Chili- St. Paul Style

A good basic chili with which the Jansens grew up. 

---Meat---
1 lb. ground beef
2 onions, chopped
salt, pepper
---Beans---
1 can chili beans
2 can kidney beans
1 large can tomatoes (whole) - I used fire roasted and it was good.
---Spices---
1 T sugar
2 t chili powder
2 T chipotle powder
1/4 t ground oregano
1 t cumin
1 t basil
---Bonus Item---
1 T dried epazote (herb that reduces flatulence) - available at Penzey's


Brown meat and put in crock pot.  Add all the other items.  Low for all day.  Note that a double recipe does not fit in a large crock pot.  Also, I added the chipotle powder (and changed to fire roasted tomatoes) from my Mom's original recipe.  I have had good luck with Penzey's Chili 3000, 6000 and 9000 instead of all of the spices, but the spices are the original version per Mom.

Deedee's Dumplings

Basic Recipe (Serves 12).  Made four batches for 12 people w no leftover

DUMPLINGS
1 - 1/2 C Flour
1 egg
1-1/2 T Butter (Use butter instead of shortening)
1/3 C Liquid (usually chicken bouillon or broth)

Mix this in the food processor.   Roll it out and slice then into 1/2" x 3" strips.  Best to roll out the dumplings and use a lot of flour so they do not stick.  Let them sit for awhile.

MEAT
Use about equivalent of 1/2 chicken per recipe.  If a pre-roasted chicken is used, take the meat off and shred it.  Thighs, etc. have better flavor.

BROTH
Chicken bones put in a pan with onions, carrots, celery, put in oven to roast until it's brown.  Add some water.   Don't skimp on broth.

Deedee likes the vegetable broth.  They do two cartons of vegetable, one of beef, then chicken broth. Throw dumplings in broth for 15 minutes max.  Drop in one by one and stir.
Then throw in the shredded chicken at end and heat it up

If Quinn is present, add one batch.

HISTORY
Recipe came from Grandma J. She always made dumplings with flour, milk, baking soda.  Deedee cold never get hers to turn out, so Deedee played around with recipes and arrived at this final version.  

Cindy McCain's Oatmeal-Butterscotch Cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 2/3 cups butterscotch chips
 

Heat oven to 375°F

1. In a large bowl beat the butter or margarine, granulated sugar and brown sugar together. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well.
2. In a medium-size bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; stir until blended. Stir in oats and butterscotch chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Toasted Raviola - A St. Louis Tradition from "The Hill"

1 package frozen raviola
Small bowl of milk
Small bowl Italian Bread Crumbs (Deedee usually adds a little more seasoning to them (oregano, basil and garlic powder)

Thaw raviola.   Put in milk for about 15 seconds or more.  Dip in Italian bread crumbs.  Coat both sides thoroughly.  Spray lightly with olive oil Pam on both sides.  Bake at 425 degrees for about 14-15 minutes, turning halfway through baking time. 

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve with Marinara dipping sauce.

Garden Fresh Orzo Salad

We went to a graduation open house back in June and one of the salads that was served was similar.  I doctored it up to my taste.....

1 pound orzo pasta (little rice pasta)
3-4 cucumbers, peeled, seeds removed and diced
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, stems removed and minced
3-4 whole lemons, juiced (1/4-1/2 cup)
fresh ground pepper
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved (or the whole container) 

Cook orzo slightly less than package directions (my package said, 9, I cooked for 8).  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Move to large bowl and drizzle with olive oil (about 1/4 cup) to prevent it from clumping. 
Add the remaining vegetables (onion, cilantro, cucumbers and red pepper).
Then stir in 1/4cup to 1/2 cup lemon juice.  Test it at 1/4 and add more if needed.  Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper.
If it is too tart, drizzle a little bit of olive oile.
Right before serving, garnish with grape tomatoes.

Do not salt before serving!  The cucumbers will weep....salt as needed on our plate

Crock Pot Reuben

·         8 oz. cooked corned beef, coarsely chopped.  A bit more beef is better!

·         1 small package sauerkraut, rinsed, drained, chopped (Boar’s Head is best)

·         8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

·         2 cups Swiss cheese (cut up block okay)

·         1/2 cup Thousand Island salad dressing (or look for small packet in Deli)

Mix all ingredients in 1-1/2 - 3 quart crockpot. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours. Stir often to combine and scrape down sides. Dip will hold for 2 hours on LOW. Serve with party rye bread slices, pretzels, pickles, and french bread cubes.

Serves 10-12

French Quarter Beignets (2026 Half Batch Update)

Buttermilk swap, true half batch, and stand mixer method.

---

Activate Yeast

Note you could do the first yeast step below with double the quants and halve when mixing, so that you get less srtuff dirty.  

Mix and rest:

• ¾ cup lukewarm water
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1/2 envelope active dry yeast

Let sit 10 minutes until foamy.

---

Combine Wet Ingredients

Whisk together:

• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• ⅝ tsp salt
• ½ cup buttermilk (subbed for evaporated milk) [note I also tried whole milk, since they did not have evaporated milk when beignets were invented back in the 1862, AND whole milk is spotted in the kitchen at Cafe du Monde]

Add to yeast mixture and combine.

---

Build the Dough (Stand Mixer Method)

Add:

• 1½ cups artisan bread flour

Mix using wire whisk attachment until smooth.

Cut in:

• 2 Tbsp butter-flavored Crisco (solid, not melted)

Mix until incorporated.

Switch to dough hook and add:

• ~2 to 2¼ additional cups bread flour (total ~3½ cups)

Knead on speed 2 for 5 minutes until smooth.

---

Rise

Transfer and proof:
Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise about 2 hours, until doubled.

---

Shape

Roll and cut:
Roll dough to about ¼-inch thickness and cut into 2-inch squares.

---

Fry

Heat oil (Note I tried peanut oil in 2026; Cafe du Monde uses cottonseed oil)
350°F.  Another recipe said 370F is what DdM uses.  

Fry:
Cook in batches, turning, until golden brown.

---

Finish

Coat:

• ~1½ cups confectioners’ sugar

Drain briefly, then toss to coat.

---

Yield: ~1–1½ dozen

---

Notes

• This is a true half batch (all ingredients reduced proportionally).
• Buttermilk adds tang and slightly softer crumb vs evaporated milk.
• Keeping shortening solid and cutting it in early changes texture slightly—in a good way.
• ¼" thickness is key for proper puff.

Original Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 7 cups bread flour
• 1/4 cup butter flavor Crisco
• Nonstick spray
• Oil, for deep-frying (I used canola, which seemed fine)
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together. Mix egg mixture to the yeast mixture.

In a separate bowl, measure out the bread flour. Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour. Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Put dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.

Add the confectioners' sugar to a paper or plastic bag and set aside.
Roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 2-inch squares. I found that the 1/4" or so thickness was important for the puffing up of the pastry.  As time went on, they puffed up more gloriously. 

Deep-fry, flipping constantly, until they become a golden color. After beignets are fried, drain them for a few seconds on paper towels, and then toss them into the bag of confectioners' sugar. Hold bag closed and shake to coat evenly.

Remember that beignets at Cafe du Monde are served in multiples of three, so I fried multiples of three so as not to elicit some voodoo spell!  Makes about 2-3 dozen total.  I made 2 recipes of this and probably served about 150 of them, with one re-rolling. 

Made very successfully at Gillham Crawfish Fest 2012.  Thanks to Paula Dean for this recipe!