Recipe Thread

[kohala]

Originally posted by gini
Randi, my all time favorite cookbook - Joy of Cooking - says that our American "cup" = 1/4 of a liter - so it is more of a coffee cup size than a mug.

I tried to research a substitute for the syrup but I didn't come up with anything.

When I first showed Rascal your card I didn't think he had any reaction because I put it on the floor. But when I picked up the card it was soaking wet - he literally drooled all over it!

That is the greatest book - my Dad turned me on to it, he was the "chef" in our family! He also had a degree in chemistry, and from him and that book I learned a lot about how and why ingredients work together the way they do! So glad to see another "Joy" fan! BTW - I think it was the "original" of the "Joy of..." book trend!

[Miss Meow]

This recipe is taken from Jamie Oliver's 'The Return of the Naked Chef.' We've made this a few times and my suggested changes are in brackets. This is a great winter dish, very tasty and filling and dead easy to make :-)

Fish Pie (serves 6)

5 large potatoes, peeled and diced into 2.5cm/1 inch cubes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
(small amount of milk or skim milk)
(knob of butter)
2 free-range eggs (I suggest 3 or 4)
2 handfuls fresh spinach (you can use frozen if it's out of season, just make sure it's thawed and excess water is squeezed out)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, halved and finely chopped
olive oil
approx 285ml/0.5 pint double cream (known as thickened cream in some parts, you can use a bit more if you like)
2 good handfuls grated mature Cheddar or Parmesan cheese (I like about 2/3 Cheddar and 1/3 Parmesan)
juice of 1 lemon
1 heaped teaspoon English mustard (or to taste, I usually drop in a bit more once I've tasted the sauce)
1 small handful parsley, finely chopped
455g/1lb white fish fillet, skin removed, deboned and sliced into strips or chunks (I usually use about 700g, I find the smaller amount to be not quite enough. Ask your fishmonger for a firm fish that won't fall apart during cooking)
nutmeg (optional)

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C/425F. Put the potatoes into salted boiling water and bring back to the boil for two minutes. Carefully add the eggs to the same saucepan and cook for a further 7 minutes. At this time, steam the spinach in a colander over this saucepan. This will only take a minute. When the spinach is done, remove from the colander and squeeze any excess moisture away. Then drain the potatoes in the colander. Remove the eggs, cool under cold water, then peel and quarter then. Place all to one side. (If this sounds too hard to do with the one pan, you can use three pans but it's a lot more washing up!)

In a large pan, slowly fry the onion and carrot in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes, then add the double cream and bring just to the boil. Remove from the heat and add the cheese, lemon juice, mustard and parsley. Combine and adjust taste to suit. Add the spinach, fish and eggs and gently combine. Pour into a large baking dish.

Mash the potatoes with a little butter, milk, salt and pepper and nutmeg if desired. Spread on top of the fish mix. Don't bother piping it to make it pretty - it's a homely hearty thing. Place in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the potatoes are golden and it is heated through.

Serve by itself or with some greens and fresh crusty bread. (Also nice with a glass of white wine or a beer.)

[shais_mom]

I fixed the cheesy potatoes for New Years but I used a shallot instead of an onion b/c onions don't agree with my family sometimes and used a can of cheddar cheese soup in addition to the cream of chicken. It made them 'soupier' which I like. They went together so easily! They were all gone so they really were a hit!!
I didn't bring any home!

[shais_mom]

I fixed the cheesy potatoes for New Years but I used a shallot instead of an onion b/c onions don't agree with my family sometimes and used a can of cheddar cheese soup in addition to the cream of chicken. It made them 'soupier' which I like. They went together so easily! They were all gone so they really were a hit!!
I didn't bring any home!

I can't believe it has been 3 years since I made these!
I made them again tonite and they were a huge hit!
This time I used the Campbell's Cream of Chicken/Mushroom (that is mixed together) and no onion.
Still got rave reviews.

[AmberLee]

I am SO glad this thread was started. I couldn't find a couple family favorite recipes until I remembered posting them here ... and found a BUNCH of new favorites from so many others here. Thanks all!!!

[RICHARD]

I am totally stunned.

I really never ever try to cook anything more than once. If I screw it up, I really give up on it. I have tried to cook rib a few time before and totally sucked at it.

I saw a Bubbly Flay program on the cooking channel and watched him prepare a slab of ribs.

They were beef (babyback) ribs.

I got it into my head that I might be able to pull that off!

I followed the 'recipe' and DID IT!

It's more a technique-I took the ribs and put salt, pepper, chili flakes and tenderizer on them. I rubbed them well, placed them into a foil and tightly wrapped then. They went into an oven for 2.5 hours at 250 F.

When I removed them I drained the liquid into a bowl w/a hickory bbq sauce, mixed it up and put that into the fridge for about an hour. that measurement depends on how much liquid/gravy come out of the foil, about a 50:50 ratio.

I left everything cool down and started a propane grill outside.

I put the ribs on the grill and took the BBQ sauce out of the fridge-when the sauce cools the fat stays on top - skim that off and use the rest to baste the ribs as they reheat. try it for 20 minutes, on a medium grill, turning them every 5 minutes and basting as you go.

End result?

The meat fell of the bones and it didn't taste anything like the prepacked, sugary ribs you get at the store or restaurant. IF you do like a sweeter tasting rib, don't use the salt, and just baste the ribs when you reheat them on the grill with your favorite BBQ sauce, no oven juices.

I think I will make more later on in the week!

[wolflady]

Originally posted by lut
...My problem is : I cannot find the ingredients here ... ! Wolflady gave the recipe of Tandoori Chicken , but I cannot make it ... No paste here in the shops , no Indian shops either ... OH help , I wish I were a fly ; I would fly to Londodn ; lots of good Indian restaurants there !!! Here , we have lots of Chinese , some Vietnamese and Greek restaurants , but no Indian .... !!
By the way , I also love Indonesian food !!...

Lut, are there any asian or chinese grocery stores anywhere near you? I'm sure some of the chinese spices would be simililar to some of the Indian ingredients. I'll see if I can find some recipes that use ingredients that you can get from your local grocer if you would like. Indian food is one of my faves!
All of these recipes look good people! I'll have to print them out. Those cheesy potatoes sound fabulous!! Happy New Year everyone!

[Randi]

Miss Meow! I tried the Fish Pie - it was delicious! Thanks a lot for posting it! I can definately recommend it folks!

I'll try the CHEESY POTATO CASSEROLE next!

I never got around to make Vanilla Fudge, I made some chocolade truffles and the next day, I got a huge box of Belgian chocolade truffles from a friend. - But they'll go down well!

[Twisterdog]

This is the easiest recipe ever. If you have to take a dish to a pot-luck dinner, or are having a dinner party, I guarantee this will be everyone's favorite. I made this a couple times, and everyone was asking me for the recipe, and everyone always asks me to make it again. It's one of those recipes that you can pretend you slaved over for hours ... when actually it takes about 5 minutes to make!!!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Thaw one large package of pre-cooked Swedish meatballs

Mix in a large skillet:

1 cup of grape jelly
1 cup of red chili sauce
1/2 cup of dijon mustard

Heat until jelly melts. Add meatballs, heat covered until meatballs are hot.

Serve!

(I know, I know ... jelly, chili sauce and mustard together?!?! Sounds disgusting!! But it is GREAT!!!!)

[Randi]

Smoked salmon on lightly toasted bread.

Put a slice of good smoked salmon on lightly toasted bread with butter.

Stir together some cottage cheese, half a small red onion chopped finely, a few spoonfulls of caviar (or substitute), salt, pepper and cut dill.

This can be used as an appetizer and is delicious!

[Miss Meow]

Randi, glad you liked the fish pie. I can't wait for winter so we can make it again!

Your smoked salmon sounds lovely. We do something similar but use mashed avocado instead of butter. It gives a great taste Dill is one of my favourite herbs, but Jasmine likes sitting on our dill plants, maybe they make her bottom smell nice

[Miss Meow]

bump

AmberLee, I think soup is on the first page.

[CountryWolf07]

Buckeyes

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 stick (4 tbsp) butter, softened to room temperature
2.5 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk or dark chocolate, your choice

Preparation:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the softened butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt.

2. Mix on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, until very smooth and well combined.

3. Using a teaspoon, form mixture into balls the size of a quarter. Place balls on cookie sheet covered with foil and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

4. While balls are chilling, melt the chocolate. Temper the chocolate if you desire.

5. Once balls are firm, they can be dipped. Using a toothpick, skewer a ball and dip it halfway into the melted chocolate. You want to leave at least a dime-sized circle of undipped candy on top of the ball.

6. Drag it along the lip of the bowl to remove excess chocolate, and place it back on the cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining peanut butter balls.

7. Return balls to fridge to set the chocolate. Serve once candies are firm.


YUMMY!

[RipplingWaves55]

Wow...

SWIRLED PUMPKIN AND CARAMEL CHEESECAKE

(This is a delicious recipe, but it's for the person who really enjoys baking and wants to take the time to make a very special cheesecake)

INGREDIENTS

** Crust **
1 1/2 cups ground gingersnap cookies
1 1/2 cups toasted pecans (about 6 ounces)
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

** Filling **
4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups canned solid pack pumpkin
9 tablespoons whipping cream
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
4 large eggs
4 tablespoons purchased caramel sauce
1 cup sour cream (***I don't use this.. but it's up to you***)

DIRECTIONS:

CRUST
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Finely grind crushed cookies, pecans and sugar in processor.
Add melted butter and blend until combined.
Press crust mixture onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides.


FILING
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light.
Transfer 3/4 cup mixture to small bowl; cover tightly and refrigerate to use for topping.
Add pumpkin, 4 tablespoons whipping cream, ground cinnamon and ground allspice to mixture in large bowl
and beat until well combined.
Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined.
Pour filling into crust (filling will almostfill pan).
Bake until cheesecake puffs, top browns and center moves only slightly when pan is shaken, about 1 hour
15 minutes.
Transfer cheesecake to rack and cool 10 minutes.
Run small sharp knife around cake pan sides to loosen cheesecake and cool.
Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.
Bring remaining 3/4 cup cream cheese mixture to room temperature.
Add remaining 5 tablespoons whipping cream to cream cheese mixture and stir to combine.
Press down firmly on edges of cheesecake to even thickness.
Pour cream cheese mixture over cheesecake, spreading evenly.
Spoon caramel sauce in lines over cream cheese mixture.
Using tip of knife, swirl caramel sauce into cream cheese mixture.
(Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Release pan sides from cheesecake.
Spoon sour cream into pastry bag fitted with small star tip (do not stir before using).
Pipe decorative border around cheesecake and serve.

That one sounds SO yumm!

[RICHARD]

I bought some SAZON for carne asada!
I was at the butcher's display at the store and while waiting for my turn I saw a small package and bought some....

I think that I'll make either a pork shoulder or beef for NYE!

I need to find the right way to cook it....I wanted to put it into a pit...but for me it's way too much work, so I am thinking of BBQ!!!!