Okay, this recipe was adapted from Mad Coyote Joe:
Topping:
1/2 C flour
6 T sugar (although, in retrospect, I may have added double this, I can't remember)
pinch t salt
1/4 t baking powder
1/2 large egg, beaten
4 T butter, melted
Prepare filling, and fill a bread pan about half way. For this, I used cranberry sauce, and it was awesome (I would highly recommend it). It was about the amount of sauce that you get from ~1.5 lbs of cranberries.
Preheat oven to 375F. Mix the dry ingredients, then pour in the egg and crumble in. Sprinkle on top of the filling, then pour melted butter on top. Bake for 40-45 min.
Thoughts: This turned out spectacularly. I have never heard of cranberry cobbler before, and after this I wonder why. I'm not sure how this would be out of a can, but it's worth trying. The topping turned out crispy, even though I feel like in the past its been soft. It might have been that I accidentally used too much sugar. Or, it might be that this was a half recipe (I normally double it). I doubt it, but it might have been a difference in the filling (like, less water bubbling out to steam the crust). I kind of wonder why I needed melt the butter on top, and whether I'd get a similar effect if I cut the butter in with the egg.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Wings #8
I've finally got it! Opuwo! It's finished! And it's really really good!
Okay, here it is:
Buffalo Sauce:
3 T red chili flakes
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t salt
cayenne pepper to taste
1/2 t honey
~1 c water
~1/4 c distilled vinegar
1/4 t dry mustard
1 t cornstarch
2 T butter
Place red chili, garlic, paprika, pepper, salt, cayenne, honey, and water in a pot. Bring the water to a boil uncovered, and boil until you have reduced it to about 1/4 of a cup. Remove from heat. Drain and reserve as much liquid as possible, and then add enough vinegar to bring the mixture to 1/2 c. Stir in dry mustard and cornstarch, and bring back to a simmer. It should thicken enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon. Mix in butter until it melts.
NOTE: The vinegar greatly decreases the heat of the sauce, keep this in mind when adding the cayenne.
Buffalo Wings:
12 wings
1 recipe buffalo sauce
Steam wings for 20 minutes. Take out, and refrigerate overnight. Put in a 450F oven (on parchment paper) for 30 minutes. It should be starting to brown, and the outside should be crispy. Toss the with the sauce.
Serve with carrots, celery, and ranch dressing.
Okay, here it is:
Buffalo Sauce:
3 T red chili flakes
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t salt
cayenne pepper to taste
1/2 t honey
~1 c water
~1/4 c distilled vinegar
1/4 t dry mustard
1 t cornstarch
2 T butter
Place red chili, garlic, paprika, pepper, salt, cayenne, honey, and water in a pot. Bring the water to a boil uncovered, and boil until you have reduced it to about 1/4 of a cup. Remove from heat. Drain and reserve as much liquid as possible, and then add enough vinegar to bring the mixture to 1/2 c. Stir in dry mustard and cornstarch, and bring back to a simmer. It should thicken enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon. Mix in butter until it melts.
NOTE: The vinegar greatly decreases the heat of the sauce, keep this in mind when adding the cayenne.
Buffalo Wings:
12 wings
1 recipe buffalo sauce
Steam wings for 20 minutes. Take out, and refrigerate overnight. Put in a 450F oven (on parchment paper) for 30 minutes. It should be starting to brown, and the outside should be crispy. Toss the with the sauce.
Serve with carrots, celery, and ranch dressing.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Stuffing/Dressing #2
Okay, my new try:
1 onion
3 stalks celery
5 mushrooms
2 T chicken drippings
1.5 T butter
salt
about 1-2t each: black pepper, rosemary, thyme, sage
About half a loaf of cornbread, stale and somewhat crumbled
4 small slices of bread, stale and crumbled
~2 cups stock
Preheat an oven/toaster oven to 400F. Mince the onions and celery together in a food processor, and then mince the mushrooms separately. Heat the butter and drippings in a pan, and when it melts, add the onions, celery, and salt. After cooking for a few minutes, it should discolor slightly. Add the mushrooms, more salt, and herbs, and cook until the mushrooms let out their juices. Add in the breads, and stir it all together. Add enough stock so it forms a slightly runny paste. Adjust seasonings as needed. Scrape everything into a bread pan, and bake for 30 minutes.
This recipe was okay. It didn't look like the most appealing thing in the world, but tasted pretty good. It was a bit too moist, but when I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day it was the right consistency (so maybe it just needed to cool, or maybe it needed a night of evaporation in my fridge). Overall, I'm not sure if I like cornbread vs. wheat bread better. I would be curious if I could do a cornbread stuffing without completely mashing the cornbread (it turned into liquid pretty fast), because I think I wasn't a fan of it being so homogenous. I occasionally got chunks that were recognizably cornbread, and I kind of liked that. I also decided that completely mincing the onions and celery was unnecessary for something like this, and I actually would have preferred them whole.
I kind of wonder what would have happened if I took it out and stirred it several times during the cooking process?
1 onion
3 stalks celery
5 mushrooms
2 T chicken drippings
1.5 T butter
salt
about 1-2t each: black pepper, rosemary, thyme, sage
About half a loaf of cornbread, stale and somewhat crumbled
4 small slices of bread, stale and crumbled
~2 cups stock
Preheat an oven/toaster oven to 400F. Mince the onions and celery together in a food processor, and then mince the mushrooms separately. Heat the butter and drippings in a pan, and when it melts, add the onions, celery, and salt. After cooking for a few minutes, it should discolor slightly. Add the mushrooms, more salt, and herbs, and cook until the mushrooms let out their juices. Add in the breads, and stir it all together. Add enough stock so it forms a slightly runny paste. Adjust seasonings as needed. Scrape everything into a bread pan, and bake for 30 minutes.
This recipe was okay. It didn't look like the most appealing thing in the world, but tasted pretty good. It was a bit too moist, but when I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day it was the right consistency (so maybe it just needed to cool, or maybe it needed a night of evaporation in my fridge). Overall, I'm not sure if I like cornbread vs. wheat bread better. I would be curious if I could do a cornbread stuffing without completely mashing the cornbread (it turned into liquid pretty fast), because I think I wasn't a fan of it being so homogenous. I occasionally got chunks that were recognizably cornbread, and I kind of liked that. I also decided that completely mincing the onions and celery was unnecessary for something like this, and I actually would have preferred them whole.
I kind of wonder what would have happened if I took it out and stirred it several times during the cooking process?
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Osh/Plov #2
Is it Plov or Palov? I've seen both online. Either way, tried it again, and it turned out much better:
1 c white long grain rice (Jasmine I think)
1/4 vegetable oil (or, if you've got it, I'm told animal fat works even better)
1 onion, sliced into thin semi-circles
~1/3 lb stewing beef, cut into ~1" chunks; lamb works too, as I think does goat
2 carrots, cut into match sticks
3 big cloves of garlic, still in the paper
salt
spices (black pepper, coriander, cumin, paprika)
small handful of raisins
Rinse the rice several times, until the water is clear (it took me 7 times, which I hear is what they say it should take). When clean, add 1 cup of warm water and let it soak.
Heat oil. Saute onions until they turn brown (my one big change would be here, I'd cook only until it turns translucent). Add beef and a good shake of salt, and cook until the meat begins to brown. Add carrots, garlic, and a good shake of each spice. Cook until the carrots start to become soft. Pour in 1 cup of water (should just cover everything), and more salt. Lower the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 15 minutes (it should be boiling by the end of this). At the end of the 15 minutes, fish the garlic out, and try to smooth out the meat/veggie mixture. Pour the rice and it's water on top of the mixture, and try to smooth out. Push garlic cloves into the rice, and top with a handful of raisins. There should be just a little more water than needed to cover. Cook for about 7-10 uncovered. Poke small holes in the top of the rice (to let the steam through), cover, and continue to cook for a total of about 20 minutes. All of the water should be cooked out. Remove from heat. If needed, and a little bit of water to scrape down the bottom of the pan. Mix everything, and serve. For a nicer presentation, you can pull the meat and garlic out of the rice/carrot mixture, and place them on top.
Overall, I think this turned out really good. I had two changes: first I think I'll need more salt next time, and second, I think it would be better to cook the onions a little less, so that you have time to brown the meat a little more. I didn't get the meat as brown as I would have wanted because I was afraid of burning the onions. Overall though I thought this was really good. I wish someone who knew what it was supposed to taste like could comment on it. Otherwise, that was easier than I expected.
1 c white long grain rice (Jasmine I think)
1/4 vegetable oil (or, if you've got it, I'm told animal fat works even better)
1 onion, sliced into thin semi-circles
~1/3 lb stewing beef, cut into ~1" chunks; lamb works too, as I think does goat
2 carrots, cut into match sticks
3 big cloves of garlic, still in the paper
salt
spices (black pepper, coriander, cumin, paprika)
small handful of raisins
Rinse the rice several times, until the water is clear (it took me 7 times, which I hear is what they say it should take). When clean, add 1 cup of warm water and let it soak.
Heat oil. Saute onions until they turn brown (my one big change would be here, I'd cook only until it turns translucent). Add beef and a good shake of salt, and cook until the meat begins to brown. Add carrots, garlic, and a good shake of each spice. Cook until the carrots start to become soft. Pour in 1 cup of water (should just cover everything), and more salt. Lower the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 15 minutes (it should be boiling by the end of this). At the end of the 15 minutes, fish the garlic out, and try to smooth out the meat/veggie mixture. Pour the rice and it's water on top of the mixture, and try to smooth out. Push garlic cloves into the rice, and top with a handful of raisins. There should be just a little more water than needed to cover. Cook for about 7-10 uncovered. Poke small holes in the top of the rice (to let the steam through), cover, and continue to cook for a total of about 20 minutes. All of the water should be cooked out. Remove from heat. If needed, and a little bit of water to scrape down the bottom of the pan. Mix everything, and serve. For a nicer presentation, you can pull the meat and garlic out of the rice/carrot mixture, and place them on top.
Overall, I think this turned out really good. I had two changes: first I think I'll need more salt next time, and second, I think it would be better to cook the onions a little less, so that you have time to brown the meat a little more. I didn't get the meat as brown as I would have wanted because I was afraid of burning the onions. Overall though I thought this was really good. I wish someone who knew what it was supposed to taste like could comment on it. Otherwise, that was easier than I expected.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Stuffing (or dressing?) #1
(Before I start, to the title, if you make this and put it into a turkey and bake it, it's called "stuffing." What is it called if you skip the turkey and bake it in a casserole dish? My family always called it "out-of-the-bird stuffing," or just "stuffing," but I've since heard it called "dressing." Is that what everyone calls it, or is that just a southern thing? Either way, that's what this is)
Okay, this isn't really #1, it might be more like #3 or #4, but it's been so long that I can't give specifics of my earlier suffings, with a few exceptions:
1) Ovens are much better than stovetops (which leave it mushy).
2) Bullion instead of stock is terrible.
3) Carrots give a sweet flavor that just doesn't taste good.
4) Good stuffing contains: bread, butter, onions, celery, mushrooms, sage, thyme, and rosemary.
This time, I decided to try adding apple. Here was my recipe:
~2 T chicken fat (strained from stock I had made and left in the fridge)
1 T butter
2 celery stocks, diced
2/3 onion, diced
1/2 granny-smith apple, cut into small-ish pieces (a little bigger than 1 cm cubes, but less than 2cm)
1 1/4 c mushrooms, roughly diced (yes, I measured this, it was like 4 or 5 button mushrooms)
7 slices of stale, semi-decent whole wheat bread (each piece about 2"x4"), cut roughly into 1"-2" squares
chicken/veggie stock
pepper, salt, thyme, sage, rosemary
Melt fat and butter in a frying pan, and sweat the celery and onion. Add salt and pepper. Once the onions begin to become translucent, add apple, mushrooms, and more salt and pepper. Stir for a couple minutes, and add a dash of each herb. Once the mushrooms have released their juices, and most of them have evaporated, add the bread. Toss several times to mix. Then, add a couple ladles of stock, until all of the bread is pretty moist, but not falling apart. Pour the mixture into a bread pan, and bake in a toaster oven at 350F for 25 minutes.
My thoughts: Turned out really great. Next time I might want to cook it at either a lower temperature or for less time, since some of the bread on the top was just on the edge of burning. I might want to use a richer chicken stock (right now the stock I'm using is home-made, basically of the parts of veggies and chickens that I would otherwise throw away; this batch is good, but not rich in chickeny flavor). In terms of the apples, I'm not sure, but I don't think I like them. They kind of contrast with everything else a lot. Like, you could really tell if you got an apple in your bite or not, whereas the other parts had more subtle differences. I'm not sure if there is a good way to make the apples taste more like everything else, and everything else taste slightly more of apples, but unless I can they're out.
A few possible ideas for next time: try mincing everything small and see if I like the texture better; try adding dry cranberries; maybe try cornbread; maybe try browning the onions; search for other mystery ingredients (nuts? other veggies?).
Oh, last thing, unrelated: I discovered that you can make mashed potatoes out of steamed potatoes, rather than boiled potatoes. This is really good, because I'm sure they tend to be more nutritious, since not all of the vitamins drain into the water. I don't think I can go back.
Okay, this isn't really #1, it might be more like #3 or #4, but it's been so long that I can't give specifics of my earlier suffings, with a few exceptions:
1) Ovens are much better than stovetops (which leave it mushy).
2) Bullion instead of stock is terrible.
3) Carrots give a sweet flavor that just doesn't taste good.
4) Good stuffing contains: bread, butter, onions, celery, mushrooms, sage, thyme, and rosemary.
This time, I decided to try adding apple. Here was my recipe:
~2 T chicken fat (strained from stock I had made and left in the fridge)
1 T butter
2 celery stocks, diced
2/3 onion, diced
1/2 granny-smith apple, cut into small-ish pieces (a little bigger than 1 cm cubes, but less than 2cm)
1 1/4 c mushrooms, roughly diced (yes, I measured this, it was like 4 or 5 button mushrooms)
7 slices of stale, semi-decent whole wheat bread (each piece about 2"x4"), cut roughly into 1"-2" squares
chicken/veggie stock
pepper, salt, thyme, sage, rosemary
Melt fat and butter in a frying pan, and sweat the celery and onion. Add salt and pepper. Once the onions begin to become translucent, add apple, mushrooms, and more salt and pepper. Stir for a couple minutes, and add a dash of each herb. Once the mushrooms have released their juices, and most of them have evaporated, add the bread. Toss several times to mix. Then, add a couple ladles of stock, until all of the bread is pretty moist, but not falling apart. Pour the mixture into a bread pan, and bake in a toaster oven at 350F for 25 minutes.
My thoughts: Turned out really great. Next time I might want to cook it at either a lower temperature or for less time, since some of the bread on the top was just on the edge of burning. I might want to use a richer chicken stock (right now the stock I'm using is home-made, basically of the parts of veggies and chickens that I would otherwise throw away; this batch is good, but not rich in chickeny flavor). In terms of the apples, I'm not sure, but I don't think I like them. They kind of contrast with everything else a lot. Like, you could really tell if you got an apple in your bite or not, whereas the other parts had more subtle differences. I'm not sure if there is a good way to make the apples taste more like everything else, and everything else taste slightly more of apples, but unless I can they're out.
A few possible ideas for next time: try mincing everything small and see if I like the texture better; try adding dry cranberries; maybe try cornbread; maybe try browning the onions; search for other mystery ingredients (nuts? other veggies?).
Oh, last thing, unrelated: I discovered that you can make mashed potatoes out of steamed potatoes, rather than boiled potatoes. This is really good, because I'm sure they tend to be more nutritious, since not all of the vitamins drain into the water. I don't think I can go back.
Palov #1
Inspired by my recent travels, I have decided to add a new dish to my "To Learn" list: Palov (also known as Osh). Palov is a traditional Usbek dish, which is essentially a meat-rice-carrot stew. I was given basic instructions for how to make this dish while I was traveling, and tried it a couple times, and now thought I'd have a go of it myself.
For my first trial, I used the following ingredients:
Enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the pan ~1cm, maybe a little more
3/4 onion, cut into strips
1 pork chop, cut into small pieces
2 carrots, cut into match sticks
~1 c rice
~2 c water
Salt & Pepper
I heated the oil in the bottom of the pan, then added the onion. Once the onion started to turn translucent, I added the pork and a good shake of salt. Once the pork looked fairly cooked, I added the carrots, about 5 minutes later, I added the water, along with pepper and more salt. I cooked the mixture for 15 minutes (by the end it had come to a boil), then stirred the rice in and cooked for 20 minutes.
The result was pretty bad. There was way too much oil in this dish, to the point that it ran off the rice and pooled on my plate. Also, this is a dish traditionally made with beef or lamb (though I'm told one can use chicken). I thought that I could get away with pork (even if this is a dish from a traditional Muslim area), but it really didn't mesh well with the dish. Also, after watching several videos and looking up several recipes, I realized I made several other mistakes. I forgot to add in garlic and other spices. I did not cut the onions correctly (they should be cut into semi-circles). Also, apparently the rice is not to be mixed in, but rather just placed on top of everything else.
There is a lot of disagreement online about exact amounts of each ingredient, and about what to do. The video I found that looks the most legit is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_71Q1pOKMnM&feature=related. It makes me regret sleeping through Russian lessons (if that's what they're speaking). Still, it gives me hope for next time.
For my first trial, I used the following ingredients:
Enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the pan ~1cm, maybe a little more
3/4 onion, cut into strips
1 pork chop, cut into small pieces
2 carrots, cut into match sticks
~1 c rice
~2 c water
Salt & Pepper
I heated the oil in the bottom of the pan, then added the onion. Once the onion started to turn translucent, I added the pork and a good shake of salt. Once the pork looked fairly cooked, I added the carrots, about 5 minutes later, I added the water, along with pepper and more salt. I cooked the mixture for 15 minutes (by the end it had come to a boil), then stirred the rice in and cooked for 20 minutes.
The result was pretty bad. There was way too much oil in this dish, to the point that it ran off the rice and pooled on my plate. Also, this is a dish traditionally made with beef or lamb (though I'm told one can use chicken). I thought that I could get away with pork (even if this is a dish from a traditional Muslim area), but it really didn't mesh well with the dish. Also, after watching several videos and looking up several recipes, I realized I made several other mistakes. I forgot to add in garlic and other spices. I did not cut the onions correctly (they should be cut into semi-circles). Also, apparently the rice is not to be mixed in, but rather just placed on top of everything else.
There is a lot of disagreement online about exact amounts of each ingredient, and about what to do. The video I found that looks the most legit is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_71Q1pOKMnM&feature=related. It makes me regret sleeping through Russian lessons (if that's what they're speaking). Still, it gives me hope for next time.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Cobbler #5
Hey all. Sorry it's been so long since I've posted, I've been off traveling the world (and will hopefully have some recipes from that which I will post).
Last night I tried making cobbler again, using a recipe basically identical to #2 (with the exception that now I've added almonds). I really measured out the filling this time, and it was:
2 overflowing cups of frozen whole (tops removed) strawberries
1/4 c water
3 T cornstarch
1/2 c sugar
one big squeeze (~2 T) lime juice (lemon juice would work too, lime juice is what I had)
Put all the ingredients on a stove and bring to a boil, cook until strawberries are thawed through.
For the cobbler topping, I used the same technique as before:
3/4 c flour
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c milk
1 t baking powder
pinch of salt
4 T butter
Mix dry ingredients, add milk and mix until smooth. Pour melted butter on the bottom of the bread pan, then add topping, then add strawberries, then bake for 40 min at 350F.
However, I've said before I wanted to give this more texture, so this time I tried adding slivered almonds to the top. I sprinkled them on top of the strawberry mixture.
I had three problems with this result:
-First, I think the strawberries did not get evenly distributed. I noticed that the fist piece was pretty much all dough. I think in the future I need to be more careful about spreading them out so that the edges of the bread pan get some too.
-Second, the almonds didn't stay on the top, but instead sank into the dough, just above where the strawberries were (though they were integrated into the crust slightly).
-Last, and most important, the almonds actually gave too much texture. When you bit into it, you expected this really soft filling, but instead occasionally got these sharp almonds sticking you in the top of the mouth. So, I think I'm going to scrap the almond idea, and possibly try the Mad Coyote Joe recipe for texture.
Last night I tried making cobbler again, using a recipe basically identical to #2 (with the exception that now I've added almonds). I really measured out the filling this time, and it was:
2 overflowing cups of frozen whole (tops removed) strawberries
1/4 c water
3 T cornstarch
1/2 c sugar
one big squeeze (~2 T) lime juice (lemon juice would work too, lime juice is what I had)
Put all the ingredients on a stove and bring to a boil, cook until strawberries are thawed through.
For the cobbler topping, I used the same technique as before:
3/4 c flour
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c milk
1 t baking powder
pinch of salt
4 T butter
Mix dry ingredients, add milk and mix until smooth. Pour melted butter on the bottom of the bread pan, then add topping, then add strawberries, then bake for 40 min at 350F.
However, I've said before I wanted to give this more texture, so this time I tried adding slivered almonds to the top. I sprinkled them on top of the strawberry mixture.
I had three problems with this result:
-First, I think the strawberries did not get evenly distributed. I noticed that the fist piece was pretty much all dough. I think in the future I need to be more careful about spreading them out so that the edges of the bread pan get some too.
-Second, the almonds didn't stay on the top, but instead sank into the dough, just above where the strawberries were (though they were integrated into the crust slightly).
-Last, and most important, the almonds actually gave too much texture. When you bit into it, you expected this really soft filling, but instead occasionally got these sharp almonds sticking you in the top of the mouth. So, I think I'm going to scrap the almond idea, and possibly try the Mad Coyote Joe recipe for texture.
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