Monthly Cooking Thread - October 2022

[Jamestown1630]

One of my favorite routine recipes is a very simple broccoli cheese casserole, made with layers of broccoli, a roux, finely diced onions and cheddar cheese. Looking for something slightly different, I found Julia Child’s recipe for a Cauliflower au Gratin, which uses Swiss cheese and is a little more complicated but would make a great side dish for a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Here is the recipe from the website ‘Two Chums’:

https://www.twochums.com/cauliflower-au-gratin

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When I first began this cooking thread at the beginning of 2015, I posted a recipe for Peanut Soup, a Southern classic since the 1700s; and with ‘soup season’ and Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I’d link to it again. When I made this, I was really surprised – it’s a very good soup and doesn’t taste at all as one might think. Virginia Peanut Soup:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/recipes/virginia-peanut-soup/14444

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I’ve always been intrigued by the notion of the English afternoon tea. I could make a meal of appetizers in a restaurant – I like meals with lots of small, different little things. And while the savories in a traditional English tea attract me most, I like petit fours – and Kevin Lee Jacobs has an easy technique for making these sweet little treats from a purchased pound cake:

https://www.agardenforthehouse.com/petit-fours-with-white-chocolate-glaze/

JT

[lizma2]

“(I can’t imagine that foods are manufactured for a regular oven, but instruct against a toaster oven, would have any other reason...)”

Me neither.

Defrost them a bit and throw them into “a toasted oven approved” pan! LOL.

Miss your thread much.

Been unemployed for 3 months and have 2 freezers full of food and trying to spend less than 10 bucks a month on food. Your great thread would tempt me to not behave.

So far so good.

When I was a kid gas prices started going up and our neighbor, who was a trucker, told us stock up on food cuz food prices will soar.

The moment I heard our “Resident” closed down our energy supply, stocked up major. Cooked like crazy.

Thought for the next year I would just be defrosting premade meals, not using anything shelved, but broke down yesterday.... Kraft Mac and Cheese withdrawals did me in.

So would your much appreciated thread.

Thank you much. And then some.

(Been a big fan of the cooking thread since Chef Carlos)

[lizma2]

Oatmeal craisen cookies are wayyyy better.

[Jamestown1630]

I think that soon, it might (unfortunately) be a good idea if I moved to budget recipes. Everybody is feeling the hurt at the grocery store. :-)

[FamiliarFace]

I have never tried craisins in my oatmeal cookies, but will the next time I make them, thx!

[FamiliarFace]

Being unemployed really stinks, but if you are like we were a few years ago, well, we KNEW God had our back! Eventually my husband found permanent work after doing “gigs” for several months. I pray the same works for you very soon.

[V K Lee]

JT, asked google this question:
for foods cooked in an oven range; why not cook in toaster oven? Their answer is probably the same as those offered here.

Often wondered why, myself. Fortunately during the kitchen
renovation we had invested in a Ninja Foodie to prepare for
lack of oven range availability.

[Jamestown1630]

Well, I will try just popping them out of the packaging and cooking them in something pyrex or metal; I’ll let you know how it goes.

We bought a Ninja air fryer a while back, and used it twice. Neither experience was very satisfactory, but we suspect there’s a ‘learning curve’, so we’ll keep it for a while and experiment. I’m hoping it doesn’t become a huge paperweight in the kitchen :-)

The toaster oven, on the other hand, has been a great addition. It seems to cook lots of things even better than the big oven, and probably uses less energy. I’m sure we’ll continue to use it even when the dead oven is replaced.

[leaning conservative]

Thanks! I’m in bed in a hotel craving sweets 😋😋🤣😋

[leaning conservative]

I missed this post....I hope something opens up for you job wise. That is a tough situation to be in, especially in this economy. Sending best wishes to you.

[Freedom56v2]

Looks amazing!

[V K Lee]

Agree on the success of substitute toaster oven. It is handy
and better yet, in hot summer months (please, we in Texas have
plenty of HEAT!), the kitchen temperature remains tolorable.

[Jamestown1630]

We really like it. It’s the first we’ve had. Wish I’d had reason to buy this before I bought the big 4-slice toaster, which is now redundant and takes too much space.

[Liz]

A JACQUES PEPIN RECIPE WITH HOW TO PROPERLY COOK HARD BOILED EGGS.

This delicious first course was a favorite at Pepins mother’s restaurant in Lyon......nothing could be easier to prepare, but the eggs have to be cooked properly.

Lower 4 large eggs into boiling water to cover, bring the water back to a very low boil, and boil gently for 9 minutes. Pour out the hot water and shake the pan to crack the eggshells. Fill the pan with cold water and ice and let the eggs cool thoroughly. Shell the eggs and halve them lengthwise.

Place 2 halved eggs on each of two plates or on a platter. In a small bowl, whisk together until smooth 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon water, 1 tablespoon ketchup, and a good dash of Tabasco hot pepper sauce. Coat the eggs with the sauce. Place 1 anchovy fillet on top of each halved egg. Sprinkle on a few capers. Divide about 1 tablespoon chopped red onion among the four plates. Serve.

[Liz]

Ideal for slightly stale bread, these are excellent with soup to meat to cheese.

Cheesy Breadsticks

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread about 2 tablespoons good olive oil evenly on a cookie sheet. Cut 1/2-inch slices from a 6-ounce piece of country-style bread. Cut each slice lengthwise into breadsticks about 1 inch wide. You should have about 2 dozen.

Arrange the sticks in one layer on the oiled pan and press on them lightly. Turn the sticks over on the pan and press on them lightly again so they are oiled on both sides. In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese and 1/2 teaspoon each paprika and ground cumin. Sprinkle over the breadsticks.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they are nicely browned and crisp.

[Liz]

I know how much you like kimchi.......this is a dynamite recipe I hope you enjoy. The most essential step is the very first one – brining the cabbage, which kick-starts the process of lacto-fermentation.

Cabbage
1 head Napa cabbage, cut into 1-inch, bite-sized pieces

1/2 cup Kosher salt

1 cup water

Porridge
2 cups water

2 tbsp glutinous rice flour

2 tbsp brown sugar

Seasoning
10 garlic cloves, minced

1 inch-piece ginger, minced

1/4 white onion, minced

1/4 cup fish sauce

1/4 cup natural apple juice

1/4 cup fermented salted shrimp (saeujeot), chopped

2/3 cup best quality gochugaru (Korean red pepper powder)

Vegetables
1 medium-sized daikon, cut into matchsticks

1 carrot, cut into matchsticks

7 spring onions, chopped

1/2 Asian pear, chopped into matchsticks

Directions
Cabbage
Place cabbage in a very large, non-reactive bowl or plastic tub. Mix together salt and water and stir until sea salt has dissolved. Pour over cabbage and mix together with your hands. Cover with clingfilm and let sit for 2 hours.
Porridge

Whilst the cabbage is salting, make the porridge. Combine the water and rice flour in a pan and gently whisk over a medium heat till it begins to bubble and thicken – around 10 minutes. Add the sugar, and cook for a further 30 seconds, stirring continuously. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Seasoning
Once cool, add the minced garlic, ginger and onion to the porridge, swell as the fish sauce, apple juice, fermented salted shrimp and gochugaru. Mix well until you get a paste that isn’t too thick and isn’t too runny.
Vegetables
Once the cabbage has been sat in it’s brine for 2 hours, rinse it under cold water to get most of the salt water off. Place back into the very large bowl then toss the cabbage with the spicy red seasoning mixture until well-coated.
Add the sliced daikon, carrot, spring onion and asian pear. Mix well with your hands (use gloves to stop your hands staining).

Place everything into a large jar and compress everything tightly by using your fist to smoosh it down. Keep stuffing until the jar is full and by pushing everything down, a small amount of liquid is sitting above the seasoned vegetables. Close the jar tightly.

Leave the kimchi to sit at room temperature for a day or two. One day on hotter months and two in cooler months. Move to the fridge after a day or two and leave to ferment. It is edible immediately but I like to leave mine for a week or so before I unscrew the lid. The longer you leave it, the more complex in flavour it will become.

When taking kimchi from the jar, use a clean, non-metal implement like a wooden spoon or chopsticks and press everything down again as tightly as you can. You want the kimchi to be sat under a little juice at all times.

[Liz]

[Jamestown1630]

Thanks, Liz. I’ve never seen one that uses a ‘porridge’ - and that’s a nice picture!

A tip for gochugaru: I’ve had it get moldy! I buy it in smaller amounts and always keep it in the freezer.

[Liz]

Good tip......will do.

[Liz]

BTW, I wouldn’t call that porridge.......it’s a slurry.

Global cuisines.....expect their odd nomenclature.

[Liz]

Use up extra kimchi in this kimchi fried egg sandwich...slather the baguette w/ srachia mayo.