Cathy Burnham Martin's Blog, page 58

National Brownie Day

Let’s harken back to my 1998 variation on a popular mint brownie recipe. (We redubbed it with the Café Martin name, as that’s how Ron and I have long referred to our home.) And it’s perfect for the holidays and any other days, too!

 

Café Martin Creme de Menthe Brownies

Brownies:
½ c butter
¾ c sugar (or granulated monkfruit or coconut sugar)
4 large eggs, beaten
1 c sifted flour
½ tsp salt
16‑oz can Hershey’s syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ c Godiva chocolate liquor
½ c chopped pecans

Frosting:
2 c sifted Confectioners’ sugar (or powdered monkfruit or other)
½ c butter, softened to room temp
3 T creme de menthe liquor

Glaze:
1 c (6‑oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 T butter

Cream butter, sugar & eggs till light.  Add flour & salt, mixing by hand.  Stir in syrup, vanilla, Godiva liquor & nuts.  Combine until smooth.  Pour into greased & floured 9×13″ pan.  Bake 25‑30 min at 350°F.  Cool in pan.  Mix mint layer ingredients in mixer. (Add just a touch of green food coloring, if desired.) Spread over cooled brownie layer.  Melt glaze ingredients over low heat in top of double boiler. Stir till smooth; cool only slightly.  Pour over mint layer.  (Will be slightly runny.)  Chill in refrigerator.  Cut into small pieces.

 KISS Tips:  These are very rich, so small pieces are super.  I like to drizzle the glaze layer in fine lines, crisscrossing over the top.

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

“We have not forgotten, nor will we. We live in a world made more free, more just, and more peaceful by those who will answer roll call no more, those who will report for muster never again. We do remember Pearl Harbor.”

— Ronald Reagan (1911 – 2004)
40th US President & American actor

 

 

The Art of Attitude

 

“Be gentle with yourself, learn to love yourself, to forgive yourself, for only as we have the right attitude toward ourselves can we have the right attitude toward others.”

— Wilferd A. Peterson (1900 – 1995)
American author & columnist

Dare to Be Confident!

 

“Confidence is a very fragile thing.”

— Joe Montana (1956-  )
American former NFL quarterback

Vote Early & Vote Often!

A friend of ours, is seeking help through Votes for her for the Bar Boss 2023 Bartender of the Year contest. We enjoy a great many friendships with folks who tend bar, so we are pleased to help Tami. If you care to join us, you can vote daily starting today (December 4) at 1pm EST (10am PST, through December 14 here on Facebook. To help her win the People’s Choice category and a chance for $10,000 and her picture on the cover of Bartender Magazine, please vote for Tamora Hatton:  https://barboss.org/2023/tamora-hatton
Thank you!!! Cheers!!!!

Cookie Monster!

Let’s look ahead to tomorrow, which is National Cookie Day, launched in 1987 by Ohio’s Blue Chip Cookie Company. Everyone has a favorite cookie, and more cookies are baked in the month of December than any other! But why not prep some Crackin’ Toffee Crunch to join the party? But wait! Is it a cookie? Is it a cracker? Is it a candy? Doesn’t matter! It’s scrump-diddly-umptious!

Whip up a batch today, so they’ll be perfect chilled to melt in your mouth tomorrow!

Crackin’ Toffee Crunch
36 Ritz crackers
¾ c salted butter
¾ c lt brown sugar, packed
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 c mini semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
1 c coarsely chopped pecans or praline nut mixture of choice
Sea salt
Lay crackers tightly together in single layer in parchment paper- or foil-lined baking pan with sides. In medium saucepan, melt butter with brown sugar over medium-low heat, using a wooden spoon to combine. Increase heat to med and bring to a rolling boil. Do NOT stir, but every 20-30 seconds, draw your spoon across the bottom in a criss-cross pattern. Continue this for 3 minutes. Remove from heat & stir in vanilla. Immediately drizzle or spoon all over the crackers; spread to cover entirely with a soft spatula. Place in 350°F oven for 5 min. Remove and sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top. Use spatula to spread chocolate as it melts into an even layer. Sprinkle with salt & the praline crumbles. Use the back of a spoon to slightly press down on the pecan praline crumbles. Return to oven for 5 min. Then refrigerate for up to 2 hours. Use sharp knife to trim off uneven edges, if desired. Then cur or break in squares, triangles, or odd shapes. Store air tight in refrigerator or freezer.

KISS Tips: Stirring constantly can cause ingredients to separate and burn. You can also use any candy chips you prefer, inc white chocolate, milk chocolate, peanut butter, or butterscotch. Instead of a praline topping, you can also opt for coarsely chopped nuts of your choice.

Don’t Fritter Away National Fritters Day!

 

 

Whip up some yummy fritters to tantalize your taste buds! “They” say that fritters have been around since the days of ancient Rome, and their popularity is even greater today.

 

 

For breakfast or dessert, it’s tough to beat fresh apple fritters… no canned apple filling will do. Serve them up dusted with powdered sugar and warmed 100% maple syrup on the side. Okay, whipped cream, made with some vanilla extract is also awesome!

 

Enjoy fritters… or croquettes… any way you like. Some are sweet. Others are savory. They all get fried and then served hot with dips or dustings. Make them as happy little fried dough balls or flattened, highly-textured, almost pancake thin flats.

I’ve shared Mom’s Zucchini Rounds recipe in an earlier post. (Still out here in my 2022 articles.) But a great variation on it is to double the sweet onion and cheese and also add shredded carrots.

 

Another favorite harkens back to Native American origins… the corn fritter… served hot and toasty with a generous scoop of honey butter. Well, yeah! Okay, I need those NOW! Here’s a great twist on the original is Fluffy Corn Fritters.

 

 

Fluffy Corn Fritters
3 c fresh white corn kernels (or frozen baby kernels, thawed)
1 green onion, very thinly sliced (green portion only)
¼ c sweet onion, finely chopped
1 c flour
1 c corn starch
2 T monkfruit or granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 lg or x-lg eggs, lightly beaten
¾ c heavy cream
Vegetable oil for frying
Garnish options: sliced green onion, chopped parsley, and/or a dusting of powdered sugar

Combine corn, onions, flour, corn starch, monkfruit and baking powder. Stir in eggs and cream thoroughly. Coat bottom of large skillet with vegetable oil over med-high heat. Scoop mixture by 2-3 T mounds into hot oil, spreading each lightly into flat, circular shapes. Cook 2-3 min, and turn over, letting it cook another 2-3 min till golden brown. Add more oil as needed. Drain on wire rack over paper towels and season with salt. Garnish as desired and serve hot. Makes 12-15.

November Is National Pepper Month

 

We are blessed to have luscious peppers available to us throughout the year. We often may think of sautéing peppers and onions to add to a sandwich… or stuffing whole peppers as an entrée.

 

 

But I made a fun twist on the stuffed pepper thinking as part of our Brunch Bites menu on Thanksgiving. Some fresh berries and chunks of fresh pineapple and a sweet roll twist on the side, made this quite a nice treat. Plus, land one or two of these beauties inside a toasty bagel or a favorite baguette or roll with your choice of spread, and you’ve got one gem of a breakfast sandwich. (Well, I’d be adding cheese and a couple slices of bacon, most assuredly.) Anyway, here’s my full recipe, which started by stuffing tomatoes, but I did the sweet bell pepper version for Turkey Day.
Skillet Stuffed Egg Rings
These are Super Simple and “eggseptionally” yummy!

1 large tomato, cut crosswise into ½“-thick slices
2 lg or x-lg eggs
1 T chopped parsley
¼ tsp salt & pepper
½ c diced ham, bacon bits, or cooked sausage crumbles
1 T flour
2 T olive oil

Use a glass, biscuit cutter or knife to cut out the insides of the tomatoes, leaving a ½ “ outer rim. Then dice the tomato insides. In small bowl, whisk eggs; stir in chopped tomatoes, herbs, seasonings, meat and flour. Heat oil in large skillet over med heat. Place tomato rings in pan and fill with egg mixture. Cook 1 min; turn over with spatula & cook another 30-60 seconds. Serve hot, sprinkled with additional herbs, if desired. Makes 4 slices.
KISS Variations: Enjoy Italian Skillet Stuffed Egg Rings by replacing parsley with oregano or mixed Italian herbs; replace meat options with diced pancetta, and sprinkle with ½ c shredded Mozzarella cheese (divided among all 4) after turning rings over to cook final side. Garnish with extra chopped Italian herbs or parsley. Try South of the Border Stuffed Egg Rings by replacing parsley with cilantro or a favorite taco seasoning; add ¼ c diced avocado; replace meat with diced chorizo sausage; add ½ c shredded Monterey Jack or Pepperjack cheese either to the eggs or sprinkled on top after turning in the skillet. For Super Simple Omelet Stuffed Pepper Rings, cut 2 large sweet peppers (any color) into ½“thick rings, removing any attached seeds. Season 1 lb ground meat (beef, sausage, lamb, poultry, or combo) as above to suit any “theme” or desired flavor; mix in 1 lightly beaten egg and 1 c shredded Jack, Mozzarella, or other melty cheese or your choice. Press the stuffing into each ring, pressing down firmly and filling the pepper rings completely, remembering that meat will shrink when cooking). These rings also make great tapas servings, with some chunky salsa, warmed marinara, a sweet Thai chili, or other sauce on the side.

Why Grow Up?

“Youth is not entirely a time of life; it is a state of mind.  Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years.  People grow old by deserting their ideals.  You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubts; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.”

— Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964)
United States General of the Army

Celebrate National French Toast Day

 

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner? National French Toast Day is today. Celebrate it sweet or savory.

 

 

Savory, you say? Sure. Sauté up some sweet onions and sliced mushrooms. (A combo of oyster, shiitake, & cremini makes mushroom mahhhvelousness.) Season with thyme, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Serve over your French Toast (no nutmeg or cinnamon, please, in a savory version).

 

 

Typically, I am a traditionalist, preferring my French toast served with 100% pure maple syrup. (For those who do not enjoy maple flavor, go for a homemade blueberry sauce!)

 

 

 

 

French toast is also good with strawberries and whipped cream, too. (Then again, what isn’t!?!)  Plus, here’s a fun variation I concocted 20 years ago. It’s a great dish to serve for brunch as you prepare it the night before.

Apple Sausage Baked French Toast

1 lb. bulk pork sausage (mild or sage)
3 large Cortland apples, peeled, cored & cut into ½” slices
6 x-large eggs
1½ c half-and-half or milk
1 c whipping cream
½ c 100% pure maple syrup
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
12 slices wide French bread (sliced ¼ – ½” thick) or favorite rye or other bread
Additional 100% pure maple syrup, for serving

Cook sausage over med heat in a large skillet, breaking up into small pieces; remove and set aside. Add apples to skillet; cover and cook quickly 2 min just to quickly brown in the remaining pork drippings, stirring occasionally. In a bowl, beat eggs, dairy, maple syrup and spices together. Arrange half the bread slices in a single layer in a well-buttered 13x9x2” baking dish. Distribute the sausage, then apples over the top. Arrange remaining 6 bread slices on top and pour the egg mixture over it all. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (at least 8 hours). Remove from refrigerator 30-60 minutes before placing in oven. Uncover and bake 45-50 minutes at 350°F till eggs are set. Serve with warmed maple syrup on the side. Makes 6 double-slice servings.

KISS Tip: For the holidays, go ahead and include some cranberries in with your apples!