[Barry Cade]

I'll kick the ball off and rolling with my Thai salad. You can use any form of meat/ fish for this it works superbly with steak and or prawns/ shrimp, and I'm assuming that you've got srs tastebuds, because like most South Asian cuisine you're looking for a balance to the sour, salty and sweet and hot. I'm going to assume you're using pork fillet for the purpose of this recipe.

Ingredients

1x pork fillet cut into 1.5cm slices.
Lemongrass
Fresh red chilis
Galangal (dried or fresh) (use ginger if no galangal)
Ginger
Large bunch fresh coriander (cilantro, my Murrican chums)
Fresh mint
Fresh flat-leaf parsley
Salad leaves (of your choice, it works well with Lambs lettuce or Iceberg and all those bitter leaves between)
Garlic cloves
Nam pla (Thai Fish sauce)
Cane sugar (use good quality unrefined sugar if you haven't any)
4 plump and juicy limes.
Spring onions (shallots)
Cucumber
Carrot
Rice vinegar
Sesame oil

Preparation

Mis en place!

• Peel and chop the garlic, ginger and galangal into mini matchsticks
• Peel the outer layers of the lemongrass stalks off, they're too tough for words. Then bruise the stalk with the flat of your knife before chopping.
• Chop and deseed your chilis. Taking out the membranes and seeds will reduce the amount of heat and, if you're some sort of hardcore loony, you can skip this stage.
• Chop your herbs, finely chop the stalks as they'll be used in the marinades and roughly chop the leaves as they'll make up the salad.
• Finely chop the carrots and cucumber and spring onions
• Juice your limes (roll the limes firmly on the bench prior to cutting to break up the membranes and help release the juice)

First you need to marinade your meat.

• Add 2x tablespoons of the Nam Pla, it stinks but makes for a fine sauce in the end!
• Add lime juice
• Add a spoon of sugar
• Add chilis
• Add a splash of rice vinegar
• Add a spoon of sesame oil
• Adjust to taste, you're looking for a balance and for the flavours not to outweigh one another.

Once you're happy, pour over your sliced fillet and leave for at least an hour.

Pickles

• Warm up 2 tbsp of the rice vinegar with an equal amount of the cane sugar just so the sugar dissolves. You don't want it so hot it cooks the pickles. Add a sprinkle of chopped chili. Adjust the liquor to taste
• Pour over the chopped carrots and cucumber and set aside to cool down. NB this will keep for at least a month in a sterilised jar in your fridge. They're great on Banh Mi.

Salad dressing

• 2 tbsp Namh pla
• Add lime juice
• Add cane sugar
• Adjust these three ingredients to taste, again you're looking for the balance of flavour to be absolutely spot on. Once you've got it right you can move onto the next stage.
• Add chilis
• Add finely chopped herb stalks
• Add garlic, ginger and galangal.
• Set aside until ready. Again, this will keep in the fridge, in a sterilised jar for weeks and just gets better with age.

Cooking your meat and bringing the dish together

• Get a griddle pan nice and hot, if you don't have one, why not? Use a frying pan but ensure it's almost smoking.
• No need to add oil, there's a touch in the marinade.
• Place your fillets on the griddle and leave alone for a good minute or so, you don't want to be lifting them until they're sealed.
• Whilst the meat is cooking, bring together your leaves.
• Turn the meat when it's looking all barbecued and caramelised.
• Take the meat off the griddle once cooked and allow it to rest for approx. as long as you've cooked it for. Pour over some of the salad dressing whilst it's still hot.
• Souse the leaves in the dressing.
• Serve and enjoy.

[Babs Bladdyblah]

BC - That recipe sounds deliciously different from anything I've ever ate. Here's my contribution.

Homemade Carrot Cake

2 Cups of Sugar
1 Tsp of Salt
4 Eggs
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 1/2 Cups Oil
3 Cups of Grated Carrots
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 Tsp of Baking Soda
Nuts optional

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together. Spray pan with Pam. Do the toothpick test on cake to make sure its done.

Cream Cheese Icing:

8 Oz. Pkg of Cream Cheese
4 Cups of Confectioners Sugar
1 Tsp. of Vanilla
1/2 Cup of Margarine

Mix together well. Spread on cake. Enjoy!



Oh, and my second favorite recipe is from Paula Deen... It's called Butter Pie.

[Serenity@sea]

Ohhhh, Barry, That recipe sounds really yummy. Definitely something I would make. Lately, I been using lettuce as wraps (instead of the traditional pita, tortilla, etc) so, your recipe would work for that, as well.

Thanks for posting. You set the bar high, so I will have to go through some of my recipes.....

Lately, I've been into different ways of presenting food. Like using Parmesan Cheese for salad bowls, for instance.


To make Parmesan salad bowls: Preheat oven to 325°.

Put a Silpat  mat on a half-sheet pan. Spread out 1/3 cup cheese onto Silpat into 6 inch  circles. Put in oven and allow to brown in the oven for about 10 minutes. Remove  cheese from pan with a spatula and lay on a flipped-over medium-size (5 1/2  inches) clean bowl. Gently place a paper towel over the cooked Parmesan and  lightly press on to flipped bowl. This protects your hands while soaking excess  oil.

Let Parmesan bowls cool about 5 minutes before removing from flipped  bowl. Divide prepared salad among the Parmesan bowls and serve.





Parchment paper works fine if you do not have a Silpat mat.



ETA: I just saw your recipe, Babs, for Carrot Cake. YUM. One of my favorite desserts.

Edited by Serenity@sea, 25 April 2012 - 04:53 PM.

[Goat]

All of that looks delicious. I happen to be something of a chef myself, having progressed from living on ramen noodles and hot pockets to making delicious fancy meals for myself.  These meals usually take all day long, and involve a bazillion ingredients. Here's an example of one of my carefully crafted gourmet recipes:

GOAT'S WORLD-FAMOUS SPAGHETTI

* Boil some damn noodles.
* Cook hamburger til it stops being bloody.
* Pour a jar of pasta sauce in the meat.
* Mix all that crap up. Look, ma, it's dinner.

Serve on your finest china, preferably to presidents and foreign diplomats.

Tune in next time, when I'll show you how to make "boxed macaroni and cheese and tater tots."

[Kat]

I am more of a hunter-gatherer when it comes to food acquisition, BUT I do have a few go-to recipes I use for parties, etc.  

This one is highly technical and tricky.  Create at your own risk!

Apple Dip

1 block of cream cheese
1 jar marshmallow fluff

Throw in bowl.

Mix with electric mixer.

Enjoy!

(If I am taking it to a party I dip the apple slices in pineapple juice so that they won't brown).

[Babs Bladdyblah]

Serenity - Those bowls look divine!!

LMAO @ Goat! +1

Kat - As simple as that recipe seems, cream cheese makes everything awesome!

[Serenity@sea]

This is a recipe I came up with after eating the best Philly Steak Sandwich (not in Philly, LOL) in a Bar and Grille (by trial and error).


The amounts will vary depending on servings and taste.


Shaved Angus Beef (if you can't find shaved meat, I usually buy a decent quality steak, it helps to slice it real thin if you freeze it for about a half hour)

Cream cheese (I use Whipped)

Worcestershire sauce

Jalapeño peppers (chopped very fine)

Garlic

Pepper

Nice, crusty Hoagie buns

Smoked Provolone Cheese

Shredded Mozzarella or another cheese of your choice

Toppings (whatever you prefer)
Onions, Mushrooms, Red or Green Peppers



Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Grill the meat in a pan with the garlic and pepper

While the meat is browining, I take a slice of the provolone and place it on the bottom of the bun and crisp up the bread in the oven for 5 minutes. The reason I do this is because this sandwich is "wetter" than most Philly sandwich's and it helps hold it all together.

In another pan. I melt butter (you can use EVOO, if you prefer) and grill the onions, mushrooms and peppers.

I now add the Worcestershire sauce (usually a few generous turns of the pan) and Cream cheese (about 2 or 3 heaping tablespoons) and chopped jalapeños to the meat and stir until blended. This can be as wet or dry as you like.
Now  I build my sandwich, alternating the meat and toppings and add a little shredded mozzarella over the top.

Since this is a "splurge" (not calorie conscious) meal, for us, I usually make homemade fries topped with a smidge of cayenne pepper or just salt and pepper. For some reason, I have found that slicing your potatoes and then soaking them in water in the fridge for about an hour makes better homemade fries.

Edited by Serenity@sea, 26 April 2012 - 02:48 PM.

[Major Tom]

Crunchy Chinese Salad

1 large head Napa Cabbage, chopped
5 green onion, diced
1/2 cup butter
2 packages Ramen noodles, discard soup
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 small pkg sliced almonds

Dressing
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 cup sugar

Mix cabbage and onions in a large bowl and set aside.

Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Break noodles in small pieces and brown along with sesame seeds and almonds. Cool and drain on paper towels.

Mix dressing ingredients and microwave to dissolve sugar. Cool for about 20 minutes befor serving. Dressing can be made a day ahead of time.

Toss together all ingredients and add dressing just before serving.

This is one of my favorites. I might tire of it if it was put in front of me every day, but I consume mass quantities when I can coax Alice into preparing it.

Hoppin John

4 slices bacon
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh garlic, chopped
2 cans chicken stock, water will do
1 pound smoked sausage, chopped 1' chunks
1 pound dried black-eyed peas, soaked
bay leaves
red pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 14 oz Canned tomatoes
Cooked Rice
Green onions for garnish

Brown bacon in a Dutch Oven. Remove the bacon and eat it. Sautee the chopped onion,  bell pepper and celery in bacon grease until the onions are clear. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Add stock, peas, and seasonings. Cover and let simmer for about 2 hours. Check for doneness of peas before proceeding.

Add tomatoes (undrained) and cook until heated and blended.

Serve over rice with scallions as garnish.

Simple blackeyed peas and rice is a traditional New Year dish that is called Hoppin John down South, (put a dime in the pot with the peas for luck) This is a very good and very fancy Hoppin John recipe that is great for the New Year or any day and it is one of those better the day after dishes.

This recipe has become a New Year tradition main dish for us after years of just plain old peas and rice as a side dish along with collard greens and ham hock.

[Barry Cade]

I thought a dutch oven was when your partner puts your head under the duvet and lets rip...?

More recipes from me, today, I think...

[Barry Cade]

Lahmacun

Mid-eastern flatbreads and, in general best known as street food, but absolutely delicious eaten on a Friday night (very popular when I do these in the Cade household).

Ingredients

For the dough

350g plain flour
1tsp salt
2tsp yeast
sprinkle sugar
250ml blood-warm water
2tbsp good Extra virgin olive oil

For the topping

500g minced lamb
1med onion
200g capsicum (bell-pepper) best to have ~1/2 red and ~1/2 green pepper
1 garlic clove
2tsp Sumac
2tsp aleppo pepper (or smoked paprika if you can't get your hands on it)
2tsp salt
2tsp Rose Harissa (powdered rather than the paste)
Chili flakes to taste
Parsley
Mint
Coriander
Lemon

Method.

Bread

• Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl/ bread mixer
• Add olive oil
• Steadily stream in the warm water as you mix the dough
• Knead for >5mins, generally, if you're angry and (knead) need the workout 10 mins is better
• Set aside for an hour to prove
• Remove from the warm and dark spot you've hidden your dough and punch it back. This dough should make between 8-12 Lamahcun depending on how generous you are, so divide it up and set aside.

Topping

• Chop the onion, garlic and pepper finely (probably best in a food processor) and chop in the stalks of the fresh herbs.
• Add the seasonings, salt, aleppo pepper, sumac and harissa and chili flakes if you're adding them.
• Strain the vegetable and seasoning mix to get rid of any excess moisture, probably for about 1/2 hr to an hour
• Mix in the vegetables and the minced lamb.

Bringing the dish together

• Preheat your oven to its highest setting and place baking trays in the oven to pre-heat
• Roll out the dough balls to a long flat rectangle (no more than the thickness of a coin or so)
• Press on the topping to the dough, not quite to the edges
• Pop 2-4 lamahcun into the oven at a time for between 10-12 mins
• Serve immediately as they come out of the oven with the herbs and a good squeeze of lemon

[Major Tom]

Dang BC, you are obviously way above my pay grade as a cook.

Your recipes look delicious and being a recipe saver I have saved them, but I doubt I or anyone in my immediate family could pull them off.

Oh,another thing just for human interest, we don't eat much lamb in my region. It can be found in markets but you have to look hard for it, and lamb chops is usually all you will find.

[gracie lou]

Yes, you sound like you are quite the cook. I've sort of lost any interest in cooking since having children. Nothing is less rewarding than preparing a meal for three picky kids.

I haven't been able to eat lamb since I was forced to as a young child at my grandparents' house. The reason I didn't want to eat it was because I thought it smelled like my grandfather. I'm sure it is delicious, but the thought of it still turns my stomach.

Tom, I make that Cabbage Salad from time to time. It's yummy.

[Barry Cade]

gracie lou, on 27 April 2012 - 07:20 PM, said:

Yes, you sound like you are quite the cook. I've sort of lost any interest in cooking since having children. Nothing is less rewarding than preparing a meal for three picky kids.

I haven't been able to eat lamb since I was forced to as a young child at my grandparents' house. The reason I didn't want to eat it was because I thought it smelled like my grandfather. I'm sure it is delicious, but the thought of it still turns my stomach.

Tom, I make that Cabbage Salad from time to time. It's yummy.

Quick tip for Gracie (with the anti-lamb stance) and Tom (because you can't find it), replace minced lamb with minced steak (I won't mind and it works just as well!)

Edited by Barry Cade, 27 April 2012 - 07:55 PM.

[Barry Cade]

Major Tom, on 27 April 2012 - 06:30 PM, said:

Dang BC, you are obviously way above my pay grade as a cook.

Your recipes look delicious and being a recipe saver I have saved them, but I doubt I or anyone in my immediate family could pull them off.

Oh,another thing just for human interest, we don't eat much lamb in my region. It can be found in markets but you have to look hard for it, and lamb chops is usually all you will find.

I'm no chef! I'm an enthusiastic amateur and both dishes here (so far) should be possible for anyone. If anyone gets stuck, just PM me and I'll try and explain in a more (um...) easy fashion!

[Serenity@sea]

gracie lou, on 27 April 2012 - 07:20 PM, said:

Yes, you sound like you are quite the cook. I've sort of lost any interest in cooking since having children. Nothing is less rewarding than preparing a meal for three picky kids.

I haven't been able to eat lamb since I was forced to as a young child at my grandparents' house. The reason I didn't want to eat it was because I thought it smelled like my grandfather. I'm sure it is delicious, but the thought of it still turns my stomach.

Tom, I make that Cabbage Salad from time to time. It's yummy.

"Smelled like my grandfather"  That is funny!

Barry, I said before that I wanted you in my ZA group because you are so entertaining. Now, I know  who would be the chef.

[Judari]

I've made it and I think its delicious!

A healthy recipe (not mine) for chocolate cake thats grain free, gluten free, dairy free, no sugar added, paleo friendly: http://thehealthyfoo...chocolate-cake/

Here's a pic of it

Attached Files

•  Rich-Flourless-Chocolate-Cake-15.jpeg   101.68K   2 downloads

Edited by Judari, 27 April 2012 - 09:00 PM.

[backwoodsroamer]

Okay this is an easy to prepare meal and appropriate to the forum. Just lurk about in the shadows until someone comes by. Then lunge out and sink your teeth into them. Just keep ripping off chunks until the meal goes cold. Oh yeah we're eatin' the meat raw now.

Edited by backwoodsroamer, 27 April 2012 - 10:14 PM.

[Major Tom]

gracie lou, on 27 April 2012 - 07:20 PM, said:

I haven't been able to eat lamb since I was forced to as a young child at my grandparents' house. The reason I didn't want to eat it was because I thought it smelled like my grandfather. I'm sure it is delicious, but the thought of it still turns my stomach.

Damn Gracie, I hope this doesn't mean y'all ate your grandfather. It would explain your interest in zombies though.

Seriously, I don't know what it is about lamb. Iate it once in a restaurant years ago and all I recall is it was rather bland compared to beef or pork. I have know others that say they can only eat it with mint jelly.

[Major Tom]

BC the Lahmacum sounds a bit like a middle eastern pizza. Is that a fair comparison?

It sounds great substituting minced beef and after looking at it again it might not be as difficult as I first thought. Preparing the dough was the part that intimidated me at first.

I fear that finding Sumac and Harissa in Lower Alabama might be difficult. If there is a Mideastern grocery in these parts it will be news to me. I am sure I can get it on line but I wondered if there is a more common substitute?

[Goat]

Judari, on 27 April 2012 - 08:59 PM, said:

I've made it and I think its delicious!

A healthy recipe (not mine) for chocolate cake thats grain free, gluten free, dairy free, no sugar added, paleo friendly: http://thehealthyfoo...chocolate-cake/

Here's a pic of it

Can you taste the avocado in this?  I hate avocado.  Such an odd thing to be in a cake, but I can understand it contributing to the texture described.  I admit that I'm intrigued by the recipe -- I'm eating gluten free these days because of a likely wheat allergy that I haven't the inclination to pay out of pocket to get tests for, so I'm always on the lookout for anything I can eat that doesn't taste like cardboard.  Thus far, GF stuff from Trader Joe's has been my lifesaver.

[Barry Cade]

Major Tom, on 28 April 2012 - 12:40 AM, said:

BC the Lahmacum sounds a bit like a middle eastern pizza. Is that a fair comparison?

It sounds great substituting minced beef and after looking at it again it might not be as difficult as I first thought. Preparing the dough was the part that intimidated me at first.

I fear that finding Sumac and Harissa in Lower Alabama might be difficult. If there is a Mideastern grocery in these parts it will be news to me. I am sure I can get it on line but I wondered if there is a more common substitute?

It basically is a mid-eastern pizza; I suppose it would be nice to add some crumbled Feta cheese (or maybe some grilled Halloumi) to the flatbread once you've brought it out of the oven, and I think I'll try this next time I make them. Don't worry too much about the dough, it's basically fool-proof... Just make sure your water is only blood warm, too hot or cold and it'll kill the yeast. I would absolutely recommend making this, they're utterly fab!

To make a good substitute for harissa or Sumac, you could add cumin, powdered coriander seed, some turmeric, ground cinnamon and ginger which would give a 'mid-Eastern-esque' flavour, and then moderate the heat by using fresh ground black pepper and potentially some dried chili flakes.

Actually, I've started making my own dried chilis (totally by accident) by keeping my fresh ones on the windowsill, and then they dry quite nicely over a month or so. These can then be reconstituted by putting them in warm water for thirty minutes.

[Barry Cade]

Serenity@sea, on 27 April 2012 - 08:06 PM, said:

"Smelled like my grandfather"  That is funny!

Barry, I said before that I wanted you in my ZA group because you are so entertaining. Now, I know  who would be the chef.

I can get quite creative with a tin of beans (part of my armoury) and some unused Pot Noodles... Unfortunately, I can't shoot straight nor hunt nor do engineering. I would be the Lori of the group.

[Barry Cade]

On sheep-meat!

I'm surprised at all the lamb naysayers on here! I love the smell of barbecuing or roasting lamb, and, especially if it's well-seasoned it's delicious with mint-sauce or a nice tsatsiki (good quality yoghurt with finely chopped cucumber, onion, garlic and chopped coriander)...

The next recipe will be a traditional English one using lamb...

But for those of you who're still unconvinced and think it's flavourless, I'd recommend trying hogget or mutton (hogget is 3-5yr old sheep and mutton >5yrs). Generally, you'd only get these from reputable butchers who'd source the meat well and have the meat treated well and the flavour of the meat matures well. I first heard of hogget a few years ago, and first ate it in this restaurant last year Voted 2nd best in UK 2011, it was sublime. I've still not cooked with it, mind you! Mutton I've cooked with on a number of occasions, and it's best cooked slow and low, for a good few hours at a relatively low heat.

And if you're determined to be adventurous, look out for Salt Marsh lamb - lamb which has grazed on the salt-marsh estuaries in Wales.

[Barry Cade]

Yorkshire Hotpot.

As a Yorkshireman, I am legally and morally obliged to be dismissive of anything that emerges from Lancashire. I have to get that straight before I begin with this recipe.

However, it is actually Lancashire Hotpot and it's flipping amazing.

I generally make this in my trusty, cheap slow cooker. If you don't have one, just cook in a moderate (gas mark 4) oven.

Ingredients.

2 large onions
2 garlic cloves
1kg lamb - best to use either 'scrag end' or neck. If you go for shoulder, you'll need to maybe trim a little bit of excess fat.
1kg potatoes - I generally go for Maris Pipers as they're a great all-rounder.
2tbsp plain flour
Worcestershire Sauce
100g butter
2pints good quality beef stock
Bay leaf
Fresh thyme

Preparation

• Chop the potatoes into 1/2cm pieces
• Brown the meat in a frying pan (heat the pan to smoking, then add oil, then batches of meat and a bit of the butter to help brown)
• Put the meat into your slow cooker or a casserole dish.
• Add the chopped onions in the pan and cook for about 8-10 mins, adding half of the remaining butter, until they start to brown at the edges. Add the garlic about 3 mins before the end of cooking so it doesn't burn.
• Put the onions into your slow cooker.
• Add the flour to the frying pan, then a good glug of Worcestershire sauce and start to stir in, getting all the great residue from the pan, then put half the stock in so that you get all the flavour up from the bottom of the pan.
• Pour all the stock from the frying pan into the slow cooker.
• Add seasoning and the herbs to the pan.
• Put a layer of the chopped potatoes in amongst the meat and onions.
• Put a further layer of chopped potatoes arranged onto the top of the casserole/ slow cooker. Season again with salt and pepper and use the remaining butter for the top of the spuds.
• Cook for at least 2 hours in the oven (tightly cover the casserole dish with foil) or for anything up to 8hours (or all the time you're at work) in your slow cooker
• Turn up your oven to Gas Mark 6 (remove the foil if in a casserole/ lid if in the pan of a slow cooker) and cook for a further 30mins until the potato layer on top is nice and browned.
• Serve up with fresh cooked peas and some pickled red cabbage.

[Serenity@sea]

Barry, I hate to sound like one of those Americans who leave the country and expect everything to be like it is in the States.........we went to an remote Island in the Pacific, and practically everything they served was lamb. It didn't leave a very good impression on me.  Normally, I like trying new food.
I do love a good Gyro. So, I bet roasted lamb is really good.