Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

My husband caught a nasty cold last weekend, and promptly shared it with me. We came out of the haze just in time to hear from the NWS that our little area of the US is in the bull's eye for an official - and very rare - blizzard this weekend. We've been preparing, as we're largely concerned about a power outage.

I remember a few pretty bad snowstorms when I was growing up, but a power outage was never a real problem: we lived in one of those old buildings with radiators, whose hot water/steam was powered by burning coal; and with a gas cook-stove that could be lit with a match. I remember playing out in the snow for hours, the cold never bothering; and then seeing our mittens, hats, socks drying for awhile on a radiator or even on the open door of the stove while we ate lunch; before we were out in the snow and playing again.

Breakfast on days like this was, for some reason, always Cinnamon Toast and Tea. (I've never understood why, as kids, we were only allowed hot tea on snow days or when we were sick, even though we drank iced sweet-tea all Summer; but I guess hot tea was some kind of tradition or old-folks' notion of 'healthy'. )

Great slatherings of butter are KEY to good Cinnamon Toast. Spread a lot of butter on white sandwich bread, and make sure a few areas of the bread have thicker bits of butter than others. Top the butter with dark brown sugar, and then sprinkle all over with a generous dusting of powdered cinnamon.

Put this in the oven until the crusts of the bread are crisp, and everything is sort of melted, with the cinnamon looking a little shiny and like a glaze on top.

(The joy of eating this is when you hit one of those butter-soggy areas where the butter was thicker :-)

Kids tend to love this and gobble it up. In a pinch, you can make it with white sugar instead of dark-brown; but my brother and I recall the 'white sugar' days as offering very mediocre Cinnamon Toast!

Now, I live with all-electric heat, cooking, hot water. So we've stocked up on sterno, and foods and drinks that we can heat on a little camp stove or steam tray. We'll be doing a Boston Butt in the crockpot and roasting a chicken during the hours before the storm, so that we have something that is good enough cold or lightly warmed, if it comes to that over the next few days.

I am also roasting some eggplant, for a recipe that was, when I found it decades ago, labeled 'Eggplant Caviar'; but which I learned later is actually a version of a well-known Middle Eastern spread/dip called

Baba Ghanoush

2 small Eggplant

4 T. fresh Lemon Juice

4 T Olive Oil

1 large clove Garlic

1 seeded and chopped Tomato

1/4 tsp. Paprika

1/2 tsp. Cayenne

1 finely minced Scallion (Spring Onion)

1 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

Pierce Eggplant in several places and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until very soft. Split open and remove pulp.

Place pulp in blender with all other ingredients except Scallions and Tomatoes. Blend until smooth; add remaining ingredients and adjust seasonings.

Serve as an appetizer or snack with chunks of bread, fresh vegetable crudites, or crackers/chips.

-JT

[freeangel]

Oh, no. I know all of us will miss him so much!

[Yardstick]

I’ve got an electric stove and wouldn’t mind having something like that for cooking with a round bottom wok.

[Jamestown1630]

You know, a few weeks ago I saw a brand new french press, in the original box and never used, in the thrift store. And normally when I’m there, items for emergency/prep or for entertaining are at the front of my mind; but I didn’t buy it! I think it was less than ten dollars, but I wasn’t thinking of how valuable it might be for camping or without electricity; I just thought, I’ve already got three ways to make coffee; and where will I put this?

You’ve taught me a lesson ;-)

-JT

[Jamestown1630]

I like the flavor of eggplant, but I admit that it doesn’t have much, on its own.

I should have remembered to tell folks to try and get a male eggplant if possible - it has fewer seeds and is less bitter than the female.

Here’s how to tell the male from the seedy female:

https://wintersong.wordpress.com/2008/07/10/choosing-the-best-eggplant-boy-or-girl/

-JT

[Jamestown1630]

Our snow is finally tapering down a little, as well as the wind. They’ve been saying that by 9 or 10 tonight, it should be out of here.

It’s going to be a fine mess to clean up, though. There are drifts hiding entire rows of parked cars out my window.

I’ve been seeing film on the news of bad floods in NJ.

-JT

[miss marmelstein]

We have about 3 feet of snow. The cars are buried. I’m not sure how we’ll dig out even though friends are coming tomorrow to help. The dog finally went out after refusing all day!

Made the turkey chili con carne with homemade skillet cornbread and homemade brownies. Now going to read in bed! Night-night, everyone!

[Aliska]

I never knew that! So interesting. A few weeks ago I made a childhood favorite, fried eggplant using flour, egg dip, and cracker crumbs. It didn't have the distinctive but subtle taste to it that I remember. I ate a lot of it but ended up throwing four nice slices away.

Those new peelers make peeling them a breeze. Before I used to have to slice them and then peel each slice with a paring knife.

It didn't seem to matter with my hummus, and I'm sure I must have gotten a female in heat for that. I have a version of your recipe without the garbanzo beans. I don't know if I'm game to try it or not.

Sometime I would like to roast a variety of veggies and include eggplant though. That Italian parma stuff never sounded too great. Maybe I would like it now because I do change about things.

[Jamestown1630]

There are versions of Baba Ghanoush that include Tahini, and come out more like hummus:

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/baba_ghanouj.aspx

-JT

[Aliska]

Here's the one I saved. I have developed a taste for cumin.

Also, I don't measure anything but the olive oil, salt and cumin. I also put about 1/8 tsp cayenne as I have developed a taste for that. I use 1/2 fresh lemon. I watched a yt video tonight where an Arab-sounding woman threw everything in the food processor and let it go for 3 minutes. I'm afraid mine will be too chunky if I do that.

I garnish with smoked paprika and olive oil, never have those fresh herbs that make things look so pretty.

• 2 cups chickpeas, drained and rinsed, or soaked if using dried
• 1 small eggplant
• 3 tablespoons of tahini
• 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• ½ cup olive oil (too much imo, 1/4 cup max, stuff is $$$)
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Sprig of parsley, finely chopped

I can't find the site I copied this from.

[kitchen]

We sell over 80% glass beaker french presses. The various unbreakable models go to travelers, campers, and people who have the dropsies. I think most people like to see the color change, as their coffee brews, to judge when to press the grounds.

As long as you have good beans, water above 185 - 188 F, and a burr grinder you are good to go. (The pro tasters claim a blade grinder heats the coffee and drives off essential volatiles that are then missing from the brew. If you add cream and/or sugar you probably wouldn't notice a difference.)

[kitchen]

These butane stoves are probably not stout enough for stir fry. 7K BTUs is another issue, as the 25K large burners on a range are marginal at best. Think about your 65K BTU turkey fryer propane burner as what to strive for. But that’s an outdoor activity.

[Yardstick]

Good point about the BTUs. Looks like even the indoor propane burners don’t put out enough heat. The nice thing about the outdoor types you mention is that they’re relatively inexpensive. Maybe I’ll do some stir fry on the porch this spring.

[kitchen]

Take a look at the Eastman wok set. We saw them at the Chicago merchandise show a few years ago, very impressive.

[V K Lee]

A few weeks ahead of myself, but thinking of Super Bowl snacks - not that I really care about the super bowl game this year ;-/ (our team was awful)
Anyway, back to food product We’ve eaten this for many years when snacks are appreciated. They are easy to make, can be made and baked then frozen in zip lock bags and reheated when you see fit.

SAUSAGE BALLS
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/sausage-balls-recipe.html

DRIED BEEF AND CREAM CHEESE BALL
Another favorite is the Dried Beef and Cream cheese Ball - basically use this recipe w/o the MSG and onion salt, (but do use onion powder. The ball is then rolled in finely chopped pecans. Served with regular Ritz crackers. And, yes, it is so good there are times when making it actually save a bit before the ball and eat a few bites with a spoon (tisk tisk)
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/17132/dried-beef-cheese-ball/

Dried Beef is at times hard to find on store shelves. Usually with canned meat products; a glass pop top jar - medium size drinking glass a bit more slender, a HORMEL product

[Jamestown1630]

We still see the dried beef in jars on the grocery shelves - but it’s spendy! I’ve wondered if we could just make our own in the Excalibur, but would probably need an expensive meat slicer to get it that thin.

It would be nice to make our own for this, as well as for cream chipped beef on toast.

-JT

[V K Lee]

I last made this a few years ago, and even then it was expensive. Also, oops had the brand as Hormel when it is actually Armour
Searched the net for homemade dried beef/chipped beef. As I don’t own a dehydrator, at a loss as to whether or not it would work on this - but my sister would say it works for beef jerky so why not attempt. Here are a few sites which might be of help

Also, there is a variation on this recipe which has never been tried using a can of Corned Beef - NOT CORN BEEF HASH NOT - instead of the dried beef. Not certain that the exchange would bring the price down. All canned meat products are pricey these days (deviled ham, Spam, whatever you favor)

http://www.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_make_chipped_beef#ixzz1JQHtTrhI

http://www.ehow.com/how_4464714_make-dried-beef.html

http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m0506F11.htm