Gentlemen's Essentials - Official B&B Cookbook

[Scotto]

3 Bartlett or Bosc pears, ripe but firm, cored and quartered
Toss with 2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, a bit of pepper
Heat a skillet with a bit of oil until smoking
In go the pears, such that one flat side is in contact with the pan
Cook about 3 minutes until deep brown
Flip to other cut side and repeat
Turn off pan and add 2Tbs of your favorite balsamic vinegar. Reduce and toss until pears coated
Chill pears and serve.
Awesome

 

[thirdeye]

2 28 oz cans tomato puree
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 Qt chicken or beef stock
2 cups dry red wine
¼ cup olive oil
2 lg yellow onions, peeled and minced
6 lg cloves of garlic, chopped
2 ribs celery w/leaves, minced
1 lg carrot, grated
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
½ lb fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp crushed oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 lg bay leaves
1 tbsp dried basil or 2 tbsp fresh
2 whole cloves
½ tbsp fresh ground blk pepper
2 tbsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp sugar
1 lb pork neck bones, chicken backs and necks or any combination of

In a large pot, place the tomato puree, tomato paste, chicken/beef stock, and wine. Heat a large frying pan and add olive oil. Sauté the onions, garlic, celery, and carrot until they just begin to brown. Add this to the pot along with the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a light boil and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 2 hours, partly covered, stirring often. Remove and discard bones, skim grease/fat and discard.
It’s ready to use on all your favorite dishes. I usually grab a loaf of fresh Italian bread and start dipping….
This also freezes very well.

 

[Scotto]

Makes about 4 quesadillas. Multiply as needed.

Take 2/3c. of corn kernels (I use frozen niblets - works fine). Throw them in a hot skillet. Cook until they are charred and begin to pop. Remove to a bowl. Add a bit of oil and saute about a half a red onion, minced, until soft. Add in a couple of cloves of minced garlic and about a teaspoon of chili powder. Cook for about 30 seconds. Now add 2/3c. of black beans (I use rinsed canned beans) and heat briefly. Now add back the corn and crush things lightly with a spatula. Add the juice of half a lime and salt and pepper to taste. Remove to bowl until needed.

Take flour tortillas and toast on each side for about a minute until soft. Remove to a work surface. Keeping your fillings to half the tortilla, add a quarter of the bean mixture, some pepper jack cheese, and a sprinkling of chopped pickled jalapenos. Fold tortilla over fillings.

Brush very lightly with oil on one side, sprinkle with a bit of salt (I use Maldon sea salt, but kosher works fine), and place oiled side down in a pan or on a griddle. Oil and salt the other side. Cook on each side until crisp and brown. Don't go crazy on the heat or you'll burn them before the insides are done.

Remove from heat, let rest a bit to let the cheese settle, then cut into pieces and enjoy with your favorite condiments and beverages.

 

[BobS]

Leek Risotto
Originally from Addicted to BBQ Forum by Mr.BrOwn

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
6-8 cups low sodium vegetable stock or chicken stock
3 tablespoons truffle oil
3 medium sized leeks, washed, tops trimmed and white stalks sliced thinly
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 oz. Parmeggiano Reggiano cheese
salt and pepper to taste (I use no pepper, and usually no salt)

Method

1. Bring a stockpot of salted water to boil. blanch the sliced leeks in the boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Remove immediately, drain, dry, and set aside. RMS Comment: I blanched the leeks in the chicken stock to get a little added flavor.

2. Heat large sauce pan (large enough to hold at least 2 1/2 quarts) over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and sautee chopped onions until transluscent and silky, making sure they don’t begin to caramelize (3-4 minutes).

3. Stir in arborio rice and and stir vigorously for 1/2 minute, just enough to toast the grains, making sure they don’t char or brown. You may have to remove from heat if it gets too hot. Deglaze the pan immediately with the 1/2 cup of wine.

4. Add one ladle of vegetable stock while stirring the rice. When the rice has soaked up all the stock, add another ladle and stir. Repeat this, one ladle at a time, until the rice has turned into a creamy shiny porridge and the grains are what I call “sturdy” - a state just between grainy al dente and done. Lastly, stir in the blanched leeks. Season to taste.

5. Divide the risotto into serviceware. Grate cheese over risotto and shower generously with shaved truffles OR drizzle with truffle oil. Serve immediately. RMS Comment: I stir the truffle oil into the pot just before serving.

 

[SiBurning]

My friend asked her Aunt Margie how she makes her amazing clam chowder. She replied “First I send Uncle Harold down to Coney Island to get the clams”.

This clam chowder was inspired by the Two Fat Ladies, but takes a turn from New England to Louisiana courtesy of Emeril Lugasi. It may not be Aunt Margies, clam chowder, but it's deeply complex, and deliciously sweet, with the barest hint of heat and smoke.

It's simple enough to make. Just take your favorite clam chowder recipe and modify it as follows.
From the Two Fat Ladies: add vermouth
From me: skip any milk, cream, and thickeners such as flour.
From Emeril Lugasi: add sweet corn & tobasco sauce
From I don't remember who: add worcestershire sauce

That's it. Need a recipe to follow? Here's mine.

My recipe has a few modifications to the classics that serve to complement the presentation. It's also jammed full of gently cooked vegetables, so it's light and refreshing, and the slight crunch makes for a nice texture complement to clams.

I usually wing this soup, going by sight, mood, and taste, aiming for 4 pint size bowls with barely enough broth to cover all those clams and vegetables. My guests always complain they want more broth, but it would just taste watered down. Unlike other clam chowders, the broth should come out crystal clear, so your guests will see every little speck of pepper and marvel at the care you took in cutting the vegetables.

Yield: 2 Quarts (4 servings)

The Base
2-4 slices American style or other smoked bacon, diced. About 2-4 oz.
1 medium onion, diced. About 4-6 oz.. Or use the whites and light greens of a small leek or two.
½ cup celery, diced. About 2 oz.
1 medium carrot, diced. About 2-3 oz. (optional)
3-4 oz of green pepper (optional--this could easily cloud the broth, but helps bind the hot pepper sauce)
1 large or 2 small bay leaves
2 green onions (scallions). Sliced into thin rounds, with the dark green parts chopped fine.


The Soup
1 cup vermouth. Either dry or sweet.
1 teaspoon tobasco or other vinegary hot sauce
1 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1 ear sweet corn. Or one 10-14 oz can with liquid.
16 oz clam juice
3-4 red potatoes, cut into soup-spoon-friendly pieces. I make 3/8” squares, 1” long.
A scant ½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt. Or ¼ teaspoon table salt.
Black pepper

Clams
6-12 oz clams. Or 1-2 10 oz. cans whole baby clams.

Garnish
Parsley, chopped fresh

Substitutions
Smoked tofu or other smoke flavor can substitute for the bacon. The meat, though a nice flavor addition, is less important than the smoke. To tell the truth, I'd prefer to skip the bacon because of the texture, but the flavor wins. If you substitute Italian or other non-smoked bacon, you'll miss the smoky undertones. Perhaps a shot of smoky scotch would do the trick.

Instructions
In a 2-1/2 or 3 quart heavy bottom pot.
Fry the bacon until crisp. If you use a low fat substitute, use 1-2 tablespoons oil. Leave the fat or oil to cook the vegetables. We'll skim it off later.
Add the onion, celery, carrot, (green pepper) and bay leaf. Sweat for about 10 minutes until the carrots are just barely tender (Cook, covered, on low heat, stirring occasionally.)
Add the green onion at the last minute, letting them just barely cook. For a bit more bite, save some for the end as a garnish.

Add the vermouth, clam juice or liquor, and any liquid from the canned corn and clams.
Bring to a simmer. Do not boil.
Skim off the fat
Add potatoes, corn, tobasco, worcestershire, salt, and 7-8 turns of the pepper mill
Simmer about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are done.
Skim again

Taste, correct seasoning (remembering there's no clams yet, so easy on the salt if you use canned clams), adding hot water, if necessary.
Add the clams.
Add the green onion here for less bite, or after cooking as a garnish.
Simmer for 5 minutes, or just enough to cook the clams through.

Finish
Remove the bay leaf
Correct seasonings
Garnish with fresh chopped parsley (and green onion, if you skipped them earlier)

 

[ouch]

Roast butternut squash

Other than peeling and seeding the squash, there is very little work invloved, and it may be prepared well in advance of cooking. It's a terrific side for chicken or turkey, and will make you look good.

Peel and seed a butternut squash. I wear gloves, due to some strange allergic reaction I get from the skin. After cutting off the top and bottom, a vegetable peeler or heavy duty knife (don't use your delicate fancy pants gyuto for this)will remove the skin, and use a spoon to remove the seeds, making sure to scrape any stringy parts away from the flesh. Cut into coarse chunks roughly an inch and a half.
Thinly slice 1/2 on onion.
In a large stainless steel bowl, toss squash chunks, onion, and a handful of dried cranberries with a few tablespoons of olive oil until well coated.
Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer to cookie sheet lined with parchment paper of Silpat sheet (or nothing).
Roast at 400 for ~1 hour, turning once midway.

 

[Btheis]

This is the house vinaigrette at Mohican Resort. It is my recipe.

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup pepperoncini brine
1/3 cup kalamata olive brine - good quality
2 T coarse or whole grain mustard
1 T Italian seasoning
1 T oregano
1 T thyme
2 T granulated garlic
6-8 kalamatas

Add all these ingredients to a blender and blend until well combined

3 cups Olive Oil, if you use extra virgin it is recommended to cut it with a lighter flavored unless you are ok with a heavy olive taste.
Salt and pepper to taste

With the blender on high speed slowly drizzle the oil into the blender. Depending on the strength of oil I tend to stop when 2/3 of the oil have been added to check the taste and consistency, add a little salt and pepper and then add the rest of the oil. If a more mild flavor is desired the addition of more oil or less on the vinegar/brine.

For the balsamic lovers out there cutting the brines/vinegar back to 1/4 cup and adding a 1/4 cup of balsamic is a nice change of pace. Tripling the amount of mustard and adding in a few bay leaves to this variation turns this into a really nice marinade for garden fresh oven roasted veggies and it is quite good on chicken when marinated for 2 days.

 

[Btheis]

This recipe can be used for beef veal or lamb shanks

Preheat Oven to 350
1 lb cooked pasta, rigatoni is preferrence, cooking liquid preserved and hot for service time
4-6 fresh shanks
Onions diced 12 oz
carrot 6 oz
celery 6 oz
Garlic cloves whole 10
Red table wine 10 oz, something you would drink pease.
Crushed tomatoes 2-28 oz cans
Whole peeled tomatoes 1-28 oz can
Parsley 2 bunches
Basil 4 oz
Olive oil
Salt
pepper

Heat a heavy bottom braising pan to medium high heat and then add in the oil.
Carefully add the shanks and sear each side, When both sides have a nicely developed crust remove from pan and place on paper towel to drain.
Then to the same pan add the onions carrots and celery to saute for 5 minutes, then add the garlic cloves and saute 3-4 more minutes until the garlic starts to get a little color.
Then deglaze with the wine ensure all of the fond is incorporated to the wine. Reduce the wine to sec.
Then add the tomatoes and bring to a boil.
Once boiling add the shanks and cover
Place braising pan in the oven for 2-3 hours depending on shank used or until fork tender.

Once the shanks are ready remove from the sauce for now.
Taste sauce and add salt and pepper if needed, a little extra crushed tomato sometimes is needed depending on sauce thickness.
when flavor has been adjusted add in parsley and basil.
Plunge rigatoni into hot water that was preserved from cooking for 30 seconds and then shake off excess water. Toss pasta with the sauce and portion onto plates or serving tray and then place shanks ontop.

 

[Btheis]

This is something I have put together a few times for just a plain chip or vegetable dip but some have put it on burgers with fried onions and really enoyed.

Mayonnaisse 1 cup
Sour Cream 1 cup
Buttermilk 1/2-3/4 cup
Garlic Dehydrated 1-2 T
Dehydrated Onion 1 oz
Curry 1-2 t depending on your taste
Oelek Sambal 2T
White Pepper 1t

Mix all ingredients and let sit in the fridge over night.
A sweet thai Chili can be subbed in for the oelek if you have an issue with heat. Dehydrated onions and garlic are used to help keep a thick consistency. Fresh onions and garlic can be used but the amount of mayo or sour cream may need to be upped to keep the sauce together. Also keep in mind that if using fresh ingredients the amounts will need to be increased.

 

[Andy]

This is my favourite desert of all time. A warning, it is very rich, I add fruit and cream to counteract. It is also Gluten Free for people (like me) that have Celiac Disease or people with a Gluten Intolerance.


Hot Fudge Pudding.
200 g white rice flour
150 g caster sugar
2 tablespoons pure unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
125 milliliters milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
125 g chopped nuts
220 g brown sugar
25 g pure unsweetened cocoa
435 milliliters very hot water

Preheat oven to 180c
Mix rice flour, caster sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa, baking powder and salt in an ungreased square 23cm baking dish.
Mix in milk, oil and vanilla with a fork until smooth, stir in nutes and spread mixture evenly.
Sprinkle with brown sugar and 25g cocoa.
Pour hot water carfully over the back of a spoon so it is evenly dispersed over the batter.
DO NOT STIR.
Bake for 40 minutes, serve warm with gluten free ice-cream or cream.

 

[Luc]

This is one of my new favorites!

You need:

• Chicken (whole, drumstick, wings - whatever you like)
• BBQ
• Juice from 1 Lemon
• 4 Bird-eye chillis
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 2 clove of garlic

1. Cook the chicken on the BBQ
2. Slice the chillis and garlic
3. In a mortar and pestle, crush them together
4. Add some olive oil and lemon juice, that will help with the crushing
5. When well combine into a paste, reserve
6. When the chicken is ready, take it off the BBQ and dip all the chicken pieces in the sauce
7. Enjoy!

Note: If you can prepare the sauce 1-2 hours in advance you will have better results!

 

[MPruett]

I have 3 recipes to share. This post will be the first:

Country Fried Steak & cream gravy

Ingredients (no real measurements necessary)

Cube steaks or sliced tenderized round steaks (3/8" to 1/2" thick)

Flour (1 cup = 6-7 steaks + 1/2 cup or so for gravy)

Salt & Fresh ground pepper (to taste)

Milk (cup or two for steaks, pint or so for gravy)

Shortening, bacon fat, lard (lots - maybe 3 cups worth?)

Equipment

12" cast iron skillet


Procedure

Steaks

Heat oven to 200 degrees.

Put about a 1/2 cup worth of shortening in the skillet and heat to roughly 300 degrees. You don't want it smoking and turning dark, but if it'll fry a little piece of breading to a crisp, it's ready.

Season flour with salt & pepper. 1 tsp each is a good starting point.

Dip steaks in milk.

Dredge in seasoned flour.

Gently lay the dredged steak in the skillet and fry for about 3-4 minutes per side. You'll know it's ready to flip when the edges of the steak are a good golden brown color and you're starting to get some red juice coming out the top of the steak. Flip. Fry another 3-4 minutes.

Note: You want the grease to come up the steak about halfway, which means 1/4" of grease in the skillet. It seems like a lot, but it's the way to go.

Remove to paper towel. Repeat process until all steaks are fried.

Put fried steaks in oven to keep warm. (take paper towels out)

Cream gravy

Dispose of all but maybe a tablespoon worth of grease in the skillet. Heat it up to where it's hot, but not smoking.

Add about 1/3 cup flour, whisking to combine with the grease.

Cook the flour and grease, whisking constantly to keep it from burning. Cook to a light beige color (it'll be a funny color already- just cook it a little darker). Essentially, if you've cooked a roux before, you're doing the same thing here.

Once the flour/grease is cooked, add milk in about 1/4 cup increments until the gravy is a little bit thinner than you'd like. Cook it down until it's at the thickness you want- if you overshoot, just add more milk and thin it out.

Season with salt and pepper at the END of the process, once the gravy is almost ready. Doing it at any other time risks concentrating the salt flavor and making it too salty to eat.

Serve gravy over the fried steaks and side dishes like mashed potatoes, white rice, biscuits, etc...

Good article/recipe that I paraphrased a little bit

 

[MPruett]

Chicken Saltimbocca

This is a good one to cook when you have women over. It's Italian, it's easy, and it's delicious.

Ingredients

2 lbs worth of chicken cutlets (about 3/8" thick)- you can cut breasts in half, or buy them already made into cutlets.

1/2 cup flour

1 TB chopped up sage leaves

Prosciutto slices (one per cutlet, however many that is)

Olive oil

2 tsp lemon juice (little less than 1/2 a lemon)

1 1/4 cups dry white wine or dry vermouth (doesn't matter really)

4 tb unsalted butter, cut into 1 TB chunks.

1 TB Minced fresh parsley


Procedure

Turn on oven to 200.

Dry chicken cutlets with paper towels.

Distribute chopped sage leaves across the cutlets evenly.

Press prosciutto over sage leaves onto chicken.

Dredge cutlets in flour (seems to work better than dredging first)

Heat about 2 TB olive oil in pan until it shimmers.

Saute' the chicken cutlets on medium-high with prosciutto side down until light golden brown (about 2-3 minutes).

Flip the cutlets over, and saute on the other side for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.

When the cutlets are all cooked, remove to oven-safe plate and put cutlets in oven to keep warm.

Dump out excess oil from pan.

Deglaze pan with wine or vermouth, (dump it into the hot pan & stir like crazy, getting the crud stuck to the bottom stirred up).

Cook down the wine/vermouth until there's only 1/3 cup left (it'll be pretty thin).

Add lemon juice, and turn heat to low.

Whisk in the butter chunks one at a time, until all incorporated. Take off heat.

Stir in some minced parsley (1 TB) and season with salt and pepper.

Spoon sauce over cutlets when serving.

(adapted from Cooks' Illustrated recipe - March 2008)

 

[King of Kailua]

In Honor of Kamehameha Day (June 11th)

Good luck finding the Limu, I did find a source of inamona for you though. If need be just skip the limu and kukui nut and add alae salt.

Hawaiian Ahi Poke!!!

2 lbs. Ahi, cubed
One fourth cup soy sauce (the real brewed stuff)
1 Tbsp. Inamona (crushed, roasted kukui nut with salt)
Limu Kohu to taste
Red Hot Chili Pepper, finely chopped to taste
Green Onions, chopped to taste
Round Onions, diced to taste
1 Tbsp. Sesame Seed Oil

Combine all ingredients and mix. Serve chilled.

 

[King of Kailua]

How to dress a pig and kalua it in an imu in the classic hawaiian way. Courtesy of YT...

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLadTrHGDM8[/YOUTUBE]

 

[BobS]

Pizza Dough with Jeff Varasano’s Kneading Techniques

Note: There are pictures of the dough making process and the end of the post.

3 cups bread flour (480 grams or 16.9 ounces)
1 cup semolina flour (160 grams or 5.6 ounces)
Note: Jeff says even regular flour for the whole amount is okay.
1 packet instant yeast (**)
1 tsp. salt (2 tsp if using Kosher salt)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 ¾ C warm water (414 grams or 14.6 ounces)
2 Tbsp veg oil.

Comments:

NOTE: This recipe makes a dough with 65% hydration. I think it is a little wet, especially with a long slow rise, so am planning to cut back to 60% next time (384 grams or 13 ounces).

The brown sugar helps the crust brown on the pizza stone.

Everything should be room temperature or a bit cooler.

Mix all the liquids plus the sugar in the bowl of your mixer.

Mix dry ingredients. Add ¾ of the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl. Mix on lowest speed for 1-2 minutes or until completely blended (I use the paddle for this stage). At this stage you should have a mix that is drier than a batter, but wetter than a dough.

Cover and let it rest for 20 minutes.

The high moisture initiates a process called autolyse, which activates the gluten in the flour. This is the same technique used in the no knead bread recipe.

After the rest (don’t rush this and not harm letting it go longer), start mixing on low speed for 5 minutes – do not add remaining flour during this time (using paddle). Five minutes into the kneading, switch to the dough hook and start adding flour gradually and let it come together to a smooth dough.

At this point I divide the dough into two pieces and set it aside for the rise. This is perfect for two pizzas on the BGE pizza stone.

(**) If you are going to use on the day you make the dough, add the yeast as shown above. If you want to let the dough develop for one or more days in your refrigerator, cut back to ¼ - ½ teaspoon yeast.

This comes together with a single rise to 1 ½ - 2 times original size.

You should press/stretch the dough with your hands. Rolling the dough will collapse the air bubbles and you will get a less effective rise when you cook the pizza. On the other hand a rolled crust will be more like a cracker type crust.

Cornmeal version: replace ¾ cup (120 grams) flour with ¾ cup cornmeal. This tasted really good and I need to work with it again!

I always cook mine on parchment – even when cooking at 700! For me the dough is easier to handle and you can press out the dough, ahead of time, on the parchment rounds.


Here are some pictures of the dough making process.

Here we are after the initial mix.

After the 20 minute rest, I kneaded it for 5 minutes before adding the rest of the flour. The characteristics of the dough changes completely and it is almost cleaning the sides of the bowl.

I added the remaining flour (fourth cup -- actually last 160 grams out of 640 grams total) and kneaded for an additional 3 minutes.

This dough has 60% hydration and is still cleaning the sides and bottom of the bowl.

It is resting in the refrigerator and I will take it out an hour or so before the cook, depending on how much it rises while resting. If you are making it just before making the pies, give it about an hour to rise to just less than double and then go ahead and use.

 

[BrightFutur]

I thought I would share my favourite lemon chicken recipe. It takes some time but it is well worth the effort. You can deviate on how you bread/fry the chicken, but the sauce is to die for, and I find the marinade pretty essential.

I really hate the standard yellow food colouring + lemon flavour + High fructose corn syrup that every Chinese take-out has. I find that a lot of the sweetness in this comes from the shredded pineapple and its juice. It's a whole new world compared to the yellow dye meets corn syrup.


Ingredients:

Group 1:

-4 Whole boneless chicken breasts, skinned and cut into 1 inch diagonal strips (Put the chicken in the freezer for about 1/2 an hour - it will slice easier. Or use chicken tenderloin - no slicing required)
-2 tbsp light soy sauce
-1/2 tbsp sesame seed oil
-1 tsp salt
-1 tbsp gin

Group 2:

-3 egg whites, beaten frothy
-1 cup of corn starch

Group 3:

-3/4 cup sugar
-1/2 cup white vinegar
-1 cup chicken broth
-2 tbsp cornstarch
-2tbsp water
-3 lemons, grated rind and juice.

Group 4:

-1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated (be generous!)
-2 cloves garlic, smashed
-1/2 cup shredded canned pineapple (You can just use a whole small can, including the juice)
-3 small carrots, cut into match stick sized julienne (I usually buy a bag of matchstick carrots precut)
-1/4 head iceberg lettuce, very finely shredded
-3 green onions, finely cut
-1 whole red or green pepper, finely cut (Matchstick size)



Method:

1 - Place Cut chicken in bowl, combine group 1 ingredients, pour over chicken and marinate in fridge, 30 minutes minimum (I tend to go over an hour if possible), then drain chicken and throw out marinade
2 - Add chicken pieces to the beaten egg white, toss to coat, place corn starch on a plate and coat chicken pieces with cornstarch
3 - Add about 1 inch of oil to a large pot or frying pan and cook the chicken, a few pieces at a time - about 2 minutes per 'batch' (It will be VERY light brownish white), drain and keep warm in the oven. *
4 - Place the 3rd group of ingredients in a large pot and bring to boil, and stir until mixture thickens.
5 - Add 4th group of ingredients (Except lettuce) to hot lemon sauce, mix, let simmer for a few minutes to cook the carrots slightly, remove from heat, add lettuce and pour over chicken.**

Serve with rice.
Serves 4 very generously.

I tend to make double the amount I think I will need for two reasons:

1 - So I can have leftovers (They don't last long)
2 - Because I often underestimate how much of this my guests will eat.


If you can pull this off without making a mess of the kitchen I think you can score some real brownie points with SWMBO (Or HWMBO for that matter)


*For a lower fat alternative, you can lay the chicken out on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. It's not quite as good but is lower fat.
**My mom likes to let the chicken sit in the sauce for about 15 minutes to absorb it. I like to drown the chicken in sauce then eat right away - more crispy. It's up to you.

 

[tsmba]

When I saw Ouch post the squash recipe, I thought of other roasted veggies. I particularly love asparagus done this way What I do is line a baking sheet with parchment. Wash and trim your asparagus and lay it on the sheet (single layer). Drizzle with decent olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Stick it in a 400 oven and bake.
I like it just when it begins to brown a tad....it concentrates the flavor and couldn't be easier.
I saw Jacques Pepin do kale in a similar fashion (only in a low 250 oven), though I haven't tried it yet.

 

[Luc]

All right, this is my Great Grand-ma recipe. I have 2 versions, hers and mine. This is not a usual meat pie. I know it's summer for most of us but down under, it's winter... Guess what I will be eating this week-end? This is a classic in French Canadian cuisine during Christmas. There are many recipes out there, this is one of them.

The recipe was given to my Grand-ma, then my Mom, for some reason, me and my sister didn't get it. I have the original piece of paper with the recipe somewhere. I did it many years ago and since then, I have to bring a full pie to SWMBO family and my Dad always ask for his...

Things you should know first. The usual meat pie will be between 1 and 2 inchs tall (~3-5cm), this one needs to be 4-5 inchs (~10-13cm). Why? That's the way it is!

For some reason, my Mom buys pre-made dough. SWMBO's Mom showed me a recipe a few years back and I'm taking that one. It will give you more dough that need but while you're making 1, you can make 2

Dough
-=-=-
• 5 ½ cups of flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ pound (~225gr) butter
• ½ pound (~225gr) Crisco
• Combine in a cup: 1 tablespoon of vinegar - 1 egg and fill with water

Note: Criso doesn't exist in Oz(I didn't find any), so it's a vegetable grease. I will go for lard this year as I want it to be special!

Mix all the ingredients except the flour and mix well. You will need to add the flour gradually until all in and then knead it well. You might need some extra flour as this should have the 'bread' consistency. General rule of thumb, put some flour on the table and add a tiny bit at the time if required. Set aside until we need it.

GGM recipe
-=-=-=-=-
• 1¼ pound (~500 grams) of 3 or more different meats (ex: beef, pork, veal). Diced
• 1 Onion diced
• 3 cups potatoes diced
• Beef broth (to fill up the pie)
• ½ tablespoon Salt
• ½ tablespoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon ground clove
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Note: You could take chicken instead of veal. You could get wild game in there, I was told to never mix wild and domestic (i.e. beef + moose is a big no). However, I tried it one year, not bad!

1. Combine the meats with the spices (including salt/pepper) and beef broth.
2. Marinate the meat for 24-72 hours (you need enough broth to cover the meat)
3. Combine the onion, potatoes and meat together
4. You need a deep tray, something that will be a bit deeper than 5 inchs (~13cm).
5. Place the rolled dough on the bottom and side
6. Place the mixed meat/potatoes over the dough
7. Cover with a sheet of dough, poke a hole on top
8. Cook in the oven 375F (190C) for 1 hour. Lower to 250F (120C) for 5-6 hours
9. When ready, let cool for 15 minutes and serve

My Version
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Instead of putting Nutmeg, clove and cinnamon, I get a 750ml bottle of beer. It has to be 'La Maudite' by Unibroue. I do not use any broth, I use the beer. Unibroue used to have a similar recipe on their website but they took it off for some reason.

I did it with a regular pilsner + the spices and got good results. You may try a Guinness but it wasn't a sucess. Cinammon + Cloves are the key here.

http://www.unibroue.com/products/maudite.cfm

Enjoy!

 

[tsmba]

Kind of like a pastie? My dad you a youper (from the UP of Michigan) and they're known for them.