Nummy Fair Fare!!

Some of these ideas are really nausea inspiring but there are several Hubs and I plan to make very soon. Check it out for yourselves!!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/endless-simmer/state-fair-foods_b_965932.html?ref=mostpopular

Best Banana Cake

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and it is one of the best cakes I've ever enjoyed. Did you know you can freeze bananas? If you find them ripening and don't have time to use them, wrap unpeeled bananas in paper towels and put in a zip lock bag. Thaw when you're ready to make this cake or banana bread. Also, if you don't have buttermilk it is easy to make. See below.

BEST BANANA CAKE

• ¾ cup butter
• 2⅛ cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1½ cups buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1½ cups mashed bananas
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream
• cheese, softened
• 3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. In a small bowl, mix mashed bananas with lemon juice, set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream ¾ cup butter and 2⅛ cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in banana mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place directly into freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.
• For the frosting: In a large bowl, cream ½ cup butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add confectioners sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth. Spread on cooled cake.

Buttermilk Substitute

• Milk (just under one cup)
• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Place a Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.
2. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line.
3. Let stand for five minute. Then, use as much as your recipe calls for.

Meet John Besh

Chef Besh grew up hunting and fishing on the Louisiana Bayou. Formally trained at the Culinary Institute of America he spent time in Europe before coming back to his roots. He specializes in Louisiana style cuisine.

He has won numerous awards, most notably the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef of the Southeast in 2006!!

His booming career was interrupted when, as a noncommissioned offier of the U.S.M.C. Reserves, he was called upon to lead an infantry squad in combat during Operation Desert Storm.

Back home after his tour of duty, John and many other Chefs worked to raise money for the relief effort after Hurricane Katrina.

Chef Besh opened a cluster of restaurants, including the elegant Restaurant August, the stylish Besh Steak and the traditional Luke in New Orleans.

He is currently working on a line of artisanal butters!

Fried shrimp po' boy

Chef John Besh

• 3 cups canola oil
• 1 pound 25-count shrimp
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup buttermilk, chilled
• 1 cup seasoned flour
• .5 cup cornmeal
• 2 each Creole or beefsteak tomatoes
• 1 loaf ciabatta bread, toasted, quartered, and split in half or bread of your choice
• 4 tablespoons of your favorite mayonnaise
• 1 head Bibb lettuce (iceberg is just fine)
• 8 each pickle slices

Preparation

In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat the canola oil. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Let the shrimp sit in chilled buttermilk for a few minutes, and then toss into mixture of seasoned flour and cornmeal. Place the shrimp in the pan with hot oil (350 degrees F) and cook until golden brown. Carefully remove the shrimp from the hot oil and place on absorbent towels to drain for a minute.

Slice the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Dress the bread of each sandwich with mayonnaise, lettuce, 2 pickle slices, and a couple of slices of tomatoes. Portion shrimp out and place inside each sandwich and season with a dash or 2 of hot sauce if desired.

Enjoy with an ice-cold Barq's root beer in a large frosty beer mug. Simply out of this world good!!!!!!

Meet Rick Bayless

Award-winning chef-restaurateur, cookbook author, and television personality Rick Bayless has done more than any other culinary star to introduce Americans to authentic Mexican cuisine and to change the image of Mexican food in America.

Rick resides in Chicago with his wife and daughter. With his wife he runs Frontera Grill and Topolobampo. He is the founder of the Frontera Farmer Foundation, an organization that supports small local farmers and has been active in Share Our Strength, the nation's largest hunger advocacy organization.

Mexico—One Plate at a Time is currently in its fifth season on PBS. His cookbook with his 15 year old daughter, Lanie, titled Rick and Lanie’s Excellent Kitchen Adventures was nominated for a James Beard Award as well as Rick’s sixth cookbook, Mexican Everyday.


Enchiladas Especiales Tacuba Style

2 fresh poblano chiles
1 cup (lightly packed) roughly chopped spinach leaves
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter—or you can use vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup flour
Salt
3 cups coarsely shredded cooked chicken (I usually use a rotisserie chicken or leftover grilled chicken)
12 corn tortillas
A little vegetable oil for brushing or spraying
About 1 cup Mexican melting cheese (Chihuahua, quesadilla, asadero or the like) or Monterey Jack, brick or mild cheddar
A little chopped cilantro for garnish

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Directions

1. Make the sauce. Roast the poblanos directly over a gas flame or on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, turning regularly, until the skins have blistered and blackened on all side, about 5 minutes for an open flame, about 10 minutes under the broiler. Place in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and, when handleable, rub off the blackened skin, tear open and pull out the seed pod and stem. Quickly rinse to remove any stray seeds or bits of skin. Roughly chop and put in a blender jar. Add the spinach.
In a medium (3-quart) saucepan, combine the milk and broth, set over medium-low heat to warm.
In a large (4-quart) saucepan, melt the butter (or heat the oil) over medium. Add the garlic and cook for a minute to release its aroma, then add the flour and stir the mixture for a minute. Raise the heat to medium-high. Pour in the warm broth mixture and whisk constantly until the sauce boils. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Pour half the hot sauce into the blender with the chiles and spinach. Cover loosely (I remove the center part of the lid, secure the lid, then drape a cloth over the whole thing) and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining sauce. Taste and season with salt, usually about 2 teaspoons.
2. Finish the enchiladas. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Smear about 1/4 cup of the sauce over the bottom of each of four to six 9-inch individual ovenproof baking/serving dishes or smear about 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish. Stir 1 cup of the sauce into the chicken.
Lay half of the tortillas out on a baking sheet and lightly brush or spray both sides of the tortillas with oil; top each tortilla with another one and brush or spray those with oil. Bake just to warm through and soften, about 3 minutes. Stack the tortillas and cover with a towel to keep warm.

Working quickly so that the tortillas stay hot and pliable, roll a portion of the chicken up in each tortilla, then line them all up in the baking dish(es). Douse evenly with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake until the enchiladas are hot through (the cheese will have begun to brown), about 20 minutes. Garnish with the cilantro and serve without hesitation.

Wisconsin State Fair Cream Puffs

The Wisconsin State Fair Cream Puff Original Recipe

This recipe is the official cream puff recipe of the Wisconsin State Fair. This is a real cure for your sweet tooth. Enjoy!

Puff dough

• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into tablespoon slices
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 4 whole eggs, room temperature

Egg wash

• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons whole milk

Whipped Cream Filling

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour, or line with parchment paper, a large baking sheet. Set aside.
2. Place water, butter slices and salt in large heavy pot. Make sure butter melts completely. Bring water just to boil. Quickly stir in flour with a wooden spoon until soft dough ball forms. Remove from heat. Let dough rest 5 minutes.
3. Mix in 4 whole eggs, one at a time. Dough will be thick, sticky and smooth.
4. Drop about 1/4 cup puff dough by spoonful, 2-3 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. There should be about 10 to 12 dough balls. Prepare egg wash by mixing egg yolk and milk together with fork. Brush egg wash over each puff dough. Bake for 35 minutes until puffy, golden brown and firm.
5. Remove puffs to wire rack. Prick each puff with a toothpick to release steam. Allow to cool for about an hour until completely cool to the touch and firm.
6. When puffs are cool and at least an hour has passed, prepare Whipped Cream Filling. Place heavy whipping cream, vanilla and sugar in a chilled medium metal bowl (I place the metal bowl and my metal whisks in freezer while preparing the puff pastry.) Beat until soft peaks form.
7. Cut tops off each puff and fill with whipped cream. Replace tops and dust with powdered sugar.

Savory Pork Roast

There is nothing I like better than to soak in a tub of scented water and then being rubbed down with warm oil. These are two things I have in common with a pork roast!

I cannot stress how important it is to brine your roast before you cook it and also letting the roast come to room temperature before cooking. Brining will assure a moist and juicy roast. Todays pork is as lean as chicken and no longer has to be cooked to death. Use a meat thermometer and pull the roast at 135-140 degrees. Loosely tent the roast with tin foil and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Resting the roast is important in order to redistribute the juices once it's done roasting.

Pork Brine

¾ cup Diamond brand kosher salt (any brand will do if you can't find Diamond)
¾ cup sugar
1 cup boiling water
1 gallon cold water
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon granulated garlic or several cloves crushed garlic
2 sprigs fresh rosemary or 1 tablespoon dried crushed rosemary

I use the jumbo zippered food bags for brining. Add salt and sugar to boiling water and stir until dissolved. Rinse the roast and place in bag. Add cold water and seasoning then add the salt and sugar water. Zip bag and remove as much air as possible. Place the bag into a bowl large enough to hold it and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.

Rinse pork twice after removing it from the brine solution; discard brine. If you are not ready to cook at the end of the brining time, remove and rinse the meat. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Do not salt brined meat before cooking. Cook pork according to your favorite recipe. Do not overcook your brined pork. Once brined, the pork cooks faster so be careful and use a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat.


Savory Pork Roast

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary or 1-2 tablespoons dried crushed rosemary
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds boneless pork loin roast

           

           

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Pat the roast dry with paper toweling. Use a tablespoon or two of olive oil and rub all over the roast.
3. Combine seasoning and rub over the whole roast.
4. Cook roast 20 minutes per pound or until thermometer reads 135-140 degrees. Tent with foil and allow to rest 10-15 minutes.
5. I usually put the roast on a rack inside the pan and before I put it in the oven I add enough liquid (water, broth or wine) to cover the bottom of the pan. Check every 20 minutes and add more liquid as needed. This will give you a nice base for au jus or gravy if you desire.

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War Su Gai

This recipe is as close as you can get to the scrumptious dish that was served at Center Inn restaurant that used to be in Grayslake, IL. Alice and the gang retired and I sure miss their awesome food. I will try to post recipes and helpful hints and tips daily and photos if I can get my camera working so check in on your ol' friend Bubby and get cookin'!!!


2 whole chicken breasts, skinned, boned, and cut in half lengthwise
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon dry sherry

Sauce:
4 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
3 cups broth
1½ cups chopped mushrooms (optional)
3 tablespoons chicken fat or butter
2 teaspoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

Batter:
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon water
1 cup shredded lettuce
⅓ cup toasted, slivered almonds
1 green onion, finely chopped (green and white parts)
Oil for deep-frying

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Sprinkle chicken with salt and sherry and marinate for 15 minutes.
While chicken is marinating, prepare the sauce. Mix together
the cornstarch and water in a small saucepan until smooth.

Gradually mix in the chicken broth, mushrooms (if using),
chicken fat or butter, soy sauce, and bouillon granules.
Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Let boil
for 1 minute, and keep warm.

To prepare batter: Beat together the cornstarch, flour,
baking powder, egg, and water until smooth. Coat each piece
of chicken with the batter.

Heat wok or a large skillet and add oil to a depth of ½-inch.
Heat to 375 degrees. Cook coated chicken pieces in oil until
they are golden, turning them once. This should take about
5 - 7 minutes. Drain the chicken on a tempura rack if you
have one, or on paper towels.

Cut the chicken diagonally into strips. Reassemble the
strips into chicken breast shapes and place on a bed of
shredded lettuce. Sprinkle with almonds and green onion.
Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve over a bed of steamed rice.