Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

When I was attending public school in the late-1950s and 1960s, one of our favorites of the rotating school lunches was Cream of Tomato Soup and Grilled-Cheese Sandwiches. But as I grew older, I lost my taste for the sweetness of most tomato soups offered in cans at the grocery, or in restaurants. I began to realize that what I was wanting in Tomato Soup was something very tart, clear, and herb-y.

About 10 years ago, while lunching in a small local restaurant, I enjoyed a Tomato-Basil soup in a bread bowl which seemed to me to be the *Perfect Tomato Soup*. I determined to find a recipe that I could make at home that would be just like it; and after searching the Internet and poring over my cookbooks, I found a great one.

The original recipe comes from 'The Chesapeake Bay Cookbook', by John Shields (highly recommended!) but I've goofed-around with it a bit. I leave out the sugar, because I like a really tart tomato soup - YMMV - and I usually throw a lot of dried basil in, instead of using thyme or fresh basil.

You do need a food-mill, to make this properly; I recommend one that has a solid, round-y handle. We bought one of the wire-handled ones and it's very uncomfortable to use.

Deal Island Summer Tomato Soup

1 C. Butter, or Olive Oil (I usually use half butter, half oil)

3 green bell peppers, diced

2 C. diced onions

2 C. diced Celery

2 T. chopped Garlic (opt.)

3 C. water

4 lbs. Tomatoes, Peeled and Cored; or Canned (I usually use a big ol' can of tomatoes from Costco.)

4 tsps. Sugar (or less, or opt.)

2 tsps. Salt

2 Bay leaves

1 tsp. dried thyme, or 6 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/4 tsp. ground Nutmeg

Freshly ground pepper

Garlic Croutons

Melt butter or heat oil in soup pot. Add onions, celery, bell peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring, 10 minutes.

Add water, bring to boil, then simmer 30 to 40 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, sugar (if used), salt, bay leaves, thyme and nutmeg. Simmer 45 minutes.

Pass soup through food mill. Return to pot and reheat. Adjust seasonings. Serve topped with freshly ground pepper and croutons.

(We usually double this recipe.)

___________________________________________________

I normally do a Grilled Cheese Sandwich with a whole lot of butter slathered on the inside of the bread near the cheese, and lots of melted butter in the pan, for frying. But I did a search to find what other ideas might be out there, and found this very interesting way of doing it, with Mayonnaise:

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/best-ever-grilled-cheese

(And I think it always tastes best sliced on the diagonal ;-)

___________________________________________________

Writing about the food mill reminded me of another really useful kitchen tool: the potato ricer.

I've only used mine for potatoes once, because I didn't feel that the difference it made in the texture was worth the work. But the ricer is an excellent tool for recipes that require squeezing all the liquid out of steamed spinach. It's worth having one for just that purpose.

-JT

[mschalock]

I had never heard of the magic three layer cake before you mentioned it. I looked it up and found a website that has several variations of the recipe, including chocolate. For others like me who have never heard of this recipe, here it is:

MAGIC CAKE

Author: Kitchen Nostalgia website
Serves: 8
INGREDIENTS
4 eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 Tbsp water
½ cup + 2 Tablespoons (5.3 oz, 150 g) sugar
1 stick (125 g) butter, melted
¾ cup (4 oz, 115 g) flour
2 cups (500 ml) milk, lukewarm
2 tsp vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS
Mix egg whites until stiff.
In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar, water and vanilla until light. Add melted butter and continue beating for another minute. Then add the flour and mix it in.
Add the milk (it has to be lukewarm, otherwise the butter will harden) and beat until well incorporated.
Gently fold in beaten egg whites using a spatula.
Pour batter into a greased 8 inch x 8 inch (20 x 20 cm) baking dish (do not use spring form because batter is too liquid and the pan could leak) and bake in preheated 325 F oven for about 60 minutes or until the top is golden.
Cool in the pan for at least 3 hours. Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar.

[Aliska]

I'm eager to try the vanilla and chocolate. That looks like the basic recipe I saved. It may take a couple tries. I don't want the bottom layer soggy and hope the custard doesn't disappoint. Good luck with it and pls share you're nresults

[Mears]

Posting those pics is downright cruel when all I have is a couple of Oreos.

:-)

.

[Aliska]

My immersion blender I got from a tv infomercial many years ago, think it was made in Italy. It worked well for some roasted garlic potato soup I made a couple times then lost the recipe. My food mill would have probably worked just as well.

Then the blade I needed most got so loose I can't get it to stay on so I never use it any more except for the little spice grinder that uses the motor of the immersion one, not the blade, has 2 grinding blades, only one seems to work. It's not meant for big or heavy duty jobs but I ground up some black pepper I bought that was too coarse, a bell pepper blend, and coffee beans for small amts of coffee.

I never replaced my blender. They say it works better than a food processor, more rpm's I think. I can't have everything. I got the ice cream maker and like it except it's a nuisance to make the custard, and I never have much room in my freezer.

But I've been thinking about that panini maker ;-)

[Aliska]

Sorry! I'm being masochistic with myself posting those, too. I've been putting off making a German choc pound cake that has too much butter and sugar. I just want to try it. But I'm so eager to try both of those magic cakes. Plus I have my peaches and cream bars I have all the ingredients for now.

And it's just me now; I shouldn't eat that much. As long as my sugar holds out, I'll eat the stuff for breakfast.

JT - they are ready to release for use or trial a new diabetic drug I heard on the radio today, for the young people kind but hope it will be useful for adult-onset. Only problem is it's made from embryonic stem cells; they specifically said that.

Not insinuating you have diabetes, lots of people are sugar conscious. I probably should be. I'm enjoying my coke from McD's and subway. I can get any size coke at Mc'D's for $1.07 includes tax. If I get a drink at Subway, it's $1.78. I'm eating a lot of Subway, 2 or 3 times a week. The fiber is helping but it was sure cold running out there tonight, not too far and deserted by 8 so I can leave my car running and warming up.

I'm going to skip the hot chocolate tonight.

[Ditter]

Sounds wonderful, I am going to try it!

[Daffynition]

Sorry goosie, but any time I see that person’s name...Ina Garten, I feel compelled to note what a really wicked wicked person she is.

The fact that she refused to take time to meet a young boy with cancer [Make-a-Wish] speaks to her character, rather than her *happy homemaker-happy cook* personna on teevee.

////rant

[Ellendra]

Is the hand blender worth it?

Depends. They don't work well on large chunks, and even little chunks can clog them fast. I used to make split pea soup with one, now I just whiz the peas in a regular blender before cooking them. It was too aggravating having to stop and clear the stick blender a couple dozen times per batch. And they WILL splash stuff at you!

On the other hand, they are great for cooked winter squash, or for saving something that's turned lumpy when it shouldn't be, like pudding or gravy.

For hot soup, try pureeing it before cooking.

[Trillian]

Today is World Nutella Day.
That is what I grew up on instead of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
http://oneheartonefamily.com/2016/02/celebrate-world-nutella-day-with-this-fabulous-nutella-recipes.html

[Trillian]

Those look amazing! I’ve never had cake like that before.
I am going to make it a mission to make it :)

Here is another I saw recently that I want to try:

Old Fashioned Sugar Cake

Ingredients
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites
confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Instructions
Cream together shortening and milk for about 3 minutes, (it will look like small curd cottage cheese.) Add in vanilla.
in a separate bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add flour, one third at a time to the milk mixture, blending well after each addition.
Lastly, add in egg whites, beating just until all combined.
Pour batter into a greased and floured (do not use a spray) 10 inch cast iron skillet.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes, using a toothpick inserted in the center to test for doneness.
Let cool on wire rack for at least 45 minutes before serving, lightly dust with powdered sugar if desired.

Notes
You can also bake this in 10 inch casserole dish or a 10 inch baking pan.

http://chocolatechocolateandmore.com/old-fashioned-sugar-cake/

[Jamestown1630]

No, I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve never had a diabetes problem. I seemed to be low in everything when I was young, low blood sugar, low blood pressure...

As to eating sweets, my aunt always said that one bite of cake or one piece of candy tastes the same as two - (yeah, right ;-)

I have noticed that as I’ve gotten older, I’m not as interested in sweets as I always was before. Maybe I just got more interested in other things.

-JT

[Aliska]

Thanks for that. It looks more like a coffee cake, but I love the idea of baking in an iron skillet. I have one large one. Just set out my eggs to make the one I've been putting off. Maybe I will bake it in my skillet, no mine looks like too much batter.

Have you ever had a burnt sugar cake? I had some at a tea room when I was a child, and my mother got out her cookbook and helped me do the sugar and I made the cake from there. It is delicious.

It's been on my to do list for a long time now. I chose this recipe out of several I reviewed because that caramel frosting looks to die for.

I did my burnt sugar in my iron skillet but have a better way now. I would need my skillet to bake my cake. I don't like messing with layers, and flat cakes I've done the most of, but I want to try the skillet, hardly use it for anything else. I got a nice new non-stick skillet I just love. The iron one is hard on my wrists to lift; I would not try an unsidedown cake in it any more. It doesn't have the 2 handles like some do, well I'll use it anyway and be careful.

Old Time Burnt Sugar Cake

Thanks again. I copied the whole thing, pictures and all, from your link. It looks easy and yummy, a good way to use up some egg whites.

I made this last week but whites had been in the freezer too long and tasted off. So I put it out on the porch stoop, and saw the coon eating it, took 2 nights to get rid of it.

I had 1-2/3 cup egg whites, figured for 12, had to calculate the sugar, 24 tbsp, but it came out right. Everything went perfectly just like her video but couldn't eat it.

Molotof or Portuguese Meringue

Portuguese Meringue - More Images - Video - Recipe

Rather than bothering with carmelizing the sugar, I thought my Lyle's should work wonderfully (see my chat about Lyle's following)

I finally opened my can of Lyle's syrup from England, it is delicious, and used it for what? Oh, love steamed brown bread but haven't been able to go to the health food store to get a little package of whole wheat flour so instead I made it with soaked dried cranberries, lots of orange zest, corn meal, fine semolina, white flour, buttermilk, juice of one orange I zested, and the Lyle's. Funny thing is I have 3 large canned fruit cans I've been using, the brown bread fills all three perfectly. This one I only got two cans of it. It's good but I like the brown better.

And here's the site I got my brown bread recipe from only I do not like it with rye flour so I use one cup of corn meal, one cup of whole wheat flour, and one cup of white flour. And use my 3 fruit tins, sprayed with the Baker's Joy flour cooking spray, works perfectly, no need to cut paper for the bottoms of the cans. Very easy to stir up in a large 3 quart saucepan with a handle. I have a perfect setup of old stuff for the steamer, start the boil on the stove, and move it to a 275 oven for a couple of hours. Be sure to grease the foil because the bread puffs up and will stick to the underside of it if you don't. And I twisted a bunch of twisties together but it's probably better to tie the foil down, wonder where she got her pretty gold foil? I just can't tie things tightly in certain situations, and that is one of them.

Recipe - it's better than my old faithful cookbook before we had the internet, moist, loverly (I wasn't using enough buttermilk all those years)

And wait until you see what I have for next week! I can't wait to make it! But I have to! If I'm still invited to the party, that is. lol. Sorry I went on and on and on but one thing leads to another with me.

[ptsal]

shame shame... cast iron is the cooking mother

[Trillian]

Look at all those wonderful, mouth watering photos!
I’ve never tried a burnt sugar cake, but it sure looks tasty.
I tried to satisfy a craving for a Bailey’s bundt cake with mini chocolate chips yesterday, but it didn’t taste enough like Bailey’s for me!
I’ve never tried a brown bread like that before.
I have some large tin set aside like that because I plan on making some panettone without all the fruit/nuts soon.

[Jamestown1630]

I tried Nutella for the first time recently, and wasn’t crazy about it as a substitute for Peanut Butter. But I saved a couple of Nutella bread pudding recipes that I found because they looked very good:

http://americastestkitchen.tumblr.com/post/3292017093/slow-cooker-week-nutella-bread-pudding

http://steamykitchen.com/19406-nutella-bread-pudding-recipe.html

-JT

[Jamestown1630]

I think we got our immersion blender from a TV ad, too.

If you’re thinking about the Cuisinart Griddler, I believe you’ll be happy with it. It’s very versatile; and all the plates are removable, so it’s easy clean-up.

-JT

[Aliska]

Ah, pannetone, I saw how Bruno Albouz (zp?), French cook living in S. CA, bakes his. They have these big paper molds you can buy on amazon, traditional. Then he baked his in a Pullman loaf pan, the long rectangular ones with a lid to keep the whole loaf squared, like sandwich bread.

Then he cut off the crusts for another use, cut up the bread, soaked in milk with lots of eggs, and put it in a Turk's head mold. When he unmolded it, that bread pudding almost looked like it had the texture of custard.

I think he put in Euroropean style candied fruits (I'd pick out all the green citron), mostly candied lemon and orange peel, then big pieces of lemon and orange zest, more like shavings, have done that with lemon for my rhubarb pie B4 I got a zester. Also I think he had sultana raisins in it.

So I would have liked it with or without the fruit, but, like you, I was going to leave out the peel because to get quality peel you either have to make it yourself, been there, done that, with orange, by the time i got to it it had gotten moldy in the fridge. Was going to dip in choc have done that before.

It's glaceed, terribly expensive, and I decided I can have and do everything. Alas, I didn't get any of it done. The bread looks to have a sweet, airy texture, maybe like Sally Lunn which I've never made either.

I'm going nutz with all my recipes and can't possibly make them all. A lot of my favorite recipes are a lot of extra work. I still haven't done my cake. Think I'll sieve the coffee grounds and put the eggs away and try to make myself do it tomorrow.

No I would never put nuts in it for any reason. I used to use nuts but can't chew very well, not worth it. Miss pecan pie though. Have read reviews, that Lyle's syrup is 10 times better than Karo for those. Walmart has it quite a bit cheaper than amazon if they haven't run out. It kept for me since 2012 until I finally opened it, is also used for sticky pudding, I think I'll skip that, too.

About half the things I try are unsatisfactory. When i get a winner, even if nobody else seems to like it, I'm a happy camper. When you make something repeatedly, you can do it faster and more efficiently and without looking up ingredients. Happy cooking!

I can't get just the photo of the panettone bread pudding, you will get a kick out of the way he talks and acts if you bother to watch it. It's gorgeous bread pudding, and he cuts himself my size of slice.

Bruno Albouz - Panettone Bread Pudding

[Yaelle]

Mmmmmmmm. I need to try your tomato soup recipe.

I was informed that it is International Nutella Day. When I went to school in France a zillion years ago, Nutella was a thing. When I lived in Switzerland 20 years ago, Nutella was a thing. Now it has become a thing here too. So, to celebrate this weekend, I think I will make these Nutella filled chocolate chip cookies if I can get my strength up enough to cook (recovering from the actual cold from hell).

Click on the link just to see the pic. Food porn right here.

http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/food/556264/World-Nutella-Day-Nutella-stuffed-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe

[Jamestown1630]

That does look good. I’ve saved it ;-)

[MomwithHope]

Ah pannetone. Several years ago, maybe 15, I tried some when it when on sale after Christmas. I wanted to try it as French toast and it is spectacular. Just slosh a thick slice in scrambled up egg.