Almond Roco or When you know it's Christmastime around here

You know it's Christmastime around here when the only item coming out of my kitchen is Almond Roco and lots of it. 

I originally received this recipe from my late Godmother when she brought it to a Christmas party. I immediately fell in love with it, asked her for the recipe and have been making it ever since. Due to it's uniqueness, this has become a staple holiday gift for co-workers, teachers, friends, etc. 

 

original copy received from

my Godmother

I realize the recipe title is a misnomer as almonds is not listed as an ingredient. I once heard it called Cracker Candy which is probably a more appropriate description of this delightful combination of butter, sugar, saltines, chocolate and walnuts. If you google “Cracker Candy Recipe” you will find many similar recipes under many names.

Over the years, I have played with the original recipe I received, substituting white chocolate or Hershey's Kisses for the semi-sweet chocolate, substituting shredded coconut for the walnuts or skipping the walnuts altogether. The variations listed under notes/variations at the end of this post are the ones which I have found successful and make annually.

I hope you have as much fun and success making this as I have!

Semi-Sweet Almond Roco

with walnuts

Almond Roco - like Cookies

1 - 1 1/2 sleeves saltines
1 cup or 2 sticks butter plus extra for coating aluminium foil
1 cup sugar
2 cups or 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 - 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts  

Place oven rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminium foil. Butter it. Line it with saltines.  Depending upon the size of the cookie sheet this could be anywhere between 1 - 1 1/2 sleeves of saltines. 

In a 1 quart saucepan, melt 1 cup or 2 sticks butter over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup sugar and bring mixture to a boil while stirring constantly, about 3-5 minutes.

Pour butter/sugar mixture over saltines and bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle 12 oz. chocolate chips over it.

Let chocolate melt 1 minute and then spread across saltines using back of regular-size spoon.

Sprinkle chopped walnuts over chocolate and cut it immediately using pizza cutter.  Once again, depending upon size of cookie sheet and like/dislike for walnuts, this could be anywhere from 1 - 1 1/2 cups walnuts. 

Place tray in refrigerator to cool. Once cooled, peel off foil, break apart and enjoy.

Notes/variations:

-- Cookie sheet size should be about 15" x 10". One with an edge all around (like a jelly roll pan works best)

-- Use heavy duty aluminium foil. This will make process of peeling off foil easier.

-- Use butter. Margarine or any kind of butter/margarine mix will prevent Roco from solidifying correctly

-- For White Chocolate Roco, substitute 10-12 oz. bag of white chocolate chips for 12 oz. chocolate chips (ghiradelli white chocolate chips or Trader Joe’s white chocolate chips work best)

-- For Milk Chocolate Roco, substitute 11 oz. bag of Hershey Kisses for 12 oz. chocolate chips. This is approximately 72 Hershey Kisses.

Ginger Nut Clusters or Giving Thanks

For the past several Thanksgivings I've received and accepted an invite from maternal cousins to spend Thanksgiving with them. As the holiday name implies, I give thanks for the invite as they live less than 30 minutes from me and with our busy schedules this is one of the few opportunities during the year we get to see each other.

Being epicures who love sweets and being raised to never show up empty-handed when invited as a guest, I wanted to bring something unique they would enjoy and wouldn't spoil after a week: Ginger Nut Clusters.

This recipe came to me via my girlfriend, Sally, who for over the past decade invites friends and family to her house the day before Easter to make candy. As noted in her 2011 blog post, this process has evolved from just peanut brittle to such delights as toffee, buttercreams, Oreo cookie truffle, etc.

Needless to say this was such a huge hit with my cousins that I taught two of them how to make these and have brought them for Thanksgiving and other gatherings hosted by them ever since. I have to say I am grateful to know exactly what to bring and give thanks to Sally for introducing us all to this great recipe!

photo courtesy of Crafts, Cavies and Cooking

Ginger Nut Clusters

This is a 1 ½ batch version of the original recipe. My estimate is this will make 30-50 clusters depending upon how large they are shaped. The version of the recipe I received contained a mixed of weighted measure and unit measure ingredients. As most cooks will use one or the other, I am including both which does make the ingredient list look a bit messy.

9 oz. White Chocolate or one 10 oz. package white chocolate chips (Trader Joe's White Baking Chips recommended)

5 oz. Graham Crackers or 1 sleeve/package of graham crackers

4 oz. cashews or 1 cup cashews

1.5 – 2.0 oz Candied Ginger, chopped or ¼ cup candied ginger, chopped

9 oz. Semi-Sweet or Dark Chocolate 1 – 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Line two 15” x 10” cookie sheet(s) with wax paper or parchment paper.

Break graham crackers into a gallon size ziploc bag. Add cashews and ginger. Mix.

Melt white chocolate either in the microwave on in top of double boiler. If using double boiler, removed melted chocolate from boiler and add graham cracker mixture. Combine until mixture is coated with chocolate. Place teaspoons of mixture on cookie sheet (s). Chill until set, approximately 1-5 hours or overnight.

Melt semi-sweet/dark chocolate either in the microwave on in top of double boiler. Dip top half of clusters into chocolate or use spoon to pour chocolate on top of cluster. Return to cookie Sheet. Chill until set. Serve.

Quick Pumpkin Soup

In my quest to find a fast, dairy-free pumpkin soup recipe, I developed this one about four years ago. In making this recently, I realized I hadn't shared this recipe with you.

While the recipe calls for 1 cup boiling water and one package or one square of chicken bouillon, 1 cup ready-made chicken stock can be substituted. I have yet to try this soup with a vegetable stock base. If you do, please let me know how it tastes.

Quick Pumpkin Soup (serves 2 – 4)

1 cup water

1 package or 1 cube chicken bouillon

1 15 oz. can of pumpkin (this is approximately 1 ½ – 1 ¾ cups pumpkin puree)

½ tbsp. olive oil

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

In a 3 quart saucepan bring water to a boil. Turn off heat. Add chicken bouillon and stir. Return saucepan to medium heat. Gradually add pumpkin, making sure to not splatter pumpkin or chicken bouillon. Stir. Add olive oil. Stir. Add nutmeg and pepper. Stir. Bring soup to a boil for one minute. Remove from heat. Serve. Store unused portion in refrigerator in an airtight container.

Anadama Bread or facing my fear of baking yeast breads

My first introduction to Anadama Bread was as a teenager. I had gone with family to dinner at Dexter's Hearthside restaurant in Essex, MA. Prior to the meals being served, a loaf of homemade Anadama Bread would be served. I still recall the sweetness of this bread from the use of molasses making a lasting impression on me.

As a teen it appeared to me this was the one and only restaurant from which you could get this bread and therefore I concluded this was a bread local to Cape Ann or the communities of Essex, Gloucester, Manchester and Rockport, MA. Little did I know how right I was! (Anadama Bread History. Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anadama_bread )

Passing from my teen years into my twenties and beyond, having my diet change due to food allergies, thoughts of this bread passed from brain until 2007 when I was looking for bread recipes which called for yeast. I had decided to face my fear of yeast breads and consulted my trusty revised 13^th edition of The Fanny Farmer Cookbook for recipes to try. Imagine my surprise when I found an Anadama Bread recipe!

I have always made this recipe as rolls as this made it easier for me to freeze and thaw as needed. Stored in a freezer safe container or plastic bag, the bread will keep up to 3 months.

Anadama Bread

From the revised 13^th edition of The Fanny Farmer Cookbook.

Yield: Two loaves or approx. 8 – 15 rolls, depending upon size

½ cup yellow cornmeal

2 cups water

1 package dry yeast

½ cup warm water (100 – 115 degrees farenheit in temperature

½ cup molasses

2 teaspoons table salt or 1 ¼ kosher salt

1 tablespoon butter or substitute, such as Earth Balance Buttery Spread (http://www.earthbalancenatural.com/product/original-buttery-spread/)

4 ½ cups white flour

Put the cornmeal in a large mixing bowl. Bring 2 cups water to a boil and pour it over the cornmeal. Stir until smooth, making sure that the cornmeal does not lump. Let stand for 30 minutes. When 25 minutes have passed, in a separate, small bowl, stir the yeast into ½ cup warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes to dissolve. Add the molasses, salt, butter and dissolved yeast to the cornmeal mixture. Stir in the flour and beat thoroughly.

For loaves: Spoon into 2 buttered loaf pans, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until double in bulk. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Bake bread for 45-50 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks.

For rolls: Using hands, shape batter into rolls, up to 3 inches in diameter. Place rolls 1 ½ inches apart on cookie sheet covered with non-stick cooking spray. Cover and let rise in a warm spot until double in bulk. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Bake rolls for 30-50 minutes. Remove rolls from oven when toothpick inserted in center of center-most comes out clean. Cool rolls on racks.

Oven Roasted Butternut Squash

This past July my mother asked me if I was interested in some zucchini and squash from the garden of her girlfriend, Paulette. Of course, I replied. Loving food as I do, I could not think of anything better than receiving vegetables grown by a family friend in her garden. Needless to say, my mind drifted off to thinking of all the wonderful things I would make with zucchini and summer/crookneck squash.

My bubble burst when my mother arrived and I discovered the squash turned out to be butternut squash.

Yes, butternut squash.

While I realize local grown butternut squash in July in New England is probably not unusual, this was completely unexpected.

After mulling over what to do, I decided to try a variation of an oven roasted winter vegetable recipe introduced to me several years ago by my girlfriend, Marie. While I cannot remember all the vegetables she used, I found the butternut squash which was diced, cubed, seasoned with olive oil, italian seasoning, garlic and oven roasted until tender phenomeonal.

I've found this makes a great side dish for white fish (Cod, Haddock, Pollock). Reheat and toss with chickpeas, baby spinach and sun-dried tomatoes and it's makes a great, colorful salad.

Oven Roasted Butternut

Squash with pears, spinach,

and sun dried tomatoes

Oven Roasted Butternut Squash

8 cups butternut squash, peeled and diced

¼ cup olive oil

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1. Place oven rack on middle rung. Preheat oven to broiler setting.

2. In a bowl, combine squash, olive oil, onion powder and garlic powder.

3. Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil, tucking in ends.

4. Place squash on cookie sheet, close together but no higher than one layer deep.

5. Place squash in oven on middle rack. Cook for 7 – 13 minutes or until largest pieces of squash are easily split with fork. Serve or cool and store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 as many times as needed.

Ground beef, onion and apple hamburger ... oh my!

For those of you who like your hamburgers to be ground beef and nothing else you can stop reading this now and move on to something else.

For those of you who are interested in trying something a little different with your hamburgers, here's one which you may or may not have heard of or tried:  Hamburgers made with ground beef, diced onion and diced apple.  I just made this one today.  These were gone within the first hour as the taste was the right mix of sweet and tangy and the texture a good balance of firm and soft.  

This recipe was passed to me with the recommendation of using a Granny Smith apple.  Where apples are currently in season here, I chose a local Zest Star (or Zestar) apple and a local white onion both from Dick's Market Garden.  Like the Granny Smith, the Zest Star is a firm apple, although less tart.  Think Jolly Rancher Apple Stick flavor and you have an idea of what a Zest Star tastes like.

The amounts of apple and onion are variant so use your best judgement in determining how much to use.  Also , please feel free to experiment with different types of meat, onions or apples.  

Ground beef, onion and apple hamburger

1 lb. ground beef
1/4 - 1 small onion, diced
1/4 - 1/2 apple, diced or peeled, cored and grated

In bowl, combine beef, onion and apple.  Shape into hamburger patties.  Grill or broil to desired level of doneness.  Serve.  Store any unused hamburgers in refrigerator in air tight container. 

Heirloom Tomato Salsa

Yes, I realize it's been over two months since my last post, but fear not. I did not forget any of you. I've been out and about this summer enjoying the fantastic seasonal produce all the while documenting, testing, tasting and revising all the great recipes I make using what is available locally during the summer.

With the above being said and with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and cilantro locally available right now if you know who to go to, here is the recipe I use for salsa.

I tried this recipe for the first time in 2011 and have made it every year since. I use this recipe to teach people how to can as one batch only makes about 3 ½ – 4 ½ pints and easily demonstrates waterbath canning from start to finish in about two hours. While I will not go into the details here on what is needed for successful waterbath canning, I suggest downloading the “Getting Started Guide” from the Ball website and reading about waterbath canning if you are interested in learning more.

Don't be afraid to prepare your tomatoes, onions or jalapenos in advance. I've seeded and diced tomatoes, onions and jalapenos up to a week in advance of making this salsa. You can store unused jalapenos, diced and seeded, in freezer-safe ziploc bags for up to one year. This year's first batch contained jalapenos which were frozen last October.

Heirloom Tomato Salsa yield: approx. 3 ½ pints – 4 ½ pints

1 cup distilled white vinegar

¼ cup sugar

2 ¼ tsp kosher salt

3 pounds (6 cups) heirloom tomatoes, any variety, seeded and diced

½ pound (1 cup) onions, diced

2 jalapeno peppers, finely diced

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

1. Bring the vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil in a large nonreactive saucepan. Add the tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos. Return to a gentle boil for 5 minutes.

2. Cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days, or can the salsa using the waterbath method in steps 3 through 5.
3. Ladle into clean, hot ½-pint canning jars, leaving ½ inch of headspace at the top of each. Stir to release trapped air.
4. Wipe the rims clean; center the lids on the jars and screw on the jar bands. Process in a waterbath canner with a rack for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the canner lid, and let the jars rest in the water for 5 minutes.
5. Remove jars with tongs and set aside for 24 hours. Check the seals and store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.

(Reprinted from Put 'em Up, by Sherri Brooks Vinton (Storey Publishing, 2010) in the June 2011 issue of Yoga Journal.)