Uncle Matt's Poultry and Fish Rub

This is a great rub for poultry and fish, but it is particularly good for chicken cooked on the grill or in the oven.

Place the ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly with a wire whisk. Sift the mixture to insure an even mixing and to remove any lumps or large pieces. Check out Penzy's for high quality spices and mixes.

1 cup Turbinado Sugar
1/2 cup Onion Salt *
1/2 cup Garlic Salt *
1/2 cup Smoked or normal Paprika
2 tablespoons Chili Powder
2 tablespoons Poultry Seasoning
1 tablespoon Black pepper, ground **
1 tablespoon Coriander, ground **
1 tablespoon Dried Cayenne Pepper, ground **
1 tablespoon Thyme, ground **
1 tablespoon Marjoram, ground **
1 tablespoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1 tablespoon ground Bay Leaves, ground **
1/4 teaspoon Dried Habenero, ground **
1/4 teaspoon Citric Acid (optional)

*  If you can not get these salts, just use a 3 to 1 salt to dried spice ratio (3/8 cup salt and 1/8 cup dried spice). Try to use non-iodine salt so the rub will not discolor the meat.

** Best results are achieved when you start with whole spices and grind them yourself, but pre-ground spices will work as well.

Lauren's Winter Squash Soup

My niece, Lauren, wanted to make something for the Thanksgiving dinner, so we suggested that she make a soup. She asked around and her Oma found a recipe that looked great. It is sized to make 8 appetizer servings. Here it is:

Ingredients
2 T. Unsalted Butter
1 T Olive Oil
2 c. Chopped Onions
1.5 lbs Butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes
3 c. chicken stock or broth
1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
kosher salt, & fresh ground black pepper
1 c. Half & Half
Creme Fraiche, grated Gruyere, crisp cooked bacon or Croutons for serving or garnish

Directions
1. In saucepan heat butter and oil on medium low. Add onions and cook 10 minutes until translucent, stirring occasionally.
2. Add butternut squash, sock, pumpkin, 2 t. salt, 1/2 t. pepper and heat to boiling on medium high. Once boiling, reduce heat, cover and simmer on medium low 20 minutes or until squash is very tender, stirring occasionally. Process mixture with immersion blender until smooth.
3. Add Half & Half and heat slowly. Serve with garnishes, if any.

Garlic Aioli

This sauce is a great one for fancy burgers or chicken sandwiches, like the Blackened Chicken Sandwiches I have here on my site. It is easy to make if you have a mini food processor. If you only have a full sized one or blender, double this recipe and it will work better in the larger bowl. If you have a good whisk and glass bowl, you can do it the really old fashioned way.

Ingredients
3 garlic cloves, run through a garlic press
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon juice, fresh if possible
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
Salt, to taste (1/2 teaspoon)
Ground black or White pepper, to taste (1/8 teaspoon)
1/2+ cup top quality extra virgin olive oil

Directions
Combine the garlic, egg, lemon juice, vinegar, water parsley, mustard and a little salt and pepper in a mini food processor and puree. Add the oil in a thin stream while spinning the mix in the processor. Go very slowly at first and then, as the emulsion forms, you can go a little bit faster. Continue to add oil and process until the mixture has formed a thick emulsion, you may need to add more oil depending on how large your egg was. The final product should have a consistency just a bit thinner than store bought mayonnaise. Add the salt and pepper to taste spinning it in the processor after each addition.

This recipe is based on Emeril Lagasse's

Spicy Sauces for The Cadets

I just finished a week of travelling and cooking for The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps (see blog). While I was with them, I made a few sauces to add a little zing to their meals and they seemed to like them and asked that I write down the recipes for them so future food volunteers can make them too. They are very simple:

Honey-Chipotle Sauce

1 can of "Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce"
1 5 pound bottle of honey
1/4 cup ketchup

Habanero Hot Sauce

Habanero Pepper

I was walking through the grocery store yesterday and I saw that they just got a load of very good looking Habanero Chilis. These are the little chilies that some call the "Scotch Bonnet", they are about 1 1/2 inches long and about 1 inch in diameter. They are very pretty shade of orange and are very hot, but have an unmistakable fruity flavor. I picked up 5 of these little guys and made the following hot sauce from them. As is my usual, I started with a basic recipe and modified it a little. Mine is better than the original, but here it is in case you want to try the original.

Habanero Hot Sauce

Ingredients:
      1 Tbs. olive oil
      1 cup carrots, diced
      1 cup onion, diced
      2 whole jalapeno peppers (prepared as directed)
      5 cloves Garlic, rough chopped or minced
      1/4 cup water
      1/4 cup lime juice
      1/4 cup white vinegar
      1/4 cup Agave Nectar or Honey
      2 medium tomatoes, peeled and rough chopped
      5 whole habanero chilies (prepared as directed)
      salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste