Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner

Are you filled with joy when you hear the squishy sound of the jellied cranberry sauce oozing its way out of the can and then seeing all the ridges?  Or are you a victim of the canned whole berry sauce? 
It’s the endless thing here, some insist upon the whole berry and for others, only the sauce will do.  I have to please them all and end up serving both varieties as I can’t imagine the turmoil if I didn’t.
However; the fact is, the essential cranberry dish is the simplest of Thanksgiving dishes to prepare.  I like to spike them with some heat, so I fused the traditional cranberry sauce with hot jalapeno jelly, crushed red pepper flakes and a couple of cinnamon sticks.  It’s easy and delicious!  And then, the next day ~ topping off my turkey sandwich with a little of this fiery cranberry sauce.  Ummmm!  Good!




Fiery Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
1 bag cranberries 1 cup water
½ cup brown sugar (I use Splenda) ¼ cup hot pepper jelly 2 cinnamon sticks 1 tablespoon garlic, minced 1 tablespoon lime ju…

Growing up, this was our favorite dish that Mom made every Thanksgiving and Christmas.  

Years later, hands down, it's the favorite dish for my family on the table at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  This is a great recipe for all you oyster lovers, which I thought deserved to be posted again ~ it's that good!
It's a simple recipe --- the briny oysters are layered with butter, half and half and crumbled crackers.  Do not skimp on the ingredients; use real butter, half and half and a rich butter cracker.  Do not crush the crackers into dust; crumble them into bite-size chunks. Use less crackers for a crisper dish.
This dish has an addicting oyster taste that makes it a special side dish.  Serve it bubbly hot and it will be a requisite on your holiday table also.  Talk about savory and delectable, this is it! 



Let the drooling begin, Bubba!  I know it’s your favorite dish on the table!

Mom’s Oyster Dressing
Ingredients:
2 pints shucked oysters, reserving liquor 1 stick butter 2 sleeves …

Years ago, a woman at work told me that her grade school daughter ate cold pizza for breakfast that morning.  I’m guessing she was waiting for me to be aghast but I told her that was probably better for her than some of the cereals, etc. out there. 
Cold pizza right out of the refrigerator sounds like a good thing to me early in the morning!  I doubt if my sons ever had pizza for breakfast when they were young as there probably was never any left over…
Last month, this pizza by the sugar queen got my attention and it is a true breakfast pizza.  I actually made it for dinner the other evening instead of breakfast.  It’s simple and good, a little rich with the crescent rolls.  Bill gave it rave reviews and so did I.  I used cooked crumbled bulk pork sausage and lots of Co-Jack.  Thanks Sugar Queen!  It was delicious!



Here’s Sugar Queen’s recipe:
Breakfast Pizza
1 (8-oz) container Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 (10-oz) pkg sausage links, cooked according to pkg directions and sliced*
4 oz Monter…

We may talk turkey at the Thanksgiving table but, what we really crave is stuffing or dressing, as I grew up calling it.  No Thanksgiving meal would be complete without a great stuffing.  It is definitely my favorite part of the dinner.
The recipe is from a chef friend and is a re-post from when I first started this blog ~ I want to share it again as it is the absolute best stuffing that my family and I love. It has honors as our traditional stuffing.  By adding Italian sausage, apples, pecans and Triple Sec, it is a moist and flavorful stuffing ~ distinctive from all others.
Just one bite of this delicious stuffing will be enough for a chorus of “aahs” around the dinner table – it’s that good!  Give it a try and it could be your traditional stuffing!

Ultimate Thanksgiving Stuffing
Ingredients:
1 cup dried cherries (or golden raisins or cranberries) 1 ½ cups orange liqueur (I use Triple Sec) ½ cup butter 2 cups celery, chopped 1 large onion, chopped 1 lb. Italian sausage, casing removed 1-16 oz…

This is a great way to dress up butternut squash! 
I love stuffing, especially during the holidays this time of year.  This recipe is not the stuffing I make to stuff the turkey ~ I’ll post that next week.  However, this could be increased and would work fine for Thanksgiving dinner as a turkey stuffing or as a vegetarian entrée with the squash.
This is a simple side dish that is filled with good dried cranberries and raisins, fresh sage and parsley, along with pecans and crumbled cornbread.  You can make the cornbread a couple of days ahead of time or even buy it at the market.  Then combine all the ingredients, fill the squash and bake.  It’s delicious and a perfect match for acorn or butternut squash. 

Roasted Butternut Squash with Cornbread Stuffing
Ingredients:
1 small to medium butternut squash 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided ½ cup dried cranberries ½ cup golden raisins 1/3 cup onion, chopped 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped 1 tablespoon garlic, minced ½ …

It was the 11th hour of the 11th dayof the 11th month in 1918 when hostilities ceased between Germany and the Allied nations.  November 11 became Armistice Day that recognized the end of World War I, the “war to end all wars,” and later evolved into Veterans Day.
Veterans Day honors ALL American veterans, both living and dead.  Actually, Veterans Day is mainly intended to thank the LIVING veterans for loyal and dedicated service to their country.  On this day, November 11,of every year we ensure veterans know that we deeply appreciate the sacrifices they have made to keep our country free.
Please remember, if you cherish your rights, thank a veteran, the ones who sacrificed and continue to sacrifice.  I am thanking my favorite veteran, my dear husband Bill, who proudly served in the United States Army from 1965-1968and all of you fellow veterans also!  







God Bless our troops ~ past and present.  

 God Bless America!

This recipe is from Baked:  New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.  Someone mentioned the cookbook on his/her blog and made a recipe from it.  Of course, I thought I bookmarked it, but didn’t, and now I don’t know whose blog it was.  Whatever recipe you made, it really got my attention!  WAS IT YOURS???
Nevertheless, this cookbook has lots of great treats in it!  There are some amazing recipes for cookies that I will be trying as well as the recipe for “Sweet and Salty Cake.”  It looks chocolaty delicious!  And a Milk Chocolate Malt Ball Cake also.
Most folks like the tangy taste of lemon and these scones definitely have it.  They are not sweet at all and that is what I like about them. 
Matt, my younger son, was sampling the scones when he commented, “They have a unique taste, but I’m not sure what it is.” I’m not sure either; if it is due to the ginger with the lemon, or the raw sugar on top, or the combination of all three. 
Here’s what Matt Lewis says about them…

Thanks so much to all of you who participated in my Blogoversary contest for My New Orleans:  The Cookbook by John Besh!  I thoroughly enjoyed reading your comments.  Like I said earlier it has been fantastic 'meeting' all of you great people out there and I am looking forward to another year of blogging with you.
I used random.org for the drawing with #9, Design Dine and Wine being the winner.  She has a wonderful blog which is about, in her words:  “Trying our best to live simply and beautifully, one day, one meal, one glass at a time.” 

Congratulations again Design Dine and Wine!  Please contact me at mzpst@att.net and this super cookbook will be yours.

OK!  Here it is!  Remember the pot roast I posted last week and told you to watch for what Bill would do with the left-over meat?  Here’s what he did with it…



Growing up, I loved it when Mom cooked a beef chuck roast because I knew there would be beef salad sandwiches to follow.  I don't know where she got the idea of doing this with left-over roast beef, but I'm glad she did!
Mom used an old-fashioned shiny clamp-on galvanized meat grinder, and I did also for many years.  It is a great tool for grinding meat, vegetables, nuts and fruit that is cheap also.  If you’ve never used one, the first thing that will get your attention is the weight of it, about 5 pounds.  It’s unbreakable and durable. 

The handle attaches to the grinder with a nut; the ‘worm’ is the spiraled part of the grinder that moves the food to be ground through the body.  Attaching either the coarse or fine plate and then the screw ring gives you a perfect tool for grinding meat and so forth.  The main thi…