Recipe Thread

Quote: YoDiceRoll11

Soy alternatives done right, are soooo good.

Oh, indeed.

Quote:

There is this one soy chorizo that I buy. No meat, gluten free, not that it matters to me, but it IS AMAZING.

Be careful with that. Soy chorizo is easy to find down here, too, but all of the brands I know use lard. Same with chicken and turkey chorizo. it turns out turkey bacon (whatever that is) was a much better option. Meatier, too.

I'm thinking of doing soy burgers next week.

a craps dealers recipe.......corn pops and beer.

Quote: Nareed

Be careful with that. Soy chorizo is easy to find down here, too, but all of the brands I know use lard. Same with chicken and turkey chorizo. it turns out turkey bacon (whatever that is) was a much better option. Meatier, too.

Thanks for the heads up. This one however has barely any ingredients in it. It is amazing.

Quote: YoDiceRoll11

Thanks for the heads up. This one however has barely any ingredients in it. It is amazing.

That give a whole new meaning to vacuum packed :)

I am currently enamored with ratatouille (not the movie). I find myself making it all the time. It is just so tasty. I still haven't perfected the recipe, but I am getting close ... any ideas?

Here is what I use:
Baby eggplant (aubergine)
Baby zucchini (courgettes)
Green bell pepper
Onion
Garlic
Tomatoes (various kinds: fresh, canned, and diced)
Salt, Pepper, and something called Herbes De Provence (smells like a girl's bath product).

I sautee the eggplant and zucchini first in olive oil, stir in the onions, peppers and garlic, and then add the tomatoes. There is usually enough water to cover the vegetables, so I let it reduce and serve it over pasta, or by itself with a few canned sardines on top.

I think the key is to use fresh tomatoes. Makes all the difference. The canned tomatoes are just so crummy; the fresh tomatoes give a much "purer" flavor.

Quote: teddys

I am currently enamored with ratatouille (not the movie).

I love that movie :)

Quote:

I find myself making it all the time. It is just so tasty. I still haven't perfected the recipe, but I am getting close ... any ideas?

Having also read your restaurant reviews (very good, BTW), I must conclude you have a very peculiar taste in food... You won't catch me dead eating eggplant or zuchinni... Anyway, have you tried adding shredded or grated carrots? Making them is a chore, but it might be worth it. I wouldn't saute them with the rest of the veggies, but add them later in the process.

Bell peppers are delicious when cooked, but often they tend to dominate flavor-wise in some dishes. I don't suggest you cut them out, but you may want to revise how much you use, and how big you chop them.

Hope that helps.

And coming soon, my recipe for not making mushroom and pasta soup...

Three new recipes I just tried over the past two weeks:

1) How not to make mushroom soup:

1 liter beef or chicken broth
220 grams thin noodles (locally known as fideos)
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
a whole lot of mushrooms, say about 12 or 15, I guess, sliced.
Olive oil
a sprinkle of powdered ginger
a dash of Worcestershire sauce

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil. When the onion's done, add the mushrooms. Meantime bring the broth to a boil and then add the pasta, ginger and sauce. When the mushrooms are done, add the mix to the pasta.

Now, I used too little broth, so it pretty much evaporated leaving me with tasty but dry noodles. In Mexico that's known as "sopa seca" or "dry soup (go figure). The results were nice, though.

2) Closer to Mushroom soup:

2 (TWO) liters beef or chicken broth
1 pound of mushrooms, sliced
About 150 grams of shredded cabbage
About 100 grams of soybean sprouts
half a stalk of celery, chopped
Olive oil
a sprinkle of powdered ginger
a dash of Worcestershire sauce
One onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped

Pretty much the same steps as 1), only add the cabbage and soybean sprouts (I cook on the fly, pretty much, using whatever I have, I crave, or have left over from other recipes. It's fun!)

Just made it works as soup. After refrigerating leftovers, however, the broth gelled. it will liquefy when reheated, but the "soup" looks solid. Less pasta next time...

3) Nareed's ginger chicken. (Yes, I've used a whole lot of ginger lately)

300 grams chicken breast, cut into small pieces.
Olive oil
half an onion, chopped,
3 cloves of garlic, chopped,
5 mushrooms, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped.
1/2 cup of shredded cabbage
1/3 cup jicama, chopped.
3 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon ginger
1/3 teaspoon turmeric
3 teaspoons corn starch
about 1 1/2 cups chicken broth

Stir fry the chicken in olive oil. Add onion and garlic and saute. When that's done, add the vegetables, chicken broth, spices and soy sauce. Stir very well. cover the pan and let it simmer for five minutes. Meantime dissolve the corn starch in a few table spoons of water. Add the corn starch mix and stir. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for five more minutes.

This one came out really well. If you like the veggies softer, let it simmer longer.

Here's one I got from Tom Caulfield, aka Dr Smoke, owner of Chubby's BBQ in Emmitsburg MD.

Tom's original recipe:

The jar of the Bruschetta they sell at Costco, I use 3
an onion thinly sliced then chopped, I use 3
A 49 oz can of Chicken broth, I use 6
Some additional chicken granuels, for the salt
oregano, a few pinches
Thyme
Boneless skinless ckicken breasts cooked on the Flat Top, cut up, I used 10 lbs.
Simmer, adjust seasonings if needed, you shouldn't need.
Oh, a little Parmesean, not too much, the Bruschetta is seriously tasty


Here's what I did:

Chicken Bruschetta Soup

1 39oz jar of bruschetta topping (or a similar amount of fresh bruschetta topping)
3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
some olive oil
1 medium-large onion, thinly sliced and chopped
2 49oz cans of low sodium chicken broth (the bruschetta topping has plenty of salt)
1 tsp chicken bullion granules
a pinch or so of thyme
a pinch or so of oregano
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2/3 or so of a regular sized box of orzo or similar soup pasta
Italian bread and shredded mozzarella

Pour all the ingredients except the chicken and the olive oil, and the orzo, in a stock pot and heat to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Grill the breasts in the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat until all the pink is gone. Remove from heat, shred, and add to the soup. Take a ladle of the broth and use it to deglaze the skillet (pour it into the skillet and scrape the bottom), and return the broth to the pot.

Simmer on low for an hour or two. Adjust the seasonings if you have to, but this should be just about right. Meanwhile, cook the orzo according to the directions, and add it to the soup.

Toast the bread, melt some cheese on it, and serve with the soup.

I'm 0 for 3 with soups right now... This time it was bean soup. I did learn something: you can't use too much water when attempting to make bean soup. It came out like beans with tomato and chicken sauce with sausages (actually quite good with some rice). So, anyone have a bean soup recipe?

I did better with the soy picadillo. I did hydrate the soy with beef broth. Heat to near boiling, drop the textured soy, stir until the liquid is consumed. It came out very well. Oh, it lacks the texture of real beef, but it's better than making it plain, or adding chicken bullion powder.

Next time I think I'll try cooking the picadillo with less tomato puree and will add some more beef broth and corn starch to try to get a thick sauce.

I'm really enjoying this, and I've yet to 1) cut myself with a knife (matter of time, I'm sure), 2) burn myself with a hot utensil or pot, and 3) cook something inedible.

It seems I never can, or want to, make the same recipe exactly the same way twice. Ok, last night's ginger chicken suffered from a lack of veggies available early in the evening at the grocery store (long story). So I used snow peas, more onion, more carrot and more celery to make up for not having mushrooms, jicama and cabbage. But I also changed and added ingredients:

Sesame oil instead of olive oil, 1/3 teaspoon of ground cumin, and a dash of teriyaki sauce. The sesame oil has a rather strong flavor (I think it smells like roasted peanuts), which changes the tone of the dish. I also used a full liter of chicken broth, and simmered the whole thing longer. The result was very good, again. I'm thinking this dish is proof against anything...

I'm stuck for soup, though. I like soup, and more so during cold days like we're having now. Today was a relatively balmy 12 Celsius morning. Yesterday it was 7. I'd like to do a potato soup next. Any interesting, low-fat recipes out there? Otherwise I may be forced to revisit the bean soup, with a pressure cooker this time...