Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Liz]

Something different for reliable broccoli. Delicious bits of broccoli are
drenched in cheese and batter, then fried. From a local restaurant.
The batter is kinda like a tempura. If you prefer a thicker batter, double
the flour to a cup and baking powder/salt to a tsp; omit tsp of the oil.

DIP SAUCE Mix/set aside to steep 3 tb Dijon, 4 tb honey

BITES Chop 2 c florets small; or proc/pulse lightly. Toss with cup
shredded Cheddar. Prepare/then pour Batter over; toss to coat well.
Drop spoonfuls into 1/2 cup 375 deg veg oil; fry golden brown.

SERVE dipped in Honey Mustard Sauce.

BATTER Beat an egg; stir in cup milk; combine w/ sifted 1/2 cup flour,
1/2 tsp ea b/powder, salt, beating well. Beat in 1 1/2 tsp veg oil.

[Jamestown1630]

Those have some clever ideas.

Have you ever seen the Crazy Russian Hacker?

He made an “air conditioner” out of a bucket of dry ice and a little fan; I’ve also seen people do this with styro coolers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9Td5uMB_vQ

[V K Lee]

Red Green would be delighted :-) Duct tape, what would we do without it?

First time to see this done. Dry Ice makes for much less mess. When a child, remember the osculating fan placed behind a cube of ice which helped to come degree. This, of course, long before the days of central heat and air. In the country we were fortunate to feel a cool breeze through the window screens, or fining the shade of a large tree to sit, talk, and ponder the news of the day. Thanks for sharing.

[V K Lee]

Liz, those look delicious. I’m such a nerd - one of the few who confesses to loving broccoli (any cooking method, or raw). I’ll make it a point to try this.

[Liz]

Me, too.......I’ll eat broccoli in any form, including raw.

I love that recipe b/c it has a tempura flavor....but you can thicken up the batter if you prefer a fritter flavor.

Might also take longer to cook as a fritter.

[Liz]

PRODUCT ENDORSEMENT: Hanover Petite Broccoli Florets in the grocer’s freezer case are a nice go-to to have in your freezer (if you don’t have fresh broccoli on-hand).

I believe even some restaurants use this brand.

They taste really fresh when cooked.......and the florets are uniformly cut........so it makes a nice presentation.

[Jamestown1630]

I like the Hanover baby Brussels Sprouts. We make a sort of pickle of them: boil them in water/vinegar mixture with a couple of split garlic cloves, a dried red pepper, and, I think, dried dill. They’re nice to have in the fridge as a little addition to a meal.

[Liz]

I’ve roasted the Hanover baby Brussels sprouts....but your pickling method is a keeper. Thanks.

[Jamestown1630]

Original recipe used all apple cider vinegar, but that became a little much, so we used half water. Good warm or cold.

[V K Lee]

This must be a regional brand. No memory of seeing Hanover in Texas markets. Pict Sweet is usually found in these freezers Always interesting the “go-to’s” when comparing one region to another.

[Jamestown1630]

I’m not sure if it’s regional or not; they make a lot of things that we never see in our DC area stores, which I assume are sold elsewhere.

(I hate it when a store discontinues something that I’ve gotten used to - I’m still trying to find Nance’s Corn Relish around here. Once Ahold took over, it disappeared from our Giants; and Walmart is far away...)

[V K Lee]

*I hate it when a store discontinues something that I’ve gotten used to*

---

That happens here, frequently. First was a brand out of Alabama (?), Italian Green beans. These were devoured because they were so good. A Salmonella scare and these were pulled off the shelf. They returned later, but only for a short time. Then it was Fine String beans, which didn’t stay long enough to remember the company name. Not only in freezers, but on shelves as well. Mt. Olive - candied jalapenos disappeared for a time only to turn up later in another section of the super market. Dos Hermanos candied peppers disappeared completely. The one constant, we will always find Ranch Style Beans on the market shelves. A Texas brand based in Ft.Worth. It would be fair to say few outside of Texas are aware of this product, but here it remains a go-to on the tables of Texans. A canned pinto bean with a Mexican twist. Used in a number of recipes or just opened, heated and eaten. In essence, man (and woman) are STILL hunters for food. :-)

[Flaming Conservative]

This is OT/ but I don’t want anyone to make the mistake I just did. I ruined a pan of mashed potatoes, by using an immersion blender to mash them. It turned them to GLUE. It pulverized every bit of fiber in the potatoes. They have the consistency of buttercream frosting. If I added sugar, I could frost a cake with them. They taste like mashed potatoes, but the consistency is REALLY off-putting.

[Jamestown1630]

Thanks for the tip! I usually just use a potato masher, or if it’s a big holiday meal dish, a small hand mixer.

(I’ve never felt that using a ricer made enough difference to be worth the work - though my ricer is useful for other things.)

[MomwithHope]

Walmart.com has Nance’s corn relish - 6 jars for 15.70. If you order 35.00 worth of stuff you get free shipping. Plus it comes right to your door via fedex. No schlepping to the post office. I use Walmart.com a lot.

[V K Lee]

Not remembered, the exact video regarding plastic soda bottles; but, there was one idea which gave instructions to transform the bottle into an egg separator. It easily sucked up the yolk which was then squeezed into a bowl, leaving the whites in the first bowl. Kitchen accessories to outside play tools - making a children’s sprinkler out of a bottle. The spoon idea was one for MacGyver :-)

[Jamestown1630]

Do the things packed in glass get there safely? I’m not averse to having things delivered - we use Pea Pod occasionally; I’m just worried about glass.

[Flaming Conservative]

Your welcome. I don’t have a ricer, but I’ve thought about getting one. Seems like something extra to wash, though. I assume you still have to whip the milk and butter in with some sort of utensil.
I was shocked at how powerful that immersion blender was, though. Broke down the starch molecules so much, it was unreal.

[Liz]

Store discontinued Italian Green beans... we devoured these because they were so good.

That sounds intriguing.....can you give us an idea of the approximate recipe? Anything Italian makes you think tomato sauce? Italian Spices? Cheese? Thanks.

[MomwithHope]

Wal-Mart is fantastic when it comes to packing.