This Little Piggy.

This Little Piggy

By Mother Goose

“This little piggy went to market,

This little piggy stayed home,

This little piggy had roast beef,

This little piggy had none.

This little piggy went ...

Wee, wee, wee,

all the way home!”

However, my little piggies ended up inside bacon, crescent roll dough and pancakes!

 

In 1957, a cute recipe appeared in the new Betty Crocker’s Cooking for Boys and Girls cookbook.  This cookbook was geared towards parents, alright, let’s be honest, the homemaker mom, to teach her children cooking skills.  Hotdogs were baked inside a bread dough, and enjoyed for lunch or dinner.  In 1965, Pillsbury introduced crescent rolls, and included a recipe for crescent roll dogs which added slices of American cheese to the process.

The name “pigs in a blanket” is another one of those “Who claims to have invented it first?” origins.  Essentially the “pigs” refer to sausages that were roasted, wrapped in rolls, and eaten by laborers.  This is traced back to Germany, around the 1400s (remember, they also invented the ever-popular hotdog) where they were called Würstchen im Schlafrock (translation: sausages in pajamas).  In the 1600s, the Irish, English and Scottish laborers were following the lead of German laborers, and ate these sausage rolls alongside meat pies and pasties.  In the 1900s, a recipe for “kilted soldiers” became popular for the Christmas holiday.   Small sausages, named chipolatas, were wrapped, and roasted, in bacon. The “cocktail” pigs in a blanket were basically born, and the bread wrapped version followed.

 

 

 

The breakfast style pigs in a blanket?  Grilled sausages wrapped in fluffy pancakes, drenched in maple syrup, breakfast style pigs in a blanket?  As far as I could ferret out of culinary sites, full of historical data, was linked to IHOP.  The first International House of Pancakes opened in a suburb of Los Angeles in 1958, and breakfast style pigs in a blanket was on the menu.  I have to presume that they got the idea from the 1957 Betty Crocker cookbook, revised it by using thinner pancakes for easy rolling, instead of bread or crescent dough, and it was a hit.

 

 

 

The concept of wrapping sausage inside some type of dough is worldwide, however, in America, hotdogs are used more often.  Sausage is primarily made with meat from the pig, while hotdogs can be all-beef, poultry only, or some combination of pork, beef and poultry.  For a meal, full length hotdogs, smoked sausages, or grilled brats can be rolled in dough, baked in the oven, and served with condiments and side dishes.  The cocktail style are the mini versions of the meats, again, also wrapped in dough and baked. 

 

Now making those is a lot of work, but there is a much easier way of course.  Purchase the full length, wrap in the dough and cut them up into bite size, individual pieces before baking.  First off, this is less work than wrapping those tiny “little smokies” or cocktail franks, and price wise, less expensive in the long run.  Do a price comparison, and depending on where you live, and prices charged at your favorite market, it probably will be less in price.  Also, compare your prices to buying the premade, frozen brands; make sure to check how many are in the package.  One can of crescent roll dough has eight pieces; one package of hotdogs is, usually, also eight.  After rolling the hotdog in the dough (make sure to seal up the dog completely), cut into four sections; that is 32 pieces.  Unless you are buying from a bulk store, the average size at a local market is 12-24 pieces, and the price is kind of high for the amount inside the package.  You are paying, for the convenience, of having the work done for you.

 

20 minutes at 375F.

Another plus, to making it at home, is you can add what you want; press shredded cheese, bacon bits, diced jalapenos, diced onions, or savory seasonings onto the dough, then procced with the wrapping and baking.  The dough is your canvas, now be a culinary artist!  As I have pushed in many of my articles, children at home, get them involved, and they do not have to be little ones.  Get those teenagers and college-aged to learn kitchen skills as well; prep work, creation, completion, and clean up!

 

Summer will be officially beginning soon, and here come all the summery events, parties, picnics and simply having fun in the sun times.  Do not forget the perfect little snack for all those times, pigs in a blanket.

 

Mary Cokenour

 

The Ultimate Italian Snack.

 When you want to nosh, what kind of appetizer or snack is your must have? Basic home snacks could be anything from a bag of chips, bowl of popped corn, crackers with a topping, veggies and dip, even cookies or a cupcake. If you are out at a restaurant, you might see on the menu: mozzarella sticks, cheese fries, nachos, deep fried veggies or ravioli, or chicken fingers. Been there, done that; same old, same old? Now is the time to try something very different, romantic (hey, it is Italian), yummy and healthier (I know, I know, bad word, especially around kids, but not this snack!).  Bruschetta, and while it might be a little difficult to pronounce the first time; you will not forget after you have had it.

Bruschetta (Italian pronunciation: [brus-ket-a]; American pronunciation: [bu-shetta], ignoring the “c” altogether) is an appetizer from central Italy whose origin seems to date back to the 15th century, but possibly even older than that. It was a way to use stale bread by toasting or grilling it, then enhancing the flavor by rubbing with garlic and topping with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Variations may include toppings of spicy red pepper, tomato, vegetables, beans, cured meat, and/or cheese.  The most popular recipe, especially in America, involves basil, fresh tomato, garlic and onion, or mozzarella; similar to a snack version of Pizza Margherita.  Brushchetta can be served as an appetizer, simply enjoyed as a snack, or depending on the ingredients, and work put into it, a meal.

 

Bruschetta (Italian Style)

Ingredients:

loaf of Italian bread, preferably day old, cut into ½” slices

2 cloves of garlic

olive oil

salt

Preparation:

Grill both sides of the sliced bread; or place under a broiler for one minute, flip slices, place under broiler for another minute. Cut the cloves of garlic in half and rub cut sides over one side of bread; drizzle olive oil, sprinkle on salt.

 

Bruschetta Con Pomodori (Grilled Bread with Tomatoes)

Ingredients:

half loaf of Italian bread, cut into ½ “slices

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

4 Tbsp. olive oil

6 Roma (plum) tomatoes cut into ¼” pieces

1/8 tsp. each of salt and ground black pepper

¼ cup minced fresh basil leaves

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Preparation:

Grill both sides of the sliced bread; or place under a broiler for one minute, flip slices, place under broiler for another minute. Smear one side of each slice with minced garlic.

In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, tomatoes, salt, black pepper, basil and vinegar. Top garlic side of each slice of bread with mixture.

Makes 6 servings.

Note:

1 – Shaved parmesan cheese can be placed on top of mixture.

2 – Thin slices of mozzarella can be placed on top of mixture; place under broiler for a minute to allow cheese to melt.

 

These are the two basic appetizer/snack recipes for making bruschetta.  Now let us get to the meal versions, or should I say, my experiments in bruschetta style meals.

This recipe was published in Taste of Home Magazine, September 2007 issue. I had sent it to them way back in 1997, and then suddenly they contacted me in 2007 to say that they were going to publish it. Imagine my surprise! (https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/crab-bruschetta/)

 

Crab Bruschetta

Ingredients:

1/2 cup finely chopped shallots

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp. plus 1/4 cup olive oil, divided

2 cans (6 ounces each) lump crabmeat, drained

1 cup chopped seeded plum tomatoes

1 and ½ tsp. minced fresh basil or 1/2 tsp. dried basil

3/4 tsp. minced fresh oregano or 1/4 tsp. dried oregano

8 slices Italian bread (1/2 inch thick)

Preparation:

In a large skillet, sauté’ shallots and garlic in 2 tablespoons oil until tender. Add the crab, tomatoes, basil and oregano; cook and stir for 5-6 minutes or until heated through. Remove from the heat.

Brush both sides of each slice of bread with remaining oil. In another large skillet, toast bread for 1-2 minutes on each side. Cut each slice in half; top with crab mixture.

Makes 16 appetizers, or 8 meals.

This next meal version I say is “bruschetta without the bread”.  Having received some eggplant, I figured I would make the same old, same old eggplant parmigiana.  Roy and I both do not like eggplant, so it gets distributed to his mom and brother, down in Moab; and Richard Watkins down in Blanding. However, a recipe that used eggplant as the top and bottom of a sandwich type appetizer/main course item, with spaghetti and sauce as the filling, appeared on my newsfeed.  While the photo looked pretty, I truly did not see the point of it; but it did get my mind going into a creative direction.

To the refrigerator I went to look for ingredients that would work with the eggplant; Roma tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, but then I spied the chicken cutlets defrosted for another recipe.  Suddenly the picture of a recipe came into my mind, like little photos, and I was off and cooking!  The eggplant would be the base ingredient, just as bread was for bruschetta; olive oil, garlic, Italian herbs, tomatoes and cheese were a given.  The chicken, however, would give the entire dish a new dimension in flavor and texture; this would be one of those recipes that could be an appetizer or a main meal.

Enough chit chat and let’s get to cooking...

 

Eggplant-Chicken Bruschetta

Ingredients:

1 medium sized eggplant cut into 12 (1/4" thick) slices

3 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided in half

1 Tbsp. Italian herbal mix

6 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1/4" thick, cut to equal or slightly larger size than eggplant slices)

6 slices Roma tomatoes

6 slices mozzarella cheese

3 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Line a platter or baking sheet with paper towels; lay out eggplant slices, sprinkle with salt and cover with additional paper towels.  Wait a minimum of one hour before pressing the paper towels onto the eggplant to remove excess water that has been drawn out by the salt.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil, medium-high heat, in a large skillet; place eggplant into skillet, brown one side, turn to brown other side and sprinkle garlic powder over first browned side.  Remove to paper towels.

Put remaining oil into skillet plus herbal mix; place chicken into skillet and brown both sides; remove to paper towels.  Preheat oven to 375F; line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Build a stack: eggplant slice, chicken piece, tomato slice, cheese slice, eggplant slice.  When all stacks are made, place on the baking sheet and top with 1/2 teaspoon of grated cheese.  Bake in oven for 5 to 7 minutes to allow mozzarella cheese to melt.

Makes 6 servings for an appetizer; Makes 3 servings for a meal.

Mary Cokenor

Pioneer New Year Dessert - Shortbread

“Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.” ~Pema Chödrön

 

This quote describes life in general, does it not?  A day, in the life, of any individual has ups and downs; some expected, some a complete surprise.  Through most of 2021, the Cokenour household coasted through the year.  In October though, we lost our 11 year old Australian Shepherd dog, Tippy.  11 years of having our “big puppy”, and suddenly he was gone; a victim of cancer that had ravaged his body.  Where had 11 years gone?  How had we missed his getting older, when he constantly acted like a young puppy!?!   Then, in November, we lost our Maine Coon cat, Monkey; 15 years old and the last of our pets from our life in Pennsylvania.  To say the Yule and Christmas holidays were swallowed up in sadness would be an overwhelming truth. 

As good as 2021 had been for us, it had no intention of letting us get away with an almost completely happy year.  But that is life in reality, full of ups, downs and all-arounds that have your heart, mind and soul permanently strapped into a Tilt-a-World ride.

Now here it is, the New Year, 2022; and still no flying cars as depicted in the cartoon series, The Jetsons.  Hello 2022, what new adventures will you be flinging our way?  That is correct, we will be welcoming the New Year with open arms, eyes and mind.  Taking whatever lessons the past year has ingrained within us, taking this new bull by the horns, and riding till our butts are thrown upon the ground.  Give up?  You do not know us very well then.  Oh no, we dust ourselves off, look that bull in the eyes and say, “Bring it on!”  So, to all of you who have had it bad, and wonder if life is worth going on, we say, “Yes it is, so get on your own bulls and ride!”

When it comes to cooking, many households, throughout the world, welcome the New Year with a specialty menu.  It is geared towards filling the senses with happiness, and bestowing luck onto all who partake of the meal. Of course, while New Year’s Eve is geared more towards the consumption of alcohol (what better way to forget the old year?), the Day might be geared towards relieving a hangover.  You do you, right?

Back to food, and wondering how the pioneers, of Utah, celebrated the New Year.  Reading through The Mormon Pioneer Cookbook, I discovered there were two versions; one British and the other Swedish.  Since we enjoy British recipes, this is what I focused on more.  New Year was full of music, drama, dancing; celebrating the accomplishments of the past year such as building homes and good harvests.  In 1852, Social Hall was built in Salt Lake City, and was reputed to be the first theater built, west of the Missouri River.  It became the center for all social activities in the ever expanding Mormon community.  For New Year’s Eve, a late supper (British menu) was held, dancing till dawn, and then breakfast (Swedish menu) served.  The meals were buffet style, with households preparing and bringing all the dishes to share.  The late supper consisted of Irish Soda Bread, pork pies, Cornish pasties, Wassail (a hot cider drink full of citrus) and Scottish Shortbread; amongst other homemade and delicious foods of British Isle descent.

Scottish Shortbread is a simple recipe containing three ingredients: sugar, butter and flour.  Traditionally it is baked in a rectangle shape, and then cut into rectangular “fingers”.  It is considered to be a biscuit, but has been described as a cookie, due to its shape being changed by manufacturers.  Think of shortbread as Scotland’s version of Italian biscotti.  Sometimes a simple design would be pressed into the shortbread, before baking, with a cookie stamp; or holes indented with the tines of a fork.  Eaten by itself, or smeared with a fruit jelly or curd, and the New Year will start off being very happy indeed!

 

Scotch Shortbread

(The Mormon Pioneer Cookbook by Daughters of Utah Pioneers, page 62)

Ingredients:

½ cup unsalted butter

¼ cup confectioners’ sugar

1 and ¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour

Preparation:

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Gradually blend in flour, mix well.  Chill.

Divide dough in half.  Press into two 6-inch rounds on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Prick tops with tines of fork.  If desired, flute edges.

Bake in a 300F oven about 30 minutes or until delicately browned.

Cut each into 8 segments while hot.

Yield: 16 pieces

So, for 2022, I have been thinking to start the New Year with a bit o’ beef, Yorkshire pudding, gravy, new potatoes baked in butter, and, of course, Scottish shortbread for dessert.

From the Cokenour family to you and yours, Happy New Year!!!

Mary Cokenour

Twisted Dough

Hard or soft, salted or seeded, butter dipped or not, seasoned with herbs and/or spices, anyway it is made, is always a treat.  Can you guess what this baked goody is?  The Pretzel. 

The origins of the pretzel are dependent on which country is telling the story.  600s Italy, a monk created the “pretiolas” (little rewards) to give to good children who had memorized their prayers.  The shape represented the arms of the children, crossed while saying their prayers.  The French have a similar story referencing a monk, while Germany tells of bakers held hostage and forced to bake for royalty and high officials of the church.   However, the earliest documented (key word for historical evidence) is from 1185 Germany.  An illustration of pretzels appeared in the Hortus Delicarum, a manuscript compiled by Herrad of Landsberg, at an abbey in Alsace, which was, then, a region of Germany.  Bakers’ guilds displayed the pretzel within their crest.

By the 1400s, the pretzel had become a sign of the Holy Trinity, given out for the Christmas holiday, and even hung on trees.  In the 1700s, German immigrants followed William Penn to America, and his state of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Dutch aka Amish).  In 1861, Julius Sturgis opened his pretzel bakery in Lititz, PA which offered up soft and hard pretzels to consumers.  Story is that his factory was the first to develop hard pretzels, and no, it was not due to a baker falling asleep while pretzels overbaked.  The crunchy, salty snacks lasted longer in an air tight container, than soft pretzels did.  This allowed them to be sold in stores far away from Lititz, and kept on shelves much longer.  Roy and I have visited this historic place several times, and highly recommend, if visiting Lancaster County, PA, to put this on your touring to-do list.  Besides getting to feast on delicious pretzels, hands on experience in pretzel twisting is part of the factory’s tour.  (https://juliussturgis.com/)

Personally, I feel so lucky that I was able to experience, during childhood, getting a huge (as big as my head!) soft pretzel from a street vendor.  A pushcart full of soft baked pretzels, kept warm from the heat of glowing charcoal.  The saltiness mixed with a smoky aroma, the soft consistency giving comfort physically and mentally.  Talk about complete satisfaction!

Soft pretzels can be found in your grocer’s freezer; who has not heard of “Super Pretzel”?  However, I recently found a company called “Eastern Standard Provisions Co.” (https://esprovisions.com/), located in Maine, and the photographs on their website made my mouth crave soft pretzels.  The website describes their soft pretzels as, “a pretzel with the airy qualities of a brioche on the inside and a traditional Bavarian-style crust on the outside.”  Sold!

I purchased the “Love at First Bite” gift box which included five Wheelhouse pretzels and 3 types of salt.  Paying attention (see, I can!) to the instruction guide, the oven baked the pretzels to perfection.  Soft and blissfully chewy, the salt was a crisp bite which tickled the tongue, and the butter smeared on, before baking, had permeated the interior.

Spread butter onto pretzels

Press salt onto butter

After baking.

Inside, pretzel is hot, soft and buttery delcious!

Now whether you decide to try this product, or purchase the one from the market, here’s a huge hint; always bake them!  Microwaving ruins the entire experience.

Want to try your hand at making your own?  There are so many recipes located online, video demonstrations, and in baking books.  You will not know which recipe is right for your tastes, unless you try.  The San Juan Record Bookstore offers a variety of genre, including cooking and baking.  Stop in and see if one of their books has the right recipe for you.

Mary Cokenour

No Rehab for Brownie Brittle Addiction.

Sheila G's Brownie Brittle

Website: http://browniebrittle.com/

Hello, my name is Mary and I am addicted to Brownie Brittle.  It all started when I saw an advertisement on Facebook; yes, that evil Facebook drew me to this villainous snack.  I tried finding it at the local City Market locations, even at Walmart, but no luck.  Then I happened to be at Sam's Club in Farmington, New Mexico and there is was in the snack aisle; large bags of Brownie Brittle (Chocolate Chip) and I purchased two.  I am a sad case, as I was going to give the second bag to someone else to try, but I kept it; yes, I kept it and ate it all myself.











Brownie Brittle, how can I describe this delectable snack?  Imagine a rich, deep chocolate brownie, sliced into 1/8 inch thickness.   Then baked to a light, airy crispness that can be enjoyed by crunching onto it, or letting it just melt into chocolaty goodness.  The crispy squares are 4 inch by 4 inch; 6 of them are only 21 grams of carbohydrate and 4 grams of fat.  No, I wouldn't push these as nutritious, but they are so wonderfully good, who cares!  As to the amount to eat, I have to admit, as addicted as I am, that two goes a long way in satisfaction.  Brownie Brittle is very delicate, so can break apart, or crumble easily; makes a great topping for pudding or ice cream.  I don't know who Sheila G. Mains is, but I would hug her till she popped for creating Brownie Brittle.

Just yesterday I stopped at Safeway in Cortez, Colorado and in their baked goods aisle I found....Brownie Brittle!  Smaller sized bags than the ones at Sam's Club, but in different flavors such as Salted Caramel and Toffee Crunch.  I love this addiction!!!

Redemption; I purchased extra to give to that friend.  I may be a Brownie Brittle addict, but I still have a conscience.  Become addicted too, it's so good.

Mary Cokenour

Not Your Usual Nachos.

Nachos are, according to the Webster dictionary, "a tortilla chip topped with melted cheese and often additional savory toppings (as hot peppers or refried beans)". A good number of people have eaten them in Mexican restaurants or fast food chains; maybe even made them at home for a main meal, or to be enjoyed during a movie or sports game. Guess what though, the recipe for nachos is not written in stone and you are allowed to play with this finger food.

Sometime ago I had made Sloppy Joes for dinner; and there were leftovers. A couple of days later we were in the mood for nachos, but out of ground beef which I had used up for the sloppy joes. Hold on I thought, sloppy joes has ground beef, tomatoes, chile peppers; all I really need to make nachos is to add beans, mix and pour over the tortilla chips. One big difference, instead of Mexican seasoning, there was barbecue sauce and it was delicious! The barbecue sauce was zesty and smoky; but the beans, cheese and sour cream gave the illusion of chili.

So I started to think of other ways to have nachos, like using the filling for my Chicken Enchiladas; or what about shredded pork barbecue with cole slaw layered over chips; or a seafood salad and roasted corn mixture; what about tuna salad with zesty pickles or sweet, sliced peppers, or both!  Are you seeing the big picture here?  You don't even have to use flat chips and worry about heating up cheese on the ingredients to hold it to the chips.  Use the scoop type to hold the ingredients and pop into your mouth for a one bite munchy.

Next time you're thinking nachos, but maybe the rest of your family and friends have other cravings, think about combining them for a new type of snack.  Remember, football season is here, so the combinations are endless....hmmmm, little smokies in a spicy onion sauce in those tortilla scoop chips.  See what I mean?

Mary Cokenour

Rice Krispy Treats - Spoil your Inner Child

Sometimes, no matter how you try and repress childhood memories, well the bad ones at least, they still come back to haunt and intimidate you.  The good memories I have which are few and far between seem to mostly center around food.  One of these was the first time my mother made rice krispy treats for me.  They were so gooey, but crunchy and deliciously sweet; but she only made them once as she felt the "mess in the pan" wasn't worth the effort.   As I grew older, I was able to obtain these treats in stores, and eventually learned to make them myself once I adopted my son.  I don't understand why the big fuss over the "mess in the pan" as it easily cleans out with hot soapy water and a sponge.

Anyway, a little history about this childhood treat; it was invented in 1939 by Malitta Jensen and Mildred Day, and the Kelloggs Company of course, to help raise money for the Campfire Girls Foundation.  It was a simple recipe of melted butter and mini-marshmallows mixed into rice krispies, allowed to cool, cut up into squares and enjoyed.   Nowadays, this simple recipe can include any manner of mixture from different types of cereal, toasted oatmeal, crushed granola, nuts, dried fruit and mini-candy pieces.

Making treats nowadays might take a little more calculation too, depending on the density of the cereal used plus any other added ingredients, and the size of the pan used as well.  Normally it is 1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons), 1 (10 ounce) package of mini-marshmallows (they melt quicker) and 6 cups of rice krispy cereal.  It is all pressed into a greased (with butter) 2 quart rectangular baking dish; cooled for an hour and then cut into squares.  While the butter and marshmallows can be melted in a stovetop pan, nowadays a microwave is more convenient and makes it easier to control the melting process to avoid burning. 

I made peanut butter treats just yesterday and while you might think I made them too thin; as far as I'm concerned, that means I have a lot more to enjoy.

Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats

Ingredients:

7 cups rice krispy cereal
1 stick (8 Tbsp) salted butter plus 1/2 Tbsp for greasing dish
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 (10 oz) bag mini-marshmallows (make sure they are fresh!)


Preparation:

Into a large mixing bowl, measure out 7 cups of rice krispy cereal; lightly grease a 13" x 9" baking dish with butter.

Into a medium mixing bowl, melt the butter and peanut butter in the microwave for 45 seconds; add in the marshmallows and toss to coat. Microwave for 60 seconds, mix thoroughly; microwave another 30 seconds, mix and pour over cereal. Using a sturdy spoon, mix together so the cereal is thoroughly incorporated. Put the mixture into the baking dish and press out to the sides as evenly as possible; cover with plastic wrap and let cool on counter for one hour. Cut into squares and enjoy.

Do yourself a favor and spoil your inner child once in awhile; you deserve it.

Mary Cokenour