Monday, December 9, 2013

Rum Glazed Nuts

Rum Glazed Nuts

This recipe makes seriously tasty snacks: ideal for parties and appetizers.  This is a modification from the 1981 Edition of the Better Homes and Gardens, New Cook Book.

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Rum Glazed Nuts

Ingredients
2 cups blanched whole nuts (almonds, cashews, macadamia, peanuts, pecans)
½ cup sugar
2 Tbsp butter (or margarine)
2-4 Tbsp rum (or whiskey
½ Tsp vanilla  

Directions
1. in a heavy 10-inch skillet, combine together nuts, sugar and butter.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 9 minutes until sugar melts and turns a rich brown color.
2. Once sugar melts, if it is reluctant to glaze the nuts and turn that rich brown color, add 1 tbsp of rum.  If a glaze still hasn’t formed, add 1 remaining tbsp of rum.
3. Remove heat and stir in vanilla.
4. Spread nuts on a buttered baking sheet; separate into individual nuts.  Cool.



Note 1:  if 2 tbsp of rum isn’t sufficient to turn the sugar glaze liquid, add a bit more as necessary.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Autumn French Onion Soup

Autumn French Onion Soup

This rich and delicious variation on classic French Onion Soup is super-easy to make and a guaranteed crowd pleaser.  The flavor of onions caramelized in apple cider adds an amazing boost.  If you're in a hurry, drop the cheese on the bottom of the bowl, add the soup, and sprinkle croutons on the top.  Its less elegant, but just as tasty.

Monday, September 30, 2013

Hearty Bean Soup



This is one very thick and hearty bean soup.  I find ordinary bean soup a bit bland, so I kicked this one up slightly with diced chilis.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Chicken Corn Chowder



The corn base give the chowder a lovely sweet flavor.  The chowder itself is thick enough to be a stew and wonderfully filling.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Chicken Stew with Harvest Vegetables





This is one of my favorite chicken vegetable soup recipes.  Best of all it's low calorie and freezes beautifully.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Halibut Piccata


A version of this recipe was fabulous made with chicken, but I thought it would go very well with halibut.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Old Fashioned Pie Crust





I learned to cook deserts when I was very young.  Many of the recipes I learned then have been “updated”.  Some of the changes are good, but others are not.  I find modern piecrust recipes lacking.