Recently in Videos Category

Well, it's Christmas Eve. If you haven't bought it yet, don't bother. Relax and enjoy your family and friends instead--and these cranberry margaritas are a good way to start. As I told you earlier on Whining & Dining, credit for these goes to my friend Paula Salky, who moved from Memphis to Colorado a few years back. I found her and this wonderful recipe on Facebook. We've tried them twice--once with vodka and once with tequila. Although I don't generally drink tequila, I have to say I much prefer it in this drink (when I made it with vodka we called them frozen cosmos).

Well, this concludes the run of videos. You've seen me and my kitchen at my disheveled worse--crazy hair, pots and pans on the kitchen floor and so on. (Hey--we ran out of counters to put them on! I was tackling all the kitchen work alone and there was no time for cleaning up in between!) But I hope you've enjoyed. Thanks for signing on to Whining & Dining, and happy holidays to you and yours.

Paula’s Cranberry Margaritas

1 1/2 cups cranberry juice

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups fresh frozen cranberries, rinsed

3/4 cups fresh squeezed lime juice

3/4 cup tequila

1/2 cup Grand Marnier (or other orange liqueur)

Put half the ingredients in the blender, top off with ice and blend. Put the other half in when you’re ready for the next batch. (I have a large blender and this makes one batch for me.)

Making meat pies or empanadas has become far easier since I discovered Goya Discos. I found these in the frozen food section at the Super-Lo on Covington Pike. I called one Sunday morning to see if they carried them and fully expected to be wasting my time. But the nice woman who answered the phone actually sent someone to look for them--and they even found them. I decided we could add the Natchitoches meat pies to the line-up if I didn't have to make dough.

I also love Jamaican meat pies and have adapted (way adapted) a sauce similar to a sweet, tangy and fiery Calypso sauce. It's between a Calypso and a Jezebel, so it suits our Louisiana pies. Note that Emeril fries his pies. I baked mine at 350 for about 12-15 minutes.

Natchitoches Meat Pies

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

1 onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup water

1/4 cup finely chopped green onions

In a large skillet heat oil and cook beef and pork, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the onions, bell peppers, celery, salt, Essence, cayenne, and black pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are wilted, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Dissolve the flour in the water and add to the meat mixture. Stir until the mixture thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the green onions. Mix well and let cool.

In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut in the lard until mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat the egg with the milk. Gradually add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, working it to make a thick dough. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and roll each portion of dough into a thin round about 5 inches in diameter. Place about 1/4 cup of meat filling in the center of each round and brush edges lightly with egg wash. Fold edges together and crimp closed with a fork.

Heat shortening in a deep pot or electric deep-fryer to 360 degrees F. Fry the pies, in batches, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Remember when everywhere you went, someone had pinwheels of cream cheese and something else rolled up in a tortilla? I don't have anything against the tortilla, but I think it's easy to just wrap goodies up right in the ham. There's really no recipe for these; just thin cream cheese with a little bit of sour cream (just enough to make it easy to spread), slather it on the ham slice and put what you want in it. I love the pears and onions. There's always asparagus, of course. Try pickled green beans or pickled okra, maybe.

I first had the dates prepared by Alyce Mantia. If you don't like blue cheese, use cheddar or do what Alyce often does and pop a small piece of chorizo (the cured Spanish variety, not the raw Maxican kind) in the date. Sometimes she cooks them in a skillet, but I find it easier to put a cookies sheet full of them in an oven at 350 for about 12-15 minutes.

I love to use egg roll wrappers! You can fill them with anything from a traditional Chinese filling to cooked fruit, chocolate or something else sweet for dessert. When I was coming up with a recipe for Cajun egg rolls a couple of months ago, my cousin Max in New York told me that cheeseburger egg rolls are on menus all over the city. They'll make it to the Christmas table this year. You can fry yours if you want, but I stay away from oil when I can--I'm just not very good at frying.

Cheeseburger Egg Rolls

1 lb. ground beef

Salt and pepper

Worchestershire sauce

4 oz. Cheddar cheese, sliced

1 package egg roll wrappers (in the produce section of most grocery stores)

Diced onion

Sliced pickles

Non-stick cooking spray

Mustard, mayo and ketchup

Season ground beef and form into small logs, using about 1 ounce of beef per log. Bake at 350 for about 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly. Keep oven on.

To assemble, slice log in half. Place in egg roll wrapper as shown on video or as instructed on package. Tuck a few pieces of cheese on top, add a few onions and pickles. Roll up, spray with cooking spray and put in oven for about 10-12 minutes, until rolls are crisp and cheese is melted. Serve with condiments for dipping.

When my niece Lily told me that cheese sticks are her current favorite food, I thought about using Italian sausage and mozzarella in the standard old sausage ball recipe. Of course, her favorites tend to change frequently--she's 7, after all--but I liked the way the sausage balls turned out, and having the marinara for dipping kicks 'em up a little. They couldn't be easier:

Italian Sausage Balls

1 lb. bulk Italian sausage

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (use more if you like)

2 cups baking mix (Pioneer or Bisquick)

Put everything in a bowl and put your hands in there and squeeze it all until well combined. Form into balls about the size of unshelled walnuts. Put on a cookies sheet, pop in a preheated 350 degree oven and cook for about 12 minutes. (Adjust to your oven, if necessary).

This hasn't been a standard on our menu, but when I ran across the menu I thought I'd give it a try. It's a great departure from some of the other overnight breakfast casseroles I've come across over the years--the ones with sausage and hash browns, mostly--and it fits our theme. So I made it and we liked it. The recipe, which I adapted from one I found online, calls for Canadian bacon, but I used well-soaked country ham. Hope you enjoy!

Overnight Eggs Benedict

6 English muffins, diced

1 lb. ham or Canadian bacon, diced

8 eggs

2 cups milk

Salt and pepper

Hollandaise sauce (recipe follows)

Spray the bottom of a baking dish (the orginal recipe calls for a 9x13, but a smaller ones works fine) and scatter in about half the ham. Top with the English muffins. Whisk together the eggs and milk, season (light on the salt), and pour it over the muffins. Scatter the remaining ham on top. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours. To cook, remove from fridge and let the dish warm a little. Put it in a 350-degree oven, covered, and cook about 45 minutes. Remove cover and continue cooking about 20 minutes, until eggs are set and ham is crisp. Let stand about 5 minutes before cutting. To serve, cut in squares and top with Hollandaise.

Blender Hollandaise

3 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon salt

Dash of cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon cream (see note)

1 cup (1/2 pound) melted sweet butter, heated until bubbling but not brown

1 tablespoon lemon juice or white wine vinegar (see note)

Place egg yolks, salt, pepper and cream in blender, blend for a few seconds at high speed until you have a smooth frothy mixture. Still at high speed, start adding hot butter in a thin, steady stream, not too slowly. As you add butter, the sauce should thicken. When half the butter has been added, add lemon juice or vinegar. Continue blending until all butter is used.

Note: I used whole milk, and the juice from a whole lemon.

Well, I promised you the eggs Benedict casserole today, but truly, the milk punch is better! My whole family (with the exception of one who just can't get his head around the two words together) loves it, too. We drink it only on Christmas (although I've been known to order the excellent version at Restaurant Iris) and if there's any left, we freeze it and make our first batch of ice cream with it when the weather turns warm.

Try it the way I make it here, then adjust to your taste. I'll probably add a little more Kahlua to it, and maybe even a little more boiled custard. But it's best to start with less and add more than to add too much to start. Duh.

Tomorrow, eggs Benedict casserole. On Saturday, we make Italian sausage balls. On Sunday, tune in to see a new favorite, cheeseburger eggrolls. On Monday a few easy ham roll-ups. On Tuesday, it's Natchitoches meat pies and on Christmas Eve, we conclude with cranberry margaritas.

Milk Punch

1 gallon whole milk

1/2 gallon boiled custard (store bought is fine)

2 cups Myers's rum (don't cheap out here)

1 cup brandy (cheap is fine)

1 cup or more Kahlua (again, but whatever brand you want)

The night before, pour about two cups of milk and one cup of boiled custard in an ice mold. The next day, add all remaining ingredients to your punch bowl, taste, then play with it a little. Add the ice mold just before serving. Leftovers freeze beautifully and will last at least until late spring.

Starting today I'm going to share some of my family's Christmas favorites with you. Every Christmas morning we start the day with beignets, cafe au lait and that wonderful Mexican hot chocolate that's laced with cinnamon. Yum. Tune in tomorrow morning to get the recipe for an overnight eggs Benedict dish that absolutely could not be easier to make. I'll show you an easy Hollandaise, too.

As far as the beignets, I really recommend this overnight recipe over the box mix. In the video I cheated and used the box and the beignets just didn't rise like the yeast ones do. Make those and you'll be amazed at how quickly they puff.

And remember folks--this is all happening in real time, with just a long-way-from-camera-ready me and a very patient and talented Lacey Winters shooting the film. There's no crew off to the side making food and handing it over ready to show off, so ignore the goofs and messes. No use crying over spilled milk, hmm?

I hope you enjoy, or at least get a few tips to make your holidays a little easier.

Overnight Beignets

1 package active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water (100-115 degrees)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

1 cup evaporated milk

7 cups flour

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

Oil for frying

Confectioner's sugar for dusting

Put the warm water into a large bowl, then sprinkle in the yeast and 2 tsp. of the sugar and stir until thoroughly dissolved. Let proof for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the sugar, salt, eggs, and evaporated milk. Gradually stir in 4 cups of the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and thoroughly blended. Beat in the shortening, then add the remaining flour, about 1/3 cup at a time, beating it in with a spoon until it becomes too stiff to stir, then working in the rest with your hands. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight in a greased bowl.

Roll the dough out onto a floured board or marble pastry surface to a thickness of 1/8 inch, then cut it into rectangles 2-1/2 inches by 3-1/2 inches with a sharp knife. Heat the oil 360 to 370 degrees. Fry the beignets about 3 or 4 at a time until they are puffed out and golden brown on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per batch. Turn them over in the oil with tongs once or twice to get them evenly brown, since they rise to the surface of the oil as soon as they begin to puff out. Drain each batch, place on a platter lined with several layers of paper towels, and keep warm in a 200 degree oven until they're all done. Makes about 5 dozen. Serve hot with cafe au lait.

Source: gumbopages.com