OMG Good eats.

[brainspider]

Wow, you guys are ambitious.  I live off spaghetti and canned sauce for the most part, but I do have a pretty badass Lasagna recipie, as follows:

9-12 Lasagna Noodles (depending on pan size)
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 to 1 lb hamburger, depending on how meaty you want it (I usually go for about 3/4 lb cause I love my meat)
1 small yellow onion, diced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 15 oz container Ricotta cheese
1 lb mozzarella cheese, shredded
fresh parsley snippets
2 whole garlic cloves
olive oil


OKays, now for the fun part.  Heat some oil on a skillet, medium-high or so, and drop them diced onions in.  Careful you don't get oil spattered on you, it'll burn like a son-of-a-bitch.   Sautee those til they *just* start to get soft, then add one of the garlic cloves, crushed, and a healthy dash of oragano, basil, and I usually add some of those "Italian Spices" in a bottle.  Also some crushed fennel seed isn't a bad idea, but I don't usually have it available.  Once the onions are fairly soft go ahead and add the ground beef and brown it in the oil/onion/garlic/spice mixture.  Once the hamburger is JUST brown, drain the oil and

***ADD THE OIL AND FAT TO THE WATER FOR THE LASAGNA NOODLES***

Yes, you read that right.  It makes the noodles flavorful and delicious too.  Oh, so at this point you would also start the noodle water going, obviously.  Salt a bit and add the noodles once it is boiling, cook til al dente, drain and set aside.

For the sauce, in one pot mix all three cans of tomato-ey goodness, another healthy dose of spices, salt pepper and the other garlic clove, crushed.  Add the browned ground beef (say that out loud, not only is it fun but important to a good tasting final result) and stir, heat and simmer to taste (covered).  Usually I let it simmer for at least a half an hour, preferably an hour or longer if I have the time just so all those delicious flavors have time to get to know each other. 

Now, mix the ricotta cheese, the parsley, and a half cup of the parmesan and set aside.

By now your plethora of ingredients at the beginning should be down to a pot of meaty delicious red sauce, a bowl of green speckled ricotta cheese and some cooked lasagna noodled, as well and some parmesan and mozzarella cheese.

Take 3 or 4 Lasagna noodles and layer them on the bottom of the pan, next 1/3 of the meat/sauce mixture, then 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, followed by 1/3 of the mozzarella.  Repeat twice.  You should wind up with something resembling a pan of lasagna, just top with the remaining parmesan.  Usually I add a little more Mozzarella to the top, too, but it's your call.

Cover with aluminum foil andd bake for 30 mins at 350 on center rack, uncover and bake another 30 mins.  Let stand 15 or so, just so it's not a colossal mess when you try and cut it.  Goes with with a salad and Caesar dressing.

Oh, and enjoy. XD

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Nice recipe.  Not ambitious enough, though.  I make my own lasagna noodles when I make lasagna.

Have I posted my red beans & rice recipe yet?  *digs through thread*  Oh, yep, it's there on page 1.  I think that's what I'm makin' for dinner tomorrow night.

[brainspider]

Hmmmmm I'll have to try making my own noodles sometime.  But that's about the easiest Lasagna recipie in the world, so adding homemade noodles would be weird.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

It's a pretty standard basic lasagna recipe, actually.  The only thing it's missing that many people usually put in it is the frozen or canned spinach. 

I'm making salisbury steak tonight, because my wife likes it:

Salisbury Steak
If you were German, you'd probably refer to this as "Hamburg Steak."  It's sorta like that, but not completely.  The dish was invented in the mid 1800's by a physician named Dr. James Salisbury.  This recipe is my own particular version of it, picky eater that I am.

Steaks:
1.00 lb     Ground turkey (or beef, veal, buffalo, pork...)
1.00 ea    Egg
0.50 c      Bread crumbs
0.25 c      Onion, minced
1.00 ea    Garlic clove, minced
0.50 ts     Kosher salt
1.00 ts     Dried Oregano
0.50 ts     Dried Parsley
3.00 ea    Shots of hot sauce (your favorite kind, I like love Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Pepper Sauce)
-.-- --      Black pepper (fresh ground, of course, added to taste)
3.00 tb    Olive oil & butter for sauteing

Gravy:
4.00 tb     All-purpose flour
3.00 c      Beef or chicken broth

Preheat your oven to 375ºF

Begin by heating up a couple tablespoons of olive oil (use the regular stuff, not EVOO) in your largest saute or frying pan while you mince the onions and garlic.  Sweat the onions in the oil over medium-low heat until they begin to turn translucent, then add the garlic and continue to cook until all the onions are cooked translucent.  Remove the pan from the heat and remove the onions and garlic from the pan while leaving most of the oil behind, and set them aside to cool. 

While the aromatics are cooling, mix the egg and hot sauce into the ground meat.  Then add the sauteed aromatics (and whatever oil is with them), breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, oregano, and parsley.  Mix well until the bread crumbs absorb all the liquid and no more dry breadcrumbs can be seen in the work bowl.  The mixture should be sticky enough to hold its shape when formed into a ball.

Return your pan to medium heat and add more oil and butter until there's enough in the pan to completely cover the bottom.  While that is heating, quickly grease the bottom of a 9x9 or 9x16 baking dish with some cold butter and set aside nearby.  Divide the meat mixture in half, then each half into thirds (6 total patties here...), then form each piece into an oval patty about 1/2 inch thick.  Brown each side of each patty in your pan, then transfer the browned patties to your greased baking dish.  These aren't cooked all the way through yet, just browned because browned tastes good. =)

Have a look at your pan.  There should be lots of browned bits (mmm...fond...) on the bottom and a good bit of oil.  If it looks like you have less than 4 tablespoons of oil in there, add some more to make up the difference.  Add 4 tb of flour to the oil, and whisk to combine.  Let that cook for a minute, then pour in your cold broth.  Whisk constantly over medium-high heat, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan (obviously you don't want to use a non-stick pan here) to get the fond dissolved, until the gravy comes to a boil.  Once it starts boiling, turn off the heat and pour the gravy over your salisbury steak patties in the baking dish.

Transfer the dish of patties and gravy to your preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes.  Serve with lots of gravy over mashed potatoes or white rice, with some green beans or peas on the side.

[brainspider]

I've personally never understood ruining a good pan of lasagna with spinach.

Haha and I didn't know Salisbury Steak was a real food, I thought it only came in those frozen dinners.  I'll have to try the real version some time.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Indeed it is.  Keep in mind, though, that this recipe - like all my recipes - is an approximation.  I type them out from memory, and all amounts are ballpark.  I very rarely measure anything when I cook. 

[Oni]

Mongolian Beef.
Along with TM's Sesame Chicken Recipe is what we had for dinner tonight.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
1 lb sirloin or flank steak

Marinade:
1 egg white
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Vegetables:
4 green onions, sliced on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
1 8-ounce can baby corn
1 garlic clove, minced

Sauce:
3 TB hoisin sauce
2 TB water 
1 TB dark soy sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar, or 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1/4 tsp chile paste, or to taste 

Other:
1 tsp sugar
1 cup oil for frying beef
2 TB oil for stir-frying
Preparation:
Slice the beef across the grain into thin strips. Add the marinade ingredients in the order given and marinate the beef for thirty minutes.  To prepare the vegetables, wash the green onions and slice on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces. Peel and mince the garlic. Rinse the can of baby corn with warm running water. Drain thoroughly. Mix together the sauce ingredients and set aside.
  When the beef has finished marinating, heat the wok and add 1 cup oil. When oil is ready, add the beef and fry until it changes color. Remove the beef from the wok and drain on paper towels.
  Clean out the wok with a paper towel, and add 2 tablespoons of oil for stir-frying. When the oil is ready, add the garlic. Stir-fry2 briefly, and add the baby corn. Add the green onions.
    Make a well in the middle of the wok by pushing the vegetables up to the side. Add the sauce and bring to a boil, stirring to thicken.
Stir in the sugar. Add the beef and combine with the sauce and vegetables. Serve hot. Serves 4.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

I see your Mongolian beef, and I raise you:

Pad Thai
The key to this dish is to assemble all of your ingredients before you put the heat to your wok.  Once you get started cooking, you have about ten minutes before the dish is ready to be plated, and you'll be stirring the whole time.  Please forgive my amounts on this dish, I rarely measure anything when making it so I can only suggest you use these as ballpark values and adjust for your own tastes.

Ingredients:

8.00 oz     Thai style rice noodles (I like the 3mm ones, but get what you prefer)
1.00 c       Chicken breast, cubed (raw)
1.00 c       Shrimp, peeled and deveined (raw)
2.00 ea     Eggs
4.00 ea     Garlic cloves, minced
2.00 ts      Corn starch
2.00 tb      Soy sauce
1.50 c       Bean sprouts
0.25 c       Scallions, sliced
0.50 c       Chicken broth
4.00 tb      Oil, vegetable or peanut

(Sauce)
2.00 tb     Tamarind pulp
0.25 c       Boiling water
2.00 tb     Fish sauce
1.00 ts      Sriracha garlic chile sauce (up to 3 tsp to taste)
2.00 ts      Brown sugar (up to 3 tsp to taste)

(Condiments)
0.33 c       Peanuts, thoroughly crushed or chopped
1.00 ea     Lime, cut into 8 wedges

Directions:

Start by cutting up the chicken, then mix the soy sauce and corn starch into a slurry.  Pour this slurry over the chicken and let it marinate until you're ready to start cooking.

Fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water your faucet will put out.  Immerse the rice noodles in this water and allow to soak for about 20 minutes or until the noodles have changed from translucent to opaque white and are flexible but still very firm to the bite (not soft enough to eat, just soft enough to be pliable).  Don't forget to drain the noodles when they're ready.  While the noodles are soaking, bring a quarter cup of water to a boil, then pour it over the tamarind pulp and let stand for 10 minutes before pressing the softened pulp and water through a fine strainer.  Discard seeds and fibers.

Combine the freshly extracted tamarind liquid with the brown sugar, fish sauce, and chile sauce.  This is the pad thai sauce, and even though it doesn't look like much, this is powerful mojo and will be enough for all of the noodles involved in this recipe.  While you wait for the noodles to soften, use the time to gather the rest of the mis en place: crack the eggs into a bowl and beat lightly, make sure the shrimp are thawed and in their own bowl, mince the ginger, and just generally gather all of the ingredients together so that they're at-hand when you need them.

Fire up the wok.  Get it hot.  Hotter.  I'm talkin' NASA hot.  Add a couple tablespoons of oil and heat until the oil starts to shimmer.  Add the minced garlic and half of the scallions and stir-fry until you smell garlic (30 seconds, max), then add the chicken and all of its marinade.  Stir-fry until the pan becomes dry, then start adding in the chicken broth a couple tablespoons at a time, stirring the whole time.  When the wok starts to look dry, add more broth.  Repeat until the 0.5 c of broth is used up, then stir-fry until the pan is dry again.  Push everything up the sides of the wok, away from the middle, then add a couple more tablespoons of oil right to the middle.  Heat until the oil starts to shimmer, then pour the eggs in.  Heat without stirring for 1 minute, then break the eggs up like you're scrambling them.  Stir-fry for one more minute, then add in the shrimp.  Stir-fry until the shrimp turns pink, then add the soaked-and-drained noodles right on top.  Pour the prepared pad thai sauce over the noodles, then use a couple wooden spoons to stir-fry the noodles and everything else for one minute - you just want to heat the noodles and get everything mixed together here, so don't overdo the stirring.  Add the bean sprouts and stir-fry for one more minute.

Kill heat. 

Plate.  Garnish with crushed peanuts, scallions, and lime wedges.

Pig out.

Suggested pairing:  American style pale ale or IPA.  The hoppier, the better.  Sierra Nevada Pale Ale works well.  So does Arrogant Bastard Ale.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Bump time. 

Pecan pie
This ain't your grandma's pecan pie, the ingredients speak for themselves!  Oh, this recipe also assumes you know how to make a 9" pie crust.

Filling Ingredients:

3.00 ea    Eggs
0.75 c     Maple syrup, grade B if you can get it
1.00 c     Dark brown sugar, packed
1.00 ts    Vanilla extract
0.50 c     Unsalted butter, browned
2.00 c     Pecan halves

Directions:

Start with your 9" unbaked pie shell in the fridge and the oven preheating to 350ºF.  While the oven is preheating, make some browned butter.  You don't know what browned butter is?  That's easy: just put a stick of butter in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until it smells nutty and the butter solids turn a nice golden brown color.  Be very careful not to burn it!  Allow this browned butter to cool completely before preparing the rest of the filling.

To prepare the filling, whisk together the eggs, maple syrup, brown sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl.  Once those are thoroughly combined, whisk in the browned butter.  Place the pecans evenly over the bottom of the pie shell, then pour the filling over the pecans.  Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 50 minutes to an hour, or until the filling is set and the crust is browned.  Cool completely before serving with fresh whipped cream.

I like a little pecan pie with my whipped cream, but that might just be me.

[Eternimus]

Oh yeah? I raise you the most desired thing I have ever cooked in my two decades of culinary conquest. There has never been a time I have made this where people did not stuff themselves to the point of losing the ability to walk.

Eternimus' Chicken Cordon Bleu:

Ingredients
Four Large Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (2 pounds or so)
Provalone Cheese (Sliced)*
Swiss Cheese (Sliced)*
Mozzarella Cheese (Brick, thin sliced)*
Deli Sliced Ham*
Canadian Bacon*
One egg, beaten unmercifully
Italian Bread Crumbs*
Butter or Margarine

*All depends on the size of your chicken breasts, so your own judgment is required.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) before you begin.
1) Slice the chicken as if you were filleting a salmon, but end to end not side to side. Do not sever completely.

2) Tenderize the whole length.

3) Top with filling. Alternate cheese-meat-cheese-meat-cheese. The order is unimportant, just as long as you alternate.

4) Start at one end, and tightly roll to the other end.

5) Brush with egg

6) Roll in bread crumbs. You can cook immediately or freeze to cook later. If the roll comes undone, use toothpicks to hold it in place. Remove toothpicks before baking.

7) Put in a pie plate, allowing very little space between. I also have used a bread pan. Pyrex works best.

Top each piece with a small pat of butter or margarine.

9) Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked.

Not a traditional recipe, I prefer to embellish mine. It makes it much more delicious. The entree goes wonderfully with:

Eternimus' Fettucine Alfredo

Ingredients
1 lb fettucine
Water for pasta (About 3-4 quarts)
1/2 cup butter (NOT margarine)
2 cloves garlic, chopped, diced, crushed, made very small.
2 1/2 cups light cream or half and half
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and/or Pepper to taste

Directions
1) Bring water to a boil.

2) Add fettucine. Cook according to package directions. if using home made fettucine, then probably 10 minutes. Uncovered, of course.

3) Sautee Garlic in the butter for a few minutes

4) After sauteeing the garlic,Stir in 1 1/2 cups cream

5) Cook over medium heat for a few minutes till hot.When hot, stir in fettucine. Add remaining cream or half and half, Parmesan cheese, and pepper or salt if using. That's a personal preference, I usually don't cook with those items.

6) After everything is hot and melted, serve. Top with more Parmesan if you like. Garnish with fresh parsley sprigs.

And for dessert, I personally enjoy Alton Brown's Creme Brulee recipe.

Now that's a high class home made meal. And probably the most delicious thing I can make.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Raise and call.

Millie's Favorite Beef Stew a la Taylor-MadeAK
Dinty Moore got nuttin' on this sh**.

Ingredients

2.00 lb     Beef - appropriate cut for stewing, cut into 1" cubes
2.00 tb     Oil (or bacon drippings...mmm...)
1.00 tb     Salt
0.50 ts     Black Pepper
1.00 ts     Thyme (dried)
1.00 ts     Tarragon (dried)
0.50 ts     Smoked Paprika (optional, but nice)
1.00 ea     Bay Leaf
10.5 oz     Condensed Beef Broth (cheating, I know)
16.0 oz     Beer (Taylor-Made, of course...but you can use whatever you have)
4.00 ea     Medium Carrots - sliced on the bias into 1" thick pieces
4.00 ea     Medium to large waxy (red or yellow) Potatoes - washed, unpeeled, and 1" cubed
1.00 ea     Medium Celeriac - peeled and 1" cubed (I like this instead of onions or celery, though either could sub here)
0.25 c       All-purpose Flour
0.25 c       Water*

* This is a slow-cooking meal, so using a flour+water slurry to thicken it is okay because the flour will have plenty of time to cook.  If you're short on time or need to cut a half hour out somewhere, use oil or butter instead of water and make a roux - just make sure you allow the roux to cool before using it in the hot stew.

Directions

In spite of the long ingredient list, this is a very simple dish to make.  Start by heating the oil in a heavy pot (or dutch oven, if you have one) on medium heat and then browning the meat in it - making sure to let the meat have plenty of contact time with the bottom of the pan so that you get some nice brown crust forming on the meat. 

Once the meat is brown on all sides, add the beer, beef stock, salt, pepper, paprika, thyme, tarragon, and bay leaf.  Stir well to distribute everything evenly, and allow to come to a simmer.  Once you start to see bubbles breaking the surface, drop the heat to low, lid the pot, and walk away for an hour and a half.  Use this time to prep the vegetables.

After the meat has cooked for an hour and a half, whisk the quarter cup of flour with an equal amount of water until it forms a smooth slurry, then stir the slurry into the stew.  Next, stir in the prepared potatoes, carrots, and celeriac.  I know it doesn't look like there's enough liquid in there to cover everything, but as long things are mostly covered when you press everything down into an even layer you'll be fine - there's a lot of water inside those veggies, some of which they'll give up to the stew over the next half hour.   Lid the pot up again and find something to do for 30 minutes or so.  The stew is done when the vegetables are all tender.

I probably shouldn't have to tell you this, but I'll relate it anyhow: as with any other kind of slow food, the longer and slower you cook a stew, the better it will taste.  Two hours is the minimum to cook this dish, but if you have four hours it would be even better.  Of course, the best way to handle a stew is to cook it, stick it in the fridge overnight, then heat it up and eat it the next day.

Food porn attached!

[Goman Fox]

Mmm, TM's food porn there looks pretty good.

I just wanted to share something, it's not quite a recipe, more of a simple combination of things, but still counts as good eats I think.

Cat got a nifty blender-thing for Christmas, it has the option of either two small single-serving blending cups, or a large pitcher with a serving spout.  I think I like the thing more than he does, I've been blending all sorts of fruit drinks lately.  Anyways, anyone that enjoys fruit smoothies and has some sort of blender might enjoy this as well.  I don't really measure portions out, I basically just add ingredients by eye when I make stuff.  Plus what I made was for a single glass, larger blenders would obviously need more.

Berry-Orange-Banana Smoothie
~1/2 cup of Haagen Dazs Raspberry Sorbet
1/4 to 1/2 cup of Fruit Punch
1 banana
1 peeled orange (about average size)
1 vitamin C tablet (tastes a lot like Tang, gives more orange flavor)

If anyone in Anchorage has ever been to the Bear Tooth, this tastes almost exactly like a smoothie they serve there, they just probably add strawberries and maybe blueberries to the mix as well.  If I had either on hand, I'd probably use them instead, but this mix tastes pretty good I think.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

If all you want to do is add more orange flavor, Fox, you can skip the vitamin C tablet and just put the zest from that orange into the blender with everything else.  Probably taste better than that tablet does, too.   Give that a try sometime and let me know what you think.

[Oni]

This may sound like simple question but does anybody know a good recipe for Biscuits and Gravy, a normal on and a Lactose Free one.

[Eternimus]

You don't need milk in biscuits. I almost never use it. Gravy however... Given the fact I just invented a new recipe for country gravy with sausage, I'll post that since you're asking.

Eternimus-style Country Gravy

Ingredients:

   ¼ lb Sausage
   ½ c Butter (NOT MARGARINE)
   3/4 c Flour
   2 c Chicken Broth
   1½ c Heavy Whipping Cream
   3/4 c Milk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1) Fry sausage, crumble into saucepan.
2) Melt butter in pan over medium heat with sausage.
3) Quickly whisk in flour.
4) Brown for 5-10 minutes.
5) Add Chicken Broth and Cream.
6) Cook until about the consistency of mashed potatos, stirring rapidly so as not to let it stick.
7) Pour in the milk, stirring slowly.
7) Boil for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve over dish of your choice.

Before you comment on it, try it. That gravy kicks so much ass.

If you want a very simple lactose free biscuit recipe, this one is easy, can be made with milk or water, and has been around for a long time.


Baking Powder Biscuits
(from a 1933 Recipe)

Ingredients:
2 cups sifted flour
2 tsp. baking powder
4 tablespoons butter or shortening
1/2 tsp. salt
about 3/4 cup water or milk

Sift Flour once, measure, add baking powder and salt, and sift again. Cut in shortening or butter. (this is where I use my hands by rubbing the butter into the flour). Add milk gradually, stirring until soft dough is formed. Turn out on slightly floured board and lightly "knead" for 30 seconds, enough to shape. Roll 1/2 inch thick and cut with 2 inch floured biscuit cutter. Bake on ungreased sheet in a 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Makes 12 biscuits. You can also make tiny tea biscuits that are only 1 1/2 inches wide with a small cutter or glass bottom. These are great served with tea, jam or honey or E's godlike country gravy. Makes 24.