buck...

...aroo? No. Do I look like a rhinestone cowboy?

...naked? No. Get your minds out of the gutter.

Buckeyes. Much preferred, wouldn't you say?


Now I'm not from Ohio and I don't know very much about the state itself (other than the fact that Cleveland rocks, but Drew Carey told me that...)(Yeah, I watched his sitcom.)(I knew him before The Price is Right, which incidentally doesn't hold a candle to the other show he hosted.)(The show to which I'm referring was called Whose Line Is It Anyway, for those of you keeping track.)(Colin Mochrie is brilliant and hilarious, but I digress...). However, as the source of these little nuggets, I fully appreciate the place. I mean, come on--chocolate-covered balls of sweet peanut butter confection? Outstanding.

Yes, they take a little time and effort to make. Yes, it can be a fickle and frustrating process. Is it worth it? Totally. I didn't need Mr. Carey to tell me that.

What's your state's culinary claim-to-fame?

Eyes of the Buck (hmm...that's a wee bit morbid)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
6 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup shortening

Line a cookie sheet or four with wax paper. In a large bowl, mix together the softened butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla with a wooden spoon.
Roll the dough into 1-inch balls. Set them on the prepared cookie sheets and insert a toothpick into each ball. Chill in the freezer until hard, approximately 30 minutes.
Melt the chocolate chips and shortening together over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and quickly dip the frozen balls into the chocolate and place back onto the cookie sheets. Be sure to leave a little peanut butter showing! Refrigerate until the chocolate is set, approximately 2 hours. Oh, and don't eat the toothpicks.

read on!

steak a la switzerland?

That's why it's called swiss steak, right? 'Cause it's from Switzerland?


Wrong. The name doesn't refer to Switzerland, but to the process of swissing. How does one swiss, you ask? Well, what a timely and appropriate question--I, for one, had absolutely no idea. Apparently, swissing simply means pounding the heck out of something in order to make it softer and more tender. So, if you happen to have a hunk of leathery, less-than-appealing meat (like round, for instance), swiss(ed) steak is the dish for you. The meat gets bashed, coated with flour and other seasonings, braised, and served with a thick, tomato-based gravy.


The moral of this story is that you mustn't discriminate against the tough and rough cuts of meat. They can be brought into submission (whilst you can get out a little aggression) and made perfectly edible, nay, delectable.

Steak That's Been Swissed
(from good ol' Paula Deen)

1 round steak (approximately 1 1/2 pounds)
Salt and pepper
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups diced or broken-up whole tomatoes
1 cup water
1 medium onion, cut into strips

Cut the steak into serving-size pieces, whether they be strips or chunks. Dust meat with flour and season with salt and pepper.
In a heavy skillet, brown both sides of the meat in vegetable oil. Transfer it to a Dutch oven or casserole dish. Combine the tomatoes, onion, and water. Pour this over the steak and simmer over low heat until the meat is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. If necessary, add more water to keep the meat partially covered.
Season with additional salt and pepper if needed and serve.

read on!

have your cake...

...and cinnamon roll too.


Cinnamon. Roll. Cake. Can you believe I only made this for the first time a few weeks ago? There's no excuse for my behavior--it's completely unacceptable. To ignore such a magnificent and effortless creation is a travesty, plain and simple. As punishment, I should be force-fed more cake. That'll teach me.

All right, so it doesn't really taste like a cinnamon roll--there's no bready, yeasty characteristic of which to speak. In fact, upon my first bite, I immediately likened it to the warm cinnamon roll shooters from Chili's. Have you tried them? As far as I can tell, those little cups of heaven consist of layers of streuseled coffee cake and cinnamon-powdered sugar glaze. (Not a bad idea, right? Kudos, Chili's!)


Even though this cake is clearly different from your standard cinnamon roll in texture and flavor, it's similar in that cinnamon is the star (as it should be). When you hit a pocket of that sugary cinnamon streusel while also getting a taste of the cake and glaze, the result is a perfect sweet and spicy bite.

Did I like this? I think it's fairly obvious that the answer is a resounding YES.

Cinnamon Roll Shooters in Cake Form
(found all over, but I first saw it here)
Cake:
1 box of yellow cake mix
4 eggs
¾ cup oil
1 cup sour cream (I used 1 cup of yogurt + 1 teaspoon of baking soda)
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3-4 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 325F and grease a 13x9-inch baking pan.
Mix the first four ingredients by hand and pour into the prepared pan.
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it over the cake batter. Swirl decoratively with a knife.
Bake for 40-50 minutes and let it cool briefly before adding the icing.
To make the icing, stir together the sugar and milk until smooth, adding more milk as needed. Pour over the warm cake.

read on!

a surefire hit

"Roll in sugar." If you see that step in a list of recipe instructions, it's a pretty good bet that you have a winner on your hands.


After all, if we're talking about cookies (as we so often are), the result is a crunchy coating that hits the tongue first and explodes with sweetness before giving way to the central flavor of the little saucers.

The pucks of pleasure being brought to you in this post are a specialty of Mamma-jamma. For as long as I can remember, she's made these molasses cookies at some point during the Christmas season, as well as occasional instances throughout the year. I consider them to be somewhat magical because even though molasses is a flavor I don't find particularly enjoyable, neither wind nor rain nor dark of night could keep me from these soft, chewy, and aromatic discs.


The spicing is key. My favorite mother manages to find the perfect balance of cinnamon, cloves, and ginger, causing the smell to yield almost as much satisfaction as the taste.

Truly, rolling cookie dough in sugar is one of the finest things you can do to it. That one simple step pretty much ensures that a delicious (and pretty) product will result.

Magical Molasses Cookies
3/4 cup shortening, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup granulated sugar

In a medium bowl, beat together the melted shortening, sugar, egg, and molasses. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger; blend into the molasses mixture. Cover and chill the dough for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375F. Form the dough into one-inch balls, and give 'em a good roll in the remaining sugar. Place the cookies onto ungreased baking sheets and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until tops are cracked. Cool on wire racks.

read on!

have i told you lately...

...that i'm lazy?


'Cause I am.

Case in point: Cinnamon rolls. They're one of my favorite things for breakfast, if not the tippy-top dog (which should come as no surprise, since about 90% of my posts involve that enchanting, and soothing spice), but I rarely find the motivation to make them for myself.


Fortunately, I've found a local bakery that makes a sensational sampling. Each roll has just the right amount of flakiness, a wonderful balance of cinnamon and butter, and the perfect dose of sugary glaze. This discovery is dangerous, for the place is right down the road and very reasonably-priced...


Dang it. How can I resist?

Do you have a go-to cinnamon roll recipe? Better yet, one that requires little effort? Do tell! And while you're at it, what makes a cinnamon roll different from a cinnamon bun? I've always wondered.

read on!

this little piggy...

...looks good in orange. Am I right or am I right?


So. Every pig-lover out there would probably agree that nothing goes together quite as well as pork and apples. Some might argue for the tangy juice of orange or pineapple, others might make a case for pears. One fruit I never considered is the unassuming apricot.

Folks, this rub and glaze combination is nothing short of amazing. Fresh rosemary is so fragrant and the sweet burst of flavor from the apricot preserves compliments the juicy pork perfectly. If you're anything like me, you'll be reaching for a second helping almost immediately--Heaven forbid someone beat you to it!

Have you found any other off-the-wall fruits that seem to enhance Miss Piggy?

Aromatic Apricot Loin of Pork
(based almost entirely on this recipe)

1 pound pork tenderloin
2 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely-minced (or 1 tablespoon dried)(but fresh is really much better)
2 garlic cloves, minced
Fresh ground black pepper and salt
3/4 cup apricot preserves
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400F.
Brush the pork with 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle with rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until brown on all sides, turning often (about 5 minutes). Transfer the pan to the oven and roast the pork until a meat thermometer registers 150F (about 15 minutes).
While the pork roasts, combine the preserves and lemon juice in a small bowl.
When the meat has reached the appropriate temperature, remove the pan from the oven and brush the preseves mixture over the pork. Let your gorgeous slab of meat rest 8 minutes the cut it crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Drizzle any remaining sauce on top--it's much too tasty to waste!

read on!

i prefer bales.

I grew up knowing a thing or two about farming--my uncles and grandfather own a good portion of land on which they've grown corn and hay and raised sheep, chickens, beef cows, and dairy cows. That said, although I've never seen a legitimate haystack, I don't think they look like this:

Looks more like a spider to me. A spider with a couple of tumors.
It's not a toomah!

Nope, my family prefers the bale--round or square. I hefted my fair share of the those square suckers onto the wagon as the baler spit them out. Ah, fond memories. Fond memories of scratched forearms and dust-filled nasal cavities. Fond memories of accidentally stepping in cow patties (that's mounds o' manure, for the uninitiated) and wagons full of hay bales tipping over. Fond, fond memories.


But I digress! Although failing to resemble any harvest of hay that I've ever seen, this treat is delicious. Butterscotch morsels (to which I'm completely addicted even though they taste nothing like true butterscotch), peanut butter, marshmallows, and chow mein noodles. Easy, straightforward, quick, and scrumptious--almost too good to be true.

Butterscotch Stacks o' Hay (for the baleless among us)
1 2/3 cups (11 oz) butterscotch morsels
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
8 oz chow mein noodles
3 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Line several trays with wax paper.
Microwave the butterscotch morsels and peanut butter in a large bowl for one minute and stir. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Add the chow mein noodles and marshmallows and toss until all the ingredients are evenly coated. Drop by haystack-shaped tablespoons onto the prepared trays. Store in a cool place or refrigerate until ready to serve.

read on!