The 'I Need a Recipe' Thread

[scrovak]

For people who need a recipe for something, and want one someone has already used and deemed 'edible.'

Also, feel free to delete this if such a thread already exists, I couldn't find it.


For starters, I need a recipe for a good chicken alfredo!

[PAstrychef]

Well, I've been searching for a recipe for a nice knish for years now. Even old Jewish cookbooks don't seem to have them.

[aleflamedyud]

Well, I've been searching for a recipe for a nice knish for years now. Even old Jewish cookbooks don't seem to have them.

Want me to ask my mom or grandmother? I guarantee you one of those old Jewish biddies will have a knish recipe.

[Zohar]

Well from a quick google search I see plenty of recipes for knish in Hebrew. Do you want me to translate one? It won't be tried by me, though.

[PAstrychef]

Well, I've been searching for a recipe for a nice knish for years now. Even old Jewish cookbooks don't seem to have them.

Want me to ask my mom or grandmother? I guarantee you one of those old Jewish biddies will have a knish recipe.

Please do! I'm looking for the dough that wraps the potato filling especially, not just layers of phyllo dough.
Thanks!

[Rinsaikeru]

I need a good gingersnap recipe--I used to have one that I've lost. I want one that's very dark brown and crackly. I've got a good rolled gingerbread recipe---but my mum really loves gingersnaps and has requested some.

[AntonGarou]

I'm not sure if this qualifies as gingersnap, but it's got ginger and is delicious:
Ingredients for about three jars worth:
1 cup sugar
2 cups sifted cake flour
150 grams butter, cut into cubes and softened
1 egg
1.5 teaspoons ground ginger
0.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
0.75 teaspoon ground cloves
0.25 teaspoon Garam Masala(optional)
a pinch or two of coarsely ground black pepper(what's called sometimes "steak pepper")

Warm an oven to 200C
mix the sugar, flour and spices until the mix is uniform. Add the egg an butter, and knead until the dough is uniform and not falling apart. cover a shallow baking dish(the kind I'm talking about is maybe 1 inch deep and as wide as the oven usually) with baking paper and spread the dough on it so it's about 2-3 mm thick. Bake for about 10 minutes- you can bake a bit more if you like them brown and a bit burned, but watch them like a hawk, they will char with little warning. immediately after removing the baking dish fromthe oven cut into square, then wait twenty minutes and cut again along the same lines. Eat:)

[LTK]

Oh hey, this thread is just what I needed. Funny how it's at the top the first time I ever visit the food forum. Anyway, I like chicken curry with pineapple very much but the recipes I've been using never get it right. I remember the stuff to be a lot more tasty and a lot easier to make. Does anyone have a good chicken curry recipe for me? I'm also wondering whether or not curry sauce in a jar works better than self-made.

[Dr. Awesome]

I could use a recipe for something that is REALLY EASY to cook with chicken and vegetables. I'm not much of a cook so the easier the better.

[bigglesworth]

I don't have anything else, but Dr Awesome I have what you need.

Type 1: Stir fry.
Onions, whatever vegetables you like, mange tous and baby sweetcorn and peppers work great, chicken, noodles, sauce (I always cheat at this point).

Fry chopped onions in a little oil.
Add chopped chicken. Fry until they're sealed.
Cook dry noodles in a pan.
Add chopped vegetables.
Add sauce and a little water. Cook for a bit, till it tastes nice on the spoon.
Strain noodles, add stir fry.

Type 2: the "impress people" one.

Honey and mustard chicken. Honey, mustard, oil, white wine vinegar, salt+pepper.

Mix 4 tbs of french mustard with 4tbs wholegrain mustard with 125ml honey, 2tbs oil, 2 tbs vinegar.
Mix, add salt+pepper to taste.

Add to chicken breast, massage it in, leave it for an hour.

Cook chicken at 200 degrees, turn every so often, adding more marinade each time.

Tasty as.

[PAstrychef]

Plain roast chicken with veg cooked in the pan is great and simple. I like to cut the chicken in half along the spine, spread it open and press it flat with my hand. This will work with already cut up chicken too.
Turn on the broiler in your oven. Put a rack in the second slot down from the broiler.
Line a roasting pan with foil. I use a 9x13" baking pan, and you could use a disposable one, which you would not have to line.
Put the chicken in the pan skin side down. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper and a little lemon juice. 1 teaspoon is enough.
Put the pan under the broiler for 5 minutes or so, or until the skin on the legs is starting to get nice and brown.
Take the pan out of the oven and turn the chicken over. Put it back in and let the skin again start to brown.
Turn the heat on the oven to 350F. Leave the chicken alone.
Peel some spuds, carrots, butternut squash and cut them into big cubes-about 1" square. Even is not too important. Grab a head of garlic and separate out the cloves. You can leave the skin on. You can add mushrooms if you like.
Take the pan out of the oven and put the chicken on a plate. Put the veg in the pan and toss to coat with the pan juices. If there aren't enough add some olive oil.
Put the chicken back on the veg and pour any liquid on the plate into the pan and return it to the oven.
Come back in 35-45 minutes and enjoy.
If you get a bigger pan you can have more veg.

[Bakemaster]

Can you describe in more detail how you're cutting the chicken in half? I have a chicken roasting in the oven right now and would have liked to try your method, but I couldn't really decide exactly where and how you were cutting... I'm not very practiced in roasting whole birds, and even less so in cutting them up.

[Rinsaikeru]

I've cut chicken in the method he described (for flattened chicken and other applications). If you put the chicken breast side down and feel for the spine and cut along it on one side you can sort of crack the breastbone and lay it flat. I think that's what is being described. Though, correct me if I'm mistaken....

[Axman]

How to quarter a (raw) chicken. Same way works for cooked chicken 'cept it's easier and more delicate. You can also cut through a cooked ribcage very easily and satisfactorily.

[AntonGarou]

I'm looking for something that is both spicy(the more the better) and will survive sending by non-international mail without significant harm. I was thinking something along the lines of some kind of chilli jam, but I don't know any recipe for that.

[PAstrychef]

You can halve a whole chicken either along the breast bone -just whack through it with a heavy knife or use poultry shears. This is called butterflying or by cutting out the backbone. You put the bird on a cutting board in a sheet pan (to keep raw chicken juices from covering your counter), breast down. You can see where the spine is. Cut along one side of it and then the other. A heavy chef's knife works well for this. This is called spatchcocking. I put the bones in a bag in the freezer and when I have enough I make stock from them, and use it in soup and sauces.
Once you have the bird cut open you spread it apart and press down with the heel of your hand to flatten it. If your pan is small you can then split the bird all the way in half to make it fit.

[Bakemaster]

Thanks, guys—wow, what a wonderful word, "spatchcocking"! One chef in a how-to video claimed it came from an old English abbreviation of the chef exhorting his assistants to "dispatch the cock". It seems that different folks have some different ideas of how this is distinct from butterflying; one actually separated the breast/wings from the bottom half of the chicken, and then pinned them back together with skewers without removing the keel bone. Another guy kept it in one piece and removed the keel bone. I'm going to try this before the week's out. Very exciting.

[blue_eyedspacemonkey]

My SO and I got a popcorn maker for Christmas. At the moment we're quite happy to nom it without any flavourings, but I would like to try some in the future. Has anyone got any ideas/recipes?

[Decker]

My SO and I got a popcorn maker for Christmas. At the moment we're quite happy to nom it without any flavourings, but I would like to try some in the future. Has anyone got any ideas/recipes?

Kettle corn always seems to be popular. Hell if I know why.
Personally I would spice things up a bit with some Hot Salt.

[Rinsaikeru]

Because Kettle Corn is delicious... though it needs to be made in a kettle/pot to turn out right.

Hmmm my friend makes popcorn with chili and lime...but I forget how...

[Decker]

I tried it a few times, but I never saw the appeal in it. I'm a bit of an odd duck when it comes to food though.

[bigglesworth]

I think I had some flavoured with paprika once.

[S.O'Mara]

Smother popcorn in icing sugar. Sooo good.
You could also melt herb infused butter onto popcorn, it's delicious.

[cerbie]

My SO and I got a popcorn maker for Christmas. At the moment we're quite happy to nom it without any flavourings, but I would like to try some in the future. Has anyone got any ideas/recipes?

Add some butter just after it starts to get seriously popping (it may stop popping for 5-10 seconds, but that's OK). It makes for some light buttery flavor all over, with no sogginess. If it gets added before popping, there's a good chance it will burn, and not be very good.

I'm fond of chili powder, old bay (if you can't find that sort of thing across the pond, it's basically celery salt, mustard seed, and bay leaf), parsley (add any herbs after it starts popping), black pepper, coriander, turmeric, garlic (I don't know a way to keep it from getting burnt, BTW), and cumin. Not all at the same time, generally. A pinch of cinnamon can be a nice touch to herby popcorn, too.

[fuschia]

LTK: I just invented this chicken korma type curry with pineapple - horribly inauthentic I'm sure but easy and delicious. Serves 4ish but I am vague about the quantities.

Grate an onion, a knob of fresh ginger, several cloves of garlic, add ground cumin, coriander, turmeric and yogurt, marinate chopped chicken breast in this mixture for a few hours.

Finely chop some onion, add hard root vegetables chopped into 1cm dice (I used squash and sweet potato) and fry in a little oil (or ghee).

When onion is translucent add the chicken, reserving most of the marinade, and fry until browned - it will catch a little, stir a lot.

Add red peppers and fry, mushrooms would also work.

Add yogurt marinade (don't taste things for a while as it contains raw chicken juice!) and a can of coconut milk. Simmer until veg is tender.

Take off the heat, add a couple of tablespoons of ground almonds, a few rings of chopped pineapple (if tinned, use pineapple in juice not syrup) and chopped cherry tomatoes. Check the seasoning, add salt and a little brown sugar if you like it sweeter.

Serve with basmati rice and steamed greens or courgette, and spicy chutney if you have some. If you fry some flaked almonds in a tiny spot of oil, salt, pepper, chilli, cumin and coriander until brown and sprinkle them on it is orgasmic.

[PictureSarah]

I had tortilla soup for the first time yesterday, and it was fantastic. I've looked for recipes, though, and most of the recipes I'm finding online are tomato-based. The soup I had was not tomato based. It was chicken broth based, and definitely had some lime and spices in the broth. The rest was reasonably simple. Tortillas, and chicken, topped with some grated cheese and freshly cut up avocado.

So I need a recipe that basically follows that description. Things I need help with: composition of broth and preparation of tortillas.

[Rinsaikeru]

Was it a clarified chicken broth or a basic hearty one?

Can't help any with tortillas..

[PictureSarah]

I *think* it was a basic hearty one. It wasn't really clear...but it wasn't too cloudy either? Also, the tortillas were corn tortillas. I have purchased some corn tortillas with which to make soup. They are gluten-free! You can has tortilla soup.

[Rinsaikeru]

Yes I am a fan of tortillas.

My basic chicken stock has two possible methods, it depends on whether I'm starting with a roasted or uncooked chicken.

The roasted chicken soup is slightly darker in colour, but quite tasty.

I sautee 1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 stalks celery (all medium and diced coarsely) in a little olive oil. Once softened I add in the chicken and cover with water, season (salt and pepper or whatever you like to use) and simmer (don't boil) for 2 hours or so. Then if I'm making my standard chicken soup, I strain it, add new veggies diced medium (though I nom the old ones cuz I like them too), dice the chicken and return to pot--and I generally finish it with dill and lemon. I cook rice or corn/rice pasta in it usually when I'm having it as soup.

EDIT: Other occasional additions include garlic and bell pepper.

[Princess Marzipan]

I just bought OSTRICH MEAT.

I have a bit over half a pound; what should I do with it before inserting it into my facehole?

[bigglesworth]

When I had some it was just spitroasted, but I imagine there are better things to do with it than that.

[PAstrychef]

I just bought OSTRICH MEAT.
I have a bit over half a pound; what should I do with it before inserting it into my facehole?

Treat it like a fairly lean cut of beef. Cut into cutlets it's nice floured and pan fried. You can make a sauce in the pan if you want to.
You can use it in a stir-fry, or roast it. I bet it would be good braised in red wine too.

[Axman]

Hunter's sauce.

Dredge the ostrich in seasoned flour and sautee it over medium-high heat in butter, set aside
Reduce to medium-low, toss some chopped mushrooms around in the drippings with some minced shallot
Deglaze with a little brandy
Add stock (pick your poison) a spoonful of tomato paste, provincial herbs, and reduce at a low simmer
When it's thickened up a bit, add a little more butter and the ostrich in to bring it up to temp
And serve it over something starchy, like mashed potatoes, or a simple casoulet, or maybe some buttered noodles with fresh parsley and garlic, or pan-roasted turnip and leek chunks, with a little rosemary, some green peppercorns...
Garnish with some chopped tomato

Man, now I want ostrich.

[The Utilitarian]

So I'm makin some Beef Satay skewers, got it all ready and stuff but I just now realize I haven't the foggiest how long to cook em for... was planning on broiling in the oven... suggestions?

[PAstrychef]

Until the outside is dark brown and crispy. It should take about3-5 minutes on one side, flip them over and another few minutes on the other side.

[Decker]

I have falafle. I'm not sure what to do with them.

[Zohar]

Do you mean falafel? If so, the usual is putting them in a pita with some humus/tahini, chopped salad (cucumber, tomato, onion with olive oil and lemon juice), maybe something spicy (skhug most commonly) and possibly fries.

[Decker]

Do you mean falafel? If so, the usual is putting them in a pita with some humus/tahini, chopped salad (cucumber, tomato, onion with olive oil and lemon juice), maybe something spicy (skhug most commonly) and possibly fries.

Yes I did. Thanks.

[Zohar]

I have some curry powder that I'd like to use. Any ideas for a good vegetarian (no meat/chicken/fish, dairy and eggs are OK) dish? Points if it can be frozen and reheated in a couple of weeks and still be decent.

[cerbie]

I have some curry powder that I'd like to use. Any ideas for a good vegetarian (no meat/chicken/fish, dairy and eggs are OK) dish? Points if it can be frozen and reheated in a couple of weeks and still be decent.

Chana masala or any bean curry. After freezing, the consistency may get bean soup like, but it will still taste good, and won't get thin or anything, just smooth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chana_masala

You can save time starting with canned chickpeas, but IMO, it's not worth the loss in texture and flavor (with dry, some of the 'grassy' flavor still comes out when the dish is done).

viewtopic.php?f=39&t=3676&start=520#p1201737
^ an approximation of my normal recipe (2nd to the last)

Similar to some I've made when improvising for dinner:
http://vishnucooks.blogspot.com/2009/01 ... curry.html

With either, if the results are on the flat side (from premade spices, or random flavor-melding from being leftovers), you can always squeeze a lemon or lime over it, and throw in some chopped cilantro, right as your are serving it.