The Kitchen of the Midnightferret

Not for the faint of heart, literally! Just read the ingredients!

1 stick butter
1 lb (1 loaf or 3-4 FAT slices homemade) stale bread, French or otherwise
2 cups milk
3-4 eggs, depending on size
1 tsp (or one large “accidental” SPLASH!) vanilla
splash of rum/bourbon (optional, not too much…)
1/2 tsp (or so) cinnamon, nutmeg, ground coriander, and/or whatever else
1/4 cup chopped toasted nuts, choc chips, raisins, combination, and/or whatever (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. In glass 13×9 baking dish, put smaller dish/casserole inside (I use an oval corningware thingy) and make 13×9 dish into water bath. Melt butter in smaller dish in oven. While butter is melting, Combine eggs, milk, spices, vanilla, and liquor if using and whip with whisk or fork until frothy and well mixed. Remove melted butter from oven (careful - don’t spill hot water bath on yourself). Tear bread into small “hunks” and plop in casserole. Pour milk mixture over bread and smoosh with fork to combine. Sprinkle “mix-ins” over the top if using, and smoosh a bit with fork to combine if you want them throughout the pudding. Bake pudding for about 1 hour (my oven takes exactly one hour, but if your top starts to get too dark, remove!). Pudding must “compose itself” after baking for about 1 drink (2 if you’re Capt. Bacardi!) before you can cut it, but it can be served warm or at room temp. Serve with FUN RUM SAUCE, recipe below.

To reheat, make hot water bath and put in low oven while the main course is served. This should heat it up enough. Also, you can nuke it on LOW or HALF power for close to a minute, but be careful you don’t get rubber pudding…

FUN WHISKEY/RUM SAUCE - Come on, Baby, light my fire!

2/3 cup butter (1.5 sticks?)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (or 1/2 cup white sugar + 1/4 cup molasses)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 Tbsp rum/whiskey (or maybe 4)
2 Tbsp orange liqueur
1/2 tsp vanilla (I use MORE)

In a large skillet heated to LOW (or medium, depending on oven), heat butter, sugar, and spices, shaking back and forth until butter and sugar get creamy. (Not long, there should be some bubbling, but not much). Take off heat and add liquors. Return to burner for a few seconds, then carefully ignite. Shake (do not flail unless you are on fire!) until flames are gone. Add vanilla and remove from heat. Stir gently to combine. Sauce should be smooth and have a well blended flavor. Serve warm and fresh. You can pour the leftovers over pudding and reheat portions in microwave, or you can pour leftovers in a jar and eat them over ice cream…

I first tasted Irish Soda bread at O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub in New Orleans.  Sadly, this pub is no more, due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  When I worked for a tour company that was based in O’Flaherty’s, I ate huge amounts of Shepherd’s pie and soda bread.

2 cup whole flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 level tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. sugar
2 cup buttermilk (approx.)
2 egg yolks for brushing.

Preheat oven to 400° F, then reduce to 350° F. Mix dry ingredients well. Add milk by degrees until flour is absorbed - not too wet - just enough to knead. Knead for 5 minutes. Shape into a round loaf. Place in a lightly greased 9″ cake tin - Cut a cross in the top (about a 1/4 in deep). Brush top with egg yolks. Bake until brown on top (50 - 60 min) Remove - cool pan and bread on wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove bread from pan and fully cool on wire rack.

Many commercial recipes for Louisiana barbecue shrimp are pretty complicated. In some, the main cooking method is to sauté the shrimp and then make a complicated sauce for them. Some involve heavy amounts of butter or cream. These recipes are wonderful if your aim is to impress or if you are running an upscale Louisiana restaurant, but sometimes we only want a low maintenance and tasty dish to serve at home.
Use 10 to 15 count shrimp. One pound can usually feed two adults. Wash shrimp and place in ovenproof dish. Season with salt and cracked black pepper on them: remember that you are seasoning through the shells. They should be black when they’re done. Drizzle with olive oil.

Add lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Dot with butter. There should be a good deal liquid in the pan. Broil for about 15 minutes per pound, checking for doneness and to make sure they don’t burn. Serve with French bread and salad. I ladle them into big bowls and use newspaper spread on the table for shells, and spillages.

You can serve the shrimp with either beer, wine, or iced tea. Actually, because of the heavy seasonings, just about any wine will work, although I wouldn’t recommend sweeter varieties like White Zin or Chardonnay.

This meal is wonderful for casual, intimate dining. Because most of the work is done in the oven, you won’t spend your time in the kitchen while your spouse or your guests are chatting in the dining area or living room.

I had these when I stayed with my friend Bonnie. They are just crispy chicken wings and taters, but “bat wings” and “wizard fries” just sounds better.

Heat oven to 450.

Fries:

small red potatoes
salt
black pepper
olive oil
rosemary
basil

Cut up taters into fries. Put pieces in large plastic baggie with seasonings and oil. (You can use almost any seasonings.) Shake well to coat. Put in roasting pan lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Put in oven while prepping wings.
Wings:

chicken wings
ground ginger
5-spice powder
salt
black pepper

Put wings into a giant plastic bag. Put in some ginger, 5-spice powder, salt and black pepper, and shake well to coat. Put wings in pan lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Cook everything for around 45 mins or so. until done. I like to start the wings on the “wrong side” at first, then turn them to the “right side” so the skin will be crispiest on that side.
Serve with your preferred dipping sauces.

Via the Baker’s Chocolate Box or here

I had some leftover Baker’s Chocolate from a fondue party we had. I will post the fondue stuff somewhere else, but I was hoping we’d have another of those soon.

Anyway, these are really good brownies.  I used chopped up pecans in them.  Scratch brownies are far superior to box/bag brownies.  The texture is totally different - for those of you who are trying to get the right ratio of gooeyness to cakeyness,  scratch brownies are the way to go.  Also they are just as easy to make as box brownies.

Welcome to my kitchen! I hopefully will post most of my recipes in here.  Some posts will be links to other recipes I use.  I usually cook with ease and speed in mind.  I have tried a few “30 minute meals” but sometimes I have to fudge those because they don’t always turn out right — apparently they have different ideas of how to season things in New York.

I won’t always put exact measurements for ingredients here, simply because some things I make don’t really have recipes except in my head.  I also like to use real butter and fancy cheese.  Most of my food is not dietetic by any means.   I encourage people to be as healthy as possible, and if you eat like I do, you probably won’t be all that healthy - especially if you have high cholesterol.  You have been warned. Some of the food I make is sort of healthy, but this is strictly by accident.  Use common sense.

Bon Appetit!