the GF Recipie Thread

[Michael Emrys]

But getting back to foods you can actually eat, lately I have taken to a Cotswold double Gloucester with onions and chives. Goes nicely with crackers.

Michael

[Wybert Takahashi]

Got any good eggs for breakfast recipes (i.e quick)? I have been doing, microwaved frozen broccoli & spinach, into omlette.

Or scrambled eggs and TABASCO® brand Habanero Sauce - which is more of a sauce than chillis in vinegar in barrels, like the usual Tabasco - as it has mangos and other stuff.

[Other Means]

Got any good eggs for breakfast recipes (i.e quick)? I have been doing, microwaved frozen broccoli & spinach, into omlette.

Or scrambled eggs and TABASCO® brand Habanero Sauce - which is more of a sauce than chillis in vinegar in barrels, like the usual Tabasco - as it has mangos and other stuff.

From the top down:

• Toast, buttered, spread with West Indian hot pepper sauce
  
• Sunny side up fried egg (salt & pepper)
  
• Toast, buttered, spread with mayo.

I'd live on these.

[Michael Emrys]

...West Indian hot pepper sauce...

Would that by any chance be Pick a Peppa Sauce? If so, I approve. The only thing I would add to your sandwich is a layer of melted cheese. And just possibly a lettuce leaf if I were in the mood. And now that I think about it, a couple of strips of nice bacon cooked crisp might be all right.

Michael

[Other Means]

This bad boy:

Encona West Indian hot pepper sauce:

You're right in all you say, but the cheese and bacon put it into a whole other dimension of sandwich. This is quick, dirty and ideal for hangovers.

[John Kettler]

Wybert Takahashi,

Take a typical can of hash, open it and place it in a hot skillet lubed with a splash of cooking oil. I use olive oil, for both flavor and dietary reasons. Break up mass, rapidly cook while stirring until lightly brown and sizzling. Crack in one egg (I prefer organic ones) and season to taste with plenty of cracked pepper and other condiments (I use Tabasco, a couple of splashes) as desired, cooking till egg is firm as desired. Do NOT add salt, for the hash has plenty already. Serve with toast and jam if you think you'll have the room (plateful of food on a dinner plate). Purists would have an egg sunny side up served into a pile of hash with a depression to hold it, but I hate runny eggs.

Pancake batter can be made ahead of time and will keep for days. Takes only minutes to get the pan hot enough for a big, filling flapjack. Butter and syrup, butter and honey, butter and jam are all good. If clever and judicious in what and how much you apply, you can roll up your flapjack and take it with you. Recommend either multigrain or buckwheat for nutrition and staying power.

French toast was invented here in the States to save wasting stale French bread. Typically, it takes one egg and milk beaten/whisked together in a small bowl (think cereal, but better to use a flat bottomed soup bowl--facilatates dipping the bread), often with a dash of vanilla extract. Yield will feed you with one or two pieces left over. I use an 8 grain bread because I like mine hearty.

Coat bread on both sides with egg/milk mixture and fry to golden brown in a pan with a bit of butter. Make a big batch at once, then refrigerate or freeze the leftovers for quick breakfasts. Interesting twists include cinnamon, lemon extract, fruit zests, etc.

If you don't want to bother with actual cooking, I suggest a smoothie. Fill your blender halfway with fruit juice of your choice, add big dollop of vanilla yogurt, a peeled banana, a small handful of peeled organic carrots, a raw organic egg, and the critical ingredient (at least in mine) a bunch of frozen mango chunks (makes it rich and creamy). I usually put in 4 x Super Green capsules as well. Blend on high until smooth or leave slightly chunky, as desired. Devour at will!

Regards,

John Kettler

[Wybert Takahashi]

Ah, Encona, that's good stuff. That Habanero Tabasco is worth a try, but it is too strong too turn your sandwich into a soggy chilli mess like Encona can.

That is a lot of corned beef. Sounds alright on its own, but absolutely gross with jam. Beef and jam?

In England flapjack is something else.

On other sort-of American/English food related terminology - here is a quote from an American website -

"My best friend is getting married in 2 months, and for his bachelor party we are roasting him. Anyone ever done anything like this? Any suggestions for how to come up with some stuff to say that is both cruel and hilarious?"

Is not roasting him cruel and hilarious enough? Learn something new everyday.

[Michael Emrys]

Okay, here's a hearty breakfast you can eat any time of the day.

First cook up a mess of grits. The recipe I use is:

1.5 cups water

0.25 tsp salt

0.33 cup grits

Bring water and salt to a gentle boil and then stir in grits. Cover closely and lower heat to lowest point or until mixture just bubbles slowly and gently. Stir every five minutes, maybe less depending on your pot/stove set up. Grits will settle to the bottom, clump and scorch if you aren't careful, so watch them carefully, especially the first couple of times you make it. Cook at least 20 minutes; forget what it says on the box, you want these suckers to be smooth. After the 20 minutes are up, you can turn off the heat, but leave it sitting covered on the warm burner. Add a pat of butter and some garlic powder. Keep it covered tightly.

Now here's where it starts to get interesting. Take 4 or 5 inches of kielbasa or other tasty sausage and slice crosswise into 0.125" thick slices. You can do all this while the grits are cooking. Arrange them in a single layer in a large skillet. When the grits have finished cooking turn the heat on to medium-low under the sausage. You want them to brown slowly and evenly. Turn frequently. When done—this takes maybe 10-15 minutes—add to the grits and finish off with fresh ground pepper.

This isn't a meal that you can prepare in a hurry, although it can be cooked ahead of time, refrigerated, and then reheated. But man, it sure does taste good and it will fill you up.

Michael

[Other Means]

What are grits? Do they taste as good as they sound?

[Wybert Takahashi]

Grits are what you ask for when you say at a B&b. Then you wonder if they have Hominy grits? They don't usually. But it livens up the morning.

[Michael Emrys]

What are grits?

In this case, coarsely ground corn meal. There are also soy grits, but we won't go there.

Do they taste as good as they sound?

By themselves and unseasoned their flavor has been compared by the cynical to cardboard. Actually they have less flavor than cardboard. But that is their virtue since they take on the flavor of whatever you serve them with. Thus, you can use them as part of a main dish as I did above; or as a side dish with, say, eggs, bacon and toast; or as a desert with butter and jam or syrup. They are wonderfully versatile. And I haven't even mentioned eating them with a gravy or sauce.

Michael

[Blackhorse]

What are grits?

Grits are these things the reb...er.. southerners created after the war to get all yankees to leave.

If it weren't for the fact they also created barbecue for themselves, the plan just might have worked.

(GRITS SUCK!!)

[REVS]

Sounds like Italian polenta to me; the Africans call it mealie maize. Comes in a variety of coarseness grindings, of course.

The Italians have some good ideas. For one, you stir in quite a bit of parmesan cheese to the polenta/water/salt porridge (but not too much water), then let the polenta porridge cook down till it's quite thick, then pour it into a small shallow tray so it's about an inch thick. Let it cool down until set. Then you cut it into little cakes, and crisp-fry them in a frypan until golden-brown on both sides.

Polenta is pretty boring, but with a crispy crust and parmesan cheese to the rescue, it ain't so bad.

[REVS]

Just came across a polenta recipe I knew I had somewhere that mentioned amounts. Here t'is. This gives you a soft porridge. You could reduce the liquid to make it thicker. And you could up the cheese to make it tastier. Or change the cheese to a more bitey pecorino if you like.

Soft polenta

• 1.5 cups water

• 1.5 cups milk

• 1 cup polenta

• 30g butter

• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

Heat the water and milk in a large saucepan until the mixture is hot but not boiling. Slowly add the polenta in a steady stream, stirring constantly as you do so. Cook over medium-low heat for 2 minutes, still stirring all the time, until the polenta is thick and creamy. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and the grated parmesan cheese. Serve immediately as a side dish with something Italian, like chicken cacciatore, for example.

[John Kettler]

Wybert Takahashi,

Most of the content of my 15 oz. can is diced potatoes, not corned beef. Also, the jam is for the toast/biscuit (American kind), English muffin, etc., NOT the hash. As for your argument about mixing sweets with beef, suggest you never have mincemeat pie, which has apples and raisins mixed with finely chopped cooked beef.

Other Means,

Grits, also known as hominy grits, are produced by soaking corn kernels in water to plump them, removing their husk with lye, neutralizing same and rinsing the kernels, after which they're dried and ground to roughly the size of sand. Grits are quite versatile, are excellent with butter and salt and pepper, are a classic southern accompaniment to a nice ham slice, thanks to a ham gravy known as redeye, which is ladled into a depression atop a pile of grits, form the basis of the classic southern cheese grits, can be formed into patties and fried to dispose of leftovers. Basically, grits can be eaten at any meal and make a nice breakfast all by themselves, much like you'd have oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, Malt-O-Meal, etc.

Regards,

John Kettler

[AndrewTF]

Hey, enough of the Habanero bashing! They need to be used in moderation, but they're pretty fantastic. They are definitely hotter than most anything else out there, but the heat doesn't last as long (really) in your mouth, and they have a wonderful floral fruity flavor that other chilies don't.

Try this. You'll like it: Charred habanero salsa

1 or 2 (depending on your pain threshold) Habanero chilies, seeded and stemmed

3 Roma tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

1/3 cup water

kosher salt to taste

On a heavy pan or griddle (a cast iron pan is perfect) roast chilies, tomatoes, and unpeeled garlic until all are brown, blistered, and soft. Using rubber gloves (I cannot stress this enough... god help you if you have Habanero oil on your fingers when you decide to rub your eyes or scratch your nads or something), remove the stems and seeds from the Habaneros. Chop tomatoes roughly, peel garlic, and put everything into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

Good with tortilla chips; even better drizzled over tacos made from Mayan chicken cooked in banana leaves (chicken pib), homemade tortillas, black beans, and pickled onions. Mmmmmm.

[REVS]

As well as finding the Habaneros way too hot, I also found them a bit sweet (you say 'fruity floral' – I say 'sweet') and I didn't actually like their flavour much. I'm not sure about your bit about heat not lasting as long in your mouth, either. Maybe that's just your pain-reducing endorphins kicking in, big time!

I like to grow habaneros in my garden, just because they look so nice. In cooking, give me serranos any day. And for a salsa I'd go for an even milder chilli, to a fat jalapeno or even a big ancho.

[Other Means]

Death before grits.

[easy-v]

Got any good eggs for breakfast recipes (i.e quick)? I have been doing, microwaved frozen broccoli & spinach, into omlette.

Or scrambled eggs and TABASCO® brand Habanero Sauce - which is more of a sauce than chillis in vinegar in barrels, like the usual Tabasco - as it has mangos and other stuff.

Tabasco also makes a Tabasco/Garlic sauce that is oh so yummy on eggs...and all other things that go well with Tabasco sauce...

[Other Means]

Anyone got any good, simple recipes for liver? I just had some in an Arab cafe that was lovely, just diced and fried. I'll try this but does anyone have any must try ones?

[Michael Emrys]

Anyone got any good, simple recipes for liver?

Dice liver into small pieces. Place a piece on a fish hook. Catch fish. Cook fish. Eat fish.

There you go!

Michael

[Hakko Ichiu]

Use good quality lamb's or calf's liver. Soak it in milk for a few hours to get rid of the impurities.

Slice reasonably thickly. Coat lightly with seasoned flour that also has some smoked paprika in it. Saute high and fast, remove to the plate while still pink on the inside. Serve with a squeeze of lemon.

[Other Means]

Use good quality lamb's or calf's liver. Soak it in milk for a few hours to get rid of the impurities.

Slice reasonably thickly. Coat lightly with seasoned flour that also has some smoked paprika in it. Saute high and fast, remove to the plate while still pink on the inside. Serve with a squeeze of lemon.

Good tip about the soaking, cheers for that. Is it the same with kidneys?

Dice liver into small pieces. Place a piece on a fish hook. Catch fish. Cook fish. Eat fish.

There you go!

Michael

You made me lol Michael you old goat.

[REVS]

I like the Italian method of cooking liver (I think it's from Venice). Liver and onions.

Calves' liver is best.

First, fairly finely slice up a couple of onions and cook in oil or butter until caramelised. You can add a little dash of white wine to the onions if you like. Others sprinkle in a bit of sugar to help them caramelise. Just let them cook slowly with a lid on in a frypan, until sweet and soft.

Then slice the liver fairly finely and saute in a frypan just like Hakko says: "Saute high and fast, remove to the plate while still pink on the inside".

Serve liver with caramelised onions.

[John Kettler]

Wybert Takahashi,

Have we solved your breakfast problem? If not, make breakfast burritos!

Instead of going through all the rigamarole of omelet making, scramble the ingredients you want into the eggs, then toss that into a large flour tortilla. This can be greatly accelerated by making batches of the ingredients ahead of time, especially meats requiring cooking. Precooked sausage, bacon, chorizo and such keep well and add wonderful flavor to your creation. And how hard would it be to keep some grated cheese, sliced mushrooms and chopped veggies on hand? Add hot sauce, salsa, pico de gallo, sour cream, cilantro as desired. Voila!

You can hard boil eggs in the microwave--provided you first provide a pinhole in the shell.

Else, you'll wind up with a spectacular mess. By "spectacular" I mean everywhere in the path of the explosion--well beyond the limits of the oven and a severe burn hazard to anyone in the path. Why? When the egg explodes under superheated steam pressure, the force is so enormous it flings the microwave oven door open, allowing a searing blast of protein and water to emerge much like canister from a muzzle loading cannon. Not kidding; helped clean up exactly such a mess, not of my own doing.

That same technology, though, will do a great job of poaching an egg, and put a few drops of vinegar in the water to keep the white together.

As for liver, if you like braunschweiger/liverwurst, I wholeheartedly recommend kalbsliverwurst (calve's liverwurst--find a German deli), whose taste is everything the standard stuff isn't, including subtle. Pate is excellent, but I've never made it. I loathe liver as liver, having eaten a lot of it when young, and it was generally tough and covered with onions, which my system didn't like. Hated the smell, too.

Regards,

John Kettler