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Dinner Tonight? (2-2-09)
- Thread starter jglass
- Start date
chubbyalaskagriz
New member
Welcome to master-chefdom, cookie!
jglass
New member
I am making a recipe from the book Cathy sent me for lunch. It is omelet soup in chicken broth. For dinner I am making cazones loaded with sweet italian sausage, mushrooms and green pepper. I made a cherry crumb pie for my brother this morning. He is supposed to stop by later.
The Ironic Chef
New member
I love Calzones. As soon as I get around to making up some homemade Ricotta cheese I will make a few. I like ham, Ricotta and Provolone or Mozzarella Calzones the best.
That is exactly what I did this morning with the very last of the homemade ricotta. I made a Calzone. I can't wait to dig in.
The Ironic Chef
New member
There is another ethnic version of the Calzone called a Runza. I'm thinking, that they are a Russian, German and Polish inspiration. The Runzas that I grew up with were a bread dough filled with sour kraut, ham and potatoes. Some make them with ground beef and cabbage. They were a nice winter comfort food.
Cook Chatty Cathy
New member
Interesting. I believe every nationality has some sort of "Pocket" sandwich, in Michigan the Upper Peninsula folks eat something called a Pasty, a meat and veggie filled creation, it uses more of a pie dough than a yeast dough. They use beef, potatoes, turnips, carrots and seasoning wrapped in pastry and baked. As you mentioned IC they are sorta a winter comfort food. The wives used to make them for their husband lumber jacks who would keep the wrapped pasties in their pocket for lunch and it was a nice filling warm lunch in that horrid cold - there is also a Puerto Rican and Jamaican type meat filled pocket sandwich. And in Morocco they use Phyllo dough to make a similar type sandwich. I like all varieties, wether they have yeast dough or Pie type or Phyllo dough wrap.
cookie
New member
On stove top, I made 3 chicken breast in vodka sauce ( from a jar, Classico). I added 3 cloves of crushed garlic (from press) let it cook slowly until chicken was done.
I Poured sauce over Angel-hair wheat spaghetti, put chicken pieces on top.
*Topped off chicken with provolone cheese. The garlic, made this dish perfect. Cookie
I Poured sauce over Angel-hair wheat spaghetti, put chicken pieces on top.
*Topped off chicken with provolone cheese. The garlic, made this dish perfect. Cookie
The Ironic Chef
New member
I'm going to make some homemade breaded chicken cutlets tonight along with mashed potatoes and gravy, with a nice green salad.
The Ironic Chef
New member
Easy Gravies.
I make several very easy homemade gravies Cookie.
For a country gravy, equal parts flour and butter, 2 tablespoons of each, melt the butter and mix in the flour. Slowly mix in 1 cup of milk. Stir well until the gravy thickens. Lower heat and simmer to cook off the raw flour taste. Salt and pepper to taste. I love lots of fresh ground pepper in this and sometimes a dash of nutmeg goes well with it too. This is a great gravy for chicken fried steak or to even crumble cooked sausage or ground beef in.
For really easy chicken or beef gravies,
2 cups of stock, 2 tablespoons of corn starch, mix together in a sauce pan, bring to a boil while stirring, reduce heat and simmer.
Cornstarch gravies thicken while cooling so if the gravy doesn't appear thick enough when it comes to a boil, keep that in mind. Cornstarch can be mixed with a small amount of water to make a slurry and can be poured into a hot gravy to thicken it further if you don't get the thickness you want. Just make sure that if you add a slurry, to stir as you add it and only add a tiny bit at a time. This can also be done with flour but if the liquid and flour are not mixed enough you will get miniature dumplings when adding the flour slurry.
Cornstarch keeps the gravy the color of the stock. If you want a gravy from flour, use 2x the amount of flour to the amount of cornstarch. Remember that for every cup of liquid use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch or 2 tablespoons of flour.
I really like to use a product called Better Than Bullion. It's a paste that comes in a jar. They have chicken, beef, and fish. They all come in a low sodium. If I want creamier gravies like that of a cream of chicken soup, I use half and half or evaporated milk for the liquid.
I make several very easy homemade gravies Cookie.
For a country gravy, equal parts flour and butter, 2 tablespoons of each, melt the butter and mix in the flour. Slowly mix in 1 cup of milk. Stir well until the gravy thickens. Lower heat and simmer to cook off the raw flour taste. Salt and pepper to taste. I love lots of fresh ground pepper in this and sometimes a dash of nutmeg goes well with it too. This is a great gravy for chicken fried steak or to even crumble cooked sausage or ground beef in.
For really easy chicken or beef gravies,
2 cups of stock, 2 tablespoons of corn starch, mix together in a sauce pan, bring to a boil while stirring, reduce heat and simmer.
Cornstarch gravies thicken while cooling so if the gravy doesn't appear thick enough when it comes to a boil, keep that in mind. Cornstarch can be mixed with a small amount of water to make a slurry and can be poured into a hot gravy to thicken it further if you don't get the thickness you want. Just make sure that if you add a slurry, to stir as you add it and only add a tiny bit at a time. This can also be done with flour but if the liquid and flour are not mixed enough you will get miniature dumplings when adding the flour slurry.
Cornstarch keeps the gravy the color of the stock. If you want a gravy from flour, use 2x the amount of flour to the amount of cornstarch. Remember that for every cup of liquid use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch or 2 tablespoons of flour.
I really like to use a product called Better Than Bullion. It's a paste that comes in a jar. They have chicken, beef, and fish. They all come in a low sodium. If I want creamier gravies like that of a cream of chicken soup, I use half and half or evaporated milk for the liquid.
Cook Chatty Cathy
New member
Great recipes IC!
Cookie,
You can make good gravy if you just follow IC's directions, if you want a brown gravy you can use flour browned in oil in a skillet until it gets sort of copper colored then while wisking constantly stir in your water or broth or pan drippings (like from a pot roast) it will thicken nicely and after you get it the right consistency you add salt & pepper to taste.
Also if you want to darken a gravy that just turned out too light in color and looks anemic, you can color it by adding some left-over coffee, or a liquid called "Kitchen Boquet". You can buy the "Kitchen Boquet" in any grocery stores condiment aisle, or perhaps on the spice aisle.
Also there is a really terrific gravy that goes great over rice called "tomato gravy" you brown your flour in the oil in a skillet and instead of adding water, milk or broth you use canned tomatoes as your liquid. You can thin it if it's too thick with a little added water. Then salt & pepper and serve. My kids loved tomato gravy over their biscuits too!
Once you make gravy a few times it will become so easy you can do it with your eyes closed
Cathy
Cookie,
You can make good gravy if you just follow IC's directions, if you want a brown gravy you can use flour browned in oil in a skillet until it gets sort of copper colored then while wisking constantly stir in your water or broth or pan drippings (like from a pot roast) it will thicken nicely and after you get it the right consistency you add salt & pepper to taste.
Also if you want to darken a gravy that just turned out too light in color and looks anemic, you can color it by adding some left-over coffee, or a liquid called "Kitchen Boquet". You can buy the "Kitchen Boquet" in any grocery stores condiment aisle, or perhaps on the spice aisle.
Also there is a really terrific gravy that goes great over rice called "tomato gravy" you brown your flour in the oil in a skillet and instead of adding water, milk or broth you use canned tomatoes as your liquid. You can thin it if it's too thick with a little added water. Then salt & pepper and serve. My kids loved tomato gravy over their biscuits too!
Once you make gravy a few times it will become so easy you can do it with your eyes closed
Cathy
chubbyalaskagriz
New member
Maya Angelou tells a neat meat-pie story in her cookbook.
She tells of an Arkansas mother who suddenly finds herself single- left to raise several children all alone.
Too proud to accept government assistance, she immediately puts a plan into action.
She walks to the distant general store, shops during the day and then cleans her house, feeds her children, and puts them all to bed early. She sets her alarm clock for the early wee-hours, and after only a bit of sleep, rises to spend hours cooking her delicious homemade meat-pies.
After she sends her kids off to school, she loads her hand-made, uncooked meat-pies along w/ lard and cast iron cooking kettle onto a wagon and pulls it 4 miles down a dirt road to the nearby foundry. She lights a fire, heats the kettle of grease and fries her pies just as the foundry's worker's are coming ourside to eat their packed lunches.
She sells the pies fresh and hot for 50 cents. Then after this break, she packs-up and wheels her cart back down the road in the opposite direction to another plant, and she sells her cooled meat-pies to the workers there for half-price.
She makes enuf to buy the ingredients for the next day's pies.
Next day, she does the same thing, 'cept she takes the wagon first to the second plant so they're sure to get the fresher hot pies today- taking the leftover cooled ones to the other foundry, last. Doing this ensures that each group of workers gets equal share to the hottest, freshest pies on alternate days.
After many months of this, soon the woman's delicious meat-pies have earned quite a following. She finally has all the workers exactly where she wants them!
Starting the first of the month she posts signs at each place advertising that now she will no longer go to them- they must walk a bit and come to her.
She builds a tiny little shanty of a kitchen with a small front porch w/ a bench, on a stretch of lane exactly half-way between the two places of employment. This way the customers travel to her and her fantastic meat-pies only continue to grow in immense popularity, and soon, the woman can sleep a little later as she continues to work hard to sell her pies and raise her family.
She tells of an Arkansas mother who suddenly finds herself single- left to raise several children all alone.
Too proud to accept government assistance, she immediately puts a plan into action.
She walks to the distant general store, shops during the day and then cleans her house, feeds her children, and puts them all to bed early. She sets her alarm clock for the early wee-hours, and after only a bit of sleep, rises to spend hours cooking her delicious homemade meat-pies.
After she sends her kids off to school, she loads her hand-made, uncooked meat-pies along w/ lard and cast iron cooking kettle onto a wagon and pulls it 4 miles down a dirt road to the nearby foundry. She lights a fire, heats the kettle of grease and fries her pies just as the foundry's worker's are coming ourside to eat their packed lunches.
She sells the pies fresh and hot for 50 cents. Then after this break, she packs-up and wheels her cart back down the road in the opposite direction to another plant, and she sells her cooled meat-pies to the workers there for half-price.
She makes enuf to buy the ingredients for the next day's pies.
Next day, she does the same thing, 'cept she takes the wagon first to the second plant so they're sure to get the fresher hot pies today- taking the leftover cooled ones to the other foundry, last. Doing this ensures that each group of workers gets equal share to the hottest, freshest pies on alternate days.
After many months of this, soon the woman's delicious meat-pies have earned quite a following. She finally has all the workers exactly where she wants them!
Starting the first of the month she posts signs at each place advertising that now she will no longer go to them- they must walk a bit and come to her.
She builds a tiny little shanty of a kitchen with a small front porch w/ a bench, on a stretch of lane exactly half-way between the two places of employment. This way the customers travel to her and her fantastic meat-pies only continue to grow in immense popularity, and soon, the woman can sleep a little later as she continues to work hard to sell her pies and raise her family.