Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Aliska]

Re your #62, I don't know if I answered or not and get behind, then have to really hunt in my pings.

I love fish but never got lucky enough to have any given to me, just once. It's so expensive to buy though. I was hungry for some catfish. Sometimes I just bake it in some butter, easy on some spices, and squeeze lemon juice on it.

Years ago a girl at work gave me some smoked sturgeon her husband caught and smoked. Best I ever had.

I'm going to grind my fennel. I don't use enough to buy in bulk. I bought some taco seasoning in bulk and is so much I'll never use it. I was hoping it was what my fav taco place used but no, far from it. I'll probably throw the stuff out.

Catalina doesn't sound very good on a taco. I'm getting a pkg of McCormick's though even though I made a mix that would be too old now. I usually don't use a whole package.

[Aliska]

Re your #66 and #67. I bit the bullet and ordered a box of Mi Arroz at Amazon. Reviews say it is salty so I will use half a package as I think lighter would be closer to what I get at the Mexican food place.

I have some Basmati rice coming, eager to try it.

Regarding your bean recipe, I can take some ideas from it but I found a Chef John recipe on yt for Creole red beans and rice. It's not loaded with spices but too much hot for me. But I got some Mayocoba beans to try and will use those, make the creamy version and top with some Basmati rice which I hope is fluffy and packed into a little ramekin then dumped on top. Actually my ramekins are either too small or too big. I'll have to figure something out.

Then Chef John topped it all with some finely chopped green onion tops I think. It looks soooooo good. And rice and beans never appealed to me but may become a staple in my diet.

Thanks for all the suggestions and help. I am shocked that the big grocery store doesn't have any smoked ham hocks so I will have to go to the butcher's or another store for one to go with Andouille sausage I will need for the Creole beans.

Happy 4th of July!

[PUGACHEV]

I discovered Watermelon juice in Santa Fe a few years ago. It is very, very good and easy to make. Simply take a seedless watermelon and liquefy it in a blender. You will usually get something close to 1/2 gallon of juice from each watermelon and you just just add four to six tablespoons of Agave Nectar to that. The Agave Nectar does not dissolve easily, so you may have to stir it quite a bit. Keep the juice cold and serve chilled. I think seeded watermelons are more falvorful to begin with, but then you have to strain out the seeds before blending.

[PUGACHEV]

What may be the best brand of basmati rice is endlessly controversial. My favorite at the moment is Ocean Pearl. It is certainly the longest basmati I have found, longer even than Tilda or Royal, and it has a clear nut flavor. Although I think Nissan parboiled basmati has the strongest flavor.

I cook basmati in a high-end Tiger 10 cup Japanese Rice cooker, always with superb results, but Sanyo makes a smaller rice cooker for ~$100 which is good. For basmati in the rice cooker, I use 1 cup of rice to 1.5 cups of water. I add 1 Tbs of olive oil for each cup, and 1 Tps of salt. Sometimes, for a stronger flavor I use toasted sesame oil instead. I add a pinch of Cayenne pepper, and a large pinch of Saffron flower too. Saffron flower is not the saffron you buy for $10 a gram, but the entire flower which is maybe $2 an ounce. I find it in Hispanic grocery stores as Zaffron flower.

Another basmati recipe I enjoy (my own) uses Kalijira rice, which is a baby basmati with each grain only about 1/8" long. I fry the Kalijira until translucent, add a chopped Hungarian wax pepper or two, add water and salt, golden raisins, and chopped cashew nuts then cook as normal. It is really good.

[Liz]

Mmmmmm.....that sounds delicious. And what to serve with it? Ice cream, of course, in a watermelon bowl.

WATERMELON ICE CREAM

METHOD BTB 2 cups watermelon puree, cup sugar, tb corn syrup, 1/8 tsp salt; simmer 20 min. Offheat, add liquor, tsp vanilla. Mix into 2 cups plain watermelon puree. Chill thoroughly. Add 2 c light cream; fridge 4-24 hours to chill & meld. Freeze in ice cream maker to soft consistency. Spoon into airtight container, sprinkling w/ 2 oz shaved dark chocolate as you pack. Freezer/harden several hours before serving.

SERVE in watermelon bowl.

Use 1/3 c Passoa Passion Fruit liquor (Chambord, port wine, or vodka); watermelon's high water content ices up in freezer---alcohol displaces ice crystals so you get ice cream not a solid block of ice. When refrozen, thaw a bit til scoopable.

[Liz]

Got any leftover basmati rice? Try this Peanut Butter Rice---obviously a child's fave.

PEANUT BUTTER RICE as served at Disney's Boma Ledge.

METHOD Mix smooth 2 1/3 c cooked basmati rice, 6 tbl p/butter, cup coconut milk, ½ c soy sauce,
1/8 tea ea ginger, coriander, cayenne, ¼ tea granular garlic, ½ c sugar, 1/8 bunch rough-chp parsley;
heat to 145-150 deg internal. Taste/adjust seasonings.

SERVE sprinkled w/ chp parsley.

[Aliska]

Thank you for the great tips about rice. I saved them. However I am NOT going to buy a rice cooker although those probably put it out perfectly and like Chinese restaurants, sounds like using less water and steaming.

It's good to know there is a smaller grain of Basmati. I would like to try some of that. Maybe should wait until I use up what I have. Walmart doesn't have either one you mentioned. I've never used saffron anything, never missed it ;-(

Actually I never really liked rice all that much Only with Chinese on top of it. Or my special rice pudding I adapted over the years, very yummy and creamy. If I have a choice of putting like stroganoff over something, I will choose noodles every time.

I think that is because I am basically a meat and potato person. But I just like this Mexican rice. My packets of Knorr mi arroz came. A little beat up. So I could go ahead and try it with some medium grain I have or wait for my Basmati.

So many neat ideas for culinary experts. Nice to see Freepers who like haute cuisine.

Now next on my list is a peach dump cake. Only because I don't have much left to cook with and have stuff on hand that will work. I saw one with instead of all that butter (too much imo) pour a can of 7-up over the top. Well I happen to have a bottle of club soda and some maraschino cherry juice, a can of peach pie filling, some regular sliced peaches, and a nice yellow cake mix. So that is what I am going to do. Put a little nonstick something in glass cake pan, pile in the peaches, spread the cake mix over the top, smooth out and gently mix the cherry juice and enough soda to make 12 oz, pour that over the top, bake at 3xx something (oven if a little off) and see what happens.

But I will need some vanilla ice cream and the biggest Hershey's syrup to finish up the club soda. I make the old fashioned chocolate sodas. Yum. I also make the thick malts if I have malt powder. I mash the ice cream with a spoon, and the malt and syrup and it comes out exactly like those thick malts you can get some places. So I am good at improvising some things.

The only problem is I am very picky about vanilla ice cream. It can't be French. It can be cheap, just has to suit me. I only like Whitey's, Blue Bunny, Countryfare which was a great bargain only looks like it's been dropped. It was cheap and good. Now I will have to try other cheaper brands because the first two are too expensive.

[Aliska]

That looks really good. Maybe I will try it but I don’t have a blender. So I guess I can’t try it unless my food processor will work. Watermelon flavor is so refreshing.

[Liz]

For about 20 bucks you can get a NINJA chopper (not the blender). It has a powerful motor and reduces anything to shreds or puree....just 1-2 pulses does the job.

[Aliska]

Thank you for the idea. I have an older one, made in Italy, but the way the blades attach, they get loose and slip off. So all I use that combo for now is it had a nice little spice grinder.

Looked it up. It's not an imersion one like I pictured and like I have. It's a mini-blender. Just the right size and looks much easier to wash up.

I'll have to wait awhile though. I've spent a lot lately. Too much. Need to put some $ into groceries. I can only get certain things from Walmart and if I went to their store, they won't have all the items to choose from they have online.

[Liz]

Yes, it washes up quickly right under the faucet.
Can be reused for many different jobs without the dishwasher wait.

You’d be surprised how much food you can put into it.

B/c its small, it stores nicely......no bulky attachments.

The motor fits into the jar w/ a cover to store leftovers.

Nicely engineered little gadget.

[Liz]

You can make this yummy FROZEN MOCHA JOE in the Ninja chopper.
Uses up leftover morning coffee.

>

Chopper smooth cup chilled brewed strong, black coffee, cup
low-fat dark chocolate frozen yogurt, 2 tb ea caramel/chocolate
sauces, 10 ice cubes.

SERVE in tall glasses garnished w/ whipped cream.

[Liz]

You can make this yummy FROZEN MOCHA JOE in the Ninja chopper.
Uses up leftover morning coffee.

>

Chopper smooth cup chilled brewed strong, black coffee, cup
low-fat dark chocolate frozen yogurt, 2 tb ea caramel/chocolate
sauces, 10 ice cubes.

SERVE in tall glasses garnished w/ whipped cream.

[Paisan]

I realize that I am late to this thread, but, I have a question for the group.

Back in the early to late ‘70’s, I used to buy these meat pies - Beef & Kidney, Beef & Mushroom etc. They came in a metal pie dish and they were quite expensive for the time. I believe they came from England. Flaky crust and to-die-for.

Anyway, I have been unable to source them. I want some.

Does ANYONE have any memory of these delights, and, where can I get them now????

[Jamestown1630]

I’m not familiar with these, but perhaps someone else is.
You might inquire at one of the British food sites, like britishfood.com. There’s also a place called ‘Parker’s, which appears to be located in NY. They seem to specialize in pies, but I’m not sure if they have what you’re looking for:

https://www.parkersbritishinstitution.com/?gclid=CJTyhIHK9M8CFUFZhgodmrEDlA

[kalee]

Yep, lol I was always told by my English auntie that
“horses sweat, men perspire, and ladies glisten”.

[kalee]

Thank you!

[V K Lee]

Kalee, it was a British friend who passed this on to me. Imagine, a British subject living in the heart of Texas. Alas, the couple eventually moved back to Britain. Then he died, her family died, and now she is gone as well. I really missed her after they moved. We would go therapy shopping together. We traveled the English Countryside together one year. Though gone, she is not forgotten. Each time I glisten, Angela is there standing beside. :-)

[Paisan]

Thanks Jamestown, I will check these sites out...