Recipe - Halloween Spudnuts

Our family tradition for over twenty years has been to make homemade Spudnuts on Halloween night.  I've always used the same tried and true recipe, which turns out great.  I only make them once a year because they are my weakness.  I'm not a big dessert person, but when these are freshly fried and glazed, I can hardly wait to bite into one, and usually consume another one or two before the night is over (which isn't so bad since I hate Halloween candy!)  The recipe makes a big batch with plenty to share, plus they freeze well and perk right up again after just a few seconds in the microwave.  I'll be out of town this year, but luckily I took photos last Halloween so I could share instructions for those who would like to try them. I should warn you that some family members may get a little Spudnut crazy and want a giant one all for themselves!  Knowing he would miss the next two Halloweens at home, a special request was made last year by this boy, who as I recall had no trouble devouring it in one sitting.  As you can see, Grandpa is waiting patiently in the background for his.

Happy Halloween!

Spudnuts

4 cups lukewarm water

1 ½ cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups instant mashed potatoes (measured after making some up according to pkg directions)

4 scant Tablespoons Instant Yeast (I use Saf-Instant yeast found in the baking aisle at Maceys)
1 cup shortening
2 teaspoons salt

2 Tablespoons bottled lemon juice

Approximately 12 cup flour

-Cream shortening, sugar, and eggs in bread mixer (or with an electric mixer).  Add nutmeg, salt, potatoes, and lemon juice.  Mix dry instant yeast with 4 cups of the flour.  Change from beaters to dough hook.  Add water to the mixer at low speed at the same time as you start adding the 4 cups flour and yeast.  Add more flour gradually until the dough is still a bit sticky, but workable.  Let mix about 10 minutes in mixer (or knead by hand).  Remove to a large bowl that has been greased with shortening, cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap, and rise until double.

-This is what the dough looks like when it's raised.  I didn't take pictures of mixing it up, because some people don't own a bread mixer and will be kneading the dough by hand.  

-Line about 5 cookie sheets with waxed paper that has been greased well with shortening OR just lay out greased waxed paper on counter to wait for the Spudnuts.  

-On floured counter top, roll the dough in several batches to 1/2 inch thick (rolling about a fourth of the dough at a time).  Use a round biscuit cutter or rim of a large drinking glass to cut the dough.

-As the doughnuts are cut out, poke finger through centers and stretch into a hole, then lay on greased papers. You can save the edges and add them to the next batch to roll out again, but try not to re-roll the dough more than once.  This is how they look after they are raised.

-Cover lightly with clean dishtowels while rising to prevent drying out.  Let rise about an hour until double.  Heat grease to 375 degrees, lift donuts off papers one by one gently (so they don't squish and go flat) and fry a few at a time until lightly browned, flipping over with a wooden skewer.  

-Lift out with slotted spoon and place in colander to drain a bit, then dip in glaze or sugar.  

-Make lots of glaze with powdered sugar, hot water, vanilla, and a dash of salt.  It will be quite thin. While still warm, drop Spudnuts quickly into glaze in shallow bowl, flipping them over with skewer. 

-Lay on cooling racks to drain off remaining glaze and finish cooling before eating or freezing.   

-Or, instead of glazing, you can also dip in bowls of regular white sugar, or a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.  We usually do some glazed and some sugared.

Makes about 75 Spudnuts.  My little Cache seemed to enjoy his a lot!

Recipe - George's Pork Drummies

Some of you may remember a post last year telling about my sister, Stacey, who owns a little grocery store in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin. (See HERE).  Soon after moving to this small town so far from us, she started regaling me with entertaining tales of colorful local characters who frequent her charming country store.  One of my favorite stories is how the former owner of the store, Harry, long since retired, used to have trouble remembering the names of the many children who came in to buy treats after school, so he started calling all the girls Judy and all the boys Mikey.  The rest of their lives, even after they grew up and moved away, he still called them all Judy and Mikey when they came home to visit!  Another memorable person Stacey came to appreciate after starting her new life in Wisconsin was George, a retired butcher who shopped at her store. Whenever he heard that Stacey was having company, as when we would make our summer visit, he showed up at the store with a container full of Pork Drummies he had prepared for her to cook for us, knowing how stressed she would be entertaining guests during the busy summer tourist season.  I soon learned that these Drummies, as he had named them, were actually skewers of pork chunks that were to be breaded and fried like chicken, then slowly simmered in a broth until they were tender and flavorful, ending up with the distinct flavor of Chicken Drumsticks without any bones! They were delicious when she made them for us, and I've fixed them for my family several times since.  When I do, I always think of George coming into the store to give such a nice gift to someone he had only known a short time.  Last year George passed away, so I want to dedicate this post to a very nice man who will be remembered, at least by our family, for his kind and thoughtful ways.  I have provided instructions and photos for this tasty, comforting dish below.

 George's Pork Drummies

Cut 2 to 3 lbs of boneless pork into large cubes (pork sirloin roast or boneless chops work well.  You could also use a shoulder roast).

Find some small wooden skewers around 6 to 7 inches long, or cut longer ones down (as I did, using a sharp knife to score them, then breaking them and discarding part.  You just want them to fit easily into your skillet for browning).

Soak the skewers in water for at least an hour.  If any shards of wood start to pull away, peel these off so you don’t get into pieces of skewer in when you spear the cubes of meat.

Place the meat onto the skewers, saving a bit of room on the ends to hold onto when you eat them.

Either crush some cornflake crumbs or buy the already crushed kind.  For each cup of crumbs you use, mix in a teaspoon of seasoning salt.  Any brand will do.

Pour some evaporated milk into a shallow dish and place the cornflakes into another dish. 

Dip the skewers into the milk, then roll into the crumbs, using your hands to sprinkle more on until they are well covered.

Place some cooking oil and butter into a large skillet. Brown the Drummies over medium high heat, turning as needed and seasoning all sides well with salt and pepper.  When they are browned nicely, if there is any excessive fat left in the pan, drain it off. When I did mine, there wasn't any left to drain.

Turn the heat down very low, add a can of chicken broth, cover, and simmer for an hour. 

During the simmering stage, the liquid should be eventually absorbed, leaving you with just the browned bottom of the pan.

Now remove the drummies carefully and make gravy in the pan if you would like, using more chicken broth, some evaporated milk, and flour/water thickener, scraping the pan to get the browned pieces off.  (See all of that carmelized stuff in the bottom of the pan? This will make delicious gravy for your mashed potatoes).  For more specific instructions about gravy making, go HERE or HERE.

I like to add fresh parsley to the Drummies and to my pan gravy. Hope you like them!

Recipe - Blooming Baked Apples

First I want to apologize to my faithful readers who visited the blog last week only to find that a new post never appeared--I forgot to mention that I would be out of town distracting myself with three very cute little people in Pleasant Grove.  It has been 20 long days since the departure of my missionary, and I must admit I haven't had the heart for either cooking or grocery shopping.  After he left we nearly starved for awhile because I just couldn't bring myself to make anything for dinner that he liked to eat--and the kid has lots of favorite foods!  Around the third night my husband timidly suggested I make pancakes, only to be soundly rebuked with a tearful reminder of how much Dylan loves pancakes!  After that we ate out the rest of the week.

My daughter, Jessame, visited us for General Conference weekend, and I told her I was stuck for an idea I could share in Savings for Sisters after having slacked off in the kitchen these past couple of weeks. Right away she volunteered to help by demonstrating a delicious fall treat she had tried recently--Blooming Baked Apples.  She made them for us on Sunday afternoon while I took photos. They turned out great!  I think this would be a fun Family Home Evening treat, as it doesn't take long and smells so good while cooking.  The apples are best served warm right out of the oven, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.  Thanks Jessame!

 Blooming Baked Apples

4 apples (Honey Crisp or Granny Smith recommended)

8 Kraft caramels

4 tbsp butter

3/8 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp flour

2 tsp cinnamon

Vanilla ice cream

Slice off the top 1/4 of your apple. Use a potato peeler to take out the core of the apple (a melon baller could also work).  Some of the core at the very bottom will need to remain so that the filling will not drip through.

Use a long, thin knife to slice two concentric circles around the hallowed out core. Then cut slices from the top almost to the bottom all around the apple, as shown in the pictures below. This will make the apple "bloom."

Put two caramels into the center of each apple and place the apples in a glass or ceramic baking dish.

Microwave the butter and brown sugar together for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave for another 30 seconds.

Add the flour and cinnamon to the mixture and drizzle over the apples. Try to get the mixture down into the slices as much as possible by holding the apple carefully open with your fingers, and avoid letting it drip down the outsides.

Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes. Baking time can vary depending on how firm (and large) your apples are. Just keep baking them until they are soft when poked with a toothpick at the base.

Serve with vanilla ice cream on top. You can also add jarred caramel sauce or spoon some of what has dripped down into your baking dish from the apples over the ice cream, which is what we did.  Enjoy!