Recipe Exchange anyone??

[Bighuey]

I don't know... the stove is a very sensitive instrument. Don't want to blow the house up.

Or cause the Chef to self distrurct

Wow, just hit me that i can actually cook up a bit of shepards pie or soup but most of my food is either bought, very easy to prepare or eaten out. Im never gonna be a cook kind of guy, so you can file this chef under the "prison" category, i.e. i can prepare enough to keep you alive in bread and water but if you want anything fancy, look elsewhere. Im the Aldi of chefs so Fran, if you want a slap up meal of toast and red wine, im your man

Wow, sheperds pie. I havent eaten that in years. My mother-in law made the best in the world. You sound like you cook like I do, I close my eyes and throw a bunch of stuff in a pan and hope it comes out edible. If not I give it to the dogs, but sometimes they wont even eat it.

[Maud Fitch]

Although I'm not a gourmet cook, I am a fearless one. As far as I'm concerned, food experimentation is the spice of life and no recipe is unworkable with a little imagination. <Can you smell something burning?>

Love recipes from Australians Kim McCosker and Rachael Bermingham, the mothers behind the best-selling "4 Ingredients" cookbooks, where they show you how to turn just four ingredients into tasty meals. For all you coeliacs out there, this one is yummy:

Flourless Chocolate Cake

200g butter, chopped
250g dark chocolate, chopped
4 eggs, separated
1 cup caster sugar

(1) Preheat oven to 160°C/140°C fan-forced. Grease a 6cm-deep, 22cm (base) round springform cake pan. Line base and side with baking paper.
(2) Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (make sure bowl doesn't touch water). Stir over low heat until smooth.
(3) Using an electric mixer, beat egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar for 5 minutes or until thick and creamy. Beat eggwhites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining sugar until dissolved.
(4) Add chocolate mixture to egg yolk mixture. Mix to combine. Add one-quarter of the eggwhite mixture. Mix well. Fold in remaining eggwhite mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until top is firm to touch and a skewer inserted into centre has moist crumbs clinging. Cool cake in pan. Serve with a dusting of icing sugar.
Super Food Ideas - November 2008, Page 44.

Coffee with that, anyone?!

[C0ldf1re]

...
Wow, sheperds pie. I havent eaten that in years
...

Sometimes our next-door neighbour takes pity on us and brings us in home-cooked meals. Shepherds pie is one of her best recipes, except that she adds peas, which I'm not sure is a traditional ingredient.

[Lola82]

i make a pretty mean parsnip soup... it's quite simple, and if you really want to be fancy, you can use the same recipe to make a puree, just leave it thicker for puree purposes

i really don't measure, i just eye ball everything

- 2 parsnips peeled and chopped (serves about 3 - 4ish ppl?)
- 1 small diced onion
- 2 cloves of garlic cut in half (you can add more if you like)
- 2 bay leaves
- several grinds of pepper mill
(i don't really use salt because my parents have high blood pressure & cholestral so therefore I watch out for my own salt intake, but if i were to salt, i'd would salt gently at this point and add more to taste after having blended it)
- simmer in stock (preferably veggie or chicken) until parsnips are fork tender... should be about 20 mins
- remove bay leaf and blend adding more liquid if needed
- using a sieve, strain the soup through for a smoother consistency... if desired, add more liquid to thin it out or leave it as is if it's thick enough
- put back bay leave and put on heat and gently simmer for 10 minutes
- salt to taste
- add butter for richness or cream for the last minute of simmering

when serving, add diced chives and a drizzle of nice extra virgin olive oil

[C0ldf1re]

I can give you not so healthy but delicious recipe for potatoe pancakes...

I'm trying it out tonight. Hope the children will eat it!

[Lola82]

does anyone know of a good quinoa salad? i've never had it before so not sure what to do with it... any suggestions are very much welcomed!

[GotThatSwing]

I can give you not so healthy but delicious recipe for potatoe pancakes...

I'm trying it out tonight. Hope the children will eat it!

I'm sure they will It's something kids usually like.

On topic, did someone here say CHOCOLATE CAKE? The recipe looks pretty easy, even for someone who suck at baking like me I might try it one day.

[Molecularblonde]

Gotthatswing~
Ooo, I just want to grab those potato pancakes and eat them through the screen. They look amazing. Do you serve them with sour cream? That might be an american thing. They just look great.
Euphoria~
Thanks for starting this thread.
The guacamole dip looks great. I love that you add the jalapenos, I've never seen that and it must add some nice heat. Can you tell me how you pick a ripe avacado???? I never seem to get it right.

Okay, so I live in the pacific northwest and we love our dunganess crab and coho salmon...here are my two of my favorites. At our parties these are the first to be eaten...hope you enjoy!

Smoked Salmon Pate
1/4 lb cream cheese
1/4 lb smoked salmon
1 T. lemon juice
1. T lemon zest
1/2 T. mince onion
1/2 T. minced parsley
1/4 tsp. garlic powder


Mix above ingredients and thin down with mayonnaise....(I use the food processor, and don't have to thin it down that much).


Dunganess Crab Dip
T olive oil
1 cup chopped onions (I use white, but I prefer Vidalia if they're available)
1 cup chopped green bell peppers
1 T minced garlic
1 T plus 1 Tsp. Emeril's Original Essence (If you don't have Essence, Old Bay seasoning is a good substitute)
1 lb cream cheese (room temp!)
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 T mince green onion
1 lb lump crab meat
1/2 cup cracker crumbs (I like Ritz crackers for their butter content and for their color)
2 T unsalted butter, melted

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, bell peppers, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon Essence. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, parsley, green onions, lemon juice, the remaining teaspoon salt, and the remaining tablespoon Essence in a food processor. Process until smooth. Transfer in a mixing bowl and fold the vegetables and crabmeat.

Transfer entire mixture into a 2 quart casserole. Combine the cracker crumbs, with the melted butter and stir to blend. Spread the mixture over the crabmeat and bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Serve warm or chilled with toast points, croutons or crackers.

[Euphoriameantime]

Can you tell me how you pick a ripe avacado???? I never seem to get it right.

So much cream cheese - I love it!

Avocados are a tricky thing. They tend to be a spur of the moment thing because they're ripe for a very short amount of time before going bad.

Don't worry about color, when you push a finger into the skin it should give very easily. You don't need a lot of pressure. I usually buy them when they're still hard and have no give and put them in a brown paper bag for 3-5 days. When I was in the states I had no trouble getting ripe avocados, here in Canada it's almost impossible.

If the avocado is over-ripe, it's okay! Brown spots can be cut away, so long as it's not extensive, black, moldy or holes in the skin. Some people actually prefer over-ripe.

I use the same recipe but add melted cream cheese for a pasta sauce and friend chicken breast. I've also used more cheddar cheese and stuffed it in ravioli. Or add mayo for mexican BLTs. I use a lot of avocados. They're my favorite.

[Molecularblonde]

Don't worry about color, when you push a finger into the skin it should give very easily. You don't need a lot of pressure. I usually buy them when they're still hard and have no give and put them in a brown paper bag for 3-5 days. When I was in the states I had no trouble getting ripe avocados, here in Canada it's almost impossible.

If the avocado is over-ripe, it's okay! Brown spots can be cut away, so long as it's not extensive, black, moldy or holes in the skin. Some people actually prefer over-ripe.

This is so helpful Euphoria....I usually shy away from avacados b/c they're expensive and I cannot figure out which ones are ripe. Now I can finally make some good guac.....yummy.

[Bighuey]

You guys are making me hungry. Keep em coming.

[Fran]

Don't worry about color, when you push a finger into the skin it should give very easily. You don't need a lot of pressure. I usually buy them when they're still hard and have no give and put them in a brown paper bag for 3-5 days. When I was in the states I had no trouble getting ripe avocados, here in Canada it's almost impossible.

If the avocado is over-ripe, it's okay! Brown spots can be cut away, so long as it's not extensive, black, moldy or holes in the skin. Some people actually prefer over-ripe.

This is so helpful Euphoria....I usually shy away from avacados b/c they're expensive and I cannot figure out which ones are ripe. Now I can finally make some good guac.....yummy.

Very fattening too

[Lola82]

This is so helpful Euphoria....I usually shy away from avacados b/c they're expensive and I cannot figure out which ones are ripe. Now I can finally make some good guac.....yummy.

I've found if you put avocados in the fridge, they'll last longer too... i've kept them in there and they've lasted for weeks

[Euphoriameantime]

Very fattening too

It just has a bad rap. Half an avocado has about 130calories, but it also is very filling and satiates your hunger for longer. Most of the fat in Avocados are the good kind, monounsaturated. It also helps to lower your bad cholesteral. It's much healthier to use Avocado spread in place of butter/mayo on toast and sandwiches.

Also loaded with Potassium, Vitamin B and Vitamin E. They're great for your skin.

[Bighuey]

Very fattening too

It just has a bad rap. Half an avocado has about 130calories, but it also is very filling and satiates your hunger for longer. Most of the fat in Avocados are the good kind, monounsaturated. It also helps to lower your bad cholesteral. It's much healthier to use Avocado spread in place of butter/mayo on toast and sandwiches.

Also loaded with Potassium, Vitamin B and Vitamin E. They're great for your skin.

I didnt know that. Ill try it in place of butter. Avacados are cheap here and avaliable year around.