Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Shop, cook, eat, drink, post, repeat.
 
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 11:49 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 103 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1 ... 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11  Next
Author Message
 Post subject: Re: My Cookbook Project
PostPosted: Sat May 18, 2013 11:31 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 1:03 am
Posts: 5280
Location: Portland, OR
So, trying to use some of the new cookbooks I've acquired, I just made Seafood Gumbo from Tom Fitzmorris.

Even though I took some shortcuts with the stock, it was still delicious.

_________________
The Fuzzy Chef
Serious Chef iz Serious!


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My Cookbook Project
PostPosted: Sun May 19, 2013 2:48 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:34 pm
Posts: 2011
My daughter chose Jeruselum as the next book but I have not had a chance to cook from it. I hereby abandon the week time limit. I have chosen a couple new recipes to try though!

Mary


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My Cookbook Project
PostPosted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 1:56 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 7:50 pm
Posts: 2062
Foods of the World: Chinese Cooking

This installment of the series was written by Emily Hahn, a Midwesterner who lived and taught engineering in Shanghai prior to World War II. In fact, she spent the war in an internment camp in Hong Kong. It's definitely one of the better reads in the series. It has more depth and is less "travelogue-y" than most of the series. Ms. Hahn is passionate about Chinese food. For the requisite comparison to French food, she declares Chinese food to be hands-down better. She even likes Shaoxing wine. The recipes are by Florence Lin with help from Grace Chu. Most of the photographs were taken in Taiwan and Hong Kong, since mainland China was closed to Americans in 1967, but there a few photos done by a Swedish journalist in communist China.

Ms. Hahn included some sample menus so I decided to do an entire Chinese dinner rather than just a couple of dishes. Here is what I made --

Drunk Chicken -- This turned out very tender and flavorful. I poached the whole chicken, then used half of it for the Drunk Chicken and stuck the rest in a food saver bag for later use. It also leaves one with some very nice broth for other dishes.

Roast Pork -- This will now be my go-to recipe for Char Siu. It was super easy and much tastier than CI's.

Fresh Asparagus Salad -- Maybe not so traditional, but again very simple to do. Plus, it can be made a few hours ahead. It's basically just blanched asparagus in a soy sauce/sesame oil dressing.

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Lobster Sauce -- Wow, was this one ugly dish, but it tasted amazing. I will surely be making this again. Also, it was the maiden run of my newly re-seasoned wok.

We also had rice, jasmine tea, a Czech pilzener, and a slightly fancy version of those almond cookies you get at a Chinese buffet.

My only quibble with these recipes, was that the instructions for what size to cut the pork strips was clear as mud. Between the picture of the finished dish and many re-readings I think I got it right, though. Otherwise, the recipes are great -- reasonably easy to follow and the results were belt-looseningly delicious.


You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My Cookbook Project
PostPosted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 10:20 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 1:03 am
Posts: 5280
Location: Portland, OR
JB,

Looks good. I'll have to see if I have that one.

_________________
The Fuzzy Chef
Serious Chef iz Serious!


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My Cookbook Project
PostPosted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 8:57 pm 
Offline

Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2011 7:53 pm
Posts: 946
I made Ina Garten's roasted figs with prosciutto appetizer from How Easy is That? (Yup, that's about where I'm at cooking wise these days). Drizzled with balsamic at the end to serve, although this wasn't called for. Not bad for virtually no work (cut fig in half, roll in meat, bake at 425 for 10-15 min).

_________________
Carey


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My Cookbook Project
PostPosted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 11:24 am 
Offline

Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:18 pm
Posts: 1244
cmd2012 wrote:
I made Ina Garten's roasted figs with prosciutto appetizer from How Easy is That? .


This inspired me to create a new drinking game for Ina Garten's show...Take a shot for each:
"How easy is that?"
“Don’t tell Jeffrey!”
“Turn up the volume!”
mention of her store

I do like some of her recipes, but don't really like to watch her show.

OK, hijack over. Carry on.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My Cookbook Project
PostPosted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 3:17 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:34 pm
Posts: 2011
I abandoned my project for a while after 3 weeks of visitors and a (very cool) trip to Barcelona. I wanted to jump back in and got out the Jerusalem cookbook and tried to find a recipe my mother-in-law would eat. I had to go all the way back to the dessert section. I made the fruit and cream crumble. The crumble part was white and whole grain flour, brown sugar, butter and walnuts baked on a sheet pan. The cream was a mix of Greek yogurt, mascarpone and whipping cream mixed with vanilla, ground star anise and a bit of sugar. They gave 2 possibilities for the fruit compotes, one fresh figs and the other something and guava. Or do your own they said, so that is what I did. I bought some rhubarb and, with the help of The Flavor Bible, added cardamom, a vanilla pod and a splash of Marsala wine. I assembled them in small glasses. It was very good and could be made ahead (I did the rhubarb and crumble yesterday and assembled it in the early afternoon). The recipe said it was 4 servings but I made it into 6 and think it could easily be 8. That said, we all finished ours.

I don't know what I will make next but I want to do something with the lemons I preserved with my friend Christine.

Mary


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My Cookbook Project
PostPosted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 3:24 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:37 pm
Posts: 3404
Location: Telluride, CO
Saffron and preserved lemon risotto, along with favorite (white or shellfish) protein choice.

My $.02.

Amy


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My Cookbook Project
PostPosted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 3:29 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:34 pm
Posts: 2011
That sounds fantastic, Amy. I am seeing grilled lobster with that combo. We made tons of lemons so I will be asking for more suggestions. Ottolenghi has quite a few recipes as does Dorrie Greenspan (her tuna confit with preserved lemon is to die for).

Mary


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: My Cookbook Project
PostPosted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 7:44 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2009 7:50 pm
Posts: 2062
Foods of the World: American Cooking -- Dale Brown - author; James Beard - recipe consultant; John Clancy - test chef. This was a great read for anyone interested in food history, both as a time capsule of American cuisine in 1967, and for the overview of the history of American cuisine. Strangely, French food was barely mentioned at all.

It was difficult to pick a recipe from this book. Most of the recipes were really not everyday fare and a few of them were pretty dated. It has long been a desire of mine to make a retro dinner with things like Tomato Aspic and the one in this book looks excellent, but I just couldn't see my family sitting down to a big ol' plate of gelled tomato soup, no matter how delicious. Perhaps I should have been braver.

Anyway, I made the Chile Con Carne. It was very basic, but also really good, just a simple dish of beef stewed in spices, broth, and a little tomato paste. It had none of the "secret" ingredients I've come to expect from chili recipes. If I were being cynical, I'd say it was dumbed down for a wider audience, but that doesn't really fit in with other recipes in the series. If anything, most of the recipes I've looked at or cooked from these books seem like the most fully loaded versions possible. My guess is that this is Texas Chili before 4.5 decades of chili heads and chili cook-offs got hold of it. If I were to give a complete noob a recipe for Chile Con Carne, I'd give him this one and tell him to experiment. It's so basic and so good on its own, that it makes a great foundation for the cook's imagination to embellish.

I also made the Butterscotch Brownies. They were an utter failure. Mr. Brown seems impressed with the American cook's natural baking ability. Perhaps the recipes developers thought that meant that we didn't need such luxuries as clear instructions. Oh well, I'm peeved at the lost ingredients, but I see my mistake and will try it again sometime. Not soon, though, I have pineapple and rhubarb that both need to be cooked up in the next couple of days. I won't be hearing complaints about the lack of desserts this week.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 103 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1 ... 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11  Next

All times are UTC - 7 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
Template made by DEVPPL/ThatBigForum