We love peanut butter. My husband will use a chocolate bar as a spoon and eat it right out of the jar. My favorite sandwich is peanut butter and bananas. It’s a staple in most houses, whether it’s chunky or smooth. And it’s so easy to make at home!

Where did peanut butter come from?

This cream treat goes all the way back to the ancient Aztecs and Incas. It is believed they often roasted peanuts over a fire and ground them into a paste – the original crunchy peanut butter.

When Spain invaded and wiped these peoples out, they back to Spain with them gold, silver and peanuts. These tasty little legumes made their way to Asia and Africa, and came to the U.S. via the African slaves.

The first known peanut ^[1] butter in North America came from a Canadian chemist. Marcellus Gilmore Edson applied for a U.S. patent for his “peanut candy” in 1884. He added sugar to the paste and created lollipops.

It was believed in the past the George Washington Carver invented peanut butter, but he did not. He invented many products with peanuts, but butter was not one of them – however it is because of him that it was made.

This nut butter as we know it was created by John Harvey Kellogg. He blanched peanuts for a few hours, dried them, then ran them through a roller creating a paste, or butter.

George Bayle decided roasting them first would make a great butter. He sold it as a healthy source of protein and great for people with bad teeth!

In 1922 hydrogenated oil was added to keep the oils in the peanuts from separating out of the butter. Then, in 1955, sugar was added to the mixture. And now it’s a popular staple around the world.

Celebrate National Peanut Butter Day

Today is National Peanut Butter day! What better way to celebrate than to make something with peanuts!

How about making your own peanut butter? It’s so easy and tastes so good!

How to make peanut butter

This recipe requires one ingredient. Peanuts. You can use raw, roasted, salted or unsalted – dry roasted don’t work very well.

Put the peanuts in a food processor with a sharp blade or a really good blender –

and process until as smooth as you like it. I like chunky so I processed it less.

I also added some peanut oil to help make it smooth. If you are adding oil, drizzle it into the food processor while its running. Add as much as you need for the texture you want – but be careful – you can get too much really fast!

It is pretty runny at first. Once it’s refrigerated it thickens into a paste. I also used roasted, salted peanuts. You can leave the salt out if you want.

Store it in the refrigerator for one to two weeks.

© Copyright 2024 The Lazy Gastronome

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It’s hard to believe the year is almost over! New Year’s Eve is upon us – and so are the parties and plans. We used to go to low key parties, but I’ve never been able to stay awake until midnight!! Now we watch the specials on TV and watch the ball drop in New York. Happy New Year and turn off the light.

But we do like to have something festive and special together. One of our favorite things is to toast with sparkling (non-alcoholic) cider and eat from a spread of appetizers. I make three and my husband makes three. It’s fun, delicious and perfect for us old geezers.

We love bacon wrapped anything – and I love oysters. So looking for something simple, I came up with this. And it really worked!

Making the Oysters 

These are so easy to make. I used medium oysters, but they were pretty big. I would suggest using small. And there are variations in this recipe. You can add herbs under the bacon, jalapeño slices, or even wrap a small lemon wedge inside. Use this recipe as a springboard to create your delicious flavors!

Precook the bacon first. Create circles and lay them on the tray of the airfryer. Cook at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.

While it’s cooking, toss the raw oysters with the spice and lemon juice.

When the bacon ^[6] is done (it will still be soft and only slightly rendered), remove it from the fryer and let it cool enough to handle. When you can touch it, wrap each oyster as tight as you can with the bacon and lay it on the airfryer tray.

Continue with all the oysters.

Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. If the bacon is not crispy, go another 3 to 4 minutes.

Move to a serving plate.

Serving the dish 

Serve them on small plates with a wedge of lemon. You can also offer a dish of seafood cocktail to tip them in.

Another delicious way to eat them is to place a piece of the oyster and bacon on top of a cracker with brie cheese.

And enjoy!

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

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The second country we’re visiting is France. What do they eat in France for Christmas? One thing that is pretty prevalent is the seafood course – and that usually means scallops!

Christmas Food Traditions in France

Christmas dinner is eaten either late on Christmas Eve, or at lunch time on Christmas day.

It often starts with appetizers and champagne. Foie gras is one popular appetizer, but very much for the wealthy.

The next course would be seafood and more champagne. Chilled oysters find their way on most tables, as do the plentiful scallops. Smoked salmon and chilled prawns are also popular.

The main course is often capon or turkey. Wild game, like pheasant or wild boar are also main course options. And champagne – champagne with every course!

The main course is followed by a cheese platter and green salad.

Finally, dessert. It wouldn’t be France without dessert!! The dessert most often served is one we’re familiar with – Bûche de Noël, the chocolate yule log! Along with the log, there would be chocolate truffles. And more champagne –

Today we celebrate the scallops. They are a spendy option, but there is nothing so delicious as the sweetness of a sea scallop.

Making the Coquilles St. Jacques

There are steps to making this dish, but it really is simple. The scallops will be cooked very last, but they do need some time to sit on paper towels to remove as much water as possible. The plan is to sear the scallops, not steam or boil them. If they aren’t completely dry, the water will in them will release in the pan and they won’t sear.

Lay the scallops on paper towels or coffee filters and let them sit about 15 minutes. Flip them over and place them on new, dry towels. Let them sit another 15 minutes.

Lay the gratin dishes on a cookie sheet and place them in the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Make the topping first. Place the bread, parsley, grated gruyère and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a food processor.

Process until everything is crumbly and incorporated together. Set aside.

Next, the sauce. Keep in mind the sauce will seem a little watery, but it’s going to soak up some of the topping and will get thick and delicious in the end.

Melt 1/4 cup of the butter in a medium saucepan.

Stir in the shallot, mushrooms and garlic. Gently cook until the mushrooms are soft and golden, and the shallot is translucent.

Stir in the wine and continue to stir until everything starts to thicken.

Remove from the pan and set it aside.

Now melt the remaining butter in the pan.

Stir in the flour and cook gently until it’s a golden brown and getting thick.

Using a whisk, stir in the clam juice and the cream. Keep whisking until it while you add the oregano. Whisk until it starts to thicken a little.

Now stir in the shallot mixture and cook on low until the sauce has thickened. Again, it is supposed to be a loose sauce. Set it aside.

The scallops. Place a heavy skillet on the stove and heat it on high. When the skillet is hot, carefully add the remaining olive oil.

When it is hot – like 350 to 400 degrees hot – gently lay the scallops into the oil. Sear them for about 1 to 2 minutes, then turn them and sear the other side. They need to have a beautiful, brown crust.

Now to assemble.

Take the gratin dishes out of the oven and turn the oven to broil.

Place 5 scallops in each dish.

Top them with 1/2 of the sauce, then 1/2 of the topping.

Broil them for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the top is bubbling and brown.

Let them cool just a little, then serve them.

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

 

Joyeux Noël – Merry Christmas

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I love heirloom tomatoes. My favorite are brandywine. This recipe uses fresh, sliced tomatoes (straight from my garden, but farmer’s markets have wonderful options too) on toast with melted cheese. Minimal ingredients, maximum flavor!

What is an Heirloom Tomato?

It’s the seeds that make an heirloom tomato and heirloom. They are passed on from season to season without modification. They are open pollinated – which means they are pollinated by bees and butterflies, even flies or wind and rain. The same plant is produced year after year.

They are not bred for shelf live or beauty. They are thin skinned, lumpy, often have cracks, and are full of lusciously rich flavor. But not all are slicers.

A slicer tomato has a meaty interior and a little less juice than other tomatoes. This makes them the perfect choice for sandwiches ^[15]. I grew brandywine and oregon spring. The brandywine – a great slicing tomato, has more solid meat and less watery seed pockets. And perfect for this recipe.

The tomato on the left is a brandywine and the one on the right is an Oregon spring. Although both are slicers, but you can see the difference in the heirloom variety – which is why this recipe calls for an heirloom slicer.

The best heirloom slicers include the brandywine, purple cherokee, striped German or black krimm.

Making the toast – 

Start the toasts by mixing the olive oil, truffle oil and salt together in a dish. Brush the toasts liberally with the oil mixture.

Now bake in a 350 degree oven for about five to ten minutes – or until the toasts are lightly browned. Remove from the oven. It’s important to keep a watch on them. Each oven is different so one oven may take longer while another will burn the toast quickly.

While the toasts are baking, mix the mayonnaise, mustard, thyme and parmesan together in a bowl.

Let the toasts cool, then spread each piece with the mayonnaise mixture.

Next, top the toasts with sliced tomatoes,

grated parmesan (not the dried in can) and broil them for about four to five minutes or 

or until the cheese is melted.

Remove from the oven and cut in half. Garnish with a little more fresh thyme and serve.

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

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Tomorrow is Halloween! Holy Moly this year went fast!! We like to have a creepy meal while we wait for the trick or treaters on Halloween night. Here is a creepy dish – serve it with a plate full of worms!!

Halloween Eyeballs – 

These are so easy to make. All you need is meatballs, olives and pesto. You can serve them as an appetizer with a bone pick – or serve them on a plate of butter spaghetti pasta (worms) with a little extra pesto. Scary and delicious!

I used store bought meatballs ^[20]. Carefully poke a hole that goes halfway deep into the meat.

Gently push in an olive so the pimento is showing.

Mold the meatball tight around the olive. It will shrink while it’s cooking so it can go over most of the green part.

Roll the entire meatball in the pesto and

place them on the air fryer rack.

Fry at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. If they aren’t cooked through, add another five minutes.

Remove from the fryer and serve hot!

An alternative cook method is to bake them at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

 

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

Leave me a comment – I’d love to hear your thoughts!