The Hobbits' Cooking Guild

[Morwenna]

Oooh man! Sounds like moussaka with pasta instead of the eggplant!

[rwhen]

Thanks Watcher. I got it and I will try it and let you know. I appreciate you taking the time to type it all out for us here.

[Arassuil]

Thanks Watcher! I made your Bolognese using Italian sausage and halved it. Quite good! I highly recommend it!

I cheated on the pasta and used store-bought wholegrain thin spaghetti because I was being lazy.

[Morwenna]

So you don't make hubby's mistakes...

Scalloped Beef Brownette

Sliced leftover roast (grilled, whatever) beef
Sliced raw potatoes, enough to fill the desired casserole dish
One can cream of mushroom soup
Leftover gravy, hopefully as much as the soup but a cup will do
One cup milk
Topping of your choice (cheese is nice, or something crunchy)

Layer everything except the topping, starting and ending with the potatoes, then the topping on top (duh!), bake UNcovered at about 350 degrees American, until the potatoes are done.

My mother cut this out of a newspaper or magazine either before I was born or when I was very little. The name given here was the name given there, and it stuck with us.

Two tips:
My mother always made beef gravy with Worcestershire sauce, so if the gravy you're using doesn't have any in it, add a little. A teaspoon is more than enough.

Mom never put onions into it, but hubby did it when he made this, and it tasted great. A sliced onion layered in with the potatoes will cook up nicely.

If for some reason you don't have gravy, make a white sauce. You need something for thickener (just ask hubby!). But gravy is best. Make a gravy out of commercial beef stock if you have to.

[heliona]

Heavens, it's been a while since people have posted in here!

I've just started a new meal plan, which involves eating lots more vegetables and lower fat meat. I'm following a set plan, which has some lovely recipes (some of which I'm tweaking due to lack of ingredients). Today I made a rather lovely soup:

Chickpea Soup with a Moroccan Twist - serves 1

1 tspn olive oil
3 tbsp frozen peas
2 tbsp canned chickpeas (drained)
1 garlic clove
⅓ large can chopped tomatoes
¼ pint vegetable stock
½ tspn turmeric
½ stick chopped celery
½ small chopped onion
½ lemon
1 tsbp chopped coriander
1 wholemeal roll

Put the oil into a heavy-based saucepan and sweat the onion and garlic in the oil for a few minutes until the onion is soft and opaque in colour.

Stir in the turmeric then add all the other ingredients, except the coriander. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes then stir in the coriander before serving with the wholemeal roll.

Obviously, adjust the amount of ingredients for however many people you're feeding. I also didn't have any peas, or lemons, so I added lemon juice instead.

[Morwenna]

Oooh, goody! Time for more recipes! Don'tcha love autumn, when everyone wants to get back into the kitchen?

[Morwenna]

Here they are, the recipes as we made them.

Apple Pie--the way my mother used to make it, only hers came out better than mine

Crust:

2 cups flour
2/3 + cups shortening
1 tsp salt
water--1/2 to 2/3 cup

Filling:

5 cups sliced MacIntosh apples
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Butter to dot

Milk to brush on as glaze

Bake at 425 degrees F. approx. 40 min. (should be somewhat browned and the apples should be bubbling)

Whole Wheat Beer Bread--hubby got this off a bag of whole wheat flour

Sift together:
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. salt
Add:
1 12-oz. beer

Bring just together by folding. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F., spoon batter into a greased loaf pan, and bake 55-60 min. Test with toothpick or until an internal temp. of 200-210 degrees F. Let rest 5 min. and un-pan. Serve after 15 min.

Banana Nut Bread--this is what my mother made a lot of; she got the recipe from a friend

2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp, baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Cream butter, gradually beat in sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add bananas, mix well. Blend in sifted dry ingredients, fold in nuts. Pour into greased loaf pan,bake at 350 degrees F. 60-70 min. Caveat: watch it, mine took less time, and I could have taken them out even earlier. I only got a third place ribbon for it and I think that's part of the reason. Test the middle! It should be fully done but moist to the bite.
And a little tip from home: my parents had no bottom teeth, so instead of chopping the nuts, Mom used to grind them.

All these recipes are for one item. We doubled everything to make two of each so we could choose the better one to enter.

[JudyA]

Aah, recipes. Very cool indeed.

What's the procedure here? Does one offer recipes for one's best meals or do we talk about them first and then post stuff people are interested in?

[Morwenna]

Heck, I just post whenever I get something good.

Farther back, there were people discussing some techniques. I believe it's just a place to share techniques and recipes. I'm a latecomer myself, only in the most recent few pages. But I do wish all those people who post recipes over in Foodies (Talk) would post them here so we have All the recipes Together!

[scotspine]

I am Scotspine..one of the last ENTS

I am searching for ENTWIFELOST

Have you seen her?

[Arassuil]

I have found a few recipe threads. One dated back to 2000. Lots of good stuff!

I like the beer bread recipe! Must give it a try me thinks!

[Morwenna]

I keep talking about these over in Talk--Foodies, so I figured I'd post them here, because I reference them so much.

Take a round of pita or panini, warm it so that it won't crack when folded. Spread it all over with tahini paste. Then on one half of it, put crumbled feta cheese, sliced tomato or cucumber or both, and sprinkle with a little cumin.

Fold. Eat. But keep it over a plate; tahini, like so many sauces, tends to drip.

[JudyA]

Just posted this in the foodies thread in talk, so thought I'd better pop it in here, too - for people who lookses for recipes, precious

This recipes comes from an old book my mum put together for church when I was a kid, filled with recipes by sweet ladies who have long since gone to God. This one was by Mrs Dawe and she called it:


A Lovely Jelly Sweet

1 packet of jelly crystals (lemon, passionfruiit or pineapple)
1 cup boiling water
225ml evaporated milk, chilled
2-3 passionfruit (or 1 small tin passionfruit)

Make up the jelly with just the one cup of boiling water. When it's half set but not really firm, pour the evaporated milk into a bowl and whip it in a mixer until stiff peaks have formed - much like egg white. Add the whipped milk to the jelly and whip again, until both arel well combined.
Add the passionfruit pulp (if you're using the tinned pulp drain off some of the excess liquid then fold the rest in) and carefully fold it through the mixture. Cover and pop it back in the fridge for an hour or two until completely set.

The best thing about this recipe is that it's got quite a bit of calcium but it's also a wee bit naughty. You can use low-fat evaporated milk. I've never used no-sugar jelly but I can't see why it wouldn't work.

[Morwenna]

I've been meaning to post this for a couple years now, and I had to find it on the Internet (and they're copies of 2 different postings I did on 2 different boards!!)

2 cups pumpkin puree (a 15 oz. can works fine)
1 1/2 cup honey
4 eggs
1 cup evaporated milk (regular or skim)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 teaspoon ground cloves
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 cup raisins

Mix first 10 ingredients in large bowl. In another, mix flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add to wet ingredients all at once, whisk until blended. Do Not Overmix. Stir in raisins. Fill nonstick (hah!) or greased muffin pans about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 min. for standard size muffins, about 10 min. for gems, 60-65 min. if you're making it into 2 loaves instead. Cool 15 min. before removing from pans.

(Now let's see if this version shows up on yet another website! You can Google this; it comes up as Prosperity Pumpkin Muffins, and they're identical only the measurement for the cloves in one of them is off. The wording is different because one of them--the one with the wrong measurement--has the esoteric attributes of the ingredients, taken from the book out of which I got the recipe originally. That book is Halloween by Silver RavenWolf, and she attributes the recipe to someone else, but my copy is buried somewhere so I can't reproduce it here right now.)

[Arassuil]

Those sound scrummy Morwenna! May have to give them a go!

Since its warming up here in Brizz, here is an interesting Chilli BBQ Sauce I used with the stock Cole's supermarket deli skinless chicken thighs...

• 2 Orange Haberneros
• 4 Spring Onions, sliced into 5 CM/2" lengths
• 3 Cloves Garlic, peeled
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated Ginger 1 5CM/2" piece
• 4 sprigs fresh Thyme
• 2 teaspoons ground Allspice
• Juice of 2 Limes
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup Pineapple juice

Throw everything except the liquids into a food processor and process to a paste. Add liquids and mix well.

Marinade chicken thighs, slashing them to allow the marinade to get right into the meat. Let them rest in the marinade for at least 4 hours, basting them if/when you remember.

BBQ, turning once, until the juices run clear.

Eat.

[Morwenna]

Fruity barbecue! Sounds like a perfect sauce for chicken. Fruit and hot spices go better together than many people realize. Hubby bought some fruit w/ hot pepper jellies a month or so ago and they're very good. He has the info from the maker and he's thinking about ordering more. I bet one of those would make a good glaze for chicken too, maybe even ham.

[JudyA]

Hi all - thought I'd post this recipe here after writing it into the foodies thread for rwhen. I've added the metric measurements back in for those who will find that useful.

Let me know if any of you cook it.



JudyA's bolognese sauce

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 small brown onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2-3 stalks celery, finely chopped
2-3 carrots, finely chopped
3 pounds lean beef mince (1.25kg to 1.5kg)
4 x 14oz cans of diced tomatoes (4 x 400g)
1/2 cup to 1 cup red wine (I use sangiovese, merlot or sometimes cabernet sauvignon)
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil to a low-medium heat in a large, heavy-based pot. Add the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes until the onion is soft (don't let it brown). Add the chopped celery and carrot and cook for another five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Turn the heat up to medium and add the mince, breaking it up with your spoon until there are no clumps. Mix the mince into the vegetables and cook until is it well browned.

Add the diced tomatoes and 1/2 cup of wine and mix well. Add a little more wine if you think the colour of the sauce needs to be darker - 3/4 cup all up is usually enough.

Mix in the bay leaves, salt and pepper, turn the heat down to a low simmer and place the lid on the pot. Cook slowly for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve over hot pasta and top with lots of freshly grated parmesan.

[truehobbit]

Hehe, lookee what I got for Christmas: www.albatrossart.co.uk/Dreamworlds/HobbitRecipes.htm

(Early pressie - my sweetheart's gaming group has a Christmas meet-up each year, and this year's was last weekend - there was a little playing of board games, but mostly eating, drinking, chatting and loads of pressies. )

Almost all the recipes involve either mushrooms or rabbit. My sweetie says some sound good (some others call for ingredients that would be hard to get in a non-hobbit society ) and he would like to try making some of them. (I guess I'll leave him to deal with the rabbit and try my own hand at some of the mushroom ones. )

[Morwenna]

Wow, that looks great! I think I want to investigate that website for more than just food, though... Thanks for the link!

It's definitely time to start holiday baking. Hubby ran us out of flour!! He'd better get back to that store, pronto Tonto...!

[Morwenna]

I BAKED A CAKE!! I'll have to frost it tomorrow after work (it's for tomorrow's party across the street). Tonight I'm brain-dead. It's the recipe my mother made almost every Christmas for maybe 30 years. And it's the FIRST time I ever tried it!!!

[Morwenna]

Ho-kay. I made and frosted the cake and brought it to the party and got rave reviews and the only people who didn't try it were those who were allergic to nuts or who don't like orange cake in the first place. We brought a little over a quarter of it home mainly because there was soooo much food there... The host, who's a part-time professional caterer, wants a copy of the recipe!

My copy of the recipe is in my seventh-grade (age about 12) affected-style printing, which I did because my mother's original was getting so battered. The recipe goes back at least to the 1940s or early '50s, and it's written in just such a style. I'm going to post it here but in more like modern cookbook style.


Fresh Orange Layer Cake

2 1/4 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
Grated rind of 1 orange (about 1 tsp.)
1 cup liquid (1/4 cup unstrained orange juice plus 3/4 cup water or milk)
2 eggs, unbeaten

Sift together sifted flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add shortening, grated orange rind, and two-thirds of the liquid, and beat vigorously with a spoon or with electric mixer on slow to medium for about 2 minutes. Add remaining third of the liquid and the eggs and beat for 2 more minutes. Pour into 2 prepared 8" baking pans, bake at 350 degrees F. for about 30 minutes. Cool.

Creamy Nut Filling and Frosting

2 1/2 tbsp. flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar [ordinary, granulated sugar is understood here]
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1 cup sifted confectioner's sugar

Into the flour gradually blend the milk. Cook to very thick paste (about 10 min.), stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm. Meanwhile, cream together butter, shortening, sugar, and salt. Add the lukewarm paste. Beat with rotary beater until fluffy. Fold in vanilla and nuts. Use about one-third the amount for filling. To remainder, blend in the sifted confectioner's sugar for top and sides of cake.

Now for the footnotes. This recipe is so old that the cake part specifies "double-action" baking powder and "high-grade" vegetable shortening. And the ingredients don't appear at the top; they're mentioned only as they come into the process. It has taken me forever to turn this all around into modern standard format, and proofread it to death. I think I'll copy it over this way for myself as well, so it's easier to assemble everything ahead of time and not have it take an hour to do so!

And what I used was a navel orange, which it seems are lighter in flavor than the standard seeded oranges, even though they're larger. I'm remembering a stronger flavor, and hubby agreed that it ought to be stronger (in fact he brought it up first). So even though the proportion of juice to water was larger for me, it still wasn't enough, and same with the grated rind. Plan accordingly. (Yes, I used the juice of the same orange that I grated the zest off of. It's what Mom always did.)

As for the nuts, what Mom always used was walnuts, so that's what I used as well. I suppose you could use any kind you like--or leave them out altogether if you don't want them for whatever reason. And instead of coarse-chopping them, I ground them, which is what Mom used to do, especially in later years when my parents had no bottom teeth. And if you like your outer frosting stiffer (and maybe sweeter), you might use more confectioner's sugar, because even with the one cup, it was very soft. Don't expect it to harden! Oh, and since the recipe says "rotary beater" for the frosting, I assume they're talking about the manual variety which we used to have back when (we called them "egg beaters" then); I just used the electric hand mixer again. Or you could use your muscles.

Needless to say, time was when oranges and walnuts were Christmas stocking staples, and in Mom's day it was about the only time of year that the poor got oranges! And Mom's family was poor. So when she found this recipe, it literally screamed "Christmas" at her! And it was a real treat for me to taste this cake again, which I hadn't since the last one Mom made, which has to be at least 23 years ago! I think I'll make another one for Christmas Day, either for us or to bring to wherever we're having dinner.

[Arassuil]

Sounds like a scrummy cake Morwenna! I'll add it to my 'cookbook of pilfered recipes off various websites to try'. Of course, full credit is given to whoever I get them from.

I made some Pico de Gallo style salsa last night that turned out more green than red. Probably due to the lack of red capsicum. The green capsicum was orange on one side, and the yellow was almost red on one side. A various assortment of red chillies and a couple green ones.. a jalepeno and a sweet. Decent heat with this one. Now to go find more unsalted corn chips....

[heliona]

A few people on Facebook have asked for my recipe for my ham and cheese muffins that I've just made, so I thought I'd post it here. I have taken a photo of them, so I'll edit this post with a photo later.

Ham & Cheese Muffins

Ingredients:

- 2 cups (300g) self-raising flour
- ½ teaspoon chicken stock powder
- ½ teaspoon ground hot paprika
- 80g butter
- 6 slices (130g) ham, chopped
- 1 ½ cups (185g) coarsely grated cheddar cheese
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 cup (250ml) milk
- ground hot paprika, extra

Method:

1: Preheat oven to 200°C/180° fan-assisted. Grease 12-hole (1/3 cup/80ml) muffin tray.
2: Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl, rub in butter. Stir in ham and cheese, then egg and milk.
3: Spoon mixture into prepared tray, sprinkle with a little extra paprika. Bake muffins about 20 minutes.

(I always grease and flour any tin that I cook things in - I did this time and had no problem getting the muffins out. I'd also not put the paprika on top unless you can get it even - I didn't manage to and so occasionally I'd get a mouthful of rather strong paprika!)

[Morwenna]

Oh, that sounds good! Hubby would love it. As for the paprika, I think if it's sieved over the top it would be more likely to spread evenly than if sprinkled freehand. We get hot and/or smoky paprika from a friend of ours who has a home spice business, and her spices come in jars without sprinkle tops, so we have to get creative. Smoked paprika on muffins like yours sounds absolutely yummy!

[heliona]

Yeah, after I'd done it, I thought that I should have used a sieve! I didn't use hot paprika, so to be honest you can't taste it in the muffin itself. Also you can't taste the chicken stock. *shrug* But they still taste lovely!

[Arassuil]

Ah Paprika... I learned the major difference between the 'hot' and the 'smoked' and the 'sweet' last week when I mixed up a batch of my taco seasoning. Usually I add the sweet smoked, but this time I added the hot, and the tacos were flaming! The heat seemed to mellow with age though, and the next day it was quite right. Live & learn.

Been thinking of trying this BBQ Chicken recipe I found on a website....

Beer-Brined BBQ Chicken Recipe
(by 'Nathan' in the Hunter Valley New South Wales)

Recipe type: Main (Chicken) Prep time: 24 hours Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 24 hours 45 mins Serves: 4-6

The secret to any great roast, or BBQ, chicken is to soak it in brine for up to 24 hours. Here is my favourite recipe which always produces the sweetest and most moist meat you’re likely to ever enjoy. It sounds like there is a lot of beer in this recipe and in fairness there is so you may like to save this recipe for special occasions, or use home brew. I normally buy a growler (hence the 1.9 litres, or half-gallon) of what ever is on tap at my local bottle shop. This recipe should make enough brine to cover a 2 to 3 kg chicken.

Ingredients

• 1 cup “rock” salt
• 2 tablespoon black peppercorns, ground
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 3 small onions, peeled and chopped
• 8 bay leaves, preferably fresh
• 3 oranges, halved
• 1 bunch fresh sage leaves, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 litres water
• 1.9 litres (½ gallon) of your favourite Pale Ale or IPA
• 1 fresh (not frozen) chicken

Instructions:
Place all ingredients, except the beer and chicken, in a large pot and bring to the boil. Ensure the salt and sugar has dissolved and then remove from the heat.
Allow to stand and cool at room temperature for 2 hours; this is to infuse the flavours to their maximum.
Add the cold beer to the mix and place the mix in the fridge to bring it down to around 4°C (38°F).
Find yourself a large enough plastic container and add the chicken to it.
Pour the brine over the top, ensuring that the bird is completely covered.
You may need to place a plate or “weight” on the bird to keep it submerged at all times.
Place the lid (or cling-wrap) on the plastic container and store in the fridge overnight – I average around 16-20 hours when I prepare this recipe.
Remove the bird from the brine after your desired time period and pat dry using paper absorbent towel.
Let stand and air dry for a further 30 mins. Depending on the room temperature you may need to adjust this accordingly.
Doing this will help to create a really crispy skin and to bring the chicken up to room temperature which will help ensure your bird is cooked the whole way through.
Preheat your oven, or BBQ, to 250°C (480°F ... in other words, really hot). Lower the temperature as necessary if you have a fan-forced oven.
Tie the chickens legs together, rub some olive oil over the bird and season sufficiently with salt and pepper.
If using your BBQ fill a small, heatproof container with water and place near your chicken.
This water will turn to steam and help create a moist environment in which your chicken is cooking and will help prevent it from drying out too much.
Place the chicken in a roasting tray and roast the chicken for around 45 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 75°C (170°F).
If using a BBQ ensure you use indirect heating to not burn the tray/chicken (flat iron vs the grill).
Let stand for 10-15 minutes before carving and serving.

[Morwenna]

Wow, that sounds good! Sweet and savory together is one of my favorite combinations. And isn't beer wonderful? Besides being a drink, it does wonderful things to food! (See the beer bread recipe father back in this thread.) When you try it, please report back!

[Arassuil]

Yeah, I just have to get around to making it someday.

[Morwenna]

Merry Christmas! I just baked a couple of tourtieres (see a few pages back) for Monday night and Tuesday, only this time I did take a bit of my cousin's advice and put some more herbs and spices into it. I tried a little of the meat mixture before putting it into the pies, and it is a little different but still tastes great. I hope it goes over well with everyone else! What I added was a bit of cinnamon, ginger, and a tiny bit of cloves (if you don't watch out, they take over), and also some--guess what--parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. (Not too obsessed with the Folkloric Fours, am I? ) It already called for nutmeg, if you recall. I didn't think of it in time, but what else I should have put in was powdered bayleaf; after all it is pork, and there's also the Boar's Head Carol, which specifies "bedecked with bays and rosemary." Well, I have the rosemary. Next year... (Hey, we still have mixture enough for one more pie--our own; maybe I can add some bayleaf to it before assembling...)

Hubby's been making pound cakes. He made a batch just before I made the pies, and they look fine. Then after I got the pies in the oven, he started another batch. They're in the oven now, and he just gave a despairing wail: seems that in this batch he forgot to put in the milk! Now tomorrow he has to go buy more eggs and butter, and bake the second batch all over again, whereas he was planning to spend the time making the cookies. He only has the daytime to do it because we're going to a party and to sing at Mass tomorrow evening. Maybe he can do some of it Christmas morning; we aren't due anywhere until 1 PM. But we both hate having to do things that close to the wire. At least everything we want to bring to tomorrow night's party is finished!

[Morwenna]

Addendum to the previous post: we started eating the "failed" poundcakes next day, and found that he had sort of reinvented the wheel. They were chewy like brownies; if they had had brown sugar in them they would have been blondies, and very good ones too! I think I like them better than bona fide poundcake. Hubby says he'll do it again only bake it in a flat pan like brownies.