Cricket Smells the Roses

Cherry Pitting Technique

This is the best cherry pitting technique. Plan to spend some time on the process, but enjoy. Zen out.

http://www.donteatthepaintings.com/2012/07/how-to-pit-a-cherry-the-easy-way/

Basic Barbecue Sauce

Basic Barbecue Sauce Epicurious | April 2008

by Steven Raichlen
The Barbecue! Bible 10th Anniversary Edition 

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from The Barbecue! Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, by Steven Raichlen. To read more about Raichlen and barbecue, go to our feature The Best Barbecue in the U.S.A. A good barbecue sauce is a study in contrasts: sweet versus sour, fruity versus smoky, spicy versus mellow. Here's a great all-purpose sauce that's loaded with flavor but not too sweet. It goes well with all manner of poultry, pork, or beef. The minced vegetables give you a coarse-textured sauce, which I happen to like. If you prefer a smooth sauce, puree it in a blender. Yield: Makes 2 1/2 to 3 cups 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 medium-size onion, minced 1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and minced 1/2 cup ketchup 1/2 cup tomato sauce 3 tablespoons cider vinegar, or more to taste 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons pineapple juice (optional) 1 teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce, or more to taste 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke, or 2 tablespoons meat drippings 2 tablespoons molasses 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, or more to taste 2 tablespoons prepared mustard of your choice 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Salt 1. Heat the oil in a large nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper and cook until softened but not brown, about 4 minutes. 2. Stir in the ketchup, tomato sauce, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, pineapple juice (if using), hot sauce, liquid smoke, molasses, brown sugar, prepared and dry mustards, black pepper, and 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer, uncovered, until thickened, about 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent scorching. If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little more water. 3. Remove the barbecue sauce from the heat and taste for seasoning, adding salt to taste and more cider vinegar, hot sauce, and/or brown sugar as necessary; the sauce should be highly seasoned. 4. Transfer the barbecue sauce to a serving bowl and serve warm or at room temperature. The sauce will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for several weeks. Source Information Excerpted from The Barbecue! Bible 10th Anniversary Edition (Workman) Copyright 1998, 2008 by Steven Raichlen

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/Basic-Barbecue-Sauce-242245#ixzz1znPB1qSD

Suffering Succotash

1/4 # sliced bacon

1 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 ears of corn (or frozen)

1 large fresh jalapeno seeded and finely chopped

1 10 oz bag of frozen lima beans

3/4 # cherry tomatoes, halved

2 T. cider vinegar

1/3 c. chopped basil

1. cook bacon

2. add onion to skillet and cook over moderate heat.

3. add garlic and cook briefly

4. stir in corn, jalapeno, lima beans and tomatoes

5. cook about 7 minutes

6. add basil, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste

7. serve with bacon crumbled on top

Walnut-Crusted Turkey Cutlets and Cranberry Sauce

Recipe: Walnut-Crusted Turkey Cutlets and Cranberry Sauce
http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/168198/Walnut-Crusted-Turkey-Cutlets-and-Cranberry-Sauce

The recipe is presented without resizing, providing 4 servings

Turkey Breast cutlets breaded with walnuts
(taken from Kosher By Design - Entertains by Susie Fishbein)

Ingredients:

Turkey:
4 boneless skinless turkey breast cutlets
3/4 cup walnuts coarsely chopped
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 egg beaten
1 Salt
black pepper ground
2 tbs margarine
1 tbs canola oil
Cranberry Sauce:
1 cup jellied cranberry sauce from can
1/4 cup red currant jelly
1 tbs red wine
1 tbs dijon mustard

Preparation:
(1) Mix walnuts with flour in platter large enough to fit a turkey cutlet.
(2) Place beaten egg into a different, similarly-sized platter.
(3) Season both sides of each turkey cutlet with salt and pepper.
(4) Dip turkey cutlets into the egg, coating both sides. Then dip cutlets into the walnut mixture coating both sides.
(5) Place margarine and oil into skillet, melt over medium heat. Add turkey cutlets and cook through, until golden brown (about 4-5 minutes each side).
(6) Place cranberry sauce, currant jelly, wine and mustard into small sauce pan, set over medium-low heat. Whisk until smooth. Cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, serve turkey cutlets.

170,000+ Recipes at BigOven.com
http://bigoven.com

White Truffle Pasta

Recipe given to me by Judi Hoefs

1/2 c. heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 oz. truffle butter
parmesan cheese
chives
taglioni pasta

Bring cream to a boil and add butter. Drain cooked pasta and add to cream mixture. Add parmesan cheese and chives.

Sour Cream Pancakes

Gourmet - December 2010
Lillian Chou

1 c. all-purpose flour
1 T sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. whole milk
1 large egg
2 T unsalted butter, melted

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together sour cream, milk, egg and melted butter, then whisk into flour mixture. (I put it all in a blender and just blended!)

Brush a 12-inch nonstick skillet with butter and heat over medium heat until hot. Working in batches, pour a scant 1/4 cup batter per pancake into skillet and cook until bubbles appear on the surface and the undersides are golden brown. Flip and cook other side, about 1 minute. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in oven.