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Showing posts from November, 2006

As Long as My Name Isn't Mud...

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You Are Mud Pie You're the perfect combo of flavor and depth Those who like you give into their impulses What Kind of Pie Are You? Via Quoth the Maven . Tags: Food

Coming Attractions ...

Next week, a new and improved Doboschtorte technique ... perfect to try out for Christmas y'all! Tags: Food

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

Chris sent this to me with a ringing endorsement (see below). I can see why ... this sounds wonderful doesn't it? At least it does to anyone who likes pumpkin and cheesecake as much as I do. I'm a whipped cream freak so I'd substitute that for the Cool Whip. I'm wondering if I'll get the time to whip this up for my book club which will meet on the Monday after Thanksgiving. That's my goal anyway ... Since you post so many recipes for all to try, I thought I'd shoot one of my favorites that my wife makes around thanksgiving/Christmas. I hope you like it! Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake 2 pkgs 8oz cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla 2 eggs 1/2 cup canned pumpkin 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 6 dashes of ground nutmeg 1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs 1/2 cup thawed cool whip Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium until well blended. Add eggs, mix until well blended, but do not overbeat. Remove 1 cup batter. Stir in pumpkin &a

Thai-Style Ground Beef

This is from Cooking Light . I have to say that they really are geniuses at getting an essential cultural flavor down in the easiest possible way for a quick meal. Probably the best tribute to this recipe is that I didn't mention to Tom it was something new. He took a bite, his eyes widened, and he looked at me. "Wow! This is great!" Notes: I didn't have light coconut milk, just the regular sort. However, I inadvertently cut out a lot of the fat by just using a church key style can opener to poke holes in the top. This kept most of the fat in the can as it was evidently cool enough for it to be solidified. I was in a tearing hurry so didn't do the leek step ... and also didn't have iceberg lettuce. No matter. It was still great. Cooking spray 1 cup thinly sliced leek 1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic 1 pound lean ground sirloin 1 teaspoon red curry paste 1 cup tomato sauce 1/2 cup light coconut milk 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon grated lime rin

Thanksgiving Planning

Woohoo! I got done with work early tonight and now am going to sit down and make out my shopping list for Thanksgiving ... oh, and also for those other days leading up to it when we'll need food. I thought of this because The Anchoress is going to have Meringue Cake on that day and very kindly is sharing the recipe with us. We don't mess with Thanksgiving 'round here. It is strictly our favorites with the only variations allowed being in the cranberry relish and sweet potatoes ... and that is only because I am the only one who eats them. Our day-after-Thanksgiving meal also is mandated by tradition. Chef salad featuring turkey (of course), blue cheese dressing and crumbled bacon (the real thing please!) on top. Mmmmmm, crumbled bacon ... Here are a few links to recipes I've posted that we'll have at the feast. Holiday Central Ok, not my recipes but O Chef must answer just about every question you could think of there ... including any that my "short-hand"

Pecan Topped Sweet Potato Casserole

This is from Cook's Illustrated and I made it last year for the first time. Scrum-diddily-umptious! Serves 8 to 12 Topping 6 tablespoons light brown sugar 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (very cold), cut into 1/4-inch pieces 1/2 cup chopped pecans Potatoes 3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 6 medium potatoes), peeled, halved lengthwise, and halves cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices 6 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted 2 tablespoons honey 3 tablespoons molasses 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon powdered ginger 3/4 teaspoon table salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch 1. For the Topping: Whisk brown sugar and flour in small bowl. Add butter, and toss to coat; pinch between fingertips until mixture is crumbly and resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir chopped pecans into mixture; cover and refrigerate until ready to use. 2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. In large pot or Dutch

Yeast Raised Waffles

This is the first recipe I ever used for waffles and despite forays into other, more standard recipes, it remains our favorite. It is from an early Fanny Famer cookbook and Marion Cunningham has made sure that it has remained in cooking consciousness. This comes from her Breakfast Book which I highly recommend. We are using it quite often as we return to our Sunday morning "special" breakfasts which Tom and I had done ever since we were newlyweds but had strayed from at some point in the busyness of parenthood. We alternate Sundays for choosing and making a special breakfast and the other person cleans up later. Notes: We never have the time to cook any leftover saved batter as Cunningham advises. Instead, I take a page from Eggo's book by cooking up whatever remains and popping them in the toaster on weekday mornings. This made many more than 8 waffles for us. 1/2 cup warm water 1 package active dry yeast 2 cups milk, warmed 1/2 cup butter, melted 1 teaspoon sal

Cream Biscuits

The Dallas Morning News' food section (free registration required) features biscuits of all sorts today as well as biscuit making tips. However, I see that they missed the one essential recipe (similar to those I mentioned the other day ) that means you can skip the tips and turn out fantastic biscuits every time with no trouble at all. That would be the recipe for cream biscuits, where heavy cream substitutes for the fat and liquid thus killing two birds with one stone. Not only that but you don't have to mess around with cutting in shortening or butter which I really detest for some reason. These are from Beard on Bread by James Beard. Give them a try and you'll see what I mean. Note: I never do the final step of dipping in melted butter. Also, I usually need between 1-1/2 and 2 cups of cream. 2 cups all purpose flour 1 Tbsp baking powder 2 tsps sugar 1 tsp salt 1 to 1-1/2 cups heavy cream 5 Tbsps melted butter Preheat oven to 425F. Put dry ingredients in a bowl, and f

Dumplings

I made Chicken and Dumplings recently. It is one of Rose's favorites and, although I don't make it often, I always wish I made it more often because it is so good and homey and satisfying. I also am in the process of searching for the "perfect" Chicken and Dumplings recipe so that complicates things a bit. I have several targets for finding those "perfect" recipes and once I find them then I look no further. I may not make these essential recipes often but when I need them, they never fail to please and most could not be easier. A few such "essentials" that I have featured here include Piecrust , Pecan Butter Balls (a.k.a. Mexican Wedding Cakes), Pumpkin Pie , Sloppy Joes , and Simple Barbecue Sauce . Now we may add this Dumpling recipe to that list. Once again, I don't make dumplings often. If I made them more than once or twice a year it would be amazing. However, these are the easiest I've ever come across and they met with universal a

Thought for Food

Everything I eat has been proved by some doctor or other to be a deadly poison, and everything I don't eat has been proved to be indispensable for life. But I go marching on. George Bernard Shaw Tags: Food

When You Don't Have Any Nuoc Cham

In the Vietnamese kitchen, these dipping condiment adds vibrancy to many dishes. To prepare it, nuoc nam (fish sauce) is seasoned with red chilies, garlic, lime juice, ginger, and sugar. Substitute 1 cup nuoc cham with 1 cup Homemade Nuoc Cham: dissolve 1/4 - 1/3 cup granulated sugar in 3 tbsp hot water. Stir in 1/3 cup fresh lime juice, 1/3 cup nuoc nam or other fish sauce, 1-2 minced garlic cloves, and 1 seeded and minced Thai, cayenne, or serrano chile. Let stand for 15-20 minutes to blend flavors. Makes about 1 cup. The Food Substitutions Bible: More than 5,000 Substitutions for Ingredients, Equipment and Techniques Tags: Food

Myth Busters: Aluminum Cookware Causes Alzheimer's

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This myth got its start a number of years ago when medical researchers found elevated levels of aluminum in diseased tissue from the brains of Alzheimer's patients. One logical possibility (but not the only one) was that the raised aluminum level was responsible for causing the disease. Get exposed to too much aluminum, from your job perhaps or your cookware, and you would have a better chance of coming down with this awful disease. People started avoiding aluminum cookware, and some still are - unnecessarily it turns out. Subsequent research has failed to show any connection between aluminum exposure and Alzheimer's, and it is believed that the elevated aluminum in the brains of Alzheimer's patients is a result of the disease process. In other words, high aluminum levels do not cause Alzheimer's, but rather Alzheimer's causes high aluminum levels. Source: Alzheimer's Society Kitchen Myths Tags: Food