~Weekly Cooking Thread Ping List~
(to be added/deleted- please post on this thread or PM me)
Recap of last week’s thread:
Meal* 5 Lemon Pepper Pork Chops
Meal* 8 Marinated Pork Chops Dijon
Meal* 10 Pork Chop Casserole
Meal* 12 BBQ MEATLOAF
Meal* 25 Fieri meatloaf/meatballs
Meal* 33 Salsa Meatloaf
Meal* 36 Taquitos
Side* 35 Brussels Sprouts
(June 18th cooking thread)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2736489/posts?page=37#37
Key Lime Pie with Cocoa Meringue
1 9" graham cracker pie shell (easier to buy than to make)
1/2 cup key lime juice (see note)
1/2 tsp. fresh key lime or lime zest(Note: the darker green the lime, the tastier the zest. Yellowish key limes will have more juice than dark green ones, too.)
1 14-15 oz. can condensed milk
4 large eggs
pinch cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. cocoa powder
optional: 1-2 tsp. confectioners' sugar
optional: 3 drops green food colouring
In a large bowl, put condensed milk and TWO eggs. Separate the other two, retain the whites separately, and add the two yolks to the mix.
Add lime zest and key lime juice (note: if key limes are to hand, best way to juice them is to quarter them and squeeze juice in a garlic press. Typically requires 11-12 limes; they're small. If no key limes are around, substitute juice of 3-4 Persian limes and 1/2 lemon, roughly, just make sure you have 1/2 cup of juice.) Taste juice before adding; if too tart, add a pinch of confectioners' sugar -- if not tart enough for your taste, add a dash more lemon juice.
Add food colouring if desired (3 drops makes for a very pale green, quite attractive). Stir well until consistent in texture and colour. Pour mixture into 9" pie shell and put filled shell into a pre-heated 325 F oven. Bake approx. 20 minutes, or until filling does NOT shift when pie shell is tilted at a 30 degree angle. Remove from heat and let cool COMPLETELY on counter or in refrigerator.
In a different bowl, add retained egg whites and confectioners' sugar if used (I prefer it, btw, it helps the meringue set up properly). Whip with electric hand mixer until starting to froth, then add the cream of tartar and cocoa powder. Whip thoroughly on fairly high speed until the meringue forms nice soft peaks, the higher the better, perhaps 4-5 minutes.
Important note! The bowl in which you prepare the meringue must be A)spotless and B)at room temp to start. Also, if ANY egg yolk is in the separated egg whites, the meringue WILL NOT rise. Fat kills meringue, ok?
Spread meringue evenly over top of the THOROUGHLY ROOM-TEMP pie. Use the bottom of a spoon to create attractive peaks in meringue. Set oven to broil. When up to temp, place pie on top rack and toast the meringue for 15-30 seconds or so. Leave the oven door open so you can see when meringue is nicely toasted. NOTE: this doesn't take any time at all, so be watchful!
A good, cool summer dessert -- hope you like it!
Phillie Nachos
Had these at a restaurant last week and have reversed engineered them.
Serves 4
You will need:
•1 tablespoon olive oil
•1 pound thinly sliced deli beef cut into stips
•1 teaspoon kosher salt
•1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
•4 tablespoons butter, divided
•2 green bell peppers, seeds and ribs removed, diced
•1 medium yellow onion, diced
•1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
•2 tablespoons flour
•1 1/4 cup milk or cream
•1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
•4 cups shredded medium cheddar cheese
•2 ounces cream cheese
•tortilla chips
1.Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add steak and salt and pepper. Cook until steak is cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
2.In the same skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Once butter has melted, add bell peppers, onions and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until onions start to brown 5 – 7 minutes. Return the steak to the pan. Reduce heat to low to keep mixture warm while you prepare the cheese sauce.
3.Melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook 1 minute. Whisk in 1 cup of milk. Reduce heat. Bring milk to a simmer but do not boil. Stir in cheeses and seasoning salt. Cook until melted. If cheese sauce is too thick for your liking, add the remaining milk.
4.Place a couple large handfuls of tortilla chips on 4 plates. Spoon cheese sauce and steak and pepper mixture over the top. Serve immediately.
Made some Devil Food Cake Cupcakes (box mix) a couple of days ago and wanted to try a different frosting - and found this:
Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons milk, or as needed
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Directions
Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl,beat with an electric mixer. Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable. Beat for at least 3 minutes for it to get good and fluffy.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/fluffy-peanut-butter-frosting/detail.aspx
Link has a bunch of comments, which I like to read to get hints and tweaks to a recipe.
I added a cap full of Vanilla extract to brighten up the flavor (I bet almond extract might be good too) and used half crunchy PB and half smooth. I didn’t have any milk in the house so I used heavy cream. It’s a pretty thick frosting and taste great cold(storing these in fridge)Don’t eat these without a drink handy!
It’s a peanut butter cup-cupcake :)