Christmas Candy Even You Can Make

Hi- Merry Christmas!  May the Deity of your choice bless you this Holiday Season.  I have been crazy busy this Christmas time- it all starts mid November for me and ends on January 2.  Tons of cooking and about a million dishwasher loads of dishes happen in my tiny kitchen.  This is the one time of year I complain about my apartment kitchen- it is just too small to do all that I need it to do.  Oh well.

Christmas is about love, and I love food, and I love feeding the people I love.  I have started making toffee every Christmas, mostly because it is insanely yummy, but also because it is easy, impressive and can be made in the smallest of kitchen.  Here is a recipe that you can make in about an hour, and you probably have most of the ingredients in your kitchen now.


SALTED ALMOND TOFFEE
 2 Sticks Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Cup Salted  & Smoke Roasted Almonds- 3/4 cup coarsely chopped, 1/4 cup finely chopped (use a food processor)
2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon PURE vanilla
1 Teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 oz bittersweet or dark chocolate chips

1: Line two cookie sheets with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray
2: In a small sauce pan, melt together butter, sugar and water over medium heat.  Stir constantly, occasionally scraping down the sides with a water moistened pastry brush.
3: Continue to cook until it reaches hard ball stage-  302 Degrees on a candy thermometer- approximately 15 minutes- but seriously- use the candy thermometer.
4: Once it reaches 302 degrees, remove from heat.  quickly stir in the coarsely chopped almonds, salt and vanilla
5: Pour this mixture onto one of the prepared cookie sheets.  Spread into a thin layer
6: Quickly put half of the chocolate chips onto the mixture and spread with a spatula.  The heat will melt the chips.
7: Put the cookie sheet in the freezer for at least 15 minutes, until the chocolate is set- but no more than 20 minutes
8: Remove the sheet from the freezer, invert onto the second prpared sheet and peel the aluminum foil from the sheet
9: Melt in the microwave the other half of the choc chips
10: Spread the melted chocolate over the toffee, and quickly sprinkle the finely chopped almonds on top of the chocolate
11: return to the freezer for 15- 20 minutes.
12: Remove from freezer break into shards and enjoy

A word about breakfast

I love breakfast-- eggs, some sort of pork product, potatoes or tortillas.   Throw some beans and chile and I am a happy camper.

You asked for it- You got it= Tequila Lime Chile Chicken- and a Baseball Rant

Hey Y'All-
OK- here's the deal, last night the Phillies had a play off game- and a friend was visiting from Chicago and staying with another friend of mine who is a HUGE GINORMOUS SUPER PHILLIES fan.  We wanted to hang with our friend from Chicago & we had to watch the game- the only answer was to go to our  HUGE GINORMOUS SUPER FAN friends house, order a few Pizza's drink some beer and watch the Phillies have their Asses handed to them by the Cardinal's.  Stupid Cardinal's- and hey, Phillies- Learn to hit the damn ball...and run- during a crunch....you have 6 months- I believe in  you !! Halladay is not the team, nor is Howard-- Ruiz- call me- you are kind of cute---and not arrogant... and you know I can cook like your Madre...
What?? He can come for dinner when the Dude is home.... But I Digress....

Anyhoodle- In the midst of all the friend from Chicago, the LAST Phillies Game of the Season (URGHHH HURUMPHH BOOO HISSS Stupid Cardinals) I was asked to lead a tour at my favorite market-  The Reading Terminal Market on Saturday and The Dude reminded me that he was going to be leaving for a week on Sunday and we just came back from a month (almost) away and he might, possibly, like a home- cooked meal before he leaves.

What is a girl to do-- Feed the Dude, do a tour- or Watch a Game????
DUH-DUAH-DAHHHH Super Girl
OR
Duh-Duah- Dahhh- Brined Chicken
I posted a pic of the finished product on Facebook and a couple people asked for the recipe 

Here's the recipe- it is best if you let the chicken brine for at least 18 hours- or up to 48 hours

TEQUILA-CHILE-LIME CHICKEN

BRINE
4 to 6 Chicken Leg quarters (legs and thighs, connected, on the bone with skin)
8-10 Cloves Garlic
3/4 cup Kosher Salt
3/4 Cup Sugar or Honey
2 TBSP Each- Mustard Seed, Cumin, Chile Powder, Black Pepper Corns, Chipolte Chile Powder, Mexican or standard Oregano, garlic powder, onion powder
1 Tsp Dried  Dill
2 Limes, Washed, sliced with peel in tact
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup tequila
3 Chile Pods- pref. New Mexican
4 to 6 cups warm water
      In a large bowl mix all ingredients except for chicken and limes until sugar and salt dissolve- the hotter the water the faster this happens.  Add the chicken and lime slices to the bowl, cover securely and refrigerate for 18-48 hours.

To Roast:
Preheat oven to 525 Deg FSlice a  a LARGE Spanish or White onion into thick slices (5-6 slices)
Peel and cut into thirds 4 large carrots
4 Celery stalks cut into thirds
6 peeled garlic cloves
2- 3 Chile Pods
1 lime- sliced
 

Spray a large roasting pan with non stick cooking spray
place the above mentioned veggies on the bottom of the pan
Arrange the chicken pieces on the veggies
Discard the brine

 Carefully pour in half of the following mixture

3/4 cup Tequilla
1 Cup Dry white wine
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp chile powder
1 tbsp Sea Salt
1 Tbsp Garlic

Put the pan in the oven and let roast for 30 minutes

After 30 minutes, decrease the temp to 325 and pour the remained of the tequila mixture into the roasting pan. roast for 50 minutes

Pull the pan from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes
Arrange chicken on & Veggies on a platter- pour the juices into a seperate bowl- serve.
  You can serve with a salad or potatos-

you can also grill the chicken after brining and just roast the veggies with sauce wrapped in foil until carrots are tender.

Questions-- let me know...


 

Hey There- Hi Ya- Missed You- It Has Been Tooooooo Long (Notes from Iowa)

Hello my foodie friends- or crazy stalkers- who am I to be picky?  The Dude and I are finally back from a long needed and well deserved break that kind of kept me from posting.  We hit 5 states (one on accident- Hello Wisconsin...) and managed to eat well, sleep well, and reminded each other that we have a pretty awesome thing going on in our marriage.  I highly recommend food road trips- especially if you have one of those hook up thing-a-ma-boppies in your rental car for your iPod.  Put the iPod on Shuffle and away you go.

The first part of our trip was to Iowa.  We flew into Omaha, NE and then drove to Spencer, IA for the Clay County Fair.  I think everyone should try and make it to the Clay County Fair once in their life- it is more than a wee bit awesome.  We only had one day at the fair and therefor had to celebrate our fair tradition of only eating things fried, or on a stick, bonus points if it was fried and on a stick on the same day as the Alan Jackson concert.  Normally, I do not recommend combining these two events, but sometimes, a girl has to do what a girls has to do.  Here is a list of what we ate:

1. Pork Chop on a Stick (no, we did not go to the pig showing barn while eating these)
2. Foot Long Corn Dog
3. Nutty Bars (Only one- still a bit bummed by that)
4. Nitro Ice Cream
5. Fried Pickles
6. Fried Butter
7. Pouteen (French Fries, Turkey Gravy and Cheese Curds- Crazy Good!)
8. Hot Roast Beef Sundaes (scoop of mashed potatoes topped with roast beef and gravy with a cherry tomato on top)
9. Sleeping Cookies- basically the love child of a pecan sandie and chocolate chip cookie
10. Antacids

The surprise of the day was the fried butter- It was really good- basically it was a big hunk of butter that had cinnamon roll- like dough wrapped around it that was fried and then drizzled  with icing.  When it was cut into it was like butter exploded over a cinamon roll. Crazy good.

I must say, with the exception of the Nutty Bars, we shared everything....

The next day I cooked for the Dude's sister and her husband- I made  ribs, baked beans, peach cobbler and potato salad- we had a crudite as well to accomplish some vegetable eating- we needed to make up for the damage from the fair food extravaganza.  My brother in law loves my ribs and beans, so whenever we get together I feel I have to make him some- the recipe for the Ribs may or may not make an appearance here, but the bean recipe will be at the end of this entry....

 After spending time in Spencer we headed over to Waterloo, where the Dude was born and raised.  We spent two days with his Mom who is living in a retirement community.  Since it has only been a short while since my father in law passed away, this visit was primarily to make sure my mother in law is doing OK. She is doing about as well as can be expected for a woman who just lost her husband of nearly 67 years.  I was, as always, impressed with the community she is living in and the quality of the food that is served in their dining room. 

We continued our Iowa trek with a visit to Dubuque- the Dude had to work so I spent time reading and looking at the Mississippi River- it really is an astonishing river. While there I noticed a significant increase in the number of women using the hair accessory known as the "Bumpit" why? I do not know- I also had one of the blandest looking meals of all time.  Please, restaurants, if you are going to serve a meal that is primarily white, put it on a black plate....

After Dubuque, we visited a cousin of mine in Red Oak that I had not seen in something like 20 years.  It was awesome to catch up and spend time together.  She made French Dips, from scratch that were off the hook good, her husband made insanely yummy, creamy coleslaw and there was this really good apple desert she made with Mountain Dew- if she will let me I will share the recipe.

We then spent the night in Omaha and headed to the South West... more on that later.

As promised-

Kim's Baked Beans:

• 1/2 pound bacon
• 1 medium onion- diced
• 6 cloves garlic- minced or pressed
• 1/2 cup catsup
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup molasses- black strap preferred
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 cup Whiskey- Jack Daniels Preferred
• 1 Large Can Bushs Baked Beans
• 2 cans of Navy Beans

Directions

• Cut bacon into small pieces and place in med skillet- cold- turn the skillet to medium and brown the bacon
• Drain Bacon and put drained bacon into large mixing bowl
• in the bacon fat, sautee the onion and garlic until transparent- put this into the mixing bowl
• Combine remaining ingredients in the bowl
• Pour the bean mixture into a buttered or oiled deep casserole dish 
• Bake, covered at 200 degrees over night or for 8 hours
• Uncover, turn heat to 300 and bake for another hour
• If the beans look dry when you uncover, add more whiskey
• Serve

Variations-

• These van be made vegeterian by substituting the bacon for 1'2 cup olive or canola oil and adding a tablespoon of cumin
• You can sub two pounds of dried navy beans that have been soaked for the canned beans- just add 4 cups of apple or orange juice when you bake them

Eating My way Across Iowa Day One

Hey Guys-

So the Dude and I are eating our way across Iowa- It all started when we go lost in Omaha because of the flooding of the Missouri River and we ate at an Applebees in Omaha.  Yes, I know Omaha is in Nebraska and eating at Applebees isn't really a culinary feat- but we were hungry and sometimes hunger wins out over culinary excellence. Besides, Chris Santos was in line with me at the Dunkin Donuts in the Airport and if Santos sometimes skips on culinary excellence, I figure I can too.

As a side note- the flooding of the Missouri River is awful and will have a major impact on farmers and food production, which translates into higher food costs for quite some time. Pray for those who were most affected by the flooding and give a little to your local food bank.

Anyhow- after we finally
got unlost and ended up at one of my favorite sister and brother in laws house, I got down and dirty in their kitchen.  We had these HUGE Iowa Chops on the grill, sweet corn and garden ripe tomatos- simple, delicious and perfect food.  I did a wicked fast marinade of garlic, orange juice, beer and Jack  For desert I used local apples to make an apple crisp- life was good.

Here is one of the recipes- what? I am on vacation
Pork Chops in Orange Garlic Marinade

•  4 Large (3/4-1 inch thick) Bone in Pork Chops
• 1/4 Cup Jack Daniels or other Burbon
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and rough chopped
• 1 can beer
• Juice of one orange
• 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 TBSP Kosher Salt
• 1 Tbsp Chili Powder
• 1 Tbsp Onion Powder
• Pinch of dry sage
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

In bowl, mix all ingredients except for the chops.  
Put the chops in gallon Zip Lock Bag
Pour the Marinade over the chops- reserve one cup of marinade
Seal the bag and put the bag in a bowl (to catch anything if the bag leaks)
 Let sit for at least 30 minutes or over night- if sitting for more than 30 minutes, put in the fridge


Remove chops and Grill on Hot grill-8-10 minute per side, or until a thermomemter stuck in reads at least 145 degrees farenheit- basting with the reserved sauce.


Let rest for 10 minutes and then enjoy....


Ahh- Back to the pool--- soon- gorging on fair food...
 

Busy Night- Garlic Shrimp to the rescue!

So the dude, also known as my husband, and I are crazy busy- and there are nights that finding time to make a meal at home is a challenge.  We try to eat at home, together, as often as possible.  On the nights that have us heading in different directions, we usually have salad and some sort of down and dirty protein- like broiled chicken, or, our favorite- Gambas Ajillio (Garlic Shrimp.)  This is a dish that can be thrown together in ten minutes flat and is awesome! It is also very easy for beginners to make and can make you look like a kitchen pro if you take it to a potluck.  It has the added bonus of making your house smell AWESOME!!  This was one of my favorite things to eat when I lived in Spain, so I was uber excited to come up with a rendition that was close to the Chicken-in-the Dirt version.
Here it is:
Garlic Shrimp

1 Pound EZ peel shrimp- NOT peeled- thawed
1 head Garlic, peeled- or 8-10 cloves of the pre-peeled stuff- sliced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Cup white wine
1 TBSP Kosher Salt
1/4 cup olive oil
Parsley- if you want

In a large skillet on medium heat, heat olive oil.  Once hot, put half of the sliced garlic in and stir for a minute then add shrimp, stir for 1-2 minutes, add the remaining garlic, wine, pepper flakes and salt. Bring to boil, once at a boil remove from heat and serve. 
Yes, you will have to peel at the table, but that is fun.  Serve with a salad and thick slices of French bread to sop up the juices.

This will become a family favorite!

Deviled Eggs & Peach Cobblers---OH MY!!

So, today was our church's home-coming picnic and barbeque.  This was my sixth home coming picnic at this church and we celebrated the 243rd Anniversary of the church. My Church- Old Pine Street was known as the "Church of the Patriots" during the Revolutionary War- it has been known, since 1768, as a place where socially minded progressives are welcome to come and worship God. Today, was also, as we know, the tenth anniversary of the horrible attacks on 9-11-01 on the  Twin Towers, Pentagon and Shanksville,PA. I would be remiss to not say that I didn't spend time thinking about all the lives that have been lost in pursuit of Liberty and Justice- whether by purposefully setting out to defend it, as our sailors & soldiers have done and continue to do, or as those who perished ten years ago did- just going to work and living the way they did. There is respect and honor in both. We need to remember this- the terrorists did not and will not win! We need to remember, and we need to proceed on with our lives.  Celebrating 243 years of service for the church that we have called ours since we moved to Philly seems an appropriate tribute.

Anyhow- My husband was the grill master and he did a pretty A-OK job- only a few of the hot dogs, burgers and veggie burgers were sacrificed to the coals in an attempt to feed our fellow parishioners. This picnic was also a potluck, and while there was a usual assortment of salads and deserts, there seemed to be an exceptional number of peach cobbler and deviled eggs.  For the first time in my life, there were left overs of both cobbler and deviled eggs. There were at least 4 different peach desserts (3 of which were cobblers) and 6 batches of deviled eggs- that's right- 6 batches!! Now, we all love peach cobbler, and deviled eggs, and most of us know that others love these dishes too, so it is fairly reasonable to see how and why we ended up with multiples.  I brought both (and a potato salad- I feel the need to over compensate...) I also talked to people who brought one or the other and the reason that was given was because they knew others liked them and that they just never thought to make them for just their household.  Why not?  Cobblers are easy.  Deviled eggs are easy.  Every body loves them.  Why shouldn't we make them for those we live with?

In that vein- here is my recipe for Cobbler:


4 Cups of fruit or berries- peel and chop pit fruit, wash and rinse berries, core and chop apples or pears.
2 cups flour
1 cup melted butter, devided
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup half and half or milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fairenheit
Put fruit in a 9x13 baking pan.
Pour 1/2 cup butter over the fruit
Sprinkle brown sugar over the fruit and butter mixture
In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients.  Once thoroughly mixed, spoon on top of fruit.
Bake for one hour.  Serve warm or cold with whipped cream or good vanilla ice cream.


Deviled eggs recipe to come...

Say a prayer for those that gave all, or are willing to give all, and those that love them


Old Pine Street Church

Chocolate Love

It has been a while since my last post- we have had a fairly stressful summer here in Kreieki land.  I am hopeful that we are done with family emergencies and no one else I love gets sick for a while. 

Last Monday my father in law passed away.  He would have been 92 in October.  He was one of the kindest, gentlest men I have ever known, and he, with his wife raised three great kids- Every one should have the blessing of being married into a great family.  The last line of his Obituary read "He loved his wife, his family, cake, ice cream and fudge." That about sums him up.  He was never very far from chocolate of some sort, usually mini chocolate bars.  His kids each had a story about his fudge addiction. My husbands favorite was how his dad would make fudge on Sunday nights to go with the popcorn they would have as a treat.  In honor of this great man-I say go forth and eat chocolate.

I can't give out my Mom's Fudge recipe under threat of being disowned, however, a close second, if you want to make fudge is to use the recipe on the back of Krafts Marshmallow Cream...

Black & Bleu Bacon Burgers- and a couple notes on friendly meat eating

I LOVE burgers, with a passion that is only surpassed in the food world by my love of steak. I don't want to offend my Vegan and Vegeterian friends- but I have always thought a nicely cooked piece of beef is heaven on a plate.  Because I love beef, and meat in general, I try to purchase humanely raised and farmed beef, pork and poultry.  I have a great butcher- Shameless Plug Here-- Giuntas, in Reading Terminal Market- he gets his product locally and naturally raised whenever possible.  I trust him, I trust he sources as he says he does, and I get awesome meat and poultry from him.  He is the only butcher I go to here in Philly- I have a fish guy- but that's another story for another day.
Back to friendly meat- whenever possible, I think you should source your meat from safe, reliable sources, local and natural, whenever possible. Netflix "Food, Inc"  or read Kingslovers "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and you will see why. It's good for the planet, it's good for the economy, it's good for your wallet, and it will keep you healthier.

Getting off my soap box now (should probably find a graphic for that)

Tonight I made Black and Bleu Bacon Burgers for dinner, and they were soooooooooo insanely good. Beef, bacon, Bleu Cheese, onions, I was in heaven, and the Dude was pretty happy too!! I have a vegetarian option for this in the notes that follow- yes, a veg version of a bacon cheese burger...  Rod (aka The Dude) and I are watching our carbs, so we skip the buns, but this would be really good with toasted potato rolls or an onion kaiser roll spread with a spicy horseradish-mayo blend. without further ado, here is the recipe.

Black & Bleu Bacon Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Ground Sirloin
• 1/4 cup Steak Sauce (I use A-1)
• 2 Tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Tbsp onion powder
• Salt and Pepper
• 8 slices bacon
• 4 oz crumbled bleu cheese
• 1 large onion- thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp Butter

Directions

• Move oven rack to top 
• Place a cast iron grill or griddle pan on the top rack
• turn oven to highest temp possible or broil
• While oven is heating, melt butter in a skillet on low
• Add onions to the skillet, stir, and leave them alone- on low (you can stir every 5-10 minutes , but seriously, you want these done LOW and slow) should take 30-40 minutes- they should be transparent but not brown or black when done
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix ground beef, olive oil, steak sauce, salt, pepper and garlic- use your hands
• Form meat mix into 4 equal patties- set aside
• on the grill pan, place 2-3 slices of bacon, cook until desired crispness, for me- about 3 minutes each side, 
•  drain cooked bacon on a plate lined with a few sheets of paper towel
• repeat with remaining bacon
• When all the bacon is cooked, place the ground beef patties on the griddle- in the bacon drippings
• For Med Rare burgers- cook for two to three minutes on each side
• After you flip the burgers the first time- place 1 ounce of bleu cheese on each burger- cook for an additional 2-3 minutes
• Remove the burgers from the griddle pan- let rest for at least 5 minutes
• Turn onions off
• To Serve: put burgers on plates, put 2 slice of bacon on each burger, pile onions on and serve

Variattions

• for Vegetarian burgers:
• Use Portabello Mushroom caps
• Marinate Mushroom caps in steak sauce, olive oil, salt, pepper and on tbsp cumin for 20 minutes
• grill mushrooms as desired, adding bleu cheese on the flip side 
• If desired, use veg bacon to sub for the real stuff
• Other-
• you can make this on a real grill- ie BBQ- just get your coals or grill hot and make the bacon in a pan on your stove
• You can make this stove top- pan fry your bacon, then fry your burgers in the bacon fat
•  MMMM Bacon

I will get pictures up soon

Carne Adovada--- Whole lot of lovely yummienss

 OK- First recipe- and it won the FB poll- Hope you enjoy.   Whenever possible, If I post a meat based recipe and there is a way to make a vegetarian option, I'll post that in the variations section.

This is a classic New Mexican stew. It's particularly good with home made tortillas. This makes a lot- and the leftovers are really good- it's one of those dishes that gets better the longer it sits. Your house will smell amazing while this is in the oven.

I know- I know- it's ninety billion degrees out there- why would you want to make a stew?? Think of it this way- you cook once and eat for a few days. 

 

Carne Adovada

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Olive Oil- divided
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons New Mexico red chile powder
• 4 cups warm water or chicken broth
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 3 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 teaspoons chile flakes
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3 pounds cubed pork stew meat
• 1 large onion, chopped in large chunks
• 1 head garlic, peeled
• 1 -12 ounce bottle of beer- whatever kind you have on hand

Directions

1. In a skillet or frying pan, heat half of the oil over medium heat. Stir in flour and brown until light golden brown. Blend in chile powder and flakes. Slowly add water or broth, stirring until lumps are removed. Add diced onion, pressed garlic, oregano, cumin, honey and salt. Simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and  set aside
2. In another large skillet, heat the other half of the oil over medium high heat.  Add pork and brown. You may need to do this in batches.
3. Place pork in a large baking pan or casserole pan.  Add onion, garlic and beer. Add chile mixture to pork and mix until pork is covered with chile.  Marinate pork for at least 12 hours or overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
5. Bake pork in preheated oven for at least 4 1/2 hours, or until meat is well cooked, tender and falls apart.

Variations:

Stew beef works well if you do not want to use pork.

Rendering fat from smoked bacon and browning the meat in the rendered bacon fat will add another layer of flavor to the stew

You can make a vegetarian version by subbing out the pork with hearty, hard squashes, such as butter nut, or zucchini, fingerling or "baby" potato's will work too.   The veggie version doesn't need to cook for 4 hours- just until the veggies are cooked through.

Welcome!!!

Welcome to my attempt at blogging.  I am glad you are here.  I plan on blogging mostly about food, what I am eating, what I am cooking, recipes I am loving. I may throw in some politics or news about my family. I hope you enjoy this and will offer your feed back.

So- why is it this Blog called Not So Timid Cook?  Mostly because food, and the making of food can intimidate people.  I fully get that there are lots of books and shows and blogs about the right way to make a recipe. It can be intimidating to be surrounded by all these people doing and telling you to do things in a certain way. Here's a little secret, there are no recipe cops.  No one will come and arrest you if you opt to change something in a recipe.  Once I figured this out, I  became fearless in the kitchen. I have become the Not So Timid Cook.