2014 Top Blogger Award

My goodness! I was pleasantly surprised to open my email a couple of days ago to find notification from AllFreeCopyCatRecipes.com that my blog had reached their Top 100 Recipes for 2014.  This has been a very challenging year for me that has resulted in significantly decreased blogging so I certainly was not expecting such acknowledgement.  Thank-you AllFreeCopyCatRecipes.com for this honour!

My recipe that made it onto the Top 100 Recipes for 2014 was White Castle Burgers Copycat Recipe.  This recipe is a sure winner for curbing those craving the delicious White Castle Slyders^TM.  I hope you enjoy this great recipe.  I had a lot of fun cloning it!

Hidden Valley® Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix Clone

A couple of weeks ago, I was chosen to be a contestant in the Hidden Valley® Recipe Challenge.  I wanted the Hidden Valley® dry mix to use for one of my potential entries.  We live in a small urban area with two grocery stores (No Frills, Sobey's) and a Wal-mart.  I checked all three stores without any luck finding dried salad dressing mix.  I know at one time these were quite popular.  The salad decanters with markings as to how much oil and vinegar to add were sold right beside them.  None of the stores carry them any more.  In order to make this dish I really needed the dry mix so I sent out an SOS to my family and friends then set about finding a dry mix ranch mix online.  A friend came to the rescue with a packet of Hidden Valley® Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix but before using it I noticed a tear in the package so decided against it.  It definitely came from the US as there was no mandatory French labeling as required on Canadian products.  I compared the ingredients on that package to that of the recipe I had found then created my own recipe.  Clone recipes are born out of necessity either to save money or because the original is not available in your area.

The recipe I found online had paprika and  fresh ground pepper but closely inspecting the original packet showed no signs of either.  The recipe I found had no buttermilk in it even though the original packet listed buttermilk as a main ingredient.  Based on that, I set about getting creative.  MSG was listed on the original packet but I didn't use that in my clone recipe.  The dry clone version tastes (finger tip test) very much like the original packet mix.  The clone recipe makes a bit more than the original packet so adjust the dressing as required for consistency.

Hidden Valley® Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix Clone
source: Garden Gnome

2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp organic sugar
1½ tsp parsley flakes
2 tbsp buttermilk powder
½ tsp citric acid
¼ tsp xanthum gum

Dressing:  Combine 1 c milk and 1 cup mayonnaise in a blender.  With the blender running, slowly pour in ½ c of the clone mix.  This is necessary for the xanthum gum to thicken the dressing.  Blend on high until well mixed and thickened.  Keeps 3 to 4 weeks in refrigerator.

Dip:  Combine ½ c of the clone mix with 2 c of sour cream.  Mix well.  Refrigerate for one hour to allow flavours to blend.

Make Your Own Bisquick Mix

Homemade mixes are something I have stressed on this blog because they save both time and money as well as being eco-friendly with no packaging.  These mixes are easy to make, cost a fraction of store bought and perform just as well if not better than store bought.   I came across this video on YouTube demonstrating just how easy it is to make your own Bisquick baking mix.  My comments follow the video.

First, here is the recipe used in the video:

Homemade Bisquick
source:  Homestead Series

8 c flour
1½ c powdered milk
¼ c baking powder
1 tsp salt
1½ c lard (or shortening or butter*}

Place ingredients in mixing bowl.  Mix with pastry blender until well mixed.  Store at room temperature.  Use as you would Bisquick.
*if using butter, store in the refrigerator

This is a very quick, easy to make and low cost baking mix but is it cost effective?  I did the math and yes, you do save money by making your own Bisquick plus you eliminate that pesky packaging.  Bisquick ranges in price from 8¢ per ounce to 13¢ per ounce depending on where you buy it.  The current price here at our No Frills location in southwestern Ontario is 8¢ per ounce.  The homemade version varies in price per ounce depending on whether you use lard, shortening or butter as well as whether it is brand name or store brand..  Butter is most expensive and shortening is the cheapest if using store brand.  The same applies to the powdered milk but it is even cheaper if bought at the bulk food store.  The price works out to 3.4¢ per ounce to 5¢ per ounce for the homemade Bisquick.  Even using higher priced ingredients you will be saving 3¢ per ounce.  Consider if you make biscuits using 2 cups of the homemade mix you end up saving 48¢ and if you make those same biscuits once a week the savings amounts to $24.96 over the course of a year.

The nice thing with homemade mixes is not only are you saving money, you know what ingredients are in the product.  It's a way of being able to have all the convenience of store bought mixes without the added cost and packaging.  All around, homemade mixes are a win/win that will save you both time and money.

Homemade Shake & Bake Chicken Halves

Chicken has recently been on sale so I took advantage of the low prices to stock up.  I typically do this with any meat or fish not purchased in bulk when they are on sale.  My experience has been that you really do need to know the current prices.  Sometimes it is less expensive to buy from the meat counter at the abattoir even considering the price of gas than it is at the grocery store.  This is often the case when it comes to pork loin cuts.  Our local Wal-mart offers price matching so even though their price of meat may be higher they will match the competitor's price.  Market sale prices for meats and fish are cyclic as are most sales so that is something to consider as well.

I bought a few of the whole chickens on sale.  It is less expensive to cut up the chicken yourself than to buy already cut chicken pieces.  I cut a couple of the whole chickens in half.  They are excellent for grilling when cut this way.  A few days ago, I thawed two halves with the intention of grilling.  By dinner time, it was literally raining cats and dogs.  I'm not kidding!  I made a quick change of plans to coat the chicken halves with homemade shake & bake mix.  Many consider this type of coating strictly for chicken pieces but it can be used on even whole chickens and as the coating for country fried steak.

I baked the chicken at 350°F/175°C until the chicken was golden brown, just starting to caramelize and the juices were clear (about 50 minutes).  Baked potatoes are perfect when baking chicken because they cook in about the same time.  Cooking more than one dish at a time in the oven is always the frugal use of whatever cooking fuel you are using.

The chicken, as always, was moist and tender, simply delicious.  Sometimes simple meals are the best, often falling under the category of comfort meals.  Now, a half chicken is a lot of meat, certainly more than I can eat at one sitting.  Generally, a half chicken is enough for both of us.  I cooked both halves as planned leftovers since shake & bake chicken reheats nicely.  This really was an easy, frugal meal coming in at a total cost of just under $6 for 4 servings including sides or $1.50 per meal.  Doesn't it look scrumptious?

Homemade Miracle Whip Clone Recipe

Our family is a Kraft Miracle Whip family or more specifically a Kraft Miracle Whip clone recipe family.  The debate as to whether Miracle Whip is or is not a mayonnaise is still on going.  Kraft Miracle Whip was introduced in 1933 but the FDA ruled it had a couple of ingredients (water, cornstarch)  in it that should not be to be classified as a mayonnaise so ruled it had to be classified as a salad dressing.  The bottom line is Miracle Whip really is a mayonnaise, made like a mayonnaise but using a cornstarch slurry extender and kicked up a notch with lemon juice for tanginess and seasonings for added flavour.

The ingredients for Kraft Miracle Whip are: water, soybean oil, sugar, vinegar, mustard, spices, modified cornstarch, potassium sorbate, colour, calcium disodium EDTA and dried garlic.  From a profit point of view, Kraft added the water which would result in more product without added cost then used the cornstarch (very inexpensive) to thicken the thinner version to the same consistency of mayo.  The water and cornstarch  do not change the flavour so really is not necessary in the homemade version.  When I was looking for a clone recipe I came across several that cooked the water, cornstarch, mustard and vinegar to a thin slurry then added the hot mixture to the egg mixture.  That was a horrible disaster that ended up with a curdled mess that I could not salvage.  It did however smell like Miracle Whip.  Encouraged  by that, I came up with my own recipe based on my basic homemade mayonnaise recipe.  If you want the homemade version to taste like Miracle Whip be sure to use fresh squeezed lemon juice and sunflower oil.  You will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to make this clone recipe for Miracle Whip.  Store bought Miracle Whip current price is 84¢ per 250 ml (1 c).  The homemade version is about 44¢ per 250 ml (1 c).

Homemade Miracle Whip
recipe by:  Garden Gnome

1 egg
1 tsp dry mustard
2 tbsp organic sugar
½ tsp sea salt
2½ tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 c sunflower oil
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp paprika

Put all of the ingredients but half of the oil into a food processor bowl. Process for 15 seconds. While the food processor is running, slowly pour the remaining oil into the mixture in a thin stream. Use a spatula to transfer the Miracle Whip to a storage jar. Store in the refrigerator and use as you would store bought.

Homemade Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise is a thick, creamy condiment used on sandwiches or as an ingredient for other dishes like potato salad made from an emulsion of egg and oil.  I don't buy mayonnaise as we prefer MiracleWhip, well actually a clone recipe (see tomorrow's post for that) so I make my own as needed.  Mayonnaise is one of those recipes that once you make it and realize the savings combined with gorgeous flavour you will not go back to store bought.  All you need is a blender or a food processor and a couple of minutes of time to whip up enough mayo to last a week or two at less than a third of the price of store bought.

My homemade mayonnaise is a bit yellower than store bought because I use free range chicken eggs.  The yolk from free range chicken eggs which has a deeper colur and the flavour richer.  Other than that the homemade version tastes fresher and performs in other dishes just as well as the store bought.  The current price for brand name mayo is $1.40 per c whereas the homemade version is 44¢ per c using the more expensive free range chicken eggs.  This mayo will seriously take you about 2 minutes to make which is a rather tidy savings for time invested.  If you want a whiter mayo use just the egg whites and not the yolk.  This will also reduce the dietary cholesterol if that is a concern.  Of note, the type of oil and vinegar you use will change the flavour slightly so do keep that in mind.

Homemade Mayonnaise
recipe by: Garden Gnome

1 egg
½ tsp dry mustard
½ tsp organic sugar
½ tsp sea salt
2 tbsp vinegar (apple cider, tarragon, white)
1 c oil (half extra virgin olive oil, half vegetable oil)
dash cayenne pepper

Put all of the ingredients but half of the oil into a food processor bowl.  Process for 15 seconds.  While the food processor is running, slow pour the remaining oil into the mixture in a thin stream.  Use a spatula to transfer the mayonnaise to a storage jar.  Store in the refrigerator and use as you would store bought mayonnaise.

Lemon Dill Tartar Sauce

My husband and I enjoy fish on average two to three times a week.  A good portion of that fish is locally caught perch or pickerel.  I like to fish and we have very generous friends who share their catch with us as well.  We also enjoy a multitude of fish that is not locally caught.  Our preferred methods of cooking are pan fried, broiled, baked and occasionally deep fried or grilled.  Surprisingly neither of us a big on putting anything on the fish when eating other than a little fresh lemon juice however, I occasionally make a basic tartar sauce to serve with fish especially if the kids are home. 

The other day I checked out the FoodNetwork just in time to quickly scribble out the ingredients for a zipped up tartar sauce.  There were no amounts given so I decided to do a bit of experimenting.  My clone recipe is not identical to the one used in that particular restaurant but it is quite delicious with a flavour that really pairs nicely with any white fish.  I served is with lightly coated cod.

Lemon Dill Tartar Sauce
recipe by: Garden Gnome

1 c Miracle Whip salad dressing
1 sm dill pickle, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp Frank's Hot Sauce clone
½ tsp dried parsley
¼ tsp Spanish paparika
¼ tsp organic granulated sugar
¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce
pinch of salt and pepper

Chop the dill pickle in a food processor.  Measure the Miracle Whip salad dressing into a mixing bowl.  Stir in the remaining ingredients, mixing well.  Refrigerate 1 hour to let flavours blend.  Spoon into serving bowl.

Note:  This sauce will keep nicely for 7 to 10 days in the refrigerator.

Wilton Cake Release Clone Recipe

Many turn to spray oils to help with their baking however, I don't like to use aerosol sprays due to additives.  They tend to be a lung irritant, they are expensive and they are not eco-friendly.  I use a health mister which is a reusable spray bottle filled with your oil of choice.  However, when it comes to baking cakes you need a bit more of a release agent even if using silicone bakeware.  Here is a clone recipe for Wilton Cake Release.  It is quick and easy to make but not very photogenic (sorry, no picture).  The cake release will keep nicely in the pantry without refrigeration.  I make it a 1 cup total measure but if you do a lot of cake and muffin baking you may need to make a larger batch.  This recipe will cost you only pennies, well under $1 depending on how much you make in comparison to Wilton Cake Release at $5.99 per can.

Wilton Cake Release
recipe by:  unknown

1 pt light flavoured vegetable oil
1 pt organic, unbleached flour
1 pt vegetable shortening

Place the ingredients in a food blender.  Blend until smooth and creamy.  Scoop into an airtight container for shelf storage.  Use a pastry brush to coat the pan then use the pan as normal.  

Rustic Garlic and Herb Mashed Potatoes

The food industry is always coming up with something new to tantalize the taste buds in the hopes consumers with part with their hard earned money.  There have been three developments with respect to cream cheese.  The first development was making cream cheese spreadable.  This product while cream cheese based is marketed as a cream cheese spread.  Additives are added to keep the cream cheese spreadable.  The second development has been the introduction of flavoured,  spreadable cream cheeses.  These are mainly fruit or herb based.  The final development has been low fat cream cheese.

I saw a low fat, garlic and herbs cream cheese spread in the grocery store.  I immediately thought this would be quite a lovely combination for rustic mashed potatoes using regular cream cheese for a richer flavour.  The only seasonings were garlic powder, dried onion flakes and dried parsley leaves so I decided to experiment rather than buy the pre-seasoned cream cheese.  I served homemade shake & bake chicken with  rustic garlic and herb mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. 

Rustic Garlic and Herb Mashed Potatoes
recipe by:  Garden Gnome

5 - 6 medium sized potatoes
⅓ c sour cream
2 tbsp butter
¼ c milk
⅓ c cream cheese, softened
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp dried onion flakes
1 tsp dried parsley leaves

Wash potatoes, do not peel.  Cut into cubes.  Steam until tender.  Remove from heat.  Put the potatoes into stand mixer bowl.  Add remain ingredients except parsley.  Mix until mashed through but not over mixed.  Cover then place in oven to keep warm for 10 minutes.  Scoop potatoes into serving bowl.  Garnish with a generous pinch of parsley leaves per serving.

Salmon Dip

Yesterday I posted about a lovely seafood dip we had as an appetizer at ChaCha Coconuts in St. Petersburg, Florida.  Two things stood out in their dip.  The first was a creamy texture and the second was  presentation.  The very next day I made my own version using left-over grilled salmon.  It was not identical as I only used salmon but the results were quite similar.

Left-over fish can present a problem usually because there isn't enough to do anything with and reheating can cause the fish to toughen.  I  like using what little fish we have in sanwiches, dips or salads.  Salmon is one fish I like to cook a bit extra for use in another dish simply because fresh cooked tastes so much nicer than canned salmon.  This time I used the salmon for a cloned recipe of ChaCha Coconut's seafood dip.

Salmon Dip
recipe by:  Garden Gnome

3 oz. grilled salmon
¼ c chive & onion cream cheese
¾ c sour cream
¼ c Miracle Whip salad dressing
¼ tsp prepared horseradish
¼ tsp prepared mustard
1 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
1 c ribboned Romaine lettuce

Pull salmon into pieces.  Place salmon, cream cheeses, sour cream, salad dressing, horseradish and mustard in blender.  Pulse blend until well mixed.  Transfer the mixture to a small mixing bowl.  Stir in the parsley and onion.  Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.  Wash the lettuce.  Remove large centre vein.  Roll from one side of the vein to the other.  Start at the top cutting thin strips across the roll.  Place the ribboned lettuce on a serving platter.  Spread the dip mixture over the lettuce (it becomes part of the dip).  Place crackers of your choice on the serving platter for spreading the dip on.

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Cloned Recipes

I think everyone at one time or another has enjoyed a restaurant meal or dish that they would like to recreate at home.  A couple of reasons for cloning a recipe is it is less expensive and sometimes more convenient than eating out.  Another good reason for cloning a recipe is some dishes are regional so even if eating out you might not be able to find that particular dish.  Cloning a recipe is not as easy at it sounds even if the restaurant is generous enough to give you the recipe.  Restaurants don't tend to give out their recipes simply because if you can make the dish at home chances are very good you won't be back meaning they don't make money.  It is very difficult to make money in a restaurant as it is without giving diners a reason to not return.  The second problem with cloning a recipe is lack of a comparison.  The taste is all in your memory unless you are fortunate enough to be able to get another sample of the dish which is not always possible.  The work around for this in some restaurants is to bring home the left-overs but you do need a sensitive palate to detect some of the nuances and notes in the dish.  The third problem is ingredients.  These tend to vary from region to region.  Something as simple as a tomato variety that particular chef/restaurant uses may not be available where you live.  We live in Ontario but our vacation home is in Florida and I can't tell you the frustration at wanting to make a dish but can't find that particular ingredient I always use.  Finally is even if you have the recipe and the proper ingredients, there are always little things like shaken not stirred, methods used,  lack of commercial equipment and even the cooking fuel used.  At best a cloned recipe is just that.  It comes close to but is not the same.  With this in mind, here are a few tips for cloning recipes:

• ask - Some restaurants will give out a recipe or two but don't expect the recipe for their signature dish.  Realize that they may not include their 'secret' ingredient in the recipe even if they do give it to you.  
• the doggie bag - Bringing home what you can't eat is an option at some restaurants.  This is a wonderful aid in cloning a recipe because it helps your taste buds remember what your brain forgot especially the subtle notes in a dish.  
• take pictures - Always take a picture of the dish before enjoying it.  This will jog the memory with respect to some ingredients and presentation.
• get a second opinion - There are days your taste buds may be slightly off.  My husband is great with offering a second opinion.
• keep trying - The beauty of cloning a recipe is most results are edible so keep trying.  In the process you may end up with an intermediate to the recipe you were trying to clone that you really like.
• keep notes - Use a kitchen journal to record what you did to clone the recipe as well as each change you make along the way.

Another Batch of Frank's Hot Sauce Cone Recipe

The past couple of weeks I have been busy using up all the little bits of left-overs from the garden.  We finally had our first frost that killed off the remaining pepper and tomato plants but some of the herbs are still going strong along with the chard.  A few days ago I posted about the batch of Frank's Hot Sauce Clone recipe I made using cayenne peppers from my garden.  The sauce came out amazingly like Frank's!  I canned the sauce for longer term storage and just to see how canning would affect the flavour.

A couple of days ago I used the rest of the cayenne peppers that had been left sitting on the counter to redden to make another batch of the Frank's clone.  The peppers were aged in that I had allowed them to sit for almost a week before using them so more in keeping with the original Frank's hot sauce.  There were more cayenne peppers so I ended up with about a litre of sauce.  I used garlic powder for this batch in keeping with the ingredients listed on the bottle of original Franks' hot sauce.

I am not above begging family and friends for any fancy bottles they are discarding.  Pictured is the resulting clone sauce poured into a fancy bottle and a mason jar.  Unlike the last batch I did not can the sauce.  Hot sauce is quite acidic so will keep nicely in the refrigerator without being canned.  The mason jar is on its way to a friend who is begging for hot sauce so hopefully it is enjoyed!  I really thought the fancy bottle was rather cute, what do you think?  

Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce Copycat Recipe

As a result of milder fall temperatures the pepper plants were still producing nicely through the mid portion of last week.  The plants were still loaded with a lot of green cayenne peppers mid-week (Oct. 20).  The extended weather forecast showed a low of 0ºC on Wednesday and -3ºC the following day.  The daily low temperatures would be hovering around the freezing mark for the rest of the week. With the chance of frost nearing I decided it would be prudent to pick all the green cayenne peppers so as to not lose them.  Once they turn red I will go ahead and preserve them as well.

Cayenne peppers are so pretty on the plant when they turn their showy red colour!   Cayenne peppers range between 30,000 and 50,000 Scoville units or about a tenth as hot as habanero peppers.  They are rather easy to preserve by stringing to dry.  Once dried cayenne peppers can be powdered in a blender if desired. 

Another popular way of preserving cayenne peppers is making a cayenne pepper sauce.  I picked all of the red cayenne peppers to make a test batch of a hot sauce copycat recipe I am creating.  Aren't they gorgeous? 

Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce is a key ingredient in the traditional hot sauce for chicken wings.  Ingredients listed on the bottle are aged cayenne red peppers, vinegar, water, salt and garlic powder.   I made the first batch (pictured) using cloves of garlic instead of garlic powder.  It tasted fairly close to Frank's Hot sauce freshly made.

Hot sauce mellows over time once the flavours have had a chance to blend well.  I will make the second batch using garlic powder as a comparison.  Hot sauce does not need to be canned as it will keep for quite some time in the refrigerator.  I can mine to save space in the refrigerator.  The small 125 ml (4oz) jars are perfect for this as when mixed with the same amount of butter there is just the right amount of traditional hot wing sauce for a family sized meal.

Frank's RedHot Original Copy Cat Recipe

18 red cayenne peppers
2 c white vinegar
3 cloves garlic
½ tsp sea salt

Wash and cut the stem end from the cayenne peppers.  Place in a stainless steel saucepan.  Add vinegar, salt and garlic.  Bring just to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a low simmer.  Simmer until peppers are soft.  Pour mixture into a blender.  Blend well.  Pass through fine mesh metal strainer.

If canning: Pour into prepared jars.  Wipe rim.  Adjust lids.  Processing in boiling water bath canner 10 minutes.  Remove from canner.  Allow to cool then test for seal, label and store.

If refrigerating:  Allow the strained sauce to cool.  Pour into clean bottle and cap.  Refrigerate.

Extra Crispy Deep-fried Style Chicken

We had to stop for gas on our road trip so found a TA thinking there would be one of the trucker's restaurants there.  Usually there is but this was a smaller one so all they had was Popeye's Chicken, Pizza Hut and Subway.  We settled for the 2 can dine for $9.29 with 5 pieces of mixed chicken, 2 sides and 2 biscuits.  The sides we ordered were red beans with rice and potatoes with gravy.  The chicken reminded me of KFC's extra crispy chicken but was a bit different.  This is a rather easy chicken to duplicate at home even if you don't have a deep fryer.  It's all in the coating and what makes this coating extra crispy is corn flake cereal!

Years ago when our now grown kids were kids of our own one of my girlfriends told be the only way her kids would eat chicken was with corn flakes.  Our kids being the offspring of foodies were not quite so picky enjoying chicken just about anyway we could prepare it.  I feel just a bit guilty not making the extra crispy deep-friend style chicken using corn flakes when they were younger.  At any rate this is a good recipe, one that comes fairly close to Popeye's Lousanna style extra crispy chicken.
  
Extra Crispy Deep-fried Style Chicken

1 ¾ c crushed corn flake cereal
1 egg
1 c milk
1 c. unbleached  flour
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp paprika
3 lbs frying chicken pieces
3 tbsp. butter, melted

Crush corn flake cereal into a shallow dish and set aside.  Wash and dry chicken pieces.  Beat egg and milk slightly in small mixing bowl.  Mix in flour, salt, paprika, and pepper.  Dip the chicken in the batter then coat with the crushed cereal.  Place the chicken, skin side up, in a greased shallow baking pan.  Drizzle with melted butter.  Bake at 350°F uncovered and without turning until chicken is tender and juices are no longer pink.

Yield: 6 servings.

New Beau Monde Vegetable Dip

Yesterday I wrote about two very different beau monde seasonings.  The first is a rich, warm, spicy and aromatic blend originally made by Old World Seasonings.  It is no longer being made.  The clone recipe is Old Beau Monde Seasoning.  The second is a lightly seasoned blend known as New Beau Monde seasoning.  It is a clone of the Spice Islands Beau Monde seasoning blend.  These beau monde blends are not interchangeable.

Homemade dips are very easy to make and they are less expensive than store bought.  You can  create unique dips that you can't buy too.  The base ingredients I use for dips include cream or cottage chees, sour cream and mayonnaise or MiracleWhip® salad dressing.

I used the mason jar blender method to make New Beau Monde Dip.  This dip has a light, creamy flavour that pairs nicely with crudites.  It would also be a good dip for chips. I would be tempted to stir in a tablespoon of finely chopped red or yellow sweet peppers as well.

New Beau Monde Dip

½ c cottage cheese
½ c sour cream
⅓ c MiracleWhip® salad dressing
1 tbsp minced red onion
½ tbsp dried parsley
½ tsp new beau monde seasoning

Place all the ingredients except onion and parsley into blender.  Blend well.  Stir in parsley and onion.  Chill 30 minutes before serving. 

Beau Monde Seasoning Mixes

I make a lot of my own spice and herb blends which means not only am I on the lookout for common blends I'm also looking for those that aren't quite so common.  One day I was looking for recipes and came across a recipe calling for Beau Monde Seasoning blend.  Beau Monde is French for Beautiful World.  Now with a name like that how could I not try this seasoning blend?  A bit of research found that there are actually two versions of this seasoning blends and they are not interchangeable!  Most newer recipes calling for Beau Monde seasoning don't take into account there are two versions of this seasoning blend so unless specified use the New Beau Monde seasoning blend.  I decided to make a batch of each so will post recipes using each as I use them. 

Old Beau Monde Seasoning Blend is a spicy, warm blend suitable for poultry, beef, fish, vegetables, sauces and dips.  It was originally made by Old World Seasonings but is no longer available.   It smelled wonderful making the blend!  This blend adds a warm, spicy, aromatic, bolder note than the new beau monde version that follows below.  I also think it would be a bit overpowering for fish and dips so use sparingly to get the flavour you want. 

Old Beau Monde Seasoning Blend
source: unknown

1 tbsp ground cloves
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp ground bay leaf
1 tbsp ground allspice
 2 tbsp black pepper
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground mace
1 tsp celery seed
2 tbsp ground white pepper

Combine the ingredients and mix well. Pour into a container to use as desired.

New Beau Monde Seasoning differs radically from Old Beau Monde Seasoning.  This is the beau monde seasoning that was originally put out by Spice Islands and used mainly for dips and sauces.  It is light enough to be used for some fishes as well.

New Beau Monde Seaoning
source: Garden Gnome

1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp celery seed
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp organic sugar

Mix the ingredients together.  Pour into spice jar to use as desired.

Club House Grub (pub grub)

I would be remiss in my discussions on our vacation foods if I did not mention the classic pub grub we enjoyed of a meal.  Now if you recall we are eating out and cooking at the vacation home but because this was setting up the vacation home from almost nothing eating out took precedence.  When it comes to pub grub there is very little of it you can't make at home if you have a deep fryer and a fry pan or griddle.  Pub grub is meant to be easy, quick yet keep you there for a little while for a few drinks and good enough to keep you coming back.  Honestly the pubs do not make much of a profit if at all from their food.  Profits rather come from the drinks.  Pub grub is unpretentious and makes no claim about being healthy for you.  In fact is is not particularly health with the high emphasis on frying but if push comes to shove it is healthier than the average fast food dinner.

The club house onion rings were excellent and the price wasn't bad at $3.50.  That's about the going price for most pubs.  Onions rings hold a bit of a mystic about them for creating a  home but really all you need is a Spanish onion, batter and a deep fryer.  In less than 10 minutes you will have enough onion rings to feed an entire family!  Surprisingly the batter can be as simple as a pancake batter or a bit more complex as a beer batter but either way this is one side that really is quite easy to duplicate at home.  The main goal is you want a lovely, golden brown, crispy coating with tender, translucent onion inside.

We ordered chicken wings with a garlic butter sauce.  Chicken wings are another great pub food to duplicate at home.  They take very little prep, can be fried coated or uncoated and served with your choice of sauce.  Quite often the best chicken wings are not coated.  They are fried simply as is then served either tossed in sauce or with served with sauce in dipping bowls.

Now this is very easy to duplicate at home.  The individual dipping bowls are quite inexpensive.  In fact you can find really cute ones at the dollar stores so just fill with the sauce of choice.  This makes it nice because each family member can have a different sauce without costing you a fortune.

To make the garlic butter:  Peel and finely chop about 4 cloves of garlic.  Heat fry pan and add 4 oz butter until just bubbling and stir in the garlic.  Heat through then remove from heat.

When it comes to burgers pub grub has it and that is because they use the fundamental philosophy in cooking call KISS (keep it simple silly).  Very few put grub burgers are complicated.  The general topping are lettuce, onion, tomato and American processed cheese along with whatever condiments they offer usually restricted to mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard.  If you are lucky the burger is served with a side of potato chips and even luckier French fries.

The pub grub burger has to be about the easiest to duplicate at home.  You will need hamburger buns, pre-formed frozen burger patties, iceberg lettuce, onion, tomato, American processed sliced cheese, ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise.  Pickle and relish is optional.  If you want to duplicate the taste do not grill!  Instead use a griddle to cook the burger patties.  Add the process cheese just after flipping the burger on the griddle and just let it melt.  Place on the bun, add the toppings with a few potato chips and you have an authentic pub grub burger made at home.

How to Clone a Big Mac & McDonald's Secret Sauce Clone

The fast food industry would have us believe that they and they alone have the secret recipe for the foods they serve.  The reality is that someone, somewhere created the recipe or method they use for their super, duper delight.  That means with a little experimentation combined with trial and error any home cook can duplicate their favourite take-out or fast food burger and more.  The question immediately becomes why would you want to duplicate fast food?

In honesty we are not huge fans of fast food and I can count on one hand the fast foods I've cloned.  They are: the Big Mac, Subway assorted sub, Wendy's now retired chicken caesar wrap, and White Castle cheeseburgers. Fast food in general is not healthy food.  It is laden with sodium, sugar, fat and high in calories.  A homemade clone can easily be made that reduces all of these things without compromising in taste.  The real advantage is being able to control the ingredients.  At the same time the homemade clone will cost about the quarter of the cost of the fast food version.  Another advantage to cloning a fast food recipe is the food can be made anytime you want in the comforts of your home and for those of us living in rural areas there's no travel involved making homemade versions an eco-friendly alternative.  In the following video Todd Wilbur of Top Secret Recipes shows how to clone a Big Mac sandwich.  Following the video are my comments and the McDonald's secret recipe clone that I use.

Quite often in cooking the method is as important as the ingredients especially when cloning a recipe.  Pay particular attention to the way Todd makes the burger patties then freezes them before cooking.  This is an important step in making fast food style burgers.  Freezing helps to reduce thickening in the middle and the thinness of the patty ensures quick, even cooking.  These types of burger patties are suitable for cooking on a griddle or in a fry pan.

When you are attempting to clone a fast food recipe stop for a moment to think of what logical food items that restaurant would have on hand to make something like their secret sauce.  Then do a quick online search for clone recipes as one may highlight an ingredient you didn't think of.  In this case the Top Secret McDonald's special sauce version [search their site then agree to terms before you can see the recipe] differed significantly from the Copykat McDonald's special sauce version and that recipe differs significantly from a lot of other cloned versions. Once you have gather a few clone recipes you will see a pattern emerging of the dominate flavours.  The McDonald's special sauce is a Thousand Island variant so expect those flavours to dominate.  Use those then tweak from there.

McDonald's Secret Sauce Clone
modified slightly from recipe by: John Mitzewich of About.com: American Food

¼ c Miracle Whip®
¼ c mayonnaise
3 tbsp French salad dressing
½ tbsp sweet pickle relish
1½ tbsp dill pickle relish
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp dried, minced onion
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp ketchup
pinch salt

Mix the ingredients together well.  Microwave 25 seconds.  Cool.  Pour into squeeze bottle for easy application.   Refrigerate.

White Castle Burgers - Clone Copycat Recipe

Earlier this year I blogged about White Castle® cheeseburgers affectionately known as Slyders™.  Searching through online sources I found a lot of clone recipes that actually came nowhere close to Slyders™.  Some even have the audacity to bake the burger to form patties!  Obviously they missed one of the fundamental rules of cloning a recipe and that it to clone the method as well.

White Castle® burgers start out with thin frozen burger patties with a characteristic 5 hole pattern to help them cook quickly without flipping.  I started with lean ground beef (1) then rolled it with a rolling pin (2) between two pieces of wax paper.  I kept rolling until the ground beef was thin and squishing out the sides of the wax paper sheets.  The next step was trimming the ground beef into a rectangle (3) which actually sounds a lot easier than it is because raw ground beef simply does not cut easily.  I used a combination of a chef's knife and pizza cutter.  After the the rectangle was formed I used the pizza cutter to score the actual patties and a clean marker top to mark where the holes would go (4).

One of the characteristics of White Castle® burgers is each frozen patty has 5 holes.  The holes serve the specific function of ensuring the patty cooks all the way through without flipping.  At the same time they let the steam from the onions waft through the cooking burger to permeate the bun.

Pictured are the burger patties after I removed the holes.  Each patty was about 4 - inch square.  Removing the holes involved a toothpick and a slight swirly motion that wasn't quite as bad as it sounds.  It was a bit tedious though.  The finished patties were then covered with wax paper and placed in the freeze to freeze solid before cooking. 

I used the griddle similar to the cooking surface used at White Castle®.  The frozen patties are  placed on a bed of onion (traditionally reconstituted dehydrated onions) then topped with the bottom of the bun.  When the burger is cooked it is removed, a slice of American cheese is added with optional but traditional pickle slice and the top bun is added at White Castle® so that's what we aimed to duplicate.

The patties look huge compared to the bottom of the buns but as you can seen with the middle burger at the top the patty shrinks considerably.   I made a fundamental error during the cooking process by using the onion flakes as is rather than reconstituting so that will be something to consider for the next attempt.  The result was still good just not exactly right so a bit of tweaking there and they will be about as close to the perfect clone for White Castle® burgers as you can get.

I used store purchased dinner rolls for this clone recipe.  Each mini burger was topped with a half slice of American processed cheese. I omitted the traditional pickle slice because my husband does not like dill pickles so we never get them even when getting Slyders™ at White Castle®.

Overall I am extremely pleased with this first attempt at cloning Slyders™.  The only real tweaking that needs to be done is the onions and I already figured out what I did wrong.  Watch for the second attempt later this year with the onion problem corrected. 

Shake & Bake Chicken Clone Recipe Revisited

I mentioned yesterday that we were relying on tried and true comfort food meals with our house being recently put on the market. What I'm looking for is good food without a lot of prep work. I'm also looking for meals that rely heavily on our pantry and freezer stores. I'm trying to use at least one food item from both the pantry and freezer for each dinner meal. This will help reduce what we have to move then I can spend a few weeks after moving restocking the pantry and freezer stores.

Shake & Bake Clone

One of our recent meals used up 2 packages of chicken from the freezer and a bit of homemade shake & bake chicken coating from the pantry. Sides included oven baked potatoes topped with cheddar cheese and bacon pieces, and steamed broccoli. It was a nice comfort meal that was easy to put together with little effort.

From time to time in life there are periods of time where it would be so tempting to pick-up take-out or eating out. The problem is a lot of these times the extra time spent getting take-out or eating out actually defeats the purpose by using up time that could be spent dealing with other pressing matters. While the meal was cooking I had time to work on the house so it was a frugal use of time. At the same time we ended up with a nice comfort meal without much effort.