A thread for food recipes and cooking techniches...I have read so many bad ones on the internet...only post recipes and/or techniches here if you have personally tried them and have had good results...and you need some good food with the absinthe...
Ok. I found a recipe for flax muffins on teh internets. It sucked hard.
So I made it better:
Flax and Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Ginger Bread Muffins
½ c. Freshly ground flax seed
¾ c. Whole Wheat Flour
¼ c. Oatmeal, and a bit for sprinkling
2 tbl. Baking powder
1.5 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
4 tbl Room temperature unsalted butta
¾ c. Sugar (or brown sugar)
4 Room temp. eggs
½ c. Milk (or better! ¼ c. milk, ¼ c. plain yoghurt*)
squirt of citrus
1 tbl Vanilla
1 tbl Ginger powder (fresher is better)
1 tbl Cinnamon
~3 Shredded carrots (or an apple)
Cream your room temperature butter and sugar together. While that’s working grind your flax seeds (coffee grinder!), and mix it with your wheat flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
Add your flour mix to your buttered sugar. Mix it up. Add your carrots. Mix the liquids together (beating the eggs). Quickly add the liquids. One everything is just combined, stop the mixer and dish into greased muffin tins.
Now heat the oven to ~400. My oven runs a bit cold, so I use 410. 350 doesn’t seem to cut it. 400 should work. (the time you wait allows for the baking powder to do it’s magic)
Put the muffins in the oven when it comes to temperature. Sprinkle the tops of your muffins to be with a bit of oatmeal. Bake for ~30 minutes. Remove when the muffins start to pull away a bit from the side of the pan, and start to brown a bit at the edges. I highly recommend using metal muffin tins. The silicon ones are crap. Should make 12-18 muffins.
Yes, this contains omega threes. It also contains enough fiber to unclog even the most stubborn drains! You are warned!
Tamales:
Outer part (what ever you call that)
1 ½ cup masa (corn flour)
½ cup corn meal
1 cup banana flower
1 tsp salt (while everyone knows salt is a flavor enhancer, not as many know that the perception of salt is based on your current intake of salt. If you want to intake less salt, cut it in half for a week. After a week you will notice that the same meal will taste the same as it did a week before. If you don’t believe me try it.)
mix with a fork or some other similar instrument
¾ cup veg shortening or lard if you prefer
½ inch of a fresh jalapeno obliterated
incorporate (with your instrument of choice)
add stock meaty or veggie and mix
(until the mixture is roughly a oatmeal or an overly thick pancake batter consistency
this should me less than 12 fluid ounces of stock
not sure how much stock I actually used)
filling: meat option
12 oz meat (I used chicken which worked out pretty good)
slice the meat into fairly thin slices, tenders (what have you)
dice roughly 3-4 weight ounces of onion (1/4 of a med sized onion)
throw roughly 2 tbsp of the oil of your choice in a pan
(I believed I used olive oil the standard variety)
add onions and meat
add ½ tsp of cumin
½ tsp salt
½ tsp smoked paprika (if you never had smoked pap; once you go smoked you will never go back)
½ tsp of chili powder
add something hot if you wish cayenne, red pepper, chili paste, ect.
toss and cook at medium heat until chicken is done
annihilate with a knife
filling: vegitarian/vegan option
replace meat with beans
cheese option
1 cup of shredded cheese: monterey jack, pepper jack, manchego
( I prefer block cheese. There are fewer things that are not cheese used to keep the cheese shreds from sticking together.)
put it together:
corn husks are traditionally used (which I am quite confident don’t impart much if any flavor, traditionally the are likely the cheapest available wrapper)
If don’t have a good and cheap source of corn husks, wax paper will do
Take a couple of tbsp[s] of your outer thing and spread it out until a few millimeters thick. (Unless you like the outer part better; then make less filling and make the spread thicker.)
Then place some filling and/or cheese and wrap up
Steam for at least 1 ¼ hr (if you don’t have a steamer a large pot with a lid will do, put a few inches of water inside and put enough saucers or dinner plate inside to raise the food above the water level.)
This should feed at least 4-6 people (unless they are training for an eating competition; both racks of my steamer were full)
Since I live in New England, which can get pretty cold, I've been into making comfort food lately. I collected Bon Appetite for years and they have so many wonderful recipes that are not difficult to make!
http://www.epicurious.com has many of their recipes that you can print out. I also own a book by Florence Fabricant called "The Pleasures of the Table" that gives you the wines to pair it with as well as appetisers, side dishes and dessert! I think it's out of print but you may be able to find a used copy. Many wonderful recipes! Here's one from the pleasures of the table:
Istanbul Bean Soup
1 TBLS. olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 cup large, dried lima beans, pre-soaked if necessary. Yes, Lima Beans!! I never tell my husband it's made with lima beans coz he'd never eat it and it is delicious!!
1 quart chicken stock
1/2 tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper
1 TBSP. plain yogurt
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges for garnish
4 sprigs fresh coriander for garnish
In a large saucepan heat the oil and sauté the onions until golden. Add the lima beans and stock. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 2 hrs, until the beans are tender. Remove the beans to a bowl with a slotted spoon and roughly mash them so there are still some pieces ( or according to your own texture preferences).
Return the beans to the liquid in the saucepan and stir. Add salt, pepper, yogurt, and lemon juice, and reheat stirring, but do not allow to come to a boil. Check seasonings. Serve garnished with lemon wedges and coriander. She pairs this with a Pinot Noir and a recipe for home-made Walnut Wheat Bread, Sausages Baked in Red wine(optional for those who don't eat meat) Salad with goat cheese and Apple Charlotte with Creme Anglaise. PM me for the wheat bread recipe if you're interested as it's extensive to type out but not difficult to make and delicious. Here's the salad recipe:
1 head Boston or leaf lettuce
1 head radicchio
1/2 bunch arugula
4 ounces goat cheese
1 1/2 TBSP. red wine vinegar
5 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil
1 TBSP. mixed fresh herbs ( parsley, thyme, and tarragon)
Separate the lettuces into individual leaves, discard core, rinse & dry. Rinse & dry the arugula, and tear into bite size pieces.
Before serving crumble goat cheese onto salad. Beat together vinegar and oil and pour over salad. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and season with salt & pepper.
I have lots more from both and will post more later!
Here are some recipe names from Bon Appetite that you can check at
http://www.epicurious.com and print out. I've made these and think they're excellent and not difficult to make! "Seafood Stew with tomatoes and Basil" Feb. 1998 Very similar to a bouillabaisse. "Penne with Tomatoes, Olives and Two Cheeses" Feb. 1995, A delicious baked penne! Their "White Chocolate and Rasberry Cheesecake" is also a favourite with my family for holidays!
p.s. No, the bean soup isn't green, and I usually double the recipe.
If you look for the cheesecake recipe it has toasted almonds and vanilla cookies in the crust. Sorry, I don't know the year offhand but it's a older Feb. issue.
Blackening Seasoning
1 tbsp heaping smoked paprika
2 tsp salt
1 tsp heaping garlic powder
1 tsp heaping onion powder
¼ tsp red pepper (more if you want it hotter)
½ tsp oregano
6 sprigs of fresh thyme ( this is one of those herbs that is in my opinion useless unless it is fresh)
½ tsp clove whole
Nail it in your coffee grinder
This goes great on tuna fillets and the chicken I was using for quesadillas.
I really need to get a second coffee grinder. I'm so tired of drinking cumin and coriander coffee. Kate made some faux vanilla chai mix (think instant hot cocoa, but as a chai) the other day as a gift for someone, and it called for cardamon. A little cardamom in your coffee is fine, but it gets old after a while. Soap and water take forever to dry, and never seem to quite get it all out.
Another wintery comfort food recipe: Pot Roast
I will usually buy a cut of beef marked specifically for Pot Roast.
Dredge your roast in flour, seasoned with salt and pepper. Brown all sides in heated olive oil ( a couple of tablespoons), in a large pot. Preheat oven at 325. Once the roast is browned, pour in about a half bottle of red wine, to cover the roast about half way. I will usually use a red wine that goes well with red meat such as a cabernet sauvignon or merlot. Sprinkle with a package of lipton's onion soup mix. Add baby carrots and cut up potatoes. Cover and put in the oven for 2-3 hrs or until tender and comes apart with a fork.
hint... if you lower the temperature of the oven and cook for that much longer, things can get even better! If you have a meat thermometer, try lowering the temp by 100 degrees and cooking the meat till you get the center temp you want (If you like things more done, try 145-155 (medium-midwell), pull it from the oven and let it sit for 20 minutes before slicing))
I've been thinking of looking for some cheap rib to do some prime rib with.
(02-14-2010 04:30 PM)density Wrote: [ -> ]hint... if you lower the temperature of the oven and cook for that much longer, things can get even better! If you have a meat thermometer, try lowering the temp by 100 degrees and cooking the meat till you get the center temp you want (If you like things more done, try 145-155 (medium-midwell), pull it from the oven and let it sit for 20 minutes before slicing))
I've been thinking of looking for some cheap rib to do some prime rib with.
I have a recipe for a small prime rib that is excellent: This is for a roast that is around 2 1/2 lbs. I've done this with a slightly larger roast too.
The meat must be thoroughly frozen to cook properly, so be sure to buy it several days in advance to wrap and freeze. Preheat oven to 400. Place meat in a roasting pan, fat side up, balanced on the bone. Roast until meat thermometer inserted in thickest part without touching the bone registers 140 for rare (about 1 1/2 hrs), 160 for medium( 1hr. 40 min,), and 170 for well done (1 hr. 50 min.). Here's a horseradish cream sauce that goes with it.
2 TBSP. prepared horseradish
1 tsp. tarragon wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 cup whipping cream, softly whipped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl and blend well. Fold in whipped cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. refrigerate before serving.
Rare all the way
Try crusting the meat before you freeze.
2 parts salt, 3 parts fresh thyme, 1 part fresh rosemary
annihilate in the food processor adding a little liquid to form a paste
smear on the meat and refrigerate a few days before freezing
the sauce sounds great
Basic chocolate mousse:
1 pint heavy whipping cream
½ cup sugar
¼ stick of butter
½ cup of very strong coffee or espresso
6 oz bittersweet dark chocolate
Ganache:
melt butter
add chocolate to heat proof bowl (if chocolate is whole give it a good chopping)
add butter and coffee
add a couple of inches of water to a sauce pan
add bowl of chocolate and ect. to sauce pan
heat on high until the water begins to steam and turn off heat
stir chocolate mixture until all chocolate is melted and incorporated
then remove and set on counter to cool while you’re whipping the cream
Warning: if you don’t pay enough attention and the chocolate gets too hot, it will break (the fat will separate and at that point the only thing to do is to throw it in the trash)
Cream:
Combine whipping cream and sugar in a bowl and beat to stiff peaks with and electric mixer
Fold in ganache in a few portions; continue to fold into thoroughly incorporated
Portion out into containers and put in the ‘fridge for 3-4 hours to set
Fritter apple desert thing:
I’m not sure what to call this one. A fritter would imply there was something in the middle; this lacks that. The fritter batter was taken from the joy of cooking. One can usually judge a dessert by when in excess, how long it lasts. This one didn’t make it a whole 8 hours.
“Filling”:
5 medium apples peeled cored quartered and then halved
½ cup of sugar
½ tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
combine in a food processor until little particulates
place in a frying pan on med-medhigh until soft
set aside and let cool
Fritter batter:
1 cup flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
Incorporate
¾ cup milk
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp butter melted
incorporate
In a separate bowl
Beat 2 egg whites to stiff peaks
Fold mixture into egg whites in portions
Fold filling into mixture in portions
Deep fry ( I used about a pint of canola to an oz of sesame seed oil)
Bang out the contents of ½ tbsp of mixture at a time
(this will by no means be a consistent size, the larger ones will be the size of a small hush puppy.)
Fry until medium brown
Drain on paper towels
When fairly cool dust with powdered sugar.
After you have a few of these you will renounce funnel cake forever.
Woot! Gonna have to try this soon!
Here's a pesto recipe that I thought was good and easy!
4 cups fresh basil leaves (from about 3 large bunches)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated pecorino Sardo or Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
Combine the first 4 ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until paste forms, stopping often to push down basil. Add both cheeses ( if you can't get the Sardo cheese, just use parmesan) and salt; blend until smooth. Toss with your favourite pasta! It can also be used on chicken.
OK, so I finally got around to buying some bison meat. I looked on the package “No Hormones Administered (1)”, “(1) Federal regulations prohibits the administration of hormones to bison” This should be filed under, don’t put you face on a hot burner. If I had my choice between taking on a hungry polar bear and a bison in ‘roid rage, I would pick the polar bear. These animals are not so inbreed as of yet. This animal on average is about 1100lb of nearly pure muscle. They can jump a 5 foot fence from a standstill. In the winter they use their heads to break though thick ice to find food. If you are going to feed this animal hormones, then you should release it somewhere the carnage is productive, like capitol hill (I of course mean any time in the last ten years or so).
So I’m going to have to add some fat back into this meat if I use it in any standard presentation. It’s too lean for my tastes. Any suggestions?
I know it will go fine into things like chili, soups and sauces. I am looking for a fairly straightforward approach to this meat, because I want to taste it.
Well, I haven't tried the fritters yet, but the pesto, that rocks. On burgers at least.
Perhaps I should try more complicated food someday. Thus far this week my diet is down to cereal in the morning, and lettuce with chicken or burgers at night. In between, too many Cokes.
After your steak or burgers are cooked, throw some gorganzola on top and melt in the broiler. That's yummy too!
Hey Density! I think it was you who mentioned a recipe for Coq a vin(sp??) in another thread??? If it was you can you post it? I'd be interested if anybody has a god one for this! I lost my recipe for a crockpot version that was quite good so I need a new one.
talk about a Freudian slip! Hahaha! Musta thought I was on the minutia thread! I meant good, not dog ( that's dyslexic for the g word!)! I'd still be interested in a Coq a Vin recipe though!
erm... I may have mentioned one. I've not made a Coq au Vin, but if I mentioned anything it would be from the cook's illustrated version. It dumbs down a recipe from a famous chef whose name I've forgotten at the moment. If I said anything it would probably be the point of that I need to find the original recipie, as while there is a time for a dumbed down version of things at many points I do want to go and make something as it should be made.
I'll scan the pages from the issue this weekend.
Oh, and I've been craving some Gorgonzola for a while now. Curse you for suggesting I do what I already want to do!*
*wife doesn't like cheese, and we're on tight budget right now. If expensive cheese is not needed I don't buy it. and I haven't yet convinced myself that I NEED blue cheese. Just WANT.
This reminds me of a conversation, I had with an acquaintance that is a chef. He got irate when I told him that I used recipes out of the “Joy of Cooking”. I managed through banter to get a couple books that I should be reading on a cocktail napkin. I asked about Coq au Vin, he refused to tell me, even when I asked about it for a simple out line of the process, telling me I should pay for it. Later he asked if he came to my job and asked me about how to do it, what would I say? I of course answered, that would not bother me.
Later that night a girl walked in so drunk that she could not speak in an understandable manner, since it was cold outside she was shivering in her evening dress that did not cover her legs. We tried to talk her into a cab several times. I offered her, my coat, she refused; the chef told me not to do that. Her friend entered the bar, got mad when she refused to take a cab, and left. She kept repeating, “I have no one”. When I tried to take some action, the chef would angrily tell me that it was none of my business and to stay out of it. You will have to forgive me, if I think that someone’s poor choices of an evening means that they should get run over by a car or raped, but she was hanging out with her friends, do you not thing they should have said something like “maybe you’ve had enough shots for the evening”, and asked the bartender to cut her off. I do not fault her for a bad decision, nor do I fault the chef for having a bad day.