[Jamestown1630]

This week: Things Cool, Crisp, and Cold!

(If you would like to be on or off of this weekly cooking thread ping-list, please send a private message.)

-JT

[umgud]

Oh yeah, I like bread & butter pickles.

[Aliska]

Made some Walmart cheap black beans hummus yesterday. Surprisingly delicious, creamy and spicy. Epicurious says don't use a recipe so I didn't, know the basic ingredients and just guess except on the salt and cumin.

Been drinking some sour cherry juice, like the taste only it is too sour and concentrated. So I mix some water and sugar into it and keep a big glass in the fridge. Also will make large pearl tapioca with it.

Just made some plain watermelon jello to see what it tastes like. Saved a recipe from Just A Pinch for a watermelon pie, baked pie shell, 2 cups 1-inch cubed, seeded watermelon pieces folded into 12 oz. Cool Whip and 1 sm packet Watermelon jello dissolved into 1/4 cup of boiling water (never used that little water before). Looks good but I will never get everything made I save recipes for.

Need a lg box lime jello for a 50's recipe I'm looking forward to. Pieces of pears cut up into a mixture of the lime jello and 8 oz. cream cheese. My mom useed to make a cream cheese frosting over 9 pear halves in a square glass dish but I like the light green color and pear pieces.

Finally I need just a couple more things to make this yummy rainbow rotini pasta. Bought some ready made, ingredients say golden Italian dressing, can't find it in non-restaurant size but found an olive-something marinade and some Kraft zesty which ought to do the job. Also the rotini, red onion, grape tomatoes, 2 or more kinds of small cubes of cheese, pieces of green pepper, carrots I have to grate 'cuz can't chew pieces of raw and what else? Olives! Big pimento stuffed green ones and pitted black ones. Could also use the kalamata ones or whatever they are, have a jar in the fridge.

So that's about it for now. But am really hungry for some home-made potato salad, very simple, potatoes cut up, hard boiled eggs, 2 or 3 kinds of mustard, green onions chopped and 1/2 Miracle Whip and 1/2 Hellman's. I have my mom's recipe for double boiler potato salad dressing but it is too sweet, good if you're low of mayo and could cut down the sugar. Maybe i've lost that recipe, haven't seen it for awhile.

[leaning conservative]

Are bread & butter pickle slices the same as the dill slices that come inside burgers? If so I love them inside grilled cheese sandwiches.

[MtnClimber]

Not a cold food post, but I just got a Traeger wood pellet grill, the Texas Elite model. I have tried apple and hickory wood pellets and liked the hickory. Does anyone have helpful suggestions on recipes and wood and cooking directions?

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

The first time I made fermented pickles I read the recipe too fast and for teaspoon I read tablespoon.

Oops!

The pickles were a bit on the salty side.

So I made them into a nice relish to put in deviled eggs or egg salad.

No need to add salt. :)

[neefer]

about the friendly foods of childhood
My granny made the best pickles ever in a giant crock. And my auntie always had pickled dilly green beans. She would have to ration them, our we would eat them all within a week! I made some last year, but they weren't as good as I remember hers being.

[mylife]

I have no recipe for Gramers Mustard pickles but they where dynamite.

Mom tried to write the untold recipe for me once.
It involved saccharine and had no measurements.

They woman still has my pickle crock.. rat her hide :)

[mylife]

Again, no recipe, but I have found that cantaloupe can be made into sorbet.

Delicious

[miss marmelstein]

Love Jane and Michael’s books - they used to write for New York Magazine, I think (or NYer Magazine) about diners throughout America. One of my favorite food writers, John Thorne, is also another good one on down home food.

I’m in Maine for vacation so I’ve just been eating lobster rolls and cooked lobster dinners and not cooking. But we’ve discovered Gifford’s Blueberry Ice Cream which we buy at an Alpaca farm in Owl’s Head and my husband says IT IS DELICIOUS.

[Yaelle]

Sorry you’re in that muggy heat. We are enjoying the coolest week all summer, under 90 all week. It is magnificent. Even in the low 70s in the evening.

The celeriac: I know it well. When I lived in Switzerland many restaurant suppers came with a salad of julienned carrots next to one of julienned celeriac. I had no idea what it was at first. They usually had very little mayo, just enough to give it a slight flavor. I grew quite used to these standard median fare salads.

[mplsconservative]

I adore Jane and Michael Stern's books. It's not food related, but their Encyclopedia of Bad Taste (1990), is a hoot for those who grew up in the late 50's and 60's.

James Lileks writing is very similar. His website takes me back to my mom's fancy cooking of the day. Lots of old photos and advertising make it alot of fun to peruse. He's also a bit of a conservative which is a rare bird in Minneapolis.

http://lileks.com/institute/gallery/

[pugmama]

Made this the other night and really enjoyed it. I added some roasted butternut squash that I had in the fridge.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/summer-strawberry-panzanella

[pugmama]

This is a nice picnic recipe. I add goat or feta cheese to this as well as some fresh mint. I serve this with cold rotisserie chicken, white wine sangria with fresh peaches.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/farro-cherry-walnut-salad

[mairdie]

Just remembered that I had these up. Food links from Daily Mail.
http://www.iment.com/maida/links/more-food-links.htm