Muddy Buddies

  This week, I'm heading over to Jonesborough for a special event at the National Storytelling Festival, the Ghost Stories concert.  Jonesborough has the distinction of being Tennessee's oldest town, formed even before statehood.  It's a lovely small town with many historic sites, and of course, storytelling.  The weekend of the festival, this little place bursts at its seams, literally.  Quaint and unique shops have lines out the door, and the ice cream parlor is packed tighter than a scoop in a cone.  A few co-workers and I have a tradition of trekking over for the ghost stories.  Outside, around the gazebo where the tellers take the stage, we huddle under our blankets and share snacks.  Last year, I brought the ubiquitious Muddy Buddies, or probably better known in some parts as Puppy Chow - a sweet Chex® Mix with peanut butter and chocolate.

Muddy Buddies

Serves 18

Ingredients

9 cups of Rice, Corn, or Chocolate Chex® - any combination of the three
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

  First off, pour the cereal into a large bowl; set aside.

  In a small microwave safe mixing bowl, combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter.  Microwave on high for 1 minute, and stir.  Microwave for an additional 30-40 seconds or until mixture can be stirred smooth.  Stir in the vanilla.  Pour the chocolate mixture over the cereal and stir until everything is evenly coated.

  Pour the chocolate coated cereal into a large (2 gallon) resealable plastic bag.  Pour in confectioner's sugar.  Seal and shake until the cereal is well coated.

  Spread it all out onto waxed paper to cool.  Then store the mix in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Notes: If you'd like to find out more about where I'm heading, check out these links:

http://www.storytellingcenter.net/festival/
http://www.storytellingcenter.net/festival/special-events/ghost-stories/

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

I know, it's almost the Autumn Equinox, and I'm posting another ice cream recipe.  But, it's peanut butter!  Gooey, rich, comforting, and that's what we look for in fall food.  I came across this recipe in The Best Ice Cream Maker Cookbook, written by Peggy Fallon.  This ice cream is a rich custard based dessert.  Custard bases have eggs, but they are cooked, giving it a creamy, rich texture.  The taste is very reminiscent of those peanut butter balls your grandmother makes at Christmas, or if you've ever enjoyed a peanut butter shake down at Sonic. 

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Makes 1 1/2 quarts

2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 packed cup creamy peanut butter
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  Begin by combining the cream, milk, and sugar in a heavy medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is hot, about 6-8 minutes.

  Add the peanut butter in large spoonfuls, mixing well after each spoonful, until the peanut butter is melted and everything is smooth.

  In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Temper the egg yolks by slowly whisking in 1 cup of the peanut butter mix. Add the egg mixture back into the pot, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook and stir until it's thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should take around 5 to 10 minutes. Take care not to boil or the egg will curdle.

  Strain the custard base into a bowl and let it cool for 1 hour at room temperature. Stir in the vanilla extract, cover, and refrigerated for at least 6 hours. (The base will keep for 3 days in the fridge.)

  Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and freeze according to your maker's directions. Transfer to a covered container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.  This additional freeze time is called ripening and does a lot for the flavor and texture.

Notes: This recipe is very forgiving.  Usually for homemade ice cream, you'll want to use whole milk for the fat content.  But this recipe, I used skim milk since I was already using heavy cream, and I forgot to pick up whole milk while I was at the store.  (Hey, at least I'm honest.)  The peanut butter was another total happy accident.  I grabbed whipped creamy peanut butter, which was 1/3 less sugar, and it still came out exquisitely rich with no adjustments to the sugar.  But you should know that Ms. Fallon says to use only commercial peanut butter and not the natural kind you can grind yourself, because it will separate in your ice cream.

Dairy Hollow House Skillet-Sizzled Cornbread

There is something so utterly satisfying about flipping a still hot skillet and a round of cornbread cleanly falling away onto a plate.  Tonight's supper was pot roast and this cornbread.  A little bit southern (buttermilk and cast iron), a little bit northern (yellow cornmeal and a tad of sugar), The Cornbread Gospels by Crescent Dragonwagon features this recipe.

Dairy Hollow House Skillet-Sizzled Cornbread

Makes 8 wedges

Ingredients

1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal, stone ground preferred
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons butter

  Start off by preheating your oven to 375°F.

  Sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  If you don't have a sifter, you can do this in a food processor, or fluff and mix everything gently with a fork.

  In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and baking soda.  Add in the sugar, egg, and oil, taking care to whisk everything together evenly.

  Over medium heat, melt the butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet.  When the butter has melted completely, swirl it around, completely coating the bottom and up around the sides.  Once the skillet is ready, pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients.  Mix everything up with as few strokes as possible, and scrape into the hot skillet.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.  Let the bread cool a few minutes, flip onto a plate and slice into wedges.

Hot Spinach Dip

  It's football time!  Cooler days ahead, and lots of time hanging out with friends.  Today I'm going to share one of the very first entertaining recipes I learned, shortly after getting married.  It's absolutely quick, easy, makes good use of the microwave, and tasty, to boot.  Every time I make it, there's a flurry of tortilla chips diving into the bowl.  This recipe originates from Desperation Entertaining by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross. 

Hot Spinach Dip

Ingredients

1 package (9 or 10 oz) frozen creamed spinach, Stouffer's preferred
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Tortilla chips, for serving


  Start off by cutting a small slit in the top of the creamed spinach bag and lay it on a microwave-safe plate.  Microwave the spinach on high until it's thawed, about 2 minutes.

  Open up the spinach and pour it into a microwave-safe bowl.  Add in all the other ingredients and stir until the cream cheese is pretty well incorporated.  You'll still have some lumps, and that is perfectly fine.  Microwave the dip, uncovered, on high, until it gets bubbly - 5 minutes.  Stop it halfway through the 5 minutes to give it a good stir.  Serve at once with tortilla chips.

Notes: Normally I don't detect much difference in brands of ingredients, but this is a case where the brand makes a difference in the outcome of the recipe.  I really suggest trying to find the Stouffer's creamed spinach for this dip.  It gives it a decadent richness that other brands just don't give - if you can't find Stouffer's, feel free to sub, but if you can find it, use that creamed spinach.

Howdy, folks

Eating Labor Day leftovers.  So, not done much new in the kitchen department, but one of my bestest friends brought me a 4 pound zuke.  My DH swears I brought home a pod person, or possibly the cat's cousin.  It is HUGE.  And I'm the only person in the house that likes zucchini, so gotta play this carefully.  Current grinchy plans include lopping off a pound for zucchini cakes and stuffing the rest of that bad boy with a ground beef mixture and baking.

Another thing I've been doing somewhat regularly this past three weeks is planning meals and shopping accordingly.  I know, I know.  This sounds like a habit of an organized, and somewhat sane person - totally not me.  Suppose I'm off to start thinking ahead and reading the sale papers.  I'll be back soon with something new.

French Vanilla Ice Cream

Today's recipe I'm sharing originates from Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book.  You know, THE Ben & Jerry - the guys that I'm thankful for bringing flavors like Cherry Garcia (low fat fro yo version is awesome, too!), Cake Batter, Americone Dream, and Peach Cobbler to my freezer.  I love this book because the recipes are simple and are sized for today's smaller ice cream makers.  I'm doubly delighted since this is a lot like my family's recipe we make in the large 4 quart machine on July 4th - just in a size fit for my Cuisinart ice cream maker.  Fair warning about this recipe and most of them in this book - they use raw eggs; this is not a cooked custard base.  If you have any concerns about using raw eggs, look for pasteurized eggs at your grocery store.  More expensive, yes - but can you put a price on peace of mind?

French Vanilla Ice Cream

Makes 1 quart

Ingredients

2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup milk (I used whole milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  Start off by whisking the eggs for about 1 to 2 minutes, until they are lighter in color and fluffy in texture.  Adding in a little at a time, begin whisking in the sugar.  Keep whisking until the eggs and sugar are completely blended, about another minute.  Pour in the remaining ingredients, and whisk until everything is combined.

  Pour into your favorite ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions on freezing.

Notes:  If you don't like the soft-serve consistency of straight from the ice cream freezer, feel free to put it in a plastic container and stash it in your regular freezer for a few hours.  I like it both ways, but I can also detect a distinct difference in chocolate syrup in a plastic bottle vs the can.  I will always take the can over the bottled, especially on homemade goodness!

Spinach Stuffed Squash or Zucchini

  This is one knock-out dish - squash dressed to the nines.  Another Paula Deen creation for you to enjoy.  It can be made with zucchini or yellow summer squash; my favorite is made with zukes, but this last trip to the store, the yellow squash was so much better than the zucchini.

Spinach Stuffed Squash or Zucchini

6-10 servings

Ingredients

3 large zucchini or 5 medium/large yellow squash  (this last batch was made with 3 large yellow squash)
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup chicken flavored stuffing mix (dry - do not prepare)
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 oz by weight)

  Start off by preheating the oven to 400°F.

  Cut your squash in half lengthwise.  Brush the cut sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Lay  them on a lined baking sheet, with the cut side down.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Let the squash halves cool down a bit, and lower the oven temperature to 350°F.  Once the squash is just cool enough to handle, scoop out the pulp into a bowl, taking care not to break your "shells".  Lay the squash back on the baking sheet, this time, cut side up.

  In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.  Toss the diced onion in and saute until they are transparent, around 5 minutes.  (I personally like to cook mine until they turn slightly brown and take a bit of caramelized quality to them.)  At this time, add in the stuffing mix, spinach, cheese, squash pulp and sour cream, mixing everything together.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cook for 3 minutes, and remove from the heat.  Scoop the stuffing mixture evenly as you can into each squash shell, and return to the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes.

Serving Ideas - These are great served with fried chicken livers. (Don't knock it until you try it!)  But they are pretty filling if you buy the large squash/zukes, so serving 1-2 halves as a meal isn't too shabby, either.

Helpful Tip - A potato ricer does a nice job squeezing dry thawed frozen spinach.