Homemade BBQ Sauce

Siracha Stout Barbecue Sauce

 

 

 

 

I saw this recipe on Facebook, of all places! It was a PopSugar video, and I kept having to replay it to read all the ingredients. The woman in the video credited the "Beeroness" for the recipe. My family says I have now ruined them forever for other BBQ sauces. Try it yourself!

Ingredients:

1 tsp oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup Stout beer

1/3 cup soy sauce

1-4 Tbsp Siracha (I used 4)

2/3 cup ketchup

2 tsp worchestershire sauce

1 tsp minced onion

2 tsp smoked paprika

1/3 cup brown sugar

Instructions:

Mix ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat and stir. Eat with the BBQ meats of your choice. Save remainder when cool.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Spiced Pear Butter

 

Spiced Pear Butter

Happy Holidays! This year I made some pear butter to give away as gifts. I was given a jar many years ago, along with the recipe, but only lately was I brave enough to try it.

My first batch I made with the Bartlett Pears that the recipe called for, and I think I only added 7 cups of sugar instead of 7.5, and it turned out delicious. The flavor of pear along with the usual Christmas spices makes it taste like the holidays. Delicious!

For the second batch I found a good sale on the large Asian pears at Superking. Asians take their pears very seriously, as they even come with little jackets to keep them from bruising (I assume).

I admit that the reason I wanted to use huge pears is that it meant less peeling, which really was the hardest part of this recipe. I used 3!

A big difference between the types of pears is that the large Asian pears didn't get soft. I kept waiting for them to get soft near the stem, but they didn't within my time frame, so I went ahead and used them. They never got as soft as the Bartlett pears when I was boiling them down, which I see now is the whole point of the Asian pears:  They are crisp! Very crisp, and protected by the little jackets.

But when I put them in the blender they broke down easily after the boiling. I had to boil off some of the water,  and the result was just as delicious as the Bartlett pear batch. If it's possible, it tastes a little crisper!

 I hope you enjoy this recipe and the resulting treat. It makes about 9 half-pints. Happy eating!

Ingredients

7 large Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and diced to make 2 quarts.
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
7 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 (3-oz.) pouch liquid pectin

Yield: 9 cups

Directions

Combine pears in a large saucepan with lemon juice and water; heat to boiling. Cover and cook for 10 minutes until pears are soft. Uncover and cook over high heat 10 minutes longer, stirring and mashing pears as they cook.

In a blender, puree half the mixture at a time until smooth. This mixture should measure 5 cup: If it measures more, boil it down, if it measures less than 5 cups, add water.

Add sugar and spices and heat to boiling until sugar dissolves. Boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in pectin. Pour into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust caps. 

Process 15 minutes in a boiling water bath.

Tabasco Popcorn

The truth is that I love popcorn ALL the time, but something about Fall brings out the part of me that loves variations on the basic popcorn pop. I don't remember where I got this idea - probably from a Tabasco bottle!


unpopped corn kernels
vegetable oil
1 teaspoon Tabasco hot sauce
salt to taste


Pour oil into a pan until the bottom of the pan is completely covered in oil. Add popcorn until the oil is completely covered. Add Tobasco and turn heat to high. When corn begins to pop, shake the pot constantly. When popping slows, remove from heat and pour into a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Sweet Sesame Five-Spice Popcorn

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray Show: 30 Minute Meals Episode: Food Fight

1/2 cup unpopped corn kernels 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon five-spice powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds Place popcorn, sugar, oil, five spice powder and salt in a large kettle or pot with a tight fitting lid over medium heat. When corn begins to pop, shake the pot constantly. When popping slows, remove from heat, sprinkle with sesame seeds and transfer popped kettle corn to a bowl.

Sugar Cookies with Pistachio and Dried Cherries

1 (8-ounce) roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1/2 cup pistachios, lightly chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 (11-ounce) bag white chocolate chipsPreheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Open sugar cookie log and press into a rectangle on cutting board. Add pistachios and cherries, press into dough and then re-shape into a log. Slice into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Transfer cookies to a baking sheet.

Bake 7 to 11 minutes, until golden around the edges. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

While cookies are baking, melt white chocolate chips in a double boiler or bowl over simmering water.

When cookies are cool, dip bottom half of cookies into melted white chocolate and place on waxed or parchment paper to cool.

Copyright, 2006, Robin Miller, All rights reserved
foodnetwork.com

Dried Sour Cherry Nut Clusters

8 ounceshigh quality white, milk, or bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped 1 cup toasted almonds 1 cup dried sour cherriesLine a sheet tray with parchment or wax paper. Temper the chocolate: Melt about 2/3 of the chocolate in the microwave on low power, checking and stirring occasionally to be sure it does not burn. It will take about 1 1/2 minutes. Alternatively, place 2/3 of the chopped chocolate in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water until it melts. Be sure no water touches the chocolate at any point. Stir in the remaining chopped chocolate and continue to stir until completely melted. Touch the skin just below your lower lip with a dab of chocolate: it should feel cool to the touch. If not, stir in a large chunk of chocolate to cool it down further, and then remove it. Stir in 2/3 cup of almonds and 2/3 cup of dried cherries. Using 2 teaspoons, drop clusters of the chocolate mixture onto the prepared sheet tray. Put an almond and one or two dried cherries on top of each cluster. You may not use all of the remaining 1/3 cup of each. Place the tray in the refrigerator until the chocolates are set, at least 15 minutes. Release them from the paper by slipping a small flexible knife under each. Store in a cool dry place. Recipe courtesy of Peggy Cullen foodnetwork.com