos - check out this one by Rachael and of course there's Guy Fieri's Italian version that I've had my eye on for a while too. That said, our plates of crisp and gooey goodness included browned ground beef and sauteed onions kicked up a notch with taco seasoning and garlic, along with cubes of processed cheese, warmed refried beans, pickled jalapenos, chopped black olives and lots of grated Mexican cheese blend courtesy of Trader Joes.

Garnished with guacamole, sour cream, salsa from a jar and a squeeze of lime, it was all quite sublime.

A year ago -  Beer Braised Shortribs

Two year's ago - Quick Blender Hollandaise

 

Party Hearty

Cooking for a crowd can be a challenge but you can make it easier on yourself by simply choosing the right menu. Many's the time I've stressed myself out by planning dishes that needed last minute care and attention but Monday night's menu was darn near perfect, if I do say so myself.

Composed of dishes that for the most part could be made in advance, we rounded out the appetizer menu by making a huge container of the Loaded Baked Potato Dip we tried Super Bowl Sunday from myrecipes.com. While I found it more spreadable than dip-able and a trifle lacking in flavor the first time I made it, this time I added a cup of prepared buttermilk ranch dressing along with a half package of dry ranch mix to loosen the dip up a tad and add more zip. Hit the link at myrecipes.com for the recipe but remember to doctor it up a bit. Served with some of those fabulous tiny iddy biddy potatoes that were roasted in advance and simply warmed up, it was an incredibly delicious and popular appetizer. Perfect "crowd" food!

As for the main course, Big Guy put a couple of huge sirloin roasts on the Weber rotisserie and sliced them up to serve cold. Here they are in all their glory just off the barbecue and resting before being sliced.

The other entree choice was this fabulous Spicy Chicken with Apricots and Olives, courtesy of Noble Pig. Loaded with all manner of spices including cinnamon, cumin and smoked paprika it's the kind of dish that's ideal for entertaining because the chicken marinates for 24 hours before hitting the oven.

The incredible aroma and exotic flavor is darn near enough to make you want to catch the next flight to Morocco...but the good news is you don't have to! You can make this right at home. Incidentally, I multiplied the recipe by 6 and used 10.5 pounds of skinless boneless chicken thighs, which was about perfect for 40 people, give or take when served beside a big bowl of couscous with lemon, olive oil, fresh mint and toasted pistachio nuts. 

The rest of the main course was balanced by a huge tossed salad as well as our favorite marinated asparagus salad you've seen here several times before. We also whipped up perfect for a crowd pickled onion salad that's another gem from the past. Simply thinly sliced yellow onions marinated overnight in a sugar, vinegar, water mixture, the salad is finished by draining the pickling mixture from the onions and tossing them with sour cream and celery seeds. It is a perfect crunchy kinda' sweet tart accompaniment to thinly sliced roast beef and great on a sandwich or a burger and topping a bowl of beef with barbecue sauce like you'll see pictured below. Hey we had leftovers last night for dinner - see!

 

As for dessert, well you'll just have to hold your horses and come back tomorrow! Believe me, it'll be worth a return visit. 

Pickled Onion Salad (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from the Best of the Best, Best of Bridge Series Cookbooks)

4 large yellow onions, sliced very thin

1-1/2 cups white vinegar

1-1/2 cups water

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

Combine above ingredients in a large glass bowl or jar and marinate overnight. Before serving, pour mixture into a colander and drain liquid from onions, pressing out some of the liquid with a spoon to leave the onions relatively dry. Mix onions with

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon celery salt

Serve cold with sliced beef, roast beef sandwiches or it’s great on a burger too. 

A year ago - Creamy Roasted Potato Salad

Two year's ago - Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers 

Antipasto in a Jar

Sorry I'm late today but as you know, we've been prepping for a big party here the past couple of days. It certainly has put my new kitchen to the test and I have to say it performed admirably. It's the bomb!

The following appetizer was a huge hit last night at the party and it had me wondering why I hadn't made it in a long time. Antipasto was incredibly popular in my old home city of Calgary in the 80's (likely before some of you were born - geez, I AM old) and was often an excuse all on it's own to gather some friends together, drink wine and make a huge batch of the stuff - especially a "long form version" that's loaded all kinds of veggies and takes hours and hours of hand chopping to get it right. 

Fortunately, this is a simplified version and we can thank the Ladies of Best of Bridge fame for this incredibly flavorful appetizer that's a cross between Italian giardiniera and a tomato salsa. Since the recipe makes about 1-1/2 quarts of the good stuff, it's perfect party food for a crowd and/or for portioning into zip bags and freezing for when a munchie fit hits. 

Simply made from hot ketchup, chili sauce, olives, relish and marinated mushrooms along with shrimp and tuna all simmered on the stove to blend the flavors then cooled quickly, it packs quite a punch to the tastebuds and is best served very, very cold. It is a visually appealing topping on assorted crackers, flatbread or even inside mini- pita pockets and trust me, it'll have everyone asking "what's in that stuff anyway?"

Incidentally, although yesterday's temperature (90's) was cooler than some of our past party days, just to be to be safe and not poison any of our guests I placed the container of Antipasto on crushed ice in a crystal champagne bucket my sister gave me eons ago. After all, I'd sure hate to be the reason one of our guests missed writing their final exams, ya know. Wink, wink.

 

Antipasto in a Jar (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from Grand Slam, Recipes from the Best of Bridge)

1 – 15 ounce bottle hot ketchup

1 – 12 ounce bottle chili sauce

1 – 10 ounce jar pimento olive pieces, drained

1 – 16 ounce jar sweet green relish

1 – 8 ounce jar marinated mushrooms in garlic

1 pound tiny bay shrimp, or 2 – 7 ounce cans baby shrimp drained

2 – 7 ounce cans solid white tuna, drained

Tabasco sauce to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a large pot. Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Move to a large stainless bowl and place into an ice bath to cook quickly, stirring occasionally. (Takes about 15 minutes). Place 1 cup portions into zip bags and freeze. (Will hold in a well-sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, but make sure you place it in the coldest part of your refrigerator, and freeze any leftovers promptly.) Serve with assorted crackers, flatbreads or mini pita pockets. Makes approximately one and a half quarts.  

Last year - Stacked Chicken Enchiladas

Two year's ago - Tacos al Pastor

Clam and Jalapeno Hush Puppies

We hit a new restaurant (at least new to us) here in Tucson a couple of weeks ago for a nosh and it left us wondering why we hadn't discovered it before. "The Parish"  is a comfortable cozy "southern fusion" gastro-pub that specializes in food from the bayou including but not limited to amazing oyster poorboy's, incredible groan inducing gumbo and tennis ball sized crawfish hushpuppies. 

It was just the inspiration I needed to come up with last night's menu. Nine weeks today we'll be heading through the "grapevine" on our way through Los Angeles to a month of heaven on the Oregon coast and we've still a supply of clams left from last year's vacation. Time to get 'em gone!

Of course as per what's become usual these days, my dwindling pantry didn't yield enough cornmeal for these puppies so I substituted some grits and believe me, it was a perfect choice. Crisp and crunchy on the outside and moist and tender inside, I used a 4 ounce ice cream scoop to form these monsters.

I did some other adjusting to the recipe we used here before from Taste of Home, so hit the link to see our original version. I left out the cheddar and green chili's this time so look below to see exactly what I did to come up with last nights goodies. We absolutely pigged out on 'em as you can see from the plates and Big Guy's got big plans for the leftovers. Clams for breakfast? Well, why not! 

Now for some good news - Max has gone 48 hours without a seizure so it's safe to say he's done for now. He topped out at 14 which is a new record and not one that we'd care to repeat. He's totally drugged out but feeling much better, even slightly playful and he's having a much needed bath as we speak.

Thank you for your support and good wishes as we've weathered another storm with our little schnauzer fur ball. He's a fighter and so are we - that's our boy!

Clam and Jalapeno Hush Puppies (adapted from a previous JBug version from Taste of Home)

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup old fashioned grits

1 -1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup finely minced onion

2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped (I used seeds, membranes and all)

1 cup well drained cooked clams, chopped

1 egg

2/3 cup water

2/3 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Oil for deep frying

Heat oil in deep fryer to 350. In a large bowl whisk together cornmeal, grits, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Stir in onion, clams and jalapenos. In a smaller bowl beat together egg, water, buttermilk and butter. Fold into dry ingredients mixing only until barely combined. Using a 4 ounce ice cream scoop, drop dough into hot oil. Fry in batches of 5 for 3 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve warm with tartar sauce. Makes about 1 dozen.

A year ago - Quick Chicken Piccata 

Two year's ago - Spanikopeta with Lamb Sausage

Chicken Wings Times Two

The Big Guy's birthday request this year was pretty easy to accomplish. He could have asked for something exotic that I don't like to make like beef cheeks, fried oysters or boiled cow tongue but he didn't. Thankfully! He merely wanted a feast of wings and an extra dry gin martini, stirred not shaken and a giant serving of tiramisu.

Because the request was so easy, I took it upon myself to come up with a couple of different versions of wings and that's when I had a brilliant idea. Use the same method of cooking the little bird appendages - in our case a simply dusting with salt, pepper and cayenne, then a roll in cornstarch and a good long settle before they hit the deep fryer and then the sky's the limit as far as sauce ideas. Incidentally I hooked up the electric fryer outside on the patio so I wouldn't wreck my new kitchen cupboards and cooked each batch of wings for 10 minutes a piece.  

In our case, the chicken dippin' sauces included an orange sauce adapted from Annie's Eats that I had made previously using lemon as the citrus of choice, along with our own "Multicultural" wing sauce that's got a little heat to it; however, you could use just about anything to dip those little crispy nuggets of chicken goodness into like say the Neely's burger sauce we had last week, or simple purchased barbecue sauce or even a mix of Buffalo wing sauce. Heck you could even make the General Tao sauce we made here, or whatever.

Arranged in a basket with the two sauces as dippers, it's a perfect way to satisfy a multitude of wing lover's taste buds, never mind cooking up a bunch of wings, freezing them on a sheet pan then transferring them to a zip bag for storage could really solve the problem when a crew of people show up to watch the hockey game on TV. Heck, pull the wings out of the freezer, heat 'em up and whip up a sauce and they'll all think you're a magician. 

We haven't tried freezing the wings before so I'm not sure how crispy they'll be after a warm up in the oven, but I'll let you know, OK? We'll be doing this again PDQ. For sure I know they're darned delicious even without a sauce. 

JBug’s Basic Chicken Wings an original from  JBug’s Kitchen

3 pounds chicken drumettes (about 24 pieces)

Kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper

Cayenne pepper

1 cup cornstarch

Oil for frying

Wash chicken under running water and dry well using paper towels. Season all sides with salt and pepper and sprinkle liberally with cayenne pepper. Coat in cornstarch and set aside to dry for a minimum of 10 minutes before frying.

Meanwhile heat 1 quart of oil in deep fryer to 375. Fry wings for 10 minutes in batches. Drain on racks over a sheet pan. Serve with sauce of your choice.

A year ago - Easy Cheesy Chicken and Noodles

Two year's ago - Seafood Pie with Phyllo Crust

Onion and Bacon Tart

The consensus of last night's kitchen antics - "Totally different and absolutely delicious". We all know there's a ton of different ways to put onion and bacon to good use be it in a pasta, risotto, quiche, pizza or even just a lowly sandwich but this particular effort just made a direct trip to the top of our list.

A cross between yorkshire pudding, a Dutch baby pancake and toad in the hole it's made from ingredients most of us have on hand on a regular basis - eggs, milk and flour. Top that with 2 kitchen staples (at least in JBug's Kitchen) crispy bacon and golden caramelized onions and you've got the makings of a perfect dish. 

I guess I don't have to describe the flavor because we're all familiar with the dulcet notes of bacon and onion, but the crust is not to be believed. It plays a crunchy, tender and puffy light as air like supporting role to the simple filling and there's not an ounce of cheese to be found in the whole darn thing either.

As we wolfed it down along with a fresh green salad, I couldn't help but think it would make a fabulous appetizer all cut up into little wedges, or as a luncheon dish along with a glass of dry white wine. A sincere thanks to Saveur.com - we'll be having this again soon!

By the way, the only change I made to their recipe is that I baked the crispy crunchy flavorful wonder in a large 12 inch cast iron skillet rather than an 9 x 11 inch casserole which made for a super crunchy crust in a lot less time.  I kid you not - you absolutely have to try this!

Onion and Bacon Tart (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from Saveur)

6 ounces bacon, diced

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

Salt and coarse ground black pepper

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1-1/4 cups whole milk

3 eggs

In a large heavy 12 inch skillet, fry bacon until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp. Remove bacon to drain. Reserve bacon fat in a small dish. Return pan to medium heat and add butter. When melted add onions. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Sauté onions until golden brown and lightly caramelized. Remove from pan and set aside.

Preheat oven to 425. Return reserved bacon fat to skillet and place skillet into oven to heat for 10 minutes. Meanwhile whisk together flour, mustard and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. In separate bowl whisk milk and eggs together, then add liquid to dry ingredients. Whisk until smooth then allow to rest for a minimum of 10 minutes. Pour into hot skillet. Sprinkle with reserved bacon and onion and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. 

Other dishes you might enjoy!

Toad in the Hole                                 Dutch Baby Pancake

  

 Date and Gorgonzola Pinwheels

Loaded Baked Potato Dip

This dip is more of a spread than a dip but that's about all the nit picking I can possibly do because it really is quite the deal. The only other thing that really bugs me is that I didn't think of it first. From myrecipes.com, this one is truly a man's kind of dip - loaded with crispy bacon, cheddar cheese, chives, black pepper and sour cream. Yup that's about it - all the toppings you'd normally load onto a baked potato, sans the butter of course.

It's as simple to put together as cooking up some crispy bacon and needs nothing but time in the refrigerator for all the flavors to blend. When I saw it on-line I knew we just had to have it and while they served their "dip" with crispy waffle fries I went one up on 'em and roasted some mini potatoes in a cast iron pan in a hot oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkled with coarse salt, they were soft pillowy explosions of flavor and completely opposite to the crisp jolt of kettle chips slathered in all the fixins that were on the tray with 'em.

I'll be doing a repeat of this one but in the meantime I'm thinking the leftovers spread on a nice crisp english muffin and toasted under the broiler might just be on the lunch menu.  Anybody interested?

Loaded Baked Potato Dip (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from myrecipes.com)

6 ounces bacon, cooked until crisp and chopped

1 – 16 ounce container sour cream

8 ounces freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/3 cup chopped fresh chives

2 teaspoons hot sauce

Coarse ground black pepper

In a large bowl fold together bacon, sour cream, cheddar, chives and hot sauce. Garnish with a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper. Cover and chill for minimum 1 hour to blend flavors. Serve with hot mini roasted potatoes, kettle chips or hot fries. 

A year ago -  Butterscotch Pecan Bread Pudding  Two year's ago - Maple Vinaigrette

  

Planning for Superbowl Sunday

Big Guy took me out for dinner last night so I'll admit JBug's Kitchen was dark but hopefully a night off from kitchen duty will inspire me somewhat over what the heck to serve for Super Bowl. I've got to get moving since it's only a week away.

I don't know about you but I seem to have a big problem planning a menu for the ultimate football Sunday. It never seems to be the right thing and because this year's bowl doesn't start until 6:00 PM Eastern the question remains "is it still OK to serve the usual munchie fare or is something more substantial - like say dinner required" ...or both. Yikes - what a canundrum.

One year the Big Guy and I made dim sum. Oh, don't get me wrong, it was wonderful but we made a huge assortment of buns, dumplings and eggrolls and cooked ALL day so by the time the game was on we weren't interested in either the food or the game. Another year we loaded up on assorted chips and one very rich, very calorically incorrect dip made with sausage and cheese.  We ate so much of it I didn't think I ever wanted to see it again which proves that variety is important. Now that was an "ah ha" moment - you've got to have more than one thing on the menu.

If you're leaning towards munchies, then here's a few of our past favorites and there's a possibility we'll resurrect a few of them next week. That is unless you all can give me a better idea. What, pray tell, are you cooking up for the big day?

Vietnamese Pork and Shrimp Meatballs - quite the combination don't you think? They're sublime especially placed on top of a cucumber round and/or served with a little Sweet Chili Sauce. 

 Buffalo Chicken Balls - bet you didn't know a chicken has such appendages, did you? Well they don't but if they did let me tell you they'd be blessed to be anything at all like these.

 

Clam's Casino - popular in the 70's, these little beauties are being re-introduced as the new "go to" appetizer.We'll just pretend they're in honor of the New England Patriots but I know better - ours are Oregonian.

Poppers in a Blanket - everybody loves a jalapeno popper but we love these even more because of the pastry. They're quick to whip up and oh so delicious.

 

Scotch Eggs - if you're looking for something a touch more substantial there's nothing better than these little beauties. They can be made entirely in advance and are really best served cold along with a brewski or two.

Lamb Sausage Rolls - what's is there to say about perfections. A manly kind of appetizer, as if by magic these disappear awfully quickly!

 

Old School Style Pigs n' Blankets

We took a day off yesterday and hit a favorite place for breakfast followed by hours cruising the lots looking at some very luxury RV's including a whole bunch of Fifth Wheels. Hey - it's fun spending money you don't have and dreaming about the future, isn't it.

As a result when we finally got home we were both tired, thirsty and the cook felt extremely uninspired in the dinner department. The Big Guy absolutely loves hot dogs and since I had a solitary can of crescent rolls hiding in the refrigerator and some hot dogs in the freezer it seemed like a good idea to combine the two and come up with something we could call dinner.

The result were these cheater pigs in blankets that the Big Guy said used to be one of his favorite grade school cafeteria lunches. Unfortunately the grade school I went to was significantly lower class because we didn't have a cafeteria and had to bring our lunches, although I admit a lot of the time the bag held a "tube steak" in another form - bologna sandwiches.

We had our "dogs" along with a quick homemade macaroni salad chock a block full of celery, sweet onion, carrots, cubed cheese, relish, hot sauce, mayo and a touch of sour cream. Sorry, I didn't measure a thing so I can only tell you what went into the darn thing. It was all good - especially the little cheese filled, cornmeal coated crescent dogs. When you're stuck on trying to decide what's for dinner after you've had a big, big breakfast and a long tiring day give these a try. I guarantee they'll fill the gap and bring back some memories too.

School Style Pigs n Blankets aka Crescent Dogs (inspired by Pillsbury.com)

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls

4 jumbo wieners

2 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into thin strips

1 tablespoon cornmeal

Preheat oven to 375. Cut wieners to within approximately a quarter inch of each end and stuff with strips of cheddar cheese. Unroll crescent rolls and press triangles together to form 4 rectangles. Using a sharp knife, cut quarter inch wide slits in the center of each rectangle on the short side, leaving all 4 edges intact. Place a cheese stuffed wiener against the long edge of the rectangle and roll dough around it, sealing the edge. Place wiener seam side down and cheese side up on un-greased baking sheet. Repeat for other 3 hot dogs. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with mustard.

A year ago - Red Wine and Port Sauce

 

 

Cranberry Turkey Meatballs and Sweet Potato Latkes

There was a taste sensation party going on in our house last night. Unfortunately the neighbors from hell were having a different kind of party with screaming in all directions, front, back and sideways. At least we know one thing for sure - it is unlikely taste had any part in their equation.

On the other hand, ours included these fabulous turkey meatballs from Elise at Simply Recipes, absolutely loaded with holiday flavors. Hit the link and head to the source for the recipe, but I have to tell you the Big Guy and I were a perfect team once again putting these beauties together. Loaded with ground turkey that we pulverized ourselves from fresh turkey thighs, and subtly spiced with thyme and fennel, after browning they sat in a garnet colored bed of spiced up cranberry coulis.  We loved them although of course in our opinion they could have used a good jolt of habanero along with the cayenne pepper to make them truly memorable.

Also holding a place on our tray of holiday munchies on Pink Mountain Friday were little lacy crispy nests of sweet potato latkes. Simple to make and so darn delicious, these beauties aren't just wonderful as a "with", but they're perfect appetizers too. A combination of sweet and yukon gold potatoes, along with a grated sweet onion, my secret to perfection in the latke department ...other than having the Big Guy do all the cookin' is to use my potato ricer to squeeze all the moisture out of the potatoes before adding the flour, egg and seasoning.

Topped with a sour cream/horseradish sauce the only thing wrong is that we didn't make enough of the darn things. They're really a perfect appetizer, hot or room temperature, whether topped with the horseradish sauce or smoked salmon or caviar or home made apple sauce or nothing else but salt and your finger. Delicious!

Sweet Potato Latkes (adapted from foodnetwork.com)

1/2 sweet onion

1/2 pound Yukon gold potato

1/2 pound sweet potato

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 large egg

Vegetable oil

1/4 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons horseradish

Oil for frying

Preheat oven to 200. Place a wire rack over a sheet pan and set aside.

Grate onion using a box grater and place into a medium sized bowl. Grate peeled potatoes and mix with onion as you go along to prevent browning. Work as quickly as possible. Transfer potato onion mixture into a potato ricer in 2 batches and squeeze as much moisture as possible out of the vegetables. Return to a bowl; add flour, salt, pepper and egg. Mix well to combine.

Heat a quarter inch of oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Using a quarter cup ice cream scoop, transfer latke mixture to hot oil, level top slightly and cook 3 or 4 at a time until golden on both sides. Transfer to prepared sheet pan and hold in the oven while you finish cooking the rest of the latkes.  Mix together sour cream and horseradish and serve with latkes.

A year ago - Baked Pasta with Eggplant Sauce

Cran-Nut Chicken Bundles

We're absolutely crazy about the savory hand pies (pasties) cooked up in JBug's Kitchen over the last little while but since we're all about every day deliciousness, I wanted to come up with a quick solution for those of us that are somewhat pastry challenged.While I've had nothing but good luck with pastry lately I'm not about to get smug over my success because we all know success in the kitchen can be a fleeting thing at times.

Inspired by a recipe on the Pillsbury web site, I chopped and braised a couple of chicken thighs in butter and vermouth and when cooled, folded the cluck into some cream cheese mixed with slivered almonds, dried cranberries and a touch of rosemary. Spooned into rectangles formed by sticking some crescent rolls together, I pinched up the corners into the center then sealed the edges, brushed the bundles with butter, dusted them with panko crumbs and the pan of goodies hit the oven for 25 minutes while I made a small salad. Ya, salad - haven't seen one of those coming from our kitchen in a while have ya.

Don't ask me why it took so long to try this, because I'm pretty happy with the results from that fat little dimply "Dough Boy".  While nothing can replace the flavor or texture of a great pastry, this is a good alternative.

Meanwhile, there's some bundles left in the refrigerator waiting for you know who when he gets home ...if he ever does that is. His flights were cancelled yesterday due to fog and he had to spend another night in Fargo. Talk about a let down! Now, guess where it's foggy like crazy at the moment? Yup - it had better darn well clear up cause I'm kinda' done with this solitary existence. I know I've got the fur kids but I don't get much of a reaction from them unless I say "walk, car ride or cookie".

Chicken Bundles with Cranberry and Almond (Inspired by Pillsbury.com)

 2 small skinless boneless chicken thighs

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup vermouth

Salt, pepper

1 teaspoon dried onion flakes

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon butter, softened

2 tablespoons half and half

2 tablespoons finely chopped sweet onion

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup slivered almonds

1/4 teaspoon salt

Coarse ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/4 cup panko crumbs

Heat sauté pan over medium high heat and add butter. Chop chicken into half inch pieces and add to hot sauté pan. Cook until chicken is no longer pink – 2 or 3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and dried onion flakes. Add vermouth, stir well to incorporate, then cover and simmer chicken for 8 to 10 minutes, until wine has evaporated and chicken is cooked. Remove to a plate and cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, beat together cream cheese, butter, and half and half until smooth. Fold in onion, cranberries, almonds, salt, pepper, rosemary and cooled chicken.

Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Separate crescent dough into 4 rectangles, sealing perforations well. Scoop a half cup of chicken filling into center of dough and pull corners together joining in center. Pinch edges to seal well. Place on prepared baking sheet, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with panko crumbs. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 4.

A year ago - Shrimp and Scallop Stew with Chorizo

Individual Savory Cheesecakes

If you're anything at all like me, when someone says cheesecake I automatically think sweet smooth creamy yummy cheesecake drizzled in caramel or loaded with fruit or the deepest dark chocolate kind. It's definitely my dessert of choice, although come to think of it anything sweet is my dessert of choice.

At the moment I'm rather focused on trying to come up with some new food ideas that will make the holiday season more special, especially since so far I'm being rather Scrooge like as far as Christmas decorations go. Currently I have exactly one speck of Christmas showing - a wreath on the door.

Anyway, I decided that while the Big Guy's away I'd work on a few new items and these little goat cheese cheesecakes hit the number one spot.

Perfect as a garnish on a salad of mixed greens or as munchies on a plate with crackers, they take no time at all to whip up, freeze like champs and defrost quickly too. With a little walnut/panko crust on the bottom and a light kinda' sweet, kinda' sharp, kinda' peppery cheesecake on top, they'll go with just about anything you can think of.

Try them under a little smoked salmon topped with a sprig of tarragon, or with some crisp bacon pieces and sundried tomatoes. How about with a little caviar if you're into those fancy little eggs, or even topped with colorful jalapeno jelly or some of that habenero raspberry cranberry compote we whipped up at Thanksgiving. 

They're beautiful, light, full of flavor and definitely tasty little gems. I can't wait to see the look on the Big Guy's face when he pops the first bite sized morsel into his mouth after I've told him he's eating cheesecake. He's gonna' be plum surprised.

Individual Goat Cheese Cheesecakes (Inspired by What’s Cooking America)

Crust:

1/3 cup finely ground walnuts

1/3 cup panko crumbs

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Filling:

4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

5 ounces goat cheese, softened

1 egg

2 tablespoons sour cream

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Coarse ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 18 small mini muffin cups (1/8 cup) with cooking spray or butter well. Combine crumbs together. Add butter and toss well to coat. Spoon a heaping teaspoon of crumbs into bottom of each muffin cup and pat down.  Place in freezer for 5 minutes to firm up.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer beat cream cheese and goat cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, sour cream and sea salt and continue beating until mixture is smooth and lump free. Spoon mixture onto walnut crumb crust spreading mixture evenly between all the muffin cups. Even out tops and sprinkle with coarsely ground black pepper. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in preheated oven or until tops are puffy. Do not over bake. Cool in wire rack briefly then flip out of muffin pans. Garnish as desired and serve warm or cold. Freeze leftovers on a sheet pan until solid, then wrap and store in a plastic container.

A year ago - Quick and Easy Salsa

Corn Cakes with Chopped Tomato and Avocado Salsa

I have a habit of trying new recipes and it's often just a different version of something I've already made before. That was the case last night with the corn cakes we made to go along with some grilled chicken.

Tasting of summer which is rather appropriate since it is still in the 90's here, even though the calendar says we're supposed to be almost a month into fall, these cakes are really more of a fritter with a do-nut like interior made of a combination of flour and corn meal along with ground corn kernels, red onion, basil and a touch of jalapeno. While they're ok in their own right, the fresh tomato and avocado salsa really makes 'em sing.

Notice I said they were alright and they are - really a great side dish and they'd make a super appetizer too so here's the recipe anyway, but we decided that if we're having "corn cakes", we'll take this one with or without the clams any old day of the week because they're more about the corn and less about the cake. Just sayin'.

 

Corn Cakes with Chopped Tomato and Avocado Salsa (Adapted from Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons well shaken buttermilk

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 cups frozen corn kernels, defrosted

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/2 jalapeno, minced

 Oil for frying

 In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper and set aside. In another bowl beat eggs, buttermilk and butter together. Set aside.

Using an immersion blender or food processor, puree 1-1/2 cups of corn kernels until coarsely chopped. Add remaining corn kernels along with red onion, basil and jalapeno. Add dry ingredients and mix gently to combine. Add wet ingredients and mix together until just combined. Do not over mix.

Heat a large skillet with a quarter inch of vegetable oil in the bottom. When sizzling, drop in batter (I used a cookie scoop) and flatten with a fork. Fry 6 at a time for approximately 1 to 2 minutes per side until golden brown and firm to the touch. Do not crowd the pan. Drain on paper towels. Keep cakes warm in a low oven until serving time. Serve with salsa.

Tomato Avocado Salsa

1 large tomato, cored and chopped

1 green onion, minced

1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 garlic clove, minced

Juice of 1 lime

1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1-1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

Place ingredients into a bowl and stir to mix. Place avocado pit into center of bowl, and refrigerate air tight until serving time. Remove pit before serving.

General Tao Chicken Wings

The thing about blogging in real time is you miss the opportunity to make improvements on recipes because there isn't a second chance. Unfortunately that was the case with last night's wings. Had I the chance to do it all over, I'd have done things a little differently.

These wings are lovely and the sauce is really dynamite but the method of cooking the wings themselves leaves a bit to be desired. I love a good crisp coating on a wing and you just can't get that by baking it naked in the oven, at least I can't. They either end up brown but over cooked and dry, or pale and moist. What can I say?

Had I my druthers, I would have coated them in cornstarch and fried them in hot oil (or butter) to get them good and crisp and brown before they hit the oven to finish cooking; however I was out of cornstarch, low in oil and out of butter too. The cupboard's darn near bare and so is the wallet. Unfortunately I already spent the week's budget so there's no way I could hit the supermarket anyway. I'm kind of anal that way - ok call it disciplined. Thankfully tomorrow's shopping day (Saturday).

Now about that dynamite sauce, don't let it scare you. The basis is a lovely golden caramel made from white sugar and a touch of water. It's no work at all because as you likely know, caramel thrives on being ignored as far as stirring goes anyway. Ya' gotta' keep your eye on the stuff to make sure it doesn't burn but for heaven's sake don't stir it or move the pot while you're letting that sugar melt. After the carmel is perfect, it gets a lift with Asian ingredients and coats the wings with a perfect flavor combination - and I do mean perfect.

The Big Guy loved it so much he said it took his breath away, and that was true but not for the reason you think. Between you and me I might have added a little extra sambal oelek to the mix just to get a rise out of him. LOL

I'm posting the recipe the way it was constructed last night but stay tuned for the improved version shortly. I'm determined to make 'em perfect next time and I know for a fact there's won't be any complaints from the peanut gallery about the repeat.

General Tao Chicken Wings (adapted from Ricardo Larrivee, Food Network Canada)

1-1/2 pounds chicken drummettes

2 tablespoons oil

Salt

Sauce:

2 teaspoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

3 tablespoons water

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sambal oelek (or more per your taste)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

½ cup sugar

3 tablespoons water

Green onion for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and place wire cooling racks on top. Spray all well with cooking spray. Place wings into a bowl and coat well with oil. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and arrange on racks so they’re not touching each other. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn wings and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until meat is tender. Finish by broiling until skin is crisp and lightly browned.

Meanwhile, place sugar and water in a large saucepan and cook without stirring over medium heat until the mixture turns golden in color. Important – do not stir or move the pot during this process. In a bowl whisk together cornstarch, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, water, ginger, garlic, sambal oelek and paprika. Stir carefully into hot caramel mixture and simmer until sauce is smooth and syrupy – about 30 seconds. When wings are cooked remove to a bowl and toss with warm sauce. Garnish with green onion. Download General Tao Chicken Wings

A year ago - Seafood Chowder with Dill

Jalapeno, Green Chile and White Cheddar Hush Puppies

As you know, unless you've never read the "ABOUT" section to your right, I'm Canadian and I for one am rather literal. Prior to my introduction to the American culture if anyone said "hush puppy" to me, I'd automatically think of this.

 
Needless to say, I've had an epiphany. Sometimes the most unlikely of combinations will give you memorable results and that's what happened last night. The cheddar crust on the pork pot pie we had the other day had me wishing for more cheddary crispy goodness and since hush puppies were on the menu for dinner along with a fillet of cod, I figured I'd try cheddar in the hush puppies.

I also had a dearth of jalapenos and the Big Guy roasted a bunch of Hatch green chiles over the past weekend so I pulled a bag from the freezer and used those too. I swear, there's never been a better combination of flavors and I for one have never made better hush puppies. Incredibly crisp on the outside, full of cheddary peppery flavor and subtle heat, these puppies are light as air, moist and incredibly addictive.

Next time you're having fish for dinner, fry up some of these little dough boys. You'll be glad you did.

Jalapeno, Green Chile and White Cheddar Hush Puppies (inspired by Taste of Home)

2 cups cornmeal

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup finely grated extra sharp white cheddar cheese

1/2 cup finely minced onion

2 jalapeno peppers, finely minced

4 roasted green chiles, chopped (or 1 – 4 ounce can)

1 egg

2/3 cup water

1/2 cup milk mixed with 1-1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

1/2 cup butter, melted

 Oil for deep frying

Heat oil in deep fryer to 375.

In a large bowl whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Stir in grated cheddar until well combined. In a smaller bowl, beat together egg with water, soured milk, and butter. Add onion, peppers and chiles to dry ingredients, followed by rest of the wet ingredients. Mix lightly with a fork until just combined. Using a small 2 ounce cookie scoop, drop dough into hot oil. I cooked about 8 at a time. Fry until golden brown on both sides – about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from fat and drain on paper towels. Serve warm.  Makes 4 dozen.  Download Jalapeno, Green Chile and White Cheddar Hush Puppies

A year ago - Braised Orange and Ginger Shortribs

Country Terrine with Javelina

This lovely flavorful coarse style pate' might be wild but in no way is it boring. Using the last of this year's javelina, aka peccary from the Big Guy's February hunting fiesta with his hunting co-hort John, it fulfilled the second longstanding request on my man's wish list. How's that for 2 days in a row?

Another stellar item from Cinda Chavich's book, High Plains, the loaf of yum is loaded with bacon as well as onion garlic, herbs, toasted pine nuts and in my case, ground chicken as well as the boar - or at least I'll call it that. After all, javelina is the Sonoran desert's version of wild boar even if it's not quite the same thing. For someone that's not into wild meat in any form once I enjoyed my first taste, I almost forgot I was eating it. Must have been the bacon!

Along with a grin extending giant dirty gin martini, some pickles, mustard and a wonderful crunchy baguette, we called it dinner on a perfect Pink Mountain Friday. By the way, what makes this even more convenient for an easy breezy Friday night dinner is you've got to remember to make it a day or two in advance so it has a chance to mellow and compress. I neglected to do that, so the texture's not quite as dense as it could be but it was pretty tasty anyway. I'll be pulling out some leftovers to serve tonight at our dinner party.

Country Terrine with Javelina (adapted from High Plains by Cinda Chavich)

1 pound lean thin sliced apple wood smoked bacon, divided

1 large onion, quartered

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup apple jack brandy

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon each thyme, marjoram and sage

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black peppercorns

1 pound ground javelina, wild boar or lean ground pork

1 pound ground chicken

1 egg

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or chopped walnuts

Set aside 8 slices of bacon. Place the remainder into a food processor along with onion, garlic, and brandy. Process until a smooth paste. Add parsley, thyme, marjoram, sage, salt and pepper. Pulse lightly just to combine. Set aside.

In a large bowl using your hands combine javelina, ground chicken and egg. Fold bacon puree into meat along with pine nuts. Mix just until combined. Line a large loaf pan with 6 reserved bacon strips allow bacon to hang over the edges of the pan. Press in meat mixture and level top. Fold overhanging bacon strips over meat and finish with remaining 2 strips of bacon. Cover with foil and place in a roasting pan filled with 2 inches of boiling water. Bake in 350 oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Remove from oven, cool to room temperature and drain excess fat. Wrap in foil, top with a board and a weight (I used the cast iron lid of my grill pan). Refrigerate overnight. Loaf is best if served 24 hours after making it, so the flavors have a chance to blend. Serve sliced with assorted pickles and mustards on the side. Serves 8. Download Country Terrine with Javelina

A year ago  Pork Katsu with Soba Noodles

Fried Chicken Gizzards And Another Lesson

The one thing about growing older is that it is hardly boring. There isn't a day goes by that I don't learn something new and/or I'm reminded of the important things in life.

Yesterday's reminder came in the form of a sentence written by Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake, one of the blogs that I follow, and I quote: "It feels like we have all the time in the world to show people how much we love them, but the truth is that we only see the sand pouring into the bottom of the hourglass. We have no idea how much is left at the top."

I'm not sure if you've noticed but I worship this wonderful man I married. He's the best thing that's ever happened to this old broad and he's been talking about his craving for chicken gizzards for a very long time. I've been ignoring him. Along with the likes of hearts, livers and the rest of what he calls animal bi-products and I call awful offal, chicken gizzards are one of the things that give me the heebee jeebies. Don't like 'em, won't cook 'em and I'll be jiggered if I'll eat 'em. Last night I made an exception.

Thanks to a you tube video by Hank Shaw I got the low down on cleaning them, which is a good thing too because nobody told the Asian market where I purchased the gizzards that they were supposed to ALL be cleaned. Then I dumped them into my trusty pressure cooker along with onion, celery and spices and let 'em rip for 10 minutes. Drained and cooled briefly they got a bath in herbs, spices and lime juice before they hit the fridge to "ripen" for the afternoon. Given an egg wash and a flour bath they came out looking like this.

We (yes WE) had our gizzards along with a choice of dipping sauces (ranch dressing, West Indies hot sauce and Thai sweet chile sauce) as well as a fresh crispy crunchy apple, cabbage and carrot slaw with maple walnut dressing. I'll tell you about the slaw a little later.

I should have taken a picture of the grin under that big mustache on the Big Guy's face. He was one happy, happy guy. The lesson? Russle up a kitchen miracle for someone you love today. Don't delay because you just never know how much sand is left.

Fried Chicken Gizzards (adapted from various sources including Epicurious, allrecipes.com)

2 pounds chicken gizzards, washed and trimmed

2 stalks celery

1 large onion, quartered

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon celery salt

Coarse ground black pepper

Water

Dry Rub:

½ teaspoon celery salt

1 teaspoon seasoning salt

1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

 

Juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon Louisiana Hot Sauce

 

2 eggs beaten with 2 tablespoons water

1 cup flour

Oil for deep frying

 

In the bottom of a pressure cooker combine gizzards, celery, onion, bay leaves, celery salt, and pepper. Add water to cover ingredients by 1-1/2 inches. Add top to pressure cooker, bring up to pressure and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. Release pressure, remove lid and drain gizzards reserving stock for another use. Cool slightly and sort gizzards from cooked vegetables. Place gizzards in a storage bowl with a tight fitting lid. Stir dry rub into gizzards, along with lime juice and hot sauce. Cover and refrigerate for several hours to blend flavors. Just before cooking, combine gizzards with beaten egg/water mixture. Dredge in flour and fry in 375 degree oil until crisp.

A year ago - Thai Curried Shrimp with Coconut

Legal Sea Foods' Spicy Crabcakes and a Peach Pie

Five years ago the Big Guy made a trip to Boston and as per his habit, brought back the Legal Sea Foods Cookbook to add to our collection. Last night's dinner of spicy crab cakes on a crunchy salad's adapted from the book and it made for a perfect hot summer night celebration. It was even more perfect after a piece of warm from the oven peach pie.

The great thing about making crab cakes for dinner is they really do need some time to mellow in the refrigerator before hitting the fry pan or oven. It means you can get your dinner darn near totally prepped in advance and sit back and relax with an iced tea until it's time to eat.

These particular crab cakes are the Balitmore version and include worcestershire sauce and Old Bay seasoning along with mayo, mustard, and hot pepper sauce. While the recipe calls for crushed saltines, I used panko instead along with an egg to bind them all together and fried them rather than putting them in the oven. Along with tartar sauce, they made for a quick tasty and light dinner which was great because we needed to keep room for the pie.

An old fashioned peach pie, this one's nothing unusual with brown sugar, cornstarch for thickening, lemon juice for a touch of the tart, along with little cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla just because. I was going to add some raspberries just because I love a peach and raspberry pie but we'll save that for later because I'm pretty darn positive that once we get through this pie, we'll be wanting another one.

Course we also WANT to be skinny which means no pie, and heck while we're at it we WANT to win the lottery too. We all know there's a snowball's chance in hell of either thing happening. After all, this is JBug's Kitchen so I gotta' cook and as for the lottery, you have to buy the darn tickets first. Oh well!

Spicy Crab Cakes (adapted from Legal Sea Foods Cookbook by Roger Berkowitz and Jane Doerfer)

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Few drops hot pepper sauce

Dash Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

1 large egg beaten

1/2 cup finely crushed saltines (or panko)

1 pound fresh crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage

In a medium bowl combine mayonnaise, dry mustard, Dijon, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire, Old Bay and egg and beat well. Add crumbs and mix to combine. Fold in crab. Form crab 6 large cakes and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for minimum 1 hour. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 or fry in a nonstick pan with 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. Serve immediately. Serves 4. Download Spicy Crab Cakes

Old Fashioned Peach Pie (adapted from Purity Cookbook)

7 large peaches, skin removed

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pastry for a double crust pie

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon heavy cream

Granulated sugar

 

Preheat oven to 400. Cut peaches into wedges and place into a large bowl. Add lemon juice and vanilla and toss to coat. In a small bowl combine brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pour over peaches and toss to combine. Line a 9 inch pie plate with pastry. Add prepared peaches, top with butter and finish with top crust. Seal edges well and flute. Brush crust with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar.  Place on a rack over a large baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then lower heat to 350 and bake for addition 45 minutes or until juices run clear. Cool before slicing. Download Old Fashioned Peach Pie

A year ago - Asian Pork Salad

 

Asian Flavored Pork Meatballs

One of the great gifts from entering the blogging arena are the friends one can make as a result. It's incredible how attached you can become to people you've never seen face to face but I suppose there's a certain amount of safety in the anonymity too. As fate would have it, I was lucky enough to meet a fellow blogger at the Dentist's office in Waldport during our vacation last month when I was in getting my broken crown inspected and Lorraine has become someone I visit regularly through her blog Figs and Artichokes. We share an amazing list of similarities including but not limited to what appears to be an extensive cookbook collection, a passion for cooking, and a high regard for Julia.

I had a pound of ground pork languishing in the freezer and was inspired by a post on her blog for Pork on a Stick. Unfortunately I was lacking a couple of key ingredients and laziness combined with a very hot day and a car with no AC prevented me from heading out to Lee Lee's to purchase the missing items so I branched out in another direction.

Ground pork combined with green onions, cilantro, garlic, and fresh ginger along with a little hoisin, soy sauce and lime juice made for perfect little nuggets of flavor perched on a bowl of soba noodles. I can't claim the flavors as Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese or Chinese which is why I've labelled these as Asian flavored - but whatever, they made for a fabulous Pink Mountain Friday in JBugs Kitchen. Along with a couple of tall gin and tonic's it was pure unadulterated yahoo it's the weekend bliss. 

By the way for those of you who are unfamiliar with "Pink Mountain Fridays", there's a little ditty known to Tucsonians "when the mountains are pink, it's time to drink" and we celebrate the start of as many weekends as we can with a libation and a munchie like dinner.

Asian Pork Meatballs

1 pound lean ground pork

3 green onions finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons minced ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Juice and rind of half a lime

1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon Sriracha

1 egg white

1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

Flour (I used Wondra instant blending flour)

Combine ground pork with other ingredients excluding flour and form into 1 inch balls. Place on a sheet pan and refrigerate for a minimum half hour. Heat a heavy skillet over medium high heat and add oil to coat bottom lightly. Coat meatballs lightly with flour and shake off excess. When oil is shimmering add meatballs and cook until browned on all sides and firm to touch (about 6 minutes). Yields 24 meatballs. Download Asian Pork Meatballs

A year ago - Salmon Club Sandwich with Pesto

Two Years Ago - Asian Glazed Salmon

Pacific Northwest Salmon Spread

We're back in Tucson after our fabulous month on the Oregon Coast and lucky for us, we brought some of the place we love back to the desert with us. About 20 pounds of dry ice, a good cooler and all the clams the Big Guy dug and cleaned as well as some wild caught sockeye salmon purchased at the ridiculous price of $3.99 a pound and a few other favorite made in Oregon items made the trip just fine.

We enjoyed this particular spread as a "go lunch" on the trip. Made from some of the leftover maple glazed salmon the Big Guy grilled on a plank just before we left Waldport, it also includes cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice, green onions and fresh dill and is best made a day in advance so the flavors have a chance to blend.

Next time you have some leftover salmon and want something just a tad different, give this one a try. Wonderful on crackers, it's also the bomb on a piece of sourdough or french bread along with a couple of bread and butter pickles. We'll be cooking it up again really soon.

So sorry this is such a short post, but honestly I've a ton of things to accomplish today. The Big Guy left for the airport at the crack of dawn, there's not a grocery in the house, I've an extremely needy feral cat to deal with and Max is so used to going for a walk to do his business he refuses to "go" in the back yard. Course it could be that he's looking for some really big trees and green grass, but he's going to have to look a long time for those. LOL

Salmon Spread (an original from JBug’s Kitchen)

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup sour cream

Juice of half a lemon

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped

4 finely chopped green onions

1 pound plank cooked salmon (cold)

Place cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice, hot sauce and salt in a food processor and pulse until whipped together. Remove to a bowl and fold in dill and onions. Break salmon into mixture, being sure to check to bones. Fold to incorporate. Chill a minimum of 12 hours before serving. Serve with crackers or assorted breads and pickles.

Clams Casino

I know we've had these before in casserole form but how can you not do a repeat when the Big Guy's been a clammin' fool. He's been bugging me forever to make them again and I've held out.

I grew up on a farm about as far from the ocean as you can get so I'm more into other forms of protein but not so the man of the house as evidenced from this plate. He ate 15 of them - nothing else mind you. He was rather proud of himself too never mind happy...very happy.

I'm a little more into moderation - I had mine with pasta and while there's 2 in the picture, I handed one back to him. After all, I didn't want him to be short.

Clams casino are not difficult to make but much like our pizza version, they're just a tad time consuming to put together. I prefer building them by steaming the clams first, then shuckin them, removing the meat, chopping it and returning the clam to it's little shell bathed in a touch of white wine. Topped with sauteed onion, garlic and red pepper along with some crispy bacon and finished with a crusty topping of grated parmesan and crumbs, they cooked briefly in a 500 oven just to warm 'em and crisp up the topping.

Clams Casino (adapted from Giada de Laurentis)

18 to 24 fresh clams, steamed till open

3 slices bacon, chopped fine

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 red pepper, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup white wine

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup dried Italian flavored bread crumbs

Remove meat from steamed clams, and reserve shells. Chop clams until fine. Return meat to shells and top with a teaspoon white wine. Set aside. Meanwhile in a large sauté pan, cook bacon until crisp then remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Remove all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat from pan. Add butter to pan and sauté onion, red pepper and garlic until vegetables are softened – about 5 minutes. Add Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Place a small amount on top of clams on each shell (approximately 1 tablespoon), and top with crispy bacon pieces. Combine parmesan cheese with dried bread crumbs and sprinkle on top of bacon. Bake in a preheated 500 oven for 5 minutes or until crumbs are browned and clams are hot. Watch carefully during last minute of cooking because the crumbs burn easily. Serve as an appetizer or with pasta and/or a green salad for dinner. Download Clams Casino

Buffalo Shrimp on Lemon Caesar Salad

It has been a month of Sundays since I've constructed a Caesar salad and as for Buffalo Shrimp, well that would be never. Pity really!

Remember when Caesar salad's were all the rage? Not that they're unpopular now, but during the 70's there wasn't a restaurant around that didn't serve it and I admit one of the first things I purchased for my empty apartment was a wooden salad bowl so I could make it.  A staple in my diet during my single days, it's safe to say with all the garlic and anchovies emanating from my pores, it could account for the fact that I stayed single till I was 45.

I thought I'd mastered a fool proof recipe but this lemon version of the salad wins the prize and topped with Buffalo Shrimp - well what can I say except we were wishing I'd cooked more'n a pound of the darn things. Don't be thrown off by the amount of spices in the coating mix - it's quite perfect. You certainly won't need it all so put half in a zip bag and save for later before you bread your shrimp because it would be a great coating for chicken tenders too, that is if you're not a shrimp fan. As for the Caesar salad, you'll notice there isn't an egg to be found and to be honest, you won't even miss it!

Buffalo Shrimp on Lemon Caesar Salad

Shrimp:

1 pound large shrimp, cleaned and deveined

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons creole seasoning

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon black pepper

Oil for frying

Sauce:

4 ounces hot sauce (I used Louisiana Hot Sauce)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons butter

Rinse shrimp under running water and set aside. Combine flour with seasonings and divide in two, placing half in a zip bag for future use. Coat shrimp with remaining dredging mix (reserve what’s left) and place on wire racks over a sheet pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set coating. After 30 minutes, dredge coated shrimp in reserved coating mix. Heat oil in deep skillet and fry shrimp in batches for 2-1/2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Do not overcook!  Remove from pan and set aside on paper towels to drain.

Meanwhile combine hot sauce, garlic powder, cayenne and butter in a small saucepan and heat until butter is melted. Whisk sauce to incorporate ingredients. Pour over cooked shrimp and toss to mix well. Serve over prepared salad.

Lemon Caesar Salad (adapted from Sheila Lukins)

3 hearts romaine lettuce, shredded

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Coarse ground black pepper

2 cups croutons (I used homemade from leftover focaccia)

Dressing:

1 tablespoon anchovies rinsed and patted dry

Grated lemon rind from 1 lemon

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 cup olive oil

Coarse ground black pepper

Using immersion or regular blender, combine anchovies, lemon rind and juice, vinegar and mustard. With motor running slow drizzle in olive oil until mixture thickens and emulsifies. Add pepper to taste. Toss lettuce with dressing. Add parmesan, pepper and croutons and toss again. Top salad with shrimp and serve. Download Buffalo Shrimp on Lemon Caesar

A year ago - Curried Chicken with Cranberries

Oven Fried Chipotle Chili Chicken Wings

Oh baby. That's about all we can say about the little bird parts we had for this week's munchie night. I have to admit I get hard pressed to come up with new ideas for cooking chicken wings because heaven forbid I cook the "same old same old". Like most people, we have our favorite wings including but not limited to the Lemon variety, or Margarita Wings or of course the old standby Buffalo style, but these may have kicked the latter to the curb. Honest!

Marinated in a mixture of pureed chipotles and mayonnaise for at least an hour, then dredged in a crumbs including panko, cornmeal and cayenne pepper, and baked, these little beauties come up crispy, crunchie and moist with a just touch of attitude. We had ours along with some iddy biddy Corn and Basil cakes. Fabulous, simply fabulous!

Oh, a word of warning. These beauties are not suitable to serve at a cocktail party because they're darn messy to eat AND you'll be finding panko crumbs all over the place. They would be perfect for the upcoming holiday weekend though for around the barbie while you're waiting for the burgers to cook because the birds will love doing the crumb clean up for you. By the way, happy Victoria Day holiday to my Canadian family and friends. Here's hoping you all have a warm, sunny and safe first long weekend of summer!

Oven Fried Chipotle Chili Chicken Wings (inspired by Gourmet Magazine)

2.5 pounds chicken wings, separated at the joint and wing tips discarded

3 whole canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce

3/4 cup mayonnaise

2 cups panko crumbs

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt

Coarse ground black pepper

Wash and dry chicken wings well. Combine chipotles and mayonnaise in blender and pulse until smooth. Arrange chicken wings in a glass 9 x 13 baking dish and coat on all sides with mayonnaise mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 425. Combine panko crumbs, cornmeal, cayenne, salt and pepper and coat each piece of chicken with mixture, patting lightly so it adheres. Arrange pieces, leaving about a half inch between them on lightly oiled baking sheets. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown on the outside. 

A year ago - Risotto with Pancetta, Artichokes and Roasted Red Peppers

 

Pork n Apple Sausage Rolls

Remember the lamb sausage rolls we had a little while ago? Well they were so good I just had to do it again in another version.

This time a pound of ground pork is revved up with the addition of sweet onion, and grated apple along with some sage, poultry seasoning, lots of black pepper and garlic, all wrapped up in a lovely little tender pastry blanket. Baked in a hot oven, they make your kitchen smell divine and your tastebuds do the happy dance.

Just so you know, this particular batch were hiding in the freezer, uncooked, ready for just this occasion. I cooked them directly from frozen and they turned out perfectly as you can see. Good grub. Darn good grub! Wouldn't you just love to have some of these ready for your next munchie night?

Thankfully our tradition of Friday night munchies and special libations was intact last night because we certainly needed a little down time. It's been a rather trying week but here we are, survivers at best. The Maxer's doing well - why he even played with Dillon his favourite toy for a little while this morning before he conked out again. The Big Guy's got all his marking done and toasted the end of yet another school year. Today is graduation day and 6 weeks from now we'll be through Los Angeles, over the Grape Vine and on our way to God's country. Life is good. Very good!

Pork ‘n Apple Sausage Rolls (a JBug’s Kitchen original)

1 pound ground pork or country style sausage

1/2 cup sweet onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated

2/3 cup panko crumbs

1/2 teaspoon ground sage

1/2 teaspoon ground poultry seasoning

Coarse ground black pepper

Dash of salt

1 egg

Combine above ingredients and refrigerate covered for 1 hour to allow flavors to blend.

 

1 package frozen puff pastry thawed per package directions

4 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Roll a sheet of puff pastry on a floured board to a 10 inch by 10 inch square. Cut in half. Coat pastry with a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. Divide prepared filling into 4 and form into 10 inch long cylinders. Place a meat cylinder along one side of pastry piece and roll pastry over to enclose. Press firmly to enclose meat in pastry and place seam on the bottom. Move to a baking sheet and repeat with remaining pastry and filling. Refrigerate until firm (about half an hour). May be wrapped individually and frozen at this point to be baked later.

Preheat oven to 400. Cut rolls into desired size (2 inch pieces). Brush with egg/water glaze and bake for 20 to 25 minutes (30 to 35 if cooking from frozen). Cool slightly before serving. Serve with coarse grain or honey mustard as a dipping sauce. Makes 24 rolls.

 

Minted Shrimp and Mango Summer Rolls

I've mentioned to you before that in Tucson when the mountains turn pink it's time to drink. Well, I have a confession to make. The mountains turned pink quite a while after I poured my first gin and tonic yesterday. It's been quite the week - actually quite the month and I wanted April to end in a rosy glow. The only problem is I was a day ahead of myself so I'm gonna' have to do it all over again tonight. Wouldn't you just know it?

Our usual Friday night "munchie" dinner included delightfully fresh and light summer rolls, quite appropriate for a high 90's day. They're a little challenging to roll but once you get the hang of it, shrimp with eeny weeny rice noodles topped with a julienned slices of cucumber, carrot and green onion all wrapped up nice and cosy in rice paper wrappers are really the essence of summer food. Course we can't forget the fresh mint or beautiful basil from our herb garden now can we.

To balance the lightness of the summer rolls and in deference to the fact that this was all the dinner we were gonna' get our munchie platter also included a pile of pot stickers and some steamed pork buns, both courtesy of Trader Joes' freezer section. I've been known to make both from scratch but that was in the old days before I knew any better. So that's what London Life means about freedom 55! Bonus!

Minted Shrimp and Mango Summer Rolls (adapted from My recipes)

1/2 pound cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut in half lengthwise

3 ounces cellophane noodles

12 – 8 inch rice paper wrappers

1 Persian cucumber (small) cut into thin strips

1 carrot, julienned

12 thin strips of green onion

1 fresh mango, peeled and cut into thin strips

12 large fresh basil leaves

24 fresh mint leaves

Pour boiling water over noodles and let soak for 10 minutes or until tender.  Rinse and drain well.

Place a rice paper wrapper in warm water for 30 seconds or until softened and place on a flat surface. Put 3 pieces of shrimp just below the center of the wrapper, cover with basil leaves and mint, followed by some cellophane noodles. Top with a piece of cucumber, carrot, mango and green onion. Fold and tuck the top of the wrapper over noodles, then fold in sides and roll tightly. Place on a moistened paper towel and cover with another moistened towel. Continue until all rice wrappers have been used. Chill, covered with moistened paper towels until serving time. Serve with peanut sauce or hoisin and pass the Sriracha. Makes 12 rolls. Download Minted Shrimp and Mango Summer Rolls

 

 

 

Lamb Sausage Rolls

If you recall, I've been bragging about the lamb we purchased from the U of A Meat's Lab a while ago. Needless to say most of the more tender cuts of it have been devoured leaving a couple of leg roasts and the least tender of the bunch - shoulder roasts. Yesterday I took the liberty of rippin' into one of them and made some ground lamb courtesy of my trusty KitchenAid and it's multi use attachments.

A pound of the very lean freshly ground meat went into the making of some lamb sausage loaded with shallots, garlic and fresh parsley and flavored with fennel, orange zest and coriander. Wrapped in a pastry blanket they were perfect Friday night specials along with our libations and a salad of course.

Sausage rolls are extremely popular in the British Isles and there's barely a bakery in Canada that doesn't sell a version of them as well. They're perfect for whipping up and hiding unbaked in your freezer for when unexpected guests drop by because they take no time to bake from frozen and smell glorious when they're in the oven. They can be made bite sized for appetizers or more substantial as lunch or dinner items with a little dipping sauce on the side. We used our Kicky Kumquat Marmalade as well as some grainy mustard but they're just fine on their own too.

Incidentially, if you're not into lamb you can certainly make the rolls with ground pork, beef or even chicken but the lamb really gives them a fabulous flavor all their own. Should you want to forget the pastry, the sausage would be just lovely formed into little patties or meatballs and fried or as a filling in ravioli or won ton's too.

Lamb Sausage Rolls (adapted Canadian Living Magazine)

1 pkg. frozen puff pastry thawed per package directions

1 pound lean ground lamb

1 egg plus 1 egg white (save yolk for later use)

1/4 cup panko crumbs

1 shallot, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon coriander

Grated zest of 1 large orange

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Combine lamb, egg, panko, shallot, garlic, parsley, fennel, coriander, orange and salt and pepper. Set aside.  Roll a sheet of puff pastry on a floured board to a 10 inch by 10 inch square. Cut pastry in half making two 5 by 10 inch strips. Coat pastry with a thin layer of Dijon mustard and place a strip of meat along the 10 inch side of the pastry. Roll pastry over to enclose filling, pressing firmly to enclose meat in pastry and place seam on the bottom. Move to baking sheet and repeat with remaining pastry and filling.  Refrigerate until firm (about a half hour). May be frozen at this point and baked later.

Preheat oven to 400. Cut rolls into desired size (2 inch to 3 inch pieces). Brush with egg/water glaze and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. If baking from frozen, do not thaw first and add additional 10 minutes to cooking time. Makes 12 large rolls or 24 smaller ones. Serve with coarse grain mustard as a dipping sauce. Download Lamb Sausage Rolls with Orange and Fennel

They're Not Buffalo Wings

In no way shape or form are these buffalo wings. Other than the hot sauce, they don't even taste like buffalo wings. They're not Asian either, although they include garlic, honey and soy sauce. It's a tough one though because the crisp coating on the wing is Asian inspired. They coulda' been Mexican because they've got Tabasco and red pepper jelly in them, but they're not. Course I guess they could be French too because of the Dijon mustard, or English thanks to the Worchestershire...hmmm seems to me they might be a wing without a country, but oh boy are they good!

A crisply coated wing with a spicy, sweet, honey enriched sauce and a hint of heat, these richly red bird flappers may just be one of the better inventions out of JBugs Kitchen. I have to admit I was on a mission to discover a better wing, particularly after the jerk version we had a little while ago just didn't fly. I think we may be onto something here. Give 'em a try and tell me what you think!

JBug’s Multicultural Chicken Wings (a JBug’s Kitchen Original inspired by Idaho a la Carte)

Sweet and spicy, these wings just might be the best invention yet! Don’t be a chicken and cut down on the hot sauce and/or red pepper jelly. Once the sauce coats the wing, the heat is barely noticeable. Honest!

Sauce:

1/4 cup water

1-1/2 tablespoons corn starch

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup red pepper jelly

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons dried onion flakes

Mix together cornstarch and water in a small pot. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk together until well combined. Heat over medium heat, stirring often until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat; cover and keep warm.

3 to 4 pounds chicken wings

1 cup cornstarch

Coarse ground salt and pepper

Vegetable oil for frying

Cut chicken wings into 3 parts and discard tips. Rinse chicken pieces well and dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper then coat well on all sides with cornstarch. Set aside to dry for 10 minutes before frying. Meanwhile, heat a half inch of oil in a large deep pan (I use cast iron) to 375 degrees. Fry wings in batches for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once until wings are golden brown, crisp and cooked through. Drain on racks over a sheet pan and keep warm in oven until serving time. Just before serving place wings in a bowl and toss with sauce mixture. Serve with plenty of paper napkins. Download JBugs Multicultural Chicken Wings

Poppers in a Blanket

Friday nights are munchie night in our little kingdom although we've been somewhat remiss lately. Seems life can interfere on the best of intentions but it could be that last night's delight will make up for at least some of the Fridays we've missed.

There aren't many of us who don't have a yen for pigs in a blanket and I'm about to take you in a new direction entirely. I do believe we're on to something major here.

What would you say if I suggest you try spicy fresh jalapeno peppers, relieved of their innards and stuffed with a lovely mix of cream and pepper jack cheeses, garlic and crumbled bacon. Sounds good so far, but kinda' ordinary doesn't it? Well, wrapped in a blanket of puff pastry and baked for 25 minutes they're 'bout the best darn hot little munchie suckers we've had in a month of Sunday's.

The pastry blanket makes them really easy to eat which means they're about perfect for a cocktail bash and best of all they can be prepped and refrigerated in advance then baked as the tray runs out. That my friends will happen in record time, so you might want to double the recipe.

Jalapeno Poppers in a Blanket (adapted from puffpastry.com)

I used a small metal quarter teaspoon to scoop out the seeds of the peppers. Be sure to wear gloves and wash your hands well before and after you handle the peppers.

1 package prepared puff pastry sheets, thawed

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

8 ounces light cream cheese, softened

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

3 strips bacon, cooked till crisp and crumbled

12 medium jalapeno peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded

Combine cream cheese, garlic, pepper jack together and mix well. Roll approximately 2 teaspoons of the mixture into a small log and stuff into cavity of jalapeno pepper. Dip pepper cheese side down into crumbled bacon. Repeat until all peppers are stuffed.

Roll puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and cut into 12 – 3 inch squares. Repeat with second sheet of pastry. Place stuffed bacon coated jalapeno pepper, bacon side diagonally onto each pastry square. Fold pastry over pepper and press to seal. Brush will egg mixture and place onto baking sheets, leaving approximately 1-1/2 inches between each pastry.  Refrigerate until needed. Preheat oven to 400 and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Let pastries cool on wire racks for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 2 dozen. Download Jalapeno Poppers in a Blanket

Date and Gorgonzola Pinwheels over Greens

I came across this recipe on the Pepperidge Farms site and thought we really needed to give it a go. I mean what's more interesting than combining dates with blue cheese and bacon, unless it's figs with blue cheese and bacon. I don't know about you, but I get tired of the same old flavor combinations so I'm usually game to try something new. Just don't tell the big guy or he'll have me eating some of the javalina languishing in the freezer from this year's hunt that Big Bad John left for us to "enjoy". Darn and here I thought I was off the hook!

There's croutons people and then there's the flavor filled totally addictive puffy crispy wheels of yummy goodness we had on our greens last night. As we were enjoying them, we could think of a bunch of combinations using different ingredients like proscuitto, sundried tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, garlic and pinenuts, or chicken with hoisin and green onions, or even pears, brie and pecans but the balsamic soaked dates over bacon with crumbled gorgonzola all wrapped up in puff pastry were absolutely stellar.

They'd be superlative as an appetizer with a glass of sherry before dinner, or with fruit and port after or just as we enjoyed them with some of the big guy's fabulous barbecued ribs and a glass of wine. One thing I know for sure...we haven't seen the last of them in our house. Put 'em on your list to try. I guarantee you'll think you're really on to something!