#FranksRedHot Pigskins

I have never really been a huge football fan but I can certainly bandwagon with the best of them. Truthfully for non-fans such as myself, the Super Bowl is all about the commercials (here’s hoping there are some good ones) and of course about the food (Here’s hoping that is good too).

This year without any obvious team for me to root for at my Super Bowl Party, such as a New York team or a New England team, I have decided to use food as my guide in choosing my bandwagon designee. I am going with the team that has fans that wear cheese on their heads (you may know them as cheeseheads): The Packers. (Go Pack Go!)

So the team is selected and now the decision turns to what food to bring to the party. That decision is actually easier-I am bringing Frank’s RedHot to my Super bowl party. Frank’s RedHot is searching for the ultimate Game Day Party recipe using Frank’s RedHot sauces. And for your efforts, they are generously offering a fine selection of prizes:

Grand Prize Winner: $500 gift card and assorted Frank’s RedHot products.
First Prize Winner: $250 gift card and assorted Frank’s RedHot products.
Second Prize Winner: $125 gift card and assorted Frank’s RedHot products.

My entry: Frank’s RedHot “Pigskins” is a spicy twist on an appetizer favorite: potato skins. (Did you get the football reference I snuck in?) Baked potato skins are smothered with RedHot spiced ground pork and topped with a cheesy nod to Wisconsin. (Go Pack Go).

Even if my last minute adopted team doesn’t come through with the big pigskin win, I’m hoping to score big at my Super Bowl party with a tasty Frank’s RedHot Pigskin(s) win.

Frank’s RedHot “Pigskins”

6 medium Russet potatoes

1 pound ground pork (ground beef or chicken may be substituted)

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup Frank’s Original RedHot

1 cup shredded Wisconsin sharp white cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons chopped chives

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using a sharp knife, “stab” each potato 1 or 2 times.

Place the potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and bake 45-50 minutes or until tender to touch.

Allow the potatoes to cool slightly. Slice each potato in half and scoop out the filling leaving a shell with about 1/4 inch of potato in each. (Reserve the filling for another use).

While the potatoes are cooking, heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Crumble the ground pork into the pan and cook until browned. Drain the pork and return to the pan. Whisk together the melted butter and the Franks RedHot then stir mixture into the pork.

Preheat broiler. Divide the pork between the potato shells. Sprinkle each with the cheese, evenly dividing. Arrange shells on a baking sheet and place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until brown and bubbly. Remove from the oven and garnish with the chives.

Makes 12 skins

Post Script: The more observant among you may notice in my photos that instead of chives, as called for in the recipe, the skins are garnished with chopped parsley. I realized when getting ready to garnish that I had forgotten to buy chives at the supermarket. So like a good quarterback I had to think on my feet and I substituted something on hand…I still would recommend the chives though.

Cookies to Smile About

My 7th grade daughter just left for school and she looked fabulous.

It is school picture day and I just can't believe how much more fashion sense she has than I did at her age. I would be way too embarrassed to post a picture of my 7th grade picture-how my mother let me out the door with what I wore that day I will never know. I wore a hideous blue tie-dye like blouse with a blue vest over it, a hand crocheted necklace (which I handily crafted myself) and here's the kicker-pinball wizard T-shirt earrings (earrings shaped like a T-shirt with pinball wizard emblazoned across the shirt. I was a die-hard Elton John fan and I wore them proudly just about every day those first few months of 7th grade.

Here they are.... (You didn't think I'd throw them away did you?? You can't find stuff like this anymore!!)

I think I am having the hardest time getting back in the "back-to-school" mode-my kids seem fine. After a summer of meals on a whim, it's hard to get into early breakfasts and packing school lunches. Yesterday we baked an old stand-by favorite-a recipe that I created for a Betty Crocker cookie contest a couple of years ago: Caribbean Lime Coolers. The cookies didn't win the grand prize, but they are now a family favorite and I think that's something to smile about too.

The cookies use a supermarket staple for us-Betty Crocker Cookie mixes; the mixes are quick and easy to use and they are easy to modify to create your "own" favorite cookie. When I created my cookie I was inspired by a cookie my mother used to pack in my lunch when I was a kid-Sunshine Lemon Coolers. You can't find them in the stores any more (as if I didn't age myself enough with the Pinball Wizard earrings) so I created my own. The cookies work equally well with lemon or lime.

Picture is from the Betty Crocker web site

Caribbean Lime Coolers

1 (17.5 ounce) package Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
1 tablespoon - lime zest
3 tablespoons – lime juice
1/2 cup – shredded coconut
6 tablespoons – melted butter
1 egg
1/2 cup – Confectioner’s powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir cookie mix, lime zest, lime juice, coconut, melted butter and 1 egg in a medium bowl until a soft dough forms.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart on an ungreased 11 x 16 inch cookie sheet.

Bake cookies for 9-12 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown. Cool cookies 1 minute before removing from baking sheet. Cool completely. Sift powdered sugar over the cookies.
Makes about 2 dozen 3-inch cookies.

Thanks a Million

It's hard for me to imagine doing something or making something that someone would pay me a million dollars for. I imagine that is what women such as Ellie Mathews, Anna Ginsberg or most recently Carolyn Gurtz thought too, before Pillsbury gave them each a million dollars for recipes which they created. Now the average gourmand might scoff at the idea of pre-made salsa as the base for a sauce for chicken, waffles used as a stuffing for chicken, or stuffing a pre-made cookie dough with sugar and peanut butter, but the fact of the matter is Pillsbury/General Mills sells a lot of packaged foods every year, so someone, somewhere is buying pre-made salsa, frozen waffles and refrigerated cookie dough(perhaps clandestinely so as not to offend their more sophisticated friends). Quite honestly these recipes, in my opinion, represent several very creative ways in which to use those prepared products.

As someone interested in recipe creation and in recipe contests, I am always fascinated by what wins a particular contest. Now I don't mean that in a negative sense, but specifically I am fascinated by what exactly it was that made the judges select a particular recipe as the winner. Never having been a judge I suppose I will never really know. But what I do know, having participated in several cook-offs (not the Bake-Off yet, that one still eludes me) is that it's usually more than the recipe itself. Often in a cook off situation it comes down also to how well you prepared the recipe on that given day and how well it was presented-the visual impact as well as the taste are just as important as the written recipe itself. Which is why I think it's funny that people made such negative comments (some downright cruel) on the Pillsbury web site about the winning recipes. Perhaps the other people making these recipes lacked the basic skills to prepare the recipe as well as those winners did on the day they were judged at the Bake-Off.

I decided to try the latest million dollar creation and upon hearing the winner zipped off to the supermarket to gather supplies. Not many were needed as it is a simple recipe: peanut butter cookie dough, dry roasted peanuts, sugar and cinnamon. The first cookie I formed without reading through the directions (a problem I have), I made it by placing the filling in between two slightly flattened dough pieces instead of wrapping the dough around the filling. It resulted in a larger, flatter cookie which I thought looked nicer, but you don't get the filling in every bite like with the original method.

The cookies were really very good. I particularly liked the flavor the cinnamon added to the cookie. The creamy center was quite delicious.

The cookies are a simple, tasty and creative twist on peanut butter cookies that has me and I'm sure many other envious bakers scratching their heads and saying "...why didn't I think of that?"

Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup Fisher® Dry Roasted Peanuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup Domino® or C&H® Granulated Sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup JIF® Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Domino® or C&H® Confectioners Powdered Sugar
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® Create ‘n Bake® refrigerated peanut butter cookies, well chilled
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
2. In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended. Shape mixture into 24 (1-inch) balls.
3. Cut roll of cookie dough into 12 slices. Cut each slice in half crosswise to make 24 pieces; flatten slightly. Shape 1 cookie dough piece around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Repeat with remaining dough and balls.
4. Roll each covered ball in peanut mixture; gently pat mixture completely onto balls. On ungreased large cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Spray bottom of drinking glass with CRISCO® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray; press into remaining peanut mixture. Flatten each ball to 1/4-inch thickness with bottom of glass. Sprinkle any remaining peanut mixture evenly on tops of cookies; gently press into dough.
5. Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered.

All Hail The Jalapeno

(Picture from National Cattleman's Beef Association)

The thing I love about cooking with jalapenos is that they can be very spicy but with a few twists of the knife to remove the seeds and the membranes, they can be mild. When I am at the supermarket, I try to find medium sized jalapenos for this recipe, which happens to be a personal favorite of mine: it combines spicy steak, tropical fruits and a delicious roasted jalapeno vinaigrette. OK, it's also my favorite because I won $10,000 for it at The National Beef Cook Off in 2007. Not bad for a salad. Truth be told, I like it spicy, so I usually leave a lot of seeds in the dressing. But if you prefer mild, just scrape well.


Pepper Steak Salad with Mango, Avocado and Jalapeño Vinaigrette40 to 45 minutes

2 boneless beef top loin (strip) steaks, cut 3/4 inch thick (about 8 ounces each)
2 to 3 jalapeño peppers
1 to 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
8 cups mixed salad greens
1 mango, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 small avocado, cut lengthwise into 8 slices
Salt
1 shallot, very thinly sliced and separated into rings
2 tablespoons shaved firm Cotija or Parmesan cheese

Jalapeno Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1. Place jalapeño peppers on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, uncovered, 11 to 13 minutes or until evenly blistered and blackened. Place in food-safe plastic bag; close bag. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes until skins are loosened.

2. Press black pepper evenly onto beef steaks. Place steaks on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, uncovered, 10 to 12 minutes for medium rare to medium doneness, turning occasionally. Remove from grill; let stand while preparing vinaigrette.

3. Meanwhile prepare Jalapeno Vinaigrette. Remove and discard skins, seeds and membranes from jalapeño peppers. Place peppers, lime juice, cilantro, water and salt in food processor container. Cover; pulse on and off until combined. With motor running, slowly add oil through opening in cover, processing until well blended.

4. Arrange salad greens on serving platter. Fan the mango and avocado slices over greens. Carve steaks into slices; season with salt, as desired. Arrange over salad. Top with shallot; drizzle with vinaigrette. Sprinkle with cheese.

Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition information per serving: 369 calories; 21 g fat (5 g saturated fat; 12 g monounsaturated fat); 60 mg cholesterol; 272 mg sodium; 19 g carbohydrate; 5.1 g fiber; 30 g protein; 8.4 mg niacin; 0.8 mg vitamin B6; 1.4 mcg vitamin B12; 3.5 mg iron; 29.5 mcg selenium; 5.3 mg zinc.


Cotija is a firm white cheese from Mexico; it is a salty, flavorful cheese that compliments the peppery flavors in the grilled steak. If you are unable to locate Cotija Cheese you may use Parmesan Cheese, which has a similar texture. To shave the cheese, use a vegetable peeler and slice off thin strips of cheese.