Greetings...

Greetings...
Welcome to my little space in the world-wide web. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage, sit down and enjoy your trek. I am not sure what brought you here, but I am glad you came. I hope you find something you like and come back often to visit. Be sure to sign up on the right to recieve all updates via your email.

Just a Pinch

Saturday, January 18, 2014

It's Chowda Time

Winter is a great time for sitting down to a nice hot bowl of soup, stew or chowder.   One of my all time favorites is Corn Chowder.  



My recipe calls for a number of ingredients, each adds that extra little something, that makes the flavor blossom on the tongue with each spoonful.   You won't be able to stop dipping that crusty bread in to sop up the juices.  

One of those ingredients is Bacon.   Who doesn't love bacon, right?  We all have our favorite brand, but I often buy it on sale or pick up something different to try. I make my bacon on cookie sheet in the oven.  It cooks the bacon more evenly and you don't get all that grease spatter on top of your stove. I have also learned that when it is really good tasting bacon to save the drippings in a container and store it in the fridge for use in recipes such as this Corn Chowder or making popcorn from scratch but that is for another time. 

Hot pepper flakes:  Many people are afraid to use hot pepper flakes,  thinking their food will be extremely hot.  Well that is simply not the case when used in moderation.  I generally add a pinch or two of it in when sautéing just about anything.   It is one of those items that adds to the layering of flavors.

Nutmeg: This is strong spice generally used in anything with a cream base.  Again, used in moderation it does enhance the flavors on your pallet.  Freshly grated is the best, but the ground nutmeg works well too.  Remember less is best and that you can't take it out if you've over used it.

Honey:  This sounds a little bit unusual to most people, but I have used honey with sweet corn for quite a few years now.  My mom used to follow the directions on the frozen corn, pour into pan with a small amount of water and heat and serve with butter, salt and pepper.  My mother-in-law always cooked her frozen corn in milk.  And we have all tried tricks for making sweet corn to bring out its natural flavor.  But somewhere along the line I came across a tidbit about adding a bit of honey to my sweet corn and I have done it ever since.   When used in moderation, it enhances the sweetness of corn and you can't tell that it is honey.   Yes, I still add the butter, salt and pepper.  

Give it try and let me know what you think. 

Get the recipe here...........





Click on photo to open photo. Once open right click to save to your computer for printing later.











For more recipes, click the button below:



For more recipes click the button above



Follow me on Facebook
 
Or find me on Pinterest
Ma's Aprong Strings on Pinterest

 Click this image to subscribe
Subscribe via Email

Join me on Google+
Join me on Google Plus



From the bottom of my heart.............. 


Peanut Butter Blossoms on Steriods

For those peanut butter and chocolate lovers, no cookie tray would be complete without a Peanut Butter Blossom.  This year I decided to put them over the top with a little extra fancy dressing.   







You can find the recipe for Easy Peanut Butter Cookies followed by Peanut Butter Blossoms here.



To take it up a notch I foamed up some egg whites in a small bowl.  Rolled the dough balls in the egg white, dipped them into chopped peanuts and then placed them on the cookie sheet to bake.  


When the cookies came out of the oven, I immediately placed a Hershey's kiss upside down into the cookie.  Then I drizzled the cookies with a peanut butter sauce.  


Don't they look yummy?  You should go ahead and make some for your cookie trays.   You could also drizzle them with peanut butter sauce or chocolate sauce before placing the Hershey's kiss.  





For more recipes, click the button below:

For more recipes click the button above
 


Follow me on Facebook
 
Or find me on Pinterest
Ma's Aprong Strings on Pinterest
 
 Click this image to subscribe
 
Subscribe via Email
 
Join me on Google+
 
Join me on Google Plus
 
 
 
From the bottom of my heart..............