Weekly Cooking Thread March 26, 2011

FreeRepublicCooks | March 26, 2011 | libertarian27

[libertarian27]

Welcome to the 16th installment of the FR Weekly Cooking Thread.

Looking for something new to make or made something new that came out great? Please share a 'tried-and-true' recipe or two - or six 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.

[Flamenco Lady]

Thanks to all of you for the bean recipes and the links. I will have lots of different recipes to try now for my dry beans. Baked Beans and Pinto Beans are my husband’s favorite kinds of beans too, so they will give me some new variations to try and see if my beans can come closer to the ones I remember from my childhood.

My husband reminded me that sometimes we enjoyed the recipes of our mothers and grandmothers (and sometimes fathers and grandfathers) because they made them with love and that they often seem like they tasted better to us than our own, even though they are really virtually identical.

[rightly_dividing]

I have not finalized my Pintos yet, but the last time I cooked them(last week) I did this:

Pinto Beans

1# bag Pintos
2 pork shanks
1 med large onion
6 minced Garlic cloves
4 green onions
Chicken stock (or two cans of broth)
1 pak chili season mix
Jalapenos

I start the dry bean with the ham shanks in my slow cooker. Cover the beans with chicken stock or canned broth if can stand the salt it contains. Add about half of the chili seasoning, along with 1/2 of the onion diced, half of the garlic minced. Cook till beans soften some, always keeping an eye on fluids, adding water as necessary. Then add the rest of the onion diced, minced onion, green onions, chili seasoning. Add Jalapenos to taste. Finish cooking till beans are fully tender. About 4hrs on my cooker.

Like most things, substitution works good. Whatever pork season that you favor; ham hocks, shanks, bacon, diced ham. We always go heavy on garlic and onion.

[Netizen]

That recipe looks good, too. I can reduce the salt by using reduced sodium chicken broth and I make my own chili seasoning that has no salt.

How many oz is your chili season mix? What temp do you cook them at?

[rightly_dividing]

The chili packet was 1.5 oz, and my heat was high on my slow cooker. They are usually done in about 3 1/2 -4 hrs, starting with unsoaked beans.
My cooker seems to get really hot and fast compared to ones that I have had in the past. I really have to watch the fluid levels because of that. Often, I turn the heat back to low after it comes to a boil around the edges.

[Netizen]

My mom and my step dad used to have fudge making contests. Not the kind that used, evaporated milk, confectioners sugar or marshmallow. The really good, homemade kind, that you have to work at.

My mom made good fudge, but, my step dad’s was even better. He had more patience and when it came time for stirring he had more endurance.

I miss them both...

[don-o]

Don’t you pour out the soaking water? I’ve been told that reduces the gas factor.

[Netizen]

I think you mentioned that about your cooker before. Are you talking the oval type slow cooker or crock pot type. Just trying to get an idea here.

For those that don't know, slow cookers have their elements more at the bottom while crock pots have their up the sides which is why they tell you to fill your crock pot about 3/4 full for cooking.

How old would you say your cooker is. Just trying to gauge it compared to the age of my crock pot. I do think that over time or various manufactures have made changes.

In fact the same is true for bread machines. I did so much research before I bought my bread machine. I had lost my book for my first machine and nothing I tried worked in it, including a so called universal bread machine booklet found online, so I didn't want to put a lot of money into a new one. Even some of the expensive ones were getting some bad reviews, so I read a lot of reviews and settled on this one. Breadman TR520 Programmable Bread Maker for 1-, 1-1/2-, and 2-Pound Loaves. $59 and no shipping.

Amazon

So far, no problems and I really like it. Except for one thing. What moron thought it was a good idea to use white text on yellow?? I copied that page from the booklet, cut it out and taped to the inside cupboard door for quick reference. Really only need it for cycle selection and at this point I'm still playing with 'basic'.

One thing that I've noticed is that all bread machines seem to be different. Sometimes it is the amount of heat used for cooking and that all by itself makes a world of difference. Recipes that work with no adjustment for one machine may not work without tweaking for another. But, using the booklet that came with the machine helps with the tweaking process.

We don't use a lot of bread, but when we do, we try to use those that a re lower on the glycemic index. Whole grains (haven't tried that in the machine yet), ryes (tried one and thought it tasted more like wheat, will add more rye flour next time), and sourdough. I don't know if there is a difference between sourdough bread and buttermilk bread, but I'm going to find out. This is a recipe I found online that we like a lot.

Honey Buttermilk Bread
1/2 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup milk + 1 Tb 3 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon margarine or butter	3 cups bread flour 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Place ingredients in the bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer.   Select Basic bread cycle, and start machine.    Makes one (1 1/2 pound) loaf.

This next bread recipe I found recently and am going to give it a try.  I've always wanted to try a sourdough but didn't want the hassle of keeping a starter in the fridge and all that.  With several containers of flour in there already fridge space is at a premium. :)  But, this recipe caught my eye as I hadn't seen one like it with all the looking around I did.  If anyone has already tried this please let me how it came out.  Based on the flour amount I would say it probably makes a
1 1/2 lb loaf.


Sourdough Bread

Starter
1 1/8 cups water
1 cup  bread flour
1/2 teaspoon yeast

Dough
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons dry milk
2 1/2 teaspoons  yeast

Place the starter ingredients in your machine fully assembled pan. Select the dough cycle and press start. After the starter has mixed for 10 minutes. Stop the machine and allow the starter to sit and ferment for 3 hours to 3 days. The longer it sits the more pungent and sourdough like it will become. 

Then place the dough ingredients in the pan with the starter. Select the basic or white cycle and press start.  About 10 minutes after your machine has started kneading the dough you need to open the lid and check the consistency of the dough. The dough should be starting to form a smooth round ball. When you touch the dough with your finger it should be slightly tacky to the touch however no dough should remain on your finger when you pull it away.  If your dough is too dry add 1 tbsp. of water at a time (allowing the machine to knead for a minutes or so between additions) until the dough is the proper consistency. If the dough is too wet add 1 tbsp. of flour at a time (allowing the machine to knead for a minute or so between additions) until the dough is the proper consistency. These types of adjustments are not unusual and don't mean there is something wrong with the recipe.
 
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 152 Calories; 2g Fat (13.8% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 5mg Cholesterol; 198mg Sodium. 

Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
 
NOTES : As the starter ferments it will give a strong sour yeasty smell, this is fine and what it should smell like. Also, if you let the starter go for the full 3-days you could see a clear or lightly colored liquid form on the top. This is hooch and is perfectly normal.  Instead of using white bread flour in the starter use rye flour. Then add 1 tsp. of whole or ground caraway seeds to the dough ingredients. Use molasses in place of the sugar. This makes a great rye bread.  Make this recipe on the dough cycle and use the dough for 2 large pizza crusts.

As a ps, I think you should always put the ingredients into the pan in the order the manufacturer suggests. That Mustard Rye one that I posted earlier puts ingredients in backwards to mine, but I don't know if that is an older recipe or what. Did older machines put flour in first? Anyway I just wanted to remind people of that in case there are others that are new to bread machines like myself.

[Netizen]

Yeah, I pour out the soaking water. I haven’t tried that recipe yet, but seeing that they seem to use it as is, I would still pour out the soaking water then refill with fresh water.

[rightly_dividing]

Thanks for the headsup on slow cookers/crockpots. I did not know about the heating elements, though I do remember older round crockpots requiring a minumum fluid level. Mine is a 5yo oval shaped CrockPot brand slow cooker with digital control/LED display with removable crock.

I'll have to ask my wife where her bread maker is. We moved in Aug.'10, so I can not find some things.

[Netizen]

i didn't know if you would be interested in this or not. I know you were looking for legume recipes, but this one uses grains.

We had this last night.

Three Grain Pilaf
2 cups water or low sodium reduced fat chicken broth 1 T butter or margerine 1 tsp curry powder (optional) 1 clove garlic 1/2 cup chopped onion	1/2 cup chopped celery 1/4 cup basmati or brown rice, uncooked 1/4 cup bulgur wheat, uncooked 1/4 cup pearl barley, uncooked 1/4 cup chopped parsley
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In saucepan or microwave oven dish, bring broth and butter to a boil. Meanwhile, in 2 quart casserole, add onion, garlic, bulgur, rice and barley. Pour broth mixture over grains, cover tightly, and bake for 40 minutes or until barley and rice are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Stir in parsley, cover, and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.

What I did was I took a Reynold's cooking bag, doubled the above recipe and put it in the bag (liquid last), then smoothed it and seasoned six chicken thighs with Cajun seasoning, placed them on top, sealed, made holes in the bag, popped into the oven for about an hour and a half. I add the extra time because it was a double batch plus the thighs were still partially frozen.

We really liked it. Oh, the curry powder. I wasn't sure if it should be hot or sweet so I used half of one and half the other.

[Netizen]

Moving is so much fun. Not. We moved a lot when I was growing up.

Well, I can’t stand it, I am going to go out to the kitchen and start the starter in the bread maker. I just can’t decide how many days to let it go. I just have to know if this works! lol

[Flamenco Lady]

That pilaf sounds really good. I also have been buying rice, bulgar wheat, wild rice, couscous, etc. in bulk, so that recipe will come in handy too!

[Flamenco Lady]

All this talk about bread made me think about Spelt flour, which I first bought to use for making bread.

One time I was out of regular flour when the family wanted biscuits and gravy so I substituted with some spelt flour instead. It made the best biscuit gravy we had ever tasted, so now the family insists I make biscuits and gravy using the spelt flour in my roux. It gives the gravy a bit of a nutty flavor that compliments the sausage really well.

Spelt flour also works for making other gravies as well. I use it in chicken, turkey, beef, and pork gravies all the time and my family likes it much better than using regular flour.

[Netizen]

I think barley has been the hardest for me to find good recipes for. I don’t know why.

I used to make the Three Grain Pilaf without the curry because I wasn’t sure if I liked curry. I have since found out that I do like curry so I add it now. For those not sure if they like curry, you could leave it out or just use a 1/4 of a tsp and see. It tastes fine without the curry, though you might to add some other seasoning to keep it from being bland. I would imagine one could use Cajun seasoning instead or Mrs. Dash or make up your own.

[Netizen]

That’s good to know. I’ve never tried Spelt, but always wondered about it. Probably any flour could be used. I wonder what flavors a rye might bring?

[Flamenco Lady]

I haven’t cooked much barley, except for throwing some in a beef and vegetable soup every once in a while. I agree there aren’t many recipes out there for barley. I have about 1 1/2 pounds of pearl barley in my pantry as well as everything else required for the recipe, so I will have to try this recipe soon.

I love curry but, unfortunately most of my family does not like it, so I don’t make anything with curry in it for our normal dinners. I have one daughter that recently decided she loves curry, so when just the two of us are home I sometimes make us a dish with curry in it, otherwise we just get to eat it at restaurants. I have had some really bad curry in restaurants, so I usually only order curry dishes in Indian and Asian restaurants. I used to make a lot of Indian curry dishes, but haven’t made most of them in years since my husband doesn’t like curry at all.

I might just have to make two batches of your pilaf. One batch with the curry for my daughter and myself and one batch for the rest of them without the curry and just use some other seasoning instead. I wonder if cumin would be good in it. Many curry powders have cumin in them and my husband seems to eat everything I cook with cumin in it.

[Netizen]

Its worth a try.

[Netizen]

I was looking at one of my books tonight and saw a recipe for Cajun Barley. It said if you didn’t have a Cajun seasoning mix you could substitute by adding minced garlic (already in the pilaf recipe), add lots of pepper and a pinch of cumin, paprika and oregano.

[Netizen]

I finished making that Sourdough Bread today. On my! It was the most gorgeous golden color and rose beautifully. I let it ferment for 37 and 1/2 hours. If I were to change anything it would that I wouldn’t add 1T of water like I did. I couldn’t decide if it needed it or not. Still getting used to how it is supposed to look at the 10 minute beep. Even then it didn’t hurt it much, there was just the smallest area on the top that fell just a smidge.

I haven’t made a 2 lb loaf in the machine yet so I’m not sure what it would look like size wise, but this Sourdough bread used the whole pan.

I baked it on Basic, 1 1/2 lb, with light crust and it was great. I wouldn’t change a thing that way. I always use the ‘light’ setting, but they seem to be just a tad darker than I want. Not this one. Perfect coloring. The interior was nice tiny holes, no big holes, soft and not dry. Definitely a keeper! I might let it ferment in the machine a little longer next time just to experiment. I figured the half way point was a good place to start.

[rightly_dividing]

Thanks for the update. My wife has the recipe in her hand and we are shopping the ingrediants tomorrow AM.