Readers and Reading discussion

I need to use up some grape tomatoes and garlic today, so I am going to roast the tomatoes with olive oil and garlic, S and P (I love them cooked this way) and put this over some whole wheat pasta. I just had lunch at 3 so this will be a late dinner, and that will be enough food.

This sounds good, so nice and simple! One of our favorites is just sauteed broccoli in olive oil, with (lots of) garlic, salt, and a little pepper, mixed with spaghetti or linguini. Yumm!

I have nothing to say here I just want to see if my name comes up with changes. I'm roaming the halls here trying not to get lost. I feel like that first week of each semester when I couldn't find the right room or building in time for a class.

Trying again.....

Sue, I was hoping you of all people would have something to post about COOKING!!!!

Carolyn, that recipe sounds really good. Especially the lots of garlic part.

My roasted tomatoes on pasta were good, but a little sweet for my taste. I would not have to worry about that with the broccoli.

Tonight we are having soup and sandwiches....Sherry posted a recipe on her blog for Potato Watercress Soup which sounded appealing - and easy - to me. She and her husband picked their own watercress...mine came from the grocery store.

Potato Watercress Soup

a cup or so of fresh cleaned watercress, chopped
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 or two cloves of fresh garlic, minced
a can of chicken broth
a can of cream of potato soup, plus a can of milk

Saute the onion and garlic in butter or olive oil, then set aside. Mix together the butter and flour and make a roux, then stir in the chicken broth and the sauted garlic and onion. Cook until it starts to thicken. Stir in a can of condensed cream of potato soup and a can of milk, and at the end add the watercress. In small batches, whirl the soup in a blender until smooth, then return to the pan and heat through.

I made some good potato/leek soup yesterday, I'll post that recipe soon.

We are in a barely cooking frame of mind because we were supposed to be gone this week, so the cupboard is bare. Now that my cold is almost finished (she hopes!) i need to restock the kitchen. Yesterday i made a favorite BBQ sauce, which i sent to a friend who requested it yesterday. I'll share here.

BERT'S SMOKEY BARBEQUE SAUCE

1/4 c. vinegar (lately i've been using balsamic)
1/2 c. water
2 Tbsp. white sugar
1 Tbsp. prepared mustard
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne*
1 thick slice lemon, peel & all
1 sliced, peeled onion
1/4 c. butter

Mix the above in a saucepan; simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered. Then add
1/2 c. catsup
1 1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
2 Tbsp. Worcester Sauce

Bring to a boil; remove from burner.
Makes 1 3/4 c.

*some ground cayenne peppers are hotter than others, so you may want to go for a smaller amount the first time. I also often make two batches & freeze the leftovers, so i can have some onhand at all times, then just nuke it to thaw.

deborah

Deborah, I found this out about the cayenne when I made a recipe of Leslie's (cheese cookies) . Goodness, they were spicy.

Oh, JoAnn, you are right! My first batch of those cheese cookies were eye-watering! LOL!

JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "Tonight we are having soup and sandwiches....Sherry posted a recipe on her blog for Potato Watercress Soup which sounded appealing - and easy - to me. She and her husband picked their own watercre..."

Sherry, this soup was sooo good. I hear that watercress is really good for you - do you know something about that? I loved how much there was in this soup. I added a couple of extra potatoes to make it taste more potatoey. It was delicious!

I was going to cook a nice Easter lunch, but yesterday made reservations instead. We are having bad weather/storms this weekend, And I decided I would rather loll around and read.

Up in North Alabama we used to pick watercress in the creeks all the time. It is so good.

Leslie, I just made reservations for Easter too. Our plans have been up in the air as to where we would be and decided to stay home. I am busy packing for my move to the beach on Monday. So I made reservations for noon because Bob needs to get home to see the Masters at 2.

After last year's Easter disaster at Laura's (my carrot souffle slid across and off her table and landed on the rug, upside down) I knew for SURE I was not going there!

JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "Leslie, I just made reservations for Easter too. Our plans have been up in the air as to where we would be and decided to stay home. I am busy packing for my move to the beach on Monday. So I made ..."

Oh, what a mess that must have been! What a shame!

Carolyn wrote:
Oh, what a mess that must have been! What a shame!
===========================================

Yes, it was a mess and the rug was ruined. I bought them a new one. Carrot stains really badly.

A recipe from a good-cooking friend. We reallly liked these.

Baked Sweet Potato "Fries"

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled (I use three)
2 T. olive oil
1 T. light brown sugar
1/2 t. kosher salt plus more for sprinkling
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Halve the potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into 3 long spears.
Place these on a sheet pan and toss with the olive oil.
Combine brown sugar, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on potatoes.
Bake for 15 minutes then turn with a spatula.
Bake for another 10 minutes until lightly browned.
Sprinkle lightly with salt and serve hot.

These do sound good, JoAnn. I'll have to remember to buy some sweet potatoes next time I shop.

we're cooking lunch for the congregation at church this sunday, something we do once a month. Often it's a big dinner but because it's spring I wanted something light. We've made three kinds of soup, gallons and gallons of it, and we're serving this with lahvosh sandwich wraps, fruit platters and lots of cookies. Channeling my Martha Stewart self I've grown 12 shallow dishes full of fresh grass and I'm sticking real daisies in the mini fields of green grass. Since we still have just a few piles of snow on the ground I thought those would be good centerpieces.

Sue, I love the centerpiece idea. If the grass gets too long, will you have to mow it before Sunday? (just kidding).

How many people will be eating the lunch and what kinds of soup did you make?

I didn't know how long it might take to grow the grass, I started about two weeks ago and I've cut it twice! I wish it would do that on my lawn. I never know how many people to expect at these lunches but I always plan for at least 100. If there are leftovers we've been able to use them for other church functions. For this Sunday I've made that potato-leek soup, turkey noodle (leftover turkey from another event) and spinach-lentil.
My DH and I do this together and have fun with it.

JoAnn, on the main screen on GR where they sometimes show you "popular" boards, I saw they had a cook book board. It's called Books for Cooks. The board is open to the public.


http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/5...

JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: " A recipe from a good-cooking friend. We reallly liked these.

Baked Sweet Potato "Fries"

I love sweet potatoes, but DH usually turns up his nose at the propect. Maybe these would work. How sweet do they become with the added brown sugar?

Marcy, the effect of the added small amount of brown sugar is negligible, but there is some caramelization kind of sweetness that happens.

I do sweet potato fries all the time, but I usually just cut them in chunks and spray some pam type olive oil on them, and bake at about 425 for 20 minutes or so. I never thought of brown sugar on them but I am sure it would only make them better. BUT I better not try it because i would probably like it too much.

Baked Sweet Potato "Fries"

JoAnn, I made these last weekend when my daughter and her family stopped by on their way to Disney--they were delicious! Will definitely make again.

Carolyn (in SC) C234D wrote: " Baked Sweet Potato "Fries"

JoAnn, I made these last weekend when my daughter and her family stopped by on their way to Disney--they were delicious! Will definitely make again..."

Glad you all liked them Carolyn!

Tonight I am cooking a wonderful fish called HAKE (also known as steak fish). It is a really ugly fish, but is just incredibly delicious. SOOOOO mild. Around here, it is sold in fairly thick pieces, but not as thick as tuna or swordfish.

I just discovered hake a few weeks ago. I looked recipes up online and found that people in Spain are crazy about this fish.

One recipe said to take the fish, drizzle with olive oil, then top it with garlic and lots of paprika...and bake. I think I baked it at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi...

I am doing as this article mentions...cooking twice as much as I will eat tonight and using the rest on salad tomorrow.

Last night I made my first chicken pot pie. It is neither made out of fresh vegetables nor low cal, but it was EASY.

I boiled some boneless chicken breasts, about 3 good sized halves, in some spiced up water. Then I put the shredded chicken in a casserole dish. I mixed 2 cans of cream of chicken soup (I did use low-fat)with some of the chicken broth, then put a couple of handfuls of frozen mixed vegetables into the mix, and topped with a slightly thawed frozen pie dough. I baked it about an hour at 350. DH thought he had died and gone to heaven,

oh, Les, that sounds good, and easy. Thanks for the idea!

JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "Tonight I am cooking a wonderful fish called HAKE (also known as steak fish). It is a really ugly fish, but is just incredibly delicious. SOOOOO mild. Around here, it is sold in fairly thick pieces..."

I love those thick fish like Tuna and sword fish! I will have to ask about this fish in Haddonfield as I doubt Pathmark would have it! We are trying to eat more fish. I find thinner fish like Talapia and flounder to be kinda boring...its just me I guess!

Hake is not quite as firm and thick as swordfish, but is a lot thicker than tilapia.

I make a wonderful swordfish recipe from Giada. I actually cut the s'fish in half, horizontally, so it is not as thick. Then I dip it in egg and then in panko breadcrumbs, saute it in olive oil, and serve it with a salad on top of it...field greens salad with a lemon vinagrette dressing. So every bite you take of fish, you also take a bite of salad.

Here is the recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/gi...

I do not pound the fish....do not like what that does to the texture, so I slice it to make it thinner.

Great dinner ideas! We enjoy our fish, too, so the cooking suggestions will be used. We only started using panko crumbs recently, thanks to a catfish lovin' neighbor. Yum!

Salad atop the fish must be a wonderful presentation, as well as a tasty way to assure it's eaten with the greens. Neat.

Leslie, thanks for the Chicken Pot Pie idea. I love those, DH not so much, so we limit it. But, frankly, the ease with which yours is made means we'll have it a bit more often. Be confident that your name will be mentioned if he complains. ;-)

deborah

I can handle it, Deborah! Tough skin here.

Oh, Leslie, then perhaps i should hang more to your name? ;-)

deborah

This thread has been dead lately, so maybe my new GRITS recipe will get things going. I think even if you think you don't like grits you will like these:

Cheese Grits Squares

Stir 1 1/2 cups of quick cooking grits and a half a stick of butter (1/4 cup) in 3 cups of boiling water.

When they have thickened, add 16 oz (yes, 1 pound) of shredded cheddar cheese, or whatever kind suits your fancy, and stir til cheese melts in good with the grits.

Let cool a bit, and then add

1 tsp minced garlic
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp salt

Spread in a 9x13 pan and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350.
I lined the pan with parchment paper to make it easier to clean up.

Let cool, cut into squares. These can be frozen and taken out as needed and heated in the microwave or oven.

I think next time I may add some jalapenos to it.

I took them to the lake and everyone loved them.

Leslie,

I'm not a grits eater, but this looks good. I have some questions though. You serve it cold? Oh wait, you say reheat in the microwave. Hmmm..... It's a side dish, right? What do you serve with the grits?

Kate

I have made this Tomato Salad with Red Onion, Dill and Feta
twice in the last ten days. It is such a nice change from a salad made with greens. I forgot the mint, and it still was okay. The second time I made it, I did not put the feta in the salad but put it on top of individual servings because this recipe made so much and I like my feta more "pristine". I have found a great source for delicious feta, imported from Greece and packed in brine in 5 gallon cans. They cut it for customers, cover it with brine, and it will keep for three months that way.

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/su...

I also skipped the soaking-the-red-onion-in-water step the second time and could no perceive any difference.

Last week I also made Ina Garten's Mustard Chicken Salad. It was incredibly delicious....and I am not a big fan of mustard. Even Bob, who does not like chicken salad, thought this was great.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/in...

Leslie, whenever I see shrimp and grits on a restaurant menu, I must order it. One of my favorite things.

Kate, we just had them heated up with breakfast. But they would make a good side with shrimp, pork, whatever. I think they are better warm, but I did get one down stone cold. :)

Leslie, thanks for the recipe. I lost my baked grits recipe in our move, it appears. The only ingredient i remember as being different was Tabasco but can't recall how much i used. Loved the cheesiness!

JoAnn, the recipes you shared sound refreshing. DH is a Big Fan of mustard, so i see that dish in our immediate future.

Thank you both.

deborah, wishing i had a recipe to share but the well is dry

Thanks Leslie! I'm going to try those grits.

kate

JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote: "Last week I also made Ina Garten's Mustard Chicken Salad. It was incredibly delicious....and I am not a big fan of mustard. Even Bob, who does not like chicken salad, thought this was great."

Holy tamales! I am making this dish tonight but was dismayed that the dressing called for 1 Tablespoon salt. This is in addition to the salt on the chicken before roasting. JoAnn, did you use that much? If not, how much did you use? TIA

deborah

Deborah, I think you can leave the salt out of the dressing and just use it as needed or wanted on what you are eating.

I cannot remember what I used, but will confess that I am a saltoholic with low blood pressure!

I made an amazing and easy dessert last night...no one would ever guess how easy it was. I did not, however, do the ice cream part, just the pastry. It would be good served with some form of dairy product, though.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

JoAnn, we eliminated the salt, as the mustards provided enough for our tongues. It was delicious--"It's a keeper!", DH announced. The tarragon, picked from our garden, was the crowning touch. Thanks for the link.

deborah

madrano wrote: " It was delicious--"It's a keeper!", DH announced. ..."

funny, my husband said the same thing and he does not like regular chicken salad, never eats it! But this was definitely a different "take".

Maybe it's the mustard? For my husband it is. He enjoys his mustard & all sorts of variations on them.

deb

I thought i'd give ya'll a hollar. Years ago our North Dakota garden produced an overabundance of cantaloupe. I wouldn't have thought the growing season was long enough but there were tiny melons, the size of a baseball, some larger. When i mentioned the glut a friend told me that her grandmother used to make syrup from her extra cantaloupe. I made some & it was even enough to can.

Move ahead decades and i am craving that but cannot find a recipe online. (Apparently i tossed the one i had.) I'm thinking to puree melon & add a simple syrup. Oh! I just remembered! My friend told me her grandmother made cantaloupe jelly, so i tried but it didn't gel yet made a delicious pancake syrup. Ah ha! Perhaps i should just try that? Any thoughts on another way to do this? Anyone here tried this?

deborah

I have never had anything made from cantaloupes, Deborah, but it sounds good.