Bits Of Dust

Archive for September, 2007

Ingredients:

4 quarts chopped, peeled, cored tomatoes (about 24)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chooped sweet red pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon whole allspice
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 stick cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 cups vinegar

Instructions:

Combine tomatoes, onion and pepper in large pot. Cook until tomatoes are tender. Puree using a food processor or food mill. Cook puree rapidly until thick and reduced by one-half. Tie whole spices in a spice bag. Add spice bag, sugar, salt and paprika to tomato mixture. Simmer 25 minutes, stirring frequently. Add vinegar; simmer until thick. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Remove spice bag. Ladle hot ketchup into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

The wife has been hanging out at The Hillbilly Housewife site, and found a recipe for corn dogs. Our kids love corn dogs so she thought she would give them a try.

Needless to say, the kids loved them more than the store-bought ones, and we now have a nice batch of them in the freezer for an occasional lunch.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 2 medium eggs
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/3 cups corn meal
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1 to 1-1/2 pounds hot dogs
• flour for dusting (about 1/2 cup)
• Hot Fat for Deep Frying
• Popscicle sticks

Instructions:

• In a large bowl combine the milk, eggs, oil, sugar and salt. Mix it very well. Sprinkle in the baking powder, corn meal and flour. Stir it all up to make a slightly thick batter.

  Take your hot dogs and dry them off on paper towels. Dust the hot dogs with flour, coating them completely. The cornmeal batter won’t stick to the hot dogs unless they are coated in flour. The batter just slides right off of the wieners naturally slick outsides. Shove popscicle sticks into the flour coated hot dogs. Set the hot dogs aside.

  While all of this is going on, it’s a good idea to get your hot fat to heating up. You want the temperature to be about 375°. Allow the fat to preheat so it is almost smoking by the time you are ready to add the corn dogs.

  Now, to coat the floured hot dogs with batter you have two choices. You can swirl the hot dogs in the bowl of batter until they are coated, and then drop them into the hot fat. If this is a little difficult I know of an easier way. Scoop some of your corn meal batter into a narrow jar or cup which is as tall as your hot dogs are long. Fill the jar or cup about 3/4 of the way full. Dip your hot dog into the batter while you hold onto the stick. Swirl the hot dog to coat it evenly. Be careful or the batter will overflow. Raise the wiener above the cup and let any excess batter drip off. Quickly place the battered dog into the hot fat. The fat will bubble up and cook the outside of the batter, making the corndogs the exact same shape as the ones you buy at the store.

  Only fry a few corn dogs at a time. If the corn dogs crowd each other they don’t fry very well. I only fry 2 or 3 at a time. Turn the corn dogs when the bottom side is well browned. Use tongs to remove the cooked corn dogs from the fat. Allow them to drain on paper towels. Repeat the process, coating and frying a few at a time, until all of the corn dogs are cooked. Refill the narrow jar or cup with batter from your bowl as necessary. Continue until all the hot dogs are coated or until you no longer have enough batter to coat the hot dogs efficiently.

  If you don’t want to waste any unused batter, it can be dropped by small spoonfuls into the hot fat, and fried until brown. Serve these along side the corn dogs.

  If desired, you can make small corn dogs by cutting hot dogs into thirds, or quarters. Poke a toothpick up into the end of the hot dogs. Coat and fry them as described above. These are nice for fancy days, and for kids parties. Provide plenty of ketchup and mustard for dipping.

  This recipe makes about 12 to 14 corn dogs.

Enjoy!

I hate brussel sprouts. I can’t stand them. Chef John seems to think I might like them if I try them the way he makes them.

I am going to buy some this week and give it a try. I will not be telling the kids or the wife what I am making either, and we’ll see what they say. I will post an update after the “taste test” with results. There are five of us in the house and not all of them hate brussel sprouts, so, we’ll see just how good this recipe is.

Oh gawd, now I can smell them already. Well, brussel sprouts in general, not Chef John’s specifically. Ugh.

Can you tell I love my new camera?

Yup, these are the same tomatoes after they were blanched, and peeled.

(Click The Image For A Larger View)

They’ll be spaghetti sauce before you know it.

We woke up this morning and visited our local farmer’s market. While we were there, we bought some pork chops, some chicken, and some soup bones. We also bought two dozen free range eggs, some lettuce, and the kids bought themselves peacock feathers.

We ventured over to the State Farmer’s Market, even though I don’t like that one, to see if they had any tomatoes (the drought here literally killed our local markets and our supply. We were able to purchase 3 boxes (25lbs each) of Roma tomatoes for $4 per box, and 2 boxes of beefsteaks for $9 per box. We made out like bandits.

We also bought three bushels of apples for $17 a piece. Can you say applesauce, apple butter, and apple pie filling? I bet you could.

Behold, the roma tomatoes…

(Click The Image For A Larger View)

We’re going to the farmer’s market(s) tomorrow and I am getting a new digital camera. Should make for some interesting photos real soon.

We love our local farmer’s market, and this week they are scheduled to have fresh meats (pork, lamb, and chicken), as well as free range eggs and lots more… WOOHOO!

Back in July, I found a recipe for herb braised artichokes that Chef John had done. They were delicious. Then, to celebrate our anniversary the wife and I had crab legs and filet mignon one night, and I mentioned I always crave artichokes with crab legs.

For some reason my brain has decided those two items must be served together.

Well, today, the wife and I were discussing when we would be eating crab legs again (yes the kids love them too), and I instantly began craving artichokes. Then guess what happened?

Chef John, wherever he is, was reading my mind, and posted a recipe for Simply Roasted Artichokes. Guess what we’re having for dinner tomorrow night?

I’ve been in the mood for Chinese food for a week now…

Yum…