BS: Recipes - what are we eating?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Dorothy Parshall
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 12:56 PM

When a jar is difficult, I turn it upside down in a bowl or pan of HOT water and leave it until it opens. Usually works.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 12:14 PM

Raggytash, I suddenly find myself in possession of three egg whites at the height of soft fruit season. So I shall make a Pavlova or blow up the kitchen trying!

You have inspired me. It’s your fault.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 11:08 AM

Oh, I whacked it, hot-watered it, and I even have the thingie that usually works, that improves grip and increases moment arm [who says you never use high school physics?] but noooo. Tonight Imma sic my son on it. Then next time I'll be ready.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 09:57 AM

Rubber gloves will help to hold then tightly.

Dave H

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jos
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 08:56 AM

A technique with bottles with narrow necks and small screw tops is to grip the bottle top between a door and the door frame at the hinge side of the door. This holds the bottle very tightly while you put all your strength into turning it.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 08:41 AM

Back in the mid-70s, I worked in the Navy hospital in Halifax. Sterile distilled water came in cylindrical 80-oz brown glass bottles with short, narrow necks and small screw-on lids that were always stuck fast after their trip through the autoclave. To open such a bottle, we would upend it and gently rap the edge of the lid on the hard terrazzo floor. This technique never failed, and I use it to this day when I have to open a large jar. It’s less effective with small jars and bottles; dunno why.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jos
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 07:30 AM

When I can't open a jar with a metal lid, usually when it has been sitting in the cupboard for some time (years), I usually find that hitting the lid with a sharp object to pierce it will do the trick.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 07:20 AM

This is why the mise en place is so important: I had most of the ingedients for my sauerkraut soup already sizzling when I realized I could *not* open the jar of sauerkraut!

Still, it was a yummy sausage-and-veg concoction...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 31 Jul 20 - 12:51 PM

Then, Raggy, I think you may have committed Pavlova.

I have read about these elegant confections but never attempted to construct one myself. I stand in awe of those who do -- especially since they always insist that "it's so EASY!"

Sez they. I remain impressed.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Raggytash
Date: 31 Jul 20 - 12:24 PM

Charmion, an Eton Mess is when it's all smashed up together.

I much prefer something that looks aesthetically pleasing.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 31 Jul 20 - 08:39 AM

Felt a little iffy so had a large mug of chicken Better Than Bouillon with a dash each of lemon and hot sauce. Mmmm.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Jul 20 - 08:23 PM

Raggy, you are a Good Spouse. Isn’t that an Eton Mess?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Raggytash
Date: 30 Jul 20 - 12:30 PM

Had some egg whites going spare so I'm made some meringues that it will fill with strawberrys and cream for my good lady later!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Raggytash
Date: 30 Jul 20 - 11:18 AM

I've just made some Mayonnaise to go into a coleslaw I will be making later to accompany the stuffed crust pizzas I made last week and froze.

Looking forward to our evening meal with a glass or several of wine!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Jul 20 - 11:10 AM

Mrrzy, I understand that sentiment about liking your own cooking. There are so many options right here in front of me, though it is nice some days to let someone else cook. And I choose those takeout orders strategically, something that reheats well and isn't messy to divide into storage containers for several meals.

A friend brought just a quart Baggie with a few cherries so they will be the "sit in front of the TV and eat then pitch the pits into a bowl" snack today or tomorrow.

The paste e fagiole came out good; it was a smaller batch than made previously but it wasn't small. I had about 8 ounces of meat (that ground steak and a piece of Italian sausage also run through the meat grinder) for seasoning. This is a soup that could easily be made vegetarian so it doesn't really matter if I didn't have the full amount the recipe calls for. And ground as fine as it was it gives the flavor while being barely detectable by sight.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 30 Jul 20 - 09:40 AM

I am enjoying my own cooking so much I have been failing in my endeavors to support local restaurants by ordering delivery. I look at online menus and thing But I could make that here, and better. Last night had a simple salad -farmer's market lettuces, red tomato, yellow tomato, handful of almonds, homemade vinaigrettes [not a typo: a little of my garlic-herbs one and more of my mustard one].
Vinaigrette: start with red wine vinegar, add salt and, if using because you're not using good Dijon mustard, garlic and/or herbs, in a clear glass jar. Fill jar about 1/4 - 1/3 full if planning on mustard, and between 1/3 and 1/2 full if not. Swirl jar, looking up at bottom, every few minutes or whenever, and progress only when salt has completely dissolved. Then add mustard till jar is about half-full if going that way, and stir or kinda fold in, till unified with vinegar. Either way, pour olive oil in, in really thin stream while stirring vigorously, till jar almost full. Close jar lid tightly and shake, starting with a gentle turn of the wrist and progressing to vigorously, to emulsify. Don't just add all the oil and shake, or you won't get the right texture.
If you used mustard it should stay emulsified. If not, shake vigorously before each use.
This yields a close to 1:1 ratio of vinegar [and mustard if using] to oil; some prefer closer to 1:2. Adjust as needed.
This also takes more than a pinch of salt.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Jul 20 - 07:53 PM

Himself brought home another bucket of cherries — marked down!

So, as well as about six litres of fruit ‘n’ booze hiding away in the darkest corner of the basement, we have a batch of plain-Jane cherry jam, a batch of fancy compote that becomes Cherries Jubilee with only a little help, and four litres in the freezer to become pie in the fullness of time.

I’m tired and my feet hurt, but the kitchen still looks like a bombed-out bordello so I have a ways to go yet.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jul 20 - 03:30 PM

The okra plants are still small, producing only a couple of pods a week so far. I expect that to change soon, but in the meantime, I decided to enjoy the little amount by piggybacking their prep on another dish. Today I made breaded chicken strips and got a small bowl for mixed cornmeal fish fry with a little flour. Roll the damp cut-up pieces of okra in it and add it to the oil at the end of the chicken. It's a modest amount of friend okra, but that means it gets eaten when it's fresh.

Breaded chicken is a treat I don't make often. Most of the time I bake chicken breasts to use in several dishes - some of it diced to go on a salad, a few slices on a sandwich, or cut into pieces that are put on top of a pizza. It's good cut up and added to marinara sauce over pasta. A source of protein in a dish without the entire meal being just chicken.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Jul 20 - 02:54 PM

If it’s fermenting, you’re a jailbird and you’re making prune-o!

Really. No kidding; that’s how it’s done in the Big House.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jul 20 - 01:02 PM

This is something different from that, it was supposed to keep fermenting as long as the fruit was added regularly. We had to go in and pull out fruit (and of course eat it) to make room for the new fruit that was added. It sounds like a deadly experiment now, doesn't it? Brandied fruit? That pops into my head, but doesn't necessarily make sense with this process.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Jul 20 - 12:37 PM

Stilly, in German, that is called Rumtopf, and in French it is a type of macédoine. I don't know of an English name for it.

The fruit is fresh, and the jar should be kept in a dark, cool place (i.e., not on the kitchen counter).

The idea is to add each kind of fruit as it comes into season, starting with strawberries and finishing with plums. It works best with berries and small drupes (apricots, plums), and each layer has to be topped up with both sugar and liquor -- traditionally, rum. If you do it right, it does not -- repeat, not -- ferment; it macerates. It comes out at Christmas, when the fruit-lquor mixture is ladled over ice cream, custard desserts (including bread pudding), rice pudding or plain cake.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 29 Jul 20 - 11:02 AM

There is a fruit equivalent to sourdough, a countertop jar of fruit that was fermenting in place and we had to add new fruit periodically to the mix. It was probably in the late 60s that my Mom had a tightly lidded glass canister with the fruit. What was that called and how do you get it started? I'm willing to bet someone here has had or made that mix before. And was the fruit fresh or cooked before adding?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 29 Jul 20 - 10:15 AM

Today, I must do something with the bucket of pitted Montmorency cherries Himself brought home on Monday.

Most of them will go into a four-litre pickle jar with sugar and two litres of Alberta vodka (cheapest available) to macerate until Christmas, when I will tap off the liquid and bottle it. The resulting cordial -- called "cherry bounce" in old cookbooks -- usually weighs in at about 25 percent alcohol, and it has a bright, clear flavour that I don't think would be improved by a higher alcohol content. It doesn't keep well, however; the flavour begins to fade a few months after bottling.

The 19th-century recipe I started with calls for "unaged whiskey", which I think probably meant moonshine. It works best with high-acid fruit, especially raspberries and sour cherries.

Here's the formula:

Two cups (500 ml) fruit
One cup (250 ml) clear grain alcohol at 80 proof
Half a cup (125 ml) granulated white sugar
Two tablespoons (30 ml) brandy

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 28 Jul 20 - 03:30 PM

Made cornbread-for-one yesterday, just to have some dry out for cornbread stuffing for tonight's cornish game hen.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Jul 20 - 10:16 AM

I have a small pan of red kidney beans simmering this morning, then I'm going to assemble as small batch of paste e fagiole. I have a 6 ounce NY strip steak that was grilled a couple of days ago in the fridge (a friend was going to come for dinner, then couldn't make it. Instant leftovers). I'm going to run that through my grinder and use it to make a small batch of soup. The smoky beef flavor should be nice. If it needs a little more meat I'll use something else, maybe some sausage, to bulk up the meat percentage. I have the rest of the ingredients around here and I'm aiming at about half of the amount of the "normal" generous recipe.

Shopping is a fraught process, with the COVID-19 numbers rapidly increasing here in Texas and throughout the US. The Walmart stores in town open at 6am on Tuesday mornings for seniors, and my next door neighbor told me about this, that the store was pretty close to empty. That was my experience today, and I also visited another grocery store (Winco) that has early hours and between the two managed to get myself back in business with fresh fruit and vegetables. (I shop at Walmart maybe twice a year; today's trip was to load up in the pharmacy area to replace my extremely outdated cold remedies, etc.)

I went a little crazy on the Winco pasta aisle. I got out of the habit for a couple of years when I was avoiding foods made with wheat. Treatment for Polymyalgia rheumatica doesn't say to avoid wheat, but since it is an inflammatory food, I figured it was worthwhile to cut back for the 18 months I was tapering steroids. Now the various shapes and sizes are in their bags in the freezer for a few days (standard practice in a hot climate). I'm using up the rice pasta I have here (some will go in the soup today).

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 27 Jul 20 - 10:18 PM

I like my cauli roasted whole: make a sauce of melted butter or olive oil with what you like, for me hot paprika garlic oregano marjoram salt, about a half cup. Take core out of cauli being careful not to separate the florets. Put not too snugly upside down in a dish with sides, pour most of the sauce carefully into the depths of the cauli, then turn it over, painting outsides with rest of sauce. Bake right-side up at whatever oven temp you're cooking everything else, for at least 40 mn. If you can pull the fork out easily when you stab it to see if it's done, it's done. Might take over an hour at 300, or 45 mn at 400. Yum. Slice into wedges to serve, pouring over some of the sauce which will have collected.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Jul 20 - 08:07 PM

Well, Yotam says cooking chorizo, but I always just buy those rings that you can eat raw if you want (I never want). there are some pretty spicy ones, and they're fine, but slightly milder ones are better with the cauliflower in m'humble. All a matter of taste. But I'd always tear off the skin.

We've had it a good few times since I saw Yotam's recipe four years ago, Thompson. It never fails. The recipe was in the Guardian under the heading "Easy Ottolenghi" and you can still find it. It's a lovely supper for two, quite filling in spite of tbe lack of bulk carb!

But do call me just Steve!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 27 Jul 20 - 06:16 PM

At "200C/425F for about 25-30 minutes," I'm not sure it would matter if the chorizo were fresh or cured, Charmion.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Jul 20 - 02:45 PM

Steve, should that chorizo be fresh or cured?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Thompson
Date: 27 Jul 20 - 02:04 PM

Oooh, that sounds good! Thanks, Steve Shaw.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Jul 20 - 12:50 PM

Roast cauliflower, eh? Try this Yotam one. For two people you need a big cauli or two smaller ones. Break them into florets, not too big, not too small and put into your biggest mixing bowl. Add the following to the bowl: three good glugs of extra virgin olive oil, a handful of pumpkin seeds, a nice chorizo ring, about 150g, cut into little rounds (skin it), a big teaspoon or more of paprika, about 30g of good-quality green olives roughly chopped up, two chopped-up red onions (leave them chunky) and a good seasoning of salt and pepper. Get in there with your hands and mix everything together. Get a baking tray about 30x40cm and line it with greaseproof paper. Dump the mixture on it and spread it out. Bake that in a hot oven, about 200C/425F for about 25-30 minutes, until the florets are nicely browned and softened, giving it a good stir about half way through. Serve it up in warm bowls with chopped fresh parsley sprinkled on top.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Jul 20 - 12:01 PM

BWL, that mustard-based sauce you describe sounds like what I've been told is "mop sauce", to be applied to ribs and other barbecued cuts that have been dressed with a dry rub.

I learned about barbecue from an elderly lady who grew up in North Carolina.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 27 Jul 20 - 09:20 AM

Mrrzy, a mustard-based barbecue sauce is simply a mix of prepared mustard, vinegar, and water to which various spices are added. The recipe I use is heavy on chili powder. Adding sweeteners, ketchup, or tomato sauce is a controversial practice that may offend purists.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Jul 20 - 09:13 AM

Dunno, Thompson, but we North Americans are very firmly conditioned to keep eggs in the fridge for fear they will go bad while our backs are turned. I've been told that the washing commercially produced eggs are subjected to removes an important protective coating from the shells, but I really don't know whether or not that is hooey.

It is worth noting that, before the electric refrigerator, milk for domestic consumption came only in pint and quart bottles, and eggs were sold in twos, fours and sixes -- i.e., enough for one household for one day. As well as the convenience of weekly (rather than daily) grocery shopping, post-war advertisements for refrigerators stressed the "safety" and "modernity" of the all-electric kitchen, free also of the dreaded gas-fired cooker with a pilot light.

In the country village where my family lived during the 1950s, electricity was more than a little iffy. My mother used to complain about how the farmers would bring down the grid by all turning on their milking machines (also a brand-new thing) at the same time -- right when she was cooking supper. Refrigerators were small and inefficient, and freezers were so rare that Mr Daly the grocer rented lockers in his walk-in freezer. This practice was so important to the villagers that people who were heading out for groceries said they were "going to the Locker".

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Thompson
Date: 27 Jul 20 - 05:49 AM

Incidentally, going back to Leenia's comment about never being willing to eat a raw egg, are American eggs more dangerous than European?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Thompson
Date: 27 Jul 20 - 05:44 AM

I've been meaning to try roast cauliflower, which friends tell me is ace; however, they vaguely say "Just add your own spices and stuff and a spritz of oil". I'm a little cowardly about what spices and stuff might be good - advice, please… Steve Shaw? Everyone?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: JennieG
Date: 26 Jul 20 - 11:38 PM

For lunch today we had some of the cauliflower and chorizo soup made yesterday in the slow cooker......and it is jolly good. I used to add bacon to cauli soup but will use chorizo in future; it improves the colour (it's not grey now!) and does wonders for the flavour.

I used the leftover cauli in the fridge, plus half a reasonable sized cauli, chopped (so about 3/4 of a whole cauli). Roughly chopped one onion, roughly sliced two chorizo sausages (each about 4-5 inches), fried them together for about five minutes first then added to the cauli. The rest of the home-made chicken stock - over half a litre - plus a litre of commercial stock plus a couple of teaspoons of chicken stock powder. It needed a bit more water, a couple of cups max. Simmer until cauli is soft, allow to cool for safety, then smoosh it with a stick blender. There's enough for a few lunches.

As today's weather is bloody cold, very windy and rainy, soup was a good choice for lunch.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 26 Jul 20 - 11:00 AM

Uh oh - asking about American barbecue sauce is opening a HUGE kettle of worms - it deserves its own thread. It falls into a couple of categories: what meat are you discussing and how was it cooked, and what sauce are you serving with it (or marinating in).

Charles Kuralt, the late CBS news moderator/travel reporter had an essay about North Carolina BBQ that compared it to other types around the US, and while it may not be lost forever, I can't find it at the moment. It is a short but seminal study of the state of smoked/grilled meat in the United States.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 26 Jul 20 - 08:07 AM

Mustard-based bbq sauce? Tell us more...?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 25 Jul 20 - 02:08 PM

Courtesy of Facebook, I got the recipe for the mustard-based barbecue sauce used by the defunct restaurant that was my favorite during my younger days. I've been eating a lot of stuff with barbecue sauce on it. Not just meats, but darned near everything. Except donuts.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 25 Jul 20 - 01:21 PM

Sounds marvy!

I made a kind of ratatouille for one... Half a zucch, half an onion, whole smallish tomato, all sliced thin. Melted some snail butter into small round glass dish, rubbed around pan. Put slices in, vertically, all the zucch first then tomato between most, then onion between most. Crushed several small garlic cloves, stuck randomly down inside. Sliced some more snail butter on top, put in 350° toaster oven for 30-35 min, then put a fresh tuna steak next to it, with butter and a dash of smoked paprika. Took whole lot out after another 10-15 mn.
The ratatouille needed a little salt but boy, what a yummy lunch. I have about half the ratatouille left.

Snail butter: parsley shallot garlic some coarse salt, either food-processed or chopped/minced to within an inch of their lives, mix with softened butter, roll in parchment paper into log shape, freeze in ziploc bag. Take a slice off slightly-softened log whenever you want. I go through a batch a month, roughly, made with a double-sized [to Americans] brick of European salted butter. That is why I did not salt my ratatouille, but next time I will.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Jul 20 - 09:21 PM

A peach cobbler just came out of the oven, made with a combination of peaches from the freezer and a large can from the pantry. I wish I had ice cream. Stores close early now, but maybe tomorrow I can go through the dairy store drive through and get a pint of hand-packed vanilla. Even with the cornstarch in the recipe it's still like peach soup. Mmmmm!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 23 Jul 20 - 06:48 PM

Read this article on using kitchen gadgets in new ways, and lemme tell you, trying to get corn off the cob using a Bundt pan did not even work a little bit. And I am still cleaning the Bundt pan. The kernels squished and clung to the cob, I ended up with some corn juice and just went back to the knife.
But some ideas were cool!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 23 Jul 20 - 04:30 PM

I don't have cable either, this one showed up on PBS over the air.

Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly with just making the recipe and not trying to find a long way round.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Jul 20 - 11:23 AM

I don't watch cooking shows -- no cable -- but I once owned a cookbook by Paul Prud'homme. He was one of the chefs swept by the no-fat, no-salt, no-sugar fads, so that'll be where I saw it.

I gave that cookbook away when I saw the huge efforts (and vast lists of ingredients) he prescribed in his quest for ways to imitate traditional dishes without cooking them the traditional way. I concluded that I would rather make them the traditional way and just eat less.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 23 Jul 20 - 10:54 AM

Yeah, I think the concept is you don't need [the lovely] fat *and* shorter cooking time as the flour is already cooked.
I saw it in that New Orleans chef show, so yeah, we might have seen the same source.
He did it in a 375°F oven with flour laid out less than an inch high and not within an inch of the sides of the sheet pan, stirring occasionally. Once it's toasted, the flour keeps, so I might toast some just to see ce que ça donne. I'll report back, if I do. I don't usually thicken with flour but it looked yummy, somehow, done this way.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Jul 20 - 09:31 AM

Mrrzy, I think I remember an American -- perhaps Cajun? -- recipe calling for dry (or dark) roux, but I have never used it myself. Toasted flour would not clump the way the raw article does when added to hot liquid, but its flavour would be comparatively strong.

However ... I would not like the job of toasting dry flour even in a very low oven. It would take very close watching, and some of it would scorch anyhow. On the whole, the whole idea strikes me as something to do only if flour is the only potential thickener you have and even bacon fat is pretty scarce.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 22 Jul 20 - 04:14 PM

I like the leaves all taken apart and roasted, toss in oil and whatever you like first. Don't crowd the pan.

But meanwhile -and this us why I like cooking shows- y'all ever heard of, or use, a dry roux? Toast plain flour in hot oven till dark, use for thickening but later in recipe than a usual roux?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: JennieG
Date: 22 Jul 20 - 07:46 AM

Get some sprouts, cut in half lengthwise discarding any wrinkled outer leaves. Slice thinly across the width - I don't use the last bit, the thick stalk, just the finely sliced leaves. Slice a couple of bacon rashers, more or less, into very thin strips.

Heat a small saute pan, and throw in (not literally, of course - more like gently place in pan) your bacon and sprouts. Cook, stirring, until bacon is done and sprouts are tender. Season to your taste. Yum.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jos
Date: 22 Jul 20 - 07:37 AM

I love sprouts, but it would never ever occur to me to look for frozen ones, or to use them if I did come across them by accident.
And I much prefer fresh peas rather than the frozen ones everyone else seems to take for granted.