Grandma Lou's Christmas Casserole

A family tradition for over 50 years... every Christmas I wonder why we don't make it throughout the year.

Ingredients:

20 slices of bread - crust removed (a buttermilk or hawaiian bread work best)
10 slices of ham (think slices)
10 slices of medium or sharp cheddar cheese

Milk & Egg Mixture:
8 eggs
1 pint milk
1 pink half & half
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp worchester sauce

Directions:
Place 10 slices of bread in greased 9x13 casserole pan. Top each with one slice ham and one slice cheese. Cover again with bread. Pour milk & egg mixture over bread. Refrigerate overnight then back 50 minutes at 375. Serves 8.

Cardiff Crack - YUM!

Just had a BBQ at the house and cooking up some amazingly delicious Cardiff Crack from Seaside Market (www.seasidemarket.com).

Here's how to make it:

Ingredients:

• 1 full tri-tip from your local butcher or supermarket
• 2 cups red wine (I like to use zinfindel - can be open for a couple of days)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 TBSP honey
• 3 cloves garlic - Minced
• 1 TBSP of ground black pepper (yes that is 1 TBSP not 1 tsp)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a gallon zip-lock bag and marinate overnight (a couple hours will also do if needed).

Grill over medium to low heat on the grill, slice and enjoy!

Baby Rees - Mac & Cheese

This is a ridiculously good Mac & Cheese Recipe from our friend Molly.

Creamy White Bean & Chorizo Soup

In anticipation of the rain a Sunday soup is definitely in order... Here's my adjustment on my previous and more traditional white bean soup recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 cans white beans
• 2 TBSP Olive Oil
• 3 Garlic Cloves - Chopped
• 1 Spring fresh rosemary
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 Large Onion - Chopped
• 1 Large Carrot - Chopped
• 2 Celery Stalks - Chopped
• 3 tsp fresh Thyme - Chopped
• 4 cups Chicken Stock
• 1 lb fresh chorizo sausage (casing removed)
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• Salt and Pepper to taste
  

Directions:
Chop all veggies - put 2 TBSP of the Olive oil in a large pot and add carrots, celery, onions and garlic - cook until softens (about 8-10 min) - add spices (rosemary, thyme, bay leaf) saute another 3 minutes. Add rest of ingredients, except the chorizo and cream, bring to a boil - reduce to medium and let simmer for 25 minutes to let the flavors blend. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes to cool.

While soup is cooling, remove casing from chorizo and cook in a heavy skillet until browned. Transfer to a paper towel to drain. (you'll need 5-6 paper towels).

Using a slotted spoon remove 1-1/2 cups of the bean mixture from the soup. Working in batches, puree the remaining soup in a blender or food processor (this is why you let it cool for 1o min or more).

Return the puree to the pot. Stir in remaining bean mixture you removed, chorizo and cream. Season with salt and pepper simmer over low heat (5 minutes) - serve with Croutons or a light garnish of flat leaf parsely.

Enjoy!

Guy's Gourmet Meet Twitter

Seeing if my new twitterfeed works...

you can now follow Guysgourmet on Twitter.

www.twitter.com/guysgourmet

Cheers,

Joe Curtis

BBQ Beans

I just had these over at a friends house and they were a perfect compliment to the BBQ Chicken and Ribs we had. They are a family recipe so here are Grandma Gage's BBQ Beans:







Ingredients:

• 2- 15 oz Cans Ranch Style Bakes Beans
• 1- 15 oz can of Pinto Beans
• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 bottle of BBQ sauce (for some reason I'm partial to Bullseye)
• 2 tsp liquid smoke (this is a key ingredient - don't leave it out - click here for an explanation of what it is)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you're daring)

Directions:
Saute onion and brown turkey in the pot that you'll cook the beans in. Drain excess fat then add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and simmer for 1 hour or as long as 2-1/2 hours.

Enjoy!

Thanks Kari

Chairman's Circle Noodles

Here is the recipe for the Noodle Appetizer dish made for the Chairman's Circle Dinner at Nicki's house. I divided the noodles into small Chinese take-out containers to serve.

Serves 8 as a side:

Ingredients:

• 3 packets of Ramen Noodles (throw away the flavor packet)
• 1/2 cup chopped or slivered - toasted almonds
• 1/2 cup scallions chopped
• 3/4 cup shredded carrots
• 2 cups Napa Cabbage chopped
• 2 TBSP Sesame Seeds (I prefer the black ones)
• 1/4 cup Rice wine vinegar
  
• 3 TBSP Olive Oil - good stuff
• 1 TBSP soy sauce
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Cook the Ramen noodles in a pot of unsalted boiling water for 3 minutes (this goes fast) then empty into a strainer and rinse with cold water to stop the noodles from continuing to cook (too much cooking makes the noodles mushy). In a large bowl mix the rest of the dry ingredients (Almonds, Carrots, Cabbage, Sesame Seeds) with the noodles. In a separate bowl whisk together the vinegar, olive oil and soy sauce then pour over the noodles and toss together until evenly coated. Salt and Pepper to taste and Enjoy!!!

Thanks to Marc A. for help with the prep!

Bon Appetit!