Dear Family and Frineds,
There is this notion of teaching a man to fish rather then giving him fish. (Strikes me a valid, but just a tad over-wrought.) None-the-less, this is the teaching part to accompany the various fish I gave various of you for Christmas. My hope is that you will find the fish good enough that you will go out & make your own dang fish hereafter. I'd love to hear what you particularly like and if you have any thoughts &/or modifications, lem'me know at wharvey904@hotmail.com
(Uncle) Bill(y)
You should be able to add at least two more loads of veggies to both the dill and the sweet pickle brine when the pickles are gone. Possibly more into the sweet brine as it's pretty thick. (More on perking it up the brine in just a bit.) I use Birds-Eye California Blend from Wal-Mart for both. A big'ol frozen 4 pound bag runs about $6 and will fill a half-gallon jar twice. Any-dang-thing-you-want- frozen or fresh- can probably be pickled. Onion is good, Bermuda or sweet white onions are even better. (Green onions come out like an onion with an inedible green rope on the end.) I've done sliced & whole (small) cucumber, zucchini, radishes, bell pepper, and they all come out great, but the radishes tend to dye your brine pink -but no big. Celery is also good, but you end up spitting out a mouthful of carbon-fiber-like celery-string when you are done (and no one is looking.) Bell pepper is wonderful, but @ $1.00 per???? Anything frozen is apt to work, except peas -too small to be fishing out of the brine and I suspect they are a little starchy. I've just tried okra and it's good, but if you don't like okra… Alton Brown suggests pickling trout. A little beyond me, but it sounds good. Check out…
Rollmops (pickled trout)
… and let me know how it works out for you.
Boil you up some (a cup or two -whatever you need) vinegar (recipe calls for white, but I like the red cider stuff), and dissolve an almost equal volume of sugar in stirring as necessary. If you remember -add a teaspoon or so of salt and if you like the yellow color, half a teaspoon of turmeric -if you got it. For that matter, if you have some mustard seed &/or sliced sweet onion, toss some of this in too. I'd be a little hesitant to open the jar of pickling spice though. A check of the ingredients on a few brands suggests to me that 'pickling spice' is all over the map –some for sweet and some for dill –and no indication of what's-what on the container.
OR
Schlep off to Wal-Mart and from the canning section -and this attains even the stores that don't have the full blown grocery store- buy yourself a pouch of Mrs. Wage's Bread and Butter Quick Process Pickle Mix, a gallon of vinegar, a mess of veggies, and sack of sugar 'cause you probably need it anyway and are about to go through a pile of it. BTW, I can not bring myself to use the whole 6 3/4 cups of sugar Mrs. Wage sez to use. The pickles I gave you have only about 4 - 5 cups of sugar per batch. Make up a batch and tell me how it comes out. (If you are one of my nieces or nephews, I will expect you to teach me something on the subject.)
Easy as pie. Stir one part salt into four parts vinegar & maybe about half a part of sugar and pour it in. This is NOT the actual recipe for brine, but rather is extra strong to wake-up brine that has seen too many bits and pieces and has gotten a tad watery. If you are starting from scratch, do this:
3 C water
5 C vinegar
1 C salt
1/2 C sugar
fresh dill –lots! -at least an over-priced grocery-store bunch
turmeric —not much flavor –but it makes for the nice color -1/2 t / half gallon jar
one cheese-cloth bag of...bay leaves –about the only time I use whole leaves
mustard seed –has to be whole seed –or at the most course crushed
red pepper flakes
dried dill –the dried dill is so fine it tends to find its way out of the bag –but the bits are small and don't taste like much once they have done their thing to the pickles.
garlic –flakes would probably give you the most flavor
"Pickling Spice" -give it a whiff and see if it's for sweet or dill
Let these pickle-up in your fridge till the middle of January for best flavor!
When the brine gets old and weak, treat it like the dill brine. Or buy a pouch of Ball's Kosher Dill Seasoning from King Soopers. I added about 1/2 - 1 t red pepper flakes & 1/2 – 1 t fresh minced garlic to each half gallon jar before I poured the brine in.
1 lb dried beans
1 lb bacon ends and pieces
3 onions
3 – 5 cloves garlic
2 15 oz cans tomato pieces / sauce / salsa etc.
1 T paprika
1 t pepper
2 T salt
2 cups rice
1. Soak 1 lb beans over night
2. Rinse beans and start simmer in plenty of water
3. Sauté 1 lb bacon
4. Drain bacon and add to simmering beans
5. Sauté onions in bacon fat
6. When onions almost done, add & sauté garlic
7. Add everything BUT the rice and continue simmering
8. When beans are tender, up the water (as necessary), bring to boil, add rice, turn it down and simmer till rice is done.
* 1 cup yogurt
* 1 T lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 t ground cinnamon
* 2 t cayenne pepper
* 2 t freshly ground black pepper
* 1 T minced fresh ginger
* 4 t salt, or to taste
* 3 chicken breasts, bite-size pieces
* 4 long skewers
1 T butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 t ground cumin
2 t paprika
3 t salt, or to taste
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, ginger, and 4 salt. Stir in chicken, marinade for 1 hour.
2. (Grill to high.) Oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewer chicken -grill till juices run clear, 5 minutes / side. Or skewer and roast over an flat roasting pan in 350° oven. Or don't even bother with the skewers and just roast it/
3. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 mint in butter. Season with cumin, paprika, and salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low till thick, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer 10 more mints.
1 tablespoon butter or oil
2-3 pounds boneless pork roast
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3- 4 cups water (to cover meat)
1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring
1. Cut the pork roast into large chunks. Season generously with the Cajun seasoning. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork, and brown on all sides. Remove from the skillet, and transfer to a slow cooker.
2. Add the onion and garlic to the skillet, and cook for a few minutes until tender. Stir in the water scraping the bottom to include all of the browned pork bits from the bottom of the pan, then pour the whole mixture into the slow cooker with the pork. Stir in liquid smoke flavoring.
3. Cover, and cook on High for 4 - 6 hours, or until meat is falling apart when pierced with a fork. Remove pieces of pork from the slow cooker, and shred. Return to the slow cooker to keep warm while serving.
Gravy
4. Make gravy with a roux of about 2-3 T oil & 2-3 T flour. (Depends on the amount of juice left in the crock-pot.)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion
2 green bell peppers
3 celery ribs
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 lb pickled pork
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 lb dried red kidney beans
2 quarts water
Place a 7 quart cast iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil and heat until shimmering Add onion, bell peppers, & celery. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion and celery are soft and translucent, 6-8 minutes.
Add garlic, pickled pork, bay leaves, dried thyme, cayenne pepper, hot sauce and beans. Add water. Turn up to high and heat until boiling, stirring occasionally, 6-8 minutes. Reduce heat to maintain a strong simmer. Cover tightly and cook 90 minutes, stirring every 30 minutes. Remove the lid and cook, uncovered, 30-40 minutes longer, maintaining a strong simmer. If you want your sauce a bit thicker and more gravy-like, use a potato masher to crush some of the beans. Remove bay leaves.
3 cups boiling water
1 1/2 t butter
2 cups basmati rice
1 teaspoon hot sauce1/2 to 1 t salt
a tinypinchof safron ?
Bring 3 cups water to a full rolling boil. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter over high heat. When foaming subsides and butter begins to brown, add rice and salt. Saute until rice turns opaque and slightly tan. Add boiling water all at once - be very careful! Cover tightly, reduce to simmer and cook 17-20 minutes, until fully cooked. If you prefer your rice dry and fluffy, let stand off heat, uncovered, 5 minutes before serving. Serve beans over rice.
2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 tablespoons hot sauce
1 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 cups water
1/2 lb ice
1 1/2 lbs boneless pork butt
Combine mustard seeds, celery seeds, bay lead, peppercorns, hot sauce, vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic and water in a saucepan. Place over medium-high heat until boiling, reduce to a simmer, and maintain for 3 minutes. Turn off heat and add ice. (Or let it cool on it's own and go for a nice walk.)
Cut pork butt into 2" cubes. Place in a large zip top bag. When the brine is cool, pour it in as well. Press out as much air as possible and seal the bag. Refrigerate for a minimum of 3 days, turning bag a couple of times a day.
(Keeps 2 weeks in the refrigerator; after that, drain and freeze. Note that this is NOT edible as is; it still has to be cooked!)
1/2 cup catsup
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 T Worcestershire Sauce
pepper to taste (1/4 - 1/2 t)
salt to taste (1/2 t)
Stir, bottle, & refrigerate.
(Makes about 1 C -half a BBQ sauce bottle.)
1 C catsup
2/3 C lemon juice
1 - 2 T Worcestershire
pepper to taste (1/4 - 1/2 t)
salt to taste (1/2 t)
1/2 - 1 T Buffalo-wing sauce
1/2 t fresh minced garlic
2 dashes Liquid-Smoke
(Makes a little more then 2 C's.)
2 Cups ketchup
2 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup each lemon juice, water, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1. Combine all of the ingredients in a 3-quart saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
3. Strain if desired.
4. Cover and refrigerate.
Yield: about 3 cups
1/4 cup raisins
1 cups white vinegar
1 cup catsup
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon yellow prepared mustard
2 teaspoons apple juice, frozen-concentrate
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1. Soak the raisins in the vinegar for an hour –or overnight. Blend the be-jasus out'a it –till it's smooth.
2. Pour puree into a medium sauce-pan and whisk in the remaining
3. Turn heat up to medium high and bring mixture to a thorough boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 1/2 hour or until thick.
4. Let sauce cool and then refrigerate it in a covered container for at least 24 hours.
Makes 3 cups.
* 1/2 cup raisins
* 2/3 cup Heinz ketchup
* 1 teaspoon chili powder
* 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
* 4 ounces applesauce
* 2 tablespoons Wish Bone Italian salad dressing
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend on/off for 2 minutes on high or until smooth.
Keep refrigerated.
2 C white vinegar
3 T molasses
2 T Worcestershire Sauce (or one each Worces & soy sauces)
Combine everything, stirring the molasses thoroughly.
Salt & pepper to taste
Optional: Make a slurry w/ 1/2 C vinegar mixture and 1 teaspoon of cornstarch thoroughly whisked together in a small sauce-pan. Heat gradually while stirring until the starch melts, (the mixture clarifies and darkens). Stir it back into the rest of the vinegar and refrigerate in a nice bottle
2 C cider vinegar
1/2 C molasses
1/4 C port
1 t gelatin
2 C cider vinegar
1/2 C molasses
1/4 C port
2 T Worcestershire Sauce
Sprinkle gelatin on top of the (cold) vinegar in a sauce pan. Stir while bringing it just to a boil.
Let cool slightly and add the other ingredients being careful to stir-in the molasses thoroughly.
Refrigerate.
Sadly, my computer ate all my hamburger seasonings, so this is what I say on the subject.
Here are the recipes with which I started. No telling what I ended with and what gave you.
(2 t / lb. of hamburger)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar (or more)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
Mix:
1T -Italian seasoning
1 t garlic powder, pepper?)
Dredge:
2 T breadcrumbs
2 T parmesan cheese for dredging
2 pounds lean ground turkey
1/4 cup Soy sauce or Worcestershire
Envelope #1
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/3 C dried green chili peppers
1/4 C minced dried onion
1/3 C cup dried cilantro, finely chopped
Envelope #2
1/2 t Ginger
2 t powdered garlic
1 T freshly ground black pepper
3 T paprika
1 T ground dry mustard
1 T ground cumin
Dump Envelope #1 into a soup bowl, stir in the Soy or Worcestershire sauce and let it soak up for 10 minutes or so.
Add sauce mixture & Envelope #2 to hamburger. Form into patties and cook per usual.
(for 2+ lbs of hamburger)
1/3 C bullion, granulated beef
1/3 C bread crumbs
1/3 C flour
1/4 C corn meal
1 t corn starch
2 t onion powder
1 t black pepper
If the your bullion looks like freeze dried coffee, or if your bread crumbs are too course, whiz one or the other or both in the blender. Mix it all together and make up your patties. Either do the shake-'n-bake thing, or sprinkle it on a plate and dredge the patties. Cook per your usual.
(See Make Your Own Groceries, pp 71)
For 1 small open topped pie, begin w/ 1/3 cup of mix -loosely packed, and 1 teaspoon of ice water. Mix it with a fork and form into a flattened ball. Wrap in a large sheet of wax-paper (you will be rolling out the crust in it), and pop it in the fridge while you prep the filler (see below).
When the crust is chilled, roll it out into a 6" disk between two layers of folded-over wax-paper.
For a mini-pie with a top, begin w/ ½ cup of mix and 1 ½ t ice water. Either roll it out into a single 8" disk, (to have enough to fold over the top), or divide it into quarters. Use 3-quarters for the bottom and the remaining quarter for a separate top. (Much easier to just do the fold-over thing.)
Hit the pie-plate / bowl with PAM spray and gather the disk up into a pointy thing that you can fit down onto the mini-pie-plate. Take a little care getting it in, all the way down, and centered. Patch any holes with dough from the top. (The finished pie will pop right out unless the filling leaks out and glues the crust to the bowl.)
Add your filling, fold over the top, and bake in a 350° oven. See below for times:
Any-damn-thing-you-want. A can of store-bought pie-filling will make about 4 mini-pies, but this is not near enough fun. (Good food, but not much fun.) The mini-pies will cook a little faster then a regular pie, so see what the can has to say and start checking your progress at about half the suggested time.
Frozen Berries:
Colleen and I do this a lot. Dump as many frozen berries into the pie as it will hold. Cram them down good and hard, and add more. Cram some more. (They shrink as they thaw / cook.) Pour about 1 T of sugar over the berries and fold over the top. Starting w/ frozen berries will take about an hour to cook.
Left-Overs:
You got some meat and veggies from last night? Chop it all up into bite sized pieces and toss it all in. If it looks a little dry, consider topping it all with one of the following for 'gravy':
catsup / BBQ sauce
parmesan cheese and a pat of butter
any-old cheese
cornstarch (about 1 t) and 1+ T of a 50 / 50 mixture of water & either Worcestershire or soy sauce
left-over gravy (Did your Momma teach you to make a roux &/or gravy?)
salad dressing (any type you like)
spaghetti / pizza sauce
Cooking time varies, but start checking in about 20 minutes.
Fresh Fruit:
Slice up apples, pears, strawberries, mangoes, persimmons, plums, or whatever you got and do the Alton Brown thing. You put it all in a colander over a bigger bowl mix sugar all over it. Then you wait for the sugar to pull out the excess juice -which you save, cook-down, and add back in.
Or you can forget the while thing and simply slice and cram per above. Then mix about 1T sugar, ½ t cornstarch, and some spice into 2 T either water, cream, juice, bourbon, makes-no-never-mind, stir it very thoroughly and pour it over the top before you fold it up & bake. (These quantities are for a single pie.)
Fresh fruit will cook faster then frozen. (!?!) Start checking in about 30 mints. And, do this. Find yourself a jar of Garam Masala spice in the spice-aisle, or better yet -an Indian grocery store. (Have you found the ethnic neighborhoods in Minneapolis? You owe it to yourself to do so.) Alton Brown would approve, he suggests grains-of-paradise -whatever that may be- for his pies. Garam Masala has cinnamon, nutmeg, and all those things that usually go into fruit pies, but has just a little kick. Not as sweet and cloying as what'chu expect, but real good. (Try it with pear or peach pie and let me know how it comes out.)
Veggies:
Frozen or cooked veggies are probably the way to go. The difficulty has to do with cooking times. Any of the gravies from above will serve. If you are using frozen vegies -as in frozen right out'a the freezer and into the oven- remember to do the cram thing, and expect an hour or so of cooking time.
Consider:
5 1/3 C all purpose flour
1 T salt
2 1/3 C vegetable shortening
Sift the flour and salt together.
Cut the shorting in thoroughly with a pastry knife till crumbly.
You can store it on the shelf, but keep the lid on tight.
If there is room to keep it in the fridge, the crust will be flakier and might get done a little quicker.
And if there is room in the fridge, consider doing it Alton Brown's way. With Butter. Worth the effort. Works out like this:
* 6 ounces unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces -COLD
* 2 ounces vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 12 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 2 3/4 cups, plus extra for dusting
* 1 teaspoon table salt
* 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* 5 to 7 tablespoons applejack / cider / juice / water
Mix the top ingredients and store it till you are making pies and add the liquid per the above. He suggests cold butter and shortening, but he also suggests a food processor to mix it up. If you don't have such a machine -and your butter is too cold- you might be able to skip your upper-body workout the day you cut it all together. I'm not sure how many little tartlets this recipe would make,