Crack Dip Good

Somehow, the crack dip mix made it past the drug sniffing dogs at the U.S. border and into my kitchen. (Thanks, Jody!) Therefore, I too can attest to the addictive quality of the extraordinary crack dip. I made a half serving and had mine with Vienna Crusty rolls, although I find it also works well when eaten off one's fingers or off the back of the knife. You know, for those times when you're not willing to wait until it's spread on the bread.

This was the appetizer in my Two-Course-Meal! The main dish was Swordfish with the Tyee fish rub and some peas. This was excellent. I'm really enjoying the Tyee fish rub. It's such a distinctive flavor.

Herb & Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

I tried this one for lunch today and I had to post it immediately because if you haven't made your dinner plans yet and you have the Herb & Garlic Dip Mix (and if you don't, you really should talk to us about getting it), you should start your plans around these biscuits.

2 c flour
4 t baking powder
2 T VE Herb & Garlic Dip Mix
1/2 t salt
1/4 c cold butter
1 c grated cheddar
2/3 c milk

Preheat to 450F. Mix all of the dry and then cut in the butter until pea sized crumbs. Stir in the cheese. Stir in the milk, the dough will be fairly wet until you turn it out onto a floured board (hey, when did Donald Sutherland start doing voiceovers for orange juice commercials? Is he paying off a mortgage or something?) and knead it 6-8 times. Pat it out to about 1 cm thick and then cut it into your shapes and put them onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

The book said 30 minutes but I was on the phone with Joe when I put them in the oven and didn't look at the time. I took them out when I could smell them but didn't take into account that I was in my bedroom at the other end of the house. To make a long story short (Too late!), I burned mine and I don't know how long they were in the oven.

So the tasting part is based completely on the top half of the biscuit but even that was substantial, they had a lot of loft to them.

**Editor's Note: I tried them again for 18 minutes on a parchment lined cookie sheet and they were still much browner than they should have been. The next time that I try them, I'm going to drop the temperature because the insides are cooked almost perfectly so the time is good. I will keep you posted, natch.**

My Gran's BBQ ribs - extra addictive!

So, I gotta say that blogger is a pain in the ass! I have been locked out for weeks!

Anyway, my Gran's ribs. I got the meat on supper sale on Sat, and so yesterday they made their way into the oven! My cooking experience started with a walk down memory lane, and I can safely promise you some more of my Gran's recipes.

Love you Grandma.

Oh Happy Day! My house smelled ammazzzzzing! Give it a try, you'll be sorry!

1 c water
2/3 c white vinegar
2/3 c ketchup
1/2 c brown sugar
2 tbsp of corn starch and some cold water to mix it in

So, I doubled the recipe, and it was great - for the brown sugar, I used 1/2 c of golden sugar, and 1/4 each of dark brown sugar, and even darker brown sugar. What a taste! The dark and darker sugar really (positively) effected the sauce!

First off, I seared the meat and scored the backs of them. (With S $ P)and layed them out in my roaster 1 layer deep (think this makes a difference in how the sauce gets later, so get a bigger roasting pan!) and set the oven to 325 F.

Mix everything except the corn starch into a med pot and boil it up, then mix the cornstarch and water, and add it to the pot. Let it thicken (wisk it here girls) and over the ribs it goes.

I had no propane for the BBQ, so into the oven they went, all afternoon. oh, my .......

Wish I had a photo everyone, cause it was GLORIOUS! Served the crack with rice and steamed brocolli and the husband was happy! (Happy meaty tummy ;-) )

Who put the crack in my Extraordinary Cheese Dip?

Is it just me or is everyone else having a hard time resisting this one? I swear, I've made it probably around 6 times since that last Epicure party and that's a bit excessive I'm thinking. I made it last night in some of my medium sized ramekins (because my casserole dish has beef stew in it). I left it in for the usual amount of time which was technically a mistake because you have to adjust for shorter cooking times when you change the size of the cookware but O... M... G... The sides and bottom caramelized a bit and had this lovely smoky cheese flavour beyond what it usually does. Yay mistakes!

We're going to have to pin Dayna down and make her tell us which ingredient has the crack hidden in it. I'm thinking that it's the Bacon, Cheese and Chive Dip mix but then again, the Lemon Dilly jar is almost empty...