Month: November 2009

Bonfire Toffee

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Submitted by Robert Crowe, who got it from http://britishfood.about.com/od/festivecooking/r/parkin.htm.  The website includes this description:  “Bonfire toffee is the absolute treat on Bonfire night in the UK. The Treacle Toffee Recipe for Bonfire Toffee is simple, quick and easy to make but must be approached with caution; toffee gets very, very hot (up to 140 °C/ 270°) as it is boils. Treacle Toffee keeps very well stored in an airtight tin so make enough for Bonfire night and extra toffee for Christmas.”

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

  • 1lb/450g dark brown sugar
  • ¼ pint/120ml water
  • ¼ level tsp cream of tartar
  • ½cup/115g black treacle/molasses
  • ½cup/115g golden syrup/corn syrup

Butter a 12″ x 4″/30cm x 10cm or 7″/18cm square tin.

In a heavy based 4-pint sauce pan dissolve the sugar and water over a low heat. Add all the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Using a sugar or toffee thermometer boil to 270°/140°C (soft crack). If you do not have a sugar or toffee thermometer – when you drop a bit of the syrup into cold water, it will solidify into threads that, when removed from the water, are flexible, not brittle. The toffee strands will bend slightly before breaking.

Once this stage is reached (about 10 minutes maximum) pour the toffee into the prepared tin and leave to cool.

Once the toffee is cold remove it from the tin and break with a toffee hammer or solid sharp object, and the toffee will crack into pieces.

Store in an airtight tin if you can resist it long enough!

 

Makes 1¼lb/500g toffee

French Garlic Chicken

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Submitted by Elaine Thorpe, who adapted it from Richard Olney’s Cookbook, circa 1970.

  • 1 or 2 large HEADS garlic
  • 1 ½ cups chicken broth
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • 1 Tablespoon oil
  • 3 to 4 pounds chicken parts
  • 1 lemon, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
  • 2 Tablespoons flour
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Separate cloves of garlic and place in a saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil.  Discard water, cover with cold water and peel garlic.  Simmer peeled garlic for 30 minutes in stock. (Partially cover pan)

In a heavy skillet, melt butter and add oil.  When hot, sauté dried chicken pieces until golden.  Remove chicken and place in a 9 by 13 Pyrex or other casserole. Put garlic cloves and lemon slices over chicken.  Make sauce by stirring flour  into the fat in the skillet where the chicken used to be and stir till it’s beginning to thicken; Pour  over chicken, garlic and lemon.  Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes or until chicken is done.

Crock pot Apple Butter

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Submitted by Mandy Mills, who writes:  “Here is my pseudo-recipe for apple butter. I assume a certain level of proficiency with home canning procedures. This is what I like to do with extra apples that I always buy this time of year because they are so inexpensive and good in the fall, then I don’t eat them all and they get kind of soft and aren’t really good for eating anymore. They still make good apple butter, and the beauty of using the crock pot is that they don’t burn, and you don’t have to watch it all the time like you do on the stovetop (if you’ve ever made it, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, trust me, you have to watch the stuff like a hawk because of all the sugar in it!) Enjoy!”

  • Approximately 5-6 lbs. apples, sliced (not peeled) – I use a variety (enough to fill a standard 5-quart crock pot to the top)
  • Approximately 3 cups sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Place everything in the crock pot, stir, cover, and turn it on “high” for 1 hour. Turn the temperature down to “low” and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 hours.

At this point, the apples should be very soft, and there will be quite a lot of liquid. I puree everything using an immersion blender, and then continue to cook on “low” for another 3-4 hours or until it is as thick as you want it (remove a spoonful to a plate and let it cool to check consistency).

Meanwhile, wash your canning jars (I use ½ pint jelly jars) and lids, and place the lids in hot (not boiling) water. Fill a boiling-water bath canner with water and heat it up. Jars should be hot, so they don’t crack when you pour hot apple butter into them.

Fill jars to within ½” of rim, wipe rim and threads with a damp cloth or paper towel, put on lid and ring and hand tighten. Place in canner. Once all the jars are filled, make sure the water in the canner covers the jars by 1-2”, bring to a boil, and process for 10 minutes. Remove jars from canner and place them on a dry towel to cool. Refrigerate any that don’t seal and use those first. Sealed jars should keep for one year.

This recipe should make 8 half-pint jars of apple butter.

Lawry’s Day Before Beef Brisket

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Submitted by Julie Lichtenberg Stern, who got it from her friend Linda Hahn, who got it from from Lawry’s The Great California Lifestyle Cookbook.

  • 1 Tablespoon liquid smoke
  • Seasoned salt
  • Garlic powder
  • 6-7 lb. brisket of beef, unseasoned
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1-1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoon liquid smoke
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

Rub liquid smoke, seasoned salt, and garlic powder on both sides of meat. Place in baking dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and refrigerate for at least eight hours (I skip this step). Add onion, re-cover and bake in 325 degree oven for two hours. Cool and slice in ¼ inch thick slices. Combine remaining ingredients and heat. Pour sauce over meat slices. Re-cover and refrigerate for four hours or overnight (I skip this step, too). Bake in a 325 degree oven for one hour to heat through.

Makes 8-10 servings

Polish Beets

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Submitted by Julie Lichtenberg Stern, who got it from her friend Linda Hahn, who got it from from Mary Kramer’s Illustrated Guide to Foreign and Fancy Foods.

  • 1 bunch beets, cooked (I cut the leaves from the beets, leaving about two inches of stems on the beets. Then, I cook these in boiling water until done. Depending on the age and size of the beets, this can be anywhere from 20-40 minutes. If you want to use the leaves in Spinach/Chard Sauté, cook them separately in a couple inches of boiling water for 10-12 minutes and then add them when you would add the chard.)
  • 3 Tablespoons margarine
  • 1 Tablespoon flour
  • 1 Tablespoon regular vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1/3 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

Grate the cooked beets coarsely. Melt butter in skillet and add the flour and stir. Remove from heat and add vinegar and sugar to flour mixture. Add the beets and return to moderate heat. Stir while simmering for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Can serve warm, hot, or cold.

Spinach/Chard Sauté

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Submitted by Julie Lichtenberg Stern, who got it from her friend Linda Hahn, who got it from from Mary Kramer’s Illustrated Guide to Foreign and Fancy Foods.

  • 2 bunches of spinach, leaves only (or you can use two bags of pre-washed spinach – a lot easier. Last night, I combined some chard with this. I cooked about 8 leaves (minus the stems) in about two inches of water for 4 minutes after cutting the chard into 2 inch pieces. Then I drained the water, which is rich in nutrients, and put it in the freezer to use later as soup stock)
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon salad oil
  • ½ cup to 1 cup of chopped onion
  • 1 clove of garlic, or more
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
  • salt to taste

In a large skillet melt the butter and oil. Sauté the onions, caramelizing them, for about 20 minutes. During the last five minutes, add the garlic. Then, add the spinach a handful at a time and stir-fry until wilted. If you have used chard, add it now. Combine lemon juice, sour cream, and salt in a separate bowl. Stir sour cream mixture through spinach. Heat but do not boil.

 

Serves 4.

Corn and Basil Salad

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Submitted by Julie Lichtenberg Stern, who got it from her friend Linda Hahn, who got it from from Lauren O’Connor, CSULA dietetic intern.

  • 2-1/2 cups of corn (I cook mine for 3 minutes, but I know some people who don’t even bother to do that)
  • ½ cup of red onion, diced (I used mild, sweet Walla Wallas in ours last night)
  • 1-1/2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ cup fresh basil, cut into thin strips (or chopped)

In a large bowl, combine everything except the fresh basil. Add this right before serving.

Makes 5-6 ½ cup servings.

Willy’s BBQ

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Submitted by Diane Caylor Jasper, who writes:  “This is Willy Dreuth’s (husband of Linda Caylor Dreuth) recipe.  He would always make BBQ on one of the days we visited. When I asked him for the recipe he said that it was in his head. One day I picked his brain as he made it and wrote it down. It is delicious!”

  • 1 onion
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • garlic to taste
  • 2 pounds pre-cooked, cubed meat.

Combine ingredients in a sauce pan.  Using medium heat, stir until sauce bubbles.  Add meat.  Cover and simmer until meat breaks down (a couple of hours ? depending on the size of the pieces and the type of meat used).

Hank’s Fudge Sauce

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Submitted by Diane Caylor Jasper, who writes:  “It takes a little work but it is the best chocolate sauce I have ever had. [My husband] Hank makes this every winter. He gives small jelly jars of it away as gifts. If your a chocolaholic you’ll love this!”

  • 8 squares unsweetened chocolate (If you like it less sweet add a little more chocolate)
  • 1/2 lb. butter
  • 1 1/2 sugar
  • 2 cans sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 teaspoons real vanilla

Melt butter & chocolate over low heat; add sugar, milk, water and salt; Stir constantly until thick and well blended.  Add vanilla.
Pour into jars.

The sauce can be frozen when cooled.