Bourbon Balls/Boules de bourbon

Jody and I made these last time I was down to visit. They were holiday favorites of hers from her youth, ::insert me gushing over the flavor::

Jody writes:

My mother made these when I was a kid, I remember the smell distinctly. This is my grandmother's recipe. The reason I'm posting this now is that these MUST be made several weeks in advance of eating them in order for the flavors to truly develop. Make sure you store them in something air tight.

Bourbon Balls/Boules de bourbon

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoon cocoa
• 3 tablespoon Karo corn syrup
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup dates, chopped
• 1 lb. vanilla wafers, crushed well
• 1/2 cup bourbon whiskey
• powdered sugar

Directions

• Combine sugar, cocoa and wafers in a food processor.
• Pulse until mixture is mostly free of large chunks.
• Rough chop and add to the mix the dates and then the pecans.
• Pulse until mixture is of the roughly same consistency.
• Slowly add the Karo syrup and whiskey
• Form into small (3/4") balls, then roll in powdered sugar.

Notes:

• I used some left over sugar and cinnamon mix to coat the balls.
• I think it is a good idea to chill the mix before rolling them into individual servings.
• It might make a good log.

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West Indian Pumpkin Soup/La soupe de citrouille de l'Indie de l'ouest

I had originally planned to serve this at my Autumn Festival party this year. Unfortunately I had to cancel the party. However, Jody and I had the opportunity to make during my little vacation there last week.

I got this recipe from Better Homes and Gardens' America's Ethnic Cuisines.

West Indian Pumpkin Soup
La soupe de citrouille de l'Indie de l'ouest

You can serve this creamy, richly spiced soup cold or hot. Look for pumpkin seeds (also known as pepitas) at Latin American or Mexican markets, if they're not already roasted, toast the raw seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet for 10 minutes in a 350º F oven.

Prep: 1 hour
Roast: ¼ hours
Cook: 40 minutes
Oven: 350°F
Stand: 10 minutes
Makes: 10 cups


Ingredients

• 2 pounds butternut squash or cooking pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large Spanish onion, chopped
• ½ Scotch bonnet chile or 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped*
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh thyme or
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme, crushed
• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 small bay leaves
• 6 cups chicken broth
• ¼ cup whipping cream
• ¼ cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1//2 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
• 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and diced (optional)

Directions

• In a large roasting pan toss together the squash, sweet potatoes, butter, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Roast in a 350° oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in chile, garlic, and ginger; cook 1 minute more. Add thyme, orange peel, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves. Cook for 1 minute, stirring to coat vegetables. (The mixture will resemble a paste and begin to stick to the bottom of the Dutch oven.) Add the roasted vegetables and any pan liquid, stirring until well combined.
• Pour in broth and bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes to cool. Discard cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Place a small amount of soup at a time in a blender container; blend or puree until smooth. Return pureed mixture to Dutch oven. Stir in cream and coconut milk. If desired, cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Serve cold or reheat.
• To serve, ladle soup into shallow bowls. Sprinkle soup with toasted pumpkin seeds and, if desired, diced apples.

Notes:

1. A Dutch Oven is just a large, deep pot.
2. I used Jalapeño as I have never cooked with Scotch Bonnets before.
3. Instead of roasted pumpkins seeds we used spiced apple rings. Everyone agreed this was a good choice.
4. Matt suggested that is wasn't spicy hot enough.
5. Jody and I think it could have used more nutmeg and possible cinnamon.
6. I think it could use some clove.
7. The soup is nice cold, but I think I like it better hot.
8. It's much better to serve it a day or so after you make it.

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Aunt Shirley's Seven Layer Cookies/Les biscuits à sept niveaux de ma tante Shirley

Holiday cookies are just as big a part of my family's seasonal traditions as any others. Just about every year one of my Aunts will bring over a plate or a tin of home-made cookies. One of my favorites is my Aunt Shirley's Seven Layer Cookie. It's probably something she picked up from someone else along the way, and is no secret... unlike my sister-in-law's Lumpia recipe.

Anyway, ♪♫'tis the season to make cookies fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la♫♪, so I made a batch of them before I went on my autumn vacation get way to give out as gifts Chez Jody. I gave some to her mom and co-worker both of whom asked for the recipe. What perfect timing for a Culinary Delights of the Delta Quadrant blog entry.

Aunt Shirley's Seven Layer Cookies
Les biscuits à sept niveaux de ma tante Shirley

Ingredients

• 9 x 12/14 baking dish
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 bag of Rolo candy
• 1 bag of milk chocolate chips
• 1 bag of white chocolate chips
• 1 bag of butterscotch chocolate chips
• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
• 1 package of graham crackers
• unsweetened coconut
• walnuts

Directions

• Layer 1: Chunk up the butter into the baking dish a micowave until melted. When the butter is melted coat the bottom and ths sides of the dish.
• Layer 2: Crush the graham crackers finely leaving some dime size bits adn sprinkle evenly over the butter.
• Layer 3: Unwrap about 90% of the bag of Rolos and place evenly about 1 inch apart over the graham crackers.
• Layer 4: Fill in the spaces between the Rolos with the milk chocolate chips creating a layer of milk chocolate. Use about 90% of the bag.¹
• Layer 5: Create a butterscotch layer, another 90%.
• Layer 6: Create a white chocolate layer, 90%.
• Layer 7: Create a walnut and coconut layer to your own preference.²

1. Evenly pour the entire can of sweetened condensed milk over the layers.
2. Bake in a preheated 350º oven for 30 minutes.³
   
3. Cool for 30-45 minutes and precut into 1 to 1 & ½ inch pieces.
4. Allow to cool completely and cover with plastic wrap.

Notes:

1. Using a whole bag will be a problem because you will run out of height in your dish.
2. I put the coconut on last. It makes it pretty. If you don't like coconut, make sure the white chocolate chips are the last layer. It's about presentation. Of course, you don't have to listen to me. What the Hell do I know, right?
3. When this stuff cools completely, it is hard to cut. So save your knife and your wrist and and precut.

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