Monthly Cooking Thread - May 2018

[Jamestown1630]

We’ve had a lot of posts about the Instant Pot over the past few months, and many of us have marveled at how well it cooks meats; but you can do a lot more with it than that. Cheesecake is something that does well in the Instant Pot, and there are recipes all over the Web for various versions. Here is the recipe for Raspberry Cheesecake with an Oreo crumb crust, from the Instant Pot website -

https://recipes.instantpot.com/recipe/raspberry-cheesecake/

- and one of my favorite YouTubers, Dale Calder, shows the process in ‘real’ time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw9F5d7pBzM

You will need to find a 7-inch springform pan to fit into the 5, 6, or 8 quart Instant Pot. There's currently one available on Amazon for about $12 – but I’m scouting my thrift store first.

One thing that people have found frustrating about the Instant Pot is that many recipes for it don't include in the timing how long it takes to get up to pressure; and they find that the Instant Pot isn't as 'instant' as they had thought. But when it comes to something like Cheesecake - or pulled pork or a roast - the Instant Pot really does cut down the cooking time. It certainly won't make every dish come out its best, but can save a lot of time with certain recipes.

I think I’ve mentioned several times how much I like the hot sauce (particularly the ‘Fire’ version) at Taco Bell, and that I've wished that they would bottle it. Well, they do! and have apparently been doing so for several years. My husband happened to find a bottle of Diablo in the local ethnic store recently, and I was in heaven; but they also bottle and sell the Mild, Hot, Fire and Verde sauces. If you can’t find it at your local grocery, Walmart, or Target, this, also, is available on Amazon.

(I don’t know what it is about it that I like so much; it just seems to have a clear, not-at-all-sweet taste that I like. I haven’t found any other bottled hot sauce that I like as much, and now I don’t have to shame myself by sneaking a zillion packets into my bag at the eatery ;-)

The National Cornbread Festival is taking place this coming weekend in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, and one of the sponsors is Lodge, of cast-iron fame. Their newsletter this week included a recipe for ‘Upside Down Peach Corn Bread’, which they make in their cast-iron mini cake pan; but I think you could do this as one big cake in a skillet, as many of us do Pineapple Upside-Down Cake:

http://www.lodgemfg.com/recipe/upside-down-peach-cornbread-cakes

-JT

[Yaelle]

Agree with your descriptions of the bridal dresses matching the princesses.

[Yaelle]

If that is your front door, I love it.

We have walls and gates in front of our houses on this street to keep the riff raff out. And once a flag was stolen out front because it’s kind of far from the house. So we had to display our flag sort of hanging from an inside mount inside the wall to discourage theft. Sad.

[kalee]

Bookmark

[Yaelle]

I remember root beer floats and coke floats. Slushies would also be fun for my kids.

[Yaelle]

We use Dominoes ALL THE TIME. I did not know that. Great to know. They are very reliable. Not the tastiest pizza ever, but you know what you will get and everyone eats it! The one mistake they made one time for a birthday party, they gave us a gift card to make up for their lateness that gave us free pizzas for weeks.

[Liz]

Kalee, you'll want this sensational Italian dessert for your files. A little work but a spectacular ending to a special Italian dinner.

ITALIAN CHOCOLATE RICOTTA CAKE

ING 350 g (12oz) good quality chocolate sponge cake store bought or homemade • ½ pint h/cream •2oz conf
•4 tbsp Kirsch or cherry brandy • 9 oz ricotta • 3½oz ea chp plain chocolate, glacé cherry halves, chp pistachios

PREP Dampen inside 3¼ pint freezer-proof bowl; line w/ saran. Use about two-thirds thin-sliced chocolate cake to line base and sides, leaving no gaps.

FILLING Whip h/cream, conf and liqueur to just holds its shape. Lightly beat in ricotta, then stir in chocolate, cherries, nuts.

ASSEMBLY Spoon Filling into cake-lined bowl; smooth surface. Top w/ cake round. Saran; chill 4-24 hrs.

FINAL Remove top saran; invert cake onto server;peel off saran. Dust generously w/ cocoa, then thin conf dusting.

SERVE in generous wedges.

[kalee]

Thank you.

[Liz]

Oops....I almost forgot. This is the coffee I serve with that sumptuous cake.
Also good as an apres-ski beverage if you're in the Alps.......the Italian Alps, of course.

ONE SERVING Stir into footed glass mug 1/2 oz Tia Maria, or Khalua, optional tea sugar, 5 oz fresh black coffee.
Float 1 1/2 oz h/cream on top (pour over back of spoon). SERVE topped w/ soft-whipped cream, chocolate gratings.

[Liz]

PASS THE WORD---Liberal loony-bird Samantha Bee's hate-filled diatribe against Ivanka was sponsored in part by:

<><> Orkin,

<><>Taco Bell,

<><>Apple computers,

<><>Verizon,

<><>Haagen-Dazs,

<><>Jim Beam,

<><>Windows,

<><>Febreze,

<><>Discover,

<><>Geico,

<><>Snickers,

<><>Diamond Producers Association,

<><>Centrum,

<><>Outshine fruit bars

<><> State Farm...