What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[turbo]

that's another thing that will happen this year--

my garden is a raised bed and I'm going to add an herb area this year---fresh frozen spices for the next fall and winter...

Basil is very easy to grow, and it makes a wonderful addition to many dishes. You can also make pesto and freeze it in ice-cube trays. When the cubes are solid, you can transfer them to a zip-type freezer bag and use them as you want over the winter. We also make pesto from garlic scapes, very nice.

 

[rewebster]

it may not be considered a 'true' spice, but I'll put honey on the list--along with vanilla, cinnamon, sugar, Italian spice/herb mix, pepper, salt, cayenne, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder.

 

[turbo]

Aside from spices, there are staples that must be in the pantry or refrigerator.

crushed sauce tomatoes in cans
dry yellow peas
black beans (both dry and canned)
pasta
basmati rice
panko bread crumbs
tomato paste
my home-made chili relishes and salsas - from mild to searing hot
my home-made pickles - bread and butter style and dill pickles - with and without chilies
Annie's Naturals ketchup
Annie's Naturals roasted red pepper vinaigrette
Cain's all-natural mayonnaise
Farmer's brand prepared horseradish
Farmer's brand hot beer mustard
romano cheese
Vermont extra-sharp cheddar
tins of crab and tuna
ripe olives
jewish rye bread or my wife's home-made onion rye for sandwiches
fresh garlic
yellow onions
potatoes
leeks (fresh or frozen)
local brown eggs (nice and fresh)
cider vinegar
flour (various)
brown sugar, white sugar, and molasses
lard (no Crisco!)
Bakewell cream
baking soda
corn starch
various nuts
frozen peppers from our garden (Bell and various chilies)
hot Italian sausage
salt pork
bacon
various steaks and poultry
fresh carrots and cabbage
butter
coffee

I'm sure that I've left off some important staples, but these are things that I take note of before we even start running low.

 

[rewebster]

nice list (more than 10), but a nice list---

I was going to add garlic, but that would put my 'list' at 11

 

[turbo]

nice list (more than 10), but a nice list---

I was going to add garlic, but that would put my 'list' at 11

Well, I managed to keep the spices limited to 10, but that was very difficult. How to leave off things like parsley, cinnamon, nutmeg, rosemary, mint, etc...

I would never want to be without them, but the top ten are the ones that I use the most.

 

[rewebster]

oh yeah, I see your 10 list now----


I know this one guy who has salt and pepper, that's it, and not pepper all the time

 

[Evo]

Aside from spices, there are staples that must be in the pantry or refrigerator.

crushed sauce tomatoes in cans
dry yellow peas
black beans (both dry and canned)
pasta
basmati rice
panko bread crumbs
tomato paste
my home-made chili relishes and salsas - from mild to searing hot
my home-made pickles - bread and butter style and dill pickles - with and without chilies
Annie's Naturals ketchup
Annie's Naturals roasted red pepper vinaigrette
Cain's all-natural mayonnaise
Farmer's brand prepared horseradish
Farmer's brand hot beer mustard
romano cheese
Vermont extra-sharp cheddar
tins of crab and tuna
ripe olives
jewish rye bread or my wife's home-made onion rye for sandwiches
fresh garlic
yellow onions
potatoes
leeks (fresh or frozen)
local brown eggs (nice and fresh)
cider vinegar
flour (various)
brown sugar, white sugar, and molasses
lard (no Crisco!)
Bakewell cream
baking soda
corn starch
various nuts
frozen peppers from our garden (Bell and various chilies)
hot Italian sausage
salt pork
bacon
various steaks and poultry
fresh carrots and cabbage
butter
coffee

I'm sure that I've left off some important staples, but these are things that I take note of before we even start running low.

That's pretty much my list of staples also except for the leeks and your salsa's. The Brands of condiments are regional, Cain's is very much like Hellman's from what I remember when I lived in New England.

I also keep many types of dried beans in the cupboard, along with chicken and beef bouillion cubes.

Alton Brown did a show on Crisco, he loves it. I had to buy some for an old cookie recipe (older than me) where there is no suitable substitute for the taste and texture, otherwise it's only real butter for my cookies. My ex husband's mother was from Vermont and she made her chocolate chip cookies with crisco and walnuts. BLEH. I use butter and pecans, I'm from Texas where people know how to make Tollhouse Cookies.

 

[rewebster]

Evo---you'd get even more admiration if you sent everyone some chocolate chip cookies

 

[turbo]

Evo---you'd get even more admiration if you sent everyone some chocolate chip cookies

And I'd get fear and awe if I started shipping out jars of my habanero relish. The FBI would probably be called in.

 

[rewebster]

mmmm, mmmmm, mmmm...

chocolate chip cookies dipped in habanero sauce!


mmmmmm!

 

[turbo]

mmmm, mmmmm, mmmm...

chocolate chip cookies dipped in habanero sauce!


mmmmmm!

Now that's just strange! Tollhouse cookies go better with green tomato/jalapeno salsa than with habanero relish.

 

[turbo]

that's another thing that will happen this year--

my garden is a raised bed and I'm going to add an herb area this year---fresh frozen spices for the next fall and winter...

As a follow-up. We grow basil in containers on the back deck. Down in the garden are parsley, cilantro, dill and a few other herbs. Cilantro is wonderful in fresh salsas, and the fresh dill is very nice in cream-sauces for salmon and other fish. Don't just use the dill weed - make sure to use the tiny yellow florets. The flavor is incredible.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

Simple things today: smoked salmon, creme fraiche, and dill, on a toasted whole wheat bagel.

 

[turbo]

Simple things today: smoked salmon, creme fraiche, and dill, on a toasted whole wheat bagel.

Mmm! Sounds great.

My connection at the local Atlantic salmon hatchery died of heart failure last summer. I may not get salmon again when they next cull their brood stock. His wife works for one of my father's best friends, and it sure was a treat (and a surprise) to get over 100# of fresh salmon a couple of years back. The hatchery is operated by a salmon-farming business that has an exclusive agreement with a large supermarket chain. Part of the agreement is that when they cull brood-stock, the fish can be given away or destroyed, but NOT sold.

 

[IMP]

Food Thread you say? Here is some "food thread", 100% edible:

 

[Evo]

That's cute IMP.

 

[turbo]

Some time back, I posted about the methods for making nice scrambled eggs. It seems like such a simple thing, but the post elicited some discussion, and some misunderstandings about the physics of cooking great eggs.

Today, I propose another basic. How to make perfect macaroni and cheese. Not the crappy watery or gummy stuff that your relatives or friends might have made, but something that will keep you coming back for more.

Set your oven to pre-heat at 450 deg F. Then boil enough macaroni noodles to make a properly sized batch. Put salt in that water and bring it to a heavy boil before you add the noodles. While the noodles are boiling, crush some garlic, and finely-chop some jalapeno peppers and yellow onions. When the noodles are much firmer than "al dente", strain them through a colander and shake them to remove excess water. Do not rinse! Return the noodles to the pot and mix in the chopped vegetables thoroughly.

Get out a nice heavy casserole dish and fill it about half-way with the noodles and vegetables. Dust the noodles lightly with a few tablespoons of flour, then cover that layer with a nice thick layer of sharp Vermont Cheddar. Make another layer of noodles with vegetables, and dust that layer with a few tablespoons of flour. Then, pour in enough milk so that the milk is not up to the surface of the top layer, but is visible between the noodles. Top with another generous layer of sharp Vermont Cheddar, and put the casserole dish in the oven. By the time the top layer of cheese is golden brown, the dish is done. Served fresh and hot, the dish is tantalizing, if a bit loose. Once the dish has been refrigerated, the combination of the flour, cheese, starch from the noodles, etc, allows the mix to solidify, so it can be easily be cut with a butter knife into single-serving sizes to be microwaved.

I left out salt, pepper, etc. That's up to you.

 

[Evo]

Oooh, sounds wonderful!

Then, when it's cold, cut it into squares, wrap it in bacon, dip it in egg, then in flour, then in bread crumbs and DEEP FRY IT!

MUWAHAHAHA, Sorry, I watched Paula Deen do that a couple of hours ago on a repeat.

Ingredients
1 recipe "The Lady's Cheesy Mac" prepared, chilled in the refrigerator overnight, and cut into 15 squares, recipe follows
1 pound bacon
Flour
2 eggs, beaten
Plain bread crumbs
Peanut oil, for frying
Directions
Heat peanut oil to 350 degrees F.

Wrap each square of cheesy mac with 1 strip of bacon, and fasten with toothpick. Dredge each square in flour then egg and then bread crumbs to coat. Fry for about 3 minutes until golden brown.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/ladys-fried-mac-recipe/index.html

 

[MotoH]

The Perfect Pork Chop.

1) Buy pork chops from store
2) salt and pepper pork chops
3) Turn grill on to whatever temperature floats your boat
4) put pork chops on grill
5) flip until both sides have black grill marks
6) put on plate and eat.


I hope you enjoyed this recipe from the MotoH cookbook (25 dollars by paypal)

 

[turbo]

Oooh, sounds wonderful!

Then, when it's cold, cut it into squares, wrap it in bacon, dip it in egg, then in flour, then in bread crumbs and DEEP FRY IT!

You are evil! This kind of macaroni and cheese has kept my body and soul together for decades.

 

[Evo]

You are evil! This kind of macaroni and cheese has kept my body and soul together for decades.

I know, each time I see her wrap macaroni in bacon, batter it, and then deep fry it, I feel a heart attack coming on.

Your recipe sounds great, I'm going to try it on the Evo child this weekend.

 

[turbo]

I know, each time I see her wrap macaroni in bacon, batter it, and then deep fry it, I feel a heart attack coming on.

Your recipe sounds great, I'm going to try it on the Evo child this weekend.

This type of macaroni is killer.
Please try it.

 

[rewebster]

I know, each time I see her wrap macaroni in bacon, batter it, and then deep fry it, I feel a heart attack coming on.

I haven't had this but for some reason I think of county or state fair food concession stands.

 

[Evo]

[begin rant]Cooking for one. This has got to be one of the hardest things to do from variety to cost. I am one of the most frugal people on this planet, so buying food items in small, overpriced quantities just goes against my grain. Seriously, at the grocery store where they buy meat/poultry/seafood in bulk then re-package the food in-store, is there really any reason for them to charge more for smaller quantities? If I buy a 10 pound package of beef, it's usually ~30 cents per pound cheaper than if I buy 1 pound. Smaller cans and boxes of food are also significantly more expensive by weight than larger cans and boxes.

I end up opting for the larger sizes since almost all recipes seem to make 6-8 servings. Then I have a ton of leftovers, which for some recipes is ok, and sometimes even better, but a lot of foods are best eaten right when cooked. I used to go through the trouble of making little single meal packages of leftovers and freezing them for later use, but that can add costs in packaging that can reduce any savings I gained in buying the larger quanties. Not to mention that my apartment freezer compartment is half the size of the one I had at my house, so the leftovers get pushed to the back and by the time I find them, freezer burn has ruined them.

I want variety, but I won't buy an entire container of food where the recipe calls for one or two teaspoons of it and the rest will likely spoil before I get around to ever using it again.[end rant]

Oh, I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight and nothing appeals to me, and I have tons of food. I might try Paula Deen's Chicken Georgia, sounds quick and easy.

Ingredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 ounces grated mozzarella cheese

Directions

Melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and shallots and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook 10 minutes. Add chicken and cook 10 minutes on each side, or until tender. Transfer chicken to platter and sprinkle with grated cheese. Top with mushroom mixture. Cook and let stand 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/chicken-georgia-recipe/index.html

 

[turbo]

My house smells wonderful! I'm making a big batch of my from-scratch pizza sauce, and it has to simmer for hours to get to the right consistency.

 

[Evo]

I made a delicious potato & collard green soup yesterday.

I used three yukon gold potatoes, (cut into small cubes)
1 pound chopped frozen collard greens
6 cups of water & 6 chicken bouillion cubes
1 half medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp mustard powder (not wet mustard)
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
a couple of pinches of red pepper flakes
a few shakes of Frank's original hot sauce (you can go much heavier on the pepper and hot sauce)
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then let simmer 20-30 minutes, or until onion is transparent and stock is slightly reduced (do not cover while cooking)

Slightly mash soup with masher to mash most of the potato, (if you prefer a cream soup, you can blend with a hand blender, I prefer the small bits of collards)

Add 3 ounces of cream cheese (I use 1/3 fat neufchatel), 1/4 cup grated parmesan/Romano cheese, and stir until completely melted. Season to taste with salt & pepper (I use Morton's Nature's Seasons)

Pour into bowls and (optional) add crispy croutons and/or shredded cheddar or Mexican 4 blend cheese (which I always keep on hand). Bits of cripsy cooked & drained bacon adds a nice touch.

 

[turbo]

Now that sounds good! I might have to try this - we have had good luck combining potatoes, onions, and greens (collards or kale) with hot sausage.

Tonight, though, is pizza. Onion and green pepper pizza with mozzarella, topped lightly with grated Romano and additional oregano before baking.

I don't measure anything, but the recipe has stayed the same for about 15 years and it always comes out consistent. For single people, or folks with little freezer-space, here's how to make a small batch.

Start with a large can of Pastene peeled ground tomatoes. This is important, since you'll be simmering the sauce for a long time, and you want to use sauce tomatoes that have no skins, so they will de-water without scorching.
Dump the tomatoes in a blender, and add in:
a couple of tbs of olive oil
salt
black pepper
cayenne
garlic powder
onion powder
oregano
basil
hot sauce of some kind (I use my home-made habanero relish)
maybe a tbs or two of sugar if you like your pizza sauce to not be too tart

Liquefy this mix at your blender's highest speed, using the "pulse" button for best mixing. This step ensures that the tomato cells are ruptured and broken up, so they will dewater easily. When I first started making this sauce years ago, I had foaming problems while simmering, which was cured by the addition of the olive oil.

After blending thoroughly, transfer the sauce to a large stock pot with a lot of surface area, and simmer. My stock pots are stainless, and tend to develop hot spots while simmering, so to prevent that, I put my perforated aluminum pizza pan on the burner, and set the stock pot on top of that. The pizza pan distributes the heat evenly to the bottom of the stock pot, so there is no scorching and less stirring is required.

 

[turbo]

The little custom butcher-shop that opened a few miles from here is turning out to be a treasure! The butcher's wife and my wife get along really well, and she is sensitive to glutamates, so when they make sausages, deli meats, etc they don't add "natural flavors", "modified food starch" etc. That's really nice. Also, she knows that my wife and I love flat-iron steaks. Last night she called and said that her husband had cut up a steer and she had reserved the four flat-irons for us. We told her to hold them and we'd take all four. At $5.99/lb, they are a steal, and they are such a low-yield cut that they can be hard to find. No problems, now. We are first in line for them, and we'll take all they cut for at least a few more steers' worth and stock up the freezer a bit.

 

[rewebster]

I haven't heard of a 'flat-iron steak'---I just googled though

I've had and cooked pork blade before

 

[turbo]

I haven't heard of a 'flat-iron steak'---I just googled though

I've had and cooked pork blade before

Try it, if you can find any. Darned near as tender as loin cuts, with 'way more flavor, and at a far more reasonable price. The butcher used to devote that cut primarily to blade steaks, but now he knows that we want flat-iron steaks, he has changed the cut.

The local grocery store has a meat-counter with a full time meat-cutter. He knows that we would buy flat-iron steaks, but the owner thinks that in the winter, people stop grilling and would prefer the smaller, cheaper blade steaks to pan-fry, so he's got to keep packages of blade steaks in the meat-cooler.