DonationCoder Recipe Sharing Thread

[mouser]

Let's share recipes..
If we get enough we can put together: Cody's Cookbook!

Who's going to be the first to post one?

[mouser]

I'm going to post my blue cheese ranch dressing recipe that i make all the time..  Note that i'm not normally a huge fan of blue cheese but I love this.  It lasts months in the fridge but i usually make a lot and freeze in small containers.

I don't have exact quantities for the ingredients beyond the core ingredients, so you'll have to experiment.  I tend to make mine very acidic and just use a little on my salads, but you could cut down on the lemon and vinegar and use more of it.

Mouser's Blue Cheese Ranch Dressing

• 1 cup plain yoghurt
• 1 cup mayonaise
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1+ cup buttermilk
• 16-32 oz blue cheese (i usually use gorgonzolla)
• 2-5 large bunches of cilantro, stems and all
• Lemon juice (i probably overdo this and add multiple cups of this.. you might try 1-4 cups)
• Vinegar (again i probably overdo this, try 1-3 cups).
• Wasabi paste (I use this brand) -- i probably put in 2 oz of this.
• Lots of garlic (try a couple of cloves)
• Lots of ground pepper
• Cayenne pepper and Habanero sauce
• Salt

If you try it let me know!

[mouser]

How many recipes do we need before we can put up a respectable downloadable pdf cookbook?

[Tinman57]

 Well I never thought I'd ever post this online, but....  This is a recipe that I invented about 5 years or so ago.  It took me many batches (experiments) to get it just right, but I finally did it.  These are so good too, everyone that's ever tried them thought they'd died and gone to heaven.    My mom and dad EXPECT me to bring them a batch every time I come to visit.  Geeze, talk about spoiled parents.    Anyhow, here it is:

Ken's Diet Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

1 Cup Margarine or Butter, softened (I microwave to melt.)
1 Cup Brown Sugar Substitute (Splenda)*
1 Cup Splenda Sugar Substitute
2 Eggs
1-1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1-1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour **
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1-1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnimon
1/2 Tsp Salt (Optional)
3 Cups Oatmeal (Quick or Old Fashioned, Uncooked)
1 Cup Raisins


1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat together margarine and sugars until creamy
3. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well
4. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Mix well
5. Stir in oats and raisins, mix well
6. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. (For smaller
  cookies, use rounded Tsps)
7. For softer cookies, bake 10 to 14 minutes (depending on your oven) until tops
  of cookies are slightly spongy.  Otherwise cook until golden brown.
8. Cool on cookie sheet.
9. Try not to eat them all in one setting......

* For Splenda Brown Sugar Blend or other brown sugars, use their conversion chart.  Usually 1/2 cup of the blend.

** You can use self-rising flour (not as good) and not add the baking soda and salt.

[Tinman57]

  Here's a recipe for microwave meatloaf that I got from my mom.  It's actually better than an oven baked meatloaf, very juicy and succulent.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.....

MICROWAVE MEATLOAF

2 lbs ground beef
1 egg
Salt/pepper
1/4 cup oatmeal or crackers
Small to med chopped bellpepper
1 med chopped fresh onion or 4 tblsp dried onions
1/2 can tomato sauce (save the rest for after it's cooked)

Hand mix it
Deep Glass bowl sprayed with Pam
Set small 1/2 glass of water in center of glass bowl and pack meatloaf around it
Press paper towel around meatloaf to cover
Nuke on high for 20 min
Take off paper towels and remove glass
Put 1/2 can of tomato sauce on top of meatloaf and nuke on high for 1 min

[mouser]

Tinman, I might have to try your recipe just out of curiousity about how the cookies will taste when made with sugar substitute.

[mouser]

Ok I'm going to post my only other unique invented recipe.  I'm quite proud of this dish because it is so unusual.

Mouser's Cheese-Fried Tofu with Vegetables:

Makes 1 serving.  The interesting trick with this dish is that the cheese basically fries the tofu in the bowl.  But it does mean you have to be fairly careful with the cooking times in the first stages because there is only a small window where the tofu is perfectly fried.

• Begin with 1 cup tofu, pressed dry and cut into half-inch cubes and place in microwave-safe bowl.
• Coat tofu cubes with soysauce (i premix my soy sauce with wasabi paste but this is not critical).
• Add 1/2 to 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese and toss with tofu.
• Cover and microwave for about 3 minutes.
• Remove from microwave and cut up the tofu-cheese if it is starting to bind together.
• Re-microwave again for about 1 minute.
• At this point you should have a lot of oil in your bowl which has separated from the cheese, and the tofu should have become somewhat crispy and chewy and dense.  This is the key -- if its too crunchy then you need to microwave for less time; if it's not crispy at all then you haven't microwaved it enough.
• Pour off the excess oil.
• Now add 1-2 cups of frozen (or fresh if you prefer) vegetables; i make my own mixtures of frozen vegetables with brocolli, cauliflower, carrots, zuchini, squash, corn, etc.
• Toss with a bit more soy sauce.
• Cover and microwave until vegetables are cooked -- should be about 4.5 minutes.

Note 1: A huge surprise to me was that i always hated cauliflower but love it in this dish.
Note 2: The quantities may have to be tweaked since I don't track quantities very accurately.

[mouser]

Ok, ok one more post from me.

Mouser's Drink Concentrates

I'm big into preparing concentrates to add to sparkling water.  Here are two i make all the time; again i prepare large batches and freeze them in small containers so i can keep one out at a time.

Juice Concentrate:

• Brew some super strong jazmine green tea;  i put like half a cup of tea leaves and 2 cups hot water and let sit for 10 minutes or so, then drain out leaves.
• Then make a mix of 1/4 superstrong jazmine tea with 1/2 orange-pineapple frozen juice concentrate with 1/4 cranberry juice concentrate.
• Prepare in Squeeze Containers and freeze all but one at a time.

Chocolate Coffee Concentrate:
In a blender combine:

• Dried milk
• Ovaltine (or substitute)
• Chocolate Ovaltine (or substitute)
• Several ounces of espressor or strong coffee
• Whatever other sweetened chocolate stuff or instant coffee you might have around the house
• Enough water to make it into a thick syrup.

I serve this chocolate-coffee concentrate/syrup to combine with black tea, or to make an egg cream by combining with seltzer (sparkling water).

[Tinman57]

Tinman, I might have to try your recipe just out of curiousity about how the cookies will taste when made with sugar substitute.

  I (and others) actually think this recipe taste better than the sugar made recipe's.  I love oatmeal cookies, but the regular sugar variety, no matter how made, have way too much sugar for us diabetics.  That's why I got to experimenting and created this sugar free recipe.  I have only shared this recipe with a few people, never thought I'd publish it anywhere.  Now the secret's out! 

[mouser]

No one else wants to share a recipe?

[soulwanderer]

I would go with FAKE ROASTBEEF!!!
Easy & Fast, but looks like if you had been all the day in the kitchen...
* A roastbeef (the piece of meat of your choice, I do not know how to call meat pieces on English, but google says go with High tenderloin, I would call it "lomo alto")
* Onions, about 5 large onions would suffice
* Salt, white & black peeper, garlic
* Sweet wine (I love it with Porto's wine, but my girlfriend prefers it with some Muscato wine)
* A pressure cooker
* 45 minutes or so...

We will cook everything on the pressure cooker, so we reuse the same oil and clean less later

Pour some oil and quick fry the garlic. Remove the garlic and keep the oil warm.
Then you pour salt & peeper on the meat (as much as you like) and sear the meat with the oil (do not cook it, seal/sear/brown the piece, it must be slightly cooked in the outside, but totally raw on the inside).

Remove the meat and, add the onions (cut it in cubes) and let it cook. When it becomes brown, add the meat again, add the wine (about 1/2 - 3/4 liter, depends on what do you require for your cooker), some grains of white peeper and close it for the time your cooker requires.

When it finish, remove the meat and beat the liquid left (this would make the onion give more consistency to the sauce and remove big pieces) and it is ready.

Do not forget to hide the pressure cooker and put it in the oven before your guests arrive, so it will look like you did it on the oven!!

[mouser]

No one else wants to participate in this thread?  I hate when we don't have more people joining in these discussions..

Surely we have some long time lurkers on the forum who like cooking and feel like making their first post?

[tomos]

^ I dont qualify there but I'll post anyway

A very simple snack here; ingredients need to be reasonably good so I'll concentrate on that aspect.

Avocado snack

# Avocado(s) - best get with a thick skin for this - Haas variety are good here. I usually buy underripe and allow to ripen (I think if you put in a paper bag and wrap it tight it ripens quicker) - of course you've got to remember to check them regularly
# Cider vinegar - it's worth (with apologies) splashing out and buying a good organic unpastuerised vinegar. Be sure and store it out of light with the lid well closed.
# Soy or Tamari sauce (I'm not anti-sugar, but if it has sugar in the ingredients it's not real soy/tamari sauce). Careful with soy sauce, it's very easy to overdo it and there aint no way back.

Avocado needs to give when you press the main part. Takes a bit of practice I guess to know if they still hard in the middle. (If you cut it and it is quite hard near the stone, it might be better to make guacomole with it.)

# Slice the avocado long ways.
# Stick the knifetip in the stone and push it out
# Score each side long and cross ways till you've got it cross-hatched - be careful to not cut the skin
# about two-thirds fill where the stone was with vinegar
# add soy sauce very slowly so it goes dark, but you can still see the lighter colour at the edges. Squeeze the avocado a bit each way so the liquid goes in the scores.
# eat with a tea spoon - careful not to spill on your clothes :p or spoon it out on to well toasted bread and eat with knife and fork to avoid disaster ;-)

Cider vinegar can be a bit of an aquired taste (I dont use any other vinegar at this stage myself) - if it's too strong, add another bit soy sauce

If the avocado is quite hard when you cut it - it wont be great for this recipe, so you could make a Guacamole of sorts - I'm no expert there so maybe look up your own recipe, but I just mash up the avocado with a fork or potato masher and add lemon juice and ground cumin or spice(s) of choice to taste, plus a tiny bit of soy sauce (too much and it gets murky coloured - so just using salt might be safer).

[x16wda]

Alrighty, here is an old family recipe, straight from my great Aunt's family cookbook.  I can attest to its yumminess.  And as a matter of fact, last Saturday we drove up to Levering Orchard and picked the last batch of tart pie cherries (Frank led us to the "Balaton" tree, a variety derived from trees originally grown in Hungary), so we'll shortly be figuring out the right amounts of sugar & spices for the cherry version.  I don't think we'll need to add the lemon juice to these...

--------------
FRUIT COBBLERS (for 8-10 people)

It is said that if the devil should dare appear in Cornwall, he would be
caught and baked in a pastie. Should he dare to appear in the Beach Cottage,
he would be cobbled forthwith and rendered pleasant, harmless, and digestible.

COBBLER DOUGH

1 1/4 cups FLOUR
1 1/2 teaspoons BAKING POWDER
3/4 teaspoon SALT
BROWN SUGAR (to taste, depending on the tartness of the fruit)
SPICES (Cinnamon, Freshly grated Nutmeg, Ginger, etc. to taste)
4-6 tablespoons softened BUTTER (no substitute for best taste)
MILK (enough to make a soft dough)
1 teaspoon VANILLA

Place the DRY INGREDIENTS into a bowl and rub in the BUTTER with your
hand. (This can be done ahead of time.) Just before baking, add the
MILK and VANILLA to the dry ingredients and drop the dough atop the
fruit. Dot the dough with BUTTER, and sprinkle it with WHITE SUGAR and
additional SPICES.
Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until done.

APRICOT COBBLER

Allow 1 1/2 APRICOTS per person
Wash, halve, and pit APRICOTS (they do not need to be peeled) and place
them snugly in a well-buttered large casserole dish. They may be layered.
Into the center of each apricot half place:
a dab of BUTTER
1/2 Teaspoon of BROWN SUGAR
1 thin slice of CRYSTALLIZED GINGER
If desired, sprinkle with GINGERED SHERRY
Cover with COBBLER DOUGH. Dot the dough with BUTTER, and sprinkle it with
WHITE SUGAR, Powdered GINGER, and CINNAMON.
Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until done.
N.B. Apricots are the only fruit that does not require cooking before
the dough is added.

PEACH COBBLER

Allow 1-2 PEACHES per person, depending on size.
Peel and pit peaches, and cut into slices or chunks.
Place them in the bottom of a well-buttered large casserole dish.
Stir into the peaches: (to taste; amounts are hard to specify)
BROWN SUGAR
GINGER (crystallized, preserved in sherry, or powdered)
CINNAMON (if desired)
NUTMEG (if desired)
LEMON JUICE
GINGERED SHERRY (if desired)
Cover casserole with plastic and microwave on high until peaches are
soft and bubbling; try 3 minutes and increase time if necessary. Remove
from microwave.
Cover with COBBLER DOUGH. Dot the dough with BUTTER, and sprinkle it with
WHITE SUGAR, Powdered GINGER, and CINNAMON.
Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until done.
N.B. NECTARINES or APPLES may be substituted for peaches.

BLUEBERRY, BLACKBERRY, DEWBERRY COBBLER

Allow 2 pints of berries for 8-10 people
Place them in the bottom of a well-buttered large casserole dish.
Stir into berries: (to taste)
BROWN OR WHITE SUGAR
CINNAMON
LEMON JUICE
Cover casserole with plastic and microwave on high until berries are
soft and bubbling; try 3 minutes and increase time if necessary. Remove
from microwave.
Cover with COBBLER DOUGH. Dot the dough with BUTTER, and sprinkle it with
WHITE SUGAR, CINNAMON, and NUTMEG.
Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until done.
N.B. GINGER does not seem to work very well with berries.

[barney]

^yum!

[Tinman57]

Tinman, I might have to try your recipe just out of curiousity about how the cookies will taste when made with sugar substitute.

  Did you try the recipe yet?

[app103]

Tinman, I might have to try your recipe just out of curiousity about how the cookies will taste when made with sugar substitute.

  I (and others) actually think this recipe taste better than the sugar made recipe's.  I love oatmeal cookies, but the regular sugar variety, no matter how made, have way too much sugar for us diabetics.  That's why I got to experimenting and created this sugar free recipe.  I have only shared this recipe with a few people, never thought I'd publish it anywhere.  Now the secret's out! 

I am going to have to make these for my diabetic hubby. But I may have to substitute whole wheat flour for the white stuff. (and no baking for me till the fall, so it may be a few months before I can try this out)

[app103]

Mouser started this thread right after a discussion about home made ice pops.

My daughter was in the mood for the taste of pumpkin pie, without having to actually cook anything. So she started with a can of Libby's Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix, that she bought on clearance at work:



This is the stuff that you'd normally add a can of sweetened condensed milk and a couple of eggs to it, to make pumpkin pie filling. It has all the spices in it already. She added the sweetened condensed milk, but left out the eggs, thinking it could be eaten as a "pumpkin pie pudding".

Except that it was really runny. 

When she offered me some, I suggested my share go into some ice pop molds:



It was the best idea, ever! Now we can have that taste of pumpkin pie in the middle of summer, without heating up the house even more than it already is.

So, either do it the way we did, or make a batch of your favorite pumpkin pie filling, without the eggs, and freeze it in ice pop molds.

And those ice pop molds are a great investment. You can make pudding pops, fruit pops (with any mashed/pureed fruit), chocolate mousse pops, or anything else your imagination conjures up.

I like to use classic wooden sticks in mine, instead of the plastic sticks it came with. Once frozen, I pull the pops out, slide the lid off, wrap the pops in waxed paper before storing them back in the freezer. That way I can keep reusing the same small set of pop molds to keep making more ice pops, without waiting for people to eat the ones I have already made.

[Deozaan]

I bought a homemade vanilla extract kit in May and used my vanilla for the first time last night.

Vanilla Extract

Ingredients:

• Vanilla Beans
• Alcohol (Any of: Vodka, Bourbon, Light Rum, or Brandy)
• You'll also need a bottle to put the beans and alcohol in for the extraction process.

Here's a picture of the ingredients/tools I used, as well as the instructions:


Instructions:
1. Prepare your bottle by cleaning it with hot, soapy water and dry thoroughly after rinsing.

2. Using a sharp knife (or kitchen scissors), split each vanilla bean lengthwise, end to end.



3. Place split beans in bottle and fill with either vodka, bourbon, light rum, or brandy. For a lighter extract, use vodka; for a heavier extract, use brandy. Be sure the beans are completely covered with alcohol.



4. Seal tightly and store in your cupboard. (It's important that your vanilla is kept out of the light.) Lightly shake the bottle from time to time.

5. Your extract will be ready in approximately four weeks, but this isn't an exact science. The darker it gets, the stronger your extract.



6. Each time you use your extract, refill the bottle with your alcohol of choice so that the beans are always covered. You'll have the best tasting extract for years to come!

[tomos]

^Looks great Deo -
what are your plans for it?
- no need to give full recipes for them, well not straight away anyway

I'm wondering would it be too overpowering in cocktails, but then I'm not much of a cocktail drinker...
and I see it's not an original idea:
http://www.barnonedrinks.com/drinks/by_ingredient/v/vanilla-extract-933.html

[Deozaan]

I don't drink alcohol at all. In fact, buying the vodka for the vanilla extract was the first (and only) time I've ever purchased or had an alcoholic beverage in my home.

As for what I intend to use the vanilla for: Last night it was used in a no-bake cookies recipe. I also like having home-made maple syrup on my french toast, and the recipe I use requires vanilla. Basically, I intend on using it from now on in all of the baking/cooking/goodies recipes that ask for vanilla, where the alcohol will cook out and only the delicious vanilla flavor will remain.

[tomos]

I made Sloe Gin one year:
Gin, Sloes, a fair of sugar, and six months to mature.
It was great for presents, but I didnt drink it myself - I ended up just using a dash of it in fruit salad, that was delicious. (I do drink, but dont like sweet alcoholic drinks.)


PS no-bake cookie recipe sounds interesting (at some stage!)

[Tinman57]

  I just happen to have a bottle of Vanilla Vodka in the bar, so I can just skip the vanilla bean part. 

[StuR]

Taking Mouser's bait: I'm a long-time magna cum lurker DC fan.

Two off-the-beaten-path recipes. First, from my long-departed Russian grandmother...

ALMOND COOKIES

4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup shelled almonds, with skins
3 1/2 cups unsifted flour
3 tsp baking powder

Beat eggs, mix well with sugar. Add vanilla and almonds; gradually add flour mixed with baking powder. Form dough into four rolls and flatten slightly with fork. 
Put rolls on greased cookie sheet, bake in 325 degree oven 25-30 minutes. While rolls are still warm, slice diagonally in 3/4" slices. [Note: this takes a sharp knife and some skill, so the nuts slice and don't just smoosh into the cookie.] Put the cookies on a cooling rack, and return to (turned-off) oven for 20-30 minutes to dry out.

They should end up the consistency of paving stones, like fossilized biscotti, and are designed to be dunked in tea (or coffee or cocoa), where they'll soften but won't collapse. Warn your guests, without the dunking you could break a tooth.

And, just in time for Thanksgiving ...

SUSAN STAMBERG'S CRANBERRY RELISH

[Susan Stamberg gave this recipe on NPR many years ago, saying it was her mother's. In fact it was invented by Craig Claiborne in the 1960s. A wonderful sharp alternative to the standard sticky-sweet cranberry sauce that makes me gag, and fabulous later on cold turkey. People either love it or hate it, by my survey roughly 20% / 80%; you've been warned.]

Chop or grind together 2 cups raw cranberries, one small/med onion. Add a scant 1/2 cup sugar (or less, to taste), 3 Tbsp. strong horseradish, 1/2 cup sour cream (or drained yogurt). That's all there is to it, it's that simple. Let it sit for a day then stir, it's better that way.

[mouser]

Good on you StuR!!
Welcome in, the water is fine