the GF Recipie Thread

[JonS]

Lets start with something simple.

Had some very basic, very nice homemade chicken pie last night:

* some chicken mince

* some grated cheese (edam, or tasty, something fairly standard. Blue would be nice too)

* some peas

* some onion

* some pastry sheets

Fry the mince and onions, and then add that to the peas and cheese in a pot and heat through.

Lay the pastry in a pie dish, spoon in the mixture, put a pastry lid on, and bake till puffy and browned. We used a muffin tray, so the pies were more like savouries than pies, but the basic idea is the same. Actually, given how runny the filling is savouries probably worked better.

We also got a pasta maker a while ago, and have been experimenting with that. The first attempts were a frustrating disaster, but keeping the dough dry has led to much better results. We had ravioli the other night, which was yum

[Blackhorse]

Blackhorse's Inside Out Cheeseburgers:

I made these on the 4th and they were a huge success and ultra delish

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

1 pound beef

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Combine cheeses in bowl. Set aside.

Mix beef, sauce, paprika and pepper in large bowl, with hands.

Shape into eight 4-inch-wide patties.

pile 2 tablespoons of cheese on each of 4 patties, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Cover each with one of remaining patties. Crimp and seal edges closed.

Grill stuffed patties over medium-high heat, about 4 minutes per side, for medium-well.

[easy-v]

Requesting Sturmy's Belgian stew recipe. Does anyone still have it?

[REVS]

Sturmy's recipe isn't in the word file of the GF Recipe Book for some reason...

[John Kettler]

JonS,

I'm not used to cheese in any sort of pot pie, but this has definitely got me thinking about it. Love the blue cheese idea! The onions are problematic for me, given my tum, but might work if I sauteed them in olive oil, which seems to defang them. Have never made a pot pie before, but I suppose I should get partial credit for its cousin, chicken and dumplings.

Blackhorse,

Reading about them made me drool. Where's mine?

Regards,

John Kettler

[JonS]

If you have an issue with the ingredients, don't use them. Or swap them for something else (pinenuts?). It's not like Gordon Ramsey's going to be around to give you an earful - the only one you have to make happy is yourself

Incidentally, I don't know what a pot pie is :confused: but savoury meat, poultry, and fiish-based pies are pretty common in these parts.

[REVS]

1. Make some mashed potato.

2. Make some spicy minced beef (I used a curry blend of garam masala, chilli, chopped fresh coriander, along with onion, garlic and ginger) but keep it fairly dry.

3. Form some of the mashed potato into a flat 4-inch circle. Put some of the spicy beef in the centre. Put another flat 4-inch circle of mashed potato on top, to make it into a pie.

4. Dust the pie with breadcrumbs, then fry in butter until lightly brown on one side, flip over, fry until lightly brown on the other side. Make at least 2 per person.

I'm doing these tomorrow night for some friends, served with vegetables on the side (broad beans, carrots and peas, cooked in chicken stock, flavoured with fresh thyme).

Lemon Delicious Pudding for dessert. With ice-cream.

[Dogface]

Incidentally, I don't know what a pot pie is :confused: but savoury meat, poultry, and fiish-based pies are pretty common in these parts.

Pot Pie is what us N. Americans call a baked savory pie.

[Dirtweasle]

I saw those inside-out 'burgers - or something very similar - on a menu at a little dive road side diner in Havana Illinois a few weeks ago. I was trying not to eat like a pig while on a road-trip so just had soup and salad, but made a mental note to try making them. May give it a shot tonight

They also had these things called a "horseshoe" sandwich. Anyone ever hear of this? Crazy damn thing. You start with a slice of toast and add, in layers, (make that great heaping piles), pan fried ground beef, melted cheese, french fries, more cheese, french fried onion rings, more cheese and more fries, and topped with another piece of toast. Really.

A small card with the emergency number to a local cardiologist is also provided.

[Blackhorse]

If you all were here. I'd be serving them up. It's A-1 grilling weather here in Northern Virginia.

Dirtweasle, go for it. I believe you'll be quite happy with them. They were the best burgers I've made in a LONG time, and I grill almost exclusively (weather permitting) from spring to fall (and even in the winter at times).

[Other Means]

*looks up flights to Virginia*

[flamingknives]

Hello.

Good to see that the old staple is back.

I'm missing a recipe am I? More than one, probably. For quite a while accessing the document was a pain in the arse, so I didn't update it that often.

Put it in here and I'll put it in.

[Michael Emrys]

They also had these things called a "horseshoe" sandwich. Anyone ever hear of this? Crazy damn thing. You start with a slice of toast and add, in layers, (make that great heaping piles), pan fried ground beef, melted cheese, french fries, more cheese, french fried onion rings, more cheese and more fries, and topped with another piece of toast. Really.

One of those should fill you up until Christmas. Of course, it will take until Labor Day before you can lever yourself out of your seat.

Michael

[Soddball]

This recipe is straight from my Blog(http://soddball.blogspot.com), where I've been putting together a Bloke's Cookbook for the last year or so. Feel free to dive in and help yourself to any recipes that might be useful. Warning: some political ranting there (which can safely be ignored).

This recipe is for an awesome vegetable curry:

Like many great recipes, this one was the result of a lack of organisation and 'What have I got in the cupboard' syndrome. It's probably one of the best curries I've eaten. It's hot, the coconut milk makes it deliciously rich and it's reasonably healthy. It's also something that even a vegan can eat, so long as they don't believe that 'coconut milk' is cruelty to animals.

The only trouble with this recipe is that you have to be absolutely certain that the potatoes have cooked through, otherwise it wrecks the dish. Test them by sticking a fork in to the largest one. If they are still hard, they're not ready. You have to be patient.

This dish will feed 2 people. To feed more simply round up the quantities.

You will need:

Around 200g new potatoes, washed but not peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces;

Around 200g sweet potato, peeled and cubed into bite-sized pieces;

Around 200g green beans, chopped in to 1.5" lengths;

Around 100g tomatoes, chopped;

100ml coconut milk;

2 medium onions;

4 small thai or 3 large chillies (vary depending on how spicy you like it);

4 garlic cloves;

Ground coriander;

Turmeric;

Fennel seeds;

Fresh ginger;

A wok with a lid;

A pestle and mortar;

A food processor (not mandatory)

You can find coconut milk in the tinned foods section of your local supermarket. It's phenomenally fattening but gives an excellent flavour to (amongst other things) curry.

Firstly, put the onions in the food processor and process until they become a paste. If you don't have a food processor, then chop them finely. You'll get a different effect from the dish (it won't be quite as smooth) but it won't spoil the flavour.

Then, make the spice paste. In the pestle and mortar, put 2 of the garlic cloves, 3/4 of an inch of the fresh ginger, one of the chillies (chopped) and 1/2 a teaspoon of the fennel seeds. Fennel is a strongly-flavoured seed so don't overdo it. Now grind all the mix together. Once you've done that, add the chopped tomatoes and mix again.

Now on to the main dish. Slice the remaining chillies. Thinly slice the garlic cloves. Heat the oil in your wok on a medium heat and when it's starting to bubble, add the onions, garlic and chilli. Cook these fairly slowly, moving them around, until the onion starts to turn golden. Then lower the heat and add the potatoes. Put

the lid on the wok and leave for ten minutes.

After ten minutes, remove the lid. Mix in the spice paste from the pestle and mortar. Add the sweet potato, and replace the lid for another ten minutes.

After a total of 20 minutes, test the potatoes to see how well they've cooked. The sweet potatoes should be well on their way (they cook very fast) and starting to soften. The new potatoes should be pretty much done. If they're not, put the lid on, wait 5-10 minutes and check again.

Don't get impatient and try to rush the dish or eat the potatoes when they're hard.

When the spuds have reached the stage described, remove the lid and mix in the green beans. They'll take a matter of a few minutes. However, you've probably still got a fair amount of liquid in the bottom of the wok and it's all runny and a bit feeble. You need to burn some of that off, so keep the lid off, turn the heat up to full and keep everything moving for as long as it takes to get rid of most of that liquid.

We're going to add the coconut milk and you don't want your curry swimming in insipid liquid. You want it bright and fresh and frisky and so fierce on the tastebuds it could earn an ASBO.

As you cook, more liquid will come out of the tomatoes, so be patient.

When you've got rid of most of the excess liquid, turn the heat down and mix in the coconut milk and stir in slowly.

Serve with rice (perhaps flavoured with cloves and cardomon pods, perhaps saffron), and naans to soak up the sauce. Awesome.

Drink with: The usual - ice-cold beers.

Ease of cooking and preparation: 3/5 - No special skills required, just equipment.

Mess Factor: 3/5 - Wok plus rice saucepan plus baking tray for naans, and food processors are a bastard to clean, and you've got the pestle and mortar to wash up too. More of a slog.

Leftover value: 4/5 - Reheats flawlessly and edible (although not awesome) cold.

[Hakko Ichiu]

We were sharing a house in the Lake District for a week with some friends. I picked up some stewing meat, and after a trick to the local supermarket the following recipe evolved:

Daube de Boeuf

3 lbs Stewing beef in 1" cubes

Flour

Salt and Pepper

Oil

2 Large Onions, chopped

4 Large Carrots, chopped

4 Ribs of Celery, chopped

4 cloves of Garlic, minced

2 Tbs Tomato paste (dbl. concentrated from a tube)

16 fl. oz. Dry red wine

4 x 14.5 oz. cans Chopped Tomatoes

zest of a Lemon

sprig of Rosemary

4 Large Anchovies, chopped

2 medium Rutabaga (swede), peeled, trimmed, and cut into large chunks.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Set your oven to low (275F / 135C).

In a large bowl, season the meat with salt and pepper, than sprinkle the flour over the meat; toss to coat. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large dutch oven or stock pot; do in several batches if necessary in order not to overcrowd the pan. Remove the browned meat to a large bowl.

Reduce the heat to medium, and add the onions, celery, and carrots, sweat until soft, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and the tomato paste. Stir for a minute or two until the tomato paste is cooked. Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Simmer for a few minutes until most of the alcohol has cooked off. Add the tomatoes, rutabaga, rosemary, lemon zest, and anchovies. Bring to a simmer, cover, and put in the oven until the meat is fork tender, 3-4 hours.

[Andreas]

You have friends?

All the best

Andreas

[Dirtweasle]

Well, surely he'd have more if he skipped the rutabaga and used potato.

[Hakko Ichiu]

Well, surely he'd have more if he skipped the rutabaga and used potato.

Yes, but they'd be fatter. Anyway, the rutabaga holds together during the long cooking, unlike potato, and tastes very nice. Philistine.

[REVS]

Why am I thinking cheese? Oh that's right, Tour de France. Late night munchies watching it here from Oz. Crackers and Blue Castello from Denmark. Hmmmm.

*More wine, falls asleep as they slowly ride uphill, ever uphill.*

*Wakes up* More wine, more cheese.

This pushbike race is a bit like a slow day in the Test Cricket, without the excitement, but much nicer scenery. But it's good cheese-eating telly. I could mix in a bit of ye olde bitey cheddar tonight, just for a thrill...

[Michael Emrys]

This pushbike race is a bit like a slow day in the Test Cricket, without the excitement, but much nicer scenery. But it's good cheese-eating telly. I could mix in a bit of ye olde bitey cheddar tonight, just for a thrill...

No, what you need is Monterey Jack with Habañero peppers. Lots of Habañero peppers. Thrill of a lifetime, actually.

Michael

[REVS]

Habanero peppers. That's for people who've burnt their tastebuds out with hot coals with petrol chasers. Don't think so. Blue Castello for me. It's called sophistication. Next lifetime, give it a try!

[John Kettler]

I recently had some locally produced organic apricot preserves kicked up with a zing of habanero peppers. Phenomenal on buttermilk biscuits and not really hot, just enough warmth to make for a really tasty experience. Based on my experience with jalapeno Monterey Jack, would imagine the habanero Jack would be positively riveting--until your eyes burst from your head!

Regards,

John Kettler

[Michael Emrys]

Based on my experience with jalapeno Monterey Jack, would imagine the habanero Jack would be positively riveting--until your eyes burst from your head!

It...takes some getting used to. I suggest having plenty of garlic toast at hand to kind of round out the experience. A quart of tequila drunk before eating, now that I think of it, might also be beneficial.

Michael

[REVS]

You've got to be careful with Habaneros. I grow them in my garden each summer just because they're pretty (lovely apricot coloured fruit), but I don't use them much in cooking. Give me Serranos (heat 7 out of 10) and Jalapenos (heat 5 out of 10) any day.

I know a cookery writer here in Sydney who is Sri Lankan, and she knows and loves her chillies. Her husband is Burmese, and he's into chillies even more than her. He likes to take fresh chillies and a pen knife (in his pocket) with him to restaurants, so he can up the heat on certain dishes that need it. He just gets out the raw chilli, slices it over his plate, then tucks in.

Guess what? They grew Habaneros and he started to take them to restaurants. Didn't take him all that long to find an ultra-zinger with extra fire. He coughed, spluttered and almost died in the restaurant, and he swore off Habaneros forever.

They're super-hot, and occasionally ultra-mega-ridiculously hot. Give me a chilli I can trust and work with any day. Good old Serranos!

[Michael Emrys]

They're super-hot, and occasionally ultra-mega-ridiculously hot.

It gets worse. I remember an announcement three or four years ago that growers in Assam had bred a chili that was ten times hotter than the Habañero. I don't recall what their plans for such a hot pod were, maybe they were threatening to drop it on Pakistan.

Michael