Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

Sammiches!

With Summer coming, I'm looking forward to nice tomatoes, and one of our favorite sandwiches is the classic BLT, for which nobody needs a recipe. (Before he died, my father-in-law would ship us boxes of his first eating tomatoes from PA, and we always looked forward to that - and to the sore gums that were a measure of our delighted excess :-)

But when I was growing up, my favorite Summer sandwich was just thick tomato slices on white-bread toast, with lots of mayonnaise and salt and pepper.

Due to this love of fresh tomatoes on bread, I was intrigued when I read John Berendt's book, 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil', in which the renowned Savannah caterer Lucile Wright was featured. Her tomato tea sandwiches were especially admired, and here's a link to a blog that has her recipe:

http://mercadoslifelessons.blogspot.com/2013/08/miss-luciles-tomato-sandwich.html

I've always liked the idea of tea sandwiches, and years ago I found some of those fancy bread tubes in a thrift store; they were like these (though I believe mine are 'Pampered Chef' products):

http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Piece-Canape-Bread-Mold/dp/B0000VLYP4/ref=pd_sim_sbs_k_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0K6V5P14N7DYS72NSPJQ

I wanted to make tea sandwiches for a party, and found an Almond Chicken Salad recipe. They were a big hit and looked nice, but you don't have to do them 'dainty', on fancy bread; any sturdy bread will do. And if you do want to get fancy, you can cut shapes out of a bought loaf, instead of baking loaves in a specialty tube.

This is the recipe I used, which is a very nice mixture of textures and tastes (not sure where I first got it, but the same recipe is all over the Web):

Almond Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Lemon-Basil Butter

To make butter spread:

Combine ¾ Cup softened butter with 2 tsps. Lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and ½ cup fresh basil leaves finely chopped, or 2 T. dried basil.

To make filling:

Combine 1 C. finely chopped cooked chicken with ½ Cup mayonnaise, ½ cup slivered almonds, and salt and pepper to taste. (I shred the chicken in the food processor, to get a very smooth, consistent texture.)

To make sandwiches:

Carefully spread each slice of bread on one side with thin layer of butter spread. Then place filling on one bread slice, and top with second buttered slice.

If you take these to a party, they can be made the evening before, and stored in a container with a double layer of paper towels between each layer of sandwiches. The butter spread will help keep the bread from going soggy.

(If you DO want to make fancy bread: I usually use the Bridgford frozen bread dough, cutting dough in half and baking each half in a canapé bread mold sprayed with PAM. To slice the bread for sandwiches, it helps to partially freeze it. Slice thinly.)

Lastly: one of my favorite sandwiches growing up was leftover meat loaf with mustard on bread; but I have not found a meat loaf recipe that really satisfies me, especially as it goes cold into sandwiches. My grandma made a great one, but I never got her recipe, and have never been able to reproduce it. (She would have been making this from the 1950s, if not earlier.)

Does anyone have a 'Grandma' or 'Great-Grandma' meat loaf recipe that you think is really good?

-JT

[NorthstarMom]

Here is my go-to meatloaf recipe, it is from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. If you don’t like it on the sweet side, this is a good recipe.

2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound ground heart (optional)
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon dried chile flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups whole grain bread crumbs
1 cup cream
1 egg
1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
4 tablespoons tomato paste or ketchup

Saute onions, carrots and celery in butter until soft. Add chile flakes, thyme, pepper and salt and stir around. Meanwhile, soak bread crumbs in cream. Have a 9x13 pan ready. Using your hands, mix meat with sautéed vegetables, soaked bread, egg and optional fish sauce. Form into a loaf and set in the pan. Ice with ketchup or tomato paste. Add about 1 cup water to the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours. Serve with ketchup, sauerkraut or ginger carrots.

I don’t always add the fish sauce, have never used heart, and sometimes substitute milk for the cream, it’s works every way. This is what made me a sauerkraut fan...it is so good on this meatloaf.

[Hardens Hollow]

Speaking of tomatoes and bread - here’s my fav crostini recipe, it uses 2 types of tomatoes, sun dried and fresh, so you get an intense tomato flavor.

Double Tomato Bruschetta

6 roma tomatoes, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup EVOO
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, in oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil
2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/4 tsp s & 1/4 tsp p
1 baguette

Mix all but baguette and cheese. Let sit 10 min. Preheat broiler. Cut baguette into 3/4” slices. Toast 1-2 min, till slightly brown. Divide tomato mixture evenly over slices; top with cheese and broil 5 min till melted.

[mojo114]

My mom used to make these. She always had a can of Deviled ham in the house.
Think it was during the 1930’s Depression when Deviled ham became popular.

[Hardens Hollow]

“Does anyone have a ‘Grandma’ or ‘Great-Grandma’ meat loaf recipe that you think is really good?”

As with all of grandma’s ‘recipes’, they weren’t written down and she just knew how much to add without measuring. Made it hard to recreate anything.

I do love meatloaf and mustard, but never put them together - until now ;)

[Jamestown1630]

Cranberries are good in anything! They would be a good addition to the recipe. I like lots of mixtures of textures; and flavors combined that aren’t usually paired...

I like anything that makes our ordinary lives a little ‘surprising’ :-)

-JT

[Hardens Hollow]

I’ve never tried this one, but your mentioning onion soup or dip mix gave me something to search for.

This is from allrecipes, and has a rating of 4.3 stars with over 2000 reviews.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1/2 cup crushed buttery round crackers

3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons steak sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Stir the ground beef, crushed crackers, Cheddar cheese, and onion soup mix in a large bowl until well combined. Whisk the eggs, ketchup, and steak sauce in a separate bowl until smooth. Mix the eggs into the meat until evenly combined, if the mixture seems too dry, add a little water. Press into a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven until the meatloaf reaches 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) and is no longer pink in the center, 45 to 60 minutes.

[PieterCasparzen]

Hey come on ! Share a Cuban marinated meat recipe ! Please, just one, then we’ll leave you alone.

[Hardens Hollow]

thank you! I love deviled ham, but it is prohibitively expensive now. Although ham isn’t...I don’t get it.

[outofsalt]

No meat for you!

[outofsalt]

Well, maybe next thread but, these guys know,
http://www.amazon.com/Three-Guys-Miami-Cook-Cuban/dp/158685433X/ref=pd_sim_b_1/180-2923541-4113321?ie=UTF8&refRID=0EFMCVG3A88XMC13EHER

[KosmicKitty]

I just transplanted some of my tomato plants. I can’t wait till I have a few to try those tomato sandwiches.

I may have to open a can of deviled ham tomorrow. I’d go make a deviled ham sandwich right now if it weren’t so late :-)

[dennisw]

I am in the middle of experiment number two for my half barley bread. The other half is whole wheat flour. So far so good. Delicious and filling. Both grains bought at Whole Foods and milled at home so they are fresh

Also for a different caffeine boost I grinding guarana berries and simmering. I like it better than coffee

[Jamestown1630]

That one looks very good; and would suit my husband’s low-carb requirements. That little bit of carb, spaced out over the entire meatloaf, wouldn’t be much at all.

Thanks for finding this!

-JT

[Jamestown1630]

Can you tell us what kind of grinder you use for grains?

I haven’t bought one of those yet, but I want one for my ‘prep’ collection.

-JT

[dennisw]

Believe it or not I use a Vitamix. I grind and sift a few times. Meaning sift out the fine and re-grind the coarse. Plus if the grain are frozen they grind up more easily

Are you thinking about hand cranking or electric?

[boatbums]

My meatloaf AND my hubby's enjoyment of it got a lot better when I started sauteing the finely chopped onions, garlic, carrots, celery and onions (4 or 5 pulses in a food processor works great) in a little olive oil first before adding them to the ground meat and eggs. I also use Panko (Japanese bread crumbs) and some Italian bread crumbs to help bind it all together. It really makes a big difference.

[Trillian]

Not my grandmothers.. I don’t remember them ever making a meatloaf. My husband and I came up with this one and it’s a keeper.

Trillian’s Whiskey Glazed Bacon Meatloaf

Meatloaf Ingredients:
2 pounds of ground venison, or extra lean ground beef
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups of fresh bread crumbs
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon of garlic salt
½ lb of bacon, cooked and minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ cup sweet onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Whiskey glaze:
½ cup of dark brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
2 tablespoons of butter

12 sliced of uncooked bacon

Heat oven to 400F.
Mix all of meatloaf ingredients together and form into a loaf in a large meatloaf pan.
Heat whiskey glaze ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer.
Simmer for two minutes and pour over the meatloaf.

On a flat surface weave bacon slices and then place over meatloaf folding end pieces of bacon underneath.
Cover meatloaf with aluminum foil and bake for about 1 hour. Take off aluminum foil and continue baking for 15-20 minutes more until bacon looks crisp and thermometer measures about 165F.

Serve with garlic mashed potatoes and buttered corn.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

Do you put whiskey in that glaze or just drink it? How much?

[Trillian]

It’s about 1/2 a cup. I don’t know how I forgot to add that ;)

[TontoKowalski]

I guess everyone has a favorite chicken salad. Mine is man-friendly, meaning it uses canned chicken, and the measurements for other ingredients are... well, you don't need to measure anything.

Open canned chicken, and rinse it really well in the sink. I do this in the can, because then you can use the lid to mash down and make sure just about every bit of water is out. I usually use two cans.

Cut up an apple in small dices. I also use a pear if I have one. Dice up some celery, and mince some green onion, and throw that in. All of this adds crunch.

Now, add some grapes. I usually slice mine in half. A handful of raisins (I like the mix that has cranberries and blueberries added) and whatever seeds/nuts you like.

Now, it's time for just enough mayo to mix and bind it, and the secret ingredient: Curry Powder!

Use that to taste; I use a lot. It's ready to eat, but I like to put it in the fridge for a couple of hours first.

It's my favorite thing to make, and everybody likes it at my house.