Patron Saint of CoH's Salmon, Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup

aquarian1 shared not one, but three recipes tonight! We adore our miss steaksauce.

Ingredients:
* 3 slices bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces
* 1 medium onion, sliced
* 1 medium stalk celery, thinly sliced
* 4 oz mushrooms, sliced
* 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
* ½ tsp dry mustard
* ½ tsp dried rosemary leaves
* 1 cup cooked wild rice
* 2 (10 ¾ oz) cans condensed chicken broth
* 1 cup half & half (regular or fat free)
* 1 (15 ½ oz) can salmon, drained and flaked

Instructions:
Cook bacon in 3 quart saucepan until crisp; drain, reserving fat in saucepan. Cook and stir onion, celery, and mushrooms in bacon fat until celery is tender. Stir in flour, mustard, and rosemary. Cook over low hear, stirring constantly, until bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in wild rice and broth.

Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in bacon, half & half, and salmon. Heat, stirring occasionally, until hot. Makes about 6 servings.

Grandma steaksauce-Farley's 500 Cake

This recipe has been handed down since the late 1800s and it has won a Blue Ribbon at the Michigan State Fair.

Ingredients:
* 1 ½ cups white sugar
* ½ cup shortening
* 2 eggs
* 3 mashed bananas
* ½ to 1 cup chopped nuts
* 1 8 oz. package dates, chopped
* ½ cup sour milk*
* 1 rounded tsp. baking soda
* 2 cups flour

Instructions:
Cream 1 ½ cups white sugar into ½ cup shortening. Beat in 2 eggs, 3 mashed bananas, then nuts, and the dates. Add 1 rounded teaspoon baking soda to the sour milk. Add to creamed mixture, alternating with the 2 cups of flour. Bake in two 9 inch layer cake pans at 325 to 350 F. (Until sides pull from pan, and golden brown).

Recommended frosting: Penuche from Better Homes Cookbook. Melt ½ cup butter or margarine; add ½ cup brown sugar. Bring to boil; cook and stir 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Cool 15 minutes. Add ¼ cup hot milk and beat smooth. Beat in enough of 3 ¼ cups confectioners sugar for spreading consistency. Frosts two 8 or 9 inch layers.

* To sour milk, heat the milk, then add 1 teaspoon vinegar. Let set until it curdles.

miss steaksauce's Cream of Tomato Soup

No actual A1 steak sauce was used or harmed in the submission of this recipe. Thanks, aquarian1!!

Ingredients:
* 2 cups cold milk
* 2 ½ cups canned tomatoes
* 1 tbsp onion
* ¾ tsp salt
* 1/8 tsp pepper
* ½ tsp celery salt
* 1 tsp sugar
* 3 tbsp flour
* 2 tbsp butter or margarine

Instructions:
Pour milk into a 2 quart saucepan. Put remaining ingredients in blender container; cover and run on speed 7 (or high) until smooth. Slowly add tomato mixture to milk, stirring constantly. Place over low heat until hot.

Notes: 1) 1 tbsp onion doesn’t sound like a lot, but it doesn’t get cooked normally, so it can be pungent. 2) Salt and pepper is really to taste, those are just guidelines.

eejm's Tiramisu Anacapri

I originally got this out of Cooking Light magazine. I've got the nutrition information if anyone wants it. It's really, really good and really easy to make.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup cold water
• 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (1.4-ounce) package sugar-free vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 (8-ounce) tub frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed
• 1 cup hot water
• 1/2 cup Kahlua (coffee-flavored liqueur)
• 1 tablespoon instant espresso or 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 24 ladyfingers (2 3-ounce packages)
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, divided

INSTRUCTIONS
This tiramisu was a hit with our Test Kitchens staff, who agreed that it's one of the best they've come across. Ladyfingers can be found in the bakery or the frozen-food section of the supermarket. We used soft ladyfingers, which are made to be split.

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Cover surface with plastic wrap; chill 30 minutes or until firm.
2. Remove plastic wrap, and add cream cheese. Beat with a mixer atmedium speed until well-blended. Gently fold in whipped topping.
3. Combine hot water, Kahlua, and espresso. Split ladyfingers in half lengthwise. Arrange 16 ladyfinger halves, flat sides down, in atrifle bowl or large glass bowl. Drizzle with 1/2 cup Kahlua mixture. Spread one-third of pudding mixture evenly over ladyfingers; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon cocoa. Repeat layers, ending with cocoa. Cover and chill at least 8 hours.

dandieandie's Banana Bread

I begged, she sent it to me. And she's also mean to mujer. We love dandieandie.

• 1/2 cup soft butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla (although I'm a vanilla junkie, so I tend to add 1tablespoon)
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (recipe says that's about 3-4 bananas, but I used 5 small ones last time...and when it says ripe, I mean two steps from the grave ripe, like almost black)
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 cups unsifted flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (which I never use, but some folks might like 'em)
• cinnamon and nutmeg

In a large bowl cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Combine bananas and milk. Mix together flour, soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Blend dry ingredients into creamed mixture alternately with bananas. Stir in nuts and turn into a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and turn out of pan and cool completely.

bibliosylph's Easy Quiche Lorraine

I recommend this playlist during prep time, along with a gimlet or other simple cocktail.

Use a 9" pie shell, not necessary to make it yourself; for savory pies, the store-bought ones work all right. Just make sure it's 9" and not 8.

Obviously, you can leave out the bacon, but then it's just quiche--no Lorraine!

8 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled (or 1/2 package ready-cooked bacon)
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese--You may use Emmentaler or Jarlsberg, if you like, or combine Swiss with Gruyere for a sharper flavor.
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 tbs flour

4 eggs
2 cups heavy cream--lately I've been using half and half, to save money. Don't use lower fat than that, though.
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Heat oven to 400°F, prepare pie shell. Mix bacon, cheese, onion and flour in a bowl, and put in pie shell. Beat together eggs, cream and seasonings, and carefully pour over top. You should set the pie pan on a cookie sheet before you do this.

Bake the quiche for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 325°F, and bake about 30-40 minutes longer, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the quiche rest at least 10 minutes before cutting, but 30 minutes to an hour is even better.

Personally, I double all of this, and make two at once--leftover quiche is one of the greatest pleasures in life. Each quiche should be cut into 6 pieces.

bibliosylph's Lemon-Basil Pistou

Stolen wholly from her blog. Which I tried to link to cleverly, but was too incompetent. Here's the address: http://dualexcess.home.comcast.net/seabreeze.html

Why pistou, you ask? Well, it's francais for a kind of pesto! in the original version, there's no cheese, and there are never nuts, so it would not really be called pesto by the, um, basil-garlic sauce pedants of the world.

Thing about pistou, just like pesto, is that you can pretty much do whatever you like to it, beyond the basic requirements of basil, olive oil, and garlic. with a tetch of salt. hey, you know how salt is mad cheap? Go for broke, spend a dollar more, and get sea salt. It's brighter, somehow, in flavor.

Why do I know this stuff? honey, I just do. I make it my business to know!

You may substitute another variety of basil for the lemon, as long as it's basically basil in aroma. If you do, add the zest of an entire lemon, instead of the weensy bit called for here.

And you may substitute parmiggiano for asiago. I'd recommend leaving out the salt if you do. Asiago is my personal preference for nearly anything that calls for parmiggiano.

You will note my proportions are not exact. That is how I do things.

We eat this stuff on fried things, like eggplant or salmon cakes. You may use it with pasta.

Oh--use it right away, really. You can frig it, and just stir the oil back in for use, for a couple of days? But it's not as nice.

Take about 2 cups of basil leaves (packed in pretty well,) and chop at them for a little while. Then add them to a mortar. (What is this you call food processor? Okay, you can use it, but I arch my eye at you like this--.) Add 4 cloves of peeled, squashed garlic (you may use the equivalent from a jar) and a pinch of sea salt.

Commence pounding. Or pulsing, if you take that route. When a paste is formed, put it in a bowl that's the size you like to work in. Like, medium. (Always use a slightly larger bowl than the one you think you need. Just trust me on that. ) Or leave it in the food processor.

Add a cup of well-grated asiago cheese, and either a couple of pinches of lemon zest, or a whole lemon's worth, depending on your basil. stir, pound, pulse, or otherwise blend. (You can grate it through the food processor, if you want to switch blades back and forth, but be careful not to have it set too high. And the cheese really does have to come in after the basil and garlic.)

Finally, add between 1/2-2/3 cups of good olive oil. You will stream this in a little at a time and stir, if you're being old-fashioned and time-consuming like me, or stream it in while the machine is blending on low, if you're everyone else.

Check the texture after 1/2 cup, because you may want to keep it that way. The original recipe calls for 2/3 cup.

I promise I will not tell a soul, if, after you've tasted the pistou, you wish to add a bit of freshly-grated black pepper.

valeriel's Potstickers

The first time I had potstickers was at TGIFridays. I loved them & thought, “I could make these.” I found a recipe for them in a Martha Stewart cookbook, which is where I culled the basic recipe. Except old Martha makes her wonton wrappers from scratch – I’m not doing that!

Potstickers:

• 1 lb. ground meat (I use ground turkey)
• 1 cup scallions, chopped
• 1-3 T garlic (fresh preferably, but powdered works fine)
• 1 T ground ginger
• 1 package wonton wrappers
• 1 egg white
• cooking oil to fry potstickers

Dipping sauce:

• 1 cup soy sauce
• ⅓ rice vinegar
• ½ cup scallions, chopped

(These measurements are not exact because I always season to taste.)

To make dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients and set aside.

Mix the meat, scallions, garlic and ginger together well in a bowl. I usually season to smell: I want to be able to smell the garlic and the ginger in the meat.

To fill the wrapper: place approximately ½ tablespoon of the meat mixture in the center of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half, making a triangle, and seal the edges with egg white. Then, fold all 3 points over into the center. It should look like a little package. Brush the folded side with egg white. It’s ready to fry!

You can boil or fry potstickers, but I have not had great success with boiling. You can fry them with a little oil in a skillet but it’s easier and quicker if you deep fry them. You’ll know when the potstickers are done; they will turn golden brown and float easily.

Every time I have made these, everyone ALWAYS RAVES. Then they expect you to bring them every time there is a “get together.” The potstickers are not hard to make, but it can be time-consuming. It’s easier if more than one person helps to make the potstickers or one person folds while the other one fries. I have great memories of friends forming an assembly line and making potstickers. I have also, more than once, spent an evening making several pounds of potstickers all by myself.

Suggestions!

• Don’t overfill the wrappers. If they are too full, they will bust while frying, making a mess of your oil.
• Season your meat, but not too well. The dipping sauce will be on the salty side and the potstickers will be inedible if you season the meat too heavily. Even if you under-season (horror of horrors!), the sauce will save the potstickers.
• You can make the potstickers ahead of time & freeze them to fry later. I sometimes stick them in the freezer for a few minutes as I make then so they will hold their shape better.
• Have a pile ready once you start frying because they cook quickly. You don’t want to have a hot pot of oil going while you are frantically trying to make enough potstickers.
• Any unused dipping sauce can be put in the freezer for future use.

Britomart's Oven-Barbequed Shrimp

Recipe from a friend of my mother's. Amazing. Sounds odd, but honestly, one of the most delicious meals. I'm a freak who's terrified of undercooking or overcooking shrimp & check compulsively for doneness during the process. I've made this many times with many ovens & it can vary since, as a society, we can send a man to the moon but can't consistently calibrate ovens. ::sigh::

Serve in bowls with sides of thickly sliced sourdough bread, on a table covered liberally with newspaper. Have lots of cold beer on the ready, drink beer, peel shrimp & throw onto newspaper, dunk bread in lovely butter barbeque sauce.

Trust me, this recipe is divine. And? Very, very, very easy. Except for the one notation below, these measurements are pretty approximate. If you follow exactly it'll be great; if you get creative & add or lessen amounts, it'll be great. It's almost impossible to mess this up.

• 2 lbs shrimp, larger enough to peel and eat without being annoying
  
• 1 lb butter
• 2 TBSP dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 TSP chili powder
• 1/4 TSP dried basil
• 1/4 TSP dried thyme
• 2 TSP black pepper
• 1/2 TSP dried oregano
• 4-5 garlic cloves, chopped very finely
• 1 medium onion, chopped as finely as you possibly can
• 1/4 C Old Bay's seasoning (I tend to generously round this, but I love this seasoning)
• Tabasco sauce to taste
• 1 TSP liquid smoke (I hate liquid smoke, but I've made this without and it isn't as good. Don't use more than the 1 TSP or it will overwhelm - it's the only exact measurement)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet, melt a couple TBSP of butter & sautee garlic & onions until soft and translucent. Add the rest of the butter and all of the other ingredients except for the shrimp.

Place shrimp in baking pan (a deep 13x9 pan will work) and cover with butter sauce. Make sure shrimp is well covered by sauce; if not try another baking pan that's more appropriate to the shrimp/sauce ratio.

You'll bake the shrimp for approximately 25 minutes. At about 15 minutes, check it by taking out a piece of shrimp & cutting into it - shrimp needs to be firm & white throughout. Depending on your oven, it can take anywhere from about 15 minutes to 30 minutes. The majority of ovens I've used are around 25 minutes. After the 15 minutes check, I check every 5 minutes until done. And, of course, you only have to do this annoying exercise the first time you make this, then you'll know. Unless you move or buy a new oven. :-)

Britomart's Mexican Sweet Corn Pudding

I have this scrawled on a fairly stained & ancient recipe card, but am pretty sure I stole it from Epicurious. It's extremely simple and ridiculously delicious. Monkeys or deekays (with dry oven mitts) could make this without any injury. Technically a Mexican dish & great with Mexican entrees, but I'm a rebel & have served it with all sorts of things. Enjoy!

• 4 C frozen corn
• 4 eggs
• 1 C whipping cream
• 1/2 C milk
• 6 TBSP sugar
• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 TBSP flour
• 2 TSP baking powder
• 1 TSP salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter & thaw corn (I generally just put the corn in a bowl in the sink & fill it up a couple times with super-hot tap water). Mix all ingredients together; make sure it's well-stirred/combined, but nothing fancy. Dump into a greased pan (I generally use a generously-sized pie pan) and cook for 45 minutes.

(sylphmom) CJ's Birthday Cake

This isn't exactly a homemade recipe, but it's what I used to make for my mom for her birthday. Sometimes I still make it on her birthday, to share with my family.

Make two layers of a good, moist, white cake. If you use a cake mix, replace two tablespoons of the water with a favorite liqueur such as amaretto, grand marnier, or fra angelico--even my kids bake with liqueurs; they think of them the same as vanilla extract, and know better than to taste them uncooked. If you make the cake from scratch, don't change the milk volume, but add a tablespoon of liqueur. When the layers are cool, spread one of them with made-up instant pistachio pudding. Top it with the other layer, and frost it with this recipe:

6 tablespoons butter melted and cooled
1 pound powdered sugar sifted with
6 tablespoons cocoa
1 tablespoon liqueur (if you just use a flavoring extract, use 1 tsp, and slightly increase milk volume)
3-5 tablespoons milk (put some in a cup and measure from that)

Sift powdered sugar and cocoa in a medium bowl, add cooled melted butter and blend; add liqueur, then milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach a spreading consistency; beat until smooth and creamy. Spread this liberally over the cake, and then garnish it with some crushed pistachios, or sifted powdered sugar.

Unlike most cakes, this one should be stored in the refrigerator, but wrap it very carefully. Breads dry out quickly when refrigerated.

valeriel's Oven-Broiled Salmon

Borrowed from The Boss’ Wife (TBW) This recipe is sinfully easy to make. It has a great sweet and biting flavor to it. Since the salmon cannot be eaten right away, it’s a great dish to make if you are to have a meal after church or a meeting.

• 1½ lbs. salmon fillets (4-6 fillets)
• 3 T honey
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400º.

Mix honey, mustard & vinegar.

Put salmon in a glass baking dish and pour marinade over salmon.

Cook 15-20 minutes, testing for doneness.

Take the salmon out of the oven and sit it out for at least one hour. If eaten straight out of the oven, the flavors are too strong.

MartianIceQueen's Rum Cake

In honor of your birthday and the episode with House doing shots of 151 with a patient, I submit my rum cake recipe. It tastes better the second day after the glaze has really soaked in.

Cake:

• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1/2 cup dark rum
• 1/2 cup salad oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 package jello instant pudding (vanilla)
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 cup pecans (optional)

1. If the cake mix box says that it already contains pudding, then omit the pudding, use only 3 eggs (instead of 4), and 1/3 cup of oil (instead of 1/2 cup).
2. Combine all the ingredients (except pecans), mix (generally following the package on the cake mix box).
3. Generously butter a bundt pan, lightly flour it, then sprinkle 1 cup of pecans in the bottom (pecans are optional, I usually leave them out).
4. Pour cake over the nuts, bake one hour at 375 degrees.
5. Cool an hour or so, then take the cake out of the pan, and use a fork to poke holes all over the cake so that the glaze will penetrate. Pour the warm glaze over it (make sure to get the sides and everything).

Glaze:

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
• 1/2 cup rum

Melt butter in saucepan, stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in rum, pour on cake.

MisaGoddess' Clam Pizza

MisaGoddess writes, "This is so good I have been known to eat ¾ of a pizza in one sitting. Oink!"

• 3 cans chopped sea clams (I like Trader Joe’s brand)
• Juice from canned clams (use juice from *all* three cans – s/be about 1½ cups or so
• ¼ cup of white wine (not cooking wine; use a wine that you like to drink)
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 small chopped onion (I like to use sweet onions)
• 1/8 stick of butter
• Dash of salt; ½ tsp of pepper
• Mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Cornmeal (sprinkle on pizza pan before you put the dough on)

You can use frozen pizza dough or make your own (I usually make my own)

Sauté onion and garlic until translucent; add butter.

After the butter is melted, add clam juice, wine, salt and pepper. Simmer (do not boil) until reduced by half (takes roughly 30-40 minutes or so). Turn off heat and allow to cool.

Stir in chopped clams (don't cook the clams beforehand – they will get tough)

Top pizza dough with clam mixture and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until crust is golden and sounds hollow when tapped.

valeriel’s Rosemary Potatoes

Borrowed from The Boss’ Wife (TBW)

This is easy, easy, easy to make. It is also cheap to make, even in large batches. Great for potlucks because everyone loves potatoes!

• 2 lbs. new potatoes (I’ve used all kinds with excellent results)
• 2-3 T olive oil (ditto)
• 2 T chopped rosemary (fresh is best)
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced

Put all ingredients in a bag an toss them, making sure they are well coated.

Put on a cookie sheet and season with salt and pepper. TBW prefers kosher salt. It’s all right to be quite liberal with the salt.

Bake at 425º for 30 minutes, turning potatoes halfway through. I like it when the potatoes are a little crisper, so I tend to cook mine for at least an hour, especially if I’m making a huge batch.

The key to this recipe is the rosemary and the garlic. Sometimes when I make it I use more rosemary, sometimes more garlic. The experimenting is most of the fun!

Beach Bum's Spaghetti Casserole

According to Beach Bum, this is much better than it has any right to be! Fits in with House, me thinks. We find him far more lovable than he ought to be... ;)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Crumble 1lb ground beef into large skillet and brown over med-high heat. Add 1 onion, chopped, and 1 clove garlic, sliced or pressed.
3. Sautee briefly until the beef is cooked through.
4. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer meat to large mixing bowl (de-fat if desired).
5. Add one can (10.75 ounces) cream of mushroom soup, 1.5 cups favorite tomato-based pasta sauce, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 4 cups previously cooked spaghetti (can be cooked the night before; this is 8oz uncooked), 1/2 cup of water and stir to mix.
6. Transfer to 13x9/ 3qt baking dish (I recently used a deep 9x9 and it worked well), sprinkle with more shredded cheddar and 1 Tablespoon Parmesean cheese.
7. Bake until bubbling throughout and cheese is melted, about 18-20 minutes.

blue artemis' Eggplant Parmesan casserole (with meat)

blue artemis writes: "OK, I tried this last night, just to use some stuff up, and it worked." Thanks for sharing, and Happy Anniversary!

• A box of Trader Joe's Breaded Eggplant Cutlets (I guess any breaded eggplant slices will do)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 pkg mushrooms
• 1 large can of your favorite marinara sauce
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp crushed garlic
• black pepper to taste
• salt to taste
• 2 beefsteak tomatoes (or a bunch of romas) sliced
• shredded mozzarella cheese
• parmesan cheese

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the beef with the mushrooms in a pan (salt to taste). In a bowl, mix the olive oil (you can use less if the beef has some grease) the sauce, the garlic and the pepper. Pour over the beef once it is cooked.

In a lasagna-type pan, (8 X 8 works sort of) cover the bottom with sauce/meat. Then a layer of breaded eggplant cutlets. Then a layer of sauce. Then cover this with the cheeses. Then the tomatoes, then the eggplant cutlets (this should use them up). Then the rest of the sauce. Top with a thick layer of cheese.

Put in the oven and bake for about 45-60 minutes, or until the top is browned.

Beach Bum's White Chicken Chili

8 - 1.5 cup servings. Low fat, white chili - mild, but tasty!

• 1 tsp lemon pepper
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 clove garlic, chopped fine
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 (8 ounce) cans white shoepeg corn, drained
• 2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chiles, undrained
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (not a repeat, you use it two places)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 (14 ounce) cand white or Great Northern beans, undrained
• 2/3 cup crushed tortilla chips
• 2/3 cup shredded fat-free Monterey Jack cheese
• Green Tabasco sauce or Salsa (optional)

In a large saucepan (about 4 - 5 qt), combine 2.5 cups of water with the lemon pepper and 1 teaspoon cumin. Bring to a boil. Add the chicken breast halves and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 20 - 30 minutes, or until the chicken is fork tender and the juice runs clear. Remove the chicken from the pan and cut into tiny pieces. Defat the broth, return to the saucepan, and place the chicken back in the stock. Spray a medium skillet with vegetable oil cooking spray, add the garlic, and cook and stir over low heat 1 minute. Add to the chicken, then saute the onions in the same skillet, cooking until tender. Add the cooked onions, corn, chiles, cumin and lime juice to the chicken mixture. Bring to a boil. Add beans and simmer until thorougly heated, about 45 minutes. To serve, place about 1 tablespoon each of tortilla chips and cheese in soup bowls, ladle hot chili over and serve. Add green tabasco or your favorite salsa to taste for more kick.

Examorata's Cream cheese in a pastry shell

Hi-ho, Examorata here again, with another recipe that's actually from a friend. I have some too! I swear! They're in a little book at home, and I'll get to them one day.
This is the best. Appetizer. Ever. If you like cream cheese that is.

1 4 oz. package Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1/2 tsp. chives
1 egg yolk, beaten

The Pillsbury Cresent Rolls come out of the little popable tube in big triangles (for rolling into crescents!). What you want to do is take four of these triangles and make them into a square, letting them overlap at the seams. Roll this square of dough out a bit, paying special attention to the seams so they don't split apart. Sprinkle the chives on one side of the cream cheese and place the block of cream cheese, chives-side-down, on the dough. Bring the sides of the dough up and press together, wrapping the cream cheese. Like a present! A present full of cheese. Yum. Place the little present - with the seams where you pressed the dough together facing down - onto a baking sheet. Brush the top with beaten egg yolk. Bake 20-22 minutes at 350 until pastry is done and golden brown.

Note: We have this at my bookclub all the time. We have tried a number of spices - chives is my favorite, but it also works with dill or basil or oregano. Some spices work better than others - experiment! Serve this warm, with wheaty crackers - killer!

Happy Birthday, Britomart!!

Examorata's mashed potatoes

In fairness I must note that this recipe is from a friend, who got it from her mom. This is simple, and makes very flavorful delicious mashed potatoes!

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened/room temp
1/2 cup light cream
4 baking potatoes
1/4 cup chives (fresh or from a jar, both taste wonderful!)
milk to taste

Peel and cut potatoes into 1" by 1/4" wedges. Put in a big ol' pot and just cover with water. Boil for 20 minutes or until mushy. Drain. In a big dish, beat until they reach desired consistency (hey, you might like lumps). Add 1/2 the package of cream cheese, continue to hit with the handmixer until they are thoroughly mixed. Then add the rest of the cream cheese and the light cream. Beat until desired consistency, then add chives and mix in. If the potatoes are too dense, add milk to taste/desired consistency.

This is the recipe as I received it, I actually usually make it just with skim milk and cream cheese and leave out the light cream. They are delicious and rarely need much salt or pepper once done.

Enjoy!

deekay's Moroccan chicken

Even I can't ruin this one ... it's exotic, yummy, and simple - made in one pan. From Chatelaine magazine.

Ingredients:

6 bone-in chicken thighs or boneless breasts
1 large onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp (5 mL) each of cinnamon, ground cumin, and nutmeg
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
1 cup (250 mL) chicken bouillon or broth
1 cup (250 mL) orange juice
1 tsp (15 mL) liquid honey
3 carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup (250 mL) couscous
4 green onions, thickly sliced

Directions:

1. Skin chicken. Slice onion in thin wedges and stir in a frying pan with garlic, seasonings, bouillon, juice, and honey. Add carrots. Place chicken on top. Boil gently over medium-high heat, uncovered, until onion is softened, about 10 minutes. Turn chicken halfway through and stir occasionally.
2. Partially cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, turning chicken occasionally, until it feels springy. Liquid should be reduced to about 1 1/3 cups (325 mL). Remove chicken to a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm. Stir couscous and green onions into pan juices. Cover pan and turn off heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve chicken on top of couscous.

deekay's alterations:

I stick pretty closely to this for fear of ruining it, but it's not quite spicy enough for me so I add 1/4 - 1/2 tsp more of each spice (cinnamon, ground cumin, and nutmeg), depending on whether I'm sharing with a wimp or not. And if I'm walking on the wild side, I sometimes add more garlic.

Meldraw's Pink Stuff

I am by no means a well-versed cook, but I do have a book of recipes that my mother gave me, each of which has sentimental value for my family. Growing up, my favorite dessert was dubbed simply, "Pink Stuff," and it is extremely easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 (6 oz) pkg. strawberry or raspberry jello
• 2 cups boiling water
• 2 (10 oz) pkg. frozen strawberries or raspberries
• 1 angel food cake, broken into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups Cool Whip

Dissolve jello into boiling water. Add frozen fruit. Add a generous cup of Cool Whip to mixture and chill until partially set. Add the broken angel food cake and mix until all of the cake is moistened. Fill large mold and chill. After unmolding pink stuff, top with remaining Cool Whip.

Easy, right? Easy and delicious!

blue artemis' Mancha Manteles

Mancha Manteles translates to "stains the tablecloth," don't ask, my grandma named it. I have modified it from the original for the lazy (like me).

• 2-3 pounds pork meat
• 2 large onions
• 7-8 medium potatoes peeled and sliced (about 1/4 in)
• salt
• apple cider vinegar
• 1 jar Rick Bayless Chipotle Salsa or Trader Joe's Chipotle salsa
• 2-3 cloves garlic (peeled).

Fry the pork meat in a big stew pot. Salt to taste. Slice the onions, throw them in while the meat is cooking. When the meat is almost done and the onions are soft, throw in the potatoes and garlic. Let this cook for about 30 minutes. Then throw in some apple cider vinegar (about 1 to 1/2 cups). After you have stirred this in, throw in the entire jar of salsa. I usually let this all cook for about 1-2 hours. It gets soft, and orangey colored. It is very spicy, but tastes really good.

bibliosylph's PMS Pantry Jambalaya

blather---->!I had bought 2 boxes of Zatarain's roasted vegetable rice mix in honor of N.O., and thought tonight would be a good night to try it out, because I needed a quick fix as I am severely in pain, and also needed to watch the Emmys. And I had no sausage, but it's pretty much the thing otherwise. !<----end blather

When I make a stew or stirred-together one dish meal, I tend to double every ingredient except the meat, in order to make 8 servings. So when you're making only 4 servings, instead of worrying about using 1/2 can of something, think of it as about 1 cup. Then you'll have about 1 cup leftover for another meal. It'll actually be a little less than a cup, but close enough.

If you are a meat lover, you'll want to leave that amount the same, because I didn't double it for the amount of rice I used.

First, in honor of Dr. Gregory House, self-medicate by tossing down some naproxen sodium with a full glass of water, and then follow it up with a large glass of Bass Ale. Then assemble the following:

4 TBS butter
1 small red chile pepper, whichever variety you desire, seeded and chopped fine
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cups seasoned, chopped cooked chicken (you may shred á la Britomart, if you wish.)

5 cups hot water (or you can use chicken broth, if you have some hanging around.)

2 boxes Zatarain's rice mix, most flavors will suit, but not the ones with beans
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (or 2 cups chopped tomato, do not squish out the juice)
2 cups frozen corn (or 1 can)

Mostly, you're following box directions here:

In a 5 qt Dutch oven, melt the butter on medium-low heat, add pepper and onion, cook 2 or 3 minutes, then add chicken, turn up the fire a little, and heat through to meld flavors.

Add the hot water, and bring to a boil on high. Add the boxes of rice mix, bring to boil again, then simmer, with lid on, for 15 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, turning up heat long enough to bring back to a boil--probably less than a minute, and then simmer for 10 more minutes.

Some liquid should remain, but it will thicken as it cools, and leftovers will be very thick.

Serves 8.

Britomart's Curry Lentil & Chicken Soup

All credit to bibliosylph, who kindly posted her recipe for lentil soup in the Hizzy which was the basis for this. I was craving curry, so it changed. I've got good cooking karma going on this weekend or something, because I'm thrilled with this one, too. Bibliowench, I think you would love this - try it & let me know.

• 1 cup dried red lentils
• 1 cup dried brown lentils
• large chicken breast (mine was .85 lbs), sliced into 1-2 inch strips
• 1 package grape tomatoes, sliced in half (a can of diced tomatoes would be just dandy, too)
• 5 C vegetable or chicken broth (I used 1 C of chicken & 4 C of vegetable broth because that's all I had left)
• 1 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1 TBSP butter
• 5 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
• 1 medium onion, chopped finely
• 2 stalks celery, chopped finely
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 TBSP curry
• 1/2 TSP cayenne powder
• 1 TSP cumin
• 1/2 TSP nutmeg
• 1/4 TSP dried ginger
• 1/4 C fresh cilantro, chopped finely
• 1 C golden raisins (totally optional, but I love raisins in savory dishes, especially with chicken. I hate raisins in cookies or scones or cereal. Go figure.)

Melt butter/heat oil in a pot big enough for the soup (I used my 4 quart pot) over medium heat. Add garlic, onion & celery. Sautee until tender and translucent and golden and beautiful. More than 5 minutes, less than 10. Add all the seasonings & spices and stir them in. In another pan, boil broth & add chicken. Boil chicken for 20 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove chicken and put on a plate (you don't get a choice in this recipe!).

Add broth and lentils to garlic mixture, and increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat for a gently bubbling simmer. Continue simmering for about 45 minutes. I added a water through the process, those lentils are thirsty, absorbant little suckers! I probably ended up adding 3 C or so, but kept it really thick. You could almost eat it with a fork.

While it's simmering, and after the chicken cools, shred it! Shredding chicken is fun! After this weekend, I will never put chicken in a soup without shredding it! Wheee!

Reduce heat to medium-low & add the shredded(!) chicken, tomatoes, raisins & the lemon juice. Stir. Taste. Adjust the spices if it floats your boat. Cook for another hour or so, allowing all of the flavors to meld happily.

Unpossible's Salted Peanut Chews

Which sound unpossibly delicious. (Sorry, I couldn't resist. I'm weak!) Thanks for sharing, unpossible!

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 egg yolks

* 3 cups mini marshmallows

* 2/3 cup corn syrup
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 (12 oz.) package peanut butter chips
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 2 cups crispy rice cereal
* 2 cups salted peanuts

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the first group of ingredients, I usually use a hand mixer, and press the mixture into an ungreased 9x13-inch pan.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until light golden brown.

Remove from oven and spread marshmallows evenly on top of baked base layer. Return to oven for 2 minutes. Remove from oven and let the pan cool.

In a large saucepan, heat corn syrup, butter, vanilla and peanut butter chips, stirring consistency, until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in the cereal and peanuts.

Spoon warm topping over the marshmallows and base layer and spread evenly.

Allow time to cool. I usually put the pan in the fridge for a couple hours. Remove from pan and cut into squares.

That should be it. Enjoy!

Britomart's Tomato Cream Vodka Sauce

Probably my most favoritist of all pasta sauces. I like to serve this over penne pasta. You can serve it over any pasta you want!

• Mom o' Britomart's Basic Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 C heavy whipping cream
• 4 TBSP vodka
• 1/4 - 1/2 TSP cayenne powder
• Additional shredded cheese (see long, boring cheese discussion in Basic Tomato Sauce recipe)

Puree Basic Tomato Sauce in blender or food processor or using one of those hand-held blendy things (which rock - one of my favorite kitchen toys). Pour into saucepan on medium heat. Add cream and stir into sauce. Add cayenne pepper (aim is not to make this too spicy, but just give it a wee bite). Start boiling the pasta of your choice. When you're about 5-10 minutes from serving, add vodka. Pour sauce over pasta & sprinkle extra cheese on top.

Serve & enjoy!

Alternate mushroom version:
When making the basic sauce, add some sliced portabello mushrooms to the oil, butter & garlic. Sautee them for a little while - you want to cook off the mushroom moisture - probably an additional 10 minutes until you can add the tomatoes & continue with the rest of the recipe. I tend to cook big vats of the tomato sauce & freeze in batches. If you're doing something similar, just sautee mushrooms in separate pan & add to basic tomato sauce before you puree it.

Britomart's News Cafe Appetizer that a Monkey Could Make

Seriously, sooo simple.

I stole this from Miami Beach's News Cafe, one of my favorite cafes. They have a pretty simple menu, but they always use ridiculously fresh & great ingredients. Definitely eat there if you're ever in the area. I should disclaim that I never got a "recipe," so don't blame them if you don't like. :)

• Mom o' Britomart's Basic Tomato Sauce
• I loaf crusty French baguette
• Goat cheese
• Fresh basil

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut baguette into generous slices, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches. Hollow out a little pocket in the bread about the diameter of a quarter (sorry for the American coin bias - about the size of a British 50p coin or a 2 euro coin. I don't know any other currencies well enough. Sorry!) and about a cm or two above the bottom of the piece of bread. Fill little pocket with goat cheese. Place on baking sheet & cook for about 5 minutes.

While baking, heat up (unless you just made some & it's still hot) the tomato sauce. Tear basil into narrow strips, no more than an inch long.

Remove bread from oven. Cover plate with tomato sauce (a generous layer - a couple centimeters) and place baguette slices on top of sauce. Drizzle a small amount of extra sauce in artistic fashion over bread. Jauntily toss ripped basil pieces (quite a generous amount, the basil makes this dish!) all over plate. Serve.

Mom o' Britomart's Basic (and Best) Tomato Sauce Ever

Well, admittedly I'm biased. It's my mom's cooking, after all. But if not the best ever, this sauce is definitely up there. I also think that the entire world should be forced to make potato salad exactly like hers. I mean, it should be law.

This sauce is one of my staples. It's great on its own over pasta, it's great as a base for your lasagna sauce, it's yummy with additions like vegetables, chicken, Italian sausage. If you master this sauce, you can do anything! You can rule the world! And, it's ridiculously simple & easy. Friends have raved crazily in the past, then expressed great disbelief over how how easy it is. I'm going to post a couple other recipes that use this sauce as a building block. Aren't y'all excited? As you might guess, there's no exact recipe for this, but this is awfully close.

• 1 large can (it's the one that's around 30 oz) Contadina crushed tomatos (I prefer Contadina, but Hunts is okay, too. Just don't use on of those pre-seasoned ones. Go for the plain, pure tomatoes. I also use fresh tomatos for this on occasion- roast the tomatos in the oven (hot, around 400) until the skins are getting blistery. Remove, let them cool, then peel & discard the skins & chop them up. Honestly, though, this isn't worth the effort unless they're tomatos straight from a garden & even then it's not that much better.)
• 5 cloves of garlic (to taste, I love garlic, so you might want to cut back to 2-3 cloves), chopped finely
• 1 TBSP butter (Use real butter, not margarine. If you don't have real butter, just double the olive oil, but really I think the bit of butter is tres important)
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 2 TBSP fresh basil, chopped finely (you can use dried basil, but generally if I don't have fresh, the sauce just doesn't get any basil & it tastes fine)
• 1 cube chicken bouillon (this cuts the acidity just as well as sugar - you can skip this ingredient if you're going to add meat to it)
• 1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano or romano pecorino (I prefer the pecorino. I love the pecorino. Devotedly. I'm also an awful cheese snob & these are both pricy. For many years I couldn't afford them & my mother mailed them to me. My mother is lovely & generous. Anyway, any parmesan or romano will work - just promise not to use the stuff that comes in the green jar that shakes out.)
• salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil & melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic & cook for a couple minutes, until garlic is slightly golden. Add tomatoes, bouillon, basil, salt & pepper. Simmer for a couple hours. If you're pressed for time, at least half an hour. You can probably add the cheese any time, but I generally wait until the end because that's the way my mom taught me to. I doubt it matters.

See? Stupidly simple. But divine.

Bibliowench's Chicken Salad with Feta and Mint

Chicken salad for mayonnaise-phobic people:
Adapted (well, mostly stolen) from a recent Cooking Light recipe

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Oil 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (split or not); salt and pepper them well.
• Line a roasting pan with foil, place breasts on them, cook for 35-40 minutes
• Let chicken cool. Remove skin, cut flesh from bone, shred chicken with your fingers into smaller pieces (I never got to follow instructions like this when I was a vegetarian).
• Place in large mixing bowl.

Add:

• 1/2 cup chopped yellow pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped red pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped seeded english cucumber (regular is ok, just not as high-falutin')
• 1 1/2 tablespoon fresh mint, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 ounces of crumbled feta
• salt and pepper to taste
• Mix and eat.

Bibliowench's Black Bean Soup

So good that even her 3-year old, who seems to live on a diet of peanut butter and air, loves this dish.

• Dice one onion and one carrot. Mince or press a few cloves of garlic. Sautee in one tbsp of vegetable oil until onions are soft (5 minutes or so).
• Throw in 2 tbsp of chili pepper and 1 tbsp of cumin. Cook for one more minute.
• Add 3 cups chicken stock, 2 cans black beans, and about 1/3 bag of frozen corn (you got the fresh stuff, great, but this is my easy meal.) Bring to a boil.
• Puree 1 can black beans and 1 can stewed tomatoes in blender or food processor. Add to soup. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until carrots are tender.

Britomart's Chicken & Black Bean Soup

Disclaimer: after spending hours on Epicurious reading various soup recipes, consulting with friends & talking with my mother, I threw this together. While "inspired" by a number of recipes, I didn't use one, and all measurements are approximate (the amounts for the chicken & the broth are the closest to true accuracy). I'm pretty good at guesstimating/eyeballing amounts, though, so if you follow this closely, you should get the same soup.

I'll disclaim a little further (and fully aware of how conceited I'm being) and say that I'm ridiculously pleased with how this turned out. And I fed it to a very picky friend tonight & she had seconds - an unusually gluttonous move for her. This recipe is also rather ludicrously healthy given how yummy it is. If you want to indulge, I recommend flash frying tortilla strips in vegetable oil until crisp & dusting with salt & cumin. Then serve them on top of the soup. Other yummy, but unhealthy additions might be some shredded cheese or a dollop of sour cream. I'm just thinking of these extras now & should stress that I found this wonderfully delicious in its described, perfectly healthy state.

I should stop babbling now, right?

• 1½ pounds chicken breasts - no skin, bones removed, sliced into smallish strips
• 1-2 cups black beans (dried black beans, boiled for 5 minutes, soaked for an hour - canned would be lovely, too, I’m sure, but I did like the firmer texture of these happy dehydrated ones - the measurement is post-plumping, not the dried state)
• 4-5 cups chicken broth (I started with about 4, then added a cup more to make it more brothy)
• 1 TBSP of butter
• 3 stalks celery, chopped very finely
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped super-duper finely
• A dozen scallions/green onions, or equivalent amount of onions chopped (say it with me) finely (It’s soup, exact amounts of onions isn’t too big of a deal)
• 2 hot yellow banana peppers diced very finely (or, if you’ve a higher hot tolerance than I do, jalapenos, or a habanero or two…)
• Couple cups of sweet corn (frozen will be simply divine if you don’t want the bother)
• 1 package grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (the individual tomatoes, not the package - heh - a can or so of diced tomatoes would probably be swell, too)
  
• Lots of finely chopped cilantro - probably about ½ a cup
• Juice of two limes
• 1 TBSP of cumin*
• 1 TBSP of chili powder*
• 1 TSP of cayenne powder* (I’m guessing on these amounts, just added a bunch and tasted as I went, but I think this is within the realm of accurate)
• Salt & pepper to taste

In a large saucepot (don’t make the mistake I did & start with too small a pot & then have to do an annoying, messy transfer half-way through), bring broth & chicken bits to a boil - boil for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, melt butter & add celery, garlic, onions & hot peppers. Sautee until it’s all soft & a bit translucent, but not brown. Turn off heat & put aside.

Once chicken is done boiling, remove chicken with slotted spoon onto a plate or bowl or chopping board, or whatever floats your boat. Take some time until the chicken is cool enough to touch/handle - go post something amusing in the Hizzy.

Return to your cooled chicken, and shred it with your fingers. It’s kind of fun! Put the shredded chicken into the broth. Add the stuff you just sautéed, and everything else listed in the ingredients.

Let soup simmer with gentle bubbles for about an hour. Taste occasionally & add additional spices as your palate sees fit.

Recipes from the Hizzy: An Introduction

If you're here, you've already read my disclaimer in the Hizzy. Maybe this is a stupid idea, but since so many of us enjoy cooking, I thought it might be fun to have a blog where we can share our recipes. (Yes, I'm a dork. I'm tispy blog-creating, and that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

So, here it is. Enjoy! Or mock! Or both!