These songbooks are the books we use when the third half gang gets together and plays guitars at The Store on the corner of Halsted and Armitage streets in Chicago. We get together every Tuesday night about 10pm, just after guitar class at the Old Town School of Folk Music lets out.
You can download a complete copy at the link above, but the links are password protected. I will gladly give you the password if you ask me in person.
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The first time I made these, I double the recipe and when it came out the center was still goopy and not set. I took them into work anyway and they were a huge hit!
Ingredients:
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup chuncky peanut butter
- 1 ¼ brown sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¾ all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 5 ounces dark chocolate, cut into chunks
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350º and make sure the top rack is in the center of the oven. Line an 8″ by 8″ baking pan with aluminum foil. Use ¼ of the stick of butter to coat the foil with butter using your fingers.
- Put ¾ of the stick of butter into the bowl of a stand mixture, and beat it for about two minutes on medium speed, so that it’s fluffy. Add the peanut butter and blend well then add the brown sugar and mix it in throughly.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and blend well after each one. You may need to scrape down the bowl. Then add the vanilla and mix it in throughly.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, the baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture in two steps, mixing well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. Finally, mix in the chocolate chunks by hand to make sure it is even throughout the batter.
- Transfer the batter into the baking dish and bake for 35-38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the dish comes out with only a few crumbs clinging.
- Extract the blondies for the pan by the aluminum foil and let them cool on a rack until they are ready to cut.
Tags:brownies·peanut butter
My favorite pasta sauce! It’s so easy to make your own pasta sauce and the results are so much better than out of a can that I can’t believe everybody doesn’t maket their own. This recipe will be enough for one pound of pasta.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly smashed
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup vodka
- 1 tbsp tomato paste (I just use the 6oz whole can)
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes with basil
- 15oz tomato sauce
- pinch of sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- kosher salt and black pepper
Steps:
- In a large sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the smashed garlic and red pepper flakes, and saute until the garlic starts to turn golden around the edges. You don’t want your garlic to get too brown.
- Carefully add the vodka so it doesn’t splatter or ignite. Then add the tomato paste and stir it around to break it up until it is well mixed in. Add the remaining canned tomatoes with all of thier juices, plus the sugar. Season liberally with salt and pepper. I usually use over a tbsp of salt in total, but you can add more salt at the end, so be restrained.
- Bring sauce to a boil and then lower heat to gently simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season again with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the heavy cream and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Recipe adapted from Food & Wine magazine, September 2007.
Tags:pasta sauce·tomato
This is spice rub is perfect for grilled chicken. I like to use my finger to separate the skin from the meat a little bit and put some rub under the skin. Don’t worry if the rub blackens a little bit–it won’t taste charred unless it is totally black.
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup kosher salt
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ paprika
- 2 tsbp black pepper
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp dried chipotle pepper
Steps:
- Combine all the ingredients together. Seal in a jar for storage.
Recipe adapted from Everyday Foods by Martha Stewart.
Tags:BBQ·spice
Ingredients:
- 6 ounces bacon, cut into ¼” squares
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 3 cans of white beans (15 ½ oz), drained. I use Great Northern beans
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp molasses
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tbsp of BBQ sauce
- 1 ½ tbsp dry mustard
- 1 ½ tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ tbsp cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
Steps:
- Saute the bacon and onion together in a large pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until the bacon fat is rendered, the bacon meat is starting to crisp and the onions are a nice golden brown.
- Add all the other ingredients into the pan., then gently simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the liquid thickens. Add kosher salt and black pepper to taste. If the liquid has gotten too thick, you can add a little water a few tablespoons at a time.
- Place into a cassarole dish and bake for 30 minutes at 350°. Alternatively, if you’re running short on time, you can finish the beans in the pan on the stovetop, but the flavors won’t come together as well.
Recipe adapted from Steven Raichaln’s “How to Grill”
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