What did you Bake/Cook Today?!?!?! :)

[Kangirl]

Is that how it's spelled? I thought I got it wrong. Der. And for good pasticcio I'd travel anywhere! Greek food rawks

 

[Eileen]

I have recently discovered the wonder of grits. I've lived in the South my whole life and I've had them periodically, but only in the past two or three months have I come to actually enjoy (and, in fact, relish) them.

I haven't made this yet but it's supposed to be one of the best shrimp & grits recipes known to man. It's from Crook's Corner, a restaurant in Chapel Hill that elevates Southern cooking to rich-people food without sacrificing soul. Bill Neal put the place on the map in the 80s and after his death, his protege Bill Smith took over. This is Bill Neal's recipe which I plan to try this week.

I pass that place every morning. I will have to check this dish out!

 

[Ivy]

I've actually never been. We went by once when I was in college, not realizing that it's sort of on the pricey side. Not having enough money between us for a $60+ meal, we left stealthily and went to Bojangles instead. I've decided it's where we're going on our next date, though.

 

[kiddykat]

I think the BEST recipe I ever learned in my international cuisines cooking class was Corned Beef. I'm NOT kidding! SO EZ!! Throw in some corned beef over some cut up cabbage into a crockpot. Let it cook for a few hours. Voila!! It's GOOD ta Go! Yum, tastes SO good!!

Also, I like any wok recipes. All I have to do is, chop chop, toss in my aromatics, heat up the wok with a lil oil, throw in some veggies & proteins, (stealing Emeril's word here) BAM! Done.

Best part? You don't even have to soap the wok. Just brush it with the bamboo sticks. Hang it up to dry! That's how it builds flavor over time.

Gee, thx. Now I'm getting really hungry. With this state of the economy and my pocket not as full as it used to be, I just eat anything affordable. lol

 

[Ivy]

Corned beef & cabbage makes me drool. I've never actually had it but it sounds awesome.

 

[kiddykat]

Corned beef & cabbage makes me drool. I've never actually had it but it sounds awesome.

Ivy, it's so DELICIOUS.. I'll dream about a dish of corned beef by while I heat up my chimichanga.

 

[prplchknz]

corned beef and cabbage is awesome especially when you throw in some potatoes with it, always made it in a pressure cooker though. then making reubens the next day from the left overs also very good.

 

[Geoff]

Next time you're in the states come to Chapel Hill and we'll go get some grits together, Geoff.

I'm sure I can only keep avoiding NC a few more times, and I'll finally give in and embrace the dark side. That trip through the smokies keeps calling me.

I suppose I'll just have to hope that prpl is wrong, and I won't spew in front of my new found friends when faced with grits. That would be kinda embarassing.

 

[prplchknz]

I also don't like oatmeal or any other mushy cereal, so ya know. but grits are the worse they smell like sweaty gym socks to me, and of course I grew up in the south so they were everywhere, and i don't like the texture either. its the only food that makes me want to vomit when i even think of them.

 

[Eileen]

I'm sure I can only keep avoiding NC a few more times, and I'll finally give in and embrace the dark side. That trip through the smokies keeps calling me.

I suppose I'll just have to hope that prpl is wrong, and I won't spew in front of my new found friends when faced with grits. That would be kinda embarassing.

No way, grits are GREAT, especially if made by a real southerner. SO DELICIOUS.

Come to NC. Ivy and I will show you a good time in Chapel Hill!

 

[Giggly]

No way, grits are GREAT, especially if made by a real southerner. SO DELICIOUS.

Absolutely!

 

[Kangirl]

Someone recommend a brand of green curry paste (for Thai cooking) that isn't 'Thai' brand, because they've weakened it so much I have to use a whole small jar for one curry! I have access to ethnic grocery stores so if you have an obscure one, let me know it. I LOOOVE green curry and I can't abide this weak crappy stuff anymore. :steam:

 

[kyuuei]

When I steam asparagus, because I think it's plain by itself, I also cut up small pieces of goat cheese, coat them in panko and flour, pop them in the freezer for like 20 minutes, then fry them in a bit of hot olive oil for a minute per side.

And I agree Kangirl.. I'm also a fan of curry, when it's made right.

 

[Biaxident]

Someone recommend a brand of green curry paste (for Thai cooking) that isn't 'Thai' brand, because they've weakened it so much I have to use a whole small jar for one curry! I have access to ethnic grocery stores so if you have an obscure one, let me know it. I LOOOVE green curry and I can't abide this weak crappy stuff anymore. :steam:

I use Mae Ploy brand. I don't know how strong you like it, but 2 tablespoons in a gallon of liquid will clear my sinuses.

 

[Geoff]

Someone recommend a brand of green curry paste (for Thai cooking) that isn't 'Thai' brand, because they've weakened it so much I have to use a whole small jar for one curry! I have access to ethnic grocery stores so if you have an obscure one, let me know it. I LOOOVE green curry and I can't abide this weak crappy stuff anymore. :steam:

If you get the bf to pick some up for you, there's a lot of thai curry paste available in the UK. The thai brand stuff done in tubs in Tesco's is pretty good...

 

[Kangirl]

Thanks Biaxident and Geoff. I think I've seen the brand Biaxident posted in the Asian grocery store here, and I'll also get the bf to hit up Tescos as well.

 

[Lexicon]

Amon Amarth a stew art kick to day...

Low Fat Oatmeal Ginger Cookies

Ok, so I was experimenting w/ingredients this morning & came up with the following [successful on my 1st try] recipe:



Ingredients:

- 1 cup of old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup egg whites
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 tablespoons [packed] brown sugar
- 3 packets of aspartame sweetener (better known as Equal or Nutrasweet - and no, it does not give you cancer, contrary to popular false belief..)
- 1 teaspoon fat-free/calorie-free butter spray [I used Parkay brand. We didn't have any real butter or margarine; I'm sure you could use that too.. 1tsp is sort of a negligible amt of fat/cal for most things, in retrospect].
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1&1/2 teaspoons cinnamon



Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly spray baking pan w/non-stick cooking spray.
- Mix together the following in a large bowl & set aside: the egg whites, molasses, butter spray, vanilla, brown sugar, & aspartame sweetener.
- In another bowl, mix together your remaining ingredients, & then blend into the egg/sugar mixture
(chill mix for a half hour or more for easier handling)
- Drop cookie dough by rounded teaspoon onto baking pan; bake 7-10 minutes.


Makes a little over a dozen cookies. Best served warm.

Well.. enjoy n' such.

 

[Kangirl]

Delicious Stuff Thread (recipes etc.)

Please post your delicious stuff!

Kat, you go first!

 

[Amargith]

Witches Brew

Ingredients:

1 gallon(=5 liter) of apple cider

1 orange

1 apple

3 cinnamon sticks

1/8 of a teaspoon nutmeg

1 handful of rose petal (optional)

1 big pot

Pour apple cider into large kettle. Peel orange and squeeze its juice into cider, discarding the pulp. Tear the orange peel into 1-inch strips (didn't do this myself), and add to the mixture. Core apple and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Add to mixture. Break the cinnamon sticks in half. Add to mixture. Add nutmeg. Warm over low heat for 2 hours. Do not bring to a boil. Stir often. Seve warm from pumpkin punch bowl. Sprinkle with rose petals

uit: "Halloween" by Silver Ravenwolf, p 110. Exact quote except for the spell spoken over it.

She sucks as an author on meaningful stuff, but this recipe has gained me quite some credit with my friends

 

[Katsuni]

I cook and experiment from time to time, generally my preferance is "easy to make" but with "very strong flavour". I've always HATED the idea of being able to eat something and not notice yeu were eating it. Like rice. Yeu can be eating rice for 10 minutes straight while talking at the table, and eat the whole thing and not even notice yeu did it. I prefer food yeu stick in yeur mouth and it slaps yeu with the frying pan and goes BAM.

Anyways here's a few recipies I've come up with... note that I don't normally measure anything when cooking like this though, so if I list any measurements at all, they're estimates at best. Generally I just grab the list of ingredients and add them with whot looks like the right amount.

The exact quote I've used once to describe my cooking...

ShadowKatsuni: They're not even really recipies...
ShadowKatsuni: Recipies have a thought out manner to them and pre-decided idea of whot it'll be at the end, and measured amounts and stuff
ShadowKatsuni: It's more like edible frankenstein monsters



SHRIMP SAUCE

1 cup of BBQ sauce (steak / rib works best)
3-4 tbsp of soya sauce
1/4 cup yellow mustard (I've since replaced this with sweet/hot mustard)
1 tbsp worcheshire sauce
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 small cloves of diced or grated garlic
1 full tbsp of oregano
2 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 tbsp dried cayanne peppers
1 tsp black pepper


Next off hellballs, because meatballs are SPICEH! <3

Materials:

High quality sausage (italian or german preferred) - Can be replaced with hamburger

Monterey Jack Jalapino cheese (mozza works as a backup if yeu don't have)

Jalepino peppers
Eggs
Flour
Salsa (hot preferred)
Hot sauce
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (rapeseed oil works too, but I prefer the olive)

Spices: Oregano, Marjoram, Thyme, Sweet Basil, Cayenne, Chili, etc.



Step 1: Take a small piece of cheese, roll it into a ball around a slice of jalepino pepper, roughly about 1/2 inch diameter.

Step 2: Grab some of the sausage meat, wrap it around the cheese ball to make a normal sized meatball, but with a core of cheese in the center. Boil to cook in water.

Step 3: Add the salsa, spices, etc to a pot and heat it, add meatballs and let them baste in it for a few hours to soak in the spicy flavour. 1 hour is good enough if they'll be served immediately after, if yeu'll serve them tomorrow, 4 hours is generally required to lock in the flavour that long.

Step 4: Take meatballs out, dry them off, cut a relatively thin layer of cheese and wrap meatball in cheese.

Step 5: Mix eggs in a bowl, dip the meat-cheeseball into it, then dump the ball into a bowl of flour/cayenne mixture to coat it with flour so it sticks but the cayenne so it's more spicy and flavourful. After this, repeat so yeu have a second layer of egg, followed by a second layer of flour/cayenne.

Step 6: Put the oil into a deep pot, and deep fry the meatballs individually in extra virgin olive oil <3



PIZZA CAKE

Similar to a pizza pie, in the way a pie is to a cake!

See, pizza has toppings. Cake, however, has fillings >=3

Unlike normal, yeu make TRIPLE the dough yeu normally would for a pizza :O

This is for a good reason.

Lay out the first normal pizza doughness as usual, then follow by placing a large amount of shredded cheese over it, and a second layer of pizza dough, and squeeze the edges togeather to make sure that the layers are firmly held in place.

Next off, place this into a 9inch cake pan, preferably a tall one. Use the remaining dough to make sort of a pie like shell around the cake pan, so that it's a very tall one. Press edges togeather so the dough is all one piece.

Layer in fillings like meat, cheese, etc, making it nice a full up to the top.

Put on a final layer of dough on the top similar to a pie shell, and then paint the exposed portions of dough with extra virgin olive oil <3

Note that any layer of cheese yeu use, mix in oregano with the cheese, it melts into it to mix togeather perfectly.

The cooking takes alot longer than a normal pizza, I suggest a lower temperature as well.





STEAK

Cut a steak into cube sized pieces. The thicker the steak, the bigger the pieces can be.

In the top of each cube, poke a sharp knife through each one, making an incision through it without reaching the bottom or sides. Into the incision of each cube, push inside a whole clove of garlic.

Next, mix togeather soya sauce (I prefer this mushroom soy stuffs I can get here <3 ), a small amount of worcheshire sauce (about 1/4 of the soya amount used), some hot sauce, oregano, and a large amount of montreal style steak spice. Mix these togeather into an even mixture, and make sure it's deep enough to cover the steak cubes in.

Put into slow cooker and cook all day to make sure the flavour sinks in all the way <3

Eat with chopsticks because I <3 chopsticks and it's as good an excuse as any to use them XD





PASTA SAUCE <3

Get several fresh tomatoes, and dice them up to use as the basis, add some ripped iceburg lettuice, this garlic chili stuffs I found I love, and use that as the base of the sauce

Next off, get some grape tomatoes and DON'T cut them up, dice up an onion, and half a garlic, then fry those in hot sauce so it sears into them, with lots of olive oil, mix in some oregano, marjoram, thyme, sweet basil and some montreal steak spices

Get some portobello mushrooms and BBQ them, oddly they taste like steak almost exactly if yeu do that, then dice them up afterwards, BBQ some hot ittalian sausage or a bratwurst if available too, a few of them, then dice those up after, throw the mushyrooms in with the frying stuffies, then puts the sausace in with the base sauce

Next off, add another layer of olive oil while frying it, and another layer of hot sauce, make sure everything's getting coated evenly, and in a seperate pot take the base sauce

Then takes some meat balls and fill a frying pan with water, then add alot of hot sauce and diced garlic to the water, so it turns red, then baste some meatballs in it so the flavour soaks in and just leave them like that until yeu're done with the rest

Then basically yeu'd just cooks everything until it's ready and dump it all togeather into the sauce, then take a block of montery jack cheese, and cut that up into partial chunks and add that into the sauce too, and stir it until it melts and it'll cause the stuffs to all stick togeather really well

Then just cook pasta as normal and yeu haves a good sauce =3



Num num foods <3