Weekly Cooking Thread *Recipes* July 30, 2011

FreeRepublic Cooks | July 30, 2011 | libertarian27

[libertarian27]

Welcome to the 34th installment of the FR Weekly Cooking (Recipes) Thread.

Looking for something new to make or made something new that came out great? Please share a 'tried-and-true' recipe or three - or all of them:)! 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.

[Ditter]

Hey, I have that cookbook too. May years ago we were stationed in Yorktown Va. I don’t think I have ever cooked anything out of it.

[Ditter]

sorry, that should be MANY years ago.........

[Red_Devil 232]

I have a fig tree producing nice sized figs and I have the cheese. I will serve this with my stuffed Bell Peppers tonight.

[libertarian27]

If you are into real old cookbooks and the like -check this link out:
http://www.foodtimeline.org/

Warning: you could be on that site for hours looking around - I was - and now I wish I didn’t remember it because I’m being drawn to it again-—drat:>)

[smalltownslick]

I had some stuffed peppers at a little place on Baronne Street in New Orleans several years ago that were so memorable I’ve never forgotten them. They were in a VERY rich brown sauce instead of tomato sauce. I’ve tried to figure out how to make them, I guess I’ve come close. I’m guessing they used a roux since they use that for everything, but don’t know for sure. Anyone have any ideas?

[SAJ]

Most fish is getting to be awfully expensive if one is on a budget. But chicken still isn't.

Southern-style Chicken Salad

12 oz. cooked chicken, diced (dark meat IS better, here)
1 large slice of sweet onion, diced
2 tsp dill (not sweet) relish or finely chopped dill pickle
3 TBSP finely chopped celery
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise, or more or less to taste
1/2 tsp mustard (Dijon is best, but regular yellow does fine)
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
1 small clove garlic, minced, or 1 tsp prepared minced garlic in oil

You can, naturally, chop everything by hand. If using a food processor, add -- IN ORDER -- the chicken, pulse a bit, the celery, pulse a bit, the onion, pulse a bit, and lastly the egg, pulse a bit. Slice or quarter the egg before adding.

Place all chopped ingredients in a medium bowl, add mayo, mustard, salt, pepper, relish and garlic. Mix well and refrigerate, covered, for 1/2 hour.

Serve any way you like, as a side, in a sandwich. One dynamite way to serve this is to fill an avocado half with the salad, and then add a good dollop of Russian or 1000 Island dressing.

For a more Cajun style chicken salad, substitute cayenne for the black pepper, and substitute chopped green bell pepper for half the celery.

The amount of mayonnaise to use is highly variable, each to his/her own taste. I suggest only that, if intending to make chicken salad sandwiches, using a bit less is probably better, from the standpoint of not having a glob of chicken salad fall out of the sandwich while you're eating it.

[Red_Devil 232]

Thanks to all for the stuffed Bell Pepper recipes!

I like the idea of cutting them in half length wise.

I will using the Bell Peppers I picked from my garden yesterday morning - the red peppers in the photo are pimentos

[Red_Devil 232]

Now that sounds good! Will have to try this later in the week - my wife has her heart set on an old fashion stuffed pepper for tonight.

[Red_Devil 232]

Now that sounds good! Will have to try this later in the week - my wife has her heart set on an old fashion stuffed pepper for tonight.

[Red_Devil 232]

Isinglass is a substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish. It is a form of collagen used mainly for the clarification of wine and beer.

[bgill]

Haha, I haven’t ever cooked anything from it either but I keep telling myself I’m going to. I checked the price and it was $7.95 back about 1990. Not bad for hard back, cloth bound, and 500 recipes! I was looking through some other old cookbooks from around the late 1880s and found that they were using the same recipes down to nearly the exact wording. I picked up the Williamsburg Cookbook (from the restaraunts there) yesterday at the thrift store just to see how they moderized the old recipes.

My ancestors were from Jamestown so we love visiting VA. I couldn’t live during the Jamestowne era but Williamsburg is my cup of tea.

[satan69]

Same here but I used the 10 min boiling bag rice and use 3 cans of tomato soup! makes them really good!

[arderkrag]

Ard's Ginger Stir-Fry Chicken

A few years back, my wife attempted to learn to make ginger candies. She quickly discovered that it isn't nearly as easy as it sounds and threw in the towel. I took some of the process, specifically the caramelization process, and applied it to chicken. Feel free to judge the results yourself. It's a fairly simple recipe, but cleanup is a pain as the caramelized ginger is hard as glue to clean off the wok. For this reason, I recommend an iron wok if available so you can simply steel wool or steel brush the ginger away.


You will need:

3 tablespoons of ground ginger
2 tablespoons of ground garlic
1 tablespoon of chopped (absolutely not ground) rosemary
1 teaspoon of ground sage
Three cups of oil (Sesame works best, but canola or peanut will work fine as well)
3 Chicken breasts, cut into strips (size is up to you, I wouldn't go more than 1 inch wide and 3 inches long)
A large wok

Pour oil into wok. Bring to slight boil. Add ginger & other spices and whisk vigourously until fully saturated. Bring to a roiling boil. Add chicken. Allow oil to boil down until it sits under chicken in wok, stirrring constantly. Continue until ginger forms breading-like shell over chicken. Be careful to make sure chicken does not begin to stick to wok. Serve over fried rice or with pot stickers (or both!). With generous sides, can easily serve up to four.

[bgill]

Oooh, pretty!

[arderkrag]

August 1 - National Raspberry Cream Pie Day

FOOTNOTE - I WAS BORN ON RASPBERRY CREAM PIE DAY? I deserve an award!

[SAJ]

A beer cock is essentially what we call a ‘tap’. In Dunmore’s time, they were gravitic; the keg or barrel had to be above the cock. You can see old beer cocks in numerous beer museums and/or on a tour of an old-time brewery. I know they’re part of the tour at the Urquell brewery in Plzen and the Carlsburg brewery also have them, I think.

[Red_Devil 232]

Yep sounds like a big card party for sure. A hogshead is 63 three Gallons so they ordered 189 gallons of porter and 180 bottles each of beer and ale.

[Netizen]

Sometimes I add a tsp of sugar or vinegar to cut the acidity. I also add a tsp of flax meal for an omega boost.

I’ve used the tomatoes with Italian seasonings and those with Mexican seasonings and both work nicely. Don’t see why taco seasoning wouldn’t work also if one wanted to go that way. I do find that I need to let it rest 10 minutes or so for the rice to fully soften.

I had started using this recipe because it was easier to pack and eat in a lunch for work.

[reaganaut]

that sounds good!

[SAJ]

A not officially sanctioned trick for saving work cleaning up caramelized ANYTHING.

Line the wok/pan with foil before cooking. Doesn't affect the flavour of the stir fry at all.