Thanks Zen. It’s going to be a Bab weekend!
Beef Rouladen (Rindsrouladen)
2# Top Round Steak - Braciole Cut (3/8" Thin) From Butcher
1# Bacon
1# Hard Salami
1 Chopped Onion
Salt / Pepper
Butter
Dab of Brown Mustard
Beefstock & Red wine
Butter
H2O
Layout beef cutlets, brush a dab of mustard on each. Lay 3-4 slices of bacon and cover with about same # slices of salami. Cover w/onions, sprinkle a little S&P & Roll cutlets. Hold together with wood toothpics or tie together w/string. In a covered pot, melt butter and brown the rouladen on all sides. Pour in beef stock or broth and a drop of red wine and cover. bake for 90 mins at 325. Make gravy from juices, serve with Roasted potatoes, potato balls, or spetzels and have a delicious heart attack on a plate.
I’ve had a different version of rouladen that was also good. The ones I had left out the bacon and salami, used slivered scallions, and added a thin stick of dill pickle. That might put off the heart attack until tomorrow.
I really like Peking duck, but have you seen how they make it in restaurants? Brining, roasting, turning, drying and blowing a significant volume of air up the bird’s arse. Not happening in my kitchen, that’s for darn sure. Besides, it’s a freaking taco! Duck meat, skin, sauce and onion. How hard can this be? So, the lazy way:
Peking Duck for Dummies: aka Chinese Fajitas
Half a bunch of green onions, whites only, julienned lenghwise
1 jar hoisin sauce
chinese pancakes, made (below)or bought from the freezer of an Asian grocery
One cooked Duck-available at asian groceries.
For the pancakes:
4 eggs
200-300ml/5-10 fl oz milk
6-8 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp vegetable oil
(optional) 2 tbsp chopped coriander
To make the pancakes: whisk the eggs with the milk, stir in the coriander and season with salt and pepper. Whisk in enough flour to make a batter the consistency of double cream. Add more milk if necessary. Try doing this in the blender to avoid lumps.
Wipe a pancake pan with a little oil and place over a high heat. When the pan is hot pour a tablespoon of the batter into the pan and swirl until the base is evenly coated with a very thin layer. Cook over the heat for about 1 minute, then turn using fingers or a palette knife and cook the other side. Slide the pancake onto a clean surface and repeat until done. Or thaw the frozen ones.
Now, time to evicerate the duck. Get a big serving bowl and plop the bird in. They are juicy little critters, if you do this on a cutting board it will leak everywhere. Pull as much skin off the duck, keeping the pieces as whole as possible. There will be visible fat on the underside-pull as much of that off as you can. One the duck is unskinned, go for the meat. The meat should be shredded, not in chunks so get in there with your hands and start pulling and shredding. Keep the carcass. We’re making soup later. Slice the skin into strips no longer than the pancakes, and about 1/2 inch wide.
You should now have your ingredients ready for assembly: Pile of julienned green onions, hoisin sauce with a spoon at ready, heap of meat, heap of skin, your pancakes. Oh yeah, have lots of napkins on the table. It’s messy eat’n. Place a spoonful of sauce on a pancake and spread around. Lay a thin row of onion about 1/3 up from the edge of the pancake. Another thin strip of skin. Top with thin strip of duck meat. Roll it like a burrito. Stuff your face. Repeat as necessary. Save any leftover duck meat.
Now, what to do with that carcass?
Make some duck stock: get a pot, throw in duck bones (break 'em up to fit the pot), add a chopped carrot and a medium chopped onion. Dry parsley and bayleaf is good too. Cover with a liter of water. Simmer for about 3 hours or until a carrot piece you fish out and nibble has no taste left. Strain out the bones and crap and cook the remaining broth down until it is about 2 cups worth. It should be quite strong. Now, you can make…
Slow-Cooker Cassoulet
1/2 pound small white beans, like pea or navy (precooked)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed, plus 1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 medium-large onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cored and chopped tomatoes, with their juice (canned are fine)
3 or 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1/4 pound slab bacon or salt pork, in 1 piece
4 sweet Italian sausages, about 3/8 pound
2 duck legs, or some leftover duck from above.
Duck stock-don’t fake it. Chicken doesn’t have the oomph.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Combine beans, crushed garlic, onion, carrots, tomatoes, thyme, bay
leaves and meats in a slow cooker, and turn heat to high. (If you like,
brown sausage and duck legs in a skillet before adding.) Add stock or water
to cover by 2 inches. Cover and cook until beans and meats are tender, 5
hours on high heat, 7 hours or more on low. Fish out the duck legs, if you used them, and remove meat. Add back to the pot. - When done, add salt and pepper to taste, along with minced garlic.
Time for another dessert! I happen to be a fan of custards and puddings; if it’s sweet and milky, odds are I’ll love it. Hence, the following recipe shamelessly stolen from Cooking Light. This is good stuff, equally tasty hot or cold! If you have a house full of hungry pudding-lovers, I suggest doubling the recipe. If you don’t like raisins, I suppose you could omit them, but I would put in an equivalent amount of chopped dried cherries or some other dried fruit to keep up the texture and sweetness.
Apple-Raisin Rice Pudding
Serves 6 according to recipe, less for hungry dessert-lovers
1/2 cup chopped cooking apple (not Red Delicious)
1/2 cup raisins (or other dried fruit, for raisin-phobics)
3 cups plus 2 tsp. skim milk, divided
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1/3 cup short-grain rice, uncooked (arborio works well)
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
cooking spray
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a medium nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add apples & raisins and saute 1 minute. Set aside.
Combine 3 cups milk, 1/2 cup sugar, and rice in a large saucepan. If you're doubling the recipe, use a REALLY large saucepan, or maybe a small pot. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Combine cornstarch and remaining 2 tsp. milk, stirring well; add to rice mixture. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. DO NOT forget the stirring, or the milk will burn! (Nice people will not ask how I know this.) Remove from heat.
Gradually stir about 1/4 of hot rice mixture into egg; add to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. Add apple mixture and vanilla.
Pour pudding mixture into a 1-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. (Naturally, if you doubled the recipe use a 2-quart dish.) Combine remaining 1 Tbsp. sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over pudding. Place baking dish in a large shallow pan. Fill pan with hot water to a depth of 1 inch. Bake for 1 hour and 15 min. Remove dish from water; let cool 30 minutes before serving. I know, I know. It's torture just letting your creation sit there smelling yummy. Restrain yourself, unless you like getting your mouth burned. Have 30 minutes passed? OK, dig in!Guacamole…
3 Avacados
1 Garlic Tooth
Cumin(a little)
2 TBSP Lemon Juice,
Salt to taste
6 Jalapeno peppers(fresh, not pickled, and chopped up all to hell…Leave the seeds in ya pussys)
1 Tbsp finely chopped onion
Mush it all togeather.
Ok, so thats no too complicated
Chicken Andouille Gumbo
1 4-6 lb chicken cut up
1/4 t black pepper, 1 t salt
1/8 t ground red pepper
1/2 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup flour
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 cup sliced green onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 glove garlic, minced
3 quarts hot water
1 lb andouille sausage, cut into 1/2 inch slices
2-3 T. File powder
Sprinkle chicken with the black pepper, red pepper, sald in dutch oven, brown chicken on all sides in hot oil. Remove chicken, and set aside. Add flour to pan drippings, scraping bottom of pan to loosen crusty bits. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly or until dark brown roux is formed. Add onion, green pepper, green onions, celery and garlic; cook and stir over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or till tender.
Gradually stir in water. Add the browned chicken. Bring to a boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 2-2 1/2 hour or until chicken is tender, adding more water if needed. Add sausage and 1 teaspon of salt. Simmer 20-30 minutes. Remove, skim fat. Stir in file powder. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve with rice.
Notice theres no okra. I hate okra. The cajun lady who gave me this recipie, from Ponchatoula, Louisiana hated okra.
There is a rumor going around that the word gumbo comes from an african word for Okra, and therefore gumbo isnt gumbo if it doesnt have okra. It doesnt. It comes from the Choctaw word kombo, which means sassafrass leaves(file).
So there.
From the same nice lady in La.
Shrimp Creole
Make a dark Roux:
5 T Oil
5 T Flour
Cook very slowley, stirring constantly
Add 1 large chopped onion, cooking slowley until reduced to pulp
Add ingredients one at a time:
3 ribs celery, minced
1 medium bell pepper, minced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
a few dashes of Wrchestershire, tabasco, Thyme, and tony chachere creole seasoning.
2 12 oz cans of tomato paste(large)
Cook on very low heat for 30-45 minutes, add water, (1/4 cup at a time) , as needed, when it gets too thick
Add 3 pounds peeled deviened, raw shrip and salt to taste, about twenty minutes before serving. Serve over rice, serves 12(or me, twice)
Andouille a la jeannine, From Justin Wilson
1 c dry white wine
2 T honey
2 lb andouille
1 T Creole mustard
Slice Andouille 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Mix all liquid ingredients and pour over andoouille in a covered skillet. Cook over low heat until Andouille is tender.
Vindaloo
3 pounds boneless lean pork, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 teaspoons roasted ground cumin
2 teaspoons roasted ground black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon roasted ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon roasted ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon roasted ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon raosted ground cardamon
1/2 teasoppn roasted ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon roasted ground nutmeg
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
10 cloves garlic, peeled
1 1-inch piece fresh gingerroot, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
6 dried red chilies, soaked in 2 tablespoons of the cider vinegar for 15 minutes
1/4 cup mustard oil or veg. oil
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
salt to taste
Remove and discard the fat from the meat. Put the roasted spices in a blender with the onion, garlic, ginger, paprika, red chilies with the vingar they soaked in, 2 tablespoons of the oil, the rest of the vinegar, the brown sugar and the salt and puree. In a large bowl, mix the pureed mixture with the pork and marinate overnight in the fridge. Heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan. Add the meat cubes and fry over medium heat until the meat is browned evenly, pour in the marinade mixture and stir for 5 minutes, until the oil sperates from the masala. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 45-60 minutes, until the meat is tender. Serve with plain rice.
Warning, this takes some getting used to. I have friends who show up when we even think of making it, and I have friends who when we invite them to dinner they ask “You arent having that vindaloo stuff are you?” Its a bit hot, and a bit sour. The stuff I have had in “Indian” resturants in texas and utah were barely similar they were so americanized.
Steak on a stick
1 1/2 pounds london broil, sliced 1/4 inch diag…
1/2 cup soy
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
2 t dry mustard
2 T moasses
1 t ginger
1/2 t garlic powder
Place in ziplock bag, seal bag with no air pockets, shake. Put in fridge overnight, at least 4 hours anyway.
Skewer the meat on bamboo skewers soaked in water, throw on the grill for 4-5 minutes each side.
This is the best Key Lime Pie, really, and it’s very easy.
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. fresh squeezed key lime juice (8-10 limes)*
4 egg yolks
Whip yolks and blend with condensed milk. Add key lime juice, stirring only until juice is mixed in – do not overbeat.
Pour into a 9" graham cracker crust or pie shell. Chill for several hours. Top with whipped cream if you like.
*Note: you have to use actual Key Limes. They’re different from the regular kind – smaller, yellowish, with thin skins. I get mine at the Chinese supermarket. If you use regular limes, you will NOT end up with anything resembling Key Lime Pie.
Judy Pecot’s “To Die For” Cajun Eggs
(Judy Pecot was a lady who brought these into work all the time, and there was a huge stampede to her cube every time she did. She printed up the recipe for the department and I still have it.)
Boil a pot of eggs, let cool in refrigerator, then peel and slice in half lengthwise.
Remove yolk and break up with a fork or potato masher into tiny pieces.
Pour in LOTS of seasonings. I use:
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Morton’s Nature’s Seasonings
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Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy
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Konriko Hot ‘n’ Spicy Creole Seasoning
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Anything else you have around that might jazz it up.
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Then WITH GREAT CAUTION and depending on how many eggs you are using, add several drops of Zatarain’s Concentrated Crab and Shrimp Boil. Mix up and taste before adding more Crab Boil and remember, it gets hotter overnight in the refrigerator.
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Lastly, add Hellman’s Mayonnaise till it’s a good consistency that will stick together in egg whites and go far enough to fill them all.
Eat them in good health and unclogged sinuses.
ANNE’S VEGETABLE CURRY
to serve 2 or 3:
Saute gently in olive oil, not letting anything brown:
6 large cloves chopped garlic
About twice as much chopped ginger as garlic, or 1.5 times as much
1 medium onion, sliced
Chopped walnuts / sesame seeds / sunflower seeds
Add tamari or water if it sticks.
Raw Vegetables:
cauliflower
potatos, white and sweet (chop thinner than other things)
broccoli
carrots
snow peas
mushrooms
Add to the steamer near the end:
white cabbage
raisins (essential)
apple
Spices:
1/2 tsp five-spice
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Sauce:
(Add to the vegetables near the end of steaming)
Peanut Butter
Orange Juice
Procedure:
After the garlic and onions are sauteed, add the vegetables (except white cabbage, raisins, and apple) to the
sautee pan. Add some more tamari and 1/4 c. water. Cover and steam.
Near the end, add the cabbage, raisins, and apple, plus 1 Tblsp. of peanut butter and 1 Tblsp. of orange juice.
Serve over rice.
Garnishes:
Coconut
Yogurt (essential)
Chopped peanuts
Raw apple
Raw banana
I actually just made this today. It’s wonderful for those times when it’s really hot out and you don’t want to turn the oven on! My mother and I made it up.
Hillhouse Chicken Salad
1.About 2 or 3 cups chopped/diced cooked chicken.
2.One purple onion diced.
3.One tsp. Patek’s Curry Paste. (Mild, Medium, or Hot if you dare.)
4.Mayo added the way you prefer.
5.A good dollup of sour cream.
6.One stalk celery chopped.
7.Salt and pepper to taste.
8.Chopped up fresh pineapple. (You can use canned as long as it’s not in syrup and well drained. I’m not sure on the measurement, but I’d say about a cup or whatever you think looks right.)
Mix that all up…Now, get some slivered almonds and put them in a pan on low to medium heat without oil. Just enough almonds to cover the pan. (I think an iron pan works the best if you own one.) Then toast them until lightly golden brown. Add them to the chicken salad. Mmm they are so good and crunchy. Adds a nice dimension.
Then what I like to do is serve scoops of the chicken salad in avocado halves…There is something about the bland yumminess of the avocado with the spicy curry flavor…Hope you like it!
Drat…My printer is running out of ink. Ah well, I will have to copy all these great recipies some other time. There are so many I’d like to try…
I would like to applaud you for a truly fabulous thread Zenster !
Here you go Zenster:
Jacqueline Kennedy’s Apricot Cheesecake:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 can Eagle Brand milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp. orange extract
1 can apricots
1/2 cup orange juice
1 - 9 inch graham cracker crust, baked and cooled (you could also use a large ready-made graham cracker crust)
Drain apricot juice from can of apricots, and reserve 1/2 cup of the syrup.
Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add the Eagle Brand milk, beating until well blended. Beat in the lemon juice and orange extract. Pour into the prepared crust, and chill for 3 hours.
In saucepan, mix 1/4 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch, dash of salt. Stir in apricot syrup and 1/2 cup orange juice, mixing until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly until thick and clear. Cool. Place apricots on top of chilled cheesecake, and cover with cooled glaze and chill for 2 hours.
Heaven! My mom found this recipe in the 60’s, I grew up eating this wonderful desert - I believe, although I don’t have a cite, that Jackie served it at more than one White House dinner.
I think the original recipe was called “Better than sex cake”.
However it was always called pudding cake around here until my boys dubbed it “mud pie”.
1 cup flour
One-half cup softened butter
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup powdered sugar
6 ounces of instant chocolate pudding
milk (to make chocolate pudding above)
1- 8 ounce Cool Whip (thawed)
1 - 8-ounce cream cheese
1- 8 ounce Cool Whip (thawed)
1 large Hershey chocolate bar
Mix flour, butter and pecans; press into a 9 inch X 13 inch pan. Bake 15 minutes and let cool.
In large bowl mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until fluffy, set aside.
Mix up instant pudding and when set, blend in cream cheese mixture and then fold in one cup Cool Whip.
Spread cream cheese, sugar, pudding, cool whip mixture over cooled crust and top with another cup Cool Whip.
Chill at least an hour and top with shaved chocolate before serving.
Don’t try making this on a warm day or you’ll end up with chocolate soup.
French Silk Pie
9" baked pie shell (you can substitute a graham cracker crust if you must but it’s really better with a real homemade pie shell)
1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened but not too soft)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate (melted, then cooled)
1 teaspoon vanilla
a pinch of salt
1 small package cooked vanilla pudding (do not use instant)
Whip the butter until fluffy. Gradually beat in the sugar until well blended. Add the chocolate, salt and vanilla and blend well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for three minutes after each egg. Pour mixture into the baked pie shell and chill until set. Spread the (cold) pudding on top and chill again. Top with your choice of refrigerated topping (Cool Whip) or whipped cream before serving.
Butter, sugar, chocolate and uncooked eggs. Mmmmmmmm.
An humble and friendly suggestion, if I may. It’s been my experience that fresh herbs work best if added near the end of the cooking cycle. Fresh herbs are fairly delicate and impart their flavor quickly to whatever they are used in. If cooked too long, the flavors will be largely lost. For a real treat, place small bundles of herbs in bowls and pour the stew over them. Dried herbs can stand the extended cooking, but should be reconstituted prior to using.
So nobody thinks I was just sniping the thread above, here’s a tasty little salsa:
Black Bean/Mango Salsa
One mango, peeled and diced
One can black beans, rinsed
1/4 cup red onion, minced
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Mix all ingredients and chill. Serve with halibut or other mild fish, with grilled pork or grilled chicken (with chipotle glaze).
Spaghetti Pie
6oz spaghetti, cooked and drained
2tbsp olive oil or butter
2 eggs, well beaten
1c ricotta cheese
1c spaghetti sauce
1/2c shredded mozzarella
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 10" pie plate, set aside. Toss hot spaghetti with olive ol or butter, stir eggs into spaghetti. Pour spaghetti mixture into pie plate, form into a “crust.” Spread ricotta over crust, top with spaghetti sauce. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes, top with mozarella, bake for 5 more minutes (or until cheese melts.) Cool 10 minutes before cutting into wedges. Reheats well.
Nannie’s Company Chicken Casserole
2c cooked chicken
2pkg frozen broccoli, cooked and drained
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2c breadcrumbs
1c mayonnaise
2tsp lemon juice
1tsp curry powder
grated cheese
Place broccoli in bottom of casserole dish, layer chicken over broccoli. Mix soup, mayo, lemon juice, and curry powder in separate bowl, pour over chicken. Add the breadcrumbs and grated cheese on top. Heat at 325 degrees in oven until bubbly.
Three more, dessert this time:
Banana Cream Supreme Pie
crust: (store bought is fine, too)
16 graham cracker squares (1 1/4c crushed)
1/4c margarine, melted
3 tbsp sugar
Finely crush graham crackers, add margarine and sugar and mix well. Press crumb mixture into pie plate.
Filling:
1 container (12oz) Cool Whip
1 container (8oz) sour cream
1 pkg (3.4oz) vanilla instant pudding
3 medium bananas, sliced
Whisk Cool Whip and sour cream until blended. Add pudding mix and mix until well-blended and smooth. Spread half of filling over crust. Slice bananas and arrange over filling. Spread remaining filling over bananas. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.
Peanut Butter Balls
1 1/4c peanut butter (smooth or chunky, whatever you choose)
1 1/4c dry milk
3/4c honey
Mix together and roll into 1 inch balls. Put on waxed paper, refrigerate.
Note: It’s easiest to form the balls using your hands, just spray your hands wtih cooking spray first to make it easier.
Chess Pie
5 eggs well beaten
1 1/2c sugar
2 tbsp flour
1 stick margarine, melted
1 can (8oz) pineapple chunks, drained
1 can (9oz) coconut
In bowl, mix everything together. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes.