Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

Last week I got to thinking about Sloppy Joe sandwiches, which I hadn't had in ages but loved when I was a kid. We decided to try making it from scratch, and settled on Chef John's recipe. It came out really good - I think I might add some jalapeno next time - but it doesn't really taste like the Sloppy Joe made from the canned sauce. I'm not sure what to do to it, to make it more like the childhood favorite (except buy a can of sauce ;-) and I'm wondering if anyone else has made it. Here's is Chef John's recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/219635/chef-johns-sloppy-joes/

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I happened to be browsing archive.org for old cookbooks, and found Rufus Estes' cookbook 'Good Things to Eat, as Suggested by Rufus'. Estes, born a slave, was one of the first famous African American chefs, and the first to write and publish a cookbook. The recipes are sometimes kind of sketchy, as they are in all of these old cookbooks, but the instructions are adequate to figure out the dish. Cherry Season is coming on, and I was intrigued by his recipe for pickled cherries:

"CHERRY PICKLES

Stem, but do not pit, large ripe cherries. Put into a jar and cover with a sirup made from two cups of sugar, two cups of vinegar and a rounding teaspoon each of ground cloves and cinnamon cooked together five minutes.

Let stand two days, pour off the vinegar, reheat and pour over the cherries, then seal."

I searched for more modern recipes and was surprised that most are pretty much exactly as Rufus made them; but here is a recipe that pits the cherries, and adds lemon and star anise:

http://janesadventuresindinner.com/2014/09/celebratingtheharvest-pickled-cherries.html

You can read or download the Rufus Estes book at Archive.org (lots of great antique cookbooks there):

https://archive.org/details/goodthingstoeata00esterich

or purchase a newer edition hard copy at Amazon or Dover Publications:

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Things-Eat-Suggested-Rufus/dp/0965433315

http://store.doverpublications.com/0486437647.html

-JT

[Randy Larsen]

That recipe looks to have a chili bean back ground.

[CottonBall]

Here it is: It's not much chopping at all, LOL! I must've been in a hurry when I made it and I remembered it being cumbersome for some reason Sloppy Joes 1 lb ground beef 2 -3 stalks celery, chopped 1 small onion, chopped 8 oz tomato sauce 1⁄4 cup ketchup 1⁄4 cup barbecue sauce 1 T packed brown sugar 1 T prepared mustard ¼ tsp salt&¼ tsppepper 1 T Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp chili powder 1 T vinegar In a large skillet, brown ground beef, celery and onion. Stir in remaining ingredients, simmer covered, 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If Joes appear too'loose', leave cover off and let moisture evaporate. Cook until it's the consistency you like for serving on toasted buns, with french fries and cole slaw.

[mylife]

Chili is not made with beans... ;)

[CottonBall]

Since I'm obsessed with all things buffalo these days, here's an easy but good one?

Buffalo Chicken Salad – too much hot sauce, use ¾ cups ranch to 2 T buffalo sauce

2 cups cubed, cooked chicken
3/4 cup ranch dressing
2 T cup buffalo sauce
3 stalks celery, diced
2 green onions, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the chicken, ranch dressing, buffalo wing sauce, celery, green onions, salt and pepper in a bowl.

[CottonBall]

Let me try this again....


Here it is: It's not much chopping at all, LOL! I must've been in a hurry when I made it and I remembered it being cumbersome for some reason

Sloppy Joes

1 lb ground beef
2 -3 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
8 oz tomato sauce
1⁄4 cup ketchup
1⁄4 cup barbecue sauce
1 T packed brown sugar
1 T prepared mustard
¼ tsp salt&¼ tsppepper
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chili powder
1 T vinegar


In a large skillet, brown ground beef, celery and onion. Stir in remaining ingredients, simmer covered, 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If Joes appear too'loose', leave cover off and let moisture evaporate. Cook until it's the consistency you like for serving on toasted buns, with french fries and cole slaw

[Jamestown1630]

There’s so much great stuff over there. I’ve been picking things out of the air, to see if they’ve been digitized at archive.org - like William Blake, for instance, books with his drawings; and there are some, though they take forever to download.

And even though you can find much better reproductions of art on the web, and easier texts to read, there’s something kind of magical about seeing these old books in pdf, imagining who has handled and enjoyed them over scores of years, etc.

When I was a little kid, my favorite book was ‘Teenie Weenie Days’, by William Donahey; and they DO have one of the ‘Teenie’ books, reproduced beautifully (Warning: the PC-observant will just have to ignore the old-fashioned sterotypes, if they can’t resist judging the past by today’s standards):

https://ia800204.us.archive.org/28/items/teenieweenieneig00dona/teenieweenieneig00dona.pdf

-JT

[leaning conservative]

That’s where the fork, spoon & an end piece of crust come in!

[Randy Larsen]

...I know, I like mine both ways and no wise a$$ comments.

Tonight is beef stroganoff with ground beef.

[mylife]

Love the opening of wise neighbors.

We live in the pucker bush to avoid the BIG Folks

We want to be off the radar

[mylife]

I make mine with beans but never in a contest.
Serve them on the side.

[mylife]

Folks love a crusty flaky pie

[NorthstarMom]

I loved my mom’s sloppy joes - still do, but it uses a can of tomato soup. I don’t want that much corn syrup so I substitute tomato sauce and some spices with a bit of sugar. What I like about her recipe is that it is tangy and savory with no mustard. Kids like it because there are no veggie chunks.

This post has me craving sloppy joes-they will be on the menu this week! King Arthur flour has my favorite bun recipe-perfect with sloppy joes.

[leaning conservative]

You make your own buns? Get out of town, yum!

[NorthstarMom]

I haven’t seen many antique cookbooks, but the older I get, the more I love old church cookbooks. My mom’s old cookbooks have her notes in them and I recognize many of the names from my childhood. My grandmothers’ old church cookbooks are a glimpse into a different time. Fun for me to try recipes they submitted.

[Jamestown1630]

I learned recently that King Arthur now publishes a beautiful magazine, ‘Sift’. I hadn’t known:

http://search.kingarthurflour.com/baking/Sift-Magazine

-JT

[Jamestown1630]

I could have that for lunch on a bed of lettuce. I love the buffalo-chicken dip.

-JT

[NorthstarMom]

It’s easier than you think-especially with a kitchen aid mixer to do the kneading. They are so much better than store bought.

[NorthstarMom]

Thanks! I like their recipes, will check out the magazine.

[leaning conservative]

Our librarian cleaned out the back storage room of the library at the primary. She put boxes of free books out & I found a Nashville Junior League cookbook. It’s got some great recipes.

[Jamestown1630]

Has anyone ever tried a Vodka pie crust? Years ago Cooks Illustrated published a scientific explanation of why it makes such a flaky crust, but I never got around to trying it:

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-review-vodka-pie-crust-68851

-JT