( A rather lengthy explanation )

To sum it all up, I’m looking for suggestions on different carbohydrates she can eat that do not include wheat, peanuts, soy, rice, or corn, and some kind of bread recipe would be absolutely fantastic as well. She can have yeast and potatoes, which helps a lot. Additionally, any good granola recipes or pasta recommendations would be much appreciated.
Thanks so much!

X-posted a few places.

I've had a happy culinary Christmas this year, cooking up gifts, cake and the soup we had as an appetizer with dinner! Recipes and pics below the cut :)

( X-mas noms this way! )

How was your Christmas?

If this is not allowed please let me know and I'll delete it.

Right. Basically I have not been the best girlfriend recently and I want to make it up to him with a special dinner (meaning lunch) on New Year's Day.

I haven't got any specific ingredients at the moment but I was thinking about chicken. I would like to do beef with red wine but we had that for Christmas dinner so it might be a bit the same...

So yes. I will stop being useless at explaining what I need and ask very nicely if people could help please? What are your best apology recipes? 

Thanks in advance! :)

Santa was very kind to me this year. I have both a fancy 6 quart enameled cast iron dutch oven, and a big juicer. So, I ask of you...

Ideas for stuff that involves a dutch oven?

Favorite things to juice? For this, I figured I'd just pick up whatever's on sale/in season, but recommendations would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

I found this recipe in one of my cookbooks, but I think that the brownies could be better, so I changed some of the ingredients.



Ingredients:
-5oz margarine/butter
-9oz caster sugar
-1 tsp vanilla essence/extract
-3 eggs
-*2/3/4/5/6 oz plain flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-3oz coca
-walnuts, nuts, chocolate buttons(optional)

*The more flour you add to the mixture, the more cakier(no such word as cakier, but you get the point) the brownies would be, and the less flour you add, the more fudgier it would be. If you want your brownies to be cakier, use 5 oz of plain flour and mix the margarine/butter with the sugar and vanilla essence directly instead of melting it. If you want your brownies to be fudgy, use 2/3/4 oz of plain four, I prefer using 2 oz of four. Ever eaten Mrs. Field's super fudgy brownies? If you used 2 oz, your brownies would turn out just the same as those super fudgy brownies. But, fell free to explore what suites you most!

Steps:
1.Grease your tin with oil and sprinkle it with a but of flour, this reduces the amount of oil on the sides of your brownies while your brownies don't stick to your tin.

2.Melt the margarine in a microwave and mix it with the caster sugar and vanilla essence. Tip: add the sugar immediately after your butter has melted. The sugar would dissolve more quickly and won't sink to the bottom of your mixture, resulting a layer of sugar formed at the bottom of your brownies after you've baked
them.

3.Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat them, add them to the mixture little by little.


4.Sift the flour and coca into the mixture, then add the baking powder. Stir everything together so that it is mixed well.

5.Add your nuts/chocolate buttons etc. (optional)

6.Pour the mixture into your tin and put it in the oven. Bake it for 30-35 minutes.


Tip: If you see any bubbles floating on the surface, poke it with a toothpick.


7.When the brownies are ready when they have risen and formed a crust on top, the middle should still be soft. Take the brownies out and let it cool in the tin for 5 to 10 minutes. DO NOT CUT THE BROWNIES IMMEDIATELY AFTER TAKING IT OUT, THE CRUST WILL CRACK!
P.S. by cooling them, the crust on top would harden.

8.Cut the brownies in squares/rectangles/whatever and leave them on a wire rack to cool.

9.Now, you're finished!

(I ate a corner out of the brownie, hehe)

Good Luck!

My husband and I got a Cameron indoor smoker for Christmas and we tried it out tonight with some italian sausages and hickory. I have a glass top stove, so my BIL got us a large professional cast iron hot plate to use it on. I did not have an oven thermometer to check for the initial temperature, so we just started it on a 3 setting, which the hot plate manual called medium. I ended up having to put it on 4 because it wasn't getting hot enough.

The sausages came out tasting great, but I did have to throw them in the microwave to cook them through. Has anyone else here had experience using an indoor smoker with a hot plate? If so, what kind of settings did you have to use to get the meat thoroughly cooked? The smoker manual said it should only take 25 minutes to cook through, but it took much longer than that. I'm just curious what others' experiences have been.

Thanks in advanced and if this isn't appropriate content for this community please let me know and I'll take it down.

Thought I'd share tonight's latest invention:

Low Sodium Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce with Chicken and Penne Pasta
if following directions, the ENTIRE recipes contains less than 1000 mg of sodium, it serves 4-6 adults HUGE servings (about 2 cups each). Per serving, you are probably looking at about 500 mg. of sodium or less per serving…which is great for sodium restricted diets!

1 box Active Lifestyle Multi-Grain Penne Rigate pasta
1 lb. of sliced then diced chicken from butcher shop (not soaked in brine- this means only naturally occuring sodium!)

Puree for Sauce:
1 jar sun dried tomatoes soaked in oil
¼ large onion
3 cloves garlic (or more if you like!)
Sauce ingredients:
1 cup chicken broth made from Wyler’s No Sodium broth mix. I add a little extra powder to make it stronger.
1/2 cup Chardonnay (or white wine of your choice)
1 pint heavy cream
1 cup freshly grated Kraft Parmesan cheese (about 800 mg. of sodium for 1 cup)
3-4 oz. fat-free cream cheese (150-200 mg.)

Puree ¼ onion, 3 cloves of garlic, and the oil soaked sun dried tomatoes in a food processor. Set aside.

In a large (13”) skillet cook 1 lb. of sliced chicken in remaining sun dried tomato oil , ½ cup Chardonnay and ½ cup of chicken broth in low heat. Allow the juices from the chicken to flow! Once chicken is cooked thoroughly, remove from “broth mixture” and place in a bowl/plate retaining any juices.

Start your pasta water and cook pasta while creating the sauce.

Add ½ pint heavy cream and the puree mixture of onion, garlic and sun dried tomatoes. Simmer for a few. Add 1 cup of Parmesan and melt the cheese. Simmer a bit more. As the cheese melts, add the other ½ cup of chicken broth. The sauce should be creamy. Add 4 oz. of fat-free cream cheese and melt. Then slowly add in the remaining heavy cream. Let simmer until it thickens again.

Take sliced chicken and dice into ¼” or smaller pieces. Add juices and diced chicken to the sauce. At this point, your pasta should be done cooking its 10-12 minutes. Drain. Stir in pasta sauce/chicken into the penne. Serve.

Optional: You may top with more fresh Parmesan, basil, or chives for a little more flavor. Also, if you want a little burn to your sauce, red pepper flakes are also delicious to add!

My ingredients:



I think the recipe came from an old Parade newspaper insert.  It's for two people, but the smallest package of hamburger I could find was a pound, so I doubled it and divided it into four loaves for tonight the next three nights.  It turned out very good, allowing for my substitutions.  [My comments in brackets.]

Old-Fashioned Meatloaf For Two

This tiny meatloaf should not be overbaked!  Once removed from the oven, it will keep cooking for a few minutes.  The chili sauce is the American kind, not the Asian.  [I think the Asian kind would make it better.]

Every year for the holidays I make Banana Split Dessert. My cousin brought it to a reunion once and it was such a hit I started making it.

Except, I can't get it right for the life of me. This is the recipe I use http://www.recipezaar.com/Banana-Split-Dessert-48696

( Recipe text behind cut )

I've tried it with whole eggs and just with egg whites, I've tried layering it different ways. No matter what I do there is always a runny-ness. I'm not sure what it is but there is a liquid that ends up in the bottom of the pan. Even after it refrigerates for hours. It's a clear liquid and as far as I can tell it's not pineapple juice (no pineapple smell). I always drain the crap out of the pineapple. Usually opening the can some and turning it upside down in the sink to drain when I first start so it drains while I do the rest of the steps.

This Christmas I used just egg whites and where it says to let it set in the fridge for 30 minutes I let it sit for at least an hour. I put the pineapple on the bottom though, not on top of the mixture. I don't know if that has any effect on it, I've tried it both ways.

What am I doing wrong? I beat the eggs for 4 minutes on high like it says and the full mixture for 5 minutes on high. I really, really want to get this recipe right because it's OMG delicious and I'm tired of it being a watery mess!

I'm looking for an awesome new york cheesecake recipe! Does anyone happen to have one???
It's my brother's birthday and he loves cheesecake, so i wanted to make him a special one :)

Thanks!

I made this for the Holiday family gathering. It didn't last 30 minutes on the buffet.

You need:

4llbs of raw peeled shrimp
1 and 1/2 sticks of melted butter
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/3 cup of worchestershire sauce
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp salt (I used smoked sea salt)
1/2 tsp paprika (I used smoked paprika)
1/2 tsp oregeno
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tsp garlic powder (I had granulated garlic on hand, it worked just as well)
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp celery salt
LOTS of black pepper (I used a palm full)

Mix the wet ingredients together
Mix the dry ingredients together

Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the shrimp
Pour on the wet ingredients

Mix it really well.

Marinated it in the fridge for at least 2 hours (you can marinade up to 24 hours)

Preheat over to 350 degrees and bake it for about 30 to 45 minutes, turning it once at least, you will know it's done when all the shrimp are pink.

You will want to bake this in a glass baking pan or other pan because it makes an incredible sauce!

Have french bread on hand for soaking up the sauce!

Enjoy!

Do red velvet cupcakes have to be red?

I want to make red velvet cupcakes but dye them rainbow (like this). Will all of the colors still come out vibrant even though I use cocoa powder and vinegar in the recipe?

For New Year's Eve, I'm hosting a party for the extended family; some will be coming earlier for a dinner before the actual festivities begin. Because the NYE party will involve lots of the usual appetizer-type foods, as well as a bunch of desserts, I'm keeping dinner light. I want to do a sort of soup sampler thing, where people can have small bowls of a few different soups.

I know for sure I'm going to be making Creamy Cauliflower Soup (because my brother requested that one). The problem is, I'm not sure what other soups to make. I'd like to keep the soups similar enough that they'll "go together," but not so similar that it just seems like a bunch of the same soup. Make sense? I'd like 2-3 soups in addition to the cauliflower one.

Suggestions? Recipes included are always a plus :) The only restriction I have is no seafood, as the grandfather-in-law is allergic. Thanks in advance!

So I finally have a cast iron pan (thanks Santa!!), and although through the years I know I've always lusted after all the recipes that require cast iron, I have failed to bookmark any of them, since I've never had one. So if you please, I would love to see your delicious recipes that require a cast iron pan. This can be anything, breakfast, lunch, or dinner, cooked just on the stove, or finished in the oven. I have a 10-1/4 pre-seasoned Lodge one that I am so excited to use, so please help me out! Thanks

does anybody know any good recipes or drinks or appetizers to make with LIMES?

my mom wanted to order two limes and accidentally got 2 kilogrammes of limes.

i already made virgin mojitos last night, with ginger ale. other ideas for cocktails? preferably alcohol free, but still. I also maybe want to make a few appetizers for new year's eve with them, so ideas there are very welcome. Plus, of course desserts, like muffins or something?

Thanks so much in advance, and if you'd like some limes... I got plenty.

Two questions here. -- Some years back (fivish?), a friend in Maine gave me a jar of deer stew. Then I sort of kind of mislaid it during a move. Having recovered it, I'm thinking of having it now.

What are the chances it's still okay after several years? This is homemade stew that was canned and put up, not a commercial product. What should I check for upon opening it?

Assuming it's still good, how should I prepare it? Just dump it in a pan and heat it up? Should I add anything? What should I prepare to go with it?

Thanks!

Edit: Thanks, folks! Three NO votes is more than enough to convince me. Consider it tossed! I really appreciate your input.

To say I had... issues... with the recipe I chose to use (Y's Scandinavian one) would be a huge understatement.

More at my food blog HERE
( Read more... )

*shruffle* Hello, all, long time lurker, first time poster.

Anyways! I've had the great fortune of a sandwich press being given to me this Christmas. I've wanted one for a while, but now that I have it, I realize...I don't actually know good hot sandwich recipes. So...I turn to you guys. Would you guys care to share with me your favorite hot sandwich recipes, so I may try them? c= I'm not too finicky when it comes to filling, although I don't like large amounts of onion. But that's about it. XD

thank you in advance, and I hope you all are having a great holiday. c= ♥

Daring Bakers held a vols-au-vent challenge awhile back wherein we made puff pastry from scratch. We only used a portion of the dough for the challenge, and the rest has been sitting in my freezer since then. It was such a task to make it and it's quite delectable, so I want to use it for something special. I think I've decided on Beef Wellington (I know Daring Cooks just made this for a challenge, which gave me the idea!). Anyone tried a recipe and loved it?

Also, on a separate topic, anyone know if one can get foie gras that comes from happy, non-force-fed animals? Is that something that's available? I've always wanted to try it, but hear unpleasant things about the acquisition of it. Thanks!