Now that I live in Wyoming, I don’t have the ability to go to The Bayou every time I have a craving for their fries & aioli.  I had to find a recipe that captured the flavor of The Bayou’s aioli sauce.

When I went to make the aioli, I realized that I didn’t have the chipotle seasonings that the recipe called for.  I did have Chilies in Adobo sauce though.  So I used that instead.  It turned out AMAZING!!

I haven’t had time to try making my own sweet potato fries, so I’ve just been using the frozen Ora Ida version.  They aren’t as bad as I had anticipated.

Chipotle Aïoli

Bon Appétit | July 2007

Yield: Makes 6 servings

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder or chipotle hot sauce
• Salt and pepper

• 1. Whisk mayonnaise with chives, garlic, lime juice, and chipotle chili powder or chipotle hot sauce to taste.
  1. Season with salt and pepper;
  2. Chill until ready to serve.

Substitution: I didn’t have chipotle chili power or hot sauce, so I used Adobo Chilies in Adobo Sauce.  I finely chopped up the chilies, added it to the mayo mixture and added a couple of tablespoons of the adobo sauce as well.

Serving Ideas: The adobo version of this dip was awesome with celery, corn tortilla chips as well as sweet potato fries.

• 5 Cups Rolled Oats
• 1 Cup Bran
• 1 Cup Wheat Germ
• 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Sunflower Seeds (unsalted or raw)
• 1 Cup Chopped Almonds or Pecans
• 1 1/2 t Salt

Mix all of these ingredients together in a large baking pan.

I like to use a large disposable roaster.  Spray this with Pam.

Then mix the following ingredients together and heat in the microwave.

• 1 Cup Canola Oil
• 3/4 Cup Honey
• Add 3 t Vanilla

Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients.  Mix thoroughly and bake at 275 degrees for one hour, stirring every fifteen minutes.

The last fifteen minutes add the following ingredients.

• 1/2 Cup Coconut
• 1 Cup Dried Fruit (cranberries, apricots or dates)

Let cool one hour and break into pieces.

Enjoy!

Cream together:
1 up Shortening
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup White Sugar

Then add to the sugar mixture:
2 Eggs

Then add 1 Cup Peanut Butter to the Sugar mixture. Slowly add the flour mixture, and beat together until fully incorporated. Then add Vanilla.

Roll into balls and drop onto cookie sheet. Make a criss cross pattern with a fork then bake.

Bake at 325°F for 15-20 Minutes.

Enjoy!

Suggestion: I like to roll the cookie dough in a bowl of sugar, press down with fork, and then bake 

Place all ingredients in your food processor and run until they are completed blended.

Serve with chips or on top of cream cheese or whatever sounds good.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Bake Time: 17 to 20 minutes
Yield: About 3 dozen cookies (see note below)

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon. baking powder
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 3 eggs

• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups sweetened flake coconut
• 2 cups chopped pecans (8 ounces)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F
2. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in bowl
3. In 8-quart bowl, beat butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 1 minute.
4. Gradually beat in sugars; beat to combine, 2 minutes
5. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla
6. Stir in flour mixture until just combined
7. Add chocolate chips, oats, coconut and pecans
8. For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup (or the size of a golf ball) of dough onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.  Press down on the cookie a little bit so it spreads out.
9. Bake in 350° F oven for about 15 minutes, until edges are lightly browned; rotate sheets halfway through. Cook longer if necessary

10. Remove cookies from rack to cool

Note: For 6 dozen small cookies, use 2 tablespoons dough for each. Bake at 350° F for 15 to 18 minutes

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 ½ cups flour

¼ tsp. salt

¾ cup good raspberry preserves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream butter and sugar until just combined. Add vanilla.

In medium bowl, sift together the flour and the salt and then add to butter mixture. Mix on low speed until dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes. (Longer than that and you’ll have to let it rest and warm up a bit.)

Roll dough ¼ inch thick and cut 2 ¾ inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter. With half the rounds cut a circle out of the middle with a one inch cutter. Place all cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and chill for 15 minutes.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. I say, lots less. Watch them. Mine were browning much sooner. Cool completely. Spread jam on flat side of each solid cookie. Dust top with powdered sugar and press sides together.

This recipe also works for plain shortbread cookies or add 1 ½ cups small diced pecans for Pecan Shortbread.

Ingredients
1 pound unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour*
3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 pounds bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and chocolate; mix until well combined.
- Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies.
- Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

*Notes:  If you do not have pastry flour, you can substitute it with 1 part Cake Flour, 2 Parts All Purpose Flour

Yield: Makes 8 9-inch pizzas

Sponge:

1 cup lukewarm water (110°F to 115°F)

1 envelope active dry yeast, divided

1 cup all purpose flour, divided

Dough:

1 1/2 cups lukewarm (110°F to 115°F) water

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

1 envelope active dry yeast

6 cups (or more) all purpose flour

Olive oil

Yellow cornmeal

Sauces and toppings

Special equipment:

Pizza stone (not required)

For sponge:

Place 1 cup lukewarm water in large bowl of heavy-duty mixer. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon yeast (reserve remaining yeast for dough) and 1/4 teaspoon flour over water. Let stand until yeast dissolves and mixture looks spongy, about 4 minutes. Add remaining flour and whisk until smooth; scrape down sides of bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let sponge rest at room temperature in draft-free area overnight (about 12 hours; sponge will look bubbly).

For dough:

Add 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 envelope yeast, and reserved remaining yeast to sponge, then add 6 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, beating with dough hook to blend after each addition. Continue to beat until dough is smooth, comes cleanly away from sides of bowl, and is only slightly sticky to touch, scraping down bowl  occasionally, about 5 minutes.

If dough is very sticky, beat in more flour, 1/4 cupful at a time. Scrape dough onto floured surface; knead into smooth ball. Brush inside of large bowl with oil. Add dough; turn to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; chill 6 hours, kneading dough down when doubled (after 2 hours).

About 1 1/2 hours before baking, dust 2 baking sheets with flour. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead gently; shape into 16-inch log. Cut into 8 equal pieces. Knead each piece into smooth ball. Arrange 4 balls of dough on each sheet. Cover loosely with kitchen towels and let rise until almost doubled, 1 to 11/4 hours.

If using pizza stone, place in oven to pre heat.

Preheat oven to 500&Deg;F for 45 minutes. Working with 1 dough ball at a time, dust dough with flour. Press into 5-inch round, then gently stretch and roll out to 9-inch round.

If using pizza stone, sprinkle pizza peel or rimless baking sheet with cornmeal.

If not using pizza stone, sprinkle large baking sheet with cornmeal. Place dough round on cornmeal; brush lightly with oil. Top as desired. Slide pizza onto stone or place pizza on baking sheet into oven.

Bake pizza until sauce is bubbling and crust is crisp and brown, lifting edge of pizza to check underside, about 14 minutes.

Note: I like to have a very thin crust.  Use a rolling pin to get your dough to the desired thickness.  Also, this dough keeps fairly well in a large airtight container stored in a refrigerator.  Make sure there is room for the dough to rise in the container.

Boil for 1 minute: 1 Cup Sugar

½ Cup Honey

½ Cup Karo Syrup

Take off the burner and add:

1 Cup Peanut Butter

1 tsp Vanilla

In a large mixing bowl, pour the peanut butter mixture over the popcorn.  Stir together so popcorn is evenly coated with the peanut butter mixture.

Enjoy!

Enough Candy Corn to fill bag

Print off the following saying and attach it to the baggie of Candy Corn.

“I started to carve a pumpkin with my carving knife and scoop, but the pumpkin got so scared he took a little poop!  It looked so cute and funny, just like a candy treat.  So I’m sharing it with you now, because you are so sweet!”