Looking for inexpensive gift ideas for the Foodie? I have a number of do it yourself gifts that you can make in your kitchen. You can always make up pancake, brownie, cookie mixes and place in a decorative jar. I really like the spice mixes and liquor recipes because they ready to use with out any added preparation. Cost of spice blends can be minimized by buying herbs and spices in bulk.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

1 small bottle with a sealable top
Rum
Approximately 3 vanilla beans

Wash and sanitize your bottle. Carefully cut down the center of each bean to expose the seeds. Place Vanilla beans in the bottle and cover with Rum. Seal and store in a dark place for 4 – 6 weeks allowing the vanilla flavors to infuse with the Rum.

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons onion powder

3 tablespoons dried thyme, crushed

2 tablespoons ground allspice

2 tablespoons ground black pepper

3 to 4 teaspoons ground red pepper

1 tablespoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

Combine all the spice together and mix well. Place in your favorite decorative small jar.

Makes about one cup of seasoning.

Greek Seasoning

8 teaspoons dried oregano

8 teaspoons salt

6 teaspoons onion powder

6 teaspoons garlic powder

4 teaspoons cornstarch

4 teaspoons black pepper

4 teaspoons parsley flakes

4 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons thyme

Combine all ingredients together and mix well. Place seasoning mix into your favorite decorative container. Makes about one cup of seasoning.

Chesapeake Bay Seasoning

4 tbsp salt

2 tbsp cayenne pepper

2 tbsp ground celery seed

2 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika

2 tbsp dry mustard

2 tbsp ground black pepper

2 tbsp ground bay leaf

1 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together and use in your favorite seafood recipes.

(bay leaves may be easily ground in a coffee grinder!)

Cajun Spice Mix

3 Tbsp salt

3 Tbsp garlic powder

2 teaspoons paprika

4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 teaspoon onion powder

4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

5 teaspoons dried oregano

5 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Combine all and mix well. Store in a decorative airtight container. Makes about a cup.

Memphis Style BBQ Rub

1/2 cup paprika

4 tablespoons salt

4 tablespoons onion powder

4 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper

2 tablespoon cayenne

Combine all and mix well. Makes about a cup.

Garam Masala

4 tablespoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons ground coriander

2 tablespoons ground cardamom

2 tablespoons ground pepper

4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoon ground cloves

2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all spices and mix well.

Creole Seasoning

2 tablespoons onion powder

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons dried basil

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon white pepper

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

5 tablespoons paprika

3 tablespoons salt

Combine and mix well. Makes about 1 ¼ cup.

Homemade Kahlua

1 12-cup pot very strong coffee
2 lbs. light brown sugar
4 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 Liter bottle Bacardi 151 Rum

Bring coffee to a boil in a large pot. Gradually add 2 lbs. light brown sugar and return to boil stirring constantly. Let cool until room temperature.

After mixture has cooled to room temperature stir in you rum and vanilla extract.

Bottle and enjoy!

Quick Orange Cognac (or Brandy)

1 Fifth of Cognac or Brandy

4 Oranges, zest only no white part

½ cup sugar

½ cup juice from your oranges

Zest oranges and combine in a sauce pan with sugar and orange juice. Bring to a boil and simmer about 5 min or until all the sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool to room temperature and strain. Combine strained orange syrup with your liquor, bottle and enjoy!

Irish Cream Liquor

1 Cup Heavy cream

14 oz sweetened condensed milk

1 2/3 C Irish whiskey (Jameson’s etc.)

1 tsp instant coffee

2 Tbsp chocolate syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp almond extract (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend for 30 seconds.

Bottle in a tightly sealed container and refrigerate. Shake before using.

They say it will keep for up to 2 months but I doubt it will last that long.

Must be kept refrigerated.

 

You can’t buy loyalty, they say
I bought it though, the other day;
You can’t buy friendship, tried and true,
Well just the same, I bought that too.
I made my bid, and on the spot
Bought love and faith and a whole job lot
Of happiness, so all in all
The purchase price was pretty small.
I bought a single trusting heart,
That gave devotion from the start.
If you think these things are not
for sale, Buy a brown-eyed puppy with
a stump for a tail.
 

— author unknown —

This poem about sums it up.

Sunday morning my puppy died in my arms. Lots of sorrow in my heart because for 15 years he was by my side. Snuggled up under the covers when the only heat we had was the wood stove which burned out half way through the night. We shared meals when I had no money for dog kibbel. Covered many miles of woods and fields chasing after birds. He was always forgiving yet disappointed when I missed one. He always spent his early years riding shotgun in my truck.

Butch entered my life when he was 6 months old. I was fresh out of Culinary School and looking for a bird dog. A Brittany…seemed like a perfect fit? A Chef with a French breed of bird dog. Not exactly Noble as the Brittany was the poachers dog in old France. To rough to be considered a hunting dog by Nobles, compact and friendly enough to live in a peasants home. But let me tell you…the breed is all heart…loving…and loyal.

Butch’s first months with me were perfect for a young bird dog. I had decided to take a job in Northern Michigan and was staying at our families Hunting camp on 40 acres. Slightly rough accomodation…but we had everything we needed. For that entire Fall hunting season Butch and I were able to go out every morning for at least an hour a day chasing Grouse and Woodcock, which at that time were pretty plentiful.

Time went on and we moved and I subjected him to apartments and girlfriends, but we always went North to the cabin. He had such a good nose he could smell a hamburger through the car winshield. Whenever we got close to the cabin he would go nuts jumping to and fro doing his Butchie dance. It must have been the smell or something but he knew were he was going.

Butch took classes with Preston Mann…and boy could he get Preston spitting mad! Driving him back to smoking every week (which was a vice that Preston was trying to quit) Preston being a true professional couldn’t stay mad…he was being challeneged…sure. Preston was going to win. Preston would tell me how the very traits that made Butch a headache were also a blessing! He would hunt all day and not stop. Hell I thought I was going to hunt him to death on couple occasions and had to kennel him mid hunt do to ear or tongue cuts. Which will never stop bleeding when they are running.

We never quite made it all over the country to hunt or to Quebec. We did cover a lot of Michigan with a trip or two to the UP. I had always intended to breed him and had an awesome female Brittany named Clare who was taken out way to early by a car. So that never came to pass.

All in all I was pretty lucky to purchase all that was promised in the poem above. Sure we had some close calls over the 15 years. A few bailouts from the pound and a few rewards paid. An expensive holiday at MSU vet hospital close to 2 grand….and yes I sold my truck to pay for it. A midnight ransom on the corner next to the projects in Inkster.

But hell no matter what I wanted my dog! I still want him here today.

I picked a hill that he would chase grouse over, a valley that was filled with woodcock. I dug a hole…under a Beech tree and rolled an old stump over it.

Sam and Clare were with me as I layed my best friend to rest at that ole camp.

It’s been a tough year…my Dad and my Butch two of my best friends :’(

If you have waited until the last minute for your Thanksgiving meal…You need to get moving now! If you haven’t bought your turkey you need to get right away and get it thawing under cold running water. If you don’t have a big sink you can put the turkey in a cooler outside preferably on a table and run cold water from your garden hose.

A refrigerator thawed turkey takes approx 1 day for every 4lbs! So I hope you bought yours over the weekend! By water thawing you can cut that down to approx 30 min per lb.

So a 12lbs turkey will still take 6 hrs!

If you have waited this long make sure you get organized. Know your recipes of what you would like to make and have a shopping list! Get your shopping done all at once. If you want to cut time down you can fix up store bought items.

Mashed Potatoes

You can add some flair to store bought potatoes by adding ingredients

• Horseradish and Cheddar
• Bacon and your favorite cheese
• Roast garlic and Parmesan
• Sour cream and chives or other fresh chopped herbs

Cranberry Sauce

You can put your own spin on canned whole cranberry sauce by warming it with a few added ingredients.

• Orange juice, orange zest
• Ruby port wine and vanilla
• Dried Cherries and brandy
• Raspberry preserves

Gravy

I like to use turkey or chicken broth thickend with some roux made from flour and butter. Toss in some onion, celery, carrot, herbs etc. I let it cook on low in my crockpot overnight so it is ready. When my turkey is done I finish it with the pan juices.

Pumpkin Pie

An easy way to dress up a store bought pie is a quick drizzle of carmel sauce and some toasted nuts!

Rolls

If you are baking store bought rolls or brown and serve you can kick them up by brushing with some beaten egg and adding poppy seeds or Parmesan or asiago cheese. Even all ready cooked rolls can be given some spark by brushing with some melted butter with garlic and basil in it.

Side Dishes

Lots of side dishes can be mixed together ahead and baked in a casserole dish the next day so I recommend them to make things easy as possible.

Turkey So many different ways to do a turkey I am not going to attempt to cover all of them. If you want super moist pull apart breast meat roast your turkey breast side down in an oven bag. It won’t be the prettiest but the bag holds all the juices around the bird so the breast meat is always cooking in all that flavorful juice!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving with family and friends!

Regards,

Jake On Food

The flavor of Port marries so well with Cranberries and the addition of Vanilla bean gives it that warm comforting flavor and aroma.

• 12 oz bag fresh Cranberries
• 1 cup Ruby Port
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 Vanilla bean split
• Salt and White pepper

Super easy! Combine Cranberries, Sugar, Port, and Vanilla bean in a sauce pan and bring to a slow boil stirring occasionaly. Lower the heat to just a simmer and cook 20-30 minutes until it thickens to your likeness. Season with salt and white pepper and Enjoy!

Today is the first day of November and with Halloween barely past us I am thinking about the Holidays and all the wonderful food.

Fall up till now has certainly been bountiful and full of fun treats made with apples, pumpkins, and squash. The change in weather certainly means a change in eating habits…chili and soup tastes so good now!

What food do you look forward to eating and cooking for the Holidays???

I have my favorites for sure! I love my Thanksgiving turkey dinner….I mean who doesn’t? I am a bit conflicted this year because I would really love to try and make a “Trashcan” Turkey. The problem being that stuffing that isn’t cooked in the bird just never tastes quite the same =(

If you are not familar with “Trashcan” Turkey it is really pretty simple. Using a brand new steel garbage can you suspend the Turkey vertically on a spit/stick with charcol underneath it. Cover with the can and place more hot charcol on top. A pretty simple roasting method that I am sure creates a lot of charcol bbq flavor. It could get a bit tricky with the cold Michigan weather which robs so much of the charcols heat. I may just have to give it a “dry” run to try it out at Deer camp?

I have to say that besides all the traditional Thanksgiving fixings what I really look forward to is pecan pie! I guess its a Northern thing? but nobody really feels the need to make it except for Thanksgiving…a shame really because it is so good! I guess the rareity of it makes me crave it that much more!

And of course Thanksgiving is soon followed by Christmas! So many favorites: Melting Moments, Spritz cookies, Potato Pancakes, Buckeyes, Kolaches….

Oh I am getting hungry better go cook something…

What are your Holiday Favorites????