Homemade Marshmallows

Hi everyone - Merry Christmas - Happy Hanukkah!
My brother in law and sister in law Mike and Nancy have an annual Holiday party and they really lay out the spread - including a Chocolate fountain with assorted fruit and sweets to run through the fountain. So I made some homemade marshmallows that went over pretty well. I promised to post the recipe on the blog - (still trying to get this blog to go viral so I can retire, hunt, cook and play golf so tell all your friends :p )
OK so by popular demand here is the recipe for the homemade marshmallows - with props and credit to Alton Brown - his show is where I saw it first a few years ago and I used his recipe...
Ingredients:
3 packets unflavored gelatin
1 Cup Ice cold water -divided
12 oz by weight of granulated sugar (about 1 and 1/2 cups by volume if you don't have a scale)
1 Cup Light Corn Syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup Confectioners Sugar
1/4 cup Corn starch
Non Stick Spray
Candy thermometer
Oh and a strong Kitchen Aid or other brand stand Mixer with whisk - these will test a machine's oomph :)

Directions:
Place the gelatin into the bowl of the stand mixer along with 1/2 cup water -have whisk attachment standing by.
In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes. Uncover and clip candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240* F - about 7-8 minutes. (for you candy makers that is the "soft ball" stage). Once it reaches that temp, IMMEDIATELY remove from heat. (OK SAFETY WARNING HERE- THIS STUFF IS HOT AND WILL BURN LIKE NO ONE'S BUSINESS - SHOULD PROBABLY NOT HAVE THE KIDS HELPING FOR THE NEXT STEP)

Attach the whisk and turn the mixer on low speed and while running SLOWLY pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture - careful it is hot and you sure don't want that to splash up on to you. Once it is all in the bowl increase the speed to HIGH. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and lukewarm. about 12-15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. I am always amazed at watching the transformation from hot syrup to white shiny clouds. While it is mixing prepare the pan as follows:

Combine the confectioners sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 x 9 metal (I use Pyrex too) pan with nonstick cooking spray. add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move it around to COMPLETELY coat the bottom and sided. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.
When ready (and take my word for it your mixer will be ready to take a rest) pour, with the help of an oiled spatula into the prepared pan. Use the oiled spatula to spread the mixture around to the corners of the pan. Dust the top with enough of the sugar cornstarch mixture to lightly cover and reserve the rest (I use a small Ziploc bag or prep bowl) for later. Allow the marshmallows to set for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1" squares using a pizza cutter dusted with the cornstarch/sugar mixture . Use the rest of the mixture (I always have to mix up a little more at this stage -50/50 mix remember) to lightly dust the cut marshmallows so they don't stick... You can store them for up to 3 weeks in an airtight container..... Yeah RIGHT that'll happen. I am going to try some variations - Creme` de Menthe instead of vanilla, perhaps?????

Anyway below is the link to the recipe I used so if you want to go there directly and print off the recipe card - I give full credit to Mr. Brown-but want you to know that it isn't hard and really not too time consuming but they can be a little messy. Happy Holidays :)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe/index.html

It's all about the birds

I have not really posted too much about the hunting that Ike does - and that is a shame. For those of you that have not had the privilege to see a pointing dog in action it is a real joy to see and the beauty and grace of an animal doing what comes natural to them. I haven't gotten any recent photos or videos - as it is hard to do either safely when hunting and I will try to get some in the next couple weeks but until then a narrative will have to do.





A couple of weeks ago my brother in law Mike and I took Ike over to Hickory Grove Hunting in Wyanette, IL to give him some additional work. The owner and his wife are both great people and have a few hundred acres of very good cover that incorporates good habitat for birds and great cover to hunt. While the birds are pen raised and released, they are strong flyers and while not quite up to wild bird standards of South Dakota or Kansas, in Illinois they are about the best we have. Ike pointed 5 out of the 6 - which is why they still call it hunting. He pointed well and while his retrieving may need a little work, he loves to chase down the ones that don't fall like a stone. This place does the absolute BEST lunch after a morning hunt you would ever believe. It will be a subject to one of my posts in 2011





Last week I took him down to another Hunting preserve in Woodford County called Panola Prairie. I never realized it is only about 12-14 miles from my family's farm and while not as big - it really has some nice cover for small groups of hunters. Ike and I were by ourselves and had only a couple of hours before we had to move on so on a cold but clear (8* at 7AM) we took off for our excellent adventure. Ike did great again - and we only hunted scratch birds - birds that were placed for other groups but not harvested - so we were not sure if or how many we would see.





Well Ike's nose found 5 birds but Steve's eye only got shots off at two of them. But no fault of Ike's. We're going again next the week of Christmas and will try it again.. Weather willing.. I will try to get some pics or video's this time... Tough to do everything and do it safely.

Until then, "Ike, find that bird!"

Pork Chops

Hi everyone;

I know I promised pheasant chili for the next post and Yes I made it but took no pictures so I will have to see if I can take one when I defrost one of the batches and share it then.. But until then here are some killer pork chops - anyone can make...

I start with some 3/4 to 1" boneless center cut chops - believe it or not the school supporting organization called "Market Day" have some of the best vacuum sealed boneless chops I have found - and reasonably priced too. So you get good quality products and help support your local elementary school too - everybody wins. So this recipe is super easy-- but has a couple of twists. Here are your ingredients:

2 center cut boneless pork chops 3/4- 1" thick

4 Tbsp Corn Starch

3 eggs

1 Cup Panko bread crumbs

1 Cup Regular bread crumbs

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Onion Powder (to taste)

Granulated Garlic (to taste)

1/4 cup Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Butter

Oven at 350*

OK, here goes - I use zip lock bags for wet and dry breading but you can use pans, bowls or what ever you usually use.

salt and pepper chops to taste

Dredge chops in Corn Starch - let stand in rack or even paper towel for at least 5 minutes (this is the secret to getting the breading to stick - let the carbohydrates and starches bind the the proteins of the pork chops) - you will be able to tell when ready as the starch will start to look a little damp and that is the sign the bonding has started.

While that is going on, whisk together the 3 eggs with a tablespoon of water to make the wet portion of the breading. Season with onion powder, granulated garlic, and what ever spices you like (thyme and rosemary work well with pork too)

Also place both types of bread crumbs in a vessel and mix together, again season with any spices you like- I find the Panko and the traditional bread crumbs make a very nice texture on the final product.

Place one chop at a time in the egg mixture and ensure the chop is covered completely. Then place in the breadcrumb mixture.

Take the breaded chop out - and then place BACK in the egg mixture - then place again in the Bread crumbs (here is the second key - Place the double breaded chop on a plate to rest for at least 5 minutes before starting the cooking process). Repeat with second chop.

While chops are resting, prepare skillet with Olive Oil and butter - I like using the butter as I let it get a little brown and foamy- thus giving some additional nutty flavor to the crust.

Fry on medium high heat until brown and then flip to brown second side (about 4-6 minutes per side).

Place skillet with chops in preheated 350* oven for 15-20 minutes - or until minimum of 146* internal temp (remember there will be a little extra cooking during the rest period).

I serve this with steamed green beans, and cous cous, polenta or some other starch.

For you Ike-o-philes, next post will talk about our latest hunting adventure...

Talk to you soon!