Beef Jerky, Carmel Corn and Roasted and Salted Pumpkin Seeds: (Not so Italian)

My oldest son Michael works on the set producing TV commercials in Los Angeles, and setting up the set requires concentrated work on each prop, and to keep himself going, he loves doing something with his mouth, so he's always after me to send him some of my beef jerky that he loves and claims there is none like it in the universe. (His way of getting me to make it for him). :o) Fact is that most people that have tasted my home made Jerky seems to love it, so I thought I would share that with you. Give it a try, it is delicious and fun to make. We will also spend a few words on Carmel Cord and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.

Here’s the recipes:

Any good cut of meat will do. (2-3 pounds meat) Last time I used London Broil but this time brisket which is usually used. Flank steak is great to use as well but pricey so if you want the best, buy some flank on sale, but you can even use sirloin or any kind of lean meat:

Partially freeze the meat for between 1 and 2 hours so you can easier cut it thin but not so frozen you can’t cut it.

Trim the fat!

If fat remains here or there, remove it before eating.

Slice as thin as possible to the thickness you like. Thicker is a meatier eat, thinner is chewier and edges will crisp more.

Place cut meat in a mixing bowl.

Add the following:

1.   ½ cup Worcestershire sauce

2.   ½ cup soy sauce (lite is okay)

3.   2 tblspoons liquid smoke

4.   ¼ cup balsamic vinegar

5.   1/8 cup sugar or brown sugar if you like it more caramelized.

6.   2 teaspoons salt

7.   2 teaspoons coarse ground pepper

8.   1/8 cup dried onion flakes (find that in the seasoning isle)

9.   1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

10.                Flavoring optional such as teriyaki, etc but I don’t usually use it ½ cup if you want it

11.                2-4 tblspoons garlic powder to taste

12.                Use 2 forks to mix the meat with the seasonings and be sure to get the mixture all the way through the meat

13.                Cover with Saran wrap and refrigerate 24 hours minimum

14.                Remove from refrigerator and re-mix the mixture

15.                Place aluminum foil over the bottom of the oven to help keep it clean

16.                A full load of jerky will take two oven shelves. On the longer pieces, use 2-3 rungs of the oven shelve and let the rest hang down

17.                Place each piece next to each other but don’t allow them to touch each other.

18.                Once all the jerky is on the oven shelve, sprinkle with pizza type red peppers to taste

19.                Turn the oven on as low as it will go using the broiler on the upper part of the oven if you have electric, otherwise you just use the gas at the lowest setting. (Setting must be VERY LOW)

20.                Allow to cook and dry for 24 hours minimum at the very lowest setting. After 24 hours, taste to see if it is jerked enough, if not, cook longer.

Eat and enjoy the fruits of the hard work making jerky!

Another fun thing is making Carmel corn! Either air pop or use microwave popcorn no butter. Do not add more salt!

Place the popped corn in a large mixing bowl large enough to stir the popped corn around to mix.

In a sauce pan melt 2 cubes of butter or margarine. At any time add 1 cup of brown sugar, ½ cup of regular sugar and ½ cup light Caro syrup and mix as it melts. Simmer and stir for ten more minutes.

Pour mixture over the popped corn and mix well taking care not to damage the popcorn. Once the mixture has covered all of the popcorn (use only enough of the mixture to cover the corn and hold back the rest of the mixture so as not to over saturate the corn.

Spray some Pam or use some oil to lightly grease a baking sheet pan and then spread the coated corn over the pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 1-1/2 hours or until crispy when the sample is cooled, but turn the corn over with a spatula each half hour. When you take some samples out allow them to cool to see if they crisp, otherwise keep cooking it.

BTW, you can even add peanuts to the mixing bowl of corn if desired.

Pull out of the oven when done but keep turning it until the corn does not stick so much to each other, or you can make balls if you’d like but that has to be done while the corn is hot so it is still in the sticky stage. Put in Tupperware or baggies for storage.

Great snack. Enjoy!
z

Okay, one more great snack for work:

Buy a large pumpkin.

Open it up and get the seeds out which you will have to fight the pumpkin to do so. Wash the seeds to clean the membrane off of them. Spread the seeds out, salt to taste with sea salt and allow them to dry. If a sweeter snack is desired, very, very lightly sprinkle with some sugar.

Place the seeds on a flat baking sheet pan.

Bake for approx an hour at 350 degrees but check them often for burning and turn them with a spatula several times during baking.

Eat that healthy snack at work! Fun.

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Oh Baby!

Look at my BABY GIRL cooking with DADDY!

What do Bagel Dogs have to do with Italians? NOTHING except that Italians know great food!

Here's how we make these at the Zephro Home:

Bagel Dough:

In your bread machine; add 4 cups sifted flour.

1 teaspoon Sea Salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1-1/2 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons Light Syrup

1 tablespoon yeast dissolved in 2 cups warm sugared water. Add to mixture once yeast begins to foam

Mix until dough is in a tight ball. Add water or flour as necessary to achieve.

When mixing cycle is over, lightly grease bowl, add mixed dough, cover with saran wrap and allow to rise 1 hour

Flour flat surface and then add the dough lump and coat with flour.

Work the dough for five minutes folding as much air within as you can

Cover dough and let it rest for 30 minutes

Cut dough in to about 2-2-1/2 sections, roll each section in to balls, cover and let rest for ten minutes.

Using a rolling pin, flatten each dough section down to 1/4" or so.

Towel dry each Nathan's Famous or Hebrew National Hot Dogs bought in package.

Lay a dog on each flattened piece of bagel dough and roll them up like "Pigs in a blanket"

Wet the end like wetting an envelope to promote adhesion and pinch the seam.

Boil a pot of water at least 3" deep.

Add rolled bagel dogs to boiling water and then plop, tease, turn and dip the bagel dogs so that each set of boiling dogs is in the boiling water for about one minute, carefully remove the dogs from the water and place on a corn mealed cookie sheet and then sprinkle with toppings like sesame or poppy seeds.

Once all dogs are done, use a pizza stone if you have one, otherwise the greased cookie sheet and put a generous coat of corn meal on the stone or sheet.

Place in well pre-heated 450 degree oven and bake until light golden brown.

Pull out the finished bagel dogs and allow to cool on a rack so that air can get under them.

Serve with a pile of mustard or ketchup.

Dip, eat, fall in love! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Chicken Cacciatore!

As always, peasant dishes are generally the most delicious and certainly the most FILLING!

The term; Cacciatore comes from the meaning of "caught, trapped, jailed...." which translates in to the term "Catch of the Day". The Italians were hunters and fishermen so in the morning the women would send the men out to bring home the "catch of the day" while the women prepared the sauce (gravy to some) while awaiting the men to bring home the catch. At times the men would come up empty and when times were really tough, they would eat the pasta and Marinara sauce, but some raised chickens; so after the chicken coup chase, that guy would make it in to the pot of sauce and cooked many hours until so tender and tasty.

Liana had been after me for a time to fix Chicken Cacciatore so that's just what I did recently.

You can use any and all parts of the chicken but I normally use bone in breasts and cut them each in to 3 pieces, remove as much skin and fat as I can, and ready them for the POT. I use bone in parts because of the extra flavor presented by using the bones but you need to be careful to chew carefully just in case a small bone has separated as the chicken cooks to sumptuous tenderness. So, Let's do this!

1. Get your sauce on (refer to recipes above for sauce)

2. Soak and wash your chicken parts (3-4 lbs) in salt water which cleans and draws out unwanted red juices. Using a clean dish towel, pat dry the chicken pieces.

3. Warm up some olive oil in a large skillet and season your chicken pieces with salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.

4. Cut up some mushrooms, green bell peppers (2) and chop up 2 small to medium onions.

5. The peppers take the longest to sauté (unless you use the pre-roasted frozen type which I did this time for the first time in this dish) and get them in to the skillet. Once about half done cooking, add the onions followed by the mushrooms and chopped garlic (about 2 tablespoons). As always use care not to brown the garlic past golden.

6. Pre-warm another olive oiled skillet meanwhile, place the cooked and drained peppers mix in to the pot with the sauce and then use both skillets to brown the chicken on medium high. Turn each piece of chicken until all sides are nice and browned and then add the chicken to the sauce and allow to simmer for a minimum of 4 hours. 5-6 is better.

7. Once the chicken is more tender than you've ever seen it it's ready. Carefully place each piece of chicken in to a large bowl for serving, boil up some Penne pasta, rinse and drain and then prime with sauce; you're ready to go. Ladle sauce on each plate of pasta followed by placing the chicken on top of the pasta. Add grated cheese, garlic cheese bread and serve. Freeze leftovers in zipper bags for a later time.

Atsa my BOY!

That's right. Olive oil in a spritzer. Very handy to have!      Garlic Powder

A little sugar and salt                                                         Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses

In to the broiler (best on pizza stone)                               Voile'!

All that's left is to work off those calories! Check out Sean's page here:

The 2007 Turkey

So,.............I burned the pie! :o(

PORK CHOP LUAU was an accidental dinner. How to make pork chops different than usual...... hmmmmm....

I looked around the pantry and found some brown sugar, honey, canned pineapple, 2 large yams, 2 Large apples peeled and sectioned, etc. so off I went to "design" a dinner around good ole' pok-chops.

How I did it.............:o)

I seasoned the chops (Got a family pack on sale for $5.50)with garlic powder and black pepper and then browned each one on both sides. While I was doing that I got out the sauce pan and put around 2-1/2 cups brown sugar, added the juice from the canned pineapple along with around 4-5 cups of apple juice, a little sugar and cinnamon, tablespoon of honey and began to melt that down. Once it had boiled I added some flour to thicken it up a tad, stirred and stirred until it started to thicken up some and then put the fire on low, and then began to pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Meanwhile I took a large baking dish and then placed the chops along the bottom followed by the sweet potato yam and apple sections, and then laid the pineapple over the top followed by the juice mixture in the pan pouring it over every part of the dish. Once the dish was hot and the juice was well re-melted I used the baster to suck up the juice and poured it over the top of it all and kept that up every ten minutes or so until about 40 minutes baking time was up. Then I basted one more time and then turned the broiler on for about five minutes with dish on middle rack and once the garnish began to turn dark brown on the edges, I removed the dish from the oven. As the dish was cooling off a bit I basted everything once again and served it thinking that large amount would feed us all twice.............it fed us only once BECAUSE IT WAS SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOD!

While cooking it I called this dish PORK CHOP LUAU, but after tasting it, it became: PORK CHOPS OMG!

For more Delicious Recipes, go to:  

 Bon Apetito!

zef

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