The Cat Is Away

And when that happens...

M is off visiting her mother this week, I couldn't go along because I'm saving my vacation days for other things. So while she's been gone I've been finishing up some of the trim work around the new flooring (it is in all the way through the kitchen into the dining room now) and trying some recipes that I can't try while she is here, due to her lactose intolerance mostly. One of those things is beef stroganoff.

Beef Stroganoff

1 1/2 lbs beef, sliced thin. You can use just about anything...heck, you can even use hamburger if you get the lean stuff...but the better the beef the better the stroganoff.
1/2 medium Vidalia onion, sliced thin
8 oz mushrooms, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
2 T butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1 T flour
2 C beef broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 C sour cream
Egg noodles or rice

If you are using hamburger, cook and drain it. If not, skip to the next step.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large skillet, add the olive oil. Stir in the beef (unless you are using hamburger), onion, mushroom and garlic. Cook until the beef is browned and the onion begins to turn translucent. (If you are using hamburger, add the cooked hamburger in now.)

Add salt and pepper to taste, then add the flour and stir until smooth. Add the beef broth and the soup and again stir until smooth. Allow this mixture to come to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes.

Now is a good time to cook the egg noodles or rice as per package directions.

Stir in the sour cream and cook for another 5 minutes until everything is heated up. Serve over noodles or rice.

And furthermore...

So it looks like my schedule will be changing soon, which doesn't bode well for my involvement in the train club but should be good in other ways. I'll be working every other weekend, but now instead of working every Sunday I'll be getting all three days off every other weekend. Unfortunately the weekend that I will be working includes my anniversary weekend, but fortunately for me Mrs Hades is as understanding as she is lovely so we will be celebrating the weekend after.

Our plans are to drive the coast road, NC12, and see what there is to see all along the outer banks. Hopefully there won't be another hurricane (Note: Hurricane Matthew did, indeed, come to visit, damn his eye) to deal with as there was last year, but if there is one I hope that it will go to the mountains that weekend like it did last year instead of going to the coast.

The Mustang is having a brake squeak problem again, in the right rear. I found a sticking caliper pin, which I lubricated and unstuck, but the squeaking came back. I then installed slotted disks and new pads on all four corners, which solved the problem for a little while but it is back. I have obtained a new caliper mount and hopefully that will solve the problem, if not I do have a new caliper and brake hose. (Note: it ended up being the anti-rattle clip that had come out of position and was rubbing the rotor. New clip, problem solved.)

Last but not least I cooked up another batch of Chicken Marsala tonight, using a modified recipe, and it meets the full approval of Mrs Hades, who is a Chicken Marsala connoisseur. The modified recipe makes a lot of extra sauce, which Mrs Hades likes, and has a nice subtle taste which was appreciated across the board. It looks like this will go on the regular Refuge menu.

And without further ado, here it is:

Chicken Marsala

1/2 C flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground oregano
8-12 chicken breast filets (or 4-6 whole boneless breasts, pounded 1/4” thin)
4 T olive oil
8 T butter, divided
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cups sliced mushrooms
1 med Vidalia onion, sliced thin (optional)
2 cups dry Marsala cooking wine
3 T chopped parsley (or 2 T dried parsley flakes)
1 tsp rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb pasta of choice

Melt 4T butter in pan, add olive oil. Combine flour, salt, black pepper and oregano in a Ziploc bag. Pound the chicken pieces until they are 1/4” thick. Shake 3-4 chicken fillets at a time in the flour mixture and brown, approximately 3-4 minutes each side, over medium high heat. Remove to a separate container and cover to keep warm.

Add the mushrooms, garlic and onion if used. Saute over medium heat until brown. approximately 4-5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the Marsala,add the parsley and rosemary. Stir well, return the chicken to the pan. Cover and simmer on medium low heat approximately 5 minutes.

Remove the chicken pieces once more and cover to keep warm. Swirl in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and season to taste with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat, stir until an emulsion is made.

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Dish the pasta out, add chicken to each serving and cover with sauce. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

August

August marks yet another year of y'r humble correspondent circling the drain sun, for a half century now. Funny, I don't feel a year over 49.

In other news, I think I've just about gotten this Chicken Marsala recipe down pat:

1/2 C flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground oregano
6-8 chicken breast filets (or whole boneless breasts, pounded 1/4” thin)
4 T olive oil
8 T butter, divided
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cups mushrooms
2 cups Marsala cooking wine
3 T chopped parsley (or 2 T dried parsley flakes)
1 tsp rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb pasta of choice

 Combine flour, salt, black pepper and oregano. Dredge 2-3 chicken filets at a time in flour and brown in olive oil in skillet, 4 min each side, on medium high heat. Remove to platter.

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in skillet. Saute mushrooms and garlic over medium heat until browned, 5-8 minutes. Deglaze pan with Marsala and add parsley and rosemary. Swirl in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Reduce heat. Return chicken to pan, stir well to coat all chicken pieces with sauce. Cover and simmer 8-10 minutes. Cook the pasta according to package directions as the chicken simmers. Serve over pasta.

This is perfect for date night, served with a nice Riesling wine.

And since it is my birthday, I'd like someone to sing Happy Birthday to me.

Oh yes. She would do nicely.

A Time to Bake

M was feeling a little depressed the other day. Seems as if she was in the mood for cookies, so she went and got some pre-made chocolate chip cookie batter and tried to bake them...and they got burned.

So while she is at work I am busy making some cookies for her, using my own recipe:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 C flour
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 C butter, softened (that's two sticks)
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C white sugar
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
1 T vanilla extract
2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.

2. In a large bowl cream the softened butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Beat in the dry instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips.

3. Drop cookie batter by rounded spoonfuls onto a cool ungreased cookie sheet. Press down to flatten the cookies out, they will not flatten out as they bake (but they will spread, so leave plenty of room between them). Bake only as long as needed for the edges to turn golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

Makes 2 - 2 1/2 dozen cookies (I got 30 out of this batch).

I didn't leave enough room between them for these batches...but I have the feeling they will get eaten anyway.

I also had some bananas turning brown, so I made some banana bread for Eldest Son. I substituted rum for the vanilla as per a recipe I got from Eldest Sister, so I'm curious how it turns out. It smells good anyway.

Chicken and Rice

When I did my first cruise on USS Washington (CVN-73) Laura and I had not yet been married a year. She wasn't much of a domestic goddess so she didn't cook much. Imagine my surprise when I returned from that first cruise to find out she had prepared dinner for me.

Let me interrupt this tale to relay the fact that on Washington we had some kind of chicken and some kind of rice for every single meal, including breakfast. The chicken may have been eggs for breakfast, but there was always rice. Steamed rice, rice pilaf, Mexican rice, and yes, you guessed it, chicken and rice.

Needless to say I was somewhat less than enthusiastic about the evening meal.

It was the last time she cooked chicken and rice. In fact, it was the last time she prepared a post-cruise meal for me at all. It was not, however, the last time I heard about it. If there are any active duty military reading this post take some advice; if the wife cooks you something when you get back home, shut up and eat it. With a smile. Without comments, except to tell her how great it is and how much you appreciate her going through all the trouble. Trust me on this.

At any rate, today I had a hankering for some good old fashioned chicken and rice.*

Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:
1 medium chicken, 4-6 lbs
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 sprigs fresh thyme (1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme)
Ground black pepper
Kosher salt
3 cups rice

Directions:

Combine the chicken, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, thyme, and a tablespoon each of salt and pepper in a large pot, add water to cover. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium. Add water as necessary to keep the chicken covered, and continue to gently simmer until the chicken is fully cooked (the juices from the thigh will run clear), about 40 minutes to an hour.

Remove the chicken from the broth and allow it to cool for approx 15 minutes or until it is cool enough to debone. Strain the vegetables from the broth and put them into a large bowl. Pour the strained broth into another container so that you can use the stock pot.

Debone the chicken and place it in the bowl with the vegetables. Add about a half cup of broth to moisten the chicken back up and stir well. Put the chicken and vegetables back into the stock pot. Add 6 cups of broth and the rice, stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes until rice is done.

You will have about 2 quarts of broth left over. Freeze it and use it in other recipes, it's good stuff.

*Please note, this is not her recipe. In fact, I don't think she had a recipe other than cook rice, throw some canned chicken into it. As I said, she wasn't much of a cook.

Party Time

Mustang Club and company parties both tomorrow, one in the afternoon and one in the evening.

I have a cheesecake in the oven for the Mustang Club party right now. I've pulled a couple out of the book that I've never tried before, one peppermint and one eggnog. The peppermint has candy sprinkles on the top that didn't work as well as I had hoped, they melted and sunk down in causing holes in the top. If I ever make this one again I'll put the sprinkles on after the cake has baked. I also made this one in the springform pan and it didn't work out as well as I had hoped, I'll use a pie pan crust next time.

The second is in the oven now, I'll have to see how it worked out when it is done. It smells pretty good in the oven, though.

Peppermint Cheesecake

To the basic recipe add 1/2 cup peppermint candies that have been crushed fine, I used a food processor to do the deed and found that 16-18 candies made a half a cup. Bake the pie at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, sprinkle another 1/4 cup (8 candies or so) crushed peppermints on top, then allow to cool.

Eggnog Cheesecake

This one is for the springform pan, but if you want to use ready made pie crusts it would work the same. If you use a springform pan the recipe says to press the crust up the sides of the pan 1 1/2 inches.

To the basic recipe (for the pie crusts) add 1 1/2 tablespoons flour when you blend the sugar and vanilla in. Only use one egg, then add 1 1/2 tablespoons rum, 1/2 cup heavy cream and two egg yokes. Bake at 325 for an hour. For the springform pan double everything and bake at 325 for 75 minutes. Turn the oven off and allow the cake to cool in the oven, this should help to prevent cracks.

If they taste as good as they smell they shouldn't last very long.

A Chill Is In The Air

As Autumn rolls in with its cool days and chilly nights it's getting about that time. Yes, you know what I mean...SOUP SEASON!

So without further ado, here is my recipe for stupid easy chicken corn chowder:

4-6 slices bacon
1 clove garlic, minced (I use the kind out of the jar. Stupid easy, remember?)
2 cans 12.5 oz chicken breast, drained
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 can 29 oz mixed vegetables, I use Allens Veg-All large cut homestyle veggies
1 can 15 oz whole kernel corn
2 cups heavy cream
Dash of nutmeg
Salt
Pepper

Fry the bacon crisp in a 10" cast iron skillet. Remove from pan, leaving the grease. Saute the garlic in the bacon grease for 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken and cook it until it is hot and falls apart. Add the 1/2 cup flour and stir until the flour is completely mixed in and the liquid is absorbed.

Add 1 cup of the chicken broth and stir until smooth. Transfer the contents of the skillet to a soup pot. Add in the rest of the chicken broth, mixed vegetables and corn. Stir until smooth. On high heat bring to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent burning, then reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until the mixture has thickened, stirring occasionally.

Add the heavy cream and dash of nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir to mix ingredients, then continue to simmer on low heat for 10-15, stirring occasionally, until heated clear through. Serve hot with biscuits.

This Just In

This sauce makes a pretty good marinade for deer meat.

Breakfast

Sausage gravy and biscuits, mmm...and so easy to make, too.

1 lb sausage
Flour
Milk
Salt and pepper

Notice there are no quantities listed for flour and milk. This is one of those things that you have to play by ear, so to speak. I use a 10" cast iron skillet to make this.

First, fry the sausage up, crumbling it as you cook it. When it is done clear through, stir in flour one heaping spoonful at a time (I use a serving spoon, just like my mother used to use) until the grease is all absorbed. Be careful not to put too much flour in, you want the mixture to be moist.

Stirring constantly, add milk until you get to the desired consistency. You will probably have to add more milk as the mixture cooks down because it will thicken as it heats. Cook until it is warmed clear through. Salt and pepper to taste (I also add a couple of turns of the Italian herb spice weasel).

Serve over freshly baked biscuits. (I cheat and use wompum biscuits...those are the kind where you peel the label and wompum on the counter...)

In the Oven

Strawberry cream pie for Niece and a plain cheesecake for another niece's boyfriend (it's his birthday).

For the strawberry cream pie, use the glazed apple pie recipe for the cream and then substitute the following for the apple filling:

2 lbs strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/2 cup sugar
2 T flour

First cut the strawberries up and combine with the sugar and flour, mix well. Now make your cream filling as directed and put it in the bottom of your prepared pie crust. Mix the strawberries up again very well, by now the flour and sugar have mixed with the strawberry juice to make a syrup and you want all of the strawberries to be well coated with it. Pour this in your crust over the cream, put your top crust on and bake as directed. Let it cool for an hour and a half, mix up the glaze, pour it on the top and then refrigerate for a couple of hours before cutting into pieces.

Niece has to go to work tonight and has threatened death and destruction on anyone who touches her pie before she gets home. I believe her, too.

On The Side

My mother makes this and it's great, so I really have to try making this for myself.

1 can cream style corn
1 cup dry macaroni
1 stick margarine/butter
1 can whole kernel corn
1 cup cubed Velveeta cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and pour into greased baking dish. Cover and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring several times. Remove lid for the last 15 minutes to let brown.

This can also be cooked in a crock pot on low for 4-5 hours.

Mixed Bag

The plan today was to change the right side drive axle on the Subaru because it's making a bit of noise and then go enjoy this 80 degree day with the top down to celebrate my little Firefly's fourth birthday (she rolled off the line at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant on April 1, 2010; daughter thought the cake and ice cream was a bit much but she ate it anyway).

The reality was two bad axles and two bad ball joints.

I already had one drive axle, but of course I didn't have the ball joints or the other axle. Off to the parts store I went (at least I got to ride for a little while with the top down) to get another drive axle and the ball joints. They had the axle, but we had to order the ball joints.

Back to the house with the drive shaft and the disassembly began. The right ball joint separated from the control arm just fine, but it was rusted into the steering knuckle. Son In Law and I managed to get it out after much cursing, sweating, pounding, prying and PB'laster. We then got the drive shaft installed (sans ball joint, which will have to wait until Thursday cause I have stuff to do tomorrow) and went over to the left side.

We were running out of daylight and the ball joint had barely budged, so we called it a day and went inside. After a quick shower I tried out my bacon cheddar broccoli soup recipe.

It must have been good, because it's all gone now.

6 slices bacon
1/2 of a medium Vidalia (sweet) onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups half and half (or 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of heavy cream)
3 cups chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 bay leaves
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped small
4 cups broccoli florets (about 1 head)
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Bread Bowls

In a cast iron skillet over medium heat fry the bacon crisp. Remove the bacon and add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onions are tender. Stir in the flour, one tablespoon at a time, until the bacon grease is absorbed. Continue cooking until the flour has browned slightly, then transfer everything to a stew pot. Crumble the bacon and add it as well.

Slowly add the half and half and chicken stock, stir until smooth. Add the nutmeg and bay leaves and cook on medium low until thickened.

Reduce heat. Add the carrot and broccoli and simmer until tender. Discard the bay leaves. Add the cheese and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper and serve in bread bowls.

Happy Pi Day!

And to commemorate the occasion, I would like to announce that this recipe works just as well with peaches. Just substitute peaches for apples and add a half teaspoon of ground nutmeg in with the flour and cinnamon and prepare as per the recipe.

I've got part of one sitting on the kitchen counter, but if I don't have an empty pie plate by this evening I'll be very surprised.

Chowdah

I woke up this morning with a hankering for chicken corn chowder. To the internet I went to find a recipe, none of which I really liked so well, but by mixing and matching I came up with something that filled the bill.

First, you have to make some chicken broth:

Chicken Broth

Ingredients 

1 large (approximately 6 pounds) chicken
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 sprigs fresh thyme (1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme)
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
Kosher salt

Directions

Combine the chicken, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, thyme, pepper and a tablespoon of salt in a large pot. Add water to cover, at least 3 quarts. Bring the water to a simmer over medium heat, skimming occasionally as necessary. Add more water as needed to keep the chicken covered and continue to gently simmer until the chicken is fully cooked (the juices from the thigh will run clear), about 40 minutes. Drain the chicken, reserving the broth. Makes approximately 3 quarts.

Shred the chicken, discarding the bones. Now that you have both chicken and broth, you can make the chowder.


Crock Pot Chicken Chowder

Ingredients:

4-6 slices thick bacon, diced (you can never have too much bacon)
1 teaspoon bacon grease or extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 medium sweet onion, chopped coarse
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth, divided
1 15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
2 potatoes, diced
1 lb chicken, shredded
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 pinch nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Directions: 

Heat the bacon and bacon grease or olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cook until the bacon fat is rendered and the meat firming but not yet crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, onions and garlic. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes.

Stir flour into mixture to make a paste; cook until lightly browned and flour gives off a slightly toasted smell, about 5 minutes. Watch carefully, flour burns easily. Remove saucepan from heat and set aside to cool, about 15 minutes.

Whisk in 1 cup chicken broth until thoroughly combined. Pour bacon and vegetable mixture into crock pot. Add corn, chicken, remaining 2 cups broth, thyme, cream and nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well to combine ingredients, cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

Bambi Stew

I'm cooking this up for tomorrow. The good thing about crock pot cooking is you set it and forget it, then later you just come back and eat. I heartily approve.

This particular recipe comes in two stages, so you do the first part the night before and let it cook overnight, then you do the second part and go to work. When you come back supper is ready! Or, if you don't feel like waiting that long you can crank the old crock pot up to high and have it done in eight hours instead.

And without further ado:

Venison Stew

4 slices bacon
2 lbs venison, cubed
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 small sweet onion
4 medium potatoes, cubed
1/2 lb sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup carrots cut in 2" lengths
3 cups boiling water
3 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 cup cold water
1/2 cup flour
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a medium frying pan fry the bacon crisp. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add the venison, garlic and onions to the bacon grease. Stir fry just long enough to brown the venison.
3. Place the venison, garlic and onions into the crock pot. Add the potatoes, mushrooms and carrots. Crumble the bacon and add it, too.
4. Dissolve the bouillon cubes in 3 cups boiling water (or just use 3 cups beef broth). Add to crock pot.
5. Add Italian seasoning and mix all ingredients well. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours until the venison is cooked all the way through.
6. Stir the flour into 1 cup cold water and blend until smooth. Add to crock pot, add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
7. Cook on low an additional 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high until the stew is thickened.

Apple Pie

Glazed Apple Cream Pie

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 1 - 9 inch pie

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup butter

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 - 6 tart apples - peeled, cored and sliced (peaches work just as well)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
(1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg if you are making a peach pie)

1 (15 ounce) package pastry for double-crust pie

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon butter, softened

Directions: 

1 In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup cream, and 1/4 cup butter. Heat until butter is melted, stirring occasionally. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, 2 tablespoons milk, and vanilla; stir into saucepan. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool slightly.

2 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a medium bowl, combine the apples, flour, and cinnamon. Mix well.

3 Line a 9 inch pie pan with pie dough. Pour thickened filling mixture into pastry-lined pie pan. Arrange apple mixture evenly over filling. Top with second crust, seal and flute the edges. Cut slits in top crust.

4 Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and apples are tender. Cool for at least 30 minutes.

5 In small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 tablespoon softened butter. Blend until smooth; pour evenly over warm pie. Refrigerate for AT LEAST 1 1/2 hours before serving (longer is better).

Served with a scoop of ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce will win instant approval from the most discerning of palates.

(PSA note...don't try the advice in the video with a redhead...unless suicide was the intended result. Of course, the redheads I hang out with would probably be the ones demanding the pie. ;) )

Cheater!

I don't have time to spend 12 hours in front of a smoker, but I have a crock pot and I'm not afraid to use it!

Slow Cooker Carolina BBQ

1 bone in pork shoulder, about 5 lbs or so
1 T salt (I use a McCormicks Sea Salt spice weasel)
1 T pepper (McCormicks Peppercorn Medley spice weasel)
3/4 C white vinegar
3/4 C apple cider vinegar
2 T liquid smoke
1 T Try Me Tiger Sauce (or hot sauce of your choice)
[edit] OPTIONAL: 1 drop Dave's Insanity Sauce
1/4 C brown sugar
2 T cayenne pepper
2 T crushed red pepper flakes

1. Rinse the pork shoulder and put it in the crock pot. Season with salt and pepper. Mix the white and apple cider vinegar, then stir the liquid smoke and Tiger Sauce into the vinegar. [edit] OPTIONAL: Stir in 1 drop of Dave's Insanity Sauce. Pour this concoction all around the pork roast. Cover and let it cook on low for 8-10 hours, turning once (carefully) at the halfway point.

2. Remove the pork shoulder from the crock pot, leaving the liquid in the pot, and put it in a big bowl. Remove all of the bones and shred the pork. I use a couple of barbecue forks for this purpose.

3. Mix the crock pot liquid up to combine the ingredients and save 2 cups, discarding the rest (or save it and make more sauce, waste not want not). Stir in the brown sugar, cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes (doesn't this look familiar?).

4. Stir the shredded pork back into the sauce in the crock pot  and continue to stir until the sauce is thoroughly mixed in with the pork. Serve on hamburger buns with slaw.

I usually go the really easy route and use the Allegro Hickory Smoke marinade, but I ran across this recipe looking for something else and thought it looked interesting. I changed it up a bit where I thought it needed it, I think it should go well with the East Carolina BBQ sauce I make.

It's in the cooker now. I'll go take a little nap (I don't usually get more that 5-6 hours of sleep anyway) and when I wake up I'll turn the roast and go get the slaw ingredients. When I get back I'll make the slaw and then it should be about time to remove and shred.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

EDIT: I added the Insanity Sauce and another T of liquid smoke, it was pretty good but spicy. Reduce the cayenne and crushed red pepper flakes to 1 T each and omit the Insanity Sauce for a milder recipe.

Cracking Up

If you copied off the recipe below, take a look at it. I've made a few changes to it, as well as to the basic recipe I posted here.

The biggest bugaboo to cheesecake baking is cracks. The cake will crack if the temperature changes too rapidly because the air trapped in the eggs expands. The secret, then, is to prevent large temperature swings, but there are a few other things you can do as well.

The first thing is to add the eggs to the batter last. Mix the batter well before adding the eggs to smooth it out, then add the eggs and mix only enough to blend them in. This will minimize the amount of air that gets trapped in the egg whites, thus minimizing the chances for cracking.

Another tip is to add a few tablespoons of flour or cornstarch. The "sciency" explanation is that the starches in the cornstarch or flour blocks the proteins in the egg whites from over-coagulating, which keeps them from setting too soon and causing cracks. This seems like cheating to me, but if it works without affecting the taste...as one of my old chiefs used to say, if you aren't cheating at least a little bit you aren't trying.

Overbaking a cheesecake can also cause cracking. You want to turn the oven off or remove the cheesecake from the oven when the middle is still slightly undone. Turning the oven temperature down to 325 during the baking lets the cake heat up slowly, further preventing the large temperature swings. Letting the cake cool in the oven with the temperature turned off for an hour or so helps as well.

Speaking of temperature swings, something else I found was baking the cake in a water bath. The water bath tends to regulate the temperature and prevent hot spots. To do this, wrap your springform pan in heavy aluminum foil to prevent leaking and put the filled pan inside a larger pan (a foil baking pan should work well for this) that is at least 3-4 inches high. Put a kettle on to boil with the lid removed while you are preheating the oven and take it off the heat when steam starts to form, before the water actually boils. Put the cake inside its two pans into the preheated oven. Fill the outer pan 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep and bake the cake as directed.

Another tip when using a springform pan is to run a thin-bladed knife around the edges to separate the cake from the pan sides when you take it out of the oven. This lets the cake shrink from the sides of the pan which will also help to prevent cracking.

If all else fails, the crack usually appears near enough to the center to serve as a starting point for cutting. If it isn't, fill it with topping.

The best thing about cheesecakes is even if it does crack...you get to eat your mistakes.

Enjoy!

So Many Sweet Potatoes

The sweet potatoes taste so good in a pie that I wondered how they would fare in a cheesecake. The verdict: you really have to try this.

Sweet Potato Cheesecake

Filling:

1 lb sweet potatoes
1/2 c softened butter
2 (8 oz) packages Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 t vanilla extract
2 T flour or cornstarch (optional, helps to prevent cracking)
2 eggs

Crust:

1 c crushed graham crackers
2 T white sugar
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground nutmeg
4 T melted butter

Directions:

1. Boil the sweet potatoes whole in skin for 40-50 minutes or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potatoes and remove the skin.

 2. While the potatoes boil, mix the first four crust ingredients until well blended. Add the melted butter, mix thoroughly. Press into the bottom of a 9” springform or 9” pie pan.

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

4. Break the sweet potatoes apart in a bowl. Add butter and cream cheese and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla and flour/cornstarch (optional). Mix on medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs, mixing only enough to blend them in. Pour into crust.

5. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes until center is almost set, then turn off the oven and allow to sit for another hour. Remove from oven. If you are using a springform pan, run a knife around the edges to separate the cake from the pan. Remove from oven, invert a plate over the pan and cool at room temperature until cool to the touch. Refrigerate overnight. Serve with whipped cream topping.

Sweet Potato Pie

Sis had a bunch of sweet potatoes and insisted that I take some. I don't know how many I have, but after measuring out 2 pounds I still have more than 11 pounds left. I know this because my kitchen scales will measure 11 pounds, and the bag of potatoes overloads the scale.

So what do you do with 2 pounds of sweet potatoes? You make two sweet potato pies, of course!

Ingredients:

1 lb sweet potatoes
1/2 c softened butter
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c half and half
2 eggs, separated
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 t vanilla extract
1 unbaked pie crust, 9"

Directions:

Boil the sweet potatoes whole in skin for 40-50 minutes or until done. Run cold water over the sweet potatoes and remove the skin.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Break the sweet potatoes apart in a bowl. Add softened butter and mix well with mixer. Add sugar, half and half, egg yokes, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla, beat on medium speed until smooth. Beat egg whites until stiff, fold into sweet potato mixture. Pour into unbaked pie crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Pie will puff up as it bakes and then sink down as it cools. Serve with whipped cream.