Weekly Cooking Thread - April 2, 2011

FreeRepublicCooks | April 2, 2011 | libertarian27

[libertarian27]

Welcome to the 17th 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.

[libertarian27]

I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage.

~Erma Bombeck ~

* Happy PB & J Day! *

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

April 2 National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day

April 3 National Chocolate Moose Day

April 4 National Cordon Bleu Day

April 5 National Caramel Day & Raisin and Spice Bar Day

April 6 Fresh Tomato Day & National Caramel Popcorn Day

April 7 National Coffee Cake Day

April 8 National Empanada Day

[libertarian27]

Weekly Cooking Thread Ping List
(to be added/deleted ~ post on thread or drop me a FReep mail)

Bread* 21 White Bread - machine
Bread* 23 Poulsbo Bread
Bread* 71 Whole Wheat Sourdough Crackers
Bread* 79 Mustard Wheat Rye
Bread* 87 Honey Buttermilk Bread - machine
Bread* 87 Sourdough Bread - machine
Meal* 4 Ham Roll Ups
Meal* 5 PERFECT CHICKEN POT PIE
Meal* 12 Chicken/Turkey Curry
Meal* 18 Ham and Cheese Rollups
Meal* 26 favorite ham roll ups
Meal* 48 BBQ baby-backs
Meal* 51 Greek Chicken
Side* 25 Pinto Beans
Side* 75 Easy Baked Beans
Side* 75 Boston Baked Beans
Side* 75 Baked Beans
Side* 79 Spicy Hot Pintos
Side* 82 Pinto Beans
Side* 90 Three Grain Pilaf
Soup* 10 Lentil Soup
(most recipes are tried n’ true - some are reference)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2694984/posts?page=102#102

[JoeProBono]

Absolute Best Liver and Onions

[gorush]

For those who make their own home made pizza, please, use only King Arthur bread flour and whole milk mozzarella...and for God’s sake, don’t use too much sauce. You can thank me later.

[Free State Four]

April 3 National Chocolate Moose Day !!!!?? :)

[libertarian27]

You must have gone over someones house last night for their famous and healthier homemade pizza....lol

I’m in agreement - King Arthur is the Best and always whole milk cheese!

[gorush]

"You must have gone over someones house last night for their famous and healthier homemade pizza....lol"

I would hesitate to call myself a cook except for pizza which has been my specialty for 45 years.

[FrdmLvr]

Do you bake it on a stone? Give us your secret to a thin, crispy yet slightly chewy and tender crust.

[libertarian27]

I always hated liver (thank goodness my mother did too - it was never forced on us) But I love liverwurst and pate.

Here’s my favorite liver pate recipe - made some again this week.

Chicken liver pate:

3 cups water
1 pound chicken liver
1 onion, sliced

1/4 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons cooking sherry (I used vermouth this time)
3/4 cup butter, softened and pre-cut in pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground mace

(Optional additions: one+ hard boiled egg, a clove or two of minced garlic or finely chopped bacon{stirred in at the end})

In a saucepan, combine water, chicken livers, and sliced onion. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until liver is cooked and tender. Remove from heat, drain, and discard onions. Also remove and discard any hard portions of the liver.

Place cooled livers in a food processor, and process until smooth. Add chopped onion, sherry, butter , salt, black pepper, and mace; pulse to blend. Spatula the pate into a buttered bowl/ramekin. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Best with crackers but have used this pate for Beef Wellington too - yummy.

[VaRepublican]

Yea well I put my wifes broth, whatever one she’s cooking, in a coffee cup and enjoy!! so there. she does make outstanding stock.

[libertarian27]

I would hesitate to call myself a cook except for pizza which has been my specialty for 45 years.

That calls for a Homemade pizza recipe request! Please!

[gorush]

"Do you bake it on a stone?"

Yes, I do. Build the pizza on parchment paper and slide it onto the preheated stone (I start out at 410 degrees) I actually use two stones. I place one near the bottom of the oven and one one or two notches above it, leaving just enough room to place the pizza on the bottom rack. The top stone prevents the cheese from browning too quickly. Monitor the crust bottom while cooking and place the pizza on the top rack if the crust is browning too quickly. I also turn the heat down to 360 about 2/3rds of the way through, although that may be superstition.

[gorush]

For the sauce I use one 8oz can of tomato sauce and one 6oz can of tomato paste. I add garlic, salt, pepper and oregano. This makes about six pizzas (I freeze the rest in individual containers for next time). Two tablespoons of sauce for one 15" dia. crust. is plenty. I put a thin layer of shredded Parmesan cheese on the sauce and then add ingredients and cover with about a pound of shredded mozzarella. Sausage and pepperoni are the only ingredients that go on top of the mozzarella (pepper slivers are ok on top for beautification).

Ingredients are depending upon personal taste, but if you've never tried, put diced shrimp on about 1/2" thick for a seafood delight. Canadian bacon, pineapple and sliced peppers are another personal favorite but I know pineapple offends the sensabilities of many.

[Fast Moving Angel]

Since we're talking about pizza, here's something different -- I'm making this for dinner tonight:

Upside Down Pizza

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet Italian sausage links
15 oz. can tomato sauce
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
¾ - 1 cup water
2 pkgs. Spaghetti sauce seasoning mix (I used McCormick Extra Rich & Thick)
1-2 teaspoons Italian herb seasoning or oregano and/or basil, if desired
1 onion, chopped (I used a bag of frozen chopped onions, thawed)
1 medium green pepper, chopped (about 1 or 1-1/4 cups)
1 small can sliced black olives – about 3 oz.
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 small can chopped jalapeno peppers, if desired
1 package sliced pepperoni (I used turkey pepperoni)
16 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1-1/2 cups Bisquick
1-1/2 cups milk
3 eggs
Chopped parsley for garnish, if desired

Procedure:

Spray 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick spray; set aside.

Slice sausage links into rounds and place on microwave safe plate lined with paper towel. Cover sausage slices with another paper towel and microwave on medium heat about 4 minutes. Remove from microwave and drain off grease.

Mix together chopped garlic, spaghetti seasoning mix, Italian seasoning (if using), tomato sauce, water (starting with about ¾ cup) and chopped onions, in microwave safe bowl. If mixture seems too thick, add a little extra water (but not too much). Microwave on medium heat about 2-1/2 minutes. Stir.

In another bowl, stir together green pepper, black olives, mushrooms and jalapeno peppers (if using).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Construct in this order:
Pour tomato sauce-onion mixture into greased 9 x 13 baking dish.
Arrange sausage slices evenly on top of sauce.
Arrange pepperoni slices evenly over sausage.
Sprinkle green pepper-olive mixture evenly over meat.
Sprinkle shredded cheese over top.

(Note: this completely filled up my 9 x 13 baking dish. In order to have room for the crust mixture, once the cheese was on, I pressed everything down with the back of a spoon.)

In mixing bowl, beat together Bisquick, eggs and milk until almost smooth and few small lumps remain. Pour over all. Sprinkle top with chopped parsley if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees about 35-40 minutes or until golden. Makes about 8 generous servings.

[gorush]

For the crust, I use 3 cups of King Arthur bread flour and 1/2 cup of smelly Lena flour (semolina), 1 cup warmish water, 1/4 cup of EVOO, 2 tablespoons of honey, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of yeast (yes, I know that sounds like a lot). This goes into the bread maker on the dough setting. Add water or flour to get the correct consistency. Knock it down at least twice.

This makes two crusts, I freeze one for next time.

[gorush]

ps When preheating the stone to 410 deg. F, don’t assume that the stone is heated completely as soon as the oven signals that the oven is up to temp. Allow another 15 minutes at least to insure that the stone is hot.

[Netizen]

That looks good, but my mom made the best liver and onions, with gravy.

[trisham]

I love liver and onions. We rarely have it, unfortunately.

[JoeProBono]

[Netizen]

Got to agree, too much sauce will ruin a pizza. I realize its cheaper than the meats and cheeses but I want to taste the meat and cheeses, not have a mouth full of sauce when I bite into it!