Blackened Cajun Spice Mix

A pork chop in the blackened seasoning mix, pan fried in a mixture of olive oil & butter, YUM!

Once upon my husband worked at a restaurant for a certified master chef.  The blackened seasoning that they used on fish, sauteed in butter and served over spinach was the bomb. The guy was nice enough to share this with my hubby. 

We've been looking for the recipe for many years now, but could not locate that slip of paper... basically we've been trying to locate it for about 15-20 years!

After years of wondering, we finally located the recipe in a binder of recipes that I had collected to "save" (back before you had the internet... hahaha!).

Here's the recipe that I adapted the measurements so you can make a SANE size recipe at home.  We've been arguing about whether the original has too much salt (which I believe to be true... and my hubby doesn't agree). 

Makes about 2 cups, plenty to share with friends and family!  We use this on fish, chicken, pork and even steak.  It would probably be great on a cauliflower "steak" too.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup kosher salt (use 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp if you like things salty...)

1/4 cup onion powder or granulated onion (NOT onion salt!)

1/4 cup white pepper

1/4 cup cayenne pepper (if you are afraid of too spicy, you can reduce this to 1-2 Tbsp...)

1/4 cup paprika

1/4 cup dried thyme

2 Tbsp ground pepper

Mix in a bowl with a whisk to fully mix.  Save in an air tight jar, or jars.  Sprinkle liberally onto meats before grilling or pan frying.  

German Beer Cheese

I had so much leftover cheese, and I was getting tired of snacks on chunks of cheese.  
We'd bought the big bags of pre-cubed cheese at Costco for a party, and frankly when the party was over, I bet we still had about 10 pounds of cheese left.
We'd already finished the leftover pepper jack and the cheddar, and just had the lonely bag of Co-jack (Monterrey Jack & Cheddar).  Not my favortie cheese, just too mild for me.  Here's how I zipped it up and made something a lot jazzier!
This makes quite a bit (about 3 cups) but this stuff keeps well and tastes great after sitting for a week or so.

Makes about 3 cups
Ingredients

16 oz cheddar cheese, cubed or grated
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp horseradish
1 garlic clove
6 oz amber, or dark, beer

In a food processor, add the cheese and the garlic clove.  

Process until the cheese is finely chopped.  Add the mustard and horseradish. 

With the machine running, add your beer in a slow stream until the mixture starts to smooth out.  Pulse the machine to make sure its all smooth, plus the pulsing actions helps to incorporate some air into the mixture making it more fluffy.

Serve at once, or make ahead and chill.  Have it come to room temperature for an hour or so.

Serve with pretzels, crackers or even veggies.
This would also make an amazing spread on a roast beef or pastrami sandwich.

Chocolate Raspberry Jam

It's hard to categorize this stuff...
Is it Jam? (on Chocolate Scone)
Or is it Sauce?
Maybe it could be Cake Filling?
Whatever~!
Maybe it's all THREE.

I saw this first on Pinterest. 
First thought?  Chocolate (???) Raspberry Jam?
How could that be?
I had to try it.
I even went and bought $20 worth of frozen raspberries so I could try it ASAP.
I made this before raspberry season was here, so I was happy to take the shortcut.
My advice?
Use what ya got.
You lucky enough to have fresh?  Use them.

Here's the original recipe, but I did change it. 
I used bittersweet chocolate that I had, instead of buying unsweetened chocolate, plus I used less sugar. My jam may be a bit softer, but it's very, very nice on ice cream, between a couple layers of chocolate cake before icing, or on Chocolate scones.

Ingredients
Makes about 8- 8 oz jars

8 cups frozen raspberries , crushed or 7 pints fresh raspberries

1 cup bittersweet chocolate, cut up

4 cups granulated sugar

1 pkg pectin

Crush berries thoroughly. If using frozen berries, use both liquid and solids; they were all part of the original fresh berry. 
 

Make sure your canning equipment is scrupulously clean, and place 7 pint or half-pint jars on a rack in a boiling water canner. Fill the canner with water, adding a shot of vinegar to prevent mineral buildup, and bring to a boil while you prepare the jam. Allow it to boil for 10 minutes to sterilize jars, then turn down the heat to keep the jars hot. Remember to keep a kettle of hot water handy, and a saucepan of boiling water for your lids and rings.

Measure 6 cups of crushed fruit into a 6-8 quart heavy nonreactive stockpot. Break the chocolate squares into smaller pieces and add them to the pan. Add sugar and bring to a boil for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly because scorched chocolate tastes yucky. Stir in liquid pectin. Bring quickly to a full rolling boil. Boil for EXACTLY 1 MINUTE, stirring constantly.

Remove pan from heat. Skim off any foam and ladle the jam into hot sterilized pint or half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.

Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Remove the jars to a towel/newspaper lined surface, invert for 10 minutes, and allow to cool. Label the jars and store in a cool dry place for up to 1 year.

NOTE-
You will find that it may take 1-2 weeks to thicken up as mine did.  I was going to redo this as I thought it was too thin, but left it alone and was quite happy with the thickness, and of course, the taste!!! 

Jams, Jellies & Pickles
Chipotle Nectarine Jam
Chocolate raspberry jam
Drunken Fig Jam
Honey and Lemon Jelly 
Pepper, Peach & Rosemary Jam
Strawberry Jam (No Pectin)
Strawberry Habanero Jam
Tomato Jalapeno Jelly

Mango Jam with Lime & Saffron

Sunshine in a jar.
I bought the big six pack of mangos at Costco the other day.  I used two trying another recipe that failed... but couldn't get going on my leftover four big mangos.
Finally, I figured... why not Mango jam?
There are plenty of good recipes out there, that are quite easy.  
I saw some fun ones with ginger and mango, and lime and mango, and one with ginger and saffron.  Kind of fun, so I came up with my own with lime and saffron.  I know not everyone has saffron around, and frankly I'm not sure I could really taste the saffron in the finished jam, but it was yummy and a beautiful color too.

The picture above was taken on a my sister's boat in the San Juans, she graciously searched through her stuff to find a woven placemat, a cute paper napkin and a paper plate for the "photo shoot".  She also made the really marvelous scones too.

Makes 5 8oz jars
Ingredients

4 cups fresh mango, chopped
3 cups sugar
2 limes, zested and juiced
3-6 threads of saffron (optional)
1 pkg liquid pectin

Cut each mango in thirds, slicing as close to the center pit as possible, leaving two bigger outside pieces with the skin still on.  If you get too close to the pit, go ahead and pick that part off.

 Using a paring knife, score a criss cross pattern through the fruit, but not through the skin.

Push the back side of the cut fruit in, so all the squares of fruit stick out.  Cut them from the skin, but if your fruit is really ripe, you can probably use your hands.

Four big mangos, gave me 4 cups of chopped fruit.  If the chunks are too big, you can use a pair of kitchen scissors to chop the pieces smaller while in the measuring cup. 

Get a big stock pot of water simmering on medium low on a back burner.  Add your canning jars to your water to sterilize for 5 minutes, remove and drain.  They will dry on their own quite quickly while you are making the jam.  Have your individual tops and jar bands in a smaller pan of hot water and keep there until you are ready to jar them up. 

To make the jam,
Bring the chopped mangos, the sugar, lime zest and saffron to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the liquid pection and set your timer for 1 minutes. 
Add the jam to the jars, leaving about 1/4 to 1/2 inch at the top.  Add the top and secure with the band.  Add all the jars back to the water, turn up the water so it begins to boil again and let them process for 10 minutes.  Remove and let sit for 24 hours.  

Don't freak out if it looks a little thin at first, it usually takes a full 24 hours for it to set. 

IF for some reason your jam doesn't set up, go ahead and unseal the jars, and empty the mixture into another pot, bring to a boil and add another pouch of liquid pectin.  Re-can and process.

I really like to make jam, here's some others:
Chipotle Nectarine Jam
Drunken Fig Jam
Honey and Lemon Jelly 
Pepper, Peach & Rosemary Jam
Strawberry Jam (No Pectin)
Strawberry Habanero Jam
Tomato Jalapeno Jelly

Refrigerated Pickled Green Beans

I love to buy those little french green beans at Costco.
However, a 2lb bag is quite a bit for two people to eat as they go bad so quickly.
I mean really, how many beans can two people eat?
Sometimes I throw half of them in a freezer ziploc and freeze them, other times I make a batch (or even a half batch) of these pickled green beans.

These are great to snack on, garnish a Bloody Mary or give as gifts too.
They must be kept chilled, so if you give them as a gift, be sure to write that on the lid, or the tag, so people don't forget.

Even if you have never canned anything before this is an easy way to start.  I do think that you could can these, but I wanted to keep the beans fresh and crunchy and I was concerned that cooking in a water bath canning kettle would cook the beans too much.

FYI- I made these once with all vinegar and no wine because I really like tangy, however it was too much, too strong, and it caused an acidic chemical reaction in the garlic turning it BLUE!!! Live and learn, just use the wine! Want to read more, find an explanation here.

Makes about 8 jars (I used 12oz tall jars)
Ingredients

2 lbs. of small French Green Beans

4 cups white vinegar
4 cups white wine (something cheap, I used a sauvignon blanc)

8 tsp salt

8 tsp sugar* (optional)

8 hot red peppers (or whole dried peppers or red pepper flakes)

8-16 fresh garlic cloves

4-8 tsp whole black peppercorns

4 tsp red pepper flakes

Add the beans to clean, sterilized jars. Add garlic, peppercorns, pepper flakes and dried or fresh peppers to each jar.
Over high heat, bring wine and vinegar to a boil.  Add salt and sugar and stir until dissolved.  Remove from heat and pour over beans in the jars. Add lids and screw tops.  Let cool for an hour.  Refridgerate until ready to use.  Ready to eat after 1 week.
Keeps for 2-3 months in the fridge.

Chocolate Pretzel Crack

A tiny bit like Christmas crack - - you know, that crazy Christmas candy that people make with Saltine crackers?  Same idea... but better more interesting shape and more salt when you use pretzels.

I found this recipe online on a cute little blog and was immediately intrigued and wanted to try it myself. I give the credit for the recipe to her, however, I know that this same basic recipe exists in a lot of family homes already.  I just never tried it before the other day.

Hey, I know it's not Christmas, so make this for Valentine's day or something.  
No one, just no one will say NO to this candy treat because it isn't Christmas.

Makes quite a lot...

Ingredients

2 stick butter (1 cup)

1 cup light brown sugar

1 bag pretzels (reg size bag- you'll use 2/3 bag)

12 oz chocolate chips

sea salt for sprinkling, optional

Preheat the oven to 400.

Line a large bar pan with parchment paper, cover with pretzels. (you can see I didn't use parchment, but I suggest you do! I had a time getting it off my pan once it was cold!)

In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium-low heat. When it begins to bubble add the brown sugar. Stirring occasionally let the butter/sugar mixture meld together and brown. This should take about 3-4 minutes. It doesn't look like its going to bind together at first, but it comes together. Do NOT let it boil. When you have a nice, brown caramel pour it over the pretzels, slowly and evenly. 

You can then use a spatula to spread it out, you have to work quickly and gently. It hardens fast so even pouring is the best method. Don't worry too much about gaps, it will spread out more in the oven.

Bake the sheet for 5 minutes.

Remove the sheet from the oven and sprinkle the whole bag of chocolate chips evenly over the mixture.

Place back in the oven for less than one minute. Chocolate burns so don't leave it in there too long.

Remove from the oven and use a silicone spatula to evenly spread the chocolate over the top. Don't worry too much about getting it on every single piece, as it can be tricky to do as the caramel below is hot and keeps shifting around as you try and "spread" it around.

Sprinkle with sea salt (if desired) and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour. Break into chunks and store in a tin.  It's best to give it away right away before eating too much of it yourself.

Christmas Candy to Give as Gifts

I've been told what to bring to Christmas.

Microwave (salted) Caramels

Really?  
Seems like so many other things things that I could bring to the family gathering that would be more exciting than something I whomped up in my microwave in 7 minutes. 
However, this request came from my oldest sister, and the parties at her house, and it's her birthday on the actual 25th of December.  Which means, of course, that I will do her bidding.

At this time of the year, I really like easy. 
Most of these candies are perfect to give as a last minute gift, and make people happy.

Penuche!
This one is a favorite of my husband and my daughter. One of my other sister's has been making this for years.  I'm not sure that mine is as good, but they love it.  If you have never heard of penuche... maybe you should give it a try?



Easy Microwave Peanut Brittle
Takes less than 10 minutes and is so easy!

 

Yummy Nuts
I gave these to people this year but had to keep myself and my husband out of them.  To us, these just say Christmas.  Thanks to my sister in law for starting this tradition and sharing her recipe.



Peanut Butter Fudge
This must be my favorite of all time.  I like it better than chocolate fudge.



White Chocolate Candy Cane Fudge
So pretty and festive on any Christmas goodie plate.



Chocolate Smothered S'mores
Ok, so maybe not so Christmas-y, but these are FUN and delicious.



Salted Caramel Toffee
Harder in texture and shape than caramels, and more chewy.  I love this stuff. You can do it with, or without, the sea salt.

 

Fudge for Dummies
Need a treat and only have short amount of time to make something?  This is it.




Microwave Caramels
Wow, easy, yummy.... I need to get making my batch this year.  I have been instructed to add seasalt to the entire batch.

Trader Vic's Hot Buttered Rum Mix

Growing up, I remember my parent's loving the pre-mixed Trader Vic's hot buttered rum mix in the little low white and brown plastic container.  As a kid, I liked to drink this stuff, however, I didn't get the rum. Darn it.

For the last three of decades since I've been able to add my own rum, we've been drinking the ice cream hot buttered rum version, which happens to be pretty darn good too, just different.
I'd been thinking of the Trader Vic's version lately and Googled it... apparently the recipe was originally published in the now defunct Gourmet magazine in 1946!

This took me in the way back machine as the memories of sipping this sweet spicy mix on a cold day came flooding back.

This makes about the easiest Christmas gift ever.... friends, neighbors, house warming gifts, you name it! My recipe version is a double batch, which will make about 4 cups of mixture.  
I suggest you keep one for yourselves, and make three other people very happy.  
Tie a little card on the top and add a pint of spiced rum, and you will have happy and warm friends.  

Card/tag instructions should read:  1 Tbsp hot buttered rum mix, 1 shot spiced rum (1-2oz) and 6 oz of boiling water.  Mix thoroughly and enjoy!

Makes about 4 cups, enough to give as gifts, and keep some for yourself too!
Ingredients:
     

2 Pound Brown Sugar

1 cup (2 cubes, 1/2 lb) Pound Butter

Pinch of Salt

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg

1/2 Teaspoon Cloves

Cream butter, sugar, salt and spices together until smooth and fluffy. 

Refrigerate until needed. 

Preheat 6 oz. mug with boiling water. Drop 1 tablespoon of batter in mug, add 1-1/2 oz.rum, stir and fill with hot water.

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