DIY Dinners

[Prunepicker]

For those of you new to cooking I've been studying French cuisine and
have found this interesting fact. The term Casserole is French.

Casserole - n. 1. to clean refrigerator and dump contents into a 2 1/2
quart baking dish, add 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and bake at
350' for one hour. 2. to bake until nothing is recognizable and add a
can of cream of mushroom soup.

Origin:
1700–10; < French: to regurgitate into a pot.

[RadicalModerate]

Get a bigger pot?

.

Nope. [bigger] Pot[s] ain't been legalized yet . . . Least not in OKC. =)
(and i, for one, remain Thankful for that.)

Now it's onto "Fast Delmonico Potatoes ala My Sweet Wife" . . . =).

t' satisfy all o' the kinfolk.

(thanks fer the break from cookin' . . . Gentlemen. =)

[RadicalModerate]

For those of you new to cooking I've been studying French cuisine and
have found this interesting fact. The term Casserole is French.

Casserole - n. 1. to clean refrigerator and dump contents into a 2 1/2
quart baking dish, add 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and bake at
350' for one hour. 2. to bake until nothing is recognizable and add a
can of cream of mushroom soup.

Origin:
1700–10; < French: to regurgitate in a pot.

Technically, a Casserole is the dish in which a Hotdish is baked.
It is not the dish itself. Or maybe it is? Who knows?
Yet . . . Thanks for The Tip. AnywayZ

(hmmm . . . this right brain/left brain balance is more difficult than it might first appear.
sort of like playing the bass . . . i guess . . . or reckon . . . =)

Edited to Add: You didn't pirate that quote from Howard Mohr's book from back in The Glory Days of A Prairie Home Companion entitiled "How To Speak Minnesotan" didja? =)

[RadicalModerate]

Best Joke I heard today, (other than The Kid Metaphor Deal on Leno's Show), here on the Cusp of Thanksgiving . . .
And having just completed The KwiK n-E-Z version of Delmonico Potatoes to the point where thay will be easily finished and reheated, prior to serving, tomorrow.
(Not to mention, immediately adjacent to Black Friday--aka Walmart Zombie Death Memorial Day =)

From The Local Comedy Channel (AM non Satellite Radio) (hopefully paraphrased, correctly, rather than butchered, as per suggested sharing suggestions from the Broadcaster, above):

"So . . . I'm up around midnight . . . watching WWE on TV . . . and an Ad comes on for Books.
I'm thinkin' those guys have it right . . . obviously . . . I'm an intellectual . . . I can read . . .

"And the ad ends with 'available wherever books are sold' . . .

"I'm thinkin' . . . OK . . . right after this show, about guys bashing each other over the head with chairs and fists and whatnot, is over I'm goin' out to buy a book!

"So, the next day, I wander into an organic, local, slaughterhouse and ask 'Do you have this book?'

"Guy behind the counter says, 'Uh . . . No . . . We just kill animals here. Have you considered going to a place where books are sold?'"

[it makes me feel a bit guilty about downloading cooking info from The Internet rather than, say, Barnes and Noble, or Bollingers, or Waldenbooks or Brillig Works. Yet it might provide a moment of levity, around The Thanksgiving Table, if told right. Somewhere in between the conversations regarding sports, religion and politics. And the proper use of olive oil in connection with pasta. =)

[RadicalModerate]

Once, during a monolog about Thanksgiving, on A Prairie Home Companion, Garrison Keillor said, "Anyone can cook a turkey. The REAL skill comes into play making Creamed Onions." This Thanksgiving I thought I'd try to make a version of it as a different, tasty side dish. I thought it came out just as good as I'd hoped it would. And I'm thankful for that because it was a bit labor intensive . . . but worth it end the end.


Creamed Cipollini Onions with Mushrooms

You start with some Cipollini Onions. This is two bags of them.


You put them in some boiling water for about a minute, then drain them and let them cool. This makes it slightly easier to peel them. (This is the labor intensive part.


Here are the onions peeled and "de-buttonized".


Season them with some salt and pepper, coat them with some olive oil and put them in a 400-deg. oven for about 30 to 40 minutes, turning them every ten minutes until they are nice and brown.


Put the onions in a bowl.


Slice one package of Crimini mushrooms. Heat some olive oil and butter until the butter foams. Sauté the mushrooms, seasoned with salt and pepper--and with some fresh thyme--until they are tender and brown. Add the onions to the mushrooms and mix well.


This mixture went to the refrigerator until the next afternoon when I was putting together dinner.

Make a roux using 1 Tbs. butter and one tablespoon flour. Season with some salt and pepper. Don't let it brown too much. Add some cream and stir constantly. If it seems too thick, add chicken stock and continue stirring until it is the desired thickness.


Put the onions and mushrooms back into the skillet and mix well.


Keep warm until ready to plate up.

[RadicalModerate]

If you are ever in Hudson, Wisconsin, don't miss stopping by Pier 500 to eat. It was recommended to us by some local ladies who work for a company affiliated with the one my wife works for here in OKC. Everything on their menu looked good--and normally I would have had to order something with meat--yet their Mediterranean Angel Hair pasta looked so good that I ordered it instead. Here is a version of that dish that only takes about 15 minutes to make at home and costs less than $11.99. Plus you only have one skillet and one pot to wash. =)

Angel Hair Pasta Mediterranean

Ingredients
Angel Hair pasta (Capellini)
Olive oil
Butter
Salt and Pepper
3 or four Kalamata olives, halved
3 or 4 Black olives, halved
3 or 4 Green olives, halved
Sun Dried Tomatoes, a pinch, finely chopped (or grape tomatoes, halved, if on hand)
1 slice Red onion, quartered (and/or a shallot if on hand)
3 cloves garlic, rough chopped
Tomato paste, 3" squeeze from a tube
Roasted red pepper strips, chopped
3 or 4 Peppadew peppers, chopped
Artichoke hearts, a third of a jar
Capers, a spoonful
White wine
Cottage cheese (or Feta, or grated Parmesan, if on hand)

Instructions

Start the water boiling for the pasta.

Prep all of the ingredients. Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the tomato paste and stir well into the oil. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for three minutes or so. Add the garlic and the sun dried tomatoes. Cook for a minute or two. Add the rest of the prepped ingredients and sauté for a couple of minutes.

By now the water for the pasta should be boiling. Add a significant amount of salt to the water and drop in the pasta. Let it boil for about 4 min. stirring occasionally.

Splash some white wine into the skillet with the other ingredients and add about a tablespoon of butter. Mix well. When the pasta is done, using tongs, pull it from the pot and add to the skillet. Mix well to coat.

Plating
Again using tongs, put some of the pasta on a plate. Spoon on some of the vegetable mixture. Garnish with the cheese. If you have some fresh basil or parsley on hand this is a good time to use it.

Edited to add:
Pier 500 Restaurant & Bar in Hudson, Wisconsin

[ctchandler]

Well, it's a great day(s) for chili, so I am making my recipe today. I have everything I need except for 1/2 cayenne pepper. The substitute is 1/16th tsp of ground cayenne pepper. I will probably use 1/8th tsp since I don't have a way to measure 1/16th tsp. The main reason for this post is, do any of you know where fresh (or even dried) cayenne peppers are available? I tried to find them yesterday but the two places I went didn't have them and to be honest, I don't believe I have ever seen an actual cayenne pepper.
I just noticed that chili won't be on the menu till tomorrow, I forgot that it needs to marinate over night. Oh well, maybe I will make tacos tonight.
C. T.

[RadicalModerate]

Well, it's a great day(s) for chili, so I am making my recipe today. I have everything I need except for 1/2 cayenne pepper. The substitute is 1/16th tsp of ground cayenne pepper. I will probably use 1/8th tsp since I don't have a way to measure 1/16th tsp. The main reason for this post is, do any of you know where fresh (or even dried) cayenne peppers are available? I tried to find them yesterday but the two places I went didn't have them and to be honest, I don't believe I have ever seen an actual cayenne pepper.
I just noticed that chili won't be on the menu till tomorrow, I forgot that it needs to marinate over night. Oh well, maybe I will make tacos tonight.
C. T.

All sorts of dried and powdered "hot" chiles are available at the most diverse--and sort of rundown--grocery store in the Metro. (at the corner of Penn and Hefner =). It may not be a "Quality Grocery Store" yet it will do in a pinch especially if you are talking about the difference between an eighth and a sixteenth.

Since it is too nasty out to drive--or walk, or bicycle--even a couple of blocks . . .
Perhaps you have some Louisiana Hot Sauce or Sirracha "The Rooster" Sauce in the pantry?
Maybe even some of that Authentic On Account of The Wooden Cap (very good) Mexican Hot Sauce? =)

Recently, a recipe called for some "Hot Pepper Sauce".
I didn't have any so I improvised: One part Sirracha and Two or Three Parts Mirrin.
It worked better than perfectly.

Oh! Your Chili recipe. (again): It reads too good for words to express. (no kidding, no joke, no snark)

[ctchandler]

RM,
I have Louisiana and Sirracha but not "The Wooden Cap". I have shopped often at the Buy 4 Less at Hefner and Penn. I worked for the Hertz Corporation just South of there. As for your compliment on "my chili recipe", I don't even remember where I got it but it really is good. I'm thinking about adding minced (ground) lamb to add another type of meat and flavor the next time I make it.
C. T.

All sorts of dried and powdered "hot" chiles are available at the most diverse--and sort of rundown--grocery store in the Metro. (at the corner of Penn and Hefner =). It may not be a "Quality Grocery Store" yet it will do in a pinch especially if you are talking about the difference between an eighth and a sixteenth.

Since it is too nasty out to drive--or walk, or bicycle--even a couple of blocks . . .
Perhaps you have some Louisiana Hot Sauce or Sirracha "The Rooster" Sauce in the pantry?
Maybe even some of that Authentic On Account of The Wooden Cap (very good) Mexican Hot Sauce? =)

Recently, a recipe called for some "Hot Pepper Sauce".
I didn't have any so I improvised: One part Sirracha and Two or Three Parts Mirrin.
It worked better than perfectly.

Oh! Your Chili recipe. (again): It reads too good for words to express. (no kidding, no joke, no snark)

[RadicalModerate]

RM,
I have Louisiana and Sirracha but not "The Wooden Cap". I have shopped often at the Buy 4 Less at Hefner and Penn. I worked for the Hertz Corporation just South of there. As for your compliment on "my chili recipe", I don't even remember where I got it but it really is good. I'm thinking about adding minced (ground) lamb to add another type of meat and flavor the next time I make it.
C. T.

=

If I were in the mood for chili . . . and I didn't want to go to a lot of trouble . . .
I would start with a base of Wolf Brand rather than Hormel (and then add some salad-like stuff to it =)

All The Best, Always, Amigo! (de veras)

[RadicalModerate]

Here's that vegetarian angel hair pasta dish. If you don't like cottage cheese you could use feta or ricotta or parmesan or none at all.
Some scallops, some fish, or some chicken would be good with this.



(again, I apologize for the size of the photo. when i checked the size, prior to posting, it indicated that it was only about 2/3 the size of what popped up here.)

[ctchandler]

Well, one more setback, when I only make a recipe once or twice a year, I forget some things. I thought after marinating overnight that tonight I would be enjoying my chili. Unfortunately, the recipe calls for "When done, let cool an hour, then refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve, heat only the portion required for the meal", so I am going to wait one more day and it really hurts because it smells so good. I have eaten (or "et" as my London friend says) a bowl before refrigerating and it's still pretty good but I think I will follow the instructions this time. RM, I used a couple of habaneros as a substitute for cayenne so we'll see how that works out. Also, Prunepicker, I plan on whispering "Fritos" over my first bowl. Not too loud though, because as I said, I'm not a fritos fan.
C. T.

[RadicalModerate]

Part II of the Illusive Dinner

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch
square pan. (pi are round, cornbread are square) A cast iron skillet
is best but anything will work and the results will be phenomenal.

2. Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and spread butter all over
the inside of the skillet. In a big bowl stir in sugar, add eggs and beat until
well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda. Stir in cornmeal, flour,
and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the
prepared skillet.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick
inserted in the center comes out clean.

This is similar to Pioneer Pie's recipe, only better. Very cake like.

Plating? Only if it makes it to the plate.

Question... why do I eat out?
Answer... not no mo'.

How to Screw Up The World's Simplest (and Best) Recipe for Cornbread
(intended to be the piece d'resistance for The World's Ultimate Alternative ("healthier poultry") Chili that has already consumed most of the day, off and on)
(on account of you realize you have no Jiffy Cornbread Mix in the pantry)

1) Realize you have no Buttermilk on hand.
Investigate options: Go to store (again)? Nope. Cream? Nope. Sour Cream? nope. Unflavored yogurt? nope. Ask the wife: "Add some lemon juice to some whole milk."

2) Discover that you only have 2/3 cup of all purpose flour on hand. Quickly recalculate the recipe measures to balance that fact. One to One Flour/Cornmeal . . . got it.

3) Add twice as much of the "Alternative 'Buttermilk'" to the eggs and sugar that the recipe called for. Realize that the batter (even after combining the cornmeal and flour in a sifter and working it into the liquid isn't anywhere near as thick as the Jiffy version that one is used to--in fact too runny for even pancakes.

Get pissed, consider dumping the whole thing and going with some reheated tortillas.

The Recovery:
Scoop some more cornmeal into the bowl. Find a box of Bisquick(!) in the pantry you didn't even know was there to take the place of the flour you don't have! Scoop some of it into the bowl. About as much as you did of the cornmeal. Mix again, but not too much, until it seems to be about right--except maybe still too thin. Now you have a double batch!

Pour some of it into that butter-prepped skillet you had back around Step 1) and the rest of it into some other baking vessel you drag out of the cabinet and have sprayed with some cooking spray of one sort or another.

Bake, per instructions. Use a fork, a knife or a toothpick to test for doneness.

This recipe is foolproof. I just proved it.
Even with the screwup.





btw: That's Authentic Chili if you don't hold the fact that it's made from Chicken Thighs, Chicken Breast and Ground Turkey (instead of Pork Shoulder, Beef and Ground Beef) against it. =)

[Prunepicker]

How to Screw Up The World's Simplest (and Best) Recipe for
Cornbread (intended to be the piece d'resistance for The World's
Ultimate Alternative ("healthier poultry") Chili that has already
consumed most of the day, off and on)...

Good catch!

[Martin]

porcini & herb crusted "tomahawk" ribeye. it should snow more often. -M





/that plate is a foot across : )

[RadicalModerate]

Too cool for school, mmmm.
(note the extra m)

all serious kidding aside, that is, like enough to feed an entire village in India for a week.
except they regard cows as sacred.

[RadicalModerate]

Good catch!

thanks for the recipe for non Jiffy cornbread.
next time i will be prepared.

obscurely ironic side note:
the skillet into which part of the questionable batter was poured was not cast iron.
it was, however, the same skillet, cleaned, in which i cooked some really good tilapia
the other night. =) (catch it?)

[Prunepicker]

thanks for the recipe for non Jiffy cornbread.nnnext time i will be
prepared.

It's similar to the Pioneer Pie recipe. Fab with most comfort foods. I
made dressing with it. I won't do that again because it was too sweet.

[RadicalModerate]

It's similar to the Pioneer Pie recipe. Fab with most comfort foods. I made dressing with it. I won't do that again because it was too sweet.

If The Latter Day Pioneers (formerly known as Pilgrims =) had to improvise something along the lines of Communion around the campfire, I imagine nobody would object to the recipe, prepared correctly.

There isn't any leavening involved, is there?

[Prunepicker]

There isn't any leavening involved, is there?

Nope. Unless baking soda has yeast in it.

[RadicalModerate]

That's sort of what I thought, too, yet my wife indicated that "leavening" could imply "baking soda" "baking powder" and or "something else" could be accused of being "leavening". (as she sliced and buttered another little piece of the "miraculously" saved cornbread.)

Thanks, again. Really.

I'm not sure where this fits in Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs but this was on right after an old episode of The Red Green Show.

[Prunepicker]

Julia Child worked for the OSS and wanted to impress her later to
be husband. The problem? She couldn't boil water. While she was
stationed in France she learned to cook. The rest is history. Her
favorite rolling pin was a broom stick fashioned by her husband.

I loved her "anyone can do this" approach to cooking. I use the
same philosophy to teach music.

[Mel]

mmm, dude, showing a hunk of meat like that! Dang. The carnivore in me is growling. Mine would be just a tick bloodier.

[kevinpate]

I thought last night's stew were a big hit (and truly it was), but um, yeah, mmm ..... that does look yummy.

[ctchandler]

Finally had a bowl of red (chili) tonight and I have to say, it was excellent. Topped it with grated sharp cheddar cheese and some chopped onions, had a side of corn on the cob. For me, it was a great meal. I thought about a roll, but decided I didn't have room for it.
C. T.