FR Weekly Cooking Thread *Recipes* Nov 12, 2011

FreeRepublic Cooks | Nov 12, 2011 | libertarian27

[libertarian27]

Welcome to the 49th 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 nine- for fellow FReepers to add to their 'go-to' Recipe Stack of Family Favorites!

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

[Red_Devil 232]

Can you tell me how she cooks it? I would like to do one after Thanksgiving - maybe for Christmas.

[Red_Devil 232]

I will have to try this cheesecake - for sure!

[Flamenco Lady]

I came up with this recipe last week as a way to use up some leftovers and some fresh vegetables I had in the refrigerator. The family loved it and it was really simple to make.

Sausage, Rice, and Squash Bake

3/4-1/2 lb of Italian Sausage
olive oil or cooking oil (if needed)
1 onion, diced
1 can mushrooms or the fresh equivalent sliced
2-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced or grated (to taste)
2-3 cups cooked rice
1 zucchini, cut in bite size chunks
1 yellow squash, cut in bite size chunks
2 cups grated cheese (anything you have on hand would do, I used a combination of mozzarella and cheddar)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated parmesan for topping
Chopped Parsley for topping

Brown Italian sausage and remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Saute onions garlic and mushrooms in the same pan using the grease from the sausage (add additional oil if needed). Set aside.

Add the cream to the beaten egg and mix thoroughly. In a large bowl (if you wish to do this separately) or directly in a greased casserole dish, combine the sausage, onion mixture, 1/2 the cheese, the egg mixture, and seasonings.

Spread the mixture in a large casserole dish and top with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle the top with a little grated parmesan cheese and parsley. (You could also easily top this with some breadcrumbs as well if you like.)

Cover and bake the casserole at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until heated through completely. Remove the lid and cook an additional 15 minutes until the top is slightly browned. Enjoy!

Note: This casserole is very versatile. It is more a method rather than a hard and true recipe. It could easily be made with pasta instead of rice, any combination of meat or vegetables you might have around or need to use up, and you could easily substitute condensed milk, milk, or even a can of creamed soup instead of the cream. Seasonings could easily be substituted as well for a different seasoning blend.

I experiment a lot with casseroles like this to use up leftovers and fresh veggies I need to use up. Sometimes I use rice and sometimes I use pasta for them. Small pene pasta, bow tie pasta or even some kind of spiral pasta would be great in this dish.

An example of another combination that I think would be equally good would to combine the rice with leftover chicken or beef fajita filling (onions, peppers, and meat or poultry), with taco or fajita seasoning, and cheddar cheese with perhaps even some cheddar cheese soup instead of the cream. You could garnish the top with sliced black olives and serve salsa, guacamole and sour cream on the side if you like.

[Ladysmith]

http://www.thejeyofcooking.com/brioche-burger-buns/

This recipe calls warm milk 110 degrees F.

[Flamenco Lady]

Does anyone have a good apple cake recipe?

[SAJ]

Tip on bouillabaisse. Make it, just about 2/3 finished, the day before you want to serve it. Refrigerate, tightly covered, overnight. Rewarm slowly, starting about 45 minutes before you want to serve.

Also, if at all possible, use the Mediterranean scorpion fish, the rascasse.

Bon appetit!

[Ladysmith]

And another one calls for cooling warmed up milk to just above body temperature.

[ClearBlueSky]

MUSHROOM APPETIZERS
Makes 24
24 thin bread slices, crusts removed, buttered on both sides
4 tblsp butter
3 shallots. chopped
1 lb fresh mushrooms, chopped fine
1 cup heavy cream
2 tblsp all purpose flour
1 tblsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 tblsp fresh chopped parsley, or 1/2 tsp crushed dried parsley
1 1/2 tblsp chopped chives
2 tsp lemon juice
Grease small muffin tins and press bread slice into each.Trim edges of bread as necessary. Bake in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove from tins and cool on rack. Melt butter in skillet and saute shallots for a few minutes, add minced mushrooms and cook until all liquid is gone. Stir in flour till well blended then stir in cream and cook, stirring, till thickened. Add mustard, salt, cayenne, parsley, chives and lemon juice, stir till blended. Place cooled shells on cookie sheet and fill with mushroom mixture. Bake in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving
Mushroom mixture may be made a day or two ahead of time. UNfilled bread shells may be frozen- not necessary to thaw them before filling and baking.

[illiac]

Thx for the tips....this will be the first time making this and am anxious to try it....

[Tamar1973]

Chuncheon-style kimchi pizza (김치 피자) - YouTube

[RandallFlagg]

So, between 100-110 deg F?
I’ve had luck with that.
Made hot dog buns yesterday, and they were kinda flat. Temps were at around 125 deg F.

What about lighter and fluffier? Use less flour?

[illiac]

Here is one my mom used to make for her bridge club. Found it in one of her old recipe boxes.

APPLE CAKE

This incredibly delicious and moist cake is a great cake for a pot luck or gathering, or serve it as a brunch or coffee cake. It doesn’t need a glaze, but a caramel glaze would be delicious, or just dust it with a little sifted powdered sugar.

Ingredients:
•3 Golden Delicious apples (about 1 pound), peeled, diced
•1 cup pecan pieces
•1/2 cup sugar
•2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
•4 large eggs
•2/3 cup safflower oil or Canola
•2 1/4 cups sugar
•1 cup applesauce
•1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•3 cups all purpose flour
•3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
•1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt cake pan or spray thoroughly with a flour and oil baking spray.
Core apples and dice in 1/4-inch dice. Put diced apples in a bowl with pecan pieces, 1/2 cup of sugar, and the cinnamon. Stir to blend; set aside.

In a large a mixing bowl, stir or whisk the eggs with oil, sugar, applesauce, and vanilla. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly beat dry ingredients into the oil and applesauce mixture until well blended. Stir in the diced apple mixture. Spoon into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden pick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes. If necessary, carefully loosen sides with a spatula. Put the rack over the pan and carefully invert. Cool completely.

Slide the cooled cake onto a serving plate, or to be safe, place the baking pan over the cake again, flip with the rack, then cover with a serving plate and invert again.

[illiac]

Gotta try those mushroom appetizers....everyone is making me REALLY hungry today....thanks!!!

[TomGuy]

I would go ‘just warm to the touch’ but not ‘hot’.

If it is too warm, it kills the yeast. It is probably safer to be a bit cool, than too hot.

[bgill]

Oops, I cleaned out my fridge yesterday and made a pot of soup.

[Coldwater Creek]

Always sift your flour. Try not to make bread on a humid day. You don’t have to use less flour.

115 degrees Slightly warm is like a baby’s bath water.

[Red_Devil 232]

No to the less flour.

Scalding the milk is an important step when using milk in any yeast dough recipes. Scalding is necessary even with pasteurized milk because of the whey proteins in milk need to be inactivated. They can weaken the gluten in dough and produce a dense final product unless the milk is scalded. After scalding you just let the milk come back to room temp. If you are looking for a high rising bread, (is that what you mean by maximum yeast growth?) Never let you dough rise beyond the double in size rule in the first rise. A big mistake a lot of people make is letting the dough just rise to its max - this uses up a lot of the yeast's energy and your second rise will never make a nice loaf or bun or roll the final bread will turn out dense.

I use a big 8 cup graduated measuring cup during the first rise to make sure I don't go past the double in size. But there are other tools available.

such as these from King Arthur Flower:

Dough-Rising Bucket

 

Dough Doubler

[bgill]

Cute marshmallows! Haven't seen them yet. I bet someone can think of a candy decoration for them.

Have y'all seen the oreo and candy corn turkeys? I think those little fellas will be on our table this year.

[TheMom]

Has anybody made anything interesting/tasty with the pumpkin spice marshmallows?

Have you tried making fudge?

[RandallFlagg]

I probably should have mentioned that I’m in Denver. Something about less flour for the higher altitude?