Malasadas - Portuguese Doughnuts

 My grandparents retired to the beautiful island of Hawaii.  I was so lucky to be able to visit them twice when I was younger.  While I was there I was always enamored with my Grandpa's kitchen.  He had huge industrial mixers to make breads and rolls.  He was always cooking.  I don't have many recipes of his but recently my mother gave me a few Hawaiian cookbooks that he used.  While paging through the book I discovered this!

I know that to most this old piece of paper might not mean much, but to me, this means the world.  I feel like I have a little piece of my grandfather. 

Malasadas are very popular in Hawaii.  Here is a list of the ingredients I used:

1 cup warm water
1 package yeast
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup mashed potato
5 eggs
1/2 cup milk
6 cups flour

Oil to fry the doughnuts in
Cinnamon and sugar to roll the doughnuts

Ok, you probably read the ingredients and asked, "Mashed potato?"  I thought the same thing, but my Grandfather was a great cook and I followed his recipe - I wasn't disappointed!

To begin, I dissolved the yeast and the water.  To activate the yeast I added a teaspoon of the sugar to the yeast water.  You know it is activated when you start getting bubbles/foam in the water.  Once activated, I added the rest of the ingredients until a smooth dough formed.

I was expecting a stiff dough but it wasn't.   The dough moved freely.

Let the dough rise - about 2 hours.  When doubled in size, heat vegetable oil in a large sauce pan or fryer.  When the oil gets to 375 degrees, drop spoonfuls of dough into the hot oil. 

 
When the donuts are golden brown, remove them from the oil and roll in sugar.  I rolled mine in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.

Trevor gave a big thumbs up!

If you haven't taken the time to gather your family recipes, I encourage you to do so.  You might not be interested right now and you might not ever be interested, but if you want them, you will have them.  Keep those handwritten gems.  That way, you will always have a piece of your loved one.

Enjoy!

Zesty Sauce

This sauce is my go to sauce.  I make this all of the time!  It is super easy and goes well with fish and chicken.  Here are the ingredients:

4 tablespoons Mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons juice
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 12/ teaspoons of Sriracha
Salt
Pepper

Blend all of the ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to use.  If you want a little more heat, add a little Sriracha.

Served here with grilled cod - yummy!

Enjoy!

Beckys Shrimp Dip

I love this dip and you will too!  My good friend, Becky, whom I miss and love dearly, brought this to my home this summer.  It is super easy to assemble and the flavor is great!  Here are the ingredients:

1 can medium shrimp, drained and chopped
1 block of cream cheese
8 oz of Hellman's mayonnaise
2 green onions, diced
Salt
Pepper
Dash of garlic powder

My addition:  1 tablespoon of Sriracha

Blend all of the ingredients together and refrigerate for a few hours.  If you want a little more kick, add a little more Sriracha!  This is yummy and easy!  Thanks Becky for being such a great cook and a better friend!  I love you!

 Enjoy!

Sausage Hash

Yummy!  I've discovered a new dish that is cheap, easy to make and very yummy!  Joe loves this new dish and asks for it all of the time.  After years of watching cooking shows and seeing "hash" I thought I would try for myself.  Here are the ingredients that I use in my hash:

1 package of beef smoked sausage, diced
3 slices of bacon, diced
1 onion, sliced
1 cob of corn
1 potato, diced
1 sweet potato, diced
1/2 butternut squash, diced
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

Prepare by getting your skillet very hot.  Add your oil.  Cook the bacon until crisp and remove from the skillet.

Add the potatoes (white and sweet).  Cook until soft.  Add the onions.  I like to get the edges of the potato and onions a little brown and crisp!

When the potatoes and onions are to your liking, add the sausage, squash and corn.  Continue to cook over medium heat until everything is heated through.  Season with salt and pepper.

 In the picture I did not remove the kernels from the corn.  Since making this, I have decided that I like to add the kernels instead of having the corn as a side.  If you want to get really creative, add a poached or sunny side up egg on top of the hash.  The runny yolk adds an extra bit of creaminess to the crisp potatoes!

Enjoy!

My New Gadget - Victorio Food Strainer

It's canning season again!  Last year I taught myself how to can - I loved it but quickly realized how much work it is!  When tomato season hit, I took the time to blanch the tomatoes, skin them and run them through a small food mill.  It was very time consuming!

This year I thought I would step out and purchase a food strainer.  I found this Victorio food strainer on Amazon for about $60.

It was super easy to put together as well!

I had about 5 pounds of tomatoes.  I washed and quartered them, making sure to remove the stems as well.  After they had been quartered, I put them in the large funnel and turned the crank.  Simple, easy and fast!

The skin and seeds come out one end and the juice and pulp come out the other.  I went through 5 pounds of tomatoes in about 5 minutes!  If you are into canning then I highly recommend this gadget!

Happy canning!

Pineapple Soaked in Amaretto!

 Two simple ingredients.............my friend Dawn came over last week and showed me an easy, delicious and fun treat! 

Simply soak the pineapple in the Amaretto.  Refrigerate for a few hours and enjoy! This is a refreshing treat on a hot summer day!

Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

Looking for an easy dessert?  This is it - it is easy to quickly put together when company is coming over. 

Here are the ingredients:

2 sticks butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup Heath Toffee Bits
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

In your mixer, cream together the butter and sugars.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Add vanilla and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt.  Add, one cup at a time, to the butter/sugar mixture.  Alternate by adding the milk, a little at a time.

Remove the cake mixture from the mixer.  Stir in the Heath toffee bits and 1/2 cup pecans.

Spray your bundt cake with Pam or smear butter on the pan.  Sprinkle some flour in the pan to avoid the cake from sticking.  Add the mixture into the pan.

Bake the cake in a pre-heated oven, 350 degrees.  Bake at that temperature for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees.  Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

When you remove the cake from the oven, let it cool slightly before removing the cake from the pan.  Put your cake pan on top of the bundt pan and turn it over.  The cake should slide right out.

There is Sierra, photo bombing my blog!

As the cake cools, start the glaze.  Here are the ingredients:

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat up the milk and sugar, stirring constantly.  Melt the butter and remove from the heat.  Stir in the vanilla.  Spoon the glaze over the cake.

Mom's tip:  My mother was watching me spoon the glaze the cake and she told me that back in the day, when people made brown sugar cake, they would poke holes in the cake before spooning the glaze.  That way, the glaze gets into the cake!

 

Sprinkle the remaining pecans onto the cake.