11/26/2024 – This recipe came from ChatGPT who said the source was three recipes . Mary made it for Thanksgiving 2024 at Becky’s and for Jeff and Maggie’s visit.
Here’s a flavorful recipe for Spicy Roasted Pecans that brings together a delightful mix of heat, sweetness, and crunch:
Ingredients:
- 2 cups pecan halves
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
- 1 tablespoon honey syrup
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder – Did not have powder so substituted 1 treaspoon of Granulated Garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
Instructions:
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix Coating: In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, honey, smoked paprika, chili powder, cayenne, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and brown sugar until well combined.
- Coat Pecans: Add the pecans to the bowl and toss until they’re evenly coated with the spice mixture.
- Spread on Baking Sheet: Arrange the pecans in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake: Roast in the oven for 10–12 minutes, stirring halfway through to ensure even roasting. Keep a close eye on them to avoid burning.
- Cool and Serve: Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheet. They’ll crisp up as they cool.
11/19/2024 – This simple recipe makes a nice sugar coated pecan that is not too sweet.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 1 Tblsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup water
- 4 cups of pecan halves, almonds or walnuts
- Mix the sugar, cinnamon and water together in a No. 10 cast iron skillet over low heat.
- Add the pecans and cook on low heat stirring regularly until carmelized.
11/12/2024 – Mary made this to go with sheet pan salmon and roasted baby potatoes. The dish was good and the dill sauce was great.
- ? cup Greek yogurt (plain)
- ? cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon horseradish
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- ¼ cup fresh dill (chopped)
- 1 green onioin (finely chopped)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- fresh ground black pepper
11/11/2024 – Very good and inspired by Lord Byron’s Kitchen.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds yellow-fleshed baby potatoes, washed and cut into quarters
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- green onions or parsley for garnish
Instructions
- On medium heat, melt the butter and a little olive oil in the cast iron skillet.
- Add the salt and pepper, and swirl the pan around to mix the salt and pepper into the melted butter.
- Carefully place the potatoes into the skillet and move them around, coating each piece in the butter.
- Allow the potatoes to sit for a while. Don’t move them around the pan too much. Let the heat from the skillet brown the potatoes on each surface. Stir every 5 minutes or so.
- After the potatoes have all turned a deep golden colour, add the paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Toss to coat.
- Continue to brown the potatoes for a few minutes more before serving.
- And, that’s it! Top with green onions
9/24/2024 – This dish turned out great. Crispy pan-fried, bone-in chicken thighs are topped with bacon, mushrooms, green onions, and a creamy sauce. The ingredients were easy to prepare and it was simple to cook. Mary served it over Jasmine rice. It was inspired by the recipe here.
Ingredients
- 5 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. Dry brined for about 12 hours
- 2-3 teaspoons paprika. Shake it on until it looks right.
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- ? cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 ounces sliced portabello mushrooms
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 green onions, white and green parts separated and sliced
Directions
- The morning of the cook cut off extra skin and fat from thighs. Dry brine.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Season chicken thighs on all sides with paprika and pepper with pepper under the skin.
- Cook bacon in a cast iron skillet. Remove bacon and drain excess grease from the skillet.
- Return the skillet to medium heat and cook chicken thighs, skin-side down, for 3 to 4 minutes. Flip chicken over and place the skillet in the preheated oven.
- Bake until the IT is 165 degrees. Remove chicken to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Remove all but 2 tablespoons of drippings from the skillet.
- Return the skillet to the stove over medium-high heat. Pour in chicken broth while whisking up brown bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Add mushrooms and cook until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Pour in heavy whipping cream and whisk together until lightly simmering, then reduce heat to medium-low. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Return chicken and any juices back into the skillet; top with bacon and green onions.
- Serve over rice.
9/24/2024 – We have been smoking ribs like this for the past couple of years and they turn out good. This time was especially good so decided to record the process as there are always subtle differences.
- Removed the silver skin and dry rubbed about 6 hours before the smoke
- Preheated the Recteq to 250° and shock on 6POGS moderately on both sides.
- Smoked them for 3.5 hours with MasterBlend pellets.
- Preheated the oven to 250°.
- Put them in a foil “boat” and shock on a little more 6POGS.
- Poured on ACV + SoGood BBQ sauce mixed 3:1. Brushed the sauce to completely coat the top side of the rack. There was at least a cup beneath the rack. Pulled the foil over the rack and closed up the ends.
- Baked it in the oven for 1.5 hours. The twisting fork test showed they were done.
Mary was very pleased with them.
9/10/2024 – This recipe was easy and tasted great using ingredients we normally have on hand. It was inspired by Albert Bevia @ Spain on a Fork.
Ingredients
- ~1 tbsp extra virgin Spanish olive oil
- 2 fresh salmon fillets ~7 oz each About 1″ thick with skin on.
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 small onion
- 1-2 cups sliced portabello mushrooms
- ~1/2 cup white wine
- ~1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 cups fresh spinach. Next time use 3 cups.
- 1/2+ cup Greek yogurt – Set out early to come to room temperature.
- Kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- lemon slices
Instructions
- Begin by finely mincing garlic, finely dicing 1 small onion.
- Season salmon with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- Heat a non-stick frying pan with a medium-high heat and add extra virgin Spanish olive oil, once the oil get´s hot add the fillets of salmon seasoned side down After 3 minutes of cooking flip the fillets, after a total cooking time of 6 minutes remove the fillets from the pan and cover with foil paper.
- Using the same pan with the same heat add the minced garlic and diced onions and mix with the rendered fat from the salmon and EVO. After about 1 minute add the sliced mushrooms and mix them around. After 3 minutes season everything with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper and add white wine and fresh lemon juice, cook for a little over a minute, then add fresh spinach, mix it around and cook until it welts and all the liquids have evaporated, between 2-3 minutes, turn off the heat
- After leaving everything to cool off for 5 minutes add 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt at room temperature and season with sea salt, mix everything together until well combined, add the cooked salmon fillets back to the pan and heat it with a low heat, cook for 5 minutes until everything is warm
- Serve directly from the pan, garnish with a couple slices of lemon and freshly chopped parsley
From The Mediterranean Dish here.
Ingredients
- 5 eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 4 ounces Fontina cheese or mozzarella
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- ½ medium yellow onion, minced
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 cups packed baby spinach leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and prepare the pan: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush a 9-inch pie plate with olive oil and set it on a baking sheet.
- Whisk the eggs and cube the cheese: In a large bowl, aggressively whisk together the eggs and milk. Cube the Fontina cheese and set aside.
- Prepare the vegetables: Set a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the skillet. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms shrink and the onions are translucent, about 10 to 15 minutes depending upon the size of your mushrooms. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the vegetables and stir, cooking for another minute or two. Add the spinach, stir until wilted, this should take about 3 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
- Combine: Add the cooked vegetables to the pie plate, sprinkle with the cubed cheese, and pour the egg mixture over the top. It should be full up to the rim. Carefully transfer the baking sheet to the oven.
- Bake: Set the timer for 35 minutes and bake until the center is set. Let cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.
7/10/2024 – This recipe makes a unique potato salad that is mayo free and very flavorful. It was inspired by the recipe at Southern Living here combined with Lauren Miyashiro’s Dad’s secret ingredient (pimento stuffed olives) here. Serve warm.
Ingredients
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- 1½ lbs. baby red potatoes, halved
- ¼ cup plus 2 tsp. olive oil
- 1½ tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp. white vinegar
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 6 scallions, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 4 slices cooked bacon, roughly chopped. Save the drippings.
- 4 tsp. finely chopped fresh basil from the garden
- ½ cup approx. chopped pimento-stuffed green olives
Directions
- Prepare oven and baking sheet: Heat the oven to 425°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roast potatoes: In a medium bowl, toss together the potatoes and 2 teaspoons olive oil. Evenly spread the potatoes out on the prepared sheet. [Try using the bacon drippings.]
- Bake 15 minutes in the pre-heated oven. Turn and continue to bake until light golden and tender, about 10 minutes more. Let cool to room temperature.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil with the mustard and vinegar.
- Combine potatoes and dressing: Season with salt and pepper. Add the cooled potatoes, scallions, celery, bacon, bacon drippings, tarragon, and parsley, and toss to coat.
- Serve immediately, or keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Let the salad come to room temperature before serving then warm in the microwave.
7/9/2024 – We again made tomato salsa with tomatoes from the garden that have been ripening on the butcher block for a week or so. This time was like the others this year with roasting in the convection oven. We did try one batch in the Recteq smoker that is posted here. All of them were made with a blend of tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, etc. as listed below. They all turned out great and this recipe should be used again and improved. We collected the flavorful liquid left in the sheet pan and made soup that was also frozen.
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