Stop Browning Beef !-- A Culinary Confession

I must confess.  It is a heresy here at Potluck Paradise headquarters, but I hate browning ground beef. Worse yet, ground beef and onions. I just have no patience for standing over the stove  for ten or fifteen minutes and mashing the bits of beef into smaller bits, shuffling them around the pan until they are all browned and ready for the next step in casserole, hot dish, or sauce making. And then there is the grease to get rid of.

There I've said it!

But I'm not going to hang up my apron.  I've discovered a better way to manage beef for even tastier dishes.  I make extra hamburgers every time I fire up the grill.  It doesn't take that much extra time. The cooked burgers fit nicely into the freezer and when I'm ready to make a browned beef dish, I just crumble the burger into it and off we go. They add a nice grilled flavor to the dishes. And I usually mix chunky-style salsa into the beef before I form the patties, so I get that nice cooked onion in there, too. I usually add about 8 ounces of salsa to 5 pounds of beef and get about four burgers to the pound. Very handy to have on hand for a quick version of the Midwestern favorite

Hamburger Goulash

1 8-ounce package elbow macaroni, cooked and drained

8 ounces ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced

OR instead of the beef, onion, and pepper use
3 grilled hamburger and salsa patties, crumbled

1 24-ounce can tomato juice
6 ounces cheddar or American cheese, cubed

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12 x 9-inch baking dish. If using the ground beef, onion and pepper--begin by browning the beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and pepper and cooke, stirring until the beef is brown, the onion is transparent and the pepper is slightly cooked. Follow directions below.

If using my ever-so-sensible method of grilled beef just put all the ingredients into the baking dish and stir gently to make sure the ingredients are evenly distributed. Cover with foil and bake until the tomato juice is mostly absorbed by the macaroni and the cheese is melted, about 30 minutes. Stir once during cooking.

Serves 4 to 6 or 2 famished teen-aged boys

Copyright 2015 Rae Katherine Eighmey. All rights reserved. 

Nearly Instant Apple Crisp--Potluck Dream

It's hard to beat an apple crisp warm from the oven. Sweet and tart with just enough crispness in the crumbled topping to make a delicious end to supper. But here at Potluck Paradise headquarters we devised a way so that this tasty delight can be had easily for a quick breakfast or even a midnight snack.

It all began in typical potluck fashion with a gift of a bunch of apples. Our friend Michele's apple trees were in fine production last fall. When she asked if we could use some cooking apples of various kinds, we had visions of a pie or two, some sauce, a bit of preserves.  We did all of that. Set some by in the freezer and on the preserve shelf. . . but there were still more apples. Michele had done her own canning and freezing and said that she could feed the rest to her horses. But never one to turn away from a challenge, or the gift of free apples, we said that we would keep finding ways to use them.

And so we have the Nearly Instant Apple Crisp Filling.  It took a bit of tinkering to develop the recipe. And a bit of time to work through the apples to get them set up. Really it is just a matter of peeling, slicing, mixing, measuring, and filling the freezer bags--you could work through a couple of pecks of apples while watching your favorite team win its Saturday college football game. These little packets of great filling tuck nicely into the freezer and are ready to eat in less than 10 minutes.

Nearly Instant Apple Crisp

Cutting the apples:
The most important thing is to cut your apples into pieces that will cook quickly in the microwave when you are ready to make the crisp. We've found slices roughly an inch square and 1/2 inch thick work well, No need to be precise, you and your knife will get the idea. We generally peel and cut the apples in quarters and then remove the core. Then cut these quartered apples into thin slices.  Large apples should be cut into six pieces or even eight.

To make the filling:
6 cups apple slices (see important note above)
3/4 cup sugar -- we prefer brown sugar, but you can use white
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

We've found it is really easy to mix this filling in an 8-cup clear Pyrex measuring cup. Put in the apples, pressing them down for a good measure, followed by the sugar, and cornstarch. Mix well and stir in vanilla.  Divide the filling into ten packets. We found plastic sandwich bags worked well. Roll tightly or flatten for compact storage in the freezer. We put the sandwich bags into larger freezer bags for better protection against freezer burn.

Now for the topping--you can make this easy recipe below, or just crumble cookies, granola, or buttered bread crumbs on top.

To make the topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup Old Fashioned oatmeal, uncooked
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into chunks

In a medium mixing bowl combine the brown sugar, oatmeal, and flour. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it looks like coarse cornmeal.  Divide into ten packets and freeze.

To make a crisp:
Empty the contents of an apple packet into a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup. Microwave at a medium setting until warm and the sauce has thickened, about 4 minutes. Be sure to stir once or twice during the process.

Pour the filling into an oven-proof bowl and sprinkle with some of the topping--straight from the freezer will work. Finish by putting under a low broiler -- about 8 inches away -- for just a minute or two. Or in a preheated 350 degree oven, or in a toaster oven.  Watch carefully so that the topping doesn't burn.

There you go!

Copyright 2015 Rae Katherine Eighmey. All rights reserved

Low-Salt and Delicious -- Sweet and Spicy Crackers Abraham Lincoln Might Have Enjoyed

Part of what we do here at Potluck Paradise is to research and write about old recipes.  I've written six books that are a fusion of history and food. Abraham Lincoln in the Kitchen is my newest. This recipe is from that book and is one of the absolute favorites in our kitchen and wherever we have served these unusual treats.

These are kind of like cookies. They are sort of like crackers. They are absolutely delicious and ridiculously easy to make. And, once made, they keep for days, even weeks, if you can stop eating them.

They are called APees.  Pronounced "A Peas" not aps.  And they date way, way back. I've made them for years, first finding the recipe in a Civil War-era cookbook. I was thrilled to find a recipe for them in the newspaper Abraham Lincoln would have been reading in New Salem, Illinois, in November of 1833.

I don't think store-keeper Lincoln would have made these himself. He was sleeping on the counter of his store and taking his meals with families in town or at the Rutledge Tavern. Ann, the daughter of tavern keeper and New Salem founder James Rutledge, was said to have been Abraham Lincoln's first true love. They were, at the very least, good friends and mutually devoted to learning. Neighbors recounted seeing them together, often with their heads bent over books.

Lincoln was elected to his first term in the Illinois Legislature in 1834 and the Rutledge family sold the tavern and moved to a nearby farm. Ann made plans to enroll at Illinois College in the town of Jacksonville the following year. However in August 1835 Ann became ill, probably with typhoid fever. Lincoln rode to visit her for what the family feared would be one last time. The two spent an hour alone together as the grieving Abraham sat by her bedside. She died two days later. She was just 22 years old.

Lincoln was said to have become deeply saddened and seen to be wrapped in profound thought as he walked around town and in the surrounding woods. Years later, as Lincoln was leaving Springfield for the White House an old New Salem friend asked Lincoln about Ann. Lincoln is said to have replied, "I did honestly & truly love the girl."

These delightful treats are memorable, too.

 APees   -- adapted from an 1833 recipe

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon mace
1 1/2 tablespoons caraway seeds
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, salted, or unsalted, butter
1/3 cup white wine

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the flour, sugar, spices and the 1 1/2 tablespoons of caraway seeds in a mixing bowl, or in your food processor. Slice the butter into small chunks and cut into the flour mixture with a pasty cutter, two knives, or using the food processor, until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Mix in the wine with a fork or the processor and knead until you have a smooth dough. Roll out on a lightly floured surface about 1/8-inch thick. Prick all over with a fork and cut into squares with a rotary jagging iron or just a knife. Place on lightly greased sheets and bake until light brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. The Apees shrink as they bake.  Makes about 7 dozen small cookies.

Note: these are great to eat all by themselves, but are particularly tasty -- and unusual -- as a base for cheese, spreads--ham would be great, or a bit of cream cheese and homemade apple preserves--see our recipe for February 2!

Copyright 2015 Rae Katherine Eighmey. All rights reserved.

Celebrate Honest Abe's Birthday with His Gingerbread Men

This Wednesday, February 12, will mark 206 years since Abraham Lincoln was born on his family's farm in Kentucky.  The family lived there until Abe was nearly eight, moving to homestead in wild southern Indiana. Lincoln later wrote a poem in which he described those early Hoosier settlement days. One stanza says:

When first my father settled here, 

'Twas then the frontier line:

The Panther's scream, filled the night with fear

And bears preyed on the swine.

Among the young boy's favorite treats were these gingerbread men, made either by his mother Nancy who died when Abraham was nine, or by his step-mother Sarah. Lincoln described these soft cookies several times, almost giving a recipe. When he was in the White House President Lincoln told the story about those men describing the two key ingredients--sorghum and ginger--and the texture, being able to eat one quickly in two bites.

Lincoln had first used the homey anecdote to great advantage during the Lincoln-Douglas debates when he diffused the excessive and insincere praised heaped upon him by the "Little Giant" Senator Douglas. The tall, eloquent lawyer from Springfield allowed as how he was like his poor neighbor "Hoosier boy" back in Indiana who loved gingerbread more than anyone and never got any. Lincoln said that he was so unaccustomed to praise that he forgot to get angry even at the misrepresentations Douglas had insinuated within it.

Abraham Lincoln won the hearts and the humanity of the audience that day, even though he lost the election. It was the second and last one he would ever lose in his long political career in the Illinois Statehouse, United States' Congress, and the Presidency.

These easy-to-make treats will win your hearts, too. Perfect to make with children or grandchildren and celebrate Lincoln's birthday or President's day in two weeks.

Abraham Lincoln's Gingerbread Men

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sorghum syrup, you may use light or dark molasses
3 1/3 cups flour
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold salted butter

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets. Pour the milk into a glass measuring cup and add the sorghum. Stir to mix. In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda and ginger. Slice the butter into small pieces and cut into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Add the milk mixture and stir with a fork or spoon, kneading until smooth like children's play clay.

To make a gingerbread men about 4 inches high, break off a piece of dough a little larger than a golf ball. Place it on your work surface and roll it lightly under your palms to form a pencil-thin rope of dough about 12 inches long. Break off a piece about 4 inches long and set aside. This will become the arms.

Fold the remaining rope in half to form a narrow, upside-down V. Grasp the folded top and pinch together one inch down from the top and twist to form the neck. Put the arm piece under the neck and place on the baking sheet.  Make the remaining men.

Bake until the cookies are lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes. Watch carefully as the sorghum or molasses in the dough can burn quickly.

Makes 18 gingerbread men 4-inches high.

A Little Here. A Little There. Next Thing You Know, a Great Meal

Here at Potluck Paradise leftovers are our middle name.

We grew up watching our mothers take the last little bit of the Saturday roast beef, clamp the cast-iron food grinder on the edge of the kitchen table, and convert the un-chewable bits into tender minced meat. Next step--mix with leftover gravy, toss in some canned mushrooms and pour the mixture on a slice of white bread, or two.

If we were really lucky, there were leftover mashed potatoes. Those got mixed with an egg, or two, and some flour and formed into pancakes. Browned in butter to crispy doneness sheltering warm mash, they were the perfect base for the beef.

Flash ahead to today where from time to time we find ourselves looking at impossibly small bits of leftovers. A drib of soup, a drab of mixed vegetable. And, not having a dog, or even a cat, the thought can be, "Oh well. it's is just a little, let's toss it." I'm not going to lecture us on the amount of food wasted in the United States, or in other countries. We all know it is a serious problem.

But not so fast.  There are simple solutions if we just take a minute to consider proactively. That soup can help mellow a sauce or gravy. The vegetables can be frozen and tossed into the next batch of soup. And the last cup of chili is the perfect filling for an acorn squash!

So there's not real recipe this blog. Just a consideration.  Look at those leftovers and be thankful for the refrigerator with a large freezer so they can be set aside and, in effect, be harvested for another meal. Put the small bits into a special spot in the freezer so they are readily at hand. I have a large plastic food container in the door shelf and that's where the carefully labeled and securely wrapped bits are stored. Then think creatively. How can these be combined?  Even a mere tablespoon of mashed potatoes can be set aside to thicken a white sauce to creamy goodness. The last quarter of a cup of mashed sweet potatoes ended up in the chili above. Chili itself can be home for the last bits of the Saturday pot roast or the Sunday chicken.

In short, they're not leftovers, they're ingredients!

Copyright 2015 Rae Katherine Eighmey. All rights reserved.

Healthy, Fruit-Filled Chocolates Easily Made with Love and Honey

Sure the fancy heart-shaped boxes are nice, but why buy chocolates for your Valentine when you can make these delicious treats filled with healthful dried fruits and nuts. Here at Potluck Paradise headquarters, we're always ready to test chocolate recipes. These easy to make candies are at the top of our list. They taste like the richest bon-bons and no one will ever know the secret filling unless you spill the beans. The recipe dates from World War I when sugar was restricted to two tablespoons a day. Natural ingredients made these Honey Fruit Chocolates popular holiday gifts for Christmas 1917.

Make some for your special someone and watch him. . . or her. . . smile! The filling keeps frozen for weeks, ready to make a few more whenever you want a delicious little bite.

Honey Fruit Chocolates
1 12-ounce package raisins
1 8-ounce package whole, pitted dates
2/3 cup figs, diced
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
grated rind of half an orange
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
chocolate for dipping,
such as melted dark or semi-sweet chips
Run the fruit and nuts through an old-fashioned grinder, or pulse in
a food processor, until ground into a rough paste. Stir in rind, juice,
honey, and salt. Chill mixture until firm. Form into balls, about 3/4
inch in diameter. Melt chocolate chips and dip balls to enrobe
filling. Cool on waxed paper or foil. The filling can be frozen and
made into chocolates in batches. Makes about 6 dozen.

Copyright 2015 Rae Katherine Eighmey. All rights reserved

Always Ready! with Rolls of Cookies in the Freezer

Here at Potluck Paradise headquarters we learned long ago--at our mother's apron strings-- that one of the keys to successfully surviving days with scores of children about is to have a freezer well stocked with rolls of slice and bake "icebox" cookies. Easy to make on demand by the handful, dozen, or cookie tin full for midnight snack, after school treat, or gift to a neighbor in need.

Our mothers and grandmothers knew how to make this work. Pick a day when you are in the kitchen anyway, cooking something that needs a constant eye, or in today's world, if there is something you want to watch on television and don't want to just sit there. Mix up and form the rolls. Wrap them securely--we've been using the "Press-n-seal" plastic wrap and then put them in s freezer bag. A small investment for a lot of easy pleasure.

If you have kids, or grandkids, around these are wonderful recipes to make with them.  I've cooked with our young grandsons. We all know how it goes. They can be all excited about the project, but after about five or ten minutes the lure of matchbox cars takes over. By dividing the project in half, you have the perfect project.  The Butterscotch in particular work with for making with kiddos -- Mix the dough with a spoon, or even with "perfectly clean" hands and then come back to it later.

Since we stared taking these to book talks we've found many a person had the same memories. And, they, like us, had not made these wonderful cookies in years. Post a picture of the Date Pinwheel and the "likes" will explode across Facebook. the chocolate spirals are fancy, but for flavor give me the Old Fashioned Butterscotch. We've shared that recipe in this community before but it is well worth repeating.



Classic 1950s Ice Box Cookies
(makes 8 dozen cookies -- but not all at the same time!)

2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup melted butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Stir the sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla together until completely blended. Add the dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly then stir in the nuts. Knead the dough with hands if necessary to get a smooth dough. Divide the dough into quarters. Form each roll into a log about one inch high and one inch wide. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours in refrigerator. (You can firm dough more quickly in the freezer for about 20 minutes.)

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease baking sheets. Slice dough about one-eighth inch thick with a sharp knife. Place sliced on baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 to 12 minutes.  Makes 8 dozen -- but not, necessarily, at the same time.


Classic Date Pinwheels from the 1950s 

These Date Pinwheels can be a bit messy to make.  And be sure the dough is very, very cold when you slice them. But they are well worth the effort to have on hand in the freezer. If you want to be totally indulgent, frost them with a bit of burned butter icing--just a glaze.  Oh my!

Date-Filled Icebox Pinwheel Cookies

Filling:
1 pound pitted, dried,dates
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water

Cookie Dough
1 cup shortening or butter at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon banilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups flour

First make the date filling. Cut the dates into small pieces. Combine with the sugar and water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the dates fall apart, making a jam-like mixture. (Note: if the dates are very dry, you might have to help them along with a few pulses from an immersion blender.) Set this mixture aside to cool while you make the dough.

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugars. Stir in the vanilla and eggs, mixing well. Stir in the baking soda and flour.  To make the cookies--cover your work surface with waxed paper or plastic wrap. Divide the dough in half and roll out one half into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick. Carefully spread the half the cooled date jam over the cookie dough. Then, using the paper wrap as an aid, roll the dough up from the long side, making a spiral of date filling. Repeat with the other half of the dough and filling. Wrap this dough log in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. Store in the refrigerator for one week, or in the freezer for months.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease baking sheets. Cut across the roll in 1/4-inch thick slices with a very sharp knife. Place slices on the sheets and bake until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Copyright 2105 Rae Katherine Eighmey. All rights reserved