Foodgasms
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tortoise
roosevelt dime
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I have an intense craving for my butternut squash soup. A perfect accompaniment to cool evening after a rainy day. I'm off to make that now!
ksmybuttons
Push and Pull
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tortoise said:
We just finished corn chowder and a nice green salad. Winter meals, I love them.
I had a guilty pleasure this morning...soft boiled eggs and english muffin. So simple, so exquisite. I know one isn't suppose to eat runny yolks, but, with real butter and white ground pepper, it's one of my favorites.
Tinkersquash
Tinkersquash
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Couscous
What are your favourite ways to eat couscous? I've got some that needs doing but I'm just not sure how it needs to be done this time around.
What are your favourite ways to eat couscous? I've got some that needs doing but I'm just not sure how it needs to be done this time around.
tortoise
roosevelt dime
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Tinkersquash said:
Tinks! Always a delight to see you.
I generally do my couscous cold in a salad, but that's really more of a summer thing. _pebbles posted a very interesting recipe for couscous in this thread, though, one that I am eager to try: Black Bean Molé and Coconut Couscous. I've also done a simple preparation with one of the following: toasted pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes, preserved lemon, olives, wild mushrooms. It makes a great neutral base for many, many flavors.
Oh! I meant to ask you. How was your duck? Did you exact revenge with apples and prunes?
Hamletmaschine
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Tonight I'm making my Cajun Meatloaf. In the mood for comfort food and few things say 'comfort food' to me like meatloaf and mashed taters. But this ain't yer (midwestern) Mama's meatloaf. It's been kicked up a few notches, as one o' the TV chefs down here is fond of saying. Recipe courtesy of Paul Prudhomme.
4 T. unsalted butter
1 c. onion, diced
½ c. green bell pepper
½ c. celery, diced
¼ c. green onions, diced
1 T. garlic, minced
1 T. worchestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2+ T. Cajun or Creole seasoning
½ c. ketchup
½ c. condensed milk
1.5 lbs. ground beef
½ lb. ground pork
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 c. dried bread crumbs
1. Melt butter in large skillet or sauté pan over med. heat
2. Add vegetables, garlic, worchestershire sauce, spices, and bay leaves, and cook, stirring often, til vegs. are softened and the mixture starts sticking to the pan. (5-7 mins.)
3. Add ketchup and cond. milk, stirring well to blend, and scraping up any browned bits, and heat til it all begins to simmer (2-3 mins.).
4. Remove pan from heat and let cool a bit. Discard bay leaves. Preheat oven to 350.
5. While the veg. mixture is cooling, combine the meats, eggs, and bread crumbs together in a large (9 x 13) baking dish until well blended.
6. When veg. mixture is cool enough to handle, add it to the meat mixture, then blend them together until it’s of somewhat even consistency. (It will be a loose and gooey consistency.) Pat it into some semblance of a ‘loaf’, about an inch and a half tall, leaving about an inch on all four sides of the baking dish.
7. Bake for 25 minutes at 350, then increase temp. to 400, and bake for another 35 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and let it ‘rest’ for 5-10 minutes before serving.
4 T. unsalted butter
1 c. onion, diced
½ c. green bell pepper
½ c. celery, diced
¼ c. green onions, diced
1 T. garlic, minced
1 T. worchestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2+ T. Cajun or Creole seasoning
½ c. ketchup
½ c. condensed milk
1.5 lbs. ground beef
½ lb. ground pork
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 c. dried bread crumbs
1. Melt butter in large skillet or sauté pan over med. heat
2. Add vegetables, garlic, worchestershire sauce, spices, and bay leaves, and cook, stirring often, til vegs. are softened and the mixture starts sticking to the pan. (5-7 mins.)
3. Add ketchup and cond. milk, stirring well to blend, and scraping up any browned bits, and heat til it all begins to simmer (2-3 mins.).
4. Remove pan from heat and let cool a bit. Discard bay leaves. Preheat oven to 350.
5. While the veg. mixture is cooling, combine the meats, eggs, and bread crumbs together in a large (9 x 13) baking dish until well blended.
6. When veg. mixture is cool enough to handle, add it to the meat mixture, then blend them together until it’s of somewhat even consistency. (It will be a loose and gooey consistency.) Pat it into some semblance of a ‘loaf’, about an inch and a half tall, leaving about an inch on all four sides of the baking dish.
7. Bake for 25 minutes at 350, then increase temp. to 400, and bake for another 35 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and let it ‘rest’ for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Hamletmaschine
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tortoise said:
Add my mashed potatoes, and you've got a lovely, artery-clogging mess o' comfort food.
Slap yo mama mashed taters
1. Boil 2-3 lbs. of whatever taters you like; drain 'em, mash 'em, and put 'em back on the burner to get rid of excess water for 2-3 mins.
2. Mix in the fat: i.e., 4 T. butter
3. Add some more fat: i.e., 1/2 c. heavy cream + 1/2 c. sour cream
4. Add several dashes of hot sauce (Crystal is the best, of course).
5. Mix in 1/4 c. green onions
6. Salt and pepper to taste.
Tinkersquash
Tinkersquash
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I almost always do my couscous cold, in a salad, as well. Finely diced onion, tomato and cucumber - and then the "dressing" varies all the time. Usually heaps of lemon juice, though! I once prepared the salad and then found myself completely out of lemons and oil, so I used good old Hellmans mayonnaise instead. It still had a nice tang to it and was very enjoyable. The duck was really one of the best I've had in a long time. I scored the skin, slathered it with soya and mango honey, and then sprinkled it with coarse flakes of sea salt and slapped it skin-side-down into a hot skillet! It caramelized perfectly. The skin was crispy, and the duck was nice and pink inside.
The Bean Molé looks delicious but it is a wee bit complicated for someone with my schedule. We're usually so knackered at the end of the day, we just throw stuff together and try to be finished in under half an hour. I think the Molé would have to be a weekend thing. Ooh, maybe I could use the couscous as a stuffing for something. *ideas forming*
It's a pleasure to see you too, Toitleman
The Bean Molé looks delicious but it is a wee bit complicated for someone with my schedule. We're usually so knackered at the end of the day, we just throw stuff together and try to be finished in under half an hour. I think the Molé would have to be a weekend thing. Ooh, maybe I could use the couscous as a stuffing for something. *ideas forming*
It's a pleasure to see you too, Toitleman
tortoise
roosevelt dime
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Your couscous salad sounds very similar to mine. Onion, cucumber, and lemon or lime are a must, and I like a bit of cilantro as well.Tinkersquash said:
That sounds absolutely perfect, Tinks. I'm glad that you like it rare. It always makes me cringe when people take a beautiful duck breast and overcook it. If you're squeamish about pink poultry, stick with chicken!
ksmybuttons
Push and Pull
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Foodflaccid fits with how I'm feeling about turkey right now, however, tonight was a BOF (Bowl of Food) night, and turkey it was.
I sauteed onion, celery, garlic and grated ginger root and then used Penzey's Sweet Curry for the spice. Stirred it all together and cooked for a couple of minutes. I had leftover turkey gravy, so added that and some plain yogurt. Heated it all together and then put chunks of the turkey and a hand full of cranraisins! I still had some walnuts left over so toasted those and served the turkey over rice with the walnuts on top and a few more cranraisins. Green salad. It was wonderful and I'm glad there's very little turkey left.
I normally don't like fruit with meat, but, for a curry, and especially a turkey curry, the cranraisins just seemed right. The walnuts gave it a nice crunch.
I sauteed onion, celery, garlic and grated ginger root and then used Penzey's Sweet Curry for the spice. Stirred it all together and cooked for a couple of minutes. I had leftover turkey gravy, so added that and some plain yogurt. Heated it all together and then put chunks of the turkey and a hand full of cranraisins! I still had some walnuts left over so toasted those and served the turkey over rice with the walnuts on top and a few more cranraisins. Green salad. It was wonderful and I'm glad there's very little turkey left.
I normally don't like fruit with meat, but, for a curry, and especially a turkey curry, the cranraisins just seemed right. The walnuts gave it a nice crunch.
tortoise
roosevelt dime
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ksmybuttons said:
That sounds amazing, tweeks. Very creative. Like a curry and chutney combined. I'm going to have to try that next time I am facing a mountain of leftover turkey.
Hester said:
Eau de Chevre suits you, Dances With Goats.
I know the feeling. I often go vegetarian for weeks at a time as sort of a detox after an overdose of crap.
smartandsexy
Not Dead Yet
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I've been a bad girl. I've been meaning to come back and let you know about my mac & cheese adventures. I even took pictures, which has been what's held me up as I haven't been able to get them onto my computer. Nevertheless, it's a shameful amount of time now, so I thought I'd just let you know how it went, and screw the photos!
I tried it the weekend before TG with processed cheese slices (couldn't find anything else processed and veggie), which were disconcertingly called 'cheese food' slices, and some extra mature cheddar. I also couldn't bear to make a cheese sauce without mustard, so added a liberal dollop of English mustard to the recipe. For a while, I thought it was going to be disastrous, as the cheese slices took a lot longer to melt than the cheddar, and I really thought I was going to end up with a runny cheese sauce full of little bits of processed cheese slices. Then suddenly, it all began to melt and merge, giving me a good sticky sauce. After baking, the result was a mac and cheese of a good consistency, but toooo cheesy, and still very definitely 'processed' tasting, though the boy devoured it with gusto. For thanksgiving itself, for the proper cheese part of the recipe I substituted the extra mature cheddar for half mature cheddar and half double gloucester. And it turned out fabulously! The taste had mellowed out from that super cheesey kick, and somehow, the addition of the double gloucester did a great job in masking the 'processed' flavour.
All in all, a success! Thanks for all the suggestions, and especially to CJH for linking the recipe.
I tried it the weekend before TG with processed cheese slices (couldn't find anything else processed and veggie), which were disconcertingly called 'cheese food' slices, and some extra mature cheddar. I also couldn't bear to make a cheese sauce without mustard, so added a liberal dollop of English mustard to the recipe. For a while, I thought it was going to be disastrous, as the cheese slices took a lot longer to melt than the cheddar, and I really thought I was going to end up with a runny cheese sauce full of little bits of processed cheese slices. Then suddenly, it all began to melt and merge, giving me a good sticky sauce. After baking, the result was a mac and cheese of a good consistency, but toooo cheesy, and still very definitely 'processed' tasting, though the boy devoured it with gusto. For thanksgiving itself, for the proper cheese part of the recipe I substituted the extra mature cheddar for half mature cheddar and half double gloucester. And it turned out fabulously! The taste had mellowed out from that super cheesey kick, and somehow, the addition of the double gloucester did a great job in masking the 'processed' flavour.
All in all, a success! Thanks for all the suggestions, and especially to CJH for linking the recipe.
tortoise
roosevelt dime
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smartandsexy said:All in all, a success! Thanks for all the suggestions, and especially to CJH for linking the recipe.
Excellent! Thank you for the full report, and I'm so glad that it was a success. It's been far too long since I've indulged in mac & cheese. That sounds so good right now.
Rambling Rose
My Aim Is True
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Did someone say gumbo?
smartandsexy
Not Dead Yet
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tortoise said:
It's always great to have another quick and easy comfort food recipe to add to my repertoire.
CrackerjackHrt said:
I'm a huge double gloucester fan. Toasted granary bread, lots of melty butter, and wafer thin slices of double gloucester...heaven!
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