Tinfoil Chef

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It’s getting to be that time of year again and soon enough the playoffs and then the Super Bowl will be upon us. This means that it’s time to start making sure that all of your game day recipes are in order and fine tuned so that they come out just right. For example there’s quite a variation on what people like for Chicken Wings.

Some prefer the milder ones, others (such as myself) like ‘em to be hot enough for spicyness but not bad enough to burn and then there’s those who want their wings just as hot as can be, ideally hot enough to cloud up their contact lenses again with every tongue searing bite.

I’ll stick with something that isn’t quite so … dangerous. I like spicy just fine, I prefer it in fact, however I don’t care for things to be so hot that I can’t taste anything else but the burning. (I’d also kinda like it if my stomach lining remained intact as long as possible)

Start out getting the oven preheated to 375 degrees, then take a dozen chicken wings and cook them in boiling water for 10 minutes to remove the fat and set them aside to cool.

Using a mortar and pestle to grind together 5 crumbled bay leaves, 3/4 teaspoon caraway seeds, 1/2 To 3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 3/4 teaspoon Ground coriander, 4 finely minced garlic cloves, 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard, 2 teaspoons of paprika, 3/4 teaspoon of dried thyme leaves, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt for about 10 minutes.

Add 2 tablespoons of brandy and 2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice to the ground herb and spice mixture and stir it into a thick paste

Brush both sides of each wing with the herb paste and arrange the chicken wings on a baking sheet. Bake until the skin turns deep brown and is crisp (approximately 30 minutes).

12 chicken wings with the tips removed
5 crumbled bay leaves
3/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 To 3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon Ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon Ground coriander
4 finely minced Garlic cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 teaspoons of Paprika
3/4 teaspoon of dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of brandy
2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice

Technorati Tags: football season, chicken wings, cajun chicken wings, game day snacks, recipe, football playoffs

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Before I get to the Apple Dumpling Dessert, I’m going off topic briefly to talk a bit about Saint Xavier University’s Online Master of Science in Nursing program. That’s right, it’s an online course for an online MS nursing CNL (Clinical Nurse Leader) degree.

This school isn’t some fly-by-night outfit run from somebody’s web server either. It’s an established, accredited school that first opened it’s doors in 1846 and is fully accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. All content and direction of the online courses are still overseen by their faculty and instructors.

Their MS-CNL program was designed to meet the needs of today’s Nurses with the flexibility of online delivery which makes it easier for people with busy work schedules to still fit in higher education.

Graduates of their online Master’s degrees find themselves prepared for wide variety of demands of the field and the changing needs of employers. Combined with a weekend of applied campus experience, the online course’s flexibility is designed for today’s busy students. These online programs give students the flexibility to complete a degree around the busiest of personal schedules.

Now, since all of that studying and degree earning has no doubt made you hungry, it’s time to reward ourselves with that Apple Dumpling Dessert.

Start out by peeling, coring and then thinly slicing 2 1/4 pounds of cooking apples. Then put the apple slices in a 12 inch skillet and add 3/4 cup sugar, a cup of water and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and stir well.

While that’s heating up, stir together 1 cup of biscuit mix and 1/3 cup of milk until the mix is moistened.

When the apple mixture gets to boiling, dumpling mixture in 6 portions over the apples. Let that simmer uncovered for another ten minutes. Sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar. Then cover and simmer until the apples are tender and the dumplings are cooked all the way through (about another 10 minutes).

Apple Dumplings:
2 1/4 pounds of tart cooking apples
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup of water
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 cup of biscuit mix
1/3 cup of milk

Topping:
1 tablespoon of sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

I know they’re technically a dessert, but I think they’ll go just great with a hot morning coffee.

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It’s getting well into apple season and they’re showing up in the stores all over the place. While I think most people like apples, it doesn’t take long after buying that large bag of ‘em before you start wondering what else you can do with ‘em besides eat them straight.

Apple coffee cake to the rescue!

Start out by pre-heating the oven to 375°F. Then Grease a 9-inch square baking dish or pie pan that can hold 4 cups (I’m guessing a 10 or 12 inch pie pan ought to do.)

Sift a cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and a half teaspoon of salt.

Combine 1/3 cup of sugar with a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and set it aside for the time being.

Cream the butter with 1/3 cup of sugar. When it’s good and smooth, beat in 1 egg until that’s well blended. Next, add the flour mixture a third at a time, alternating with a half cup of milk, beating the mixture until it’s just combined.

Spread half of the batter in the baking dish (or large pie pan). Peel and slice a medium baking apple and lay the slices on top of the batter so they just cover it. Some slices may overlap but that’s ok.

Sprinkle the apples with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Spread the rest of the batter over the apples. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon-sugar mix on top.

Bake for 25 minutes or until it’s golden brown and apples start to bubble around the edges.

A variation is to use a mixture of brown sugar and butter for the topping instead of the cinnamon sugar.

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It’s getting colder out and that brings on more thoughts of baking things if only just to have an excuse to start the oven. Never mind the fact that doing so often means baking and baking means assorted goodies for all. Next thing you know you’re wishing you’d bought the ingredients in bulk at one of those wholesale places.

Anyway, this recipe for pumpkin crunch custard is a dessert recipe that’s just made for the job. Not only do you get to crank up the oven for around 45 minutes or so but when it’s all done you’ve got a great snack to munch on. Preheat the oven to 325 and let’s get started.

For the custart part, beat 3 large eggs and then add a can of pumpkin, a can of evaporated milk, 3/4 cup of brown sugar (packed) 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice and a teaspoon of vanilla and mix until it’s all blended well.

To make the crunch topping, add 3 tablespoons brown sugar(packed), 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Add 4 teaspoons butter cut into small pieces and cut it in with a fork (or pastry blender) until it resembles coarse crumbs and then stir in 1/3 cup of chopped pecans.

Pour the custard mixture into an ungreased 2 quart baking dish and bake for 45 minutes or until the sides begin to set. At that point, remove the custard from the oven and sprinkle with the topping mix. Bake another 35 to 40 minutes or until it passes the knife test. Cool on a wire rake and searve warm or at room temperature. It’ll keep in the refrigerator 5 days but you’ll probably not have it around that long.

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Wings are an almost mysteriously popular part of the chicken. They’re not very big and let’s be honest, there’s not a whole lot of meat on them either. In spite of that, “Buffalo Wings” have been and continue to grow in popularity. Just for the heck of it, here’s a teriyaki variation I found on my hard drive this evening.

Make a marinade out of 1/3 cup of Lemon juice, 1/4 cup of ketchup, 1/4 cup of Soy sauce, 1/4 cup of Vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of Brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of Garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of Pepper.

Prep 3 pounds of chicken wings by removing the wing tips and cut them at the joints. Add the Wings to the marinade and refrigerate for at least six hours, preferably overnight. You’ll also want to turn them once in a while to make sure they get a good even soaking.

In a 375 preheated oven arrange the wings in aluminum foil-lined shallow baking pan. Bake 40
to 45 minutes, basting occasionally with the marinade.

Technorati Tags: teriyaki wings, teriaki, teriyaki marinade, buffalo wings

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It’s getting well into football season and that means all the stuff that goes with it. Specifically all the snacks and assorted traditional tailgating foods. Whether the tailgate is in the parking lot of the stadium or the your living room. Though if there’s too many people, doing it outside in some way would be a good idea just to keep somebody from tripping over the HDMI cables and nuking a new HD TV.

The wings are simple enough. Three pounds of wings with the tips cut off and cut into drummettes. Bake them in a flat pan at 350 for 25 minutes. Coat them with a bottle of Louisiana style hot sauce and cook for another 20 minutes.

The dip that traditionally goes with the wings is made up of an ounce of crumbled bleu cheese, 1/3 cup of Mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons of milk.

They’re traditionally served with the bleu cheese dip and celery sticks.

Technorati Tags: tailgating, football season, dip, buffalo wings, bleu cheese, recipe

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This is one of those desserts that’s sure to go over good enough that you might consider installing security systems on your refrigerator to keep ‘em safe until it’s time to serve them.

Mix a cup of flour with a half cup of softened butter and 1/3 cup of chopped nuts. Press this into a 9 x 13 pan and bake for 12 to 15 minutes at 350. When it’s done set it aside to cool while you get the rest of it ready.

Mix 8oz of cream cheese, a cup of confectioners’ sugar and a cup of cool whip or other whipped topping. Spread this over the cooled crust.

Next you need a couple of 3 3/4oz instant lemon pudding mixes. Make up the lemon pudding according to package directions and then pour it over the cream cheese layer and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour to set. Finish it off with a layer of your favorite cool whip-alike and then chill until you’re ready to serve.

The best security with all good desserts of course is to get ‘em made up and safely put away while nobody else is around. Then again, maybe a padlock on the fridge wouldn’t be a bad idea sometimes ‘eh?

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If brownies are a long time favorite then Banana Brownies will quickly be in competition for the favorite variety. Yes, with actual fruit in it they’re going to be a bit better for you than the standard fudge brownies but don’t let that fool you into thinking you can just go nuts with them. Eat too much of these and you’ll be scrambling for your best acne treatments just as if you’d loaded up on the fudge kind.

That said, it’s time to make some. *grins and ducks*

Get the oven going at 350 degrees to preheat and coat a 9 x 9 pan with a non-stick cooking spray.

In a bowl combine 1 cup of All Purpose Flour, 1/3 cup of unsweetened Coca, 1/4 cup of powdered Nonfat Dry milk, 1/4 teaspoon of Baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon of Salt.

Put a large ripe banana, a cup of Sugar, the whites from 2 large eggs, 1/4 cup of buttermilk and a teaspoon of vanilla in a food processor and puree until the mixture is smooth.

Add the dry ingredients and pulse the food processor until everything is just nicely blended and pour it into the pan.

Bake ‘em for 25 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test. Cut ‘em into 2 inch squares and stand back, the won’t last long. (be sure to get one out for yourself *before* you tell the family they’re ready!)

Technorati Tags: treat, snack, recipe, dessert, baking, banana brownies

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Ever wonder how some foods got their names? This recipe is one such case. Not having made these before I actually assumed from the name that they would be something bright and somehow sunny in appearance, though I couldn’t see how the recipe could work out that way.

Partly out of laziness and partly out of not having several ingredients on hand I decided to search out a picture of them just for the heck of it. I found one quickly enough on flickr (I’d have included the pic here but it had ‘all rights reserved’ for it’s usage terms).

That pic confirmed that these don’t LOOK sunny at all. Instead they remind me of home made chocolate chip cookies that were packed across country because somebody forgot to get ‘em out of the kitchen before the moving companies took over.

However, regardless of how they look, they still sound great. Not only that but they’re also diabetic friendly as well.

Start out sifting together 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, a teaspoon of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

Cut in 1/2 cup of shortening until the mixture has a crumbly consistency. Then, all at once add 1/2 cup of rasins, an egg, 2 tablespoons of orange juice, 2 teaspoons of grated orange rind and 1 1/2 teaspoons of Sucaryl. Mix well and then make into 1 inch balls and flatten them on a cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes at 375.

Technorati Tags: snack, treat, recipe, cookie, orange sunbeams, diabetic friendly

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Here’s an unusual variation on the basic brownies that we’ve all learned to crave. What makes these especially different is the addition of apples. If you’ve ever had caramel apples you can pretty well guess that it’s guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser. Just throw this together and bake off a batch and they’ll be gone quicker than you can apply for auto insurance online.

The basic recipe is probably what you’d expect. A half cup of soft butter, a cup of sugar and two well beaten eggs all thoroughly mixed until it’s smooth and creamy.

Then sift together a cup of flour, two teaspoons of cinnamon, a half teaspoon of baking powder, one teaspoon of baking soda and a half teaspoon of salt.

Stir the creamy mixture into the dry ingredients, add two cups of finely chopped apples and mix well. Either grease or use a non-stick cooking spray to coat a 9×9 pan and spread the mixture in it and Bake for 25 minutes at 350.

Technorati Tags: snack, treat, dessert, apple brownies, brownies, recipe

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