Cooking thread, anyone?

[SpaceBus]

I may ask you for some feathers. Our cats go crazy when we play with a duck or turkey feather I find in the yard.

We dried the feathers from our first, a blue australorp rooster. We will probably be keeping the feathers from the next two australorps and some from the three gold laced wyandottes up next.

The pic through the patio door is one of the blues we are doing this weekend and the other is a stock photo of a gold laced wyandotte rooster.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Neat looking bird. Sure does have a lot going on.

Our friend down here in NC has chickens, too. My wife asked her to keep feathers she sees in the yard.

 

[SpaceBus]

How many would you be interested in? I could fill a document envelope and get them to you pretty cheaply. Also, what kind of feathers? There are a few basic groups like the long flight feathers, tail feathers, down, and the long neck feathers (cockles).

 

[PaulOinMA]

I have no idea. Feather, feathers.

This looks like the turkey feather that I saw a turkey pull our and drop in our front yard as I saw a flock of two dozen cross our lawn. Cats love it. whiskers now goes to the drawer that he knows its in.

Free shipping 10 pcs precious wild turkey tail feathers | Etsy

 

[PaulOinMA]

I'm on OBX this week to work around the house. Brought a piece of barbequed flank steak and made barbequed beef fajita wraps for three nights.

Beans, dried. Black, red kidney, or other.
Rice, brown

Cooking oil, canola
Bell pepper, sliced
Onion, sliced
Chili powder
Cumin
Barbequed beef. Flank steak, tri-tip, etc. Cut to bite-sized pieced
Corn, frozen, thawed.
Cornstarch
Hot sauce (optional)
Cheese, shredded. Monterey Jack or other.
Sour cream
Burrito-sized wraps

Directions

Pick through beans and discard any foreign materials. Soak overnight in water. Place in fresh water and simmer 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand in hot water until done. Drain, reserving the liquid.

Preheat oven to 325 ℉. Rinse brown rice. Bring recipe amount of water to boil in oven safe sauce pan. Add rice, stir, cover, and place in oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Transfer cooked rice to a bowl.

Add oil to heated wok or skillet. Add green pepper, onion, chili powder, and cumin. Stir fry. Add the following and stir fry to heat: beef, corn, beans, and rice. Add a little bean liquid and cornstarch. Stir while heating to thicken sauce.

Place steak mixture down the center of wrap leaving bottom to fold up. Add hot sauce, if desired. Top with shredded cheese and sour cream. Fold the bottom up and the sides over. Pick up and enjoy!

 

[SpaceBus]

I'm on OBX this week to work around the house. Brought a piece of barbequed flank steak and made barbequed beef fajita wraps for three nights.

Beans, dried. Black, red kidney, or other.
Rice, brown

Cooking oil, canola
Bell pepper, sliced
Onion, sliced
Chili powder
Cumin
Barbequed beef. Flank steak, tri-tip, etc. Cut to bite-sized pieced
Corn, frozen, thawed.
Cornstarch
Hot sauce (optional)
Cheese, shredded. Monterey Jack or other.
Sour cream
Burrito-sized wraps

Directions

Pick through beans and discard any foreign materials. Soak overnight in water. Place in fresh water and simmer 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand in hot water until done. Drain, reserving the liquid.

Preheat oven to 325 ℉. Rinse brown rice. Bring recipe amount of water to boil in oven safe sauce pan. Add rice, stir, cover, and place in oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Transfer cooked rice to a bowl.

Add oil to heated wok or skillet. Add green pepper, onion, chili powder, and cumin. Stir fry. Add the following and stir fry to heat: beef, corn, beans, and rice. Add a little bean liquid and cornstarch. Stir while heating to thicken sauce.

Place steak mixture down the center of wrap leaving bottom to fold up. Add hot sauce, if desired. Top with shredded cheese and sour cream. Fold the bottom up and the sides over. Pick up and enjoy!

How is the weather out there in the winter? I always thought it would be nice to have a house somewhere in OBX.

 

[PaulOinMA]

It was cool earlier this week. 50 this morning. Going to work in the yard soon.

Our house is all the way north in Corolla.

More neighbors around us have relocated here fulltime. Three this year right by us. Two more around the corner on the same street a few houses away. We can't see doing that, though.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Snowed all night and going to snow all day today. Will go outside with the snow blower when it ends this afternoon.

Snow days are days for plett. Little Swedish crepe-like pancakes. Yum!

 

[begreen]

No snow here thankfully, but cold rainy days are upon us. Soup weather. I made a batch of chicken pho which turned out well and was a family pleaser.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

No snow expected here either, of course. I'm glad not to have traffic mess and the need to protect my tender plants, but I miss the beauty of a good snowfall.

I made crepes earlier in the week for breakfast (with orange marmalade, of course). They were the typical thin French kind. I'll have to look into plett, @PaulOinMA . I've never heard of that.

Even without snow, it has been soup weather here, @begreen, more because it's been so dry, and simmering a broth could add a touch of humidity. I made a lima bean and kale soup and had a first for me. I really couldn't get the beans to soften completely despite cooking them much longer than I would have expected. They were "hand-me-downs," so to speak, from a friend's mother's pantry, and I think they must have been pretty old. The soup turned out acceptably, but it wasn't super-popular with my crew. I enjoyed it personally, especially with a splash of fish pepper-infused apple cider vinegar at the table. We froze the leftovers, and it will do when I need a quick meal at another time, but it won't be a repeat recipe for us.

 

[fbelec]

any day is soup day for me. i love soup. i've got one hitch. out of the four of us i am the only soup eater. i never met a person that didn't like soup until i meet my wife. anytime i make it it's for one. with left overs of course.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Making the following tomorrow: Spaetzle With Kielbasa and Caramelized Onions. Will substitute Swiss for the Emmentaker.

Spaetzle With Kielbasa and Caramelized Onions Recipe - NYT Cooking (nytimes.com)

You can find the recipe a lot of other places, if you don't want to create an account to view the above. Just search the title:

What's for Dinner: Spaetzle with Kielbasa and Caramelized Onions | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (post-gazette.com) .

Some pictures from a a previous time ...

 

[PaulOinMA]

A spaetzle maker is not needed, but makes it easier. Here's the one I have.

Amazon.com: Spaetzle Classic Round Noodle Maker by Westmark: Spaetzle Maker Stainless Steel: Industrial & Scientific

 

[PaulOinMA]

Checked one of my go-to places for cooking supplies. Much less expensive spaetzle maker ...

10" Spaetzle Maker (webstaurantstore.com)

 

[PaulOinMA]

Just made cornbread. Recipe from Black-Eyed Sally's, Hartford, CT.

Barstow Stove Co. NES (New England style) gem pan. Also called a French roll pan.

Warm with butter. Yum. Only 11 in the second picture. Nan already ran off with one.

They are a great size as a snack for car trips.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

We did a little advance Christmas cooking today: an apple pie and a pecan pie. They're hiding in the cooled oven now to wait until tomorrow. The plan is to have a meal of ham steaks (would have been ham but couldn't find an uncured one in the stores this year, and one of my children is allergic to certain preservatives), sweet potatoes, and roasted Brussels sprouts.

We also had a special dinner for Christmas eve: roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, and asparagus. It was a sunny afternoon with highs in the 50's, and with all the baking, we didn't need to stoke the stove.

 

[begreen]

Somebody said to make brownies in a cast iron skillet. This is the only cast iron I had. Nobody is eating my brownies.

 

[fbelec]

nice

 

[PaulOinMA]

Here's a really good brownie recipe. I omit the nuts and coconut and increase the chocolate chips, as mentioned in the comments.

Milk Chocolate Brownies Recipe - Food.com

 

[PaulOinMA]

Nan and I are on the Outer Banks. I make two meals down here that we can have for the week. This week will be cheesy corn bake and the barbequed beef fajita wraps posted above.

Last night was cheesy corn bake, which is a side at Jack Stack BBQ, Kansas City. I turn it into a meal by (1) saute onion with butter in the first step, and (2) add more ham. Easy, fast, great one skillet meal.

Cheesy Corn Bake​

http://www.food.com/69046

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/jack-stack-cheesy-corn-bake-1276881

This recipe is credited to Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue in Kansas City, MO (https://www.jackstackbbq.com/) . Nothing like Kansas City barbecue, and this is a very popular side dish served at the "Stack."

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
4 teaspoons flour
1/8 teaspoon (broken link removed)
¾ cup milk
6 oz. (broken link removed), shredded (1 ½ cups)
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, cut up
3 (10-ounce) packages (broken link removed), thawed (2-pound bag)
3 ounces diced (broken link removed)

Directions

Melt butter; stir in flour and garlic powder. Add milk; cook and stir over medium heat. Heat until thick and bubbly; stir in cheeses. Cook/stir over low heat until cheeses melt; stir in corn and ham. Bake in 2 qt. casserole for 45 minutes at 350 ºF.

Paul’s Notes: Best made in an oven-safe skillet which reduces cooking time a lot. Use white cheddar. Top with paprika. Excellent as a one-skillet meal. Sauté onion in butter and increase the amount of ham to make it a one-skillet dinner.

Picture from 2015 ...

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Last nights dinner to bring in the new year... Fillet.. grilled shrimp, roasted asparagus and loaded baked potatoes.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I decided to make a pumpkin pie as part of our supper for tonight. It was doing double duty as the carbohydrate for the meal and the dessert. We had a side salad with lettuce, baby kale, parsley, and a couple of green onions from the garden. My husband grilled the burgers, and he added salt, pepper, and some balsamic vinegar to the ground beef when he made the patties. They were quite tasty.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Chinese food. Hadn't made Lemon Chicken since 2018. Really good.

Lemon Chicken

Adapted from the Chinese Cooking Class Cookbook by the Editors of Consumer Guide, 1980.

4 boneless chicken breasts
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
Dash ground pepper
1/8 cup water
1 egg
4 scallions, sliced
Rice, brown
Deep fryer with oil

Lemon Sauce

¾ cup water
¼ cup lemon juice
1 ¾ tbsp. packed light brown sugar
1 ½ tbsp. cornstarch
1 ½ tbsp. honey
1 tsp. chicken bullion granules
½ tsp. grated pared ginger root

1. Cook rice, following package directions.
2. Heat deep fryer and oil
3. Cut chicken into pieces.
4. Combine cornstarch, salt and pepper in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken. Beat egg in a bowl and mix with the water. Add to the cornstarch mixture and mix.
5. Add chicken and mix to coat completely.
6. Add chicken pieces individually to the deep fryer so that they do not stick together. Cook in batches and drain.
7. While cooking chicken, combine all remaining in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling. Reduce heat and stir occasionally until thickens.
8. Add cooked chicken to serving bowl. Add sauce and mix to coat chicken. Top with sliced scallions.
9. Serve over cooked rice.

The book’s recipe doubles the recipe. It calls for 4 whole chicken breasts taken off the bone to produce 8 boneless breasts which are then flattened slightly. It doubles the other ingredients, and uses for 4 egg yolks rather than 1 whole egg. It also cooks the flattened, chicken breasts whole, and slices them after cooking.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Egg, mushroom, and cheese on a bagel. Used a little Griswold square egg skillet rather than a Wagner Ware or Griswold breakfast skillet. Grilled the bagel with butter on a Griswold 9/609 round griddle.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Pot roast on Saturday. Three-and-a-half pound chuck roast. Didn't add mushrooms this time.

Herb-Stuffed Yankee Pot Roast
​

From Cuisine at Home, Issue No. 79, February 2010.

A Beef Roast Classic

Pot Roast has been a tradition in New England since colonial times. Interestingly enough, Yankee Pot Roast isn’t restricted to a well-defined list of ingredients, but this one-pot meal invariably includes a selection of root vegetables.

We used potatoes, carrots, and turnips in this pot roast, but similarly sized chunks of rutabaga or even celery also would taste good. Since the meat needs a longer time to cook, add the vegetables to the pot a couple of hours after starting the braise.

Herb-Stuffed Yankee Pot Roast with root vegetables

Makes 4 servings, 2 ½ cups sauce; Total time: about 4 ½ hours.

FOR THE BEEF –

1 beef chuck pot roast (2 ½ - 3 lb.)
3 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
2 Tbsp. sliced garlic cloves
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

FOR THE SAUCE –

2 medium onions, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup dry red wine
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 bay leaf

FOR THE VEGETABLES –

2 cups baby red potatoes
1 medium turnip, peeled and quartered
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 cups button mushrooms
Sprigs fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 325 °F.

Trim exterior fat from roast. Using kitchen twine, tie roast around its circumference.

Combine thyme, garlic, 1 tsp. salt, and ½ tsp. pepper. Pat meat dry. Cut 1-inch-deep slits into the meat with a paring knife; stuff with thyme mixture. Season roast well on both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large, ovenproof pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear roast on all sides until well browned 8 – 10 minutes. Transfer roast to a platter.

Sauté onions, celery, and diced carrots in pan drippings, stirring often, until the onions start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste; stir until it starts to brown on the bottom of the pot. Stir in flour.

Deglaze the pot with wine, scraping up any brown bits. Stir in broth; bring liquid to a boil; return seared roast to the pot. Cover pot, place in oven, and braise for 2 hours.

Remove pot from the oven. Transfer roast to a platter. Strain sauce, discard vegetables. Stir Worcestershire, Dijon, and bay leaf into sauce. Return roast and sauce to the pot.

Add potatoes with turnip and carrot pieces to pot. Cover pot; return roast to the oven. Cook until meat is fork-tender, 1 – 1 ½ hours more.

Add mushrooms to the pot during the final 10 minutes of cooking. Transfer roast and vegetables to a platter. Using a fork, break meat into pieces. Bring sauce to a simmer; skim off and discard fat. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

To serve, spoon sauce over pot roast and vegetables; garnish with thyme sprigs.

Per serving: 638 cal; 26 g total fat (6 g sat); 112 mg chol; 375 mg sodium; 26 g carb; 3 g fiber; 63 g protein.

[Paul’s note: Use quart of no-salt-added beef stock. Two turnips. Put the strained vegetables through a food mill back into the sauce. No reason to discard them. Thickens the sauce. Use combination bag of red, purple, and white fingerling potatoes. Blanch and peel white boiling onions and add with mushrooms to cook at end. Add celery at end.]