# Favorite Recipe Megathread



## Sirius (Mar 26, 2008)

Hey everybody,

I am working on typing up some recipes today, and I thought it would be cool to start a thread for recipe sharing. Post a favorite recipe, sweet or savory, so we can all enjoy the food that you love. I will start with my famous Strawberry Shortcake Cookies. I make these for my wife to take to potlucks, and she comes home with a huge ego because people shower her with praise all day long over these simple little cookies.

*Strawberry Shortcake Cookies* 
Recipe makes approx. 20 cookies
You will need:
3 large egg whites
3/4 cup of granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 small container of sour cream.
approx. 10 fresh strawberries, washed and sliced.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F, and place the oven rack in the center position. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. This is a very crucial step. These cookies have a tendency to stick and they are very brittle, but with parchment paper they come right up. Forming the cookies with a pastry bag is easiest, but you can also use two spoons.

Seperate the egg whites into a bowl. Let them rest at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. Cold egg whites are harder to beat into a meringue. After the eggs have reached room temperature, beat them with an electric mixer until foamy (about 45 seconds). Add the sugar one tablespoon at a time while beating the whites at medium speed. Adding the sugar slowly allows time for it to disolve into the whites. After all the sugar has been added, and roughly five minutes of mixing, the eggs should begin to form stiff peaks. At this point, add the vanilla extract and beat another minute to thoroughly mix in the vanilla. You are now ready to form the cookies. 

Using a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch tip (or two spoons), drop 1 inch rounds of meringue onto your baking sheet spaced 1 and 1/2 inches apart. These cookies expand slightly when baked, so make sure they don't touch. Using the back of a teaspoon, create a small depression in the top of each cookie. This depression will hold the sour cream and strawberries after the cookies have been baked.

Bake the cookies for about 1 and 1/2 hours, turning the baking sheet front to back about halfway through to ensure even baking. The cookies should take on a very light ivory color, and be fairly crisp on the outside when done. Remove them from the oven, and place them carefully on a cooling rack or countertop lined with extra parchment paper to rest.

Store the cookies in an airtight container if they won't be served immediately. Exposing the cookies to high humidity will make the cookies gummy instead of crispy. Just before you are ready to serve the cookies, place a half a teaspoon of sour cream on each cookie, and arrange some sliced strawberry on top of the sour cream. I find that three thin slices of strawbery arranged in a fan shape makes these cookies look spectacular. Don't add the sour cream and strawberries until you are ready to eat the cookies, as this will make the cookies turn gummy. If you are taking the cookies to a potluck, place the cookies on a serving tray and provide the sour cream and strawberries, allowing each person to build their own cookie with your instructions written on a note card displayed with the cookies.


----------



## streetmorrisart (Mar 26, 2008)

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Pepper Sauce

1Ib fresh shrimp in their shells (roughly 26-30 per pound)
1 T freshly-grated ginger (peeled) 
2-3 garlic cloves pressed
4 scallions, including the green tops, cut into ¼” diagonal pieces
1 T Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
dried red chilies
2 T ketchup 
1 T cornstarch dissolved in 2 T chicken stock 
2 T peanut oil (you can get away with canola but it’ll impart less flavor)

Shell and devein shrimp, rinse in cold water and pat dry. Have all the other ingredients ready to go in small dishes. Also, fresh rice, a stir-fried green vegetable and whatever else you like (for us this is usually bok choy or peapods and spring rolls I make in large batches occasionally on the weekends and freeze).

Heat up the wok, then the oil and peppers till completely blackened—takes some experimenting to find how many peppers you want to use (I use a lot). Turn things down just slightly to let the oil cool a bit, add the scallions, ginger and garlic for about 20 seconds and add the shrimp, turning the heat back up a bit of you sense they’re stewing rather than being stir-fried. Flip things around till the shrimp are pink and firm, then add the wine, soy sauce, ketchup, sugar and salt mixture—stir. Lastly, give the cornstarch and stock mixture a stir, pour it over the shrimp and stir till there is a translucent glaze.


----------



## Corbin (Mar 26, 2008)

Jackson Shrimp

Uncooked shrimp in desired quantity
Small brown paper bag with flower and chili power (enough chili powder to give it a nice speckled appearance
Put shrimp in the bag and shake well
Fry in Butter over low heat until tender (no you can not use a subsitute)

A simple recipe with a delicious result


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Mar 26, 2008)

White Lasagna
Health freaks and vegans may as well just scroll past......don't go for a checkup after this one.....
1) boil lasagna noodles for 5 minutes max......meanwhile...
2) brown ground veal/chicken/turkey (I prefer veal, chicken just as good...turkey, feh!) a lb, maybe more, maybe less
3) drain the meat....saute garlic, shallots, and your favorite mushrooms (I prefer oyster) in olive oil or butter.
4) add a cup or so of white wine and/or chicken broth. also add a few splashes Worcestershire sauce....and anchovies/anchovy paste...use a little salt if this grosses you out. Also black pepper. Boil the crap out of this until it reduces a little.
5) Add some sherry...I prefer Amontillado. You decide how much.
6) Add a 1/2 pint heavy cream, and some parsley. Boil the crap out of it for a few minutes to reduce it a bit. 
7) layer the noodles, sauce, swiss cheese, and prosciutto...I usually do 3 layers of noodles. Cover with tin foil, bake at 400 deg for 20 minutes. Take off the tin foil, bake another 10 minutes until there is some browning.
8) Take it out of the oven, let it sit for a few minutes before eating....make sure that you eat too much. Serve with any damn wine you like...goes just as well with white as with red. If you prefer beer, drink a damn good one...like anything from Stone brewery...........For dessert, eat the richest, heaviest, least healthful stuff you want...it doesn't matter.....you already wrecked your health with dinner......Take care, Eric


----------



## Sirius (Mar 26, 2008)

Ha ha Eric. I was going to post my White Lasagne recipe later. Very similiar except I use grilled chicken, bacon and fresh spinach. Great stomachs think alike.


----------



## Heather (Mar 26, 2008)

Mmmm, bacon....someone said bacon? 


I've got a few coming....


----------



## Heather (Mar 26, 2008)

*Appetizer from Martha - Dates with Marscarpone*

Dates with Mascarpone (this is SO easy and a HUGE hit!)

Makes 2 dozen 

For a more elegant presentation, pipe the mascarpone onto the dates using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. 

24 pitted Medjool dates 
1 cup mascarpone 
Finely chopped walnuts, for garnish (optional) 
Finely chopped candied ginger, for garnish (optional) 
Pomegranate seeds


Slice through the top of the date and remove the pit. Fill each gap with mascarpone, using the pastry tip. Sprinkle with chopped nuts and/or candied ginger. Scatter pomegranate seeds around and on top as a garnish.


----------



## Heather (Mar 26, 2008)

*Fig and Olive Tapenade*

Fig and Olive Tapenade
Makes 2 ½ cups

¼ c. dried black mission figs, stemmed and diced
¼ c. brandy
¼ c. water
6 anchovy fillets, drained
2 tbl. Capers, drained
1 tbl. Dijon mustard
1 ½ c. pitted and chopped black olives (kalamata, gaeta or Nyons)
2 tbl. Fresh lemon juice
1/3 c. fruity olive oil
fresh ground pepper to taste

Place figs, brandy, and water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the figs have soaked up most of the liquid, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat. 

Place the anchovies, capers, and mustard in a food processor and process to form a paste. Add the olives and figs, along with any remaining liquid, and process until very smooth. Add the lemon juice and olive oil and process again until smooth. Add the pepper and season to taste. Transfer to a decorative bowl and cover and refrigerate. Serve at room temperature with toasted rounds of French Bread (drizzle some more olive oil on the top before serving.


----------



## Heather (Mar 26, 2008)

*Black Bean Buffalo Chipotle Chile*

Black Bean Buffalo Chipotle Chile

2 tbl. olive oil 
2 cups chopped onions (vidalia or red are good) 
1 tbl. chopped garlic 
1 pound ground buffalo (or beef if you can't find buffalo) 
1 tbl. cumin 
1 tsp. dried oregano (preferably mexican) 
2 tbl. (or to taste) red chile powder (I use new mexican chimayo, sometimes ancho, but you can use whatever kind you like) 
2 cups chopped tomatoes (either fresh or canned are fine) 
1 can Eden black soy beans 
2-5 chipotle chile en adobo with some of the sauce, chopped (to taste) 
2 cups chicken stock (or to taste just enough to provide a little extra liquid) 
1 bunch cilantro, leaves removed and chopped.

In a 2 quart saucepan, saute onions in olive oil until wilted down, add in garlic and saute a couple minutes. Add in ground buffalo, breaking up with a spoon. When buffalo is almost cooked through, add in tomatoes, chipotles, and spices and simmer a few minutes. Add in beans. Simmer a few more minutes and then pour in chicken stock (or substitute beef stock or water). The longer you simmer, the more blended the flavor would be, so, depending on time you can use more or less stock but you will need to cook it down until there is just a little extra liquid. Add in salt to taste in the middle of the simmering process. I don't find it needs more than a half-teaspoon or so. 

Serve with grated cheddar, avocado, chopped tomatoes, onions, sour cream as you wish. 

*Note - the more chile, the hotter it is, so add to taste. After years in New Mexico, I like it pretty hot. 

Also, you could use regular black beans. I have also added fresh corn kernels which makes it extra yummy.


----------



## Heather (Mar 26, 2008)

Mom’s Big Salad

6 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
¾ c. fresh peas
2 hard boiled eggs
1 head lettuce
2 ripe tomatoes
2 scallions
2 ribs celery 
2 oz. cheddar cheese 
1 ½ c. sour cream
¾ c. mayonnaise 
1 tbl. Sugar

Place lettuce in salad bowl. Layer ingredients over top – celery, scallions, peas, tomatoes, eggs, bacon, cheese. Combine sour cream, mayo, and sugar and let it sit ½ an hour. Pour dressing over the top or serve on the side with bacon or cheese. 

Can also add avocado, on the side.


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Mar 26, 2008)

Linguine in White clam sauce
1) Boil the linguine...aldente! if not, give up now....
2) Get 12 of the largest chowder clams you can find...otherwise, use more than a dozen cherrystones. Shuck each one, saving every last bit of the juice. You could stema them open, but don't be a wuss....besides, they'll get overcooked that way.
3) Coarsely cut up the clams...they should be in large pieces, not like those canned clam shrivets. 
4) Saute as much garlic as you can stand in a decent amount of olive oil...don't use too little, or it won't "stick to your ribs", but don't go overboard either...add 1-2 shallots also, and a small hot pepper if you like. 
5) Pour all of the clam juice into the pot, leaving the crud on the bottom. Feel free to add some white wine also, if you can spare some ...but don't if it means less to drink!
6) keep it simmering in an open pot for a while...you really want to reduce it.
7) when its reduced to your liking (I prefer a brine pool myself), add chopped flatleaf parsley. Flatleaf only! The other stuff is great if you want a plastic themed meal....
8) When the parlsey wilts, add the chopped clams....when it returns to a simmer/boil, take it off...your done. You don't want the clams to overcook...just barely cooked through.....
9) Serve with white wine...a lighter one, like a sauvignon blanc, pinot gris, or dry reisling....don't forget to eat too much!


----------



## cnycharles (Mar 26, 2008)

*Zucchini bread extravaganza - pt 1 chocolate zucchini bread*

Chocolate Zucchini bread

3 C.flour
1/4 C. Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Baking Soda
1 t. salt
2 C. Sugar
-optional confectioners' sugar for dusting on top

3 eggs (4 medium)
1 C. veg. oil
2 t. vanilla
2 C. grated Zucchini that has been grated, frozen then thawed and moisture drained/squeezed out (makes much lighter bread)
1 C. chopped nuts
1 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips (or I prefer 2/3 C. dark and 2/3 C. semi-sweet mix)

Preheat to 350˚, grease or paper two 8" x 4" bread pans
Combine in large bowl: Flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt; mix well and set aside
in separate large bowl, combine sugar and eggs, blend well. add vanilla and oil, beat until combined (note that for all liquid mixing a whisk works great). Stir in Zucchini.
Add flour/dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Stir in nuts and chips.
Divide into two pans, bake for 60-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out dry and clean.
Cool 10 minutes in pan, then remove loaf from pan and place on rack; cool completely then optionally dust with confectioners' sugar.
awe-some :drool:


----------



## cnycharles (Mar 26, 2008)

*part 2 - pineapple zucchini bread*

Pineapple Zucchini bread

1 9x5x3" pan

2 eggs
1/2 C. veg. oil
1 C. white or better demerara pure cane sugar
1 C. grated zucchini that has been grated, frozen, thawed and then moisture drained or squeezed out
1/2 C. crushed pineapple, drained
1 t. vanilla 
2 C. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 C. chopped walnuts
optional 1/2 to 1 C. yellow raisins

preheat oven to 350˚, grease or paper 1 large bread loaf pan
beat eggs, oil and sugar in a large bowl (whisk works great). stir in zucchini, pineapple and vanilla, set aside.
in another bowl combine flour, soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, nuts and raisins. pour all at once into batter; stir to moisten.
pour into bread pan.
bake at 350˚ for 1 hour or until bread tests done. cool 10 minutes, then turn out on rack to cool completely. wrap. recipe says to cut into thin slices and spread with butter - I say make those slices thick
this is like cake, can make excellent muffins as can the chocolate zucchini bread, and both work well in the bread machine


----------



## MoreWater (Mar 27, 2008)

Orrin's quiche

9" prebaked pie crust brushed with egg white while still warm
4 eggs 
1 c half-n-half (or up to 2C for silkier texture)
4 oz softened cream cheese 
1/2 t salt 
1/8 t black pepper 
1 c grated swiss cheese 
1 can tiny cocktail shrimp (typical tuna can size)

Beat cream cheese with half-n-half until smooth. Add eggs and beat at low speed until well mixed but not frothy/foamy (frothy/foamy makes for a weird texture). Rinse and drain the shrimp and distribute evenly in pie shell. Sprinkle shredded cheese evenly over shrimp and pour in egg mixture to cover all. Bake in preheated 450f oven for 10 minutes to set crust. Reduce heat to 350f and continue baking for approx 20 minutes or until knife tip inserted in center comes out clean (you can also usually just poke at the center to determine if it's done). It should be fairly puffy when it comes out of the oven; let rest for 15 minutes and it will settle into more of a custard than a puff. Serve warm but not steaming hot.

Pick the right crust and pie dish, and you can get a really crisp crust.


----------



## cnycharles (Mar 27, 2008)

*sour cream cornbread - aka rich corn cake*

Sour Cream Cornbread

recipe is for 1 9x9x2" pan; recipe doubled works well in 9x13" pan

1 C. yellow, half yellow and half blue, or all blue corn meal (I prefer all blue, is very light)
1 C. flour
4 T. sugar
1 t. baking soda
2 t. cream of tartar or same amount of Bakewell Cream
3/4 t. salt
1 C. sour cream
1/4 C. milk
2 eggs, well beaten
4 T. butter, melted

preheat oven to 425˚, or 400˚ and longer baking time if you like denser, moister bread. butter the pan. combine all the dry ingredients and mix well, set aside. melt the butter, mix in sour cream and milk, then the eggs. whisk it up. quickly add the wet ingredients to the dry, whisk until all is moistened. pour or spoon into pan and bake for 20 mins at 425 or nearly 30 mins at 400˚. check middle for done-ness. this baked at 400˚ in convection oven yields a very highly-risen, excellent corn bread. cool and cut into squares. is great with butter, maple cream, jelly or toasted and the previous put on top. i've served this at several orchid club functions and family dinners and can't go wrong. forget the beer and chilis, this is *it*


----------



## MoreWater (Mar 27, 2008)

*Sichuan Red Oil* :evil::drool:

500 cc vegetable oil
100 g chiles
3 g star anise
3 g chinese cinnamon (桂皮cassia cinnamon)
3 g dried orange peel 陳皮
3 g hua jiao (sichuan/flower pepper 花椒)
thick spring onions 30g (look like leeks)
ginger 10g

Heat oil with spices (excluding chile), simmer low heat 30 mins.
In bowl, combine chiles and 100 cc water
Remove spices from oil, heat oil to 180C
Pour oil (straining it) gradually into the chile bowl (SIZZLE)
Stores a month, covered, at room temp.


----------



## Candace (Mar 27, 2008)

Please, no more recipes with anchovies. I'll barf.


----------



## cnycharles (Mar 27, 2008)

Candace said:


> Please, no more recipes with anchovies. I'll barf.



you know what's funny? I can't stand anchovies, but I put fish sauce (anchovy paste liquid) into soup and other stuff and love it. no slimy fish heads to deal with either....


----------



## cnycharles (Mar 27, 2008)

*Key lime pie*

Key Lime pie

one extra-servings, graham cracker pie shell
one 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
5 egg yolks
2 8 oz. pkg. mascarpone or regular cream cheese
3/4 C. nelly and joe's key west lime juice
1/2 - 1 t. lime citrus oil

might have slightly more than what will fill the pie crust, just put in custard cup and bake with the pie

preheat oven to 350˚
mix all, blend until smooth. bake at 350˚ for 15 mins.
allow to stand 10 mins before refrigerating

recipe says to top with whipped cream and lime slices, but I skip that part as it seems to be like trying to gild the lily


----------



## Roy (Mar 27, 2008)

Candace said:


> Please, no more recipes with anchovies. I'll barf.



Anchovies, egg plant & capers should listed as health hazards.


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Mar 27, 2008)

What I had for dinner tonight...Guacamole!
1) Put 1 small clove garlic, 1 small to medium red onion (or bunch or 2 of scallions), 1 medium habanero pepper, seeds removed (it will not be as hot as it sounds...the avocado absorbs a lot of the heat...next year it will be hotter...I'm growing jolokia peppers!), as much cilantro as you like, into a food processor..process briefly.
2) Add 1 small tomato, or several grape tomatoes, 2 Haas avocados ( if you don't use haas avocados, just go away......................), sprinkle of cumin, half a lime, and 1-2 tspns Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce...process until its mushed to your liking. This one goes with beer! Your favorite! Well, no....my favorite!...if you have it with Budweiser, go away...................


----------



## Heather (Mar 28, 2008)

Me thinks someone had a few too many of his favorite beers tonight......... 

I prefer a chunkier version:

Haas avocados -at least two. Cut in half, score lengthwise, then widthwise so you have cubes and squeeze them out of their skins into a bowl. Cut up a native grown tomato or two - close to the same amt. of avocado- into similar size pieces and mix in. Add 1 small finely minced red onion, 1 bunch finely chopped cilantro, serrano peppers finely minced - number to taste. Salt to taste, and the juice of a lime. Stir and eat with good quality white or blue corn chips.

No cumin (got my fill of cumin in New Mexico - that's a story for tomorrow when I am sick of working - which I will be so I will post it, for sure...) No garlic! (and I love garlic, but not in this...)


----------



## cnycharles (Mar 28, 2008)

...speaking of tomatoes here and other topics, where can I find seed of principe borghese plum tomatoes? (other than the whiteflower farm catalog where things are usually expensive and I think they only sell seedlings) I have some heirloom yellow tomato seed harvested from fruit/plants that someone at work gave me; I could eat them just like an apple they are so mild. 

to make this a recipe, take yellow tomatoes and add some basil, olive oil and whatever you like and chow down


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Mar 28, 2008)

Charles- I used to have seeds of Principe Bhorghese....they did very poorly for me, and I thought that the few tomatoes I got weren't worth the effort of growing them. I'll check if I still have the remains of the seed packet, but it was years ago....doubt I still have it now. Heather- actually, I didn't have enough of my favorite beer last night! But if the avocado's are ripe enough, which isn't likely considering what I get in the markets, I just squoosh them with a potato masher and keep them coarse. Most of the avocados I get need a real long processing....and I still end up with big chunks. Take care, Eric


----------



## MoreWater (Mar 28, 2008)

I am still looking for a good recipe (yes, that's what I said) for using maple syrup. Looking for something that first requires boiling down the syrup into something really intense....


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Mar 29, 2008)

Tonight's dinner....grilled quail!
1) If you're lucky enough to get boned quail, great! otherwise, take poultry shears nd split them, removing the spine.
2) Marinade: put a clove of garlic, a shallot, a small hot pepper, and a 2 inch long piece of lemongrass in a food processor..grind it to a paste and put it in a bowl. Add the juice of at least half a lime, a tbls or so Aji Mirin, a tbls of fish sauce, 2 tbls. of rice vinegar,1 tspn sugar, some peanut oil...better than straight peanut oil is the oil that settles on top of the Smuckers natural peanut butter..much more flavor. Marinate the quail for at least half an hour...
3) Fire up the grill! Grill them on fairly high heat until nicely browned outside, but
not dried out inside. Serve with anything you like as a side...I made a cucumber salad (next recipe)...I also make a dipping sauce that I won't post, given the sensitivities of the fermented fish averse among us (but I'm sure Hien is familiar with it...Nuoc Cham..) serve with either red or white wine, your preference...though it goes great with pinot noir..........remember to eat too much! Eric


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Mar 29, 2008)

Cucumber salad....
1) slice at least 3 cucumbers...the middle eastern types with less seeds...on a diagonal. Slice one small red onion.
2) Dressing: lime juice, rice vinegar (to your liking), 1 small hot pepper, 1 inch piece of lemongrass, finely minced, 1 small hot pepper finely minced, 1 big tspn natural peanut butter, 1 tspn sugar...mix together, then mix with cucumber and onion...enjoy!


----------



## MoreWater (Mar 29, 2008)

will someone please cook and deliver...?


----------



## Mrs. Paph (Mar 30, 2008)

*Breadmaker Raised Donuts*

Here's a sort of semi-homemade recipe that makes Really good raised donuts (and I top w/ store bought dark chocolate whipped frosting Mmmm)! ...I actually got a breadmaker for college graduation, per my request, and besides bread it has the dough only setting, and this is by far the best thing I've ever made with it. Yes, there's still some work after the breadmaker's done, unlike a loaf of regular bread, but you get to ignore it for 2.5hrs while it takes care of making the dough, and get mostly just the fun part of making donuts:drool:
http://www.bread-maker.net/Bread-maker-recipes/Bread-maker-Bread-maker-doughnuts.htm


----------



## Heather (Mar 30, 2008)

The only chicken worth cooking! The salad is fabulous but not entirely necessary...

KEY POINTS:

chicken should be 3 lbs or less.

brine (with salt and herbs) 2 days prior to cooking. Seriously. 

Very very important things those two key points...forget the salad - it is really over the top fabulous, but you can just do the chicken and it rocks on its' own.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4401342

Please cook it. Don't make me beg....


----------



## cnycharles (Apr 6, 2008)

*Maple! ........mmmmmmmm*



MoreWater said:


> I am still looking for a good recipe (yes, that's what I said) for using maple syrup. Looking for something that first requires boiling down the syrup into something really intense....



I found a maple recipe in my fannie farmer cookbook for maple praline's after you first posted the request, but forgot to pick up the book and post the recipe

You mention first taking maple syrup and cooking it down....

instructions for making maple candy and cream, including utensils necessary for making them
http://www.massmaple.org/candy.html

I posted in the tpbm thread about maple on snow, here is link to history and making/uses
http://www.massmaple.org/sos.html

...and after all that here is a recipe for Maple Pralines - please note that any candy recipe that calls for sugar or syrup and cooking down can use Maple Syrup or Sugar substituted for it 

Maple Pralines
2 C. confectioner's sugar
1 C. Maple Sugar or Syrup
1/2 C. heavy cream
2 C. large pieces of nuts (pecans are listed as being especially good in this recipe)
_______________________________________________________________
Combine the confectioner's sugar, maple and cream in a 3-quart heavy pot, stirring to blend well. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves completely. Cover and let boil for 2-3 minutes, then uncover and wash down the sides of the pot with a pastry brush dipped in cold water*. Without stirring, boil to the soft-ball stage (234˚F). Remove from the heat to a cooling surface and let stand, without stirring, until lukewarm (110˚F). Beat with a wooden spoon until it starts to thicken and become cloudy, then beat in the nuts. Using two metal tablespoons, scoop up the mixture and drop small patties onto a sheet of wax or parchment paper. Let stand until firm, then store airtight.

(* note that this instruction is essential in preventing sugar crystals from forming on the side of the pot, from which crystals can quickly develop into the rest of the mix. this will result in candy that is very granular instead of smooth and/or creamy)

(try to not eat them all at once  )

p.s. - Vermont lays claim to being the 'maple state' and having the best maple products, but New York actually out-produces Vermont on quantity and quality, and a fair amount of the syrup sold as 'vermont maple' is actually sap/syrup that has been sold from NY maple farmers to processors in Vt.


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Apr 6, 2008)

As we approach grilling season, I have to include this...haven't done it since the fall, but will be doing it soon...Grilled skirt steak!
1) marinate the steak in: minced garlic, minced cilantro, juice of 1 lime, 1/3 bottle of tabasco chipotle sauce (not anywhere near as hot or salty/vinegary as usual tabasco, so use it heavily!), lots of citrus juice- preferably grapefruit, but orange is fine, chopped pineapple, 1 tblspn fish sauce (yes I like fish sauce...live with it....) 1 or more tspns sugar...I always read that people should add some oil, but it makes no sense to me...skirt steak is already so fatty....
2) Grill the steak to your liking..(while i prefer lean steaks like NY strip medium, and I'm ok with med. rare, when it comes to fatty steaks like skirt I actually prefer it on the far side of medium...but its your choice)
3) serve with my excuse for "chimmichurri" (my daughter simply calls it "green" sauce..)...1 bunch cilantro, 1 bunch mint, 1 clove garlic, 1 small to medium red onion, 1 small to medium habanero pepper, 1/2 tbslspn ubiquitous fish sauce, 2 or more tspns sugar, juice of 1/2 lime, a little olive oil....toss in the food processor, and spin until its done....eat a lot, and while it goes great with beer, I love it with a hearty red...syrah, petite syrah, zinfandel, or anything but the accursed merlot...(and I already hated merlot well before I saw Sideways......) Take care, Eric


----------



## MoreWater (Apr 6, 2008)

cnycharles said:


> I found a maple recipe in my fannie farmer cookbook for maple praline's after you first posted the request, but forgot to pick up the book and post the recipe.....



woohoo! :clap:

Thank you very much


----------



## ohio-guy (Apr 7, 2008)

*Caramelized Onions & Goat Cheese*
Here is a popular appetizer I have made with lots of positive comments.

I start by picking up some plain Goat cheese, usually from Trader Joes, it comes as a log (about 8 oz) which I split down the middle and lay side by side on a serving plate. 
As the cheese comes to room temp, I cut up 2 medium onions into half moons (cut in half pole to pole, then into slices, pretty thin) Put 2 Tbs of Olive oil in a skillet, add the onions and stir over medium heat. As they soften and become translucent, add half a tsp of salt and half a tsp of sugar. 
Continue to cook over low heat, after about 15 min they should be starting to caramelize. Stir in about 1/3 cut of chopped walnuts and 1/3 cup of raisins, and about 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar. The balsamic vinegar will turn the onions a nice dark brown color. Warm it all thru and put over top of goat cheese. 
Serve with crackers. 
If you don't want to try the goat cheese, a brick of cream cheese would probably be OK instead.


----------



## Ron-NY (Apr 8, 2008)

Roy said:


> Anchovies, egg plant & capers should listed as health hazards.


love them all


----------



## Ron-NY (Apr 8, 2008)

Tomato Salad

sliced vine-ripe tomatoes
Kalamata olives - pitted
fresh basil leaves
crumbled Blue cheese
capers
Balsamic vinegar
olive oil

Artistically arrange tomato slices on a round platter, overlapping slices. Drizzle balsamic vinegar on them and then drizzle olive oil on them. Arrange basil leaves artistically among the tomato slices, tucking stem end under tomatoes (I only use the smaller leaves) Sprinkle on some capers and arrange olives on platter, among the tomato slices. Top with a sprinkling of crumbled blue cheese. 

This recipe was on the cover of Bon Appetite many years ago. It can make quite a nice presentation and is an easy and delicious dish to bring to a summer pot-luck BBQ but my family likes it at any time, including the kids. I don't have amounts for I do it by eye, so do it to taste with the ingredients.


----------



## Ron-NY (Apr 8, 2008)

Linguine with Tomatoes and Basil

4 large tomatoes, chopped
1 lb. Brie cheese, torn into small pieces
1 cup fresh basil, cut into strips
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 cup + 1 Tbl olive oil
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
1 1/2 - 2 lbs linguine
freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

The night before serving or the morning of the dinner: Mix all the ingredients except the linguine and the Parmesan cheese. Let stand at room temperature until you have the pasta cooked.

Cook linguine. Pour mixture over hot pasta and toss until the brie has melted

Sprinkle with fresh Parmesan and serve.

(I found that the recipe works fine with 2 lbs of linguine and serves 8+)

This is a delicious dish that was shared with me by a friend of mine.


----------



## streetmorrisart (Apr 14, 2008)

*Minestrone Soup* 

¼ C olive oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 gloves of garlic put through the press

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 ribs celery, sliced

1 zucchini, cut in quarters lengthwise and then sliced thinly

1 1/2 C or so of thinly-sliced green cabbage

7 C of chicken stock

one 15oz can cannellini beans 

2 medium-sized white potatoes, diced

4T tomato paste

1 bay leaf

½ tsp dried thyme crushed in your palm a bit more 

¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper


You’ll also want freshly-grated Asiago, or a similar cheese like romano or parmesan if you have another you prefer, extra olive oil, salt and black pepper. 

Heat the olive oil with the onion and garlic, stir until soft, add carrots and celery; cook stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and cabbage, and cook till they too are softened. 

Add broth, beans, potatoes, tomato paste, thyme and cayenne, and if you happen to have a bit of a dried chunk of Asiago or parmesan or some other such cheese, add it. Bring to a boil and turn way down to a low simmer and cover. Let it do its thing for a couple of hours. The flavors come together better this way, and the vegetables do retain all the texture that’s necessary. You can season with salt and pepper to taste before serving, sprinkle a bit of grated Asiago over top and drizzle a little bit of olive oil over that. Crostini on the side.


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Apr 14, 2008)

Shrimp with chorizo
Did this the other night....
1.5 lbs whole large shrimp.....yeah, the kinds with the heads and bodies...or, as did the other night, 1 lb regular large shrimp and 1/2 lb whole small shrimp.
Take off the heads and bodies and boil them to make a stock. After 15 min, remove the heads, but continue to simmer the stock. (Yes you can do it with plain shrimp shells, but it just won't have much flavor.)
Meanwhile....saute a few cloves of garlic, a big shallot, and a minced piece of dry Spanish chorizo, about 3" long. If you don't have the spicy kind, add some hot pepper. Not a part of my usual recipe, but I added some mushrooms (king oyster) because I had them on hand. If you have the small shrimp, chop them and add them to the mix. 
When the shallots get transluscent, add the shrimp stock, a little at a time..raise the heat to reduce it. When you are ready, add the rest of the shrimp and maybe a little flatleaf parsley if you like it....when the shrimp are done, so is dinner! Serve with rice or bread or thin pasta like angel hair. Drink what you like...I'd suggest a dry white wine like a reisling or sauvignon blanc........Take care, Eric


----------



## cnycharles (Jun 2, 2008)

*amish friendship bread*

if you've received a package of amish friendship bread starter from someone, here are the instructions you should use. typically you will receive a one-gallon plastic ziploc bag.

important notes:
it is normal for the batter to rise, bubble and ferment
if the bag fills with air, let it out and seal the bag back up
for the purposes of these instructions do not refrigerate the starter
do not use and type of metal spoon or bowl for mixing

The bag will have a Day 1 on it or should have. this is when your benefactor mixed up the newest batch and split it into four bags and used the rest to make some bread. it takes ten more days before some can be used to make more bread; on day six you will be adding more flour, sugar and milk. each other day you will be sloshing the starter around or kneading it to mix the contents. if any gas builds up just let it out.

day 1: this is the day the starter was first put into the bag, do nothing else
day 2: mush the bag
day 3: mush the bag
day 4: mush the bag
day 5: mush the bag

day 6: add to the bag: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk. mush the bag to mix completely

day 7: mush the bag
day 8: mush the bag
day 9: mush the bag

day 10: follow directions below


Pour entire contents of bag into a non-metallic bowl
Add 1.5 cups sugar, 1.5 cups flour and 1.5 cups milk
Measure out a cup each into four separate new ziploc bags. Keep one of the starters for yourself and give the other three away with a copy of the instructions to your friends along with a sample of the finished bread
Preheat oven to 325˚f.
Add to the remaining mixture in the bowl add

3 eggs
1 cup of oil
1/2 cup of milk
1 cup of sugar
2 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of vanilla
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups of flour
1 large or 2 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding mix

grease two loaf pans. (following optional) in small container mix together 1/2 cup of sugar and 1.5 tsp of cinnamon. dust the greased pans with half of the mixture, reserve the remainder.
pour the batter evenly into two loaf pans and sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture over the top.
bake 1 hour. cool until the bread pulls away from the pan evenly (about ten minutes). turn into serving dish. serve warm or cold.

if you keep one of the four starters for yourself, you will be baking every ten days. the bread is very good and makes a nice gift. if you give all of the starter away you will have to wait until someone gives some back to you (or you can go online and find out how to buy/make some on your own).

I will add some other details later


----------



## cnycharles (Jun 21, 2008)

*strawberry-rhubarb ice cream*

before I start, I want to remind everyone that the first post on this thread by phrag is for a recipe for strawberry shortcake cookies... bet would go very well with this ice cream!

First, open up your Fannie Farmer paperback cookbook to page 973. This recipe is adapted from the 'Philadelphia Ice Cream' recipe. The recipe in the book is scaled to make 1.5quarts frozen and my freezer holds a gallon, so I take the ratio of ingredients and just buy a little more than double. It is a 'fresh' recipe meaning it isn't a custard that requires cooking eggs, milk and flour on the stove and the ingredients called for can just be put in the freezing tin together and frozen.

Some of my extra ingredients I call for cooking a little before adding, but they should all be added chilled well before putting into the freezing container.

(Last note!) This was the first time I've tried this recipe which I just made up while I was making it. You may want to change the amount of whole to pureed fruit. If you don't like whole bits of rhubarb but love the flavor you might want to try pureeing all of the rhubarb after is has been cooked and cooled. You'll get a ton of the flavor mixed in and will still have strawberry pieces all through the ice cream. Experiment and let me know how it turns out! I've never heard of strawberry rhubarb ice cream anywhere before, let me know if you find someone somewhere else that makes it, and how they make it (if possible). Thanks and enjoy!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recipe calls for 4 cups of heavy cream, but I often mix heavy cream, light cream and half-and-half depending on if anyone I'm serving it to will have a problem if it is all heavy cream. Changes texture but it is your preference and it will all turn out great no matter which you put in.

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

I add a container of sweetened, condensed milk to the mix. Traditional custard ice cream requires cooking of most ingredients so you get a 'caramelized' taste; the condensed milk sort of adds this flavor.

Recipe calls for 3/4 cup of sugar; if you add sweetened condensed milk you can lower the amount of extra sugar to your tastes. If you add fruit that has been stood or cooked in sugar you can lower this amount even more. If you want to make sure you don't add more than this to the final product, you can stand/stew the fruit you're going to add in the 3/4 cup sugar. Make sure to test the flavor of the fruit after cooking to see if it needs a little bit more sugar. If you add a large amount of sugar (like over a cup or more) you may need to heat the milk/cream first so that the sugar will dissolve properly.

For the fruit, you will likely need about 1.5 cups per above recipe. You can adjust the proportions depending on how much you like either of the following fruits. Basic plan for the fruit - put whole or slightly sliced strawberries in a bowl and put sugar over the top, stir and let sit to draw out the juices. take about a third of what is in the bowl and put in a blender, puree. Take the desired amount of rhubarb, cut into pieces of size so that after cooking in sugar a little while they will still be slightly chunky after being added to the dairy mixture and frozen. Cook the rhubarb slowly with sugar over low heat until fruit taste tested doesn't have the raw flavor; when it is still tangy but has mellowed and taken on the sugar flavor you can let it cool. If you want, you can let it cook a while but still holding it's shape and add a little lemon juice to give it more zing, if desired. Take about a third of the cooked rhubarb and put in blender, puree.
Put the non-fruit ingredients into the freezing container, then add the pureed fruit. Add strawberry and rhubarb pieces into the freezing container until the mixture level reaches the 'fill to here' line. Put in dipper and top, freeze!

One thing I've found that helps a lot for freezing in salt/ice mixture is to just keep adding a ton of salt to the ice throughout the freezing process. I've had ice cream not freeze because I didn't add enough salt; after changing this it always freezes no matter how hot it is outside, as long as you let all ingredients cool well before trying to freeze. You can also add the calcium chloride deep cold ice melt with regular rock salt which will allow the ice cream to freeze even faster.

Good idea is to put the ice cream into a regular freezer for a while to 'mellow', if you can wait that long!  enjoy and let me know how you do it and how it turns out!


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Jun 21, 2008)

I made this yesterday...really simple. I just dredged some fresh, large scallops in crushed almonds. Melted some butter with a split clove of garlic, and just sauteed them a few minutes on each side. served them with a crusty baguette and a salad of homegrown arugula sylvatica...had a nice cold bottle of Torrontes with them..Great! (Torrontes is an Argentinian white wine....one of my favorite whites. Take care, Eric


----------



## Heather (Jun 22, 2008)

Yum yum yum! Legal Seafood's does something similar here with salmon. SO yummy!


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Aug 29, 2008)

Thai shrimp stir fry...this is what I did with my jolokia peppers...adjust to your taste....I got 1/2 lb whole shrimp, and used the heads for stock, and 1/2lb tiger shrimp...your choice...no shrimp head stock, add water/chicken broth/wine
Saute chopped lemongrass, galangal, shallots, garlic, hot pepper (I used a split jolokia pepper, seeds removed, removing the pepper after a few minutes...same procedure if you use habanero's...any other fresh hot peppers, just chop them up and add them) in peanut oil...
add a few kaffir lime leaves, bruised if fresh, and a little broth, and some fish sauce, and some toasted peanuts. When that simmers away, add the shrimp and a few shredded collard leaves (or any green you prefer...water cress would be good...or dandelion)...add more broth as needed (I do it a little at a time, to avoid making it too liquidy...) When just about ready, add some bruised or chopped basil leaves (preferably thai basil) and/or mint leaves, and some lime juice. Eat with rice or whatever you want.....................


----------



## Roy (Aug 30, 2008)

A quick recipe for chicken I use that has plenty of flavour. This is for ONE fresh skinless & trimmed chicken breast.
Slice breast length wise to butterfly, lightly flatten to even out thickness and dust with corn flour.
In a good solid base fry pan, add a liberal amount of good oil.
Heat pan to medium temp, add 1 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp minced ginger, 1 - 2 tbls Sweet Chilli sauce, 1 tbls good curry powder.
Cook off for 30 seconds. Add chicken breast, seal both sides and allow to cook through till just done. It will be too dry if left too long.
Serve with stir fry or regular vege's, salads, fries or your fancy.
Does make a mean filling in a good hamburger roll with mayo and salad.
The spice etc ingredients don't need to increased to cook more than one breast but can be.


----------



## MoreWater (Oct 9, 2008)

help! I'm looking for something to take on Saturday. Here are the constraints:

- preparation on Friday evening (I can only cut or mix on Saturday)
- must be able to sit in the car/room on Sat from about 730am to noon. (I can dig up a cooler but would rather not.)
- serve at room temp or out of the cooler. I don't think we have use of the microwave this week.
- finger food is better
- vegetarian is better

I usually end up buying a pound cake or something but something less .... high in fat/calories might be good. I think I did a pasta salad not long ago. 

The less time it takes the better - I'd totally love suggestions of what to BUY ready made :clap:

I started looking for a couscous salad (because I feel like it) but came up with really weird stuff (plus I don't think it can be made so far in advance, even if I keep the couscous separate from the rest and mix at the meeting). For example of weird, this recipe doesn't cook the couscous at all...? I guess if I'm stuck on couscous, I could find an electric kettle and go with instant cc....

Then again, I have such a craving for fried food, maybe I'll do that. 

Ok, now I'm going to go back up through this thread....


----------



## swamprad (Oct 9, 2008)

While we're trying to think of some advice for Ki, here's a favorite recipe of mine, that I came up with a while back. My kids go nuts over it.

Cut a spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and place cut side down on a tinfoil covered baking pan, bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or so.

While it's baking, make the sauce. Cut up and saute a sweet onion (like Vidalia) and a bell pepper. Add a jar of mushrooms (I get the exotic mixed mushrooms from Walmart, fresh would be even better) and (here's the secret ingredient--) 2 big spoonfuls of pesto (available in jars if you don't want to make it fresh). Mix a cup or so of red wine (I buy the cheap boxed red wine, excellent for cooking and stays fresh for a long time, not so good for drinking straight, lol) with a big spoonful of cornstarch (to make the sauce thick) and pour that in. Put a couple of big spoonfuls of fat free sour cream in to make it all nice and creamy. Salt, pepper, and Tabasco to taste (more is better!). Add a little water or chicken broth to thin it down a little, and let it simmer for a while. A few minutes before serving, add a big handful of fresh shrimp (always remove the tails -- who wants a shrimp tail in their dinner?) and let it cook just until they get pink.

When the spaghetti squash gets a little soft and squeezable, you'll know it's done, get them out -- hold a half squash in your left hand with a pot holder or kitchen towel, take a fork in your right hand, and scrape out the insides. The squash flakes out in strings like spaghetti, thus its name. It is delicately flavored, not mushy and not tough, i.e. al dente, and a much healthier alternative for the real pasta. Salt and pepper the spaghetti (squash), a little butter would be nice, too, then top with the shrimp sauce. To die for.


----------



## MoreWater (Oct 9, 2008)

swamprad said:


> spaghetti squash with shrimp in pesto cream mushroom pepper onion sauce



It sounds delicious but please share the name your kids have for it. ... I'm putting it on the list of things to try but that's too many ingredients/steps for a weekday.... 

I'm now leaning towards Cubanesque saffron rice salad. I can cook the rice in the morning and it can cool to room temp during the morning. :rollhappy:


----------



## MoreWater (Oct 9, 2008)

or maybe a bulgur and fava bean thing.... it says it travels well.... I've found good instructions for a Tunisian couscous salad which might work too. 

I had an *eggplant salad* the other night which was wonderful because of the charred flavour of the eggplant. My best guess:

Grill medium or small eggplant, halved, skin on, until flesh is cooked and skin charred. (The other night, the skin charred before the flesh was done so they were finished in the microwave.) Dice and put in a dish. 

Dice tomatoes and place on top of the eggplant.

Crumble feta cheese on top. 

I think there may have been chopped onions or parsley but I don't recall. Maybe some olive oil.

Very simple but it was really good.


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Oct 9, 2008)

OK...some more recipes. I did this last week. My family loved it. Its basically a paella, but using potatoes instead of rice. Since potatoes don't absorb water like rice, its a little more liquidy...but still fantastic. You can mix or match the seafood from what I used, but I can't conceive it being good without some squid and clams/mussels.
Potato "Paella":
Saute some pieces of good spanish chorizo, along with some garlic, onion, and sweet red pepper....a little hot pepper is a great idea....
Add some diced potato....a little white wine, and some saffron soaked in a little hot water
Add littleneck clams, and sliced squid
Cover and let it simmer until the clams open...remove them as they open so that they don't overcook.
Boil off some of the liquid if there is too much....
When nearly ready, add shrimp and scallops. 
When cooked, eat! With a nice Spanish wine like an Albarino or verdejo............
Tomorrow: Bluefish areganata...with the bluefish I caught today!!!!


----------



## MoreWater (Oct 9, 2008)

Eric Muehlbauer said:


> Tomorrow: Bluefish areganata...with the bluefish I caught today!!!!



Whoa! :clap:

While going through this thread, I couldn't help but wonder if you are from Thailand or Spain. All the lemongrass and seafood.... but then the saffron and chorizo (and seafood).


----------



## NYEric (Oct 10, 2008)

Is that a restaurant in Beantown?


Heather said:


> Yum yum yum! Legal Seafood's does something similar here with salmon. SO yummy!


----------



## Heather (Oct 10, 2008)

Legal's is all over the east coast, but started in the Boston area.


----------



## NYEric (Oct 10, 2008)

I went to one in Boston last year, pretty fun!


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Oct 10, 2008)

I'm in Rego Park, Queens, NYC! All the access to Asian and Spanish ingredients that I want...not to mention that I grow a lot of stuff myself, like lemongrass, hot peppers, and Kaffir lime. So...as promised...Bluefish Areganata:
Use fillets of large bluefish...this one was 7 lbs...last week was a 10.5 lber...the larger blues have a stronger flavor (some say...I beg to differ...) that stands up to the seasonings. Make sure the fish is as fresh as possible....you don't want to mess with store bought bluefish. If you can't catch it yourself, get it from someone who did...within the past 24-36 hours. (Of course, you can use any good sized fish fillets you can get...but the dish is designed for bluefish.)
Briefly broil the fillets to partially cook them. Meanwhile saute loads of garlic with shallots and some fresh hot pepper in lots of butter and/or olive oil, along with a little anchovy. Today I added chorizo and crushed almond, but that is not the way I usually do it. Add some white wine and chicken stock, then some capers...the salted kind (rinsed, unless you have a heavy salt craving)..not the pickled kind. Add some parsley and enough bread crumbs to make a thick paste...moisten as needed with lemon or lime juice. Put the paste on the partly cooked fish, bake at 450 until nicely browned on top. Serve with your favorite veggies and wine! (Tonight was steamed collard greens with a little chorizo and olive oil, and home made salad dressing of garlic, olive oil, fresh basil, and sherry vinegar...). Take care, and don't skimp on the wine!!! Eric
Oh...here I am with last weeks bluefish...


----------



## cnycharles (Feb 11, 2009)

*sour cream blueberry crumb cake*

I know this can't compete with fresh fish, but it is too good not to pass along! The recipe is as found on someone's blog

Sour Cream-Blueberry Crumb Cake
(From Tish Boyle's The Cake Book)

INGREDIENTS


Crumb Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Sour Cream Blueberry Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs

DIRECTIONS

Make the topping: 

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Add the melted butter and mix with a fork, stirring until the butter is absorbed and the dry ingredients are uniformly moistened. Set aside.

Make the Cake:

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well blended.

In a medium bowl, toss the blueberries with 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture until the berries are coated; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and vanilla extract; set aside.

Beat together the butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. At low speed, beat in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating it with the sour cream in two additions. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the blueberries. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the batter, breaking up any large lumps with your fingers.

Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Place the cake in the pan on a wire rack and cool completely (Note that I never, EVER obey this last instruction).

Cut the cake into squares and serve from the pan.

Makes 9 servings.


----------



## rdhed (Feb 11, 2009)

I love anything with blueberries. I have two pints of fresh ones in the refrigerator right now. I just might be making a crumb cake tomorrow. One thing I like just as well as blueberries are dried cranberries.

--Allen--


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Feb 11, 2009)

I did this tonight......take 1 lb lamb stew meat, cut into 1" cubes...take lots of garlic, and 2 bunches of mint, blend it in the food processor, then mix it with a container of yogurt...the good Greek yogurt, whole milk...none of this low fat or no fat stuff. Marinate the lamb in the yogurt mixture for an hour, than cook the lamb and yogurt in a big skillet...only takes about 10 minutes...serve over brown basmati rice....Tasted great, and I'm not even a fan of lamb.....


----------



## MoreWater (Mar 2, 2009)

I've been looking for recipes using saffron and discovered that saffron is actually a Masdevallia!

Saffron recipes, anyone? I'm thinking maybe something persian or turkish or somewhere in that direction might be nice... 


​


----------



## Renegayde (Mar 2, 2009)

I thought Saffron was the crocus stamen or something


----------



## MoreWater (Mar 2, 2009)

It is - that photo on wikia is way wrong. C. sativus, probably originally from Greece. Apparently it traveled a lot, as people think all saffron now around the world came from one source. Earliest known reference to it is reportedly 2300 BC, and it has been used as a cosmetic, room fragrance (scattered on the floor), dye and spice.


----------



## SlipperFan (Mar 2, 2009)

Renegayde said:


> I thought Saffron was the crocus stamen or something


That is my understanding. There are some nurseries that sell saffron crocuses -- they are Fall blooming, I think.


----------



## nikv (Mar 2, 2009)

It doesn't come from the stamen; rather, it comes from the threads that surround the stamen. FYI.


----------



## Renegayde (Mar 2, 2009)

LOL I said or something


----------



## SlipperFan (Mar 15, 2009)

By request:

Rhubarb Custard Pie:

Ingredients for a 10” pie:
4 – 5 stalks rhubarb, cut in 1/2” pieces
3 eggs, beaten
3 T. milk
3 T. flour
1 1/2 C. sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 t. mace or nutmeg
1/4 t. cinnamon
Whisk beaten eggs together with milk, sugar, flour, and spices. Combine with rhubarb, and pour into unbaked pie shell. Cover with lattice top, or leave uncovered. Bake at 400º for 45 minutes with edges covered with aluminum foil, and another 10 - 15 minutes uncovered. Refrigerate after cooling.

This is my recipe for oil pastry (crust) from a 40+ year old Betty Crocker Cookbook:

10-inch two-crust pie:
2 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup salad oil
4 to 5 Tbsp cold water

Just for the record, I do a scant measurement of the oil quantity, always use the larger quantity of cold water, and never use salt. I guess they turn out OK... I also usually use about 2/3 of the total flour as unbleached white, and the other 1/3 as pastry whole wheat or sometimes others (like rice or spelt or…whatever).


----------



## cnycharles (Sep 12, 2009)

anyone have some good recipes they could post?


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Sep 12, 2009)

I made this tonight.....Got an octopus (frozen), a few squid, and shrimp with their heads on. While the octopus boiled in garlic, spices, and a little balsamic vinegar, I boiled some shrimp heads to make a stock. I added the squid to the stock (briefly) to cook the water out of it. OK...dinner: Sauteed garlic, onion, a hot pepper, in olive oil..added a tiny bit of anchovy paste and quite a bit of home grown thyme. Added some red wine and some shrimp stock...boiled it off to reduce, then added a can of diced tomatoes and a little bit of sugar. When it heated up, I added the pre-boiled squid and octopus, cut into bite size peices. When ready, I added the shrimp and some home grown parsley...ate it over pasta. 
Don't like octopus? This is what I made for my son....
Sauteed some onions and garlic, then added some white wine and anchovy paste..when it began to reduce, added some chicken liver..sauteed until done, served over the same pasta, along with some steamed tromboncino squash (home grown). Had the whole mess with a nice cabernet sauvignon....Take care, Eric


----------



## Kavanaru (Sep 13, 2009)

Eric Muehlbauer said:


> I made this tonight.....Got an octopus (frozen), a few squid, and shrimp with their heads on. While the octopus boiled in garlic, spices, and a little balsamic vinegar, I boiled some shrimp heads to make a stock. I added the squid to the stock (briefly) to cook the water out of it. OK...dinner: Sauteed garlic, onion, a hot pepper, in olive oil..added a tiny bit of anchovy paste and quite a bit of home grown thyme. Added some red wine and some shrimp stock...boiled it off to reduce, then added a can of diced tomatoes and a little bit of sugar. When it heated up, I added the pre-boiled squid and octopus, cut into bite size peices. When ready, I added the shrimp and some home grown parsley...ate it over pasta.
> Don't like octopus? This is what I made for my son....
> Sauteed some onions and garlic, then added some white wine and anchovy paste..when it began to reduce, added some chicken liver..sauteed until done, served over the same pasta, along with some steamed tromboncino squash (home grown). Had the whole mess with a nice cabernet sauvignon....Take care, Eric



:clap: sounds very good (both versions!)... I definitely need to try it...


----------



## Kavanaru (Sep 13, 2009)

Eric Muehlbauer said:


> OK...some more recipes. I did this last week. My family loved it. Its basically a paella, but using potatoes instead of rice. Since potatoes don't absorb water like rice, its a little more liquidy...but still fantastic. You can mix or match the seafood from what I used, but I can't conceive it being good without some squid and clams/mussels.
> Potato "Paella":
> Saute some pieces of good spanish chorizo, along with some garlic, onion, and sweet red pepper....a little hot pepper is a great idea....
> Add some diced potato....a little white wine, and some saffron soaked in a little hot water
> ...



Eric, try this recipe with vermicelli or other thin noodles instead of potato or rice... it would be then a Fideoa! I like a lot better than Paella!


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Sep 13, 2009)

I'll go for that! Do you pre-boil the pasta, or add it dry? I would guess cooking it part way, like I do for lasagna.....


----------



## Kavanaru (Sep 14, 2009)

Eric Muehlbauer said:


> I'll go for that! Do you pre-boil the pasta, or add it dry? I would guess cooking it part way, like I do for lasagna.....



nope, you use the pasta very dry as it come from the pack... think of it as if it were rice  You will need to add the HOT water slowly as for Rissoto, until you learn how much water you would need...


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Sep 14, 2009)

Interesting.......................................


----------



## Eric Muehlbauer (Sep 18, 2009)

Ramon- I cooked it tonight....fantastic! First, I sauteed onion, garlic, chorizo and chanterelle mushrooms in olive oil...added some white wine ( a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc ...not much...I wanted to drink the rest!) and saffron and Spanish paprika, a touch of sugar..., then squid and clams. Removed the clams as they opened. Broke up angelhair pasta, and let it cook in the liquid exuded by the squid and clams. Added some peas and scallops..when the pasta needed moisture, added some chicken broth and a drop more wine...my family never wants to go back to paella again! Take care, Eric


----------



## Kavanaru (Sep 18, 2009)

Eric Muehlbauer said:


> my family never wants to go back to paella again! Take care, Eric


 I like yor family  they obviously have good taste  I also prefer fideoa rather than Paella


----------



## Paph_LdyMacBeth (Sep 20, 2009)

Best vegetarian dish EVER.
I love a juicy beef burger, but would happily give it up for these. My husband too!

Grilled Eggplant Burgers

1 Large Egg Plant
½ tsp salt
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp dried thyme
Black pepper
Focaccia loaf/ buns
2 tomatoes
6 large basil leaves

Spread
¼c extra virgin olive oil or light mayo
2 tbsp finely grated cheese (parmesan or romano)
1 tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp black pepper

Tatziki (spread)



Peel eggplant; cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick slices. Sprinkle with salt. Let stand in colander until moisture seeps out, about 10 minutes. Pat dry with paper towel (rinse first if desired).

Whisk together oil, lemon juice, thyme and pepper; brush half over eggplant. Place on greased grill over medium heat; close lid and grill, turning once and brushing with remaining oil mixture, until tender, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise/olive oil, cheese, lemon juice and pepper; set aside.

Cut focaccia loaf into 4 pieces; cut each in half lengthwise. Sandwich eggplant, Spread & Tatziki, cheese, tomatoes and basil leaves in focaccia.


----------



## Clark (Dec 31, 2009)

Christine and I have been making this cheesecake for 25 yrs.

Preheat oven 300F.
Crust- in nine-inch glass pie plate
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
Mix together above ingredients and press with fingers into pie plate

Filling-
2 - 8 oz. softened cream cheese
2 eggs 
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat cream cheese until soft and fluffy
add eggs and sugar and beat well
add milk and vanilla - blend well and scrape bowl often and mix a little more

Pour into graham crust
Bake at 300 F. for 45 minutes in preheated oven
DO NOT OVERBAKE
When done, spread pie filling (one can store-bought pie filling - we use blueberry or cherry Comstock brand) on top, refrigerate and serve cold


----------



## cnycharles (Jan 5, 2010)

*persimmon recipes*

I was recently reading through Dolores Casella's 'A World of Baking' and found a few recipes that used persimmons. I've also read that Candace has lots of persimmon but doesn't use a lot of it, so thought maybe some of these recipes might be helpful. 

Persimmon Pie (similar to pumpkin pie)

unbaked 9" or 10" pie crust
1.25 cups persimmon pulp (whirled in blender to get perfectly smooth)
2 large eggs
.5 cups sugar
.5 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups half-and-half
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth. Again, whirl it all in blender to make very smooth. Pour into well-chilled, prepared pie shell. Bake at 450˚F oven for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 350˚F and bake another 30-35 minutes.

------------------------------------------------------------
California Persimmon Cookies

('this fine fruit cookie lends itself to variations. for example, you might use 1 cup of one of the following in place of the persimmon pulp: drained, crushed pineapple, canned, whole cranberry sauce, applesauce, or cooked, mashed prunes. and instead of making drop cookies, you might spread the batter in 2 buttered 8" square pans. bake and cut into small squares or bars while still warm.')

2 cups sifted flour (you can use part whole-wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
.25 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
.5 teaspoon nutmeg
.5 cup butter or margarine
1 to 1.5 cups sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon or arange rind (optional)
1 cup persimmon pulp
1 cup raisins or chopped, pitted dates
.5 to 1 cup chopped nuts

sift the flour with the baking soda, salt and spices. cream the butter or margarine with the sugar until light. add the egg and flavorings and blend. stir in the persimmon pulp, the sifted ingredients and the fruit and nuts. blend thoroughly. drop by spoonfuls onto buttered cookie sheets and bake in a 350˚F oven for 20 minutes. cool on racks. recipe makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies.

---------------------------------------------
Persimmon Spice Cake

'a moist, delicious cake with good keeping qualities. have all the ingredients at room temperature.'

1.75 cups sifted pastry or cake flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
.5 teaspoon nutmeg or cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 tablespoons lemon or orange juice
.5 cup light raisins or chopped, pitted dates
1 cup sugar
.5 cups butter or margarine
1 large egg
1 cup persimmon pulp
.5 cup chopped nuts
.25 cup candied fruit peel

combine flour, spices and soda. sift into a bowl and set aside. pour the fruit juice over the raisins or dates and stir. set aside. cream the sugar and butter until light. add the egg and beat in. stir the persimmon pump, which has been either pureed in a strainer or whirled in the blender, into the creamed mixture. stir the sifted dry ingredients into the creamed mixture and then add the raisin-juice mixture, the nutes and the candied peel. turn batter into a buttered and floured 7" x 11" baking dish. bake in a 300˚F oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until cake tests done. cool on a rack and serve from the pan.


----------



## Candace (Jan 11, 2010)

Interesting, thanks for posting. DH can't stand pumpkin pie. I wonder if the top one would be similar?


----------



## cnycharles (Jan 11, 2010)

it's interesting, I was surprised when I read that the persimmon pie was supposed to be similar to pumpkin... though I've never had anything of persimmon except for juice. maybe if you didn't use the cinnamon and instead used another flavoring that wouldn't lean towards a resemblance towards pumpkin pie and it's spices that would help. maybe doing a tiny taste-test before you put the spice in the final mix before putting in crust could help figure out what might be a good addition (or if it doesn't need anything else). I would think persimmons would be closer to cherries or blueberries or something like that, so maybe adding a little of these items or something like it would remove the pumpkin resemblance (or maybe minced up cranberries or juice...)


----------



## Lanmark (Jan 12, 2010)

Oh everyone should try persimmons! The best ones are the ones which come from Israel called "Sharon Fruit" They are nothing like cherries or blueberries. One word of caution: anyone who is prone to severe allergic reactions to birch pollen or anyone who is plagued with food allergies might want to avoid persimmons. They might cause a reaction.

I have a friend in California with an aunt who has a persimmon tree in her back yard. I have no idea what type they are. They look like the astringent Hachiya type, but they are not astringent. They are sweet and perfect even when they are still crunchy. It's a mystery!  In local grocery stores here in Michigan we get the non-astringent Fuyu perismmons. Yummy!

Beware the astringent persimmons! You will be sorry if you eat one.


----------



## Candace (Jan 12, 2010)

My tree is a Fuyu:>


----------



## Lanmark (Jan 12, 2010)

Candace said:


> My tree is a Fuyu:>



Lucky you! :drool: I very much like them.


----------



## NYEric (Jan 12, 2010)

I'm curious so I will try to find a persimmon, thanx. 
What's a DH; designated hitter!? Your kids must hate that! 


Candace said:


> DH can't stand pumpkin pie.


----------



## cnycharles (Jan 12, 2010)

dumb husband, dear husband, divorced husband ? unfortunately i'm coming up with more negative connotations than good ones


----------



## Candace (Jan 12, 2010)

In my case it's dear husband, though I'm sure there are others that like your suggestions better;>


----------



## SlipperFan (May 2, 2010)

Several people have asked me for the rhubarb custard crisp recipe, so I thought this would be a good place to post it. It is actually a combination of two recipes, one adapted from a rhubarb custard pie from a cookbook of 1954, and the crisp recipe that is part of an apple crisp from our family cookbook.

Rhubarb Custard Crisp:

Heat oven to 325º F. 

Filling: 
4 cups chopped rhubarb (maybe nyeric will like it better if it's called pieplant) -- actually, when I make it again, I'll use 6 cups.
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons whole or 2% milk
3/4 C. sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or mace
Mix beaten egg with milk and dry ingredients, then mix with rhubarb. Pour into 9 x 12 " baking pan that is buttered (or coated with Pam or whatever)

Crisp:
3/4 stick of butter, softened (6 tablespoons)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup quick oatmeal (not instant)
Mix all together and crumble onto rhubarb mixture.

Baking time, approximately 45 minutes.

It's good alone or served with whipped cream or ice cream.


----------



## Yoyo_Jo (May 2, 2010)

Thanks Dot!


----------



## cnycharles (Oct 22, 2010)

*spiced buttermilk applesauce cake w/maple-apple cream cheese frosting*

I went searching online for a good applesauce cake recipe because I had seen some for sale at a local large garden stand business (and didn't want to pay $5 for a slab of cake....). It turned out that the recipe that looked the best to me was one that I already had. One of my older brother's girlfriends from when he was in college had given me a cookbook titled 'A World of Baking' by Dolores Casella which has some interesting recipes in it. One of the recipes was called Prune Spice Cake and one of the variations is called Applesauce Spice Cake. The recipe is to fill two 8" round layer cake pans; I used a deep square 8" pan and a round 8 or 9" one, but I think the recipe would fill a 9" x 13" pan.

For the applesauce, I used home-made apple-pear sauce with the skins left on and some apple cider in the sauce. If you purchase apples from local sources (not grocery stores) they often don't have the wax or resins on the outside so you don't have to peel them. I also modified the recipe a bit and I'll give it as I made it. Some spiced applesauce cake recipes also include frosting; many don't need the frosting and this cake is very good on it's own, but if you top it with the frosting from the recipe below, and maybe even put some walnuts or pecans on top of the frosting, the taste will blow you away! 
The author writes that she received the recipe from a woman who had been making this cake each week for 50 years!

all ingredients are supposed to be at room temperature

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 cup sugar (or less if your applesauce is very sweetened)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon allspice
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1-1/2 cups chunky applesauce
1 extra apple sliced into small 1" pieces
3/4 cup buttermilk (can use buttermilk powder and milk)
3 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup melted butter

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda
and spices. Stir in the applesauce and then the buttermilk. Add the egg yolks,
melted butter and vanilla extract and blend thoroughly. Beat the egg whites
until stiff and fold carefully into the batter. Turn into the pan(s) that have 
been buttered and dusted with flour. Take some of the thin extra apple slices 
and place on the top surface of the cake. Bake in a 350˚F oven for 30 to 35 
minutes, or until cake test done with a wire or toothpick. Cool in pans for 5
minutes before turning out onto racks.
Note: Batter may be baked in prepared muffin tins. Bake in 350˚F oven for 20 minutes or until done. Makes approx. 16 muffins

Maple-Apple Cream Cheese Frosting
this frosting recipe originally came from one for cinnamon swirl buns; the 
ingredients are changed slightly. The recipe will yield well more than enough 
for all of the cake made from the above recipe

Ingredients

1 8oz container cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp
6 teaspoons milk
2 tablespoons concentrated apple cider (can be purchased from king arthur
flour company online or boil some down yourself)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2-1/2 cups powdered sugar
if you like, you can place halved or chunky walnut or pecan pieces on top of the frosted cake

While cake is baking, (or just taken out to cool) whip the softened cream 
cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the flavorings and whip on high speed until
blended. Add half of the powdered sugar; stir on low until the sugar is 
completely incorporated. Add the remaining powdered sugar and incorporate
on low speed; whip until light and fluffy.
the original recipe calls for a tablespoon of vanilla extract

when the cake(s) have cooled substantially, cover with frosting and try to resist eating the whole cake!


----------



## cnycharles (Nov 2, 2012)

bump

any newer members have any favorite recipes that they'd like to share with us?


----------



## Leo Schordje (Nov 4, 2012)

Candace said:


> My tree is a Fuyu:>



I just read your recipes for persimmon pie and cake. This Thanksgiving, I'll be at my sister's house, and she has an American persimmon in her yard. If there is enough fruit still on the tree, I'll try to make one of your recipes. By Thanksgiving, my sister's persimmons will have had at least a frost or two, so they should have sweetened up by then. Some years they are all on the ground by Thanksgiving, some years they are still on the tree. We'll see what happens. 

@ Eric. When wandering the woods keep an eye out. The American persimmon is not a rare tree. Zone 6 to zone 8 they are found, usually at woodland edges. The fruit needs to be soft ripe, best after a frost or two, to sweeten up. If green they are very astringent.


----------



## Paul Mc (Dec 22, 2012)

Ginger Steamed Lobster

Marinade:
2 tbsps Chinese white rice wine, or gin
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsps scallion oil (recipe follows if you can't find any.)
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
White pepper to taste
1 teaspoon grated ginger

Scallion Oil:
1 1/2 cups peanut oil
3 to 5 bunches if scallions (for about 1 lb.)

1 fresh 2 pound lobster
3 tbsps finely chopped ginger
4 or more scallions, cut about 1 1/2 inches in length
Cilantro sprigs

For scallion oil, cut the scallions into about 2 inch pieces, lightly crushing the white portions. heat a deep stock pot for 30 seconds and add the oil and scallions, emerging the scallions. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain through a fine strainer and cool. Refrigerate.

Mix marinade together. Either cut off the head and claws off the lobster or have your store do it. be sure to clean out the inedible parts if the cavity. cleaned. Cut a slit in the upper and lower part of tail for the marinade to reach the meat. Cut head and claws into pieces. Place lobster in a bowl and mix in the marinade. Coat and rest for 30 minutes or so.

Put lobster in a steam proof dish and pour marinade over. Sprinkle chopped ginger and scallions over the top. Steam for 12 to 15 minutes or until shells turn red and meats white. Don't over steam or it will be tough. Remove from steamer, garnish with cilantro sprigs!


----------



## Paul Mc (Dec 22, 2012)

Just gotta say, I hate auto correct and now I'm blushing beat red!!! I won't tell you what was typed in the recipe, so you'll just have to find it yourself. Too embarrassed to say what it is...


----------



## cnycharles (Dec 22, 2012)

you can edit your posts.... (then nobody will know  )

sounds good! so you aren't steaming a live lobster (I guess obvious if you have the store clean it and cut it up)


----------



## Paul Mc (Dec 22, 2012)

Just figured out how to modify in Tapatalk!!!! Whew!!!!

You can get a live lobster if you want, just have your fishmonger clean it for you. Personally, I just buy a pre-cleaned lobster from the store, thaw and use.


----------



## cnycharles (Jan 14, 2013)

*pumpkin bread pudding...*

from king arthur flour company. made it the first time tonight and it turned out great. it could have used a little more sweetness and the squash I used was a bit watery and could have used a little more flavor, but it overall turned out very well

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

6 large eggs
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin or squash
2 cups (16 ounces) light cream or half and half
1 cup (8 ounces) milk
3/4 cup (5 7/8 ounces) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) brown sugar
1/4 cup (2 ounces) rum, optional
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 cups (about 18 ounces) bread*, cut in ¾" cubes
*Try using our (king arthur flour's) Holiday Pumpkin Bread. The recipe makes 2 loaves, so you can enjoy one, and save the other for this pudding. Or use any non-savory bread: brioche, a sweet bread, or plain white or whole wheat
bread.

(I used a mix of whole wheat and whole grain bread)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin, half and half, milk, sugars, rum, salt, spices, and vanilla, stirring to blend.

Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish or a 9" x 13" pan; if you’re going to refrigerate the pudding before baking, be sure to use a dish that can go from the fridge to a hot oven. Place the cubed bread in the dish in an even layer, and pour the liquid mixture over it. Let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, or for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.

When you're ready to bake the pudding, stir it together to redistribute the custard; quite a bit of it will have been absorbed by the bread. Sprinkle with grated nutmeg, if desired; and bake in a preheated 350°F oven till set and beginning to brown, about 40 to 50 minutes. 

Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream; garnish with minced crystallized ginger, if desired.

Yield: 2 dozen small servings, or fewer larger servings.


----------



## cnycharles (Feb 24, 2013)

*Skillet Apple Cake*

Another King Arthur Flour Co. dessert recipe; tried first time, edited slightly, turned out very nicely. The recipe calls for baking in a cast-iron skillet or 9" square baking pan

Topping
1-1/2 lbs tart apples, cored and sliced (4 or 5 large, about 18oz., 5.5 to 6 cups) if your apples aren't fresh or aren't tart, you can add a teaspoon or two of lemon juice to the apple mixture while you are mixing up the other ingredients
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons boiled cider, optional (can find at ka flour online or other specialty stores, or make yourself (boil cider gently and reduce to 1/7th it's starting volume)
1 teaspoon apple pie spice, or 2:1 cinnamon/nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Cake
1-1/3 cups king arthur unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup lukewarm milk, or 50:50 yogurt and milk, maybe slightly more milk to end up with a little more than 2/3 cup liquid
1 large egg
6 tablespoons melted butter 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
coarse sprinkling or pure cane sugar to sprinkle on top, optional

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Butter a 9-1/2 to 10" (2" deep) cast-iron skillet or a 9" cake pan

Combine the apples with the brown sugar, boiled cider, spices, and salt. Set aside.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Sift, set aside.

Melt the butter in a glass container, add the milk (and yogurt) and stir quickly until well blended. Add eggs, stir until well blended and do the same with the vanilla. Add to the flour mixture, stir to combine. Pour into buttered skillet. Spoon the apple mixture onto the batter and press down into the batter if the batter is a bit thick. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.

Bake the cake for about 50 to 60 minutes, until it's light brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove it from the oven, and cool for about 5 minutes. Loosen the edges of the cake from the pan, and cool for another 20 minutes or so before serving.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings

I used 6 cups of apples and could have used 5.5 cups instead, or made the cake batter a little thinner by using some more milk, or I could have put the apples into the pan first and then poured the batter over the top. Adding the yogurt the way I did, it didn't rise up as much as in the pictures I saw, but it was very good. 

step-by-step illustrated instructions: kingarthurflour.com/recipes . Search: Skillet Apple Cake


----------



## cnycharles (Aug 27, 2017)

Bump

I'm baking two loaves of the pineapple raisin zucchini bread that's highlighted in this thread for a church covered dish dinner. So much for my diet! 





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------

