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Labor Day Party – revisited

In my previous post about Labor Day I outlined the plans I had made for the party I was planning for our family, friends, and neighbors. I promised to follow up that post with one letting you know the party results.

For this event I prepared as much in advance as possible. The Onion Dip is something that is good to make in ahead of time so all of the ingredients can blend together which results in a much nicer dish. For chips I provided some favorites from the grocery – tortilla and corn. For salsa I ended up using several of Mrs. Renfro’s: Green, Roasted, and a new one (to me anyway) Pomegranate. The Pomegranate Salsa was excellent and I definitely will get that one again. One of our guests suggested it would be great with Shrimp, and I agree.

The dressings for the Potato Salad and Coleslaw I made the day before to save time as well as improve their flavor. The potatoes I cooked in advanced as well. The actual salads were assembled the day of the party to preserve the crispness of the fresh vegetables.

The brisket preparation had to be improvised due to the high winds we were experiencing in Texas over the weekend. My little smoker was not up to the task of performing all night in those conditions, so I ended up smoking the meat for 3 hours then finishing it up in the oven at 170 degrees for the remainder of the time. All told the brisket slow cooked for 20 hours. I had added the rub early in the morning on Sunday so by the time the decision was made to start smoking early it had been on the meat for 10 hours. Per instructions, I gave the meat a light coating of mustard before applying the rub. I used Dijon Mustard.

I ended up not using the mop sauce; it didn’t need it. Instead, before placing the brisket in the oven I wrapped it in foil. I also placed a metal casserole dish in the bottom of the oven filled with water to help keep the meat moist. The brisket actually turned out great, being tender and flavorful with a hint of smoke flavor. Although I would have preferred to smoke it the whole time much of the information I read indicated smoking is generally only effective for the first 5 hours anyway. But that is the subject of some debate.

The Coleslaw I prepared is very fresh and I used my own vinaigrette dressing. The Potato Salad was the result of some creativity, ending up with a reddish color (from the Hungarian Paprika) and flavors that go very well with a cookout. It is not heavy on the mayonnaise, but has a definite taste of dill.

The Onion Dip Recipe, how I prepared the Lemonade, as well as a link to the Brisket Rub I used can be found in my previous post. Here are the recipes for my Potato Salad and Coleslaw:

FRESH COLESLAW

Ingredients
2 c Cabbage, green, shredded
1 c Cabbage, red, shredded
1 c Carrots, shredded
½ c Onion, red, chopped
2 Celery stalks, sliced

Dressing
4 T Vinegar, balsamic
2 T Vinegar, red wine
1 T Mustard, Dijon
2 t Sugar, brown
2 Cloves garlic, minced
1 t Celery seeds
½ c Olive oil
½ t Basil, dry
½ t Black pepper
¼ t Salt

Instructions
Prepare dressing in advance. Chop all fresh ingredients and toss together. Serve with dressing either mixed in with the salad, or on the side.

COOKOUT POTATO SALAD

Ingredients
1 ½ t Salt, kosher
½ t Pepper, ground
2 T Sugar
1 T Mustard powder
3 T Dill, dried
2 T Garlic powder
2 T Paprika

1 ½ c Mayonnaise
2 T Mustard, Dijon

1 c Green pepper, chopped
1 c Red pepper, chopped
½ c Onion, red chopped
½ c Celery, chopped
4 Pickles, dill chopped

12 c Potatoes, cubed and cooked

Instructions
Blend dry ingredients then add mayonnaise and mustard to make dressing. This can be made in advanced and kept cool. When ready to make salad, add chopped vegetables to dressing. Cook cubed potatoes until tender. Gently mix dressing and chopped vegetable mixture with cooked potatoes and chill.

For dessert we had Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla and Moolenium Crunch plus all the toppings.

We at Lukewarm Legumes hope you had a very enjoyable and safe Labor Day event with your family, friends, and neighbors. We would be delighted to hear about your Labor Day preparations, your thoughts about our site, and your kitchen experiences. Be sure to +1 us on Google, Like us on Facebook, and Follow Us on Twitter.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

This is the first post in our Saucier Series. Saucier (pronounced saws-yey) is a position usually found in large commercial kitchens. The Saucier, also known as the Sauce Cook, is responsible for creating and producing sauces as an accompaniment to meats, vegetables, and fish. They can also be responsible for preparing soups, stews, salad dressings, sweet sauces for desserts, pasta, hot hors d’œuvres, sautés, and other made to order dishes.

Today’s sauce is one of my favorites. Take me to a Chinese Restaurant and one of the dishes I will most likely order is Sweet and Sour – something. Although I love Chinese food I can be very particular about how it is prepared. I have found that for me the best way to deal with this particularness is to prepare the food myself.

If you do a search of recipes online for Sweet and Sour Sauce, most call for adding ketchup, which to me does not make for a good authentic Chinese Restaurant style Sweet and Sour Sauce. Not satisfied with the results of any recipes I could find prepared by someone else, I went to the Lukewarm Legumes Test Kitchen and put together a Sweet and Sour Sauce that I think rivals any you will find at your local Chinese Restaurant. Not only is it delicious and easy to make, but you can put it together from ingredients that most likely are already in your pantry.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Ingredients
1/2 c Rice Vinegar
1 c Pineapple or Orange Juice
1 t Ginger, ground
1/2 t Garlic powder
2/3 c Brown Sugar, packed
2 T Honey

1/4 c Water
2 T Corn Starch

Red Food Dye

Instructions
Mix all but cornstarch and the 1/4c water in a sauce pan, heat and stir until well blended. Add cornstarch to remaining cold water and stir to dissolve. Combine dissolved cornstarch with sauce in the pan. Heat until sauce thickens to the desired consistency. Add water to thin if necessary. After thickened, add red food dye to produce the desired shade.

Serve with rice and your favorite: chicken, fish, pork, beef, or even veggies. I think this sauce makes almost everything better. 🙂

This is a sauce you can prepare ahead of time. Store it in your refrigerator and it can be quickly heated as needed.

Enjoy!

We at Lukewarm Legumes encourage and look forward to reading your comments and stories about your kitchen experiences. Please share them with us on our website, through Facebook or Twitter.

Labor Day Party

Humans are social creatures. Each one of us is an individual with our own particular preferences and peculiarities, but I believe for all our differences, we share far more similarities. One of these similarities is that we enjoy being around other people. So we look forward to the occasions that offer opportunities for us to gather together with our family, friends, and neighbors.

Many of these opportunities come during holidays, such as Labor Day. This is one of those days that many people traditionally have off from work. Just type into your favorite search engine the words ‘labor day events’ and you will likely find lists of activities planned for your part of the country (if you live in the U. S. anyway). For instance, I live in Houston, Texas and I found sites for events in Houston as well as in other parts of Texas.

For Labor Day this year at our home we have invited family and friends over for a cookout. For the food, here are our plans so far:

Since it has been so hot and dry this season in our part of the country, our plans are for cooking outside and to provide plenty of refreshing foods. You need to have something for your guests to munch on until everyone arrives and the meal is ready, so I recommend having them prepared and ready before people start to arrive. The starters for this party will include chips, dips, with cold drinks such as beer for the adults and lemonade.

One of my favorite dips is Onion Dip, and here is my recipe:

ONION DIP

Ingredients
1 T Instant Beef Bouillon
2 T Minced onions
¼ t Garlic powder
½ t Chives, dried
½ t Parsley, dried
¼ t Onion, powdered
1 c Sour cream

Instructions
Combine ingredients and let sit in refrigerator for one hour before serving.

This, along with fresh homemade salsa, will be served with chips.

For lemonade I make it using simple syrup, lemon juice and water. I make simple syrup ahead of time by heating 1 part water and 1 part sugar until the sugar completely dissolves. (2 cups sugar plus 2 cups water heated yields 3 cups simple syrup.) This I keep in the refrigerator until need. Then to make lemonade I add 2 parts simple syrup to 2 parts lemon juice and 12 parts cold water (hint: 2 oz. (1/4 cup) simple syrup + 2 oz. (1/4 cup) lemon juice + 12 oz. (1 1/2 cups) water = 1 pint). Simple syrup is easy to make and use because it mixes so well with the other ingredients (much better than plain sugar). Plus it can be used for making Mint Juleps.

For the meal I am planning on smoking a brisket. This year I will be using a dry rub and mop sauce and cooking the brisket in a smoker I have used for years, primarily for smoking turkey for our family’s Thanksgiving meal. I will be trying a method I recently found at a site called The Smoker King which advertises itself as a site for ‘BBQing Recipes and Techniques, Texas Style!!’ At this site are instructions for preparing the brisket (between the rub and smoking, this will be a 24+ hour commitment) with recipes for the rub and mop sauce. Along with the brisket we will be serving potato salad and BBQ beans.

For dessert we will be enjoying Blue Bell Ice Cream (this is a Texas brand, which we think is the best anywhere, but other regions of the country may think otherwise) sundaes. I am always on the lookout for good discounts on items I can reasonably add to my pantry to have on hand for special occasions. For the sundaes I have M&Ms and Heath Bars (that I either got on sale or had a coupon for) hidden away that will be among the options for toppings. Also will be freshly whipped cream.

The secret to successful whipped cream is to start with everything cold. This helps the stiffening of the milkfat thus enabling the incorporation of air. Before whipping I put everything in the freezer to chill: bowl, beater, and even the cream itself (be careful not to let the cream freeze). Here is my recipe for whipped topping:

WHIPPED CREAM

Ingredients
1 c Heavy cream
2 T Ice, finely crushed or shaved
2 T sugar

Instructions
Place bowl and beaters in freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to chill well. Place the cream in the freezer for 5 minutes to chill. Pour the cream into the chilled bowl. Add the ice to the cream and whip to soft peaks.

Gently fold in the sugar and whip until the cream forms firm peaks.

Do not over whip, or you will have butter.

Keeping everything cold is essential to keep the fat droplets firm around the air bubbles to produce firm whipped topping.

Keep covered in the refrigerator. Fats are great holders and carriers of flavor and will easily pick up tastes and odors from other items in the refrigerator.

Check back with us and I will let you know how everything went for our party. We at Lukewarm Legumes would love to hear about your party plans for Labor Day. Please let us know about it either on our website, Facebook or through Twitter and remember to ‘Like’ us and follow us as well. Links to our Facebook and Twitter accounts can be found on our website at www.lukewarmlegumes.com.

Snickerdoodle Disaster

I really didn’t want to admit this, but here goes…

When preparing a previous post about Cream of Tartar I included a recipe for Snickerdoodles because they are traditionally made with Cream of Tartar. However, in my rush to get everything done I made the mistake of adding the sugar to the rest of the dry ingredients when it was supposed to be creamed with the butter and shortening first.

Rather than throw out the flour mixture I saved my mistake in a zippered bag and started preparing the recipe over again from fresh ingredients and using the proper method. Well, that mistake has been staring at me in the pantry ever since. So I decided I would try to turn that mistake into a success.

Using the original Snickerdoole recipe as the basis, I took 1/2 cup of Brown Sugar and creamed it with the 1/2 cup of softened Butter and 1/2 cup of Vegetable Shortening. Then added the Cinnamon, Vanilla, and Eggs (since I was changing the recipe anyway, why not try the cinnamon inside the cookie?). I blended it in the mixer just until all the ingredients were incorporated, then refrigerated the dough for the regulation one hour.

After rolling the cookies into little balls and baking on cookie sheets at 400 degrees for 10+ minutes, they came out like this:

They taste awesome. So, now our family members are all grabbing a tall glass of ice cold milk. Don’t think these will last long.

What is most interesting, besides their having a completely different texture from standard Snickerdoodles, is they actually have a slight coconut flavor as well, although the recipe contains no coconut.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my kitchen crisis and how it was resolved. If only every mistake in life could be remedied this easily. 🙂

We at Lukewarm Legumes would like to hear about your kitchen disasters as well and how you dealt with them; whether and how you were able to turn what looked like kitchen defeat into a resounding victory.

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