OMG Good eats.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

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.

Oh, alright, since Eternimus fessed one up, I guess I'll post my way of doing it:

Biscuits

Ask Millie.  Seriously, I don't make them because I just screw them up.  I leave them to Millie every time.

You could also consult Alton Brown, if you like.

Sausage Gravy
This is also sometimes called "sawmill gravy" down south.  This, like most of my recipes, is simple, wholesome, and definitely not low-fat.

Ingredients:

0.50 lb    Pork Sausage
4.00 c     Milk
8.00 tb    Butter
8.00 tb    All-Purpose Flour
2.00 ts    Kosher salt
1.00 tb    Pepper, fresh ground


Directions:

This type of gravy is all about technique and ratio.  Once you master the technique, you'll be able to whip up any other béchamel based sauce or gravy whenever you want.  The ratio part applies in two places: the roux, which is equal parts butter and flour (ask the French: classic roux is always this way); and the amount of flour used per cup of milk - two tablespoons flour per cup of milk will result in a pretty thick gravy, which is how I like it.  You can adjust up or down as you see fit.

So, here's what you do.  Start with a saucepan (no reason to dirty more than one pan here) on medium heat.  Brown the sausage, breaking it up thoroughly as it cooks.  When it's cooked all the way through, make a space in the middle of the pan by pushing the sausage to the sides.  Add the butter to the middle of the pan and let it melt.  When the butter stops foaming, add the flour right to the middle and stir thoroughly into the butter and sausage.  Let the roux cook undisturbed for 2 minutes, then stir to redistribute everything.  Now add the milk, stirring constantly as you do.  Now add the salt and pepper and cook over medium-high heat, still stirring constantly, until the gravy comes to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and let it cook for 10 minutes.  Don't forget to check the seasoning before before serving!

Ladle over hot biscuits (mmm...biscuits and gravy) or even just some toasted bread (aka "S.O.S.") and consume in quantity.

This recipe makes a lot of gravy, but I wrote it this way because I figure Oni intends to feed a lot of people with it.  It's pretty easy to scale up or down to suit your needs, however.  Speaking of Oni...why would you want to make lactose-free sawmill gravy?  Well, whatever, you can use store-bought lactose-free milk for this, or even make your own by adding some lactase enzyme to plain milk the night before you intend to make this gravy.

Sausage: use whatever kind you like.  I happen to really like maple sausage in mine.

[Oni]

Anybody know any good Pork and Beans Recipe?

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Per Oni's request:

Thai Peanut Satay Sauce
This is one that you can Google for yourself, but a cursory search turns up all kinds of adulterated recipes that just aren't the real thing as I know it.  This recipe is what Thai restaurants use to make their in-house peanut sauce.  It's simple, it's easy, and once you know how to make it you'll never buy a jar of this stuff from the local megamart again!

Ingredients

14.00 oz     Coconut milk (one can) - or you can make your own.
00.50 c       Peanut butter - creamy or chunky, your choice.
01.00 tb     Thai red curry paste (more or less to taste)
01.00 tb     Soy sauce

Directions

Give the can of coconut milk a good 60 second shake (trust me, it's necessary), then open and decant its contents into a 1 quart saucepan.  Set your stove to medium heat and give the coconut milk a good whisking to loosen it up and make sure all of the cream is worked back in.  Next, add the peanut butter, curry paste, and soy sauce.  Whisk constantly over medium heat until everything has combined and the sauce is warmed through.  Serve immediately.

Sealed tightly, this sauce will keep for a week in the refrigerator.

A note on curry paste: Thai cuisine considers heat (as in spicy) to be a flavor in addition to the usual sweet/sour/salty/bitter quartet, therefore whatever curry paste you buy should be good and spicy and your peanut sauce should have at least a little bit of kick to it.  Some brands of curry paste are less spicy than others, however, so if you discover that the stuff you bought doesn't meet your needs in that department (like the stuff we bought yesterday >.<), make a note to never buy that stuff again and adjust the heat of your peanut satay sauce upward with a little sriracha or sambal.

You have one of those hot sauces on hand, right?  Right?

Good.

[Oni]

Curtsy of The Kitchn

Bacon-Wrapped Potato Bites with Spicy Sour Cream Dipping Sauce
makes about three dozen bites

1 pound small or medium red potatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped, fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
12 ounces-to-1 pound thick-cut bacon
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 teaspoon hot sauce
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Wash and dry the potatoes. Chop them into 1-inch pieces, keeping the chunks roughly the same size, even if they aren't the exact same shape. Put the potatoes in a medium pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Season the water with salt. Once the water begins to boil, cook the potatoes for about 3 to 4 minutes, until you can stick a fork into them without too much resistance. You want the potatoes to be almost, but not fully, cooked through (so they won't fall apart during the next steps).

Drain the potatoes and put them in a large bowl. Add the rosemary, olive oil, salt, and a few grinds of pepper, and toss until the potatoes are evenly coated.

Cut the strips of bacon in half (with a short, vertical slice). Wrap each piece of potato in a half-strip of bacon, securing it with a toothpick. Put the potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. You may need to cook the potatoes in two batches.



Cook the potatoes for 15 minutes, then flip each piece. Cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the bacon is cooked through and crisp. Mix the sour cream and hot sauce in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pile the potato bites on a plate and serve alongside the dip.


Question. Instead of putting in an oven. Could some one do this on the stove top or on a grill?

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Yeah, you could, but it'd be more trouble because you would constantly be having to turn them.  The even heat of an oven is really the best way to go about making hors d'eurves of this type.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Oni, this thread has gotten to the point where it really needs a TOC, don't you think?

Anyway, I'm making lumpia tonight (I didn't make them, I'm just cooking them) for dinner, and since the filipina coworker that Millie got them from didn't provide any sauce to go with them, I figured I'd just whip up a quickie sweet & sour sauce to go with them on my own. 

Have you ever Googled that stuff?  Every recipe I can find calls for $^#@$ ketchup to turn it pink!  Not only is that disgusting, it's distinctly un-Asian.  Now, I understand that sweet & sour sauce itself is very much a creation of the American-Asian culture fusion, but you can't make me believe that ketchup was a staple in the households of the immigrants who created the stuff.

So, here's the Taylor-MadeAK version.  Sans ketchup.

Real Sweet & Sour Sauce Isn't Pink!
This recipe makes just over a cup of sauce, which is enough for two people to have dinner.  Double or triple as you see fit.

Ingredients

1.00 c     Water
1.00 tb   Soy Sauce
1.00 tb   Rice Vinegar (any vinegar will do, actually)
2.00 tb   Sugar
0.25 ts    Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
1.00 tb    Corn Starch
2.00 tb    Water (for corn starch slurry)

Directions

This really couldn't get much simpler.  Combine the cup of water, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and red pepper in a sauce pan and set it on medium heat.  Stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to simmer.  Meanwhile, make a slurry by stirring the tablespoon of corn starch into two tablespoons of cold water.  Once the sauce begins to simmer, stir in the corn starch slurry and stir constantly until it comes to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and let it cook for a couple minutes, then remove from heat and serve.

[Oni]

Oni, this thread has gotten to the point where it really needs a TOC, don't you think?

You Volunteering?

[Taylor-MadeAK]

I'm volunteering...Fawxie McFluffypants!

[Ekim]

This is a very simple recipe for Trouble.

This is made with the following;

1 bottle of rum
1 bottle of pepsi
1 rock glass
1 bag of ice
1 Oni
1 Ekim

First you put the ice into the glass until it is mostly full. Then you pour in some liquor and then top it off with the pepsi. Once this is done hand over to Oni and Ekim for consumption. This may take many tries to get it right so be sure to up the liquor ratio with each glass until they are both obviously drunk.

After you have achieved their inebriation, toss them into the kitchen and tell them to start cooking everyone dinner. Although Oni and Ekim may insest that the dinner is great are ready to be served, odds are it will be over cooked and bland.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Although Oni and Ekim may insist that the dinner is great are ready to be served, odds are it will be over (or under) cooked and bland.

Alcohol doesn't even need to be involved for this to happen when Oni cooks, Ekim.   Trust me, we know from experience (*cough*crunchy rice*cough*).

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Since I caused the weather to turn foul by making 5 gallons of yellow beer yesterday (what?!), I thought I'd try to make it up to everybody by sharing the recipe for what I'm making for dinner tonight (and for the next couple nights, we always have leftovers).  Ready?  Here we go!

Classic Chicken & Sausage Gumbo
This is the Taylor-MadeAK version of a classic dish.  Open a beer before starting to make this dish, you'll need it to keep you company while you make the roux!

Ingredients
1.00 c       All-purpose Flour
1.00 lb      Chicken Breast, cubed
1.00 lb      Linguica, sliced thin (or use any other smoked sausage)
1.00 c       Vegetable Oil
1.00 c       Onion, fine chop
0.50 c       Celery, fine chop
0.50 c       Bell Pepper, fine chop (I always replace with carrot for a classic mirepoix)
4.00 ea      Garlic cloves, minced
2.00 ea      Bay Leaf
1.00 tb      Creole seasoning blend (homemade, of course)
6.00 c       Chicken Broth
1.00 tb      Filé powder (optional, but you'll miss it if it isn't there!)
             Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions
Make sure your aromatics - Trinity (onion, celery, bell pepper) or mirepoix (onion, celery, carrot) - are prepared before starting on the roux.  To cook the roux, mix the oil and flour until smooth in a heavy 4-quart pot over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and removing from the heat whenever the roux starts to lump up, until the roux looks like dark chocolate.  Don't walk away while the roux is cooking!  Don't answer the phone!  Don't check your Myspace!  Just stand there, drink your beer, and stir.

Once the roux is nice and dark, add your chopped aromatics and minced garlic and stir well.  This will stop the roux from cooking any further and will also open up the aromatics.  Once the veggies start to look a little soft, go ahead and pour in the chicken broth and stir briefly.  The roux will look a little stringy and not want to mix in very well, but that's okay.  Trust me, it will mix in just fine as the gumbo cooks.  While you wait for the gumbo to come to a simmer, dice up the chicken breast and then add it to the pot along with the bay leaves, creole seasoning, and any other spices you want to add.  Bring the whole thing to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and allow it to cook uncovered for at least two hours.  Longer is better, this is not a dish to hurry.  

For a nice thick gumbo, we want to cook it until it reduces by about two cups, then add one tablespoon of filé powder to thicken it further.

About a half an hour before you intend to serve, stir in the sliced sausage and allow it to cook.  Yes, the sausage is already cooked, but we want to render out some of the fat for flavor here.  

To serve: ladle over a bowl of fluffy white rice, season with salt, pepper, and additional filé to taste.  You can even add some hot sauce if it's not spicy enough for you.

[Catwiesel]

ahh cooking, recipes and good eats. now maybe i can add a little bit of german cuisine to your thread. nothing too elaborate, still delicious and definately good eats.
but beware, since those recipes are not written down by me and I dont use measurements, this might look messy ur unprofessionell. still I urge you, to maybe try it yourself. I promise, its easy enough.

Very well...

a few general notes:
the recipes are for aproxemately 4 persons.

all of these recipies need vinegar. Please do not use a cheap bad vinegar. If you really want to take a good one, use brandy vinegar. If you wont/cant get a hold on that one, look for a good white wine vinegar. Red wine vinegar should also be ok, but I prefer the taste of the white over the red in these recipies.
Note: if you really want to go overboard, you can get the same vinegar I use from here: http://www.germandeli.com/038274230434.html

Also, we need salt, sugar, oil (vegetable oil without much of an own taste. I use sunflower oil), pepper and paprica spice.

1st) Kartoffelsalat - Potatoe Salad ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potatoe_salad )
For Germans, there are two distinct schools of potatoe salad. one with oil/vinegar dressing, the second with mayo... Coming from south-west Germany, we do potatoe salads with oil/vinegar dressing and I find them very much superiour to ANY mayo dressing.

You'll need:
~800-1000g Potatoes (waxy, not too mealy and not too firm)
2-3 Onions
1-2 gloves of Garlic
~300-400ml Beef broth (strong in flavor, so if you have cubes that go into a specified amount of liquid, take half the liquid. we always can add water, but we cant take too much water out!)
1 small Cucumber or 1/2 big cucumber

First, cook the potatoes. while they are cooking cut your onion and garlic in small little pieces.
When the potatoes are done cooking and are still warm to hot (sorry but it is neccesary) peel them and slice them into thin pieces. if they break appart during slicing its no big deal. And yes, you can use an egg slicer for the potatoes ^^ They still should be warm now, which is important. add 250-300ml of your HOT beef broth to the potatoes and mash it together with two spoons. we want a barely moist (definately not wet) potatoe mash with lots of potatoe pieces in. taste it. you want to destinctely taste the beef broth without it seeming too concentrated. if its just too strong, add a LITTLE hot water and repeat. if it is way too weak and/or you only can taste it because you KNOW you added it, well, make a stronger broth and add a little bit and hope to got it wont make the salad to wet when were done. it shouldnt though, youll see why...
now add a FEW tablespoons of vegetable oil. dont soak the salad in it. we just need enough so the dressing will be a bit sticky instead of watery.
now add a few pinches of salt and one or two good turns of your pepper mill. mix everything and taste. you dont want it to taste too salty or too peppery, but it definately needs a hint of both, so you may add more. but dont overdo it. remember, you always can add more, but you cant take it back out.
now, the most important part. add a dash vinegar. mix and taste. it should definately have a good vinegary taste that combines well with the beef broth. probably youll need to add more vinegar dashes until you are satisfied. with experience you can adjust your dashes and get by with one or two, but for now, add small, mix, taste and repeat until your happy. if it is a bit too much on the acid side it doesnt matter. first, vinegar evaporates, especially when its warm and even more, and second, the cucumber we will add later will help that matter as well...
now the salad should be the right moisture, not wet so its soup and not dry so its mash. if it feels a bit too dry for you folks, we still have a bit of beef broth and vinegar we can add. you also could add water, but that would dilute the whole taste away, so I always fix the consistience with broth and vinegar.
now, walk away and let the salad cool down and rest for a few hours. sure you can eat it now and warm, but it will get better when you let it soak.

after it has soaked for at least 1-2 hours, best would be 3-4, add your cucumber sliced into thin pieces. you also could add endive-salat sliced very thin and washed in warm water so the bitterness is gone.
again and for the last time, taste the salad. you may want to add a little vinegar because some may have evaporated during cooling and some may be "gone" because you added a cucumber/salad.

I usually serve that salad to fish (any kind) or bring it to a bbq/party.

you can keep the salad in the refrigerator oh i dont know. it either gets eaten pretty quick or thrown away after 24hours. the garlic and onion will just make it taste bad after so long.

2nd) Wurstsalat - Sausage-Salad ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wurstsalat )
In Germany there are countless variations of Wurstsalat. Again, since I live next to the swiss border, mine would actually fit most into the "swiss sausage-salad" cathegory.

You'll need:
600-800g Sausage (best is lyoner! if im correct you should get the right sausage if you shop for bologna or baloney)
2-3 Onions
1 Red Bell Pepper
200-400g Cheese (Emmentaler or something similar in consistency and taste)
5-10 (depending on size) Pickled small cucumbers

first, cut your sausage in thin little stripes, put in a big glas bowl.
then peel your onions and cut them into thin rings (you can use a slicer yes) also add to the bowl.
mix it together (hands are fine), makes it easier later on.
cut your bell pepper into cubes, not too big, nor too small. add to the bowl
cut your pickled cucumbers into thin round pieces, add to the bowl
now cut your cheese in thin little stripes, similar to your sausage. add them to the bowl as well.
again, mix everything, again hands are probably the best tools you got for that.

now comes the dressing. add a good dash of vegetable (sunflower) oil, followed by a very good dash or two of vinegar. add lots (well, not too lots) of coarsly ground pepper (i like the mix with black, "red", green) and a good pinch or two of salt. you may also want to add a good bit of paprica spice. add on top of that cold water (maybe 2-3times of what we added oil/vinegar combined). the dressing/liquid should really be visible in the lower part of the bowl. yes, this is supposed to be a wet salad)
the oil, again, is so the dressing will stick to the salad. the vinegar is the base and yes, you really can taste the vinegar in wurstsalat, so dont be afraid. the pepper is also important and should not be skimped on. salt, well, just make sure you dont make it too salty and you should be fine... also, keep in mind that salt and pepper can always be added later and more and each individual for themselfes so, absolutely dont overdo it here.
so, mix everything, and you can use your hands but since its now wet and oily i dont recommend it. use some kind of tool for it, since we mixed the incrediences before this should be easy. have a try and add more vinegar/salt/pepper to your taste. yes water can be added too if you really screwed it up before. in emergency just throw everything into a sieve, put it back into the bowl and start anew^^

very well, when your done and all happy, put a plastic wrap on the bowl and walk away. as with potatoe salad, this will need time to come to the full potential. i recommend at least 1 hour. if you will eat it after ~1 hour, let it stand at room temp.
if you want to eat it later than one hour, put it into the refigerator and get it back out in time. the salad itself is best served and eaten at room temperature, but if you let it stand to warm the cheese will start to melt in the acid.

serve with it a piece of butter bread (freshly backed country bread, in a pinch a freshly toasted toastbread will do fine too) - best cold lunch/midnight snack I can think off.
oh, and dont by shy to have a salt/peppermill on the table, in case someone (you) want to add a bit "more extra"

this will keep in the refrigerator longer than you want to eat it. after 24 hours it starts to taste "bad", all onion, the cheese maybe even starting to melt (not by heat but by the acid), onion taste too pronounced. if you wanna try, go ahead, its not "bad" because of mold or bacteria. just bad taste in general.

3rd) Linsen mit Spätzle - Lentils with "Spätzle"
Lentils: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lentils (use the dark, brown ones)
Spätzle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sp%C3%A4tzle (use the 1-2 inch long thin ones)

You'll need
200-300g (or 1 big can) Lentils (here we can buy them cooked in vegetable soup in a can. if you cant, well, buy dry ones and cook them in vegetable broth yourself^^)
400-500g Spätzle (should be pretty easy to find even in the us)
2 pieces Bacon (smoked from the belly in one part, not cut into pieces. raw if you can manage it)
4 Wiener of Frankfurer sausage (hot-dogs)

ok, i will assume you have wet, ready to go rehydrated lentils with a bit of a vegetable broth. bought or home made doesnt matter much.
if you make them yourself, we dont need them fully rehydrated and at 100% of what they can absorb on liquid. we will cook them and let them get to 100% later.

first, put a big cooking pot on the high heat and throw the bacon in. we want the fat from the bacon to lubricate our pot, but more importantly, we want the bacony smoky taste to be in the lentils later. so when the bacon starts to sizzle, go down to medium heat and keep it in the hot pot and turn now and then and move it around over the whole pot bottom until the bacon is golden brown on both sides.  remove the bacon (we will need that later) and
add the lentils. note that from the can they usually come with a good bit of vegetable broth and some sellerie and carrot pieces. that's  fine as it is. if you made your lentils yourself, add them with as much of the liquid you got so that they are barely covered with it. dont make a soup and dont fry them. we need them wet and in the right amout of liquid.
you can go back to high heat again, we want the lentils to cook. you also may want to get the dried bacon goodness on the bottom of the pot into the soup so stir and scratch the bottom of your pot with a wood flat thingy a few times.
when they are cooking, take down the heat (to a simmer), throw the bacon back in (you may want to strip it first from the uneadible belly thingy and cut the bacon pieces in half) and put a cover on the pot. let them simmer for oh i dont know, at least 15-30minutes until they really are (mostly) moist and not starchy and hard if you eat them.
now add ~ 1 teaspoon of salt and ~1-2 tablespoons of sugar. add 2-3 turns of your pepper mill. now comes the vinegar. yes again vinegar. add at least 2 tablespoons of vinegar, maybe even 3 or 4 (for now). stir and have a taste. good, no? whats missing? more salt? probably not, but if so go add some. more pepper? again, probably not but if you really think so, add some. both really should not be identifyable unless they are missing. if you think its too sweet, add a bit more vinegar. if you think its too vinegary, add a little more sugar (and possibly since you added more sugar, a wee bit of more salt)
it should be a perfect balance between vinegary and sweet (note: hint of sweet, this is not a dessert!) which reinforces the delicious taste of the bacony lentils.
if you are satisfied you have two options:
1) add your frankfurther sausages (dig them in there) and wait until the sausages are hot from the residual heat (you may want to have a low to mid heat going here, but usually the residual heat from the lentils can do the job as well)
2) let the whole thing cool (well, almost) slowly on the residual heat of the oven. yes, you read correctly, let it cool on a residual heat source. it will take some time, and you dont need to let it cool to room temp. but you will notice the lentils will suck up the remaining liquid and get even more moist and bigger. i like it better this way. just add your sausages when its done, switch back on your low heat and warm the whole thing up again, but be cautious, in this state it can burn so slow heat and dont run off too long... occasionally stirring is recommended. you may also need to add a wee bit of vinegar, depending on how much evaporated.

also, in both cases be cautious that the sausages dont burst open. that is not good eats...

oh and of course, at the appropriate time, just cook a lot of water, salt it, add your spätzle noudles, follow the cooking instructions (probably 10-12 minutes cooking), sieve, put in a bowl, add a wee bit of butter on them and serve the hot spätze with your (again) hot lentils.

for consumption get your spätzle on the plate, one piece of bacon (half) and one sausage (well, not totally on the noudles and in the middle of the plate, somewhat on the noudles and near the rim) and add a big wet delicious serving spoon full of lentils full on your noudles... just thinking about it makes my mouth water!

[Oni]

How many calories are in that. I am on a diet ya know.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

In Catwiesel's recipes?  Probably more than you've allotted yourself on your "diet," man.  They might say "salad" in the name, but you can be sure that they're not the low-cal pile of leafy greens we 'Mericans (or Canucks like you) think of when we see that word.

As for my gumbo recipe...it's gumbo.  I've never heard of a low-cal or low-fat gumbo.

Ever.

[Catwiesel]

ok, here are estimated values:
potatoe salad 100grams --> 90kcal
sausage salad 100grams --> 350kcal
lentils with spätzle (and sausage and bacon) 1 serving --> 1000kcal