Amy's (actually Ree Drummond's) Barbecue Sauce Jalapeno Thingies

My friend Amy B. serves these at parties-- Super Bowl, baby shower, Rock Band! And I like them. Whether or not you do, haha. She can make hers prettier than I can. Oh well! The recipe is modified, first by Amy, then by me, from Ree Drummond ("The Pioneer Woman").

18 fresh jalapenos (not too big)
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c grated sharp cheddar
green onion-- the recipe calls for 1-- I doubled the recipe but used a whole bunch (white parts)
18 thin slices bacon, cut in half
bottled BBQ sauce

Preheat the oven to 275. Lay out bacon on a baking sheet; brown a little bit (NOT near done-- they will still bake in the oven on the jalapenos. This is just to make sure they get all the way done).

Cut peppers in half lengthwise; try to keep the stems in tact. Scrape out the seeds and membranes (to taste).

Combine cheeses, green onion-- mix. Stuff pepper halves. Put a smear of sauce on top. Cover with a piece of bacon. (The recipe calls for wrapping them around, but this is just so hard for me. So I put it on top and it worked fine). Brush the bacon with BBQ sauce.

Bake 1 hour. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Penzeys Saffron Rice

Recording one Penzeys recipe made me think of another that I know I like.

1 c long-grain white rice
2 c water or chicken stock
1 T butter
1 T finely minced onion (optional)
1/2 t salt
1 small pinch saffron, crumbled

Place butter and onion in saucepan. Saute over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add rice, saffron, water/stock, salt. Bring to a rolling boil. Cover, reduce heat to simmer, and cook until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed (about 18 minutes).

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

My sister T. makes a mean (meaning really nice) pumpkin streusel muffin. The recipe (natch) is from Penzeys.

1/2 c butter, soft
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 c pumpkin puree
1/4 c evaporated milk
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t ginger
1/8 t cloves
1 2/3 c flour

TOPPING
2 T flour
2 1/2 T sugar
1 t cinnamon
1 T butter, firm

Set oven to 375 F. Grease or line 12 muffin cups. Blend streusel ingredients to the size of small peas. Cream butter with brown sugar. Blend in egg. Mix in pumpkin and milk. Gently stir in spices and soda. Stir in flour-- don't overmix. Portion into cups; distribute streusel. Bake 18-22 minutes.

Pancakes. Just Normal Pancakes.

This blog is meant to be my recipe box-- and yet-- I haven't recorded the recipe for normal family pancakes. I had to have sister T recite it to me, twice. Scale up the recipe as you please.

1 c flour-- you can use 1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1-2 T sugar
1 egg
2 T oil
3/4 c milk OR 1 c buttermilk

Mix dries (including sugar). Mix wets in liquid measuring cup; combine. Cook on griddle.

Guava Cheesecake

Sister T. made this to use up some guava paste and brought it to a dinner party. I like cheesecake-- I'm not crazy-- but I rarely find it very interesting. It's possible that I'm not alone in this. After all, cheesecake is frequently subjected to baroque variations. But somehow-- some way-- even the craziest cheesecakes with all sorts of fun and exciting flavors never really translate into "interesting" to me. Something about all that creamy dairy tends to stifle the novelty of the flavors... maybe?

But I really liked the flavors in this cheesecake.

It wasn't set up all the way when it was served (it hadn't been chilled overnight), so we thought maybe it needed to bake longer. But, afterward, when chilled more thoroughly, it was pretty perfect.

The source for this recipe is http://www.mybigfatcubanfamily.com/guava-cheesecake-recipe/. Go check out this fun blog and click around. I always feel torn when posting recipes from another personal blog. This "blog" is really meant to just be my personal recipe box, accessible to family and friends if they want a recipe reference, rather than an effort to put anything out there as being a product of any personal genius.

Guava Cheesecake

1 3/4 c sugar, divided
1 1/4 c graham cracker crumbs
4 T butter, melted
cooking spray
1/2 c water
1/2 c lime juice
8 oz guava paste, cut into small pieces (about 1/2 bar)
5 large egg whites, divided
1/2 c sour cream
2 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 t vanilla
1/8 t salt

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Coat a 9-inch sprinform pan with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine 1/4 c sugar, graham cracker crumbs, and butter. Press into the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of the springform pan. Bake for 7 minutes; cool on wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

3. Combine 1/2 c sugar, 1/2 c water, lime juice, and guava paste in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly.

4. Pour mixture into a blender, and process until smooth. (Or use an immersion blender). Cool completely, then stir in 1 of the egg whites.

5. Combine remaining ingredients: sugar, sour cream, and cream cheese. Beat with a mixer at low speed until smooth. Beat in vanilla and salt. Gradually add remaining 4 egg whites, beating well after adding each one. Pour into the graham cracker crust.

6. Drizzle guava mix over cheese mix.  Swirl them together with a knife.(I don't know if my sister's was thicker, but it did not get as blended with the cheese as in the picture on the blog-- and I liked it). Instead it was like big fissures of guava.

7. Bake at 325° for 45 minutes or until cheesecake center barely moves when touched. (It may crack a little along the edges.)

8. Turn the oven off; cool cheesecake in closed oven 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven. Run a knife around the outside edge.

9. Cool to room temperature, cover, and then chill at least 8 hours before serving.

Pepper toast!

Speaking of liking the taste of black pepper, here is something that is sort of odd that I've done for a while and which is delicious. It is pepper toast!

You take one piece good white bread. (Isn't it a little funny when cookbook writers say that? "Take good milk and good strong flour and good olive oil...")

Toast it.

Butter it well. With good butter yo.

Grind some black pepper on it. Not too much.

Yum!

Tangerine Peel Beef

Why have one Asian-flavor beef recipe when you can have two?

This recipe comes from Martin Yan's book "Culinary Journey through China." In his intro text, he deftly bobs and weaves around the idea of any sort of authenticity of the recipe. But it tastes good!

2 pieces (each about 1 1/2 inches square) dried tangerine peel

Marinade
2 T soy sauce
1 T cornstarch

3/4 lb flank steak, thinly sliced

Sauce
1/3 c orange juice
2 T rice wine or dry sherry
1 T soy sauce
1/2 t chile garlic sauce
2 t sugar
1 1/2 t cornstarch

2 1/2 T cooking oil
6 small dried red chiles
1 small onion, cut into 1 inch pieces

0. To make dried tangerine peel if you can't get it in a Chinese market: Peel the fruit. Cut the peel into pieces. Lay them out flat and cut or scrape away as much of the white pith from the inside of the peel as possible. Let the pieces of peel sun- or air-dry for a few days until they're firm but still flexible. Store them in an airtight jar.

1. Soak tangerine peel in warm water to cover until softened, about 15 minutes; drain. Thinly slice. Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl.

2. Add beef and stir to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes. Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl; set aside.

3. Place a wok over high heat until hot. Add 2 T oil, swirling to coat sides. Add chiles and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add beef and stir-fry until barely pink, about 2 minutes. remove the beef and the chiles from the wok.

4. Add the remaining 1/2 T oil to wok, swirling to coat sides. Add the tangerine peel and onion; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add sauce and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens.

5. Return beef and chiles to wok and cook until heated through. Garnish with orange slices if you want.