Cooking thread

[Amikawrite]

Another yummy recipe which I had come across. I tried it and it was delicious.

Hand Rolled Chocolate Truffles

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup heavy cream
12 ounces dark chocolate chips (60%-75% cocoa)
1/4 cup butter
2 chocolate candy bars (70%-85% cocoa)
cocoa powder (sifted)
2 tablespoons liquor (optional)
1 pinch salt

Directions:
1 Begin with a saucepan. Over medium heat, bring cream just to a boil. Remove from heat.
2 Add the 12oz of chocolate to the hot cream. Stir until smooth.
3 Let sit for a few minutes, add butter 1/2 Tablespoon at a time. Stir until smooth. Stir in optional liquor or flavoring with the pinch of salt.
4 Transfer to bowl for refrigerating. Refrigerate until firm. Usually about 3-5 hours.
5 Form into 3/4inch balls and put back in refrigerator.
6 Sift cocoa powder into medium size bowl.
7 Break chocolate bars into small shards. In metal bowl, over low heat, heat chocolate stirring and scraping sides with a rubber spatula the entire time. Once smooth, remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8 Bring out truffles and one by one roll them in the melted chocolate and drop them into the cocoa powder. After you've done 5 or so roll them around the powder until covered and set them aside. You may need to reheat the chocolate mid way through, just follow the same steps.
9 After all are covered in cocoa powder, take a med-large sifter and roll them around to remove excess cocoa.
10 Refrigerate.

[Zolia Lily]

Roasted Chicken – Everyone should know how to roast a whole chicken. It is the quintessential go to meal for Sunday and/or company dinner.

 

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (a 3 1/2 to 4 pound bird will serve 4)
• Coarse salt, black pepper
• Olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Rub with olive oil. Tie legs together with kitchen twine and tuck wing tips beneath body. Roast on a small rimmed baking sheet until an instant-read thermometer inserted in a thigh reads 165 degrees, about 12 minutes per pound. Let chicken rest 10 minutes before carving.

 

If you like, add:

Herbs: Tuck a few sprigs inside the cavity and underneath the chicken. Good picks are rosemary, thyme, savory, and oregano.

Vegetables: Toss them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Scatter carrots, potatoes, and sweet potatoes around the bird at the start of cooking; add garlic, onion, lemon, and parsnips after 30 minutes.

 

My mum found a recipe for a basic roast chicken recently which dad reckons is amazing. At the end, when you let it rest for 10 minutes, the recipe advises you to rest the chicken up-side down, so that the juices "return" to the breast and meat so it's extra juicy. I don't like the smell of meat cooking, so don't tend to cook it and therefore haven't tried this myself!

 

 

One of my favourite things to make is Quesadillas - with a stickproof pan! I found an easy recipe online and adapted it for my own purposes - but I have noooo idea how authentic it is. Then again - it's tasty, so I don't care.

 

I fry a couple of onions in a small amount of oil, and then add three drained cans of kidney beans, around a teaspoon of cumin seeds and maybe a teaspoon of smoked paprika. Once it's all fried up i turn off the heat and mash it (I use a fork but only because i don't currently own a potato masher (does that thing have a better name?)) until it's fairly sticky. Then we spread the bean mixture on half of our flour or corn tortillas, top with some dollops of tomato salsa, roughly chopped coriander, and grated cheese, then sandwich them with the remaining tortillas. THEN with the stickproof pan you can fry them without needing butter or oil until they're golden on the outside and melty on the inside

One of my flatmates likes to eat them with guacamole, and the other likes them with sour cream and more salsa, but I reckon they're pretty good as are.

 

Roughly 2 onions, three tins of Kidney beans, 8 - 10 tortillas (depending on diametre), half a jar of salsa (yeah, I buy it...) and a cup or so of grated cheese go into this recipe.

Edited February 6, 2013 by Zolia Lily

[W_L]

What would be a good dish to serve as an small plate or tapas to family coming over to celebrate Chinese New Year?

 

I'm thinking finger foods and non-Asian cuisine as we would all be sick of it due to the continuous feasts and things that lead up to Chinese New Years.

 

Any thoughts?

[sat8997]

Antipasto platter.

[JamesSavik]

Nachos! Nature's most perfect food for any occasion.

[Ashi]

What would be a good dish to serve as an small plate or tapas to family coming over to celebrate Chinese New Year?

 

I'm thinking finger foods and non-Asian cuisine as we would all be sick of it due to the continuous feasts and things that lead up to Chinese New Years.

 

Any thoughts?

 

I was thinking tatter totter and calimari, but fried foods after feast might be too much, so something more refreshing would be nice.

 

How about strawberry, quartered and served with or without condensed milk.  Some toothpicks will make serving easy.  Easy to serve and a change of pace after a heavy meal.  Chilled off-dry Riesling is excellent with Chinese cuisine and fruits.

Edited February 7, 2013 by Ashi

[Amikawrite]

Mini-kievs could be a good option.

[W_L]

Change of plans, Chinese new years has to be cooked at home entirely due to Nemo, the little Blizzard that swam its way to our hearts

 

Since my relatives can't come to Boston, it will be a smaller affair of just my immediate family. I am thinking of trying something new and maybe even structuring the feasts into smaller dishes instead of the massive family style affair Chinese families are known for.

 

Chinese New Year's feast are usually extremely large and we will have several weeks of left overs even after the 14 day celebration and feasting is over.

 

The Saturday, Chinese New Years' eve, we would have a closing year feast to end on a good note and attempt to create massive excess as a sign of prosperity for the future.

 

On the 1st of Chinese New Years, we're supposed to eat vegetarian (bean sprouts, rice noodles, and peas stir fried in vegetable oil). That's Sunday morning.

 

Any ideas?

Edited February 8, 2013 by W_L

[C J]

Well, I can cook, when I really need to, but I would rather let someone else do the cooking, that way I have more time to eat.  OK, I don't have any problem sticking a frozen pizza in the oven, after I put lots of different extra stuff on it, and I can fix mac n cheese like a pro, but so far I don't have any recipes to share.   I could probably make one up, but I doubt anyone would want to try it, not even me.  So, just let me know when the foods done cooking and I'll bring a fork and knife to help with the eating

[Benji]

Change of plans, Chinese new years has to be cooked at home entirely due to Nemo, the little Blizzard that swam its way to our hearts

 

Since my relatives can't come to Boston, it will be a smaller affair of just my immediate family. I am thinking of trying something new and maybe even structuring the feasts into smaller dishes instead of the massive family style affair Chinese families are known for.

 

Chinese New Year's feast are usually extremely large and we will have several weeks of left overs even after the 14 day celebration and feasting is over.

 

The Saturday, Chinese New Years' eve, we would have a closing year feast to end on a good note and attempt to create massive excess as a sign of prosperity for the future.

 

On the 1st of Chinese New Years, we're supposed to eat vegetarian (bean sprouts, rice noodles, and peas stir fried in vegetable oil). That's Sunday morning.

 

Any ideas?

Try egg foo yong, easy

 

Depends how many your are serving, take about a half pound of fresh bean sprouts, sliced a little a green onion sliced thinly and if you want to add pork, small cubed pieces of pork.

 

Cook the pork until done.

 

Add 2 battered eggs to a large bowel, add sprouts and onion and mix. add pork pieces and mix then fry the mixture in large spoonful's  3-4 inches in width until golden brown on each side, set aside and keep warm. 

 

Sauce:

 

In a pan add 1/4 cup of vinegar, add 1/8 cup of cornstarch, mix ad 1/4 cup of water, mix add a bit of soy sauce, mix when it turn dark brown remove from heat.

 

Serve the patties and sprinkle the sauce on them!

 

For more then 2-4 double the reciepe

[W_L]

Well, I ended just cooking a few dishes:

 

Boiled Soy Chicken:

 

7-8lbs Whole Chicken

salt

2 Scallions

Water (until it covers the chicken in the pot)

 

Boil water

 

Add salt and scallions

 

Add chicken

 

Slow cook it over medium heat on a gas stove *(In Boston, you have either gas or electric, while many people lose power, it's harder to lose gas )

 

After several hours of slow cooking, you will have a nice chicken broth for soup and a cooked chicken

 

Place it on a large platter, then add soy sauce

 

Easy right

 

Next dish: Rice noodles, snow peas, bean sprouts, and tofu stir fried over a wok

 

Stir frying is easy, but the rice noodles need special handling.

 

Place the rice noddles into a bowl of ice water first to give it a nice and firm consistency

 

Let it sit for 10 minutes, then, empty the water from the bowl and you can start stir frying with the ingredients and some standard corn oil

 

Should take about 15-20 minutes over medium heat, add salt and sugar in the cooking process plus any other spices (I prefer Cilantro personally )

 

Really simple

 

Last is a simple winter mellon soup:

 

Boil the chicken broth and add several pork and beef spareribs

 

Let the combination mix and then add your sliced winter mellon

 

Cooking the soup should take about 45 minutes

 

Cooking time if done right is around 1 hour. over 4 stoves

[Tomas]

I May have posted this before, but I don't remember where or when.

 

(singing to self: "It seems we have stood and talked like this before, but I don't remember where or when." OOPs!!! Sorry got carried away. 

 

The recipe: 

 

Red Beans and Rice

 

Red Beans were traditionally cooked while the Monday wash was drying on the line, and since New Orleans humidity made that an all-day job, the beans cooked for many hours. The is the way red beans and rice were cooked in the old days --- loaded with meat and steeped in a rich, natural gravy.

 

Be sure to use baked rather than country or smoked ham in this dish. Smoked ham is too salty and will unbalance the seasonings. PIckled Pork is pork sholder marinated in brine for over a week. New Orleans markets regularly carry it, but else where you probably will not find it. A good substitute for pickled pork is salt pork; with salt pork eliminate all other salt in the recipe.

(for 8 or more)

_________________________________

2 Lb. dried red (kidney) beans, soaked 

overnight in cold water to cover

 

2 c. chopped onion

1/2c.   thinly sliced green shallot (scallion) tops

1/2c.   chopped green pepper

1 1/3 Tbs. finely minced garlic

2 Tbs. finely minced fresh parsley

1 lb.   seasoning (baked) ham, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 lb.   pickled pork, cut into large chunks

1 Tbs. salt

1/2 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. cayenne

1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper pods

2 whole bay leaves, broken into quarters

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/8 tsp. dried basil

2qt. Cold water, approximately

 

Drain the soaked beans in colander and put them, along with all the other ingredients, into a heavy 8 to 10 quart pot or kettle, adding just enough of the cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and simmer on low heat for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until the beans are tender and a thick natural gravy has formed.  Add about 1 cup of water toward the end of cooking if the mixture appears too dry.

 

During the cooking stir frequently and scrape down the side and across the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon or spatula to prevent scorching. (If you use a heavy pot and very low heat --- just enough, should have no problem with the beans sticking to the pot during cooking.) Stir the entire mixture thoroughly just once every half hour. Towards the end of cooking, smash some of the beans against the side of the pot for creamier gravy.

 

When the beans are cooked, turn off the heat. To serve, ladle about 1 1/2 cups of beans with meat and gravy, over a portion (about 2/3 cup) of boiled rice.  Can be accompanied by smoked or country (hot or mild) sausage or by pork chops or pork steaks. 

[JamesSavik]

 

I May have posted this before, but I don't remember where or when.

 

(singing to self: "It seems we have stood and talked like this before, but I don't remember where or when." OOPs!!! Sorry got carried away. 

 

The recipe: 

 

Red Beans and Rice

 

 

 

 

Just in time for Fat Tuesday. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

[W_L]

Just in time for Fat Tuesday. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

 

 

Give me some beads, you old cat

 

Plus some gumbo and catfish recipes, while you're at it. 

[JamesSavik]

Crawfish!

 

Get a mess of crawfish.

 

corn on the cob

 

new potatoes

 

an onion (cut up)

 

a lemon (cut up)

 

Crab boil

 

 

In a big ole pot, bring some water to a boil.

 

Throw in the crab boil, onion and lemons. Let the water soak up the flavor- let it boil for a few minutes. It'll turn a sort of tea color.

 

Throw in the new potatoes and corn. Let boil for 20 minutes.

 

Add crawfish and boil another few minutes until the crawfish turn red.

 

Then you feast, silly puppy.

 

The amount of ingredients is proportional to how many crawfish you are cooking. This will work for a few pounds.

 

Other options are to add sausage or vary the amounts of seasoning.

 

 

(Goes good with beer by the long neck) 

Edited February 12, 2013 by jamessavik

[Tomas]

Crawfish!

 

 

 

(Goes good with beer by the long neck) 

Now that brings back memories of a familiar sight. Just add some shrimp and crabs... GOOD FEASTING!!

[JamesSavik]

Seafood Gumbo

 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups crabmeat
• 2 pounds shrimp, in shells
• 3 quarts water
• 2 small bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 small onion, cut in wedges
• salt and black pepper
• parsley
• 2 pounds okra, sliced
• 4 tablespoons bacon grease, divided
• 4 tomatoes, peeled & chopped
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 green peppers, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
• 4 tablespoons brown roux
• reserved shrimp stock
• salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, to taste
• hot cooked rice

Preparation:

In a large Dutch oven boil the water with bay leaves, lemon juice, onion wedges, salt, pepper, and parsley. Wash shrimp and add to pot; boil for 2 minutes. Peel shrimp and return shells to the stock for later use. Put shrimp and crab meat in refrigerator until ready to add to the gumbo.

Saute okra in 2 tablespoons bacon grease in large heavy skillet. The okra will turn darker as it cooks. When okra is soft, transfer to a stew pot and add tomatoes. Stir and mix together well. Clean skillet and heat remaining 2 tablespoons bacon grease. Sauté the chopped onion, green pepper, and red pepper. When soft, add to the stew pot.

In a saucepan, warm the roux; strain shrimp stock and stir into the roux. When well-blended, add to the large stew pot with the other ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, adding more strained stock if needed. Taste and add salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley to taste. Simmer for 1 to 2 hours longer; add the shrimp and crab meat and cook for 15 more minutes.
Serve with fresh boiled rice in soup bowls.
Serves 6 to 8.

[JamesSavik]

 

Sunday dinner

[sebastian001]

My Mom's Favorite Iced Tea Drink

 

Ingredients:

 

Tea (Your standard Black-leaf is good with this drink)

Lemon Juice

Apple Juice (Motts... we use Motts)

Strawberries

 

Procedure:

 

1. a pot of water with about four tea bags usually works. when the tea is done and the tea bags are out, boil the tea over a light flame with minced strawberies

2. the strawberries will become mushy real quick and when it does, remove the pot from the fire and let it cool. this is when you can put some brown sugar if you want that. i can bare a spoonful... but it depends on the tea you use.

3. when it's cooled off, add about a cup of apple juice.

4. pour the liquid into a pitcher filled a third way with ice cube and add lemon juice... two or three lemons are okay depending on how much zest youd want.

 

 

i like spiking it with vodka or white rhum... lol. ENJOY!!! 

 

PS

 

great with spicy food...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bumblebee]

 

Sunday dinner

Not to be mean or anything, I'm sure you must like it well enough since you've cooked it... But those prawns looks like dead cockroaches

[JamesSavik]

Not to be mean or anything, I'm sure you must like it well enough since you've cooked it... But those prawns looks like dead cockroaches

 

They aren't prawns (shrimp). They are crayfish http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crawfish. I there is a species native to Australia but I'm not sure that y'all eat them.

 

Our Crayfish come from wetlands along the Gulf Coast. They cook up a lot like prawns (shrimp)- they've just got a lot of extra-armor. 

 

You can boil them or fry them.

 

A favorite recipe locally is crawfish etouffee. You can substitute shrimp for this recipe.

 

 

Crawfish Etouffee

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh or frozen, peeled, cooked crawfish tails (or shrimp)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cooking oil, butter, or margarine
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped (1 cup)
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green sweet pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup sliced green onion
• 1/4 cup snipped fresh parsley
• 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Hot cooked rice
• Fresh parsley (optional)

Preparation:

Thaw crawfish tails if frozen.

 

In a 3-quart heavy saucepan stir together flour and 1/4 cup oil, butter, or margarine until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir for 5 to 8 minutes more or until a reddish brown roux is formed. Add onion, celery, sweet pepper, and garlic to saucepan. Cook and stir for 5 minutes.

 

Add 1 tablespoon butter or margarine; stir until melted. Stir in water, green onions, parsley, salt, ground red pepper, and black pepper. Bring to boiling. Add crawfish. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until heated through. Serve with hot cooked rice. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

 

Yield: 4 servings

 

Make-Ahead Tip: Prepare roux; cool. Transfer to jar; cover and chill up to 3 days. Transfer to saucepan; heat until melted. Continue recipe as directed.

Edited February 19, 2013 by jamessavik