Apple Pie - Rated R

This is the most requested Apple Pie recipe at our house around the holidays.  And it's not what you think!  Travis makes this and it's SOOO good.  Nicole and I don't really like alcohol and we love this.

Apple Pie

1 gallon apple juice
1 gallon apple cider
2 c brown sugar
2 c white sugar
6-8 cinnamon sticks
1.5 tbsp ground nutmeg
1/5 (1 L) 190 proof alcohol (like Everclear)
Half of 1/5 (1 L) vanilla vodka

1. In large stock pot, bring juice, cider, sugars, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg to a boil, stirring occasionally.
2. Reduce heat and simmer until cinnamon sticks burst (unpeel), about 1-2 hours.
3. Cool completely.
4. Add alcohols and stir well.
5. Store at room temperature in mason jars with lids, or you can use the containers or bottles the juice, cider and alcohol came in, or whatever else that can seal tight.  It makes 8-10 quarts.  
6. You can refrigerate it for an iced beverage.  
7. You can heat it up for a hot toddy!  

Best Roast EVER

I exaggerate a LOT.  But seriously, this is so good.  I told our friend, Paige, that I would post this for her.  But ALL of you need to try this!

Best Roast Ever

1 can Dr. Pepper (can use Coke or Pepsi, but NOT diet)

Roast (6-8 lbs) – Beef or Venison or Pork

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp garlic powder

3 tsp dried basil

2 tsp onion powder

1 tbsp of minced garlic (I use garlic from the jar)

1 cup ketchup

1 more can Dr. Pepper on top

Optional Veggies:  potatoes, carrots, celery, onion.  Or without the veggies, you can make this into pulled pork style for sandwiches – whichever you choose.  We like it best with the veggies because of the sauce.  Yet, the "pulled pork" way is the so good left over.  I call it "pulled critter" since we mostly use elk or deer.  See?  Best ever. 

1. In crock pot, add the ingredients in the order listed.
2. If frozen roast, cook on high for 6-8 hours.
3. If not frozen, cook on low for 3-4 hours (I think – I’ve never thawed one out to test it).
4. The meat will be tender, well done, and the veggies will be soft.
5. Remove meat from crock pot and slice.  Serve with sauce and veggies.  
6. If using as pulled meat, remove meat from crock pot and shred.
7. Put back in crock pot and add BBQ sauce of choice.  Cook on low for 30-60 minutes to warm the sauce and meat together.

Final Attempt At Homemade Salsa

We DID it!

From Travis today, unsolicited, "You know, I'm not much of a salsa fan and I LOVE this."  This is HUGE!  He said it was the perfect texture and the right amount of heat.  I'm the only one that likes it spicy, so I just add ghost pepper flakes to my portion when eating it.  For everyone else, this is IT!

Homemade Salsa

28 oz can whole tomatoes (we use San Marzano brand...good quality.  Hunts with no added salt is great, too)
2 Serrano peppers, cut off stem, cut in half (OR) 1 Serrano pepper and 10 slices jalapeno from a jar
1 fresh garlic clove
1 whole white onion, 4-5" in diameter, cut in fourths
Juice of one lime
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all in blender.  Serve with chips.

The big difference is the fresh garlic and the white onion (not yellow).  I'm so excited about this I can hardly stand it.

We decided to do a monthly cooking day with our friend, Sandy.  We are going to can this salsa.  Sorry stores.  I will never buy salsa again.

SOOOOOO GOOOOOD!!

Using the same photo.  It has always looked the same.

Caramels

This weekend, Nicole and I went to our friend, Sandy's house for candy making day.  We made 4 batches of caramels.  The best candy ever.  We never make them because they get eaten in one sitting.  And that can't be good for our health.  But hey.  We said we would share our recipes and mishaps.  We never claimed to be healthy all the time.  :0)

Caramels

2 c sugar

1 3/4 c dark corn syrup

1 c butter

2 c heavy whipping cream
Candy thermometer

1. Grease a 9"x13" glass pan with butter.
2. Mix all ingredients except 1 c of cream.
3. Stirring constantly, over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil.
4. Gradually add in the other cup of cream.
5. Do not let mixture stop boiling!
6. Cook to soft ball form (between 230-240 degrees), about 20-30 minutes.
7. Pour mixture into glass pan.
8. Let cool.
9. Remove while slightly warm and cut into pieces.  
10. Put each piece into wax paper.
11. Store wrapped pieces in air tight container.

Suckers

One of the main reasons for this cookbook (besides a central place for our family recipes) is to share the lessons we have learned in the kitchen - so hopefully you all don't make the same mistakes we did.  And to remember them ourselves so we don't repeat them!

I tease Nicole and tell people that she really is the reason for the "mishaps" part of our cooking misadventures.  But, this may very well be the recipe that caused the very first cooking mishap on record:  December 2000 at my friend's house.  Our brother, Matt, and I, were having "holiday recipe sharing" day at our friend, Kim's house.  She had a small apartment (well, frankly, we all did at the time) and had these beautiful crocheted doilies on her dining room table and coffee table.  Her only rule was to NOT get them dirty.

My suckers were easy to do in the other room, out of the way of the others in the kitchen.  I boiled the mixture, put it in a candy storage container to pour it into the sucker molds I had laid out on a cookie sheet...on the doilies.  Well, of course, boiling candy does not do well in plastic.  The bottom melted through and in my genius glory, I put my hand out to catch the candy to prevent a mess.  If I had just let it go, it would have just spilled onto the cookie sheet...mess free.

Instead, I burn my right hand and drag sucker mess from the living room to the kitchen to put my hand under cold water.  Unless that carpet has been replaced since, there is still sucker in it.  Of that I am sure.

Candy surprisingly comes off your skin easily.  And it hurt to keep it in the water.  My soft-spoken friend, Lori, had just been trained in first-aid and CPR and knew to keep it there for as long as possible to stop the burning from continuing.  She was not nice about it either.  And for that I am now grateful.  I kept it under the freezing cold water for over an hour.  I'm sure that's what saved my hand.

Our other friends left to go to the hospital...a family member was there.  I declined a ride to get it checked out, because what would they say?  "You burned your hand, now that will be $50."  No thanks.  The visit to the hospital took longer than planned, so we all ended up over there.  A doctor did look at my hand and gave some free advice.  NOT to pop the blister - and a blister I had.  The size of a soft ball in my hand.  So of course, we popped it.  My dad, husband, and Doctor-To-Be brother all said it was necessary.

Enter blood poisoning.  And a tetanus shot.  And an anti-biotic shot.  Both hurt worse than the burn.  By this time all the nerves were damaged.  I had 3rd degree burns on my hand and 2nd on my fingers.  After physical therapy (which I lovingly called my "cry appointment") three times a week, my hand is good as new.  I can still do an octave on the piano, too!

So, let this be a lesson.  Don't put this into anything plastic.  That might be common sense to all of you, but my young self didn't think of it.  Now, we use Pyrex glass measuring cups with the handle far on the side to pour the mixture into the molds.  And they are DELICIOUS.  Worth every minute!

Suckers

3 3/4 c sugar
1 1/2 c light corn syrup
1 c water
1 tsp food coloring
1 tbsp flavor extract or 1 dram of flavor oil (Wild Cherry is our favorite)
Candy thermometer
Sucker molds
Sucker sticks

Recipe makes about 42 suckers approximately 1 inch in diameter.

1. Arrange molds and sticks onto greased cookie sheet.
2. In a quart sauce pan, stir CONSTANTLY the sugar, corn syrup and water over medium heat until boiling.  Seriously, don't stop stirring.
3. Boil over medium heat without stirring until temperature reaches hard crack (about 310 degrees).  Watch over this carefully.  This goes from perfect to burnt in about 2 seconds.

At this point, you'll need to know what to do and plan for it.  You have to MOVE FAST!  This sets up really quick.  So get ready:

1. Remove from heat.
2. Add flavoring and color.  Stir well.
3. Pour into 2 glass Pyrex measuring cups (We use the 2 cup with large side handle so as not to burn ourselves!)
4. Pour mixture into molds, filling to top of mold.
5. Let set until at room temperature.
6. Store in air-tight container or zip top bags.

 

You need one of these per recipe.