Ingredients:

* 3 cups flour (plus a little more for kneading)
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup cold water
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vinegar
* 3 tablespoons shortening

Preparation:
In a bowl, beat the water, egg, egg white and vinegar together. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix together the 3 cups of flour and salt.
Cut the shortening into the flour mix with a pastry blender or two butter knives. Make a well in the center of the flour mix and pour the liquid ingredients from the first bowl into the center.
Mix the wet and dry ingredients with a fork until it becomes stiff.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it just until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth.
Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but never more than 24 hour.
Add fillings, crimp edges, and fry in 275 degree oil for ~5 minutes or until golden brown.

Pickled Eggs

1 cup white vinegar
1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 tablespoon mustard seed
6 whole cloves
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
12 hard-cooked eggs, peeled

In a large saucepan, combine the first eight ingredients.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Place onions and eggs in a large-mouth mason jar and add fill to cover the eggs completely.

1-1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 cups ham, chopped
2 cups Swiss cheese, shredded
1 can cream of mushroom OR cream of celery soup
1/2 soup can water
plain bread crumbs

– Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2 quart rectangular casserole dish with non-stick spray.
– Mix soup with water. Set aside.
– Sprinkle dish with layer of bread crumbs. Then, half of the chicken, half of the ham, half of the cheese, and half of the soup mixture. Repeat layers. Top with a layer of bread crumbs.
– Bake covered for 45 minutes.

At our annual post-family obligations Christmas Cocktail Hour in 2004, when everyone was good and inebriated, our friend Pete showed up with his wife-to-be and an incredible peppermint cake in tow. The cake was a three layer white cake with peppermint frosting and little crushed peppermint candies strewn about. I haven’t found a recipe for a cake like this, so I decided to put together my own from some existing cake and frosting recipes that I have used in the past. I know last year the cake was attacked by everyone and devoured in minutes… It was so good, and we were so blotto, that all that was heard was “Mmmmm” and “Wow this is good” for the 15 or so minutes it took us all to devour the cake. Let’s hope this year’s cake, made by me with the following as-yet untested recipe will get the same reaction!

Cake
2 3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cups plus 2/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 tsp. peppermint extract
6 large egg whites

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Sift flour, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Whisk oil and egg yolks in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in sour cream, then milk, peppermint, and vanilla. Whisk in dry ingredients in 3 additions. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 2/3 cup sugar, beating until whites are stiff but not dry; fold into batter in 4 additions. Divide batter among prepared pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Frosting
3 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
10 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons whipping cream

Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar, then cream.

Assembly
Coarsley crush 2 cups of peppermint candies. Assemble cake layers with frosting and one cup of peppermint candies, frost the exterior of the cake and use the other cup of crushed candies on the top.

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1/2 cup blue cheese salad dressing
1/2 cup Frank’s Redhot
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups shredded cooked chicken

DIRECTIONS:

1. HEAT oven to 350°F. Place cream cheese into deep dish casserole. Microwave to soften.
2. Whisk in blue cheese dressing, the Frank’s, and cheese until smooth. Stir in chicken.
3. BAKE 20 min. or until mixture is heated through; stir. Garnish as desired. Serve with crackers or vegetables.

INGREDIENTS:

* 6 cups flour, more or less, divided
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1 envelope active dry yeast
* 2 cups very warm water, about 120°
* 2 tablespoons softened butter

PREPARATION:
In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Beating at low speed, add the water and butter. Continue beating at high speed for 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup flour and beat 4 minutes longer. Stir in 3 cups flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes,, or until dough is smooth and elastic, adding a little more flour as necessary.

Place dough in a large buttered bowl, turning to butter top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise for about 1 hour in a warm place, free of drafts. Punch dough down; knead until smooth. Cut dough in half, cover with the mixing bowl, and let stand for 15 minutes longer. Roll each half into a 12×9-inch rectangle. Starting with the narrow edge, roll up, turning ends under to make loaves to fit pans. Place rolls seam side down in greased loaf pans, 9×5x3-inches. Cover pans with clean towel and let rise in warm place until double, about 45 minutes. Bake loaves at 400° for 25 to 30 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped with fingers. Remove from pans to racks; brush with butter for a soft, more flavorful crust, if desired.
Makes 2 loaves of white bread.

15-oz can canned solid-pack pumpkin (about 2 cups)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

3 eggs separated
1 cup chopped ham
1 cup grated Monterey - Colby cheese
4 oz cream cheese
Pie crust

Beat egg whites. Mix together cream cheese and egg yokes. Add ham, Monterey - Colby cheese. Fold in egg whites pour into pie crust. Bake 350 for 35 min.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 4 cups milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Gradually stir in milk so that no lumps form, and continue cooking and stirring until thickened. If the gravy becomes too thick, you may thin it with a little more milk.

In one pan, heat the 4 cups of stock and 2 cup of heavy cream.
A clove of garlic and a bay leaf are optional but splendid additions.
Hold at a gentle simmer for five minutes then remove from the heat.
In a second pan melt 1/3 cup of butter and stir in a 1/3 cup of plain flour to
make a roux. Cook through for a few minutes to remove any floury
taste then whisk in the warm stock and cream mixture a little at a time.
Bring back to just below a boil and simmer for five minutes.

Start tasting and seasoning with salt, fresh-ground white pepper, extra cream
or butter and a hint of grated nutmeg.
Chop or shred the ingredient of choice (chicken, ham, broccoli, the neighbor’s dog) and stir in to the desired proportion to finish.

1 lb. lean pork (use your cut of choice, but make it lean)
1/4 to 1/2 c. water
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 to 1/3 c. vinegar
1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks
~1 c. pineapple juice (saved from pineapple chunks)
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 doz. red maraschino cherries

If you want them:
3/4 c. green pepper, cut up
1/4 c. thinly sliced onions

In a large skillet, brown the pork in some peanut oil 9or your choice of oil) but do not cook past rare to medium rare.

Muddle the cherries in the pineapple juice. Thoroughly mix the cornstarch into the water.

To the skillet add the salt, brown sugar, vinegar, pineapple juice/cherry mixture, water/cornstarch mixture, and soy sauce. Toss in the peppers and onions if you’re using them.

Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring regularly until the pork is cooked through and the sauce is nice and thick. Remove from heat and stir in the pineapple chunks. Serves 4 with rice.

Kiss Cookies

Old reliable, I generally refer to these as Nipple Cookies, but then again my mind is permanently in the gutter so… yeah.

1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbs. milk
1 tbs. Kahlua
4 dozen kisses, unwrapped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, mix flour, and baking soda. Add butter and peanut butter and mix until smooth. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix until smooth.
Make 1” balls. Roll in sugar.
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and add 1 kiss to the center of each cookie.

Molasses Sugar Cookies

These are crispy molasses cookies that are great for dipping, and work GREAT for ice cream sandwiches!

3/4 c. soft butter
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. dark molasses
1 egg
2 c. sifted flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger

In large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add molasses and egg, beating until well blended. Add the flour, soda, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Knead into a large ball, cover, and chill.
Put some sugar (I like large granulated organic sugar) in a pie dish.
Form into 1 inch balls roll each in the sugar and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
Let stand for a minute then remove cookies to wire rack and cool. Makes about 4 dozen.

Snicker-Doodle Cookies

1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. soft butter
2 eggs
2 3/4 c. Flour
2 tsp. Cream of Tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375F.
Mix the sugar, butter, and eggs. Stir in the flour, cream of tartar, and soda. Knead the dogh into a ball and place it in your fridge to chill.
Combine 2 t. sugar and cinnamon.
Roll dough into 1″ balls and roll them in the cinnamon/ sugar mixture. Bake for 8-10 minutes. cool completely on wire racks. You should get about 4 dozen.

Buttery Spritz Cookies

You need a cookie press to make these cookies.

1 c confectioners’ sugar
1 c butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp peppermint extract or 1 tsp Almond extract
2 1/3 c flour
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combined confectioners’ sugar and butter; blend well. Stir in remaining ingredients; blend well.

Fill cookie press with a small amount of dough into desired shapes onto an ungreased cookie sheet. If desired, you can decorate the cookies with sprinkles and colored sugar crystals at this point. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until set but not browned. Immediately remove from cookie sheet.

Yield: 7 dozen cookies.

A fellow Boston food junky, The Toodster, has a new blog up called Eat & Destroy… Check it out for reviews and hot tips on where to get a good meal!

There is always a little Nog left over, so here is a really great way to use it up the next morning. These griddle cakes have a lighter texture than regular pancakes, and rise up off of the griddle in an impressive manner. Add some holiday spices to take it even further…

Dry:
one cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt (not needed)

Liquid
one egg
1/4 C Milk
3/4 C Eggnog
1 tsp melted butter or oil

Sift dry ingredients together, then blend liquid ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine and mix, but don’t mix too much or you’ll get heavy griddle cakes. I stir to a count of ten, and then start spooning onto a hot griddle.

Serve w/ butter and real maple syrup. Serves 4.

1 tablespoon butter
6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
6 tablespoons strong coffee

Apple and Sausage Dressing

5 C. bread cubes. Feel free to use different kinds of bread; I like mixing pumpernickel, rye, and sourdough.
1 tbs oil
1 lb sausage of choice
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
5 springs of sage, coarsely chopped
2 branches fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
4 eggs
2 cups turkey or chicken stock
Dash salt/pepper
6 tbs unsalted butter

1. The bread should be completely stale. If not, spread the cubes on a baking sheet and put in a low oven (250 degrees) for about 1 hour to dry them out.

2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add the sausage meat and brown it, breaking up meat. Transfer meat from skillet to large bowl, using a slotted spoon. Add onion and celery to the skillet. After 1 minute, add the apples and cook 2 more minutes. Place in bowl with sausage, grease and all.

3. Add bread cubes, sage and rosemary to the bowl.

4. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and stock with the salt and pepper. Pour this over the sausage mixture and gently toss all the ingredients. They should combine without mashing.

5. Generously butter a 16-inch baking pan (2 tablespoons). Spread the mixture in the pan and dot with more butter (4 tablespoons).

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. The top should have a nice golden brown crust.

You can also cook this in your slow cooker/roaster if you’re hard pressed for oven space like I usually am. When you take your bird, or roast out of the over to rest you can toss the dressing in there under the broiler to crisp it up if necessary.

Serves 6-8

Butternut Squash w/ Shallots and Sage

2 tbs olive oil
3 shallots, coarsely chopped
1 (1 3/4-lb-ish) butternut squash, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (yields about 4 cups)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh sage
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
dash black pepper

1. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, then cook shallots and squash, stirring, until shallots begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

2. In a separate bowl mix the brown sugar, sage, and salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add to the pan and simmer, covered, until squash is tender, 8 to 10 minutes being sure to stir occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar, pepper, and salt.

Serves 6

Well, we’ve been harvesting our garden lately, and we have a bounty of peppers; cherry peppers, green chilis, and jalepenos. I love me some pickled peppers, so The Lovely Wife and I decided to try our hand at pickling a few jars.


That’s The Lovely Wife chopping and seeding.


Yummy peppers…

We had enough peppers for 4 pint jars. To prep the pickling juice:

3 cups water
3 cups 5 % acidic vinegar (your choice, but ensure it is 5% acidic)
3 tsp. pickling salt
2 tbs. cracked peppercorns

Bring the pickling juice up to a simmer and keep it at a simmer for about 5 min. Remove from heat.

Pack the peppers into sterilized jars along with 1 peeled clove of garlic per jar.

Pour the pickling juice over the peppers, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Adjust the lids and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Give ‘em about 4-6 weeks in a dark, cool place, and then you should be able to open them up and enjoy! I’ll keep you posted on our success or failure, as we still have a few weeks of waiting left.

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, my favorite TV chef.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups shredded fresh pumpkin
1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and fold in the shredded pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Once the ingredients are all incorporated pour into a non- stick 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. If your pan is not non- stick coat it with butter and flour.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At this point a knife inserted into the middle of the loaf should come out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely. For muffins temperature should also be 325 degrees F., but bake for 30 minutes.

2 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 c. grated zucchini
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 c. flour
3 tsp. cinnamon

Blend all ingredients together. Bake in greased loaf pan at 350 degrees for 1 hour or a toothpick comes out clean. Slice warm and serve with butter. Yum.

This past Sunday I made a big pot of chili… Not for anything in particular, but because The Lovely Wife and I had a hankerin’

So, I’ve decided to put up a variation on my award winning chili. I’ll leave some variables up to you, so consider this a sure-fire base for your own chili. I suggest a combination of any variety of pepper to make up the four needed, but steer clear of bells. If you want sweet pepper flavor, stick with Rellenos. There are easily over 200 varieties of peppers, so mix and match, and have fun!

32 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
4 c. of stock (veg., chicken, or beef… You decide)
3 15 oz. cans of beans, drained and washed, or approx. 5 c. of fresh beans (again, dealer’s choice on the varieties)
1 15 oz. can of sweet white corn, washed and drained, or 2 cups of fresh or frozen corn
4 peppers
1 whole onion of your choosing
Approx. 1 to 2 pounds of your favorite meat or combination of meats
1/2 c. white vinegar
4 jiggers of tequila
1 sm. bunch of cilantro
Juice of 1 fresh lime
Approx. 3 tbs of oil
Spices and nices

Prepare your peppers by halving them, seeding them (don’t be afraid to leave some seeds in for extra heat), and any other pre-prep you desire. Dice them, the onion, and the cilantro, and give them a quick sauté in the oil. Par-cook the meat as much or as little as you wish, then add everything to a stock pot or slow cooker.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for at least 3 hours, longer if a thicker consistency is desired.

The details are what make this chili your own. Pepper selection and preparation, meat selection and preparation, choice in bean varieties, picking just the right spices and nices; it all determines just how your final chili will lean as far as flavor, and are exactly the things that make my chili a consistent crowd pleaser.