ER Forum Cookbook -- Recipe Posting Thread

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Apostropic homework. Delightful! Sounds very collegiate!

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Another "tip and trick" I used last night, plus a home-made caesar dressing.

If you're using any leafy greens/lettuces/herbs and want to really put a crispy texture into them or "bring them back to life" if they've been in the fridge too long, this not particularly intuitive trick works wonders.

Place whole or torn up to suit in a large bowl or salad spinner that holds water. Fill the bowl with moderately WARM water. Not hot bath level but pleasantly warm to the touch (i'll have to stick the thermo in it the next time I do it). The warm water is readily absorbed by the greens resulting in old wilted stuff looking like its freshly bought and newer greens becoming study and very crisp. After a long soak - at least 10 minutes but as long as several hours if you wish - drain, rinse and fill the bowl with very cold water or water with some ice in it...this slams the water logged cells shut. Spin or pat dry and if not using right away, store in your salad spinner or some other colander that allows air circulation rather than in a plastic bag...if I shred romaine, hit it with the warm/cold cycle and store it in the spinner basket in the fridge the greens will still be good a week later.

Intuitively I thought the warm water would make the greens more wilty but the results are nothing short of amazing. I got some mustard greens last week to make the smoked oyster sandwiches and...well...they looked a little old. Almost didnt get them. An hour in the sink with warm water and they looked fresh picked.

Caesar Dressing:

We like it cheesy, anchovy-y and garlicky, adjust to suit yourself.

*** disclaimer: this recipe contains raw eggs, which may contain salmonella. The risk last time I checked was ~ 1 in 10,000 eggs and this is mitigated by the coddling process which kills surface bacteria and any just inside the shell...allegedly the source of most salmonella poisoning. You may also use store bought pasteurized eggs which are available in many markets.

Take one large egg and submerge it in the shell in a pan of hot boiling water for one minute. Rinse egg under cool water until you can handle it, break it into a blender.

Juice one large lemon, removing seeds. You can do this by squeezing it into the palm of your cupped hand; the juice will run between your fingers and sluice over the edge of your palm, leaving the seeds in your hand. Add juice to blender.

Start blender on high and add approximately one cup of olive oil through the hole in the cover in a slow steady drizzle. It should take you about a minute to do this. You should hear the tone of the slurshing in the blender change to a "thick" sound close to the end of the cup of oil. Congratulations, you've now made a basic mayonnaise. You can short circuit the process and avoid the raw egg thing by tossing a cup of mayo in the blender and adding the lemon juice. Do not use fat free mayo, it will not create a proper sauce or dressing as the gelatin (or whatever the brand is using as a thickener) will just keep absorbing the liquids you add and make a watery tasting sauce. You can however get away with a "light" mayo. Given the rest of the content, not sure its saving you much vs this home-made olive oil mayo.

Toss in 3-5 large cloves of peeled garlic, then a whole drained small flat can of anchovies. You may substitute a teaspoon or more of worcestershire sauce, which has a heck of a lot of anchovy in it (funny sidebar: I know a lot of people who tell me they hate anchovies, then pour worcestershire sauce all over something...its in your head!)

Next dump in about a half cup of shredded or finely chunked/sliced parmesan cheese and a half teaspoon of dry or prepared mustard and a hearty grating of black pepper.

Taste test it, bearing in mind that the garlic flavor will intensify over the next 10-15 minutes. Add a little more lemon juice, worcestershire, garlic or cheese to suit yourself.

Dressing is done; serve immediately or chill. My favorite presentation is to leave the small to medium size romaine leaves whole and cut down the very large ones to big bite-size chunks. Serve with individual dipping bowls of the dressing and eat with your fingers, dunking the leaves into the dressing.

For those intrigued by making their own mayo, stop at the point where you've created the basic egg/lemon/olive oil emulsion, and season with salt, pepper, dry mustard, tabasco, curry powder or whatever floats your boat. You may also replace the lemon juice with any vinegar including fruit and herb infused ones.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Avocado tricks

Like avocados but have trouble handling them because they're a bit slippery? Most guide suggest you turn out the avocado from its peel to a cutting board and then slice. What a mess! Leave them in their skins to slice/dice and avoid the whole problem!

To halve, cut the avocado in half around the pit lengthwise, then hold one half in each hand and turn half a turn, separating the two halves. Hold the half with the pit and smack it with the edge of a medium size knife, twist and the pit will come out stuck on the knife. Tap the knife on the edge of the sink to dislodge the pit.

Take each half still in its skin, hold it flesh side up in your palm and using a butter knife or other non-pointy tool with an edge, insert it and run it horizontally and/or vertically cut into slices or cubes right in the skin. The skin is tough enough that even a somewhat pointy knife wont easily penetrate it. Then use a spoon all around the edges and under the bottom to separate your slices/cubes from the skin, turn it over into a bowl and you're done!

Sprinkle with a little lemon/lime juice or vinegar to prevent discoloration. When storing in the fridge, cover with plastic wrap and push it down over the avocado slices/chunks to remove as much air as possible.

If you have too many avocados (we all have trees here and are awash in the things half the year), halve, turn them out with a spoon, put in a baggie, squeeze out all the air and freeze for up to 2-3 months.

Also makes a nice baby food...very high nutritional content...mashed ripe avocado with a little seasoning or a spoon of mild salsa mixed in was one of Gabes first foods and remains a regular favorite.

[REWahoo]

Originally Posted by Cute Fuzzy Bunny

Avocado tricks

Hey! Watch your language...

[Dreamer]

Originally Posted by Cute Fuzzy Bunny

Avocado tricks






If you have too many avocados (we all have trees here and are awash in the things half the year) I have never had that problem, since I have lived most of my life in PA, OH and WV. Enjoy reading all of your cooking tips. Keep it up!

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Originally Posted by REWahoo!

Hey! Watch your language...

Wow, and I almost said "place the pit on your harvest gold countertop and later you can stick it on some toothpicks in a bowl of water, like some spindly legged old rotund guy at the beach".

I wonder why I have avocado on my mind this morning...

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Super bowls coming up...buffalo chicken wings

Grill or bake wings for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees or low heat on the grill, until done through.

If you're a purist, douse with franks red hot sauce. If you dont like storing your TP in the freezer and belching flames from at least 3 orifices, mix the franks with equal amounts of melted butter and then throw in a little lemon juice to taste.

Toss the wings in the sauce. Serve with blue cheese dressing.

[sgeeeee]

Can someone produce a book review of this new book?

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Reuben Bratwurst...one of the ultimate superbowl foods

Cook brats per package directions. I simmer them in beer until done through and then grill them to lightly char. Nice technique with sausages as grilling them from a raw state often produces burned outsides before they're done through...a little simmer in water, beer, wine, stock or a compatible juice before grilling makes them juicier and assures they're cooked through...plus you can braise a buttload of them this way and then finish as needed on the grill in just a few minutes...great for large parties and/or people showing up at varying times.

Brown sliced onions in butter, put in a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm. Warm a can or jar of sauerkraut and also put it in a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.

Toast rolls, dress with swiss cheese, mustard and thousand island dressing. Top with a brat, some grilled onions and some sauerkraut. Put the cheese between the rolls and all the other stuff...it'll seal the bread from the juice/sauces and keep it from getting soggy and falling apart.

[Dreamer]

Okay, I don't know about any of the other Wednesday Weigh In people, but you are killing me here CFB! I guess I need to get some food in me, but boy do I wish I had one of your Brat sandwiches with onions and sauerkraut!

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Killer...we had them at halftime yesterday. I'm not gonna eat for 2 more days. Unless theres still leftover wings...hmmm...uh oh.

[wallygator69]

Originally Posted by Cute Fuzzy Bunny

Get one or more slabs of baby back pork ribs. You can use this same methodology for regular slab ribs or even beef ribs, but they'll need a lot more cooking time.

Buy a box of extra wide foil...18" wide or more. Pull out an amount a little more than twice as long as the rib slab. Lay it out and put the ribs on top.

We're going to make a rub, but we're not going to rub it in. Simplest is just chili powder. I make a mix of 4 parts brown sugar, one part chili powder, one part cumin, one part black pepper, one part salt, and one part italian seasoning. Be creative. I make a bunch up and put it in a ziploc bag or a canister.

Sprinkle some of this on. You dont want a breaded appearance, so dont overdo it. Consider this as you would heavily "salting" the meat...you want good coverage but too much is not good.

Flip the ribs over so the curved part is face up. Dont bother rubbing this, it wont matter.
Fold the foil over, pinch it off all around snugly (dont rip it), put this in the fridge for an hour or overnight. Or dont, it'll still be ok.

Heat the oven to 350, remove the ribs from the fridge if you put them in the oven on a cookie sheet or something that can catch juice if the packet leaks. You can cook as many packets of these as your oven can handle, just dont stack them. Cook for roughly 60-90 minutes. Open the package at one end and tweak one of the bones. If its just starting to turn in its socket, its done. If the whole slab still has a lot of spring in it, its still underdone. If the bone pulls out, its overdone. Full slab pork ribs may take 2 hours or more...beef ribs even longer...for these you may also want to reduce the heat to 300 and increase the cooking time.

Take them out, and if you like put the wrapped ribs over a large pan and snip the foil in the middle to let the juice out into the pan...this is a good start for a homemade barbecue sauce. If you dont want the juice, do the unwrapping in the sink.

Using scissors or your fingers, unwrap the ribs and either throw them on the grill or under the broiler for a few minutes until they get that brown and crispy look.

Carve them up and serve at the table with sauce on the side.

What we did here was braise the ribs in their own juices and our spice "rub", which has fully infused the meat without any extra work. They're moist, tender, tasty, and above all...easy.

An alternative if you like sticky sauced ribs and dont mind doing some extra work:

After you pinch up the rib foil pack, keep one end open and curved up like a funnel. Add a 1/2 cup of white wine, beer, or whatever floats your boat. A glop of chopped garlic. An extra spoonful or two of brown sugar. A few spoonfuls of balsamic or red wine vinegar. Seal it up. Cook as above. Drain the considerable juices from the foil into a pan. Taste it and add brown sugar, wine, tabasco and/or vinegar to taste. Boil it down until its bbq sauce/glaze consistency, paint it on the ribs, and serve. Dont put them under the broiler or on the grill, the glaze will just burn. Sticky and good.

Ribs are one of my favorites. Any rib recipe can be improved by removing the Membrane from the bone side of the ribs. Paring knife starts an edge and a paper towel seem to work the best for grabbing it and peeling it back.

Always come out more tender and makes falling of the bone easier. Don't go there..

W

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Completely agree...I think in one of my rib recipe postings I mentioned that, but not in this one. Sure helps the rub get into both sides too.

I use a pair of pliers that I keep just for kitchen duty to grab an edge and pull.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Another kitchen hint:

Like chopped herbs in your food but dont like taking the time to pick the leaves from the stems before chopping? Parsley and cilantro are particularly a pain.

Two tips:

Lay a couple of the herb stems on a cutting board or plate and rake them in a parallel manner with the tips of a dinner fork along the stems. The fork will peel off most of the leaves and smaller stems and leave the larger stems behind.

Then, if you're coarsely chopping a lot of parsley, cilantro or other non-wispy herb, place them in a blender, cover with lots of water (but not enough to make the blender overflow), then pulse the blender until your herbs have been chopped to the desired level. This will also clean the herbs. Wait a few moments for any dirt to settle to the bottom of the blender. Drain in a colander or other mesh strainer to remove the water and pat dry if necessary with a paper towel. Great way to wash/chop a cup or two of herbs.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Crepes Sauvages

Another recipe I'd made a brazillion times when living in the frozen northeast tundra, and then made the mistake of making for my wife. Its either this or the eggs benedict now.

1 1/3 cups corn meal...the coarser the cornmeal, the crunchier the pancake. I use fairly coarse polenta
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder...use a little more if you find you want them poofier, less or none if you like thin crispy cakes
1/4 cup flour

Stir the dry ingredients and add a quarter cup of not-too-hot melted butter (nuke it until its soft, then let it stand while you're measuring the dry ingredients), mixing thoroughly to coat the dry materials and have no lumps.

Separately, combine 2 cups buttermilk and 2 beaten eggs. If you dont have buttermilk you can sort of fake the taste by mixing a cup of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and allowing it to stand. You can also mix milk with a tablespoon or two of plain yogurt to fake it.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry with as few strokes as possible.

Pour onto the griddle small and cook as regular pancakes, you're shooting for about 2-3" cakes. Stir the batter between rounds of cooking.

The batter will produce thin crispy pancakes with a nice crunch from the coarse cornmeal, unless you added a little extra baking powder. If you prefer a very tender cake but like the taste of this, leave out the baking powder when making, let the batter stand for an hour so the cornmeal will soften, then add the baking powder and cook.

I serve these with grade B maple syrup from trader joes, which IMO has better flavor than grade A.

[Dreamer]

CFB

How in the world does your wife stay so thin? (I think that I remember you saying she was very thin.) I would weigh a gazillion pounds if I were her!

[cute fuzzy bunny]

She walks for 12 hours straight a couple of days a week!

The other moms in the neighborhood weren't too happy with her for a while after she not only lost all the 'baby weight' but another 10lbs on top of that.

She's also a regular treadmill user.

Its a funny moment when my 15-20lbs overweight carcass shows up at the doctors office with my wife and son, who are both rail thin. I'm quite sure the doc pictures us all sitting at the dinner table, a pile of food in front of me yelling "YOU CAN HAVE WHATS LEFT WHEN I FINISH!" as they hungrily look on.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Got a couple more that I havent tried yet, but thought I'd throw out the parts that intrigue me as they're fairly self explanatory.

One is for potato pancakes, which as anyone who ever made them will tell you, shredding and squeezing the moisture out of taters is way too much work. This one uses defrosted frozen shredded hash browns (oreida) mixed with a little butter, egg, corn starch and minced scallions. Form, spray with PAM and bake in the oven for about 18 minutes. Allegedly foolproof and very quick and easy. I'll post the full recipe when i'm in a typing mood some other time.

The other was for a faux smoked brisket to do indoors for the poor cold weather folks. Poke the brisket all over with a fork, hit it with a rub, wrap in a POUND of bacon, wrap that in foil and bake for four hours at 275, then shut the oven off and let it stand in the oven for another hour. Remove the bacon from the brisket, render it in a pan, drain off the fat and then make a nice bacon bbq sauce with it, brush it on the meat and pass it under the broiler for a few minutes to get rid of that brown/gray appearance caused by the bacon-braising. Allegedly imparts a nice smoky flavor and produces a very tender brisket. This one caught my eye because when I use my bullet smoker, I put a pork shoulder on the rack over a full brisket and let the smoky pork fat from the shoulder drip on the brisket to keep it moist and add flavor, and that really works great.

Recipes are from the new "Cooks Country" magazine that Cooks Illustrated is sending out to all current subscribers.

[ScooterGuy]

My daughter gave me this nice recipe for roast chicken. She said it was for single men with an innovative streak:

Pre-heat oven to 350 deg. F. Take a roasting chicken, about 5-6 lbs. Rinse chicken and remove package of gibblets. Rub all over with some butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stuff with a mixture of stove top stuffing and popcorn. Place in a roasting pan, and put it into the 350 deg. oven. After a coupler of hours, kneel down and listen for popping sounds. When the oven door blows open and the chicke's ass sails across the kitchen, the bird is done.

And you thought that men couldn't cook!

[ScooterGuy]

Dementia Brownies Recipe

REMOVE CLOTHING FROM OVEN AND PREHEAT TO 375.

MELT 1 CUP MARGARINE IN SAUCEPAN.

REMOVE CLOTHING FROM OVEN AND TELL MOM "NO, NO"

ADD MARGARINE TO 2 CUPS SUGAR.

TAKE SHORTENING CAN AWAY FROM MOM AND CLEAN CUPBOARDS.

MEASURE 1/2 CUP COCOA.

TAKE SHORTENING CAN AWAY FROM MOM AGAIN AND BATHE CAT.

APPLY ANTISEPTIC AND BANDAGES TO SCRATCHES SUSTAINED WHILE REMOVING SHORTENING FROM CAT'S TAIL.

ASSEMBLE 4 EGGS, 2 TSP VANILLA AND 1 1/2 CUPS SIFTED FLOUR.

TAKE SMOLDERING CLOTHES FROM OVEN AND OPEN ALL DOORS AND WINDOWS FOR VENTILATION.

MEASURE 1 TSP SALT, 1/2 CUP NUTS AND BEAT ALL INGREDIENTS WELL.

LET CAT OUT OF REFRIGERATOR.

POUR MIXTURE INTO WELL GREASED 9X13 INCH PAN.
BAKE 25 MINUTES.

RESCUE CAT AND TAKE RAZOR AWAY FROM MOM. EXPLAIN TO HER THAT YOU HAVE NO IDEA IF SHAVED CATS WILL SUNBURN.

THROW CAT OUTSIDE WHILE HE'S STILL ABLE TO RUN AWAY.

FROSTING:
MIX IN A SAUCEPAN: 1 CUP SUGAR, 1 OZ UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE, 1/4 CUP MARGARINE.

TAKE THE DARN CLOTHES OUT OF THE BROILER AND PUT