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Recipes that include ancho chili powder

Dungeness Crab with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Monday, October 19, 2009

If you’re wondering where Lon has been, he’s still here. We’re still happily married and he’s still the tech support, web designer, and general problem solver. He hasn’t written much lately because work has been demanding, and one of us has to get paid in money. He’s usually gone before I wake up and he gets home around 8pm, and I’ll have dinner ready on the table. Of course, I understand that he’s tired but I do miss his cooking.

Dungeness Crab 2

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Cheddar Cheese Crackers

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Occasionally, but not often enough, my girlfriends from college come over for what we call Wine Night. It’s not nearly as pretentious as it sounds. We grab a couple of bottles of wines, some cheese, some fruit, some cured meats, some bread, and just sit around catching up. It’s the most relaxing way to entertain because everything can be bought and it’s easy for everyone to contribute. Everything is cold or room temperature so no stress over people arriving on time. Sometimes I make something and sometimes I don’t.

Cheddar Cheese Cracker Stacks 2

For this one, I spotted a Cheddar Cheese Cracker recipe in the Tartine cookbook. It actually has a little section called “With a Glass of Wine”. The genius behind these salty cheesy crackers is the use of nuts to keep it crunchy and crumbly. You don’t really taste it because the sharp cheddar is the dominating flavor. I made a few alterations and the recipe seems like one you could really play with (although the author warms to use a cheese similar in butterfat and hardness).

Cheddar Cheese Crackers
~makes 50 crackers

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon table salt ( I might use a drop less next time.)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ancho chili powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 1/3 cups grated sharp cheddar
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softenend
  • 2/3 cup (medium-fine) chopped pecans

Instructions –

1. Sift flour, salt, ancho chili, and balck pepper into a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Using the paddle attachment, combine the cheese and butter on medium speed, until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Mix in walnuts on low speed. (You can do this all by hand but the resulting dough will be a bit stiff and hard to mix.)

cheddar cracker dough 2

3. Transfer to a sheet of parchment paper, wax paper, or plastic wrap, and roll into a log (a little more than 1″ in diameter). Wrap and freeze for 2 hours.

cracker dough log 2

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F 30 minutes before baking. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat liner.

5. Unwrap the log and slice into 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick discs. Arrange the crackers on baking sheet about 1″ apart.

before baking cheddar cracker

6. Bake the crackers for 7-10  minutes, or until edges are golden brown and lighter in the center. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. The crackers can be kept in an airtight container, in a cool dry place, for 2 weeks.

stack of Cheddar Crackers

Notes: For more perfect circles, flatten the dough into a disc and chill for 1 hour, instead of making a log and freezing. When the dough is ready, roll it out and cut with a cookie cutter. I kind of like the rustic look though…

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Pulled Pork & Killer BBQ Sauce

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Wandering through BJs the other day, Jessica spotted a luscious looking pork leg and asked if I thought we should make it. Of course my answer was “YES!” However, the two of us came to our senses and decided to just buy a pork shoulder weighing in at just under nine pounds, as opposed to the leg, which was probably 20 or 25 pounds.

pork shoulder

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Cornmeal Crusted Bay Scallops

Friday, November 21, 2008

I got a bag of frozen bay scallops at Trader Joe’s and they were quite large for bay scallops. The first half of the bag was sauteed and thrown in a pasta, which was ok, but we really hit a home run frying the rest. They’re bite size and fun to pop in your mouth. My mom practically jumped up and down about these.

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