Recipes thread (continued)

[Ajax]

Does anyone know of a delicious way to serve canned sardines? I have a bunch of boneless, skinless type from where else? Trader Joe's. I am thinking of putting them on multigrain crostini but what else would go on it and do you have any other ideas on the topic?

I also serve them on toasted bread but instead of mustard, I mash the sardines and mix them with chopped mint, a little mayo and tomatoes. It's delicious!

[genevieve]

How are you roasting red pepper? It does take a few minutes, but if you start them first while you prepare everything else, it's not a big deal I find.

I slice them in strips, broil until blackened, seal in a ziplock for a few minutes, then slide off the skins, done.

When I was catering, we roasted a lot of vegetables, so red peppers were always cored/sliced ahead of time, coated in oil and broiled for a few minutes.

Every recipe I found last night was a variation of the following, so this is what I tried:

broil whole red pepper until it turns black, remove from oven, remove top & blackened skin, core the pepper, place in a bowl with a lid for 15 minutes.

What really happened was that the pepper never turned black. I even lit a candle and held the pepper above it hoping for some color, which had a little bit of effect was wasn't realistic. I was turning the pepper every 5-ish minutes, and finally the whole thing fell apart mid-turn. Fortunately, it fell onto the pan underneath so I could salvage it. The pepper basically fell out of its skin that was still being held in the tongs, so problem solved

at that point it had been over a half hour and I was impatient, so I skipped the bowl part. It turned out fine though

[Jenny]

Every recipe I found last night was a variation of the following, so this is what I tried:

broil whole red pepper until it turns black, remove from oven, remove top & blackened skin, core the pepper, place in a bowl with a lid for 15 minutes.

Odd, I've never seen that before. I always thought the point of placing the charred pepper in a covered bowl/paper bag/ziplock was to let it steam to loosen the skin, and cool it enough to handle.

You might want to try my method - it's a lot easier!

[Ajax]

What really happened was that the pepper never turned black. I even lit a candle and held the pepper above it hoping for some color, which had a little bit of effect was wasn't realistic. I was turning the pepper every 5-ish minutes, and finally the whole thing fell apart mid-turn.

Instead of broiling it whole, I quarter the pepper into flattish pieces - the flatter they lie on the pan the more exposure to heat they get... Also make sure the oven rack is as close to the broiler as possible.

[emason]

Instead of broiling it whole, I quarter the pepper into flattish pieces - the flatter they lie on the pan the more exposure to heat they get... Also make sure the oven rack is as close to the broiler as possible.

I have never heard of anyone doing peppers in the oven like this. Everyone I know skewers peppers on a fork and holds them over one of the burners on the top of the stove until they char. Of course, I'm talking about a gas burner; this method wouldn't work on an electric stove. Then put the charred peppers in a paper bag for a bit, so the residual heat in the peppers steams them a bit and the charred skins then slip off.

[BigB08822]

I'm trying a recipe I saw on "Cooking For Real" the other day. You make a meatloaf mixture and stuff it into bell pepper rings. You quickly pan fry the meatloaf and finish it off in the oven with some sauce on top. Very easy and I like the idea of portioned out slices neatly in the bell pepper rings.

[genevieve]

I have never heard of anyone doing peppers in the oven like this. Everyone I know skewers peppers on a fork and holds them over one of the burners on the top of the stove until they char. Of course, I'm talking about a gas burner; this method wouldn't work on an electric stove. Then put the charred peppers in a paper bag for a bit, so the residual heat in the peppers steams them a bit and the charred skins then slip off.

It would be way easier if I had a gas stove. That's why I got out a candle and tried that

[Jenny]

Instead of broiling it whole, I quarter the pepper into flattish pieces - the flatter they lie on the pan the more exposure to heat they get... Also make sure the oven rack is as close to the broiler as possible.

This is exactly what I do. I have a gas stove, but this is easier than doing it manually as I can be preparing other parts of the recipe while the peppers broil.

[Anita18]

So I tried the cheap version of sous vide salmon tonight - forget the $400 machine, I went with water kettle, meat thermometer, and a foam container I swiped from the lab. (The fish already came in a sealed plastic package.)

Basically sous vide is cooking food (usually meat) vacuum sealed and dunked in water that's kept at a fairly low constant temperature. It cooks in its own juices, and without high temperature changes, you can basically let it go forever and it cooks evenly all the way through. For doneness, salmon is pretty quick. 10-15 minutes in 120-130F water. Steak takes like an hour.

OMG I always always always overcook fish, but this is just PERFECT. Count me in as a fan.

[michiruwater]

So, I have this quarter loaf of really good bread which has gone stale.

I don't want to toss it, but I'm not sure what to do with it. I was thinking bread pudding, but I've been eating really, really healthy. Anyone have any ideas?

[mkats]

Croutons? Toss them on a top of a salad?

[IceAlisa]

Breadcrumbs. I store them in the fridge.

[Jenny]

Breadcrumbs. I store them in the fridge.

I store mine in the freezer - last for months, and ready to use without thawing.

[bobalina77]

I have a question. I made muffins the other day that had blueberries, bananas and apples in them.. along with other good stuff like oatmeal, whole wheat flour and flax. Anyway.. they taste awesome.. but they are somewhat mushy in parts and hard to get out of the muffin wrapper because of the fruit I think. Is there a way to avoid that?

[sk8pics]

I have a question. I made muffins the other day that had blueberries, bananas and apples in them.. along with other good stuff like oatmeal, whole wheat flour and flax. Anyway.. they taste awesome.. but they are somewhat mushy in parts and hard to get out of the muffin wrapper because of the fruit I think. Is there a way to avoid that?

I don't know the answer to this but I wanted to share that I tried a recipe for muffins the other day, where you mixed two cups rich vanilla ice cream and two cups self-rising flower, put into muffin tins (12), and baked at (IIRC) 425 for 25 minutes or so. They had a nice flavor but were a bit...biscuit-like . Has anyone tried this? Maybe if we mixed in some mashed bananas it would have helped...

[Ajax]

I don't know the answer to this but I wanted to share that I tried a recipe for muffins the other day, where you mixed two cups rich vanilla ice cream and two cups self-rising flower, put into muffin tins (12), and baked at (IIRC) 425 for 25 minutes or so.

That is the strangest recipe I've ever heard It does sound like it'd be doughy, maybe add some extra baking powder or something?

[Debbie S]

Can anyone recommend a good cooking spray (the non-stick variety) that won't leave a sticky residue on cooking dishes (specifically Corningware) that takes forever to scrub off? I've been using some store brand stuff and it's driving me crazy.

[Lanie]

I need to figure out what to do for dinner. We have a pork loin, two Cornish hens, some chicken breasts, and pork chops... Mr Lanie wants roast Cornish hens but I really don't feel like dealing with that right now!

[Jenny]

Can anyone recommend a good cooking spray (the non-stick variety) that won't leave a sticky residue on cooking dishes (specifically Corningware) that takes forever to scrub off? I've been using some store brand stuff and it's driving me crazy.

I don't use cooking spray, but if it's the scrubbing that's driving you nuts, you may wish to invest in some heavy duty coated cast iron cookware, ie. Le Creuset. Expensive, but will last a lifetime, and clean like a dream!

I need to figure out what to do for dinner. We have a pork loin, two Cornish hens, some chicken breasts, and pork chops... Mr Lanie wants roast Cornish hens but I really don't feel like dealing with that right now!

I'm not sure how fancy you want to get, but here are two ideas:

For the pork loin, here is a jerk recipe with pineapple salsa that we made last week - lots of ingredients, but a good result: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/j...ineapple-salsa

For the pork chops, my old tried-and-true-guaranteed-to-make-a-man-happy is pork chops and rice with mushroom gravy:

Brown the chops, add a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup (only add water if you want to thin it a bit), cook until done. Serve over plain rice with tons of black pepper. Hubby's favourite on the side is peas, but of course you can do just about anything. To go a bit fancier/homemade, instead of the soup make a simple sauce by removing the chops when almost cooked, sauteing mushrooms in the pork fat, adding cream and maybe a little butter and/or nutmeg and/or fresh parsley, and returning the chops to the pan to finish. Lots of pepper.

Another pork recipe we've been doing for years originally appeared in a Canadian Living cookbook - pork with cheesy dijon topping:

Brown the chops or other cut of pork until almost done. In a bowl, mix shredded gruyere with a bit of dijon (to taste - it should come together as a paste). Spread on the chops and broil until bubbly. We've found this makes even chewy chops more juicy. The recipe recommends a broiled tomato on the side, and it does work nicely - just slice a tomato in half, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and broil alongside the chops.

Tell him he can have the cornish hens on a weekend when you have more time to find a good recipe

[Veronika]

Does anyone have a good recipe for chimichurri? I'd like to use it as a marinade for steak. Thanks in advance.