A Couple Of Treats

The tail end of last week was busier than anticipated, so Friday and Saturday meals were pretty slap dash. Had some scratch pancakes one night(with bacon!), and the other night was a bean dip deluxe (ground beef, refried beans, cheese, salsa, chopped onions, and chopped peppers). It's thick, and filling on some good quality tortilla chips. We have a tortilla chip factory in town, and the brand name is El Matador. Always fresh and sturdy, they are perfect for dipping the heavy duty stuff!
I had to make dessert for a family get together at my sister's new house...We had all decided I would attempt to make an heirloom dessert we had 40 years ago every Christmas- Sailor Duff! I had my grandmother's recipe which read like a witch's potion- pinch of this, handful of that, etc. I Googled it, and indeed there were similar(but better measured!) recipes. It is similar to Boston brown bread..It's rich, moist, steamed, with molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and raisins in it. I used a bundt pan which sat in a water bath and steam baked at 350 for 90 minutes. It is topped with a simple sauce of water, white sugar, butter, and corn starch for a thickener, all simmered until thick- with a splash(now I'm doing it!) of vanilla extract stirred in after cooling. The cake can be cool or room temp., the sauce warmed and drizzled over it- topped with cold whipped cream.
This stuff is RICH- cut small pieces!
For the kids, I brought a quick, no fail treat similar to rice crispie squares
1. 1 cup of white sugar
2. 1 cup white Karo syrup
3. 1 cup peanut butter
Mix and heat through until liquid, but not boiling
4. Stir in 7 cups of Honey Bunches of Oats breakfast cereal until mixed
5. Spread in buttered 9 x 13 pan, compress with a sheet of waxed paper until uniform height
6. Melt a 1/2 bag of semi- chocolate chips with 1/4 stick of butter, until speadable
7. Spread top of filled pan until covered, refrigerate until cooled.
Those will disappear quickly, as kids and adults enjoy them..
I'm sure we are all ramping up for the big week- so keep your cool, and try to enjoy!
I apologize for the blurry photos, the camera setting got bumped, and made the blow-up photos blurry.. Remember, kids- I paint with a very broad brush!