Posted on 05/14/2011 8:08:36 AM PDT by libertarian27
Welcome to the 23rd 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 two - or all of them:)! 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.
Thank the Lard! for Pork Butt!
Last week I purchased some food products from Shirley J (www.shirleyj.com) and have been VERY impressed with their versatility. The product line was developed years ago by a food scientist and has been used commercially ever since. A couple of years ago they decided to begin selling it to the home market.
If you’re not an inspired cook (and that definitely describes me!), they have a program called M30M or Master 30 Meals. This is the kit I purchased. It comes with all the Shirley J products needed to make 30 meals, a full color cookbook with photos, and 30 menus. The first one was BBQ Chicken Pizza (made with their sourdough bread mix and BBQ seasoning), a fantastic salad (the dressing included their Pasta & Pizza seasoning), and a fruit compote w/ vanilla sauce. Everything they sell can be used in dozens of different recipes and they’re reasonably priced.
Tonight is Day 2 of their 30 meal menu, and we’ll be making Turkey Chili, Corn Pudding, and a Key Lime Dessert Squares.
Before I bought the kit, I was using their chicken bouillon, which I really liked because it’s double strength and has great flavor. Their Universal Sauce can be used with just about anything from mac and cheese to enchiladas. You add the flavorings and other ingredients you want and have a different dish every night using the same sauce mix!
If you sign up as one of their sellers, you can get the M30M kit for $105 and then get a discount on your own purchases. If any of your friends buy the products through you, I think you get a commission.
So far, I really like what I’ve tried and the fact that each product can be used in so many different ways.
I don’t speak French, so I didn’t know that coquille was how you say scallop in French, but that would make sense. When I looked online some of the recipes were for just scallops and some were for a combination of scallops and shrimp.
Okay, Here is my recipe for Seafood Thermador. It looks complicated, but it really is easy to make.
Seafood Thermador
(or Coquilles St. Jacques if you use just Scallops)
1 ½ -2 pounds of cooked seafood (shrimp, scallops, lobster, and/or crab) You can use just one kind or a combination
Cream Sauce with Sauteed Mushrooms (see recipes below)
Bread Crumbs
Parmesan Cheese
Parsley or chives
Place seafood in the bottom of a buttered 9X13 casserole dish or in individual size serving dishes.
Pour Cream Sauce with Sauteed Mushrooms over the top of the seafood. Top with a layer each of bread crumbs, then parmesan cheese and then a touch of parsley or chives as a garnish.
Place under the broiler just long enough to toast up the breadcrumbs and melt the parmesan cheese.
Sauteed Mushrooms
1-2 tablespoons butter
¼ -1/2 of an onion, grated
8-12 oz. fresh sliced mushrooms
splash of dry white wine
Sauté onion and mushrooms in the butter until tender, and finish with a splash of dry white wine. Set aside and cover with a lid so they stay warm while you make the cream sauce.
Cream Sauce
2- tablespoons butter
2- tablespoons flour
1 ¾ c heavy cream
½ tsp. of nutmeg
Pinch of salt and white pepper
(I go easy on the salt because the parmesan cheese in the finished dish is very salty)
Melt butter on low heat and stir in flour and cook about a minute to get the flour taste out of the roux. Add heavy cream, nutmeg and seasonings. Cook on low to medium heat until sauce is thickened, stirring frequently (Watch this closely). When thickened to the desired consistency stir in the Sautéed Mushroom mixture and thoroughly combine them
Note: I usually sauté the raw shrimp and scallops in a bit of butter to cook them and boil the lobster and crab (save the water and throw in the shells from your seafood with an onion and make your own seafood stock too!)
Earlier this week my stepson cooked up this soup for the family to try. This is a knock off of an Olive Garden Recipe and was absolutely delicious.
Zupa Toscana
Ingredients
1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage
(or hot Italian Sausage and leave out pepper flakes)
1-2 tsp. red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you like your soup)
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, diced
1 tbs. minced garlic
8 ½ -9 cups chicken broth or 5 about cans
6 potatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup heavy cream
¼ -1/2 of a bunch fresh spinach with the tough stems removed (We used some chopped up cabbage instead of the spinach, since my husband won’t eat anything with spinach in it and it was excellent in it.)
Directions
Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 15-20 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach (or cabbage) into the soup just before serving.
Serve with Parmesan cheese and crusty garlic bread and enjoy!
That looks interesting but I couldn’t get onto the ShirleyJ site (something is wrong with it- at least on my end)
But it got me to thinking that it would be easy to make up dry mixes for sauces - and I bumped into this site with some recipes:
http://www.oldfashionedhomecooking.net/2010/01/make-your-own-dry-cream-soup-mix.html
Even has a recipe for homemade “gravy master” (and I’ve been cheating once in a while using gravy master lately -shh, don’t tell anyone)
Mrs p6 often doesn't want me to cook because she claims I can only cook for large crowds.
Think deep fried turkey or Burgoo.
In any case at the moment it would be just her and me and our youngest son so figure at least 4 people. Youngest son can eat for ....several.
It will also be my first attempt at using shrimp because I am not that crazy about seafood although I do eat it from time to time.
I should have added my instinct is to basically double the recipe. We like leftovers.
Friend of ours caught a 50# Halibut off shore yesterday on top of the freezer full of Razor Clams plus Salmon season opens today. Should we send him a box of chocolates ?
It makes about 2 qts if memory serves. Lots of leftovers for three, but I would think with bread and such serves 6.
Last place I worked we did buffalo sweetbreads with blue cheese foam. Very good.
Thanks! Just ran it by Mrs p6 and we’re good to go!
Cretons are yummy!
It was a family staple all the time I was growing up.
I still have my late Moms recipe for it, and use it often
I had to modify it a bit for my taste.
But I love the concept.
Supper tonight:
Chicken Enchiladas
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
Vegetable cooking spray
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1 (8-ounce) bottle green taco sauce
Toppings: diced tomato, chopped avocado, chopped green onions, sliced ripe olives, chopped cilantro
Preparation
Stir together first 5 ingredients. Spoon chicken mixture evenly over each tortilla, and roll up. Arrange in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Coat tortillas with vegetable cooking spray.
Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.
Stir together sour cream and taco sauce. Spoon over hot enchiladas, and sprinkle with toppings.
Along with the Mexican rice from last weeks thread, some fresh pulled green onions from the garden, Jalepeno and banana peppers on the side. Gunna be a fat puppy tonight!
If your friend caught a freezer full of razor clams after catching the halibut I suggest more than a box of chocolates.
I think Roccus owes you 14 points...
I like it the way you do, too.
When I posted it before, I used the original recipe.
Some folks don’t care for the spicier version.
I just don’t care for all the cloves and cinnamon, but that’s just me.
I know a guy who put those in chili. And he’s Hispanic!
Yum Yum!
I made these today to try them, since my hubby was in the mood for cookies and he loves german chocolate cake. The basic recipe can actually be used with just about any flavor cake mix. It is also a great way to quickly use up cake mixes that have gone past their “best if used by date” too, when you might be wondering if the baking soda and powder will be at sufficient strength to make a cake that will rise correctly.
We still like chocolate chip cookies the best at my house, but these were pretty good too!
German Chocolate Cake Cookies:
Ingredients:
1 German Chocolate Cake Mix
1 egg
1/3 cup brewed coffee or decaf
1/3 cup oil
½ cup chopped pecans, divided
¼ cup shredded coconut
Directions: Mix first four ingredients together with spoon or electric mixer. Then fold in ¼ cup of the pecans. Refrigerate dough for 20 minutes or so to keep dough from sticking to your hands. (If dough is still too sticky, refrigerate a few minutes more. It will need to be a little sticky so that the coconut and nut mixture will adhere to the cookies. )
While the dough is in the refrigerator, mix the remaining ¼ cup pecans with the coconut.
Roll into one inch balls and roll each ball in coconut mixture, then place them on a non stick cookie sheet or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.
Makes 16 cookies
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.