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Recipe Thread #2
Julie wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "I made the escarole and white bean soup...."Thanks for posting this. I have been looking for ways to try other kinds of greens like escarole and I love soup."
Another option for the escarole and beans is very simple. Prep the skillet witholive oil and garlic. Tear escarole into bite size pieces and then saute until it wilts, add drained and rinsed white beans. Warm and serve.
That would work well, Denise. Probably good for something like kale, too. Thanks for the idea !I have to say it hit the spot today.
Denise wrote: "Julie wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "I made the escarole and white bean soup...."Thanks for posting this. I have been looking for ways to try other kinds of greens like escarole and I love soup."
..."
My brother makes a fresh spinach dish like this with the olive oil and garlic, and he adds pine nuts and dried cranberries. It's very good!
I love dried cranberries. I always put them in my salads.
Jennifer, thank you for the carrot bar recipe. I like that it doesn't use pineapple, which many do. Raisins are perfect, although i'd keep mine whole, as i like getting big gobs of them. :-) And i'm with Alias, i like that you scan them. It's something i may consider. I started gluing recipes into my notebook(s) when my kids were young. As a result some of the comments were written by them (or even stamped with their "Hurrah!" stamp, which is joyful to see). Scanning would allow me to keep them, even when they fall out & are demolished.
Alias, that soup sounds good. DH isn't much on cooked greens. As usual, his mom cooked them all wrong and i'm stuck with the refusal. Like you, i freeze my Parmesan rinds for soups. They add an aroma i treasure, even when the end product isn't great.
Not sure why but black-eye beans seem to go better with kale. I am a big soup lover. Would live on it but since I have to feed others there is a limited tolerance for too many soups. Last week I had a craving for minestrone. It's been rainy here and it was a perfect day for soup.
Denise wrote: "Not sure why but black-eye beans seem to go better with kale. I am a big soup lover. Would live on it but since I have to feed others there is a limited tolerance for too many soups. Last week I ..."
I have some great soup recipes-- cream of garlic, and a to-die-for potato leek soup.....
Can you post the to-die-for potato leek recipe please!?!?!?
Julie wrote: "Can you post the to-die-for potato leek recipe please!?!?!?"
My handwritten notes say: use medium onion, add 1/2 cup heavy cream after purée added, garnish with paprika, 1/8 teas Cayenne fine.
Here's the garlic soup too. Two things-- first of all, if you think you're going to like it, make several batches of the processed garlic all at once and freeze the extras in baggies. That process is by far the most irritating part of making this soup and you might as well be annoyed once and rewarded half a dozen times. Second, be careful during the blending part, obviously-- that soup is hot!Clearly I got this from one of those old Bon Appetit columns where the magazine gets the restaurant recipe for the patron who writes in...
I used to love reading those old Bon Appetit columns. Some of my favorite recipes are from there. I like your tip on the garlic process. It's like making pesto, which we make in several batches for similar reasons.Is there a big difference between Leek & Potato Soup and Vichyssoise, other than the latter is preferably served cold? I ask because i've used Julia Child's recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking for years. We like it but when i saw the herbs in yours, Jennifer, i could immediately imagine an improved soup. (To be fair, i do not add the cream &/or half & half Julia calls for.) While i like it cold, to me it's better fresh & warm.
Soup season is nigh, isn't it? Yum! Last year we tried to serve them without bread, which wasn't quite as satisfying but we survived. Thanks for the recipes, Jennifer.
Madrano wrote: "I used to love reading those old Bon Appetit columns. Some of my favorite recipes are from there. I like your tip on the garlic process. It's like making pesto, which we make in several batches for..."The vichyssoise I've had has always seemed to be more straight up potato/cream soup -- this one is more savory in flavor, I think. And if you make it without adding the cream, it still has some of the thickness of cream soup without the attendant fat calories that are so damning of cream soups for dieters like me.
Sometimes i'll use yogurt when the resulting soup doesn't quite look or taste right. Most times we've just served it up as is without dairy. Who needs it?
Jennifer wrote: "Mmmmmm I'm getting hungry
This makes enough for two people. You can add diced chicken if you don't want meatless. It came from cooking light magazine so it is calorie conscious."
WebMD sent me this recipe today. It looks so good.You can see photo at link.
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/pot...
Potato Leek Soup with Bacon and Fresh Dill
Nutritional Information
Makes: 8 servings
Calories185.5
Carbohydrates8.6 g
Dietary fiber0.8 g
Cholesterol19.2 mg
Fat15.9 g
Saturated fat5.5 g
Sodium36.3 mg
Protein2.4 g
Potato leek soup truly satisfies and nourishes on those rainy, cold and wet days of autumn and winter. Salty, smoky bacon from pasture-raised hogs pairs beautifully with the soft flavors of leek, celery and potato while the vibrant addition of fresh dill brings the flavors together.
Ingredients
4 ounces pasture-raised bacon, fried and crumbled with fat reserved
4 leeks, rinsed well with white and light green parts sliced very thinly
1 pound waxy potatoes, scrubbed well and cubed
1 quart fresh chicken broth
2 bay leaves, preferably fresh though dried will do
2 cups fresh whole milk
1 bunch fresh dill, chopped fine
unrefined sea salt, to taste
freshly ground white pepper, to taste
cream fresche or sour cream, to serve
Instructions
In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, heat reserved bacon fat over a medium flame until melted and sizzling.
Add the thinly sliced leeks to the melted bacon fat and fry until they begin to soften and release their aroma, about five to six minutes or so.
Add one quart fresh chicken broth to the leeks and dump in the cubed potatoes and cover the pot.
Cook the potatoes, leeks and broth together over a medium-low flame until the potatoes are softened and tenderly fall apart when pressed with the tines of a fork, about thirty minutes.
Remove the soup from the flame and allow it to cool slightly, and then pour two cups fresh whole milk into the soup pot, stirring in the fresh dill as you go.
Season the mixture with unrefined sea salt and white pepper as it suits you, then serve the soup with plenty of crumbled bacon and a dollop of cream fresche or sour cream.
Well, we began talking about "Best of" lists on the Italy thread, so i moved the chat here. However, if Alias wants to begin a new thread, strictly about dining out, i'm for it, as it'll be easier to locate it when we travel. Until then, i just can't get hamburgers out of my head.FIRST, a warning. I'm only talking about fast food, only one of these is a sit-down. But who, other than kids, goes to a sit-down restaurant for burgers? Ok, i have but i felt as though i was 12. ;-)
My favorite burger chain is in the Pacific Northwest, Burgerville. http://www.burgerville.com/ Their Pepper Bacon Cheese Burger is my favorite. And, yes, i do add cheese now that i don't live out there, so only occasionally get to eat there. One thing i love about this chain is that they offer seasonal foods, too, including their blackberry shakes, fried asparagus and hazelnut something. They also, being up there, offer vegetarian "burgers", such as Yukon White Bean & Basil or Spicy Anasazi Bean burgers.
On the other coast, we like Checkers burgers. There was one near us in Maryland, overlooking an expressway, which wasn't appetizing but i liked eating al fresco there anyway. When i was in NYC for 4 months, i located a couple. http://www.checkers.com/
Here in Texas there is a drive-in i mentioned in some other thread. It features car hops on roller skates, some days. And the car hops are mostly over 40, having worked there their entire lives. It's neat to hear them talk about it. ANYway, it doesn't have a website but here is a local mention of it. http://www.dallasrestaurantreviews.ne...
The hallmark of each of these is juicy. I like my burgers like i like my men, juicy but charred around the edges. (Ok, i am known in my family for using the "I like my ___ like i like my men, ____", followed by something which describes the dish. My DH is juicy but i can't say that he's charred.
And, since i started with hamburgers, i must admit that i have NEVER had as many burgers as i have since returning to Texas 5 years ago. They just seem to make them better here. Not that publications agree, witness http://www.epicurious.com/articlesgui...
I was intrigued by the New Orleans selection, http://www.epicurious.com/articlesgui... , strictly because the proprietor doesn't serve French Fries with it's burgers, only baked potato! What? Love it!
Gosh, i'm hungry.
I enjoyed reading your burger post, deb. :)The only place I can think of where I like the burger is Shake Shack. Of course I get the shake, fries and burger and it probably comes in around 2929484793 calories, but they are quite good.
LOL, Alias. That is the real challenge of burger eating, not getting the full meals. I rarely get the shakes, craving them though i might. Because i am picky about my fries (i like them like i like my men, crispy and brown), even if get them as part of the burger, i don't eat more than one. DH loves this part, btw. He really likes fries, although when you smother them in ketchup as he does, i am not sure it's the fries you like. deb, adding that we go 'round & 'round on the ketchup issue...and sweetened tea--how much do you really like tea if you must drink it sweetened?
I never sweeten my tea, although I often drink various flavored teas which are sweeter than plain. My husband put sugar in his iced tea the other day and I took a sip...yuck!
Madrano wrote: (i like them like i like my men, crispy and brown), "--------
LOL. You are too funny.
I go back and forth with sugar in my tea. If I do put it in, I only put a tiny bit. Maybe a half a teaspoon. I never get sweetened iced tea outside the home, to me they are sickly sweet.
Ok, now I have to weigh in on all this. I love burgers. But I always order them without the bun, because I'm not that wild about white bread in any form, and if I'm going to eat 2929484793 calories worth of burger, cheese, bacon, barbecue sauce, mayo, ketchup, onion straws and etc, I'm not going to add 300 calories for something I don't really like. Fries MUST be crispy and brown. Deb is SO right about that. They require double frying to really get them right, and who among us could object, being that we all have so much trouble forcing enough grease into our diets???
Onion rings must not have too damn much beer in the batter-- usually where restaurants go wrong with them.
Here in the south, they swear that sweet tea must be sugared while still warm or it doesn't dissolve properly (read, doesn't become syrup that sticks to your teeth until they ache). I can't drink that stuff. GAG!!
If you're serious about your tea and you like fruity teas at all, hie thee immediately to your local Internet and check out Tea Forté's blueberry merlot or raspberry nectar. OMG. Make sure the water's about boiling before you start steeping, then steep fully, then be prepared for a transcendent tea experience.
I am at the hospital and just bought a bottle of iced tea that says "just a tad sweet" on it. We'll see if their definition of that matches mine! But first I have to get the sweet taste out if my mouth from the ice cream bar I just ate. Hehe
Jennifer wrote:But I always order them without the bun, because I'm not that wild about white bread in any form, and if I'm going to eat 2929484793 calories worth of burger, cheese, bacon, barbecue sauce, mayo, ketchup, onion straws and etc, I'm not going to add 300 calories for something I don't really like.---------------
I wish I could say I don't like white bread. I love white bread in all it's various forms. I know I should go whole grain, and I do sometimes, but it's not a favorite.
I forgot to say, on my burger my favorite topping is fried onions. Lots and lots of them. :) Anyone wonder I can't lose weight :-O
Oh, and Susan, I am glad we agree on the exact calories in our burger, fries and shake. :) 2929484793 Maybe I should keep that number in mind when playing lotto.
Julie wrote: "I am at the hospital and just bought a bottle of iced tea that says "just a tad sweet" on it. We'll see if their definition of that matches mine! But first I have to get the sweet taste out if my mouth from the ice cream bar I just ate. Hehe ----------
(((Julie))) Your entitled to a little comfort food like ice-cream right now. Hope things are going well.
Jennifer wrote: "If you're serious about your tea and you like fruity teas at all, hie thee immediately to your local Internet and check out Tea Forté's blueberry merlot or raspberry nectar. OMG. Make sure the water's about boiling before you start steeping, then steep fully, then be prepared for a transcendent tea experience. "-------------
I like Earl Grey, Lady Grey, green tea and regular black tea. I get them all decaf. I like Twinings but often will just go with the sale brand. For the black tea I like the Bromley brand.
Unfortunately, I came down with a cold today. I think a little Lady Grey might hit the spot.
Alias Reader wrote: "I wish I could say I don't like white bread. I love white bread in all it's various forms. I know I should go whole grain, and I do sometimes, but it's not a favorite...."When I first started eating whole grain bread, I didn't much care for it either. But I got used to it and now can't stand to eat many kinds of white bread. Just keep having it once in awhile and be patient and hopefully your tastes will change. Try different kinds too. You might find one you really like!
Alias Reader wrote: "(((Julie))) Your entitled to a little comfort food like ice-cream right now. Hope things are going well. ..."They let him out today! woohoo!
Julie wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "I wish I could say I don't like white bread. I love white bread in all it's various forms. I know I should go whole grain, and I do sometimes, but it's not a favorite...."Whe..."
I never could stand white bread, but I grew up with Jewish Rye and Pumpernickel. Those are still my favorites, but I need to avoid yeast so I usually eat yeast free bread made with sourdough starter.
Julie wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "(((Julie))) Your entitled to a little comfort food like ice-cream right now. Hope things are going well. ..."They let him out today! woohoo!"
YAY!!!!!!!
Alias Reader wrote: "Jennifer wrote:But I always order them without the bun, because I'm not that wild about white bread in any form, and if I'm going to eat 2929484793 calories worth of burger, cheese, bacon, barbecue..."I like hard rolls, and fresh French bread and so forth. I should have said I'm not wild about packaged sliced white sandwich bread, or hamburger/hotdog buns. I love a good hard roll, broken in half and set on the oven rack till warm and a little crunchy, then dipped in olive oil with garlic and herbs..... Or smeared with real butter......
Julie wrote: When I first started eating whole grain bread, I didn't much care for it either. But I got used to it and now can't stand to eat many kinds of white bread. Just keep having it once in awhile and be patient and hopefully your tastes will change. Try different kinds too. You might find one you really like! -------------
I know your advise is 100% correct, Julie. And I did do the whole grain bread and pasta for a time. But I've come to realize it has to be all or nothing with me. One taste of white bread, white pasta etc. and I am hooked again.
Julie wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "(((Julie))) Your entitled to a little comfort food like ice-cream right now. Hope things are going well. ..."They let him out today! woohoo!"
-------------
Excellent ! Truly a thanksgiving for you and yours. :)
Shomeret wrote: I never could stand white bread, but I grew up with Jewish Rye and Pumpernickel. ---------
I've read that rye and pumpernickel are good choices as they rank low on the gylcemic index.
Jennifer wrote: I love a good hard roll, broken in half and set on the oven rack till warm and a little crunchy, then dipped in olive oil with garlic and herbs..... Or smeared with real butter...... --------------
Stop ! You're killing me. :)
Julie wrote: "I never sweeten my tea, although I often drink various flavored teas which are sweeter than plain. My husband put sugar in his iced tea the other day and I took a sip...yuck!"I don't know if it's true elsewhere in the country but nowadays every time we order iced tea in restaurants here, we are asked, "Sweet or Unsweet?" It took us several visits before we remembered that "sweet" is regular tea already well sweetened, to the point of the yuck response Julie mentioned. Even DH, who likes his tea likes he likes his women--sweet and iced. (Hmmm. Better rethink that one!)
Recently i was traveling with my sister, who tried an unsweetened blackberry tea. It's the first time i've actually liked a fruited tea. Naturally i haven't been able to find it since then!
Jennifer wrote: "Fries MUST be crispy and brown. Deb is SO right about that. They require double frying to really get them right, and who among us could object, being that we all have so much trouble forcing enough grease into our diets???..."The only fried food i can cook correctly is French fries, using the above double fried method, after an hour-long soaking in cold water first. (The fries, not me.) Delicious. I no longer make them, as i don't like frying food. However, my own version is what spoiled me for other fries. And a good thing, i believe.
It never occurred to me to order my 'burger breadless. I'm not sure i could, don't you have to eat it with a fork then?!? It's the bread that gives me something to hold onto. Now that i think about it, that sounds crazy but i do like my bread. We don't usually have white bread, so maybe the 5 year old in me demands bun with my 'burger?
I am a fan of onion rings but lately no one does them the way i recall from my youth. Indeed, i had awful ones recently but believe they were actually the kind i had as a kid, probably some sort of flour. So, the tempura or beer battered ones have won my heart.
Shomeret wrote: "I never could stand white bread, but I grew up with Jewish Rye and Pumpernickel. Those are still my favorites, but I need to avoid yeast so I usually eat yeast free bread made with sourdough starter. ..."While i grew up with white bread, we rarely have it at home now. (Exceptions follow: for my meatloaf sandwich & bologna sandwiches, which we hardly ever have now that i know what's in bologna.) ANYway, we eat pumpernickel for our sandwiches now and it serves us well.
I like sourdough but can't find the good stuff here, so usually pass. However, in my baking days i used to make my own sourdough. It worked nicely but, honestly, you have to refresh it so often and keep using it. We just don't eat that much bread to make it worth the effort. Bummer.
Julie wrote: "They let him out today! woohoo!"Great news, Julie! I hope you are able to spend Thanksgiving with others who also appreciate all you went through with this crisis. Enjoy this holiday!
DH, who likes his tea likes he likes his women--sweet and iced."
The only fried food i can cook correctly is French fries, using the above double fried method, after an hour-long soaking in cold water first. (The fries, not me.)
------------
:) Poor Deb, Texas has really made her lose her mind.
Madrano wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Fries MUST be crispy and brown. Deb is SO right about that. They require double frying to really get them right, and who among us could object, being that we all have so much troub..."1) good thing you specified the fries getting a cold soaking, after your "DH likes me sweet and iced" comment and 2) yeah, I eat them with a fork.
I'm with you on the "ruined for all other fries" thing except my perfect fried food is hashed browns. Fresh grated, never frozen, and cooked to crispness on the outside and steaming inside. If I'd make them, my husband would eat them EVERY day.
I have never been a huge fan of hashed browns but your comment has me wondering if i've ever had good ones. Or maybe smothering them in mustard doesn't allow me to know if i've had good ones or not.Speaking of frying. Last year the guys complained about how long it took us to get our Christmas Tex-Mex meal to the table. (Granted, it did, but part of this was due to the blown fuse no one bothered to fix for 20 minutes!) ANYway, in the heat of the moment said men declared they would make the meal "next year". At the time i suggested Italian, which they agreed. Well, time is nigh.
DH has decided he wants to tackle Italian Rice Balls. We fell for them at a small restaurant in Maryland and haven't been able to find them since. Now we've located a recipe. I guess i didn't realize it was fried. But DH is game, so i'm not stopping him. The first step was learning to make risotto, which he did last night. Delicious! I don't have that kind of patience, so i'm glad he did.
Next week, he tackles the balls themselves. This meal improves the more he thinks about it. Now he's thinking a tiramisu would be a fitting dessert. I'm not discouraging any of these ideas, i must note.
I am not a big rice ball fan. However, one of my friends made me one recently and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I had it with a nice salad for dinner. The inside was nice and creamy. I doubt if she fries them, as she likes to cook healthy. I'll see if I can get her to send me the recipe, if she does, I'll post it.
Madrano wrote: "I have never been a huge fan of hashed browns but your comment has me wondering if i've ever had good ones. Or maybe smothering them in mustard doesn't allow me to know if i've had good ones or not..."I prefer hash browns in any way shape or form over rice balls or Arancini. I'm a big collector of cookbooks (what a surprise!) and I just had to get the new book by Lidia B who has a cooking show on PBS. The series running currently is Lydia's Italy in America. A truly fantastic series and the book follows right along with the show. The thing is the book is $35 in bookstores but I found it discounted at Marshalls the other day for $19.99. How could I pass it up? And each recipe is fabulous. All Italian recipes that I've been hunting for in 1 book. Lydia does have an Arancini recipe there too. She has a blog somewhere in Blogsville. Maybe the recipe would be there with a video. Worth a check-out.
Thanks for the tips about Arancini. Maryland was our first experience with them & we liked that they were something we never associated with Italy. Now i see they were served as bar fare in Sicily. How 'bout that?I found Lidia B's recipe but no video. She puts ragu in the center, which surprised me. I couldn't find any recipes, however, that didn't call for frying. So, Alias, if your friend will share, i welcome the recipe. Thank you.
I got this over the phone from her. She said if you have any questions I can give you her cell phone #. The recipe wasn't as healthy as I thought. No wonder it tasted so good!Rice Balls
4 cups Long Grain rice
1 Stick Butter
16 oz part skim mozzarella - Cubed
4 eggs - separate yokes from white
Parmesan cheese 1 cup
optional- 1 bullion cube
If you make them the size between golf ball and tennis ball you will get 35. If you make them the size of a tennis ball you will get 25
Cook rice according to instructions and add 1/2 stick of butter while cooking.
When it is done, add the other half stick of butter
Mix in cubed mozzarella
Stirring very fast
Add in 1 egg yolk at a time - Very slowly (so eggs don't cook and become like scrambled eggs)
Continue adding yolks slowly until you have the 4 yolks in mix
Shape the balls and put into refrigerator for a few hours
Tennis size 25
or
between golf ball and tennis size 35
Have 3 bowls
1- the egg whites
1- white flour
1- seasoned bread crumbs ( if you don't have seasoned bread crumbs, you can season them with onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, parsley and Parmesan cheese)
Take the rice balls out of refrigerator.
one at a time, put the ball into the egg white then the flour.
When done, if they have gotten warm, refrigerate the rice balls.
Then, put in the egg white, again. (if you run out of egg white you can use a whole egg in the mix)
Then put it into the seasoned bread crumbs to coat.
If the are warm again, refrigerate them.
If you have a deep fryer - use that according to instructions.
If not, fill pot half way up and do them in batches of 3 or 4. Fry until they are golden brown. Turning them very gently so all sides are golden brown. The first one may stick. So very gently turn with a fork to loosen from the pot. Cooking time is about 2-3 minutes.
* if flame is too high the mozzarella will pop. If that happens, lower the flame a bit.
If you need help. Let me know and I'll give you her cell #.
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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)
Heh, would you believe I'm taking photographs of them with my iPhone?! Pretty clear pix for a phone camera!