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.

[libertarian27]

'Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish - too much handling will spoil it.'

~Lao Tzu~

[InterceptPoint]

Ping.

[InterceptPoint]

Ping.

[libertarian27]

Weekly Cooking Thread Ping List

Last week’s recipes:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2672597/posts?page=103#103

Dessert* 15 Butter Milk Pie
Dessert* 25 Strawberry Cake Cookies
Dessert* 55 Brownie Dipped Cookies
Dessert* 56 Candy Bar Brownie Muffins
Dessert* 75 Oreo truffles
Dessert* 76 Fat Man’s Misery Thin Mints
Dessert* 86 Jumper’s Motherlode chocolate cake.
Dessert* 92 Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread
Meal* 46 Baked Oatmeal
Meal* 10 Pan Fried Lobster
Meal* 10 Poached Salmon
Meal* 19 Zesty Swiss Chard Wraps
Meal* 21 Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks
Meal* 32 Pressure Cooker Chicken
Meal* 36 Garlic Ginger Barbequed Baby Back Ribs
Meal* 36 Emeril’s ESSENCE Creole Seasoning
Meal* 38 Meat with the Good Gravy
Meal* 45 Bingers Chicken Breasts Parmigiana
Meal* 61 Quick & easy tomato sauce
Meal* 63 Stuffed Pork Chops
Meal* 65 Chicken Paprikas
Meal* 65 Crockpot Beef
Meal* 90 Baked Wrapped BBQ ribs
Meal* 89 Roasted BBQ ribs
Meal* 93 Easy Crockpot Lasagna
Meal* 101 Honey-Glazed Cornish Game Hens with Spiced Compote Stuffing
Side* 14 Yorkshire Pudding
Side* 20 Yorkshire Pudding
Side* 77 Mashed Tri Potatoes & Squash
Side* 84 Yorkshire Pudding
Side* 87 Bill Knapps Copycat Au Gratin potatoes

(I mistyped the date above - curious how cooking has changed 900 years in the future...LOL)

[waterhill]

Anyone have a good gar recipe?

I usually fry the backstraps in butter...

Looking for a different way...

[rambo316]

bump for later.

[Bean Counter]

Gar as in Alligator Gar?? Anything that works for catfish should be just fine.

Didja see the guy who landed a 340 pound gar this week...?? He’s gonna need a 55 gallon drum of oil and a pallet of bread crumbs for that one....

[martin_fierro]

Let's all make Bacon Tater Tots!

Ingredients

    * 1 (32 ounce) package tater tots
    * 2 pounds sliced bacon, cut in half
    * 6 slices American cheese

Directions

   1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Arrange the tater tots in a single layer on a large baking sheet.
Bake for about 10 minutes, so that they are no longer frozen but not completely cooked.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
   2. Place bacon slices in a skillet over medium heat.
Fry bacon until cooked through but still flexible.
Drain on paper towels.
   3. Break each slice of cheese into small pieces.
Each slice should make about 16 pieces. 
Place a piece of cheese against the side of a tater tot. Wrap with a piece of the bacon and secure with a toothpick. 
Place on a baking sheet. Repeat until you run out of tots.
   4. Bake for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bacon is crisp.

[waterhill]

Yes gar: alligator or needlenose.
No, I haven’t seen that one yet, I imagine it was over 6 feet long, though... lol... A nice 3’ needlenose suits me... lol

Tastes like lobster: run a sawzall down the back, remove backstrap, chunk the rest in the compost pile.

Just wondering if anyone grills or broils, I’m not real interested in frying it anymore.

I have thought about making gumbo with it.

[waterhill]

Yeah, Baby, Yeah!

[Bean Counter]

Good description of that cut of fish...I’d be looking for a nice dry rub and then smoke roasting it with something milder like pecan or hazelnut shells. Not too much smoke because the tannin will make fish bitter....

I go with a moderate dusting of a good cajun seasoning, let it sit overnight under refrigeration, then into the smoker until done. Now that would be some good eating...

You could also cut yourself some steaks off that backstrap, season them with the same cajun rub or a good blackening spice and either grill them on cast iron over mesquite charcoal, or blacken them in your favorite cast iron skillet.

Don’t forget the hushpuppies...

[prisoner6]

Checking in. Thanks for the posts!

[31R1O]

I didn’t know there was a cooking ping list. Please add me.

[31R1O]

I didn’t know there was a cooking ping list. Please add me.

[libertarian27]

Where have you been :>)

You’re added - Happy Cooking

[momtothree]

Okay, I’ll bite (pun intended)... what does gar taste like? Do you bake it, fry it or what?

[antisocial]

Bump for later

[Engedi]

ping

[Bean Counter]

Not sure about gar, but I would expect it’s not far from catfish or sturgeon in flavor, probably pretty strongly flavored and somewhat fatty.

[libertarian27]

You’re added to the ping list!