Cabbie’s Cooking

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.

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 my mother’s recipe, and it is delicious.  She makes these to take to  covered dish dinners, and they are always snapped up immediately - not even any crumbs left to take home.

Ruth’s Fried Salmon Patties

2 eggs, beaten

salt/pepper to taste

1 Tablespoon dried onion flakes (or 1/2 small onion, chopped finely)

1 handful of cornmeal (1/4 cup)

1 handful of flour ( 1/4 cup)

1 large can of flaked salmon, drained

In a mixing bowl, add all ingredients except salmon.  Mix well.  Add the drained salmon and mix well.  In a large frying pan add 1/4 inch of vegetable oil and heat.  Use a large serving spoon to dip out a ball of batter and put it into the hot oil - flattening it into a circle.  When it browns on one side turn it over and brown on the other side.  Drain and blot on paper towerls.

My nephew’s family has a blog, and it includes this delicious recipe for wings.

We had some friends over for New Year’s Eve and I decided to make hot wings. I tried many, many different recipes for hot wings and I never could get them crisp like I like them. Finally, a good friend of mine gave me this recipe and so I thought I would share it with you.

Turp’s Tailgate Wings

buy a five pound bag of wings

pre-heat oven to 500 degrees

spray 3 glass casserole dishes with non-stick cooking spray (I use 3 dishes for a 5 pound bag of wings and using glass dishes is the key to crisp wings)

place the wings in the dishes (I have found it better to thaw out the wings even though they would still turn out fine if you forget - you just collect more juice in the dishes when they are not thawed out)

sprinkle the wings with black pepper and garlic salt

turn the wings over and sprinkle again with black pepper and garlic salt

place wings on the top shelf of the oven and cook for one hour

after the first 30 minutes take the wings out and turn them over with a fork and place them back in the oven for the final 30 minutes

To make the wing sauce you need to do the following:

• buy your favorite hot sauce from your local grocery store (I usually use either Franks hot sauce or Texas Pete’s wing sauce, but you can use whatever you like)
• pour the entire bottle of hot sauce in a blender
• add butter that has been softened in the microwave to the blender and mix for 5 to 10 seconds or until the butter and hot sauce is mixed well (the more butter you add the milder the sauce will be - also, if you want a thicker sauce then do not melt the butter as much. A good starting point for a medium sauce is 50/50 hot sauce to butter. All of this will be done to taste.)

There are five of us in my family and this recipe feeds us well. I usually deep fry some french fries, cut up some celery and make some good old sweet tea to go with the wings. Well, that’s it - I sure hope you enjoy them.

RT needed something to take to an office party.  We were going to buy some wraps at Kroger, but they didn’t have any fresh ones.  So, I decided to make some myself.  Looking at the ones at Kroger (the ones that had been there since Friday), I figured it couldn’t be too difficult.  Here’s the photo of the tray after I finished them. I think it looks very nice.  And since we snacked on the “leftovers”, we already know that the wraps taste really good. The wraps are now in the refrigerator - ready for RT to take to work with him tomorrow morning.  They were surprisingly easy and quick to make.  I don’t know why I haven’t tried making wraps before.  I’ll be looking for more wrap recipes now since these turned out so well.  Here’s how I made them:

WRAPS

3 large tortillas (large, wrap size - whatever “flavor” you prefer.  I  bought three packages of tortillas: garden spinach herb, sundried tomato basil, and whole grain wheat.  I had no idea how many tortillas I’d need, but that ended up being WAY too many tortillas.  I used three tortillas total - one of each kind - for the tray in the photograph. RT and I will be eating tortillas a lot in the next couple weeks in order to use them all up). 

1 package of thinly sliced or shaved sandwich meat - turkey and ham (you can use roast beef or other cold cuts, too)

1 package of grated sharp cheddar

A few grape tomatoes

A few leaves of romaine lettuce

Mayonaise (I used light mayo)

Take a tortilla and spread mayonaise on it.  Sprinkle it with grated cheese.  It’s important to put the cheese on top of the mayo in order to hold the cheese in place.  Layer the lettuce and then the meat on top.  Starting on one side, roll the tortilla as tightly as possible - being careful to keep the fillings inside.  Once it is rolled up, place it seam side down on a cutting board.  Take a knife and cut off 1-inch slices. Line your serving tray with lettuce, and use the grape tomatoes as a garnish.

Very tasty!

RT was quite the gentleman for Valentine’s Day!  He prepared breakfast for me, and then packed my lunch to take to school.  He hand delivered a beautiful pink rose bouquet to me at school, and then when we got home that evening, he insisted that I sit down and relax while he prepared a special dinner for me.  He even insisted that I relax while he cleaned up the kitchen after dinner.  RT can grill a mean steak, and that’s what he did for Valentine’s Day.  He prepared a delicious shrimp cocktail with lemon wedges for an appetizer, opened a bottle of Charles Shaw merlot to sip throughout the meal, grilled two great ribeye steaks, had a plate of fresh watermelon slices, an original salad, and an original dessert.   Note that both the salad and the caramel volcano are completely original recipes that RT created as he prepared the meal.  They both were absolutely DELICIOUS!  Here are the recipes:

Grilled Ribeye Steaks

2 high quality ribeye steaks

garlic salt

pepper

Rub both sides of the steak with the garlic salt and pepper.  Be generous with the seasonings.  Grill 6 - 10 minutes per side - depending on the thickness of the steak and your preference for doneness.  After removing from the grill let the steaks rest for a few minutes before serving.

Mandarin Pecan Romaine Salad

Juice of one lemon wedge

1 small can Mandarin oranges

1/4 cup pecans pieces

1/4 cup crisp bacon bits

1/2 cup shredded cheese

1 head shredded Romaine lettuce

Ranch dressing

Mix all the ingredients except lemon and ranch dressing.  Squeeze the lemon wedge over the salad.  Serve with ranch dressing.  DELICIOUS!

Caramel Volcano

1 small can Mandarin oranges

1/2 cup pecan pieces

1 cup vanilla yogurt

2 tsp. light brown sugar

A shot glass of Bailey’s Caramel Irish Cream Liqueur

2 Maraschino cherries with a little of the Marschino liquid

Build your volcano by placing half the Mandarin oranges in the bottom of each of two individual serving bowls.  Sprinkle the pecan pieces on top of the Mandarin oranges - half in each bowl.  Tower half the yogurt in the middle of each bowl.  Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top.  Pour the Bailey’s Caramel Irish Cream on top of it all.  Place the bowls in the freezer for approximately 15 - 20 minutes before serving.  Add a maraschino cherry on top and drizzle a little of the marschino liquid down the sides of he volcano.

This is my mother’s recipe for cucumber/cream cheese sandwiches.  She cuts these into circles or other shapes for special occasions - like a wedding reception, a luncheon, a bridal or baby shower.  Everytime I’ve made them, people have asked for the recipe.  They’re light-tasting and really REALLY good.

RUTH’S CUCUMBER & CREAM CHEESE SANDWICHES

2 (3 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese

2 Tablespoons grated onion

2 Tablespoons sour cream

2 medium cucumbers (peeled, grated and drained)

salt and white pepper to taste

bread slices

green food coloring (optional - just a drop or two to make the mixture a very pale green)

Combine all ingredients (except the bread slices) to make the filling.  Stir until smooth.  Cut thin slices of bread into the desired shapes and Spread with the filling and top with another slice of bread.  I usually spread the mixture on the bread first and make a sandwich - and then use a cookie cutter or knife to cut it into shapes. Most of the time I cut off the crusts and then slice diagonally to make two triangles.  These sandwiches look very pretty, too.

The mix yields about two cups of filling.  How many sandwiches that makes depends on how much filling you put in each sandwich.

These are really good. I’ve had them twice in the past few months - once for a bridal shower, and then again for a Christmas party. Both times they werre a hit and every single one was eaten.
 

Sausage Balls

1 lb. ground sausage

2 cups Bisquick

3/4 lbs. sharp cheese, grated

Mix all ingredients together and knead well.  Form into tiny balls.  Chill.  Bake about 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Makes about 90 balls.

Recently when I was in Georgia visiting my mother, we had a bridal shower for one of my nieces.  My mother made these Crispy Cheese Wafers for the shower, and they were delicious!  As a matter of fact, I had some of them for lunch that day.   

Crispy Cheese Wafers

1/2 lb. sharp cheese, shredded

2 sticks butter

2 cups flour

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp red pepper

dash of chili powder

2 cups Rice Krispies

Mix all ingredients well and make into small balls.  Place on a cookie sheet and flatten with a fork.  Bake at 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes.  Can be made ahead and stored in refrigerator in an airtight container.

Here’s an easy appetizer to take to one of those many holiday parties:

BLT Bites

2 dozen cherry tomatoes

1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 cup mayonaise

1/3 cup green onion, chopped finely

3 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated

3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped finely

Cut a small slice off the top of each tomato.  Scoop out and discard the pulp.  Invert the tomatoes on a paper towel to drain while you make the filling.  In a small bowl, combine all the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Spoon into the tomatoes and refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving.  You can garnish with a sprig of celergy or sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on top.