The Ultimate Recipe Thread Volume II

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

To celebrate an extra 5,000[sup]th[/sup] post, I’m launching another volume of The Ultimate Recipe Thread. Please feel free to contribute your favorite preparations and holiday family classics. Whenever possible, provide measures, cooking duration and preparation times. Online or brick and mortar suppliers are good to mention if you specify hard to find ingredients. Workable substitutions are also nice for special, ethnic or exotic food stuffs.

I invite you to visit the Active Index for a review of various formats used when listing recipes. If you wish, I’ll be happy to send you my own posting template. Most of all, regardless of whatever style, please contribute early and often. Cuisines of every culture and all courses imaginable are more than welcome as we collectively write another volume of this wonderful cookbook.

Special thanks to all the good people who posted their treasured recipes in the first volume. I look forward to everyone’s participation in this second tome. It is my deep, heartfelt belief that breaking bread with friends and strangers is an exceptionally fine way of better knowing them. Food, music and laughter are critical parts of a splendid universal language. Please, come join the discussion.
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I shall begin this thread with what easily may be one of the finest recipes I have ever invented. I intend it as one component of, what turns out to be, the classic Indonesian ristaffel. I originally designed this dish to be part of a grand triparté Neapolitan curry dinner. Its configuration is shown below:
MENU

[sup]APPETIZER[/sup]

Pepper Papadums with Green Tomato Chile Chutney
[sup]Fried lentil wafers with spicy dipping salsa[/sup]
[sup]SOUP[/sup]

Idli Sambar
[sup]Curried vegetable broth with puffed dumpling[/sup]
[sup]SALAD[/sup]

Raita with Lebne
[sup]Creamy yoghourt and chopped vegetable salad[/sup]
[sup]SEAFOOD[/sup]

Green Curried Prawns
[sup]Alaskan spot prawns in gingered Jalapeño curry[/sup]

Herbed Mashed Potatoes
[sup]Cardomom perfumed creamers braised in broth[/sup]

Garlic Chive Batter Dosa
[sup]Snipped chive creamed rice crépe[/sup]
[sup]POULTRY[/sup]

Roast Chicken Breast in Yellow Curry
[sup]Oven smoked range chicken in classic curry[/sup]

Caramelized Onion and Green Tomato Relish
[sup]Sauté of spring onion and hard tomato[/sup]

Jalapeño Chipates
[sup]Minced chili griddled wheat flatbread[/sup]
[sup]MEAT[/sup]

Red Kima Curry
[sup]Ground lamb with red chili curry[/sup]

Shallot Laced Naan
[sup]Sautéd shallot puffed flatbread[/sup]

Oven Roasted Garlic and Mushroom Compote
[sup]Stewed wild mushrooms with glazed garlic[/sup]
[sup]DESSERT[/sup]

Spice Roasted Mango Kulfi with Sugared Daikon Crisps
[sup]Creamy pistachio ice cream with candied radish fries[/sup]
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Green Curried Prawns
Indian Seafood Curry

Preparation time: 1 Hour

Serves: 4 People

Ingredients:

1-2 Lbs. Alaskan spot prawns or other 8-10 count shrimp
1 Qt. strong chicken stock
1 Bunch lemon grass
1 Small hand of ginger
1-2 Roasted Anaheim chiles
1-2 Cloves peeled garlic
1-2 Shallots
1-2 Green tomatoes
1-2 TBS Green curry paste
½ TSP Five spice powder
¼ TSP Ground white pepper
¼ TSP Salt

Preparation:

Reduce one quart of chicken stock to half its volume. Peel and chop the large ends of lemon grass and add to the stock. Peel and slice the ginger into coins. Peel and devein the prawns reserving their shells. Run a large knife over the prawn shells a few times to coarsely chop them. When the stock is almost completely reduced add the ginger coins, prawn shells and lightly crushed cloves of garlic.

Caramelize but do not brown the peeled and sliced shallots. Roast the green chiles, then peel and seed them. Peel the green tomatoes and cut them across their equator. Squeeze out the seeds into a dish and reserve any juice strained from them. Once the shells have turned bright red, strain off the reduced stock through a fine sieve. Bring the stock back to a low simmer and quickly blanch the peeled prawns for one or two minutes. The prawns should not be completely cooked through before they are removed from the broth. After reserving the prawns, add the chopped green tomatoes and their juice plus the caramelized shallots and roasted green chiles. Once the tomatoes are tender, puree the mixture until smooth. If necessary, strain the sauce to ensure a free flowing consistency.

Mix a few tablespoons of stock with the green curry paste and white pepper in a small bowl until well blended. Return the curry mixture to the stock and lower the heat until barely simmering. Check flavor and salt to taste. Add the blanched shrimp and only cook them long enough to where they are done. Do this just before service to avoid overcooking the shellfish. Serve over steamed basmati rice or in a chive batter dosa filled with mashed Yukon gold potatoes.
Note:

The green curry paste is available at Cost Plus and sells at $2.59 for a four ounce jar. For comparison’s sake to other mixtures, here are the ingredients:

Chili, lemon grass, garlic, galangal (an Indonesian form of pepper), salt, onion, pepper, rhizome (probably ginger), lime and peanut oil.
Please contribute a recipe and come back soon!

2

Idli Sambar
Curried vegetable broth with puffed dumpling

Just wanted to add: The dumplings should be made from steamed rice, pressed into large balls and served seperately. You can pick up these with your fingers and dip into the broth. This dish is very popular in India. Very tasty, and a good choice!

3

By request:

Spicy, Hearty Beef Stew

2lbs. roast (round or chuck), cubed into 1"-1 1/2" chunks
3-4 large Russet potatoes, cubed into 1"-1 1/2" chunks
1/2lbs. baby-cut carrots, halved
4 cans Campbell’s Beef Broth (or use equivalent)
2 medium sized white onions, diced
10+ cloves of garlic, diced (adjust to your liking, can’t get enough IMO)
1/2 cup flour
2-3 tbs. cup olive oil
1 tbs. fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin
2 fresh sprigs each of rosemary, thyme, and sage.

Heat a small amount of oil in a large stock pot. Add diced onion, garlic, black pepper and a pinch of salt to the hot oil. Saute and allow onion to sweat a bit. When the onions are lightly brown and are softening, add the beef broth and bring to a simmer. Bundle the fresh herbs together with clean string and add to pot.

While the broth is simmering, put the beef and cayenne pepper in a gallon sized bag and toss with the flour until the chucks are well coated. Heat up the olive oil in a large skillet and add the beef and flour. You want to sear and brown the outside of the beef, the darker, the more flavor. You’re actually going to be making a sort of roux here with the excess flour and the olive oil, so stir well.

Once the surface of the beef is browned, add the entire contents of the skillet to the simmering broth. Cover pot and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Check the beef, it should be nice and tender now. Remove the herb bundle. Add the potatoes and carrots. If the liquid level in the pot is getting low, add just enough water so the vegetables are partially submerged. Do not cover the contents with water, just stir often to cook everything evenly.

Return to simmer and cook for about another 35-45 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Look for the potato chunks to break down a bit, thickening the broth. Don’t cook so long that the potatoes break down completely; you want a nice, chunky stew with broth, not beef chunks in paste. About 5 minutes before you remove the stew from heat, add the cumin and stir well.

Ideally you’ll end up with a thick broth and large chunks of beef and vegetables. Serve with slices of a good sourdough bread (I recommend California Goldminer), and you’ll be in heaven.

Note: This recipe has evolved slightly from my original. Also, mushrooms may be added to the recipe if you’d like. I’d suggest adding them to the stew about 20 minutes before completion.

Many thanks to Zenster for the new thread.

4

Correction to ingredients above: “1/2 cayenne pepper” should be “1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper”.

5

Gee, Demise , thanks for screwing with my resolution to go without meat during Lent!:smiley:

Seriously, that stew recipe sounds divine!

6

During one of those 3a sleepless nights, I saw this on FoodTV. Say what you will about Bobby Flay – this recipe kicks arse.

Salmon Tartare
1 lb salmon, cut into 1/4" thick dice
1 tablespoon pureed canned chipotles
1/4 cup capers, drained
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.

7

Thanks! I’ve gotten a complement or two on it. :slight_smile:

If you try it, let me know how it turns out.

8

For the southern of bent, from a back-issue of Fine Cooking:

Sweet Potato & Grits casserole

For sweet potatoes:
2 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks
2 ½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. freshly ground white pepper
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ cup maple syrup
3 eggs, separated

For the grits:
3 cups water
½ tsp. chopped garlic
2 tbls. Butter
½ tsp. salt
pinch cayenne (optional)
1 ¼ cups stone-ground grits
2 tbls. heavy cream

Put the sweet potatoes in a large pot; cover with water and 1 ½ tsp. of the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and puree the potatoes in a food mill or ricer. Fold in the remaining 1 tsp. salt, the white pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Set aside.

While the potatoes boil, cook the grits. In a medium heavy-based pot, bring the water and garlic to a boil. Add the butter, salt and cayenne. Gradually whisk in the grits. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the grits are cooked and creamy and just start to pull away from the side of the pot, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and fold in the cream.

Heat the oven to 400° F. In a large bowl, mix the sweet potato puree with the grits. Mix in the egg yolks. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks; gently fold them into the sweet potatoes. Spread the mixture in a 9 x 13 inch casserole and bake until pudding sets and the top is lightly browned, about 35 minutes. Serves 12.

Notes:
Stone-ground grits are the best in this dish but you can use the quick-cooking kind, it just won’t be as creamy. You could also substitute polenta for the grits if you prefer. Cook the polenta following package directions. I’ve had no problem with putting the dish together the night before and heating in the oven just before serving.

9

I’m stalling. I should be baking bread and naan rght now, but I don’t want to clear the kitchen counter.
My Adaption Of Eton Mess

The original is made with strawberries. I’ve tried infinite variations, and I like this one.

1 package meringues- say about six biggish ones
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 pint raspberries
1/4 c. cassis or chambord
1 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp sugar

Soak (in technical terms, macerate) the raspberries in the liquer for at least an hour. Whip the cream, add the sugar and vanilla. Coarsely crush the meringues and mix them with the rapberries. Fold the mixture into the whipped cream. Divide into portions.

This is also excellent with crumbled chocolate macaroons added.

More recipes later.

10

Oh, come on, people! Where are all the other great recipes?

Fine. I just made flatbread. Here’s the recipe.

4 1/2c. white flour
1 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. yeast
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 c. warm water
oil
little bit of sugar

Activate the yeast in one cup of the warm water- that means mix them together, and add the sugar. Wait for it to foam. While waiting mix the flour, baking powder and salt. When the yeast foams, mix it into the flour, and add the rest of the water. When it starts to cohere into a lump, start kneading it. Knead until it’s… uh…how do I describe this? It should be soft, springy and not too sticky.

Oil the bowl you kneaded the dough in, roll the dough in the oil so it doesn’t stick, and cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap or something. Put it in a warm place- I heat my oven up to warmish- probably about 30"C. Let it rise until it doubles in bulk, which should take an hour or so.

Knead it again, and heat up a big, heavy pot with a lid- I haven’t tried this with an open skillet yet, so I don’t know if it’ll work without a lid. I use my cast-iron dutch oven. Anyway, heat it a bit higher than medium. Put a bit of oil in the bottom so things don’t stick.

While you wait for the pot to heat, grease a cutting board, or your counter, or whatever, and pinch off small tennis-ball-sized globs of dough. Roll and stretch them out pretty thin- pita thickness or thinner. It doesn’t matter if they tear a bit. When you’re sure the pan is hot, lay a piece of dough on the bottom, and then cover quickly. Cook for about 2 minutes- it should puff and get darkish brown spots. Turn it over and do the other side for a minute. Lift it out and get another piece in. Repeat.

This is almost naan, although it doesn’t have yogurt in it, and it’s cooked on top of the stove. It seems like too much bother to me to have to haul naan in and out of the oven. A pot is easier.

This is good as a pita-substitute, with hummus, wrapped around stuff… I just had it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It’s best warm.

Come on, guys!

11

Dahling!

Thank you Lissla Lissar, for providing an accurate Naan recipe. If it is within your power, please give us a red kima curry ground lamb dish. All of the box mixes I’ve tried stink. I’d love to know whatever secret there is. If you have it, there are great rewards awaiting you.

I’m especially interested in the Naan-with-yoghurt style recipe that you might know. Any sort of green chili and tomato chutney is more than welcome as well.

My favourite Indian munchie (besides papadum with tomato and green chili chutney) is lamb kima curry with fresh baked naan. Please share if you are able. Your efforts shall not go un-noticed.

12

I invented this myself, about five years ago. You can vary the spiciness as needed, but it’s a pretty easy recipe that’s earned me a reputation as a great cook…

I call it “Mexican Lasagne,” but it doesn’t have an official name yet…

1 lb. ground beef
1 can diced tomatoes & chiles
1 jar of salsa
1 can refried beans
8 oz. cheddar cheese
8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese
Flour tortillas

Brown ground beef; drain. Add refried beans and diced tomatoes and chiles. Cook, stirring, until well-combined.

Line a baking dish (about 11” x 17”, or whatever you have handy) with flour tortillas. Spread with beef & beans mixture. Add layer of salsa, then add layer of cheddar. Repeat, layering tortillas, beef mixture, salsa and cheese, alternating between the two kinds of cheese, until baking dish is full. Top layer should be tortillas covered with salsa and cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until cheese is bubbling.

It looks kinda like lasagne

13

This is my brownie recipe, honed over the years, finally achieving perfection with this most recent edition. Perhaps they should be called Heart-Attack Brownies, because they are NOT low-fat, or low-anything. You have been warned.

1 cup of sugar
1 cup of flour
1/8 tsp baking soda (and it cannot be reiterated often enough, SODA, not POWDER, or you won’t have brownies, you’ll have weirdies :eek:)
4 1 oz. baking chocolate squares.
1 stick of butter
1 egg
A box of that jello instant chocolate pudding (this is the crucial difference, and why this is actually worth posting)

Okay, starts out simple enough. The first thing you should do is mix up the pudding so it has time to set. Next, mix together the sugar, flour, and baking soda in a medium-large bowl.

Next, put the chocolate and butter in a saucepan and melt it on low heat on the stove. Be careful not to let the mixture start bubbling or simmering in any way. You don’t want it to burn.

While the chocolate and butter are melting, use the opportunity to mix about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of the pudding into the dry ingredients. I would give you an exact measure, except that I don’t have one. I just tend to glomp the pudding in until it looks about right. Just about one cup should do the trick, though. Stir/fold the pudding and dry ingredients until they make a consistent batter. This takes a little effort, so be careful - but don’t let your butter and chocolate burn!

Make sure that you stir occasionally to keep the chocolate and butter mixed. Once it’s ready, take it off the stove and pour it into the batter, using a spatula to get as much as possible out of the saucepan. Add the egg and use a whisk to mix it all together. The resulting batter will be dark, thick, and heavy. Yum.

Use a spatula to get it all out of the bowl and into a normal sized, ungreased rectangular pan. The pudding adds enough substance to the mix that I wouldn’t recommend a square pan.

Finally, put it in the oven to bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, 30 at most. The result will be thick, soft brownies. This particular recipe is my perfected edition because I have finally surpassed the quality of brownies-from-a-box. These brownies are THE reason to never buy Duncan Hines again. Yum.

If you want to go slimmer, you can switch to only 2 or 3 squares of chocolate, drop the pudding and add an egg for lighter, more cakelike, healthier (relatively speaking) but distinctly inferior brownies. But why oh why would you bother? They’re brownies, for crying out loud!

Enjoy!

14

You’ll fit in just fine around here. Please keep up with the contributions.

15

Why is this on the second page? ::bump::

I can probably steal a lamb kima curry recipe from the Madhur Jaffrey book I borrowed from my mother-in-law. I’m refusing to give it back, but that’s okay, because she’s got one of my John Thorne books. Fair’s fair. (I just posted in a Rue thread, and the style’s worn off).

I got the naan recipe from the same cookbook, and adapted it. Her version just adds 1/3 c. of yogurt to the dough. I think it makes it slightly fluffier.

(Flip, flip) No recipe. I’ll check online. Until then, to go with Grelby’s recipe…

A really chocolatey and rich brownie base, snaffled from someone on Chowhound.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup broken or chopped walnuts

Melt the butter and chocolate together in a glass dish in the microwave on 50%, or in a heavy pan over low heat, stirring frequently. Stir in the sugar, then the eggs, the vanilla, the flour and salt, and the nuts.

Grease a small coffeecan or medium loaf pan. You’re going to steam this, so the size and shape of pan will be determined by what your steamer can accomodate, as long as it is large enough to hold the batter. I use a spaghetti pot with the insert over the simmering water. Line the pan with parchment paper cut to fit. This WILL want to stick. Pack the batter into the mold, cover with a double layer of foil, tightly crimped down. Steam over simmering water for 1 1/2 hours. Let cool until cold.

Unmold and cut into slices. Serve with vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, fudge sauce, and whipped cream. Or with creme anglaise, melted ganache, raspberry coulis, and whipped cream.

For a quick chocolate fix, you can eat a piece just like a brownie, too. Well, kind of like a cross between a brownie and a piece of fudge, but you know what I mean.

16

My Chili Recipe (Adapted from Good Housekeeping)

Will feed four or five hungry adults. Doubles very easily and freezes well, too.
Time: About 1 ½ hours, including all prep time.

Ingredients:
2 lb ground beef
1/3 cup chili powder
cumin, red pepper flakes, paprika, salt, and pepper to taste
1 green bell pepper
1 white onion
1 28 oz can DICED tomatoes (not crushed)
2 19 oz cans red kidney beans (or 1 28 oz can)
1 bay leaf

Preparation:
Finely chop green pepper and onion. Put beef, pepper, and onion in a large pot (I don’t have a Dutch oven yet) on medium-high heat. Allow beef to brown completely (10-15 minutes) and drain as much fat as you like. Add the chili powder and stir for one minute. Add tomatoes, bay leaf, and LIQUID FROM KIDNEY BEANS ONLY. Put the beans in a bowl. If you leave them in the can, the whole thing will taste like burnt metal. Simmer on low to medium-low for 45 minutes. I usually stir every 15 minutes, checking for flavor and adding spices as necessary. Add kidney beans and simmer for 15 more minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve, preferably with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and Jiffy corn bread.

I don’t use any spicy peppers because my husband has GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disorder) and gets super-bad heartburn. I only use about ¼ TSP of red pepper flakes to keep in within his edible range.

17

Mom’s Vegetarian Lasagna

Feeds up to six adults (two pieces per)
Time: About an hour (maybe a little more)

Ingredients:
1 1lb box of lasagna noodles
32 oz of sauce (I am a bad girl – I buy mine!!)
1 lb shredded mozzarella cheese
1 16 oz container ricotta cheese (DO NOT USE LOW-FAT!! IT SUCKS!!)
2 eggs
about ½ cup Parmesan cheese (I usually use Kraft), plus extra for the top
salt and pepper to taste
garlic (fresh or powder – NOT salt)
Italian herbs of choice – oregano, thyme, rosemary, etc.

Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (F). Boil noodles according to package – leave a little more al dente than you would for regular eatin’ pasta.

While noodles cook, prepare cheese filling. Mix everything from mozzarella down in a bowl and roughly divide in half (I usually use a spoon).

When the noodles are done, rinse thoroughly in cold water. Fill the pot with cold water and return the noodles to the pot. Now it’s time to layer.

Cover the bottom of a 9”x13”x2” (or bigger) dish (I use glass) with your tomato sauce of choice. All layers have three noodles (they usually fit quite well) that have been well hand-squeegied (put index and middle finger horizontal with noodle in between – start at top of noodle and pull down). Add sauce between the noodle layers. Once you have three layers, you add half of the cheese filling. If you want to add anything else to the lasagna (cooked spinach, sausage, etc.), now’s the time. Try to distribute cheese as evenly as possible. Put in two more noodle layers and then add the rest of the cheese (and anything else). Provided that you don’t have too many broken noodles, you should be able to fit a whole single layer on top. Cover generously with sauce and Parmesan cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or so to let it set up before cutting and serving.

We usually ate our lasagna with creamed (alfredo-style) spinach. I’ll get to that when I’m not at work!!

18

This is a tomato-based tortilla soup and when made with summer-ripe, bursting red tomatoes it is pure liquid velvet.

Tortilla Soup
2 1/2 lbs. Large, very ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped
4 tbsp vegetable oil
6 cups chicken stock/broth
½ tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 cup corn tortillas, cut into strips
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 can enchilada sauce
1 small can tomato paste
1 tbsp chopped cilantro, or 1 tsp dried
1 tbsp chopped green chilies
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Sauté onions in a large saucepan in oil until transparent. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring until tomatoes are softened. Cool and then puree on low setting in blender or food processor for a few seconds (note – be VERY careful not to over process – it gets thin VERY fast and then it’s a pain to thicken it back up). Return mixture to pan and add rest of ingredients, except tortillas and cheese. Simmer, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Add tortilla strips and heat about 10 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips and cheese. If you need to add more body to this, you can add a can of diced or pureed tomatoes to your taste. I like this soup a little chunkier than it’s written so I usually add some diced tomatoes for kicks. Adjust seasonings to your taste, as well. We like spicy so we’ll typically throw in a few New Mexican chilis or some dried chiles to make it freaky.

19

Does anyone have any Ethiopian recipes, besides the doro watt one in the other recipes thread? Beef ones would be particularly nice. And dessert recipes, too.

I read somewhere that you can make easy sorbet by dropping frozen fruit chunks and some sugar into your food processor. I’m going to try it. I wonder if it would work with frozen flavoured water, too, to make vanilla or mint sorbet. Hmm.

20

This makes an excellent appetizer and can be served with just about any type of cracker.

Cheese Torte

4 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 tsp cracked black pepper
1 6oz jar pitted green olives, drained & chopped (salad olives ok)
32 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
12 oz beer, any type
2 1/4 teaspoons paprika
1 cup shelled pistachios

Line a 9x3 springform pan with foil-press out crinkles

In large bowl beat cream cheese and butter together at medium speed until smooth. Remove half mixture to another bowl, stir in cracked pepper and set aside.Stir chopped olives into remaining mixture and spread olive mixture evenly into springform pan.

In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat cheddar, beer, and paprika until blended. Increase speed to high and beat until almost smooth.Spread 1/2 this mixture over olive mixture in pan.

Spread pepper mixture over for next layer and top with remaining cheddar mix. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm. (At least 6 hours)

For serving, press pistachios into top of torte.
For gift giving, remove side of pan, peel off foil and cut torte into wedges. Press pistachios nuts into top of each wedge. Wrap wedges tightly in plastic wrap-each wedge serves 6.