Posted on 04/16/2011 8:07:04 AM PDT by libertarian27
Welcome to the 19th 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 - or all of them:)! 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.
Don’t forget to make the Cauliflower Gratin with Netizen’s Three Grain Pilaf recipe as it is really a winning combination. You can cook them both in the same 375 degree oven.
I actually cooked my roasted chicken in the same oven as well, just giving the chicken a bit of a head start on the other two dishes, then adding the pilaf to the oven about 30 minutes in to the cooking time of the chicken and the gratin about 15 minutes later. I pulled the chicken first and let it rest covered in foil while the other two dishes finished cooking and then pulled them while my husband was carving the chicken.
Thanks, so your opinion is that a roux would be better than a cornstarch or flour slurry at the end?
I am a ‘roux’ gal at heart but was thinking the cornstarch would be lighter for the gravy.
(I got to get to chopping and simmering *yickes* - I’ll be back - out by 4pm)
The simple answer is it depends on how long you hold the gravy.
I would do a roux because it is such a large batch and the gravy will hold over time and stay good if you have leftovers.
The roux should only take a couple minutes.
Don’t dump the whole roux in at the same time. Just add until you get the thickness you want and it will not be heavy. I’d try two tablespoons per quart.
You can do a cornstarch slurry also.
Pork gravy:
In a large pot saute’ onions, garlic, bell pepper and celery in bacon grease.
Add a three pound pork shoulder to pot and cover with water.
Cook for six hours.
Remove pork shoulder from pot and meat from bone.
Add meat back to pot and cook another thirty minutes.
Puree batches in a blender and return to pot.
Thicken or thin to desired texture.
Throw that away.
Buy large container of powdered pork gravy and follow instructions.
Enjoy!
HA!
I do have a few packets of gravy kicking around if I need them - or the gravy comes out so fabulously everyone scarfs it and I run out - lol
(I tried some the other day to see how they taste - kind of yucky)
Back to my onions and raisins - thanks to all!
OK, you’ve talked me into a roux - for the holding power.
I want to pre-make this and bring to the function and keep hot. I got to get out of here at 4pm and the dinner is @6:30.
Do you think the roux will hold up better?
Would it be OK to ‘roux-it-up’ 2 hours before - then re-heat?
I figure I could add roux or loosen it up with stock right before it goes out - decent plan or no?
Thanks again, never thought I’d be making gravy for 70-lol
I reheat my gravy all the time, I just do it slowly on fairly low heat and stir it frequently until it is hot again. I always freeze any leftover gravy we aren’t going to finish up in a day or two in freezer containers, so if I want gravy for something mid week when I don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, I can just take it out of the freezer the night before or in the morning and then warm it up while our meat is cooking for dinner that night. It always tastes just as good to us the second time around.
From the sound of things, I definitely think roux is the best way to go.
I’d roux it as soon as you get the flavor profile you want.
It should hold up.
If everything is done right, you’d only have to reheat it, but if it is too thick you can thin it out with stock.
You sound like you have a good plan and know what you are doing, so just trust your instincts and you’ll be good.
Mulligatawney Soup
INGREDIENTS:
1 chicken
3 quarts water or chicken broth (no salt)
4 ribs diced celery
1 medium diced onion
3 diced carrots
3 diced tart apples
2 peeled and diced medium turnips
1 medium diced tomato
1 cup uncooked rice
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in a stock pot, and bring to a boil. Let slow boil for 45 minutes. Remove chicken and let chicken cool. Pick meat from chicken, discarding skin and bones. Return meat to pot. Cook until vegetables are tender. Taste and correct seasonings. Serve hot.
Thanks for posting that recipe. It brought to mind one that I have, but is far simpler to make. I will try yours, it sounds great.
Is that the Soup Nazi’s secret recipe?
[If you never watched “Seinfeld”... never mind]
Glad it sounded good to you. It is really an easy recipe to make and it went ever so well with the Three Grain Pilaf recipe that Netizen posted a couple of weeks ago. Please let me know how you like it.
My husband has always told me he doesn’t like brown rice or barley, as well as cauliflower but he certainly didn’t show it last night. Of course I didn’t tell him what was in the pilaf until after he said he loved it. I figured he would think it was all bulgur wheat pilaf (which he loves)and therefore not complain about the other grains in it. He actually went one better and asked me what I did to the pilaf this time because it tasted even better than usual. He ate two large helpings of the pilaf and one large helping of the cauliflower, so I actually had several victories last night over the pickiest eater in my family!
For someone who hates barley, brown rice, and cauliflower he sure ate a lot of it!
BUMP & Bookmark. Thanks for all of your hard work! :)
All the recipes I have for cookies are full of sugar.
I think I have a diabetic cookbook upstairs somewhere, I'll take a look in a bit.
No soup for you!!! :>)
OK - The only diabetic book I have has five dessert recipes . . . Blueberry Bavarian; Chocolate Angel Food Cake; Italian Biscotti; Marble Cheesecake and Strawberry Frozen Yogurt.
Sorry, no cookie recipes. If one of the above floats you boat let me know.
I never met a cauliflower that I didn’t like! Sometimes I buy an extra one just to snack on raw.
Well, gravy came out decent, I used about 14 tablespoons of roux (had way too much stock) so I threw in 3 packs of (icky) pork gravy mix and some salt/seasonings (didn’t have any spare time to mess with it)- and it came out good - a thin sauce for the pork loin - had that sucker on the stove for 4 hours as everything else was getting done.
The caramelized onions and raisins was the hit of the dinner, excellent reviews. And nothing says banquet like those canned potatoes that we baked off and doctored with the pan drippings, butter and seasonings - another hit.
Pork loins came out of the oven at 140’ to rest - perfect.
Oh I love it raw too!
Glad you liked the Three Grain Pilaf. Its a good way to get a nice variety of nutrients and fiber. Its also a nice substitute for stuffing.
I bet you’ll come up with lots of seasoning variations. :)
I saved your Cauliflower Gratin recipe. It sounds really good.
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