For the past 15 years I've noticed I've been seeking out fewer and fewer traditional cookbooks and instead I'm using blogs for recipe inspiration. The results are not always great but, hey, that's been the case regardless of medium. What I especially appreciate about online recipes is how they are usually accompanied by reviews so I can often fine-tune from the get- go. So, with this item, I'm going to start sharing links to recipes I've made along with some quick thoughts on the dish. I'd encourage others to likewise share but, please, only on recipes you've made or at least tasted.253 responses total.
Last night I made Asian-Style Pork & Noodles. It was a nice switch from the usual stir-fry and quite good. I've added it to my "keepers" collection. Makes 4 reasonable portions. The only changes I made were: 1. I cut the amount of noodles in half to decrease the overall carbohydrate load. 2. I used whole wheat egg noodles. 2. I added 1/2 tsp. sriracha sauce to the sauce for a touch of heat. http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/asian-style-pork-and-noodles
Here is another recipe I made a few weeks ago. It's a yummy panini which goes together quickly and is great paired with soup. I don't have an electric panini press but instead just use a heavy grill pan and a weighted top. Sisters Sandwich http://threemanycooks.com/recipes/meaty-mains/sisters-sandwich/ The panini "lid": http://tinyurl.com/2ddjyx9
I go online a lot as well. One of my favorite sites is www.smittenkitchen.com. I've made several of Deb's recipes and am rarely disappointed. (Her kefte meatballs made with turkey is one of my favorite things to eat.) I'm going to be making this: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/tres-leche-cake- recipe/index.html or http://tinyurl.com/5b79su Alton Brown's Tres Leches cake, tomorrow, for a friend's birthday. Huge payoff for a small amount of labor.
Kofte (o umlaut) is Turkish for meatball. Which makes kefte meatballs as redundant as pita bread or daikon radish.
Amazing, Brooke. I made that same exact Alton Brown recipe last May, for a Cinco de Mayo gathering, and it was a big hit. Huge hit. Most had not had anything quite like it which is hard to pull off. But, I'm anxious to hear what you thought. You have a trained (baker's) palate.
I've made it several times before....it's my go to tres leches cake, and considering the cultural climate here, it gets great reviews (there are many tres leches cakes out here). I usually put dulce de leche on top of it and people LOVE it.
Isn't dulce de leche that stuff you make by heating up condensed milk in the can?
So I've been roasting chickens since before there were eggs but I've never really found them to be better than a good store rotisserie chicken. So that's a convenience I've embraced. But, then I ran across Ina Garten and her "Perfect Roast Chicken" technique and the three hundred and some people who rave about the results and I was intrigued. So I made it last night exactly as she suggests. It's a winner - far superior to anything pre-cooked at the grocery store. Even the breast meat was juicy and the lemon, fresh thyme and garlic really did perfume the dish. At 425 degrees, uncovered, for 90 minutes? Who would have thought. But, I can now die knowing I can roast a chicken. Yeah! ;-) http://tinyurl.com/5rlnnw
Re 7 Yes. To make it at home, you take sweetened condensed milk and cook it in the can in boiling water for like 4 hours. Or you can just buy it in the Hispanice section of your grocery store.
OH, I didn't know you could buy it already made. I've heard it is amazing and would like to try it sometime so maybe I'll stop by Dos Hermanos in Ypsi and see if they have it :)
I've found it at Meijer.
I'm a big fan of traditional fish & chips. But I don't deep fry at home. So when I ran across this recipe for (are you ready?) cornflake-crusted pan-fried fish I was skeptical. But people raved about the results. So I gave it a whack last night and it was excellent. I followed the recipe as written except haddock wasn't available so I used orange roughy. I suspect any medium-thick, mild white fish would be fine. http://tinyurl.com/24y6dsf
My father used to bread with cornmeal (no sugar added, unlike cornflakes). He may have first dipped in egg.
For years and years I've been making a turkey meatloaf with a tomatoey glaze. I thought it was pretty good but I've found a recipe that, although similar, contains a few tweaks that really takes it up a notch. This one comes from The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. I've yet to find one of her dishes that didn't please. I made this exactly as directed but scaled it to feed 4 - cutting all quantities by 4. I served it with mashed potatoes and sauted spinach. http://tinyurl.com/59wwrc
I used to make a pretty good turkey meatloaf when I worked at ASH. One time I accidentally grabbed a thing of turkey sausage instead of the usual ground turkey (so it was 1/2 sausage) and it was a huge improvement :)
Yum, sounds like a nice addition.
That looks amazing. My new BFF and I are making Sunday dinner together this weekend: homemade pasta and an Italian style gravy. We're pretty excited to be working together, as we have an amazing kitchen synergy.
Gravy? I'd be interested in what it is and how it comes out. The thing that cracked me up about Ina's meatloaf recipe is how big it was. I mean, 5 pounds of turkey? That would feed 20 people. Hey, a new Thanksgiving tradition is born! ;-)
resp:18 I thought that part of the point of making meatloaf was to make extra because when it comes to leftovers, meatloaf is pretty good :)
20 people? ;-)
No. Ten meals for two people :)
Last night I made Pork Chops Marsala from this recipe: http://tinyurl.com/24xhmhn The only change I made was to use 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to brown the chops. I've never found "spraying the pan" to be enough to get a tasty browning. The dish was wonderful, very tasty. A keeper.
I just now made up a batch of this cranberry sauce. Super easy and tasty - just the right mix of sweet and tart. It comes from The Pioneer Woman, a blogger and cookbook author that seems to be wildly popular at the moment. As I spent about 15 minutes looking through her site I can see why. Anywho, here's the link: http://tinyurl.com/23qnwq5
s/that/who
That looks like it's something even I can do... Let's see if I remember at Thanksgiving!
Well, after it had a chance to cool and thicken I served it with dinner. Next time I'll probably increase the sugar to 1 cup as it's on that edge of being too tart. I'm going to freeze half of it and will let you know how that goes.
So yesterday's Sunday gravy experiment went *extremely* well, even though we didn't do homemade pasta. The recipe can be found here: http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=20291 but you have to have a log-in to see it, so I just cut and paste it below: Serves 8 to 10 We prefer meatloaf mix (a combination of ground beef, pork, and veal) for the meatballs in this recipe. Ground beef may be substituted, but the meatballs won t be as flavorful. Six tablespoons of plain yogurt thinned with 2 tablespoons of milk can be substituted for the buttermilk. This recipe makes enough to sauce 1 pounds of pasta. Our preferred brands of crushed tomatoes are Tuttorosso and Muir Glen. The sauce can be prepared through step 4 and then cooled and refrigerated in the Dutch oven for up to 2 days. To reheat, drizzle cup of water over the sauce (do not stir in) and warm on the lower-middle rack of a preheated 325-degree oven for 1 hour before proceeding with the recipe. Ingredients Sauce 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 rack baby back ribs (about 2 1/4 pounds), cut into 2-rib sections Table salt and ground black pepper 1 pound hot Italian sausage links 2 medium onions , chopped fine (about 2 cups) 1 1/4 teaspoons dried oregano 3 tablespoons tomato paste 4 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 4 teaspoons) 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (see note) 2/3 cup beef broth 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves Meatballs 2 slices hearty white sandwich bread , crusts removed and bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1/2 cup buttermilk (see note) 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves , chopped 2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons) 1 large egg yolk 1/2 teaspoon table salt 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1 pound meatloaf mix (see note) 2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto , chopped fine 1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese , grated (about 1/2 cup) 1/2 cup olive oil Pasta 1 1/2 pounds spaghetti or linguine 2 tablespoons table salt Grated Parmesan cheese for serving Instructions 1. FOR THE SAUCE: Adjust oven rack to lower- middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Pat ribs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Add half of ribs to pot and brown on both sides, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer ribs to large plate and brown remaining ribs. After transferring second batch of ribs to plate, brown sausages on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer sausages to plate with ribs. 2. Reduce heat to medium, add onions and oregano; cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until very dark, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add crushed tomatoes and broth, scraping up any browned bits. Return ribs and sausage to pot; bring to simmer, cover, and transfer to oven. Cook until ribs are tender, about 2 hours. 3. FOR THE MEATBALLS: Meanwhile, combine bread cubes, buttermilk, parsley, garlic, egg yolk, salt, and red pepper flakes in medium bowl and mash with fork until no bread chunks remain. Add meatloaf mix, prosciutto, and cheese to bread mixture; mix with hands until thoroughly combined. Divide mixture into 12 pieces; roll into balls, transfer to plate, cover with plastic, and refrigerate until ready to use. 4. When sauce is 30 minutes from being done, heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add meatballs and cook until well browned all over, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer meatballs to paper towel-lined plate to drain briefly. Remove sauce from oven and skim fat from top with large spoon. Transfer browned meatballs to sauce and gently submerge. Cover, return pot to oven, and continue cooking until meatballs are just cooked through, about 15 minutes. 5. Meanwhile, bring 6 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and salt and cook until al dente. Reserve cup cooking water; drain pasta and transfer back to cooking pot. 6. TO SERVE: Using tongs, transfer meatballs, ribs, and sausage to serving platter and cut sausages in half. Stir basil into sauce and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Toss pasta with 1 cup sauce and reserved pasta cooking water so that sauce lightly coats pasta. Serve pasta, passing remaining sauce and meat platter separately. Ok...so fairly labor intensive, but I have to say, you definitely get bang for the buck. Our only changes were to use homemade chicken stock, not beef, and Nata had too much liquid in the meatballs. But holy crap, tasty! And everyone loved it! Next time, we'll cook the pork longer.
(Mary bows to a master chef who isn't intimidated by multi-step recipes and lots of clean-up.) Sounds wonderful, Brooke. I grew up in an Italian neighborhood where many families were "right off the boat". This is how they cooked. I have since seldom found Italian cuisine to come anywhere close to matching my childhood memories of rustic Italian food.
I had a co-chef. Nathaniel and I are culinary soul mates (not just culinary, but we share a bond over cooking that is unreal). So I didn't do this alone. We're looking at Greek food next!
For a dessert last night we had vanilla ice cream with cherry sauce. Here is a link to the recipe. Again, amazingly simply yet delicious. Except for the part where I had to do a liquor store run for some cherry brandy. ;-) http://tinyurl.com/23238bg I used frozen, pitted cherries and left 'em whole.
Looks good!
I've always wanted to make a good chicken cacciatore. But mostly what I ended up with was rather heavy with a thick tomato sauce over chicken with a gummy coating. But last night I tried Giada's recipe and (finally) I found a version that reminds me of the dish I remember from my youth. I stayed pretty close to the recipe as presented with the only change being I used 4 drumsticks and 4 thighs (no breast meat). For tomatoes I opted for canned, diced, Muir Glen's fire-roasted. I found it needed more like 30 minutes in the Dutch oven to be falling-off-the-bone tender. http://tinyurl.com/58dw3y
A few weeks ago we visited Hidden Lake Gardens, out Tipton way. What a gorgeous park. While there I played around with a bit of geocaching without luck. I'm a beginner here. Anyhow, while out that way we stopped at a little roadside diner called Top of the Hill. It doesn't get less fancy but oh, my, the bbq was incredible. So I decided to give pulled pork a try at home. No smoker here which puts me to a disadvantage. Google kept giving Paula Deen's recipe top honors, the reviews were great, but the seasonings sounded excessive. But what the heck? All I could lose was a few hours and 4 pounds of pork. ;-( Well, no loss. The pork was absolutely delicious. Moist, tender and perfectly seasoned. The yield was 36 ounces of meat, which, to my taste, makes 12 sandwiches. I froze a couple of packages and suspect they will reheat just fine. Yesterday I served this as she suggested, on toasted buns with a spicy bbq sauce drizzle and coleslaw topping. Tomorrow I'll use the pork in quesadillas. Anyhow, here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/5jhkgu Closing snarky comment: If this recipe wasn't on an official Food Network site I'd be skeptical of it being from Paula. I mean, where's the butter? ;-)
Hahahaha! When asked what her favorite dessert was, her son Bobby said, "Butter fried in butter." And you were out my way! ;-)
Today is adventures in Greek cooking....homemade Spanokopita, found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/spanakopita-spinach-triangles-or-pie- recipe/index.html and homemade Moussaka, found here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/eggplant-and-potato- moussaka-recipe/index.html A good time, and AMAZING food!!
Spanak - spinach. Pita - bread? The Macedonians make similar dishes. You can use leeks instead of spinach, or squash.
It's spinach and feta layered with phyllo dough. It turned out well.
Wow, that Spanokopita sounds wonderful. I've only worked with phyllo once and my ego took a bashing. I suspect it takes the patience of a baker. Now, puffed pasty is another matter. I can defrost with the best of 'em.
Last night I wanted to use the leftovers from the pulled pork from a few days ago. I decided on quesadillas but I also wanted a quick soup to serve with. I'd found this recipe for tomato soup and gave it a try. I found it interesting for what it didn't call for - like onions or oregano or cream. http://tinyurl.com/2dhtog8 If you like Zingerman's tomato soup this is the closest thing I've found to it both in flavor and texture. I suspect the brand of tomatoes is important here. I used Muir Glen fire-roasted, diced tomatoes. The hardest part was washing and chopping the fresh basil which took, maybe, 5 minutes of hands-on. Next time I'll do it right and serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches. I'm a dunker and this is rustic, dunking and swabbing soup.
I'm not a huge fan of altering a recipe to make it healthier if it means the end product isn't just as tasty. I'd rather eat a smaller portion of the richer dish. Or at least that's the theory. But I came across this recipe for one of my favorite desserts, Key Lime Pie, and decided to give it a try. Wow. It shaves about 1/3 of the calories off the traditional recipe but without sacrificing taste, texture or look. And if that isn't enough - it's dead easy to make. tinyurl.com is down so I hope you can get this link to work. http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001206119
Too tedious. Try this: http://tinyurl.com/23ebr7t
mmm. That pie sounds delicious.
Tonight it was a pasta dish loaded with veggies and lightly sauced. I doubled the sun dried tomatoes (love 'em) but otherwise followed the recipe. It was good but not great. Something was missing and I think I know what it was - a dash of red pepper flakes. Just a touch. Next time. http://tinyurl.com/2drvny2
I have a killer recipe fot Tiropita, that is, cheese pie. No spinach. I also have access to a Greek import store which has 3 kinds of phyillo and 4 kinds of feta. I'm in heaven since they're within a brisk 10 minute walk. I'd share the recipe but it belongs to my mother who developed it over many years and would come back to haunt me if I ever released it. Mary, Phyllo isnt hard to handle, but it does take patience and lots of butter. ;) damp towels help too. This store also has baklava homemade for $1 a slice. Resistance is futile.
I've worked with phyllo once or twice but never really got it right. It ended up tasting greasy and heavy. Not what you get when the pros do it. So I tend to stick with puff pastry which is idiot proof. Feta is amazing - love it in eggs, on salads, on pizza. Never met a feta I didn't like. ;-) Lunch today was leftover pasta from yesterday. I did add 1/8 tsp (a hearty pinch) of red pepper flakes per portion. Exactly right for our taste and just what the dish needed.
We want to make something with home-grown pumpkin and black walnuts and maybe pear sauce, to impress the neighbors Thursday. They have seen the first two growing. Also the rainbow chard but the kids don't seem to like vegetables. I have red fennel - it resprouted after the drought ended and I picked most of it today before the big freeze. We never base what we cook on recipes but on what we have already. I also have coriander and dill and flax seed, and assorted dry and shell beans (including tepary and runner). It will be pretty, whatever it is. Red orange yellow green and purple.
I enjoy hearing about your diet and cooking strategy, Sindi. I can remember a time long, long ago where food was seasonal. And when local produce hit the market it was anticipated and appreciated. Tomatoes, peaches, corn... Now, it's 365. I appreciate the easy availability and choice though, so it's a trade-off. And I still look forward to peak season goods.
Yesterday, the Google masthead had an open bag filled with Thanksgiving groceries. Today, the banner displays food being prepared and if you hover over the graphic up comes Ina Garten recipes. Those Brussel sprouts will be part of our dinner tonight. But don't tell John - I'm going to surprise him. He loves Brussel sprouts and I hardly ever make 'em. http://www.google.com/
Supermarket tomatoes and peaches are hardly worth eating. They are bred to be tough and easily shipped. Garden lettuce is also a different creature. Our little carrots are not at all bitter like the big ones. Real grapes have 10 times the flavor of the giants from California (though they are not doing too badly with the giant strawberries). You can't buy half of what we are growing - at least 20 types of beans (I dare you to find fresh shell beans at Kroger, let alone runner beans, limas, tepary), 10 types of tomatoes (all picked very ripe), three kinds of mustard greens all tasting different. I think the lettuce and mustard and beet greens survived last night. Friday may finish them off. Still also have arugula, carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, fennel leaves. Today's lunch is a vegetable stew with green tomatoes, the last of the purple beans, jerusalem artichokes, etc. I have the refrigerator packed with bags of pea shoots and fava bean tops (there were no bees but both were happily flowering all month). More Chinese greens. Just picked the last of the fennel and flax seeds. I really cannot imagine being stuck eating only what is sold at a supermarket.
Re 48 I have NEVER gone wrong with an Ina recipe.
I brought two desserts to a Thanksgiving gathering. Both were rich and tasty and decadent. We're talking food coma for two days. ;-) The first was this well received and dead easy fudge right off the Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk package: http://tinyurl.com/2bhh8qz The second was an amazing French Apple & Cranberry pie, from Simply Recipes. For the brandy I used Calvados. Before baking my deep dish 9" pie plate was piled so high I thought my oven would never recover. But instead the crown dropped some with baking and even more when cooled so the end results were nicely crowned. And for the very first time I served a pie that stayed intact when cut instead of the filling sloughing out. http://tinyurl.com/27v9jo7
We brought pumpkin apple dried pear and black walnut and it came out pretty good. The first two get cooked first. My madrigal group had a potluck yesterday and our stuff got mostly eaten despite two huge pans each of squash and sweet potato, as did the beet greens (they survived the most recent freeze).
We're having 25 for Christmas dinner. I've got the night pretty much down after hosting it for too many years. Many of the dishes are so imbedded in the holiday that they have tenure. But the rolls... I've never been happy with the rolls. So, I went again to Pioneer Woman's site and (drum roll) she had rolls that looked pretty darn good. A mix of frozen dough, butter, rosemary, sea salt, and butter. Served with more butter, of course. So I made four of them to accompany dinner tonight - kind of a dry run. Rolls for 25? No problem. The recipe is a winner. ;-) http://tinyurl.com/yjol79j
OMG. Totally making those this weekend.
I used the same brand of dough - Rhode's. I'm not sure what difference that makes though. I'm curious to see what a master baker thinks of this one. So let me know, Brooke, please.
Those rolls sure look delicious!
They remind me of the rolls we had at Maude's (before the remodel), which I think Common Grill in Chelsea still does. I'm doing a Jamie Oliver trout recipe on Saturday for my culinary soul mate, so I'm thinking this will be an amazing acoompaniment.
We dug the beets yesterday so I am making borshcht with kale and the leaves from the cauliflowers and also a lot of pumpkin instead of water, and some green tomatoes, and the seeds of Garafal Oro beans (usable as snap or shell but quite large so also good dry). And carrots and onions. Maybe celery leaves and jerusalem artichoke and fennel or chervil.
My aunt made mashed cauliflower for Thanksgiving dinner. It was AWESOME. The best part of it though was when someone said, "Mashed cauliflower? That sounds healthy." My aunt got this kind of evil grin on her face as she replied, "Yes, it *sounds* healthy" ;) It was sure yummy though. I guess it included things like cream cheese and fried onions and probably a lot of butter too. But oh oh so good.
I've heard of several places that suggest mashed cauliflower in place of mashed potatoes [as being healthier]. Well, I'm not a cauliflower fan, so there is no way that this could take the place of potatoes! If I want healthy, I'll eat some vegetables that I like... :-)
We had these in addition to potatoes *and* stuffing and all kinds of other things. :) But I have been thinking about this. I *love* cauliflower and bet I can make a somewhat healthy version of mashed cauliflower that might find nearly as satisfying as mashed potatoes. That will be a win for me nutritionally :)
Why mash it? I like the texture. You can nibble off a few flowers at a time. Brussels sprouts are also fun.
Get that recipe over here, Slynne. Use threats if necessary.
I thought the texture was nice mashed. I *hate* brussels spouts. Mary, I'll ask my aunt for it but it might be awhile since she is off visiting her great grandson.
We have 20 pumpkins and pumpkin-size squashes from the curb. I am using the more blah ones in soup and feeding the frozen parts to the neighbors' chickens. Today they feasted on slightly moldy bread, eggshells, and applecores, but the pumpkin was also a hit. They are now trained to come to the door and try to eat out of the bucket before I can empty it. The two brown ones monopolized the bread, one white one pecked at the eggshells, and the other (dumb) white one continued eating chicken feed. The brown ones are laying already. What else can I make with pumpkin besides soup? We don't cook with sugar. I have baked some (before peeling) that I add to stir fries.
I love mashed cauliflower...I go so far as to run it through the cuisinart. Then I add a bit of butter, milk and enough parmesan until it tastes yummy. My other favorite thing is to roast cauliflower and serve it with an Indian style ketchup. See, now I want roasted cauliflower!
See, now *I* want roasted cauliflower but unlike you, I am too inept to make it. Someone needs to make a drive thru with healthy yummy foods like that ;)
Seriously, just cut up a cauliflower, toss it with a bit of oil, sea salt and pepper, and put it on a cookie sheet at 375 for like half an hour. You're not inept.
OH, I can do *that*. Probably a single serving in the toaster oven even. Thanks Brooke!
Yummy supper: local garlic and onions, imported pickled radish (I am pickling my own greens now), shelf fungus from a local woods, cowpeas, my own tomatoes and pumpkins and peppers and today I picked the cauliflower leaves. The chickens got the frozen turnip greens, but they preferred the shriveled lettuce.
Well, here is a recipe that bombed. I should have known better when you look at all the cans involved. But I wasn't about to fire up the bbq grill for corn when it's snowing. Anyhow this soup was thin and bland. I tried to rescue it with hot sauce - no dice. http://tinyurl.com/275jnsv But that was last night. On Wednesday I wanted a bean side dish but not the usual sweet baked beans. Eating Well had a dump recipe for black beans and salsa. I used Mrs. Renfro's peach salsa (a favorite) and added fresh cilantro and lime juice and served it warm. Excellent. I didn't make the corn cakes although they might have potential. http://tinyurl.com/2cegjh3 Moral of the story: Dump recipes work but not always.
For breakfast this morning it was favorite over here - crockpot steel- cut oatmeal. It's an Alton Brown technique for getting a healthy breakfast on the table even though you're catching a bus in 30 minutes. The learning curve to this on is getting to know your specific hardware. Since I'm making a small amount (half of his recipe) I use a 1.5 quart crockpot that has only one temperature - plugged in. I think it also runs a little hotter than the typical "low". But in the comments of Alton's post folks have lots of experience here, some even with my specific device. The bottom line - use an appliance time. So my pot now goes on at 2:00 am and goes off at 7:00 am. Excellent. As to adds, I'm partial to his cranberries but instead of figs I substitute half an apple. I finish it with a little slivered almond when the oatmeal is in the bowl. http://tinyurl.com/3sehrw
I make black beans and salsa and serve it over brown rice with queso fresco, tomatoes and lettuce. It's a super quick meal that is relatively healthy.
How do you boil the beans and rice quickly?
I use canned beans and I keep frozen brown rice from trader joe's on hand.
I love oatmeal and keep planning on making some in the crock pot but usually just go for the instant kind. It isn't quite as healthy but it isn't really unhealthy either. :)
The non-instant type only takes about 5 min. It is also precooked.
Bread tomorrow, and maybe pretzels. I have a good recipe from the 1953 edition of "The Joy of Cooking" Need one for the pretzels, though.
http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/sausage-cheese-balls/6a2a7890-c685-49 91-b699-743fd880486f http://tinyurl.com/3543pbl My Florida hostess made these for us to take along for our boat parade cruise this weekend. They were very yummy. She did mention that she had reduced the bisquick by a cup. They were nice though because they werent very greasy so all one needed to serve them was some toothpicks. That made it a little easier on a moving boat. I think I am going to make these for my family's christmas festivities because it seems easy enough for me to do and I already know they're yummy.
anything that has sausage and cheese can't be bad.
Agree with Jim there. This afternoon I threw these cookies together to see if they'd make a batch worthy of Christmas gifting. Again, kind of a dump affair, but I was in and out of the kitchen in 40 minutes. And they are good! Pistachio-Cranberry Sugar Cookies from Betty Crocker. Supposedly this recipe was a 2010 contest winner. Next time I'll sprinkle just a smidge of coarse sugar on each cookie before baking. I'm a sucker for sparkles. http://tinyurl.com/28umajg
I want to figure out how to make those from scratch.
Let me know when you do, Brooke. Please. I also forgot to mention that I didn't have enough pistachios so I used half pistachios and half macadamia nuts. I so like what the macs did for the cookies that it's now part of my recipe.
Tonight I had family over for dinner and as part of that meal served Ina Garten's cranberry sauce. She calls it a preserve. It's delicious and will be part of Christmas dinner for 25. Yikes! http://tinyurl.com/5o7txq For dessert I've had this recipe in my "To Try" folder for quite some time. A raspberry buckle. Now, I know it's not raspberry season but the way I see it I'd not hesitate to spend $4 on good chocolate for a dessert so why not good berries out of season? Anyhow, the dessert was courtesy of Martha Stewart and, topped with a little whipped cream, a tasty reminder of summer. http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/raspberry-buckle
We just ate frozen black raspberries with microwaved green bananas (which taste very similar to plantains). Add black walnuts.
I just made up a batch of Magic Cookie Bars and what's not to love? I'll be serving them to our Christmas day gathering. The trick, of course, will be staying out of them until then. http://tinyurl.com/ycpyebz While watching The Barefoot Contessa yesterday I was captivated by Ina's comment: (not exact but close) You can be miserable before eating a chocolate cookie, and miserable after eating a chocolate cookie. But you can't be miserable while eating a chocolate cookie.
My coworker brought those cookies to our holiday party. They are really yummy. I somehow was able to limit myself to just one although it was very hard.
re 86. Resistance is futile. Just make more and nosh on them and realize you have a problem that you're not willing to get over. I have the same problem with BM potato chips. Thanks for posting the recipe, Mary, and have a Merry Christmas.
Those magic cookies are wickedly rich. I mean I originally cut a 9"x13" pan's worth into 48 bars. Thought that would be about right. But after eating a couple I cut them even smaller and put each bite into it's own mini-muffin cupcake liner. So now I have 96 servings with a nice presentation to boot. Something not in the recipe - let them cool completely, like, overnight, before cutting. It's takes a good long time for the chocolate to firm up allowing for nice clean edges.
ooooo I know these bars... Mom used to make them when I was a kid. Never could eat just one.
The house smells of cinnamon this morning. Monkey bread is about to come out of the oven. Made like this: http://tinyurl.com/24y56ar
I made peanut butter cookies for Santa and damned if that jolly old elf took the whole batch. He did offer me a job at the North Pole. I'm thinking it over. Depends on what Mooselini is going to do. ;) Mooselini= Sarah Palin ;)
In response #84 I mentioned a raspberry buckle I made for company dessert. It's a great recipe but I wanted to scale it to 4 portions and use cranberries instead of out of season berries. FYI - it works to divide the recipe in half but use 2 eggs and 4 ounces of fresh cranberries. I made it in a 7" tart/pie dish. Delicious.
I've been kind of fascinated by Ree Drummond, a.k.a "The Pioneer Woman". She has an interesting story and I like her sense of humor - she doesn't seem to take herself all that seriously. I also received her cookbook as a Christmas gift, so I'm good to go when it comes to ranch-comfort cooking. Now, if I only worked like a ranch hand and burned it off... For dinner last night I tried her Beef with Snow Peas. The photo drew me in. I tweaked it a bit and added 2 tsp. minced garlic and 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes. T'was good but next time I'll reduce the oil to 2 Tbsp. (because I'm not a ranch hand). I'd suggest following her suggestion and using a lower sodium soy sauce otherwise, well, that's a lot of soy sauce. http://tinyurl.com/2eowd5h
Baked eggs. This morning. Yummy. No kale. No problem. Good stuff. http://userealbutter.com/2010/12/28/baked-eggs-recipe/
I need to work on adding more vegetable side dishes to my repertoire. I can add veggies to stir-frys and stews no problem. I can roast, saute or steam green beans, spinach, carrots and broccoli. But that's about how creative it gets. Vegetables are a quick afterthought. Intending to branch out a bit, last night I made the roasted cauliflower dish that Ina Garten highlighted in that Thanksgiving Google doodle. Glad I did as it's now in the rotation. It took only about 10 minutes of active prep and the rest took care of itself while I made the chops. I made it exactly as she suggests and wouldn't change a thing. At one point there was a link for this on her Food Network site but it must have come down. They tend to keep her recipes up for a limited time. But I found it here: http://tinyurl.com/2dcfcer
Dinner tonight: http://savorysweetlife.com/2010/04/spinach-ricotta-quiche/ I made it exactly as directed except I added 1/8 tsp nutmeg. Because, it's a sin to make quiche without a pinch or two of nutmeg. 'Twas good - light yet flavorful.
Agreed. I think it was during the Atkins craze that I started making quiches without a crust....and I've never gone back. From what I can tell, no one misses them and it saves me time.
I've tried it a couple of time but someone (not saying who) missed the crust. But I think I'll try it again using the recipe in #97. Crustless quiches tend to freeze well. I have a jumbo muffin tin that I use for individual portions that reheat in the microwave beautifully. A crust, reheated this way, tends to get gummy.
Tomorrow we're hosting our book club and it's always fun coming up with appetizers to serve. I'll serve a white bean dip, pita wedges, veggies and these nuts: http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/12/sugar-and-spice-candied-nuts/ I used only almonds and they are delicious. Not sure if next time I won't cut back on the sugar by half though as it seems a lot was wasted on the silpat.
The nuts were a hit! I also served this white bean dip and pita chips: http://tinyurl.com/67rp2r A number of reviews had said Giada's recipe called for way, way too much olive oil so I took that advice and cut it to 2 tablespoons in the dip and that was perfect. I also added 1/4 tsp. cayenne and that was about right for my taste (a heat zing but not a lasting punch). The pita chips were amazing and mine were done in 7 minutes - these would be great with guac.
Oh, regarding the pitas, I only used 2 (she states 6) but they were huge and I opened them up to be single-layered. Each layer was cut into 10 pieces so I had 40 "chips". Any more bread than that I'd increase the amount of oil and seasonings.
Dinner last night was Peruvian Chicken - the recipe from Whole Foods. I served it with Ina's Couscous with Pine Nuts. Delicious, both. http://tinyurl.com/4jh6uf5 http://tinyurl.com/mq5mzx
I am such a bad cook that I am not even sure I should mention this here but for me this was a cooking accomplishment. Recently, I tried a drink at Sweetwaters called a 'Vietnamese tea latte' and I *loved* it. Since it is just hot tea with sweetened condensed milk, it is pretty easy to make at home. I mean, I can boil water and open a can with the best of them. But I am trying to avoid sugar so I went on a crusade looking for unsweetened condensed milk. It doesn't exist. But I found that that evaporated milk is similar enough to work with my tea lattes. The upside. I can have my tea with milk even if I run out of regular milk. I don't know why I like that taste that is unique to condensed/evaporated milk so much though. But I do :)
Why not try powdered milk, or make the tea in very little water and add it to liquid milk and heat that up?
resp:105 I've already tried powdered milk many times in my backpacking days. It doesn't taste as good.
Sweetened condensed milk is amazing stuff. If you simmer the can for 4-6 hours you get something called dulce de leche which is caramel-like and wicked good. I like to use condensed milk in soups that need a smooth, creamy consistency. I've never tried it in drinks but it sounds delicious.
It is 65% sugar so it probably is delicious in everything ;) I've heard about dulce de leche and would like to try it sometime but am worried about making a whole can because I would probably then proceed to eat the whole can :)
I LOVE dulce de leche....I use it as a topping on my tres leches pie, and it's integral to my banoffee pie.
Have you ever had a can blow-up while simmering? Or maybe you make it another way.
No, but I tend to be overly cautious when making it (ie, not going too far, checking water levels every half hour or so). You can buy it, but when I can get condensed sweetened milk on sale and with a coupon, I'll just make a bunch of dulce de leche all at once.
I have to admit I was all thinking that maybe I could try to make some until I heard the part about it exploding. ;)
Chick-En! ;-)
why not take the milk out of the can then simmer it? Or does it have to remain in the can? Could you vent the can somehow?
I think the whole point is to use pressure. But if that's the case, you can just make caramel....
It was cold today so I decided to make soup. The recipe: Hardware: 1 giant sized pot 20 qts. Software: 10 or so medium sized potatoes 2 medium onions water a few cubes of boullian chicken flavor (for salt) 1 cup or so of milk. method fill pot 3/4 of the way full of water. add potatoes, leaving the skins on. The skins have all the nutrients. bring to a boil and cook for about an hour. Remove potatoes and cut into pieces. Return the potatoes to the water and crush with a masher. Dont overdo it. Add the onion and milk and boullian cubes. Cook for about 30 minutes, Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy. The skins can be picked out or eaten. your call. I like potato skins, but if you don't pick em out. It comes out wonderful. Give some to your doggie if you have one. It will make him happy.
Add carrots, celery, parsley, turnips, mushrooms (dried are good), more onions, more garlic, cauliflower, tomatoes...
ok
It sounds delicious.
It is. Potato soup is one of my favorites and the nice thing is that it is good cold, too. It's even better the next day. I think I'll go have a bowl. ;)
So, I haven't actually made anything from this site, but I'm charmed by the content. The author shares both recipes and relationship advice and both are wicked good. Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/4l75mz3
Oh man....I LOVE that website!! I can't wait to make her slow cooked chicken with beer for tacos!
I am thinking of modifying the recipe below. I love hot cocoa but have
found that at the regular grocery store, it is kind of expensive and
Costco doesn't have the sugar free kind.
* 4 cups instant nonfat dry milk powder
* 1-1/2 to 2 cups sugar
* 1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer (coffee lightener like Creamora)
* 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
* 1 package of instant store-bought chocolate or a vanilla pudding
mix (optional, but very good)
I recently found some regular powdered milk at a small grocery store
that caters to Mexican people. I am thinking that I could probably
substitute that for the 4 cups of instant nonfat dry milk power and 1
cup of powdered non-dairy creamer (which I think is gross). I guess I'll
try five cups of the regular powered milk. And I'll substitute the sugar
for Splenda. Not sure if I'll add the pudding mix but might if I can
find some sugar-free pudding.
So all you cooks out there. Do you think that five cups of powdered
whole milk might equal 4 cups of fat free powdered milk + 1 cup of non
dairy creamer?
Why not just make cocoa from real milk and cocoa powder? We microwave a small amount of milk or water with a spoonful of cocoa (or grated baking chocolate) for 20-30 sec until it dissolves (stir) then fill it up with milk and heat it and stir again, add sugar to taste (or not). Cocoa made with powdered milk does not taste nearly as good. The powdered creamer may be added to commercial mixes to save costs. You can also add vanilla or cinnamon.
resp:124 It is just easier for me to put the tea kettle on and then add hot water to a powdered mix. Plus, sometimes I am out of milk. A few years ago, I bought a hot cocoa mix that needs to be added to milk and then never bothered to make it.
So mix cocoa and powdered milk and a small bit of water, stir thoroughly, microwave 20 sec, add more water. Jim suggests do not add sugar.
Your mix sounds doable, Lynne, but I'm not sure if it would end up tasting too much of the chemicals in the pudding and Creamora. I think I'd instead play around with fat-free or 2% condensed milk, rich cocoa powder and maybe a mixture of sugar sub and agave syrup as sweetener. Solves the problem of having to have fresh milk on hand and you've minimized the fake stuff. One other thing I've found makes a big difference in hot chocolate is whipping it with one of these thingies. ttp://tinyurl.com/4hjysap It gives even non-fat Nestle hot chocolate packets a smooth consistency and with a small hit of whipped cream it's decadent enough for my needs. The whole mug comes in at 85 calories.
Opps, dropped an "h". Try: http://tinyurl.com/4hjysap
resp:127 I kind of want it to be a powdered mix but I found whole milk power at the Mexican grocery store so I am going to use that instead of the creamer (which I think is gross).
The creamer probably includes things like mono and diglycerides and polysorbate 60, which look like but do not taste like cream. With enough sugar who can taste the difference?
I can taste the difference even with sugar because what I dislike about non-dairy creamer is the "mouth feel" of it and no amount of sugar can hide that train wreck.
A neighbor just gave Jim a container of what he thought was cocoa mix and it is actually coffee mix and contains all those chemicals and a smidgen of cocoa so they can call it 'white cocoa'. Xanthan gum (made by bacteria from cellulose), etc. The chemicals make it feel thicker with no need to add real cream which costs money.
General Foods International Coffees Swiss White Chocolate Smooth, rich coffee blended with the delicious sweetness of Swiss white chocolate. INGREDIENTS: Sugar (for delicious sweetness of course), nondairy creamer (partially hydrogenated soybean oil, corn syrup solids, sodium caseinate (from milk), dipotassium phosphate, mono- and diglycerides, soy lecithin, maltodextrin (from corn), instant coffee, less than 2 percent of cocoa (processed with alkali), natural and artificial flavors, xanthan gum, sodium citrate. natural flavors are synthesized to match the ones found in nature xanthan gum is synthesized from wood pulp, I think sodium caseinate derives from milk (it is the part used in cheese) soy lecithin is left over when you make soy oil from soybeans There is probably just over 2% instant coffee in there. Instant cocoa is probably the same thing without the coffee.
Yeah but you just gave me a thought. I could add instant coffee and have a mocha mix
I like that idea. Woot! Yet another way to get MORE COFFEE! ;-)
I thought white chocolate was made with cocoa butter not cocoa powder. They probably used the word 'white' because that is the color of the mix due to the sodium caseinate and hydrogenated oil, since there is too little cocoa and coffee in there to look brown.
The other day I picked up a Consumer Reports magazine subtitled "Food & Fitness". It included a number of useful articles and a couple of recipes that looked good - all with an eye to lightening-up comfort foods. I made the first, a rice pudding, and it's really good. The best I've ever made. Unfortunately there isn't a link on their website so I'll just post it here, with the proportions and addition as I made it. Fruity, Nutty Rice Pudding 1 1/2 cups leftover (cooked & cooled) brown rice 1 cup skim milk 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (my addition) pinch of salt 1/4 cup dried cranberries 1/8 cup slivered almonds 7 oz. 2% plain Greek yogurt Combine cooked rice, milk, sugar, cardamom, vanilla & salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to simmer and stir in the dried fruit and almonds. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk is absorbed - about 20'. The mixture will be somewhat thickened by then but beware - it will thicken even more when cool. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely. Gently stir in yogurt and serve. Make 3 cups of rice pudding, serving 4-6.
I make rice pudding without sugar. Raisins are plenty sweet.
Yep, going without sweetener is certainly possible and I bet a lot of people like it that way.
I thought everyone added lemon peel - I guess the cranberries are for tartness instead. We have a couple dozen lemons and limes and no rice - any ideas what to do other than salad dressing or hot lemonade? I have tried pumpkin soup with lemon juice, stir fries with lime juice. There is an egg-lemon soup.
Dried cranberries tend to not be tart, but rather sweet. As to lemons, you could make lemoncello (what I think I'm doing next weekend). Lemon curd. I do love avgolemono soup (the egg/lemon/rice soup you referred to). Maybe I'll make some of that.
The cranberries are very tart but the sugar added to them masks that. I made lemon curd once and did not like it. Maybe I can make egg lemon soup with millet or rice starch. Trying to cook something easily digested while getting over the flu so tonight was powdered milk and applesauce and rice starch pudding with cardamom flavoring. Was going to add honey for extra calories but it is too cold to get out of the silly bottle. I should probably avoid fiber for a while. Which does not leave much.
I like rice pudding but have never made it. That recipe sounds yummy. I like that it has brown rice. I actually prefer the taste of brown rice to white rice.
Does white rice have a taste? My mother used to butter it and tried to do so when I made stir-fried vegetables. She also buttered spaghetti, then the next morning adding milk to the leftovers and served it for breakfast. I wonder if she learned that from her mother. Do you ever watch Youtube cooking videos? There are some unintentionally funny ones.
Following up on the rice pudding recipe I posted - I made it early in the day and served it about eight o'clock. It was tasty but the yogurt made it very thick. It seems the longer it sits the thicker it gets. I suspect some of that is simply the nature of the rice (like pasta in pasta salad) continuing to absorb the available liquid. I'm going to play with this some and in a month or two make Alton Brown's rice pudding and see which I prefer. Alton's recipe: http://tinyurl.com/cbrtcp
Boiled or baked starchy puddings thicken as they cool, so do custards, and killed bacterial cultures most likely have nothing to do with it.
Winter. Cold. Gray. Dreary. WAFFLES! I made them Belgium-style and it yields 10 squares that freeze very well. To make these reasonable I substituted whole wheat pastry flour, light sour cream and cut the butter to 4 tablespoons and it still worked beautifully. They come in at 203 calories a waffle with 4 grams of fiber. I reheat them in the toaster. A side benefit - the house smells wonderful! http://tinyurl.com/4so7res
Tonight I made these black bean burritos. They ended up being nicely seasoned thanks to the chipotle peppers. Hearty too - one per person was quite filling. http://tinyurl.com/5uf2jq3
Yay! One thing I'm looking forward to when I move is making more vegetarian food. This is something I think Eric and I would both like.
Google has just introduced a new search feature where you can search for a recipe then dynamically drill down for time, ingredient, etc. Too cool! Here is a short video on the feature: http://www.youtube.com/user/Google#p/a/u/0/IsUN1dUbbM8
I just tried it. That's the bomb. ;)
This is going to be cool!
Well, I finally cooked something. No formal recipe for it though. But I made Halupki (or Haluptsi is more how my family pronounces it). Basically an old family recipe for cabbage rolls. I took 2 lbs of ground beef and 1 lb of ground pork and mixed it with a bunch of brown rice. Then I steamed a head of cabbage and pulled the leaves off in the way my grandmother showed me. The hardest part is boiling the head of cabbage the right amount. I boiled it for about five minutes and then had to keep putting it back in for five minutes as I peeled off the leaves since the interior ones were still raw. That is how my grandmother did it though so I am pretty sure it is right. You don't want the leaves cooked too much -- just enough to soften them up enough for rolling. You roll the meat mixture into the cabbage leaves. Then you line a roasting pan with cabbage leaves on the bottom and put in a bed of sour kraut. My grandmother made her own but I used the stuff from a jar. I added carroway seeds to the sour kraut. Anyways, you put the cabbage rolls on top of the sour kraut and then when you're done putting them in the roasting pan, you add crushed tomatoes (I used too few but next time I'll know) and then pack more sour kraut on top and stick a ham hock in it. Then I baked it for about three hours at 350F. It came out very good but not nearly as good as my grandmother's. My mother and aunt think it is because I didn't use enough salt. I guess my grandmother put a ton of salt in it and then salted each roll individually as she put them in the pan. I may have also overcooked the rice but I don't think making it with brown rice instead of white made it bad.
My mother added carrots, onions, and raisins to her tomato sauce. Try microwaving the cabbage. I think we held the rolls together with toothpicks. The Slavic names for this mean little doves and are related to Columbia.
I hate it when I realize I don't have an old family recipe any longer. It's like, why didn't I get that down. Or why didn't I take better care of it. Even if I never intend to cook with some of those ingredients, like lard, it would be nice to have that bit of family history. Your recipe sounds like a bit of family history, Lynne. It's cool you're bringing it back. I'm not a kraut person but, just the same, I'm familiar with the dish, and my father liked it a whole lot. His version called for a red sauce over the top - I think it included Campbell's tomato soup. of all things.
I thought I'd post this here, because there's really nowhere else to put it, and I thought you guys would find it funny. I entered a contest for www.showup.com to win tickets to a culinary festival this weekend. To enter, we had to put down a recipe, and 5 winners would be picked. I entered the Michigan Chicken recipe that I made when I worked at Maude's (Real Seafood Co. does a Michigan fish recipe, using I think trout). It's chicken breast sauteed with dried cherries, crimini and shitake mushrooms and basil. Did I win? No. Because some lameass recipe involving a crockpot and canned soup won. I'm not anti-crockpot, but canned soup? Really???
Funny. Outrageous, but funny. My mom cooked with canned soup a lot. That was back in the 50's and 60's when I think most moms did. Dad's tended to rule the BBQ grill but stayed away from the stove for the most part. I still make the green bean casserole for the winter holidays out of respect for tradition. ;-) I haven't given up cans and jars for speed meals - I've just moved on to better cans and jars. Last night I put Trader Joe's Masala cooking sauce into a Dutch oven with some browned chicken thighs and drumsticks and a little sliced onion. Brown rice went into the rice cooker. Broccoli got steamed at the last minute. No muss, no fuss, minimal hands-on cooking. But the results were an almost restaurant quality Indian dinner with leftovers. I like leftovers. The Maude's Michigan Chicken dish is wonderful, Brooke. I remember it well. I think it's a sin you didn't get a prize. ;-)
Yeah, I think I had that dish at Maude's too and loved it.
My mother made her cabbage rolls with cream of tomato soup. Truly awful from a woman who really could cook. Et tu Mary? I would have thought you wouldnt make that crappy green bean concoction. I should unfriend you for that. (just kidding) I pulled one out of the fire the other day.... I made a meatloaf, but I forgot the onion soup mix and the spices. Came out awful. I parked it in the cold box thinking I was doomed to eat flavorless meatloaf for the next 2 weeks. THEN, I bought some mushrooms on sale at la mercado, and I diced the shrooms up with 1/2 of the remaining meat. Cooked it some more, then added some water and let it simmer. Result was some awesome burrito filling, and topped with some homemade salsa and hot sauce it made some pretty good burritos. The rest of the meat is bound for hamburger helper. Hey, I need a change.
Do people really put canned friend onion rings on their green beans?
Yes. It makes the dish.
Is it the salt or the grease? Or the cute little circles?
All of the above.
I love that green bean casserole with the cream of mushroom soup and the fried onions from a can.
For mardi gras I made some jambalaya using this recipe: http://tinyurl.com/4s7dl4v And it was just okay. I mean, I followed the recipe exactly and used quality ingredients, and it had a nice bit of heat, but it was just "okay". One thing - it was a lot of rice for the amount of protein. I'll not be making this again.
Is it me, or is Jambalaya one of those things that just sounds so much better in theory?
Sounds right. The weird part is I like paella and they are so similar. Maybe I'm a closet saffron junkie.
Jambalaya for me is a box of Zaterains. I'm incredibly lazy in the kitchen.
Catching up a bit... For St. Patrick's day I made stew - Beef & Guinness stew - from Cooking Light. I've made it a number of times over the past year and the seasonings work with either beef and lamb. http://tinyurl.com/39ngo82 Last night I again made Cincinnati Chili. It too is a Cooking Light recipe. Served it on top of whole wheat spaghetti and topped with chopped onions and grated cheddar. That makes it 4 way chili if I remember correctly. Kinda wish omni could taste it and tell me how it compares to the real thing. I made a few small changes from the posted recipe - let me know if you want the details. http://tinyurl.com/4ev8deo And for this evening we're going to a rush-spring picnic. I'm bringing this favorite pasta salad: http://tinyurl.com/4s2x9t4 And this classic spinach dip: http://tinyurl.com/yao2kbe So much for being a gourmet cook. I'm more of a "back of the box" gal.
If you want "real" Cincinnati chili, go to Kroger and buy a can of Skyline. Thats the closest you're gonna find outside of the Queen City. You had a 3 way. 4 way is with beans. for the exact description go to http://www.skylinechili.com I have a recipe I could send you, Mary. It comes from the Cincinnati Tour guide book. I've made it and it is very close to the Skyline recipe. Also you can now buy Gold Star spices in an envelope for about a buck at Meijer. All you need to add is tomato paste, and meat. Very good, and very simple. There are 2 factions of chili people in Cincinnati; the Skyline crowd and the Gold Star crowd. You can't like both and you must pick one if you plan on living anywhere near Cincinnati. ;) I think I have lived in Ohio too long. I know wayyy too much about chili for my own good. ;)
From Wikipedia: two-way: spaghetti and chili three-way: spaghetti, chili, and shredded cheese four-way: spaghetti, chili, shredded cheese, and either diced onions or beans five-way: spaghetti, chili, shredded cheese, diced onions, and beans I'd like a copy of your recipe, Jim. Thanks.
resp:170 Is that like the great American Coney Island - Lafayette Coney Island debate in Detroit. ;) I realized recently that in my entire life, I've never even once had a coney dog from American Coney Island. I've kind of decided that I really need to go down there and get one from each place and decide for myself. I just have always gone to Lafayette since I was a kid and my Dad told me that they were better :)
I needed a side for tonight's dinner and this one had been in my "to try" list for some time. It's Ina Garten's Wild Rice Salad. Chock-full of nuts and dried cranberries and grapes, it sounded simply delightful. I made the rice in the rice cooker and eliminated her orange juice, olive oil and raspberry vinegar and instead just used 1/4 cup of my favorite raspberry vinaigrette. I also substituted drained mandarin oranges for her regular oranges. Came out perfect! This one is a keeper. http://tinyurl.com/46jcwmd
The lady I help out makes rice this way. water in the pot. salt. dump rice in. Boil til dry. she does not measure a thing and the rice is as good as if you fussed over it. talk about been there, done that. ;)
No cover? What does she do with the burnt parts on the bottom? Or all the water on the windows?
none of the above. She has been cooking since she was 8. That in my book speaks volumes. When something works dont fuck with it.
Amen, brother.
I made this the other day. It was pretty easy to make and they were a very fun if not especially healthy snack. The one change I made was to substitute the flour with a gluten free all purpose flour. I might try to make these with whole wheat flour next time. Anyways, they were really yummy. We had to keep the kids from eating them all and weren't especially successful. I only got 2 and I had doubled the recipe and made 50 of these suckers! I did have some trouble getting them out of the tins so next time I might try muffin papers. These will be something I can make to take to parties and such. http://noblepig.com/2010/03/30/pepperoni-pizza-puffs.aspx Pepperoni Pizza Puffs Adapted from Everyday 3/4 cup flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 cup whole milk 1 egg, lightly beaten 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup) 4 ounces pepperoni, cut into small cubes (about 1 cup) 1/2 cup pizza sauce 2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil Preheat oven to 375o. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes. Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Microwave the pizza sauce until warmed through, then stir in 1 Tablespoon basil. Sprinkle the puffs with the remaining 1 Tablespoon basil. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.
What a fun snack or appetizer. I've bookmarked it. Thanks!
Instead of gluten-free you could use pastry flour (which you can sometimes find in whole wheat). Gluten is what makes yeast bread rise. If you have patience you could use yeast instead of baking powder (and warm the liquids first).
I'm not sure why slynne used gluten free flour - it could be because someone can't eat gluten. And pastry flour has gluten....
I was using the gluten free flour because a couple of the people I was cooking for are gluten intolerant. When I cook at home, however, I wont have that restriction and probably will see if I can find some whole wheat pastry flour.
I cook with whole wheat pastry flour a lot. It's a pretty easy swap-in for all-purpose flour. Early this morning I made some simple granola. Oats, almonds, maple syrup, canola oil and honey. The recipe is out of _Williams-Sonoma Eat Well_, so I don't have a link. But if anyone wants it I'll post it here.
Breakfast was this version of Huevos Rancheros from Real Simple: http://tinyurl.com/2blhc7k I added a 1/4 cup chopped onions to the beans and toasted the tortillas over the open flame on the gas burner. Otherwise no changes. 'Twas good.
I like mushrooms. So why I waited until now to make simple saut ed mushrooms is a legitimate, but boring question. So, I ran across this recipe from the ever-so-popular site Simply Recipes and gave it a try. Isn't that photo luscious? Well, the mushrooms were every bit as good. In an attempt to reign in the calories I only used half the called for butter and Marsala. The verdict - delicious. http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/marsala_glazed_mushrooms/
oooh - those look great!! and good call on the marsala - that seemed like a lot!
Last night I made an oldie-but-goodie recipe for salmon. So good. http://tinyurl.com/3lh2f7y
Oooh - that looks good! I love roasted tomatoes. You get almost a jam like flavor out of it.
Agree. Cherry tomatoes, even raw, are like guiltless candy in my book. Over time I've altered the cooking time for that salmon dish and cook the tomatoes for the same time as the salmon. 30 minutes at 400 was a bit much.
Made this version of Chicken Paprikash, from Everyday Food, yesterday. And reserved it again, tonight. It's a very good recipe that I'll be putting into my collection. The only change I made was to add 1 teaspoon of hot paprika to the called for 2 tablespoons of sweet paprika. That lent just a touch of heat. http://www.marthastewart.com/286270/chicken-paprikash
Er, re-served.
Accidentally made some excellent soup with frozen garlic scapes from last year (the new garlics are up already), sliced onions, frozen brandywine tomatoes, frozen snap beans (garafal oro?), frozen dryad's saddle fungus from a local woods, and salted Ethiopian mustard greens. This might be hard to reproduce. Dessert was frozen cherries from Whitmore Lake Road, frozen juneberries, and leftover oatmeal. The onion was not local. Or the oats. Or salt. What do people use chervil for? A large patch planted itself and is up (or made it over the winter).
I've had Margarita Chicken at restaurants and liked it a lot. But our liquor cabinet doesn't have tequila. Or at least it didn't. I went out and bought a smallish bottle and made Ina's Tequila Lime chicken, grilling it indoors. It was quite good. I didn't marinate it overnight, as she suggested, as I thought I'd end up with ceviche-style cooked chicken what with all that lime. So I gave it 8 hours. I think that worked out well. Also, I added 1 tsp. of salt to the marinate as a way of encouraging the marinade into the meat - brining light, kinda. I served this with a corn, tomato & avocado salad. The chicken recipe is at: http://tinyurl.com/53gm8f
Root time. I replanted most of the red beets, yellow beets, orange carrots and turnips to grow greens and seeds, but took some inside to cook. Made one pot of borshch. Any other ideas on what to do with some enormous beets and a few carrots?
Hmmm, can't help there as I don't cook with or serve beets. But I suspect a google search would throw out a lot of ideas.
Ceviche chicken ;-) Beets? Roast them!! Yum!!!
Okay, if you ever need proof positive I'm not a gourmet cook - you've got it here. I like a good pulled pork sandwich. A few months ago I made Paula Dean's recipe and it was wonderful. But then I ran across this recipe, from The Pioneer Woman, and she had me at Dr. Pepper. Too weird not to try, right? Well, I made it exactly as per her recipe. I did take her suggestion of defatting the broth by refrigerating it overnight and then just lifting off the solid top layer. The chipotle peppers come through giving the meat a rich, deep heat. This made about 24 portions, by my estimate, and would be great to serve for a crowd. http://tinyurl.com/3b29uha
Israeli Couscous & Vegetables Ah, one of my favorite ingredients - Israeli couscous. I let the vegetables go well past the saute stage she calls for and instead pan roasted them, meaning getting them very soft over medium low heat. Then the liquids are given up and cooked away, so the veggie flavors become very concentrated. Otherwise I made the recipe as directed. Very yummy. http://susikochenundbacken.blogspot.com/ Susi's Kochen kind of runs her recipes together so you'll need to tail back to April 11th to see this one.
Here is an outstanding chicken recipe, from Ina Garten. It came out looking just like that photo and was moist and flavorful. I used chicken thighs but otherwise made it according to specs. http://tinyurl.com/3wxqyvt One last bit - must love garlic.
And Brooke, I didn't know you used the pseudo "Susi".;-) Man, she looks like you.
Holy crap!! She does!
I'm a pretty unfussy fan of coleslaw. I'll take it dripping wet and creamy all the way to bone dry and spicy. About the only ones I don't like are the ones that are more mayo than cabbage. So this month Cook's Illustrated decided to deconstruct slaw and come up with a sweet & spicy slaw and boy, did they get it right. The directions are unique in that the cabbage is microwaved to release excess water. But it works. I made this up early in the day so I didn't need to do their dressing-in-the-freezer-first bit. I just gave the finished slaw 6 hours to cool before serving. And it was amazing how much water the salad spinner extracted. The end product's flavor and texture was spot on. Cook's Illustrated online is a subscription service but the link below takes you to a blogger who reproduces the recipe, exactly. http://tinyurl.com/5r9jxwa
that sounds yummy. I love cole slaw and I am not fussy about it either. I like all forms. But, fwiw, there is a cart at Mark's Carts that had some really excellent non-creamy cole slaw for $3. I am totally going to be getting that again.
Will try. Mark's Carts sure has been getting a lot of good attention.
Yeah, so far I've liked everything I've gotten there. They have lots of healthy choices too.
Last night I made this recipe for baked fish. It was fast, uber easy and tasty. I made it as suggested. http://tinyurl.com/3mox96m
Boneless & skinless chicken breasts get a nice treatment here: http://tinyurl.com/4xukwo8 I made this last night and it was quick and delicious. I did use 1 Tbsp. each butter and olive oil for the initial step where the chicken is cooked. I find spray just doesn't cut it there. And, although that sounds like a lot of mushroom, not to worry. They shrink when cooked and they make the dish.
yummy
Last night I needed a quick side for marinated flank steak. So I went through my list of keepers and came up with Moon Beam Salad - a Cooking Light recipe from like 15 years ago. It's a mystery why I haven't made this for so long as it goes together in a breeze and would be great for a picnic or potluck as it could be made the day before, unlike with lettuce or pasta salads. I could no longer find it on Cooking Light's website but there was this link. It calls for two cans of beans and I used one. I like the proportions better with one. It yields 4 big portions. http://tinyurl.com/3o7edq7
Sorry this isn't a picture. But it looks quite pretty.
I made Jamie Oliver's salmon baked in prosciutto over herby lentils for the new fella last night. It's an old standby that gets great reviews, and to be honest, is super easy. http://www.jamieoliver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=25795 The recipe is the second one down. I also made a salad of spinach, peas and feta, with an olive oil/lemon dressing.
Salmon on lentils - sounds tasty. I've seen it on restaurant menus and been tempted. Think I'll try it. Thanks!
I really love it. It's healthy date food. I also made this: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/good-eats/chocolate-mousse-recipe/inde x.html For dessert. I'm not sure if I bloomed the gelatin correctly, but it really does have an amazing flavor....I omitted the rum and used vanilla, as I had no rum. I love the consistency, as while it's light, it also has a bit of punch behind it. We each had a couple of spoonfuls and were done.
well, I've cooked again and it didn't suck. I took the leftovers from a Costco rotisserie chicken and put it in a pot with some water and vegetable soup bouillon. Trader Joes sells packages of already chopped up onions, celery, and carrots so I bought that and threw that in the pot too. It came out well but it made way more soup than I can eat. Guess I'll freeze it or feed it to the dogs. It was pretty damn yummy though. I might do this again since the rotisserie chickens are so cheap but also much too big for a single person. I think I might add more vegetables like green beans and maybe cauliflower since I am trying to work more vegetables into my diet. Other than all of the salt, this is probably somewhat healthy too.
I'd freeze it in individual portions then always have one portion defrosting in the fridge, ready to eat, until the batch is gone. You are right, soup is a great way to get more veggies. I feel that way about stir-fry too.
That is a really good idea to freeze the soup in individual containers. I think I even have a bunch of old yogurt containers just waiting for such a use. That way, I can also easily microwave a bowl of soup any time I need a quick dinner.
Last night I made this recipe for Shrimp Korma. It had just the right amount of seasoning for our taste and it came together in about 45 minutes, including the rice. I didn't add the water, used 10 oz of shrimp and 1 cup (cooked) brown rice. It then was a nice dinner for two. I like leftovers but not when they include fish or seafood. http://tinyurl.com/3nlvzm8
You all must make this sometime this summer. It's a wonderful, easy to make cake that looks great and tastes even better. It's from Smitten Kitchen and it's packed with strawberry goodness. I gave it a test run last night to see if it would work for company - and it would and will. http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/05/strawberry-summer-cake/
I've made it for a BBQ. And I'm with you - it's freaking amazing. And SO easy!!!!
Juneberries are ripe! Mulberries just starting, and we missed the local sweet cherry trees but will bike an hour north to check on some slightly later ones tomorrow. White currants barely starting to ripen. First peapods. Lettuce starting to get bitter. Mustard bolting. Amaranth growing an inch a day. Garlic about to flower - scapes are edible for a bit longer. Beet greens.
Tonight was salad and sandwich night. But with a twist. I made bbq chicken quesadillas with a side of chunky mango-cucumber salsa. The salsa is a recipe I've made forever and I can't find it online anymore, but if anyone wants it I'll enter it here. The quesadillas went like this: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2010/06/bbq-chicken-quesadillas/
Looks good!
We have a crate of cukes to use up.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/tzatziki-sauce/detail.aspx I keep meaning to make this because I *love* it and it has lots of veggies and I always figure if I love some food with lots of veggies, I should eat it more often. I like dipping cucumbers in tzatziki sauce. I might have to make some for the 4th of July festivities.
I've been trying to get keep more high protein snacks on the ready. Things like hard boiled eggs and hummus. Of course I've made (my mother's) hard boiled eggs before but they often cracked or had that ugly green covering on the yolk. Enter Ina Garten and her technique, which is dead easy and yields the perfect hard boiled egg, to my taste. Here is how she does it: http://www.barefootcontessa.com/recipes.aspx?RecipeID=322&S=0 On her show after the 15 minute bath she submerges the eggs in ice water for 5 minutes. This is what I did because I wanted to eat one NOW. I'd also like to keep hummus around and decided to try this dead-easy, 5 Minute Hummus recipe. It's adapted from Real Simple and this blogger marked the tahini as optional. So I left it out. The hummus is wonderful without it! http://tinyurl.com/3uqjojo
Oh no way. Tahini is what makes hummus taste so good. ;) Sometimes I even add tahini to store bought hummus. I have found the easiest way to have hard boiled eggs around for snacks. Trader Joes sells bags of hard boiled eggs that are already peeled and everything. They are much more expensive than regular eggs but cheaper and healthier than many other snack options. I also like making egg salad sandwiches (with cesar dressing instead of mayo) with them. Yum yum.
Now that I think of it, I'll bet using tahini instead of mayo in an egg salad sandwich would be worth a try.
I'm fairly new to Trader Joe's. I'm curious how long a peeled hard boiled egg stays fresh, refrigerated? Nice idea though. Regarding the hummus - I'm going to add tahini to the next batch and see if it improves it worth the calories and fat grams. If so, I'm there. But it's pretty tasty without.
resp:228 I've kept them as long as a week. I think they might be ok longer but I always eat them up.
My mother made the worst pancakes. They were like dog frisbees and you needed a knife to cut them. The whole time I was growing up I thought that restaurant pancakes were so good and mom's were so bad so it must be a restaurant trick moms don't know about. Well. About 20 years ago I finally got it. It's all about not overworking the batter. You stop when you can still see a few lumps. Mom beat her batter to death using an electric mixer. But lately I've been trying to come up with a tender but healthier pancake. And this morning I made a recipe that does that nicely. Now, be open minded here - it includes cottage cheese. That's not such a stretch when you consider good pancakes usually include buttermilk for the acid component. Here is the recipe: http://tinyurl.com/3as375p Now, my changes: I used an immersion blender on the liquid ingredients before gently hand mixing with the dry. For flour I used only whole wheat pastry flour. I halved the recipe using two eggs and ended up with 6 6" pancakes. Lastly, 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries went into the batter because it would be a sin not to. And there you have it. Fluffy, tasty pancakes, with added protein and fiber. Just right for a holiday breakfast.
I had a BBQ to attend yesterday, and at the hostesses' request, made banoffee pie, but then wanted something lighter. I had the last of my rhubarb in the freezer, so I bought some cheap strawberries and made this: http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/05/crumbling-crisp-convictions/ I doubled it and ended up with maybe a cup left. Which I brought home to heat up to eat tonight. It was GREAT! And everyone loved it!
I'd not heard of banoffee pie so I looked it up. Holy cow, that sounds decadent and wonderful. I'll also be trying that crisp recipe. I've been watching folks use electric ice cream makers and I'm intrigued. Not so much to buy one as to figure out how to make good sorbet, without one, and with less sugar than usual. So when I saw Giada make a watermelon version I decided to start there. I substituted diet ginger ale and only added the juice of one lime. I put the liquid into a plastic container and about every two hours into the freeze I'd go and give it a stir/flake. Worked! It's a light and refreshing ice. I'll be trying this with other fruits. http://tinyurl.com/44n3636
The banoffee is decadent - but it's also one of the easiest things to make if you buy the ingredients....I tend to like my own graham cracker crust better than anything I could ever buy, so that's scratch. And when condensed sweetened milk goes on sale, I buy a bunch so I can cook it down to dulce de leche....then it's just easier to make the dish. It's a real no-fail thing.
So, I found out there is a chemistry thing involved and if you want granita you can fork-scape the fruit/water mixture every half hour and end up with something scoopable. But if you want a true sorbet, frozen yogurt or ice cream, it needs to be churned. So I bought an ice cream maker. What a world of confectionary fun! So far I've made Alton's Serious Vanilla Ice Cream and a mango frozen yogurt from the Cusinart booklet that came with the device. Yummy. And with zucchini in season I made this quick bread with whole wheat flour, and raisins instead of chocolate chips. It's not overly sweet with a nice flavor and texture. Individual portions freeze well. http://tinyurl.com/5vrwlot
I have been thinking about buying an ice cream maker. Ironically because I am trying not to eat ice cream :). My substitute for ice cream has been frozen berries mixed with plain unsweetened greek yogurt but I find myself thinking that if I could freeze the yogurt/berry mixture and churn it, it would be pretty good.
This mango frozen yogurt has pretty good numbers. Here is a link to the recipe and nutritional info. http://www.cuisinart.com/recipes/desserts/6020.html Regarding purchasing an ice cream maker - I located the one I wanted, on sale, at Bed Bath & Beyondm for $50 and used a 20% off coupon so I was out the door at $43. http://tinyurl.com/6fsegxq
Er, Beyond.
I think I might try to get use one for less :) I would sure like to try that mango frozen yogurt though.
Is it here where I tell you that the new fella cooked for ME, and while I don't have a recipe, and holy crap was it decadent, it was seriously good? Grilled hotdogs, wrapped in bacon, grilled with BBQ sauce and topped with caramelized onions and blue cheese crumbles. On grilled naan. He also grilled some asparagus, because hey, gotta stay healthy, right? It was an amazing dinner, and it had been so long since someone cooked for me (he also made me a pretty amazing veggie omelet the next day), that seriously, it could have been Stouffer's and I'd have been thrilled. ;-)
Oh, man. You found a good one, Brooke.
resp:239 I always say that I would put up with a lot of BS from any guy who cooks me dinner :) I also have to say that his "swankie frankie" version sounds very delicious.
OMG! We are so totally going to call them that! Thanks!! And Mary, yes, I think I know that. ;-)
resp:242 You might want to spell it correctly though ;)
I once dated a guy that loved to cook; was nice while it lasted. :-)
Ice cream machine update summary: Oh my. Who would have thought research could be so much fun! Details: I've made four different frozen desserts in the ice cream maker thus far. A full, rich, butter pecan ice cream (NY style), a serious vanilla ice cream (Philadelphia style), a raspberry sherbet, a mango sorbet and there is a batch of cantaloupe sorbet chilling to be churned in a couple of hours. What I'm finding that isn't a surprise is an improved flavor over even premium store bought. What I didn't anticipate is how much more expensive it is to make quality ice cream at home. The ingredients add up especially when using vanilla beans. Here are a few links to those recipes: Butter pecan ice cream: http://tinyurl.com/42r7b9t Serious vanilla ice cream: http://tinyurl.com/56cdh6 Raspberry sherbet: http://tinyurl.com/3ufesr4 Mango frozen yogurt: http://tinyurl.com/3dfzt38 Cantaloupe sorbet (used only 1/2 cup sugar): http://tinyurl.com/6pcjfp
Where do you get ripe mangos?
Yes, the cost of milk and cream and eggs can be ridiculous. My friend made ice cream, and you could tell he cheaped out - and at that point, just buy what's on sale at the store.
The cheap ice cream at the store does not have eggs.
I got nice mangos at Krogers. The cantaloupe sorbet came out great! I used Midori instead of vodka. It comes in at 88 calories a serving without resorting to artificial sweetener. That's what I was looking to accomplish when I started this ice creeam making thing.
You can get canned ripe mango pulp at Indian food stores.
Overnight guests tonight and I'd like to serve something a little different for breakfast. So I had a trial-run of this recipe this morning and it's quite good. I made enough crepes for tomorrow, will put together a fruit salad tonight, and the morning will be golden. That's the plan at least. ;-) http://tinyurl.com/4xvw22z
the best laid plans....
I've been making lots of familiar dishes lately so not much to link to here. But for tonight I made a new recipe for Fried Rice with Tofu and it's very good. The only change I made was in using brown rice. This one is a keeper. http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/tofu-fried-rice-10000000689956/
You have several choices: