Royal Icing

Royal Icing

(2 cups)

 

Ingredients:

2 cups Powdered Sugar

1½ tbsp. Meringue Powder

¼ tsp. Cream of Tarter

¼ cup Warm Water

½ tsp. Vanilla
as needed Food Coloring (see note)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl stir together sugar, meringue powder and cream of tartar.  Add the warm water and vanilla.  Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined.  More to high speed and continue for 7 to 10 minutes or until icing is very stiff.  Use immediately or cover with damp paper towel and then tightly cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate up to 2 days but stir before using.

Note:               It's up to you to pick colors you desire 
                        to use when frosting the cut-out cookies.
                        My suggestion is to divide the frosting 
                        into bowls equaling the number of colors
                        you plan to use decorating the cookies.
                        Do this just before turning up the mixer
                        speed to high.  Remember to cover
                        frosting you have finished with a wet
                        paper towel until you are ready to use. 
                        I like using 3 colors when doing
                        Christmas cookies, red, green and leaving
                        one white.

Note:               This makes a very hard icing for cookies.  If you want to make it more of a glaze, add additional water about a ½ tsp. at a time.  Do this until you reach a thick spoonable consistency.

Ideas for Future Efforts

_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________

Sugar Cookie for Cut-outs

Sugar Cookie for Cut-outs

(3-4 dozen – depends on thickness & cut-outs used)

 

Ingredients:

1 cup Unsalted Butter, very soft

¾ cup Sugar

1 large Fresh Egg

½ tsp. Vanilla

2½ cups All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

¼ tsp. Salt

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  Now add the egg and vanilla and continue to cream together.  In a separate bowl combine flour, soda and salt and whisk together.  To the butter mixture, add the flour a fourth at a time using an electric mixer on low to medium-low until flour is combined.  Increase speed to high and mix until well incorporated.  Flour a counter top and place cookie dough on it.  Form into a ball and press down to flatten to about a half inch thickness.  Use a floured rolling pin to roll out to a thickness of a quarter inch to three-eight inch.  Depends on your desired thickness of the cookie.  Use your favorite cut-out forms on the dough and place pieces on a parchment paper lined cookie tray.  Put in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 9 to 11 minutes depending on your oven.  Remove to a wire rack of wax paper on the counter to cool.  When cool, decorate with desired frosting and other holiday decorative items.

Note:               There is a recipe for Royal Icing on my food blog to use for these cookies.  It makes a hard shell frosting that dries fast.  If you want to add sprinkles and other toppings, I recommend using another type of icing.  One that combines powdered sugar, vanilla and milk would work great for use with sprinkles and other toppings.

Ideas for Future Efforts

_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________

Oreo Balls

Oreo Balls

(approx. 30)

 

Ingredients:

 

1 (14.3 oz.) package Regular Oreo Cookies

1 (8 oz.) package Cream Cheese, room temperature

1 (oz.) package White Bark, melted

Directions:

Crush package of Oreo cookies and place in a large mixing bowl.  Mix in the cream cheese and chill for one to two hours (or overnight).  Now form into balls using a #50 scoop.  Once removed from scoop, press tightly with hands into balls with a flat bottom.  Drop balls one at a time into the melted white bark using two forks.  Make sure to coat completely and then remove.  Do this by placing a fork under the flat side of ball and lifting out of the melted bark.  Carefully bang the fork handle against rim of pan to remove excess bark.  Carefully place each ball on wax paper to cool in refrigerator.  Once cooled, place cooled balls in appropriate containers and store in refrigerator.  They can be frozen until needed too.

Note:               To melt the bark, use one of two methods.  Use a double-boiler with water in bottom section and bark in top section.  Bring water to a boil and have lid on top section.  Check about every 5 minutes and try stirring.  Bark will keep shape until you stir.  Once it is completely smooth, start dipping balls into the bark.  You can also use the microwave.  Place pieces in a microwavable dish and run on high in 15 second segments.  Start trying to stir after the 3^rd time.  Again, stir until smooth and start dipping.

Note:               You could use chocolate bark or both to give you a different look.  Also try adding a little food color of choice to the white bark for a variety of colors.

Ideas for Future Efforts

____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

More Holiday Treats

Everyone loves tasting a variety of holiday sweet treats.  Family members, friends and co-workers all like to share what they have made for the season too.  Seems everyone has their own specialty to make and share.  The amazing thing about it is all the different types of treats and rarely a bad one.

Now anyone has their favorite types of holiday treats.  Some go for the cookies and some the seasonal candies.  And within each category you have your number one picks.  In cookies, my children use to beg for Chocolate Krinkles (V)  when they were young.  Now it has to be My Favorite Thumb Print Cookie (V) cookies as they have aged.  As you can see both are recipes already in my food blog.

For those looking to try something new or different, I have over another half dozen recipes of cookies, bars or candy under the "Desserts & Baking Recipes" tab on the blog.  So give them a try or maybe go for one of this week's recipes.

For this season I have 3 recipes to offer.  On Wednesday I have a simple recipe for "Oreo Balls" which are addictive.  It's probably the same or similar recipe you can find everywhere.  But think about making them your own by using an Oreo cookie that is different from the original one.  They have so many flavors of Oreos out now.  I'll be honest, it does take a little practice getting a beautiful finished product.  The dipping and getting excess coating off is trial and error.  The upside is someone still gets to eat the rejects.  The taste is there even if they don't look the best.

Thursday has my favorite recipe for cut-out cookies, "Sugar Cookie for Cut-outs."  It's an easy dough to make and if you don't want to make cut-outs, it works to just scoop and place on the cookie sheet too.  It's the flavor that makes them my favorite sugar cookie.

Of course you can't have a cut-out cookie and not have a frosting.  So on Friday there is a recipe for "Royal Icing" and it makes a hard shell icing.  This one doesn't work well if you want to add sprinkles and other things on top of the frosting.  But it makes for an excellent topping to a sugar cookie.

The season is closing in fast, so you better get started making a few holiday treats for you and others.  "Happy Cooking" until next week and please share my blog site with family and friends.

Loaded Nachos

Loaded Nachos

(8 servings)

 

Ingredients:

1 bag Tortilla Chips (your favorite)

1 (16 oz.) can Refried Beans

1 lb. Ground Beef, cooked & drained

½ lb. Chorizo Sausage, cooked & drained

1 cup Diced Chicken, cooked

1 (8 oz.) can Tomato Sauce

3 tbsp. Taco Sauce

1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded

1 cup cheddar Cheese, shredded

1 (4 oz.) can Sliced Ripe Olives

4 Green Onions, sliced

1 (7 oz.) jar Sliced Pickled Jalapeno Peppers (optional)

½ cup Guacamole

½ cup Sour Cream

½ cup Salsa

Directions:

Take a rimmed baking sheet and spread the tortilla chips from rim to rim.  Now, in a large bowl, combine the beans, beef, sausage, chicken, tomato sauce and taco sauce.  Layer this mixture over all the chips.  Top next with the two cheeses.  Follow this with the olives and green onions.  Place the baking sheet into a pre-heated 350 degree oven and heat until cheese has melted and bubbly.  Remove from oven and top with the jalapenos, guacamole, sour cream and salsa.  Serve immediately using small plates for everyone.

Note:               This is just one version of a loaded nacho plate.  Substitute any of your favorite ingredients that you like on your nachos.  Have fun.

Ideas for Future Efforts

_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________

Basic Nachos

Basic Nachos

(8 servings)

 

Ingredients:

1 (14 oz.) bag Tortilla Chips (your favorite)

3 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese (not fine shred)

½ cup Pickled Jalapeno Peppers, chopped

½ cup Salsa (your choice)

½ cup Sour Cream

½ cup Guacamole

¼ cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Arrange chips on a rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle the cheese over all of them.  Then scatter the peppers over the cheese.  Place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese has melted.  Remove and dollop salsa over everything followed by sour cream and guacamole.  Then sprinkle with cilantro.  Serve immediately

Note:               This is a basic recipe.  To this use your imagination to add other favorite ingredients to make it your own classic nachos.

Ideas for Future Efforts

____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________

Part 10 Mexican (Nachos) Cooking

Blog Assistant working on Recipes

In the photo my wife is checking on my blog assistant and what recipe she is working on for the "Cabana Boy" blog.  Now let's get to this week's blog on "Part 10 Mexican Cuisine."

"Nachos" are an original of Mexico.  However, I'm going to say they are truly a part of what we call "Tex-Mex" cuisine.

I'll call "Tex-Mex" cuisine, Mexican foods or cooking style that has been influenced by the southern USA.  Kind of a melting pot were cowboys and early settlers merged things based available foods and cooking styles.  Beef in Texas had an enormous effect what and how people served their food.

You also have a "Southwestern" cuisine too.  The food is a little different by state throughout this region.  But the Spanish, Native Americans, Mexicans and Americans blended their cuisines together to come up with this unique flavor and freshness.

Enough on that for now.  "Nachos" were invented in a Mexican border town between Mexico and Texas (USA).  That town was Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico and the story includes wives of U.S. soldiers.  The year was 1943.

The original nachos were tortillas cut into triangles topped with cheese and heated.  Pickled jalapeno peppers were added just before serving them.  The man getting the credit was Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya.  He was the maître d'hôtel at the restaurant were the wives tried to eat.  It had just closed but they talked Ignacio into getting them something to eat.  Nachos was the dish.

Now the reason I say they are "Tex-Mex" is that's where they started to become popular.  Places in Texas started to serve them to locals.  They were really not served outside of the state of Texas until 1976.

They were sold at Arlington Stadium at sporting events.  During a "Monday Night Football" game, Howard Cosell fell in love with them.  He started mentioning them on air with his fellow announcers "and the rest is history" as he use to say.

Now a days, nachos are sold everywhere and in too many forms to count.  You still have the original recipe being served but Ignacio could never have guessed what they can look like today.  I believe that just about anything is possible to put on tortilla chips and be called nachos.  You're only limited by you imagination and taste.

The recipes this week are for a "Basic Nachos" and "Loaded Nachos" to give you a starting place for whatever you come up with to serve as nachos.

Enjoy and "Happy Cooking" until next week.