The Best Pumpkin Pancakes Ever

Pumpkin Pancakes
Serves: 9

We made these during the Christmas holiday this year when friends slept over after an awesome game night. Everyone loved them! I have scaled the recipe to use an entire can of pumpkin puree. Enjoy!

Wet Ingredients
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2 1/4 Cups Milk 
1     Pumpkin Puree Can (15 oz) 
2     Eggs 
3     Tablespoons Vegetable Oil 
3     Tablespoons Vinegar 

Dry Ingredients
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3     Cups All Purpose Flour 
4 1/2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar 
1     Tablespoon Baking Powder 
1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Soda 
1 1/2 Tablespoons Pumpkin Pie Spice 
3/4   Teaspoons Salt

Irish Pork Stew

Recipe By:Chef John
Instant Pot Conversion: Matt Sargent

2 1/2 lbs of boneless pork shoulder with fat removed and cut into 2-inch cubes
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 Tbs butter or ghee
1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 bay leaf
1 tsp caraway seed
1 (12 fluid ounce) bottle dark beer (such as Guinness)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 sweet potatoes, cubed and divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
12 Brussels sprouts, halved
3 cups mashed cauliflower, or as needed
1 tsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, or to taste

3D Printed Leg Cookie Cutter

This is where a couple of my hobbies have come together in a unique way.

My daughter pointed out a recipe for a Christmas cookie that resembles the famous lamp from the movie "A Christmas Story".

In the recipe, (here) they provide a link to a stencil to use when cutting out the leg shapes for the cookies.

That struck me as something that could be done better with a cookie cutter. Since I recently acquired a 3D printer and have gained some very modest 3D modelling skills, I thought I could make a cookie cutter that filled the bill - it is the exact same size and shape as the stencil that is provided in the recipe.

Here is what I came up with:

And as a gift to you, here is the 3D model so that you can print out a cookie cutter too!

Leg Cookie Cutter.STL

Here is the link to it on Thingiverse.com : Leg Lamp Cookie Cutter

Or if you want to simply buy two already printed, send me an email or visit ebay (link coming soon) and buy a set.

Happy Holidays!

Matt

Habanero Peach Hot Sauce

This past Spring, I gave a good friend of mine some the Red Habenero seedlings I started. He planted them and gave him a bumper crop of red habeneros. He found this recipe online and modified it a bit and came up with a very good hot sauce recipe. Here it is:

Ingredients:
      7 Red or Gold Habanero peppers
      1 (15.5 ounce) can sliced peaches in heavy syrup
      1/2 1/4 cup dark molasses
      1/2 cup yellow mustard
      1/2 3/4 cup light brown sugar
      1 cup distilled white vinegar
      2 tablespoons salt
      2 tablespoons paprika
      1 tablespoon black pepper
      1 tablespoon ground cumin
      1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
      1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Directions:

1. De-seed and chop the peppers. If you want more heat, leave the pith and seeds, if you want less, leave them out. Note, these are pretty hot peppers, so there is plenty of heat when you just use the flesh. If your peppers are particularly hot, use fewer peppers, if they are somewhat mild, use more.
2. Put the peppers, peaches (including syrup), molasses, mustard, brown sugar and vinegar into a blender and blend until very smooth.
3. Add salt and spices and blend until combined.
4. Pour mixture into a non-reactive saucepan and place on medium heat until the hot sauce is just simmering.
5. Barely simmer for about 30 minutes. Taste and adjust spices if needed.
6. Prepare 1 pint or smaller canning jars and lids or hot sauce bottles (follow manufacturer's directions on how to prepare and use those type bottles) by sterilizing them in boiling water.
7. Fill jars with nearly boiling hot sauce, wipe jar lips with clear cloth dipped in white vinegar, place lids on jars just finger tight.
8. Put jars in boiling water bath covering the tops by at least 1 inch.
9. Process according to the size of the container, pints for 10 minutes and less time for smaller containers.
10. Allow to cool in water for 10 minutes, then remove to a cool until the lids pop. If any lids do not pop, just put those in the fridge and keep cool. Note, the sauce bottle tops will not pop . Refrigerate containers after they are opened.   

Grilled Romaine

About a year ago we were introduced to this delicious salad by our lovely daughter, Carlisle. The basics are very simple and can be done over charcoal or a gas grill or even on a grill pan inside. Here is the basic recipe and directions. If you want to make a meal of it, add thin cut steak draped over the 1/2 romaine heads and mix up a horseradish ceaser dressing to go with it:

Ingredients:
      2 Whole Romaine Hearts
      Olive oil
      Kosher salt
      Freshly ground black pepper
      12 cherry tomatoes
      1/4 c. red onion sliced very thinly
      1/4 c. Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated
      1/2 c. Ceaser Dressing

Directions:

1. Take each of the hearts of romaine and slice off the very end of the stem to remove any dark part, but being careful to not loosen any leaves. Slice the heads in half long wise. Rinse each under water and then set on towels to drain and dry.
2. Using a large bowl, place the 4 1/2 heads with the cut side up and drizzle them with some oilive oil and season them with a good sprinkle of the salt and pepper. Toss them around in the bowl to spread out the oil and distribute the seasoning and pepper a bit. Let sit until it is time to grill them. 
3. The grilling goes very quickly, so wait to grill the romaine until the last minute.
4. Place the heads on a hot grill with the cut side down. Grill about 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the heads are just marked by the heat. Turn over and grill the back side for 30 seconds more.
5. Remove the heads onto a platter and distribute the cheese, tomatoes and onions on top, then drizzle with the Ceaser dressing and serve immediately.