After 5: Clary's Holiday Recipes

Clary went head-to-head with Nicola Gilardi of Ristorante Gilardi’s last month at Oasis Convention Center to raise funds for March of Dimes. Each chef was given three hours to prepare dishes using a secret ingredient: pumpkin. Clary’s winning creations were curry pumpkin soup served in miniature pumpkins and pumpkin-seed-encrusted sea bass.

SRC Holdings Corp. President/CEO Jack Stack, KOLR-10 anchor Joy Robertson and Springfield Cardinals emcee Joe Daues were judges for the event, which raised $38,000, Clary said.

Herb Corn Pudding

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium onions, finely diced

2 12-ounce boxes corn muffin mix

1 pound frozen corn

1 12-ounce can cream corn

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

1 stick melted butter

3 eggs

Sauté onions in oil until soft. Mix onions in mixer or whisk in a large bowl with remaining ingredients until blended. Pour into large, buttered glassware and bake uncovered at 350 F for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Chopped Salad

1/4 cup feta cheese

1/4 cup dried cherries

1/4 cup toasted pecans

1/4 cup diced Kalamata olives

2 cups red leaf lettuce, shredded

1/2 cup Balsamic vinaigrette (see below)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Salt and pepper to taste. Toss well, and serve immediately.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt and pepper mix

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup light vegetable oil

In small metal bowl, mix first three ingredients. Slowly whisk in the two oils.

The Big 4

Savory – Salty – Sweet – Acidic

The chopped salad creates these four distinct flavors, which James Clary says cooks should attempt to develop in every dish.

Grandma’s Peanut Brittle

3 cups sugar

1 cup water

1 cup white corn syrup

1 1/2 pounds raw peanuts

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon margarine

1 tablespoon baking soda

Have two large cookie sheets well-greased with butter. Combine first three ingredients in large saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally until candy makes threads from spoon. Add peanuts, and continue to boil, stirring occasionally. When candy begins to darken (Test: candy should crack when dropped in ice water), very quickly add vanilla, salt, margarine and baking soda (last). Do not let candy crystallize. (Tricks: Add lemon juice, because acid keeps crystals from binding.)

Pour onto cookie sheets and spread thin. Allow to cool, then break into pieces and store in airtight container.

Family Favorite

James Clary’s 99-year-old mother-in-law, Grandma Mitchem, passed on this family recipe after much cajoling. “She finally gave me the recipe, and I make it every Christmas,” Clary says.

Key Ingredient: Baking soda. It causes a chemical reaction with the sugar molecules, creating pockets of air and increasing volume. “Big bubbles are a good sign,” Clary says.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

For the Crust:

1/2 pound softened butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Flour as needed

Mix butter, sugar and salt in mixer. Add flour until pea-size balls are formed (about six cups).

Form crust into two, nine-inch springform pans. Bring crust almost to top of pan.

For the Batter:

2 pounds softened block cream cheese

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

2 cups pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon ground clove

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

The cream cheese must be room temperature. If not, this recipe will not work! Mix all batter ingredients in mixer until smooth. Pour into crust. From 3 inches above counter, drop cheesecakes to get rid of any bubbles. Wrap cheesecake bottom and sides with plastic wrap. Place 2 inches of hot water in glassware. Place cheesecakes in pan and cover with plastic wrap. Bake at 275 F for about three hours, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Homemade Ginger Ice Cream

1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled and minced in food processor

10 large egg yolks

1 cup sugar

dash salt

1 vanilla bean

2 cups half-and-half

3 cups heavy cream

Whisk egg yolks with sugar and salt in large bowl; set aside. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out seeds. Combine ginger, beans, seeds, half-and-half and heavy cream in a large saucepan and bring to simmer. Gradually whisk hot cream into the egg yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil. Strain through sieve into large bowl, and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.

Makes about 1K quarts.

Clary Ranks Vanilla

1. Madagascar (Clary gets his for $3 a bean at Mama Jean’s Natural Market.)

2. Tahitian

3. Mexican (“A distant third,” Clary says.)

Did you know?

James Clary and college friend Don McKinney created Freckles Frozen Custard in 2000 in Tulsa, Okla. Licensees own four of the six shops – all in the Tulsa area except for one in Fort Smith, Ark. One location recently opened in the Tulsa International Airport. [[In-content Ad]]