Sauces Part II

Here are a few more sauce recipes sent to me by Henry for you to try out sometime.

Some of these may be a tad bit fancy for your taste, that's ok.

You must learn to refine your palate...
Aim higher than the lowly Bologna sandwich...
Forget McDonald's.....
Forget Beer............"?"

"Whoa...time out"...let us not get carried away here.....
Just kidding... (about the beer part anyway)

Enjoy!!!
B.D.

Asiago Cream Sauce

2 ounces unsalted butter
1/4 cup diced onions
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese
1 ounce butter

In a saucepan melt 2 ounces butter. Add onions and chopped garlic.
saute over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add flour and mix thoroughly.
Cook for 4 minutes, then add the chicken broth, let thicken and add the cream and reduce for 20 minutes. Add the salt, pepper and cayenne.
Whisk in white wine and let simmer for another 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat and whisk in the other 1 ounce of butter and Asiago cheese.
Cool in refrigerator.


Aurora Sauce

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup chili sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine all ingredients and serve well chilled.


Champagne Cream Sauce

1 small shallot diced
1 tablespoon sweet butter
1/2 cup Cordon Rouge Champagne
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Saute the shallot in the butter over medium heat.
Add the champagne, cream and Parmesan cheese.
Stir for 1 minute until thickened.
Serve over sauted spinach.


Creole Cream Sauce for Crabs

4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup cream or milk
1/2 cup green onion tops chopped
fine salt, pepper and paprika

Melt butter, add flour and stir for a minute or two.
Combine milk with eggs and onions and slowly stir into butter and flour mixture.
Add seasonings and boil until sauce thickens. Remove to serving bowl or pot.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups of sauce.


Ginger Cream Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 shallots, minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup bottled clam juice
2/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup whipping cream

Mix ginger, shallots and garlic in heavy small saucepan. Saute in oil until limp.
Add clam juice and wine. Boil mixture until liquid is reduced to 1/4 cup, about 15 minutes.
Add cream to ginger mixture in saucepan. Boil until mixture thickens to sauce consistency, about 5 minutes.
Serve over broiled fish.


Kiwi Cream Sauce

4 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1 shallot diced
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup creme de banana
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter

Saute shallot in butter until just tender.
Add brandy and creme de banana.
Add heavy cream and reduce by half, then fold in fruit.
Serve with lamb chops.


Tomato Cream Sauce

1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons fresh, chopped basil or parsley
salt and pepper
dash of red pepper flakes, optional

Mix the cream with the tomato sauce and heat.
Season with the fresh, chopped herb of choice, salt and pepper as needed; as well as the red pepper flakes if you are using them. Use to top your favorite pasta dish.



Tomato Vodka Cream Sauce

1/4 pound butter
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup vodka
1 can Italian crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Romano cheese
1 cup heavy cream

Melt butter over high heat until bubbly. Add red pepper flakes. Rapidly add vodka.
Simmer for 2 minutes. Simmer tomatoes with the two cheeses for three minutes, then add 1 cup of heavy cream and simmer for one minute. Serve over your favorite pasta.

Popcorn Bonanza

Here are a few recipes for you popcorn lovers.
Henry was kind enough to send these to me, so I will gladly share them.
This is not all of them, I will post some more at a later time.

Enjoy!!!
B.D.


Apple-Popcorn Brittle

1 quart popped popcorn
2 cups apple and cinnamon flavored cereal
1 cup cocktail peanuts
3/4 cup apple juice**
1 cup sugar
1/4 light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, toss together popped popcorn, cereal and peanuts.
Set aside. Butter sides of a heavy 2 quart saucepan.
In saucepan, combine apple juice, sugar, corn syrup, vinegar and salt.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil. Cook to hard ball stage (250 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer).

Remove from heat. Pour syrup over popcorn-cereal-peanut mixture; toss to coat.
Spread in a buttered 15 1/2 by 10 1/2 by 1-inch baking pan.
Cool until hardened. Break into pieces.

**3/4 cup apple pop wine may be used instead of apple juice.


Ballpark Popcorn Crunch

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 quarts unsalted popped popcorn
1 cup chopped walnuts

Cream together butter and brown sugar till light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, toss popcorn and walnuts.
Add creamed mixture to popcorn and nuts. Combine until coated.
Spread on a large baking sheet in a single layer.
Bake at 350-degrees for 10 minutes or until crisp.
Yield: 3 quarts.


Beach Party Popcorn

1/3 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1-2 drops hot pepper sauce
2 quarts popped popcorn
2 cups seasoned assorted snacks
1/2 package (0.56 oz.) bacon-onion dip mix

Add soy sauce and hot pepper sauce to 1/3 cup melted butter.
Put popped popcorn and seasoned assorted snacks in a large bowl.
Pour butter/soy mixture over popped popcorn and snacks; toss.

Sprinkle with bacon-onion dip mix; toss again.
Spread mixture pan (15 1/2 by 10 1/2 by 1 inch) and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, stirring once.
Yield: 2 1/2 quarts.


Big League Snack Attack

1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon onion salt
6 cups unsalted popped popcorn
1 cup thin pretzel sticks 1/2 cup salted, roasted peanuts

Toss together the popcorn, pretzel sticks and peanuts in a large bowl.
Melt the butter and stir in the seasonings.
Drizzle butter/seasoning mixture over popcorn mixture, stirring to coat well.
Spread the mixture in a large, shallow baking pan and put it in a preheated 250-degree oven to bake for 45 minutes.
Stir with a wooden spoon every 10 minutes while it's baking.
Yield: 8 cups.


Cajun Corn

2 1/2 quarts popped popcorn
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon lemon pepper

Pour butter over warm popcorn.
Combine remaining seasonings and sprinkle over popcorn; toss to mix.
Bake 300 degrees for crispy popcorn.
Yield: 2 1/2 quarts.


Caramel Almond Popcorn Clusters

10 cups freshly popped popcorn
2 cups whole almonds
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

I might add (to the mix) 1 cup of dried thin apple slices, (or other dried fruit) broken into bits. This sounds good to me.

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Spray 15 x 10 baking sheet with non-stick spray.
Mix popcorn and almonds in large bowl.

Combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in medium saucepan.
Over low heat, stir mixture until sugar dissolves.
Increase heat to high and boil 5 minutes.
Remove from heat; stir in vanilla, almond extract and baking soda.

Pour over popcorn and almonds, immediately stirring gently to coat.
Pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet, spreading evenly.

Bake for 1 hour in preheated oven.
Cool completely.
Break into pieces and store in airtight container.
Yield: 20 pieces


Caramel Corn Crunch
(You will love this caramel corn)

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3 quarts popped popcorn

I might add 1 cup of dried thin apple slices, (or other dried fruit) broken into bits.
This sounds good to me.

Cream butter; add brown sugar and whip until fluffy.
In a large baking pan, combine popcorn. Mix in creamed mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes, or until crisp.
Serve warm if desired.
Yield: Makes 3 quarts.

Thanksgiving Turkey

Here is an article that may help you out with your bird this Thanksgiving.

Columnist: Aaron Chambers

May your turkey be moist through and through.


There may be nothing more glorious than a perfectly cooked turkey, fresh from the oven with its caramelized skin and captivating aroma.

The family, if only for a meal, comes truly together.

But just how do you get the dark meat cooked all the way through without drying out the white meat? The question is as fundamental to turkey as the bird itself is to Thanksgiving.

I called my grandma. Her succulent Thanksgiving turkeys have pleased, year in and year out, her 10 children and dozens of grandchildren.

Rub a lot of butter on it, she told me. I usually put the foil on it to begin with, and then take it off so it browns. Just loosely, just loosely. Butter, lots of butter.

Her mother would strap cheesecloth over the breast, and pour melted butter over it.

We were always such butter people. We used butter for everything, my grandma said. I know today they don’t use butter as much; they use olive oil.

PACKING EXTRA FAT into the meat certainly is one way to go.

Brining the bird before popping it in the oven is another.

Brine — salt and sugar dissolved in water — seasons the meat while infusing it with water. If you brine, you should not have to baste.

Brine is the best way to have the bird moist in both areas without having to overcook the breast, said Mark Wasserman, executive chef at Cliff breakers in Rockford.

I figured he would know. He’s preparing 80 turkeys for the banquet hall’s Thanksgiving blowout.

Wasserman says to combine two cups each of kosher salt and brown sugar with two gallons of water. Warm the water to dissolve the salt and sugar, but cool the mixture before adding the turkey. Brine the turkey overnight in a five-gallon bucket suitable for food.

Before you cook, discard the brine and rinse the bird. Wasserman starts the turkey at 425 degrees, and then drops the oven to 350 after 15 minutes. He recommends pitching a foil tent over the breast when the bird is half-cooked. There should be space between the skin and the foil — a layer of cool air that insulates the white meat from the blast of heat. He recommends cooking the bird until the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 to 170 degrees.

The breast meat should be 155 to 160 degrees. If you stuff the bird, then cook the dark meat until it hits 175 to 180 degrees, or 165 to 170 degrees for the breast.

Dip Recipe

Here is a good dip recipe for you.

Enjoy!!!
B.D.


White Cheese Jalapeno Dip

2 1/2 pounds white American cheese, cut into small chunks
1/2 white onion, diced
1 cup chopped jalapeno peppers
1 cup chopped canned green chiles
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup diced tomato
Chips, for serving

In a double boiler, combine all ingredients except tomato and chips.
Cook slowly over low heat until melted, stirring frequently.
If you don't have a double boiler, a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water will work.

Add tomatoes.

Serve warm with your favorite chips.

Weekend Report

Well the weekend is here...Woo-Hoo!!!

It's actually supposed to be in the 60's today and Sunday.

Then, it's supposed to get colder than a "Polar bear's butt" sitting on an Iceberg.

(Sigh....)

I posted a few sauce recipes Henry sent to me.

I will try to post some more of those this weekend, as they may come in handy next week for some of your "Turkey Day Feast" chow downs.


Here are a few more recipes you may want to check out sometime.

Enjoy!!!
B.D.


Ritz Cracker Chicken

6 chicken breasts, boneless
1 pkg. crushed ritz crackers
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese (or Mild)
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 stick melted margarine

Dip chicken in margarine and then cracker crumbs mixture.
Top with shredded cheddar cheese
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.


Crock-pot Dressing

1 (8 inch) pan cornbread
8 slices dry white bread
4 eggs
2 c. chicken broth
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 tsp. sage
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Celery to taste-chopped
1 med. onion-diced
2 tbsp. butter

Mix ingredients except butter.
Place in crock pot.
Dot butter on top.
Cook 2 hours on High then 4 hours on low.


Fried Dill Pickles

1 cup Cornmeal
2 Eggs beaten
2 1/4 cups Flour
1 cup Milk
1 tsp. Salt
3/4 tsp. Pepper
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. Mrs. Dash
1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
3/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1 qt. sliced Dill pickles
Vegetable Oil
Salt & Pepper (extra if needed)
1/2 tsp. Hot sauce

Combine 2 eggs, 1/4 cup flour, milk, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, cayenne pepper Mrs. Dash, and Garlic Powder; stirring well.
Set aside.

Combine cornmeal, 2 cups flour, salt, and pepper: mix well.
Dip drained pickles into milk mixture and dredge in flour mixture.

Deep fry at 350 degrees until golden brown.
Drain.

Salt and Pepper to taste.


Grilled Chicken livers

1 package of chicken livers
1 pound bacon
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut livers in half and wash.
Pat dry.

Cut bacon strips in half.
Salt and pepper livers.
Wrap each liver with bacon,hold in place with wooden toothpick.

(This is a messy job but well worth the time and mess.)

Grill until bacon and livers are done.

Dip into BBQ sauce and enjoy.

Something Fancy

I know I said I don't hardly post anything fancy...
But I'll have to make an exception in this case.

(It's Shrimp & Steak!!!)

Enjoy!!!
B.D.


Firecracker Shrimp with Pineapple

1 lime
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small Chipotle Chile in adobo, minced, plus 1/2 teaspoon adobo*
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 jumbo shrimp (about 1/2 pound), shelled and deveined, with tail part of shell left on if you like
1 ripe pineapple
3 slices bacon, each cut crosswise in half
Toothpicks
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons sliced chives
1 log (3 1/2 to 4 ounces) goat cheese, cut into 6 slices
3/4 cup guava nectar


DIRECTIONS:
1. From lime, grate 1/2 teaspoon peel and squeeze 2 tablespoons juice.

In medium bowl, whisk lime peel, lime juice, sugar, oil, Chipotle Chile, adobo, and salt.
Add shrimp and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cut off crown and stem end from pineapple.
Slice off rind and eyes.

Place pineapple on its side and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
Remove core from slices with knife; discard core.

Set aside 6 center pineapple slices for grilling; cover and refrigerate remaining slices for another use.

(You can use canned sliced if you don't want to go to all this trouble)

3. Prepare outdoor grill for covered direct grilling over medium heat.

4. Remove shrimp from marinade; reserve marinade.

Wrap each shrimp in piece of bacon, securing bacon with toothpick.
On waxed paper, combine cilantro and chives.
Coat goat cheese slices with herbs.

5. Place shrimp and pineapple slices on hot grill rack.

Cover grill and cook shrimp 5 to 6 minutes or until bacon is crisp and shrimp turn opaque throughout, turning shrimp occasionally and brushing with reserved marinade during first 4 minutes.

Cook pineapple 6 to 8 minutes or until browned, turning over once.

6. To serve, remove toothpicks from shrimp.

On each of 6 medium plates, place 1 pineapple slice; top each with a goat cheese round and a shrimp.

Drizzle guava nectar on plates around pineapple slices.


*Canned Chipotle chiles are smoked jalapeño chiles packed in a thick, vinegary sauce called adobo. Look for Chipotle chiles in Hispanic markets or some supermarkets.


Monte Carlo Crusted Rib Steaks

4 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon coarse salt (kosher)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon hot paprika
3 bone-in beef rib steaks, 1 1/4 inches thick (1 pound each)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Prepare outdoor grill for covered direct grilling over medium-high heat.
2. Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine pepper, salt, garlic powder, brown sugar, and paprika.
On waxed paper, sprinkle spice mixture over steaks, patting to coat both sides. Let stand 5 minutes.

3. Place steaks on hot grill rack; cook 1 minute on each side to sear.
Cover grill and cook 10 to 12 minutes longer for medium-rare or until desired doneness, turning over once.

4. Transfer steaks to platter; let stand 10 minutes.