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Recipe Thread #2
The thing i read about the terms used suggested those terms are used to help us conjure up old farm houses. It's true for me. Free-range, why, i can see those critters bobbing in the grass for food!
Alias, you are right, there are other ways to freeze them but it means i have to WORK, not just plop them in the freezer! ;-) And i forgot to mention that my side x side freezer is so small a 20 pound turkey won't fit in it! I used to freeze one for a summer roast but do not now.JoAnn, very, very early in our marriage i tried freezing baked cookies with no success. It just wasn't worth the effort. I don't even freeze cookie dough nowadays, although one year i tried that. Handy but again, not worth the effort.
My experience has been closer to your mother's. I never tried keeping them 3 months, nor even 1 month, but it's nice to know i could. Generally i keep mine a total of 3 weeks over the holidays. Thanks for the tip.
deb
Madrano wrote: "The thing i read about the terms used suggested those terms are used to help us conjure up old farm houses. It's true for me. Free-range, why, i can see those critters bobbing in the grass for food!"Yeah, they could be free range in a warehouse! The words are all about the marketing.
I tried to read Eating Animals a while ago and abandoned it. Thought the writing was awful and all over the place. I skimmed some of it to get ahead, thinking maybe he just had an overly long "introduction" but it did not get any better.
JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "I tried to read Eating Animals a while ago and abandoned it. Thought the writing was awful and all over the place. I skimmed some of it to get ahead, thinking maybe he just had an overly long "intr..."Yeah the book does jump around in strange ways. But there is alot of good info in it.
Julie wrote: "Yeah the book does jump around in strange ways..."I always suspect that the reason an author does this is to cover up weaknesses.
Last night i made these rolls to serve with our Salmon Corn Chowder. They tasted pretty good, although not quite Olive Garden, very close.OLIVE GARDEN-LIKE ROLLS
· 1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast
· 1 1/4 cups warm water, total, plus 2 Tbsp.
· 4 1/4 cups flour, plus more for dusting
· 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
· 2 tablespoons sugar
· 1 tablespoon fine salt
· 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
· 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (I used FLEUR DE Sel/Salt because we had it onhand)
· 1/8-1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
· 1 pinch dried oregano
1. Make the dough: Place 1/4 cup warm water in the bowl of a mixer; sprinkle in the yeast and set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the flour, butter, sugar, fine salt and 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons warm water; allow bread machine to knead for 7-8 minutes. If machineless, work it until it is sticky but not overly so. Knead it, though, about 3 minutes after getting the right consistency. The key is to not over flour, as with all breads.
2. Remove from the machine. Roll into a 2-foot-long log; cut into 16 1 1/2-inch pieces. Knead each piece slightly and shape into a 7-inch long breadstick; arrange 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a cloth; let rise in a warm spot until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
4. Make the topping: Brush the breadsticks with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt.
5. Bake until slightly golden, about 15 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt with the garlic powder and oregano.
Brush the warm breadsticks with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle with the flavored salt.
Madrano, isn't it nice to have one then?Joanne, I've tried freezing cookies and they're never the same again, except for gingerbread. Your mom was very smart.
I have a friend who keeps the store bought cookie dough either in the refrigerator or freezer. I have to ask her which it is. The reason she does this is so she can make only 2 or 3 cookies at one time which helps her control what she eats.
DM, yes, it is nice to have one of those rolls on hand. They worked well with the chowder, too.Alias, i used to do that, too. It's a good idea now that the kids are gone. And, perhaps a bonus, oft times the dough dries out before i've used all the dough. Clearly we don't have cookies often enough. (I will NOT be asking DH that question!)
This past Christmas season, though, i made 3 batches of cookie dough & refrigerated all until the day before guests were due. It made for easy clean-up and since none were more than 3 days old, drying out wasn't an issue. Then they went into the tins. I guess that's why i have such a nice, large collection of holiday tins!
Your comment also reminded me that i once froze cookie dough in cookie-size pieces. Same thing happened and i never tried it again. I did like that i could select the size of the cookies i wanted to make each time. At the end, though, all that were left were the large ones. I thought it would be the other way around.
I made a good asparagus soup today from a Giada recipe. Nothing much bad in it, especially if you leave out the goat cheese. And I would never make herbed goat cheese when I can buy it! So this is all I did:Soup Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large leek (white and light green part only), thinly sliced (I used 2 medium ones)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 pounds medium asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (do not use asparagus that is too thin or too thick)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (I only had a small amount)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring constantly until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the asparagus and saute a couple of minutes, then add broth and basil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the asparagus is tender, about 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Puree using an immersion blender. I left some chunks in it. Keep the soup warm over low heat.
To serve: Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and garnish with the herbed goat cheese. (Someone mentioned subbing sour cream, but I love goat cheese)
Here is the original recipe, from her newest cookbook
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gi...
I like goat cheese, too. Though I am surprised at the number of people who don't. Is this recipe from her new book ?
Yes, the recipe is from her newest cookbook, but I had already printed it out a couple of years ago.
Oh, I LOVE processed veggie meat, but I'd much rather make my own. Do tell us if you find a good recipe!I try to make a new recipe a week, and my current quest is for Twice-Baked Potatoes. Potatoes are my favorite things in the world and I am a self-proclaimed connoisseur of trying to make them less calorie dense x) so I know Twice-Bakeds are pretty basic, but if anybody has any suggestions or preferred recipes, I'd love to see 'em :)
I have a backup one if not, I will post it if they come out good :)
I got Giada's new cookbook from the library. Every recipe that I wanted to make, I was able to find online! Guess they are all from her shows.
I'm making a couple of recipes from this tonight: SPOON: Soup, Stew & Chowder Recipes (Spring/Summer) (Cooking in Season #1) http://amzn.to/K1NfOmThe minted pea with spinach because that's what I really want, and the strawberry rhubarb soup with basil because that's what my kids are asking for!
It's free until May 24, too.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...
Welcome to BNC, DW ! Let us know how the recipes turn out.
I've never eaten rhubarb.
The minted pea and spinach is good, slightly sweet. The strawberry rhubarb with basil is amazing! Not at all tart. I think I'll top it with some whipped cream next time.
Sounds like they were winners. :)
Welcome to the group, DW. I've made rhubarb pies, quick breads and bars, as well formerly making a rhubarb sauce for roasted chicken. Yet i'm not sure the soup calls to me. For some reason i've never liked the rhubarb-strawberry, even in pies. I'm not sure what my problem is with that. Maybe i want my tarts tart & my sweets sweet? :-)deb
Well, I never got around to those twice baked potatoes (though it's still on my list) -- diet issues x) I'll say more in the Health/Diet/Exercise thread, but my next recipe, that I'll be trying out either tonight or tomorrow morning is going to be these Sausage Ball thingies:Ingredients
1 pound bulk pork sausage
3 cups buttermilk biscuit mix
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Directions
In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Shape into 1-in. balls and place on a rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Or freeze and bake frozen at 425 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sausage-...
It's such a simple recipe. I've done these before (although it was a while ago) and they're real tasty, but more importantly REALLY convenient. I will not be using buttermilk biscuit mix, though it sounds like it would make them taste divine. And I will be using turkey sausage instead of pork sausage. Does anybody have any other recommendations for a recipe like this? Or suggestions for a better one? :)
Melody, i have a similar recipe but it adds 1/2 c. Parmesan and 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary with a similar amount of parsley. I served it with a barbeque sauce. We thought it was okay but not worth buying Bisquik, so i'm curious how you are going to make them without the mix. Just serve as meatballs? deb
Yeah, basically as meatballs. I like to play in the kitchen and it doesn't always work out. I like to think of them as enhanced sausage patties. They were tasty, but they weren't very cohesive. I definitely want to try them with the biscuit mix and see if that helps some of the problems I had. I blogged extensively about them with some pics, if anyone is interested in seeing the mess that was:http://thoughtforfoodrd.wordpress.com...
but I DID succeed in cutting all the bad stuff out drastically, so that was good.
Melody, sausage has so much seasoning in it...maybe you could add some herbs to your version. And how about a bit of bread crumbs to hold the patties together (sort of like in meat loaf). I have made the ones with biscuit mix and they were as much biscuit as they were meat. A bit of bread crumbs would not give this same "effect".
Good point, JoAnn. Or keep them as patties & serve a poached egg atop. Or a scrambled one. Or two. Hmmm. Can you tell i haven't eaten breakfast yet? Thanks for sharing the results, Melody.
I am posting this in response to JoAnn's mention on another thread that she had a plethora of Vidalias. Lucky woman!Caramelized Balsamic Onions
Prep: 20 minutes Bake: 50 minutes Oven: 425°
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. dry white wine, chicken broth, or water
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 medium yellow onions
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. In a 3-quart rectangular baking dish (not aluminum) combine butter and oil. Whisk in vinegar, wine, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
2. Peel off papery outer layers of onions, but do not cut off either end. Cut onions in half from stems through root ends. Place onion halves in the baking dish, cut sides up. Cover loosely with foil and bake in a 425° oven for 25 minutes.
3. Remove foil and use tongs to carefully turn onions cut side down. Bake, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes longer or until onions are tender and balsamic mixture is thickened and caramelized. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Serve cut side up. Makes 8 servings.
MAKE AHEAD: Cool cooked onions; cover and chill overnight. To serve, cover with foil and reheat in a 325° oven 40 minutes or until warm.
Per serving: 81 cal., 5 g total fat (2 g sat. fat), 8 mg chol., 116 mg sodium, 9 g carbo., 1 g dietary fiber, 1 g protein.
http://www.countryhome.com/recipes/se...
You can also freeze onions. Just chop them up and put in a freezer bag. Then they are all ready to go when you need to sauté up a bunch for soup or other anything else.
Most soup bases require the trio of onions, celery & carrots. I buy them when they are on sale. I cut them up, clean and then freeze them.
I save money and the convenience when I want to make soup is great.
Deb, thanks for this recipe. It is just what I was looking for! I think I will double the recipe and give some to my sister. I love the way they look, too.And I have lots of balsamic choices here since I bought 5 bottles at my new favorite store:
http://www.atasteofolive.com/
I bought these flavors: blackberry ginger, peach, bordeaux cherry, lavender, and tangerine.
Thanks again.
Alias Reader wrote: "You can also freeze onions. Just chop them up and put in a freezer bag. "I have one of the big freezer bags full of chopped onion in my freezer. So what did I do...bought more! LOL LOL
thanks
Freezing the veggies is a good idea, one gets tired of constantly chopping those 3--onions, carrots & celery. And for stews & such where consistency doesn't matter, why not?So many balsamic choices, JoAnn. I had no idea. Did the store have a sampling? I think that's the way we were introduced to balsamic. Enjoy!
Madrano wrote: "So many balsamic choices, JoAnn. I had no idea. Did the store have a sampling? ..."Oh, yes! There were at least 50 stainless steel vats of balsamics (and another 50 of olive oils). There were little tiny containers for customers to use for sampling the "goods". I think I sampled about 15 balsamics and it was hard not to buy every one, they were so delicious.
I had never had white balsamic before, especially a flavored one. I loved the peach.
The flavored olive oils are sort of unique, I think....the flavor, such as blood orange, are pressed with the olives....not just added to the oil. This makes for a very deep flavor.
Today on The View they did their hosts Favorite Things.Whoopie's fav was some type of balsamic vinegar and also she showed various salts including pink salt.
I wasn't watching that closely so I didn't get the info for the company. I don't know if the info is up on their web page for today yet, but they said you can get the info where to buy their fav things there.
I use kosher salt for cooking, but otherwise, this is the only salt I use: (RealSalt)http://www.realsalt.com/101/
I found this on the net. It looks easy to make and tasty.Zucchini Bites
yields: 12 mini muffins
1 cups zucchini, grated
1 egg
1/4 yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup cheese (cheddar or Parmesan work the best)
1/4 cup bread crumbs - I used Italian style
Salt and Pepper
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a mini-muffin tin with non-stick spray, set aside.
2. Grate the zucchini and then place in a dish towel to squeeze out the excess water- like when using frozen spinach; if you skip this part, the middle of the zucchini tots will be really soggy while the outside gets crispy and no one wants that.
3. In a bowl combine, the egg, onion, cheese, bread crumbs, zucchini, salt and pepper.
4. Using a spoon or a cookie scoop, fill the muffin cups to the top. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the top is browned and set.
http://curiouscountrycook.blogspot.co...
Alias Reader wrote: "I found this on the net. It looks easy to make and tasty.Zucchini Bites
yields: 12 mini muffins..."
I printed this. Too bad I don't have a mini muffin pan. :-)
JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "Oh, yes! There were at least 50 stainless steel vats of balsamics (and another 50 of olive oils)..."DH abhors most vinegar but is a fan of balsamic. It would be fun to see him in a place like that. Over the years i've tried my hand at flavoring olive oil & have been pleased with the efforts. Actually, now that i think about it, i've also flavored vinegars. Still, i end up with li'l bottles, rarely used, so decided to forget about it.
Alias, those mini-muffins sound tasty. Back in the 70s we used to make zucchini bread and loved it. A couple of years ago i used the same recipe & tried again. Upshot? We wondered what we ever saw in the original! It was a mind-game, i think. Healthy veggies in tasty bread. Ignore the sugar content.
ANYway, the savory muffins you shared would work well, i think. I used to have something similar but flavored with chilis or jalapeno. We really liked that...and no sugar! :-)
Thanks for sharing. Julie, i wonder if you could add more crumbs & make these without the muffin shape? Just a thought.
deb
I have successfully made orange-cranberry vinegar that was delicious. I also made pomegranate vinegar that was wonderful.Then I made a garlic vinegar that was to be put in a dark place and shaken once a week. After one week the pieces of garlic turned bright TURQUOISE!!! What the heck?
Needless to say, I threw that stuff out!
That sounds freaky! I cannot imagine how that happens. I tried pomegranate vinegar but we had to go on vacation before it was ready, so lost it. The color was great & i wish i hadn't entrusted the project to my brother, who really didn't give it a shake. ;-)Presently i'm trying a rosemary room spray. We have one of those rosemary bushes which is spilling over its bed. So, i mixed some with alcohol and am now letting it sit. Not that this really falls under the recipe thread!
When we were in California last December, my sister & i noted that branches of rosemary were spread throughout the rooms of a mission we visited. As we entered each room, we were renewed with the scent, which surprised us both. Here at home, i lose the aroma fairly quickly. Ergo, the spray attempt.
I threw a rosemary plant out in the woods a couple of autumns ago and now have a mini-forest of rosemary! It sure is hardy and prolific.
JoAnn, you should dig some rosemary plants up next winter for the holidays. I've seen some decorated with mini-ornaments to look like small Christmas trees.
Connie wrote: "JoAnn, you should dig some rosemary plants up next winter for the holidays. I've seen some decorated with mini-ornaments to look like small Christmas trees."I have seen these too. Very cute. Unfortunately, my sister is violently allergic to rosemary and since we practically live in each other's homes....
Melody wrote: "Yeah, basically as meatballs. I like to play in the kitchen and it doesn't always work out. I like to think of them as enhanced sausage patties. They were tasty, but they weren't very cohesive. I d..."Well for this brief phase in my lifestyle change I'm not allowed to have carbs/starches aka bread, but after this phase, after I try the biscuit version, it definitely sounds interesting with bread crumbs. Thanks for the tip :)
Madrano wrote: "Good point, JoAnn. Or keep them as patties & serve a poached egg atop. Or a scrambled one. Or two. Hmmm. Can you tell i haven't eaten breakfast yet? Thanks for sharing the results, Melody."Thanks for the suggestion. Oddly enough, the meat pie thingy it turned out as ended up tasting worse than the weird half-ball half-patties that I attempted to turn into balls, so it's something different *shrug* x)
Alias Reader wrote: "I found this on the net. It looks easy to make and tasty.Zucchini Bites
yields: 12 mini muffins
1 cups zucchini, grated
1 egg
1/4 yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup cheese (cheddar or Parmesan work t..."
oh that looks tasty! I'll definitely be trying these!
Madrano wrote: "JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "Oh, yes! There were at least 50 stainless steel vats of balsamics (and another 50 of olive oils)..."DH abhors most vinegar but is a fan of balsamic. It would be fun to see..."
oh! We made Zucchini bread in my Food Fundamentals class and it was really tasty, I can pass along the recipe if you'd like it :)
Melody, if it's not too much trouble i'd like to compare to what i have. thanks.
JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "I have seen these too. Very cute. Unfortunately, my sister is violently allergic to rosemary and since we practically live in each other's homes.... ...."My SIL gets ill with sage--no tasting, burning, candles, nothing. We are most cautious when she visits. Of course now that we live in Texas and they are in Seattle it occurs less often. Still, one tends to forget what we consider merely kitchen herbs can do this. JoAnn, is the (forgive this) "Rosemary Woods"* in your sister's neighborhood or do you live nearby at both homes? My question arises from whether some days the herb scent wafts her way.
deb
*all these years i never gave Nixon's secretary's name a thought but there it is! I guess her parent's had a similar place near their home. ;-)
Book Nook Cafe
Books mentioned in this topic
Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss (other topics)The Thin Commandments Diet: The 10 No-fail Strategies For Permanent Weight Loss (other topics)
Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss (other topics)
Mastering the Art of French Cooking (other topics)
Eating Animals (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Julia Child (other topics)Jonathan Kozol (other topics)
James Beard (other topics)
I recently read Eating Animals. Not too many terms relating to eating animals have any meaning you can rely on.