Keeping the Vampires Away

There used to be a restaurant in Dayton called The Grub Steak.  I so loved going there for their creamy garlic dressing.  Unfortunately, they closed down and ever since I have been trying to recreate that wonderful taste.  I've tried some different recipes but none of them quite hit the note I was looking for.  So...after a lot of trial and error, I came up with this recipe.  Be warned, this recipe is for serious garlic lovers only.  The raw garlic has a rather hot taste to it.

What you will need:

1 1/2 C Real Mayonnaise
3/4 C. Vegetable Oil
1/4 C. Vinegar
3 Tbsp. Chopped White Onion
3/4 Tsp. Kosher Salt
6 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

In a blender or small food processer, combine the ingredients.  Blend until smooth.

Yields about 3 cups.

This is so fantastic served over a big Chef's Salad.  I love that as a meal with some good bread and butter to go with it.

Also, this is super fantastic in potato salad replacing the regular mayonnaise.  It also makes a great dip for raw veggies.

Oh, make sure that whoever you are eating with eats this along with you because you will be breathing out some rather strong fumes.

Later.

Dani's Chicken Salad

Well, it's still really, really hot and humid so today I am opting for something easy, cool, and refreshing.  I know chicken salad doesn't sound all that exciting but sometimes I get a real craving for it.  Now there are tons of ways to go about this but I'm not a fan of the walnuts and grapes and other weird things people like to put in their chicken salad.  I'm really funny about textures and I don't really like the creamy, crunchy mix.  (I don't like any little weird bits in my ice cream, either.)  I'm going to share my version, hopefully you will like it as much as we do!

My biggest downfall is trying to pin down the "recipe".  I am not one to measure everything out, I kind of throw things in until it's the way I want it.  So, if you are a person that needs "exactness" my blog is going to drive you nuts.  Cooking should be an adventure each and every time you hit the kitchen.  (I won't do this to you for baked goods though, even I know better than that.)

What you will need:

Diced Cooked Chicken (approx. 3 breasts)
Hard Boiled Eggs (5)
Real Mayonnaise (ehh...)
Finely Diced Celery (1 - 2 stalks, it's up to you)
Finely Chopped Onion (about 1/4 - 1/2 C.)
Salt (to taste)
Lemon Pepper (to taste)
Nice Buns  :-)

Mix the diced chicken with the onion, celery, salt, and lemon pepper (to taste).  Don't be afraid of the lemon pepper, it's the special ingredient in this salad that makes it sing.

Add in a couple or three heaping scoops of mayo. You may like it wetter or drier so remember you can add more but you can't take it back out!

Dice up your eggs and fold them in.  I add them last because I like some of the yolk to retain it's integrity.  :)

Stick it in the fridge and get it good and cold.  Serve it up however you like, on some good buns or on a bed of lettuce for you carb watchers.  You can figure our your own sides, we are just having some nice salty chips because like I said, it's just too darned hot to worry about it.  And I know there is a lack of color to the food so I tried to make up for it with the plate and such.

Peace out, homies.

Great Grandma Wharton's Butterscotch Pie

Sorry I fell off the map for a few days but I'm back.

So you think you know what butterscotch tastes like?  I did too before I made my Great Grandma's butterscotch pie.  The stuff you buy in the store that calls itself butterscotch lies.  The color is also completely different.  I am not going to make a pie today to provide a photo because it's just too darned hot and our A/C is out.  I promise to show you the finished product once it cools down a bit.

This is not a complicated recipe but make sure to read through it completely first before you get started. I found it to be a little confusing the first time.  Believe me, once you make this, you will never buy anything butterscotch "flavored" again.  Happy baking!

Great Grandma Wharton's Butterscotch Pie

Ingredients:

1 Stick of Butter
1 C. packed Light Brown Sugar
5 Tbsp. Cornstarch
3 C. Whole Milk
3 Egg Yolks (use whites for meringue if desired)
1 9" Pie Shell, baked and cooled

Combine butter and brown sugar in a large saucepan.  Cook at medium heat until thickened, foamy and caramel in color.  Be careful not to scorch it!  Set aside.

In a bowl, beat cornstarch with 1  cup of milk.  Beat in the egg yolks until well blended.

Return pan to stove and add the remaining 2 cups of milk to the brown sugar mixture.  Cook over medium high heat for a few more minutes.

Whisk about 1/2 cup of the brown sugar mixture into the egg mixture to warm up the eggs.  Pour the egg mixture into the remaining brown sugar mixture in the saucepan.  Keep cooking over medium heat until thick.  (Do not boil.)  Pour into pie shell and cool.  Top with whipped cream or meringue.

Enjoy!

I. Like. Food.

Hello.  Wow, you read blogs all the time but putting pen to paper (figuratively speaking) to create one is a little intimidating.  I always have a lot to say, I'm just not sure anyone is interested in listening.  So, here goes.  I like food.  A lot.  I like to eat it, cook it, take pictures of it.  And I get very passionate when I'm talking about it.  Let me tell you a little story about Texas toast.  I used to work with my oldest son James and I would go in and excitedly start talking in detail about what my husband and I had for dinner the night before.  One day he suddenly started responding to my ramblings by saying "Texas toast".  He did this every time I started talking about food and he wouldn't tell my why.  It started to drive me crazy and make me a little angry, truth be told.  One day I made him tell me why the heck he was doing that.  He laughed and said I had come in one day and was rambling on about some Texas toast I had made so every time after that when I had a food story the first thought that came into his mind was Texas toast.  And that my friends, is now the cue for me to zip it.

Now if you like food as much as I do, maybe you will enjoy my ramblings more than he did.  I grew up in the kitchen.  My grandmother, my aunt Nani, and my mother didn't mind that I was always under their feet.  The kitchen was always the happiest and most intriguing place in the house for me.  We lived near my grandparents and their house was always full because most of my mom's brothers and sisters and their children lived on the same street.  The grownups were always sitting around the kitchen table drinking coffee and talking and someone was always cooking something.  I always had my nose right in the middle of it.  My grandmother didn't have much money to work with and she raised 5 children.  I think the most valuable thing I learned from her in the kitchen was creativity.  Work with what you have.

With all that being said, the purpose of this blog will be to share some of my family recipes, my photos, and just my general musings.  You won't find any "gourmet" recipes here, I'm just a down home girl that likes to cook food that sticks to your ribs and tastes good.  And if you are looking for "health food", you probably aren't going to find too much of that here either.

Check back tomorrow for something downright delicious.