BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta

Subject: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: gnu
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 10:49 AM

gnu's Traditional Quick and Dirty Christmas Chowder :

1 can Campbell's Chunky clam chowder, 1 can Snow's clam chowder, 3 cups almost cooked diced potatoes, 1 finely chopped large onion, four cups skim milk, 1 glop margerine, 2 cans baby clams (bar clams if ya can get em), lightly fried scallops (as much as you can afford - go on, splurge... it's Xmas), 1 can lobster (or as much as you can afford). Trow er all in an simmer 40 minutes, place in fridge overnight, simmer 30 minutes, stuff face.

Don't tell anyone the recipe. Let them think you know what you are doing.

Anyone else got any quick and dirty recipes for special occasions?

BTW... the measures above are not exact. As near as I can remember from last night. But this chowder is delicious!

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: Amos
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 10:52 AM

Xmas Gift Toddy:

One glass Bristol Cream Sherry.

Pour sherry into ordinary glass. Sip while opening presents.

Serves 1.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: EBarnacle
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 11:24 AM

Coquito, Puerto Rican Egg Nog

2 cans cream of coconut
1 can condensed milk
1 bottle good dark rum (the taste is worth it!)
A liberal shot of vanilla extract
4 egg yolks
Nutmeg to taste

Blend all of the ingredients together, put them in a punch bowl in front of the crowd, stand back, take the punch bowl back to the kitchen and start over. It's that good.

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: MMario
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 11:31 AM

Chocolate Bread Pudding:

Aprox 3 cups bread torn into stuffing sized pieces
(I use Kings Hawaian - or challah, or brioche - a nice rich bread)

2 cups half and half or heavy cream

4 eggs

1/2 cup Hersheys Special Dark Chocolate Syrup

1/2 cup cocoa powder


Beat eggs with cocoa; mix in everything else except bread. Butter a baking dish, add the bread, pour chocolate cream over the bread, stir to make sure all bread moistened; cover and refrigerate overnight or longer.

Remove cover and bake at 350 F approx 1 hour - until risen and the center almost solid. remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes. Serve with Hard sauce.

Hard sauce:

1/4 lb butter
1 cup sugar
1 tablspoon rum or liquor of choice

cream butter with sugar. Add liqour.

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: GUEST,MMmmm
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 11:42 AM

ah mario I am drooling. Is that single and double cream? I like the idea of the brioche. Not too sure about the hersheys choc sauce, can't see me finding that in UK. We have bottles of choc sauce to pour over icecream?

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: MMario
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 11:48 AM

yes - that would be single cream for the "half and half" or "double cream" = heavy cream. your choice.

Any chocolate sauce would do I think - I use the hersheys dark because it is slightly less sweet and higher actual chocolate content then others available here in the us. You could just stir in melted (dark) chocolate of your choice (approx 125 g) in place of the syrup . the syrup/melted chocolate provides the sweetener - the cocoa powder gives a bit more chocolate flavor with that bittersweet edge. Then you get the succulent richness of the melting hard sauce with it's sweetness contrasting with the rich, dark, chocolate.

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: GUEST,MMmmm
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 11:57 AM

AAAaaahhhh it's getting better by the second! Good idea I will melt good-quality-high-in-cocoa chocolate then. Did you mean I just chop up 125g of broken choc and melt it? Or is that how much it is meant to weigh after melting? Connundrum...would it weigh the same?

The hard sauce sounds like our brandy butter I think.

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: MMario
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 12:04 PM

yes - melted chocolate weighs the same as non-melted chocolate - and then the addition of the cocoa powder makes it even HIGHER in cocoa - without adding sugar.

yes = "hard sauce" = "Brandy Butter" as near as I can tell - I like to flavour with Kahlua, or Bailey Cream, or sometimes Triple Sec.

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: GUEST,MMmmm
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 12:11 PM

Thanks for that. The kahlua has nailed it, although the Baileys is calling me too. It will be eaten with gusto and as I am no culinary genius it will be well recieved!

MMerry Christmas from LLondon.

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: GUEST,G
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 12:12 PM

This and the thread concerning "Toaster Ovens" are no doubt two of the most important here in recent weeks. Thanks, Everyone.

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: Emma B
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 12:36 PM

Goose glazed with rich soy sauce and served with apple, ginger and green chilli comfit .........ooops sorry - wrong thread!

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: CarolC
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 02:15 PM

This post is in answer to a question Peace asked me in another thread.

JtS says the herb is savory. He endorses the following recipe (except he says his family never used ginger in their dressing), and he also says the particular brand of savory mentioned in the recipe (Mt. Scio Farm Savoury) is a good one...

http://www.recipezaar.com/141018

Newfoundland Dressing for Turkey Recipe #141018

Now that I'm engaged to a Newfie, I have started learning the "old family recipes", as well as some new words... Anyhow, this is the dressing that Newfoundlanders enjoy with their turkey - it is really different than the "stuffing" that I grew up with out in BC. This is enough for a 10 lb turkey.

10         slices bread
1         cup chopped onions
1/2         cup chopped celery
1/2         cup chopped apples
1         teaspoon savory (Mt. Scio Farm Savoury is made right in Newfoundland)
1/4         teaspoon ginger
        salt and pepper
1/2         cup melted butter
6-8 servings Change size or US/metric
Change to: servings US Metric
10 minutes 10 mins prep

1. Tear bread slices up and place them in a food processor. Pulse until crumbs, not chunks. Remove crumbs and place in medium bowl.
   
2. Add onion, celery, apple, savoury and ginger, and mix well.

3. Add melted butter and mix again. Add salt and pepper to taste.

4. NOTE: This can also be placed in foil and heated through for 10 minutes, if not stuffing turkey or if there is extra dressing.

5. NOTE: A popular Newfie post-turkey meal is "Chips, dressing, and gravy" in which the leftover dressing is placed on top of french fries and then covered in gravy. A sort of Newfie poutine.

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: Janie
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 03:12 PM

Smoked Turkey

Got to Grocery. Buy one precooked smoked turkey. Warm in the oven before serving.

Cheers,

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: gnu
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 03:28 PM

Excellent stuff. Pun intended. Janie... you're a dear after me own 'eart. Now, canned or frozen veggies with that? Or ketchup and a rum 'n coke?

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: Peace
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 04:08 PM

"Got to Grocery. Buy one precooked smoked turkey. Warm in the oven before serving."

I can't fit in my oven. Would a hot bath suffice?

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: bobad
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 04:29 PM

Just a little info re. savoury there are two kinds, winter and summer the former being a perennial and the latter an annual. The winter variety is more pungent than the summer.

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: Peace
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 04:38 PM

Some Newfoundland friends made a savoury stuffing that was just loaded with it. Wow, was that good. Until then most stuffings I'd had were made with sage. (I still like sage stuffing, but the savoury is somethin' else.) Love it with gravy. If I recall correctly, I didn't have any turkey with that meal. Forgot all about it.

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 04:43 PM

Peace if you are making it yourself be careful with the amount. Savory is strong.

Chips Dressing and gravy is a fantastic way to consume savory.

French fries smothered in dry savory dressing, in turn smothered in turkey gravy. MMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMM

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: Peace
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 04:46 PM

Thanks to both you and yer lovely missus for

1) letting me sleep nights by telling me the herb is savoury

2) giving me an alternative to poutine--which I think is an abomination

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: Amos
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 05:46 PM

For those who cook turkeys for Christmas, here's the definitive scoop on how to.

Whatever your gustatory treats, this Xmas, enjoy them immensely and with great delight.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: gnu
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 05:49 PM

You got that right, JTS.... savory is one of those herbs where less is more. When I cook a stew, I put just a pinch in a big pot and leave the stew overnight.

Dressing, or stuffing (a term I just heard a few years ago) ... I use dried bread, onions and savory. Simple and scrumptious. Is that the same "dry savory dressing" Jack?

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 06:25 PM

Yes it is, no apples or celery, you want the gravy to provise the moisture. The Restaurant Dressing for CDG never sees the inside of a bird. Chips dressing and gravy, fish and chips and fried cod tongues are THE best things to order in a Newfoundland diner!

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: Peace
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 06:27 PM

Like the cheeks myself, but the tongues are fantastic too.

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: Peace
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 06:27 PM

Jack, do you two make mustard potatoes by any chance?

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: wysiwyg
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 07:18 PM

OK, I'll spill it. To serve with very rare Prime Rib (mooooo) and Spinach as you like it:

CREAM OF GORGONZOLA SOUP
You will have to estimate quantities.

Start by making a roux, and then add whole milk. Heat that up till it's all nicely thick. Next add the crumbled Gorgonzola. When it's oozy-goozy (as Emeril would surely say if we made this for him), thin it with WHIPPING CREAM. Add black or white pepper to taste. Perhaps a tad of lemon juice if it is not sharp enough to suit. Then fall into it. I suppose a dollop of sour cream couldn't hurt as a garnish, with a few artsy-fartsy chives. A biscuit/scone or two would not be amiss. NOT crackers.

A good red wine with the above meal will make you scream as would one orgasm too many. This meal is definitely in the Rorty section of the Grub Book.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: Janie
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 10:23 PM

Not as simple as the pre-cooked turkey, but still an easy and delicious recipe--
freezes well and makes a great gift.
Fresh Apple Cake

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 or 3 heaping teaspoons apple pie spice (mix cinnamon, nutmeg, & just a little clove)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups veggie oil (oops--it may be 2 cups, I don';t have the recipe here at M & D's--add another half cup if the batter is so think you can't stir it.)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups cored, peeled, chopped apples

Place all ingredients in a large bowl except apples and mix well. Stir in the apples. Bake in a greased, floured tube pan at 350%F for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Or use 2 samll tube pans and bake for 55 minutes.

Glaze

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk

Melt the butter then add

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: Janie
Date: 23 Dec 05 - 10:32 PM

Oops--hit send button by accident. Start the glaxe about 10 minutes before the cake comes out of oven.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add remaining ingredients, and stir constantly until mixture has boiled for 5 minutes. Start on high heat and reduce to medium once you have a good boil going. Pour over the cake as soon as the cake is removed from the oven. Let cake sit in pan for 2 hours before removing to a serving plate.

This cake improves overnight as flavors blend.

No. Really! As cake recipes go this is very quick and simple--no sifting or alternating ingredients or beating eggs separately, etc.

Merry Christmas

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: gnu
Date: 24 Dec 05 - 07:13 AM

Mmmm... next week is gonna be fun trying these out. Thanks.

"... one orgasm too many." Does not compute.

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 24 Dec 05 - 09:27 AM

"Got to Grocery. Buy one precooked smoked turkey. Warm in the oven before serving."

I can't fit in my oven. Would a hot bath suffice?

~~~

You're missing the point - the turkey will get soggy, maybe even drown.

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Dec 05 - 10:49 AM

Not if you put the turkey down before you get in the bath.Duh!!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 24 Dec 05 - 12:39 PM

The cheeks are good. But are not served in diners.

My grandma used to make mustard potatoes mmmmmmm mmmmmmm

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: open mike
Date: 24 Dec 05 - 04:04 PM

savory is grown--not made..more here:
http://www.apinchof.com/savory1075.html
http://www.sallys-place.com/food/columns/gilbert/savory.htm

Subject: RE: BS: Christmas thread for cooks... sorta
From: gnu
Date: 24 Dec 05 - 04:57 PM

Tongues and cheeks!!! Mmmmm. I was on vacation one time with my ex-in-laws. We had a couple of cabins in Rocky Harbour on the west coast of Newfoundland. A knock on the door revealed two red-headed, freckled lads of about 8 years of age who asked if I wanted to buy any fresh tongues for $5 a pound. I asked how many pounds they had and they said they figured the old man had just come in with 7 or 8 pounds. I said yes, please. They looked at me tentatively and asked how many pounds. I said, "All of em." They looked at each other like kids at Christmas with wide eyes and smiles. They were off like a shot and returned out of breath on a dead run.

I fried up a batch and a few of the in-laws enjoyed them... city folk, ya know. Some shockin good. We get them here in the grocery now and then, but they'll never taste the same again. I think it was the freckles.