Spicy, Dippy, and an Ultimate Giveaway

Do you like pub grub, tavern tidbits, and bar food as much as I do?  Sure you do.  Do you like Oktoberfest?  Of course.  How about a bunch of free stuff, does that blow your skirt up?  You know it does.  And because it does, this blog post is really going to excite you.  I’m joining a host of other bloggers who are participating in the Ultimate Beer Lover’s Oktoberfest Celebration Giveaway in conjunction with the launch of award-winning author John Schlimm’s new book, The Ultimate Beer Lover’s Happy Hour.  This exciting new cookbook features over 325 irresistible recipes for delicious bar bites – from Sizzling Sriracha Peanuts to Taproom Tacos to Blitzed Bean Soup.  In addition there are beer cocktails, chuggers, shots, shooters, chasers, punches, floats, and shakes.  I get exhausted just thinking about it.  Consider it as a party in a book.

Schlimm is a member of one of the oldest brewing families in the United States, Straub Brewery, beginning with his great-great-grandfather, Peter Straub, and he really knows his stuff.  The recipes in this book are not only delicious, but each is paired with three different brews, contains various dietary substitutions, and even features recipes to make ingredients within the recipes, e.g. margarine, mayonnaise, sour cream, and Worcestershire sauce.  Wow.  So if you don’t have an ingredient on hand, he provides you with a recipe to make your own.  How cool is that?

I made the Spicy Friday Night Nuts and Horseradish Dipping Mustard.  Both were sensational.  In the case of the nuts, I was intrigued by the interesting selection of spices, wondering just how cloves and cinnamon were going to work in a savory snack.  As it turned out, the spices meld beautifully, made the house smell amazing, and left us with an aromatic, highly addictive snack.

Spicy Friday Night Nuts

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted margarine*

4 cups pecans, almonds, unsalted peanuts, and/or walnuts**

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp. Tabasco, or to taste

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground mace

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, or to taste

Place the margarine in a 2-quart, microwave-and-over-safe pan.  Melt either in the microwave or over medium heat on the stove, and then stir in the nuts of your choice.  Add the remaining ingredients, mixing well.  Microwave the mixture on high for 6-8 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes.  For a toastier flavor, spread the mixture on a baking sheet, and run the sheet under a hot broiler for 4-6 minutes, stirring once. Serve warm, or at room temperature.  Store the nuts in an airtight container lined with paper towels for up to a week. Yield: 4 cups

*I used butter

** I used pecans

The Horseradish Mustard is to die for.  I could seriously eat this stuff with a spoon.  It is designed for dipping, but I have pretty much been slathering it on everything.

Horseradish Mustard

2 vegetable bouillon cubes

1-1/2 cups hot water

4 teaspoons cornstarch

4 teaspoons sugar

4 teaspoons dry mustard (Colman’s)

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1/4 cup white vinegar

4 teaspoons prepared horseradish

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Place the bouillon cubes in a small bowl.  Add the hot water and dissolve the bouillon cubes.  Blend the cornstarch, sugar, mustard, turmeric, vinegar, and horseradish in a small saucepan.  Place over low heat, and slowly whisk in the dissolved bouillon.  Cool, stirring until thickened and bubbly, about 8 minutes.  Place the eggs in a bowl.  Whisk two tablespoons of the warm mixture into the eggs, then pour the egg mixture slowly into the saucepan, whisking constantly.  Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute.  Let cool.  Store in sealed containers in the fridge.  Yield: 1-1/2 cups

Now for the good part, the giveaway.

The giveaway runs from October 1 to November 7.  One lucky winner will receive the Ultimate Beer Lover’s Oktoberfest Prize Pack including:

1 signed copy of The Ultimate Beer Lover’s Happy Hour by John Schlimm

2 Humane Society of the U.S. T-shirts (1 male M; 1 female M)

Lucky Brand Jeans Gift Card for 1 free pair of jeans

6 Straub Brewery Pilsner Glasses

Coleman Soft Cooler with Hard Liner, in red

Weber BBQ Apron, black

1 OXO Steel Bottle Opener

Set of 2 wooden snack bowls

Set of 4 wooden coasters

Enter now, and tell all of your friends.  It is worth every ounce of effort for the cookbook alone.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is linked to:

Tasty Tuesday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Tasty Tuesdays

Wow Us Wednesday
Work It Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday

Full Plate Thursday

Foodie Friday

Truly Different Cupcakes & a Giveaway

This is my 200th post!  I can't believe I've actually been able to write 200 of these since last October.  I'm not sure if this means that I am very dedicated, or overly chatty, but whatever the case, to celebrate I have a giveaway, the details of which are at the bottom of this post.

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I've been going through all sorts of old cookbooks and recipes lately.  It's quite a moving experience as I have recipes going back to when I was a little girl, handwritten by relatives long gone.  This is the way of life, of course, but it makes me sad that my grandmother can't be here to see just how much I enjoy making her recipes.  

One recipe I found was one my mother made quite a bit when I was in high school, and it was always a hit.  It's a simple, but tasty chocolate cupcake that is easy to make (read: no electric mixer and only one pan) and popular with everyone who tries them despite their rather humble appearance.  No frosting is involved as these have a rather crunchy exterior and dense, moist interior, and so are rich enough to hold their own without the addition of icing.  

The only downside to these is that they tend to stick to the pan, so I cannot emphasize enough the importance of greasing AND flouring the pan.  Don't even consider using those paper liners.  They'll come out of the pan all right, but you'll spend half a day picking off the bits of paper.  One time I made these for a party at work.  Everyone loved them, but were enormously frustrated with their attempts to remove the paper (and I was mortified).  One adventurous soul just popped the whole thing into his mouth and said that he'd eat the cupcake right off the paper and then spit out the paper.  I don't recommend this, just tell you this story to emphasize the need for the greasing and flouring.

They are quick and easy to mix together and are best when eaten within two days.  They freeze well, however, if the two-day thing is more than you can manage.

TRULY DIFFERENT CUPCAKES

1 cup margarine (I used 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup Crisco)

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon butter extract

1 cup unsifted flour

1-3/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1-1/2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour 2 cupcake pans (I used two jumbo pans, each with 6 wells). Melt margarine (or shortening combination), chocolate and butter extract in heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients, mixing thoroughly by hand.  Fill cupcake pans 2/3 full and bake for 20-25 minutes (for regular-size pans) or 25-30 minutes (for jumbo pans) until done.  Because these are moist and chewy on the inside, using a cake tester to test for doneness doesn't work.  If the tester comes out clean, they're overdone.

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GIVEAWAY - I have a boxed set of four RSVP fluted-edge biscuit cutters to give away to one lucky follower of this blog.  All you have to do is be a public follower and leave a comment on this post telling me about your favorite recipe from your past and you'll be eligible to win. The winner will be drawn at random and announced on Sunday.  Good luck, and thanks for reading my blog!

Product Features  Stainless steel - Comfortable arched handles and thin blades to cut through thick or thin dough - Nest for easy storage - Set of four ranges from 1-1/2" to 2-3/4" diameter

This post is linked to: 
Tuesdays at the Table
Tasty Tuesdays
Made from Scratch Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits

MEXICAN PIZZA & A WINNER is Announced!

More years ago than I care to remember, I took my oldest son, Christopher, to a Mother and Child cooking class that was conducted by the cooking school within Dierberg's Markets called "It's a Pizza Party".  I guess he was about nine at the time, and he was also the only boy in a class full of mothers and their giggling young daughters. Recognizing that he might feel uncomfortable about these odds, the instructor put him to work as her assistant, pouring drinks and handing out utensils (duties that he performed with an equal amount of seriousness and enthusiasm), while she demonstrated a variety of kid-friendly pizza recipes. Just the other day I came across the packet of information from that class along with the recipes. I remembered enjoying the Mexican pizza the best, so, as today's host of our monthly craft luncheon, I decided to have pizza for the main course and pizza for dessert. Both were delicious and very well received.  (Not one to leave well enough alone I added a first layer of refried beans combined with chopped onion and a teaspoon of cumin.) Here is my version:


MEXICAN PIZZA
Crust:
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 package active dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2/3 cup warm water (120 to 130 degrees F)


Toppings:
1 pound ground chuck
1 package taco seasoning 
1 cup water
1 can refried beans
1 small onion, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
2/3 cup taco sauce
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup grated Monterrey Jack cheese
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions


To prepare crust: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 14" pizza pan; set aside.  Place flour, cornmeal, yeast and salt into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with steel knife blade; pulse to mix.  With machine running, pour oil through feed tube.  Stop machine and add 1/3 cup of warm water; process to combine.  Stop machine and gradually add more water; process to until dough forms into a ball (you may not need all of the water).  Pat dough into prepared pan, spreading to edges.  Bake for 10 minutes.


To prepare topping: In a large skillet over medium heat, cook ground chuck until browned; drain fat. Add taco seasoning and water; cook until water is absorbed.  Empty can of refried beans into a small bowl, stir in diced onion and cumin.  Spread beans over partially baked crust almost to the edge.  Place meat on top of bean mixture, covering entirely.  Spread taco sauce over meat and sprinkle with cheeses.  Bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until cheeses are melted.  Top with lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, and green onions.  Slice into wedges.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings


Come back tomorrow for the dessert recipe, it is equally as good. 

Ready for the oven.

Out of the oven, bubbling hot, it is then topped with shredded lettuce and sliced tomatoes. Ole!

AND THE WINNER IS... 

Since it was my husband's birthday I let him do the honor of selecting the winner.

Congratulations to TRACY WOOD. who won the drawing!  Please email me your address and I'll get your issue into the mail to you this week.
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Where Women Cook is the newest quarterly magazine from the publishers of Where Women Create and Somerset Studio. This premier issue features Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman; Robin Brown of Magnolia Pearl; Serena Thompson, The Farm Chicks; Mamma Agata's Cooking School on Italy's Amalfi Coast; CAKE, Celeste Shaw's newest restaurant & bakery…plus so much more! Creative storage ideas, eye-catching décor, delicious food and drink recipes, and inspirational stories will all be shared within the pages of this magazine.

If you didn't win this giveaway, don't despair, there will be more in the offing including baking equipment and blog-related DVDs.




This post is linked to Mouthwatering Mondays.

Whole Lemon Muffins

As I mentioned at the end of last year in this post, one of my plans for the New Year was to learn cuisines with which I was unfamiliar, so I started by requesting a lot (LOT!) of books from the library.  Many I have loved, and many have been hugely disappointing.  One series of books that I have quite enjoyed is by the Texas Pastry Queen.  Don't the covers alone make you salivate?  Wait until you look inside!

Today's recipe comes from her Entertaining book.  Now I know what you're thinking, a muffin is not exotic, and that's true, but this one is quite unique in that it contains a whole lemon: the peel, the pith, the fruit.  It makes for a muffin unlike any other I've ever had, with a dense, rich texture, a touch of sweetness, and a very complex taste.  Redolent of lemon, not tart, but with perhaps a tiny touch of the bitterness one might expect from the peel and pith of a lemon.

I am not one for leaving well enough alone, as you know, so thought these benefited greatly in both taste and appearance with a little lemon juice and confectioner's sugar drizzle, and then a light dusting with even more confectioners' sugar.  These are not overly sweet muffins, so these two small additions complemented rather than overwhelmed.

Be sure to check out my GIVEAWAY here. The premier issue of WHERE WOMEN COOK can be yours.