[Jamestown1630]

This Month: Seafood Salad, Stuffed Mushrooms, Keto – and looking forward to the next season.

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

-JT

[Pearls Before Swine]

Have you checked the “Pow-wow Chow Cookbook?”

I understand it has some treasured Cherokee crab recipes.

[BunnySlippers]

BUMP for good food!

[LibertarianLiz]

REAL crabmeat

Real crabmeat is wonderful (I live in the Seattle area); but, be aware that crabmeat needs to be kept chilled. It goes bad very quickly if not kept chilled.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“...a new Lidl store opened near us...”

Is that in the same vein as an ALDI? Our ALDI stores in Wisconsin ROCK and just keep getting better and better! :)

I fed my ‘tribe’ of three adults and three teen boys and stayed within my grocery budget for many a year thanks to them.

The boys knew to NEVER touch ‘Mom’s ALDI Quarter’ that she kept in the car ashtray, LOL! (You need one to rent a shopping cart.)

[coaster123]

Krab with a K is sorbitol soaked starch. Sorbitol might make your guests ill.

[Libloather]

Just scored a pressure cooker/smoker. Good eats on the way.

[bgill]

Good luck finding the recipe. Walmart used to sell the best Krab salad with a K. I’ve looked for years and never found the right one. Krab with a K has a lot of carbs.

[firebrand]

I met someone recently in a bar who is a caterer and cooks for herself all the time. I don’t anymore. But she asked me how I became a cookbook editor.

This is the story I told her: I was a regular production editor and copyeditor and one day we were discussing that book Fried Green Tomatoes, and I went and said you could make a green tomato pie just like you make an apple pie.

Everyone stopped talking and stared at me like I was crazy, and then someone said, “So make one, and bring it in.”

My bar friend said, Why did that make you a cookbook editor? And I said because I make a really great pie crust.

Right at the bar, she wanted to know exactly how I did it, so here it is:

Everything must be ice cold, to start. The butter, your hands, the knives (I did it with two knives, not a pastry blender), the bowl, everything. Including the tiny bit of ice water you add at the end. You don’t have to measure. Just put about two cups of flour in a bowl (doesn’t have to sifted, since we’re not measuring) and add the cold butter with two knives until it looks right, like very coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons or so of ice cold water that you have waiting in a cup, and mix in a bit at a time, and add a tiny bit more if it is not adhering properly.

When it can be made into a ball, make it into two balls, possibly one a bit bigger than the other. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for hours, even overnight.

Rolling it out takes infinite patience. You don’t want to press too hard all at once. A little at a time. But you have to keep pace with it as it warms a bit and becomes a tiny bit spreadable. As slow and gentle as possible, but as quickly as the dough will let you, because overworking makes the dough tough.

The same is true when you finally get it to pie pan size. You don’t want it to start breaking in pieces, because then you will have to overwork it to get it back together and it may be hard to stick it together.

It wants to be a pie. You have to be in tune with it and give it what it wants.

I used to use two spatulas to lift it up and onto the pie pan. Then you are home free, because the second one is not as big and so it’s easier to lift it and get it on top of the filling.

My mother used to use Crisco and a little bit of salt. I use only freshly bought sweet butter, and no salt or sugar. You can always depend on the filling for those two ingredients.

Maybe everyone knows this, but my new caterer friend was all ears.

Remember, patience, but don’t take too long, and that middle road only comes with experience. If it breaks up into pieces, you can make pie crust cookies out of it and try again next time.

[mylife]

Saw some jackass on PBS today pushing a KETO diet and I know it works but he said “get grass fed turkey and avocado oil”

I said ‘do what?’

[sauropod]

Crab/Old Bay bkmk

[Liz]

From CALI restaurant. / 4-6 servings.

POLYNESIAN CRAB STACK / GINGER LIME DRESSING

ING 6 Tb chp fresh gingeroot, 4 Tb sugar (or fave sweetener), 6 Tb lime juice, 2 Tb diced garlic, cup water, ¼ cup diced Roma, ¼ cup cucumber, sliced ¼ cup red onion, diced ¼ cup mango, diced ¼ cup avocado, diced ¼ cup fresh crab meat 2 Tb chp peanuts tsp chp fresh cilantro, pea shoots garnish.

DRESSING Combine ginger with sugar, lime juice.

METHOD pack tightly in oiled ring mold in order listed 3 tb diced mango, 3 thin slices cucumber, 1/4 cup diced red onion,3 tb diced avocado, 1/4 cup crab leg meat. Unold on plate. Top with ea shoots. Garnish plate with chopped peanuts, chp fresh cilantro. Drizzle stack with Ginger Lime Sauce.

SAUCE 2 tsp minced gingeroot, 2 tsp sugar, 2 tb ea lime juice, water, 2 tsp chp garlic; steep overnight.

[leaning conservative]

Those cheese twists I buy in NC are the John Wm. Macy’s. Just looked them up.

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

Those mushrooms look amazing :-)

[Flaming Conservative]

I make a shrimp dip that would be perfect for keto. It’s ALWAYS a hit. I got it off a box of Nabisco Sociables snack crackers, about 40 years ago. I don’t see why one couldn’t add crab meat, as well. (Also, it calls for Miracle Whip, but there’s no reason one couldn’t substitute real mayo, with a little sweetener and a dash of vinegar, in its place.) Here’s the recipe:
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced green onions, green and white parts
1 cup Miracle Whip (or mayo, see above)
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 can tiny shrimp (4 ounces) drained
1 package frozen salad shrimp, thawed, rinsed, and drained ( 6 ounces)

Mix cream cheese and miracle whip (or mayo with a little sweetener and vinegar) thoroughly.
Fold in all other ingredients til well combined. Refrigerate.
Tastes best if made a few hours ahead.

[BunnySlippers]

If you are close to a Trader Joe’s, they have the puff pastry sticks you show. They are in the cracker section and very good!

[Liz]

Oh my.......crescent rolls for a perfect simple on the go breakfast danish. Easily doubled.
Can do night before. Add a dab of cherry, lemon or apple pie filling for variety.

EASY CREAM CHEESE DANISH

ING 8 unbaked Crescent Rolls,4 oz Cream Cheese. 1/2 cup Sugar, 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla, 2 tbsp melted Butter, 1/2 cup conf, 2 tsp Milk

PREP Beat cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla til blended.

METHOD Unroll dough into 4 rectangles and seal perforations by pinching.Brush each rectangle with melted butter and sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar. Roll each up log and pinch to seal. Coil into a spiral and slightly press down middle to make room for cream cheese filling.

Place on greased cookie sheet.Top each with about 1/4 of cream cheese mixture.

Bake 350 deg golden brown (16-18 minutes). Drizzle w/ combined conf, milk, teaspoon vanilla stirred smooth.

[bgill]

WARNING

I’ve had to throw out 3 bottled grocery items just this month.

Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing - the green paper seal at the top did not cover the flip lid so was useless. There also wasn’t a foil/paper seal inside at the rim so anyone could flip open the top and have full access to the dressing. That also means it wasn’t preserved.

Kraft Catalina Dressing - today, had to throw away this new bottle because the foil/paper seal inside wasn’t sealed. Again, the flip top wasn’t sealed shut with the paper label. When I cut the paper bottle neck seal at the lid, there was an air noise meaning the foil/paper seal hadn’t been sealed tight so it wasn’t preserved. I shouldn’t have but tasted a bit of it and it tasted bad. DON’T DO THAT!

HEB mouth wash (store brand Listerine) - It was sealed with plastic but tasted like dirty old socks. First time I used it, I got the poops (TMI) but didn’t realize the connection. A few days later, I used it again and more poops. I waited a few weeks and chalked it up to maybe a coincidence so used it a third time and poops again.

That’s three products from three different companies. I don’t remember having to throw away products before this. Something is going on so please be aware. Check your grocery products very carefully.

I’ve also noticed an increase of damaged packaging on boxes and fresh produce bags. Damaged packaging is normal but lately have noticed packaging that shows no sign of any attempt at sealing it closed. Lettuce plastic covering has not tape. Flour bags not glued shut. Potato flakes top showed no sign of glue.

Another concern are the plastic cartons for berries. The tops press closed but it takes no effort to open them and there’s always one that has either popped open on its own or a customer opened it. A couple months ago, I had to report a bunch of kids, within eye shot of their burly mama, were eating one strawberry out of every carton. That’s not only NASTY and who knows what else for the other customers but it’s cheating on the price.

[bgill]

I’ve found fried brussel sprouts! Carb counts on them are all over the board but I’m going with 5 net carbs per serving (3/4 C).

Trim the ends and cut in half. Let dry out so the oil doesn’t splatter. Fry in oil until ugly and almost burned. Drain and toss in sauce.

Prepare just enough sauce to give a touch of taste. Sauce is a wee bit of sriracha, sweetener, honey, vinegar, garlic powder, salt and pepper.