Balsamic Reduction

This is a lame post, but I loved it.

I've been so into goat cheese lately. Especially beets and goat cheese. If beets are on the menu at a restaurant, I ALWAYS order them. Anyway, as I was eating my daily dose of B&GC (we'll call it) the other day, I was thinking a balsamic vinaigrette would be yummy on it. But I didn't want to make a dressing. So then I thought of making a syrupy reduction --- it's way easier than boiling on the stove.

1.Put however much vinegar you want in to a mug (about 1/2 cup) with a couple pinches of sugar.
2. Heat/boil in microwave until it begins to thicken, just a few minutes. Then let cool (it will thicken as it cools).
3.Smother this yummy goodness all over everything, especially beets!

Salsa

2 cloves of garlic

4 green onions with stems

1 cup cilantro (no stems)

1 8oz can ElPato tomato hot sauce (the yellow can)

1 serano pepper, seeded

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded

Add seeds for desired heat. (I don't add any seeds, which makes a perfectly mild salsa)

Process with food processor

2 15oz cans of Mexican stewed tomatoes

1/2 tsp garlic salt

Process again

Refrigerate overnight for best melding of flavors. 

I process in our vitamix, and it makes a pretty smooth salsa. It reminds me of the salsa at Chilis. Yum. 

Perfect Frosting

6 T Flour
 1 C milk (whole milk is best, but I use non-fat when it’s all I have and it’s actually fine)

 1 C real butter (I prefer salted, but you can use also unsalted and add salt to taste)
 1 C sugar (that’s granulated sugar, not powdered sugar)
 2 t vanilla extract, or other flavor if you wish.

Whisk together the flour and the milk. Heat in a small sauce pan on medium heat.
Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. Let it cook, while stirring with a rubber spatula, until you can start to see the bottom of the pan.   Continue to cook until mixture has the consistency of thick pudding or paste.

Put  mixture in the fridge and let it cool completely, it’s fine if it stays in there long enough to get chilly, you just don’t want it warm at all. As it’s cooling, feel free to stir it occasionally to speed up the process and keep it from forming a crust on top.

It an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar for a minute or two until well combined and fluffy. You’ll want to use the whisk attachment on a stand mixer if you have one, instead of the flat paddle. Then while beating, add in the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla. Beat to combine and then scrape down the sides. Mixture will separate and look messy, keep beating!  Continue beating until mixture comes together and is light and fluffy, about 7-8 minutes, but time varies.  Take a sample of frosting between your fingers; frosting is done when light and fluffy and sugar granules are dissolved.

From Our Best Bites

ps I changed the numbers on here to double their original recipe. This frosting will forever remind me of Ashley and Kailyn's fancy cupcakes they brought to the new years eve party, 2013-2014.

Apple syrup (we use with aebleskivers)

1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 pint apple juice
Splash of lemon
1/2 cup butter

Combine all ingredients then heat over medium heat until desired thickness. Serve warm.

Pesto

Stop what you are doing and drive straight to Costco and buy this pesto.

 It is so so good. I want to drink it.

Caramel in a Crockpot

Take an unopened can of Sweet and Condensed Milk (regular or non fat),
Put it in the crockpot,
Fill the crockpot with water until the can is completely submerged,
Turn it on low for 8 hours,
Open and use for dippin.

Warning! When you open the can, contents will be under pressure, so keep your face/eyes out of the way of any "spitting". I learned that the hard way.

poppy seed dressing (for spinach salad)

i know. this is a pretty boring post, but i just love this dressing.  it is pretty sweet - which i love - but if you don't like such sweet dressings, i would leave out some sugar. it is for spinach salad. i made some today with strawberries, almonds, monterey jack cheese, bacon, and red onion (and of course spinach). we couldn't stop eating it.

DRESSING
1 cup of Sugar
2 tsp. of Dry Mustard
2 tsp. of Salt
2/3 cup of Red Wine Vinegar
1 ½ cup of Oil
3 tsp. of Poppy Seeds

it makes a lot. i will definitely 1/2 it next time. i just want to drink it.

Buttermilk Syrup

While we're on the pancake kick, here's some other syrup recipes. It's a fun way to make breakfast fancy. I like to add fresh fruit to the mix too.

Buttermilk Syrup

1 cube of butter

1 cup of sugar

½ cup of buttermilk

1 Tablespoon Karo light corn syrup

Melt butter. Add other ingredients. Bring to a boil and hard boil for 2 minutes.  Take off heat and add ½ teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  The mixture will really bubble up so make in a large sauce pan.

Coconut Syrup

1 cube of butter

1 cup of sugar

½ cup buttermilk

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon coconut extract

Bring butter, sugar and buttermilk to a boil.  Boil for 2 Minutes.  Stir in soda and extract.  Foams a lot when soda is added. 

Maple Syrup

We had pancakes and home made syrup for dinner tonight.

1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. water
1 tsp. maple flavoring
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. butter

Bring sugar, brown sugar and water to a boil, stirring constantly.  Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and add maple flavoring, vanilla, and butter, stirring to combine and to melt butter.