Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

At this time of year - after a month of holidays, parties, and attendant gustatory overindulgence - I find myself looking for bright, fresh recipes using vegetables. Recently in my reading I came across a reference to ‘Crab Louie’, which I remembered from somewhere but had forgotten.

Crab Louie (or Crab Louis) is a salad originally dating from early-1900s San Francisco, with Crab as the centerpiece; and it includes boiled eggs, tomatoes, asparagus, and a creamy dressing which can be like a Russian, Thousand Island, or sometimes Green Goddess. Here’s the Wiki on it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_Louie

And here, from Food and Wine, is a recipe:

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/crab-louie

I’m not sure whether I posted this recipe for ‘Celeri Remoulade’ previously, but it comes from a tiny little book called ‘Simple French Cooking’, published by the Peter Pauper Press in 1958. You can find many versions of Celeriac Remoulade, but the one in my little book seems very bright and special. The celery root is julienned, blanched, marinated in a vinaigrette, and then served with Remoulade sauce. (Celery Root is a very ugly-on-the-outside vegetable, with a lovely-on-the-inside taste; and worth trying if you've never had it.)

Celery Root Remoulade

Peel and then cut a celery root into julienne strips, and boil for 1 minute to prevent darkening. Cover with French Dressing (see below) and place in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours. Drain and mix with Remoulade sauce.

Remoulade Sauce:

1 C. Mayonnaise

1 Sour Pickle, finely chopped

1 T. Capers, patted dry and chopped

½ T. prepared mustard

1 tsp. Parsley, chopped.

Here, according to the book, is the 'Basic French Dressing’ for marinating the celery root:

½ C. Olive Oil

¼ C. Vinegar

½ tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Sugar

1/8 tsp. Paprika

My husband says that for those who have resolved to ‘go Paleo’ or try an alternate low-carb diet in the New Year, this Celeriac recipe is a perfect vegetable addition. (We argued about the teaspoon of sugar, but I would put it in, especially if you aren’t in an "induction" phase of the diet - over the whole recipe, it's not that much ;-)

-JT

[afraidfortherepublic]

My children in NY, VA, SC, and KS are all having it worse than we are in WI. Those in the Eastern time zone are nearly hysterical. I say, come to WI. We know how to handle it!

[afraidfortherepublic]

Mmmmmm! How about Craisins?

[Jamestown1630]

The only “green” things I’ve had since Christmas were the ubiquitous String Bean Casserole, and the Sauerkraut my husband made with the pork on New Year’s day - and that’s the reason for this thread ;-)

[Jamestown1630]

I wish some of the folks here in DC would learn how to drive in it. Drives my rural-PA born-and-bred husband crazy that they don’t know how to negotiate a hill on ice, or how to steer out of a spin.

[afraidfortherepublic]

It's probably off topic for this thread, but I baked a Whiskey cake for New Years and took it to a party. It was a real hit, and I wish I had another slice on this cold, cold night!

http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/whiskey-cake-276985

Ingredients

Cake

1 (18 ounce) box yellow cake mix (I used Pillsbury Butter Recipe)
1 (3 1/2 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup Canadian Club whiskey
(even better with bourbon)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped pecans

Glaze

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Canadian Club whiskey

Cake

Mix all cake ingredients together, beating well after each egg, and bake in a greased and floured bundt or 8 inch spring form pan for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Glaze

Melt butter, sugar and whiskey together. Simmer slowly for 2-3 minutes. Pour 2/3rds. of glaze on top of cake right out of the oven(I poke holes in it with a skewer first. Wait 25 minutes, remove from pan, pour remaining glaze over cake.

My changes: I used 5 eggs for the batter, in order to fill my Nordic Ware pan 3/4 full, and baked for about 40-50 minutes. It tested done. Depends on your oven.

For the glaze I used a scant 1/2 cup whiskey, as the first time I made it I had too much glaze and it didn't all go in the cake and "puddled" on the plate. Make sure you really pour 2/3 of glaze over cake before you take it out of the pan, otherwise you'll never get all of the glaze in the cake. Ladle the last 1/3 of the glaze over the top of the unmolded cake by spoonsful to get it all to go in.

My Nordic Ware pan (called the Heritage Crown) has a double row of indentations on the sides and I place a pecan half in each indentation. I used a little of the glaze to stick them on. Very pretty. I'd post a picture if I knew how to get the picture out of my phone.

[afraidfortherepublic]

We don’t know how to drive any better in WI, but they keep our roads plowed and salted. It’s always a little dicey for the first snow of the year, however. People forget over the summer and new folks move in!

[Jamestown1630]

That looks like a very good recipe, and definitely nice for a cold night like this.

Is it this pan? If so, it’s very beautiful, and something I’ll have to look for:

https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Crown-Bundt-Pan/dp/B06XSQVRHG

[afraidfortherepublic]

That’s it! I got it on Amazon, and I just love it. Our business uses my credit cards to order parts for the assemblies we build. The business pays for the parts, but I collect the points and treat myself to things I would normally never buy! So, I got the pan “free”, so to speak.

[pops88]

Thank you for sharing that. I know I looked for a Ranch mix some years back and didn’t find anything suitable. I don’t like to buy the packets with the chemical additives.

[Jamestown1630]

The local governments are very good about plowing and getting the chemicals down, here. The problem is the nutty drivers. It seems that in recent years, people aren’t really learning and practicing the rules of the road - they don’t use turn-signals, and they don’t seem to understand rights of way or leaving intersections clear - much less paying attention to the special skills for snow and ice. (And I’m not even going to the cell-phone/texting issues.)

In my neighborhood we have a lot of immigrants with poor English skills; and sometimes I’ve wondered if they somehow memorize the driving test, without understanding the actual principles behind the driving rules.

[Jamestown1630]

I’ve gotten some beautiful, brand-new, Nordicware from the local thrift shop, but I’ve never seen that one. I’ll look for it ;-)

This one is very pretty too, and I’ve been coveting it on the King Arthur website; it seems to come in a smaller size:

https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Platinum-Collection-Heritage/dp/B0021CEREA/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_201_bs_lp_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CJNE2362JSHPQXZHJ980

[afraidfortherepublic]

My first attempt was made for my husband’s birthday and I used his best bourbon. He was annoyed, but I had no Canadian Club in the house. So he bought me my very own bottle of CC for baking. I’m going to try a chocolate whiskey cake next.

There is a difference in the taste depending upon the whiskey you use. CC is a blended whiskey and not as strong a flavor as pure bourbon. It’s a Canadian Club recipe, but I liked it made with bourbon better, to tell the truth.

I added the egg on my second attempt to get a better rise and to fill out all of the indentations in the mold. Of course the cake mix makes a difference too. None of them are 18 oz. any more. More like 15, or 16 oz. Maybe a couple of tablespoons of flour would have achieved my purpose.

[afraidfortherepublic]

I just ordered this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Lotus-Bundt-Pan/dp/B06XDT5P27/ref=pd_bxgy_201_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B06XDT5P27&pd_rd_r=YR64SQ7KX66JZAR07WV7&pd_rd_w=mvm7L&pd_rd_wg=f3zRY&psc=1&refRID=YR64SQ7KX66JZAR07WV7

and this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Heritage-Loaf-Pan/dp/B06XDH9C2R/ref=pd_sim_79_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B06XDH9C2R&pd_rd_r=H6CS166WPW0V72ASWV40&pd_rd_w=VZVnS&pd_rd_wg=20clD&psc=1&refRID=H6CS166WPW0V72ASWV40

The Lotus is 5 cups and the Loaf is 6 cups vs the usual 10-12 cup of a regular bundt. My husband and I shouldn’t be keeping a full sized bundt cake inn the house for snacking. LOL

This way I can split a recipe between 2 pretty pans and keep one cake in the freezer, or give it away, or send it to the office. Also, I have a very pretty 9 inch cake stand and dome. I’m hoping the Lotus shape will be a perfect fit.

[be-baw]

I have a question. Although I believe I know quite a lot about food, I still don’t know what kind of mustard (yellow, dijon etc) is meant when a recipe calls for “prepared mustard.” Can anyone help?

[be-baw]

I’m tempted to try celeriac, but it looks like it would be as big a PIA to clean and peel as is a pineapple. All that work, but without the sweetness and tartness...as best I can tell, they’re in season right now. They are very healthy though.

Bummer about your perfect weather. Obviously you feel guilty and you should.

[Deplorable American1776]

Bookmarked for tomorrow...

[Jamestown1630]

Well, I had never thought about it, so I looked it up. It seems to refer to the condiment you buy in a jar, as opposed to the plain, dry, ground herb:

http://www.myrecipes.com/how-to/cooking-questions/what-is-prepared-mustard

[be-baw]

Thanks. I read that to mean yellow mustard, since Dijon and other “wet” mustards are sold in jars, not bottles.

[Jamestown1630]

I think jars and bottles mean pretty much the same - the dried herb that has been ‘prepared’ with vinegar and other ingredients for canning as a condiment.

[Jamestown1630]

I’m going to have to make it, just to see what it’s like. I remember the name, but as I’ve said, I’ve never seen it offered on a menu anywhere. Seems to be one of those old things - but, it looks nice!