Spicy Witch Fingers

This time of the year there are so many sweet Halloween treats available, I thought I’d go ahead and share some of my favorite savory treats in a series of posts.

It’s almost Halloween and quite frankly my teeth are starting to hurt from all the sweets out there.

How about these for a fun treat?

They’re actually a cheese cracker, which can be either formed into ‘fingers’ with almond fingernails, but can also be formed, cut and baked into little crackers suitable for serving with a cocktail.

They just happen to taste great when made with gluten free flour. 

I’ll share how to make the ‘Ogre’s Blood’ Dip later this week. 

 

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Spicy Witch Fingers Cheese Crackers

Yield: 36 + crackers

Author: Sid’s Sea Palm Cooking adapted from my mother’s recipe

prep time: 10 Mcook time: 25 Mtotal time: 35 M

You’ll never believe these are gluten free crackers. They go great with a tapenade for cocktails, or crumbled up over chili or soup. Perfect for snacking and totally great for Halloween.

ingredients:

• 8 oz. Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated – you can substitute Shredded Gouda here as well.
• 2 oz. finely shredded Parmesan Cheese
• 6 Tablespoons Butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• 1 cup all purpose gluten free flour- Besan (Chickpea based) preferably.
•  1 large egg yolk, mixed with 1 tablespoon of water
• 36 (about 1/3 cup) sliced Almonds

instructions:

How to cook Spicy Witch Fingers Cheese Crackers

1. Mix together the grated cheese, butter and cayenne in a food processor, if you have one, or just in the KitchenAid and mix til smooth. Add the flour and either pulse (if using a food processor) or cut in until it’s all mixed together. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.
2. Divide the dough into 36 pieces and roll each one into a 4 inch long ‘finger’. Divide the dough into thirds, and then into thirds again.
3. Form the pieces into ‘finger shapes’, with the indentations in between where the joints are. Place the fingers onto 2 parchment covered baking sheets and brush with egg wash.
4. Press an almond slice onto the end of each finger for a fingernail.
5. Hint: If you do like me and get to this point and find out you don’t have any almond slices, (cause you used them in another recipe and forgot to buy more) just put a small handful of whole almonds into a cup with some water and microwave them or pour boiling water over them, and let them sit for a few minutes. Slip the skins off and then being very, very, very careful, slice the almonds with a sharp knife.
6. Place the fingers in the fridge for at least 15 minutes for them to firm up.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the fingers on the upper and lower thirds of the oven for about 13 minutes then swap the pans, and bake an additional 12 minute, until they’re all puffed up and golden.
8. Cool the ‘fingers’ completely, then arrange on a plate and serve.

Created using The Recipes Generator

How old is your oldest cookbook?

I love old cookbooks, the older the better, so far as I’m concerned. And I collect cookbooks.

But I have a rule, well, sorta, cause there’s always exceptions. I usually won’t buy anything that was published after 1965. Mostly. Which means that my recent purchase of the Women’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery, was actually cause for excitement.

Many years ago, my sister and I were given the entire set for Christmas, and then we grew up and left home and had to split the set. Well, I got some and she got some. But then when I found the entire set for sale, well, almost the entire set for sale, it was missing a couple of volumes, I had to buy it. Especially since I already had the ‘missing’ volumes in my set.

This set of cookbooks, has actually been my go to for recipes for years, and years, and I still peruse it for ideas. And now I have the entire set.

I’ll tell you about some more of my collection another time. Many of the recipes from various countries are actually pretty authentic. In fact I just looked up Chile Rellenos con Queso in Volume 7 Kid-Moe, and the instructions are very close to how I make my Chile Relleno’s.

Well, I’m not going to boast about something without at least letting you know how to make it, or at least how I make it.

My recipe comes from a friend who was Mexican.

Navajo Taco’s

Now that you know how to make a great Chile, you can use it to make some Navajo Taco’s.  Of course if you like your Chile straight up in a bowl with some chopped onions and cheese on top, this may not appeal to you.

I met my first Navajo Taco at a State Fair, and fell head over heels for them.  I would wait in anticipation for the next year so I could get another one.

Then a local restaurant opened up and I could go there for my fix.   Now I’m not sure just why I thought I could only have this dish at a restaurant or at the Fair, but somehow I did.   Then one day it hit me, I could make this on my own.   Whoo Hoo.   So I did, and now I’ll share it with you.    In fact, I prefer my Chile served like this now.

To start with, make some good Chile, either my Firehouse Chile or your favorite recipe.    Make some Frybread, either by using a good frozen bread dough, thawed and rolled out or patted out into a large thin circle, fried in some oil.

Place the Frybread on a plate,

put a heaping spoonful of Chile on top,

then add some shredded cheese, some shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, a spoonful of sour cream if you want and dig in.

I also like a sprinkle of black olives and some chopped onion on top as well.    I eat this with a fork and knife, but if you can get your fry bread big enough, you can actually fold it in half and eat it like a Taco.   You’ll need a bib and a change of clothes, cause that Chile will drip, but it is good.   Just sayin…

Now, since that made me hungry, guess what I’m going to go and have, yup some breakfast.   But we’ll be having Navajo Taco’s again soon.

Peggy’s Paparito’s

If you’ve read my blog at all, you know I like a bit of spice in my food.  More specifically, I like Mexican type spice.  Well, Jalapeno’s, Serrano’s, Guajillo Chilies, Habanero’s, Anaheim Chiles, to name but a few.    I actually posted this recipe on my other blog a couple of years ago, but decided to revisit the recipe.   OK, I made some the other day, which is why I’m featuring it again.

A few years back I had the pleasure of meeting and making friends with a lovely lady named Peggy.   She was a transplanted Texan, and loved all things Tex-Mex.    She gave me the following recipe, and it ranks right up there with all the other Tex-Mex foods I love.

And you know, it would be a great light dinner as well.

I only know this cause I’ve done it.

To start with, boil a couple or three potatoes.  Red Potato’s, yellow potatoes or any other firm fleshed potato works best in this dish.  Burbanks or Russets, not so much.  They’re too mealy.

Cook the potatoes til they are done and set aside.  Peel them if you wish or not, personally I like unpeeled.  Peels are good food.   Chop them roughly or slice them into nice uniform pieces if that’s how you like your potatoes.   Does not matter at all.  Set them aside, you’re not ready for them yet.

Heat a pan and cook up some sausage.  I’ve used hot sausage, sausage patties, bulk sausage, really, whatever floats your boat.  If you use regular sausage, you can always amp up the heat a little with some jalapeno’s or some pepper flakes, or…    Cook until done.  Set aside.

Add a little oil to the pan if you like, or use the sausage fat, then cook off one chopped onion in the grease.   Cook til almost done, then add the potatoes, and brown them just a little.   Add in the sausage just towards the end.   Add some chopped green pepper if you like or do as I do, add in a small can of canned green chiles.  Stir that around, just a little.  Set aside, and keep warm.
Then scramble up a couple of eggs per person, or just one if you like, cook til soft set and set aside.

Warm up some flour tortilla’s, then divide the meat/potato mixture amongst how many people or tortilla’s you’re making and roll them up with some grated longhorn cheese.

Pour some warmed green tomatillo sauce over the top, sprinkle with cheese and place under the broiler to melt a little.

Serve hot.

Peggy’s Paparito’s

Stir fried potatoes with skins  ( I do about 3 potatoes for the two of us)

Scrambled eggs  1-2 per person

Grated long horn cheese

1/2- 1 Onion

Chorizo sausage or sage sausage, fried and crumbled

Diced green chiles and/or diced green pepper

Add a diced jalapeno or two if you like a little more heat, which I do.

 Flour tortilla’s

Mix above ingredients together and roll in a flour tortilla, burrito style.
Serve with warmed Green Chile sauce poured over and a sprinkle of cheese.

1 can green Chile sauce (Herdez  brand or another one like that.)

And if you have too much filling, it freezes beautifully, and you’ve got a head start on another breakfast.

Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwich

It was late, I was tired and I didn’t feel like cooking.  There I said it, contrary to popular belief, it’s not all about time spent in the kitchen, it’s all about me.     Just kidding.   Truth is though, I spent the day at the beach, in the sun, and I was tired but I wanted to eat dinner too.   So, I made one of my husbands favorite sandwiches for dinner.    You can also make a salad to go with the sandwich for a more balanced meal if you like.

And you can turn this into a Panini if you want to.   All I know is that it tastes good and is easy to make.   Let’s face it, we all need meals like this. Quick to put on the table, almost effortlessly.

Start by warming a loaf of your favorite french bread in the oven.

Then place some thinly sliced ham or leftover ham from a ham roast if you have it, into a fry pan you’ve sprayed with some non stick spray.   You want the pan on low, all you’re doing is heating up the ham a little, not frying it.  Add some sliced cheese on top, I like to use Cheddar,

Next take a pickle out of the fridge, slice it thinly.

Take the bread out of the oven, spread it with some mustard, make pretty designs if you like.   Then layer the warmed ham and cheese and the pickles onto the bread.

Cut into quarters and serve.   As you can see from this picture, I got a little skimpy on the ham on my end of the sandwich.

And it was good and fast.  I’ve also put this sandwich on my George Forman Grill and make a Panini out of it at this point,  now that’s good.

Shredded Beef

Shredded Beef for February Boat Club

I guess by now you realize I go to a lot of potlucks, giggle.   We have a standing date once a month with a local club and then there is our social life which tends to revolve around food, so I get to make something at least twice a month for potlucks.

Since it is February, and everyone has sweet stuff on their minds, I thought a nice, spicy dish would be a good counterpoint.   And last year there were a lot of sweets at the February Boat Club Potluck.

One dish I love to make is Machaca, or Shredded Beef.   It’s one of those dishes that comes together fast, cooks without any fussing around, and is usually pretty popular with everyone, but vegetarians.    Of course, you can make it vegetarian if you like, just add more beans.   In fact I would add a couple of different kinds of beans for variety, along with the kidney beans, I’d add some black beans and some pinto’s.   Beans are good food.   At least I like them.

I usually make this in a crock pot, but have also cooked it on top of the stove and in the oven.   If you do make this in the oven, the flavor will be a little richer, but you don’t lose anything by cooking it in the crock pot either.    Another wonderful aspect of this dish, it can be stretched very easily by the addition of a couple more cans of beans and a few more veggies.  And with the price of meat, that’s a good thing.    Personally I like it when I’ve stretched it more than when I do the original recipe.    And it’s fun to serve to people.   I have to say though,  when you dish it up and place it into a taco, you do need to add the Verde sauce to it, it adds another layer of flavour which I think this needs.   You use the Verde sauce as a condiment, adding it to the meat while cooking, doesn’t do a thing.  I know, I tried it once, and it wasn’t very good at all.  And I think you should learn from my mistakes.   Not that I make all that many, but…

To start with, and this is so sinfully easy I’m embarrassed to tell you how simple it is, get your pot out, whether it be a crockpot, or a pot on top of the stove or a large casserole dish.

All the vegetables, and of course the beans.

 

A big old chunk of meat

 

The meat is in there, hiding, really.

Place your meat in there, add a couple cans of Kidney beans, a chopped onion, a chopped green pepper, one can of tomato sauce, (I like El Pato Mexican tomato sauce), one can of chopped green chiles, 2 tablespoons of chile powder, 1 tablespoon of cumin, 1 whole tomato chopped.  Stick the lid on and let it cook.   If you’ve got this in a crock pot, don’t even lift the lid for 5 or 6  hours.   When the meat is fork tender,

At this point it really tastes good, I had to taste, quality control and all that.

pull the meat out and shred it with a couple of forks, add it back into the saucy goodness of the pot and let it cook another hour or so.

It will be saucy.   If doing this on the stove or in the oven, let it cook for a couple of hours, then check for tenderness.  As soon as it’s fork tender, pull it out and shred.   Add back into the pot and let it cook for a little while more.

Made one up before we headed over, final product had to pass inspection, of my mouth that is.

Serve with flour tortillas, Verde sauce and some cheese.   And don’t be surprised when people lick their plates.   It has been known to happen.  But they usually turn away or hide in the corner when they do it.

Shredded Beef

3-4 lb. chuck roast, not too fatty
2 cans Kidney beans
1 can El Pato Mexican Tomato Sauce or
1 can Tomato sauce
1 can chopped green chiles
1 tomato, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon cumin
2-4 tablespoons Chile powder

Dump it all in the crockpot and set for low and let simmer for 6 hours, minimum.   If cooking on top of the stove, cover and let simmer for 2 hours, or until the meat is tender.   Same directions for the oven, set the temp at about 350 degrees.
When the meat is tender, remove from the sauce and shred, then add it back into the pot and let it simmer or cook for another 1-2 hours.   Serve with flour tortillas, green taco sauce and shredded cheese.

And here’s the rest of the dishes that were brought last night.   And I have to apologize I didn’t get a shot of the roasted tomatillo salsa.   Every time I got close to it, people were eating it, and of course I had to taste it as well, it was good.

Baked Ziti

 

Hot and Sour Soup

 

7 Layer Dip

 

Green Salad

 

Brownies

 

Smoked Chicken

 

Veggie Plate

 

Meatballs

And there you have it, another successful night at the Boat Club.   As usual everything was excellent, and I ate too much, sigh.  Oh well.  I will survive.
Hope everyone has a great Valentines Day.