BS: Recipes - what are we eating?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 17 Dec 20 - 04:28 PM

Charmion, I misread that as Need not be made with a worn-out lawyer...

Thanks! I do like cockaleekie soup. Also Vichyssoise. Closet leek soups.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Dec 20 - 04:24 PM

I just looked at my fruitcake recipe, and spotted a grievous error.

Where it says 2 1/3 cups of flour, it should say *3 1/3* cups of flour!!!

Most of the quantities in a fruitcake recipe can be fudged a bit, but not that much.

---

Again, fixed. ---mudelf

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Dec 20 - 04:01 PM

Further to my last: “... bring to a boil, and then *simmer* until the barley grains have burst.”

---

Instructions corrected! ---mudelf

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Dec 20 - 03:48 PM

Mrrzy, since you have discovered the leek, do you know about cockaleekie soup? It’s a traditional Scottish dish that need not be made with an “auld cock” or a worn-out layer, as my Scots Kitchen book recommends, but must contain barley if it is to be reasonably authentic.

(Rolling up my sleeves ... Ahem!)

For rather a lot of cockaleekie — it freezes very well — you need:

- Two or three rashers of side bacon, cut into lardons
- Enough garlic (I like four or five cloves, smashed)
- 750 g to 1kilo of skinned, boned chicken thigh meat, cut into bite-sized hunks
- 200 g hulled barley (not the pearl kind)
- Three large leeks, trimmed of their roots and leaves, and sliced as finely as you like
- About a litre and a half of chicken stock
- Thyme ad lib.
- Enough salt (quantity depends on bacon)
- A dash or two of Worcestershire sauce

In a large Dutch oven or heavy soup pot, brown the lardons and sauté the garlic in the rendered fat. Then brown the chicken pieces, working in batches so as not to crowd the pot. Put all the chicken back into the pot, and add the barley, stirring it about until all the grains are well-coated with bacon and chicken fat. Then add the sliced leeks, and stir about until they are a bit wilted. Add the stock and thyme, bring to a boil, and then simmer until the barley grains have burst. Add a splot or so of Worcester, stir, taste, and then add as much salt as it needs.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jos
Date: 17 Dec 20 - 02:49 AM

Stilly, I missed the bit about your grocery store because you posted it while I was checking up on the health benefits of chicken skin and then finishing my post, and I didn't go back and check for intervening posts before clicking 'Submit'.
I'm glad you are getting organic chicken - better for the environment, and for the chickens.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Dec 20 - 08:54 PM

Jos, I think you missed the part about where I frequently buy the chicken. It is a good quality discount store but they don't carry everything all of the time. Often what they have are skinless boneless chicken breasts, quite often organic, and despite the distaste that the author of that article holds toward chicken without skin, I can make it into many delicious meals. And unless it's crisp, there is no way I'm going to touch the skin. Making soup stock with bones and skin is how it gets used when I have a whole bird or quartered with bones and skin. The store in question sometimes have boneless skinless chicken thighs and those are marvelous for things like chicken teriyaki. There is still a lot of fat in the meat on those. At the regular grocery story I buy the minimally processed chicken (no injected salty crap) and it's usually breast or leg quarters with the skin and bones.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 16 Dec 20 - 08:41 PM

Otto is an ares.

I am rediscovering the leek. Chop some clean ones, sauté in butter with whatever spices/herbs you like, add whatever broth, marvy 10mn soup. Sometimes also meat, or fish, or crab. If so brown meat before leeks, or add fish and coat before adding broth, or add crab just enough before serving to bring back to the boil. Other veg are good too, add with leeks. A little white wine cooked off before adding the broth, or lemon juice added after the broth, helps if it's too sweet. 15 mn soup if doing the wine step.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Dec 20 - 08:22 PM

Otto Korrekt strikes again!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 16 Dec 20 - 07:19 PM

Give over, bro Andrew. That damned apostroph'e inveigles itself into everything due to the spell check/predictive text bully. Your sis is one of the most literate members of this parish, right up there with your's truly...

See what I did there...?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 16 Dec 20 - 04:54 PM

"We’re you an editor in a previous life?"

Low-hanging fruit for an editor, if ever I saw it. :)

Charmion's fruitcake also goes well with whisky, whiskey, brandy, calvados, bourbon, applejack, Yukon Jack, and several other forms of "tea."

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jos
Date: 16 Dec 20 - 02:51 PM

Charmion, what's that you're saying about a PREVIOUS life?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jos
Date: 16 Dec 20 - 02:47 PM

Stilly: If you can't bear not to use chicken breasts (although thighs are so much better), at least use chicken with the skin on - for the flavour, tenderness AND health benefits.
According to a website I found (https://goodyfeed.com/8-reasons-why-having-chicken-skin-is-actually-healthy/),
"Chicken skin contains Omega 9 or oleic acid. It’s a monounsaturated fat that is also present in olive oil, and it encourages the formation of high-density lipoprotein, HDL, which helps to manage glucose sensitivity."

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Dec 20 - 02:43 PM

Jos, the fruit ends up in the batter ... But I see your point, you persnickety person, you.

We’re you an editor in a previous life?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Dec 20 - 02:31 PM

I buy meat frozen from a deep discount grocery that has a lot of high-quality items (tons of gourmet things in tiny jars, etc.). And when I buy leg quarters and such, that's what I do. But I also can buy organic skinless boneless chicken breasts at half of the original price and don't have to do anything with it except cook it and use it. And if I made stock every time I had chicken I'd be overflowing with it.

Thanks for the recipe, Charmion! And in case anyone is wondering, one of the links at the bottom of each post is "Printer Friendly," which will allow you to bring up just that post and send it to your printer without having to fuss with selecting or saving and putting in another file.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jos
Date: 16 Dec 20 - 02:25 PM

Charmion: - "at least a tablespoon (preferably two) of the liquor you put in the batter"
Did you mean "of the liquor you put in the fruit"? I didn't notice any in the batter.
Too late for this Christmas, but the best cake I ever tasted came from Trinidad, and the fruit had been soaked for a lo-o-o-ng time in rum.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Dec 20 - 01:30 PM

Wot, no Christmas baking?

I have been asked for my fruitcake recipe. It makes three standard loaves, and takes at least two days.

Ingredients:

Fruit:
- 2 pounds of currants
- 12 ounces of dark Thompson raisins
- 12 ounces of golden raisins
- 4 ounces of chopped citron
- 4 ounces of glace cherries
- a cup (8 fl oz) of chopped blanched almonds
- three tablespoons of molasses or black treacle
- 3 fl oz rum, brandy or rye whiskey
- 2 lemons, grated rind and juice
- 2 oranges, grated rind and juice

Cake:
- 1 pound of butter
- 1 cup of demerara (dark brown) sugar
- 8 large eggs
- 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon grated allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Mix the fruit thoroughly in a bowl and cover it with something airtight. Let it stand for at least a day, preferably two.

On baking day:

1. Butter and flour three standard loaf pans, or line them with parchment paper.

2. In a very large bowl, cream together the butter (you'll want to soften it in the microwave) and brown sugar, and beat in the eggs. Blend the dry ingredients in a smaller bowl.

3. Beat the fruit mixture and the dry ingredients in alternating spoonfuls into the butter, sugar and eggs. Brace yourself for some heavy lifting; the batter will be very stiff.

4. Divide the batter among the three loaf pans. I weigh the loaded pans to be sure they are as close to the same size as I can get them. Level the batter with a fork.

5. Bake in a low oven -- 275 degrees Fahrenheit -- for about 2 hours. When they're done, souse each loaf with at least a tablespoon (preferably two) of the liquor you put in the batter, and let cool in the pans.

6. Distribute to discriminating friends. Particularly good with tea.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 16 Dec 20 - 01:22 PM

You could bake skin-on chicken thighs instead of breasts. The meat is tastier, it's cheaper, you can boil up the bones with a bit of onion, carrot, celery and herbs for stock and the crispy skin is a secret cook's treat and a half. Just lay them on a baking tray skin side up, season well, dribble olive oil over them and bake them at 200C for 45 minutes.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Dec 20 - 01:04 PM

This morning I baked three chicken breasts because I tend to use the pre-cooked meat in various dishes, or assembling things for dinner. For example, I might use leftover spaghetti sauce and layer some chicken with mozzarella and spoon the sauce over the top and bake it to serve alongside pasta, chicken parm without the breading but still good, and a healthier arrangement. Or shred the meat to put in a couple of tortillas for quick enchiladas or a chef's salad. A whole chicken is usually too much to use, but these breasts will be fine for the rest of the week and over the weekend.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 01 Dec 20 - 09:56 AM

Hey those ain't cru-dités if ya cook'm!

How do you make Moroccan chicken? Mine has cinnamon.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 01 Dec 20 - 12:20 AM

Tonight we had a fine dinner. Moroccan chicken (slow cooker), avocados, brown rice, crudites, a smidgeon of pecan pie.

Crudites: I cooked broccoli spears in the wave for two minutes then dropped them into a bowl of cold tap water. Took them out after a while, let them drain. It improved them, though I don't think anything will ever make broccoli actually good. Added radishes for contrast.

Nowadays when I cook rice or pasta, I cook a big batch and freeze the extra in Ziploc bags. I flatten the food inside the bag and press channels into it with the side of my hand, to make serving-size portions, easy to take out and thaw. Saves steps and dishwashing. (Maybe I posted this already.)

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 28 Nov 20 - 06:31 PM

I've almost forgotten what it's like to eat out, but if I've had a great nosh in a restaurant I invariably call for ice cream for my pud. And then an espresso grande. And then a taxi home. And then... ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Nov 20 - 05:30 PM

Why spoil the experience for the ice cream?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 28 Nov 20 - 05:20 PM

I love your bowl of balls.

Nothing could redeem that awful pie. I did not even think of ice cream, it was that bad.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 28 Nov 20 - 03:34 PM

Stilly, that's cute about the pie plates. I wish I could stop by your place and have a piece of pie. I'd bring the ice cream.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 28 Nov 20 - 01:41 PM

My sympathy about the cherry pie, Mrrzy. Did ice cream redeem it any?

Our Thanksgiving was boring. Yesterday two friends who are very Covid-conscious came to dinner. We dined on the deck at tables 10 feet apart, and the DH grilled sausages on the outdoor grill. In addition we had my cole slaw, bowls of balls, and pecan pie. (the first pecan pie I ever made.)

Bowl of Balls is a dish I invented one day when I felt too tired to cut up salad. I got out a very pretty bowl and put cherry tomatoes, radishes and green olives in it. (I suppose black olives would be nice too.) That's it. You put the spherical food in the bowl and you put the bowl on the table.

It was cold, so we took turns standing in front of the grill, which was holding a nice wood fire. Later we put on masks, went inside and conversed in our new music room, where we can sit far apart. It was a lovely evening.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 28 Nov 20 - 10:40 AM

Bought a slice of cherry pie. It was HORRIBLE. Still craving. What are your cherry pie recipes? Any have a magic marzipan layer?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 27 Nov 20 - 08:09 PM

I usually make a cranberry/tomatillo/jicama salsa for Thanksgiving. Not enough energy this year and it's just Lady Hillary and me. Instead, I made up some cranberry sauce with a little jalapeno, finely chopped and mixed in during the cooking. I went with about one inch of a medium jalapeno and it came out with just a background taste of the pepper.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Nov 20 - 12:53 PM

We did a movable feast here; I roasted a large chicken, made my famous yeast dinner rolls (always requested at family events) and instead of many other vegetable side dishes I roasted vegetables. This wasn't by recipe, I simply cut into large chunks what I had here—Yukon gold potatoes, large carrots, yellow squash, celery, onion, and a poblano pepper in a bowl, tossed it with olive oil and ground black pepper and tossed in a few fresh sprigs of rosemary. It baked until everything else was ready and they were wonderful.

I had some large takeout containers so cut the chicken down the middle and packed it in a former rotisserie chicken container, added vegetables to a similar black-bottomed container, and dropped dinner rolls into a brown paper bag so they wouldn't get soggy in transit.

I handed these out the door to my ex, who came by with the pies he always brings to the meal. In this instance, since we always do both pumpkin and apple, he carefully cut and removed half of the pumpkin pie from the pan and put in slices of apple. It was surgically neat - amazing!

In previous years we always distribute pie to family members after the meal so we've had practice. I also have lots of extra glass pie pans around because my daughter takes her share up to her house and those pans are sometimes lost for years. I make a point of buying extra glass pans at the local Goodwill for this very reason. One day when my daughter and her roommates move out of that house they will come across a stash of more than a dozen pie pans.

My children fixed meals with their roommates at their respective houses. We missed having friends and family at the table this year, but hopefully next year can resume those activities, all alive and well to join in.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 27 Nov 20 - 11:45 AM

I was ok about no Thansgiving till late last night AND NOW I MUST FIND PIE 'cause I ain't makin' one.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Thompson
Date: 27 Nov 20 - 04:14 AM

Made a lamb stew with a tin of chickpeas, a tin of tomatoes and pumpkin and sweet potatoes chopped in, plus stock (homemade and gel) and a dash of chilli. Not bad at all served over brown rice.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 20 Nov 20 - 10:55 AM

I got sent a dobos torte through the mail. Amazing. Wonder if chocolate counts as "essential" for the gubmint...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Nov 20 - 09:22 AM

I used several small loaf pans last night and made a double batch of the pumpkin bread recipe from The Joy of Cooking. I substituted 25% of the pumpkin with mashed sweet potato for an even richer tasting bread.

These will be gifts to neighbors and a couple for the freezer.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 20 Nov 20 - 07:52 AM

Incidently it was Fed Ex. Never known a better service.

Dave H

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 20 Nov 20 - 07:48 AM

I sold a Bacon tenor banjo to a guy in New York, the courier picked it up on the Thursday, I got an email from him on Saturday saying it had arrived safe and sound and he was well pleased. How good is that ?

Dave H

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 20 Nov 20 - 07:21 AM

A few years ago I ordered six little diatonic harmonicas from a US shop over the phone at three in the afternoon this end. I was utterly gobsmacked when they turned up at midday the next day by courier....

(They were unavailable this end but the US price was so much cheaper that, even after paying the postage and import duty, I paid no more for them than I would have in a shop here!)

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 20 Nov 20 - 06:33 AM

I ordred some mandolin strings from a local music shop, it took 2 months for them to travel 12 miles in the post, I also ordered some banjo strings from a company in the USA [ Musixnow.com ] it took them 3 days to arrive from the USA.

Dave H

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Thompson
Date: 20 Nov 20 - 04:36 AM

Thank you, Raggytash, but not while the pandemic is still raging. I brought a DVD down to the post office the other day to send to France (don't tell my family: I'm not allowed in shops) and the clerk asked me what it was. When I told her, she shook her head and said "Sorry, we can't take it - only essentials can be sent at the moment."
Even in non-pandemic days, however, the post from England to Ireland is strangely dodgy. If I send a couple of rose cuttings to a friend in Cork I pop them in the postbox for the 5:30pm pickup, and he'll have them at 9am next morning. But I've sometimes waited weeks for books coming from England.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Nov 20 - 01:10 PM

Leeneia asked a question about kolaches (Czech rolls) on the Bacon Gizmo thread that I answered with a bit of a travelogue around Texas and now I'm thinking it's time for a road trip into the Hill Country south of here and visit a bakery or two to bring home some of those wonderful fruit or sausage-filled rolls.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Raggytash
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 03:06 PM

Tell you what Thompson if you PM me your address I will vacuum seal some and post them to you. If the mail in Ireland will carry them, they should do the mail in the UK does.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 02:26 PM

I like the canned kippered snacks (Brunswick kippered boneless herring fillets) but you can't eat them just anywhere. If I ate them at work at lunch I had to stand over the sink at the back of the room (our cavernous office in the basement used to be where various arts were performed to repair books, etc., so there was an industrial steel sink). Pull the ring and open the lid carefully (no splashing of oil!) then eat out of the can with a fork (don't get it on your face, fingers, or clothes). A hefty squirt of dish soap went into the empty can and it was washed in order break down the oil and remove it from the can and wash completely down the drain. Also wash the lid with dish soap, then take the whole can out and discard the recyclable tin in the recycling container on the next floor up in a large open area.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Raggytash
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 01:51 PM

Fortune's kippers are a thing of beauty, no plastic bags or lumps of second rate butter get near them.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 12:52 PM

Sounds good to me. If I have a kipper I'll have a real one open like a big butterfly, not one of those pathetic jobs in a plastic bag with a knob of butter that you boil in the bag. That is not food. Due to the aroma (me)/stink (Mrs Steve) of the cooking fish, I'm obliged to cook and eat it outdoors. I have a big old frying pan and one of those ten-quid camping stoves that uses a butane canister. The kipper is done in butter for five minutes, then, all alone, I eat the lot, skin, bones, fins, the lot. My ancestors were probably seals. I even have to bring a bowl of washing-up water outside to clear up.

I have another recipe somewhere for a slightly posher version of mackerel pate that uses those fillets of smoked mackerel you can buy and some chopped-up gherkins, great for a starter if you get people round. I'll see if I can find it.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Thompson
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 12:39 PM

Kipper version sounds good too. Especially if you serve it while humming The Rustical Farmer.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Raggytash
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 12:25 PM

Nah ............... far better is to nip up the road to Fortune's Kipper House buy two or three kipper fillets. Put these into a food processor add a generous teaspoon of English mustard and a generous teaspoon of Horseradish sauce, a good grind of black pepper and a generous squeeze of lime juice and blend until smooth. Just before you remove it from the blender add a little cream to bind it. Chill before use!! :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 11:58 AM

Drain the mackerel well (two cans) and put into the jug of a hand-blender (or whatever you do to blend). Add one teaspoon of English mustard, one tablespoon of full-fat creme fraiche, a grinding of black pepper, the juice of a generous half a lemon and a *little* splash of Tabasco (or leave it out). Blitz well and whack it in the fridge. I find it tastes much better the day after I've made it. An option is to zest the lemon on top once you've put it into a nice bowl. More than enough there for two. We have it with buttered toast.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Jos
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 10:41 AM

Are there any other ingredients, as well as the mackerel and lemon juice?

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

Ah, great, that's the sardiney size.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 06:52 AM

I use Morrison's (nearest supermarket) mackerel fillets in olive oil which are 125g. Two of them, well-drained. Definitely just plain mackerel in oil, no fancy tomatoey/chillified jobs! The easiest thing to get wrong is the lemon, usually by adding too much of it. I never add extra salt.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Thompson
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 03:59 AM

Steve Shaw - what size are those tins of mackerel in oil that you use for mackerel pate? Lidl sell sardine-tin-sized tins, but do you mean those or the hand-length ones?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 17 Nov 20 - 05:20 PM

Ordered a burger. Ate half and hit the wall. But boy was it good!