The Burger Lab has a detailed piece on creating your own In-n-Out double-double animal style at home.

2  ounces rye whiskey
1 1/2 ounces club soda
1 1/2 ounces ginger ale

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Build in a highball glass with ice. Garnish with lemon twist.

6 eggs

2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon light Karo syrup

1/2 pound butter

9 cups oatmeal

1/2 pound M&M’s

2 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 pound peanut butter

12 oz chocolate chips

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mix everything together in large bowl

drop teaspoon-size balls of dough onto baking sheet

bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes

do not over bake

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from Yvonne Wilson and my days as an auditor at Marathon Oil

My most favorite french fries in the world can now be made at home. Yes, that’s right, McDonald’s fries made at home. Author of the article has this to say about why they are the most perfect fries:

McDonald’s french fries are great. At their best, they are everything a french fry should be: salty, crisp, light, and not greasy.

Also, he gives advice for getting the frozen potatoes from McDonald’s to cook at home (scavenger hunt!!). I may need to try this.

Related: Esquire talks to the executive chef of McDonalds.

ESQ: What about really good fries?
DC: If you’re talking about making them fresh, you have to go through what they call a blanching process. You can’t just take fries and put them in hot oil. You actually have to put them in a lower oil — maybe 300, 325 degrees. Put them in there, cook them until they’re just starting to wilt a little bit, pull them out, let them drain, and then when you’re ready to fry them, you turn your oil up to 375 and cook them again. So you’re actually cooking them twice. A better way is just to go to McDonald’s.

Sounds good on a hot day: Irish Whiskey Lemonade

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12 lemons

irish whiskey

2 cups water

2 1/4 cups sugar in the raw

2 quarts water

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Juice lemons.

Strain the juice.

Dissolve sugar over a low heat in 2 cups water, stirring until sugar has dissolved.

Let cool, mix in the lemon juice, and put in a large (at least 1-gallon) pitcher or jug.

Add 2 quarts water, season to taste with Irish whiskey (I use at least a liter) and refrigerate.

2 packages of yeast

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups milk

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

5-6 cups flour

2 cups additional flour (later)

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Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.

Scald milk – scum is bad.

Add butter to milk and cool.

Add yeast mixture.

Add sugar, eggs, salt and flour and beat with electric mixer.

Mix well.

Cover and put in warm place to rise. (Grandpa Smalley puts bowl on top shelf of oven and puts his trouble light under the bowl – works great).

Check in an hour. If doubled in size, punch down and let raise a second time.

After second rising, form into rolls or loaves, kneading in ~2 cups (more) flour.

Let rise a third time in roll/loaf form.

Bake at 375-400 degrees for 10 minutes.

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For cinnamon rolls, divide dough in 2 or 3 sections.

Roll out into rectangles.

Sprinkle with cinnamon, nuts, raisins, sugar, butter.

Roll up and cut.

Place, cut side up, in well greased pan.

Bake.

6 units Tequila

1 unit Triple Sec

1 unit Roses Lime Juice

1 unit Lemon Simple Syrup (mixture of equal parts water and sugar and as much fresh lemon juice as you want)

Crushed or cubed ice

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Mix ingredients and pour into shallow containers.

Cover and freeze until well chilled.

Pour into (un)salted margarita glasses.

Expect a hangover tomorrow.

Here’s my mom’s recipe for apple pie. With pie crust recipe from Mrs. Snead (our old neighbor at 301 Hillshafer Dr.). It’s worth noting to remember to use your left over pie crust scraps for cinnamon pie crust rolls.

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Mrs. Snead’s Pie Crust

1 cup flour

1/8 t. salt

1/2 cup butter flavored crisco

3 T. water

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Combine flour and salt.

Cut crisco into flour mixture with pastry blender or fork until just blended and the size of peas.

Add water and toss lightly with fork to mix.

Gather into ball with hands and roll out using small amount of flour to prevent sticking.

Recipe makes 1 bottom crust.

For flakiest crust, freeze before using.

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My Mom’s Apple Crumb Pie

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup sugar

6 T. butter

1 unbaked pie crust (see above)

3/4 t. cinnamon

3/4 cup flour

enough apples pared, sliced to fill pie

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Arrange sliced apples in an unbaked pie shell.

Mix 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon – sprinkle over apples.

Mix 1/3 cup sugar with flour.

Cut in butter until crumbly.

Sprinkle over apples.

Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until done.

Not a recipe per se, but here’s my favorite way to prepare (and then eat) bacon. Grill it!

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Make a hot and cool spot on your grill.

Lay the strips of bacon on the hot spot. Be prepared for some flames!

Cook the bacon strips over the hot spot until they start to shrivel up, and then flip and move to a cool spot to crisp up.

Cooking time will vary greatly, so just hang out and keep an eye on them.

Throw over the hot spot one more time before your done.

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!GRUNT! I AM A MAN. I JUST GRILLED BACON. WOOD + FIRE + PORK! !GRUNT!

One more pancake recipe to try

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1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 C Milk
1/2 C Flour
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp Vanilla
dash of Salt

dash of Cinnamon

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Melt butter in pan in oven while it is preheating.

Whisk all ingredients together in bowl, pour into pan w/ melted butter and move to oven.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 – 12 minutes or until the pancake has risen and is firm.

Serve right away (it will start to puff down, that’s ok) with fruit, syrup, powdered sugar… whatever you want!

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It looks like this only makes one pancake, FYI