DRIVE BY RECIPE; Scotch Eggs with itty bitty Quail egg, yes I did

I ended up with some peeled quail eggs, yeah, and thought to myself, "myself what shall we do with these little darlings?"  Reminder:  I get mine at Texas Quail Farms in Lockhart, Texas... www.texquail.com

((EPIPHANY MOMENT))

Scotch eggs!

I'll write out detailed instructions with amounts, but for those of you who cook...  check it out:

DRIVE BY RECIPE:  TRACY'S QUAIL SCOTCH EGGS

*NO, I don't have pics of the play by play, I didn't know they'd turn out so amazing.  I will upload more pics when I make the next batch which will be soon!!!!!


Take some boiled, peeled, quail eggs you know my trick, do it.
http://www.tracycooksinaustin.com/2016/06/quail-eggs-how-to-cook-them-how-to-peel.html

Dry them and roll them lightly in flour, pat most of it off, just no wet spots.

Roll the eggs in some sausage meat.  I press a palm sized piece in my hand, thin, and lay the egg in the middle and wrap.  Be sure there's no egg peeking through, roll it around in your hands to seal pretty well.

Dip the sausage wrapped eggs in beaten egg

Dip the egg coated, sausage wrapped egg in bread crumbs.

Preheat oil in shallow pan to medium heat.  Place the bread crumb coated, egg coated, sausage wrapped, hard boiled quail eggs.

Fry on medium heat till each side is brown.  Transfer to a preheated 350 oven for about 10 minutes.

Drain, salt, eat eat eat

   

  

you are NOT going to be disappointed and no, it wasn't fussy or fiddly, go, now, make some!

/enjoy

tracy

PS:  Ok, I don't want to brag or anything but Robert came by to test and he liked 'em!  Yeah, that's high praise indeed

QUICKIE DRIVE BY recipe - Mini Donuts because DONUTS!

Sometimes you want donuts and sometimes you realize that you always have the ingredients for donuts in your house, I'm about to ruin you for all time, you're welcome.

I treated myself to a mini donut pan because I had a weird coupon for it and, well, mini donuts have no calories, especially if you eat them standing up. I think any mini donut pan would work so I'm not recommending one or another.  *IF you make donut pans and you want me to try yours, email me :)



ANYWAY, this is the batter I settled on as my favorite.  I tested a bunch for you, you're so very welcome, I'm selfless like that.

QUICKIE DRIVE BY BAKED DONUTS

PREHEAT oven to 335

Ingredients

1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
CREAM TOGETHER LIKE MAD then add all at once
1 XL egg
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
a few grates of fresh nutmeg
WHIP TOGETHER, IT WILL LOOK LIKE A CURDLED MESS, that's perfect
DUMP in all at once:
1 1/2 cup a/p flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
FOLD together with a spatula

The batter is thick and lovely.  Put it all in a Quart size ziplock bag and cut a tiny corner off so you can pipe this super thick batter into your mini donut pan. Grease the pan well with spray and only fill them about 1/2 full...  or else you'll get muffins, ask me how I know....

Pop the pan into a preheated oven and bake for 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and leave in pan about a minute then bang the pan on the counter, upside down and they all pop out.  Put the little darlings on a rack to  cool and cook the rest.

I make a glaze of

1 cup icing (confection) sugar  with enough melted butter to turn it the consistency of peanut butter, thick peanut butter.  Then drizzle in evaporated milk until it's the consistency you like for dipping the donuts, thick to top or thin to dip, your choice :)

When the donuts are cool you can top glaze them or dip them in icing sugar or you can butter them then roll in cinnamon sugar or you can dip glaze them if you make the glaze thinner or you can make ganache or ice them with icing sugar and lemon juice; the possibilities are endless.  Here's the beauty shots from the testings.  All delicious, all eaten :)

Go make some, now!

ENJOY!

 

 

 

Apple Fritters. Quick and Easy. OH and if there's fruit in it, it's healthy and you can eat it for breakfast.

This is my recipe for  my quick, any day of the week, apple fritters.  I made them this am and am sitting here eating them.  I thought, absolutely, you'd like to make these and have them for yourself. 

Like most of my recipes, it's quick, it's easy and you will rock the fritters, plus, there's fruit so remember, they're healthy!  O_o  

TRACY'S QUICK APPLE FRITTERS

INGREDIENTS

1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3-4 Tablespoons of sugar
1/2 tsp salt
(any spice you like with your apples, cinnamon, nutmeg or nothing)
1/4 tsp dry yeast (OPTIONAL!)

1 egg
1/3 cup milk
2 grated (small) apples, I use Gala which are quite small so I use two, if you have giant apples, use one

IF you want to drizzle them, then you need some icing sugar, 1/3 cup? and a dribble of milk.  OR you can just dust them with icing sugar, your call.

some fat to cook them in.  I use 1/2 clear vegetable oil and coconut oil, ya, I went there. 

Quick INSTRUCTIONS

Mix, fry, eat.  

*I got a complaint that my recipes (and blog in general) was too long winded, so I wanted to be sure there were short instructions for ya, sweetie  *hehehehe*

LONG WINDED INSTRUCTIONS WITH PICTURES  

This is seriously a dump, fry, eat experience

IN a bowl, or 4 cup measuring cup like me, combine all the dry ingredients, flip them around with a fork.  In another bowl, mix the milk and egg (add vanilla if you're one of those!)  Combine the wet into the dry into a very thick batter
   
   
Peel and grate one or two apples, depending on their size.  Add them to the batter.
   

Mmmmm, gooey thick and droppy fritter batter.  I throw a towel over it while I get the cooking station ready.   ON the days I use yeast in the batter, I think it makes it slightly poofier if it rests.  On the days I don't use yeast (I don't always) resting makes it lighter as well...  either way, let it sit there while you get the fat ready.
  

Heat some oil, any combination that you like, in a frying pan.  I use cast iron because it keeps a nice heat.  I pour in enough oil to be about 1/2 inch deep, this is a shallow deep fry.  I drop 1/4 tsp water in the fat and turn the heat onto medium.  When the fat spits, or 'speaks' then I know it's the right temperature.  I am SURE there's better ways, like with a thermometer but I don't use them.  I also use the "put a wooden chopstick in the fat and if there's bubbles then it's hot enough" method. 

DO NOT cook these unless the fat is hot, they'll be gross.

When the fat is hot, I coat my spoon, lightly, and scoop out the batter without having any stick to the spoon, cool and chefy!

Since the batter sat and waited, I like it to rest, it may have gotten thinner, if it has, feel free to add a little more flour, this should be thick!

Drop, carefully, by spoonfuls into the fat, not too many at a time and cook till they are brown on the bottom, flip carefully and wait another moment or two till they're cooked through and brown on the bottom too.
   

Mmmm, breakfast!  You can make them bigger or smaller, have at it!
     

Transfer them to a rack with a paper towel underneath to catch any residual fat, there shouldn't be much if your fat is hot enough.  Allow to cool for a while, seriously, as much as I hate to say this, I prefer them room temperature to screaming hot out of the pan.

When they are cool (ish) make a light drizzle with confectioners sugar and a few drops of milk to make a pouring consistency.  You can pour or dunk, again your personal choice.
   

Serve them up to those you love.  I have no idea if they keep or freeze, they never last the day.

Gratuitous beauty food porn shots

Bacon Maple Glazed Bacon with Nuts, did I mention it's Bacon? and Maple and nuts? You can look but you should make it, it's painfully delicious

I make glazed bacon.  Everyone does.  It's not a recipe, it's a fabulous idea, a method.  Mine?  Well, I make brown sugar and cayenne bacon.  I like the combination of the hot and the sweet and the smoke of the bacon.  I lay bacon on a pan, sprinkle it with brown sugar and cayenne and bake it until it's crisp.  I eat it purely for the enjoyment of eating it even though every time I make it, I pretend it's for some higher cause.  It never it, I just eat it.

I have an evil friend who throws culinary gauntlets before me.  This is one of hers.

I haven't done the bacon it in pure maple syrup AND sugar AND nuts.  My [evil] friend told me to make this.  I did make this.  Now, I can never UNknow how to make this.  Since she trapped in my head, I'm going to pay it forward and now, now it's trapped in yours.  

You're welcome. :D

Maple and Brown Sugar glazed Bacon with Pecans

Line a sheet pan with parchment and line it with as much bacon as you want, flat. 

Pour a little maple syrup (the REAL stuff!) over the bacon and coat it lightly.

Sprinkle brown sugar then chopped pecans over the bacon. 

BAKE in a preheated 225 oven for 60-75 minutes.

Remove from oven, transfer to a rack to harden/setup/cool/crystalize. 

EAT

EAT SOME MORE

EAT another piece

Put it in a sandwich, on a sausage bun, on a hot dog, over ICE CREAM or just eat it.

You're welcome, now YOU can never UNKNOW this as well ;) 

   

Ahh, the last of my beloved New Mexico pecans...
   
The final beauty shot:

I'm trying to think of a truly inspired and awesome method to use this...  I can't think of anything so I'm simply going to eat it. (maybe over ice cream?!)  oh YEAH! 

I'll get back to my regular food stuff in a bit but for now, we bacon.

/enjoy