Crimson Gore Gelatin

by Kelly Campana

1 bag candy eyeball gum

2 boxes red jello mix

2 cups water

14 ice cubes

1) Bring 2 cups water to boil ( in micro or strove top)

2) empty jello mix into large mixing bowl

3) mix in boiling water till well dissolved

4) add ice cubes 

5) mix until ice cubes are completely dissolved (try to create a bubbly/foam while mixing)

6) pour into portion cups

7) drop in eyeballs (make sure they make cur-plunk noises)

8) arrange in fridge with mini fan for circulation

9) wait about 2.5 hours or until jiggly to serve

Reese's Pieces Thai Peanut Sauce

by Krystal Wolfe

1 cup reese's pieces

1 tbl olive oil

1/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk

4 oz chopped ginger

3 cloves chopped garlic

1/2 tbl fish sauce

1 tbl soy sauce

3 tbl Cholula hot sauce

1. Add the reese's pieces to a food processor.

2. Add 1 tbl olive oil.

3. Use food processor until the candy has a grainy consistency.

4. Bring a medium saucepan to medium heat.

5. Add 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk to the saucepan.

6. Add the reese's pieces to the sauce pan.

7. When the recce pieces are melted add the ginger and garlic.

8. Lower to low heat and cook for approximately 5 minutes.

9. Add fish sauce, soy sauce, and Cholula hot sauce.

10. Take off burner and let sit for approximately 20 minutes or until mixture thickens.

Serve with chicken or over a salad.

Another Master Chef Event

I'm considering a few more music / food gatherings for those interested. 

On November 29th the Empty Hats will be at Saturday Morning Market in St. Petersburg.  They are a great little Celtic band.  The market opens at 9 a.m. but I'm not sure when the band plays.  I suggest meeting up about 10:30 so we can listen to some music and get some fresh vegetables and swag before it closes at 2.  This event should be very kid and dog friendly.  Check the link above for directions as the Market has moved.

Master Chef IV: Video Recap

Bit-O-Honey Pumpkin Cake

by Denise Parker

170g (about 6 oz) Bit-O-Honey Bars

1 cup canola oil

4 eggs

1 can (15-oz size) pure pumpkin

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

2 ounces butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 cups confectioners' sugar

For the pumpkin cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13-

by-9-inch pan with nonstick spray.

Freeze the Bit-O-Honey Bars for 10 minutes. (Don't forget to unwrap them before freezing.) In the food processor, chop candy bars coarsely. Set aside. (For a quieter solution, put the froze candies in a ziplock bag and hit it with a hammer.)

In a large mixing bowl, using electric mixer, combine the oil and eggs, and mix 30 seconds on high. Add pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Mix on medium 1 minute, scraping down sides of the bowl. Add the baking powder, baking soda and flour, and mix on low 30 seconds. Fold in the chopped candy bars.

Pour the batter into a prepared pan and bake 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

For the cream cheese frosting: In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Mix in the vanilla. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat until thoroughly incorporated.

Special Dark Mole Poblano Chicken

by Scott Wurzel

6 chicken thighs

1 yellow onion, quartered

3 cloves of garlic

5 roma tomatoes, halved

1 4 oz can chilis in adobo sauce, divided into 2 oz sauce and one chili

1/4 c olive oil

2 tsp Chinese five spice powder

2 tbl whole cumin seeds

2 tbl sesame seeds

3 tbl black peppercorns

4 Hershey's Mini Special Dark

4 Hershey's Mini Special Dark Mr. Goodbar

Salt

Ground pepper

Toast cumin, sesame seeds, and peppercorns until sesame seeds are a light brown.  In a grinder, combine toasted spices with the five spice powder and finely grind.

In a food processor, combine onion, garlic, tomatoes, chilies and sauce, olive oil, and chocolate bars.  Add spices and process until smooth.  At this point it will look a little like salsa, but once exposed to heat it will come together.

Salt and pepper chicken thighs and then brown in a skillet over Medium heat.  Once the chicken is browned, pour the contents of the food processor into the pan and cover.  Reduce heat to medium low and cook for 25 minutes.

Serve with rice.

Peep Wings

by Glen Parker

1 lb frozen chicken wingettes

1/2 C Texas Pete hot sauce

1/4 C Butter

1/8 tsp salt

1 packet Taco Bell Mild sauce

12 pumpkin shaped Peeps (approx 5 classic Yellow Peeps)

Peanut Oil for Frying

0)  Heat oil in deep fry pan to 350F

1)  Steam wings for 20 minutes to render out some excess fat. Evacuate wings to bowl lined with paper towel.  Remove as much moisture as you can.

2)  In medium sauce pan, combine hot sauce, butter, salt, Taco Bell sauce, and Peeps over medium-low heat.  Stir often with whisk until Peeps and butter completely melted. Remove from heat.

3)  Fry wings in small batches 2-3 minutes, until skin crispy.  For better results let oil reheat to 350F between batches.

4)  Toss wings in sauce, serve immediately.

Master Chef IV: Parker Dynasty Established

Another Parker, another dessert!  Congrats to Denise for winning the fourth Master Chef competition.  Her pumpkin spice Bit-O-Honey spiked cake perfectly captured the spirit of the competition and the season.

Watch the blog for this and other spooky-good recipes.

To Us, It's Candy Corn...

... but for Domo-kun, they are copious replicates.

Bulgogi and Korean Cole Slaw

by Robert Cooksey

1.5 lbs thinly sliced sirloin strips

CJ Bulgogi marinade (can find in Asian markets, CJ = Cheil Jedang)

toasted sesame seeds

sesame oil

1 bunch scallions

1/2 cup burdock (sliced into thin strips, boiled, and rinsed)

1/2 cup oshinko

1/2 cup shredded carrot

ginger

1 bulb garlic

Tamari

Shao Hsing

Honey Powder

Sriracha Mayonnaise

Marinate sirloin with enough CJ bulgogi marinade to cover the sirloin strips. Add a tablespoon of sesame oil and liberally sprinkle toasted sesame seeds.  Chop two scallions and sprinkle over top of marinade and use fork to separate the strips and distribute the oil, onions, and sesame seeds. Let marinade for at least an hour.

While the meat is marinating, dice the oshinko and shred the carrot and toss with burdock. In a skillet over medium low heat, bring 1/4 cup of Tamari and a splash of Shao Hsing to heat with a teaspoon of shredded ginger, 3 cloves of crushed garlic, and two tablespoons of honey powder (could use honey, I was experimenting). Reduce. Turn off the heat and add the vegetable mix. Toss in the skillet (or put in a container and toss) to evenly distribute the liquid over the vegetables. Add Sriracha Mayonnaise to desired cole slaw consistency. Stir and refrigerate.

Remove sirloin from marinade. Let it drain in colander. Get an iron skillet hot over medium heat. Add the sirloin and a handful of scallion chopped in 1/4- 1/2 inch pieces with angle cut ends. Remove all liquid and let meat star to caramelize and char a bit.

Pull off heat and serve with a scoop of the cold (in temperature) and spicy cole slaw.

I didn't do so, but this would be very good served with some sticky rice.