THE OFFICIAL: Recipe Exchange Place

[Jeannie]

Hi ladies
The croutons you buy in grocery stores taste like cardboard. Just buy a loaf of sliced Italian bread,cut it into bite size pieces. Put them in a bowl and add extra Virgin Olive oil, fresh parsely,basil, salt,pepper and 5 cloves of grated garlic and stir . Put them on a cookie pan and roast for about 15 minutes in an oven at 350 degrees.
I'm so glad you like garlic Lefty. Lenny Bruce said it best. " Italians are just happy Jews" Hope you and the family are well. I miss you Hon.

Love
Jeannie

[Lydia]

Hippo Pôt de Mousse

16 lbs. Bitter Chocolate
2 lbs. White Sugar
2 lbs. Brown Sugar
½ cu. Vanilla Extract
11 gal. Heavy Cream

In a large pan, melt the chocolate over boiling water. Add sugar and vanilla. Continue cooking until sugar is dissolved (about 3 days). Set aside to cool.
Pour cream into a well-scrubbed kitchen sink. Using a small Jacuzzi pump, whip the cream until stiff peaks form.
When you have recovered, fold the chocolate mixture into the cream. Shovel into serving bowls.

Serves 3.

Hugs,
Lydia

[Jeannie]

Hi Hon
That sounded great until you got to the kitchen sink and the Jaccuzzi pump! A mixing bowl and wisk will suffice.
I just cooked for the monkeys tonight and one of those vegans. I made a spinach salad with chick peas,anise(Or fenoke as we Ginnies call it) with olive oil,fresh basil, parsely,wine vinegar and garlic.
In case they complained I also made a string bean salad with Grey Poupon and red wine vinegar. I finished dinner off with fresh strawberries and fresh pineapple in a serving dish with a bit of balsamic vinegar,a touch of sugar after a short stay in the freezer for 20 minutes with a bit of fresh mint on top. A blast of flavors! Sounds bad but tastes great! Hugs

Love
Jeannie

[DonnaT]

You need a spot on the Food network, Jeannie. Give the Barefoot Contessa a run for her munchies.

[Jeannie]

Hi Hon
I sent a demo tape and idea to the Food Channel. "In the kitchen with Auntie Jeannie" It would be part cooking and part reality show especially when my son,his boyfriend Jason, their voice and organ teachers and all their other Gay friends come over for dinner. It's quite a sight to see Donna and not pretty if they're in a bitchy mood. Perfect for reality TV! They make Amorosa look like a Girl Scout.
Last time I talked to his Organ teacher,Alan we were talking about Gays and Transgendered. He said" If they killed all the Gay men it would create a huge organist shortage around the world!" Alan has a great sense of humor.
Have a wonderful weekend ladies. My son is playing his piano in the next room and learning a couple of new songs to sing and play at one of his gigs on Sunday. It's disgusting. He has four masses. Two on saturday and two on sunday. He gets $125 bucks a pop and $35 more if he sings. What the freak I'm I doing wrong Donna! He picks ups 5 or 6 hundred bucks a weekend and checks the obits everyday. That's another $150 for a funeral mass. Those organists are cleaning up and know one knows.
Weddings are even more lucrative. The bride and groom can get taken to cleaners for 2,3 or even 400 bucks. They get you coming and going Donna.


Love
Jeannie

[DonnaT]

What's my brother doing wrong? He sings and plays the guitar at mass, and doesn't get a dime.

[Carolynn]

This is one of the recepies from Cat, the Rescue Gourmet. And it worked really well.

Grilled Balsamic Short Ribs

Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 85 mins
Makes: 6 servings (or if its a pot luck, cut them in two pieces so more people can get a taste.)

Ingredients
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon peeled and minced ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and crushed
1 orange
1 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds beef short ribs, cut crosswise by the butcher
Olive oil, for brushing
DIRECTIONS: Combine the vinegar, soy, honey, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano and coriander in a small bowl. Finely grate the zest of the orange and lemon into the marinade. Season with salt and pepper. Put the ribs in a baking pan and pour the marinade over them. Turn with tongs to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or as long as overnight.

Place a grill pan on the stove over medium-high heat, prepare a fire in a charcoal grill, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high. Brush the grates with oil to create a nonstick grilling surface for cooking the ribs.

Remove the ribs from the baking pan, discarding the marinade. Grill the ribs until slightly charred and crispy, about 3 minutes on each side, turning with tongs. Remove from grill and transfer to cutting board. Chop each rib into 3 or 4 pieces, if desired. Put the citrus halves on the hot grill, cut side down. Grill the orange and lemon for 1 minute to slightly char the flesh. Serve the grilled citrus with the short ribs

[Michelle Miller]

Tired of mashed potatoes or a bland side dish with your fried chicken?

Try this: Red Beans & Rice

You'll need 2 cans of red kidney beans
1/2 stick of butter
1 1/2 cups of instant rice
1 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic powder(you can vary the following amounts to taste)
2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp paprika

Mix 1 1/2 cups of instant rice with an equal amount of water, along with 1/8 stick of butter and a dash of garlic powder(to taste) and 1 tsp salt, prepare according to package directions.(I microwave it for about 7-9 minutes)

In a frying pan, combine the rest of the butter, the beans, garlic powder, pepper and paprika and heat over medium, using a potato masher to mash some of the beans as they heat up, leaving about 1/4 of the beans alone. Continue heating until thick, stirring also until it's just about the consistency of peanut butter.

Serve over the prepared rice, in individual servings and enjoy with your favorite "country" meal. I like it with fried chicken myself.

[Patti D]

Purchased a stoneware bunt cake pan today.
Girls at work has told me to buy regular cake mix and put in cake pan.
Pour icing over the top.
Put in micro wave for 12 minutes
The icing will melt down to the bottom and be mix will rise
After it cools turn thecake over and dump the cake on a plate the cake will come out and the icing will be melted and run down the sides.

Will let you know how well this works.

[BabyDoll(SO)]

HERE'S ONE I HOPE YOU WILL LIKE YOU WILL NEED 1 BOX OF LORNA DOONES OR SIMILAR,1 12OZ. CARTON COOL WHIP,1 16OZ.SOUR CREAM,1 LG. PKG. OF INSTANT VANILLA PUDDING,1 CAN- REG.SIZE PINEAPPLE CRUSHED (YOU CAN USE HEAVY OR LIGHT) LINE BOTTOM OF 9X13 PAN WITH COOKIES(FOR CRUST) IN A LARG BOWL,MIX COOL WHIP AND SOUR CREAM TOGETHER.ADD THE WHOLE CAN OF PINEAPPLE. ADD THE INSTANT PUDDING. MIX WELL AND LAYER ON TOP OF COOKIES.REFRIGRATE AT LEAST 1 HR.SPOON OUT AND IN JOY.

[Kelly]

I threw up a couple of choices for stuffed mushrooms the other day on the A or B thread. Apparently, the alternatives aren't as common as I thought.

The world is missing some great mushrooms, so I am sharing the recipes. [Besides, this thread has gotten stale and I have been looking for a reason to get it going again ]

No set amounts, I plan on 3 or 4 mushrooms per person, the stuff I add in is a portion of that.

COMMON PROCEDURES.

o Clean your mushrooms.
o Remove as much of the stem as possible without breaking up the cap.
o Cut off the end of the stem and any yucky parts on the stem and discard.
o Finely chop between 1/4 to 1/3 of the remaining stems.
o Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

PESTO STUFFED MUSHROOMS.
o Do the common procedures.
o Mix into the chopped stems pesto, about an equal amount as the stems.
o Generously spoon the resulting mixture into the hollowed out mushroom caps.
o Place mushrooms on lightly greased cooking sheet
o Bake in oven for 20-30 min. or until lightly browned.

NUT STUFFED MUSHROOMS.
o Do the common procedures.
o Finely chop or crush nuts (peanuts, walnuts, almonds, macadamia, your choice) an equal amount as your chop stem material.
o mix nuts with stems and a trace amount of bread crumbs, finely shredded cheese, and whatever aromatic herb suites your fancy.
o mix in enough virgin olive oil to make the mixture a dryish thick past.
o allow to sit about 30 min.
o mix again, and spoon mixture into the mushroom caps.
o Place mushrooms on lightly greased cooking sheet
o Bake in oven for 20-30 min. or until lightly browned.

NOTES:
I haven't mixed the kinds of crushed nuts, might be interesting. Sometimes I think hazelnut might be a good idea, other times I don't.

For aromatic herb I have tried sage, thyme, rosemary, even ground clove(!) the trick is to treat the nose, not the taste bud, erring to the conservative is important.

Sprinkling on some parmesan cheese or beacon bits (if available) before popping in oven is a nice option.

If you are concerned about your mushrooms being too dry after baking, lightly spray with PAM prior to baking.

Pesto: I have learned that there are a lot of pesto variations out there!! I like the classic basal based but if you have one that is a personal favorite, go for it.

Enjoy.

[RylieM]

Heres one for my familys old meat pie its a french canadian recipe that's been handed down for now at least 6 generations i'm currently the only one in mine capable of making it right then again tmk no one else has ever asked my grandmother from my current generation. It go modified slightly during the depression but both my grandmother and great grandmother thinks it came out better. Whenever someone brings this to a reunion or party its gone almost before it hits the table. It takes a hr 1/2 to a hr 45 to make but what my mother does is double up the recipe and freeze the extra meat after its done so she can make the next one quicker.

Requires:
3/4 Lb Ground Beef (we use a 80/20 split)
3/4 Lb Ground Pork
1 Large Onion
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Pepper
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
3 Cups Breadcrumbs

Mix the hamburger, pork, 1 tsp salt, 1/8th tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup of water, and one whole large onion grapefruit sized approx. Slow cook for 1 hour stirring constantly don't let it burn! Next mix in 3 cups breadcrumbs and 1 cup boiling water. Preheat the over to 425 we recommend you put just the bottom crust in your pie pan and let it sit in the oven for a few minutes helps make sure your bottom crust doesn't get soggy. While the meats still hot add it to your pie add the top crust place in the oven for 30-40 minutes and enjoy!

[Debbie Jean]

I do all the cooking at home now that my wife has become (temporarily I hope) disabled due to recent spinal fusion surgery. I guess my cooking has resulted in weight loss for both of us. I am now able to wear my old size seven panties that I haven't been able to get into for years. So I guess my cooking could be rated as "lousy". My signature burrito is the exception to that rule however.

So here it is:
1. Lay out a burrito size soft flour (or corn) tortillia on a dinner plate, make sure it's microwaveable, don't want to wreck anybody's good China here.
2. Spoon on some re-fried beans.
3. Shred a hard corn taco shell into fingernail-sized pieces and sprinkle over the beans.
4. Skip this step if you want vegetarian, else sprinkle with diced (cooked) chicken or any other cooked meat.
5. Sprinkle with diced Jalapeños and/or diced Habenaros.
6. Top with a layer of Habenaro and Jalapeno laced cheddar.
7. Spoon on some of Mrs Renfro's Ghost Pepper Salsa.
8. Fold into a burrito, and nuke for 60-90 seconds, depending on microwave wattage.
9. At the table, smother the whole thing in either melted butter or Taco Bell fire sauce.
10.Previous to eating, don't forget to say grace before meals (divine intervention needed here if you're a hell-fire newbie) and be sure to have the
phone number of the fire dept handy.

eat and enjoy,
Deb


*** Topic merged to proper ongoing topic by SL. ***

[Annie]

Awesome recipes!
This is one of our favorites:


Tuscan-Style Roasted Game Hens

1 onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
6 Rock Cornish game hens
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
6 thin slices pancetta

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Combine the onion, celery, and carrots in the bottom of a roasting pan. Set the hens on top of the vegetables and drizzle with the olive oil. In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, rosemary, sage, black pepper, and salt. Rub the herb mixture over the hens until well coated. Lay a piece of pancetta over the breast of each hen, and secure each piece with 2 toothpicks. Roast the hens for 15 minutes. Decrease the temperature to 350 degrees, and continue roasting until the hens reach an internal temperature of 155 degrees, about 45 minutes. Let sit at room temperature for 3 to 4 minutes before serving. Serve warm.