Irish cream

 It’s always worth re-reading Deb’s background and process, but I’m still archiving the recipe here because I make it every year. 

To add a faint coffee flavor: Mix 1 teaspoon instant espresso or coffee powder with the cocoa and then continue as written above, whisking the cream slowly into it. I did not do this; I felt the flavor was much more authentic without it. 

To make less sweet: Add more cream and more whiskey, 1 tablespoon of each at a time.

To make less boozy: Add more cream and condensed milk, 1 tablespoon of each at a time.

To make more boozy: You’ve got this.

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup (235 ml) heavy or whipping cream

1 (14-ounce or 415 ml) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup (235 ml) Irish whiskey (I used Jameson)

In the bottom of a pitcher, whisk cocoa powder and a spoonful of cream into a paste. Slowly, whisking the whole time, add more cream a spoonful at a time until the paste is smooth and loose enough that you can whisk the rest of the cream in larger splashes. Once all of the cream is in, whisk in condensed milk, whiskey and vanilla. Cover with lid or plastic wrap and keep in fridge for up to two weeks, possibly longer.

Serve in a tiny tumbler filled with ice, or splashed into coffee.

https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/12/homemade-irish-cream/

Starbucks Pumpkin Scones

 

Scone

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (scoop and level to measure)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter , cold and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp canned pumpkin puree , chilled (don't chill in can)
• 3 1/2 Tbsp buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp half and half

Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp half and half , then more as needed

Pumpkin Icing

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp pumpkin puree
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 1 Tbsp half and half

• For the scones:
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a food processor pulse together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, brown sugar and granulated sugar until well blended (if you don't have a food processor you can whisk by hand in a large mixing bowl, then cut in butter with a pastry cutter). Add butter and pulse mixture several times to cut butter into mixture (large pieces of butter should no longer be visible). Pour mixture into a large mixing bowl and create a well in center.
• In a bowl whisk together chilled pumpkin puree, buttermilk, egg, vanilla extract and honey. Pour mixture into well in flour/butter mixture. Stir mixture with a wooden spoon to incorporate, then knead in bowl (or on work surface) by hand several times to bring mixture together. Dust a work surface with flour then invert dough onto surface. Pat and shape dough into an even 8-inch round. Using a large knife, slice into 8 equal wedges (dust knife with flour as needed while cutting, it will be fairly sticky).
• Transfer scones to a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Brush tops with 1 Tbsp half and half then bake in preheated oven 13 - 15 minutes until tops are golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and cool 10 minutes (no longer) before spreading with glaze.
• For the glaze:
• In a mixing bowl whisk together powdered sugar and half and half, adding more half and half as needed to reach desired consistency (it should be fairly thick not runny). Spoon and spread mixture scones to evenly coat tops (use all of it). Let glaze set at room temperature.
  
  
  For the pumpkin glaze:
• In a mixing bowl (I just used the one from the glaze above without cleaning out) whisk together powdered sugar, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and half and half. Transfer mixture to a small Ziploc bag, seal bag, cut a small tip from corner and drizzle mixture over tops of scones. Allow icing to set. Best served day prepared.
• Recipe Source: Cooking Classy
  
  
  NOTES: Holly made them and said they were really good even without the glaze.

Tourtiere

4 pounds ground pork butts 

1 ½ cups water 

1 medium onion, ground or finely chopped 

2 tsp salt 

1 to 2 tsp cinnamon, start low and adjust to taste 

1 to 1.5 tsp cloves, start low and adjust to taste 

1 cup bread crumbs 

Your favorite pie crust 

Put meat in large pot.  Break it up and add water. Mix in onions and salt. Adjust heat to keep meat cooking at a low boil; stir at intervals to keep from scorching.  Add more water if necessary. Cook with cover on for about 45 minutes, adding the spices halfway through. 

Near the end of cooking time, add the bread crumbs.  Adjust the amount of crumbs according to the amount of fat.  The mixture shouldn’t become too dry. 

This amount makes filling for 2 large pies or 9-11 small ones.   Fill uncooked pie crusts.  Top with either a second crust or mashed potatoes. May freeze at this point. 

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes 

Note: this is Grant’s great-great grandmother’s recipe 

Mutabal Kousa - Zucchini Dip

 2 large or 3 smaller zucchini 

Olive oil

3 tbsp. Plain yogurt 

2 tbsp. Tahini

Juice of 1 lemon 

1tbsp. Chopped mint

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pinch of salt

Slice zucchini in half lengthwise and drizzle with olive oil. Char zucchini over a grill or under the broiler until very soft. Put zucchini, yoghurt, tahini, lemon juice, mint, garlic, and salt into a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth. Let sit for 15 minutes before adjusting seasonings to taste. Serve with vegetables or pitas.

Note: If I hadn’t made this myself, I wouldn’t have been able to tell that it was mostly zucchini.

Bacon Corn Hash

 Smitten Kitchen never disappoints!

Makes 4 to 5 cups

1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, cut into small dice
1 pound red potatoes, scrubbed clean and diced into 1/4- to 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 to 3 1/4 cups)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 medium-large ears corn, kernels cut from the cob (2 1/2 to 3 cups)
1 bundle scallions, thinly sliced

Toss bacon into a large skillet over medium heat, no need to heat the pan first. Let rest for a few minutes until it starts sizzling, then move the bits around so that they begin to brown evenly. Again, wait a couple minutes before shuffling the pieces around; you’re looking for them to get evenly golden and crisp. This should take about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon bits with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pan and transferring the bacon to paper towels to drain.

If your bacon is like mine, you’ll be left with a spectacular amount of fat behind. You’ll be tempted to drain it off. May I ask you not to? The potatoes that cook in this will be gorgeous and you will have a chance to remove this extra in a bit. It will mostly stay in the pan.

Heat the pan to medium/medium-high, making sure the bacon fat is nicely sizzly, then add your potatoes all at once in a single layer. Sprinkle them with 1/2 teaspoon table salt and several grinds of black pepper. Let them cook for a few minutes in one place and get a bit golden underneath before turning them over and moving them around. Repeat this process until the potatoes are browned on all sides; this takes about 20 minutes.

At this point, you can push aside the potatoes and pour or spoon off all but a small amount of the fat. I won’t tell you how much I was able to remove but it rhymes with shmoo to shmee shmablespoons. If you save it, you can use it to fry an egg in a bit.

Bump up the heat a little and add the corn to the skillet. Saute the potatoes and corn together until the corn gets a bit brown but stays fairly crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the drained bacon, and stir the mixture together until it’s evenly warm, about 1 more minute. Remove the skillet from the burner and sprinkle the scallions (reserving a couple spoonfuls if you’d like to use them as fried egg garnish) over the hash. In two minutes, they should be warm and mellowed. Season with more salt or pepper to taste, if needed.

Add a fried egg to it: Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat and swirl in one to two teaspoons bacon fat or butter. Crack one egg into the skillet and reduce heat to medium. I like to cover the skillet with a small lid at this point, as it seems to help the egg cook faster and more evenly. In one minute, you should have a perfect sunny-side-up egg. Season with salt and pepper, serve on top of a pile of bacon corn hash.

NOTE TO SELF:

This fit well in the larger cast iron pan.

Prep all the ingredients before Mass and it comes together in a reasonable amount of time when we get home.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

 Quick and easy comfort food.

• 1 tbsp canola oil 
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce, divided
• 1 1/4 cups water, divided
• 1 pkg (0.75 oz) powdered Italian salad dressing mix
• 1 cup Minute® White Rice
• 4 bell peppers
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 400˚F.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown meat with onion until almost cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of tomato sauce, 1 cup of water and salad dressing mix. Bring to a boil.
• Stir in rice; cover. Remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut tops off peppers. Scoop out seeds and discard. Mix remaining tomato sauce and remaining water in bottom of a 9-inch baking dish.
• Place peppers in baking dish. Spoon meat mixture into peppers; cover with foil.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until peppers are tender. Spoon sauce from the bottom of the dish over peppers just before serving. 

Notes:

Mine baked for 30 minutes on the convection setting.

I used my cookie scoop to get the stuff into the peppers.

Minute Rice is pretty perfect for this use. 

Earl Grey Rice Pudding

 4 cups milk

½ cup white sugar

½ cup long-grain white rice

1 tablespoon butter

1 large egg

2 tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

⅛ teaspoon salt

1 Earl Grey teabag (I used Stash)

Directions

• Stir 4 cups milk, sugar, and rice together in a slow cooker until sugar dissolves. Add butter and the teabag, cover, and cook on High for 2 1/2 hours.
• Whisk egg, 2 tablespoons milk, vanilla, almond extract, and salt together in a bowl.
• Pour a small amount hot rice mixture into egg mixture, whisking quickly so egg doesn't cook. Pour mixture back into the slow cooker and whisk until combined. Continue to cook on High until creamy, about 15 more minutes.
• Transfer pudding to a glass baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap leaving two corners uncovered to vent, and refrigerate until chilled completely, at least 1 hour.

NOTES:

This is crazy-easy to do in the crock pot!

The original recipe had almond extract and no tea bag.

The Earl Grey flavor is subtle and delicious. Best served warm and maybe with a little whipped cream.

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