[Jamestown1630]

Many thanks to Yaelle, for taking on the thread last week. And, Fungi, you may experience some gratifying Schadenfreude when you know that my ‘vacation’ was only two days old when my back went out, and many things I had planned had to be ditched, if they involved standing up ;-)

This week: Chicken Croquettes, and a Hallowe’en treat!

Posting early, because the spine is cooperating with sitting at computer tonight.

(If you would like to be on or off of this weekly cooking thread ping list, please send a private message.)

-JT

[JayGalt]

Adorable : )

[mylife]

I know nothing of Brazilian food other than it is eclectic in simplicity and exotic in the amazon ingedients

Bring me the fried mortadella sangwich

[mylife]

In the 60s in the midwest there was an avian flu.
Chicken was not available and we made mock chicken legs from ground pork

[leaning conservative]

Ha, I thought that was a poached pear & I was all yuck. Now I’m like yum! So sorry about your back. Messed up plans are never fun.

[kalee]

Welcome back! Sorry about your back and vacation. Hope you feel better soon.

[Twotone]

I’m so sorry about your back! If it’s sore muscles I highly recommend a Tens Unit...

https://www.amazon.com/Tens-Unit-Machine-Management-Rehabilitation/dp/B00NCRE4GO

It uses electrical stimulation to cause the muscles to relax. I love mine.

I have a new favorite recipe from Facebook. I made my own Salsa Verde, with several different types of chilies, tomatillos, garlic, & onions, but a store-bought salsa verde would be fine. Take a pork loin & cook until done in a crockpot. Pour off excess liquid & then pull apart with forks for pulled pork. Then add the salsa verde & an 8 oz block of cream cheese & heat. Add back extra fluid if necessary. Excellent on flour tortillas or tortilla chips...any number of things. It would even make a great taco salad. Yum.

[Qiviut]

Sorry about the back. Mine didn’t like standing all day canning about 2 weeks ago & is still bothering me somewhat - doesn’t take much these days to set it off. Hope yours improves quickly!

Two things:

This afternoon/evening, I made Pioneer Woman’s red wine pot roast. I used two ‘football’ (ham muscle) venison roasts. They look like a football so I cut them in half to brown them. The pot liquid is red wine, beef broth, some orange marmalade (yes, really!) rosemary & thyme. It’s just delicious. After 4 hours at 275, any connective tissue is dissolved & the meat is falling apart. She uses chuck roast - I can only imagine how good this must be with beef. Definitely going to be making it again. Link:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/red-wine-pot-roast-3250772

Second thing .... I made Mongolian Venison Sunday evening. It’s supposed to be like PF Chang’s Mongolian Beef. The sauce is 1/2 cup soy sauce (I used lite soy) & 1/2 cup water. There’s some brown sugar, garlic & ginger involved as well. I felt very, very ill after eating it - same thing happened after eating a stir fry where the sauce was primarily soy. I’m certain it’s the high level of sodium (not a soy allergy) and I was drinking copious amounts of water all night - by morning, I felt back to normal. I looked around to see if there was a substitute for soy and found one - saw the same one in several places - link:
http://www.cookinggodsway.com/soy-sauce-substitute/

The alternative soy will change the recipes somewhat, but using real soy sauce is just a ‘no go’ for me from now on. I guess it’s a self-inflicted form of aversion therapy - just the thought of soy sauce makes me feel a bit ill.

I did see some other recipes at this ‘cookinggodsway’ site that looked interesting & I’m going to try at a later date.

[Aliska]

<

Comfort food any time of year. I don't find it too "eggy" and don't like recipes that call for yolks leaving whites to use up. I don't strain but will eliminate bits of egg if you do. I had been using it for an ice-cream base adding rich cream, then tried it as a soft custard which I loved, now our fav is with a twist, don't know what it is called but see it molded on google images

I make a double batch, use only 5 large eggs, fits perfectly in an 8X8 glass baking dish.

The twist is after everything is ready to cook except adding the vanilla and before I put it on the heat, I sprinkle 2 pkgs of unflavored gelatin and let it sit for 5 or 10 min. The surface looks like the hide of a Sharpei dog, not to worry. It makes a nice thick pretty smooth gelatin. I don't add any cinnamon or nutmeg for this but love baked custard with nutmeg.

Last time my 4-quart "pouring" pan has steep sides and some gets a little thicker where the bottom and edge join. Also, I read that it helps to use a candy thermometer and not cook it over 170. Last batch got slightly curdled but after the gelatin hardened, you would never know. It's a nice soft yellow without adding coloring.

I can't remember how I beat the eggs in, by hand with a silicon whisk for sure; you don't want it to get frothy on top though.

Google images search for molded gelatin pudding.

[Yaelle]

Showed my daughter the owl brownies and she wants to make them soon!

[PrincessB]

I started a wild yeast sourdough starter from concord grapes this past weekend. It should be ready for use tomorrow. I am going to try a bread first and later in the week I plan to make a batch of sourdough starter waffles to freeze and toast at will.

If this works out I will have a weekly bread experiment for most of the winter.

[outofsalt]

I combined your ideas and made owl croquettes! It was a hoot! Hope your feeling better.

[pugmama]

Made this for a Southern dinner last week. Everyone liked it.

http://12tomatoes.com/sugar-cream-pie/

[pugmama]

Lots of great food blogs here as “winners”.

http://www.saveur.com/blog-awards-2017-winners

[pugmama]

This looks like a great recipe. I am going to try it tonight.

http://www.acozykitchen.com/harissa-chicken-fluffy-couscous/

[greeneyes]

You have my sympathy. Currently having my own back issues.

Had laser therapy today and taking mega strong anti inflammatory. Xray tomorrow.

[pugmama]

These are hilarious! I am going to make them for the Halloweeners in our neighborhood.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/10/halloween-vampire-cookies-graham-cracker-marshmallow-smores.html