Cooking thread, anyone?

[PaulOinMA]

Nan's birthday dinner because it was Cinco de Mayo. As posted above: Almond Chicken (Pollo Almendrado) and Skillet Red Rice (Arroz a la Mexicana).

Chicken recipe calls for three full chicken breasts, which is six individual breasts. I halve the recipe because we split a chicken breast because they are frequently so large currently. Will have three dinners out of the cooking.

Recipes from: Mexican Cooking Class Cookbook. By the Editors of Consumer Guide. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International, 1990.

There are other cookbooks for Chinese, Wok, Japanese, Italian. Excellent series of cookbooks readily found online and at library book sales. Remember pre-pandemic library book sales? Miss going.

Recipes to be posted below.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Almond Chicken (Pollo Almendrado)​

Mexican Cooking Class Cookbook. By the Editors of Consumer Guide. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International, 1990. Spiral bound hardcover.

½ cup (125 mL) blanched almonds
3 whole chicken breasts ( 1 pound or 450 g each), split, boned, skinned
2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 mL) vegetable oil
1 tablespoon (15 mL) butter or margarine
¼ cup (60 mL) finely chopped white onion
1 fresh Anaheim or poblano chili, roasted, peeled, seeded, deveined (see page 5), finely chopped
1 small tomato, seeded, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup chicken stock or broth
¼ teaspoon (1 mL) salt
½ cup (125 mL) whipping cream
Tomato wedge
Fresh coriander sprig

1, Process almonds, about ¼ at a time, with on/off pulses in electric spice grinder to fine powder.

2. Dip chicken in almonds on small plate to coat all sides; reserve remaining almonds.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon (15 mL) oil and the butter in deep 10-inch ( 25-cm) skillet over medium heat until foam subsides. Add as many breasts as will fit in a single layer without crowding. Cook until chicken is light brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, reducing heat if almonds get too dark; remove to plate. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding 1 tablespoon (15 mL) oil, if needed.

4. Add remaining 1 tablespoon (15 mL) oil and the onion to skillet; sauté over medium heat until soft, anout 3 minutes. Add chili, chopped tomato, and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add stock, salt, and reserved almonds; heat over high heat to boiling.

5. Add chicken to skillet; reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove chicken to serving dish; keep warm, covered.

6. Add cream to cooking liquid; heat over medium-high heat to boiling. Cook and stir until sauce is slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes; pour over chicken. Garnish with tomato wedge and coriander.

Makes 6 servings.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Skillet Red Rice (Arroz a la Mexicana)​

Mexican Cooking Class Cookbook. By the Editors of Consumer Guide. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International, 1990. Spiral bound hardcover.

2 tablespoons (30 mL) lard or vegetable oil
1 cup (250 mL) raw long-grain white rice (not converted)
½ cup (125 mL) finely chopped white onion
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon (2 mL) salt
½ teaspoon (2 mL) ground cumin
Pinch pure hot chili powder
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped
1 ½ cups (375 mL) chicken stock or broth
1/3 cup (80 mL) shelled fresh or thawed frozen peas
2 tablespoons (30 mL) chopped pimiento
Pimiento strips

Heat lard in 10-inch (25-cm) skillet over medium heat until hot. Add rice; cook, stirring constantly until rice turns opaque white, about 2 minutes.

Quickly add onion; sauté over medium heat 1 minute. Stir in garlic, salt, cumin, and chili powder. Add tomatoes; cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes.

Add stock; mix well. Heat over high heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, until rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes.

Stir in peas and chopped pimiento. Cook, covered, over low heat until rice is tender and all liquid has been absorbed, 2 to 4 minutes longer. Rice grains will be slightly firm (al dente) and separate, rather than soft or sticky. Serve, garnished with pimiento strips.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Our notes: Make in oven safe 3-quart saucepan and place in 325 ℉ oven for 45 minutes. Remove and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I think I might have to give that Skillet Red Rice a try.

We had a cooking success last week in that I finally found a way to prepare Swiss Chard that three of my kids enjoy, and the last tolerates. Since it’s growing well in our garden, I needed a way to get them to want to eat it, and my previous attempts had not been very well received by three of the children. The successful attempt was baked chard with cheese sauce (the same basic sauce that I use on Welsh Rarebit).

One large bunch chard, thick stems removed, and leaves chopped.
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Precook the thick stems of the chard for a few minutes, then add the chopped leaves and cook for a few more minutes. Drain. Put in casserole dish and top with cheese sauce. Bake for about 10 minutes in 350 degree oven.



It was cool and damp the other day, so it was a good day to use the oven. I had planned the chicken and potatoes the day before, and when I asked my third (formerly chard disliking) child what the vegetable should be, I was very pleased when she requested chard with cheese sauce.

 

[clancey]

You kind of need to get used to something like that but cheese sauce is great and so is chicken and potatoes..Yes..clancey

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I made a great pizza sauce today. I had two pounds of tomatoes from the garden, but I also had a couple of zucchini and a small eggplant that I wanted to use. Instead of topping the pizza with them, I decided to incorporate them into the sauce as an experiment, and I’m very pleased with how it turned out. I sautéed onion first, then added eggplant, then zucchini, and I cooked those down a good bit before adding minced garlic, fresh basil, oregano, and thyme, and finally adding the tomatoes that I had run through our hand food mill. Once I put those in, I puréed the concoction with an immersion blender, and cooked it down while I mixed up the pizza dough. It made a great sauce for dinner and extra for the freezer. I’m hoping to be able to make more of it in coming weeks as the tomatoes ripen.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Our Father’s Day meal:

Skirt Steak with Paprika Butter

Chef Vinny Dotolo's recipe is an easy lesson in how to grill skirt steak. He serves it thinly sliced, with a lightly smoky, tangy paprika butter drizzled on top. The sunchoke and kale hash underneath absorbs the butter and juices from the steak nicely.

www.finecooking.com

We buy a grass-fed steer every few years, and we had inside skirt steak in the freezer from the last purchase three years ago. I found the recipe above, and it was quite a hit with the whole family. I made the garlic butter in the same pan the steak had been cooked in. I didn’t see a need not to have the meat drippings or to dirty another dish.

Mashed potatoes (the last harvest from our garden)

Vegetables Masala (onion, pepper, zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes from the garden). Those are not necessarily my husband’s favorite vegetables, but he’s on board with eating what the garden gives, so the garam masala flavoring improves it for him.



The best news is that it was such a hearty meal that we have enough leftovers for a second. I love it when the next day’s lunch or dinner is already covered.

 

[EbS-P]

Cedar plank salmon on the grill. Grated a little butter on the top with some limes and clementines. Season to your taste. Ours was the last picture. Mostly cinnamon allspice and hot pepper.

I would like to try some pecan or apple planks.
Evan

 

[PaulOinMA]

From the Stonyfield yogurt web site. Made it Sunday, and we are finishing it tonight. Excellent recipe for hot summer days when you don't want to cook for a few days.

Wild Rice & Chicken Salad

The prepared rice mix lets you get a jump start on this satisfying fruit and nut salad. If you can't find fig vinegar, feel free use to use another lighter, sweet variety of vinegar, like raspberry or apple cider.

Ingredients

1 box long grain and wild rice mix (6 ounces)
1/2 c Stonyfield Organic Low Fat Plain Yogurt
2 T fig-flavored vinegar
1 T Dijon mustard
3/4 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 T olive oil
1 lb. boneless (skinless chicken breasts, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide strips)
1 Gala apple (cored and chopped)
7 scallions (trimmed and chopped)
1/2 c chopped toasted pecans
1/2 c dried cranberries
1 head Bibb lettuce (separated into leaves, rinsed and dried)

340 Calories; 12g fat; 22g protein. 6 Servings.

Preparation

Step 1 - Prepare rice mix following package directions, discarding any seasoning packet.

Step 2 - Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix yogurt, vinegar, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper; set aside.

Step 3 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook for 6 to 9 minutes or until cooked through. Remove chicken from skillet and cut into bite-size pieces.

Step 4 - In a large bowl, stir together chicken, apple, scallions, pecans and cranberries. Add rice and stir to combine. Pour yogurt dressing over top and gently mix.

Step 5 - To serve, make bowls with individual Bibb lettuce leaves. Equally divide the rice salad among the leaves. Or, line a large serving bowl with the lettuce leaves; spoon the salad into the bowl.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 340. Calories from Fat: 110. Total Fat: 12g. Saturated Fat: 1.5g. Cholesterol: 45mg. Sodium: 380mg. Total Carbohydrate: 38g. Dietary Fiber: 4g. Sugars: 12g. Protein: 22g. Vitamin A: 20%. Vitamin C: 10%. Calcium: 8%. Iron: 10%.

http://www.stonyfield.com/recipes/wild-rice-chicken-salad

Notes - Adjust ingredients and amounts to suit personal preference. We do the following.

Rinse brown rice and add to recipe amount of water in an oven-safe sauce pan. Bring to boil. Place in 325 ℉ oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand covered for 10 minutes to steam. Spread in baking pan to dry and cool.

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and cook a hot, oiled skillet. Cool.

Cut scallions. Cut whole almonds in half. Add to dried cranberries in mixing bowl. Add cooled rice and chicken. Stir. Place in refrigerator.

Mix vanilla yogurt, balsamic vinegar, deli mustard, and a little salt and pepper. Place in container in refrigerator.

Dice cored gala apple. Place serving of chicken-rice mixture on individual serving plate. Top with diced apple and dressing. Enjoy!

Even easier if you have pre-cooked, seasoned boneless chicken in the freezer from grilling.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Rinse rice and cook while preparing other ingredients.

Sunday was 1 1/2 cups brown rice and 3 cups water in an oven safe sauce pan into the oven. 20-oz. chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces and cooked in a hot, oiled skillet.

Dried cranberries, scallion, and whole almonds cut in half.

Mixed with cooled rice and chicken.

Vanilla Greek yogurt, balsamic vinegar, deli mustard, freshly ground pepper, and a little salt.

Topped with diced gala apple and a little dressing. Yum!

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Interesting that you opted to change out plain yogurt for Vanilla flavored. The recipe looks very tasty, but I wouldn’t have thought of that substitution.

I checked out a kids’ cookbook from the library recently for my eight year old. She picked out a Brazilian black bean dish that I made for lunch yesterday. We had leftovers today with blistered shishito peppers on the side. A gardening friend recommended that I give them a try, and she was right that they’re growing well for me, and my kids really enjoy the dish.



Tonight’s dinner is going to be an Indian chicken dish, also inspired by the kids’s cookbook. We’ll have bhindi masala for a side because I just picked up a big bag of fresh okra from our local farm store. We’ve got tomatoes, onions, and peppers from our garden.

 

[begreen]

Yum, I love a good bhindi masala.

 

[PaulOinMA]

We have salad, yogurt, fruit every day for lunch. Have vanilla yogurt in refrigerator.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

We have salad, yogurt, fruit every day for lunch. Have vanilla yogurt in refrigerator.

I love lunches like that. I’m also a great believer in using what’s on hand, but I’m not sure I’d ever have been bold enough to try a sweetened yogurt in a savory dish.

I made a curry sauce with plain yogurt last night and marinated chicken thighs in it. My husband then grilled them for me while I sauteed the bhindi masala. I was very pleased with how it turned out, except that I added a bit too much lime juice to the sauce. I think I’ll repeat the recipe but cut that in half.

To the blender I added:
1 and 1/2 cups plain yogurt
2 tablespoons lime juice (I used four actually but the cooked sauce was a bit tart, so I’m adjusting the list)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves
2 hot (fish) peppers (seeds and membrane removed)
3 ginger leaves
1 inch of peeled ginger root

I marinated the chicken for about 90 minutes in the refrigerator. That was enough time to add some good flavor. I did boil the marinade on the stovetop, and it made a good topping on the rice, though it was a bit tart.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Didn't want to cook again this week because of the heat wave. Made this on Sunday: Skillet Pasta with Summer Squash, Ricotta and Basil.

Recipe here: Skillet Pasta with Summer Squash, Ricotta and Basil Recipe - PureWow .

Having it as a cold pasta salad for dinner for a few nights. Add the ricotta and top with shredded Romano when plated.

More pictures in here: Skillet Pasta with Summer Squash, Ricotta, and Basil - Too Many Chefs in the Kitchen - Wagner and Griswold Society (WAGS) Forum (griswoldandwagner.com)

 

[begreen]

I made a variation of the chicken and rice salad on Sunday. It came out pretty good. We already had some cooked rice and chicken. I used homemade yogurt and added some garlic powder and diced celery to it. Tasted good. There were no leftovers.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I spent the morning making ketchup from fresh garden tomatoes. They were not all sauce tomatoes, so it took some time to cook down, but I ended up with almost six cups. Once it cooled, I added some whey drained from our homemade yogurt, and I’ll let it ferment for a couple of days before moving it to the refrigerator.



Of course, in light of the ketchup making, we had homemade French fries and hamburgers for dinner with zucchini and eggplant on the side.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I’ve been harvesting a lot of cucumbers recently. I’ve filled all my large pickle jars, I’ve made salads of all sorts, but this morning my son remembered that there were some leftovers from cucumber popsicles in the fridge. We had been outside in the heat and humidity, and it was a great cooling and hydrating snack for us.

I wanted to post the recipe here for anyone who might be interested. We used plain refined sugar and a chili lime seasoning. Not everybody in our household likes them, but I’ll be making another couple of batches for sure. They are good snack for my son and me after we spend time in the garden.

Cucumber Lime Yogurt Pops - Alton Brown

altonbrown.com

I’ve also used the recipe linked below for Creamy Cucumber Salad with Lemon Yogurt Dressing for inspiration. Most recently I added some feta for variation, and that was well received. I find it a good idea to salt and drain my cucumbers before making the salad if I’m going to make a large batch. It keeps well that way for a couple of days. I might need to try some other recipes in the next couple of days.

Creamy Cucumber Salad with Lemon Yogurt Dressing

Creamy Cucumber Salad with a tangy lemon Yogurt Dressing with Mint. Sensational side salad for Middle Eastern food, Indian food, and summer grill outs!

www.recipetineats.com

Tonight we had some pretty simple chicken and rice leftovers for dinner, but we needed a vegetable. I picked beans this evening and noticed that one, just one, cob of corn was ready. What to do with one cob for six people?



There’s a little sautéed onion and banana pepper, green beans, and corn. We’ve been having a lot of tomatoes, too, so I wasn’t going to use them at first. When I was cooking, though, I could just tell that the dish needed red. It was a good addition.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

We had an Asian-inspired Fourth of July lunch: grilled chicken marinated in a Satay sauce and another cucumber salad with a soy and sesame dressing. My husband prefers this kind of dressing over a yogurt- or vinegar-based one. I figured we just needed to vary our cucumbers. I’m getting behind in using them.

Asian Cucumber Salad

This recipe for Asian cucumber salad is cucumbers and colorful veggies tossed in a zesty sesame dressing. The perfect quick and easy side dish!

www.dinneratthezoo.com

 

[clancey]

That sure looks like a wonderful meal...I am hungry now and will look in my icebox to see what I can eat--shame on you--making me hungry like this...looking good yum yum all gone...clancey

 

[PaulOinMA]

My wife sent me some Julia Child quotes.

A party without cake is just a meeting.

When you flip anything, you just have to have the courage of your convictions ... you can always pick it up if you’re alone in the kitchen. Who is going to see?

If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.

The best way to execute French cooking is to get good and loaded and whack the hell out of a chicken. Bon appétit!

 

[clancey]

I like your attitude...lol clancey

 

[DuaeGuttae]

Today was tomato sauce day. I made two small batches by filling a cookie sheet with cored and halved tomatoes and roasting them. This helps get some of the excess liquid off, makes the skins very easy to remove, and helps bring out the flavor. I didn’t season or add onion, garlic, or herbs to these batches, just because I wanted some plain sauce for a recipe I was cooking and for the freezer. I ran the skinned tomatoes through a food mill. (I know the food mill would have removed the skins, too, but they’re super easy to pluck off, so I prefer it that way.)



The white tomatoes are just a different variety from my garden. They taste a little milder than the red ones but still are pretty good. Once they were together in the sauce, it still looked like normal tomato sauce.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

I had some saladette tomatoes in the garden that cracked this week because of a rather unexpected four inches of rain. This morning I turned the cracked tomatoes into just enough pizza sauce for two pies. It’s somewhat rainy this morning, and the temperature is still in the 70’s, so it was okay to use the oven. (Often in July I’m grilling everything to avoid heating the kitchen; this week has been very different weather.) I used up an open package of Canadian bacon and some banana peppers and the few spears of okra that my plants have just started bearing. It made a pretty good pizza topping.

 

[clancey]

That looks not good--all that dull green in it swirled around---not for me...clancey