Monthly Cooking Thread - September 2021

[Jamestown1630]

We were bored and looking for some new recipes. My husband is 'religious' about low-carb/Keto - (he lost a lot of weight years ago, and has kept it off; and got his A1C down to normal levels) - and I love roasted or grilled veggies.

We found this recipe for a sheet-pan dish of Greek-inspired chicken and vegetables, from Downshiftology. Here is a video of how it's done:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXRINU_tjs8

And here is a link to the recipe to print:

https://downshiftology.com/wprm_print/55213

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My husband likes a traditional Italian olive-oil salad dressing, and always makes his own. I like gloppy, creamy ones. We recently found this recipe for Ranch Dressing which avoids the possibly deleterious oils in store-bought ones (the word is that this is best using fresh herbs; but if you don't have access to those or don't want to spend for fresh, I'm sure it would be good with dried):

Ranch Dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp Heavy Cream

2 tbsp white vinegar

1 clove Garlic minced

1 tbsp Fresh Dill finely chopped

1 tbsp Diced Parsley finely chopped

1 tsp Chives Finely Chopped

1 tsp Onion powder

1/4 tsp Mustard Powder

1/2 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt Mix it all up in a jar, and shake vigorously to combine.

https://www.ketoconnect.net/recipe-index/

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Mrs. Brown and her husband at Whippoorwill Hollow have also been doing 'low carb', and the other day we tried this recipe for Zucchinni Squash Au Gratin; it was really good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wPzw33QjN8

-JT

[Jamestown1630]

This month: some low-carb dishes, and a healthier Ranch Dressing.

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

-JT

[Grampa Dave]

My wife has been using sheet pans with parchment paper on the cooking surface for close to 4 years.

One of our adult offspring was a chef for decades, and he had been urging my wife/his Mother to used chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts.

She started using the chicken thighs about a month ago.

They taste better than breasts and are a lot lower in price.

So they are a win/win.

In fact chicken thighs are the main course of our sheet pan dinner tonight!

[Jamestown1630]

Chicken thighs are the best part of the bird, to me.

[mairdie]

If low carbs and healthy is not your thing, there’s always Victoria Sponge Cake.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-9947881/Duchess-Cornwall-shares-Victoria-Sponge-recipe.html

Cooking with Camilla! Duchess of Cornwall shares her Victoria Sponge recipe revealing she sometimes uses Nutella or lemon curd as the filling

The Duchess of Cornwall, 74, has shared her recipe for Victoria Sponge cake

Camilla revealed she ‘loves chocolate’ and sometimes uses a Nutella filling

Cake’s named after Prince Charles’ great-great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria who enjoyed eating it with tea

[Huaynero]

Thank You, Greek sheet pan Chicken is now #1 on my “To Cook” list. Limited knowledge of Greek style dishes but have very much enjoyed my samplings. Just today at Aldi I found frozen pre-breaded eggplant slices. That aces out 90% of the work - and my fumbling - in preparing my now #2 Italian Eggplant Parmigiana!

Buen Provecho!

[Jamestown1630]

Eggplant is one of my favorite things. I thought it might be a nice addition to the ‘Greek Chicken Sheet Pan’ recipe.

This is one of my favorite eggplant dishes:

Roasted Eggplant with Tahini Dressing

2 medium eggplants (about 1 1/4 pounds total), trimmed and halved lengthwise

coarse sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

DRESSING:

3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons hot water

1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

1/8 teaspoon minced garlic

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

For Eggplant:

Heat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (It helps to first sprinkle the eggplant halves with salt, and let them “drain”, flesh side down, in a large colander for about 30 minutes before roasting. It helps to reduce the moisture content of the dish.)

Put eggplant pieces on prepared baking sheet, flesh-side up.

With the tip of a sharp chefs knife, score flesh, about 3/4 inch deep. Season eggplant with salt and pepper, and drizzle with oil. Roast, rotating pan once halfway through, until eggplant flesh is soft and collapsed and edges are deep golden, 35 to 40 minutes.

For Dressing: While eggplant is roasting, in a bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients.

Remove eggplant from oven and sprinkle with salt. Transfer to serving plates, drizzle with half of the dressing and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with remaining dressing.

[Huaynero]

In a bit earlier but I have to second your view of chicken thighs being more flavorful than breasts. Legs - the part that comes with a handle - is second. Better than Excellent cook that my wife is still favors breasts.

A popular South American treatment of chicken is “Pollo Escabeche”. Basically it’s cooked bone-in chicken thighs or legs that is then pickled in a vegetable, vinegar and spice mixture. Chicken is pan seared then baked until done. Cooked chicken is then marinated for an hour in a sautéed mixture of vinegar, Peruvian “Aji Panca” – a mild red pepper paste, garlic, onions, carrots, cumin, oregano, honey and chicken stock. Serve at room temperature to suit on lettuce with cooked sweet potato rounds, sliced boiled eggs and Peruvian purple “Botija” olives or Kalamata olives. Alternative recipes for “Escabeche” using fish are readily available. If interested in recipe details, a quick search will provide one that suits.

[Jamestown1630]

Thanks. I will definitely look for it.

[leaning conservative]

Hey JT! I’ve been looking forward to your thread. I love doing sheet pan veggies & meat. So easy & so delicious. I am definitely going to make your ranch dressing.
In the produce section are tubes of fresh herbs. You refrigerate them & squeeze out what you need.

I’ve been in Asheville for 7 weeks with my mom. My husband forgot to water my big outdoor pot of rosemary. It’s now crunchy🤯. So I’m going to pick up some rosemary in a tube.

[TianaHighrider]

Thank you for the thread ❣

[Jamestown1630]

I’ve tried those tubes - the ones I’ve used have been very close to the taste of fresh herbs.

[Grampa Dave]

“Chicken thighs are the best part of the bird, to me.”

Thighs were my mother’s favorite part, I got wings/drumsticks and so did my sibling. Dad got the breasts.

My wife and I both like the breast meat.

However, the thighs are now our favs. She throws a couple of extra thighs on the pan to become sandwiches or salad toppers the next day.

[Jamestown1630]

Thighs just have a lot more flavor.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

If I occasionally buy a rotisserie chicken I eat all but the breasts. Those I slice up for sandwiches.

[nuconvert]

It does sound gloppy

[Jamestown1630]

Well, even the better cream dressings you find in the refrigerated produce section are ‘gloppy’. If you want it less so, just add more cream.

I also make a Greek one that I’ve enjoyed lately; it’s pretty simple, and I usually put this on a cucumber/tomato/red onion salad:

Greek Salad Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine all ingredients; shake well.

[nuconvert]

Thanks. That sounds better

[bgill]

We’ve not been getting very good fresh produce. The yellow squash goes moldy in 2 days. Carrots don’t last, either. I’ve had to immediately freeze everything. Potatoes are sprouting too quick. Not a happy camper with this year all around.

[Jamestown1630]

For us, the best produce that lasts the longest, always comes from Costco. They have that big cold room to keep it all in. I’ve had salad greens from there that have lasted 3 weeks in the fridge.

Next best are the big supermarket chains. Stuff from the smaller, cheaper ones doesn’t last as long.