I spy with my little....... Pie (Now with pictures!)

Hey, who doesn't love pie?? And even better, who doesn't love hand held food? Well, here is the best of both worlds! Hand held PIE! I made these as a little something different for dessert the other night. I made apple filling to go in them, but you can put any pie filling in you like, or even jams! You can also flip it and make savory pies instead of sweet (pizza, ham & cheese etc). I got some apples on sale so this was a very cheap recipe for me, a dozen pies cost a total of about $1.75.

Apple Pie Filling (makes about 2 x 9" pies)

6           Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and thin sliced

2tsp       Fresh Lemon Juice

1c         White Sugar

3tbl       Corn Starch

1tsp      Cinnamon

1/2tsp   Nutmeg

1/8tsp   Allspice

2c         Water

___________________________________________________________________________________

Pie Dough


2c         All Purpose Flour
1tsp      Salt
2/3c      Shortening, chilled (lard, vegetable shortening, butter or a combo of any of these)
4-7tbl   Very Cold Water

Peel, core and thin slice your apples. Toss them in a pot with the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and lemon juice. Sprinkle in the corn starch, add your water and stir a bit. 

Cook apple mixture on med heat until you get a nice boil, then reduce to med/low and simmer until apples are tender but not mushy. The sauce will thicken nicely. Put mixture in a bowl to cool.

Cut your fat of choice into small cubes and place in the freezer while you assemble the rest of the dough ingredients. I use a food processor to make my pie dough now, if you do as well, place the blade in the freezer too. Sift together the flour and salt. Place your chilled blade in the food processor, add the flour and then the chilled fat. Pulse until the fat is incorporated into the fat and you get a texture like crumbs. If your cutting the fat in by hand the texture still applies. At this point I quickly turn the processor on and drizzle the water in until it reached a nice dough ball, being careful to add only enough to form the dough. If doing this by hand I add the water 1tbl at a time and mix in by hand until the dough forms up. For making the small pies like this I cut the dough into 4 even pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and then refrigerate. Dough MUST chill for a minimum of 30 minutes. An hour is better. After dough has chilled unwrap, piece at a time, and place on a floured surface. Flour your rolling pin and roll dough thinly. I try to roll into a roughly square shape as the template I use to cut the dough is square (although you can cut into most any shape you like).

At this point I also put some of the pie filling in a work bowl and smash it a bit with a fork. smaller bits for smaller pies you see. Now place a spoonful in the middle of each pie square. wet the edges of the dough with water and fold over, being careful to get all the air out without squishing the filling out. Use a fork to press the edges together. After all the pies are pressed and ready, brush with an egg wash (1 egg 1tbl water and whisk) or milk and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake @ 400° for 18-25 minutes. Time will vary with ovens and pie sizes. Pie is done when they are golden brown and delicious! If your pies are overfilled and you fear they might explode, you can lightly dock them once or twice with a sharp knife.

As I said above, you can use any filling you use in a baked pie. I haven't tried pudding yet, but I will! Apple, cherry, all the perry variations, as well as most any jams. I hope you enjoy these. I appologize for there being no finished product pictures.........but they just didn't last long enough!!

Biscuit 101

Hi folks! Sorry I've been so lax lately on getting posts out. Things are starting to settle down again so with luck we'll be back to once a week or more postings.

Today I want to hit on that oh so misunderstood, American Biscuit. Fluffy, light, golden brown & delicious pucks of love! It has taken me some time, some trial & error and some "I ain't eating...that" to get to understand our friend, the biscuit. Biscuit's are easy, but also easy to screw up. Measurements aren't super strict, but need to be decently correct. Ingredients need to be of decent quality. What you do and how you do it is of great importance. I'm going to go over the hows and whys here, but there will be the full recipe below as usual. Reference it if you like.

Lets start with the fat. Butter, lard, margarine (block), and shortening (flavoured or non) are all acceptable fats. You may also use them in combination. I prefer 1/2 butter flavoured shortening 1/2 lard, it produces a very tasty, tender biscuit. Lard by itself tends to produce a flakier texture, butter denser but very tender and tasty, margarine is about midline on the tender/flaky scale, while shortening is a bit heaqvier but makes an excellent crust with a tender inside. You must chill your fat. I always assemble all of my ingredients, then cut my fat into small blocks and put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes. If your cutting the fat in with a food processor chilling the blade is also a good idea. Sift all of your dry ingredients together in a bowl (or processor chamber if using one). After the fat has chilled you need to cut the fat into the dry. A food processor is excellent for this, be quick though and pulse just until the fat is fully integrated. If using a pastry cutter, fork or just smashing it in by hand, you want the consistency of the mix to look like crumbs and small peas, and when you squeeze a small handfull of it it forms up but crumbles very easily.

As for the buttermilk. I have heard more than once that people don't want to buy specialty items. Well, if you have milk, you can make buttermilk. For each cup of buttermilk the recipe calls for, add 1tbl white vinegar to the milk and stir quickly with a fork. You should see the viscosity of the milk increase and become slightly thicker. When incorporating the wet into the dry, you want to use as little stirring as possible to fully integrate the two. You want the mix to just come together enough to come out of the bowl.

Once you can turn the dough out onto a floured surface, you want to work it gently. Add just enough flout into it to be able to pat it out. I like to pat out to 1/2" thickness. Pat your dough out to desired thickness and....walk away. Yes leave it alone. Leave it for about 10 minutes. Trust me, it needs to rest. If you don't rest the dough often it gets tough and chewy, which we do not want. Now, you have to cut them. You don't need some high dollar biscuit cutter. I use a can, specifically a can that had tomatoes in it. We have the type of can opener that cuts from the side, not from the top, so you get a nice sharp edge. This is important if you want your biscuits to rise. When cutting biscuits it is extremely important that you push straight down till you have cut through, before any twisting motion happens. If you twist on the way down the sides won't allow the biscuit to expand properly when baking. I don't twist at all, I cut straight to the board then use my fingers to pull the excess out of the way.  After you have cut all you can, smoosh the dough back together and cut more until you have used it all, or mostly all, up. Use as little force and possible when smooshing. Now comes one of those tips that often seem to get overlooked or not passed on. If you want tall biscuits instead of flat ones, your biscuits need to juuuuuuuuuuuust touch on the baking pan. See what happens here, is that they begin to expand, and being the delicate baked lovelies that they are, rise into one another but cant push out more now, so they rise up. And up is goooooood. Oven times vary, sometimes even batch to batch. I average 13 minutes in my oven. I have seen it take as little as 10 and as much as 16, so best bet is shoot for 12 and turn halfway, keeping a close eye out the 2nd half. There you have it. Best biscuits ever. My only other suggestion would be to use parchemnt when baking, it makes for easier removal and less burning/sticking.

Buttermilk Biscuts - 450° - 10-15 minutes

4c         All Purpose Flour
2tbl       Baking Powder 
1tsp      Baking Soda 
2tbl       Sugar
2tsp      Salt
1/2c      Fat
2c         Buttermilk

Cut your fat of choice into small cubes and toss in the freezer for 15 minutes. Sift together dry ingredients. Cut fat into dry ingredients until mixture is crumb like. Add Buttermilk and stir in with a wooden spoon until just combined and dough can be turned onto a floured board. If needed add flour in small amounts until desired consistency is reached. Work just enough flour into dough mix on board until it becomes pattable. Pat to a uniform thickness of  1/4" or 1/2". Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes. Cut into rounds, place on parchment lined baking sheet, each biscuit juuuuust touching its neighbor(s). Bake, turning halfway through. Allow to rest for 2-5 minutes after removing from oven.

Post Holiday Hmph

I apologize for the delay in posting. Between the holidays and the cold from hell we've been passing back and forth, it's been a rough few weeks.

Now that the holidays are over and we are all back to busy busy, we need something simple, quick and good. Today's recipe can usually be knocked out in 30-45 minutes, start to plating. I know many of us remember the "Chicken and rice casserole" from our youth. As I speak to more and more people about it, I find that it was almost always one of two ways. Excellent or "Dear god it was nasty". Now my version does require more than one dish to make, but I also find this to have more flavour and totally eliminates that "blood pool" possibility in the rice. I also suggest you read through the instructions once before gathering everything. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a good start on your new year.

Chicken & Rice

Chicken, how ever much you require to feed your family.
2c             Uncooked Rice
4c             Water
1cube        Chicken stock
1tbl           Dried minced onion
1tsp          Dry Mustard
1 tsp         Black Pepper
1 tsp         Curry Powder (optional)

1 can        Cream of mushroom soup
Milk         As needed
In a large straight sided skillet that has a lid, heat 2-4 tbl oil on med heat. preheat oven to 350°. Lightly fry chicken in skillet, just enough to get some nice browning. If the skin sticks to the pan leave it, thats just more flavour for the rice. If you have a cooling rack or racks that fit inside a cookie sheet, place them in one. If not you can also place several celery and or carrot sticks across the bottom of the cookie sheet. This step is to allow for fat drainange. If you are unconcerned about the fat or have very lean peices you may skip it.

After the chicken has browned place on your sheet and in the oven, uncovered. Drain off the grease and oil from the pan. Just pour it off, don't rinse. There should be a thin sheen of oil left. Toss the rice into the pan and spread it evenly. While the rice toasts, bring the water ro a boil. Stir the rice often enough to prevent burning while the water comes to a boil. As soon as the water comes to a boil add the spices to the rice. Slowly pour the water into the pan with the rice. *caution* There will be mass amounts of steam. Please use caution when using boiling water, but especially so when adding to a hot pan! *caution* Stir, scraping the bottom until all the loverly leftover bits (fond for those in the know) are free from the bottom. Turn the heat to 1/4 (low on the medium side) and cover. Cook for 20 minutes or until the water is mostly absorbed. Add your soup and stir to combine, adding milk as necessary to form a nice sauce. Now would be the time to add frozen veg to your rice mix if you'd like. Pull the chicken from the oven and verify it to be done. If it isn't return to the oven and finish cooking, of course. Thighs and drumsticks are best for this recipe, partly for cost and partly for cook time. Serve!

Full assembly required!

Now you're going to hear me bitch occasionally about the difference between cooking and assembling. Cooking requires some knowledge, skill and directions. Assembly means throw a bunch of crap together and heat (or chill or blend etc etc) and consume. I don't normally like to pass on assembly "recipes", but once in a while, you find one thats just too good to be snobby about. Thus, I give you a very Americanized version, of chicken enchiladas!

Friday Night Enchiladas!  9x13 - 400°

1                       Chicken breast/person

1can ea             Cream of chicken & mushroom

1                       Med container of sour cream

2-4c ea             Shredded Cheddar & Mozzerella

1 can                 Chopped green chili's

2tbl ea               Chili powder & Cumin powder

2tsp ea              Garlic powder & Onion powder

                         Pepper to taste

1 pkg                Large Flour Tortillas

Cook the chicken however you like. I bake mine, you can boil it, steam it, poach it, whatever you prefer, just cook it until it is just done. Allow the chicken to cool and remove the skin and bone. Yes you can use other chicken parts, but just for something to put down I wrote breasts. Now either shred, chop or cut your chicken into strips. Mix together in a large bowl the soups, sour cream, spices, chili's (they aren't hot, but they add some very nice flavour) and half of each cheese. Heat the tortillas a littel in the oven or in the microwave. Just enough to warm them to make them more pliable. Now comes the fun part. Portion out your chicken evenly into the tortillas, with a large spoonful of the sauce mix and roll (or tuck and roll) and place sideby side in the 9x13. After you have filled all your tortillas, spoon the remaining mixture over the tortillas and then cover with the rest of the cheese. Cover with foil and bake in a 400° oven for 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Top should be bubbly and loverly browned! If your cheese refuses to brown and you want it so, you can put it under the broiler for a FEW minutes, never taking your eyes off of it. Allow the dish to rest for 15 minutes before cutting, else your cheese top will melt inot the mix.

You may use any melting cheese you like in this, as well as any number. If you have the money and the will, throw 8 cheeses in there (just reduce the amount per cheese). You may also add a myriad of other items, jalapenos, olives, tomatoes, peppers of any kind you like, sauteed onions, etc etc. I also prefer a but more chili and cumin powder, but as most don't I reflected that in the recipe. Have fun!!

Banananannanananaa Bread

Yes dear readers, that is correct, Banana Bread. Now I know, some of you are already wondering... "Why?". Yes I know, there are about 1000000000 banana bread recipes out there and most people think banana bread is idiot proof. Well I'm here to tell you, as one idiot who knows, it can be screwed up! I'm not going to dwell on the hows and whys and the 27.36 lbs of bananas that brough us to this conclusion (don't ask). Suffice it to say, I think I have found not only the recipe, but the method. The method by the way, is as important if not more important than the ingredients.

Let me share with you the basic understanding of "the method". Alton Brown calls it the "Muffin Method". I use this method for muffins, most quick breads and pancakes. It simple enough, although as with anything there exceptions and tweaks. Here it is, mix you wet in one bowl, your dry in another bowl. Add the dry to the wet and ........... wait for it..............mix only enough to moisten most of the dry. See if you mix until smooth, you create gluten. Gluten is chewy, we want soft and tender. The more you mix the more gluten you produce. Now, with this recipe I do break that rule a little, but I have found that with a straight no gluten type of mixing, the breads has a tendency to be unable to support itself and turns either gooey or so dense as to be nasty. So, here it is.

Banananannananananaaa Bread 350°F / Greased 9x5 Loaf pan
2c Flour
1 tsp Soda
1/4tsp Salt
1/2c Butter
3/4c Brown Sugar (white will also work, add 2tsp molasses or maple syrup if you like)
2 Eggs, Beaten
2 1/3c Mashed bananas (very ripe) approx 3 bananas (3 is close enough)
1/4tsp ea Ground clove, Allspice, Nutmeg (all 3 spices optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan. Sift together dry ingredients (including spices if you opt for them) in a separate bowl and set aside. Cream together butter and sugar (3-5 minutes) until light and fluffy. Add each egg individually and incorporate each well before adding more. Add about 1/4c of the dry mix and blend till relatively smooth. Add mashed bananas and blend well, mixture will still be a bit lumpy but that's just fine. Now, stop using your mixer. Add dry to the wet bowl and with a wooden spoon, gently mix until just moistened. A small amount of dry still showing is ok. Scrape with a spatula into the loaf pan and spread relatively evenly in the pan. Place on the middle rack of your 350° oven for about an hour. Ovens vary and quite often you think it is burnt before it is done. I turn mine (gently) every 15-20 minutes to ensure even baking. A paring knife or toothpick inserted just off of center will not be clean when pulled but not be covered in goo. Cool for 15 minutes in pan, then de-pan and finish cooling on a wire rack. Eat (I recommend real butter on it).

Chippin in!

Yes my friends, cookies. I don't know anyone that doesn't like at least one kind of cookie. Spicy molasses, toll house, snickerdoodles, peanutbutter, lemon etc etc. There is a cookie for nearly any type of flavour you can think of in a dessert type fashion. Today however, we are speaking of chocolate chip cookies. Now, as we all know, Alton Brown is the the guy for all food knowledge. Well, I know it at any rate! Today's recipe is inspired by his classic The Chewy, from the ever favorite episode "Three Chips for Sister Sarah". Now I'm very big on the whole "learn the how, then you can put it to your own use" philosophy. Take the knowledge of how a thing is done so you can turn it to your own means in other words. In this case, the how is why a cookie is chewy rather than crunchy or cakey.

Now we prefer a nice chewy chocolate chip cookie here. Hell, we like a crappy chocolate chip cookie... It's chocolate chip fer cryin out loud!!! I have learned tho, with some minor tweaking, to get different results. I don't know about you, but my oven basically sucks. The whole range is as cheap as the landlord could find I would imagine. It has hotspots, cold spots and I think sunspots. If you look close enough it might even have a dog named spot in there somewhere. I have to rotate food so often it seems like it never gets a chance to cook. The has led to some interesting trial and error. Including today's "Crispy chewy chocolate chip cookie"! With a crispy edge and a nice chewy middle, best of two worlds.

Now you have to understand the why here. See, the fat you put in is a large part of what rise you're cookie gets. Shortening has a higher melting point than butter, so your cookie dough holds shape a bit longer allowing a puffier cookie. Cold butter in the mix melts relatively fast and makes for a nice crispy cookie. If you melt the butter and then make your dough, chill it and then bake, you get a nice chewy cookie. Here is the dilemma. I can afford margarine, and occasionally butter flavoured shortening, but rarely can I afford butter. Now margarine seems to be in-between butter and shortening on the melt point. If you have nothing else, it will make a decently chewy cookie. However, I have come up with a hybrid recipe that we find to be most satisfying!

Om nom Chocolate nom nom Chip nom nom om nom nom om Cookie om nom nom
375° F (190° C) 10-14 minutes

1/4c ea margarine & butter flavour shortening
2 1/4 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1/4 c sugar
1 1/4 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tbl milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c semisweet chocolate chips

In a small bowl sift together flour, salt & soda. Melt the margerine & shortening (low heat on the stove or in the microwave). Add sugars and melted fat to a mixing bowl and cream well (3-5 minutes). Add eggs and blend well. Add milk and vanilla, blend until incorporated. Slowlyt incorporate dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. When well mixed stir in chips. Cover and chill for minimum 1 hour, overnight is fine.

Place by large spoonful on a parchment lined baking sheet, 6 at a time. Bake at 375° for 10-14 minutes. Check about halfway though and rotate as needed. Rememeber, if the edges are well browned they are most likely burnt on the bottom. Pull from baking sheet immediately upon exiting oven, but I allow them to sit on the parchment for at least 5 before removing them. I also reuse my parchment 3 or 4 times.

This recipe also lends well to other additions (coconut, nuts, candied fruit, other sweet chips, candy bar chunks etc). Remember, for maximum chewiness they need to cool completely...like that ever happens! I hope this finds you all well and happy. I'll have something else up in a day or two!

Very Infuuuuuuuuuusing!

I was going to make today's post about Mayo. The spread, not the clinic. But, as my brain so oft does, it hit upon a tangent. Now, there will be a mayo recipe, but that isn't my focus now. I would like to talk about infusing. Inwhosing?? Nooooooooo, infusing! Adding the concentrated or extracted flavour of one thing to another. primarily I am going to speak of Oil and Vodka! No thats not a new salad dressing. But they are the two things I most often infuse. Of course the range of oils is, as you know, quite extensive. And not all oils are good for infusing, or just not complimentary to certain flavours.

Now, I am never going to try and con you into thinking I am the expert on anything. What I will do is impart on you that which I know, or which I have learned from reliable sources *cough*GoodEats*cough*. Roughly 99.9% of the oil I infuse is plain vegetable oil. It's cheap (sorta) and most every cook has some and its the most widely found oil in North America. That, and it's a pretty neutral oil, not heavy in flavour on it's own. As a general rule, heavily flavoured oils are something we stay away from for infusing. They can often clash with anything you try to add to them and being a biological flavouring they can vary within the same brand from batch to batch.

I know you've already asked, what do you like to infuse? Well, my favorite thing is black peppercorns. Hot peppers (scotch bonnets or jalapeño) also make a nice oil. Really tho, most herbs make good infused oils, as well as many highly flavoured plants, but I usually find it easier to use the dried versions. Occasionally you may find the taste difference between fresh and dried to be worth using fresh. For example, I find the taste difference between dried spearmint and fresh to be so great, I use fresh, even though I need much more, to get the taste I like.

I follow 2 methods of infusing oils. Hot & Cold. Pretty self explanatory but I will explain to be sure. Cold infusing is just that, unheated ingredients in unheated oil(s). Take dill for example. I use fresh dill as it is cheap and I find a better flavour. I take my dill and bash it a bit, to bruise the cell structures and release flavourful oils. I will drop 3-5 sprigs of dill in a wine bottle, fill to the neck with vegetable oil and cork it. Place in a nice dark close that doesn't change temps much for 2 weeks. Test the flavour, if it needs to be stronger, remove the dill and replace with fresh. Wait another week and test again. When you reach your taste preference you have 2 options. You can take the herb out, or if you start with the taste being a tich light, leave it in. Not only does it look nice, but you can see what flavour it is without labels! Most fresh herbs/botanicals should be done with the cold method. You may occasionally run across one that doesn't infuse well, then you should try the hot method. The hot method is simply heating the oil a little. Now not too much. #1 You don't want to handle hot oil and #2 oild break down at higher temps, you dont want your oil degrading before you get to use it. Heat it just enough to feel warm in a heavy bottomed saucepan. When using dry herbs/ingredients its best to break them up a bit, but you don't want to grind them. Often grinding dried herbs can release bitter or foul tasting essential oils....blech.

When I do peppercorns, I either bash them a bit in my mortar and pestle, or do a few quick pulses in my small coffee grinder (I use it just for herbs). For most dried herbs I just put them in a plastic bag and scrunch it a few times. Add them to your bottle then pour in the oil. When I hot infuse tho, I check the flavour every 5-7 days. I don't normally keep the dried herbs in after I reach my taste preference either. They can gum op the works when using a spout and occasionally give off those nast tastes mentioned earlier if they sit for long periods of time.

Briefly, Olive Oil. Yes it can be flavored and is a decent one To flavour even given it's distinct taste. The hot method can be used just not too high.

Now I know what your asking, "Great! I have flavours oils......now what?!" Well, use them when your frying in a tablespoon or two of oil for extra flavour. They are great for salad dressings, drizzling over finished meals before serving or as we will see shortly, they make a loverly mayo!

As for the Vodka...thats a different story! Once again one of my favorite flavoured Vodkas is black peppercorn. Also excellent is strawberry, anise or cherry. Yes I realize there are fewer cooking applications for Vodka, but since blog is more then strictly food, hey...close enough. And who doesn't like a loverly beverage?? But don't count it out in cooking, it still has it's uses.

With Vodka, being alcohol of course, you dont want to heat it. For dried flavourings, same rule applies. Give them a bit of a bash/smushing before you add them to the Vodka. Now more than likely you will need drain a bit of the Vodka off, I am sure you can think of something to do with it. You'll need to give it a bit of a upending 2-3 times a week. Just upend the bottle (if you don't have the cap on you deserve to lose the Vodka :P) and let the stuff fall to what is now the bottom, then turn it back right side up and place on the shelf again. When using dried flavours strain them bits out before using the Vodka. For fresh stuff tho, cherries, strawberries, most fruits really, celery, fennel, etc etc. they need to be finely chopped or even puréed. I tend to go with the 1c(of stuff)/5th(750ml) of Vodka rule. Now this is going to require either 2 bottles, or a larger container to hold the mixture in. If you can remove seeds or pits that would be best. Anything like citrus with a fragrant peel can be used, but remove the pith (that's the nasty white stuff juuuust under the peel). When in doubt, peel it or just remove the fruit flesh. Sugar may be added prior to mixing with the Vodka. Combine your flavoring and Vodka in the holding vessle of your choice.

Here is where we come to some disagreement. Some people say that it is fine to leave this mixture on a shelf, others say it must be refrigerated. I am of the shelf camp, but as I am not a food scientist nor do i wish anyone harm, at this point I must strongly recommend refrigeration. I don't, but I cannot advise anyone else to do so. If you chill your mix, allow it to sit for 2 weeks, churning the mixture every day. If shelving your mix, 1 week should be sufficient, mixing daily.

Strain your mix well. I layer cheesecloth in a mesh sieve, pour the mix in and allot it to drain through. I will then swueezt the cloth after to get all the liquid I can. Rebottle and enjoy. Alternately you can make bombs (no not real boms). Cherry bombs, strawberry drops, blueberry bullets etc etc. Simply take fresh, washed and dried (dried off, not dehydrated) fruit, place in a large jar, pour your flavoured Vodka over and put the lid on, in about a month you'll have fruit with enough alcohol soaked in to make your eye twitch! The uses are yours to discover!

I know this has run on a bit long, so lets just dispense with the Mayo recipe and save anything else for another day!

Quick n Easy Mayo

2tbl White Wine Vinegar
2tbl Lemon Juice
1 Egg Yolk
1 Whole Egg
1tsp Salt
1tsp Dry Mustard
1/4tsp Sugar
2c Oil (minus 2tbl is using flavoured oil)
2tbl Flavoured Oil (optional)

Put everything except the oil(s) in your food processor. Pulse 3-5 times, just to start the emulsion. Turn the processor on (low if you have the option) and slowly pour a thin continous stream of oil into the processor. Do not pour too fast as it may swamp the mix and you'll have a nice goopy mess. Scoop out your nice fresh mayo and store as normal.

If using flavoured oils, never use more than 2 tbl/batch (double batch means you can use 4tbl etc) as the additives can sometimes break the emulsion or overpower the mayo.

A good foundation

I promised you an actual recipe last time so a recipe we will have. I sat and pondered this a bit, in-between the bouts of erf (been sick the last day or so), and tried to reduce from the billions of recipes which one would be good to put up. I want a recipe that is tasty, but easy. I wanted something the majority of folks could enjoy, but nothing too fancy. Well, that just screams cake!

Now, which cake?? Chocolate of course, those who don't like chocolate simply need seek a good therapist >:P. I didn't want a complex cake, so I went with my no egg cake. "No eggs? Are you nuts?" Well no, but I have seen variations of this recipe over the years and once in a while, well, ya just run out of eggs. The more I made it the more I came to feel it was a foundation cake. Something that is a good base, edible all on its own, but is also great for building on.

As a general whole, this cake tends to be a tich on the dry side, but I think that's ok. A little frosting and you're good to go. We make it as a not-so-rich snack cake. Everyone enjoys a nice decadent cake once in a while, but part of what makes a special cake special, is that you only get it once in a while. You can make cupcakes with it and add a nice cream filling. Top it with many and varied frosting and icings. Perforate prodigiously (thank you AB) with skewers or a fork, and top with a nice hot pudding or stove top custard. Bake it in a bundt pan, after it cools cut the top 3rd off, scoop out a nice trough in the bottom 2/3 and fill (cherry filling, whipped cream, cream filling, pudding, orange cream etc etc), place the top back on and drizzle with vanilla glaze. As you can see, the possibilities are many!

Another reason we like this cake is that its relatively easy and fool proof. As long as you just get in and get it done, you're golden (or chocolate in this case). Also, its a honest to goodness chocolate cake that is vegetarian friendly. Now don't get me wrong, I like my meat and there will be meat talk a-plenty in here. But I do have vegetarian friends and do at least try to think of them on occasion. I made this cake for a Christmas party last year with them and you would have thought Glen had never had cake before! So, lets have the recipe!

Chocolate Snack Cake - 350°F (175°C) Grease & Flour (9x13 or 2 9" rounds)

3c Flour
2c Sugar
2tsp Baking Soda
6tbl Cocoa Powder
1c Vegetable Oil
2tbl Vinegar
2c Cold Coffee

Sift together flour, sugar, soda & cocoa. Add oil, vinegar and coffee and beat until smooth. Pour into prepared pan(s). Bake for 40-45 (9x13) or 20-25 (9" rounds). If using metal or opaque pans turn oven down to 325° when you put the pans in the oven. The usual cake rules apply, cake is done if a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Now, with all that, lets talk a few tweaks. If the amount of sugar scares you, welcome to the club. I usually cut it by 1/2c but the more sugar you cut the dryer the cake is. You can substitute 1/2 of brown sugar for 1/2 of the white, it helps a bit on the hydration. As for the liquid, I prefer coffee as it blends flavours well with the chocolate. You can use water if you prefer, or if dairy isn't an issue you can use 1c milk 1c water (or coffee). The milk tends to make the cake a bit more dense, which I find makes filling a cake a tad more difficult.

I hope you find this useful, please feel free to ask if theres any questions!

Let there be.......instructions?

So, I've been sitting here debating on what to post for my first article. I debated between doing some basics and going in full for a recipe. I ended up opting for some basics. Not that I think all of you don't know the basics, but I am sure there are some that don't, some that can always use a little refresher, and sometimes I use terms you may not be familiar with. With that said, lets dive in.

Mirepoix, pronounced meerapwa, is also called the trinity. It is a mixture of carrot, onion and celery, although in the south sometimes the carrot is replaced by bell peppers. Although it doesn't have to be chopped at all really, more of ten than not its diced. This is an excellent flavour base for many recipes. I use this in soups, stews, roasts, sauces etc etc. Dice or chop these, sauté lightly to add to a sauce or rice mixture. In a pinch and out of spaghetti sauce? Sauté the mirepoix until nicely browned and softened, but not mushy. Add JUST enough boiling water to a stock cube (I prefer mushroom) to liquefy it. Add that to the pan and stir. Now add 1 can of tomoatoes, or 3-5 med tomatoes peeled and seeded, or 1 can of tomato paste + enough water to make it a loose sauce. Add 1 tsp of sugar and oregano, thyme basil, rosemarry and marjoram. If you don't know how much here, start with 1 tsp each and adjust. Simmer to desired consistency.

With the current economy, we are all trying to make our $$ stretch as best we can. I currently make alot of soups, stews and casseroles. When I bring home celery I cut the base off and the tops. Same with broccoli. I save the base/stems/hearts of these things to make soup stock out of. For a nice veg stock, toss in all the veg you want to use, fill with water just to cover. Add 1-2 stock cubes (any kind depending on what your going to cook, use vegetable for a nice neutral stock) and bring to a rapid boil. Drop immediately to med low/low and simmer for about an hour. If you cook this for too long some of the veg can actually lose their flavour. If you wish to add meat to make a nice stock do so when you add the veg, however, after about 30 minutes of simmering remove the meat. If there are bones, leave them in, or if the meat is still attached remove the meat as soon as you can and drop the bones back in. Now if you have the time, make this a day or more ahead of when you will need it. If your using meat keep it seperate from the liquid. Strain the liquid and refrigerate. After chilling in the fridge fully you can then easily skim off any solidified fat. If you in need of a clear broth, strain through several layers of cheesecloth before reheating.

Much as I hate to promote anything, the Debbie Myers bags (for deli meat, cheese, veg and bread) are really worth the buy. I am making a stew today, and the carrots I have are nearly a month old, but as I have kept them in the Meyers bags, they are still as good as when I brought them home. Same for the green peppers. I find I spend less money on produce #1 because I dont have any go bad & #2 I dont feel the need to use it faster so it doesn't go bad. Using the ends/stalks and such for stock also helps stretch the $$. Along that line, I also try and use anything peripheral from the foods I buy when I can. We occasionally buy chicken nuggets or patties, everyone does. I save all the coating that comes off them. Eventually when I have enough saved I make chicken strips with it. I add a little flour and spices to it and use it to coat my strips. If I have a lemon or an orange just for juice, I peel the zest off first and either freeze it or dry it.

So basically, I try and use as much of everything that comes in as I can. When we have to use boxed/premade I try to touch it up with a little of this and that to make it not only taste better, but make that $$ go further. Next time we'll do a recipe!

A New Hope...or...How YOU can cook too!

Hello! Welcome! Howdahellareya?

Welcome to The Old Smokehouse! I decided to start this blog for one simple reason, I love to cook. And as much as I would love to horde all the little secrets and tidbits about it, thats just not what cooking is about. I know we all cook day to day because we need to eat, and yes there are times when we make the frozen hamburger, or something out of a box. Not because we enjoy it over homemade, or because its the best choice, but because its quick and or easy. Its a fact.

So, I'd like to show you ways to alter those meals to be....well more. I'd also like to help you find more in general in the things you can buy and how to prepare them. Sometimes its a technique, sometimes its ingredients, sometimes it'll just be a good recipe. Hell, sometimes I might just toss up the most complex bass ackwards thing up there just because its awesome! All in all tho, I'd like this to be a place you can come for ideas or information. Break up the boredom or just find something new.

I called this The Old Smokehouse, not because I will focus on BBQ, but because above all else, BBQ is what I am good at. It's also a bit of a tribute to my father, who started my interest in cooking and who inspired me to make my own BBQ (from rub to smoking to sauce, it's my own recipes!). I'll try and put something on here a few times a week so keep checking back. Ask me if you have questions, but please, all I ask is be nice. Be nice to me and be nice to each other because this is after all, a place where you should come to be happy and enjoy yourself.