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Fun Food For the Kids
Most of these recipes are simple enough that the kids will need very little help. Others... well, they'll be a great excuse for spending time with them. The idea will be that you can make something fairly simple to go along with each of the new stories.
PEANUT PIE RECIPE ONE
I’m pretty sure that this is the kind of peanut pie that Nicker found there in Lake Edie. Mom or Dad will have to help because a mixer and an oven are needed.
You’ll need:
A 9-inch unbaked pie shell (from the store or homemade)
3 large eggs
½ cup sugar
¼ cup butter (melted)
1 ½ cups dark corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups chopped roasted peanuts
Beat the eggs in a mixer bowl until foamy. Put in the sugar, syrup, butter and vanilla. Mix until blended. Stir in the peanuts. Pour this into pie shell.
Bake at 375 for about 50 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.
It can be served hot, or you can do what Edie did and let it cool. (Just be sure that there are no sea dragons near.)
PEANUT PIE RECIPE TWO
No oven is needed, and no mixer, but you’ll have to do some stirring.
At the store get:
A couple of 9-inch graham cracker pie crusts
An 8-ounce package of cream cheese
Powdered sugar (enough for 1 ½ cups)
Peanut butter (enough for a cup)
Milk (enough for a cup)
Frozen whipped cream topping (16 ounces)
If you want, also get more whipped cream topping. (Nicker likes it best when chocolate chips are sprinkled over the top of the whipped cream. Danny prefers colored sprinkles. Emily told me that she likes sliced strawberries on top.)
Soften the cream cheese by letting it sit out on the counter for a while. And let the frozen whipped cream thaw.
Get a bowl and stir together the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar and peanut butter until they are smooth. Carefully stir in the thawed whipped cream. Spoon this into the pie crusts, cover and freeze. (They don’t have to be solid and hard, just firm.)
PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
You can get these in the store, but did you know that you can make your own? And it’s SO easy!
You’ll need miniature muffin cups. Regular muffin cups are just too big (although you could use a scissors and cut them to be smaller).
Get some chocolate chips. These can be the sweet milk chocolate, semi-sweet, bitter-sweet or dark chocolate. These will get melted in a double-boiler on the stove, or you can use the microwave. Don’t get it TOO hot – you just want it soft enough to spread. A teaspoon works fine for that. Cover the bottom and sides of the muffin cup. Let it cool and harden.
Use another teaspoon to put in and spread the peanut butter. Creamy or crunchy, your choice. (Or you can even *make your own.*)
Then cover the top with more chocolate.
Just two things are left to do. Let them cool and harden. AND EAT!
FOR SOME EXTRA FUN
Danny's Raw Apple Pie
Core and peel an apple, then cut it into slices. One apple per person should be enough. Almost any kind of apple is fine. For each apple, put about a teaspoon of sugar (less is okay) into a baggie along with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Seal it and let the kids give it a good shake. Open and put in the slices. Seal again and shake, shake, shake, shake.
Now eat, eat, eat, eat, eat.
Chuco Dogs
Be aware that hot dogs can cause choking and that this recipe can be very hot. Some prefer to precook the hot dogs by boiling, broiling or grilling. You can cut them into pieces or leave them whole. What it comes down to is that you're serving hot dogs. Do as you would normally do.
Here's the difference. You don't use buns.
Slice the hot dog along its length and put in slices of cheese. Now roll the stuff hot dog in a tortilla. Heat in the microwave long enough to melt the cheese.
You're done!
You can put ketchup, mustard, chili, whatever inside, or have these for dipping.
Double Double Cheesy Cheesy Melt Melt
Think grilled cheese and you're almost there - but in a hurry you can do this in a microwave (which is how I always make them for Danny).
Slice of bread, slice of cheese, slice of bread ... now put it into a microwave until the cheese just begins to melt. Take it out, flip it over, put on another slice of cheese and another slice of bread. That's the double double cheesy cheesy. Put it back into the microwave (the melt melt part).
An option is to add thin slices of lunchmeat.
If you grill it, it's best to lightly toast the middle slice of bread and cook it all at once.
You can cut it as you normally would, but try this. It was a Danny favorite, called a "puzzle cut." Instead of sideways or diagonal, I would cut it into shapes. Squares, triangles, even curves. You won't get many puzzle pieces but even five or six makes the sandwich into a creative difference.
Nicker’s Focaccia
Have you ever made your own bread? It’s not difficult. This can be flat bread, rolls, bread sticks … you can even use it to make pizza. It’s much easier than it sounds.
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup water
1 packet yeast
Tablespoon brown sugar
Teaspoon salt
Tablespoon Italian seasoning
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Toppings
In a small bowl, put the yeast into about a half cup of warm (not hot!) water with a sprinkle of sugar. Stir gently and let it sit. After about 5 or 10 minutes it should begin to get foamy.
Put the rest of the sugar, salt, Italian seasoning, 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil and about a cup of flour into a large bowl. Pour in the yeast mix and stir with a spoon to mix. Add more flour and water a little at a time and stir. The dough should be well mixed and not at all sticky. If someone can show you how, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until the ball of dough is uniform and elastic, and formed into a ball. Lightly oil a clean bowl that is at least twice the size of the dough. Flip the ball of dough to be covered with the oil. Cover with a clean towel and let it sit for a couple of hours. The dough will “rise” to about twice its original size.
Punch the risen ball of dough and put it on a lightly floured clean flat surface. Knead the dough back into a uniform, elastic, unsticky ball.
Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Put the ball of dough in the middle. Press down with your hands and fingers, and spread the dough onto the sheet until it is about a half-inch thick. Smear the top with a little more olive oil.
TOPPINGS
This is the fun part. You can put on all sorts of toppings, or none at all.
I like to spread on more Italian seasoning, and some finely chopped garlic. Edie loves it when I smear on some white alfredo sauce with very thinly slice tomatoes. Danny wants it with grated parmesan cheese. You can even put on things like pepperoni, mushrooms or anything else you might like.
Gentle cover the pan with a clean towel and let it sit for anything from a few minutes to about an hour.
Heat the oven to 425. Bake the bread for 15 to 20 minutes. (Be careful that it doesn’t burn.) Let it cool a while, slice and EAT!
Shish Kebab
There are lots of ways to make shish-kebab. The tradition is to use lamb. Most of the time, I use both sirloin and chicken. (When I use shrimp, the shrimp and vegetables are cooked separately because the vegetables take fairly long to cook, and the shrimp take just a few minutes.)
For lamb, beef or chicken, I cut the meat into chunks 1-2 inches each. It’s easier if the meat is a little stiff from freezing. This part is done first because the meat will marinate (soak in juice I’ll show you how to make) for several hours.
For the vegetables, I cut up bell pepper and onion slices the same size as the meat or a bit larger. Then I some fresh, whole, button mushrooms (also an inch or so) and remove the stems. Finally are the cherry tomatoes. (Often, I also use zucchini slices. You can even use chunks of potato if you want. Some people even use pieces of pineapple, especially when grilling shrimp.)
Marinade
The amounts depend on how much meat you have. You want enough marinade to completely coat the meat, but it doesn’t have to be swimming in the marinade.
I use olive oil. You can use any liquid cooking oil. Pour that into a bowl along with about half that amount of soy sauce. I like to put in a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Add salt and pepper. (You don’t need much salt, or none, if you use regular soy sauce.) The next part is the only part that is a little tricky that is a little tricky. It depends on how much you like garlic.
Crush some garlic cloves. Personally, I like a LOT of garlic. I’ll do 3-4 cloves of garlic per pound. If you don’t like garlic, or aren’t used to it, use less. You can leave it out if you absolutely MUST, but … well, believe me. This needs garlic!
Oh, by the way, please please please don’t use that stuff in a jar. Get fresh garlic and make the effort to peel, clean and crush it.
Put the garlic into the liquid and give it a good stir. Plop in the meat chunks and give that a good stir until every piece is coated. Now cover the bowl and put it into refrigerator. (Make sure it is sealed well. Garlic has a strong odor.) Give it a good stir every hour or so and put it back. The longer you let it marinate, the better.
Sometimes I will squeeze in the juice of a lime (or two). This adds an interesting flavor. More important, it makes the meat more tender.
Skewering
To make the shish-kebabs, get the meats and vegetables ready. I use metal skewers. (Bamboo skewers are also available. Those are woody and might light on fire on a hot grill. When I use those, I soak them in water first.)
Alternate the pieces. Onion, meat, pepper, tomato, mushroom, meat, onion, meat, onion, pepper, meat …. It doesn’t matter what the order is. That depends more on how much you have of what. I like to put onion against the meat because of the flavor. That’s up to you.
Get each of the pieces fairly tight, but don’t squeeze them together.
Cooking
Place them on a hot grill. Give them a quarter turn roughly every 5 minutes. I also flip them around about halfway through the cooking, and use the turning and flipping to rearrange the skewers. That helps when there are cooler spots on the grill.
How long it takes depends on what ingredients are used, the heat, the wind blowing … all sorts of things. I’ll even share a secret with you.
Do you remember the cotton candy story? At carnivals and fairs, people who sell things like hamburgers will put things like onion and especially garlic on the grills. This has little to do with the taste. The whole idea is the wonderful aroma.
When I grill shish-kebab, that … mmmm … that yummy smell just makes the eating better. So, I take my time. And I keep some of the marinade to brush on now and then just to make that smell better.
I like zucchini (Marci, Nicker’s artist doesn’t). It’s also a good way to know if the shish-kebab is done. When it is beginning to get soft, the meat is done. If it is gushy (you know what I mean), the meat is overdone. I also watch the onions. Those parts that stick out on their own might burn and turn black. That’s okay. What matters is the part of the onion a little farther in. Soft, not gushy … and you probably have all of it just right.
Sandwiches
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| Torta |
Chivito |
Sandwiches can be just about anything. Use bread, or something like bread. Fill it, roll it, layer it, cover it, with just about anything. Then eat it (or give it to someone else to eat).
A very common sandwich, at least in America, is to put peanut butter on one piece of bread, some kind of jelly on another, and put them together. Sometimes I like to use mayonnaise instead of jelly. Other times I use peanut butter and sliced banana. The famous American singer, Elvis Presley, made his with peanut butter, sliced banana and slices of fried bacon. (Naturally, this sandwich is called “The Elvis.”)
What do you like?
Ham and cheese is popular all over the world. Sometimes it’s slices of ham, sometimes the ham is fried first, sometimes it’s thick, and sometimes it’s sliced very thin. What kind of cheese do you like? American, cheddar, Swiss, feta? You can eat the sandwich as it is, you can toast it, you can fry it.
Maybe you prefer beef. In South America there is a country named Chile. If you order a barros jarpa, you’ll get a ham sandwich. If you order a barros luco, it will be a beef sandwich. Not far away in the country of Uruguay, the chivito has both ham and beef, and the beef is usually steak.
Back in America is the Philly Steak sandwich. You can get ham on it, I guess, maybe even chicken. Usually it is made with pieces of steak, fried (or at least heated) together with green bell pepper, onion, then covered with cheese (often provolone) and served in a roll. It’s fun to watch it being made fresh because the cook will be flipping it constantly on the grill. And it smells GREAT!
In Chicago is an interesting sandwich called “the mother-in-law.” Basically, this is a tamale in a hot dog bun. Ben’s “Chuco Dog” goes in reverse. It’s a hot dog in a tortilla. One of Danny’s favorites is the double-double-cheesy-cheesy melt-melt. He especially likes it with a puzzle cut.
You can use regular bread, rolls or buns of various sizes and shapes, pita pocket bread to stuff, artisan loaves, flat bread … anything you want. Inside, or on top, it depends on … what do YOU like?
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| Typical Bread |
Pitas |
Now here are some sandwiches you might like to try.
MARCI’S FAMOUS STUFFED BURGERS
These sound easy but you might need some help. (I usually do.)
For most burgers, I will divide a pound of meat into four parts. For these, it’s easier if you divide it into just three parts. Then divide each part into two parts. Now flatten these very thin, with all of them being the same size. Salt and pepper as you wish.
Chop some onion. Put a small amount in the center of half of the patties and spread it. Don’t squeeze it in, just spread it – and NOT to the very edges.
Plop another pattie on top. Use your fingers to seal the edges.
Now bake, fry, grill – whatever you want.
GENO’S LAMB BURGERS
You can do this with ground beef, but I think it is best with ground lamb. They’re just like regular hamburgers except … you mix in a bunch of chopped fresh parsley, and a little extra pepper.
REUBEN
There are many ways to make this sandwich.
Usually, the bread is dark rye. Sometimes it is light rye. A restaurant near me uses a marbled rye, which is kind both at the same time.
The meat is usually either corned beef or pastrami.
The cheese is usually either provolone or Swiss.
Usually, “thousand island dressing” is there, but sometimes just mayonnaise, or even mustard, tartar sauce or some other things. (It’s just my opinion, ketchup would ruin this.)
My own favorite way is to also have sauerkraut on the sandwich.
Put down a piece of bread, then put on the layers, then top it with another piece of bread. With a little butter in a skillet, fry it on one side, flip, fry it on the other … EAT!
Dagwood |
Reuben |
DAGWOOD
I’m including this mostly because of “Steven’s Silly Sandwich.” There was, and still is, a famous comic strip called Blondie. Her husband, Dagwood, loved sandwiches so much that he would pile them high. He’d put in whatever he had until the sandwich was bigger than anyone could bite into.
This is little like Steven’s Silly Sandwich, but it tastes good.
FLUTTERNUTTER
This one is SO fun. It comes mostly from the northeast United States.
It starts by taking a piece of bread and smearing on some peanut butter. Now you have a choice.
One way is to put little pieces of marshmallow on the peanut butter and heat until they melt. The other is to use marshmallow topping from a jar, like for ice cream. After that, you can eat it or heat it.
Fluffernutter |
Burrito |
BURRITO
There are many kinds of bread around the world. There are loaves, rolls, biscuits, pitas … all kinds of things. Something called “flatbread” isn’t always flat. A tortilla is. It’s Mexican. (Also from Mexico is the torta, which is more like a roll.) You can find all sorts of recipes to make tortillas, both from corn and from wheat. You can also buy them in many stores – although making them is great fun.
They come out to be a thin, flat, round circle.
Now comes one of the reasons why Boston passed a law to saw what “sandwich” means.
The tortilla is bread because it’s made from grain, but it’s completely different from what most people think of as bread because it’s so flat. It is almost always rolled around whatever the filler is, and that can be just about anything. But the tortilla isn’t the only kind of bread that gets rolled around a filling. That’s why I am including it here.
A common filler is refried beans, usually with cheese. Also common is chili (of various kinds). A breakfast burrito can be like scrambled eggs and other things wrapped inside. There are even dessert burritos, like an apple pie without the crust. The famous “Chuco Dog” is a hot dog that uses a tortilla instead of a bun.
CHIP BUTTY or CRISP BUTTY
It’s not quite accurate but, “What is known in America as a French fry is called a chip in England. In England, a French fry would be more like a shoestring potato in America.” As I said, that’s not exactly correct but is close enough. The American French is fairly large. Similar, and also nearly accurate, what is called a potato chip in America is called a crisp in England. The third thing is that in some parts of the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland …) when these are used on bread, the sandwich is called a butty.
So, a chip butty is like a French fry sandwich, and a crisp butty is like a sandwich made with potato chips.
It’s fairly common for a chip butty to have tomato sauce on it. For the crisp butty, sliced pickles are often used.
Ulster Fry |
Chip Butty |
Farl |
FARLS
Elanna, *the lady who Gracie owns,* told me about the Ulster fry. It’s made with a kind of bread called farl. Farl is really interesting. It’s made using baking soda and buttermilk with the flour. Usually it is fried, but it can also be baked.
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