Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

A few weeks ago some of us were talking about Spaghetti, and how we like it plain, with butter and no sauce. I happened to find the following recipe for ‘Spaghetti Aglio e Olio’ (Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil), from my favorite YouTube chef, John Mitzewich of 'Food Wishes'. This is one of those simple recipes that nevertheless has to be done precisely, in this case especially in the cooking of the garlic:

http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2010/12/this-spaghetti-aglio-e-olio-recipe.html

A recipe I’ve wanted to try for a long time, is ‘Hot Jezebel’; I’m wondering if this one is traditional/authentic (I’ve seen several variations, including one that adds pineapple):

http://recipecircus.com/recipes/shugga/APPETIZERS/Hot_Jezebel.html

-JT

[Mariner]

"I like celery seeds"

Yeah, my bad. I MEANT celery seeds and was thinking Rye Bread.

[Liz]

Fast, no-sweat Easter table centerpiece kids will love....
all it takes is vintage Mason jars, and assorted Easter candy.

[Trillian]

A Lone Ranger Campfire Cake

[Jamestown1630]

That is really something!

-JT

[ANKE69]

Love spaghetti and wanted to try something different.... Made this up.

Thin Spaghetti
Frozen creamed spinach
Hollandaise sauce mix (I used Knorr)
Eggs
Pamesan cheese

Cook spaghetti acording to package directions.
Make hollandaise sauce, add frozen spinach. Stir until melted together.
Cook soft fried egg ( or however you like ‘em).
Combine spaghetti and spinach and toss well. Serve on dinner plate with a friend egg on top and parmesan cheese.

[Jamestown1630]

That looks good; but who makes frozen creamed spinach? I’d like to find that.

-JT

[ANKE69]

Just looked in my freezer... Brand name is; Pictsweet. I think I had Green Giant creamed spinach before as well.

[Jamestown1630]

Thanks, I will look for it.

-JT

[Hiskid]

Have you ever done a thread on pork chops? Other than Shake n Bake, which horrifies me to my bone, I just don’t seem to be able to cook them successfully!

Also, I just found my vegetable cake recipe. Shall I wait until Thursday’s thread?

[Jamestown1630]

I think we mentioned pork chops a few weeks ago, and how we once made perfect ones - but only managed it accidentally ;-)

I don’t have a lot of experience with them, but my husband’s recipe for bbq ones is wonderful - I just wish he’d write it down sometime.

By all means, please post your recipe now! I haven’t decided on this week’s thread yet, and perhaps you’ll give me ideas!

-JT

[Hiskid]

Okay, the promised vegetable cake (Technically, "Pastel de Verduras a la Antigua Restaurante Gargantua")

1 large head cabbage
3/4 cup green beans, cut into 1/2" pieces
3/4 cup peas
1 large carrot, cut into 1/4" pieces
White part of 2 leeks
10 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach
5 large eggs
1 c plus 1 T heavy cream
3/4 t salt

Sauce:

5 chopped scallions
2 T olive oil
2 pounds tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped
1/4 t dried basil, crumbled
1/4 t salt
1/8 t cayenne
1/3 c heavy cream.

Instructions

Prepare vegetables:

1) discard coarse outer leaves of cabbage
2) cook green beans
3) cook peas
4) Cook carrot in boiling salted water until tender. Drain
5) Halve leeks lengthwise, wash well, chop (You should have 1 1/2 cups), cook in boiling salted water until tender and drain well.
6) Cook frozen spinach according to package directions and drain well.

In a kettle of boiling salted water, cook the cabbage for 2 minutes, peel off 2 outer leaves carefully, and repeat the process until 6 large outer leaves in all are removed. Reserve the remaining cabbage for another use and cut the ribs from the 6 cabbage leaves. Line a buttered 1 quart round baking dish with the cabbage leaves, leaving some overhang to cover the filling. Layer the green beans, the peas, the carrot, the leeks and the spinach over the cabbage leaves. In a small bowl whisk together the eggs and whisk in the cream, the salt and the pepper to taste. Pour the mixture over the vegetables and fold the overhanging cabbage over the filling. Cover the dish with foil, put it in a baking pan, and add enough boiling water to the pan to come 1 inch up the side of the dish. Bake the vegetable mixture in a preheated 350 oven for 1 hour. Remove the dish from the baking pan and let the cake cool for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, run a knife around the edge of the cake, and invert the cake onto a serving plate.

Make the sauce: In a skillet cook the scallions in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, add the tomatoes, the basil, the salt and the cayenne, and cook the mixture, stirring for 3 minutes. Puree the mixture in a food processor or blender, add the cream and blend the sauce until it is smooth. Serve the sauce with the vegetable cake. Serves 6 to 8.

[Jamestown1630]

That looks very nice; I had never heard of it, and was trying to visualize it; I found this recipe - in Spanish, but there’s a pic:

http://cocinandoco.blogspot.com/2015/08/pastel-de-verdura-la-racion-por-3-pp.html

[kalee]

I like Novella Lawson’s Lamb ragu with parpadelle. Yum! Spicy with a touch of sweet from a dab of currant jelly.

[kalee]

I like Nigella Lawson’s Lamb ragu with parpadelle. Yum! Spicy with a touch of sweet from a dab of currant jelly.

Stupid autocorrect

[FreedomPoster]

I’ve said that on any number of occasions.

We went to a Vietnamese restaurant last Saturday and while neither of us got it, they had a lamb bourguignon on the menu that I found intriguing. I make a pretty good beef bourguignon, so I filed that idea away as something to try. Now you’ve given me another lamb variation on something I already make, that I’ll have to try.

I get most of my lamb at Costco (love the racks and the t-bones), but I’ll have to revisit the boneless legs for these recipes. I’ll likely have enough to do both recipes with one.

[FreedomPoster]

I’m a Lodge cast iron junkie and bought a camp Dutch oven several years ago. The last time we went to the races at Sebring, I made camp cobbler trackside for the group, plus had enough that I was handing it out to all the neighbors. It was quite popular, and smelled GREAT while cooking. Easy too.

http://www.food.com/recipe/dutch-oven-campfire-cobbler-125442

If you’ve got a camp Dutch oven and have never done this, you’re missing out!

[kalee]

Here is the recipe. Let me know what you think. Https://www.nigella.com/recipes/pappardelle-with-lamb-ragu

[FreedomPoster]

Thanks, and I’d already looked and found that. I figure I can mince some of the boneless leg meat myself and it would work fine.

[kalee]

The fresh mint, red pepper, and currant jelly give it a complex flavor. It is definitely a favorite dish in our house.

[IamConservative]

What I’d like to know is a good fried chicken coating.

The first secret to frying anything is "dredge - drench - dredge." Three step process for breading. First dredge generally is well seasoned flour. The dredge is usually egg wash, but in the case of chicken, I prefer buttermilk. The second dredge for chicken would be seasoned flour. For food items that fry only a short time like shrimp or vegetables, you would use panko, cracker meal or breadcrumbs. Buttermilk Fried Chicken: 1) Cut up chicken and marinate in straight buttermilk overnight. 2) Drain and pat dry. 3) Bread in first dredge of well seasoned flour. Personal preference comes in here. Could be simple salt and pepper, cajun, southwestern, asian. Whatever you really like. Emeril has a good recipe for his Essence spice mix if you like cajun. 4) Drench in buttermilk. 5) Dredge is seasoned flour. 6) Fry in canola oil. 325 degrees, but no more than 350 degrees. I try to keep right at 325 so the cooking time can be longer without burning your coating. 7) When done, remove chicken to a bed of paper towel on a cooling rack. Leave space between the pieces. If pieces touch or get stacked up, your crispy crust will turn to goop. The only thing I don't fry like this is gamefish. I use Frying Magic for gamefish. Too much coating over powers the taste of the fish.