New Eats

Tom's Hawaiian Papayamole

2011-09-14T18:18:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
Small Strawberry papaya - very ripe
6 Small cooked shrimp - w/o tails
A few green onions
Lemon
Hawaiian sea salt
Red pepper flakes/chili powder/ichimi togarashi (optional)
Sugar (optional)
Ritz crackers

Directions:
Cut and de-seed the papaya. Scoop out and cut into bits. Chop up shrimp. Combine and add a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. You may keep the papaya/shrimp chunky like salsa, or food process it so that it's more smooth like guacamole. Once it's at the consistency you like, stir in green onions. Spoon onto crackers!

Variations: you may also substitute sugar for salt, an a sweet onion for the green onion. This will make it sweeter vs savorier. And if you're like me, I need more kick so I garnished with some red pepper flakes, etc.

Ps this recipe was originally the idea of Divemaster Tom Wong. If you enjoy it, don't thank me, thank the Wong Tom. :)

Tako Tacos

2011-09-12T00:25:00.001-07:00

The inspiration for this came from always seeing, but not ordering tako poke when I order my ahi poke... And the fun name! In this recipe I used tako poke / already marinated octopus, as I figured they've already added some spices that will taste good. I used rice and some cabbage for some diversity of textures. And added additional spices and soy sauce to taste. This is good when the rice is warm, but other items are cold.

Ingredients:

Taco shells
Chuka iidako (whole baby octopus)
Tako poke
Spicy tako poke
Shoyu soy sauce
Nori Komi furikake
Ichimi togarashi
Seaweed
White rice
Brown rice
Shredded cabbage

Directions:
Place all ingredients in separate containers and build your tako taco to your liking. Add seasonings as needed. Enjoy!

In 3 taco photo (L to R): tako poke with seaweed, white rice, and some furikake and togarashi; white rice, cabbage, chuka iidako and shoyu; brown rice, seaweed, togarashi, furikake and spicy tako poke.

Banana Rice

2011-09-11T11:16:00.001-07:00

This is just a little change-up for those of you who like oatmeal and bananas for breakfast. Today instead of using oatmeal, I used last night's white rice!

Ingredients:
Rice
Banana
Brown sugar

Directions:
Combine rice and banana in bowl. Stir / mash the bananas and rice until your desired chunkiness has been achieved. Sprinkle the top with brown sugar ad microwave for 2-3 minutes until the sugar has melted.

Maybe toss in some raisins? Yum.

Hot Shoyu Poke Sub

2011-07-11T21:01:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
Hot Shoyu Poke w/brown rice
seaweed salad
soy sauce
wasabi
wheat bread sub bun

Directions:
Deconstruct the poke bowl. nicely re-layer the poke.
top bun
seaweed salad
poke
wasabi
soy
brown rice
bottom bun

Enjoy!

Crushed Red Pepper Tea

2010-12-07T13:32:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

1-2 packets of crushed red pepper (like you get with pizza)
1-2 little creamer buckets (optional)
honey (optional)
hot water

Directions:
Steep the crushed red peppers in the hot water. using a reusable tea bag or coffee strainer helps... unless you like your tea "pulpy". add honey to sweeten if you'd like. also, if you drink the tea straight, the spiciness will stay with you. however, if you add the creamer, the tea is still spicy, but it doesn't bond with your mouth/throat as much. i recommend 1 red pepper packet to one "normal" mug of hot water. ideally 1:1 pepper packet to creamer bucket as well.

Pear Sauce

2010-09-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

This recipe isn't anything out of the ordinary, but I'd been eating some apple sauce lately and decided I wanted some pear sauce! So I bought a bunch of pears and made some. Totally natural, no sugar added. Yum!

Ingredients:

10 pears (bartlett)
lemon juice

Directions: Peel and core pears. Peeling is usually easier if you do it first. After coring, use the regular blade on your food processor and start processing them. Add a good squirt of lemon juice to keep it from getting too brown. Process until a slightly chunky, but liquidous texture is created. Keep refrigerated.

Try Try 'Ems

2010-03-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

bread or pizza dough
crumbled bacon
alfredo sauce
fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
prepare your dough as directed, then roll it out and cut into 2" x 10" or so strips - maybe a pinch narrower. create an even number of strips. cutting the dough with a pizza cutter works well. brush on alfredo sauce atop each strip. sprinkle every other strip with crumbled bacon. grind pepper over all strips. turn over non-baconed strip onto a baconed strip (alfredo side down). this will make a long, skinny alfredo-bacon-pepper sandwich of sorts. lightly press together, and maybe even pinch the edges together a bit to help it stay together. do this for each pair of dough strips. give 2-3 half twists for each strip. then bake as directed for your dough... or maybe about 400 degrees for 15 minutes or so (convection), at least until dough is golden. remove from oven. brush the twist-strip with alfredo and pepper again in the edge/cracks where you see the bacon inside part.

consume. (he go, eh?)

notes: when brushing the final alfredo, you can also choose to use butter. the alfredo / pepper combo makes the twist taste similar to biscuits and gravy. experiment with maybe... ground beef/pizza sauce/cayenne... bbq sauce/cheddar/pulled pork.

* what's with that name? ...well, instead of something obvious, like "alfredo bacon twists", i happened to be watching an episode of Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe. they were in hawaii making "dirt shirts". the silk screen lady, had a shirt that said "try try em" on the front and "he go, eh?" on the back. "try try em" is a means of encouragement/suggestion to try whatever it is you're doing. "he go, eh?" is a response/confirmation stating that what you just try-tried was a success. (of course if what you tried wasn't good, then "he no go". anyway, as i was making these, watching the show and then eating this new creation, and in the spirit of hawaii/my inventive recipes, i named these twists as such! give this (or any of my recipes) a shot. you might just like them. Try try the Try Try 'Ems!

Have You Tried That With Bacon? (HYTTWB)

2010-03-06T23:10:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick post to plug a spin-off site of RumYumYum... called Have You Tried That With Bacon?

HYTTWB is dedicated to BACON. Not just anything BACON, but new recipes and concoctions involving, revolving around BACON.

http://haveyoutriedthatwithbacon.eloph.com/

BACON, the ~~other white~~ only meat.

Spicy Caramel Bacon

2010-02-11T23:45:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

1 cup Caramel Sauce
1 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
Bacon

Directions:

line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper. preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut bacon into pieces, or halves, or just leave whole. place on pan. mix caramel sauce and cayenne. (of course you may reduce the cayenne a bit, maybe 2 tsp instead of 1 tbsp so it's not so spicy) brush the caramel sauce on the bacon. bake for 20-25 minutes. 20 minutes for chewy bacon, 25 for crispy bacon.

devour.

Caramel Sauce

2010-02-11T23:39:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

1/3 cup water
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream (40%)

Directions:
in small saucepan, the heavier the better, combine water and sugar over medium heat. stir to combine with wooden spoon. once all the sugar is dissolved, put heat on high for about 5 minutes, or until a light-brown/amber color starts to appear. do not stir during the 5 minutes, and be careful not to let the amber get too dark. then reduce to low heat and add a few spoonfuls of the heavy cream, a spoon at a time, while stirring. be very careful, as initially the mixture will bubble and foam up. once you've added a couple of spoonfuls, you may pour in the rest of the cream. continue to combine, then remove from heat and let cool.

once cooled, pour on your favorite ice cream, meat or just go at it with a spoon.

Strawberry Mascarpone Toast

2010-02-01T18:40:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

fresh strawberries, sliced
mascarpone cheese
bread

Directions:
toast bread. spread mascarpone on toasted bread. top with sliced strawberries.

* Inspired from a dish i saw in a movie, this recipe sounds simple, but I'm working out some of the details to make the flavors mesh well. A few things... mascarpone is a cheese, but is often used in place of butter. It has a mild flavor and can be flavored easily. Very spreadable, like a soft cream cheese, just not as strong of a flavor. Honey makes a good flavoring. With that in mind, initially i chose to use a "sweet honey wheat" bread. I used a "fancier" bread, not the cheap $1 loaves. This kind of bread is a little denser, but I found that while I was looking for a honey note in the bread, the dark wheat-ness flavor took over. So, next time I might try a honey-white, or a lighter grain bread. An oat-berry bread might go well also. But overall, I recommend a lighter-flavored bread. And as far as the strawberries go, I currently got mine out of season, so they weren't as ripe, and were a little tart, which I actually liked. But I could imagine some really fresh and ripe strawberries being very flavorful. And a final note about the toasting of the bread: i'd recommend letting the toast cool a bit so that you can get a better layer of mascarpone without it melting on still-hot toast.

Goes great for breakfast or a snack! Either way, delicious!

UPDATE: so yes, i bought and tried a honey wheat berry bread. much lighter in color and flavor, so it doesn't overtake the other flavors. and i did aim for something with honey to give the dish a little extra touch of sweetness.

Ghetto Brittle

2010-01-02T12:06:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:
2 sticks of butter
1 cup of sugar
16oz package of mini chocolate chips
1 cup chopped
1 package of saltines

Spread saltines on cookie sheet (line w/ aluminum foil)
Melt butter & sugar together
Pour butter/sugar mixture over saltines
Bake in oven at 400 for about 7 minutes (butter/sugar will bubble-remove from oven before it gets too brown)
Pour chocolate chips over crackers and spread as it melts
Sprinkle with pecans
Freeze for 1 hour
Break into pieces
Enjoy!

Yes, I stole this recipe from a friend of a friend at a party... so I didn't invent it. Wish I had though, these are delicious! Trust me... just give them a chance!

Cocoa-Cashew Banana Bread

2009-12-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c chopped cashews
3 very ripe bananas
1/4 c vanilla yogurt
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons butter, melted & cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tablespoons cocoa powder

Pre-heat oven to 350. Grease loaf pan or even 9x9 glass dish.

Combine and wisk all dry ingredients. Set aside.

In mixing bowl, hand mix (or use kitchen mixer on low) to combine wet ingredients. Slightly lumpy is ok.

Combine wet & dry ingredients, folding until just mixed. Do not over mix. Put batter into your pan/dish.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. Err on the side of slightly less to avoid drying out the bread. Remove from oven, let cool 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack.

Enjoy!

* recipe adapted from "the best cookbook ever" p 391

Chai-Spiced Hot Cider

2009-12-17T09:08:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:

64 oz apple juice
3-4 chai tea bags
1-2 cinnamon sticks

Heat the apple juice on stove top or with steamer. Add tea bags and cinnamon sticks.

Serve and enjoy!

* If drinking from a travel mug, put one of those cinnamon sticks directly in your mug!

Mashed Orange Marmalade Yams

2009-12-12T14:32:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

5-6 large yams
8oz orange marmalade
1/2 tsp nutmeg (or 1/2 fresh ground nutmeg nut)

Quarter yams and boil with skin on in large pot until fork tender; about 20 mins

drain and put in large bowl. add marmalade and nutmeg. combine with hand mixer until fairly smooth. leave slightly chunky if desired.

enjoy!

Orange-Almond Biscotti

2009-12-12T11:51:00.000-08:00

3 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1.5 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup whole almonds with skins, toasted, cooled, and chopped coarse
3 tablespoons orange zest

l.preheat oven to 350 degrees. sift flour, baking powder,
and salt together in medium bowl.

2. Cream butter and sugar together until light and smooth,
about 2 minutes with mixer set at medium speed.
Beat in eggs one at a time, then extracts. Stir in
almonds and zest. Sprinkle dry ingredients over egg
mixture, then fold in until dough is just mixed.

3. Halve dough and turn each portion onto an
oiled cookie sheet covered with parchment. Using
floured hands, quickly stretch each portion of dough
into a rough 13 x 2-inch 1og, placing them about 3
inches apart on the cookie sheet. Pat each dough
shape to smooth it. Bake, turning pan once, until
loaves are golden and just beginning to crack on top,
about 30 minutes.

4. Cool the loaves for 10 minutes; Cut each loaf diagonally
into 1/2-inch slices with a serrated knife (gently, they may crumble). Lay the slices
flat, about 1/2 inch apart on the cookie sheet and
return them to the oven. Bake, turning over each
cookie halfway though baking, until crisp and golden
brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Watch that they don't get too dark. Transfer biscotti to wire rack and cool completely.

Biscotti can be stored in an airtight container for 2 weeks.

*feel free to use other zest and try different extracts and nuts!

**recipe adapted from "the best recipe" cookbook

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Bread / Muffins

2009-10-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 3/4 cup vegetable oil
* 3 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 can pumpkin pie filling
* 1 cup peanut butter
* Mini-marshmallows (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and can of pumpkin pie filling. Stir in peanut butter... mix well. Once the ingredients are all incorporated, pour into a non- stick 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. If your pan is not non- stick coat it with butter and flour. Place mini marshmallows atop muffins, or even bread (1 mallow per mini muffin), if desired.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At this point a knife inserted into the middle of the loaf should come out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely. For muffins temperature should also be 325 degrees F., but bake for 30 minutes. For mini muffins, bake 12-15 minutes.

* Basic pumpkin bread recipe compliments of Alton Brown ( www.foodtv.com ). Modified by me!

S'more: the better

2009-08-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

graham crackers
large marshmallows
Ghiradelli flavored chocolate squares

Directions:
Make s'mores as usual. However the twist on this one is by using the Ghiradelli squares, not only do you get excellent chocolate, but you can also choose your favorite flavor to accompany your s'more. Try the squares with raspberry filling or dark chocolate for a better s'more!

Peppered Bacon Mary

2009-07-18T01:18:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

fresh ground black pepper
1 oz bacon flavored vodka
8 oz tomato juice
bacon strip
medium tomato

Prep: In frying pan, fry a strip of bacon until crisp. Consider using a weighted bacon press to keep it flatter. Drain. Consider using bacon strip while still warm for added flavor!

Add 10-15 grinds of black pepper to glass. Add bacon flavored vodka. Combine with tomato juice. Garnish with bacon strip and fresh tomato and a grind of black pepper.

Bacon Vodka Smootie

2009-07-16T00:31:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

6 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup bacon flavored vodka
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
ice cubes

combine all together in blender. blend. drink.

* makes two servings, and yes, it's "smootie"

Bacon Vodka Screwdriver

2009-07-16T00:24:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
orange juice
bacon strip
bacon flavored vodka
ice

Prep: In frying pan, fry a strip of bacon until crisp. Consider using a weighted bacon press to keep it flatter. Drain and cool bacon.

In a 6oz glass, fill with ice. Add 1 oz of bacon flavored vodka (or two if you LOVE bacon!) and fill with orange juice. Nibble on the bacon strip as you enjoy!

Bison Burgers & Buffalo Nachos

2009-07-04T16:19:00.000-07:00

Bison Burger

1 lb ground bison
medium white onion
worcestershire sauce
1-2 cloves of garlic

coarsely chop half white onion, slice garlic, a few shakes of worcestershire sauce and combine with ground bison. create patties and grill as normal. top with lettuce, tomato, bbq sauce

Buffalo Nachos

1 bag plain or buffalo wing flavored tortilla chips
1 lb ground bison
1 lb cheddar cheese
celery
white onion
ranch dressing
buffalo wing hot sauce

cook ground bison in frying pan. place tortilla chips on oven sheet. cover with cheese and bison. add chopped onion and buffalo wing sauce. cook 400 degrees until cheese is melted. top with ranch dressing and chopped celery.

* Tip: serve with Guiness draught!

Tiki Torches

2009-06-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

fresh pineapple
coconut or dark rum
brown sugar
skewer sticks

Directions:

Cut fresh pineapple into large cubes. Ideally about 1.5" x 1.5" (maybe 2"x2")... large pieces anyway. Place in a bowl or tray where you can soak them in the dark rum. Ideally soak them overnight in the freezer, but a couple hours in the fridge should do as well. When ready to cook, place 3-4 pieces onto the skewers. Sprinkle brown sugar on top. Grill on high for a few minutes until warm and slightly charred.

Warning: the alcohol may ignite and flare up during cooking. Especially with the dark rum. But that's half the fun, and why they're called Tiki Torches. they will ignite and flame a bit until the alcohol is burned out.

I prefer these frozen, then grilled so they will be warm on the outside and cool in the middle.

Salmon Bean Chili

2009-05-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
1 can salmon
1 can pinto beans
1 can stewed tomatoes
i can black beans
1 oz of hot sauce
juice of 1 lime
fresh ground black pepper
salt

Directions
Combine all into saucepan, drain salmon but do not drain beans. Stir to breakup salmon. Simmer until thickened, season with salt and pepper to taste.

V8 Barley Soup

2009-04-06T15:09:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1 cup dried pearl barley
1 cup rice
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
salt
pepper
dried basil
12 oz V8 juice
water
chives

Directions:
Put about 4 cups water into large pot. Boil and add barley and a few pinches of salt. This should cook for about 30 minutes to soften the barley. Add rice and cook for another 10-15 minutes or so, until rice and barley are al dente, or almost done. Add about 10 grinds of fresh pepper, 3-4 shakes of basil and the vegetables. Add more water as needed or boil it off to create the consistency you desire. More water will be more soup-like, or if you boil more off, it will be a thicker stew. Once you have your desired thickness, stir in the V8 and cook a minute or so more to make sure everything's heated.

garnish with fresh chives, and salt & pepper to taste

PB & Brown Sugar Oatmeal

2009-04-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

I created a spontaneous concoction this morning...

3/4 c plain quick oats oatmeal
1 spoonful of brown sugar
1 spoonful of crunchy peanut butter (or smooth)

Put oatmeal in bowl. Add brown sugar, then get your spoonful of peanut butter. Add boiling water, and stir all together with the peanut butter spoon.

Add some banana slices if you'd like!

Korean BBQ

2009-03-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe that I recently learned while scuba diving! After we'd done a couple of dives, one of the student diver's husbands had hot, fresh Korean BBQ waiting for us... right off the grill!

Ingredients
1c sugar
1c water
1c soy sauce
4-5 cloves fresh garlic
fresh grated ginger
1/2c chopped green onions / chives
2-3 tbsp sesame oil
1 onion, diced or food-processored
1 lb short ribs, ideally sliced the long way as to eliminate the bones. however any thin sliced beef will do. or other meat for that matter.

combine all ingredients and let the meat marinate in this for 6-24 hours. (I chose to take this camping and put it all in a wide-mouthed, 32oz water bottle) keep chilled while marinating. when time to cook, remove meat from bottle and grill it to medium or however you like it.

Rum Yukka / (original) Yukka

2009-03-30T15:40:00.000-07:00

I recently learned of this "tradition"... I've put the original below, but have also tweaked it a bit for my personal tastes.

Rum Yukka

1 handle coconut rum
4-5 large limes or 1 fresh chopped pineapple*
1 cup sugar
ice
sun tea container (1 gallon or so) with dispensing spout

* if fresh pineapple isn't available, or not very juicy, consider using 100% pure chunked pineapple from a can. One 16oz can should work well.

Put the rum and sugar in the container. half the limes, squeeze the juice into the container and toss in the rest of the lime. fill with ice (this should end up filling the container).

Next, take the container around to everyone at the party. have them give the container some shakes. you might wrap the container with a towel, as it will become cold and possibly slippery. after EVERYONE has done their shakes, time to drink! keep shaking to mix well and to help the juice come out of the fruit.

How to drink the Yukka.

Have a server and a recipient. The recipient sits in a chair, head tilted back, mouth open. The server holds the container over their mouth and pushes the dispense spout button. When the recipient's mouth is full or when they don't want anymore, they "tap out" by tapping the server. Consider using the shake towel as the ceremonial Yukka bib incase there is any miscommunication with the tap out.

Enjoy!

***

Original Yukka

1 handle Vodka
2-3 large lemons
1 cup sugar
ice
sun tea container (1 gallon or so) with dispensing spout

Put the vodka and sugar in the container. half or quarter the lemons, squeeze the juice into the container and toss in the rest of the lemon. fill with ice (this should end up filling the container).

Next, take the container around to everyone at the party. have them give the container some shakes. you might wrap the container with a towel, as it will become cold and possibly slippery. after EVERYONE has done their shakes, time to drink! keep shaking to mix well and to help the juice come out of the fruit.

***

As usual feel free to try your favorite alcohol and fruit.

Strawberry Shortcake (drink)

2009-02-16T17:41:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:
3-4 scoops vanilla ice cream (or strawberry ice cream)
1 cup milk
fresh strawberries
1 oz amaretto
whipped cream

blend ice cream, milk, a few straberries and amaretto to create a milkshake. garnish with whipped cream and a strawberry.

enjoy!

Fire Shot / Fire Bomb

2009-01-21T17:34:00.000-08:00

Fire Shot

Ingredients:
tapatio
vodka
lime (juice)

In a shot glass, fill about 3/4 full with vodka. shake in 5 shakes of tapatio. squeeze lime juice over top. Enjoy!

Fire Bomb
For the Fire Bomb, make the Fire Shot and then drop it into a glass of your favorite beer! Enjoy!

Fire Brittle

2008-12-24T15:55:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:
Peanut Prittle recipe
2 tsp chipotle powder

Take your favorite peanut brittle recipe. Follow as directed. When at the point of adding peanuts, add chipotle powder. Finish as directed.

The chipotle will add heat in the middle/back of your mouth. For a more front-of-mouth heat, use cayenne powder instead. Or add one teaspoon of each for a little bit of both.

Recipe courtesy of Michael Dambach.

Chicken, Bean & Pasta Salad

2008-12-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:
1 (15 oz) can corn
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (12.5 oz) can chunk chicken
8 oz fusilli (spiral) pasta
salt
pepper
extra virgin olive oil

directions:
cook pasta as directed on package. put cooked pasta into large glass bowl. add cans of drained beans/chicken to bowl. salt and pepper to taste. add a few tablespoons of olive oil, or keep one of the cans un-drained and add that, juice and all. combine. serve hot or cold.

variation:
for a bit of heat/spice add a tablespoon (or more to taste) of your favorite hot sauce like tapatio and mix in.

Yorkies

2008-12-22T19:30:00.000-08:00

ingredients:
Brownie mix
mini-muffin pan
York peppermint patties

instructions:
Make your brownie batter according to the instructions. spoon batter into mini-muffin pan (not quite to the top). cut peppermint patty into quarters or thirds, and place them point-down into each . cook about 25 minutes. try to err on the side of over cooking (without burning!) as the mini-muffin pan will create a virtually all-edge brownie... and with a peppermint patty center!

wait until brownies have fully cooled to remove from pan. to help, try slowly twisting them in the pan before removing.

variations:
substitute the peppermint patty with your favorite chocolatey candy: flavored hershey kisses, mint m&ms, white chocolate chunks, carmels, peanut butter cups, etc.

Pummelo Colada

2008-12-22T19:24:00.000-08:00

Per serving:
1 oz rum
1 Pummelo fruit / juice
Pinq Colada mix
ice

make your basic pina colada, but substitute 1 oz of the pina colada mix with 1 oz of freshly squeezed pummelo juice (or substitute equal parts mix/juice to taste... depending on your pummelo, you might use a whole fruit worth of juice). don't forget your rum! serve blended or over ice.

the pummelo is sweet grapefruit sized citrus fruit, nicely sweet, not very tart. a pummelo is to a grapefruit, what a meyer lemon is to a lemon.

alternately, you can use any sweet citrus fruit juice... orange, pineapple, meyer lemon, etc.

Irish Car Bomb Pancakes

2008-11-30T20:55:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (1 oz / 1 shot) of Bailey's Irish Creme
1 cup Guiness
1 cup white granulated sugar
"just-add-water" pancake mix
maple syrup (optional)

Bailey's Irish Pancakes
Mix one serving (2-4 pancakes) of your pancake mix, substituting 1/4 cup of the water for the irish creme. Cook as directed.

Guiness (Simple) Syrup
Mix one cup of sugar with one cup of Guiness in saucepan. Heat and stir about 10-15 minutes until it thickens. Very similar to a simple syrup. For stronger flavor add more Guiness or to tone down the flavor, mix together equal parts maple syrup with the Guiness syrup. Caution: when heating the guiness and sugar, it boils/foams up easily. keep on medium-high or slightly lower heat.

Enjoy your ICB pancakes!

Pumpkin Pie Brulee

2008-11-30T20:43:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

1 pumpkin pie (already made)
3" mini pie crusts/tarts shells
white granulated sugar
butane torch
egg nog (optional)

Scoop out pie filling from pumpkin pie. Spoon filling into small shells until full and smooth out top. Sprinkle sugar on top of mini-pies and shake off excess. There should be a light layer of sugar covering the top. Use the torch to melt and carmelize the sugar until it is melted and brownish. Let cool.

Serve cold or warm it up. Goes well with a small glass of egg nog.

Peanut Butter Fudge

2008-10-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

Chunky & Chocolate
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup chunky peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
16 oz powdered sugar
6 oz dark chocolate

Creamy Coconut
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tsp coconut extract
16 oz powdered sugar
1 cup flaked coconut

For either recipe:
Put butter (chopped) and peanut butter in large microwave safe bowl. Cover with plasic wrap, poke a few holes in the wrap and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Remove and stir to help combine. Microwave an additional 2 minutes. Add extract. Sift powdered sugar into liquid and stir until all combined and has a dull looking texture. If adding coconut, add about 3/4 cup of it to the mix and combine, leaving 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top later.

Line a 8x8 dish with wax paper and press & smooth mixture into the dish. Sprinkle with coconut or if using the chocolate: melt chocolate in a double boiler for a few minutes until smooth. Pour chocolate over the top of the fudge in dish. Store in fridge until chocolate is cool.

Store in fridge.

Suggestions:
Use wooden / bamboo spoon for stirring. Use all natural peanut butter and dark chocolate for a slightly "healthier" fudge.

Pieces de Vu

2008-07-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
1 cantaloupe, sliced and sectioned
1 pkg proscuitto
1 container fresh olive-sized mozzarella balls (plain, not marinated)
Colored toothpicks

Cut cantaloupe in half, long-ish way. Scoop out all the seeds and insides. Cut each half into about 5 crescents. Cut the rind away from each crecent and then cut each crecent into about 6 cube-ish pieces. Feel free to snack on the tips of the crecents as you go! Set these all aside on your serving dish.

As you go, cut the proscuitto into 2"x4" pieces or so. Next, fold or wrinkle the piece of proscuitto and stick it with a toothpick. Next put a mozzarella ball on one end of the toothpick. Finally poke the toothpick into a cantaloupe piece, mozzarella ball side up so you have cantaloupe on bottom, proscuitto in the middle and mozzarella ball on top.

Hopefully you will have a little bit of toothpick sticking out of the top to act as a pickup point (and some party color). And depending on the size of your cantaloupe and mozzarella balls, cut sizes accordingly.

When eating, try to get the whole thing in your mouth at the same time. The proscuitto adds just a hint of salt to the cantaloupe and finishes with a great taste of cheese goodness.

* "Pieces de Vu" came from a dream when I was trying to figure out a name for these. Loosely translated it means: highly regarded pieces

Patty Pocket

2008-04-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

9" tortilla / wrap (warmed)
3-4" cooked burger patty (approx 1" thick, meat of your choice)
sliced cheese, tomato, onions, lettuce
other burger condiments

mix up your favorite recipe for a burger. create patties about 1" thick and 3-4" around. cook on grill as usual. when burger is ready, place warmed tortilla (if not warm, it may crack/break when folding) on plate and place burger at the 6 o'clock position. fold left third of totilla over middle third. fold right third over middle third. fold top half of tortilla (12 o'clock position) over the bottom half (6 o'clock position).

you now have a patty pocket! one half of your pocket will have the burger and you will have another half of the pocket to put in your favorite toppings and condiments. place in one hand and enjoy! notice there are no open edges for your toppings or juice to drip out!

after you've mastered the art of the fold, feel free to boast to others the pure genius of your perfect patty pocket:
"it's more fun without the bun!"
"if you don't fold it right, you can't hold it right!"
"the meat's in a pleat and the veggie's in a wedgie!"

Tapatio Mary

2008-04-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

12 oz tomato/vegetable juice
1 oz vodka
juice 1/2 lime
tapatio
celery
ice

this isn't much of a remaking of a bloody mary, but just the way i make them.

put tomato juice in a glass with ice. add the vodka and lime juice. finally add 3-5 shakes of tapatio hot sauce. stir together with celery stalk. enjoy!

Basil Jack Scallops

2008-04-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

large scallops
fresh lime
fresh basil, chopped
pepper jack cheese

heat olive oil in frying pan and begin to brown scallops on one side. medium heat, about 5 minutes or when browned on bottom. squeeze lime juice over scallops while browning. flip scallops and squeeze fresh lime on browned side. (feel free to add any extra lime juice to oil while cooking for added flavor) place a pinch or two of the fresh basil on top of the scallops, and then place a small slice of pepper jack on top of the basiled scallop. cover to finish browning and help melt the cheese a bit. serve and add some fresh ground pepper to taste.

Soda Swizzler

2008-03-31T21:59:00.000-07:00

Favorite can of soda pop
Fruit popcicle

On a hot summer day, take a can of your favorite soda pop and cool it down while giving it some flavor. Choose a cola or a lemon-lime (even diet). Pour the can into a pint glass. Take your favorite fruit popcicle (whole or half-bar style) and stick it upside-down into the glass of soda. Use it to stir and add flavor to your soda as it melts and cools your soda instead of ice.

Try these flavor combinations:
Cola soda & lime popcicle
Lemon-lime soda & cherry popcicle
Root beer soda & coconut popcicle
Orange soda & orange creamcicle
Cola soda & fudge popcicle

Brer Rabbit: Tar Baby style

2008-03-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
1 rabbit (approx 3 lbs), quartered
1 bunch rainbow carrots

Tar Baby sauce
1/2 cup molasses
Juice of one large orange
A few spoons of brown sugar

Tangy Tar Baby rub (optional)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp brown sugar
(this rub will cover one of the rabbit quarters. multiply the rub recipie by the number of quarters you wish to season)

Directions
Mix sauce ingredients in bowl. Set aside.

Combine rub ingredients and mix thourghly. Apply rub to rabbit. Press / rub thouroughly. You can do this a few hours ahead of time to allow it to marinate a bit. Keep refrigerated until ready to cook.

Set grill heat to low and place rabbit on grill. It's best to cook slowly and with indirect heat to prevent over drying of the meat. While grilling, brush on sauce. Brush on multiple coats as you flip, until covered. Cook about 20 minutes, but be sure to check with thermometer (~160 degrees) to determine doneness.

A carrots to grill and cook them as well. They will take about the same time to cook, depending on their size. Cut large carrots in half long-ways to cook quicker.

Grill over mesquite wood or with mesquite chips for extra flavor.

On left: with Tangy Tar Baby rub
On right: Tar Baby style (no rub)

Looney Cake

2008-03-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

This one was not created by me, but it's the family recipie that my mom has always made. Delicious!
***

Cashew / Peanut Brittle

2008-03-11T21:37:00.000-07:00

This one was not created by me, but it's the family recipie that my dad has always made. It's not as hard as it may seem to make!
***

One candy thermometer

2.5 Cups of white sugar
1 Cup white Karo syrup
1 Cup water
3 Cup green/raw Cashews or Peanuts (must be raw and unsalted)
1 Teaspoon vanilla
1 Teaspoon baking soda (make sure this from a new box)

Have two cookie sheets or a large pan ready. butterer lightly.

Cook sugar, karo, and water to soft ball stage in heavy saucepan. Add nuts and cook till light brown string all the time untill temperature is exactly 327. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir well then add soda string very fast. Becareful not to stir with a plastic or meltable spoon. Make sure soda is all mixed in, brittle will turn light brown and get bigger in pan. Pour immediately on to butted pans string all the time. Do not get it on you for it is very, very
HOT and you will not be able to get it off your hand.

Let pans cool until it is cool to the touch. A cold garage or garage floor is a good place. Then break into pieces and eat!

Nutmeg Amaretto Pancakes

2008-03-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

Pancake mix / Bisquick
Freshly ground nutmeg
1 shot Amaretto

Make your pancake mix as directed on the package. I like to use Bisquick. Add 8-10 grinds of the nutmeg from the nutmeg mill or grate it until you think it's enough. Add the Amaretto. Cook as directed.

This just adds a extra little hint of flavor to your pancakes (or waffles).

Frostbite

2008-03-10T10:48:00.000-07:00

Lemon-lime soda
Beer of your choice
Pint glass

First make a snakebite... Choose your favorite beer. I think a wheat / hefeweizen works best. Probably not a flavored one, but you can give any beer a try. Pour 1 part beer and 1 part soda into your pint glass. Now this, by itself is a delicious snakebite.

Now to turn it into a frostbite. Just put your snakebite in the freezer! Put it in there for at least an hour. The beer will keep it from freezing solid. However, the longer you freeze the more slush you will get. This makes for a delicious summer or dessert treat. You can drink as it melts or spoon it up!

Kidney Shrimp Rice Potato... gumbo?

2008-01-10T22:33:00.000-08:00

1 cup rice
1 cup water
3 med red potatoes or 2 large red potatoes, boiled
1 can kidney beans
1/2 can coconut milk
2 cups precooked/tail-removed shrimp

cover potatoes with water and boil in a pot for about 20 minutes, or until fork tender. remove from water and put in bowl. chop up the potatoes with a fork. don't mash them but cut them up so that they are bite-sized / chunky or so.

cook the rice in a pot. add rice and water cook covered over med-high heat for about 5 minutes or until water is all absorbed. stir a bit to keep to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom.

keeping the rice in the pot, add kidney beans (juice and all), potatoes, shrimp and coconut milk. stir to combine and keep on warm/low heat to keep warm.

you might add some salt and pepper to taste, but its surprisingly tasty as-is.

Avocado Rolls

2008-01-02T13:08:00.000-08:00

tortillas (smaller & thinner the better -- consider using wonton wrapper sheets)
avocado
salsa (pinapple/mango salsa is good)
...other ingredients as you'd like (onions, garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, etc)
saffola oil

cut avocados into at least eigths the long way, wrap them with your other ingredients inside the tortilla. use a couple of toothpicks to hold them closed while they fry. fry till crunchy in 350-375 degree oil. only cook two at a time, making sure your oil stays hot. look out for any oil popping or splattering. eat them fresh and crunchy, or let them sit a bit and get a little soft.

Thanksgiving Enchiladas

2008-01-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

turkey
tortillas
gravy
stuffing
cranberry sauce

...make like regular enchiladas! put a thin layer of gravy in 9x9 pan. quickly dip tortilla in gravy. roll up some turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce in the tortilla. put in pan. should fit about 4 enchiladas in a 9x9 pan. once the pan is full, pour some extra gravy and cranberry sauce on top. cover with foil and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes. uncover the last 3-5 minutes and broil so they brown a bit on top. serve.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

2007-12-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

Bag of Fresh Baby Spinach
1 Pint Strawberries, sliced
1/4 red onion, chopped
Balsamic vinegar, maybe about 1/4-1/2 cup
freshly ground salt & pepper

add spinach to salad bowl. toss in strawberries. give a few grinds of s&p on the strawberries. add the red onion. add balsamic vinegar to taste (ie pour a splash or two in, stir, repeat)

enjoy!

Fox Point Popcorn

2007-12-10T12:18:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:
1 cup popping corn
Fox Point seasoning
3 tbsp canola oil (or other high smoke-point oil)
1 tbsp unsalted butter (optional)

Really this recipie is nothing more than popcorn and your seasoning of choice, but after adding some Fox Point Seasoning (http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysfoxpoint.html) to fresh popcorn. Fox Point Seasoning smells and tastes similar to Stove Top stuffing. It's delicious!

In heavy pan with lid, heat oil and butter on med-high heat. When butter is melted, add popcorn and place lid on pan. Keep on heat and give the pan a shake & swirl every 20-30 seconds until the corn starts popping. Keep listening so when is stops popping you can take the pan off the heat so it doesn't burn.

Pour popcorn into bowl, trying to keep out any unpopped kernels that will probably be at the bottom. Now shake in your Fox Point Seasoning to taste and enjoy! (I suppose you could add some Fox Point to the the oil so it gets on the kernels as they pop.)

Manischewitz Milk

2007-11-20T10:55:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Manischewitz blackberry
Vanilla rice milk

...combine these to taste, but 2 parts milk with 1 part Manischewitz seemed to be tasty. creates a nice creamy dessert drink for a hot day!

Manischewitz Milkshake

2007-11-20T10:48:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:
1 pint vanilla ice cream -- softened
1/2 cup blackberry Manischewitz

...put it all in a blender or milkshake machine and combine! add more or less Manischewitz to taste. Manischewitz is not that strong of a wine, so it's more of a sweet syrup flavor.

enjoy!

Horchata French Toast & Honey Fried Ham

2007-11-17T10:24:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 cup vanilla rice milk
horchata drink mix powder
sliced wheat bread

1/4" slices of smoked ham
honey

French Toast:
put eggs and milk into a shallow bowl that is big enough to lay/dip the slices of bread into. add horchata powder to eggs & milk. use as much as you would like, more for stronger flavor. one scoop or a couple heaping tablespoons of powder is a good start. combine powder, eggs and milk thouroughly. once combined, quickly dip bread into mixture on each side. don't let the mixture soak in too much. place immediately into griddle or pan on med-high heat. cook until browned and flip over and brown as well. this will make 4-6 slices of toast.

Honey Fried Ham:
on medium heat, put ham slices in skillet. top each piece of ham with a spoonful of honey. cover and let cook and ham heat thouroughly. when about ready to serve, turn up heat and remove lid. brown ham on both sides. becareful, hot honey may splatter. also beware that as the honey starts to brown, it will burn fast, so keep an eye on it!

Variations:
instead of horchata powder, feel free to use any of your other favorite powder mix that you'd add to milk. for instance: chocolate milk powder, horchata mix, green tea powder, malted milk powder, etc

Hummus Cheddar Burger

2007-10-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

ingredients:
burger patties
cheddar cheese slices
lettuce
your favorite hummus (flavored?)
wheat buns
mustard

optional:
sweet onions
garlic
tomatoes

really this is a simple cheeseburger, but with a hummus twist. make a cheeseburger, add mustard to the bottom bun, then spread on a nice bit of hummus on the top bun then add lettuce. depending on your flavor of hummus, it really makes more of an earthy flavor when using the wheat bun.

to change it up even more, dice up some onions and garlic. you can cook them a bit before hand or just add them raw, but put them in between the burger and the cheese. the melted cheese will help keep them on, but that will add a little more crunch or flavor to your burger. of course a slice of tomato won't hurt either.

definately give it a try with a veggie/garden burger for those not a fan of the meat. but expirament with different hummus flavors to find what you like best!

Peppered Apricot Lamb

2007-07-18T20:54:00.000-07:00

1 rack of lamb (frenched, 8-10 ribs)
6 apricots
freshly ground black pepper
kosher salt
freshly chopped parsley

pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

cut apricots into halves and remove pits. puree half of the apricots in food processor. once pureed, ad a pinch of salt and 20+/- grinds of black pepper to taste. you do want enough pepper to come through the apricot flavor, as it will be sweet and tart. put other apricots aside.

cut lamb rack into parts, two ribs each part. season with salt and pepper on each side. in fry pan on high heat, sear each side of lamb for about 2-3 minutes per side until browned. after searing, put the lamb onto sheet pan or broiler pan and into oven for 10 minutes. remove from oven and glaze the lamb with the apricot puree. return to oven for 5 more minutes.

with remaining apricot halves, place face down in new frying pan on med-high heat, and cook until slightly carmelized (brown) and soft.

when lamb is done, the apricots should be done too. remove lamb and apricots. sprinkle chopped parsley on top of lamb. serve lamb with a few apricots halves, maybe some other pasta (ravioli pictured) and red wine.

Pear Cider Float

2007-07-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

1 bottle of your favorite pear cider
Vanilla bean ice cream

In a large pint sized glass, fill it about half full of the cider. now scoop about 3 round scoops of ice cream into the glass. watch out for fizz! once you've got enough ice cream, top it off with the rest (or as much as will fit) of the cider. now grab a spoon and a straw and enjoy!

your personal preference with the cider may vary. i've found that the sweeter ciders taste better. if there is too much alcohol taste, the flavor of the pear doesn't come through. also try raspberry cider!

Red Ants on a Log

2007-06-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

dried cranberries
cream cheese
celery

This is a simple variation to the popular "(Regular) Ants on a Log".

First separate the celery stalks and trim the tops and bottoms.

Next, spread cream cheese into the celery's groove.

Finally, stick the cranberries on top of the cream cheese.

Cider Brats

2007-06-25T00:25:00.002-07:00

1 package of your favorite brats
1 bottle of your favorite cider
sliced adequate amount of fruit corresponding to the cider

put brats, fruit and cider in pan and cook over medium-high heat until brats are done. serve brats and cover with cooked fruit.

variation:

replace fruits with vegetables like onions, bell peppers, eggplant, tomatoes. put the veggies in the pan with some olive oil and brats. cover and cook on medium-high. stir occasionally and when the brats are slightly browned or the veggies start to carmelize.

Strawberry Marcsapone Parfait

2007-06-25T00:25:00.001-07:00

8 oz marscapone cheese
1/2 pint whipping cream chilled
sugar
8 oz fresh strawberries
dark rum
angel food cake

in chilled metal bowl, whip whipping cream until firm. add sugar to taste. give marscapone a few stirs with spoon to smooth it out, then fold into whipped cream and splash of rum. remove stems and cut strawberries into halves or quarters depending on size. cut cake into 1 inch cubes. sprinkle rum onto cubes. be careful not to soak cubes, only a few drops of rum are needed per cube. in any pilsner or tall dessert glass create a layer of cubes and strawberries. then a layer of marscapone... until full. garnish with a bit of cream and a strawberry on top. serves 2-4.

Peach Pizazz

2007-06-25T00:24:00.003-07:00

Peach Pizazz

6 inch crepes
1 peach (firm is ok)
1 can 100% Peach/Mango/Orange juice concentrate
dark rum
Water
powdered sugar

Pre-make your crepes. If you're making 20-30, it could take as long as an hour.

Cut peaches into 16ths. put peach slices and one shot glass of concentrate and two shot glasses of water. If the peach is very firm, it's ok, just cook until soft. feel free to add an extra shot of water or two until peaches are cooked. 5-10 minutes. you may add another shot of concentrate for every two shots of water. stir a bit with wooden spoon. once peaches can be cut in half with wooden spoon, and there isn't much liquid left, though some is ok and necessary. remove from heat and add one shot of rum. be careful not to ignite rum. return to heat and ignite rum. cook until all alcohol is burnt off. remove peaches into glass bowl.

in pan, add remaining concentrate and equal parts water and one shot rum. cook this down until a slightly thick syrup is formed. add to bowl of peaches.

add 2-3 peach slices per crepe. put in middle, then fold over each side of crepe. put on plate, add one more peach slice on top with some of the peach syrup. sift a dusting of powdered sugar over each
crepe.

the concentrate will have a little tartness to it. depending on your taste, you may add more or less water, concentrate, and rum. generally one peach, 3 shots of water, 1 shot of concentrate and 1 shot of rum for the peach mixture yeilds up to 4 servings.

Dessert Crepes

2007-06-25T00:24:00.001-07:00

Dessert Crepes
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups cake flour
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon dark rum or vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl whisk the sugar, cake flour, and salt. Add the eggs and whisk well. Whisk in the oil and the milk. the mixture should form a thick paste. Pour in the remaining milk a little at a time while mixing and then add the rum (or vanilla).
Heat the crepe pan over medium-high heat for about a minute. Cover the surface of the pan with clarified butter until it gets sizzling hot.
Ladle some batter onto the middle of the 8-inch pan and immediately start swirling the pan to distribute the batter over the surface. Pour the batter so that it's very thin on the pan.
Cook the crepe for about 30 to 60 seconds (heat may vary) or until it's brown around the edge and dry in the center. Using a thin spatula flip the crepe quickly and cook for about 15 seconds. Using the spatula, remove the crepe to a warm plate. Sprinkle the crepe with sugar. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Will make 20+/- crepes depending on the size and thickness of the crepe / batter.

Banana Marscapone Pie

2007-06-25T00:23:00.000-07:00

Banana Marscapone Pie

1 box instant banana pudding / pie filling
1.5 cups milk
8oz marscapone cheese
two smaller bananas
1 shot dark rum or banana rum
1 pre-made graham cracker crust

mix milk and pie mix in bowl for two minutes. mix in rum. pie mix should have thickened up a bit. depending on your marscapone, give it some stirring to smooth it out and get out any lumps. add it to pie mix. if you have trouble getting it to smooth out, mix it real quick with an electric hand mixer. once all combined, slice up one of the bananas into slices. fold/stir into pie mix with spoon. pour entire mixture into pie crust. chill for at least 30 minutes, or freeze slightly for firmer pie. cut other banana in half, then cut each half into slices the long way, approx 6-8 slices. put banana slices on top of pie. cut pie into 6-8 pieces.