Culinaria: recipes, memories ...

[Aunflin]

No problem, though I wish it would have turned out good...I ended-up throwing it out...the half-raw dough and the yummy toppings just didn't work for me...

[ChoChiyo]

My Dad's Buttermilk Pancake REcipe

1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup flour
1 tbsp. sugar (optional--I leave it out)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder


Whisk egg and buttermilk together; add dry ingredients (sift if you are anal. I never do. Heh heh)

Mix just til blended.

Pour onto hot greased griddle or frying pan.

These are light, fluffy, and DE-licious.

I tried them with Kvetch's suggested honey and fresh lemon juice and they were MARVELOUS.

yummy

This makes enough to satisfy me and my mom--but if you are a hearty gentleman, I'd suggest doubling the recipe.

[Darb]

That's a fairly standard recipe. case in point.

The thing that makes them individual is what you cook em on (I prefer a well-seasoned, well-oiled, cast iron griddle for the most even heating, but a HD non-stick pan will do), and what you put on em.

I like to improv stuff. For instance, here's one to try. I'm sure it's been done before - this kind of stuff is fairly common in fancy brunch restaurants - you learn one, you learn em all ... it's all variations on a theme. Cook your pancakes and set aside on a warmed ceramic plate, tented w/foil. Then make a topping: soften some freshly peeled & sliced apples in a little sweet butter (or peanut oil) until al dente, then add & flame a splash of brandy or calvados, then add sugar to taste. Reduce until semi-thickend and apples are tender, but not disintegrating. Serve over cakes w/knob of sweet butter, and a fresh grating of nutmeg or a dusting of cinnamon sugar (whichever you have handy)

You can do something similar by sauteeing diced pinapple and a complimentary spice and/or liqueur. Bananas also work, and pair nicely with crumbled walnuts ... I'd recommend rum for that.

[ChoChiyo]

Yummmm Bananas and nutmeg sounds good to me.

[Darb]

Dont forget walnuts ... bananas love em. PX sherry too. Basically, it's bananas foster served over pancakes. Like I said - it's all variations on a theme.

[Darb]

Man, I love shopping at the local Indo-Pak markets around here. You cant beat their prices for basic no-frills staples.

Case in point - I swung by one on the way to work today, ostensibly just to replenish my supply of tamarind concentrate, and while I was there I grabbed a 4.4 kg sack of red lentils for like $4. A whole pint of toasted sesame seeds was like $1.50. Oversize 5 gal jugs of assorted vegetable oils (too much for me to even consider buying) were all like $8-12 each. 10 lb sacks of the finest aged basmati were all $6-11. A kilo of loose assam tea, only $6-7.

Rice, nuts, lentils, oil, fresh herbs ... all of them far cheaper than the local supermarket.

It pays to shop around.

[Aunflin]

pilaf: This rice- or bulghur-based dish (also called pilau) originated in the Near East and always begins by first browning the rice in butter or oil before cooking it in stock. Pilafs can be variously seasoned and usually contain other ingredients such as chopped cooked vegetables, meats, seafood or poultry. In India they're highly spiced with curry. Pilaf can be served as a side dish or a main dish.

So, there are numerous ways of making pilaf, though in my experience most people don't brown the rice before adding stock--and I can tell the difference. The flavor is better (IMO) when the rice is browned--it just adds something unique.

[mccormack44]

Yes, I did know there were numerous ways, and I'll accept them all — even extended to orzo and the middle eastern pasta whose name escapes me — but ONLY if there is some seasoning beyond the broth. That's when I get my dander up about the menu.

Rice cooked in broth is just rice.

Sue

BTW if it ISN'T rice it should be named "Pasta pilaf" (Orzo pilaf) or whatever.

[tollbaby]

do you mean couscous?

[mccormack44]

Yes, thank you.

I couldn't think where (among my over 300 cookbooks) to go to look it up; but I do have recipes — untried — for couscous pilaf.

[Aunflin]

I've used couscous as a substitute for orzo in Italian Wedding Soup--it turned out quite yummy. (For some reason my manager can't find orzo on the order guide at work...)

[Darb]

So, there are numerous ways of making pilaf, though in my experience most people don't brown the rice before adding stock--and I can tell the difference. The flavor is better (IMO) when the rice is browned--it just adds something unique

Whenever I make Indian rice dishes, I usually sweat the spices in oil first (to flavor the oil with the oil-soluable volatiles from the spices), then add the onions (and hot peppers, if called for), and when the onions are tender (or golden, if called for), I'll add the dry uncooked basmati. I'll saute the rice in the seasoned oil long enough for the rice to absorb (and get coated by whatever they cant absorb) all the seasoned oil ... during which they turn opaque white** (or the color of whatever spices you used). I'll add the stock last ... then simmer for 9 mins until 'craters' form (I can explain if anyone needs me to), then I cover it, shut off the heat, let it stand for exactly 13 minutes, then dump the entire put into a half pan and fluff it with a paddle, to shed the excess steam and separate all the rice ... this also cools it and prevents the rice from turning pasty.

-----------------
** I've never sauteed rice to the point where it actually turn brown. Perhaps you're referring to either browned butter, or perhaps baking the assembled pilaf uncovered until the surface turns crusty & golden brown (ex: paella) ?

[mccormack44]

When I'm making Italian Rissoto (a process I learned from my aunt who learned it from here Italian-born neighbor), I do "toast" the rice in the oil until it turns sort of golden, before adding the rice and the saffron. I don't fix this very often, as saffron is SO expensive, and cheaper rice dishes are equally good.

I had assumed I was supposed to do this with pilaf also; thanks for the alternate method.

Sue

[Darb]

When I'm making Italian Rissoto (a process I learned from my aunt who learned it from here Italian-born neighbor), I do "toast" the rice in the oil until it turns sort of golden, before adding the rice and the saffron. I don't fix this very often, as saffron is SO expensive, and cheaper rice dishes are equally good.

I had assumed I was supposed to do this with pilaf also; thanks for the alternate method.

Sue

Side note: Risotto is a slightly different critter than a classic pilaf ... the former is more of a thickened porridge (made with a special variety of highly glutinous rice), whereas the latter is more of a rice casserole (if done paella style) or a flavored rice dish (if done in a closed pan). In any case, I havent really browned the rice for that either ... I usually just saute the rice long enough to absorb the clarifed butter I used to soften the shallots, and turn opaque. I'd be curious to hear more about this browning tip myself, because I'm always on the make for new tricks, and it's a new one on me.

As for saffron ... it's not horribly expensive, provided you know where to look. Granted, there are plenty of websites that charge a bloody fortune for the stuff ($40-60+/ounce), but I have a thriving indo-pak community not too far from my house, and the shops there sell 1 oz tins of reasonably high quality saffron (usually spanish, but sometimes greek or turkish ... I prefer spanish) for about $14-18/oz. I figure that 1 oz (picture a snug pouch the size of a pack of cigarettes), even with fairly extravagant use, is enough to last my wife and I (and the occasional dinner party) for 1-2 years. A little saffron, with proper use, goes a long way.

Saffron Tips:
* Always check the harvest date to make sure it's fresh. If it's old, ask if they have something fresher ... they'll pawn the old stuff off on someone less attentive than you - especially if they're not a regular customer.
* Make sure the tin has been sealed against tampering by the company that packed it. No seal means no sale ... walk away, and dont look back. Remember that $15-30/oz is $240-480+/lb ... which makes tampering at the wholesale level a REAL problem, especially in poor 3rd world countries, hungry for inflation-resistant US dollars.
* Always buy it in thread form - powdered vareties are usually doctored with turmeric (see tampering above). In other words, don't let yourself be robbed.
* Buy it in 1 oz tins, for maximum value - the little glass tubes of 1/10th oz are terribly overpriced. Keep what you can use in a year or less, and give away the rest to your cooking friends ... they'll ooh aaah over it.
* If you have a lot of culinary friends, and a digital postal scale accurate to 1 gram, then you can do a group by of 1/4 or 1/2 lb of saffron, and divvy it up (I've done this on occasion).
* Always store it in a cool dark dry place, in glass ... and better still, store just a month's supply in your spice bottle, and keep the rest in a vaccum-sealed jar, to refill it with, for maximum shelf life. Of, if you lack a vaccum sealer, you should (with the aid of a stout wooden dowel, for a bartender's fruit muddler) be able to just barely compress 1 oz of threads into a standard spice bottle ... with a fair bit of pounding and packing. The tight packing & lack of air will help it to stay fresh longer - and when you need a little, just use the tip of a fork to rake out a few threads from compressed plug).
* For maximum extraction, do the following ... drop threads into a very warm (but not too hot) pan, and shale them around just long enough for them to become slightly brittle, then sweep then into a shotglass. Wait a moment for them to cool, then using your fingertips (make sure they're clean and dry), crumble them to powder. Then add something slightly acidic to extract their essence. Vinegar or lemon juice work fast, but are not always appropriate for the dish your making. A dry white wine (or a little vodka) works fairly well, and blends well into most dishes. Milk also works, albeit very slowly. Add to your dish with the other liquids, and the start of the simmering process ... the longer it simmers, the more flavor is extracted from the saffron. Better still, put the dish away after cooking it, and re-heat it the next day, for maximum saffron flavor.

[Darb]

If people dont mind, I'm going to split the pilaf & saffron discussion out of the 'pet peeves' thread and over to one of the culinary threads.

[Darb]

... done

[Hunter B]

Does anyone have any good (and simple) recipes for chicken? I just checked through this whole thread, and could only find two. One was very complex, and one was my own, also pretty complex (kinda).

My kitchen is only moderately stocked, but, I can go out and buy a few things if needed.

Thanks for the help,




Hunter

p.s. Can I also get a good side dish with potatos? (besides the basic mashed)

[tollbaby]

well that depends... how do you like your chicken? Baked? Fried? Casserole? Soup? Salad? Grilled? Stuffed?

[StefanY]

Easy recipe for chicken parmesan: (Unfortunately, I don't have any measurements, as I just throw the ingredients together.)

I use boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut them in half, thickness-wise.

For coating:
Equal amounts Bread Crumbs and Grated Parmesan Cheese (I usually use Kraft Parmesan Romano blend) For a low-carb alternative, substitute Keto Crumbs for the Bread Crumbs

Garlic salt to taste

Fresh ground Black Pepper to taste

Italian Seasoning to taste. (I just use a premixed blend of Italian Seasoning that you should be able to find in the spice isle of your grocery store.)

Mix these ingredients together in a shallow dish. (A pie pan works great.)

Preparing and cooking

For 2 breasts (4 pieces once split), I beat together 2 eggs with a little milk.

Heat a large frying pan or skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil (about 1/2 inch covering bottom of pan).

Dip chicken into coating, shake off excess, then dip into egg mixture. Let excess egg run off then dip back into coating thouroughly coating both sides. Carefully put chicken into hot oil, cover and fry until golden brown on bottom (about 5 minutes). Flip Chicken over and cover again until other side is golden brown (about 5 minutes again.)

This can be eaten as is, or for a more Chicken Parmesan-type dinner, add a slice of mozzarella cheese in the last minute or minute and a half of cooking and top with some marinara sauce.

[Darb]

well that depends... how do you like your chicken? Baked? Fried? Casserole? Soup? Salad? Grilled? Stuffed?

My question exactly.

GMTA

[Darb]

Dip chicken into coating, shake off excess, then dip into egg mixture. Let excess egg run off then dip back into coating thouroughly coating both sides

TIP: Rather than 2 trips into the same coating, I've found that the final coating bonds a little better if the first coating (before the egg wash) is plain flour ... flour + egg makes a better adhesive (than crumbs + egg) for the 2nd trip to the crumbs. Also, if you dont have regular breadcrumbs or panko handy, you can buzz dry stale bread in a food processor, and add some seasonings.

[StefanY]

Dip chicken into coating, shake off excess, then dip into egg mixture. Let excess egg run off then dip back into coating thouroughly coating both sides

TIP: Rather than 2 trips into the same coating, I've found that the final coating bonds a little better if the first coating (before the egg wash) is plain flour ... flour + egg makes a better adhesive (than crumbs + egg) for the 2nd trip to the crumbs. Also, if you dont have regular breadcrumbs or panko handy, you can buzz dry stale bread in a food processor, and add some seasonings.

Good tip. However, my significant other is on the low carb side of the diet, so flour is definitely out. We go with the Keto crumb version ourselves.

BTW, the coating also works great for baking and is very good on pork chops and chicken fried steak.

[tollbaby]

Brad, you ever tried buzzing Special K cereal with some FRESHLY GRATED (Kraft be damned) Parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper for 2 seconds in the food processor? nice and crispy

[Darb]

Does anyone have any good (and simple) recipes for chicken?

"Beercan Chicken" is pretty straight forward, if you can get whole chickens in the 3-4 lb range, have a tallboy can of beer handy, and a small pie pan. Lemme know if you want it.

[Darb]

Brad, you ever tried buzzing Special K cereal with some FRESHLY GRATED (Kraft be damned) Parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper for 2 seconds in the food processor? nice and crispy

I've never done it myself, but yes - I've seen recipe variants involving substituting crushed cornflakes as part or all of the coating, for chicken or pork cutlets.

Oh, and bless your soul for grinding the infernal 'green box' grated cheese (and I use that term loosely) underfoot. Yuck. Vile stuff.