Pecan Pie

Ever notice that there are a bazillion pecan pie recipes yet they all, mostly, have the same ingredients. Weird.

I always use the same pie crust recipe (that I need to post) but this pecan pie recipe isn't one I often use. It's good, super easy and I will be making it again (next Thanksgiving).

1 uncooked pie shell

4 large eggs

1 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups pecan halves

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with rack set in lowest position.

2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, corn syrup, sugars, butter, vanilla and salt until smooth, mix in pecans. Poor mixture into pie crust. Bake until filling jiggles slightly in the center when gently shaken, 50 to 60 minutes.

"Healthy" Banana-Blueberry Muffins

I've made these twice now and they are hard to resist any time of the day. Personally I think this is another good example of how a muffin can be better than a cupcake. The first time I made them I didn't have whole-wheat flour so I used all-purpose and, admittedly, they're better with the all-purpose and I think plenty "healthy" enough.

1 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas (about 1 pound)
1/3 cup reduced-fat (2 percent) milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup frozen blueberries

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork (you should have 3/4 cup); stir in milk and vanilla.
3. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and banana mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Fold in frozen blueberries.
4. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; transfer muffins to a rack to cool 10 minutes more.

From Everyday Foods

I heart Bran Muffins

I'll admit it. I like bran muffins. A lot. My mom makes them all the time so in this time of need for extra fiber I called her for the recipe. Turns out she uses the recipe from the All-Bran cereal box and a recipe that my Grandmother gave her that uses Raisin Bran. Since I'm not a big fan of raisins in my bran muffin I went with the first recipe here this time around. Apparently the beauty of the Raisin Bran recipe is that you can keep the dough refrigerated for up to 6 weeks and use it when you want to bake some fresh mufins. Either way, they're great for breakfast or a snack (Allen was even eating them) and especially delicious with a little butter and honey and if left to my own devices I could eat two or three in one sitting.

"Our Best Bran Muffins"

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups Kellogg's All-Bran cereal

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1. Stir together flour, sugar, salt and baking powder; set aside.

2. In large mixing bowl, combine Kellogg's All-Bran cereal and milk. Let stand about 3 minutes or until cereal softens. Add egg and oil, mix well. Add flour mixture, stirring only until combined. Portion batter evenly into 12 lightly greased 2 1/2 - inch muffin- pan cups.

3. Bake in 400 degree F oven about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Yield: 12 muffins

From the Kitchen of ..........Irene Albracht

Bran Muffins

1 15 oz. box Raisin Bran

3 cups sugar

5 cups flour

2 tablespoons soda

2 teaspoons salt

4 eggs

1 cup oil

1 quart buttermilk

Mix all ingredients together. Put in a closed container. Never bake immediately after first mixing. Keep in refrigeraor up to six weeks. Bake at 400 degrees 15 to 10 minutes.

Banana Pudding

Allen likes Banana Pudding for his birthday instead of cake. I've made a few different recipes over the years but I thought I'd try the Nilla Wafer Back of the Box traditional recipe, again, this year despite thinking it a royal pain in the a*#&$ last time I made it. It's a little laborious but the taste is well worth the extra effort of making the custard and whipped topping verses buying a package of vanilla pudding and Cool Whip.

Original Nilla Banana Pudding

Layers of Nilla wafers, creamy pudding and fresh banana slices are the stars of this American classic.

Prep: 30 mins - Cook: 15 mins - Cool: 15 mins

3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Dash salt
3 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
45 NILLA Wafers, divided
5 ripe bananas, sliced (about 3 1/2 cups), divided
Additional NILLA Wafers and banana slices, for garnish


1. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, flour and salt in top of double boiler. Blend in 3 egg yolks and milk. Cook, uncovered, over boiling water, stirring constantly for 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. (This step, for some reason, takes longer for me than 12 minutes...more like 25.)


2. Reserve 10 wafers for garnish. Spread small amount of custard on bottom of 1 1/2-quart casserole; cover with a layer of wafers and a layer of sliced bananas. Pour about 1/3 of custard over bananas. Continue to layer wafers, bananas and custard to make a total of 3 layers of each, ending with custard.

3. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form; gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff but not dry. Spoon on top of pudding, spreading evenly to cover entire surface and sealing well to edges.


4. Bake at 350°F in top half of oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned. Cool slightly or refrigerate. Garnish with additional wafers and banana slices just before serving.

Makes 8 servings

Nutritional Info Per Serving:
287 calories, 6 g protein, 50 g carbohydrate, 7 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 117 mg cholesterol, 134 mg sodium, 1 g dietary fiber

Wisconsin Bratwurst

Allen got a gas grill for his birthday! Yay! So, we decided to break it in with an old recipe, one we use to make in Los Angeles on the old charcoal gril. Beer Brats.

I got three bratwursts from Whole Foods and halved the rest of the ingredients. It's an easy recipe and it's great to have grilled brats and spicy mustard and not as many pots an pans to clean after dinner.

Ingredients:
2 pounds fresh bratwurst sausages
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 cup butter
6 (12 fluid ounce) cans or bottles beer
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
10 hoagie rolls

Directions:

1. Prick bratwurst with fork to prevent them from exploding as they cook. Place in a large stock pot with the onions, butter, and beer. Place pot over medium heat, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Preheat grill for medium-high heat.
3. Lightly oil grate. Cook bratwurst on preheated grill for 10 to 14 minutes, turning occasionally to brown evenly. Serve hot off the grill with onions on hoagie rolls.

Oh, I got this recipe off allrecipes.com in '04. It's a keeper.

I'm baaack

Between Ike, my new job and the traveling I've done since August I'm about two months behind in life. However, it doesn't mean I haven't been cooking and baking and using this blog. While staying with my good friends Megan and Travis I pulled up the old intransnets and put to use the Miso and Garlic Pork Chops recipe. M & T said they loved the meal and I think they've even made the chops once since. I can see how, without power, a hard copy recipe could always come in handy but, since I've learned, without power I also don't have a stove, microwave or refrigeration I'm going to continue to post my recipes and search for them online each week while I make out my grocery list instead of spend an hour thumbing through my giant binder. Huzzah for the intreaznets.

Elise's Sesame Noodles

I don't know who Elise is but a few weeks ago Allen emailed me this recipe that he found on Yahoo. Since he rarely interjects ideas I thought I'd try it out with the caveat that I won't eat just noodles so I tried to make tofu for the first time as well. It's not a bad recipe but for the love of God do not make the whole recipe or you'll be eating it for a week.

Tofu: (some Yelpers helped me out with this one)

Take the block of tofu (they suggested straining in a colander with a heavy plate or something on top but the block I got was fairly drained) cut it into cubes, marinate in a mixture of your favorite ingredients (soy sauce, oyster sauce, hot sauce, onions, peanut sauce) and bake at 350 degrees for 30-plus minutes until it's nice and firm and has absorbed the sauce.

Noodles:
1 pound whole-wheat spaghetti
1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons rice-wine vinegar or lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 bunch scallions, sliced, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided (optional)
4 cups snow peas, trimmed and sliced on the bias
1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook spaghetti until just tender, 9 to 11 minutes or according to package directions. Drain; rinse under cold water.

2. Meanwhile, whisk soy sauce, sesame oil, canola oil, vinegar (or lime juice), crushed red pepper, 1/4 cup scallions and 2 tablespoons cilantro (if using). Add noodles, snow peas and bell pepper; toss to coat.

3. To serve, mix in sesame seeds and garnish with the remaining scallions and cilantro.