Culinary Goods

I can't find the picture to this, but these are really fun at Christmas and this came from Rebecca. Cinnamon Nuts  5 cups nuts (she uses half pecans and half almonds) I increase this to 6 cups 2 t. -1 T. cinnamon I do 1 T. 1 egg white I do 2 egg whites 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 t. salt 1/2 cup brown sugar I cut this in half 1/4 cup white sugar I cut this in half So, you put the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix. You beat the egg white and vanilla with a fork until it is frothy, and then you pour it over the nuts and stir. From there, you add the dry ingredients and stir and put on a single baking sheet. Bake at 250 for 1 hour and stir them every 20 minutes. I leave them in for about an extra five minutes because I have more nuts. I ended up with 5 pint jars full of nuts, and that's 14 grams of sugar per jar, so these make me happy. 

 Stefani hates this meal. Like with a passion. She says Mormons just throw in everything but the kitchen sink into the bowl and call it dinner. I actually like this. I use Rebecca's recipe she had growing up, and it would be even better with some sour cream. I don't make these very often, usually once a year, but my kids like them a lot. Hawaiian Haystacks   1 T. butter                                                                    1/3 cup onion 1 clove garlic sometimes I double 1/2 tsp. powder instead   Saute, then add:   ¾ cup cold chicken broth mixed with 2 T. cornstarch. Boil, then add 1 cup milk and 1 cup chicken broth. ...

So, Rebecca gave me this recipe, and I altered it a lot so it’s not really the same recipe anymore. In the end, it’s the best cilantro lime rice I have yet to try, keeping in mind I have only tried like 3 versions. This gets a 7.5. Here is what I did: 2 cups white rice 4 cups water 4 tsp. chicken base 1/2 cup lime juice Rebecca’s called for much less, so I increased it to this, and I would definitely not go over this 1 bunch cilantro I might use a bit more next time 2 jalepeno peppers I added this, and I removed the seeds and ribbing bunch of green onions Next time, I think I will use regular onions since I made this change to the recipe anyway 4 T. butter I think 1 Tbs. could be swapped out for oil 1/2 tsp. cumin Next time I will go up to 3/4 tsp. 1 tsp. kosher salt 1 clove garlic I added this as well and will make it a larger clove next time Basically, I melted the butter and then added the jalapeno peppers, onion, and the garlic. I added the rice and kind of tossed ev...

This is great oil for dipping bread in. It came from the same group of recipes I got from Rebecca (who got them from a Thanksgiving Point artisan bread class taught by Lynette McNaughtan or McNaughten—I’m not sure on the spelling). Anyway, the bread is amazing, the oil is very good, and together they score well into the 8’s. This makes a ton, so I would say for 1 round loaf you would cut this in 4ths. Herb Oil 1 cup olive oil 4 tsp. Italian seasoning 1 tsp. smoked paprika 1 Tbs. garlic powder 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1/2 Tbs. red pepper flakes 1 tsp. salt Mix it together, dip bread in it, store the remainder in a tupperware.

  This could really be any fruit tart, but this one had strawberries. It’s awesome.The average rating was a full 9, and I would personally give them a 9.5, but I have a strange addiction and fascination with tart crust. I have no control, so my rating will be seriously skewed. Either way, this is a keeper. My glorious pasty chef friend Rebecca kind of made it up, because, hey, why not just make up a tart recipe? Now, when I tried it, they did not turn out as well, and it had to do with the thickness and the baking time. I will note my proposed changes in bold. Here is the recipe: Tart Crust 270 grams butter This is about 2 1/2 cubes butter 140 grams sugar This is about 2/3 cup sugar 1 egg 400 grams flour This is about a generous 3 cups flour Cut this recipe in half for 6 tarts. Cut the dough in 6 equal parts and roll them out one at a time. Mix butter and sugar together, like a cookie, then add egg, mix in flour. This is crackly dough, like rolling out sugar cookie do...

First, let me say that I have never been so frustrated in my life as when I was trying to make this caramel. Fortunately, after 8 failed batches, I know what to do now. Follow my directions exactly. You will notice that the color on top of the cheesecake is different than the picture below. That is because my first successful batch was only a mediocre success, so I saved it and ended up having to use it . . . more on that later. Caramel In a bowl, mix together with a fork: 1 1/2 cups sugar 1/4 cup water Now, pour this carefully right in the middle of a large saucepan. Do NOT get any on the sides. Now, put the heat on high, like around 8. Don’t touch anything. It will start to boil. And it will keep boiling, and it might look a bit like crusty sugar on the top. Don’t touch it. Gradually, it will start to turn color. Now, very carefully, take a fork and kind of move it about (I actually took some of the hard sugar from the sides and kind of moved it to the center). Now, it will tur...

So, this gets a 9. I was surprised that I liked it this well, but it was good. First, the crust. I took the crust recipe below, and then 1 1/2 times it. I would almost even double it. It needs a thick crust. Crust: For the crust, pulverize oreos (about 24) and mix with 1/4 c.-ish (3 T.) of butter to make the crust. Press in 9" springform and bake at 350 for 5 minutes to crust-i-fy. Filling 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, room temp 1 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup milk 4 eggs 1 cup peanut butter 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 24 mini peanut butter cups, chopped in 1/4ths, added to the batter. More for the top before you serve it. MIx cream cheese and sugar until there are no lumps. Add milk and stir to combine. Add eggs one at a time. Add peanut butter, vanilla and flour-- stir until smooth. Fold in peanut butter cups. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, turn off oven and leave in for 2 more hours. Cool completely and chill for 8 hours. Doesn’t rise much, so you can...

This soup was really good. John gives it a 9 and I give it an 8, so we compromised at 8.5. Rebecca says that Carraba’s has a soup that is similar to this, and this was very good, so it’s worth trying. Here is the initial recipe she sent me, and I put my changes in bold. Mine was super thick, and it had some kick, but if you like it super hot, use spicy Italian sausage. I will add a lot more liquid next time, because the leftovers were completely dry. The lentils suck up liquid—greedy lentils!   1 lb Italian sausage (You can also use Italian turkey sausage) I used less than this 1 large onion , chopped 1 stalk celery , chopped I used twice this 2 large carrots , chopped I used twice this 1 small zucchini , chopped I also added yellow squash 6 cups chicken broth   I added 8 cups 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes , undrained 2 -3 garlic cloves 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups dry lentils 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes 1 tsp. basil 1 tsp. oregano 1 tsp...

This is not the official name of this salad, mind you, but it can be anything I want since my friend Rebecca did not give me the official name. So, here is what is in this fantastic salad, which I give an 8 to by the way. Romaine lettuce Avocado D’anjou pears, cubed Candied pecans Crumbled cheese—blue cheese, gorgonzola, or feta   Dressing: 3 T, olive oil 3 T. red wine vinegar 2 tsp. sugar 1/4 tsp. dijon mustard (or 1 tsp. dry mustard) 1/4 tsp. salt dash pepper 1/2 clove garlic   Here is how you candy pecans. Put about 2-3 T. of white sugar in a saute pan and heat it over medium until it melts and turns amber colored. Then you put pecans in and stir until they are coated and then let them cool and chop them up.

So, I love turnovers (These get an 8.5). Well, mostly I love puff pastry. My most awesome friend Rebecca is a pastry chef and decided to show me how to make puff pastry from scratch. It’s a ton of work! I honestly think this will go on my list of things that are worth buying pre-made. Which is saying a lot for me. This takes about 5 hours to make from start to finish.  You have to roll it a ton, hence Rebecca below looking a bit frantic. In addition to turnovers, she made cookies called palmiers, or something to that effect. They do look cute: Anyway, here is the recipe: Puff Pasty Dough 500 grams all purpose flour 10 g. salt 250 ml. water 130 g. butter 250 g. butter for folding in. The directions are so intense. Look them up online if you want to make this. For the apple filling, we used the apples from the Annie’s Eats caramel apple bars that I blogged a few weeks ago. We added caramel as well, and they were great. We baked them at 425 for about 20 minutes.

I tried these at Rebecca’s house, and they were amazing. I give them a 9.5. I don’t know if I just wasn’t expecting them to be this good, but they were seriously fabulous. The original recipe came from annies-eats.com. and I have put Rebecca’s changes in bold below. Caramel Apple Crumble Bars Yield: 16 bars Ingredients For the filling: 2 tbsp. unsalted butter 4 large (or 5 medium) apples, peeled and sliced I would add even more 3 tbsp. sugar ¾ tsp. ground cinnamon Dash of grated nutmeg 9 oz. caramel candies , unwrapped She made her own caramel, which I have listed below 2 tbsp. heavy cream she left this out For the dough: 1½ cups all-purpose flour 1 cup old-fashioned oats 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed ¾ tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon 12 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 1 large egg yolk 1 tsp. vanilla extract ½ cup chopped nuts, such as pecans or walnuts (optional) she left these out, but it would be awesome with them....

OK, so I had these with Rebecca, and they were good. I would give them an 8. They might have scored higher if I hadn’t just eaten the best fruit bar of all time (more on this later). But, they were definitely yummy. She found them on a website, which is listed below, and then I put her changes in bold. Blueberry Peach Pie Bars Ingredients For the Crust: 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon pinch of salt 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, and cut into small cubes For the Filling: 2 large eggs 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup plain Chobani yogurt (0% or 2%) She used sour cream 6 tablespoons all purpose flour pinch of salt 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 cups peaches, peeled, pitted, and diced 1 cup fresh blueberries ( Rebecca also added some lemon juice to the fruit, 1/2 a lemon worth) Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream: We used vanilla ice cream instead 1 cup heavy whipping cream 3 tablespoons powdered sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla...

So, I don’t know who to give credit for this recipe, but my friend Rebecca got it from the Thanksgiving Point artisan bread class. Thank you mystery lady (Rebeccca said her name is Lynette McNaughtan actually—I just called to get the info so the lady gets credit for this fabulous bread). Anyway, it’s awesome and I give it a 9. And, it’s not too hard. Day 1: Mix together 3 cups of bread flour, 1/4 tsp. instant yeast, and 1 1/2 tsp. salt in a bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups water and mix to combine. Cover the bowl at let it rise at room temp for 18-24 hours. Also, if you are adding mix ins, put them in with the flour so that they are in before you add the water. Day 2: Sprinkled some equally mixed parts by volume of flour, cornmeal, and wheat bran into a big old dutch oven or huge pot with a lid. Pat it down. Then, put some normal flour onto the counter and carefully take the dough out. Shape the dough into a ball, trying to not mix it too much. Put the ball, seam side down, in the bread pot, co...

I made this again and it was a 9 this time, so I am including what I did to improve it. This is awesome. Emma gave it a 10, and 3 of my kids ate salad—it’s a winner. I basically am keeping the picture and adding what I did and will do from now on. Won Ton Salad 3 heads romaine lettuce 14 wonton squares, 3 big sheets, cut up into squares--fry them in canola oil, deep fry (teensy saucepan, 1" of oil) –these cook fast. I put 4 in at a time and they cooked in about 30 seconds. They should be light brown when you’re finished. 1 cup toasted almonds (I roast them in oil with salt) 4 fresh mandarins, peeled and sectioned 1 cup frozen peas, thawed slightly 2 stalks celery (I didn’t add this because I didn’t have any, but I will next time) sesame seeds (toasted ones are great, but normal ones work as well) 1 Chicken breast, cut into teensy bits Cook chicken  in equal parts of 1 T. sugar and 1 1/2 T. soy sauce Mix sauce and put it in the pan, it bubbles, and put the chicke...

We all know what guacamole looks like, and here is a really good recipe for the stuff. I got this from Rebecca. 3 avocados (I use the big ones from Costco) juice from 1 lime 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup onion 3 T. cilantro (I increase this by at least 1 T.) 2 roma tomatoes 2 small cloves garlic Mix it together and eat it. When this comes out right, I give it a 9. I love it.

I got this recipe from Rebecca, and I would give it an 8.3. I didn’t take a picture of these, but they look good and taste good. Think of something that looks good and resembles a salad and now you have created your own picture. Ingredients o 2 pounds pork (we use boneless pork rib meat) o 3 cans Coke (NOT diet) o 1/4 c. brown sugar o dash garlic salt o 1/4 c. water o 1 can diced green chilies o 3/4 (10oz) can red enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness but any will work) o 1 c. brown sugar Instructions o Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight. o Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork. o In a food processo...

  Maple Bars 1 ½ cups milk 1/3 cup shortening 4 T. sugar 2 tsp salt ¼ cup lukewarm water 2 tsp. cinnamon 2 (1/4 oz.) envelopes yeast (2 tsp. yeast) 2 large eggs, beaten 4 ¾ cups flour (Rebecca added way more—1 cup or more) Icing 1/3 cup butter 1 cup packed brown sugar ¼ cup milk 1 ½ cups powdered sugar 2 tsp mapleine In saucepan, scald milk, add shortening, 3 T. sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Stir to combine and cool. In mixing bowl, add water, yeast, and remaining 1 T. sugar. Let sit for 5 min. After yeast is foamy and milk mixture is lukewarm, add eggs to yeast mixture. Then add milk mixture to yeast and gradually add flour. Let mixer knead dough for 3-5 minutes. Let raise for an hour or until double in size. Punch down and roll out into a large rectangle about 1” thick. Cut the rectangle in half, and then into 6 pieces for a total of 12. Put on a jelly roll pan and let raise for about 20 minutes. While they are raising, preheat oven to 425. Bake bars for about...

Yep, this is what the sauce looks like after it’s so good that you eat it all up, by the heaping spoonful, which is what we did. So, this recipe is from Rebecca. I give it an 8, and my only complaint is that it tasted like cocoa, which makes complete sense. The sauce will taste like the chocolate you use, so it was like the frosting from a Texas sheet cake in a runny form. It was still great, but I think that I might experiment with using actual chocolate, think Callebaut, and vary the flavor that way. For a fast, tasty sauce though, this was fantastic.   1/2 cup cocoa 3 cups sugar 1/2 tsp. salt. 1 cube butter 1 can evaporated milk vanilla   Melt butter with can of milk over stove, then add the powdered ingredients. Boil for 3 minutes, then add 2 tsp. vanilla. I added a handful of Callebaut callets, and I think that made it even better than if I had left them out.