YUM!!!

My mom was a great cook, my grandma was a great cook.  They were also really great teachers.  So I grew up enjoying a wide variety of cuisines and recipes.  There aren't many foods I dislike, maybe just raw onions but there's a time and place for those too!  I was lucky enough to end up with an incredible mother in law who is also a great cook and armed with her own arsenal of family recipes.  One of my most cherished gifts from Mama Doi is a hand-written cookbook containing her favorite recipes.  This was really helpful in learning about Mike's upbringing and the recipes that he associated with his childhood.  On this page I'll be posting my family's, his family's and OUR family recipes for you to enjoy.





Tonight it's cold and blustery and I'm craving something warm and comforting.

Grandma C's Gwumpkies

AKA Stuffed Cabbage

1lb ground beef (but I use ground turkey now)
2 cups uncooked minute rice (or just plain, uncooked white or brown rice)
Garlic Salt
Black Pepper
1 head of green cabbage
2 large cans of diced tomatoes or tomato sauce (or fresh tomatoes if you like)
1 package of "salt pork"

Mix the dry minute rice into the ground meat, season with garlic salt and pepper, set aside.

Slice the bottom off of your cabbage head and blanch it in boiling water.  remove from water, peel leaves off as whole as possible and flatten on a couple paper towels.

Take a fistful of the meat mixture and place it into a flattened cabbage leaf. Roll it up like a burrito and place it gently in the bottom of a large pot.  Continue making these cabbage rolls until you run out of ingredients.

Cover rolls with the tomatoes, boil pot, cover and simmer slowly for an hour.

While waiting for your gwumpkies to finish cooking dice the salt pork into 1/4" cubes and fry over medium heat until golden brown and crispy. Drain on a paper towel to remove excess grease and maintain crispness. Good tip: make sure the salt pork is as cold as possible, almost frozen even.  This will make slicing into cubes WAY easier because salt pork is basically all fat which is kind of slimy and unshapely when it's not cold enough.

Leftovers are even better the next day!

Fried ham and cheese balls

So after I made Mike breakfast and I still had some leftover pancake batter but wanted something slightly more savory, I boiled some fry oil and went to work on these delicious little creations!

First, roll up some game and American cheese, stab it with a skewer and cut it into a bite size chunk

Then dip it in pancake batter. You could use cornbread batter too, but this is what I had on hand, and all over the kitchen. (I'm a messy cook!)

Test your fry oil to make sure it's not too hot. Just drizzle a bit of batter in there. If it turns golden brown in a quick but not too quick amount of time, drop your ham ball in there, stick attached, turn until completely golden brown. Batter will fluff up quite a bit. Experiment with the consistency. I like a fairly loose batter, but one that holds on without dripping off before I get it into the oil. Each ball should only take about 10 seconds max.

(Excuse the post breakfast dirty stove!)

I also tried making some breakfast sausage balls. Those turned out great too! Just roll sausage into macadamia nut sized balls and cook through before dipping them in pancake batter. They'd be excellent dusted with powdered sugar and served with a side of maple syrup.

Give this quick, easy recipe a try! It's not the healthiest but it sure is a delicious little splurge.

It would be a great brunch dish to serve to a large party!

Enjoy!

Momma Doi's fantastic Wun Tuns!

Around Thankgiving time my mouth always begins to water for Mike's mom's recipe for Wun tuns. I took a picture of it and posted it on my Instagram account so it would be at my fingertips whenever the mood struck me to whip some up. It wouldn't be fair for me to not share this fantastic recipe with you so here it is. I'll post a picture of the delicious finished product next time I make some!

Coqueto: memories of my Puerto Rican firecracker friend

When I was in my early twenties I worked at Roy's, a fine dining restaurant that has remained my favorite since I left 8 years ago. The pastry chef was an amazing little "Puerto Rican firecracker " named Jen. One year for Christmas she gave me a creamy rum eggnoggy kind drink called "coqueto."

I am now in my early thirties and have been craving that drink since she gave it to me! I recently contacted her and she gave me the recipe. It's crazy simple and makes regular rum taste festive and delicious- so here ya go:

Firecracker Jen's boozy Puerto Rican eggnog!

1 can condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

1 can coconut milk

One bottle white rum (750ml)

Mix, bottle, give to friends and store in your freezer for long lasting buzzy wuzzy goodness!