Typing with the Ladies: A High School Adventure

[Moonbear]

Oh, I should add, just in case it wasn't obvious, that I peeled cubed the squash before cooking.

 

[Far Star]

What's chucker?

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Chukar.html

Moonbear is right- really tasty bird. We keep it simple and fry them up like chicken.
If you find someone that consistently bags them don't do anything to tick 'um off. :<)

 

[Moonbear]

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Chukar.html

Moonbear is right- really tasty bird. We keep it simple and fry them up like chicken.
If you find someone that consistently bags them don't do anything to tick 'um off. :<)

Dang it, I knew I was spelling it wrong, but couldn't find the right spelling (Google never asked me, "Do you mean Chukar?" ). Thanks.

 

[hypatia]

My Grannys fruit and nut compote ..served hot.

3 ripe green apples {peeled/sliced}
3 ripe pears {peeled/sliced}
10 dried figs {sliced}
1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup of water

Bring the water to a boil..add the fig, walnuts, sugar and cinnamon.
Cook on a rapid boil 3 minutes..then turn down to simmer
add vanilla, apples and pears, bring it back to a slow simmer, cook another 6 minutes.
Cover pot and take it off the stove.

It can sit like this for several hours..right befor dinner, heat it up..put it in a bowl...sprinkle LIGHTLY with nutmeg.

It is so good

 

[Far Star]

Dang it, I knew I was spelling it wrong, but couldn't find the right spelling (Google never asked me, "Do you mean Chukar?" ). Thanks.

I had to look twice myself. Chu- chuck- chuc... last resort was "Western Game Birds" to double check. If only they were close enough for the cat to drag in...


Hypatia- A nice topping for vanilla ice cream, too. Thanks! Insomnia cooking attack coming right up. Figs in the middle of the night. Hmm. Bottom shelf on the right! Yea! Nothing but canned pears, though. Bummer.

 

[turbo]

You couldn't pay me to buy something like that. I avoid anything with too much processing. Just give me a plain turkey, and I can season it perfectly well myself, and I know I'm not adding weird preservatives or artificial colors, or who knows what.

Years back, I would get very sick after eating poultry, similar to the cramps, headaches, hives, etc that I would get after eating anything with MSG in it. I figured out after a couple of times that the poultry in the supermarket had been injected with MSG, among other things. We now buy only locally-grown free-range turkeys and chickens, and I'm fine. My wife gets a frozen turkey every November from her employer, and we cook it up and divide it amongst people who can actually use it, like her mother (90) and my father (81) and others.

 

[turbo]

Ooooh, that sounds really yummy!

What? You get me all excited over some yummy bird then tell me that I CAN'T HAVE ONE?

You can't have fresh ruffed grouse either, Evo. They have to be the tastiest critters in the Maine woods - maybe a tie with white-tail deer. If you hunt them without a dog (like I do) you'd better have lightning reflexes because they will sit tight until you're just a few feet away (or closer) before they flush, and they are very speedy for their size.

 

[Moonbear]

If only they were close enough for the cat to drag in...

If that were the case, I'd rethink the rules about the cat staying indoors and not being allowed to kill the wild birds. She might get some outdoor privileges while the chukars were around, but only if she brought home dinner for me (I'd share some with her if she did the hunting).

 

[rewebster]

You can't have fresh ruffed grouse either, Evo. They have to be the tastiest critters in the Maine woods - maybe a tie with white-tail deer. If you hunt them without a dog (like I do) you'd better have lightning reflexes because they will sit tight until you're just a few feet away (or closer) before they flush, and they are very speedy for their size.

you should take her snipe hunting sometime

 

[Moonbear]

you should take her snipe hunting sometime

You've seen how much damage she can cause herself with something as seemingly innocuous as a few blades of grass or a shelf of dishes...would you actually take her hunting? I wouldn't even arm her with a slingshot let alone a firearm.

 

[turbo]

Well since a snipe hunt usually involves a gunny-sack, a flashlight, and a whistle or call of some sort, there are curious possibilities for injury. Especially since snipe hunts take place at night in the woods.

 

[Evo]

Growing up in Houston, our Snipe hunts took place at night in the sand dunes on Galveston Island. Snipe are waterfowl.

 

[rewebster]

there's one way to get Evo in the sack

 

[Evo]

My Grannys fruit and nut compote ..served hot.

3 ripe green apples {peeled/sliced}
3 ripe pears {peeled/sliced}
10 dried figs {sliced}
1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup of water

Bring the water to a boil..add the fig, walnuts, sugar and cinnamon.
Cook on a rapid boil 3 minutes..then turn down to simmer
add vanilla, apples and pears, bring it back to a slow simmer, cook another 6 minutes.
Cover pot and take it off the stove.

It can sit like this for several hours..right befor dinner, heat it up..put it in a bowl...sprinkle LIGHTLY with nutmeg.

It is so good

That sounds wonderful!

 

[Math Is Hard]

for me, it's all about the green bean casserole.

 

[turbo]

You can have all mine, MIH. That stuff is way nasty.

 

[Evo]

DON'T LISTEN TO TURBO!

He's just jealous 'cause he can't eat the stuff the rest of us can.

Ok, for turbo, a HOMEMADE version of the classic.

Best Ever Green Bean Casserole

For the topping:
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Nonstick cooking spray

For beans and sauce:
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half


Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Toss the onions 2 to 3 times during cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.

While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

 

[turbo]

I guess if we were willing to squander some of our home-made poultry stock, we could throw that together, but honestly, I never liked that stuff back when I could eat it without anaphylactic shock. I always preferred the same stuff that we make for our Thanksgiving dinners today: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, squash, mashed turnip, carrots, peas with pearl onions, flaky pastry biscuits, home-made cranberry sauce, and home-made pumpkin pie (made from a fresh pumpkin, not from a can) for dessert. Got to have real creamery butter for the vegetables, and rule #2 is that turkey gravy can go with everything except the pumpkin pie.

To be fair, the aunt that always brought the green bean casserole was the poorest cook in the family, so she may have something to do with my disdain for the dish.

 

[Evo]

My mother's Thanksgiving (she was from France, so picked this out of some magazine, I'm sure).

Baked turkey with dressing (butter, celery, onions and sage, sauteed, then tossed with pepperidge farms croutons and chicken broth) I think it was the standard recipe back then)

giblet gravy

mashed potatoes

peas and pearl onions

Ocean spray canned cranberry sauce (to this day the only kind I like) when we got older she started making homemade delicious cranberry sauce, but we always insisted on having a can of the REAL stuff since it is in a category by itself. The girls and I still feast on cans of this. You make a very thin slice and then suck it in through your teeth. Ok, I was a weird mother, but dinner was fun.

Pumpkin pie (Libby's canned pumpkin - NO CLOVES)

Pilsbury crescent rolls

 

[turbo]

Ocean Spray, Libby's, Pillsbury? That's not cooking! You may as well go eat Thanksgiving dinner at a bad restaurant. Blech.

Even my cooking-challenged aunt would never have dared show up with that stuff. She made pretty good sausages and hogs-head cheese, but her casserole/baking skills were very poor.

 

[Evo]

My mother made all of her breads from scratch and was an excellent cook, but being French, she had no idea what to cook for Thanksgiving, so pulled her menu probably from a Good Housekeeping magazine.

Thanksgiving was the worst meal of the year. We always felt it was a time of culinary punishment to remind people of the Pilgrim's plight.

We had no friends or family in the area, it was just us, but she felt she needed to "Americanize" us.

 

[ZapperZ]

It's 7 pm Central and Good Eats on Food Network (regular, not HD) this very moment is on turkey!

Edit: And he's going to DEEP FRY 'em! :)

Zz.

 

[turbo]

Thanksgiving was the worst meal of the year. We always felt it was a time of culinary punishment to remind people of the Pilgrim's plight.

We had no friends or family in the area, it was just us, but she felt she needed to "Americanize" us.

That is so sad. Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday as a kid. We didn't get many gifts at Christmas anyway, and Thanksgiving was a chance to hang out with all my cousins, and my aunts and grandmother would all try to out-do each other in the food department. My grandmother always made lemon chiffon pie that was light and slightly tart with lemon zest on the top, and her youngest daughter made mincemeat pies that were wonderful, and took at least 1/2 pint of rum to season. Food was always a HUGE thing at our family get-togethers. When we'd get together with one aunt and uncle and their family, his sister would always bring a goose-liver pate that was to die for. She knew that I was a fool for that stuff, and she would always find me and tell me where the pate was. I'd try not to make a pig of myself, but it was tough!

 

[Evo]

It's 7 pm Central and Good Eats on Food Network (regular, not HD) this very moment is on turkey!

Edit: And he's going to DEEP FRY 'em! :)

Zz.

My free cable doesn't have the Food Network!

 

[Moonbear]

To be fair, the aunt that always brought the green bean casserole was the poorest cook in the family, so she may have something to do with my disdain for the dish.

I've had really awful green bean casserole, and some pretty decent stuff. The worst are the ones where people use canned green beans. I've made it with frozen green beans instead (because my guests expected it), and that was pretty decent. Notice, I'm not saying any of it was great, just decent. Reading Evo's recipe, I could imagine it being a ton better, even very good, if it were made with fresh ingredients rather than the canned cream of mushroom soup. That's always been one of my least favorite soups on the planet, so it's hard to overcome that. Though, I'm perfectly content with just plain green beans and a little butter and salt, so only make the casserole for guests who I know consider it part of the traditional T-day dinner.

 

[turbo]

I've had really awful green bean casserole, and some pretty decent stuff. The worst are the ones where people use canned green beans. I've made it with frozen green beans instead (because my guests expected it), and that was pretty decent. Notice, I'm not saying any of it was great, just decent. Reading Evo's recipe, I could imagine it being a ton better, even very good, if it were made with fresh ingredients rather than the canned cream of mushroom soup. That's always been one of my least favorite soups on the planet, so it's hard to overcome that. Though, I'm perfectly content with just plain green beans and a little butter and salt, so only make the casserole for guests who I know consider it part of the traditional T-day dinner.

I've never had any of this stuff that I considered edible. My aunt's version was nasty, and my friend's mother's version was only marginally better, but I usually managed to "need" to get home if he wanted me to stay for supper and that stuff was on the menu. How did a "traditional" T-day dish arise from a confluence of crappy-tasting canned onions and Campbell's cream of mushroom soup? That is perverse!

People whose recipes call for cans of Campbell's soup or Lipton Soup mixes are not cooks. They probably have Hamburger Helper in their pantries. It's really sick to watch people like Alton Brown or Rachael Raye calling for a quart of chicken broth (from a paper carton) in a recipe. How can these idiots not bother to do shows on how to build super soup stocks from turkey carcasses, meat bones, etc? Cooking is in the details, and the best food does not result from a blind result-oriented short-cut attitude.

 

[hypatia]

You had to ask...

Green bean casserole was invented in 1955 by the Campbell Soup Company test kitchen under the leadership of Dorcas Reilly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_bean_casserole

 

[turbo]

You had to ask...

Green bean casserole was invented in 1955 by the Campbell Soup Company test kitchen under the leadership of Dorcas Reilly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_bean_casserole

Thanks for the link, though I wish I had not grown up during that culinary nadir.

 

[Math Is Hard]

DON'T LISTEN TO TURBO!

He's just jealous 'cause he can't eat the stuff the rest of us can.

Ok, for turbo, a HOMEMADE version of the classic.

Best Ever Green Bean Casserole

Gosh, that sounds sooooo good!

 

[Math Is Hard]

You had to ask...

Green bean casserole was invented in 1955 by the Campbell Soup Company test kitchen under the leadership of Dorcas Reilly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_bean_casserole

Well, how about that!

I had no idea you could get a B.S. in Home Ec.
http://www.campbellkitchen.com/SpecialtyHolidayDorcasReilly.aspx?specialty=holiday

Deemed the "mother of comfort food," Dorcas Reilly led the team that created the Green Bean Casserole in 1955, while working as a staff member in the Home Economics department of the Campbell Soup Company.

Mrs. Reilly grew up in Camden, New Jersey, and received her B.S. in Home Economics from Drexel University. She began her career at Campbell in 1949, where she was one of two full-time staff members in the department. She says the inspiration for the Green Bean Casserole was to create a quick and easy recipe around two things most Americans always had on hand in the 1950s: green beans and Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup.

She's a legend!

In 2002, Mrs. Reilly appeared at the National Inventor's Hall of Fame to donate the original copy of the recipe to the museum. The now-yellowed 8 x 11 recipe card takes its place alongside Enrico Fermi's invention of the first controlled nuclear reactor and Thomas Alva Edison's two greatest hits: the light bulb and the phonograph.