Home » Discussion Forums » Playing With Your Food » Recipes and comments, October - December 2008, archived
| Re: Recipe Thread [message #326 is a reply to message #9226 ] |
Thu, 09 October 2008 21:33  |
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 Susan from Athens
Messages: 817
Registered: October 2008
Location: Athens, Greece |
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Is this the place to comment that I think my fried sun-dried tomato recipe never made it to Playing with your food? It was in comments... Perhaps better overall for our girth measurements.
“I have always imagined heaven to be a kind of library.” –Jorge Luis Borges
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| Re: Recipe Thread [message #327 is a reply to message #326 ] |
Thu, 09 October 2008 21:35  |
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| Susan from Athens wrote on Thu, 09 October 2008 21:33 |
Is this the place to comment that I think my fried sun-dried tomato recipe never made it to Playing with your food? It was in comments... Perhaps better overall for our girth measurements.
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Ack, must have gotten overlooked...
Do you have it handy? Could you copy and paste it here, and I'll post it to the recipe blog this week.
Smooshes!
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| Re: Recipe Thread [message #331 is a reply to message #327 ] |
Thu, 09 October 2008 21:41 |
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Susan from Athens
Messages: 817
Registered: October 2008
Location: Athens, Greece |
Senior Member |
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Here you go. This was in response to ajlr's wanting something to do with her excess tomato crop. Easy to make and very tasty but ...fried!
Battered sun-dried tomatoes (Liastes domates sto kourkouti)
This is actually a traditional delicacy on the island of Tinos, where they traditionally sun dry their tomatoes (some of the best I’ve ever eaten), in order to preserve them for the winter months. This is a warming hors d’oeuvre or snack, or can be turned into the gluttonish main part of a meal. The quantities are deliberately vague and can be added and subtracted to, at will. Greek batter for frying in is simply a paste made of flour and water so this is unbelievably simple
sun-dried tomatoes (as many as you think you will eat)
enough boiling water to cover them
all-purpose flour
water to mix it to a paste
Olive oil (it doesn’t need to be extra-virgin or super-fancy) for frying
Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside to steep for half an hour. When about 25 minutes have passed, in another shallow bowl, mix half a cup of flour with enough water (added slowly) to make a not-too-thick but not-too-runny paste. This sounds vague but you basically need it to be sticky enough to coat the tomatoes on all side, but still runny enough that it can coat, so a consistently thicker than pancake batter but a lot wetter than a sticky dough.
Put about a half centimetre of oil in a frying pan and heat over a medium heat. As with all frying, you want it hot, but you don't want it burning. Only experience and experimentation teach you the exact way to do this. If it is smoking it is too hot and you should take it off the heat.
Strain the tomatoes. You don’t have to get them super-dry. I keep the liquid for adding to tomato soup or to a stew, much as I would soaking liquid from dried mushrooms. Place up to ten tomatoes at a time in the bowl and turn them round a few times to coat with batter. I find my fingers are the best way to do this. After all batter does wash off. Then place them individually into the frying pan with some distance between them, as the batter will very slightly swell up. Ten is the maximum number because by the time you have put ten in, washed your hands and got your turning implement of choice (slotted spoon and fork, or tongs or fish slice or whatever you prefer) it is time to turn them over. Check to see if they have changed colour to golden and turn in the same order you put them into the frying pan. If you think they might need some more, turn once more after a reasonable amount of time. Once done (i.e. golden all over and not burnt) remove from the frying pan and place onto a draining plate covered with frying paper.
In my household these very rarely actually make it to table. They are eaten (with burned fingers and mouths) on the fly. But they are also very good if served with skordalia (Greek aioli like sauce, a recipe for which I have already given) or tzatziki (garlic mushed up with grated cucumber and strained yoghurt). If you want to get fancier (and you should) you can add salt and pepper to the batter. If you want to get even fancier, Hungarian smoked sweet paprika makes a fabulous addition. You can also sprinkle them with oregano, or freshly chopped parsley or mint when finished. But they are great in and of themselves. Not a diet food but most definitely a comfort food.
“I have always imagined heaven to be a kind of library.” –Jorge Luis Borges
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 Re: Recipe Thread [message #332 is a reply to message #331 ] |
Thu, 09 October 2008 21:44 |
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Ooooh those sound delicious! I think I need to try them with the heirloom sundried tomatoes I just got....
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| Re: Recipe Thread [message #339 is a reply to message #335 ] |
Thu, 09 October 2008 21:54 |
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Of course! I think I'll try 'em this weekend, when I get a chance to breathe....
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| Re: Recipe Thread [message #403 is a reply to message #368 ] |
Fri, 10 October 2008 10:37 |
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waistline? I think mine might be buried somewhere in my house.... I lost it years ago!
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| Re: Recipe Thread [message #442 is a reply to message #368 ] |
Fri, 10 October 2008 16:27 |
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AJLR, do you remember the blog post this recipe was in response to?
Smooshes!
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| Re: Recipe Thread [message #462 is a reply to message #368 ] |
Fri, 10 October 2008 18:32 |
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Susan from Athens
Messages: 817
Registered: October 2008
Location: Athens, Greece |
Senior Member |
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| AJLR wrote on Fri, 10 October 2008 10:46 |
As well as sun-dried tomatoes, we have what are labelled in the shops as 'sun-blush' tomatoes, which are sort of semi-dried. I'm guessing they would be OK to use without soaking?
Ah, waistline, waistline, stop hiding...
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Yes, you can. If they are soaking in oil, drain it a bit. I'm not sure the effect of oil on the batter sticking.
As to your waistline... well, at least they're not deep fried
“I have always imagined heaven to be a kind of library.” –Jorge Luis Borges
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| Re: Recipe Thread [message #584 is a reply to message #9226 ] |
Sat, 11 October 2008 11:39 |
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afuzzybird
Messages: 38
Registered: October 2008
Location: Madison, WI |
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Aloo Palak with Naan
This is a staple at my house. It is also very imprecise, because I just throw it together each time. It has evolved from the recipe for Palak Tofu from the book "The Accidental Vegan" and about a million web recipes that I looked through trying to make a version with less chopping. I got the naan recipe from a video on Vah Reh Vah, an Indian cooking site. The recipe is a little hard to understand and does take some working with, but it's good in the end.
Aloo Palak
Potatoes (I use about 4 or 5 red potatoes to feed two people)
Chopped spinach (I use a few big handfuls of the fresh stuff, but I'm sure frozen would work just fine)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cumin
salt to taste
pinch of cayenne (optional)
2-3 cloves garlic
1 smallish knob ginger
flour or cornstarch and water for thickener
Boil the potatoes with turmeric and salt, and cook until they're almost done (I use about 2-3 cups of water). Put spinach in a wok or large frying pan with other spices and a splash of water. Cook it for a few minutes until spinach is looking wilty, then pour the entire potato pot in (this is why the amount of water is important). Turn to med-low heat and let it all cook together. At the very end, when I'm about done with the naan, I usually add the flour water mix. I use a tablespoon or two of flour and just enough water to get it to dissolve, about half a cup or so.
Naan
3 Cups flour
1 tsp dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar
water
milk (optional)
egg (optional)
oil
salt to taste (about 1 tsp)
Dissolve the yeast in about 1/2 Cup of warm water and add the sugar. Let stand for about 5 minutes or so. At this point I usually microwave about 1/2 cup of milk for a few seconds to take the chill off so it doesn't make the yeast stop working. Mix the flour, yeast mix, milk, egg (if you're using them--I usually use milk but not egg), salt, and some oil (maybe like 2 tablespoons?), and get container with more water. Add some water and knead, and keep adding until the dough is sticking nicely together. If it gets too sticky, add more flour. Once the dough is nice and mixed, form into fist-sized balls, making sure to take into consideration the size of your hands. If you've got huge fists, you might consider smaller balls. Cover with a towel and let rise for 20 minutes.
Make sure to turn on the broiler with enough lead time to let it get hot.
When you come back, rub a little more oil on your hands and start smashing the dough from hand to hand. If you can't hear it, you're not doing it right. If you're good at it (I'm not), you should be able to make it into a big circle-ish shape. Place on a sheet pan, or even better a stonewear sheet if you have one. Pull one end of the naan down so it looks like a weird oblong shape (The shape that Naan is, if you've had it before). I can usually fit two to a sheet. Broil it until it's getting brown, then take it out and flip it over to the over side, and broil that one.
Serve hot with butter, your Aloo Palak, or whatever. I do recommend you watch the video in the link at the top if you've never made or seen naan, it's good do see what it looks like. Also it shows you how to cook it over your gas stove!
"He envisioned a world where bears could tell jokes, chickens could sing, pigs could be stars and they all could ride bicycles." -- Frank Oz about Jim Henson
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| Re: Recipe Thread [message #754 is a reply to message #752 ] |
Sun, 12 October 2008 20:34 |
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| Kathy_S wrote on Sun, 12 October 2008 20:32 |
OK, I've posted under the correct recipe on the blog (not so easy to find if you're like me and only copied down "Gingerbread, Robin McKinley" in your recipe file). However, I suspect forum people witnessing the little light bulb turn yellow may be more likely to see the question. Doesn't noticing it on the blog require one to say, "Ah, I think I'll take a look at hot water gingerbread today"? Of course this may be totally untrue. What do I know about the blog software? Besides, Robin herself may read it upon unblocking....
*promises to copy any answers to the blog, if that's the correct protocol*
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You're right about it getting noticed here more easily, but this thread will be cleansed every month or so. They won't stay here.
On the recipe blog, there's a list on the sidebar that has the most recent comments. Yours will be one as soon as it gets approved. (Which I'll go do now.)
Smooshes!
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| Butterscotch Rolls (Cinnamon Rolls), Betty Hall [message #764 is a reply to message #9226 ] |
Sun, 12 October 2008 21:22 |
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Lianne
Messages: 144
Registered: October 2008
Location: San Diego, California USA |
Senior Member |
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After all the talk of cinnamon rolls on a blog thread today, I think I'm going to post my cinnamon roll recipe. Well, actually, my grandmother's. I only recently learned how to make them, but they're a hit with everyone who's had them! These are NOT yeast-based cinnamon rolls. It's a modified biscuit recipe. Now that I know how to make them, it takes me about half an hour to make a batch, including prep, mixing, baking, and cleanup time.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk
FILLING:
6-7 tablespoons butter, melted
brown sugar
cinnamon (for cinnamon rolls, not butterscotch rolls)
Preheat oven to 375 to 425 degrees F. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the shortening. Add milk and mix until forms a ball (humidity can alter the flour to liquid ratios).*
Flour a board or mat, knead in additional flour if necessary. Roll into a fat log and flatten. Roll to about 1/4 inch high rectangle (flour the mat and the rolling pin). Melt butter and spread all over the rectangle. Sprinkle with brown sugar (make it as thick you LIKE**). For cinnamon rolls, sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll up into LONG roll. Seal the "flap" by pinching dough slightly at the edge (long side-not the ends). Cut into slices.*** Place into GREASED (shortening) pans. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the temperature you used. Check after 10 minutes.^ They should be slightly browned on the top. Use a plate (or cutting mat or some flat surface) to turn upside down and flip them out for serving.
The biscuit part of the recipe is the basic one for any baking powder biscuits. If you wish to make shortcake, add 2 TBSP sugar to the dry ingredients before cutting in the shortening. Drop in spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet to bake. It can also be rolled out and cut into biscuits.
* I use a stand mixer with a paddle, and the paddle should pick all the dough off the bottom of the bowl when it's forming that ball.
** "Like" for me is a little thicker than is absorbed by the melted butter. I just crumble it up in my hand and smooth it out.
*** I usually get 18-19 slices out of my logs, and I put them into two 9" round cake pans.
^ I cook them for 12 minutes at 425 F.
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| Re: Butterscotch Rolls (Cinnamon Rolls), Betty Hall [message #785 is a reply to message #764 ] |
Mon, 13 October 2008 02:28 |
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Oooh.. *adds to her list of 'recipes to try'*
I generally make biscuits in my food processor, because it cuts the butter in rather than mushing it as much as my kitchenaid does. I'd never thought of turning that batter into cinnamon rolls though!
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| Re: Butterscotch Rolls (Cinnamon Rolls), Betty Hall [message #907 is a reply to message #903 ] |
Mon, 13 October 2008 23:42 |
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Lianne
Messages: 144
Registered: October 2008
Location: San Diego, California USA |
Senior Member |
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| librarykat wrote on Mon, 13 October 2008 20:21 |
The whole flour to liquid ratio is why I always mix by hand; I can't get good results with mixers. You need to feel the dough to know when it's just right. It's the same thing with making pie crusts. Or am I just so old-fashioned?
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Well, I've never tried a pie crust, so I don't have an answer for that. For liquid/flour ratios in general, however, I've had much better luck with the mixer than by hand. I always had a hard time figuring out that "just right" feel. And it's so much faster/easier in a way that makes me actually willing to make whatever-I'm-trying. Now that I have the mixer, I make flour tortillas on a regular basis, and making those by hand (which I did long ago) was just so goopy and messy and sticky that I made them once every blue moon versus the every other week or so I do now. For the cinnamon rolls, though, I've never had to add any extra liquid or flour.
Caveat to this: I never baked or cooked as a kid, and have learned everything as an adult (all of the baking has been in the last year or so). My mom, who is an excellent baker, sometimes hits a wall when trying to describe things to me, because I just don't know a lot of the basics. So not being able to feel what's right is probably part of that.
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| Re: Recipe Thread [message #1007 is a reply to message #9226 ] |
Tue, 14 October 2008 12:09 |
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For pie crust, unless I'm doing something special (like an ultra-flakey cream cheese crust that i do with apple pies), I usually stick to my super-easy ultra-quick recipe/method. Dry ingredients in food processor, pulse a couple times to mix, then add butter (which starts out frozen and is cut by virtue of a large knife into about .5" square pieces). Pulse it some more until it's sorta cornmeal textured, then with the pour spout open and the processor on, add a dribble of ice water until it's just starting to come together in a lump. I generally let it finish coming into a ball, then dump it out to roll.
It's not as perfectly tender as a more hands-on crust can be, but it works pretty well for something quick.
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| Re: Recipe Thread [message #1041 is a reply to message #9226 ] |
Tue, 14 October 2008 16:11 |
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Maureen E
Messages: 111
Registered: October 2008
Location: Indiana, USA |
Senior Member |
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I was typing these up for LJ anyway, so I thought I'd share them over here. Three of my favorite bread recipes.
Honey Whole Wheat Bread
This came from the Indiana State Fair in...1993, I think. Early 90's anyway. They had (have?) a Honey Queen and hand out honey recipes. This is our favorite.
2 pkgs dry yeast
1/3 c honey
1/4 c shortening
3 c whole wheat flour
3-4 c all-purpose flour
Butter or margarine, softened
1/2 c warm water
1 T. salt
1 3/4 c warm water
Dissolve yeast in 1/2 c warm water in mixing bowl. Stir in honey, salt, shortening, 1 3/4 c warm water, and whole wheat flour. Beat until smooth. Let sit for about 10 minutes. Stir in enough of the all-purpose flour to make dough easy to handle. Turn dough onto lightly-floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turn greased side up. Cover, let rise in warm place 1 hour. Punch down and divide in half. Shape into loaves and place in greased bread pans. Brush lightly with butter [we've never done this, but you're welcome to if you like]. Let rise 1 hour. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place loaves on low rack. Bake 40-45 minutes. Remove from pans; cool on wire rack.
Oatmeal Bread
This is a fairly heavily adapted version of the "Smuggler's Notch Oatmeal Bread" from the King Arthur flour website. It's a fairly new recipe to us, but has quickly become a family favorite.
1/4 c butter softened
1/2 c brown sugar
1 3/4 c rolled oats
2 1/2 c hot water
2 t yeast
5-6 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
Dissolve yeast in 1/4 c warm water. Combine flour and salt in medium bowl. Stir with fork. In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, and oats; stir in 2 1/4 c warm water. Add yeast. Add dry ingredients; mix with a large spoon. Let rest after adding 4 c flour, then add rest. Sprinkle cutting board or countertop with flour, turn out mixture onto it. Knead for several minutes by hand. Let dough rise in bowl, 1-1 1/2 hours. When it has doubled, return it to cutting board. Divide dough in half.
Grease two bread pans. Shape dough into loaf, place in pan and pat down. Allow to rise a second time, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. When loaf has fully risen, slash top [we never do this step]. Bake about 30 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack.
The Man's No-knead French Bread
From Herbcraft by Violet Schaefer. I've only made this once, but it was possibly the best French bread I've ever had.
1 pkg yeast
2 c lukewarm water
4 c flour
1 T sugar
1 t salt
To dry ingredients add any: (dried) basil, sage, dill, anise, rosemary, fennel
During mixing: (fresh) parsley, anise leaves, dill
Dissolve yeast in 1 c water. Add to flour sifted with salt and sugar (or just mix flour, salt and sugar together first). Add just enough of a second c of water to stir up a soft, sticky dough. Let rise until double, punch down, and divide into 2 loaves. Put in pans, buttered (or do the traditional baguette shaped loaves on a greased cookie sheet). Let rise until double. Put in cold oven and start at 400 degrees. Bake until brown on top and hollow-sounding. Remove from pans at once and cool on rack.
I put in about 1/2 t of fresh basil when I made it and would put in more next time.
[Updated on: Tue, 14 October 2008 16:12]
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| Re: Recipe Thread [message #1092 is a reply to message #1059 ] |
Tue, 14 October 2008 19:42 |
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Maureen E
Messages: 111
Registered: October 2008
Location: Indiana, USA |
Senior Member |
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| Black Bear wrote on Tue, 14 October 2008 17:45 |
You another Hoosier, Maureen?
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I was born there, actually near the old Herron Morton campus. I grew up in Ohio, but we visited Indianapolis fairly regularly since we had good friends there. I'm in Oregon now, but I'm a Midwest girl at heart, so I may be back in IN at some point in the future.
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I firmly believe that bread (particularly warm with honey drizzled all over it) can cure most of our ills.
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Susan, I am so with you on that one!
[Updated on: Tue, 14 October 2008 19:43]
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| Re: Recipe Thread [message #1116 is a reply to message #1101 ] |
Tue, 14 October 2008 21:39 |
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cgbookcat1
Messages: 138
Registered: October 2008
Location: Massachusetts |
Senior Member |
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I grew up in Ft. Wayne!
Here's a recipe that I posted a while back and may have been overlooked. A batch of these can easily be gone in a day or two with very little help from others.
Apricot Tea Cookies (originally from allrecipes.com)
pastry:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (I prefer King Arthur)
6 Tbsp white sugar
pinch salt
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup very cold butter
1 Tbsp sour cream
filling:
1 1/2 cups dried apricots, finely chopped. Cherries or cranberries also work well.
1/2 cup sugar
5 Tbsp orange, peach, mango, cranberry, etc juice
glaze:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
4 tsp orange juice (or whatever you put in the filling)
Directions:
Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in butter and cream cheese until small crumbs form. Add sour cream and mix just enough to form the dough into a ball. Cover and refrigerate for an hour. Note that the dough is very sticky even when cold.
Combine all filling ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Uncover and cook until you can stir without producing small pools of liquid (5-7 min). Allow filling to cool.
Divide the dough into two equal portions. On a floured surface, roll one section into a 10-inch square. Cut this large square into 16 smaller squares. Place 1/2 to 3/4 tsp of filling in the center of each square. Connect two opposite corners of dough over the filling and pinch enough to seal. They are prone to unroll during baking! Place on a greased cookie sheet and repeat for the second half of the dough.
Bake cookies at 325 degrees F (163 C) for 18-20 min, until the cookie edges are very slightly browned. Cool slightly before drizzling glaze, so that it is visible.
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| Re: Recipe Thread [message #1156 is a reply to message #1116 ] |
Wed, 15 October 2008 04:49 |
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Susan from Athens
Messages: 817
Registered: October 2008
Location: Athens, Greece |
Senior Member |
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| cgbookcat1 wrote on Wed, 15 October 2008 04:39 |
I grew up in Ft. Wayne!
Here's a recipe that I posted a while back and may have been overlooked. A batch of these can easily be gone in a day or two with very little help from others.
Apricot Tea Cookies (originally from allrecipes.com)
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These look great. When I get back to baking desserts (I've got myself on a strict one a week limitation at the moment and I know I'd never be able to manage just one of these) I will definitely make them. My mother would love these too. Apricots or cranberries! Mmmmm have you ever made them with a mixture of both?
[Updated on: Wed, 15 October 2008 04:50]
“I have always imagined heaven to be a kind of library.” –Jorge Luis Borges
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| Re: Recipe Thread [message #1164 is a reply to message #1144 ] |
Wed, 15 October 2008 07:52 |
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Black Bear
Messages: 3216
Registered: September 2008
Location: Indianapolis, IN USA |
Senior Member
[Moderator] |
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| cgbookcat1 wrote on Wed, 15 October 2008 00:39 |
Casa D'Angelo's, perhaps? They're known locally for their great salads, among other things.
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YES! That was it! (See, I'm not threadjacking, this is still about food.) One reason to be sad I got out of the game industry, no more distributor open house parties in Ft. Wayne... 
And yeah, I think I did respond, Maureen, something to the effect of me driving past your former church nearly every day while I was working at IUPUI--Joy of All Who Sorrow, right? Anyway, yes, enough of this Hoosier Hijacking. I'll put up my spaghetti sauce recipe a bit later as atonement.
"The time is always right to do what's right."--MLK Jr.
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