Cabbie’s Cooking

I didn’t realize until I was talking to a friend earlier today that the Kentucky Derby will be here soon. It’s the first Saturday in May. That means the Bluegrass Stakes was today, and that means that the season of big hats and mint juleps is here.

If you’re interested in the results of today’s Bluegrass Stakes, here they are:

At the top of the stretch the two stablemates, Cowboy Cal and Monba, hooked up in a battle to the wire. Monba, ridden by Edgar Prado, got the better of Cowboy Cal and won by a neck.

Kentucky Bear rallied late to finish third with Stevil holding onto fourth. Pyro, showing a complete dislike for the all-weather surface at Keeneland, struggled to finish 10th.

Rounding out the order of finish for the 84th Blue Grass Stakes was Visionaire, Miner’s Claim, Halo Najib, Medjool, Cool Coal Man, Pyro, Big Truck and Stone Bird.

And about those mint juleps? Here’s a recipe:

Mint Juleps

2 cups SUGAR
2 cups water
Fresh Mint
Crushed Ice
Kentucky Bourbon (2 ounces per serving)

Make a mint syrup by boiling the sugar and water together for 5 minutes. Cool and place in a covered container with 6 or 8 bruised mint sprigs. Refrigerate overnight.

Make a julep by filling a julep glass with crushed ice, then adding 1 tablespoon of mint syrup and 2 ounces of bourbon. Stir rapidly with a spoon. Garnish with a fresh mint sprig.

My sister, Joan, gave me this recipe.  Her son always asks for this for his birthday dinner each year.

Chicken Casserole

5 chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 package herb-seasoned stuffing mix
1 stick margarine or butter
2 cups chicken broth

Cook chicken and remove from bones (or use boneless chicken breasts to begin with). Chop the chicken.
Place the chopped chicken in a casserole dish
Mix both cans of soup with one cup of chicken broth.
Pour this mixture over the chicken pieces
Mix the stuffing mix with the melted margarine and 1 cup chicken broth.
Spoon this mixture over the chicken/soup in the pan
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes

My sister, Joan, gave me this recipe  This boiled custard was traditionally served at Christmas during her husband’s childhood, and his mother gave Joan the recipe.  Joan reports that this is a little time consuming and, at time, tedious.  However, I can testify that it is delicious!  Give it a try.

MaMaw Peace’s Boiled Custard

6 large eggs
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 gallong ilk
1 tsp. vanilla
dash nutmeg
1 heaping Tablespoon flour (mix with the sugar)

Bring milk to a steam in the top of a double boiler.
Mix the other ingredients thoroughly and add them to the steaming milk.
Stir constantly until thickened.
Fill the sink with ice cubes and set the pan on the ice cubes.
Stir the custard until it is cool. This prevents further cooking and curdling.

I made this last December when we had a Christmas party at our house.  I bought a box of frozen cream puffs from Sam’s and served this fudge sauce in a dish beside the cream puffs.  Oh my goodness!  It was WONDERFUL!  I could have eaten it all by myself.  Just phenomenal!  The recipe comes from my oldest sister, Janice.

FUDGE SAUCE

1/2 cup cocoa (or 5 squares chocolate)
2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
dash of salt

Melt the above ingredients together over low heat.

Add: 1 can evaporated milk (13 oz.)
Bring to a boil, but don’t boil. Store in refrigerator.

A few years ago some friends and I made a trip to Memphis, Tennessee.  We only had two days for our trip, and so we wanted to make sure we used our time wisely and saw plenty of the Memphis sites of interest, and we wanted to make sure we tried some real Memphis barbecue ribs while we were there.  If you ever plan a similar trip to Memphis, check out Trusted Tours and Attractions.  Better yet, sign up for the Trusted Tours newsletter. That way you’ll get information on siteseeing and tours in not only Memphis, but all the cities where Trusted Tours provide service.  The newsletters are full of family vacation ideas, too.  For example, if you ever visit New York City, you could take their tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  And by the way, when you sign up for the newsletter you can enter to win an IPOD Nano!

Back to our trip to Memphis.  We saw most of the tourist sites, and we stopped by the Rendezvous to try their world-famous ribs.  In Memphis, ribs are traditionally served up dry.  “Dry” doesn’t mean dried out.  It simply means they don’t serve barbecue sauce with them.   So when you visit Memphis, make sure to see all the sites via Trust Tours, and then finish up your trip with the best barbecue ribs around at the Rendezvous.

I don’t have the Rendezvous recipe for their barbecue rib rub, but I came up with this one that comes pretty darn close.   

MEMPHIS STYLE RIB RUB

5 teaspoons paprika
3 teaspoons salt
2 and 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
2 and 1/2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cayenne (or to taste)

Mix ingredients together. Spread evenly on prepared ribs that have been patted dry with a paper towel. Smoke until tender and delicious. I actually cook mine in a low oven (275 degrees) for a couple hours before putting them in the smoker. That seems to make them extra tender.

This is my daughter’s recipe.  Here’s what she says about it:  “I like to cook this in a crock pot on low all day while I’m at work, but you can also make it on the stove in a stock pot.  The girls love it!  We also make lasagna with this.  We layer the sauce with lasagna noodles, cottage cheese, and cheddar cheese”

LARISA’S SPAGHETTI SAUCE

2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, diced
1 pound lean ground beef
oregano, to taste
basil, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

Brown and drain the meat, onion and garlic. Add the rest of the ingredients, seasoning to taste. Serve over spaghetti noodles or ravioli.

This is another recipe from my sister, Debi.  She and her husband Gregg, make this often for family get-togethers.  It’s fabulous! Here’s a warning from Debi: “I highly suggest that you wear gloves while chopping the fresh jalapenos. For milder salsa, use less jalapeno. This keeps for only 3-4 days.”

EASY HOMEMADE SALSA

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup lime juice
1 medium onion, chopped
1 or 2 chopped jalapeno peppers
1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes and green chilies
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Combine ingredients. Serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!

This is a delicious cold weather soup.  It’s comfort food at its finest.  My younger sister, Debi, gave me the recipe.  It’s quick and easy - and delicious!

CHICKEN CHEESE CORN CHOWDER

1 cup chopped oniion
1 Tablespoon butter
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (chopped into chunks)
3 cups milk
8 ounces Velveeta
8 ounces of Colby/Jack or cheddar cheese
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups diced potatoes
1 17-ounce can of creamed corn
salt/pepper to taste
Mrs. Dash seasoning to taste

In a large soup pot, cook the oniions in the butter until transparent. Add the chicken broth, chicken, potatoes, salt, pepper and Mrs. Dash seasoning. Simmer until the meat is thoroughly cooked. Add the corn, milk and cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and mixed in well.

My wonderful cousin, Jane, gave me this recipe.  This is a great recipe because the dough will keep for several days in and airtight container in the fridge.  You can take out enough to make a few rolls for dinner each night.  Just imagine having fresh rolls each evening for a week.  Yum!

SPOON ROLLS

1 pkg. dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1 1/2 sticks melted margarine or butter
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup sugar
4 cups self-rising flour

Place yeast in two cups warm water and mix until yeast dissolves. Melt butter and cream with sugar in a large bowl; add beaten egg. Pour in dissolved years mixture. Add flour and stir until mixed well. The batter will be a little lumpy. Place in an airtight bowl in the refrigerator. To bake, drop by spoonfuls onto into well-greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes. This dough will keep for a few days in an airtight container in the fridge.

My oldest sister, Janice, gave me this recipe.  They sound delicious, don’t they?

ORANGE ROLLS

1 Tablespoon yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon salt
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Dissolve the yeast in the water. Mix with other ingredients until it forms a ball. Let it rise for two hours. Divide into four parts. Roll each part out to 1/4 inch thick and cut into triangles.

Zest of one orange
3 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter

Mix the orange zest and sugar. Melt butter. Dip each rectangle into melted butter and then into the orange/sugar mix and roll up from the wide end first. Let rise. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes.