Tailgates

Our son asked for chocolate covered crickets for Halloween. I have never made chocolate candy of any description before, so I had to do a bit of research and experimenting. I thought about adding nuts or raisins to the mixture, but decided against the nuts as some people have allergies to peanuts. The resulting candy was close to the description of a health food - low in fat, vitamins and calcium fortified, high in fiber.

Ingredients:

Freeze dried crickets - they can be found in pet stores that have food for reptiles (and they are usually vitamin and calcium fortified!)
Freeze dried meal worms - they add a slightly nutty flavor
semi-sweet chocolate morsels or chocolate for candy making
Wax paper
fork
1 1/2 - 2 quart microwave safe dish (corning ware or Pyrex work well)

Directions:

Pour 2 cups of the chocolate bits or morsels into the microwave safe dish.
Microwave for 1-2 minutes or until it begins to look soft. Stir with fork.
Continue heating for 30 seconds or so at a time until chocolate is all melted and easily stirred with the fork
While waiting for the chocolate to melt, line a cookie sheet with wax paper.
Once the chocolate reaches the desired consistency - rather like thick honey - Add 1 - 2 tablespoons of meal worms and stir well.
Balance a cricket on the fork and scoop it through the liquefied chocolate then drop it on to the sheet of wax paper.
Once the sheet is full of dropped candy, place the cookie sheet into the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes.
Then remove, and wrap each candy in wax paper, or whatever is easy for you. (It comes off the wax paper quite easily once the chocolate is chilled through.)

Yield: Approximately 5 dozen candies

-We found it easiest to wrap in wax paper, staple it closed and then pack in a tin can for shipping.

-I also tried making the candy in a plastic candy mold in the shape of spiders, but this method used much more chocolate and was slower.

-If you do not have a microwave oven, the chocolate can be melted in a double boiler over a medium heat.

-If you use semi-sweet chocolate and leave out the meal worms, then it will even be Kosher - crickets, locusts and grasshoppers are all considered to be Kosher food!

If I remember correctly . . .
Our son almost got fried when an unsuspecting mid got upset and ranted on about nut allergies - I had left out the nuts but forgot to tell him. One of his upper class company officers thought they were "outstanding" and that was all the feedback he got. Everyone was overjoyed at the idea of getting something "home made". When he ran out of those chocolate "delicacies" he had home made pralines we sent in a tin that were not individually wrapped. He had many more "suspicious" responses to the unwrapped and "safe" pralines than the wrapped bugged candy. He said that someone threatened to kill him and his room mate for the next week but a firstie "took care of it so he didn't get creamed, but still . . . " The upper classman who liked it was dubbed "crazy", as in "but he's crazy". When someone else did this a year or so before, the feedback was the crickets tasted a bit like crisp rice noodles. Our gecko likes them so they can't be too bad.

Sylvia Turner-Yanofsky

Pineapple Cheese Ring

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total calories 1277

1lb4oz can crushed pineapple in syrup(drain and reserve fluid)
3/4c pineapple liquid
1/2c sugar
dash of salt
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2pt heavy cream
8oz cottage cheese

Sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 of juice until dissolved. heat sugar,salt,1/4c liquid then mix with gelatin mix. Chill until thick- beat until frothy. Whip cream-set aside. Mix cottage cheese with frothy mix and fold in whipped cream.

Jo Oliver
John USNA '97

Peruvian Rice Pudding

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Cook on top of stove

3c evaporated milk
3c regular rice (not instant)
1-2c sugar to taste
1t vanilla
coconut raisins
1 yolk at the end.
FRESH orange rind -dry is no good

Jo Oliver
John USNA '97