What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[turbo]

Mmm! Seafood. My wife baked some breaded fresh haddock Monday evening, and I just cleaned up the left-overs. I microwaved the fish, mixed up a "tartar sauce" using Hellman's mayo and my home-made hot salsa (one of the tomato-based ones), and made a sandwich on seeded Jewish Rye. That was a great lunch.

It was a hard choice because there is some great chicken breast in the refrigerator, too. We have greatly simplified the backed chicken breast recipe, and found that simpler is indeed better with such a mild-flavored meat. All you need is a bag of Roland Panko bread crumbs, cayenne, Javin Brand Indian-style curry powder, and some freshly-ground black pepper. Put some of the bread crumbs in a plate and mix in curry, cayenne, and black pepper to taste. Beat an egg and roll the chicken in the egg, then roll the chicken in the crumbs and seasonings to coat the meat. Bake in a greased pan in an oven preheated to about 350-375 (depending on the thickness of the meat and whether the meat has bones). We had that for supper last night with baked potatoes and a tossed salad. It was VERY good. Panko crumbs are very good for frying, too - the breading comes out lighter and less greasy than breading made from regular bread crumbs.

 

[turbo]

For those that like tortilla chips, please do yourselves a favor and try Miguel's Tortilla Dippers. They are excellent! You'll never buy Doritos again. You might also want to try Famers brand Beer Mustard and their Horseradish. They are made by a Detroit-based company from the very simplest recipes, with no preservatives, emulsifiers, etc, etc. VERY good eats.

 

[turbo]

Supper tonight was pasta with garlic-scape pesto (scapes, walnuts, olive oil, grated Romano cheese, salt and fresh-ground black pepper) mixed with chunks of freshly-roasted curried chicken. Mmmm! The scapes from the German garlic are like onion-tops with a mild but rich garlic flavor, and the walnuts and cheese gave the pesto a nice earthy flavor. I'll bet garlic-lovers would give $30-40 a plate for a meal like that. Heavenly!

I'd have to charge people more if I was in the food business, because I used up all my German garlic scapes tonight, and will have only the smaller Russian garlic scapes to use to make the next batch. This gourmet ingredient is rare, low-volume and highly seasonal. There is still enough pesto left to make a couple more batches of pasta, and we're thinking about making more with grilled spicy shrimp instead of curried chicken.

 

[turbo]

It's good cold, too! What will I do until next June rolls around?

 

[Evo]

Supper tonight was pasta with garlic-scape pesto (scapes, walnuts, olive oil, grated Romano cheese, salt and fresh-ground black pepper) mixed with chunks of freshly-roasted curried chicken.

That's sounds wonderful! I really miss my wild onions, they were kind of like shallots in flavor, with a hint of garlic. Wonderful sauteed in a bit of olive oil and then tossed with couscous.

Sunday I made a pot of chicken soup. I have a wonderful 16 quart heavy stainless steel pot with an incased aluminum core in the base. I browned a cut up chicken, removed it, then "wilted" some finely sliced oinions, carrots and celery, threw the chicken back in and covered with chicken bouillion (I like my chicken soup really chickeny). I then threw in 1 pound of dried garbanzos and let it cook for a couple of hours, until the chicken was falling off the bone and the garbanzos were tender. After it cooled, I refrigerated it overnight so I could easily remove all of the fat, brought it to a boil, threw in one cup of instant barely and a pinch of dill. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes, then ladled into bowls and ground some white, pink and green pepper over it. The Evo Child is eating some now. It's yummy, the first time I've made it this way, this is one I need to remember.

 

[turbo]

As a kid with a French-Canadian background, I ate a LOT of stuff that my mother made with chives, shallots, etc. We used to grow lots of these "green onion" tops and salt them down to use over the winter. They weren't as good as the fresh stuff by a long shot, but when we were in the depths of winter, and wanted them for their flavors in potato/tomato/rice soup and other cheap meals, salted tops were great.

The soup sounds nice, though I have to use home-made chicken stock because boullion or commercial chicken stock would kill me before my wife could get me to the ER. Normally, our poultry stocks are made from chicken or turkey carcasses with sheared bones and skins, and we skim off the fats after the stock has cooled. The stock can be used for any number of soups, and if you think that the fats are discarded, you don't know me.

 

[Maverick27]

Hi,

Does anyone know how to make those crunchy thick Kettle chips ?

I can never get my home-made chips to taste & feel anything like the ready-made ones ?!

I'm pretty sure there's one crucial (secret) process in the recipe to make these snacks !

Thanks - Mave

 

[turbo]

Hi,

Does anyone know how to make those crunchy thick Kettle chips ?

I can never get my home-made chips to taste & feel anything like the ready-made ones ?!

I'm pretty sure there's one crucial (secret) process in the recipe to make these snacks !

Thanks - Mave

I've never made them, but I have found that the secret to deep-frying something and having it come out crunchy is to have really hot fat that sears the food quickly and reduces the amount of grease that the food can absorb. Lard is far superior to shortening or vegetable oils for just this reason. It has a very high smoke point, and with less fat absorption, it's probably a lot healthier than Crisco for deep-frying.

 

[turbo]

Rainy day today, so my wife and I did some cooking. My neighbor let me pick all his garlic scapes, so this morning I cut them up while my wife chopped and blended them in the food processor with walnuts, cold-pressed olive oil, shredded Romano cheese, salt and black pepper. My sister-in-law and the neighbor that gave me the scapes do not eat cheese, so we made a batch of pesto for them with no cheese. We also made garlic-scape butter by processing softened butter with scapes, Romano, ground black pepper, and paprika. Mmm! that is wonderful on rye toast! We had made garlic butter with cloves before, but the scapes add something special. My wife and her sister both avoid eating too much dairy, so we made up another batch using soy margarine instead of butter.

We brined a chicken last night, and I'm roasting that right now, with fresh basil leaves tucked under the skin - smells great! In another 45 minutes, I'm going to put a potato in the oven, too. Mmm! Baked potato with garlic-scape butter...

 

[Moonbear]

I've never made them, but I have found that the secret to deep-frying something and having it come out crunchy is to have really hot fat that sears the food quickly and reduces the amount of grease that the food can absorb. Lard is far superior to shortening or vegetable oils for just this reason. It has a very high smoke point, and with less fat absorption, it's probably a lot healthier than Crisco for deep-frying.

I've had some success using regular vegetable oil. Not quite as crispy, but still crispy enough. Part of the trick I figured out was to slice the potato thin, and then pat it between paper towels to take off all the extra moisture before frying. If you don't do that, I think you somehow end up sealing in the moisture, which makes them soggy. And, of course, quickly drain on paper when you take them out of the oil too.

 

[Evo]

Rainy day today, so my wife and I did some cooking. My neighbor let me pick all his garlic scapes, so this morning I cut them up while my wife chopped and blended them in the food processor with walnuts, cold-pressed olive oil, shredded Romano cheese, salt and black pepper. My sister-in-law and the neighbor that gave me the scapes do not eat cheese, so we made a batch of pesto for them with no cheese. We also made garlic-scape butter by processing softened butter with scapes, Romano, ground black pepper, and paprika. Mmm! that is wonderful on rye toast! We had made garlic butter with cloves before, but the scapes add something special. My wife and her sister both avoid eating too much dairy, so we made up another batch using soy margarine instead of butter.

We brined a chicken last night, and I'm roasting that right now, with fresh basil leaves tucked under the skin - smells great! In another 45 minutes, I'm going to put a potato in the oven, too. Mmm! Baked potato with garlic-scape butter...

Sounds so good!

Evo Child bought me some "homemade" lobster bisque from the overpriced store for my first meal back. I just sampled it, there is enough sherry in there to get drunk if I don't heat it up.

 

[turbo]

Sounds so good!

Evo Child bought me some "homemade" lobster bisque from the overpriced store for my first meal back. I just sampled it, there is enough sherry in there to get drunk if I don't heat it up.

Evo! Stay out of the food thread. You'll get tempted to eat solids before your supposed to - (oh, just a nibble...).

My father came down today and we sent him home with a tub of garlic-scape pesto and a tub of garlic-scape butter. He called a few minutes ago, and said that he had decided to make a peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread, and instead of pairing it up with jam or sharp cheese (my favorite combo) he paired the peanut butter with garlic scape butter. He's raving about the stuff. I'll have to try to expand the garlic bed in next year's garden - this "by-product" is TOO GOOD when you learn how to use it. We're still just tinkering, and every recipe has been great.

 

[Moonbear]

Evo! Stay out of the food thread. You'll get tempted to eat solids before your supposed to - (oh, just a nibble...).

I was thinking the same thing. We might have to temporarily delete the thread just to keep her from popping her stomach!

Remember, Evo, LITTLE sips. I'm not sure sherry goes well with pain medicine either.

 

[Evo]

Don't worry, I can only eat/drink a few teaspoonfuls at a time. It took me an hour to eat part of one of those half cup servings of applesauce today.

 

[wolram]

Sunday dinner tomorrow, roast beef yorkie pudding etc, i can hardly eat half of it now a days, what can i get to entice my traditional mom away from roasts?

 

[Moonbear]

Don't worry, I can only eat/drink a few teaspoonfuls at a time. It took me an hour to eat part of one of those half cup servings of applesauce today.

At that rate, you could eat all day and still starve! You might want to consider cold soups, since anything you eat is going to wind up cold before you get more than a few bites in anyway. That, or park a small microwave next to the bed to keep reheating everything.

 

[turbo]

Sunday dinner tomorrow, roast beef yorkie pudding etc, i can hardly eat half of it now a days, what can i get to entice my traditional mom away from roasts?

Make her a traditional New England boiled dinner with seared (cheap) shoulder or neck roast simmered for hours and cooked at the end with turnip, cabbage, onions, carrots, potatoes, etc. Once you have sampled this, you will never do a traditional roast again.

 

[wolram]

Don't worry, I can only eat/drink a few teaspoonfuls at a time. It took me an hour to eat part of one of those half cup servings of applesauce today.

We will have to get you a bird feeder.

 

[Moonbear]

We will have to get you a bird feeder.

Ooh, that's what she needs, a hummingbird feeder. She can sip on sugar water all day.

 

[turbo]

I have created a monster, and he's spreading the disease like a zombie. My wife and I made garlic-scape pesto and we made a special batch for the neighbor who let me have all his scapes and my sister-in-law. Neither of them eat cheese, so we left out the Romano in that batch. He raves about the pesto, and now the guys on his paper-machine crew (who he got growing garlic on their own) want the pesto recipe, so they can make it up at work to serve with pasta.

I got a good pay-back today. My neighbor brought me a big bag of snow-peas, and told me that the Russian garlic scapes had pretty much all emerged, so I went up there with my basket and picked another peck of scapes, which we are freezing for future uses. As luck would have it, we have fresh snow peas and scapes (both killer stir-fry ingredients!) and my wife came home from a side-trip to TJ Maxx with a Kitchenaid stir-fry pan with a thick embedded copper plate in the bottom. I like my wok, but I'll give the rascal a try - it's very heavy and there should be no problem with hot spots.

 

[rewebster]

Ooh, that's what she needs, a hummingbird feeder. She can sip on sugar water all day.

funny!--

It's headed for that Ensure commercial with the little girl in the shopping cart, and then sipping on the Ensure at the end---"Mom, I don't like broccoli"

 

[turbo]

Just checked the paperwork from the Kitchenaid pan. The body of the pan is stainless steel with a layer of aluminum underneath, then a 1/4" layer of copper, then another layer of aluminum, and a bottom layer of stainless steel for durability. I like my cast-iron skillets and frying pans for general service, but I'll give this bad-boy a try with stir-frying duties.

 

[Moonbear]

funny!--

It's headed for that Ensure commercial with the little girl in the shopping cart, and then sipping on the Ensure at the end---"Mom, I don't like broccoli"

I can't stand that commercial! Every time I see it, I want to smack the mom and tell her that her daughter just needs to be told her choices are eat the broccoli or sit at the table all night until she eats the broccoli. How stupid, Ensure for kids to avoid vegetables.

 

[turbo]

I can't stand that commercial! Every time I see it, I want to smack the mom and tell her that her daughter just needs to be told her choices are eat the broccoli or sit at the table all night until she eats the broccoli. How stupid, Ensure for kids to avoid vegetables.

Fo' sho'! Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli have vitamin C and lots of other essential nutrients, and may help fight cancer and bolster the immune system. If kids don't want to eat vegetables and fruits, their parents should try to act like adults and find ways to incorporate those items into meals and not just load them onto the kids' plates and go toe-to-toe with them. There are very few vegetables that cannot be used in stir-fries and casseroles with lots of other ingredients so that a kid is not looking at a big pile of a vegetable they don't like. My sister used to hate spinach, but my mother persevered and found ways to use it, and now my sister makes spinach dip with home-made rye bread every Christmas eve.

 

[rewebster]

I can't stand that commercial! Every time I see it, I want to smack the mom and tell her that her daughter just needs to be told her choices are eat the broccoli or sit at the table all night until she eats the broccoli. How stupid, Ensure for kids to avoid vegetables.

and there is the reason for that show 'nanny 911'----which I haven't watched (if fact, I haven't watched any 'reality' show, including that one with the singers--)

A generation of 'I only want what I want' is coming into its own to be in contact with you soon.

 

[~christina~]

I can't stand that commercial! Every time I see it, I want to smack the mom and tell her that her daughter just needs to be told her choices are eat the broccoli or sit at the table all night until she eats the broccoli. How stupid, Ensure for kids to avoid vegetables.

LOL that was exactly what I was thinking. If they get hungry, they will eat.

I do find it amusing that the daughter says that she doesn't like "chicken."

 

[NateTG]

Does anyone know how to make those crunchy thick Kettle chips ?

I can never get my home-made chips to taste & feel anything like the ready-made ones ?!

I'm pretty sure there's one crucial (secret) process in the recipe to make these snacks !

Another aspect of oil temperature is that dropping the potatoes into the pot will drop the temperature of the oil. You're likely to see a different texture if you drop the chips in one at a time. In the kitchen, there is typically a small quantity of oil compared to a restaurant. (If you look at a restaurant, you can see that the fryers are huge tubs full of oil - way more than is necessary to cover the food - which is there as a thermal mass.) If you decide to try making chips again, see what happens to the texture if you make one chip at a time, and scale up the batch size slowly.

 

[Evo]

Fo' sho'! Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli have vitamin C and lots of other essential nutrients, and may help fight cancer and bolster the immune system. If kids don't want to eat vegetables and fruits, their parents should try to act like adults and find ways to incorporate those items into meals and not just load them onto the kids' plates and go toe-to-toe with them. There are very few vegetables that cannot be used in stir-fries and casseroles with lots of other ingredients so that a kid is not looking at a big pile of a vegetable they don't like. My sister used to hate spinach, but my mother persevered and found ways to use it, and now my sister makes spinach dip with home-made rye bread every Christmas eve.

I think the problem is that too many people do not know how to cook tasty vegetables, and trying to force a kid to eat your gawdawful food isn't the way to win them over.

My mother was a great cook and vegetables were incredibly yummy. (except she cooked steak for 45 minutes on each side because she liked it dead, gone, lifeless, immitating shoe leather) I ate at friend's homes and even I had to gag the vegetables down out of courtesy, and I preferred vegetables to meat when I was young, heck I preferred them to desert. People need to stop and ask "am I a bad cook?" is that why my kids won't eat at home? Could be! Kids would eat at our house and it was like they had never been fed real food before.

Have you ever compared canned asparagus to fresh? The only thing I will use canned asparagus for is cream of asparagus soup.

Another weird thing I remember was a lot of my friend's moms cooked two meals, one crappy meal for the kids and a better meal for the parents. It was really weird, at my house, everyone ate the same thing.

 

[NateTG]

Sunday dinner tomorrow, roast beef yorkie pudding etc, i can hardly eat half of it now a days, what can i get to entice my traditional mom away from roasts?

How about roast salmon? It's healthy, tasty and brain-dead easy. It's also a better choice for summer cooking since it cooks fast (optionally on the barbie) so you don't have to spend as much time in a hot kitchen. Serve with summer vegetables or salad and new potatoes.

 

[Andre]

I can't stand that commercial! Every time I see it, I want to smack the mom and tell her that her daughter just needs to be told her choices are eat the broccoli or sit at the table all night until she eats the broccoli. How stupid, Ensure for kids to avoid vegetables.

Unfortunately, broccoli is usually killed by boiling it for 10+ minutes starting with lots of cold water. You can't do it more wrong.

Boil water first, just a quarter of an inch on the bottom with a little salt. Then drop in the broccoli 'flowers' (don't bother about the stem). Cover with lit and let it boil again for ~3 minutes then drain and use the boiled water to make a nice cheese sause.

But first marvel at the bright green color of the broccoli instead of the sad dark brownish green after having murdered the broccoli.