Our recipes

I would love to have some of the recipes from Steve's weekend and thought we could start a thread where we post recipes from our roundups. I esp would like Steve's seafood stew and Julie's beans with hamburger.

Here is my fruit dip recipe:


8 oz. cool whip
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. cream cheese
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup Kaluha

Mix all in blender and chill. Good with strawberries/sliced apples.

Notes: I wasn't able to get Kaluha so I used some Bailey's that Lynn had. Also, it is way better if it goes through a blender. Barb didn't have one so I just mixed by hand But when I had it from the person who gave me the recipe, it was silky smooth and that was part of what made it so great. That and the Kaluha. ;)

OK, Gwen, it is time to relax for a little while, so here is the recipe for:

Baked Bean Hot Dish


Cut at least a 1/2 pound bacon into small sections, brown in a large frying pan. (I use cast iron.) Put bacon in a roasting pan.

Brown at least 1 pound hamburger and a cup of diced onions in the same pan. Place also in the roasting pan, sans extra grease.

Add 2 large cans pork and beans I am fairly creative here, depending on what is in the pantry.

Add 1 can light red kidney beans, drained
Add 1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
Add 2 cans butter beans, drained.

Then add:
1 cup ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. dry mustard.

Mix all together and bake for about an hour @ 325 degrees.

I will forewarn you, I have shared this recipe, verbatim, with several friends and they all say they are "not as good" as mine were.

Enjoy.

Wow, I think your Baked Bean Hot Dish recipe sounds a lot like a long-lost, but much loved recipe I remember from my childhood, with the exception of the butter beans... our version had green beans instead.... :) I'm going to try it and see, but I'm going to make a few modifications... the green beans, as mentioned, and maybe cut the sugar by like 75%, have to do that for dietary reasons... wahh.... ;)

Oh I love Kaluha! I was so sad to miss the Montana fun. Does Lynn just carry Baileys with her at all times?

I think so! And apparently Steve always has wine and crackers.

I enjoyed the photos from Montana. It sounds like you all had a fabulous time. The scenery is spectacular, as is Steve's home and garden.

Laughing about the beverages -- my first foray with the PNW gang was the Merkeerk tour. I knew I found a good group when the first line of business was Gwen opening her trunk to mimosas! Savvy bunch.

Rule of thumb for a serious gardener... especially if traveling... you never know exactly where your travels may lead you, or what pitstops you will make along the way, so be prepared! Wine, cheese, baileys.....

Don't forget bags (heavy Duty) to carry your rocks, or at least clothes with lots of pockets!

And while we're at it, a trowel for digging up plants by the side of the row and maybe clippers if you want to sneak a cutting from someplace.

You guys are so funny! My kids are beginning to arrive in Portland starting today, and I'm having a brunch on Wednesday morning for my kids, their spouses and significant others, and my grandchildren. That's 20 of us. I'm going to make Gwen's fruit dip - yum.

I often make home made nutella and yesterday I tried to turn it into a sauce but it didn't work at all. Anybody have a chocolate hazelnut sauce recipe that is dairy free? The groom's mother can't have dairy.

Happy 4th!

Here is one I found. Never tried it but sounds very simple. Have a great time with the family and the wedding. You must be so excited!
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/chocolate_hazelnut_sauce.html

Thank you Bea - I am excited. The trouble with using the nutella in the market that comes in a jar is that it is full of chemicals. When I make it myself I use hazelnuts, cocoa, vanilla, and hazelnut oil. Now that I've gotten used to it I can't eat the jar stuff anymore! Today I tweaked and combined a few recipes and the result is really good. I sure tasted a lot of chocolate as I experimented!

The fireworks in our area are freaking out my dog!

I just saw an ad for an organic version of Nutella in a French magazine, but unfortunately you can only get it in Europe, I'm sure! I do love the stuff. Judi, how do you make yours?

This is the recipe for nutella -

Nutella

Yield: about 12 ounces (1 1/2 cups)

2 cups whole raw hazelnuts
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
up to 1/4 cup vegetable or nut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place hazelnuts in a single layer on a shallow baking pan. Toast until the skins are almost black and the meat is dark brown, about 15 minutes. Stir the nuts halfway through baking to ensure an even color.
Since the skin is bitter, you’ll want to discard them. Wrap the cooled hazelnuts in a clean kitchen towel or paper towel, and rub until most of the skins have come off. Don’t fret if you can’t get off all the skins.
Process nuts in a food processor, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until they have liquefied, about 5 minutes. First, you will get coarsely chopped nuts, then a fine meal. After a little while, the nuts will form a ball around the blade, and it will seem like you only have a solid mass. Keep processing. The heat and friction will extract the natural oils, and you will get hazelnut butter!
When the nuts are liquified, add in the sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Slowly drizzle in enough oil to make a spreadable consistency. Since the mixture is warm, it will be more fluid now than at room temperature.
Transfer the spread to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator for 1-2 months. For best results, stir the chocolate-hazelnut spread before using.

Thanks, Judi!

Judi.. I will pass your recipe to my daughter the chef..she will love it. Thanks

Cool, but don't say it is "my" recipe - I found it on a website!

I had forgotten about this thread - thank you Gwen for starting it! I have been eating a lots of vegetables this summer, and have found a favorite way to make them a main dish. i put about an inch of water in a large copper (copper sears stuff quickly) frying pan and bring to simmer. Add cut up carrots, squash, green beans, kale, etc, any combination. Simmer for a few minutes till tender but still crisp. Don't overcook. Drain water from pan and return pan to burner over medium heat to allow vegs to dry a bit, then add olive oil, chopped onion, garlic, and brown it all and let caramelize. Turn heat to very very low and top vegs with grated cheese, cover, and after a few minutes turn off heat & let cheese melt. I use fontina or a goat cheese that melts well. There is a farm that brings goat cheese to our farmers' markets and they have the very best melting one. I think it's called Dee Farms from Washington. OMG it is so good.

Judi, that sounds really good. Hopefully I will have enough veggies from my garden, as slow as it is this year, to try it. Love goat cheese for cooking and am amazed at how cheap it is in Mazatlan compared to here.

It's also good with salsa on the side and one of those hard taco shells crumbled on top.

My vegetable garden is having a hard time this year but since we are expecting temps over 90 for 5 days I'm hoping that will give the vegs a boost.

I learned some really fun new appetizers last week so I'll be making those at Lynn's for everyone.

Oh yeah! You are such a great cook. I always do the same old boring things, and you are so adventurous.

Sorry guys I have been in Alaska mentally since roundup. Now heading home I can peruse the DG sites. My Sea Stew is called bouillabaise or whatever. I make a stock of Tomatoe pieces in sauce, Chuncks, Diced, Whole, whatever. After cooking I add about 1/2 cup of dry red wine to each quart of soup/bouillabaise right at the end. I add Thyme, Celery seed, cilantro, and a lot of parsley, most of this is to color the red sauce to please the guests. All of the flavor is driven by the tomatoes and their freshness. Oh I forgot I add red pepper to it depending on the guests. A lot for men and a little for women. If they are mixed just set it on the table and let the men add more. The whole idea is to vary it because it is the peasant food of fisherman of the Mediteranian Sea. So I prefer to add white fish, salmon, cod, shrimp (biguns), and what ever is left in the veggie box in the refer. So you a filling meat rich soup that has absolutely no calories but the wine. The "skookum" way is lots of mussels added about the time of the Chianti to pop open at the end and make it look important. I love mussels so the more the merrier. No recipies in my life. Just create and it is always good. Oh the secret to having everyone love it is to have it served after everyone is starving! Fresh baked french bread is my favorite calorie to make you full.

Now during Salmon Season: Fillet with skin left on layed on foil shiny side up, 2 tlbsps of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of liquid smoke, and 2 tablespoons of frozen orange concentrate. Wrap up tight and grill over fire for 20 to 30 minutes and eat away.

Illegally caught salmon: Stop at nearest beach build fire out of alder and get out beer and drink a couple while looking out at beautiful ocean view. Next pound down coals into group and place many wet and old pieces of alder laying farther up beach. Now look right and left for game officer and fillet the undersize king and find a y shaped stick and hang the fish from the stick skin side up and let the alder smoke the fish for about 3 beers (slowly drank) IPod and good music are acceptable if non-drinker. Now look at the fish if fat dripping onto fire place another y shaped stick under the other and lift away and rotate fillet. As you drink the last of the six pack pick with your fingers the droopy part of the fish so it doesn't fall into the fire and eat that first. The rest can be eaten after a good nap listening to I pod or surf. Thinking how wonderful today is. The longer the fish is on a continually furnished fire the more jerky the fish gets. Finish the last as you quietly paddle your kayak back to launch and finish before sight of landing. Slide skin into water as you paddle for beach. Ahhhhhhh! Good Day in "...."

Sofer - please write a book on your adventures. I am sitting here looking at my calendar to remind myself of my obligations for the next few months to keep from jumping in the car with my dog and heading for Alaska.......

Steve, love your recipe for illegal salmon! Also the secret to making everyone love your food by serving when starving - LOL I imagine there's a fine line between serving when starving so they love the food and waiting so long they are royally pissed off.

I made Julie/Sharon's beans yesterday for a gathering and they were quite popular. I am thinking about combining their recipe with my recipe which would call for sauteed/carmelized onions and pineapple. Or instead of pineapple, I have a recipe that calls for canned apple pie filling. Now if that isn't tasty, I don't know what is.

We do an apple pressing party every fall for a group here on the island. After we press the apples, we end with a potluck dinner. I orchestrate the entree. In the past, we've always centered around the apple theme but also food that's been freshly harvested. This year I'm thinking about having two pasta dishes that people bring food to add to.

One would be a hot pasta that people would bring things to add in - heirloom tomatoes, snap peas or beans, corn, etc., whatever's in season in their garden or at the farmer's market, and then would probably throw in shrimp or prawns at the end. Then also a cold pasta dish along the same lines - maybe adding in peas or just whatever people want to bring. Instead of Stone Soup, it would be Stone Pasta. Or maybe I should do Stone Soup. It could be simmering away while we press apples...

A friend made this for me - I've had different versions of this broccoli salad but I am addicted to this one.

Chop up some raw broccoli, add some chopped craisins (dried cranberries), a bit of chopped purple cabbage and shredded carrots, and a bunch of sunflower seeds. You can adjust the amounts however you like, but I highly recommend lots of craisins and sunflower seeds. Mix together mayonnaise, a little sugar, and a little cider vinegar and mix into the broccoli mixture. Again, adjust the dressing ingredients to your liking. The sunflower seeds add crunch and the craisins add just the right tartness. I love love love this salad.

Judi, since you won't be able to make the mini-roundup this weekend, I'll make this in your stead -- I was stewing about what to bring anyway and I always like a new recipe. Thanks! Deb

Buon appetito!

Bonehead,
Loved the salad you had at the RU. How close did you follow Judi's recipe?

My 'cheese log' was cream cheese, shredded cheddar, worchestershire, green onions, and parsely. It was supposed to have some hot sauce but I forgot. It probably should have been rolled in chopped parsley to improve the looks too.

I steamed the broc for just a few minutes, to brighten the color, then cooled it down in ice water. Shredded carrots, didn't have any cabbage (which I think would add another nice crunch). Lots of craisins. Made a viniagrette of raspberry vinegar, olive oil, and honey. Combined and let that all soak overnight. Tossed all together before serving with a big handful of sunflower seeds. This was one of the easiest salads I've ever made -- thanks Judi. This one will definitely be a repeat.

All of the salads were delicious.
We spread the cheese ball on toasted bagels for breakfast, yum.
I am so grateful for all of the food you guys left, I love leftovers.

I was wishing I had taken some of the brownies after all this morning. I forgot about brownies for breakfast!

Yum I wish I had been there to taste all those salads! Instead I ran my you-know-what off in the prison, taking care of trauma from inmates fighting. It's a crazy place and I didn't even have time to eat lunch. I could tell about things that took away my appetite but I will spare you the details.

I hope you all had a nice day - I so wanted to meet those of you I haven't yet met! I will be working every weekend for the next 10 weeks so no fun for me!

I went into a prison once to take a deposition. It was a horrid experience and I will never step foot in one again. You couldn't pay me enough money.

My son is a counselor at a prison and his wife works in the office there. It is not a happy place.

We missed you, Judi. Maybe you can come next time.

I toured a prison once before it was in use; I was on the county planning board at the time and we were invited to see the new facility. It looked awful, even though it was new and clean. Of course no privacy and it seemed inhumane, although it's not supposed to be a positive experience. Yuk!