Brown Beans with Ham and Cornbread

I love great comfort food and nothing says comfort more than a pot of ham and beans.   I always use a ham shank from the meat case at Harter House.   It’s so simple, and you can leave the house all day (or work in the gardens) and come home to a nice crock pot of beans and ham!

I soak my beans overnight in a bowl of water, then rinse, throw them in the crock pot and cover with lots of water (or broth), ham shank, some chiles, onion and carrots.  Simply turn on the crock to high and off I go.  When I return, I bake a round of cornbread. 

Pinto Beans and Ham Shank

1 lb. / 16 oz. bag Pinto beans, sorted, rinsed., and soaked overnight.

1 Whole Harter House Ham Hock (butchers can slice in half)

1/2 pound of Harter House Sweet Italian Sausage (my addition)

1 Table Cavender's NO Salt Greek Seasoning

Garlic

Large Onion

Carrots, sliced or diced (optional)

1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Soak beans overnight.
In the morning, drain and rinse the beans in a colander.
Put your drained and rinsed beans into the stock pot or crockpot and cover with fresh water, about two inches above the bean level, approximately 3-4 quarts. 

Add 2 smashed garlic cloves to the beans and water.
Add 1/2 to 1 tsp dried crushed red peppers  or cayenne pepper (optional)
Add Chopped Onions and Cavender's Greek Seasoning or about a teaspoon of Kosher salt.
Add one whole Ham Shank from Harter House.

Place lid on crock pot and cook on low for a total of 6-8 hours.  Do not open lid to check or stir for at least three hours.

Check at 6 hours to see if they need more salt or water.

In a skillet, cook the sweet Italian Sausage and add it to the ham and beans.

NOTE Use quick soak method to prepare beans.  Place cleaned and sorted beans in a dutch oven, cover them with 6-8 cups HOT water (I use a tea kettle), boil the beans for two minutes, place the lid to the dutch oven on the pot, remove from heat and let stand at least 1 hour.
After one hour, drain and rinse the beans in a colander. continue as above.

I choose Cavender's NO salt Greek Seasoning because it does not contain monosodium glutamate.

The regular does.

Serve with Cornbread.

Sliders with Grilled Pineapple & Teriyaki Mayo

These are SO YUMMY!!!

 Sliders can be done many different ways, so use your imagination and add any ingredients you love!  I love grilled pineapple, so "Hawaiian" became my theme for this gathering.

You could absolutely make these into full size burgers, but how fun would it be to serve these Hawaiian sliders at your BBQ?

Hawaiian Sliders
Baby-sized ground beef sliders
Swiss cheese sliced
Pineapple slices grilled
Avocado
tomato
Teriyaki Mayo Sauce
Slider buns


I did a simple Harter House Ground Chuck mixture with salt and pepper, topped with swiss cheese. And also, grill some pineapple slices. I love King Hawaiian slider buns, but any little buns, breads, or rolls will do. To assemble, start with half your slider bun, then layer on teriyaki mayo sauce, grilled baby burger with cheese, grilled pineapple, avocado, tomato, and more sauce. Then top it off with the bun top! That's it! 

Teriyaki Mayo Sauce

1/3 cup Real mayonnaise.  I always use Hellmann's

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon liquid sweetener (honey, maple syrup, or agave)

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

Hot sauce of your choice (Sriracha!)

Fresh ground black pepper

Whisk together all ingredients, and you're good to go! 

From :  Loves Food, Loves to Eat

Another Teriyaki Mayonnaise to try.

Ingredients

7 tablespoons Hellmann's mayonnaise
3 tablespoons Teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method

Mix together and enjoy.

Can be used as a dipping sauce at a BBQ

Steamed white fish with a dollop of Teriyaki Mayonnaise served with rice and stir fried vegetables.

Try it with a Ham Salad Sandwich

Chicken teriyaki mayonnaise sandwich, using leftover roasted chicken

As a dip with salted crisps

Crudites with a difference – dip your vegetables into Teriyaki Mayonnaise

From:  Melissa.co

Buffalo Chicken Roll Ups

I love Buffalo Chicken, Frank's Red Hot sauce and also blue cheese, so this recipe really called out to me.  I was quite impressed.  And it was SO EASY! ~Shelly

4-6 chicken tenders

salt and pepper

1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles

1/4 cup frank's red hot

2 Tbsp mayo

1 cup crush cornflakes (you could also use gluten free corn chex)

***********************************

Stir together mayo and Frank's Red Hot.

Crush cornflakes.

Flatten chicken with meat hammer.

Season chicken with salt and pepper.

Spoon blue cheese on chicken tender.

Roll up the chicken and close with a toothpick.

Dip chicken rolls in Frank's Red Hot mixture

then roll in Cornflake crumbs.

Set in a baking pan and bake on 400 for 30 minutes.

Serve with extra hot sauce!

Beer Can Grilled Chicken

 

4 lb. Chicken
Chicken Rub
Vegetable or Olive Oil
12 oz. Beer, your choice

Beer Can Chicken Rub

2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder

For the chicken rub;
In a small bowl mix all the ingredients together and use for the grilled chicken.

Preheat your grill to medium high heat.  (350 degrees)

Rub the chicken and the cavity down with vegetable oil. Season the chicken and cavity with rub mixture.  Pour off (drink) 1/4 of the beer and sit the chicken on top of the beer can.  Place the chicken in the center of the hot grill and cover.  Cook the chicken for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees F.  Once cooked, cover loosely with foil and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

NOTE  This recipe can also be made in the oven.

Maple Bacon and Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls

 From The Steve and Kathy Doocy The Simply Happy Cookbook

Ingredients

10 Slices Bacon 
2 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
One 17.5 oz. can Grands Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese icing 
4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature 
1/2 tablespoon whole milk or half and half

Instructions

1.  Preheat oven to 425 F.  Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan.

2.  Bake Bacon slices on a nonstick sheet pan for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and use tongs to flip slices.  Brush 2 tablespoons of maple syrup over the slices, return to oven, and bake until browned and cooked, but still flexible, not crispy, 3-4 minutes.  Remove to a plate, not a paper towel or the syrup will stick.  Set aside to cool.

3.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 F.  Open the cinnamon roll package.  Set aside the icing packet.  On a clean surface, carefully separate and unwind each cinnamon roll to make a long piece of dough.  Place 2 pieces of bacon on one length of dough, so they stretch from end to end.  Roll up the dough with the bacon inside, leaving about 1 inch open dough at the end.  Pinch the roll shut at the end.  Place it on a prepared baking pan and repeat to roll up the rest of the bacon and dough.  It's OK to have the rolls slightly touching.  If the bacon is sticking up above the dough, gently push it straight down to the bottom of the pan.

4.  Bake until the tops are deeply browned., 30-35 minutes.  The bacon makes the dough take a bit longer to bake, so wait till they are deeply browned.

5.  Meanwhile, make the frosting.  In a medium bow, combine the icing included with the cinnamon rolls., cream cheese, milk, and remaining 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup.  Use a rubber spatula to blend until perfectly smooth.

6.  When the rolls are done baking, remove them from the oven, let them rest a couple of minutes, and slather on the frosting as generously as you like.

7.  These are too messy to eat by hand, so serve them warm with a knife and fork.  Enjoy - that is one sweet and savory sweet roll!

Shelly's New Year's Eve Meal

I am planning a small gathering for New Year's Eve this year, 
4 couples.  I can't wait.

We will dine.  (I plan to show off my culinary skills.)

Then we will move the furniture and dance, 

before we ring in the new year with Champagne.  

 APPETIZERS  

Roasted Garlic, Goat Cheese, 
and Minced Olives
on a crusty bread.

Bacon Wrapped Scallops with Brown Sugar

 

Goat Cheese, Stuffed Dates wrapped in Bacon

SALAD

Blue Cheese Salad Wedge

MAIN MEAL

Beef Tenderloin

prepared in the oven

Herb Lemon Butter Peas
and Little Potatoes

Sweet and Savory Green Beans

ROLLS WITH 
Garlic Herb and Parmesan Butter 

DESSERT

Amaretto Cheesecake
with Almonds and a shot of Amaretto

CHAMPAGNE

Classic Yeast Rolls Recipe

I absolutely LOVE yeast rolls.
This classic yeast rolls recipe really hits the spot. Find everything you need to make these delicious rolls at Harter House and Harter House World Flavors.

This recipe is adapted originally from the Farm Journal's Homemade Bread book (copyright 1969!). This is a very good, reliable recipe and really didn’t need much tweaking.

While these are totally delicious, another version can be stuffed with ground beef, pepperoni and cheddar cheese.  I understand, It is mind-blowing.  

Technique-wise, this recipe is really pretty easy.  It's been adapted from a hand-mixed version to a stand mixer version thus making it even more easy to have delicious homemade yeast rolls.  Over 2/3 of the three hours listed as prep time below is inactive time – time that the yeast spends rising.  So while this does take some time from start to finish, it leaves plenty of time for doing things in between like relaxing… or cleaning the bathroom.  Ha.

Since this is a yeast roll recipe, the yeast is a very important component. The yeast is bloomed very simply in warm water. As you can see below in the course of five minutes, the yeast is fed by the water and starts to get bubbly and activated. This reaction is the yeast coming back to life, ready to work on rising the bread dough it’s about to go into.

Something else I like about this recipe is that it uses all purpose flour. No need for bread flour. Which is good because this roll remains a little more tender than breads with bread flour. I also use shortening in this recipe, staying true to the old-school 1960′s bread-making style. If you don’t wish to use shortening, you can use butter instead.

As I said before, this recipe takes a while because the yeast needs to rise twice, for a total of about two hours and fifteen minutes. Below you can see the bread after the first rise and how it looks after it’s been kneaded (step #9 in the recipe). Like many roll recipes, this one calls for the bread to be portioned into rolls before it goes into it’s second proof (yeast rising).

I’m a big fan of butter on bread so I like to butter these rolls both before they go into the oven and after they come out of the oven. The application of melted butter prior to baking helps the roll produce a brown and crisp crust on the outside.  The buttering after baking gives the roll a long-lasting soft, tender crumb.

While this bread can be used as a savory dish accompaniment, my favorite way to have it is slathered with yet more butter on the inside and topped with some homemade marmalade. If you don’t have any on hand, fear not – these rolls taste great with just about any type of jam you can find. If you’re keeping these more than one day, simply pop them into the fridge in an air-tight container and reheat in the microwave for 45 seconds while covered with a damp paper towel. The butter on the outside helps to keep the bread soft and moist, and the rolls actually taste very good reheated that way.

Now that you’re pining for some fresh baked bread, on to the recipe!

Yield: 12 rolls

Classic Yeast Rolls Recipe  This classic yeast rolls recipe produces tender, tasty rolls. These are versatile enough to serve alongside dinner or to eat alone with butter and jam for a light breakfast. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons shortening
• 1-3/4 ounce package of yeast 
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons melted salted butter

Method:

1. Combine milk, sugar, kosher salt and shortening in a small sauce pan and just barely heat, until shortening melts. Set aside for the moment.
2. Sprinkle yeast on the warm water and stir. Allow to sit for 5 minutes so yeast can bloom.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the milk mixture and one cup of flour. With the paddle attachment, stir on medium for one minute. Add the yeast/water and egg and stir again on medium until just smooth.
4. Continue with the paddle attachment on medium speed and add two cups of flour. Mix well and then switch to the dough hook.
5. Using the dough hook, add two more cups of flour and mix until dough is smooth. It will still be rather sticky.
6. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and manually knead in the last half cup of flour. The dough will still be a little sticky but will be workable with your hands. Add more flour if you feel dough is still too sticky. It shouldn't stick to your hands when you're kneading.
7. Spray a bowl with nonstick spray and place dough in bowl. Flip dough once and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
8. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour and a half.
9. Turn out on a lightly floured surface and toss to coat with flour. Knead about 15 strokes until bread is smooth.
10. Shape into 2" balls and place evenly spaced apart in a greased pan.
11. Brush with melted butter then cover again and let rise another 45 minutes.
12. About 15 minutes before the rolls are ready to go into the oven, preheat to 375 ºF.
13. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Run a cold stick of butter over the rolls to coat with butter after coming out of the oven.
14. Turn rolls out onto wire rack and serve hot.

Store leftover rolls in the fridge in an air tight container. Reheat rolls in microwave for 45 seconds covered with a damp paper towel.

Prep: 3 hours  Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 3 hours, 30 minutes

http://www.culicurious.com