happy new year!!!

And now for the customary year in review post, I’ll keep it short…

2009 is quickly coming to an end and I thought this would be a good time to review my ten favorite posts for the year.  Egg to the Apples is also going to be celebrating an anniversary in a few weeks, which I am excited for. So lets look at my favorites…

2009 by the numbers:

• 140 Posts
• 568 Comments
• 40,535 Total Views
• 914 Views on June 26th
• 3,171 Views on my top post, smoked pork butt

My Favorite Recipes of 2009:

#10. Sopa de Ajo with Pa Amb Tomaquet Sandwich (link)

#9. Corn Soup (link)

#8. Skillet Baked Ziti (link)

#7. Spring Onion Corned Beef Hash (link)

#6. Zucchini Bars (link)

#5. Cornmeal Blinis with Gravlax (link)

#4. Quick Meatballs (link)

#3. Dulce de Leche Pot de Creme (link)

#2. BLT (link)

#1. Smoked Pork Butt (link)

Have a happy, safe New Year’s celebration!!!

brandy old fashioned sweet

So you’re wishing that you never did

All the embarrassing things you’ve done

And you’re wishing you could set it right

And you’re wishing you could stay the night

But then I go again, wishing never solved a problem

If you wanna get it big time, go ahead and get it get it big time

“Tightrope” by Yeasayer

This is the state drink of  Wisconsin, well maybe not officially, I never actually researched that statement…

I haven’t seen your beautiful faces for quite some time.  We (my beautiful teacher wife and I) are officially on winter break and there shouldn’t be any excuses for my blogging absence.  While I am away from work, I have also spent substantial time away from my computer, the internet, and my kitchen. That’s because I have been spending Q.T. with my family in Wisconsin over the holidays. This year produced another wonderful holiday filled with too much food, too much drinking, and just the right amount of family time. While I was not the most industrious of bloggers the past 10 days, I did have the opportunity to lift some wonderful recipes from family members that I will be able to share with ya’ll in the new year.

As for today’s recipe, it is a celebratory drink… a toast to my wonderful family, the good times I had in Wisconsin, and the new year which is sure to bring a few surprises (including an addition to my little family). But now it’s time to get down to brass tacks.  The Old Fashioned is a great way to start a party or end a long work week whether you are in Wisconsin or in Wala Wala.  Wisconsin has more variations on this drink than there are people writing hate mail to Brett Favre. I must warn you this recipe is rather sweet, so you will probably have to limit yourself to one or two (or three or four) of these babies.  While a real Old Fashioned should be muddled with sugar, mine is muddleless and there is a reason.  In my opinion, there is really no time for muddling when you drink these tasty libations in Wisconsin, this step only slows down consumption (and I think sugar makes the drink too damn sweet).

Ingredients:

2 oz. brandy
5 drops of bitters
¼-1/2 oz. maraschino cherry syrup
7-Up
½ orange slice (Garnish)
1 maraschino cherry

Directions:

1. Fill a cocktail glass ¾ of the way full with ice
2. Add brandy, cherry syrup and bitters
3. Fill almost to the top with 7-Up
4. Add orange slice and cherry for garnish

chicken tortilla soup

I got a letter this mornin’, how do you reckon it read?

It said, “Hurry, hurry, yeah, your love is dead”

I got a letter this mornin’, I say how do you reckon it read?

You know, it said, “Hurry, hurry, how come the gal you love is dead?”

“Death Letter” by Son House

Another good warmer upper for this cold winter weather. I am fully aware that this is not a traditional Mexican recipe, in fact, it is probably way more American than it is Mexican.  The corn tortillas are an awesome thickener that completely disappear into the the soup and also provide a really nice tortilla essence. WTF is a tortilla essence? Man, I need a vacation. The ingredient list is kind of long but everything is really easy to get a hold of (from your local megamart) and relatively quick to throw together. Also, this soup freezes well so don’t be afraid of making such a large batch.

Ingredients:

1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup onion, diced
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons corn oil
4 (15 oz.) cans chicken broth
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (10 oz.) can Rotel tomatoes and chiles
2 packets of taco seasoning
8 corn tortillas, chopped
2 large chicken breasts, diced
1 cup of milk
8 oz. Monterey jack, shredded
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
1 (15 oz.) can of black beans, drained but not rinsed

Directions:

1. Heat corn oil in a large pot
2. Cook carrots, celery, onion, garlic powder, garlic, salt and pepper, until tender
3. Add broth and bring to a boil***Meanwhile, in a separate pan, cook chicken breasts and one taco seasoning packet until no longer pink***
4. To the boiling pot, add tomatoes, Rotel, the other taco seasoning packet, and cooked chicken, bring to a boil
5. Add tortilla pieces and boil for 20 minutes
6. Lower heat to a simmer, add cheese and black beans, cook for 10 minutes
7. Add milk and cilantro and cook for 10 more minutes

breakfast sandwich

Well it’s 1969 okay all across the USA

It’s another year for me and you

Another year with nothing to do

“1969″ by The Stooges

And for my biscuit and sausage week finale…I had to do this…my ode to McDonald’s breakfast: homemade biscuits, homemade breakfast sausage, and a fried egg.

sausage gravy

It was there I found beside the Alamo

Enchantment strange as the blue, up above

A moonlit path that only she would know

Still hears my broken song of love

“New San Antonio Rose” by Bob Wills

I prefer using bacon grease as the starter fat but butter is obviously an extremely tasty alternative.  This makes a very thick gravy, if you like it a little thinner add more milk at the very end.  This gravy will taste very good on top of those biscuits that I inspired you to make the other day. Other good additions to this gravy would be sage, thyme, and/or a little hot sauce.

Ingredients:

About 3 tablespoons bacon grease or butter
1 pound loose breakfast sausage
1/2 cup flour
4 cups whole milk
Salt and (lots of) pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a medium sauce pan, heat milk over low heat but don’t boil
2. In a large skillet heat bacon grease over medium high heat, add sausage and cook until brown and crumbly
3. Sprinkle flour over cooked sausage and cook for two minutes
4. Add milk and cook until the gravy has thickened to desired consistency, season with salt and lots of pepper

breakfast sausage

We’ve lived in bars and danced on tables

Hotels trains and ships that sail

We swim with sharks and fly with aeroplanes out of here

Out of here

“Lived In Bars” by Cat Power

This kicks Jimmy Dean’s ass. I like to grind my own pork but store brought ground pork would work just fine. If you like your breakfast sausage a little sweet, double the brown sugar or add a little maple syrup.  I like to take the extra breakfast sausage and form it into two inch patties and then freeze them in Tupperware on parchment paper.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of ground pork shoulder
1 tablespoon of rubbed sage
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons marjoram
2 teaspoons thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon rosemary
½ teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use

buttermilk biscuits

I should be suspended from class

I don’t know my elbow from my arse

I should be suspended from class

“Suspended From Class” by Camera Obscura

I tried bacon fat, I tried lard, I tried butter, I tried shortening, after a blind taste test I wholeheartedly believe that butter gives the best flavor to the biscuits.  While I will continue to tinker with my biscuit recipe, this will be my standard (I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you try it). I am getting pretty fast too, I can have a batch done, from start to finish, in about 35 minutes.

Ingredients:

4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (the better the flour, the better the biscuits)
2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 and 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/2 inch cubes and chilled (but not frozen) in the freezer
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 500°F and grease a baking sheet with butter
2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients
3. With a pastry cutter, cut butter into flour until it looks like a small crumb
4. Add buttermilk until just combined, add more flour if too wet or buttermilk if too dry
5. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface
6. Fold the dough over on itself and repeat 4 more times
7. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to about 1/2-3/4 inch thickness
8. With a biscuit cutter, cut biscuits
9. Place biscuits on a cookie sheet with sides just touching each other
10. Bake for about 9-12 minutes, until golden brown
11. Cool on a cooling rack or the bottoms will get soggy