Weekly Cooking Thread March 19, 2011

FreeRepublicCooks | March 19, 2011 | libertarian27

[libertarian27]

Welcome to the 15th installment of the FR Weekly Cooking Thread.

Looking for something new to make or made something new that came out great? Please share a 'tried-and-true' recipe or two - or six for fellow FReepers to add to their 'go-to' recipe stack of Family favorites?

Here's the place to share and explore your next favorite recipe.

[illiac]

Love most of Alton’s food.....

[goseminoles]

“Now asparagus on the other hand, how can one live without it?”

I’m not sure.. About 3 minutes in a 1/4 inch of boiling water and I’m in heaven...

[illiac]

This roasted garlic thing is really making me hungry....

[rightly_dividing]

I have printed your recipe and it is in her hands. Thanks.

[rightly_dividing]

Thanks. I never assume anything in cooking. A little differant name could well be something entirely new in cooking. And we are always looking for garlic uses.

[libertarian27]

It’s wicked yummy!!!!

For some reason I thought I didn’t like Bleu Cheese and Gorgonzola cheese when I was a kid (I love cheese)...so I didn’t eat it for years - then hubby and I went to this fancy-schmancy restaurant that had a warm Gorgonzola sauce/glaze for their steaks - I was hooked at jump street!

Even straight gorgonzola/bleu on steaks is great - with the heat of the steak melting the cheeses just so....mmmm

Darn - now I want steak - I have to go to the store.....

[illiac]

Garlic Shrimp with Linguine

Here is a little twist to a simple recipe that any shrimp lover is sure to enjoy! With ingredients that are easily accessible and directions that are easy even for the novice chef. So get ready to wow your family and have them ask for seconds!

Salt
1 pound linguine
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 pound small shrimp, peeled, deveined and halved
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced

1. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 Tbsp salt and the pasta and cook until done over high boil.

2. Meanwhile, place the oil and garlic in a large skillet and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp, lemon zest and lemon juice; saute until the shrimp turn pink, about 3-4 minutes. Be careful to stir constantly so that the shrimp will cook evenly and watch for over-cooking. The shrimp need to be tender, not rubbery. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Drain pasta, saving about 1/2 cup of liquid. Combine pasta and shrimp mixture, adding just enough of the reserve liquid to moisten the dish. Serve immediately.

TIPS: Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and add a piece of garlic toast!

[goseminoles]

“Darn - now I want steak - I have to go to the store.....”

Now I have to go to the store for cheese.. Its mutual. :o)

[libertarian27]

Now I have to go to the store for cheese.. Its mutual. :o)

LOL(for real, woke my dog up:)

Just as well, I have to pick up pizza dough, cottage cheese and cream for the Tarte Flambe recipe above :>)

[dainbramaged]

Perfect Chicken Thighs

Take 4 chicken thighs and brine them for 1-2 hours in a
mixture of:
1 quart cool water
1/4 cup table salt
1/2 cup sugar

Rinse, pat dry and coat with seasoned flour.
Heat some oil in an oven proof frying pan and brown the chicken pieces for 10 minutes on each side over medium to
medium high heat (not too hot, the sugar in the brine may
scorch).
Place pan in 400 degree oven for another 10 minutes to finish. Just remember, 10 - 10 - 10 and they’re done.
Serve with green beans and rice pilaf with a glass of wine.

[illiac]

Printed this and am headed to the store....can hardly wait....

[Flamenco Lady]

My family usues the large tortillas for the following Fajita/Burrito recipe.

Family Favorite Fajitas

Flour Tortillas
One Flank Steak
Cooking oil (I like to use olive oil, but vegetable oil works fine too)
2 –3 Red, green, yellow, and/or orange peppers, cut in long strips
One onion cut in long strips
Fajita seasoning (I have sometimes substituted with taco seasoning)
Salt and pepper

Optional toppings your family may like:
Green taco sauce
Grated Cheddar Cheese Sour Cream
Guacamole
Black olives
Green onions

Season flank Steak with fajita seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. I like to cook my flank steak under the broiler in a broiler pan in the middle of my oven, approximately 6 minutes each side for medium rare. Let it rest on the cutting board while you prepare the onions and peppers.

In a hot pan with a little oil, sauté the onions and peppers to the doneness you like with a tablespoon of Fajita Seasoning. My family prefers them to be just partially cooked so they are still crisp tender.

Slice the steak on an angle in thin slices and serve with onions and warmed tortillas. I usually serve this with Spanish rice and refried beans or a rice and bean dish.

Sometimes family members will eat this dinner as Fajitas, and sometimes they will add the rice and beans to their tortilla and eat it as a burrito. Either way it is delicious.

You can substitute chicken breast for the steak and have chicken ones too. For the chicken ones I just brown seasoned chicken breast cut into strips in the oil on the stove top before I add the onions and peppers.

[libertarian27]

Just remembered, haven’t made this in a while, this one is really good, sauce is excellent:

Taco Bell Chicken Quesadilla
(copycat recipe)

SAUCE

1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons minced jalapenos, slices
2 teaspoons jalapeno juice, from minced jalepenos
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 dash salt

QUESADILLAS

4 flour tortillas (10”)
4 chicken tenderloins
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
2 slices process American cheese

Directions:

Prep Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 25 mins

Combine sauce ingredients and stir until smooth.

Grill chicken in vegetable oil and cut into thin slices.

Preheat skillet over medium heat.One at a time, lay tortilla into hot skillet and sprinkle with 1/4 cup of each shredded cheese and 1/2 cheese slice on one side of the tortilla.

Arrange about 1/4 cup chicken slices on tortilla on the same half covered with cheese.

On the empty side, spread about one tablespoon of sauce.

Fold over, and press gently with spatula.

Cook until cheese is melted and slice each into pieces or serve whole.
(I’ll put a small dinner plate (not too heavy) on the quesadillas to flatten)

(Nice addition to these are fresh baby spinach leaves - put them on before you fold the tortillas over)

[hattend]

Wow, can people stand to be around you after you eat that?

Just kidding...sort of. ;-)

I had a friend buy some garlic fries at a ball game once. I swear it was a plate of sauteed garlic with some fries mixed in. His breath could have curdled milk...

[bgill]

Sounds fantastic. Thanks!

[bgill]

Wow, chicken one day and beef the next! Thanks.

[illiac]

That’s why you eat that recipe as a group....lol

[magslinger]

A nine inch tortilla IMHO makes really nice breakfast burritos. I usually figure 1 1/2 egg per burrito. Add some cooked bacon, ham, sausage or chorizo if you have some and scramble the eggs. Wrap in the tortillas with salsa, sour cream and grated cheese (sure, queso or monteray jack, but I have used American, cheddar, mozzerella or even butterkase. I don't think I would buy dill havarti for that purpose but I would use it again.)

Breakfast burritos are quick and easy and have served as breakfast, brunch, lunch, supper and othermeal.

[magslinger]

Now asparagus on the other hand, how can one live without it? That would include tender stalks right out of the garden before you even hit the house.

My parents tried to grow asparagus at their cabin in northern Michigan. What they raised were 1/2 inch stubs. %#@! deer LOVE asparagus.

[bgill]

That’s an idea. Hubby would like that.