Bourbon and Brown Sugar Pecan Pie

This recipe is very very simple. And amazing.

  • 4 Tbs Melted Butter, Browned
  • 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar, Packed
  • 1 Tsp Salt
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 Cup Cane Syrup

Mix thoroughly before adding the rest

  • 3/8 Cup Flour
  • 2 Tbs Bourbon Whiskey
  • 1 Tsp Vanilla
  • 1 1/4 Cups Pecans, Chopped
  • 3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips
  • 9 Inch Pie Shell
  • 3/4 Cup Pecans, Whole

Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees

Almost-Famous Fried Pickles

I have never made the sauce, but I thought I would include it in case you wanted to.

Ingredients

For the sauce:
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon drained horseradish
  • 2 teaspoons ketchup
  • 1/4 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
For the pickles:
  • Peanut or vegetable oil, for frying
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 3/4teaspoons Cajun seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 cups sliced dill pickles, drained

Directions

  1. Make the sauce: Mix the mayonnaise, horseradish, ketchup and Cajun seasoning in a bowl; set aside.
  2. Fry the pickles: Heat 1 inch peanut oil in a pot over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F. Meanwhile, whisk the flour, Cajun seasoning, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup water in a large bowl until smooth. Spread the pickles on paper towels and pat dry.
  3. Add half of the pickles to the batter and toss to coat. Remove from the batter using a slotted spoon, letting the excess drip off, and add to the oil one at a time. Fry until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes; remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Return the oil to 375 degrees F and repeat with the remaining pickles and batter. Serve immediately with the prepared sauce.

“Classic” Beef Stew

  • ¼cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1pound beef stewing meat, trimmed and cut into inch cubes
  • 5teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 2tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1cup red wine
  • tomato paste
  • 3½cups beef broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
  • 2bay leaves
  • 1medium onion, peeled and chopped
  • 5medium carrots, peeled and cut into ¼-inch rounds
  • 2large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
  • 2teaspoons salt
  1. Combine the flour and pepper in a bowl, add the beef and toss to coat well. Heat 3 teaspoons of the oil in a large pot.  Add the beef a few pieces at a time; do not overcrowd. Cook, turning  the pieces until beef is browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per  batch; add more oil as needed between batches.
  2. Remove  the beef from the pot and sauté the onions. add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and continue to cook until the color starts to go from bright red to rust. Then deglaze with the wine and vinegar.Cook over  medium-high heat, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any  browned bits. Add the beef, beef broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil,  then reduce to a slow simmer.
  3. Cover  and cook, skimming broth from time to time, until the beef is tender,  about 1½ hours. Add the onions and carrots and simmer, covered, for 10  minutes. Add the potatoes and simmer until vegetables are tender, about  30 minutes more. Add broth or water if the stew is dry. Season with salt  and pepper to taste. Ladle among 4 bowls and serve.

Holiday Roast Turkey

I use the following recipe as my starting point. It comes out phenomenal with a crisp skin, and juicy flavorful meat. Definitely worth the effort.

Brine

A brine is simply a seasoned salt-water bath that the turkey soaks in for 6-18 hours (or one hour per pound) prior to cooking. The brine adds some flavor, but most importantly provides a chemical method to keep the meat tender and juicy while cooking.

Ingredients
Raw whole turkey
5-gallon bucket (like from Home Depot)
3-pound box of kosher salt
1 tablespoon of whole black peppercorns
2 gallons chicken broth (water mixed with bouillon cubes is fine
1-gallon ice water
1 whole bunch fresh thyme, torn roughly
1 whole bunch fresh oregano, torn roughly
1 whole bunch fresh sage leaves, torn roughly
1 whole bunch fresh marjoram, torn roughly

To Make…

1. Clean the raw turkey and remove the neck and giblets.
2. In the bucket, combine the cooled (room temperature) broth with the ice water, salt, pepper and fresh herbs and mix well.

3. Place the turkey in the bucket, breast side down and cover the bucket. Leave it sit somewhere cool, I usually use the garage (unless it’s summer time obviously).

4. After at least 6 and no more than 18 hours, and prior to cooking your turkey, remove the bird and rinse it with cool water, then proceed with your cooking prep

Turkey Time

Ingredients 2 Large Yellow or White Onions 1 stalk of celery 4 Large carrots 4 Large Shallots Olive Oil ½ bunch fresh thyme ½ bunch fresh sage ½ bunch fresh rosemary Salt and Pepper Oh yeah… and a turkey

To Make…

1. Make sure the bird is fully thawed by placing it in the  refrigerator at least 3 full days before cooking. If, on the night  before, it is not thawed, place the turkey in a room temperature bath  until it thaws.

2. The night before roasting, clean the turkey by removing the neck  and giblets enclosed in the bird. Use them for the gravy, or discard.  (See my gravy recipe for more info)

3. Rinse the raw bird completely with cold water, using your hands to  “massage” the bird as it is rinsed with the water. Do this all over,  and inside the bird’s cavity. MAKE SURE that everything you touch is  thoroughly cleansed afterwards.

4. Drizzle olive oil into the cavity of the turkey, followed by  generous amounts of salt and pepper. Rub the salt and pepper all over  the inside wall of the turkey.

5. Drizzle olive oil all over the turkey’s breasts, legs, back, etc,  rubbing the oil in. Follow it with generous amounts of salt and pepper  rubbed all over the bird. The seasonings not only bring out the bird’s  flavors, but also help to keep the meat tender.

6. Place the bird, breast side up, in his baking pan, preferably on a  rack which allows the turkey’s drippings to accumulate beneath it.

7. Chop the celery, onions, carrots, peeled shallots, and herbs and mix together in a bowl.

8. Stuff the chopped herbs and vegetables into the cavity of the turkey. This is done to flavor the bird, and will not be eaten.

9. Cover the turkey and keep refrigerated over night.

10. On the day of cooking, remove the bird from the fridge in plenty of time for it to reach room temperature.

11. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

12. Place a fresh layer of olive oil along the outside of the turkey.

13. Place turkey, legs to the back, in the oven for 30 minutes.

14. Your turkey should be beginning to turn golden brown already. (if  the bird is quite large, like say 20+ pounds, you may need to add an  extra 15 minutes).

15. Reduce oven heat to 300 degrees.

16. Place a triangular piece of aluminum foil over the breast and  continue cooking DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN CONTINUALLY. Just let the bird  cook.

17. Despite common myths, there is no formula based on “minutes per  pound” to figure out when your bird will be done. In my experience, an  18 pound turkey will need another 1 ½ to 2 ½ hours of cooking at this  point, but you have to use some common sense. You want you turkey’s legs  to reach 175 degrees, and the breast meat to reach 155 degrees. At that  point, you will remove the turkey from the oven, keep it covered and  carve it 10 minutes later. I suggest checking your turkey after 1 hour  of cooking at 300 degrees and determining at that point how well it’s  going. Given the choice you’d rather your turkey be done too soon,  rather than too late.

Adobong Mani (Filipino Peanuts)

  • Heat peanut oil
  • slice a bunch of garlic thinly
  • fry garlic to a light brown
  • put into strainer to drain excess oil
  • add a shitload of peanuts
  • stir occasionally
  • do a few batches
  • last batch, add garlic back
  • after its all done, stir/toss and salt

Trademark Salsa

This recipe changes quite a bit depending on how spicy the peppers are and how flavorful the tomatoes are. I don’t measure, I eyeball it, and more importantly, taste the ingredients. Next time I make it, I will have to do a video, or at the very least, get some pictures. I usually make way too much, which isn’t usually a bad thing. Feel free and try to half the recipe.

I choose peppers based on darkness of the skin, and go for the ones with no wrinkles. I choose tomatoes based on the richness of the red and softness. I don’t want mushy, but they should have just a little softness to them.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 produce bag of roma tomatoes
  • Equal amount of another kind of tomato
  • 2 white onions
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 6+ cloves of garlic
  • 1+ bunch of Cilantro
  • 2+ Limes
  • 4 Jalapenos
  • 4 Seranos
  • 1 Anaheim
  • More salt than you think
  • pinch of cumin

Slice onions and peppers in half.

Put the rack in the middle of the oven, and broil half of the onions and garlic, and all of the peppers for 10 minutes. Or you can put it in the smoker, which is of course better. They are done when they look soft and a little wrinkled. Or you can put the peppers directly on the stove top (no pan) and get a char on them.

While that is cooling, boil a big pot of water, and drop in some tomatoes in small batches. It only takes a minute or 2, once the skin starts popping open, remove the tomatoes to a strainer, and cool. Repeat in batches until your tomatoes are all done.

Peel the skin off of the tomatoes and squeeze out some of the excess liquid.

I like to remove half the seeds from the jalapenos and seranos, and all the seeds from the anaheim. Leave more seeds for a heat boost (I don’t usually need it)

Add the peppers, onion, juice and zest of 1 lime, garlic, and cilantro, cumin and salt to a large blender and blend. Reserve half of this mixture, and add half of the tomatoes, and blend more.

At this point, you can taste, and determine how the heat is going to be. You are going to want to add in more tomato and pepper mixture to get the heat you want, and make sure and add more salt. Add more lime if needed. If it doesn’t taste like restaurant salsa, it doesn’t have enough salt.

Pair with a good tortilla chip like El Ranchero brand.

Banana Bread

I don’t eat any carbs anymore, but I figured I could still share the best recipes for this type of stuff. The best recipe I found has a key ingredient – melted butter.

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/banana_bread/

Alternative recipe:

  • 2.25 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tea baking soda
  • 1 tea salt
  • 4 medium bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tea vanilla

Preheat oven to 325°. Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with baking spray with flour.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.  In a medium bowl, whisk together banana, melted butter, eggs, and  vanilla. Fold banana mixture into flour mixture until just combined.  Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 to 60  minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool  completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 3  days.