Recipe thread

[LucyKKG]

Originally Posted by Gusteau

For huevos rancheros I would:

1. sautee some chorizo in a skillet
2.remove the chorzo and fry the tortilla pieces in the fat until they get golden
3.Add the scrambled eggs, cheese, salsa, and chorizo the the pan and cook the eggs

I've never made it with refried beans, so I'm not sure when I would add them - what do you think Lucy?

Hmm I dunno! I've only had it made for me a few times, never done it myself. I don't think my mom put chorizo in it. That sounds soooo good though. She usually warms up the beans separately and spreads them on the tortilla before putting the eggs/cheese/other stuff on.

[IrishLake]

ok, here are my 3 new favorite salad recipes, because I have a new hankering for vinagrette dressings and goat cheese. They are perfect summer salads, great for taking to cookouts.

Salad #1:
Romain and mixed greans. Dried cranberries. Goat cheese. Pine nuts. Balsamic vinagrette. Easy and YUM. If anyone has ever eaten at a Deweys Pizza, this is their house salad, and it's easy to replicate.

Salad #2: More ingredients than above, but still easy
Romain and mixed greens. Dried cranberries. Goat cheese or feta cheese. Grilled pineapples. Strawberries. Mandarin oranges. Grilled chicken. Pecans. Raspberry or strawberry vinagrette. This is the "Biker Chick" salad form Quaker Steak and Lube. Very easy to replicate.

Salad #3:
Bow tie pasta cooked to al dente. Halved grape tomatos. Basil leaves cut into bite size pieces. Pine nuts. Goat cheese. Black olives (optional, I dont like them, and this is still delish without). Mix with balsamic vinagrette.

[IrishLake]

OK, so I do not care for Rachel Ray, I find her annoying and her show, too. However, some of the recipes she does are awesome! I made this one for dinner tonight, and the kids actually ate it!

Ingredients
1/4 cup flour, for dredging
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup finely ground nuts, such as almonds, walnuts or pecans
2 tablespoons chopped herbs, such as parsley, thyme, or basil
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 beefsteak tomato, sliced
Salt and ground black pepper
8 slices of your favorite cheese, such as Gruyere, Havarti or provolone (I used provolone and colby jack)

Set up 3 plates or shallow bowls and fill one with the flour, one with the eggs and one with the ground nuts and herbs.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Season each slice of tomato with salt and pepper, and sandwich between 2 slices of cheese. Carefully toss each bundle in the flour, then the egg and then the ground nuts to coat.
Place each bundle into the skillet and cook until the nuts are golden brown and the cheese has melted, 2-3 minutes per side. Serve immediately.

I added in a few fresh basil leaves between my chese and tomatos, as well.

[MysticCat]

Here's the recipe for shortbread that I promised IrishLake and others elsewhere. I got this recipe from a Scottish cookbook.


Shortbread

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
⅛ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325º.

Cream the butter with a flat wooden spoon in a large, deep bowl. Gradually add sugar, beating (with spoon, not electric beaters) until light and fluffy. Sift in flour, 1 cup at a time, and salt, mixing as adding. Combine throughly with your fingers until mixture is uniformly crumbly and can be pressed together to form a ball.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured smooth, cool surface. Roll gently with a rolling pin until about ½ inch thick. Using a knife, cut into fingers about 2½ inches long and 1 inch wide.* (You might want to use a ruler to keep the edges straight and even.) Prick the top of each finger with tines of a fork to form rows of pricks. Remove with a spatula and place on ungreased baking sheets, about ½ inch apart. (There's qute enough butter in the dough to prevent sticking.) Put in preheated oven.

Immediately reduce oven temperature to 275º. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until light golden on the bottom, sandy white on top and firm to the touch. You have to keep an eye on them, especially toward the end of the cooking time, so that they don’t overcook. If the bottoms get brown or the tops get golden, they’re overcooked.

Remove from oven and use a spatula to place on wire racks immediately. If desired, sprinkle tops with sugar (granulated or confectioners’). Let cool completely. To store, wrap in wax/parchment paper or foil and store in airtight container.

This will yield about 3 dozen shortbread fingers.


* Alternatively, you can use a cookie cutter to cut the dough into circles, stars or the like. I wouldn't go any larger than 2-2¼ inches in diameter.

ETA: If you want to, you can add flavorings such as vanilla extract, almond extract or lemon or lime zest to taste. But I usually prefer unadulterated shortbread.

[AXOrushadvisor]

I'm going to post this recipe and you can all thank me after you have made your first batch.

6 Minute Microwave Caramel

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup light Karo syrup
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Directions:
1
Combine all ingredients.
2
Cook 6 minutes, stirring every two minutes.
3
Stir and pour into lightly greased dish.
4
Let cool.
5
Cut, wrap in wax paper & store in air tight container.

Do yourself a favor and sprinkle some sea salt on top!!! YUM. BTW the six minutes in my nuker makes Sugar Daddy type candy. 5 minutes makes super soft so I'm going to go with 5 1/2 minutes the 3rd time I make this.


Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/microwave...#ixzz1gRryx6cG

[summer_gphib]

Slutty Brownies (from the Londoner)
These are freakin' amazing. I made them for hubby's bday and he took them to work. (And I got to tell hubby that he was having a slutty birthday! LOL) They are like crack. Maybe a little too sweet, at least to me, but in small doses they are great. You definitely have enough to share.

Slutty Brownies
Now I don't want to over sell this, so I'm going to be conservative and simply say, that these are...

The Best Brownies In The WORLD.

I know, big statement.
They're called Slutty Brownies because they're oh so easy, and more than a little bit filthy.



They're best served warm from the oven, with good quality vanilla ice cream (devastatingly I didn't have any in the freezer this time, so I guess I'll just have to make them again).

They take about 45mins to make, including baking time.
The ultimate comfort food, whipped up within the hour.
You will need...



1 Box of cookie mix,
1 Box of brownie mix,
2 Eggs,
2 Packs of Oreos (double stuffed ones are even better if you can find them)
Some oil
& your favourite ice-cream (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350°F, 180C, gas mark 4.
Line a baking tray with grease proof paper.
Follow the instructions on the cookie mix box & stir furiously until you have gooey cookie dough, I usually add a little extra water and oil to what they suggest, it just keeps it moist as you'll be baking it for longer than suggested. An extra teaspoon of each is just right.



Squidge (technical term) the cookie dough into a lined baking tray, until it covers the bottom.



Cover this layer with your Oreos. Don't use the broken ones, eat them as you go. This recipe is too glorious to use substandard Oreos.



Mix up your brownie batter. Just stick to the recipe on the box for this one.



& pour over your Oreos.





Bake for 30mins.



Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
When its still a little bit warm, use the paper to lift your creation out of the tray and rest it on a chopping board.
Use a large, sharp knife to cut it into manageable chunks, sections, slabs... depending on how many calories you think you can handle in one sitting.



Drop onto a plate and scoop on your ice cream.



Enjoy, and don't forget to lick the bowl!



If you're feeling particularly domesticated, you could always make these with real cookie mixture and home made brownie batter, but as far as I'm concerned, life's just too short!

[IrishLake]

MC rocks. That is all!

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by IrishLake

MC rocks. That is all!

Let me know how they turn out.

[AZTheta]

Originally Posted by IrishLake

MC rocks. That is all!

True.

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Let me know how they turn out.

I'm making shortbread in a Brown Bag Shortbread mold for a party soon, & will come back to update. I'm thinking I'll cut the shortbread into pieces along the score lines and then dip the points into melted semisweet or dark chocolate.

[AZ-AlphaXi]

Originally Posted by AzTheta

True.

I'm making shortbread in a Brown Bag Shortbread mold for a party soon, & will come back to update. I'm thinking I'll cut the shortbread into pieces along the score lines and then dip the points into melted semisweet or dark chocolate.

ummmm Yum ... let me know when they're ready and I'll come do a quality check for you.

[AlphaFrog]

These are likely to make ALL the cookie people get together and sing Kumbaya: http://forme-foryou.com/2011/08/the-...f-my-life.html

Random question: do I need to do anything to a normal cake batter recipe to make it more conducive to cupcakes?

[IUHoosiergirl88]

I've never had problems using cake recipes/boxed mixes for cupcakes. Yes, I just uttered the dreaded BOXED MIX words..but they do come in handy for when I don't have all the other ingredients on hand.

I always overfill mine because sometimes they don't rise as nicely as I'd anticipate...oh well, makes for ginormous muffin-like cupcakes!

[AlphaFrog]

I'm planning on using the recipe on the Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa tin and using strong brewed Texas Turtle Coffee in lieu of the boiling water to give it a mocha java flavor and also incorporating the coffee in the frosting, and also filling them with caramel. Normally I don't worry so much about texture - my family isn't picky on textures as long as it tastes good - but these are going to work for the company Christmas party, so they have to be right.

[AXOrushadvisor]

^^^The chocolate cake recipe on the side of the hershey tin?? That is my absolute favorite chocolate cake recipe and a family favorite. Coffee frosting---YUM!

[AGDee]

Agree with the chocolate cake recipe on the Hershey's tin. The other family favorite is the Cocoa Fudge recipe that used to be on the Hershey's tin. Hershey gets it right!

Now that I have time so spare.. the Bailey's Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes:

Crust
15 whole Oreos (more or less)

Cheesecake Batter
1 pound softened cream cheese (2 packages)
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I only use Hershey's)
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
2 large eggs at room temperature
4 Tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream
1/3 cup sour cream

In a large mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, mix together the softened cream cheese, sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder and all purpose flour. Once that is combined, add the eggs, one at a time.

Add in the Bailey's Irish Cream. Then add in the sour cream. Mix to combine. Set aside.
Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Place a whole Oreo in each cupcake liner. Using an ice cream scooper, scoop the cheesecake batter on top of each Oreo. If you need to, spread out the cheesecake batter. (I didn't need to, it was very creamy and formed to the liners nicely.. it should be this way if you use room temperature ingredients).

Back in a preheated 300 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until cheesecakes are set. Cool them in the refrigerator over night in the cupcake pans.

Now here is where I varied from the recipe. They recommend a chocolate glaze and crumbled Oreo's on top. Honestly, I think that is too much and they were perfect as is but I will give you the glaze instructions anyway. I have not used the glaze ever.

Chocolate Glaze
2 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Put the chocolate chips in a bowl. Pour the heavy whipping cream into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once it boils, remove from the heat and pour it over the chocolate chips. Whisk the ingredients together until completely combined. All the chocolate glaze to sit for a couple of minutes. Spoon the chocolate glaze over the cupcakes. If you like, crush up some Oreos in a food processor and sprinkle on top of the chocolate glaze.