BS: Recipes - what are we eating?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 07 Dec 18 - 07:47 PM

We've had salmon arrabbiata tonight. I basically follow Gino d'Acampo's recipe but not slavishly.

For two people you need some fresh keta or sockeye salmon, not tinned, about 300g. Take off the skin (easiest when the salmon is half-thawed). Cut the fish into 1cm dice.

Put your pasta on to boil in salted water. I use pennone rigate for this. I'm not too keen on those little penne tubes but suit yourself.

In the meantime sautée gently two sliced cloves of garlic (do NOT crush) and your own personal predilection of dried chilli flakes in a pan of extra virgin olive oil. The dish is supposed to be pretty spicy so don't hang back too much. After a few minutes add at least one can of plum tomatoes. Only the best will do. I usually add a few more plus a goodly dollop of sun dried tomato paste. At the same time add a good handful of chopped fresh parsley and some seasoning. Let that lot simmer uncovered for a few minutes (or you can make the sauce in advance, which is what I did tonight).

Two minutes before the pasta is ready, turn the heat up a tad under the sauce and throw in the salmon, heat it through for a minute or two then turn off the heat. Have faith, the fish is perfectly cooked. Drain the pasta (keeping a cupful of the water) and toss into the sauce. Mix well, adding a bit of pasta water if needed, and serve. No Parmesan on fish (a mortal sin in Italy). A goodly drizzle of your finest extra virgin olive oil on top is paramount, as it is on most pasta dishes and pizzas. This dish is so quick and easy, and it couldn't be healthier. And it's utterly delicious.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 07 Dec 18 - 07:53 PM

Dammit, I should have said that you need around four tablespoons of olive oil. Also, you can use diced chicken breast instead of salmon, though you do need to stir-fry it for a minute or two before adding to the sauce. Not hard, though, is it!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 08 Dec 18 - 10:24 AM

I think I’ll be helping to make a nut roast early next week. My parents had decided on stuffed butternut squash halves from Tesco for the main part of their Christmas dinner. There were a lot of problems with the Tesco Christmas order which also included a bit of turkey for me. It started with the butternut squash item being “unavailable” on the first day Tesco opened their Christmas area and after the order finally got placed, it got wiped by a regular grocery order and all the Christmas delivery booking slots had gone for another attempt at ordering.

Anyway, after some debate, we decided to go for something home made instead and have opted to try this nut loaf which I think looks good. The deal is that I will get all the ingredients prepared and laid out. Pip will then take over. The plan is to freeze until Christmas eve/day.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Dec 18 - 10:34 AM

"Keta" is also called "dog salmon" up in the Northwest and Alaska. Go with the sockeye, or go home. It doesn't have nearly as much flavor or color. It's okay if you don't have anything else, but if you have a choice, go with sockeye.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 08 Dec 18 - 11:01 AM

I've tried 2 meals in the multi cooker so far, both slow cook.

The first, a sort of red lentil, chick pea and carrot stew came out well. The recipe I based it on called for pasta at a later stage but, not having any, I tipped some arborio rice in and gave the mix about a 15 minute quick cook on "stew" instead. It was popular enough to be asked to do it again.

I started an attempt at a spicy/curry veg meal in the early hours of this morning (couldn't sleep). I've got this one quite wrong. The veg (potato, carrots, parsnip and sprouts) have cooked OK but I've wound up with way too much, rather insipid liquid. I knew there would be no evaporation but the veg themselves seem to have added somewhat to the liquid. I think I'm going to have to try to rescue this one using a pan on the cooker and aim to be wiser next time.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 08 Dec 18 - 12:13 PM

I agree about the salmon, and keta is lower in those omega-3 oils as well. I didn't have enough sockeye. But actually keta is fine in the arrabbiata, I promise you, and it's much cheaper this end. When I have sockeye I want it nicely seasoned and fried in butter, skin side down to start with, with home-made oven chips (parboiled unpeeled wedges, roughed up, coated in groundnut oil and roasted for 20 minutes in a fierce oven), tenderstem broccoli and some oven-roasted cherry tomatoes with basil.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Dec 18 - 04:58 PM

I have dried ghost pepper. Anyone ever use it?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Joe_F
Date: 08 Dec 18 - 06:05 PM

Tonight it will be lamburger, Sicilian spinach, rutabaga, tea, & icecream.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 08 Dec 18 - 08:50 PM

I've been on my own today and have got pissed off with one thing and another, so I did meself a trough of comfort food tonight which I scoffed out of a huge bowl in front of a repeat of Chas & Dave's Christmas special on the telly.

You need a fairly small roasting tin or Pyrex dish if it's just for one. Oil it well.

Boil about 350g waxy potatoes, unpeeled, for about twenty minutes.

Meanwhile, take about 75g pancetta or streaky bacon (unsmoked for me, but hey) and cut the rashers into inch-long pieces. Grate about 50g Parmesan. Take about 150g of a melting cheese. Gruyere, fontina, mozzarella or taleggio will all fit the bill, though, as I didn't have any of those, I used provolone dolce. Cut the cheese into small slices.

Drain the spuds, let them cool slightly then slice them up. Put the spuds into the bottom of your oiled roasting dish. Insert the pieces of cheese and bacon roughly into the spud layer. Sprinkle with the grated parmesan, making sure that there's a bit left to go on top. Finally, sprinkle a hood dollop of olive oil on top.

Bake for about 30 minutes at about 180C.

I ate mine with some peas as I needed the vitamins. Lovely it was.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 09 Dec 18 - 09:14 AM

I’ve just been looking at an earlier comment about keeping metal utensils away from cookware.

I admit to damaging one stainless steel pan with a potato masher but I guess I accepted I was going to do that and I don’t use that one for things that stick. I’ve tried with the others but, eg. with last set of visiting family, I did a sort of “self service” from the pans. I put a couple of plastic ones out but they were swapped for metal ones, etc. and Pip is the type who can grab the nearest object to hand even if that means a metal knife vs a non stick frying pan (which now is the only thing I have that is non stick coated).

Anyway, she’s asked me to replace some wooden tools for her Christmas present from me (likely to be more used by me but if that’s what she wants I don’t argue) so I’ve bought a set of wooden handled ones with silicon tools and a couple of silicon desert spoons. I’m not sure whether that will help lead to more care but time will tell.

Favourite pan (if a less dedicated type is allowed to have such things) btw is a 16cm Vogue Tri wall (aluminium sandwiched between stainless steel) one which I use for gravy and sauces. It seems to heat more evenly that the Judge ones and less likely to stick (not that I’ve had major problems cleaning the others). I didn’t get a lid (metal and sold separately) for this one but retained a glass lid from an older discarded saucepan that is a good fit if needed.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Thompson
Date: 10 Dec 18 - 06:14 AM

Charmion, I tried that whiskey-honey-cream-oatmeal thing with pinhead oatmeal one time but found it vaguely gritty. I just use the ordinary oatmeal you make porridge with.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 12 Dec 18 - 10:53 AM

Thompson, from its other recipes, I gather that The Scots Kitchen considers vague grittiness to be a feature, not a bug. Its recipe for haggis is fit to fright the French, containing as it does items that are not legal for sale in Ontario.

I have come down with bronchitis and, if it goes the way it usually does, I will lose all olfactory function within the next 24 to 48 hours. During the taste-free days, I will live on tea and toast.

Now that we live in beautiful, leafy Stratford, Ontario, we are within shouting distance of a genuine grist mill that still produces whole-meal flour. Our bread game, always of a high standard, has consequently gone up yet another notch. I make a 100%-whole-wheat sandwich loaf that is, if not to die for, certainly something to live on. Made with flour from the Arva mill, it has a nutty flavour and a firm (but not stodgy) texture that is delicious when fresh and just magnificent as toast. I got great results with standard commercial flour (Robin Hood "Best For Bread"), but the stone-ground flour is notably better.

If I bake today, while still compos mentis, I might survive to next week ...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: SPB-Cooperator
Date: 12 Dec 18 - 11:01 AM

Tonight, something quick and simple - fried turkey meatballs and new potatoes with a good dollop of butter.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Dec 18 - 11:57 AM

The best kind of meal possible - whatever is served - an invitation from the neighbor next door to join her for (in this instance) pot roast after helping her with some yard work.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: JennieG
Date: 13 Dec 18 - 12:12 AM

A favourite Ozzie Christmas treat is made from a commercially-made dark fruit cake. Break up the cake in a bowl and stir in enough sherry (or orange juice if serving it to kids) to make it pliable enough to roll into balls somewhere between a walnut and a golf ball in size. Drizzle melted white chocolate or white icing on top, and decorate with bits of red and green lollies/candy/sweets, depending where in the world you live. Serve in paper cases - they look like mini Chrissie puds.

A plate of these makes a nice gift, if you are into edible givings.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Thompson
Date: 13 Dec 18 - 04:46 AM

Scots? Wha? Hey!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Dec 18 - 11:42 AM

Salmon was brined overnight and is now in the smoker out on the front porch. This is for a friend, who brought the fish over here because I have the smoker.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 15 Dec 18 - 03:14 PM

We just had a Sunday dinner on a Friday. I like this idea - a fine meal, good company, and no driving at night.

Here's the main dish: Trim the obvious fat from a beef chuck roast, then place it in a slow cooker. Place whole cranberries all over the top surface of the beef. Cook 8 to 10 hours on low, till tender. Let cool some, then put in fridge overnight.

Next day, remove fat. Slice meat, warm in oven. Just before dining, add 1 tsp molasses to the sauce. Optional: add 1/4 tsp cinnamon to the sauce. Serve with noodles.
===========
Notes: I like to use a slow-cooker liner for easier cleanup.
Use the rest of the molasses to make gingerbread, ginger cookies and BBQ sauce. Some people put butter and molasses on pancakes, too.

After dinner, we played music in the living room.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 15 Dec 18 - 07:34 PM

Scots wha hae leftovers tae use up: Random Scran
Piece of previously cooked cod loin, sprouts, leeks, cauliflower (all also previously cooked!) Baked beans, requested by grandchildren for THEIR tea but hardly ate a random few.
Throw randomly on plate, grate strong cheddar cheese over the whole lot equally randomly.
Randomly select 2 minutes on random poweer setting (full) on microwave and zap!
Haute cuisine!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jos
Date: 16 Dec 18 - 05:20 AM

Leeneia, if you ever cook for me, could I ask you just to leave the fat on my share, PLEASE

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Thompson
Date: 16 Dec 18 - 06:00 AM

What's a slow cooker liner?

Horror story in the Guardian: unsold human food, still in its plastic packaging, is routinely thrown into the mix while making animal food, meaning that meat eaters may be harmed by the plastic the animals ingest and digest.

"More than 650,000 tonnes of unused food, from loaves of bread to Mars bars, are saved from landfill each year in the UK by being turned into animal feed. The system that strips off the plastic wrappings can’t capture it all, and so in the UK a limit of 0.15% of plastic is allowed by the Food Standards Agency. The official EU level for plastic permitted in animal feed is zero although in reality many other countries operate within the same 0.15% limit."

Meanwhile, I made borscht last night: chopped onions and beetroots, belly of pork (I'd thought those strips in the freezer were spare ribs…), celery and a big bunch of dill, and a chopped-up cabbage at the end; stock. It was tasty, but I think I'd put in the cabbage earlier and chop it finer in future, and maybe grate the beetroots before cooking them.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 16 Dec 18 - 06:00 AM

None of this foreign muck.

We've booked into the Balti House for Christmas,

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 16 Dec 18 - 11:44 PM

Hi, Thompson. A slow-cooker liner is a tough bag of some clear, synthetic material that withstands high heat. that you put in the slow cooker to keep food from getting cooked on to the ceramic. It saves a lot of scrubbing.

It is made by Reynolds, the company which makes aluminum foil and Reynolds Oven Bags.
==========
when my mother-in-law turned 70, she announced that she was not going to cook anymore. She had cooked for 50 years and was sick of it. I didn't want to follow her example, so I asked myself how I could make cooking more fun.

I decided that I like cooking but dislike cleaning up, so I decided to buy four things:

Reynolds Oven Bags
Reynolds Slow Cooker bags
parchment paper to put under roasting meats
disposable gloves for handling icky things.

I don't often use the gloves, but occasionally they are truly worth it. For example when yanking the purple gobbets out of a raw chicken.

If anybody comments that I am using up natural resources, I can tell them that I drive an 11-year-old car, I have no television, no cable, no boat...on balance I figure I can spoil myself a little.

Another thing I did is buy two cartons of Rubbermaid storage boxes. They stack nicely and are tough.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jos
Date: 17 Dec 18 - 01:37 AM

If you never wash up you are saving on detergent and using less fuel to heat water, so you can set them against the plastic waste (just make sure those bags and gloves don't end up in the sea).

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Dec 18 - 04:37 AM

I browned a cheap hunk of brisket in my Le Creuset, set it aside, put some strips of pancetta into the pan to render, added chunks of carrot, celery and onion, fried for ten minutes, added a mug full of porcini water along with the chopped fungus, added a glass of red wine which I'd boiled and burned the alcohol from, a bit of seasoning and a bunch of fresh herbs, put the brisket back in and left it in a slow oven for thee hours. I had to hurry up so as not to miss the Liverpool kickoff. Delicious.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Dec 18 - 10:14 AM

I have a low-power 1-quart crockpot I like to set up overnight to cook my oatmeal for the day or enough for a few days (it reheats well). I forgot the crockpot so I'll slow-cook it in a saucepan on the stove, into which I chop up figs or dates or throw in a handful of raisins, trying to not burn cereal onto the bottom of the pan.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Thompson
Date: 17 Dec 18 - 01:54 PM

Thanks, Leenia. I use rubber gloves for icky and sticky things, like taking the skins off roast peppers, but I'm afraid I just use the same ones I use for washing up the pots and things that don't go in the dishwasher. I had a pair of 'dirty jobs' rubber gloves for anything germy and non-food, but the demon puppy Oscar seems to have found and destroyed them; must get a new pair.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: SamStone
Date: 17 Dec 18 - 03:32 PM

being diabetic because of Agent Orange (and i don't mean trump) lots of salmon and steamed veggies

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 18 Dec 18 - 01:41 PM

Back to our roots - bratwurst and sauerkraut. We indulged in fresh bratwurst shipped by Usinger's in Milwaukee and cooked it right away. Then we put it in the deep freeze.

To precook: poke sausage in several places with a sharp fork. Put in a skillet with water halfway up the sides. Bring water to a boil, then turn down to simmer. Turn sausage over after 15 mins. Simmer for maybe 30 mins. Freeze.

To prepare: Place brats in heavy saucepan. Rinse sauerkraut and spread over brats. Sprinkle with caraway seeds. Add 1/4 water or white wine. Simmer till heated through.

You can eat it on a bun or not, as you prefer. Have chopped onion and good mustard on hand.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Dec 18 - 02:06 PM

42nd anniversary so we're having steak, home-made oven chips (par-boiled in salty water then baked very hot in groundnut oil), broad beans from the freezer, home-grown, and some roasted cherry toms. I must have ribeye but Mrs Steve gets a piece of sirloin because she doesn't like trimming away the sinew (I just scoff the lot). There will be blood. And Rioja.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Dec 18 - 11:52 AM

I'm almost finished with a lasagna I made a few days ago of various things that needed using. Tomatoes from the garden, ripening in the house slowly after the first frost in October and now simmered long enough to use for sauce (wearing vinyl gloves I squirt them out of the skins that go into the compost bowl). Some ricotta and mozzarella from the freezer from the last time I made lasagna, and the very wet tomato mix was added to a couple of containers of marinara sauce that had been in the fridge long enough they needed to be finished off soon.

I didn't have any lasagna noodles in the house so I took a box of spaghetti and used it (dry) to make a layer after the eggplant and cheese and sauce layers. More cheese and sauce and then bake it till everything is done. The spaghetti is just fine in there, though it doesn't have the consistency of the large flat pasta, but it tastes good.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Donuel
Date: 19 Dec 18 - 05:22 PM

I assume a ground nut is the same as a pomme d'terre.
Out here in the wilderness it is called a potatow.

Simple eggs can be made delicious by a clever hand.
Eggs do not deserve to be assulted by ketchup or hot sauce.
A sprinkling of tarragon and smidge of ground fennel do wonders

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jos
Date: 19 Dec 18 - 05:53 PM

Groundnuts/peanuts are seeds, from which oil is extracted, or they can be eaten raw, roasted or made into peanut butter.
If you plant a raw one in a pot you can watch the plant grow, and produce a pea-like flower, from which what looks like a stem will grow and extend downwards until it reaches the soil, where it deposits the seed - in effect, the seed plants itself in the ground, hence the name 'groundnut'.
(I've never heard of potato oil.)

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 19 Dec 18 - 06:15 PM

Groundnuts are peanuts. Groundnut oil is an excellent neutral oil that has a high smoke point.

Our bog-standard lasagne uses a typical bolognese ragu, made with a mix of minced pork and beef, browned then added to a soffritto which includes pancetta as well as onions, carrots and celery. Add all that together with canned plum tomatoes and a good splash of chicken stock. Season well and simmer for as long as you like. I might add a glass of white wine that I've boiled and burned the alcohol from. Some recipes demand chicken liver and milk, but not for me. Mrs Steve insists on garlic, but I'm averse to crushed cloves so I might peel and bash with my fist about eight cloves which go into the mix. As for herbs, either leave them out or just add a sprinkle of dried oregano near the end. Dried basil has no place in any decent kitchen. I'll let you off if you chuck in some fresh basil leaves near the end.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Donuel
Date: 19 Dec 18 - 10:16 PM

ground nuts? What on Earth do you call carrots?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: BobL
Date: 20 Dec 18 - 03:00 AM

Peanuts, groundnuts, monkey nuts, goober peas or (according to Wiki) pindars.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Ed T
Date: 20 Dec 18 - 08:24 AM

This morning for (later than normal) breakfast,creamed lobster meat on toast with a side of seared scallops.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Thompson
Date: 20 Dec 18 - 08:46 AM

Now that's what I call a breakfast.

I'm partial to a fried egg and potatoes, with some of that Kalle fish roe paste they sell in Ikea on the side, and of course salt and vinegar.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 20 Dec 18 - 09:54 AM

Fried eggs on top of a couple of fried Rankin's potato farls make a damn fine breakfast.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Dec 18 - 10:00 AM

Usually on xmas morning we have pancakes, bacon, etc. but I'm thinking this year I might make baking powder biscuits and serve them with homemade jelly. They fall on both of these like they're starving. I sometimes do a side of Jimmy Dean sage sausage, though I didn't grow up in the south so there is none of that sausage and biscuit and gravy nonsense.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Thompson
Date: 20 Dec 18 - 10:37 AM

What jelly do you make, Stilly? I made a dose of apple and rosehip jelly a few weeks back; just about to de-mould and re-boil the last jar and lash into it.

Subject: Hinton Xmas Recipes
From: wysiwyg
Date: 24 Dec 18 - 05:21 PM

Thanksgiving-style Xmas Menu


Scalloped Potatoes With Spinach And Cheese

2 pounds peeled Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/8-inch slices
1 1/4 cups 1% low-fat milk
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Dash of nutmeg
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons butter
2 cups sliced Vidalia or other sweet onion
1 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450°.
Place potato slices in a large saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 6 minutes or until tender. Drain well; set aside.

Combine milk and next 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk until blended.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 7 minutes or until golden. Reduce heat to medium. Gradually add milk mixture, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook 5 minutes or until thick and bubbly; stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Add cheese, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Arrange half of potato slices in an 11 x 7- inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with half of spinach and half of cheese sauce. Repeat with remaining potato, spinach, and sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 450° for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden and bubbly.



Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Honey and Cinnamon
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling potatoes after cooked
1/4 cup honey
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Lay the sweet potatoes out in a single layer on a roasting tray. Drizzle the oil, honey, cinnamon, salt and pepper over the potatoes. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes in oven or until tender. Take sweet potatoes out of the oven and transfer them to a serving platter. Drizzle with more extra-virgin olive oil.

stove top stuffing for Greg and cheesy arepas for me; cheesy corn and crunch casserole;


GLUTEN-FREE GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE WITH CARAMELIZED MUSHROOMS & ONIONS

1 tablespoon gluten-free cornstarch
2 teaspoons McCormick® Basil Leaves
1 teaspoon McCormick® Onion Salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup thinly sliced onions
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 cups milk2 teaspoon gluten-free soy sauce
4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese, cubed
1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces and cooked

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix cornstarch, basil and onion salt in small bowl. Set aside.
Melt butter in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add onions; cook and stir 6 to 7 minutes or until golden brown. Add mushrooms; cook and stir 2 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Stir in cornstarch mixture. Add milk and soy sauce; stir constantly, cook until sauce is thickened and bubbly. Add cream cheese; cook and stir until cream cheese is melted. Add cooked green beans; toss gently to coat.
Spoon into 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle top evenly with almonds.
Bake 25 minutes or until heated through and top is lightly browned.


CHEESY CRUNCHY CREAMED CORN CASSEROLE


My thinking is that since we were apart for Txgiving, our last Christmas in the house should be a big deal with items that can be made in advance w double ovens, to prevent packing burnout. Most recipes are oven rather than stove top, and I have some GF adaptations and simplification tricks up my sleeve as well.

I'm thinking quantities to carry over for our Dec. 27 anniversary and the following days before our Jan 1 move to our retirement house.

Greg has already done his signature turkey job, and may also do the scalloped potatoes.

The idea is: not much cooking in that last week before our fast departure, and cooked but frozen leftovers to take, if any.

Since romaine is now considered contaminated, veggies are casserole style. We can always add cherry tomatoes.

I plan on doing the bulk of the cleanup; I'll need that standing time. I also plan on doing the shopping.

My thought is that rather than see this as his "orders" (his default setting), he might look forward to this plan for a boatload of comfort food from his loving wife, as we are apart Thanksgivings day. (I sent him each recipe for pix and mouth watering.)

He's also made a GF cake and cheesecake.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Dec 18 - 11:00 AM

Today being Christmas, I are roasting a duck and making bigarade sauce. There will be steamed pud with custard to follow. I may not be capable of movement for some time after.

Himself, on the other hand, will be looking around for cheese and nuts.

I don’t know where he puts it all.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: BobL
Date: 26 Dec 18 - 03:53 AM

Xmas dinner was a venison joint, boned & rolled by local butcher. 2lb 8oz was just right for a party of 4, with enough left over to make one small sandwich.
Followed by mincemeat-stuffed peach halves, doused in sherry and warmed in the oven during the main course.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Dec 18 - 09:42 AM

Peaches stuffed with mincemeat — how delightful! Fresh or tinned peaches?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Dec 18 - 11:31 AM

A while back I posted a link to a good comparison of the North American wild grapes, so of course I can't find it now. Mustang grapes are featured at the bottom of this page. I make grape jelly just like in the SureJel package instructions.

Today I'll make a batch of bread pudding because I love it for breakfast or snacks. It reheats very nicely. The rest of my eating is leftovers from the last couple of days.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 26 Dec 18 - 04:52 PM

For Christmas dinner we had Mexican food. It wasn't a deliberate choice; the avocados were ready to eat.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: BobL
Date: 27 Dec 18 - 02:44 AM

Tinned peaches Charmion, it's not a good season for fresh ones. However they do the job excellently. Might try bottled ones sometime, but my dad's recipes for fruit in vodka usually yielded uneatable fruit and wonderful liquor.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 27 Dec 18 - 07:51 AM

The nut roast I mentioned earlier was a success. It froze and reheated (just thawed it and slices in the microwave) well. Rather than splitting duties with Pip as suggested before, I cooked it. It took a me lot longer than the recipe suggested (double the prep time but I’m slow even with a decent knife, a lot longer for the mix with the lentils added to absorb nearly all the liquid and at least 10 minutes more baking time) but parents enjoyed it and I would use this recipe again.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Dec 18 - 11:29 AM

BobL, your Dad's fruit in vodka sounds like the cordial I make most summers, which is always delicious but often results in fruit fit only for the compost heap once the liquor is tapped off. I have never made it with peaches (why not? good question); so far, I have used only raspberries or sour cherries. The osmotic process that pulls the juice into the booze reduces raspberries to tasteless pulp, but sour cherries are high enough in cellulose to retain some structure even after six months of maceration, so they are good with yoghourt or ice cream.