Sweetly Southern

A big fat slice of Red Velvet Cake and “Driving Miss Daisy” on dvd help to cure a bit of homesickness.  I love my life in Costa Rica but I have my moments when I miss the south.

Hearing the twang in folks voices…

The smell of fried food…

Southern hospitality…

Feeling the excitement of a high school football game…

Waving at folk’s, even if you don’t know them…

Sitting in a rocking chair on the porch, sipping on the perfect glass of sweet tea while watching the fireflies go by and listening to John Lee Hooker…

God I love the South! So when I am feeling all nostalgic there are a few ways to bring the south all the way to Quebradas! One of my favorites is Red Velvet Cake, even the name is decadent! It’s not quite chocolate, not quite vanilla. Imagine the perfect yellow cake that’s been given the most gentle kiss by chocolate. That’s Red Velvet Cake! There is still the mystery of why its red, but I don’t give a damn. Its great cake and great cake can work wonders!

List O’ Stuff: Red Velvet Cake

2 ½ Cups of AP Flour

1 ½ Cups of Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda

1 Teaspoon of Salt

1 Teaspoon of Cocoa Powder

1 ½ Cups of Vegetable Oil

1 Cup of Buttermilk *

2 Large Eggs

2 Tablespoons of Red Food Coloring

1 Teaspoon of White Vinegar

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

      How To

• Pre heat your oven to 350˚
• Grease and lightly flour 3 9 inch round cake pans.
• In a stand mixer combine  flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
• In a large bowl mix together the vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla extract.
• Slowly pour the wet mixture into the stand mixer bowl until the batter is smooth and well combined.
• Evenly divide the batter between the 3 pans.
• Place the pans into the over spaced evenly apart.
• Bake for about 30 minutes. Halfway into the cooking time rotate the pans.
• The cakes are done when they pull away from the side of the pan and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the cake.
• Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edge.
• Allow cakes to cool.
• Once cool, remove the cakes from the pans.

List O’ Stuff: Cream Cheese Frosting

1 Stick of Butter, Room Temp.

4 ounces of Cream Cheese, Room Temp

2 Cups of Powdered Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

      How To

• In a large bowl combine the butter and cream cheese. It’s a lot easier to use an electric mixer.
• Add in the powdered sugar gradually.
• Add in the vanilla extract.
• Mix  until the frosting is smooth and creamy.

        Tips

• For the life of me I have not been about to find buttermilk in Costa Rica so I use a little trick to make my own for recipes. Simply combine 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar.
• It’s also better if the ingredients are all at room temperature before starting.

Not My Grandmothers Banana Bread

 When the aroma of banana bread wafts in your direction, most are intoxicated! That fragrance can invoke memories of a grandmother's smile as she creates miracles in her oven... Well, maybe your grandmother. Mine was the type that wasn't going to mess up her manicure for anything or anybody. Shirley Ree, my maternal grandmother, was a southern belle who would surely swoon at the thought of being anywhere near a hot oven. Besides she figured why sweat out her perm when Little Debbie & Sarah Lee have already done the work. Oh, how wrong she was. There are few things in life that compare to a slice of banana bread still warm from the oven. It is such a classic comfort food. Banana bread is sooo quick and easy to make, that even Shirley Ree could have made some if she felt so inclined.

P.S. Told you I had a bunch more stuff to do with all of my bananas :)

Third World "Cinnamon N Raisin Biscuits"

Can a country with Wal-Mart, Apple Stores and Starbucks still be considered “3rd World”? Costa Rica has grown tremendously in the 2 short years that I have been living here full-time. Escazu, the “Beverly Hills of CR, has always had a ton of “gringo” stores & restaurants, but now you can find American & European stuff all over. My family and I live “donde el diablo perdió su chaqueta”, which back home is the equivalent of the boondocks. Even out here there is McDonalds, KFC, Wal-Mart, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Apple, and Auto Mercado. It’s always exciting to see new businesses opening up all over CR. Needless to say I was thrilled when the Tico Times announced the arrival of Carl’s Jr!

I grew up with parents who were not chefs, heck they weren’t even decent cooks. My sister and I got our meals primarily from drive-thrus and delivery guys. Wednesdays there was “Wags”, the truck stop with the best grilled cheese ever. My Paw-Paw worked at a BBQ spot, so that was always in the rotation. Shoney’s, Ryan’s Buffet, Chinese delivery, McDonalds, Pizza delivery, and Wendys, were pretty popular with my family too. For breakfast though nothing beat Hardee’s. They had this “Cinnamon N Raisin” biscuit that was my absolute favorite. I cant tell you how many times I had an O.J., large order of “hash rounds”, and one of those biscuits for breakfast.

Now back to Carl’s Jr. They are owned by the same parent company as Hardee’s. So hearing of their debut in CR. I got all nostalgic for one of those biscuits. I got to work in my kitchen and hooked up my version of these warm & wonderful delights.

List O’ Stuff

Biscuits

4 Cups of Self-rising Flour

 3/4 Cup of Shortening

2 Cups of Milk or Buttermilk

2 Teaspoons of baking powder

1 Teaspoon of salt

1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda

1⁄3 Cup of Sugar

3 Teaspoons of Cinnamon

1 Cup of raisins

Icing

2 1/2 Cups of Powdered Sugar

6 Tablespoons of Milk

* If icing isn’t your thing, you can use a drizzle of honey!

How To

• Mix flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and sugar.
• Use a fork to blend in shortening until it is a fine mixture.
• Add 2 cups of milk/buttermilk and mix
• Add in raisins and mix some more.
• Add cinnamon and swirl it through the batter using a knife. Don’t over mix the batter.
• On a well floured surface place the batter.
• Flour the top of the batter and pat down to about 1/2 inch thick.
• Cut into 2 inch circles and put onto a greased baking pan
• Bake at 400ºF for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
• Once the biscuits are done, remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit.
• While cooling, whip up your icing by combining the powdered sugar and milk. Add the milk one tablespoon at a time until its the consistancy you like.
• Grab a cup of hot tea and have a “civilized moment”. Be sure to hold your pinky out!

Where is a Girl Scout when you need them?

Ain't no Girl Scouts in Costa Rica :( When cookie time rolls around I miss those smiley little girls standing in front of the grocery stores pedalling overpriced goodies. Everyone has their favorites, there are the "Thin Mint" folks, "Samoa" people, "Shortbread" guys, so on and so forth. But me I was a sucker for the "Do-Si-Dos". Those things are little pieces of peanut butter bliss! I could have some shipped down but I'm sure they would "magically disappear" in customs. Determined to get that little piece of home I hooked up a few "Half-Way to Heaven Peanutbutter Cookies". These cookies are "Que Rico"!!! Imagine a "Do-Si-Dos" but with a moist cookie and an even richer filling....Hear that?....Yes that was the sound of heaven opeing up and the angels decesnding sings songs of praise to the almighty "Half-Way to Heaven Peanutbutter Cookies".

* I had to do a bit of tweaking to the Broma Bakery recipe because down here you cant always find stuff :)

List O' Stuff

For the Cookies

1 1/2 Cups of Quick Oats

1/2 Cup of Flour

1/2 Cup of Sugar

!/2 Cup of Brown Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon of Salt

1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

1/2 Cup of Smooth Peanut Butter

1/4 Cup of Honey 

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Softened

1 Egg

For the Filling

1/2 Cup of Powdered Sugar 

1 Cup of Smooth Peanut Butter

1/3 Cup of Honey

How To

• Preheat Oven to 350ºF. 
• In a Medium bowl, mix the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt.
• In a Large bowl, mix the butter, both sugars, egg, peanut butter, honey, and vanilla extract.
• Pour the oat mixture into the large bowl. Stir until it is mixed well. 
• Place 1/2 inch balls of batter onto an a lightly greased baking sheet. (try to make an even number of balls)
• Bake for about 8 minutes. 
• When baked to your satisfaction, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
• While the cookies are baking...whisk together the powdered sugar, honey, and peanut butter until it is airy. I suggest using an electric hand mixer for about 5 minutes or so. 
• On a clean work surface, place half of the cookies upside down.
• Put a good dollop of filling into the center of each upside down cookie. 
• Top each upside down cookie with a cookie and press down a bit until the filling just comes to the edges.
• Sit back, Relax, and go "Half-way to Heaven"

Richard's Rum-Raisin Ice Cream

There is this crazy Jamaican named Richard, whose weapon of choice is table lamps. Don't Ask... 10 years ago he popped in my life and through all sorts of twist and turns we have ended up like family. We fuss, fight, and have awkward conversations that I’m 99.7% sure if overheard would spark normal folk to contact the authorities. Oh but I digress. So Richard grew up in Jamaica (not the pretty part you see on the travel channel either) and came to the U.S. when he was a teen. I remember being stunned by all of the things he had no clue about. I don't remember how it came about but one day he told me that he had never eaten Cheetos. We are talking about the incredibly crunchy,cheesy, & delicious Cheetos! Who hasn't eaten Cheetos? In high school they were a staple in my diet. You know how certain things just remind you of certain people? Well for me Richard =Rum Raisin Ice Cream... I know you thought I was going to say Cheetos, huh?

List O' Stuff

    1/2 Cup Raisins

    1/4 Cup Dark Jamaican Rum

    3 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream

    1 Cup Milk

    1/2 Cup Sugar

    1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

    1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract

4 Egg Yolks

How To

•     Soak the raisins in the rum for at least 30 minutes
•     In a large saucepan combine the cream, milk, sugar, nutmeg, and vanilla. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the milk is hot but don't let it boil. Make sure the sugar is dissolved and then remove from heat. 
•     In a bowl beat the egg yolks. Slowly pour in about a cup of the milk mixture. Whisk it until smooth
•     Pour the egg mixture slowly back into the saucepan whisking until its mixed well. 
•     Return the pan to the pan to medium high heat and stirring constantly until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should take around 5 minutes. Make sure the mixture does not boil. 
•     Strain the mixture into a large bowl. Cover the surface of the mixture with plastic wrap. This will keep a skin from forming.
•     Let this cool to room temperature.
•     Drain the rum off of the raisins. Save the rum and stir it into the mixture
•     Use an icecream maker to freeze the mixture. Be sure to follow the instructions of your icecream maker. About 5 minutes before the icecream is complete stir in the raisins. Allow the freezing process to complete. 
• Grub!

"Psuedotico" Banana Pudding

"Come Mister tally man, tally me bananas"...My little finca has banana trees popping up everywhere. I literally have a bunch of bananas. It is one less thing to buy at the grocery store. With two kids who love them, I AM WINNING! But there comes a time when you look over at your fruit bowl and the dark spots have overtaken the yellow skin. This is when the fruit flies invade, and "Psuedotico Banana Pudding" comes to the rescue! I hope you enjoy my attempt to add a touch of tico to my simple southern dish. 

P.S. With all of these bananas expect a "bunch" more recipes...Yah I know. LAME JOKE

List O' Stuff

12 oz box of Vanilla wafer cookies 

4-6 Bananas (preferably ripened)

Nestle La Lechera Dulce de Leche or Carmel

3/4 cups of Sugar

2 tablespoons of Corn Starch

3 cups of Milk

4 Egg yolks

1/2 stick of butter

1 tablespoon of Vanilla Bean Paste or Vanilla Extract

How To

• In a double boiler mix together the cornstarch and sugar, then slowly add in milk. No double boiler? You can do this on low-med heat, just stir constantly until thickened. 
• Beat the egg yolks slightly and temper with a little of the hot custard. Stir well.
• Add the eggs to the mixture and cook for about 2 minutes. 
• Remove from the heat. Add butter and vanilla. 
• Let cool. Congrats! You made pudding. 
• In a baking dish make alternating layers of cookies, pudding, and then bananas. 
• Top off with a drizzle of the Dulce de Leche. You may use as much or as little as you like