I made a version of this tonight. I used that al fresco chicken sausage and I skinned the potatoes. I also used a few splashes of Tabasco sauce. It was easy and good, however, it could definitely still use something — I’m just not sure what. Oh, and I did not use the bacon grease — I used the olive oil.
I’d like to start a literary/pop culture-themed cookbook for my Cooperating Teacher
She has recently adopted a gluten-free diet and I would love to collect some geeky/pop culture/literary-referenced recipes that are gluten-free already or can be adapted to be gluten-free.
To get some ideas flowing, we’re teaching One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Kite Runner, Jane Eyre, Big Fish, In Cold Blood, myths (including Hercules, Gilgamesh, Ramayana) if you can think of anything. I will also be changing names for recipes to make them more literary-themed.
For example, I’m adapting a Lembas Bread recipe for her. I’m interested in multicultural recipes, desserts, breakfast, snacks — EVERYTHING! I’d also be willing to send out the completed cookbook file to anyone who wants it!
Any ideas?
Hey, I’m a little late posting this. Annie has always been a good friend to me. If you can help her out, I’d appreciate it!
~PPT
What are salt potatoes please, and what is the recipe for your Nutella and cool whip freezer pops? I’m asking for a friend who may actually just be me.
Salt potatoes are somewhat considered a regional dish of central New York, but were started by the Irish when they came to the U.S. and lived near salt distilleries. They would throw the potatoes in and cook them in the hot water. My family, being Irish, makes potatoes of every kind. We usually have them when we go camping with the extended family. The kind of potatoes we like to use aren’t easily found in the Cleveland area, but in NY where my aunt and uncle live, they are abundant —- sometimes even selling the salt in a pack with the potatoes.
Ingedients:
Small potatoes - one or two bites (sometimes called mashers or boiling potatoes) can be white or red (I don’t think the red ones taste the same — but it could be psychological).
Lots of salt (my family always uses Kosher salt, but I’m not sure if it matters). It should be FINE salt.
Butter cut into small pieces
Seasoning (parsley or others) — I like it without any seasoning
Water
I basically eyeball the whole thing, but I think the ratio of salt to water is 8 cups of water to 1.5 cups of salt. I think that would allow you to do 1 lb of salt potatoes, but again I eyeball it and usually make smaller batches because I live alone.
So, you put the water and the salt together in a pan, bring to a boil. Once it begins to boil add the potatoes (make sure they are washed). Keep on boil for about 25 minutes until soft.
Strain water out. Melt butter in pan for a minute. Then add the potatoes. Swirl the potatoes around making sure they are all coated with the butter.
The salt allows the water to heat up to a higher temp. This allows the potatoes to be creamier/fluffier on the inside than normal.
They sound so simple, but they are amazing. My family actually gets mad at someone if we feel they ate more than their share on a trip.
I hadn’t been planning on making them, but I went to the farmer’s market yesterday and they had the white ones. I don’t normally see them at the grocery store (I see the red ones but not white) and I just had to have them!
I’ll post the other recipe in a bit.
Anyone have any good recipes that involve bacon?
(Well, let’s face it. Bacon makes anything good).
Autyum-Leaf Recipe. :)
Here’s a treat no kid will leaf behind. Made with store-bought piecrust dough, these leaves are filled with chocolate and peanut butter chips — but try jam and cream cheese, or chocolate chips, walnuts, and mini marshmallows, if you prefer.
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon of water
- Prepared pie crust
- Mini chocolate chips
- Peanut butter chips
- Raw sugar
- Flour for work surface
Instructions
Heat the oven to 375°. Whisk one egg with a teaspoon of water and set it aside.
On a floured surface, roll out a prepared pie crust so it’s about 1/8-inch thick. Use a large leaf-shaped cookie cutter (ours is 4 1/2-inches wide) to make as many dough leaf pairs as possible.
For each pocket, spread about 4 teaspoons of mini chocolate chips and peanut butter chips on a leaf, leaving a 1/2-inch margin at the edge. Brush egg wash onto the edge, place a second leaf on top, and press the edges to seal.
Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle it generously with raw sugar. Bake the leaves on a parchment-covered cookie sheet until their edges are just beginning to brown, about 12 minutes. Let them rest on the sheet a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
Cute idea for fall! Sounds delicious, too.
We do a Clifford book called the Big Leaf Pile. This might be something I make if I have the energy.
Any favorites you care to share? I’ve been trying to look for easy freeze recipes since school starts back for me next week (and as a 1st year I KNOW I won’t be eating well if I have nothing prepared ahead of time)
The following are recipes I’ve tried, like, and freeze well.
Skinny Taste Chicken Nuggets - So good, taste just as good heated up as they did the first round.
Breaded Pork Chops — not exactly the healthiest, but so yummy. I let the meat sit and dry for a bit after flouring it. Chops with the bone in are juicier.
Tangy Beef Turnovers - this is my favorite meal to make, except I use Smoked Gouda cheese because I don’t like Swiss. I think a few different cheeses would work. 1 serving equals 179 calories, so make sure to pair it with some vegetables.
Kielbasa freezes well. I boil them until they are cooked. Freeze them like that. When I am ready to eat it, I heat it up on a frying pan till I can cut through it. Then I slice it up, put it back in the frying pan and put about 1/3 cup of orange juice it. Cook on medium until the orange juice is almost all gone. Make sure to turn the pieces over every now and then.
Sour Cream Chicken - this is really good. I changed it slightly after the first time I made it — it is healthier / easier. I use Plain Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream — and I used as much that is needed to cover all the parts of the chicken that is covered. This is what makes the dish. Also, sorting out the seasoning from the stuffing is annoying, so I use half Italian panko bread crumbs and half regular Italian bread crumbs. Tastes about the same and is a little healthier.
I also freeze my mom’s pepper steak recipe, and a lot of different casseroles. But I don’t have those recipes on me.
Also, I reheat things either in a sauce pan, the oven, or a toaster oven (depending on the recipe). I don’t like what the microwave does to food when I am reheating.
Cooking with Tomes Away: Cheese Night edition
(It might be stretching a point to call this cooking, but I melted the cheese on the bruschetta, so it works)
The key to a good cheese night is a variety of two things: cheese and the cheese delivery system (crackers). Everything else is just accessories.
On the plate above, there’s a round of triple cream Mt. Tam from Cowgirl Creamery (available at Whole Foods), raw milk sharp cheddar (from Zingermans mail order), a Dorset raw cow’s milk rinded cheese, and a chile-rich cheddar.
The brands don’t matter as much as a variety (in flavor and color, since you want a pretty looking plate), and most grocery stores have a pretty decent selection nowadays.
You should get:
- A brie (double or triple-cream) and leave it at room temperature for at least an hour before serving. You want it to be spreadable. You can also impress guests by cutting off a hunk, dipping it in a beaten egg and bread crumbs, and “frying” it in a warm skillet with butter until the insides are all runny, gooey, and perfect.
- A good sharp cheddar. My go-to cheddar is the Cabot extra aged block you can get at the deli counter.
- Goat cheese (chevre) adds tang to toast points, and is well-complemented by a few sun-dried tomatoes.
Beyond these three, it’s really just a matter of how many people you’re serving. This will get you started nicely.
Add interesting crackers:
- get a Pepperidge Farm variety pack of savory crackers, or if you’re lucky enough to live near a Trader Joe’s, get their crackers (they’re better).
- Get a French baguette, slice it into toast points, and put on a cookie sheet in an oven set at 275 degrees for about 20 minutes. Your little toasties will also be nice as the foundation for your…
Bruschetta!
With bruschetta, you can do it one of several ways (and endless varieties, which I’ll teach you about in a later post):
- Trader Joe’s jarred bruschetta topping is divine, and super fast. Spoon onto toasts, top with a little shredded mozzarella, and broil till the cheese is melty
- Dice up tomatoes, a little purple onion, basil, a shred of parmesan, and a dollop of olive oil
Serve your cheese and bruschetta with fresh fruit (we had peaches), honey to drizzle on the brie (wow, it’s good) and a nice fizzy wine (we had a bottle of Charles de Fere, a $12 bottle available at Total Wine). If you’re feeling fancy, you can add pistachios, almonds, or a nut of your choice.
You actually have one of those honey things?
(Source: tomesaway)
DIY - fresh basil ice cubes!
yesterday i harvested a HUGE bunch of basil from my container garden - it filled an entire large colander once i removed all of the stems! i harvested the basil because i want to to keep producing for the rest of the summer but i didn’t really want to cook anything basil-y yesterday so i made fresh basil cubes and now i’ll have fresh basil whenever i want it for months!
here’s how you can do it too!
- after you wash your basil start filling your food processor with it - mine is very tiny so i had to keep adding basil, pulsing, and adding more until it was all in there. add a little bit of oil of you want it to get a bit pastier i think i added maybe 2-3 teaspoons of oil to my entire colander of basil.
- puree the basil until it’s chopped as small as you’d like it to be - i didn’t want mine TOO pureed so i left it a little leafy!
- now stir up the chopped basil puree to make sure the liquids are all evenly distributed and get out an ice cube tray - mine is a silicone tray from ikea but any tray should work!
- fill each ice cube mold with basil, making sure to press down so the basil really fills the mold - don’t toss the liquid from the bottom of your food processor, pour a bit into each basil cube, it’s full of good basil-y flavor!
- put the ice cube tray into the freezer! leave it there till your basil cubes are frozen. i left mine over night just because.
- once frozen remove your ice cube tray from the freezer and un-mold the cubes! you can store them in a ziplock freezer bag until you want to use them! and now you have home-grown fresh basil for the winter!
you can do this with any fresh herb! for example if you buy a bunch of dill and only need a few sprigs, puree the rest and freeze it for next time! never waste leftover herbs again!!!
Fortuneandglory, did you see this?
Recipes to enjoy blueberries at every meal
Why regulate blueberries to one meal? Enjoy them throughout the day with these recipes.
This is relevant to my interests.
Reblogging myself with my favorite recipe as something to hold PPT over until I actually make this and take pictures. To make this super-healthy:
- Go light on the olive oil. I use it to balance out the balsamic, but if you go the overnight air-suck method you won’t need even need too much…
I like breaded pork chops. Every time I make them (instead of my mom), the breading comes off as soon as I cut it apart.
Anyone have any tips or recipes?
Such an exhausting day.
I just sat on the couch and zoned out when I got home for like 30 minutes.
Just finished browning chicken and mixing stuff together to put in the crock pot to make Orange Chicken. This is the recipe I used. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
What’s for dinner?
I’m making Oven-Roasted Asparagus (I use extra virgin olive oil, and I don’t use the cheese) and kielbasa.
The kielbasa is not a recipe from the internet. It is just how my parents made it when I was a kid, and I like to make it when I feel homesick.
I’ve posted about it before, but in case you missed it, this is how I do it.
Boil kielbasa ahead of time. Do not use brand meat like Johnsonville brats or whatnot because they have preservatives in them, and I think don’t taste as good as the kielbasa you get from the deli.
Cut kielbasa cooked kielbasa up. Put in frying pan with orange juice (I use Tropicana, no pulp, other brands can get kind of grainy and taste weird). I use about 1/3 cup of OJ if I am just making one for myself. But basically, I eyeball it. Enough in the pan that each slice is sitting in the oj at least half way up. Heat and stir on medium high until almost all of the oj has evaporated.
Yummy in my tummy.
What did you have/make tonight?
I hate most fish dishes.
I’m trying to eat healthier and cook at home more.
Tonight I made raspberry marinated salmon for dinner.
It was ok. I didn’t like the aftertaste. I’d consider making it again, not because I loved it, but because it is easy, healthy, and I didn’t hate hate it.
All I did was defrost 1 salmon fillet (I bought them vacuum sealed in individual pouches), let it sit in the fridge with Kraft raspberry light salad dressing for 30 minutes, and then broil it for 10.
