Cook Fight Conclusion

I know I said we'd try to get the next one out in a week. It's a couple days overdue, but we tried our best.
Without further ado:

Mike and I had a lot of fun making both videos, and we're considering doing more. These ones were my brainchild, so Mike will come up with the next idea, but suggestions are welcome. If you guys don't find it funny, that's ok, because we're perfectly alright with laughing at our own jokes. Feel free to laugh at us all you want though, any attention is good attention, right?

So now that you've seen my silly side, I hope I haven't scared you away. It's just another way to keep sane, (or insane, whichever you'd prefer) during the offseason. Big thanks to Mike and Rosie for taking part, and thanks to Alyssa Schmidt, Amy Danforth, and my mom, for submitting the meal ideas. Here's the recipe's for the desserts:

Pecan Pie w/ caramelized top: From Amy Danforth

Single pastry pie crust
3 slightly beaten eggs
1 cup corn syrup
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups pecan halves 
1/2 cup brown sugar
2tablespoons butter soften


1.prepare and line crust in pie pan. preset oven for bake 350 degrees. Combine eggs, corn syrup, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Mix well, then add all but a half of cup of the pecans. Place the pastry-lined pie plate on the oven rack and carefully pour the filling into pastry shell. to prevent overbrowning edges, cover the sides with foil. Cook for 25 minutes. Mean while use the last 1/2 cup of pecans, brown sugar, soften butter, and sprinkle of cinnamon to stir together into a crumbly mixture. the butter should be mixed in with all the brown sugar and pecan pieces. After the 25 minutes, take off the tin foil, and sprinkle the mixture across the top, the more caramelized you want it, the more brown sugar and butter you put. Bake for another 20-25 minutes or until the middle is set and a knife is inserted and comes out clean and the top is a dark golden brown. tastes amazing with icecream and whip cream when warm.


Yogurt Parfait: From Mylene Saxton
For the non sweet tooth that you are, get some balkan style plain yogourt (big container not an individual sized one) and add "quaker croque nature" cereal or any cereal that is similar, add cut up fresh fruit or berries of your choice, and add a bit of maple syrup or honey and mix.

Cheers,
Ben Jammin

Cooking with Ben Jammin 2

Alright, it took a little longer to produce than I was expecting, but "Cooking with Ben Jammin 2" is all finished and uploaded for the world to see. I assure you the food itself is real, but things got a little sillier this time around. See for yourself, but please don't read the rest of what I've written here until after you've watched it, other wise you'll be ruining it for yourself:

Best viewed in full screen

That's right, there's a sequel, and we'll have it out for you by next Thursday, I'm going to make sure of it. Thanks to Mike and Rosie for the big help. You might not get some parts, but Mike and I think the whole thing is hilarious. I hope you enjoyed it, if we get enough positive feedback, we might make more, cuz they're pretty fun to make.

Recipes used in this video:

Quiche - submitted by Alyssa Schmidt:

prepared pie crust

12 slices bacon/ 1 c. chopped ham/ 1 c. sausage/ any meat

1/3 c. chopped onion

1-1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese/ any combination of cheeses

4 eggs

2 c. whipping cream/ 1 can evaporated milk

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. sugar

1/8 tsp. cayenne red peppers

place pie dough into a deep pie dish

sprinkle meat, onion, and cheese over crust

blend remaining ingredients together in bowl and pour into pie pan over other ingredients

bake 15 minutes at 425

Lower temperature to 300 and bake 30 minutes longer or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean

let stand 10 minutes before serving

THREE CHEESE MANICOTTI - Submitted by Amy Danforth
1/4 cup Chopped onion 1 Garlic clove-- minced 1 tablespoon Olive oil 1 can Tomatoes - (16 1/2 oz) 1 can Tomato sauce - (8 oz) 1 teaspoon Sugar 1 teaspoon Dried oregano -- crushed 1/4 teaspoon Dried thyme -- crushed 1 small Bay leaf 8 Manicotti 2 Eggs -- beaten 2 cups Shredded mozzarella cheese 1 1/2 cups Ricotta cheese 1/2 cup Grated parmesan cheese 1/4 cup Snipped fresh parsley 1/2 teaspoon Dried oregano -- crushed 1 dash Pepper For the sauce, in a 2-quart saucepan, cook onion and garlic in hot oil until tender but not brown. Add undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, the teaspoon oregano, the thyme, and the bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes, or until thickened. Remove from heat; discard bay leaf. Meanwhile, cook manicotti according to package directions; drain. Rinse shells in cold water. For filling, in a medium mixing bowl stir together eggs, half the mozarella cheese, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, parsley, the 1/2 teaspoon oregano, and dash pepper. Spoon filling into manicotti. Pour half the tomato mixture into a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Arrange stuffed manicotti in the baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over shells. Sprinkle remaining mozarella cheese atop. If desired, cover and chill manicotti for up to 24 hours. To serve, bake the stuffed manicotti, covered, in a 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until heated through. Comments: To add a little more zip to sauce Harley added a pinch of fresh crushed fennel seed into the sauce while it was simmering. Also, you may want to increase the amount of shredded mozarella by a cup.

Cheers,
Ben Jammin