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Cooking / Recipes


archernyc

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I've noticed that there are quite a few people talking about food on various threads - whether it's the best barbecue, or breadmaking tips, or whatever.

What's your favorite recipe?

Here's one that's very easy for what's been a very hot summer. I make the asparagus first thing in the morning while it's still cool outside and when dinnertime rolls around, I don't have to turn on the stove.

Salmon Roll-ups

1 pkg - sliced, smoked salmon

asparagus

Cream cheese with scallions & chives

Steam asparagus so that it's still firm then quickly put into ice-cold bath of water. Remove from ice-water and place in container that can be tightly sealed. Add olive oil and balsamic vinegar (or prepared salad dressing of your choice) and seal container. Let asparagus marinate at least a few hours - best if overnight.

Lay the salmon flat and spread about 2" from end with about a tbl. of cream cheese. Cut the asparagus into 1" sections and place four pieces (or however many you prefer) on the creamcheese at the tip of the salmon. Simply fold over and roll up completely, pop into your mouth and ENJOY! I sometimes add or substitute cucumber for the asparagus.

Edited by archernyc
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Okay here goes.

Recipie 1.

Basic sponge cake recipie as told to me by my Nan, who was told it by hers and so on and so fourth.

2,2,2,4.

Thats the basic layout of it.

2 eggs, 2 Oz's sugar, 2 Oz's of butter and 4 Oz's of self raising flour.

To this you may add all manner of things, fruit, chocolate chips, brandy, vanilla, cinnamon, mixed spice and nutmeg, ground cardamon (my favourite).

Whisk butter and sugar, whisk in eggs and any essence you want, then fold (NOT WHISK!) in the rest, pour into greased and lined cake tin, cook for 50-70 mins at 150 (Fan Oven). Done.

Very simple, cheap and most of all adaptable, it does not make the best sponge in the world (that needs far more eggs) but its a great base for all manner of flavours ect.

Will add more later.

Recipie 2 - Rice with Fish

This is not really even a recipie... it just a combination of things in a bowl than you eat, its incredible cheap, very filling with low fat and low calories. I discovered it after an uncle suggested it as "cheap, fast diet food". Now its not for everyone but i find its very very tasty, far more so than the ingrediants would suggest.

Essentially its perfect student food....

What you will need.

Brown Whole-grain rice, enough for one bowl, any rice will do but whole grain is better for you, if you are REALLY ina rush then you can use micro-waveable rice, then it will be ready in 1 min 30 seconds.

1 tin of fish, any fish will do, i find sardines, pichards or mackerel in tomato sauce is best, stops the dish being to dry.

Capers, you can get them in salt, they last years in the cuboard and have tons of flavour for thier cost, you only need a few too!

Salt, and pepper to taste.

Instructions, cook rice, place rice in a bowl, add fish and capers, stir, eat.

Thats it... simple eh? you can add sweet-corn, chopped tommies, anything you like but in the end its still cheap, fast and filling its not huat-cuisine but it yummy any-ways.

Will update soon.. with home-made mushroom soup, pea and mint pasta and various cake recipies....

Enjoy!

EDIT - Update

Recipie 2 - Cream of Mushroom Soup - Serves 4

This is a recipie i pulled from a book years ago, i have tinkered with it and altered it to suit my tastes and i would recomend that people play with the herb and spices, i favour copious ammounts of cumin and fennel seed but the choice is up to you. This soup can be frozen and will keep for a goodly while, simply de-frost and re-heat. This is a good warming soup, and goes well with crusty bread either as a main meal or a starter. I consider it a staple recipie and hope you will too!

What you will need.

250 Grams of Mushrooms - any kind will do though i favour chesnut mushrooms as they have a pleasing colour and stronger flavour.

1 Large white onion - You can can add more if you wish though the mushrooms should always out-weigh the onions

3-4 cloves of garlic

3/4 pint of veggie/chicken stock

3/4 pint of semi-skinned milk

1 large table spoon of butter - More may be needed, depends on how low cal you want the end result

2 bay leaves

1 large tablespoon of white flour

Herb/Spice selection - I have found all of these herbs are good, i favour cumin, fennel and bay and leave out the basil, experiment and see what you like!

Basil

Fennel Seeds

Cumin Seeds

Black Pepper

Salt

How to make it.

De-stalk a few of the mushrooms and lay them aside (around 1/5th of your total) chop up the rest of the mushrooms and the onion and garlic, melt the butter in a heavy bottom saucepan abd add the mushrooms, onion, cumin and fennel and cook till soft, make sure they are well coated in the melted butter. After 5-6 mins of gentle cooking add the table-spoon of flour, stir well and cook for 2 mins, be careful! the flour-mixture will burn very easily and if it does you will need to start over.

Add the stock and milk, mix in well then add the remaining herbs, season with salt and pepper to taste. bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 15-20 mins till rich and foaming on top, taste frequently and add herbs ect as needed. Take the soup off the heat, remove bay-leaves (unles you like stringy stalk!) and blend till smooth, whilst this is happening take the mushroom caps you set aside at the start and slice them finely, fry them in a small ammount of butter till crispy, add these to the now smooth blended soup, pour into bowls, garnish with a dollop of cream (if your feeling indulgent) and serve with fresh bread.

Enjoy!

Edited by Wyrdlight
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Ooh, I like the "Foods I Want to Try" thread. My choice would be truffles. I've had plenty of foods with truffle oil (in fact, I use it in my mac n cheese recipe) but never the real thing. Truffle oil drizzled on popcorn is delish!

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Thank you for this thread :) ...

It's National Watermelon Day! :w00t:

Make a Vodka Watermelon : http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Vodka-Watermelon

My pleasure! I saw your post about needing a thread like this. ^_^

When I was in college, we used to make spiked watermelon all the time! Yumm! Now, I make Sangria:

One bottle of red wine (If you're really cheap, 2 buck chuck from Trader Joes, but I like Coppola Rosso)

1 cup of Cointreau or Grand Marnier

Orange Juice & 7-Up to taste (maybe 1/2c-1 c each? I just pour and then taste

cubed/sliced fruit of your choice: apples, grapes, pineapple, oranges, etc.

& the "secret" ingredient: cinnamon! Sprinkle heavily on top, then stir in.

YUMMMY! :yes:

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archernyc Thank you again :) .

---

Today i recommend to you :

A very easy italian salad for summer :

Ingredients

4 large ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/3 cup fresh basil leaves

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

fine sea salt to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1.On a large platter, alternate and overlap the tomato slices, mozzarella cheese slices, and basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with sea salt and pepper.

I make this salad when i come back from my job... is very good for you and for your wonderful family . :tu:

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archernyc Thank you again :) .

---

Today i recommend to you :

4 large ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/3 cup fresh basil leaves

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

fine sea salt to taste

freshly ground black pepper to taste

That's known as a Caprese salad. I make this all the time as I grow my own basil. I just got a recipe for mozzarella and want to try to make my own. We have a big kitchen where I work, which is also near the Union Sq. greenmarket, so I'll often go to the greenmarket to buy heirloom tomatoes ($5 each!) and sourdough baguettes to soak up all the goodness. I also use balsamic vinegar with mine.

Here's another good summer salad:

Orzo

Chopped tomotoes

Green veggie: could be broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, your choice (just discovered a new variety of squash at the greenmarket called an "avocado squash." The flesh is like zucchini, but its shaped more like a small acorn squash with a skin similar to a watermelon. I like this one too.)

mozzarella

roasted red peppers

red onion

minced garlic

balsamic vinegar and olive oil to taste

One of my favorites! Yummmy!!! :yes:

If this thread is still going when the weather cools down, I'll post my mac n cheese recipe with truffle oil. It's super rich and fattening.

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Dear archernyc I put it my own Mozzarella, tomatoes and garlic from my garden and then the result is a diferrent taste,specially becarful with Mozzarella because some of them got many bacteries.

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Sangria is a spanish copcktel and is delicious,is easy !

Ingredients

1/2 cup brandy

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate

1/3 cup orange juice

1 (750 milliliter) bottle dry red wine

1/2 cup triple sec

1 lemon, sliced into rounds

1 orange, sliced into rounds

1 lime, sliced into rounds

1/4 cup white sugar (if you want)

8 maraschino cherries

Directions

1.In a large pitcher or bowl, mix together the brandy, lemon juice, lemonade concentrate, orange juice, red wine, triple sec, and sugar. Float slices of lemon, orange and lime, and maraschino cherries in the mixture. Refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

For a fizzy sangria, add club soda just before serving.The brandy is the key to this recipe.

Que aproveche :) .

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My mother made this for me all the time and i still love it . :w00t:

Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds ground beef

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons dried basil, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 hamburger buns, split

Directions

1.Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.

2.In a bowl, mix the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, basil, garlic salt, and pepper. Form the mixture into 4 burger patties.

3.Lightly oil the grill grate, and cook burgers about 6 minutes, turning once, to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), or to desired doneness. Serve on hamburger buns.

These are very juicy.Usually when I make burgers they come out dry and my dauther doesn't like them but not these. B)

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Here is an very easy recipe for an appetizer that my family loves.

Dried Beef Roll Ups

8 oz. cream cheese

1/4 t. garlic salt

1/4 t. fresh cracked black pepper

small dill pickles

1 glass jar dried beef

Mix cream cheese, garlic salt and pepper together until smooth.

Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on a piece of beef. Add the pickle in the center and roll the beef around it, and stick a toothpick in to it to hold together. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Great idea for a thread! All of these sound so delicious, I can't wait to try them.

Here are my contributions,

They're easy because I am a lazy cook. :blush:

Oh, and I also don't measure anything so the amounts are all rough estimates.

Mix in a bowl,

2 or 3 very ripe tomatoes cut in smallish pieces

chopped garlic 1 or 2 cloves or more, depending on your taste

chopped green onions once again depending on taste

salt

pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Add whatever else you think would make it taste good

Stir it all together and put the bowl in the refrigerator while you cook the pasta.

Cook whatever kind of pasta you like, rotini is my favorite.

When the pasta is done, rinse it with cold water and stir in the tomato mixture.

Delicious!

This one is a little more work,

Put 1 or 2 lbs of boneless white meat chicken cut up in pieces in a pan and cook with the lid on, stirring frequently, you can add a little water if you need to.

When the chicken is done remove it from the pan, but keep the juice in the pan.

In a separate bowl mix 2 tablespoons of flour or cornstarch with 1/2 cup worcestershire sauce until it is well blended then add to the pan

then add,

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup of dark syrup, doesn't matter what kind, I prefer cane syrup but even cheap pancake syrup will work

1 tablespoon or more of hot sauce, or none, depending on your taste

Stir this mixture almost constantly until it thickens and then add the chicken back in.

Serve over rice or on buns.

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I would like to share the recipe of my favourite snack...Ripe Plantain Fritters...its a South Indian Delicacy

Ingredients

3 - Ripe plantains

1 cup - Rice flour

3 tbsp - Maida / all purpose flour

3 tbsp - Sugar

a pinch or two - Turmeric powder

a pinch - salt

oil to fry

Method

1) Peel the skin off the ripe plantain and cut into two parts. Then cut each part into 3- 4 slices,lengthwise.

P9280325.JPG

2 )Mix rice powder, maida, sugar, turmeric powder and salt. Make a thick batter.

3) Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Dip the sliced plantains in the batter and deep fry till golden brown in colour.

Serve with evening tea.

PazhamPori1.jpg

Variation

With the sliced ripe plantain....Heat ghee or butter in a non-stick pan. Fry the slices on both side till light brown in colour.Drain and place on a serving plate. Sprinkle some sugar on the fried plantains and serve.

Edited by The Spartan
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Here is an very easy recipe for an appetizer that my family loves.

Dried Beef Roll Ups

8 oz. cream cheese

1/4 t. garlic salt

1/4 t. fresh cracked black pepper

small dill pickles

1 glass jar dried beef

Mix cream cheese, garlic salt and pepper together until smooth.

Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on a piece of beef. Add the pickle in the center and roll the beef around it, and stick a toothpick in to it to hold together. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

This sounds yummy, but I've never seen jars of dried beef. Is that something common to the midwest?

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I would like to share the recipe of my favourite snack...Ripe Plantain Fritters...its a South Indian Delicacy

Ingredients

3 - Ripe plantains

1 cup - Rice flour

3 tbsp - Maida / all purpose flour

3 tbsp - Sugar

a pinch or two - Turmeric powder

a pinch - salt

oil to fry

Method

1) Peel the skin off the ripe plantain and cut into two parts. Then cut each part into 3- 4 slices,lengthwise.

P9280325.JPG

2 )Mix rice powder, maida, sugar, turmeric powder and salt. Make a thick batter.

3) Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Dip the sliced plantains in the batter and deep fry till golden brown in colour.

Serve with evening tea.

PazhamPori1.jpg

Variation

With the sliced ripe plantain....Heat ghee or butter in a non-stick pan. Fry the slices on both side till light brown in colour.Drain and place on a serving plate. Sprinkle some sugar on the fried plantains and serve.

This sounds yummy too! Thanks everyone for sharing!

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This sounds yummy, but I've never seen jars of dried beef. Is that something common to the midwest?

Yes. http://www.hormelfoods.com/brands/hormel/HormelDriedBeef.aspx

Be careful with the stuff though It can be very salty, just rinse it a couple times in a strainer.

Here is another recipe for dried beef. This one uses the chopped up beef rather than the whole pieces.

INGREDIENTS

* ¼ pound chipped beef

* 4 tablespoons butter

* 3 tablespoons flour

* 1 cup milk

* 1 cup heavy cream

* salt and pepper to taste

* buttered toast points

INSTRUCTIONS

1. If the beef is very salty, run under cold water for 30 seconds and drain. Cut beef into shreds. In a 9-inch skillet, heat the beef in the butter until the edges start to curl. Sprinkle with the flour and cook 1 minute, stirring often. Stir in the milk and cream and cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve on buttered toast points.

2. Can be prepared ahead and reheated. Can be frozen.

3. Note: There are several versions of this dish, this being the simplest. You can add ½ pound thinly sliced mushrooms sauteed in 2 tablespoons butter, if desired. Or stir in 2 ounces sliced pimientos or 2 cups of grated cheddar. Or you can add all of these ingredients together.

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Hmmm, thanks for the link. I've never seen that stuff in my whole life and I'm 50! I'll look around and see if I can find it - maybe I haven't seen it because I wasn't looking for it!

Generally, I try to stick with fresh, unprocessed, natural, organic, etc. Yes, sorry to say, as a NYer, I'm a bit of a food snob - but very willing to try new things! I think I remember my mom making something similar that she referred to as "chipped beef" where we would buy thinly sliced packaged roast beef but I think we made it with sour cream instead.

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Hmmm, thanks for the link. I've never seen that stuff in my whole life and I'm 50! I'll look around and see if I can find it - maybe I haven't seen it because I wasn't looking for it!

Generally, I try to stick with fresh, unprocessed, natural, organic, etc. Yes, sorry to say, as a NYer, I'm a bit of a food snob - but very willing to try new things! I think I remember my mom making something similar that she referred to as "chipped beef" where we would buy thinly sliced packaged roast beef but I think we made it with sour cream instead.

I usually go with fresh and unprocessed to. (I don't do much organic though) But these are 2 recipes my Mom made when I was younger and I've just always loved them.

:)

Edited by my_psychosis
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Here is another favorite of ours.

Irish Beef and Guinness Casserole

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons of oil

* 2 pounds stew beef

* 2 onions thinly sliced

* 2 cloves garlic, chopped

* 1 tablespoon soft dark brown sugar

* 1 tablespoon plain flour

* 1 cup Guinness

* 2/3 cup water

* Bouquet garni (See notes below)

* 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

* 1 tablespoon dijon mustard or other French mustard

* 1 pinch of ground cloves

* salt/freshly ground black pepper

* 1/2 pound of broccoli/cauliflower florets

Instructions

Heat the oil in a frying pan. In it brown the beef, a few pieces at a time.

Remove the meat as it browns to a crock pot.

Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook for a few minutes, sprinkle in the sugar and flour, stir it around to soak up the juices, then gradually stir in the water and the Guinness stirring all the time.

Add the bouquet garni, wine vinegar, mustard and ground cloves and seasoning; bring to the boil and pour it over the meat in the crock pot.

Cook 2 or 3 hours. (till meat is tender.

Approximately 20 mins before the end of cooking time, add broccoli or cauliflower to the casserole unless you are making ahead of time (see note).

Notes

* Bouquet garni---thyme, bay leaf, parsley, rosemary

* The dish will taste better if made a day or two ahead. Add the broccoli or cauliflower when you reheat. Freezes very well.

* Goes good over egg noodles

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  • 2 weeks later...

I want to share one of my favourite Indian Pudding recipes - its actually a rice pudding

Its called ADA PRADAMAN

ada+1.JPG

The above image shows Adas. These are available in any indian (not native indian, but Indian as in Asia) stores.

Ingredients

Ada - 200grms / 7 oz

Jaggery- 350 grms

Coconut milk( first )- 1 cup

Coconut milk ( second)- 2 cups

Coconut milk ( Third)- 4 cups

Cashews- 10

Raisins - 10- 15

Cardamon- 1/2 tsp

Dry Ginger powder-a pinch

Ghee- 2+ 1 tsp

Coconut pieces - 3 tsp

Wash and drain ada and let it sit in a stainer. Extract first, second and third milk of coconut and keep it aside. Actually , there is no need to extract the coconut milk, since coconut milk is readily available in stores. Powder jaggery and bring it to boil with one cup of water and strain out to remove impurities.

Heat a heavy bottomed cooking vessel and pour in one tsp of ghee. Add ada and in a low flame roast till it changes color to golden and ada is well coated with ghee. Switch off the flame and let it cool down a bit. ( there is also another way of making this and it is to put ada in boiling water cook and drain and wash with cold water till it is ready)

Now add the third extract of coconut milk and cook the ada till it is soft and keep it aside. Make sure that the ada is properly cooked before adding it to jaggery.

Pour jaggery syrup in a heavy bottom pan and allow it to attain a two thread consistency and slowly stir in the second coconut extract and cooked ada along with cardamon powder and dry ginger powder. Stir in occasionally till it attains a desired consistency. Finally add the first extract of coconut and lower the flame and allow it to simmer. Switch off the flame after a minute or two.

Roast cashews, raisins and coconut pieces in ghee till golden brown and garnish. Serve warm or chilled as you desire.

ada3.JPG

Edited by The Spartan
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When I was younger I invented a dish for the poor bachelor.

I called it Mexican Spaghetti. It's more like a pasta salad than spaghetti though.

Very simple.

Boil Spaghetti or pasta of your choice and drain under cold water.

Add 1 Jar of favorite Salsa.

Chill for 1 hour and serve.

Options are adding sliced black olives and jalepenos. One time I added a can of three bean salad (drained) to it.

It's a very interesting dish.

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I want to share one of my favourite Indian Pudding recipes - its actually a rice pudding

Its called ADA PRADAMAN

this sounds really yummy! I will share it with an Indian friend of mine (she's an awesome cook) to see if she's had it before.

We have a monthly pot-luck lunch at work and this Friday, she's making chicken in a yogurt sauce with naan (YUM!!!).

Thanks all, for sharing your recipes. Once it gets cooler in a few weeks, I will post my Sambar soup recipe as well as the green cleansing soup (awesome!).

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Vegetable, Feta and Rotini Salad

3 cups tricolor rotini pasta, cooked, drained and cooled

1 cup Crumbled Feta Cheese

1 cup cherry tomatoes halved

1 cup chopped cucumbers

1/2 cup sliced black olives

1/2 cup zesty Italian Dressing

1/4 cup finely chopped red onions

Combine ingredients.

Refrigerate 1 hour.

YUMMY

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