The Interference Recipe thread

[Angela Harlem]

I've started making soup type things recently, and even the kids eat them so they may be ok? I don't use recipes for these either, but last one was essentially 4-5 spuds boiled in vege stock, mashed, 2-3 leeks cut thinly and softened in butter. Season with cracked pepper and salt and maybe a chicken stock cube, add to mushy spuds, blend if you have a hand blender, add 250 odd mls of thickened cream. Done. I grilled crusty cheesey bread with this and was stuffed. The soup is not too high in carbs, but the fat content is possibly off the scales.

 

[yolland]

Not sure if dan (smee) is still following this thread, but today I was browsing a few cooking blogs and happened to spot this recipe for authentic Turkish baklava from a famous restaurant in Gaziantep, Turkey. It sounds very much like the Turkish baklavas I was describing having seen in the US--an all-pistachio filling enriched with a spot of pastry cream, then sweetened with an all-sugar syrup. The author of the recipe mentions that sheep's milk butter and homemade Turkish phyllo are used for the baklava at this restaurant, but that the baklava is still very good without them.

Personally, I prefer a bit of spice in my baklava, but this recipe does sound like it would make a very refined and delicately flavored one (and the pictures certainly look mouthwatering!). I may give this one a try once I get back home...

 

[Lila64]

I was looking for something relatively simple to cook, as I'm not the "chef" of the house. Found this, and tried it last night. Yummy!!!

Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Gravy

Briefly cooking the gravy with thyme sprigs saves the time of stripping the tiny leaves from the stem, but still gives you the herb's woodsy flavor.

Other Time: 20 minutes minutes

2 cups uncooked egg noodles
Cooking spray
1 pound top sirloin steak, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 (8-ounce) package presliced baby bella mushrooms
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (optional)

1. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

2. While noodles cook, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add steak; sauté 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from pan; cover.

3. Melt butter in pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds. Stir in soy sauce. Sprinkle flour over mushroom mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly. Add pepper, salt, and thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thickened. Return beef to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Discard thyme sprigs. Garnish with thyme leaves, if desired.



Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup beef mixture and 2/3 cup noodles)

 

[Bono's shades]

OK, why did it take me so long to start making homemade pizza? (OK, it's not entirely from scratch, but still...) I tried it last week for the first time, and it turned out pretty good, but I tried a different kind of pizza crust mix and pizza sauce this time and it was perfect! Sooooo much cheaper than delivery or frozen, and very tasty.

I used a box of Jiffy pizza crust mix, an 8-ounce can of Contadina pizza sauce and about 6 or 7 ounces of shredded mozarrella cheese. Next time I will add some pepperoni.

 

[VintagePunk]

OK, why did it take me so long to start making homemade pizza? (OK, it's not entirely from scratch, but still...) I tried it last week for the first time, and it turned out pretty good, but I tried a different kind of pizza crust mix and pizza sauce this time and it was perfect! Sooooo much cheaper than delivery or frozen, and very tasty.

I used a box of Jiffy pizza crust mix, an 8-ounce can of Contadina pizza sauce and about 6 or 7 ounces of shredded mozarrella cheese. Next time I will add some pepperoni.

I've been making my own for a year now. You should try to make your own dough, it's not hard, and the results are amazing.

Easy to make Pizza Dough Recipe - RobertsRecipes.com

The only thing I do that the recipe doesn't mention is that once I have the dough shaped in the pan, I cover it and let it rise again for maybe 15 minutes or so. Oh, and I also *very* lightly coat the pan with olive oil - too much and the dough won't stay into place, but I find that a little makes it easier to work with.

 

[Bono's shades]

^ Thanks. I just copied and pasted that into a file I'm keeping on recipes from the Internet I want to try. I was never much into cooking in the past and just did easy, basic stuff, but lately I've become interested in branching out a bit and trying more complicated things and doing stuff from scratch.

 

[arw]

Chocolate Guinness Cake

2 cups Guinness
2 cups (4 sticks) butter, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

4 cups all purpose flour
4 cups sugar
1 T baking soda
1 t 1/2 salt
4 large eggs
1 1/3 cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 350*. Butter or spray three 8 inch pans or muffin pans. If using cake pans, line with parchment paper. Also butter or spray paper.

Bring stout and butter to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat and then whisk in cocoa powder. Stir until smooth. Cool slightly.

In a seperate bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and set aside. Beat eggs and sour cream in a large bowl. Add stout mixture to eggs mixture. Beat to combine. Slowly add flour mixture and fold to blend. Divide batter evenly among pans. Bake about 35 to 45 minutes and then cool completely before removing from pans. Reduce the baking time to 20 minutes if using muffin pans. Use a cake tester to check to see if it's done. If it comes out clean then it's ok to take it out of the oven. This cake is very moist so it's hard to tell if it's done just by looking at it.

thought I'd bump this for anyone that's looking to make a St Patty's Day dessert this week! I made this cake for my work the other day. I glazed it with a Bailey's ganache. I also made eclairs filled with Bailey's mousse. I usually don't eat what I make but I think I had two pieces of the cake at work at 8 am the other day It's sooooo good!

 

[bonocomet]

thought I'd bump this for anyone that's looking to make a St Patty's Day dessert this week! I made this cake for my work the other day. I glazed it with a Bailey's ganache. I also made eclairs filled with Bailey's mousse. I usually don't eat what I make but I think I had two pieces of the cake at work at 8 am the other day It's sooooo good!

My daughter is thinking of trying your recipe, it looks Can you also post how you make the glaze? Thanks for the bump!

 

[arw]

I do a 1:1 ratio of chocolate and heavy cream. So a pound of chocolate and a pint of heavy cream plus 2T of Bailey's (or more!). Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and add the Bailey's. Stir until combined. Also heat the cream and add to the chocolate. You don't want to add the Bailey's to the cream while it's boiling because you'll cook out the alcohol. I just pour it on and let in drip all over the cake You can also poke holes with a toothpick to let the ganache soak into the cake a little. I've seen lots of other glazes for this cake, including one to be white to make it look like a pint of Guinness, but I like this the best.

 

[bonocomet]

Thank you! It sounds sooo good.

 

[bonocomet]

arw, should the butter in the cake be unsalted?

 

[arw]

always unsalted when you bake

 

[bonocomet]

I just wanted to be sure thanks!

 

[bonocomet]

By the way, today (3/14) is pie day anyone baking a pi?

 

[arw]

I want pics of this cake if you make it! I pictures, especially of pastries

 

[bonocomet]

OK will do! She wants to make it on Wednesday. I need to buy another 8in pan though because I only have 2.

 

[arw]

do you have anything bigger than 8? You could always just pour a little more batter into each pan if they are larger....OR, just bake 2 and then put them in the freezer for an hour to chill, pop the cakes out when they are cold, then bake the rest of the batter

 

[bonocomet]

I was actually going to ask you if it would work to use two 9 in pans. Or even just do two 8 in and make a tray of cup cakes to go with the smaller cake. (I loooove warm cupcakes straight from the oven with no frosting )

 

[VintagePunk]

Time for my annual "what I made my daughter for her birthday" post. She's been stressed with exams lately and didn't have time to instruct me much, so one one occasion when I asked her, she said "something with chocolate and cherries" (which was the theme last year, if I remember correctly - she's so predictable), and then another time, she said "some sort of cheesecake." So, I put it all together, and came up with this: a cheesecake with a chocolate brownie bottom, then the cheesecake layer, then a chocolate ganache, then a topping of cherries - I wanted to make my own, but after checking a couple of stores for cherries in juice, I couldn't find any, so I had to go the canned pie filling route - and then topped with some truffles made with the leftover ganache.

 

[arw]

yeah I really don't know why this cake calls for 3 8 inch pans. I only had 1 spare can of Guinness at work the other day to make this (I have a Guinness date cake on our restaurant menu which is unbelievably good.) so I was able to make 4 7 inch pans and had a tiny bit of batter left over.

 

[arw]

Time for my annual "what I made my daughter for her birthday" post. She's been stressed with exams lately and didn't have time to instruct me much, so one one occasion when I asked her, she said "something with chocolate and cherries" (which was the theme last year, if I remember correctly - she's so predictable), and then another time, she said "some sort of cheesecake." So, I put it all together, and came up with this: a cheesecake with a chocolate brownie bottom, then the cheesecake layer, then a chocolate ganache, then a topping of cherries - I wanted to make my own, but after checking a couple of stores for cherries in juice, I couldn't find any, so I had to go the canned pie filling route - and then topped with some truffles made with the leftover ganache.

 

[bonocomet]

omg

 

[VintagePunk]

arw, maybe you can offer some advice about this. How do you make truffle balls without them melting all over your hands? Is the solution a melon baller?

These melted so fast that I had to keep sticking my hands in freezing cold water between each one. Helped a bit, but wasn't very comfortable.


For the rest of the dinner we had pizza, panzarotti (with a tomato and basil dipping sauce) and focaccia, all made from scratch, with the dough recipe I posted earlier, and caesar salad. It turned out well.

 

[arw]

yeah that's how we make them at work. I use a melon baller/small cookie scoop. I also have a bowl of ice water to dip the scoop in to keep it cold and clean. But you also then have to wipe off every drop of water since water will ruin your chocolate. So it's a long, tedious process but if you're only doing a few I wouldn't worry about using ice water.

 

[VintagePunk]

yeah that's how we make them at work. I use a melon baller/small cookie scoop. I also have a bowl of ice water to dip the scoop in to keep it cold and clean. But you also then have to wipe off every drop of water since water will ruin your chocolate. So it's a long, tedious process but if you're only doing a few I wouldn't worry about using ice water.

Thanks. I'll have to remember to pick one up when I'm out.

 

[Bono's shades]

Anybody got a good recipe for chocolate frosting? I tried making some the other day for brownies, but it didn't turn out very good.

 

[misfit toys]

I like Hershey's One Bowl Frosting:

ONE-BOWL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
2-2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter in medium bowl. Add powdered sugar and cocoa alternately with milk, beating to spreading consistency (additional milk may be needed). Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

 

[Carek1230]

Does anyone have a good recipe for Mushy Peas? Believe it or not I fell in love with them in England and a can of them I was bringing home was confiscated in customs....I think the rotty old woman was just hungry as she allowed me to keep my big box of PG Tips tea. I want to make mushy peas and I am on the hunt for a recipe.

 

[bonocomet]

Ok well this photo does it no justice at all, but it was delicious. We decided to just leave the cake as is and let people put the Baileys sauce on if they wanted because some of us prefer just the cake. (Half the cake is still in the baking pan here) The cakes also rose nice and high but of course the photos make them look flat. They weren't. We just made the 2 8in rounds and the extra made warm cupcakes from the oven to die for.

but topping off this meal tonight, it was amazing Thanks for the recipe!

 

[Purplereign]

man this thread is making me hungry . . . . . . that cheescake, those spuds, that guinness