Monthly Cooking Thread - August 2019

[Liz]

Those were the days of America’s innocence.....before liberals and femiNazis were unleashed on us.

[miss marmelstein]

I have an excess of butternut squash (seemingly a summer version) that was planted by the former owner of my property. I’ve frozen a lot for autumn soup and given some to my landscaper and neighbors but am running out of ideas. Any help? I’m overrun.

[miss marmelstein]

Liptauer! I’ve never had it but my favorite food writer, the late great Laurie Colwin, in her Gourmet column devoted an entire essay to the glories of Liptauer. She also loved Lebanon Bologna which I accidentally came across in Aldi one day. Spicy!

[bgill]

I came across half prices fruits and veggies ten days ago at the store. Bought more than I should but figured after we ate our fill, they could be frozen. Today, some the zukes are being turned into cake for the freezer.

Made a really good veggie hash with one of every half priced veggie, tossed in a wee bit of bacon and topped it with fried eggs. Hubby complimented the runny yolk. Lots of leftovers which took a couple days to finish but even better than day one.

Tonight will be stuffed peppers to use up some of the bell peppers and sauted yellow squash. The last couple of peaches will be a crumble for dessert. So happy with all this half priced summer produce.

Supper last night was just a big bowl of veggie sticks with dip. One of the half feral cats has decided, after all these years, that mama has tasty dinners so has started joining me lately. I gave him a little bit of the sour cream dip and he lapped it up. Good stuff! “May I have some more, please?” Then he watched me eating with my fingers. After that, no more lapping. He then dipped his paw into his saucer of the dip and licked it off his paw. Ok, so you had to be there but it was quite amusing.

[Silentgypsy]

Now that is so good to know, Ellendra—thank you!

[Silentgypsy]

Looks good! It reminds me of “Chunky” chocolate! Have you ever tried buttering/”Pamming” the measuring cup before adding the honey to facilitate it’s transfer?

[V K Lee]

Yep!
The mud we made was used for pies;
not to smudge reputations or clog the wheels in moving forward.

A time when seeing the USA in our Chevrolet was
something to really experience and fondly remember.

[catnipman]

“Have you ever tried buttering/”Pamming” the measuring cup before adding the honey to facilitate it’s transfer?”

no. never thought to do that, but what a great idea!

[Jamestown1630]

Before Nopardons set me straight, I had it in my head that Liptauer was an aged cheese; but it’s a spread you MAKE out of cheese. Here is her recipe verbatim:

“This cheese is made from goats’ milk in Hungary, but you can’t get that here so the following is an Americanized version of this spread. I do like it. :-)

Cream together 1 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons THICK sour cream

Mash together, with a fork, 2 anchovy fillets and 1 drained teaspoon of capers and then add that and the following to the to the cheese mixture, blending thoroughly...
*1 tablespoon of finely chopped chives
1 tablespoon of mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon of sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon of salt
optional...1 teaspoon of caraway seeds

Transfer the cheese mixture to a plate and shape into a smooth mound ( dome shaped )and sprinkle with paprika.
Chill slightly before serving with crackers or small rounds of pumpernickle and/or rye bread. You can just fill the celery with this and serve it as is or garnished with halved cherry tomatoes, slices of black olives, and/or a small piece of anchovy.

*If you don’t like chives you can substitute VERY finely chopped Vidalia sweet onions...or just omit this ingredient completely.”

When I tried it, I went light on the anchovies, and I don’t think I’ll do that next time. Also, NP insists that you must have REAL Hungarian Sweet Paprika. She recommends Szeged, which I’ve never seen in stores, but you can get it on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WU1OCWO/?coliid=INK1T8BEK894C&colid=21PJYO6PGW6HV&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

[Jamestown1630]

The cats we have now are the first ones that have no interested in EATING people food at all - but they want to play with it. They’ll pester us to death to give them a bite of something, and then just push it around on the floor.

[Liz]

Butternut squash is nice in Mexican dishes...kinda tames the heat. This casserole is easy and tasty.....
meatless flavor-packed layered casserole with black beans, corn, salsa, butternut squash, tons of cheese!

Easy Butternut Squash Enchilada Casserole

ING tablespoon extra virgin olive oil medium onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced (20 oz.) package (3 cups) pre-cut butternut squash cubes (6 oz.) package (3 cups) shredded Mexican four-cheese blend (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained 3/4 cup corn kernels 1 1/2 cups salsa packet Old El Paso™ taco seasoning mix 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 (14 oz.) can Old El Paso™ Enchilada Sauce 4-8-inch whole wheat flour tortillas Sliced green onions, chopped fresh cilantro for garnish Sour cream for serving 2/3 cup water Steps 1

METHOD Sweat onions in heated olive oil til soft and transparent, 5-7 min. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the beans, corn, salsa, butternut squash, water and seasoning mix. Simmer for 25-35 minutes or until the butternut squash is soft.

FINAL Layer in 9x13-inch casserole 1/4 c enchilada sauce along the bottom, then 2 tortilla shells over the sauce so they touch the ends of the dish and overlap each other in the middle. Spread 1/2 Filling over the tortillas, then pour half of the remaining enchilada sauce over it, then sprinkle with cheese. Repeat layers; place two more tortillas over the cheese, add the remaining filling, pour the remaining enchilada sauce over, and top with the remaining cheese. Foil over.

Bake 350 deg 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

SERVE garnished with sliced green onions and chopped cilantro, sour cream on side.

[nopardons]

LOL...sorry we never talked about Liptauer, I would have given you the recipe.:-)

But at least now you have the recipe!

It's really good, especially when spread on pumpernickel/black bread ( more of an open faced sandwich, when eaten on a full slice, than an appetizer or Hors d'oeuvre; for the latter, use small rounds or triangles of the bread or crackers ) and when used as a filling in a piece of celery!

[nopardons]

Thanks for posting that recipe! I see that someone else cares about it too and now, she has the recipe too! :-)

[Jamestown1630]

It IS a ‘food group’; and its epitome is Puff Pastry - the ‘bacon’ of flour-y things :-)

[leaning conservative]

Oh yes!!!!! A million times over. I discovered these Wal-Mart great value(their brand) of spanikopita in the frozen appetizer section. I am truly addicted. They make a great fast supper when I’m tired & I just make my husband his usual pasta. They are truly delicious.

[Ellendra]

If you know anyone that keeps livestock, they might appreciate the squash.

I’ve made squash noodles that were pretty good.

1 egg
2-3 Tbsp squash
1/2 tsp salt
Roughly one cup of flour

Mix the first 3 ingredients, then add the flour a little at a time until stiff. Knead, roll, and cut like regular noodles. These worked in every recipe I tried that called for noodles.

You can also make squash bread, squash pie, squash pudding, etc, just by using your favorite pumpkin recipe.

Depending on the variety, it might be good to just store them whole in an out of the way spot. Squash get sweeter the longer they’re stored, and some butternut varieties can keep for months. Others won’t keep that long, so keep an eye on them in case you got a non-keeping variety.

[miss marmelstein]

Thanks for the advice!

[conservativesister]

“If you know anyone that keeps livestock, they might appreciate the squash.”

You made me laugh so hard...........we used to have a pair of mini mules and had an over abundance of watermelons so...we fed the mules watermelon, they didn’t want to lose the juice so they were chewing and sucking in the juice at the same time. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen and heard.

Thanks for the memory!!!!!!

[miss marmelstein]

Yes, NP! Laurie Colwin wrote from a New York Jewish-perspective but like most “Jewish” food in the US, it is actually Eastern European or at least a variation.

Thanks for the recipe!

[miss marmelstein]

Thanks, Jamestown!