It's all about the recipe. Really, it is! I have amassed quite a collection of recipes from my favorite cookbooks and food magazines, and now, because of all the foodie blogs out there, I am adding more every day! I test every recipe I post. Some I've been cooking for years, decades even, others I have cooked just once or twice. I don't post mediocre recipes. I don't post good recipes. I post GREAT recipes, recipes that I LOVE. When I find a recipe like that, I can't wait to share it! And the only thing better than sharing a recipe is hearing that someone else tried it and is as excited about it as I am :) Please, try something! Then let me know if you love it as much as I do! Or even why you don't... Either way, I'd love to hear from you!
Many people have their own much loved hamburger recipe. I got started late. I don’t have an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G recipe, but I have three good and different ones. This one is my basic hamburger recipe. (It’s from “America’s Test Kitchen”.) It’s basic. There are no surprises. Everyone likes it. If I ever get some homegrown beef, and learn to grind my own meat blend, this might be an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G burger. Right now, it’s a GOOD burger which can easily be made GREAT, and here’s how! 1. Pay attention to the bun. Make your own…, or go out of your way to find a good one. 2. Make the patty FIT the bun. Cook the patty well. No dried out burgers please. No raw in the middle burgers, either, thank you. 3. Have “to die for” condiments-grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, great cheese, apple smoked bacon, homegrown tomatoes, crisp lettuce, sliced avocado, ketchup, mayo, mustard, and pickle relish. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
Basic Hamburgers
1 slice of good bread
2 T. milk
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 T. A-1 steak sauce
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
Cut the crust of the slice of bread then finely dice. Put in the bottom of a large bowl and add milk. Mash bread into milk until homogenous. Stir in the salt, pepper, garlic, and steak sauce. Break up beef and add to bread mixture. Using a fork, lightly mix ingredients together. Divide meat into 4 or 6 portions and flatten to 3/4 – 1 inch thick. (I like my patties to be between 4 1/2 and 5 oz.). Place patties on hot grill (or in hot frying pan). Grill for 2-4 minutes on first side, and 3-4 minutes on second side.
What a way to kick off your July 4th holiday…, homemade waffles with fresh blueberry syrup and a bit of whipped cream. You’llbe singing…”Ohhhhhh, say can you seeeeeee by the dawn’s early light… What so prOUdly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleeeeaming…” all day long! The waffles are delicious; the first bite has a wonderfully light crispness to it. You’ll want to keep taking bite after bite, believe me. The waffle batter is mixed the night before, covered and set out on the counter to ferment a bit. In the morning an egg and melted butter are stirred into the batter while the waffle iron preheats. The blueberry sauce can be made in advance, but it only takes 15 minutes so it can be made while the coffee brews. It’s going to be a GREAT day… “And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air…”
Don’t wait for next July 4th to make these though. I make these for overnight guests. This, and a latte, and they are in heaven, and I am not exhausted by 9 AM.
I don’t have one of those fancy-schmancy waffle irons. Both of mine cost less than $20 each. They work GREAT, especially with this recipe. Look for a sale, buy one or two inexpensive waffle irons while you wait for Santa Claus, Prince Charming, or Mom to get you one of those expensive ones. (I’ve been waiting 20+ years….)
This recipe is from the book I started out cooking my way through…, “The 150 Best American Recipes“. The recipe was in the right book!
Amazing Overnight Waffles
2 cups flour
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
6 T. butter, melted
Combine flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk in milk. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter overnight. (If the overnight temp in room is above 70 degrees, refrigerate batter). The next morning, beat egg and melted butter into batter. Preheat waffle iron. Spray waffle iron with Pam. Pour 2/3 cup batter into standard waffle iron or 1 1/3 cup batter into Belgian waffle iron. Cook waffle for 2-3 minutes (or until crisp and brown). Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree oven. (Place cooked waffles directly on oven racks, do not stack, and waffles should remain warm and crisp).
Two notes… mix the waffle batter in a big bowl before covering to rest overnight. Once I made the batter in a 5 cup bowl… Not a good idea. When I got up the next morning there was batter on the counter and on the floor. There must have been quite a waffle batter party in the kitchen while I slept…
After stirring in the melted butter and beaten egg, let the batter sit for a bit. Because of some late risers in my house, I have discovered that batter that sits an hour or two, has a really GOOD crispy crust.
Makes 4 big waffles.
Fresh Blueberry Sauce
1 lb. Fresh Blueberries
1/2 cup apple juice (can substitute water in a pinch)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice.
Bring blueberries, apple juice and sugar to a boil over medium heat. Simmer for 15 minutes. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and then stir into bubbling blueberry mixture, keep mixture at a boil, add in lemon juice. Continue to boil the mixture until sauce is thickened, no more than 1 or 2 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve. Can be made up to two days ahead. Leftovers can be frozen for future use.
Paula Deen disappointed me with her Orange Cake, but NOT with her Orange Sherbet. This is one of those “Philadelphia-Style” ice creams that I am so crazy about. There’s no custard to make and no eggy taste to the resulting ice cream. The directions called for whole milk and whipping cream, but I used whole milk and half and half. If you don’t mind a not-so-creamy texture to your ice cream, you too can reduce the fat content by using one or two steps down in the type of dairy called for in the recipe, using half-and-half plus low fat milk, perhaps? Since this ice cream also has some orange juice in it, it is automatically lower in fat than many other ice creams out there! BUT, you can be sure the taste is still GREAT, or I wouldn’t be posting this recipe. This sherbet has a strong orange taste, but not overpoweringly so, it’s like the taste of a really good mushed up 50/50 bar! (Reducing the fat content of the dairy, making the sherbet icier, will only intensify the similarity). In fact, [light blub goes off!] this sherbet should probably be called “Smashed 50/50 Bar Sherbet”!
1 1/2 cups orange juice
grated zest of one orange
3/4 cup sugar
2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon orange extract (use vanilla extract if you don’t have orange)
1 1/2 cups whole milk (or 2%, 1%, or non-fat… every step down in fat content will affect the texture and creaminess/iciness of the sherbet)
1 cup whipping cream (or half-and-half)
In a large bowl combine orange juice, zest, sugar, lemon juice, and extract. Stir until sugar is dissolved (2-3 minutes). Stir in milk and cream. Cover and chill for 2-4 hours (or overnight). Pour chilled mixture into container of an electric ice cream maker. Freeze until slushy. Remove mixture to an airtight container and freeze until firm (about 2 hours).
You know I couldn’t make just one, didn’t you?! Here’s ANOTHER really, really good Philadelphia Style ice cream. Philadelphia Style ice cream is, without a doubt, my choice for ice cream. It tastes lighter and it’s sooooo much simpler to make. I have fond memories of Andes Mint Chip Ice Cream. I have only know of one place that made it, and it went out of business years ago. When I was pregnant with Hannah, 26 years ago, I used to take a walk to this ice cream shop…, on a regular basis…, the cool Andes mint and the cold ice cream just seemed RIGHT! How exciting that I can make this at home now and I don’t have to be pregnant to enjoy it!
1 ¼ cups cold whole milk (or 2%, 1%, or non-fat…remembering that each step down in fat content will affect the creaminess/iciness of the finished product)
2 ½ cups cold heavy whipping cream (or half-and-half)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoons peppermint extract (don’t even think of increasing this. I did a few times and the ice cream base got bitter)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
few drops of green food coloring, optional
1 box (4.67 oz.) Andes mints, coarsely chopped
½ cup mini chocolate chips OR ½ cup of chopped milk, dark, or mint chocolate
Stir milk, cream and sugar together, using a wire whisk or hand mixer, until sugar has dissolved. Stir in peppermint extract and optional green food coloring. Pour mixture into an electric ice cream maker. Process for about 15-20 minutes, or until mixture is very thick and slushy. Stir in all of the chopped mints and chocolate. Process for an additional 5 minutes. Remove ice cream to a freezer safe container and freeze until hard, two to four hours (if you can wait that long).
Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today. Have fun making ice cream. I have been making homemade ice cream for so long that I really can just walk by all that processed stuff in the freezer section. It just doesn’t taste REAL. It tastes sweet, yes, and cold, and sometimes there’s something gooey running through it, and, on the whole, store bought ice cream has good mouth feel and texture and creaminess, but no TASTE.
