Weekly Cooking Thread - February 19, 2011

FreeRepublicCooks&Bakers | February 19, 2911 | libertarian27

[libertarian27]

Welcome to the 11th installment of the FR Weekly Cooking Thread.

Looking for something new to make or made something new that came out great?

Please share a 'tried-and-true' recipe or two for fellow FReepers to add to their 'go-to' recipe stack of Family favorites?

Here's the place to share and explore your next favorite recipe.

[kalee]

Thank you, I previewed it and it looked OK. I don’t know what happened.

[Netizen]

I like buttermilk so I usually have it on hand. My mom always used 1 tsp of vinegar to 1 cup of milk. I see some use 1 Tablespoon. Guess it depends on how tart you want it.

I’ve also read that you can add 1 tsp of vinegar to bread dough to make it like sourdough. Haven’t tried it yet, but will.

I like the other available options just in case one doesn’t have vinegar on hand either. I can see where the lemon juice might make it lemony. I can’t stand orange zest in baked goods, so I understand.

[Nuocmam]

MY Adobo reciepe varies slightly:
I use a equal amounts of soy sauce and vinegar, add a touch of brown sugar and don’t use ginger. Add enough water to cover meat and simmer until done. I also usually cook both bone in chicken and bone in pork in the same batch. Also, I sometimes put the chicken in the oven to crisp up the skin after cooking.
Boneless, skinless chicken and boneless pork just don’t pass muster in this dish!
As you say this may well be the Philippine national dish but there are there are probably as many versions as there are households.

[Netizen]

I had the same problem when I previewed the substitutes, but it looked bad in the preview so I knew.

I saw your extra !’s and took them out, only because that substitute list had several! in a row and by removing the extras it formatted properly. I can only guess that a string of ! must be some type of html code and if you use any html then you have to html the entire post which can be tedious at times.

[kalee]

I’m not normally extravagant with !!!!’s, (I know it annoys grammarians) but, trust me, these rolls are worth every extra !. LOL
Thanks again.

[Semper911]

Poorman’s Toffee

In my house we call that "Crack", because a) it is made of crackers, and b) because it is so addictive!

[Semper911]

Do you have room for one more on that ping list of yours?

[SouthDixie]

Those look darn tastey.

[Trillian]

LOL..This is what we refer to as crack in our household. Everyone is always asking for the recipe because it’s so addictive. I make it for my husband to bring to work every once in a while.

Trillian’s Crack

2 sticks of butter
1 cup of dark brown sugar
½ cup of corn syrup
1 teaspoon of baking soda
15 cups of chex cereal, corn and rice mixed

Place chex in a large paper shopping bag (double bag it) and set aside.

In a stainless steel saucepan melt butter, brown sugar and corn syrup together. When it starts to boil, set timer for 2 minutes. Stir constantly and do not stop. When 2 minutes are up, have baking soda ready. Take pan off heat, add baking soda and stir quickly. It will foam up so be careful. Pour all of mixture over chex and fold bag closed. Shake really well until everything is evenly coated. Pour onto light non-stick baking pans.

Heat oven to 250. Place pans in for 10 minutes. Stir it around with a wooden spoon. Bake for another 10 minutes and then take out. Use wooden spoon and stir around a few times in pan and then let cool.

We also make it with those big corn puffs. They’re both good but we prefer the chex.

[SouthDixie]

That sounds good, I am always looking for different variations of cole slaw...(love the horseradish) sans the poppy seeds and add apples and raisins!

[libertarian27]

Just barely, it’s getting crowded in here - lots of cooks :>)
You’re added!

[libertarian27]

Hubby wanted Matzo’s - so I bought Matzo’s - then he eats 2 in the package- that’s it.
So.....
Found a recipe online for “Matzo Crack” that’s pretty much the same as bgill’s - addictive indeed.

An additional hint from that recipe is to sprinkle sea salt/Kosher salt on the melted chocolate - really makes it pop - Yum!

[Netizen]

Pasta and Kidney Bean Salad
2 cups rotini (spiral) or other medium sized pasta 2 cups red kidney beans, cooked 1 cup  zucchini, diced 1 cup green bell pepper, diced 1 cup tomato, chopped 1/3  cup green olives, chopped	1 cup mayonnaise 1/2 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp coriander 1/4 tsp sage Feta cheese optional
Cook pasta until al dente.  Rinse and drain. Put in large bowl and add rest of the ingredients.  Mix thoroughly and serve at room temperature.  Yield 6 servings   Nutrition Facts: 383 calories, 30 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 14 mg cholesterol, 423 mg sodium, 23 g carbohydrate, 8 g fiber, 8 g protein, 2 g sugars, 129 mg phosphorous, 65 mg calcium, 3 mg iron, 436 mg potassium, 641 IU vitamin A, 29 mg ATE vitamin E, 28 mg vitamin C.

This is a new recipe for us.  I first made this last week and I just finished making another batch.  Its from a low glycemic index cookbook.  The above is the recipe as in the book, but I did make some changes.

I don't care for uncooked zucchini so I used a can of green beans (unsalted).  I also used a can of light red kidney beans, (rinsed and drained).  I replaced the chopped tomato and chopped green pepper with 1 can of Rotel.  I didn't have any green olives on hand, but will try it when I do and I will try it using sliced black olives as well.  The mayo.  I used 1/2 low fat and half canola (both Hellmans).  Seasonings, I reduced the coriander to 1/4 and the sage to just under 1/4, only because I wasn't too sure how coriander would taste and I know sage can be overwhelming.  So far the sage hasn't been a problem at all, so next time I'll probably go ahead with the full 1/4.  I've been increasing the coriander each time too, so neither of them have been overpowering.  I mix the mayo and seasings in a separate bowl then add to the other bowl so as to not over mix the noodles and cause them to fall apart.

We really like this. The changes made would reduce the fat and when the canola mayo is gone I'll probably stick with the low fat, which would really reduce the fat.

[dainbramaged]

You’re right about the many versions of adobo, kind of like turkey stuffing or meatloaf - each cook does it differently.
I usually use just chicken thighs instead of a cut up fryer, and the ginger is a bit out of the ordinary according to my Filipino friends. Startin’ to get hungry here...

[Arrowhead1952]

I have a question for the cooking thread members.

Have any of you tried a spaghetti squash? They are great. Put them in the microwave for about seven minutes, turn half a turn and another seven minutes.

Take out with a cooking glove. They are VERY hot. Let cool for about 20 minutes and cut in half. Take out the seeds. Pull the stringers out with a fork. Serve with any pasta topping.

[Netizen]

I have. I've also shredded and boiled cabbage and had it with pasta sauce. I like both.

[Arrowhead1952]

Thanks for that tidbit. We have several heads of cabbage in the garden and may try that with one or two.

[ChocChipCookie]

That’s a great recipe!

[libertarian27]

Had this last night:

Sauerbraten (Slow Cooker)

MARINADE (3 days before meal)
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup red wine vinegar
2 cups cold water
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon black peppercorns, coarsely crushed
1 Tablespoon juniper berries, coarsely crushed(Couldn’t find them - left them off)
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
2-3 Tablespoons Sauerbraten Spice(Used Pickling Spices Instead)
@5 pounds boneless beef roast

Combine all ingredients, except the meat, and boil in a pan then cool to room temperature

Put Beef in large bowl or plastic bag(better) and pour marinade over all and refrigerate for 2-3 DAYS - turning a couple of times a day if needed.

ROASTING/ SAUCE INGREDIENTS:
3 Tablespoons butter
2 1/2 cups onions, diced
2 1/2 cups carrots, diced
1 1/4 cups celery, diced (I left this out)
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup gingersnap cookies, crumbled

Pat roast dry - save the marinade liquid (throw out the solids(onions,peppercorns, etc)
Sear roast on the stove top @2-3 min each side in 3T butter. Transfer to a plate.
Add vegetables to the butter and cook off @5 min. Sprinkle the 2T flour over all and incorporate. Pour in 2 cups of the reserved marinade and 1/2 cup water and bring to boil over high heat.

Place a few onions,carrots on the bottom of your slow cooker, add the roast and pour all over the roast.
Cook on low for around 8 hours.(Until tender)

Transfer 2 1/2 cups of strained liquid into a pan. Add 3/4 cups ground ginger snap cookies and heat over medium heat for 10 minutes.

Strain sauce through a metal sieve and return the sauce to the slow cooker. For thicker sauce - get as much of the marinade out of slow cooker before adding in the ginger snap sauce.

(Original recipe called for the vegetables to be tossed - but they were good so I left them in and threw a couple of cans of whole boiled potatoes in the slow cooker while I was making the sauce)

[libertarian27]

Red Cabbage and Apples
(goes great with Sauerbraten lol:>)
Bet it would be great with Pork Roast, etc

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 cups shredded red cabbage
1 onion, chopped
2 tart apples - peeled, cored and sliced
2 tablespoons water

1 1/2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons white sugar
3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

Directions:
Heat oil in a medium size saucepan. Stir in cabbage and onion; fry until wilted. Stir in apple and water, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer about 25 minutes.

Pour vinegar and sugar into the mixture while tasting for desired sweet and sour taste. Cook another 5 to 6 minutes.

(I made this when I started my slow cooker for the sauerbraten, into fridge to be reheated when ready to eat)

Hubby is not a cabbage-loving-guy and he thought this was great!