The Recipe Thread

[Tenjen]

i dont think so.

[mac2]

I wouldn't know if you did or not. Please do

[midgetshrimp]

No, but you should, for damn sure.

[Asaryu]

If you do I'll make some and feed it to Ugo.

And if I get the chance before it all disappears, I'll take a photo of it too.

[Fen]

That earlier post on Hungarian food made me want to make some Gulyas:P. Will make some this week.

Anyway, I think this is a Romanian recipe(the internet says it is...), but since most Romanian cuisine isn't actually Romanian, it may not be. AAaaanyway. So a simple one.

note: since I suck at culinary terms... processed cheese comes in a tube. It's also called buttercream.

kneaded cheese
The best part about kneaded cheese is that you can get creative with it:P. For this one I used salty cheese, processed cheese, butter and parsley. The butter is mandatory, the processed cheese is highly recommended if you're going to use a mixer, and you can replace salty cheese with pretty much any kind of cheese. Or more kinds. Or Tofu(Tofu is particularly good in this recipe). My grandmother usually makes a combo various types of hard cheeses+cottage cheese. Parsley is a must, but you can use other spices as well (dill is also commonly used)
For this one I used around 300g of salty cheese, 80-100 g of processed cheese and 30-50 g of butter.
First you take the salty cheese and dice it, then add the butter and processed cheese and knead them till there are no more big bits. Then mix them using a mixer till you get a nice texture. I always find myself adding more processed cheese and butter, but today I ran out of processed cheese so I had to leave it a bit less creamy than usual. And voila.



After you make the cheese you can it eat on bread, or fill various vegetables with it. (Usually we use bell pepper or tomatoes). Also good as crepe filling:P. And in cakes. Or as topping on pasta(rare). Or simple. It's an all-in-one

[Dirty n Evil]

Here's my Superbowl Sunday recipe - Lamb & Spinach Subs!

Ingredients
¼ Red Onion (chopped)
Fresh Baby Spinach (rinsed)
Sliced Calamata Olives
Feta (and or Goat) Cheese
Sun Dried Tomato Spread
3 or 4 Rolls (see critiques, below)

Specifically for Cooking Lamb
1 Leg of Lamb, Sliced and Trimmed (instructions included in cooking directions)
¼ Cup of Balsamic Vinegar
½ Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Dried Rosemary
2 Tablespoons of Dried Thyme
4 Tablespoons of Minced Garlic
½ of a Lemon's Juice

Cooking Untesils: large skillet, spatula, knife, measuring cup

Cooking Directions
Before cooking, take leg of lamb and cut into strips about ¼ inch thick. Then trim excessive fat off of these strips, and irregularly cutting lamb into pieces roughly about one inch by two inches. Lamb is fairly lightly marbled with fat, so don't get too excessive trying to trim it all out... just clean away any solid veins of white. Put lamb into a sealed freezer bag or plastic container. Mix ingredients of vinegar, olive oil, rosemary, (ect.) well in a mixing bowl, and then add to bag / container with lamb. Stir about, ensuring all cuts of lamb are coated. Allow to marinade at least one hour.

When ready to cook, rinse off spinach and chop up onion. Put skillet on high heat - the lamb will taste best when cooked quickly, but only for a brief period of time. Stir often with spatula, so no piece gets under cooked and no piece gets over cooked (the result one is looking for is slightly warm pink interior of the meat). Turn meat to low, stir a bit more to ensure everything is sufficiently cooked. Add all desired ingredients to roll, consume!

Critiques
Paul "It's really good... like a Mediterranean inspired cheesesteak. The bitterness of how the lamb was cooked compliments the earthiness of the cheese and the slightly acidic flavor of the sun dried tomatoes... I bet this will go really good with a beer!" (Gets a dark brown beer) "Oh, yeah, this is perfect to drink with a beer."

Zeus "The breading was a bit much using a roll... I think if it was placed on a big but good quality bun, it would work out better. Stack the lamb up a bit higher, more in each bite. But other than that, it was really good."

[GothPoet]

Rotini with Salsa di Limone

Ingredients

* 1 pound rotini pasta
* 1 1/4 pound Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 large lemon, zested and juiced
* 1 cup crumbled ricotta salata cheese or feta cheese
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.

Place the hot pasta in a large bowl. Add the tomatoes, olive oil, lemon zest and juice, ricotta salata cheese, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Toss to combine, adding the remaining pasta water, if desired. Serve.

[GothPoet]

Mango Pancakes

Pancakes made from flour, grated coconut, mango pulp and cooked rice and filled with mangoes and fresh cream.

Cooking Time : 20 min.
Preparation Time : 10 min.

Serves 4 to 6.
For the pancakes
3/4 cup plain flour (maida)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
4 tablespoons shredded fresh coconut
2 mangoes, pureed
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup cooked and cooled rice
1 to 2 tablespoons oil
For the filling
1 mango, chopped
1/2 cup fresh cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
For the garnish
1 tablespoon castor sugar

For the pancakes
1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except the oil and make a smooth batter.
2. Heat a little oil in a non-stick pan, pour 1 tablespoon of the batter and spread evenly to make a circle.
3. Cook evenly on both sides till golden brown.
4. Repeat this process for the rest of the batter.

For the filling
1. Peel and chop the mango into small pieces.
2. Whip the cream with the powered sugar till peaks form. Combine with the mango.

How to proceed
1. Spoon a little filling on each pancake and fold neatly into a semicircle.
2. Repeat with all the pancakes.
3. Arrange on a serving plate and sprinkle castor sugar over.
4. Serve immediately.

Tips
If mangoes are not in season, use pureed bananas instead and adjust the sugar accordingly.

[GermanMerc]

@ GothPoet
Is there some option to replace the coconut stuff with something else?
Cause i have ppl here who dislike coconuts or allergic to them.

[GothPoet]

You could try jicama for the fresh coconut, and just about any other kind of milk for the coconut milk. If you like almonds, perhaps almond milk.

[GermanMerc]

Thx, Gothpoet.
I will give it a try when im doing next familiy breakfast.

[GothPoet]

Note, if you decide, for whatever reason, to make your own almond milk, (by combining ground almonds with water in a blender,) do not use bitter almonds. THe combination of bitter almonds and water produces cyanide. And that would be bad.

[midgetshrimp]

[GermanMerc]

Dont get me ideas liker that.
After i have a dislike for more than 90% of my family and do have to cook for them occasionally.

[mac2]

I threw a bunch of stuff in a skillet for lunch today and it turned out really good, so I'm going to write it down before I forget.

Pork Tacos

Last night I cooked a couple of pork tenderloins for dinner. I cut them into chunks and seared them on all sides in a cast iron skillet with a little oil, them put the skillet in a 350 degree oven for about 40 min.

Today I used the same pan from last night, with all the brown stuff from searing the meat still in it. I added a little more oil and cooked about 2 tablespoons of finely chopped red onion with a half teaspoon each of minced garlic and ground cumin. When the onion was soft I added a half a cup of chicken broth and let it come to a simmer. Then I scraped up the brown stuff off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon and stirred in about a half a tablespoon of chipotle pepper puree and let everything simmer until it thickened.

While the sauce simmered I shredded a cup and a half of the leftover meat. A couple of minutes before the sauce was as thick as I wanted I dumped the meat in the pan and stirred to coat. Then I just let it simmer for a few more minutes until the meat was heated through and most of the liquid was absorbed.

I served the filling with a stack of warm corn tortillas. I had mine plain, but you could add any of the usual toppings.