As I’ve mentioned before, my family makes Christmas gifts for one another. Last year we made hollow book safes, beaded earrings and teacup candles. The year before that, we made some wine bottle stands and beef jerky. This year, we made chalkboards, barbecue rub, monogrammed aprons, and pottery Christmas tree ornaments.
Posts Tagged: Homemade
25
Dec 11
Dec 11
DIY Barbecue Spice Rub Jars
This spice rub is a based on a recipe developed by America’s Test Kitchen/Cooks Illustrated to mimic the taste of the ribs at Charlie Vergos’ Rendezvous in Memphis, TN.
24
Dec 11
Dec 11
DIY Hanging Chalkboards
As a way to cut down on the amount of money spent at Christmastime (and to limit the amount of useless crap we each accumulated), my family decided to start making gifts a few years ago. It was touch and go for a while, but thanks to creative online showcases like Pinterest, the quality of gifts has dramatically increased lately. This year, we made these chalkboards for some of the ladies on both sides of our families.
31
Mar 11
Mar 11
Sweet & Hot Italian Sausage
Last weekend, I made a bunch of homemade sausages. The one I have the most experience with is my Italian Sausage. The recipe I use makes a hybrid that’s sweet to the taste but leaves a hot and spicy aftertaste. It’s always a crowd pleaser.
31
Mar 11
Mar 11
Homemade Bratwurst
I recently made some Bratwurst at home. It’s probably the easiest sausage to make and the most rewarding. There’s nothing in the grocery store freezer section that compares to these homemade, German-style sausages.
27
Jan 11
Jan 11
Homemade French Fries
I’ve gotten pretty good at making homemade potato chips, but I’ve never tried to make french fries. It’s such a cumbersome process in that you have to fry the potatoes two different times at two different temperatures. And the frozen bags of pre-cut fries always come out soggy and limp. In my mind, french fries are one of those things (like Chinese food) that’s easier, better, and cheaper to buy somewhere else. However, a recent episode of America’s Test Kitchen introduced a cheap and easy method for making fries at home and I thought I’d give it a try.
9
Mar 10
Mar 10
Italian Beef Sandwiches
The wife and I are enamored with our new Sunday treat, the Chicago-style Italian beef sandwich.
If you’re not familiar with this heavenly mess, think of it as the bastard offspring of a French dip and a Philly cheese steak. Watch this video for more information. There’s really no place locally to get these sandwiches, so I’ve been experimenting at home with my crock pot. There are several recipes online that have merit, and I’ve pieced them together to formulate my own method.
10
May 09
May 09
Homemade Mayonnaise
Encouraged by our recent experiments with butter and mozzarella, we decided to make some homemade mayonnaise. I’ve never been a huge fan of mayonnaise, but I’ve been enjoying it a little more than I used to. I’ve mixed all kinds of ingredients with it to balance out various sandwiches and burgers, and I started wondering if I’d like mayonnaise more if I could adjust the flavor, as was suggested in this Bon Appetit column. Well, we rolled up our sleeves and decided to try our hand at making a better mayonnaise than Mr. Hellman and Mrs. Duke. We based our recipe on this one, but dialed down the mustard and vinegar a bit.
Believe it or not, this is everything you need.
May 09
The Perils of DIY
I went off on a tangent about the perils of DIY in my original kitchen remodel post, but I thought it deserved its own permalink: