May 12

  • Prepare Fresh Tamale Masa
  • 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
  • 2 cups unsalted butter
  • 1-2 tablespoons salt (how much depends on how salty your stock is)
  • 5 pounds fresh unprepared masa

Makes about 30 cups — Enough for About 5 Dozen Tamales

Beat the solid butter on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Alternate adding the fresh masa mixture with the warm stock, a cup or so at a time until it is all incorporated. Continue to beat for about 5-7 minutes or until the dough is a thick paste consistency. Nead into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap and refridgerate for 30 min to alow it to solidify and absorb the liquid.

Prepare the Tamale Filling

4-5 lb. boneless beef roast
1 large onion
6-8 garlic cloves
8 cups chili sauce
1/2 recipe fresh masa
about 6 dozen dried corn husks, prepared for tamales

Makes About 5 Dozen Tamales

Cover the meat, onion and garlic with water in a large pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours until tender, adding more water as necessary (you can use the cooking water as stock for your masa). Shred meat.

Assemble the tamales by spreading about 1/3 cup masa on the smooth side of a corn husk, place about 2 teaspoons filling in the center of the masa. Wrap in the style of your choice and steam.

Jan 16

For everyone I made this for it was different, never one to write it down cause I kept tweaking and there lies the fun. So in honesty this isn’t the recipe for the Catholic Schoolgirl but the tribute to the recipe that never really existed.

The Catholic Schoolgirl Mixed Drink

Ingredients:
1 oz Amaretto
1 oz Goldschlogger
1 oz Sweet & Sour

3 oz Thick Orange Juice

Splash of Cherry Juice
1 Cherry with Stem

Mixing instructions:
Mix in the order above: Amaretto, Goldschlogger, Sweet & Sour, & lastly Orange Juice. Then Shake and pour over ice and drizzle the Cherry Juice over the top and drop in the Stemmed Cherry. Enjoy.

Born out of the depths of a late night joke session in college. The Catholic Schoolgirl was less a pursuit or idea and more a running gag that lasted 2 years. Someone wanted a drink that she could get anywhere that tasted nothing like a mixed drink but packed a spiked punch. Everyone threw out their favorite mix but none of us could really figure out what could pass for covert punch. Someone said that

“it was like looking for bigfoot, cant present it but people swear they saw it once, but if you did find one it should be called a Catholic Schoolgirl. Looks one way on the outside but its made up of hard stuff down below.”

We laughed and anytime there after if something needed mixing anywhere and they didn’t know what they wanted or the ingredients involved then we would just make up what eventually would eventually become this recipe. Tell them it was called a Catholic Schoolgirl and everyone (most of all the person wanting the mix) would have a laugh. Something over the top, simple and stupid that kept the problems from getting to be to much. To bad there are not many more things like that in the world.

Dec 28

The first of many recipes from my starving artist cookbook, this is one of the most fun to make. ~Hudgens

Gu Kaizhi won ton soup with noodles feeds 6 people

  • 10 oz. ground pork [swap 5oz shrimp if you can afford]
  • 2 tablespoons pork or bacon fat, minced
  • 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked and minced
  • 10 green onions tops
  • 1 sm. egg white
  • pepper to taste
  • 1 package wonton wrappers
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 2 tsp of low sodium soy sauce
  • 6 cups chicken stock & 6 cups of Water
  • 2 slices fresh ginger, peeled & the juice of 4 slices of fresh ginger

Combine 8oz of raw meat, fat, mushrooms, ¼ of chives, brown sugar, soy sauce, and liquid ginger and chill. Skillet and darken the remaining 2oz of meat with pepper and light soaking of apple juice if you wish then put to side. Assemble the wontons and seal the tops with the liquid egg white. Heat the stock with the ginger slices. Slice in long strips and add the leftover wonton wrappers as mock noodles. Then add a handful of wontons at a time for 4 or 5 minutes until the bob to the surface, fully cooked. Divide the broth (remove the ginger slices!), noodles, and wontons between the serving bowls. Let cool for 5 min. Serves 6 or three large single servings for a hearty meal.