Smoked Pineapple Margarita

by Matt Tocco
Serves 1
2 oz. tequila
3/4 oz. lime juice
1/2 oz. Liquor 43
1/2-1 oz. smoked pineapple juice
1/4 oz. habanero shrub*
Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake hard and strain or pour into a glass (salt-rimmed, if you like).
*To make his habanero shrub, Tocco soaks habanero peppers, white wine vinegar, sugar and honey for a few weeks and then strains the
liquid. A good substitute is Bittermens bottled Hellfire Shrub,

Star Smores
Punching out the center of the graham cracker with a star-shaped cutter gives these smores a patriotic flair.
For the Cookies
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
For the Smores
8 ounces chocolate, broken into small pieces
16 clean twigs or wooden skewers (preferably soaked in water 30 minutes)
32 marshmallows
1. Make the cookies: Whisk together flours, wheat germ, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
2. Beat together butter, sugar, and honey with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as
needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; beat until combined.
3. Turn out dough onto a floured surface, and divide in half. Roll out each dough half to 1/8-inch thickness, and refrigerate until firm, about 10
minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut out squares with a 3-inch fluted square cutter. Cut a star out of the center of half the cookies
using a 1 1/2-inch star cutter. Reroll scraps once, and repeat.
Place squares 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets, keeping cookies with cutouts together. Refrigerate until very firm, about 15
minutes.
4. Bake cookies until dark brown, 14 to 16 minutes, rotating halfway through (star cookies take about 1 minute less). Let cool on sheets 10
minutes. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container up to 2 days.
5. Assemble the smores: Preheat grill on high (if using a charcoal grill, coals are ready when you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill for
just 2 seconds) or build a campfire.
6. Divide chocolate among cookies without cutouts. Skewer marshmallows; toast over grill or fire, rotating, until gooey in center and nicely
charred, about 2 minutes. Remove marshmallows from skewers; place 2 on each chocolate-topped cookie. Sandwich each with a cutout star
cookie; press gently. Let sit 2 minutes to melt chocolate.
Related: 47 Ways to Maximize Space in Your Kitchen

Marshmallow Cookie Sandwiches

Set between cinnamon-and-sugar-laced cookies, these marshmallow treats are reminiscent of moon pies.
Vegetable oil cooking spray, for pan
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin (about 2 tablespoons)
2/3 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
Coarse salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners sugar, for cutting
9 store-bought graham crackers, split in half, or 18 Cinnamon and Sugar Graham Crackers
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
1 cup salted, roasted peanuts, chopped

1. Coat a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray; line with parchment. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/3 cup water in the bowl of a mixer; let
stand for 5 minutes.
2. Heat granulated sugar, corn syrup, remaining 1/3 cup water, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring
occasionally, until syrup reaches 238 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 5 minutes.
3. Whisk gelatin in mixer on low speed, adding syrup in a slow, steady stream down side of bowl. Whisk, gradually increasing speed to high,
until almost tripled in volume, about 8 minutes. Whisk in vanilla. Transfer to baking pan. Smooth top. Let stand until set, at least 3 hours.
4. Cut out nine 2 1/2-inch square marshmallows using a cookie cutter or a knife dipped in confectioners sugar. Dip surface of crackers into
chocolate to coat, and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until set, about 10 minutes. Sandwich marshmallows between
crackers, chocolate sides in.
5. Dip half of each sandwich into chocolate, on the diagonal; sprinkle with peanuts, and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Refrigerate until set, about 10 minutes.
Related: 19 Easy Barbecue Recipes to Make This Season

Smores Cookies
Add marshmallows to these cookies for the last few minutes of baking to create toasty tops.
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup light-brown sugar
1 large egg
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 30 squares
15 large marshmallows, halved horizontally
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse oats until finely ground. Add flours, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; pulse to
combine. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, scraping down side of bowl. With
mixer on low, beat in flour mixture just until combined.
2. Drop dough by tablespoons, 1 inch apart, onto two baking sheets. Top each with a chocolate square. Bake just until lightly golden, 11 to 13
minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Remove sheets from oven; heat broiler. Top each cookie with a marshmallow. One sheet at a time,
broil until marshmallows are lightly browned, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.
Related: 22 Chicken Dinner Recipes in Less Than 30 Minutes

Homemade Marshmallows
Fluffy goodness doesnt have to come from a bag and neither do the graham crackers in this recipe.
Vegetable oil, for brushing
4 envelopes unflavored gelatin (3 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons)
3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1. Brush a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with oil. Line with parchment, allowing a 2-inch overhang on the long sides. Brush parchment with
oil; set aside.

2. Put granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 3/4 cup water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.
Cook, without stirring, until mixture registers 238 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 9 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, put 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of an electric mixer; sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften 5 minutes.
4. Attach bowl with gelatin to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. With mixer on low speed, beat hot syrup into gelatin mixture. Gradually
raise speed to high; beat until mixture is very stiff, about 12 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Pour into prepared dish, and smooth with an offset
spatula. Set aside, uncovered, until firm, about 3 hours.
5. Sift 1 cup confectioners sugar onto a work surface. Unmold marshmallow onto confectioners sugar; remove parchment. Lightly brush a
sharp knife with oil, then cut marshmallow into 2-inch squares. Sift remaining 1/2 cup confectioners sugar into a small bowl, and roll each
marshmallow in the sugar to coat. Marshmallows can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Uncle Scotts SMores

Thanks to a bit of ingenuity, these smores combine chocolate and graham crackers into one cohesive bite.
If you are using wooden skewers to roast marshmallows, be sure to soak them in water for 30 minutes first to prevent them from scorching.
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
40 graham crackers
40 large marshmallows
1. Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, and let cool until slightly
thickened. Holding graham cracker by the edges, dip 1 side of each cracker in chocolate, letting excess chocolate drip back into bowl. Put dry
side down on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
2. Press each marshmallow onto the tip of a skewer or a clean whittled stick. Roast marshmallows, turning occasionally, until toasted to
desired doneness. Place 1 or 2 marshmallows on a cracker, and top with another one.

Smores Bark
Mini marshmallows and chopped graham crackers are suspended in a slab of glossy milk chocolate.
1 pound milk chocolate
1 cup coarsely chopped graham crackers (about 3 sheets)
1 cup mini marshmallows
Basic Bark or Bark Bars
Cooks Note
Bark can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
1. Coat a 9-by-12 1/2-inch rimmed baking sheet or 6 small loaf pans (2 1/2-by-5-inches) with cooking spray, and line with parchment, leaving
an overhang on long sides. Pour melted chocolate into baking sheet or divide among pans (3 tablespoons each), and spread in an even layer.
Sprinkle toppings over chocolate. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. Peel off parchment, and break bark into pieces.

Grilled SMores
Make the most of smoldering coals after a cookout and grill a crowd-pleasing batch of smores.
4 graham crackers, halved
1 ounce bar semisweet chocolate, broken into 4 pieces
4 large marshmallows
1.

Set up a grill for indirect cooking over medium. Place 8 graham-cracker halves on cooler side of grill. Top 4 halves with chocolate
and 4 with marshmallows. Cover grill and cook until chocolate melts and marshmallows soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Sandwich and
serve immediately.

3 cups chicken broth $

1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons butter $

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese $

6 slices bacon, chopped $

2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined $

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

6 green onions, chopped $

2 garlic cloves, minced

Preparation
1.

Bring chicken broth to a boil over medium-high heat; stir in grits. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes
or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in salt and next 3 ingredients. Set aside, and keep warm.

2.

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until crisp; remove bacon from
pan.

3.
4.

Cook shrimp in same pan over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until almost pink, stirring occasionally. Add
lemon juice and next 4 ingredients, and cook 3 minutes. Stir in bacon.
Spoon grits onto individual plates or into shallow bowls; top with shrimp mixture. Serve immediately.

Cherry Pie with Almond Crumble

by Everyday Food
Serves 8
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), divided, plus more for work surface
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine salt, divided
6 cups fresh cherries, pitted and halved, or jarred cherries, drained
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 homemade or store-bought pie crust in a deep-dish 9-inch plate
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1/2 cup light-brown sugar
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup almonds
Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with racks in middle and lower thirds. In a large bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon flour, granulated sugar, and 1/4
teaspoon salt. Stir in cherries and vanilla. Brush crust with egg white and fill with cherry mixture.
In a food processor, pulse together remaining 1 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add brown sugar, butter, and almonds; pulse until large
pieces form. Scatter crumble over cherry filling.
Bake on middle rack, with a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet on lower rack to catch drips, until topping and crust are golden, 45 minutes. Tent
pie loosely with foil; bake until juices in center are bubbling, 30 to 45 minutes more.
Transfer to a rack and let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Bacon Feta Burgers

8 slices bacon
1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck
4 ounces feta, crumbled (1 cup)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 whole-wheat hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted
4 leaves Bibb or Boston lettuce
1 large tomato, sliced crosswise
1. In a large nonstick skillet, cook bacon over medium-high until fat is rendered and bacon is browned, about 5 minutes, flipping halfway
through. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Form beef into 8 thin 5-inch patties. Top 4 patties with 1/4 cup cheese each, leaving a 1/4-inch
border, then top with remaining patties. Pinch edges to seal; season burgers with salt and pepper.
2. Pour off fat from skillet, wipe clean, and heat over medium. Add 2 burgers and cook until dark brown and firm to the touch, about 10
minutes, flipping halfway through. Repeat with remaining burgers. Serve burgers on buns with bacon, lettuce, and tomato.

Husk Cheeseburgers
Cheeseburgers
One 3-pound fresh boneless chuck roast
12 ounces fresh flank steak
3 ounces bacon, preferably Bentons
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
10 hamburger buns, preferably potato rolls
1 cup shaved white onion
20 slices American cheese
50 Bread-and-Butter Pickles
For the sauce:
1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large container and stir together to blend well.
Cover, and refrigerate. (Tightly covered, the sauce will keep for up to 5 days in the
refrigerator.)
For the cheeseburgers:
1. Grind the chuck, flank steak, and bacon through a meat grinder fitted with the large

die into a bowl. Mix gently to combine. Then run half of the mixture through the small
die. Mix the two together.
2. Portion the meat mixture into twenty 3-ounce patties, about inch thick (each
burger gets 2 patties). If not cooking right away, arrange on a baking sheet, cover
tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. (The patties can be refrigerated for up to 1
day. Remove from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before youre ready to cook; its
important that the patties are not ice-cold when they hit the hot pan.)
3. Generously butter the tops and bottoms of the buns. Toast on a griddle until nice
and golden brown. Reserve.
4. Heat two 12-inch cast-iron skillets until as hot as possible. Divide the patties
between the two hot pans. When the patties are nice and charred, about 2 minutes,
flip them over and cook for 2 minutes more for medium. Place the onion slices on 10
of the patties. Place a slice of the cheese on all of the patties and allow it to melt,
about 30 seconds. Stack the non-onion patties on top of the onion patties. Remove
from the heat.
5. Smear both sides of the buns with special sauce. Place 5 pickles on the bottom half
of each bun. Add the burger patties and top with the top halves of the buns. Serve at
once.

MACARONI AND MEAT CASSEROLE

1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
1 jar spaghetti sauce with mushrooms
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

8 oz. macaroni
1-1/2 cup grated American cheese
1 pkg. (6 oz) Mozzarella cheese
Brown the ground beef with onion, green pepper and garlic. Add the tomato sauce,
spaghetti sauce, salt and pepper. Cover, reduce heat, and let simmer for 1 hour.
Cook the macaroni according to package directions. While hot, toss with the cheese. In
a 9x13 inch casserole dish, layer the sauce, macaroni mixture and mozzarella in layers
until all is layered, ending with mozzarella. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
Yield: 6 servings.