What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[Astronuc]

Antone's . . . that little deli in the train car.

You mean the one near Main Street and OST? I used to get the original Po-Boy there. Now they are located on Kirby.

 

[Andre]

Many exiled Dutch are homesick for one specific food item. The kroket:

http://www.ad.nl/multimedia/archive/00036/kroketten_36222a.jpg

Very common in Holland, extremely rare elsewhere. We avoid that by making them ourselfs. My sister who is exiled (volentarely) to Southern France, Chateau Montcru, told me that I made the best krokets that she ever tasted. Well perhaps partly to be polite and partly because she hadn't had them for many years. Care for my recipe?

 

[Yonoz]

Many exiled Dutch are homesick for one specific food item. The kroket:

http://www.ad.nl/multimedia/archive/00036/kroketten_36222a.jpg

Very common in Holland, extremely rare elsewhere. We avoid that by making them ourselfs. My sister who is exiled (volentarely) to Southern France, Chateau Montcru, told me that I made the best krokets that she ever tasted. Well perhaps partly to be polite and partly because she hadn't had them for many years. Care for my recipe?

Yes please! Those look great

 

[Andre]

Okay then, my skills to produce a useful recipe are severely hampered by being unfamiliar with English cooking jargon and being metric. But we can try. The filling of the kroket is basically a soft creamy ragout made from some variation of stew. Veal stew is the most popular. For a lbs of veal meat cubed, also chop two onions, one clove (toe) garlic, chrunched, and what is called “bouquet garni”, a double dose at least. As well a little salt and pepper. Boil and simmer the mass in for 45 minutes in 700 cc (~23 fl ounce?) bouillon. But you could also use artificially some of these:

http://www.corazza.it/images/bouilloncubes/1.jpg :[/URL]

Don’t close the lid totally, we need to have about half of the moisture to evaporate. After simmering let it cool a bit and separate the moisture from the solid parts. Remove the leafs of the bouquet garni and cut the boiled meat in very small pieces.

Then melt 60 gram (2 ounces) butter slowly (don’t color it) and then add 2 ounces of flour, stir vigorously until it’s a creamy sticky mass. Slowly add the remaining fluid (should be some 300-350 ml (10-11 fl on) under continuing stirring and slow heating. When it starts bubbling add the crunched meat mass and should end up with a thick creamy mass. Finally add some 5-10 finely cut fresh parsley leafs and let it cool down in the fridge to get it almost solid.

Shake the mass into some 8-10 krokets of about 4 inches long see the picture. Alternately you can roll them to balls of about one inches (then it’s called “bitterbal”). Minimize touching. Warm hands make them sticky.

Then scramble an egg, cover the kroket with egg and roll it in bread crumbs. Deep fry them in plenty of oil at 180 degrees C (365F) until a nice deep brown like in the picture. That would be about 4-5 minutes.

Don’t bite in them immediately; mouth burning is a common problem in Holland.

 

[Yonoz]

Hey I'm metric too! Last time I checked anyway.
It sounds very rich, is mouth burning the only common problem there?
I have all the ingredients already, which is surprising. Will make some as soon as I'm done going through mom's lasagna.

 

[larkspur]

You mean the one near Main Street and OST? I used to get the original Po-Boy there. Now they are located on Kirby.

It was on Kirby when I was there. I loved the turkey with smoked cheese and sweet pickles. mmmmmmm!

 

[Evo]

Okay then, my skills to produce a useful recipe are severely hampered by being unfamiliar with English cooking jargon and being metric. But we can try. The filling of the kroket is basically a soft creamy ragout made from some variation of stew. Veal stew is the most popular. For a lbs of veal meat cubed, also chop two onions, one clove (toe) garlic, chrunched, and what is called “bouquet garni”, a double dose at least. As well a little salt and pepper. Boil and simmer the mass in for 45 minutes in 700 cc (~23 fl ounce?) bouillon. But you could also use artificially some of these:

http://www.corazza.it/images/bouilloncubes/1.jpg :[/URL]

Don’t close the lid totally, we need to have about half of the moisture to evaporate. After simmering let it cool a bit and separate the moisture from the solid parts. Remove the leafs of the bouquet garni and cut the boiled meat in very small pieces.

Then melt 60 gram (2 ounces) butter slowly (don’t color it) and then add 2 ounces of flour, stir vigorously until it’s a creamy sticky mass. Slowly add the remaining fluid (should be some 300-350 ml (10-11 fl on) under continuing stirring and slow heating. When it starts bubbling add the crunched meat mass and should end up with a thick creamy mass. Finally add some 5-10 finely cut fresh parsley leafs and let it cool down in the fridge to get it almost solid.

Shake the mass into some 8-10 krokets of about 4 inches long see the picture. Alternately you can roll them to balls of about one inches (then it’s called “bitterbal”). Minimize touching. Warm hands make them sticky.

Then scramble an egg, cover the kroket with egg and roll it in bread crumbs. Deep fry them in plenty of oil at 180 degrees C (365F) until a nice deep brown like in the picture. That would be about 4-5 minutes.

Don’t bite in them immediately; mouth burning is a common problem in Holland.

Mmmmmm, sounds yummy! Andre, please send me a dozen. :!)

 

[Math Is Hard]

I used to love Ninfa's when I lived in Houston. I also loved a greek restaurant called The Great Greek on Westheimer and Antones that little deli in the train car.

I think I have been to that one. I remember smashing a lot of plates!

 

[Math Is Hard]

I found a recipe for the Ninfa's green sauce but I don't know where to get green tomatoes this time of year:
http://www.recipezaar.com/34965

 

[tribdog]

green tomatoes or tomitillos?
I finally had fried green tomatoes the other day for the first time and all I can say is: yuck. let them ripen

La Victoria's Green Taco sauce
Recipe By : Bill Wight via chile-heads
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Mexican Sauces
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 lbs. Anaheim or New Mex. chiles -- Roast -- peel, deseed
1 lb. Yellow Hungarian Wax chiles -- seeded and chopped
1 Serranos and jalapeno -- seeded and chopped
2 1/2 lbs. Tomatillos -- slice 1/8" thick
7 lbs. Green tomatoes -- slice 1/4" thick
1/2 bunch Cilantro -- rough chop
4 cloves Garlic
1 med. White onion -- chopped
1/4 cup Lime juice
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs. Salt
4 Tbs. Corn Starch
Heat a large cast iron skillet to hot and toast the tomatoes and tomatillos
without any oil. Do just one layer at a time and give each slice a nice
dark brown color on both sides without burning. Remove when toasted to a
glass bowl. Do not deglaze the pan.
In a blender, combine the onion, cilantro, chiles, tomatoes, garlic and
tomatillos in batch sizes to half-fill the blender jar. Pur|e. If any
dark brown liquid collects in the bottom of the toasted tomato and
tomatillo bowl, add this to the last blender load.
Mix the cornstarch in the lime juice/vinegar. In a large stewing pot,
combine the blender loads, add the cornstarch mixture and heat until the
sauce comes to a low boil, mixing constantly. Be careful here, if you
don't mix constantly the thick sauce will tend to erupt in hot little
geysers of taco sauce that could burn you. Allow sauce to cool and add
salt to taste. Transfer to clean jars, filling them 3/4 full and freeze
what you can't use in a few weeks. Be careful not to fill the jars too
full or they'll break when you freeze them.
I made a batch of sauce last year and it tastes just fine after a year in
the freezer. The sauce keeps OK in my refrigerator for at least a month.
* Adjust heat level to your personal taste. The La Victoria sauce is mild.
3 to 4 quarts

 

[tribdog]

I took my girlfriend to Red Lobster the other day and she was telling me she really liked the shrimp scampi. I said why don't you make it? She acted like it was a complicated thing to do. I was looking for their recipie and that's how I came across a bunch of secret recipies. I don't think I've ever seen a less complicated recipie so I get shrimp scampi someday this week.

Red Lobster Shrimp Scampi
1 C. White Wine
1/2 C. unsalted Butter do not use Margarine
3 Tbsp. minced Garlic
1 lb. Shrimp, peeled and devined
Bake at 350 degree oven for about 6 to 7 minutes.
Be carefull not to overcook the Shrimp. The shrimp are
done when they turn pink.
Thanks to Gregm former Red Lobster Chef.

 

[Andre]

Mmmmmm, sounds yummy! Andre, please send me a dozen. :!)

Most certainly, Evo, they are on their way already, here they co... oops

http://img478.imageshack.us/img478/5298/titancar4zt.jpg

 

[ZapperZ]

I just find that, with a business name like that, this is highly ironic, and funny. Did it ran into an iceberg?

Zz.

 

[tribdog]

yeah, an Iceberg Air Conditioner Sales and Repairs van sideswiped them and didn't stop. Police are still looking for the driver for questioning. The driver of the Titanic Service van was shaken and told reporters, "I was on top of the world until the accident. The other van just came out of nowhere. "

 

[Moonbear]

I just find that, with a business name like that, this is highly ironic, and funny. Did it ran into an iceberg?

Zz.

And, yes tribdog, shrimp scampi is a wonderfully easy recipe for something so tasty! I've actually learned that a lot of the tastiest recipes are the simple ones.

 

[Evo]

Most certainly, Evo, they are on their way already, here they co... oops

My kroket's have gone down with the Titanic.

 

[Evo]

I found a recipe for the Ninfa's green sauce but I don't know where to get green tomatoes this time of year:
http://www.recipezaar.com/34965

When I made it I used all tomatillos and it was perfect.

 

[Math Is Hard]

When I made it I used all tomatillos and it was perfect.

ok, tomatillos it is, then!

Tribdog, where did you have the fried green tomatoes? I love those things.

I am going to make another southern delicacy this weekend, boiled peanuts. I have to go down to the farmer's market and look for the nuts. The uncooked ones are kinda hard to find.

 

[tribdog]

When I said I had them the other day I meant about a year ago. My psycho ex girlfriend made them.

 

[turbo]

Last night, my wife and I canned two batches of pepper sauce containing almost 100% peppers, with some fresh garlic, some molasses, and just enough vinegar to cover the peppers in the jars. One batch was 50:50 jalapeno:habanero, and the other was 100% habanero - that stuff is crazy hot, and only gets used for cooking big batches of stuff, like spaghetti sauce and pizza sauces. It can be added to marinades and BBQ sauces in tiny quantities if you're careful, though. I just filled a cruet with 50:50 small jalpeno:habanero peppers and topped that with cider vinegar, to make a hot vinegar for greens and other vegetables.

Today, I finished bringing in our green tomatoes, and tonight we're going to make up a big batch of green tomato/habanero salsa. We still have about 3# each of habaneros and jalapenos, so we'll give some to my brother and freeze the rest. We're also going to have jalapeno poppers for supper tomorrow (slice them lengthwise, scoop out the seeds for mild or leave them in for real heat, stuff with a mixture of cream cheese and crumbled bacon, then top with Monterey Jack and roast them on a pizza pan on the grill). Those poppers are killer, and we're going to make extras and freeze them. If they can survive freezing and retain their flavor, I'll need an extra row of jalapeno plants next year. A tray of poppers at the family Christmas party would be a big hit.

 

[turbo]

For astronuc and any other folks who were fortunate enough to freeze some wild blackberries this year - try them in pancakes. Blueberry pancakes are traditional here, since Maine is a major producer, but we didn't pick and freeze many blueberries this year, and we have gallons and gallons of blackberries. We decided to make blackberry pancakes for breakfast, and they are wonderful. I won't miss blueberry pancakes at all! Next may be blackberry muffins. My wife made up a batch of freezer-jam with about a quart of the blackberries this morning - wonderful.

 

[Astronuc]

We don't have enough berries to freeze, so we just eat them - mostly as we pick them. I like them on cereal, particularly granola cereal. And, Turbo, as you indicated they are great in pancakes.

With regard to blackberries, it looks like most (maybe all) the canes have rooted in the ground. I was too hasty earlier in the season, just after the fruit was harvested and I tried to root the cane tips. That was a mistake and some apparently rotted. I also added too much sulfur to the soil which apparently burned the tips. So I learned - 1) dig sulfur into the ground - away from the roots and cane tips, and 2) let the plants root in their own time. One thing I did notice is that that with some dry weather and lots of sun, the can tips can get sunburned. So watering the plants every 2 or 3 days is important in dry weather.

With regard to habaneros, I learned that they have to be roasted quickly after picking. I was air drying them, not very carefully, and a fungus/mold started growing on the habanero peppers. I had to throw away a few.

-------------------------------------------------
Also, someone gave me a recipe for cinnamon rolls.

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:
1 pkg yellow cake mix (without pudding in the mix)
2 pkg yeast
5 cups flour
2/5 cups hot water

Filling:
butter
brown sugar
cinnamon

Topping:
1 stick butter, softened
4 tblsp white corn syrup
4 tblsp brown sugar
chopped nuts

Mix flour, yeast, cake mix and water in large bowl. Let rise until double in size. Roll into rectangular shape on floured surface. Spread with butter. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over butter. Roll into jelly roll and cut into 1.5-2 inch slices.

Place in pan (cook better if not touching). Let rise slightly in pan before baking. Melt toping ingredients over rolls.

Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 min covered, then remaining 10-15 min uncovered until baked in center.

Now I was thinking that an option would be to layer pastry, with fruit such as peaches, pears, apple, berries, or banana between layers of pastry. Of course, one should avoid any food or fruit to which one has an allergy. I was wondering if self-rising flour or baking powder would work instead of yeast (i.e. yeast substitutes).

 

[turbo]

With regard to habaneros, I learned that they have to be roasted quickly after picking. I was air drying them, not very carefully, and a fungus/mold started growing on the habanero peppers. I had to throw away a few.

Ooh, that's a shame! I treat those little guys like gold, now that I know just how wimpy the store-bought habaneros are compared to these garden-raised Red Caribbeans. My wife and I chop these in a food processor with cloves of fresh garlic, simmer them a bit in water and vinegar with a bit of canning salt, pack them in half-pint canning jars, and seal them in a water bath. Some of our earlier batches of salsa were made with jalapenos because the habaneros weren't ripe yet, and I have found that stirring about a teaspoon of this habanero sauce into a pint of that salsa does wonders. The habanero sauce is really too hot to put on tacos like a salsa, etc, but it is a basic ingredient for my pizza sauce, marinades, BBQ sauce, etc. We made a similar pepper sauce of 50:50 jalapenos and habaneros and I did put that on a hot chicken and cheese sandwich wrapped in a soft flour tortilla. I thought it was great, but my wife said the peppers made her fingers burn because she picked hers up and ate it and got some juice on her hands. It's funny how something so hot can taste so great, but be strong enough to make your skin burn.

 

[larkspur]

Ooh, that's a shame! I treat those little guys like gold, now that I know just how wimpy the store-bought habaneros are compared to these garden-raised Red Caribbeans. My wife and I chop these in a food processor with cloves of fresh garlic, simmer them a bit in water and vinegar with a bit of canning salt, pack them in half-pint canning jars, and seal them in a water bath. Some of our earlier batches of salsa were made with jalapenos because the habaneros weren't ripe yet, and I have found that stirring about a teaspoon of this habanero sauce into a pint of that salsa does wonders. The habanero sauce is really too hot to put on tacos like a salsa, etc, but it is a basic ingredient for my pizza sauce, marinades, BBQ sauce, etc. We made a similar pepper sauce of 50:50 jalapenos and habaneros and I did put that on a hot chicken and cheese sandwich wrapped in a soft flour tortilla. I thought it was great, but my wife said the peppers made her fingers burn because she picked hers up and ate it and got some juice on her hands. It's funny how something so hot can taste so great, but be strong enough to make your skin burn.

Do you ever make or chipotle peppers? I wouldn't have any idea how to make them from scratch. They are smoked jalepenos with something like a sauce in the can.
Last weekend I put three whole boneless chicken breasts in the crocpot with some beer and a can of chipotle peppers. Simmered them about 24 hours and made some spicy "pulled" chicken barbeque. Makes a great chicken taco salad.

 

[Astronuc]

Ooh, that's a shame! I treat those little guys like gold, now that I know just how wimpy the store-bought habaneros are compared to these garden-raised Red Caribbeans. My wife and I chop these in a food processor with cloves of fresh garlic, simmer them a bit in water and vinegar with a bit of canning salt, pack them in half-pint canning jars, and seal them in a water bath. Some of our earlier batches of salsa were made with jalapenos because the habaneros weren't ripe yet, and I have found that stirring about a teaspoon of this habanero sauce into a pint of that salsa does wonders. The habanero sauce is really too hot to put on tacos like a salsa, etc, but it is a basic ingredient for my pizza sauce, marinades, BBQ sauce, etc. We made a similar pepper sauce of 50:50 jalapenos and habaneros and I did put that on a hot chicken and cheese sandwich wrapped in a soft flour tortilla. I thought it was great, but my wife said the peppers made her fingers burn because she picked hers up and ate it and got some juice on her hands. It's funny how something so hot can taste so great, but be strong enough to make your skin burn.

Thanks for those tips. I wasn't being sufficiently diligent. I hated throwing away those moldy habaneros, but I didn't want to contaminate what's left.

On the positive side, I still have lots more to harvest. I also need to save some seeds for planting in early spring. I also need to figure out what I did with that patch of ground to make this plant flourish. It's the largest pepper plant I've ever had. The other four combined don't produce like this one. In fact the 4 Hot Portugal and 4 Kung Pao all together aren't producing like this one. The serranos are doing much better.

Last weekend I put three whole boneless chicken breasts in the crocpot with some beer and a can of chipotle peppers. Simmered them about 24 hours and made some spicy "pulled" chicken barbeque. Makes a great chicken taco salad.

What kind of beer? Something like Tecate?

 

[larkspur]

What kind of beer? Something like Tecate?

Guinness extra stout

 

[turbo]

Do you ever make or chipotle peppers? I wouldn't have any idea how to make them from scratch. They are smoked jalepenos with something like a sauce in the can.
Last weekend I put three whole boneless chicken breasts in the crocpot with some beer and a can of chipotle peppers. Simmered them about 24 hours and made some spicy "pulled" chicken barbeque. Makes a great chicken taco salad.

I rarely use commercially-canned stuff. We made a couple of batches of our fresh salsa from tomatoes, bell peppers, and jalapenos that we fire-roasted on a gas flame until the skins were nicely charred. That was a wonderful flavor, and next year we're going to have to can 10-20 pints of that. The appearance of the blackened skins in the salsa has elicited rather cautious comments from visitors, but once they get a taste, their enthusiasm takes over.

I just googled chipotle, and apparently, the Aztecs smoked jalapenos, because they were hard to dry properly and were prone to rot. Once smoked, they could be stored for a long time and ground into a powder for seasonings. I have a nice Brinkman charcoal smoker, so next year, I might smoke a batch or two to see how they come out. It might be nice to have some smoked chilis to start some dishes with, like your slow-cooked chicken. Thanks.

 

[turbo]

If you don't want to roast or dehydrate your peppers, you can throw them in a freezer bag and put them in the deep freeze. They will be rather soft when you thaw them, but if you're going to cook with them, they would soften anyway, and freezing preserves the flavor of the peppers. Freeze them ASAP after picking for the freshest flavor. I like the heat of the habaneros, but there is something about the flavor of the jalapenos that seems to shine through in sauces, etc.

 

[Astronuc]

Guinness extra stout

One of my favorites! Guinnes Stout and Chicken?! Hmmm. I'll have to try it.

Guinness goes well with Pecan Pie (there's a recipe that uses Karo Syrup). Some British dudes introduced me to it.

 

[larkspur]

One of my favorites! Guinnes Stout and Chicken?! Hmmm. I'll have to try it.

Guinness goes well with Pecan Pie (there's a recipe that uses Karo Syrup). Some British dudes introduced me to it.

Do you mean pecan pie made with guinness or made while drinking guinness?

 

[Astronuc]

Do you mean pecan pie made with guinness or made while drinking guinness?

I meant drinking the pie while consumming the Guinness. Of course, making pie while drinking Guinness would work too!

While I was on the road working on some projects which involved some guys from Britain, we used to go to dinner, and then to a particular bar for desert. They ordered pecan pie and Guinness, which I thought was weird until I tried it. It's actually quite good.

Also, I once had a Guinness flavored ice-cream. I think it was Guinness Stout blended with a vanilla ice cream, which was also very good.

 

[larkspur]

I meant drinking the pie while consumming the Guinness. Of course, making pie while drinking Guinness would work too!

While I was on the road working on some projects which involved some guys from Britain, we used to go to dinner, and then to a particular bar for desert. They ordered pecan pie and Guinness, which I thought was weird until I tried it. It's actually quite good.

Also, I once had a Guinness flavored ice-cream. I think it was Guinness Stout blended with a vanilla ice cream, which was also very good.

I can't imagine Guinness Stout Ice cream...

 

[turbo]

I can't imagine Guinness Stout Ice cream...

I can, although I cannot imagine actually ordering it...

 

[larkspur]

I can, although I cannot imagine actually ordering it...

My thoughts exactly...

 

[Astronuc]

I initially had the same thought, but then I thought - what the heck. So I tried it, and it was quite good.