El Justo's Cookbook Thread

[Cutlass]

Cutlass Mac&Cheese


2 cups mac cooked and drained
2 cans cheese soup & 1 1/2 can water (Campbells soups makes good ones)
8 oz or so of grated or shredded cheese (type optional depending on taste. Most m&c use mild cheddar, I like sharp cheddar to give it all a better flavor, but if you like some different cheese, give it a shot.)
A small onion (or so, depending on taste)
I also sometimes add chopped celery.
A spoonful or so of crushed garlic
And whatever spices you happen to like. Try a few out.

Cook at 375 for 45 minutes in an appropriate size dish.

 

[Plotinus]

I'm posting this recipe now, because this is the time of year to make it!

Last year was the first time we tried to make our own pudding, and we didn't get around to it until a couple of weeks before Christmas. The pudding turned out to be fantastic, so this recipe works well if you only think of doing it at the last minute. But Christmas pudding is really meant to be made months in advance and left to steep.

The pudding is actually extremely easy to make, so I urge you to try it. There are lots of recipes available on the Internet. I combined ideas from different ones to devise the recipe given below last year, and it worked very well. Feel free to adapt it yourselves.

Note that the quantities given here will make about two litres of pudding. For us it just nicely made two puddings, each in a one-litre pudding bowl. But if you have different-sized vessels you can try those too - I have even heard of people making little puddings in tea cups. I imagine that the cooking time would be much less.

[EDIT] This pudding was consumed three and a half months after being made this year. Everyone thought it the best Christmas pudding they'd ever had.

Christmas pudding

Ingredients

170g beef suet
2 tablespoons of self-raising flour
170g soft brown sugar
200g white breadcrumbs
150g currants
150g raisins
150g sultanas
A tub of chopped mixed peel
2 tablespoons of mixed spice
¼ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
A large cooking apple
Juice of 1 lemon
35cl brandy

Method

Core the apple, stand it in a dish of water, and bake for 30-40 minutes at a highish temperature.

Put all the dry ingredients, including the suet, into an enormous bowl, one at a time, mixing thoroughly.

In another bowl, beat the eggs. Mash the apple and add it. Add the brandy.

Stir the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Grease two pudding bowls thoroughly.

Spoon the mixture into the bowls and cover them tightly with greaseproof paper. Use rubber bands or string to secure the covers so they are as waterproof as possible.

Leave overnight.

Steam them in big pans for eight hours. This means that each bowl needs to be stood in a big pan of water. The water should not come all the way to the top of the bowl, but be around half to two-thirds of the way up. Put the pans on the stove and boil them for eight hours. You will need to keep on topping up the water - do not let them boil dry. You will probably need to open the windows while you do this as there will be a lot of steam, which is another reason why it's a good idea to make the puddings in September rather than December.

When they are cool, stow the puddings away somewhere until they are ready to be eaten.

Before eating, microwave for several minutes until piping hot. To serve properly, up-end the bowl onto a plate and turn the pudding out. Pour brandy all over it, turn the lights off, strike a match, and light it. Note: this works especially well if you put the brandy in a glass and microwave it for ten seconds first.

Serve with generous quantities of brandy cream, brandy butter, or your own favoured brandy-and-dairy-based confection. If you don't eat the whole pudding in one go you can just put it in the fridge and microwave individual portions whenever you want them, because it's not going to go off.

 

[Fifty]

Christmas pudding

I just might have to make this! One of the best desserts I ever made was a bread pudding with brandy whipped cream. Thanks, Plotinus!

 

[soul_warrior]

if i werent going on a grand tour of australia this monday, id make it.
otherwise - i WILL make it.
XMas time

 

[pau17]

Caribbean Fried Rice:

This is an economical, fast, and low-supply way of making fried rice that tastes better and is more nutritious than the frozen stuff you get at the supermarket or from take-out, without all the preservatives and MSG. The secret ingredient that provides the substance and flavor is the banana.

Minimum ingredients (one serving):
-A plate's worth of rice
-One egg
-One small-medium banana
-Soy sauce
-Add other ingredients (meat, vegetables, shrimp) as you see fit.

Cook rice (seasoning is helpful but optional). Fry egg, any style you want. Chop/mash banana into small pieces. (Optional, fry the pieces with the egg.) Drizzle with soy sauce and mix it all together.

Many people scoff at the banana, but it actually goes really well with rice, as Caribbean cuisine will show. Good-tasting fried rice does not have to be difficult or time-comsuming or overly salty, and you can put those random eggs and bananas lying around to use.

 

[Arwon]

Ridiculously easy Chicken thing:

-Chicken breasts or thigh fillets
-Honey
-Curry Powder
-Mustard

Mix equal parts honey, mustard and curry powder. Slather the fillets of chicken in the mixture, bake for 30 or 35 minutes. Consume!

 

[Fifty]

Caribbean Fried Rice:

This is an economical, fast, and low-supply way of making fried rice that tastes better and is more nutritious than the frozen stuff you get at the supermarket or from take-out, without all the preservatives and MSG. The secret ingredient that provides the substance and flavor is the banana.

Minimum ingredients (one serving):
-A plate's worth of rice
-One egg
-One small-medium banana
-Soy sauce
-Add other ingredients (meat, vegetables, shrimp) as you see fit.

Cook rice (seasoning is helpful but optional). Fry egg, any style you want. Chop/mash banana into small pieces. (Optional, fry the pieces with the egg.) Drizzle with soy sauce and mix it all together.

Many people scoff at the banana, but it actually goes really well with rice, as Caribbean cuisine will show. Good-tasting fried rice does not have to be difficult or time-comsuming or overly salty, and you can put those random eggs and bananas lying around to use.

I will definitely try this... thanks!

 

[ArneHD]

Ridiculously easy Chicken thing:

-Chicken breasts or thigh fillets
-Honey
-Curry Powder
-Mustard

Mix equal parts honey, mustard and curry powder. Slather the fillets of chicken in the mixture, bake for 30 or 35 minutes. Consume!

Hm, mustard and honey? That's a combination I haven't tried before.

Anyway, does anyone here know how to make honey roasted chicken? I've been trying to find a good recipe, but failed. And my own experiments with honey haven't gotten any further than honey and pepper.

 

[Dr.Mindbender]

Hm, mustard and honey? That's a combination I haven't tried before.

Anyway, does anyone here know how to make honey roasted chicken? I've been trying to find a good recipe, but failed. And my own experiments with honey haven't gotten any further than honey and pepper.

Cook it for two hours at a low temperature.

Long Timing is what make the honey dissolve into the chicken better.

 

[mangxema]

I this thread.

I can cook a couple things, but I always wing it. I'll pay closer attention from now on.

 

[Arwon]

----double post----

 

[Arwon]

"Anglo-style" stir fry slop (as opposed to authentic Asian stir fries) is the easiest thing in the world, and I frequently make different variations of it. The basic formula is "onion, oil, garlic and oyster sauce in a frypan, add meat, when cooked, add other veggies. keep everything moving and the heat as high as possible".

This is the version I made tonight, which was very sweet and kinda tangy.

Contained:
-A Capsicum (that's peppers to the non-Australians)
-An onion
-Garlic (I used 4 cloves)
-A couple of little chillis
-A tin of pineapple pieces
-A sliced and diced fillet of chicken breast

The sauce I used contained everything I could find around the house, which was:
-Sweet Chilli Sauce (I think it's called Thai BBQ sauce in some places)
-Oyster sauce
-Soy sauce
-Lemon juice
-Paprika
-A shaker of something called "bush spices"
-A splash of water

Chop all the veggies as small as you can get them. Mix a decent quantity of the sauce together in a cup or little bowl or something.

----

The basic idea is to turn the onion/capsicum/garlic/chilli into a soft, sweet mush through cooking it very slowly, then add that to stir fried chicken and then add the pineapple which doesnt take long to cook

Use two frypans because of the different cooking speeds.

In one, do the onion/capsicum/garlic/chilli mixture. I do it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar but it probably doesnt matterm much. I also added a bit of oyster sauce and lemon juice partway through, it seemed to work well.

In the other frypan, or a wok if you've got one, when the veggie slop is close to done (maybe 10 or 15 minutes?), start to stir fry the chicken. Add in the sauce mixture after the chicken is browned or whitened or whatever the hell you call it. Add the pineapple and maybe some more sauce and let that cook for a minute or to.

----

Substitute stuff at will, these sorts of things are endlessly modifiable. I'd suggest adding any other veggies in the step where I added the pineapple rather than doing it early with the onion/capsicum/garlic/chilli slop mixture.

 

[Plotinus]

Here is a very simple but very good recipe to get you in a seasonal mood.

Mulled apple juice

Ingredients

1.75 litres apple juice
1 orange
8 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole star anise
A bit of mixed ground spice
A good dash of lemon juice

Method

Cut the orange into quarters. Stick two cloves into each quarter (on the peel side!).

Put everything into a big pot and simmer for a long time.

I made this recipe up today and it came out far better than I anticipated. The ingredients given above are precisely what I used today - I have listed these because they worked well, but obviously you can vary them depending on what you have or what you like. I made it in a slow cooker, which I left running for eight hours. This worked wonderfully because it meant that all the flavours really permeated into each other. It also made the flat smell very festive all day. If you don't have a slow cooker, it might be an idea to put it in a big pan on a very low heat for quite a long time to achieve a similar effect. Alternatively, you might want to use more spices.

I don't really like apple juice very much, and it certainly doesn't like me judging by the effect it normally has on my insides. I made this because wine does not agree with my girlfriend at the moment but she loves mulled wine, so I thought this might make an OK substitute. We were amazed to find that it is easily as good as mulled wine, with exactly the same Christmassy sort of taste, and not too appley at all. I could drink this stuff for ever. So it's definitely worth making if you want a nice mulled drink but don't fancy downing lots of wine - it's not just a sort of second-best option for people who don't drink alcohol!

By the way, when it's done, the orange quarters are exceedingly nice too.

 

[GoodGame]

I saw something similar on the cooking chanel the other day, but with wine, and it was made in a large coffee perculator with the spicing ingredients placed where the coffee grinds basket would go.

 

[Plotinus]

Mulled wine in a coffee percolator? Interesting, but I can't believe that's the best way to make it!

 

[soul_warrior]

Soul's Soylent Green Omelette

4-5 Celery stalks, 1 large onion, 2 carrots, 1 diced zucchini.
chop them all into small cubes (1/4th inch? 1/2 cm? across)
fry these in a little oil (maybe 1 tea spoon) till softened.
* add the zucchini last
spice up with:
salt, pepper, paprika (the mellow kind), cumin (just a bit), oregano (a dash)
stir well into mix.

chop into thin slices a Jalepeno Green Pepper (or any other "hot" pepper), add to pan.
LOWER FLAME, so it simmers.
dice a large tomato into small cubes. add to mix.
chop up a big handful of fresh spinach, add on top of things.
COVER it up, and leave unmolested for 5-10 minutes (till spinach is a nice deep green)
stir it up ONCE.
when it is ready, crack open, on top of it, 2-3 eggs.
leave it as is, and RE-COVER the pan.

leave it be till eggs are ready (5-10 minutes)

when eggs are "ready" UNCOVER and let the dish reduce a bit, till its not swimming in the veggie sauce.

slide onto a plate and enjoy!

 

[Plotinus]

Here is my own version of a recipe that is extremely delicious, good for you, and pretty easy to make. I did this for Christmas lunch and it worked very well.

Nut roast

(Serves about 4, depending on hunger and what else you're serving with it.)

Ingredients

2 medium-sized onions
450 grams of nuts (such as cashews, hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts, pine nuts)
200 grams of wholemeal bread
500 ml of vegetable stock
Half a swede
2 teaspoons of tomato purée
Some mixed herbs

Method

Cut the swede into small bits and boil or steam them.

Meanwhile, put the nuts in the liquidiser and grind them up small. Put them in a bowl. Then do the same thing with the bread, and put the breadcrumbs in the same bowl.

Slice the onions into small bits. Fry them gently for a few minutes until soft.

Heat up the stock.

Add the onions, the tomato purée, the herbs, and the cooked swede to the stock. Put this in the liquidiser, perhaps bit by bit, and mash everything up.

Add this to the nuts and breadcrumbs and mix well.

Put it in a greased baking tin. Bake at a high temperature for 30 minutes.

When it's done, turn it out onto a plate. You may want to grill this for a few minutes to get a nice crust all the way round.

Serve with onion gravy and roast potatoes and vegetables for a truly filling repast.

Note: this recipe doesn't contain any salt, because I made it with over-salty bread. You can season it to your own liking.

I made my own wheat-free soda bread to use in this (I wouldn't make it for any other purpose, to be honest), and that good stock that comes in packets, which meant that this was gluten-, dairy-, and yeast-free, as well as vegetarian - but much nicer than that sounds.

 

[Israelite9191]

Edited for brevity from this post.

Edam and Emmenthaler Omelette with Salsa Rossa

Serves 1

Ingredients

Salsa Rossa:
1. 1 medium to large globe tomato or equal amount roma or heirloom tomatoes
2. 2-3 tablespoon (app.) fresh, or 2-3 (app.) teaspoons dried basil, oregano, thyme, Italian parsley, or chive
3. 2-3 cloves, to taste, minced fresh garlic
4. 1 teaspoon (app.), or to taste, crushed red chili flakes
5. 1 tablespoon (app.) or as to taste Champagne or other single-source white wine vinegar
6. Extra virgin olive oil, good quality to saturate
7. Salt, kosher or other course, to taste
8. Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste

Omelette:
1. 1 small or 1/2 large onion
2. 2-3 eggs, depending on size and appetite
3. 1/4 cup (app.) milk, cream, half-and-half, soy milk, or water
3. 2/3 - 1 cup (app.), depending on amount of eggs and taste, grated Edam, 4. Gouda, or other mild, easy-melting cheese
5. 1/3 - 2/3 cup (app.), depending on amount of eggs and taste, grated Emmenthaler or other 'Swiss' cheese
6. Butter, high quality as needed
7. Salt, koser or other coarse, to taste
8. Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
9. Freshly grated nutmeg to taste (optional)

Procedure

Prepare the salsa rossa before begining preperations for the omelette as this will give the tomatoes time to marinate.

Salsa Rossa:
1. Roughly dice the tomato(es) into 1/4 to 1/2 inch chunks, chiffonade or chop herbs if using fresh, and mince garlic; place in small mixing bowl.
2. Add hot ingredient and herbs if using dried
3. Add vinegar and enough olive oil to saturate; you don't need the tomatoes swimming in the stuff, but enough to moisten the mixture.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Let sit.

Omelette:
1. Dice the onion, relatively finely.
2. Melt about 1-2 tablespoons butter over medium low to low heat and add onion. Sweat over medium low heat.
3. While onions sweat, beat together eggs with dairy or water. Whisk in salt and pepper to taste.
4. When onions have finished sweating, becoming translucent, soft, and aromatic, turn up the heat to medium. Add another 1-2 tablespoons of butter, as needed, and allow to melt.
5. Give the eggs another bit of a whisk and add to the pan; cook.
6. When omelette is read to be formed, add most of the cheese, reserving some for garnish, to one half of the omelette and fold or roll off the pan.
7. Garnish with cheese, and if you choose nutmeg, and serve with the salsa rossa.

 

[soul_warrior]

just came up with this, in a drunken haze, last night.
havent cooked it yet, but seems to have potential

Soul's Tropical Banana Chicks
serves 2

ingerdients:
chicken breast (2 slabs)
casheu nuts (or pine seeds)
2 bananas
3-4 kiwis
some butter
salt/pepper
coconut milk

how to prepare:

grill 2 (or more if small portions) slabs of chicken breast.
till crispy, but make sure to keep it moist.

meanwhile, for the sauce:

dry roast some casheu nuts (or pine seeds) 3 minutes or so
melt some butter (50g?) in same pan.
add TWO bananas, DICED or sliced. dont make the pieces too small. 1/2cm minimum.
soften them a bit in butter.
add COCONUT MILK, probably a whole can.
add salt / pepper to taste.
let it reduce.

cut up a few (im guessing 3-4) KIWIs into small cubes.
add to sauce, 1 minute before serving.
*we want it to stay cool and fresh, not boiled.

you will need to time it so both chicken and sauce are ready at the same time.

i will cook this tonight or tomorrow, and will let you know how it faired....

 

[Fuzzz]

Peel the potatoes and cut the potatoes every 1 cm(2/5 inch). Turn the cut up potatoes 90° and cut them again every 1 cm. Put the fries in some cold water (this will help get rid of the starch and the fries will be more crispy). Take a clean towel and dry the fries.

Take a frying pan and preheat the fat/oil to 160°C (320°F). Take a handful of fries and put them in the frying pan. Shake the fries around once in a while to prevent sticking to each other and take them out after 4-8 minutes (depending on the amount, sort of potatoes, etc.). Put these fries in a bowl with a paper towel and let them cool off for at least 1/2 hour.

> Optionally, if the fries are cooled off you can now put them in your deep freezer. This is good if you don't want to do all the work all the time or if you think you made too much fries.

Preheat the frying pan to 190°C (374°F) -if you have a frying pan with a maximum temperature, 190°C is usually the maximum temperature- and put the prefried fries in until they are golden crispy (3-6 minutes usually, when they start floating on the fat/oil they are ready). Take them out, put them in a bowl with a paper towel and put some salt over it (this absorbs the fat).

Serve with mayonnaise.

Enjoy!!!