Adventures with Crisco Part Two (Crisco Sandwich Spread)

Here we are folks, the long awaited Crisco Sandwich Spread from page 54 of "12 Dozen Time-Saving Recipes." I must admit I was a bit shocked at the outcome, it wasn't nearly as disgusting as I thought it was going to be.

The ingredients for the spread included, paprika, "a few grains of cayenne," Worcestershire sauce, salt, lemon juice, and egg yolk, vinegar and of course Crisco. Obviously this was published before eating uncooked eggs was seen as a no-no. There is still a debate about eating raw eggs, but it's never really bothered me so I went along with it. 

The first step was to cream the Crisco, which isn't really that difficult of a task since it is so soft to bring with. I wasn't really sure if I was doing it right, but i just kind of beat it around the bowl until it seemed to be a bit fluffier than it started as. 

Next i beat in the egg yolk and added the spices. I had some trouble with the mixture after adding the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar since the Crisco did not want to absorb the liquid. It was a bit like having oil and water in the bowl with the lump of Crisco just sitting amid a sea of lemon juice. I really had to work to blend it together and even then I had some excess liquid. 

The finished product, looks so appetizing doesn't it? At this point I wanted to do a taste test but just couldn't bring myself to even lick the fork I had been using to mix everything together. 

Instead I spread some on a piece of bread and took a bite. Overall it wasn't that bad. The lemon juice is definitely the overpowering taste and the paprika and cayenne add a nice kick. I just couldn't get over the texture however. It's almost like it coated the inside of my mouth and I just couldn't get rid of it. It tasted almost like miracle whip mixed with butter, and you can interpret that as being either a good thing or a bad thing. I, however, am definitely not trading in my margarine or miracle whip for any kind of sandwich spread made with Crisco. 

Recipe

1 cup Crisco

1 egg yolk

1/4 tsp mustard

1/8 tsp paprika

Few grains cayenne

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 1/2 tbsp vinegar 

Cream Crisco. Add egg yolk and beat well. Mix mustard, paprika, cayenne, salt, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice together and stir into the first mixture. Add vinegar, beating a little in at a time. Mix thoroughly. 

Adventures With Crisco Part One (Biscuits)

Last week I posed about a vintage cookbook I found, "12 Dozen Time-Saving Recipes," in which Crisco was a featured ingredient. I decided to try some of the recipes in here, the first on being Baking Powder Biscuits.

I have always loved making biscuits, especially with cheese. They are the perfect snack, and easy to eat on the go. While I normally make them with butter, the recipe called for Crisco instead. 

Crisco is much softer than butter, so having to "rub in Crisco with finger tips" proved to be an interesting experience. I would recommend using a hand mixer if you have one, as Crisco is quite Greasy and it took me some time to get it all off my hands. The recipe also said that you could "cut in with knives or forks" but Crisco is so soft, I just didn't see that working well either. 

The dough was also a bit dry, so I added a bit more milk. I probably should have added more and when I was forming the biscuits the dough tended to crumble. Adding cheese probably contributed to this a bit. 

The recipe advised using a greased muffin pan and simply to "drop" balls of dough into it. Even though the pans I have are non-stick, I still greased them with Crisco because, well, if we're doing this, we'll do it right. 

Overall I was pretty satisfied with the biscuits. The were a bit salty and dry, but adding a bit more milk and a little less salt would remedy this. While they are missing that buttery taste, the biscuits still retain a "melt-in-your-mouth" like texture which is something I'm all about. Leaving out the cheese and using water instead of milk also makes these biscuits vegan. I don't think I'm willing to give up butter altogether, but in a pinch, Crisco definitely works as an alternative. 

Next Week: The highly anticipated Crisco Sandwich Spread

Baking Powder Biscuits (12 Dozen Time-Saving Recipes)

2 Cups White Flour

4 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Salt 

4 Tablespoons Crisco

1 Cup Milk (or Water)

Sift dry ingredients, rub in Crisco with finger tips or cut in with knives or fork. Add liquid and mix to a soft dough. Toss on slightly floured board, pat into shape and cut with biscuit cutter or stop from spoon into well-greased muffin tins. Bake 15 minutes in a hot oven (450 degrees F) 

Variation: Cheese Biscuits

Stir in 1/2 cup grated cheese before dropping or rolling. 

The Magic of Crisco.

I recently came upon a this little booklet published by Procter and Gamble in 1932. You can read more about it here, but essentially the cookbook was published as a platform for the company to push their product Crisco. While we still use Crisco today, for baking pastries and frying things, some of the recipes in this booklet are just simply baffling. This upcoming week I'm planning on trying out some of the recipes in here so stay tuned to find out just exactly what "Crisco Sandwich Spread" tastes like.

Chai Spice Cupcakes Inspired by Mindy Kaling

“I’m one of the few people who looks hot eating a cupcake” – Kelly Kapoor from The Office.

These cupcakes are inspired by Mindy Kaling, they are cute, delicious, and super easy to make. There are a lot of chai spice cupcake recipes out there already, but like Mindy, you probably don’t have a lot of time on your hands. This recipe cheats using boxed cake mix and store bought frosting (Betty Crocker ftw!) I recently finished her book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? You can read my thoughts here. 

You basically follow the instructions on the box of cake mix, but where the recipe calls for water, you substitute for Chai tea. Use whatever brand you like. I personally love Tazo for its strong flavor. 

I normally add 2 tablespoons of milk just to give the batter a bit more of a creamy texture. You can also use almond milk, or leave the milk out all together. 

For some the chai tea alone is enough, but for those who want added spice, a mix of spices can also be added. 

The batter will be slightly thicker than usual if adding the spice mix, but the cupcakes still take around 15-20 minutes to bake at 350 degrees F. 

For the frosting, simply add one tablespoon of cinnamon to a can of vanilla frosting. I've always been terrible at frosting cupcakes and while this doesn't look like much I can assure you that it tastes delicious. 

Just ask Naomi!

Cupcakes

One box cake mix (Golden, French Vanilla, or White work best)

½ cup canola oil

1 cup brewed Chai tea

2 tablespoons milk (optional)

3 eggs (For a vegan recipe substitute eggs for applesauce) 

Spice Mix (Optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

Frosting

1 can Vanilla Frosting

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1.     Preheat Oven according to directions on Cake Mix box

2.     Boil one cup of water and add chai tea bag. Let steep for 5 minutes.

3.     If adding milk add 2 tbs to Chai tea.

4.     Add chai tea, oil, and eggs to cake mix and mix well

5.     Add spice Mix .

6.     Bake Cupcakes according to direction on Cake Mix Box. (Normally 15-20 minutes for cupcakes)

7.     Let cupcakes cool and frost with cinnamon frosting

J.B West - Upstairs at the White House and Apple Pie

Five Step Apple Pie

I recently read Upstairs at the White House, written by J.B West, a former butler who served at the White House during the presidencies of Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. (You can read the full review here). While there are a number of White House cookbooks and websites that provide information about the favourite meals of various Presidents, in honour of American Thanksgiving I decided to make a traditional all-American apple pie.

All that’s needed for the filling is 7 ingredients, and prep takes less than half an hour (depending on how fast you can peel the apples)

I used Mackintosh Apples for the filling but you can use almost any kind. You may want to add/use less sugar depending on the kind of apples. Fuji Apples tend to be sweeter while Cortland Apples are more tart and crisp.

Die-hard pie makers will often make their own crusts, but I did not have the time or space to make my own. There are tons of recipes for perfect piecrusts out there, but I cheated a used Pillsbury’s pre-cut, pre-rolled crust. It’s not as flaky as a homemade crust would be, but it bakes up nicely and goes well with the filling.

Remember to spear the crust to let the steam out.

Enjoy

Filling

4-5 Mackintosh apples, peeled and thinly diced.

1 cup Brown Sugar

2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flower

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon Salt

1.     Place the peeled apples into a large bowl and add lemon juice.

2.     Add sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg and coat well

3.     Pour filling into your pie curst (either homemade or store bought)

4.     Cover with remaining crust and spear top to let out steam

5.     Bake at 350 degree (F) oven for 45-50 minutes until top is golden brown.

Notes

Brush top with egg wash (beat together 1 egg and 1 tablespoon milk) to get an even crisper and golden top.

Welcome

Hi everyone, welcome to my blog. Reading and cooking are my two favourite things and so I thought, why not combine the two? Here I will be posting recipes for things that I find relate back well to what I've been reading about. I hope you all enjoy.

For more info about the books I review, you can check out my wordpress blog.