Pralines

I spent last weekend celebrating my 30th birthday in one of America's greatest cities: New Orleans. (Here's a hint... if you want to entice your friends from all over the country to come in for your birthday celebration... pick a kick-ass party city like New Orleans. You'll have no problem, no problem at all). Now, sure... New Orleans isn't the most glamorous and it isn't really all that tourist-friendly (can we just talk for a minute how weird it is that they don't get on the "accepting credit cards" bandwagon? I mean, credit cards have been around for about 30+ years now... I think they're here to stay. Also.. splitting checks. I mean, I understand not splitting checks for like 4+ people. But, 2? or 3? WEIRD. And slightly annoying when we're living in a very non-cash society) but you forget these things when you're surrounded by all the greatness that New Orleans represents.

First of all... the booze. I mean, hands down the coolest thing New Orleans has going for it, is that you can carry your booze around with you wherever you go. You may not think that this is a big deal... but just picture this for a moment... we all have that friend who nurses their drink like it's being rationed. Everyone else is finished, someone in your party attempts to stand up to leave and this "drink nurser" says... "WAIT! Let me finish my drink, first." And the rest of your party groans, because if that had been any of the rest of you, you'd stood up and pounded the drink and walked out. But not drink nurser, drink nurser can't pound. (incidentally, this is the same person who "sips" shots. Yes, Mom, I'm talking about you) This way.... everyone can be happy! Drink nurser can take their drink with them!

Secondly, the food. Holy shit. Every morsel of food I had there (with the exception of the pizza by the slice, which honestly wasn't terrible, but let's be honest... it's drunk food) was delicious! From the amazing Muffaletta sandwich at Cafe Maspero's to the Turtle Soup at Palace Cafe to the Cochon De Lait (which, I think is french for... "the most amazing freaking sandwich you will ever have in your entire life.") at Pierre Maspero's Restaurant to the Burger and Baked Potato at Port of Call everywhere you turn is an authentic, non-chain, delicious restaurant. And... did I mention the drinks? The bloody marys? And the triple crown of NOLA? The Monsoon, the hurricane, and the hand grenade? Mmmmm. Oh, right... I'm talking about food now, don't forget bananas foster and pralines! YUM.

Thirdly, it's just a cool ass city. I guarantee you, it's the one place in America where I can walk around hungover as shit with a green and white feather boa wrapped around my neck holding a bloody mary and yelling out 'Who Dat?" at 10 am on a Sunday morning and no one even casts a second glance your way. Why? Because everyone else is doing the exact same thing.

I came home from NOLA with the flu, pralines I bought at the airport (that were GROSS and that I threw away as soon as I got home), about 10 extra pounds, and new found appreciation for the New Orleans Saints. (It doesn't hurt that I spent about 4 hours on Sunday crammed in a crowd of crazy ass Saints fans during a parade of dudes wearing dresses (don't ask, just read about it)).

I mean, here in Nashville we LOVE our Titans. We do. We talk about them, we root for them, it's our small-talk banter... "did you see the game yesterday? etc..." we love our team. We really do. I mean football is king here. But... it's not the same. And I just realized it this past weekend being submersed in Saints Country. I used to always think... ohhhh all fans are passionate about their team. And they are. But, it's almost like the Saints ARE New Orleans. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the excitement that's all over the city. My friends and I even spent a good bit of time on Sunday morning looking for Saints Merchandise to wear. I became a Saints fan last weekend (well... The Titans are of course still my team... but as far as the NFC goes... Saints all the way, baby!) and even though I wouldnt' have rooted for the Colts anyway (Booooo division rivals! boooo!), I will be rooting my ass off for the Saints. 'Who dat??' (god, I love that phrase and song.... Titans... take note.. we need a phrase and song! STAT!).

I'd like to take something NOLA-esque to watch the big game with and these pralines would be awesome. They are actually better than the pralines I bought at praline connection (yes, at the airport, I know). A little gritty, very nutty, and definitely sweet (exactly like New Orleans, itself, eh?).

If you're a new Saints fan like me and headed to a party this weekend... do yourself a favor... whip up a batch of these, they'll be no denying who you're rooting for.

Go Saints! Who Dat!!!!

Pralines

Recipe by Gourmet Magazine 1991

So, here's what I did. I cheated. Instead of dipping out the pralines one by one, I poured them into a 13x9 inch pan that I had put a big piece of parchment paper in. That way, after they cooled, I lifted them out of the pan, by the parchment paper and cut/broke them into bite-size pieces. You'll get thicker pralines, but it's so much easier this way.

I am not a candy-maker, by any means, so as long as you have a candy thermometer you should be able to make this recipe.

Buttery and firm but with a soft give these pralines are delicious.

Ingredients:

flavorless vegetable oil for oiling the baking sheets

2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups pecan halves

Have ready 4 oiled large baking sheets. In a heavy 2-quart saucepan combine the sugars, the cream, the salt, and the cream of tartar, cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring and washing down any sugar crystals clinging to the side with a brush dipped in cold water, until the sugar is dissolved, and boil it over moderately high heat, undisturbed, until a candy thermometer registers 238°F. Remove the pan from the heat, let the mixture cool until the candy thermometer registers 220°F., and stir in the butter and the vanilla. Beat the mixture until it is creamy and stir in the pecan halves. Working quickly, drop the mixture by tablespoon onto the baking sheets and let the pralines cool. Remove the pralines carefully and store them, wrapped individually in wax paper, in airtight container in a cool place. The pralines keep for 2 weeks.

yield: Makes about 36 pralines, weighing approximately 2 pounds.

Gourmet No Bake Cookies

Ina Garten. Who doesn't love her? I mean, for chrissakes she goes by the nickname: Barefoot Contessa. How cool and classy is that? She's one of the few people on the Food Network that I can assure you, I'd eat whatever she cooked. She cooks delicious-looking, simple food that I always find myself saying... if I ever have a classy dinner party... I'm serving THAT.

The truth of the matter is that I have made quite a few of her baking recipes: cakes, brownies, etc and they've turned out wonderful. Off the top of my head, I know her spinach gratin dish is to die for and I remember a corn chowder recipe and the chicken with 40 cloves of garlic recipe being awesome, also.

She makes throwing a dinner party look so easy, effortless, and fun.

Lately on her show... she's been doing something called "Back to Basics" where she tweaks an old recipe with something new and amps up the flavor. It seems ridiculously boring and dumb, but I'm continually amazed how often I say... ohhhh shit. I never thought of that. I tip my hat to you, Ina.

The of idea of  "Back to Basics" is how I came up with the idea for a "Gourmet" No Bake Cookie. I mean, honestly folks.. how much more basic can you get than a No Bake cookie?

I knew I wanted to make my best friend, Stephanie a plate full of No Bake Cookies (aka Grandma Cookies) when she was visiting over Thanksgiving, but instead of just whipping up a batch... I went Ina Garten all over this recipe and tweaked it a bit.

Now, it's nothing crazy or out of the ordinary... I just added chocolate chips to the recipe (melted into the recipe), I used Dark Cocoa Powder instead of regular cocoa powder and used whole milk. And they turned out delicious. Definitely more chocolatey and decadent than your average No Bake Cookie. I made sure to pull them from the stove a little early because I like mine thin and tender (or even gooey, if I get lucky) instead of thick and chunky, but that's entirely up to you...

This is definitely how I'll be making them from now on... And Ina (Barefoot Contessa) you have my permission (the Barefoot Hillbilly) to use this recipe in your next show or book if you ever decide to go redneck and low-brow on us.

Gourmet No Bake Cookies (or, as I'll call them.. Fancy Dancy Grandma Cookies)
Recipe: written in one of my Aunt's 12 year old handwriting. Adapted by me.

The consistency of the no bake cookie that I enjoy is more like that of a praline. To achieve this texture, I gamble and just try to pull the pan from the stove before the full 2 minute boil. I'm sure if I were to use a candy thermometer I could get a much more accurate product everytime. But... I grew up with them turning out different every time, anyway. So... I'm used to that.

In my opinion, these are definitely superior to the original No Bake Cookie Recipe. So much richer and more satisfying. And dare I say? Classy enough for a dinner party?

1 stick of Butter
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup whole milk (or cream would work, too)
3 tbsp Hershey's Special Dark Unsweetened Cocoa
2/3 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Pinch of Salt
2 1/2 cups of Old Fashioned or Rolled Oats
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
2 tsps Vanilla

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add sugar, milk, cocoa, chocolate chips, and salt. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and immediately add oats, peanut butter, and vanilla.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a piece of aluminum foil, parchment paper, or wax paper.

Let cool and enjoy.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Thingys

Yes, those are miniature shamrocks. Yes, this is another leftover recipe from my St. Patrick's Day shindig (and yes, after this post, there will still be yet one more St. Patrick's Day recipe, but after that one, you'll be spared again till next year).

I'm a huge fan of what some people might call... white trashy appetizers. Bring on the Ruffles and french onion dip from a metal can, give me a tray full of little smokies wrapped in bacon and baked in brown sugar, and whatever you do, please don't forgot the sausage balls. Can I get an Amen?

Seriously, though... some things can be both dead simple and wicked tasty. And this is one of those things. They are crunchy and sweet and salty. They are portable and can be made ahead of time and everyone loves them. I have to admit... for this party, I bought Whole Wheat Ritz (for shame!) and you couldn't even tell. Next time you're having a party or going to a pot luck, whip up a batch of these babies. I promise everyone will love them.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Thingys. (Feel free to make up your own name).

Beware: Crack has nothing on these puppies. They are super sweet, super crunchy, and super addictive. If you're really pressed for time, you could always use pre-made peanut butter sandwiches and dip them into the melted almond bark, but once you make them completely from scratch, you'll never go back to the pre-packaged peanut butter and crackers again.

Ingredients

Butter Crackers (like ritz)
Peanut Butter
White Almond Bark

Melt your almond bark according to package directions and lay out a piece of wax paper. Prepare the peanut butter cracker sandwiches and dunk and coat them in the melted almond bark. Place on wax paper to harden.

BFB: Scotcheroos

Okay, so the best thing about this recipe? Is that it has reawakened my absolute love and devotion to rice krispies. Since I bought the first box of rice krispies last thursday night, to this morning when I polished off my second box, I have become a rice krispies addict. Like, seriously... WTF? Who knew that rice krispies... a little splenda (okay, a LOT of splenda) and some milk could join together and create pure tastebud nirvana? OH. MY. GOD. It's heaven in a bowl (or a big ass plastic cup, when I run out of bowls).

Digressing, (because as I write this, I'm starting to crave a bowl)... Steph and I chose to make Scotcheroos (not only because they look delicious, but also because I requested a recipe that I could use up some butterscotch chips I had lying around) for our next Best Friends Baking dish.

Now, I've made Scotcheroos before. And I remembered them being kind of ooey-gooey and peanut buttery and delicious, so I was pretty excited about this recipe.

I must say though... that this recipe for Scotcheroos was just... okay. I mean, instead of ooey-gooey, they kind of turned into brick-like. If you like the standard, crunchier rice krispie treats, then this recipe is probably right up your alley. But, if you prefer a looser, gooey-er treat, then you might want to try my other recipe (the only difference is the other recipe calls for brown sugar, instead of granulated...).

Regardless, these were tasty. I found myself continually cutting off portions of it and snacking on it.

Chocolate Scotcheroos
Makes about 24 bars

So, when a recipe has peanut butter in it, I expect it to taste peanut buttery... and even though I basically doubled the peanut butter in this recipe, it still wasn't peanut buttery enough for me. I'm not sure how to fix that. I'm afraid if I add more than double the amount of peanut butter, that the bars won't turn out right because of the proportions of the other ingredients. Maybe in the future, I'll experiment with adding some peanut butter to the top layer or something. Not sure.

Ingredients:
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups rice krispies cereal
1 package semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 package butterscotch morsels
Vegetable cooking spray

Measure corn syrup and sugar into large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat.

Stir in peanut butter; mix well. Add rice krispie cereal. Stir until well coated. Press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Set aside.

Melt chocolate and butterscotch morsels together in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Spread evenly over cereal mixture. Let stand until firm. Cut into bars when cool.

Puppy Chow

I grew up in the 1980s and the 1990s. It was a time of microwaves and convenient health foods. And Bartle & James. Remember those commercials? Whatever happened to those guys? Hmm.
It was also a time of American Gladiators and with all the talk of the new series this week, it got me thinking about those days of growing up. Now, when I was growing up, my mom was a bit of a health food junkie. We didn't eat a lot of processed foods (except the occasional bag of wedding cookies), if we wanted something sweet... she'd make us some Grandma Cookies. We also didn't have any types of sugary cereal. Only cornflakes or regular cheerios for us. She always added brown sugar to it for us, but no fruit loops or cocoa puffs. To this day, I've never had captain crunch or lucky charms.

Anyway, I think I seem to remember having chex cereal a few times, but we never made puppy chow or muddy buddies or whatever you want to call it with it. No, I only had puppy chow when I went to slumber parties. I never really even knew what it was or how to make it. I just knew that it was covered in powdered sugar (my favorite) and that it was crunchy and chocolatey. In other words, Heaven in a Bag.

Recently, I bought some chex cereal after seeing a recipe on tv for making faux fried chicken with chex cereal. You can read about the chicken here. So, since I have a huge box of chex lying around and with the nostalgia that American Gladiators brought back... I decided to finally give these a try.

I didn't make a full batch. I actually just kind of eyeballed everything. I melted some hershey chocolate bars with a spoonful of peanut butter and some butter in the microwave, poured it over some chex cereal and then shook it in a bag with the powdered sugar. I let it harden on a piece of parchment paper and then this morning, I decided to shake it with some more powdered sugar (have I mentioned how much I love powdered sugar?). It is just how I remembered. So sweet and crunchy. The perfect pop in your mouth snack.

Chex Puppy Chow

Before the second coating of powdered sugar.

No Fridge Cookies

This is my refrigerator:
ok, well… this is where my refrigerator will be once I actually get it delivered. I ordered it last Saturday along with a tv and while I have the tv, I don’t have the refrigerator, yet.

You don’t realize how hard it is to live without a fridge. I mean, it’s really hard. I feel like I’m not really living there. I feel like I’m just the cleaning lady there or something. But come on, I bet even cleaning ladies snag diet cokes from the fridge when no one is home, right??

So the other afternoon, I went to Kroger and milled around the baking aisle trying to think of something that I can make that doesn’t require a refrigerator and that contains items that don’t have to be refrigerated. Not easy. Not easy at all.

I ended up purchasing the following items:

Graham Cracker Crumbs
Lean Cuisine Mushroom Pizza
Butterscotch Morsels
Peanut Butter Morsels
Sweetened Condensed Milk
Coconut

And what I ended up with is a fudge! And it’s good! Really good! Here is how I did it:

No Fridge Fudge

1 cup butterscotch morsels
1 cup peanut butter morsels
1 ½ cup graham cracker crumbs (I eyeballed it)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup coconut

Melt morsels in a microwave safe bowl. Add the sweetened condensed milk. Then stir in the graham cracker crumbs and coconut and press into a 8x8 inch pan.

Let it set for 3-4 hours.

You could also make this a chocolate fudge, by using chocolate morsels and chocolate wafer crumbs.

Low Country Bars

Ok, usually, I can make a batch of cookies and get away with eating 2-3 of them before I’m sick of them. (When I say 2-3, I’m of course not including the additional 2-3 cookies worth of cookie dough that I’ve scarfed down as well…but those calories don’t count… cause it’s raw, right? Yeah, that’s what I thought).

But these cookies… these simple, sugary bits of goodness are like crack. They should actually be called Crack Cookies. Because once you taste them you know you are headed towards an all day sugar headache.

I’ve made them twice before… once as a test run and then again for my friend April’s Bridal Shower. And each time, I ate so many that I actually went into a diabetic coma and woke up 4 days later with the icing crusted around my finger tips and my name on the pancreas donor waiting list. It’s bad. Very Bad. They are really sweet though, some people might think they are too sweet. (As if anything could ever be too sweet. Hmph).

What I’m saying folks… is that these cookies should come with a warning label. Proceed with caution…

This is another recipe from Paula Deen. God Bless Her.

I don’t like the way she wrote the instructions for this recipe, so I’ve changed them to make it easier to follow:

Low Country Bars (or as I like to call them Sugar High Bars).

Filling:
1 14.4 ounce box of Graham Crackers *You wont use whole box
¾ cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup coconut
1 cup pecan pieces
½ cup milk
1 egg

Topping:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
3 tablespoons milk

First, line the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking dish with graham crackers (I usually use 7 whole graham crackers for both the top and bottom.

Crush one cup worth of graham crackers into crumbs and place in a bowl, add pecans and coconut to bowl and set aside.

Measure your ½ cup of milk into a bowl and crack egg into the bowl and gently mix together; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and add sugar. Stirring constantly (so as not to scramble the egg) add the milk and egg mixture to the pan and bring all to a bowl while you stir constantly. This takes about 10 minutes, because you want to start out a lowish heat and then work your way up (again, so as not to scramble the egg… you could also temper the egg mixture before you add it in, if you like, but I usually don’t).

Once boiling, take off the heat and add the pecans, graham crackers and coconut. Stir to mix well, then pour over the graham crackers in the pan and spread evenly. Top with another layer of graham crackers.

Prepare your icing: Combine all icing ingredients and stir well. You want it to be thick but spreadable. Add extra milk if you need to thin it out. Pour on top and smooth over the whole pan. Chill and cut and serve.

They taste great both chilled and at room temperature, but for storing you need to keep them in the fridge.

Grandma Cookies

Everyday when I came home from school, my mom was there. I didn't realize at the time what a sacrifice that was for our family, to have her stay at home with my two brothers and I, but I am very grateful that my family was fortunate enough to be able to make that decision. I may not have had all the barbies or video games that my friends had, but having my mom there when I got home from school made it worth it.

When we got home from school, we were always hungry and clamoring for something to eat. And this is the recipe that my mom made us at least twice a week. (Probably more like 3-4 times a week). We call these Grandma Cookies. And strangely enough, not after our grandmas or any other grandmas in our family. We call them Grandma Cookies because a boy in my brother's boy scout group brought these cookies to the boy scout functions and called them Grandma Cookies (after his Grandma, I suspect) and so the name stuck.

Normal people call them No Bake Cookies, Chocolate No Bake Cookies, Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies.... you get the idea.

My mom NEVER used a recipe (see a pattern here?). And these cookies NEVER turned out the exact same way. Sometimes they would be thick and harden almost before she got them out of the pan (This is how everyone else liked them). Sometimes they would be gooey and chocolatey and never firm up, you had to scrape them off the aluminum foil with your fingers (how I preferred them). And sometimes they would be thin and lightly crispy, but tender (how I think they are supposed to turn out). Sometimes my mom forget to put butter in them, or vanilla (she forgot the vanilla a lot). Regardless of how they turned out, we always gobbled them right up.

If my brother or I ever tried to make them, we used this recipe that one of my aunt's penned. They called them Boiled Cookies (sounds delicious, huh?). I think my Aunt Evelyn wrote out this recipe, (although for some reason I think it might have been my Aunt Carolyn) and practically every word is misspelled. Whoever it was, was probably 12 or so when they wrote it out.

This is a cookie that is quick and simple, requires few ingredients and brings back great memories for me. I will definitely make these cookies for my kids one day.

Mine turned out pretty well, but I'm hoping to one day make them the same way my mom does/did... without a recipe.

Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies

1 stick of Butter

2 cups of sugar

1/2 cup milk

3 tbsp Cocoa

Pinch of Salt

Boil all these ingredients together at a heavy boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and quickly add:

2 1/2 cups of Oats

1/2 cup Peanut Butter

2 tsps Vanilla

Stir in and drop onto a a sheet of aluminum foil to cool.