Food again - the Dyes cooking thread.

[Crystal]

[[If this isn't the place to post about this, let me know and I'll delete it.)

Where can I buy pine nuts a pound or so at a time? For years we bought two pound bags at Costco. Then, my understanding is that Costco stopped selling them because it was thought some people were getting ill from a fumigant used on the pine nuts, which were from China. Anyway, pine nuts have not been available at Costco for quite a few months.

I bought a one pound bag at Meijer a month ago, but have not seen them since.

Ideas?

[oldredfordette]

Trader Joe, Westborn and Holiday Market have bulk pine nuts.

[sumas]

Just curious, what do you make with pine nuts. I use pine nuts in guquimole [[sp) what else should I try them in?

[oldredfordette]

You can put them in salads and pilafs. You should toast them first to bring out the flavor.

[Pam]

Just curious, what do you make with pine nuts

Pesto.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/fresh_basil_pesto/

[Crystal]

Yes indeed, salads and pesto! I bought a pound today at the People's Food Co-op in Ann Arbor. Had fresh basil and fresh baguette, and a hankering for pesto.

[gazhekwe]

Bread Pudding [[Like Eph's?)

4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups milk, 2% or higher [[if you only have skim, just add another T butter)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar [[If you don't have dark brown sugar, use light and add 1 T molasses
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg [[or 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla beans, or two teaspoons vanilla extract
6 cups cubed day old deli rye
2 tablespoons sugar


Heat the oven to 350F and spray a medium casserole dish with non-stick spray.
In a large bowl whisk together the butter, milk, brown sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla. Whisk to mix.
Add the cubed bread and fold to coat. Let stand for five minutes, folding the mixture occasionally to make sure the custard is evenly absorbed.
Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and evenly sprinkle the two tablespoons of sugar over the top. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed all over. Allow to stand for thirty minutes before serving.

I use this matrix for any kind of leftover bread, cake, biscuits. It's rich and yummy.

[stromberg2]

Do you have the whiskey sauce recipe that goes with it?

Stromberg2

[gazhekwe]

I've never liked whiskey sauce, but this is a pretty standard recipe. If you check the 'net, the recipes all seem to look like this:

WHISKEY SAUCE:
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons whiskey, Bourbon, or brandy, or a little more

Cream butter and sugar together; blend in the beaten egg. Put mixture in top of a double boiler over gently boiling water and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in whiskey, Bourbon, or brandy. Spoon warm sauce over pudding and serve.

[gazhekwe]

This came up in the Best Thing I Ever Ate in Detroit thread. I had to find out what it is:

Korozot-Hungarian dish

0.3 kg. curd, 50 ml. beer, 1 bulbs, 2-3 tea spoons paprika, 50 g. clivochnogo oil
In finely crushed curd, add butter and razmyagchennoe zamesit in homogeneous mass. Then add the beer and place [[if acid curd, the beer needs to be from 50 to 70 mL). Then add the finely chopped Onions, salt, sugar and paprika. KOROZOT is a mass of roses, which should use to rub on white bread.

11 oz curd cheese [[farmer, cottage, ricotta, or ?)
3 T + 1 tsp to 1/4 c + 2 tsp beer
1 finely chopped onion
2-3 tsp paprika
2 oz oil [[butter) What IS clivochogno oil?
salt and sugar to taste

Blend butter and cheese together until smooth, add the beer, then the onion, paprika, salt and sugar. Serve to spread on crusty white bread slices.

[BRAZZMAN]

[[If this isn't the place to post about this, let me know and I'll delete it.)

Where can I buy pine nuts a pound or so at a time? For years we bought two pound bags at Costco. Then, my understanding is that Costco stopped selling them because it was thought some people were getting ill from a fumigant used on the pine nuts, which were from China. Anyway, pine nuts have not been available at Costco for quite a few months.

I bought a one pound bag at Meijer a month ago, but have not seen them since.

Ideas?

Get pine nuts at BULK FOODS - $19.95 lb. Middlebelt & Ford Rd or East side on Harper. Rocky Peanut in Eastern market wants about $27.00 lb. Call first.

[oldredfordette]

My god the tomatoes are awesome this year. As is the corn. I'm overdosing on fresh vegetables.

[jams]

You are in trouble!

I inherited my Mom's cookbooks, she collected them for over 50 years. as well as the files and clippings. Damn, there are sooooooo many interesting recipes to try and to share.

First example:

MUDPIE
Crush 1/2 package of vanilla wafers. Mix with 1/4 pound melted butter.
Press into 9" pie plate.

Cover with 1 gallon soft coffee or chocolate ice cream

Put in freezer until firm.

Top with cold fudge sauce, I recommend Sander's.

Store in freezer at least 10 hours, remove and cut into 8 sections. Top with whipped creme ans slivered almonds.

If this doesn't send you into a glorious brain_freeze coma check your pulse!

[Bigb23]

I just had a big laugh on this one.

That's right folks, deep-fried beer pockets. Finally, a reason to live again!

Ever since the inauguration five years ago of the Big Tex Choice Awards at the Texas State Fair, food vendors have been deep-frying the impossible in their pursuit of the Most Creative and Best Taste awards.
As the Dallas Morning News reports, the Fried Beer was the result of a painful process of trial and error for creator Mark Zamble. His initial efforts kept exploding once they hit the fryer, and he kept getting burned. Zamble has already applied for a patent and trademark for Fried Beer, which appears to be a pocket of pretzel dough filled with its signature beverage.

My God that sounds delicious. Scalding hot beer and fried pretzel dough all in one bite? It's like I won the culinary lottery. Quick Robin -- to the Fry-Daddy! And put some f***ing pants on, I'm not driving your ass to the ER in the Batmobile if you burn your wiener again. What? I've been drinking!
Fried Beer Comes to the Texas State Fair [slashfood]
and
State Fair Food: Deep-Fried Beer [abcnews)

This was from www.geekologie.com which also has caffeinated marshmallows and a story on why toaster bacon sold in the 70's failed.

[Bigb23]

This website is a bacon lovers delight. The name of the cupcake is in the link.

http://www.royalbaconsociety.com/blog/bacon-recipes/french-toast-maple-bacon-cupcakes/comment-page-1/#comment-15161

[oldredfordette]

Just got a big box of organic tomatoes from a family member. Cooking them down to make a ratatouille with the eggplant that came with them.

My kitchen smells so lovely, I wish I could freeze up that unmistakeable scent for when the snow falls.

[sumas]

You remind me, I haven't made ratatouille in a long time. I like to cook it down thick and use cumin to spice it up. Serve on french baquette with melted swiss cheese. Got that recipe from Emily's.

[oldredfordette]

I make a spice blend with cumin seeds, cardamon seeds and black pepper, toast till just browned, then ground in my spice grinder. Lovely with the rat.

[sumas]

Don't think I have ever cooked with cardamon seeds. Next time I do rat.... I will give your suggestion a try. I don't have a spice blender, just use a coffee grinder, works great.

Tried grilling steaks with a commercial steak spice blend. While I like salt and pepper, it was over the top salty. Ruined the meat flavor.

[oldredfordette]

I have a coffee grinder that I use for spices. It was really really really cheap and it ends up working better than the more expensive one[[s) I have to keep buying to grind coffee.

You'll really like the cardamon with the cumin seeds. You're house will smell like a middle eastern bazaar as a bonus. It makes a fine steak rub if you ad coarse sea salt.

[oldredfordette]

I have some new acorn squash, I'll make a stew with tomatoes and eggplant and onion and pepper, roast the squash and ladle the stew inside. Top with my spice mix described above. Taste of Michigan late summer!

[gazhekwe]

What are you cooking for Thanksgiving?

I want to keep my dishes as native as possible, so I will be cooking my turkey plain, stuffed with leeks. If you clean the leeks well and throw in a little white wine, they can be served as a side dish. I lay strips of bacon over the breast and top of drumsticks before I put the turkey in the oven. I am getting a fresh free range bird this year from Plum Hollow Market, still time to order.

Mashed sweet and white potatoes with butter and sour cream

Creamy Baked Brussel sprouts [[BHG Recipe)
Nonstick cooking spray
1 medium onion, quartered and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. butter
2 lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
1 tsp. snipped fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese or Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 1-1/2-quart oval gratin
baking dish or baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a 12-inch skillet cook onion and garlic in butter over medium heat
for 3 minutes or until softened. Stir in Brussels sprouts and thyme. Cook
for 4 minutes or until onions begin to brown. Add broth. Bring to
boiling. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes or until broth is
nearly evaporated. Add whipping cream and nutmeg. Cook for 4
minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Transfer to prepared baking
dish. Stir in half of the cheese, all of the salt, and pepper. Sprinkle with
remaining cheese.
3. Bake, uncovered, 20 to 25 minutes or until Brussels sprouts are tender.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Stewed Cranberries

1 quart cranberries
1 1/2 - 2 cups sugar
1 cup water
Wash and pick over the cranberries carefully, put them in a saucepan with 1 cup water, cover and stew till tender; then strain them through a sieve; return the pulp to saucepan and boil for a few minutes; add the sugar and stir and boil just long enough to melt the sugar; rinse out a mould with cold water and sprinkle with granulated sugar; pour the cranberries when nearly cold into the mould and set it in a cool place to get firm

Maple-cinnamon pumpkin pie
1 single crust pie shell [[I so cheat and use Pillsbury)
2 cup pumpkin meat or 1 15 1/2 oz can pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375, prepare and roll out crust or follow directions on Pillsbury package.
Combine pumpkin, sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt. Add eggs, beat with fork until combined. Gradually add milk, stir until combined.
Pour filling into pie shell, cover edge with foil. Bake 25-30 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

Top with Maple Whipped Cream.
1 cup chilled whipping cream
1 T pure maple syrup.
Combine and beat until soft peaks form. Or put into one of those whipped cream jugs with the CO2 cartridge, shake to combine well.

Someone is bringing fresh rolls, yum! We have a bottle of Traverse City Cherry Wine and a nice Pinot Blanc.

I could use another side dish, might put out a plain green salad with dried cherries and walnuts.

[oldredfordette]

I'm fond of oven roasted cauliflower. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, 450 oven till the florets get nice and carmelized. Eat them hot or cold, just delicious.

Or brussels sprouts, same treatment only with bacon and slivered onions.

[gazhekwe]

My pies are done! I used maple sugar, really traditional.

Four small pie pumpkins made enough pumpkin puree for three pies, plus about 1 cup left over for waffles on Sunday. I'll post that recipe when I make up my mind what to do.

Red, the cauliflower sounds awesome, but we have a guest who doesn't like it. She will eat brussels sprouts though she's not sure about them. Doesn't like broccoli either, go figure. She made awesome green bean casserole and corn pudding last year.

[sumas]

Thanks Red and Gaz, you both have such great receipes.

Today, Thanksgiving, we will just do the old traditional stuff. Does anyone else do creamed onions? No one in my family can quite figure out how this became a traditional entree.

Our contribution this year is the pies. I remember in years long past we were assigned pies. We didn't have a rolling pin or pastry cloth and knew little about baking. In good faith we shopped for ingredients the day before Thanksgiving. Seems everything easy was sold out. We even had to make homemade whipped cream. If our family knew what we did to create those pies I doubt they would have asked us to make them this year. For the record we now know how to make the little suckers.