Robindcr8l

post 1257, from indigo:

have one for you. It's from Food Network Canada-Fresh, with Anna Olsen
GREEN BEAN GRIDDLE CAKES
1 lb fresh green and yellow beans
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 large eggs, separated
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine salt
dash ground nutmeg
Trim beans and French (slice thinly on an angle). Bring a pot of water to boil
salt and blanch beans uncovered, until just tender, about 4 to 5 min. Drain
and rinse to cool ( or shock in ice water) or 2 cups of thawed frozen Frenched beans can be used. Set aside
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in small sautepan over med. heat and saute onion till tender. Remove from heat and toss with beans. Stir in flour, egg yolks,baking powder, salt and nutmeg and stir to coat. Whip whites until they hold a soft peak and fold into batter in 2 additions.
Heat a griddle over med.heat with remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and drop batter by spoonfuls onto griddle. Cook 3 min.flip gently and cook 3 min. more.
Serve with butter or small dollops of sour cream.
I haven't tried this yet but it looked very good served with chicken or turkey.

Robindcr8l

post 1359, from robindcr8l:

aldur, if I may be so bold as to make a suggestion for your dessert?? My friend makes this delicious, and I mean DELICIOUS, bread pudding with a caramel rum sauce. I really don't think you will be disappointed, nor will your guests. She has made it for me both with and without nuts, but I am not a fan of nuts, so she did not include them in my copy of her recipe. I'm sure you could tweak this recipe to become your own (chef that you are!).
!
Bread pudding

* 8 large eggs
* 3 1/2 cups whole milk
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 1-pound loaf cinnamon challah or cinnamon-swirl bread, cut into
1-inch cubes
* 1 cup golden raisins


Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Whisk eggs in large bowl to blend. Add
milk, sugar, cream, and vanilla; whisk to blend well. Stir in bread and
raisins. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 2
hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake pudding uncovered until puffed and golden, about
1 hour 15 minutes. Cool slightly (pudding will fall). Serve warm with Spiced
Rum Sauce.

Spiced Rum Sauce:
* 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup whipping cream
* 2 tablespoons spiced rum or dark rum
* 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Stir brown sugar and butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until
melted and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add cream, rum, and cinnamon and bring
to simmer. Simmer until sauce thickens and is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 5
minutes. Serve warm. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
Bring to simmer before serving.)

Robindcr8l

post 1379, from robindcr8l:

Robin is in a recipe mood again. This is a great summer recipe for chicken salad. I like it on croissants, or it's also great in a pita!
Chicken Salad Recipe

4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3c. Diced celery
1 c. mayonnaise
4 oz. Finely chopped almonds
1 c. Miracle Whip
½ c. chopped green onions
8 oz. Cream cheese, softened
2 ½ c. seedless grapes, halved


Bake the chicken breasts for 45 minutes to 1 hour at 400, then dice them up. Beat together the mayonnaise, Miracle Whip, and cream cheese and set aside. Combine the celery, almonds, onions, grapes, and diced chicken in a large bowl. Fold in the dressing. Great served on croissants. May be prepared several days ahead. Feeds a lot of people, or could be easily halved to feed fewer.

I tweak this recipe to my own liking. I always add some chopped sweet onion in addition to the green onion. I also use cashews instead of almonds. I also dice up about 3 or 4 small apples and add them. A little seasoning with salt and pepper and voila! (I also think cilantro would be great in this, but haven't tried it yet. ) People love this stuff and it's great to take to a summer pot-luck or serve to guests on the patio!

Robindcr8l

post 1395, from Dragon:
Channel Baldur seems to be having a rare slow period. Don't know if this will spice things up but we sure enjoy it at Chez Dragon. I'm quite sure I haven't put this recipe onto the radio show yet. It's a wonderful Gazpacho and is perfect for those sultry days when it's too hot to even think about using the oven.

Dragon's Gazpacho Soup (served cold)

3 lbs fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped (6 cups)
1 onion cut in chunks
½ cup green pepper chunks
½ cup cucumber chunks
2 cups tomato juice
1 garlic clove minced
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup white wine vinegar
Garnish
½ cup finely chopped green onion
½ cup finely chopped green pepper
½ cup croutons

Immerse tomatoes in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and skin. In blender or food processor combine tomatoes, onion, green pepper and cucumber. Whirl but leave a little bit chunky. Transfer to large tureen. Add juice, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Cover and chill well. Before serving, stir in oil and vinegar. Garnish and serve cold.

Robindcr8l

post 1581, from indigo:

After reading all about your cucumber recipes here is one I make
often.
DANISH CUCUMBER SALAD
1 English cucumber (unpeeled)
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
Salt and pepper
chopped fresh dill leaves

Thinly slice cucumbers and place in bowl or sieve. Sprinkle with
salt and let stand for 1 hour. Pour off liquid and pat dry; transfer
to bowl. In small saucepan or microwave dish, combine sugar and vinegar
stir over low heat or microwave until sugar in dissolved; let cool.
Pour over cucumbers; let stand for 30 to 60 minutes. Drain cucumbers;
season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish generously with dill.
makes 4 servings. Anne Lindsay's Smart Cooking

Robindcr8l

post 1716, from baldur:

Now Baldur is in the mood for a VBLT.
Why do we always end up back on the topic of food?

Today I cooked about 1/2 pound of lentils until they were just tender, drained them and let them get to room temperature.
to the lentils Baldur added:
Lemon juice
Olive oil
hot pepper flakes
black pepper
shredded fresh basil leaves
chopped fresh chives
Turkish seasoning blend (something from my spice cupboard... it contains:
salt, garlic, cumin, black pepper, oregano, paprika, sumac cayenne pepper and cilantro {Baldur dislikes cilantro but there's very little in this})
I served this at room temperature on baby Romaine lettuce leaves with sliced cucumber, both of which came from the garden here at Chez Baldur.

This salad was incredible but Robert skipped it and had a tuna salad sandwich on toasted whole wheat bread.

Robindcr8l

post 2081, from Baldur:

Well Chef Baldur is back again in the Radio Baldur test kitchen
Today I am goiing to show you how to make Hummus.

Into the work bowl of your food processor place:
2.5 cups of drained cooked chickeas (this is approximate 2 of the cans that are sold at my local market, but certainly you can boil dried chickpeas)
the juice of 1 lemon
1 clove of garlic peeled
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 roasted red pepper, seeded & any bits of charred skin removed (optional)
hot red pepper flakes to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried ground sumac berries (or to taste)

Puree everything well until quite smooth, you may need to add another tablespoon or two of olive oil to get the consistency right.
stir in:
1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley (optional)
salt (optional and really unnecessary)

Serve on toasted pita bread, matzohs, wheat crackers or as a sandwich filling.

Note.
Traditionally tahini, a pureed sesame seed paste is added to hummus and you may certainly do so. Baldur has given up stocking it in his kitchen. I would use less than a teaspoon in this recipe and no matter how I repackage the tahini it makes an oily leaky mess in my refrigerator. Tahini seems to have a mind of it's own and refuses to stay contained. Baldur got tired of his refrigerator smelling like a sesame seed processing plant and now just doesn't buy it.
Oddly I use toasted sesame seed oil in some of my recipes and like it, but not in my hummus.

Robindcr8l

post 2082, from baldur:
Baldur enjoys dolmas but has never made them.

I do make rather nice moussaka if I must say so myself, but being a vegetarian version it is hardly traditional.
Sometimes Baldur uses Veggie Burger crumbles instead of ground meat but i find chickpeas that have been roughly chopped in the food processor are even better.
I chop a couple large onions and fry them in olive oil until nicely caramelized, then I add a peeled and pummeled clove (or 6) of garlic, the chopped up chick peas and some oregano and cook it all together.
I layer
fried eggplant
1/2 of the chickpea mixture
bechamel sauce
feta cheese crumbles
more fried eggplant
the other half of the chickpea mixture
more bechamel sauce
more feta
then a last layer of fried eggplant
the rest of the bechamel sauce
the last of the crumbled feta
paptika.

Bake until insanely delicious smelling, golden and bubbly.

Robindcr8l

post 2108, froBroccoli Leek Soup
serves 4

1 large bunch broccoli (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. unsalted butter ( I use margarine)
2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
1 medium baking potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced ( I use minced)
3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth (I use broth in the carton)
3/4 tsp. salt
Pinch freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup snipped chives

Separate broccoli stems from florets. Using a vegetable peeler, peel stems
to remove tough outer layer, then slice into 1/4 in. thick "coins". Break or
cut the florets into small pieces. Reserve stems and florets separately.In a medium saucepan, heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add leeks
and cook, stirring often, until softened and fragrant, about 3 minutes.
Add broccoli stems, potato, and garlic, and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add
3 cups broth, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover partially
and simmer until broccoli and potato are tender, about 12 minutes.
Add florets; bring to boil and then simmer 5 minutes. Transfer soup in
batches to a blender or food processor, and puree until smooth. Return
soup to saucepan and add chives and reheat briefly.

Created by Laura Pensiero
Oprah Magazine
This soup is so delicious, I make it at least 2 or 3 times a month. I hope
you enjoy it Marius and anyone else who tries it!
m indigo:

Robindcr8l

post 2218, from robindcr8l:

Snickerdoodle recipe Oven 375

3 3/4 Cups all-purpose flour
½ Tsp. Baking Soda
½ Tsp. Cream of Tartar
1 Cup butter
2 Cups sugar
2 Eggs
1/4 Cup milk
1 Tsp. Vanilla
3 Tbsp. Sugar
1 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon

Grease a cookie sheet. Stir together four, soda, cream of tartar, and ½ Tsp. Salt. Beat butter for 30 seconds. Add the 2 cups sugar and beat til fluffy. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Add dry ingredients to beaten mizture, beating til well combined. Form dough into 1-inch balls; roll in a mixture of the 3 tbsp. Sugar and cinnamon. Place balls 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a drinking glass. Bake in a 375 oven about 8 minutes or until light golden. Makes about 66. (I guess I make mine too big, because I have never gotten 66 out of this recipe!)

Robindcr8l

Well, that is all I found, but there certainly may be some I accidentally overlooked. I only posted the ones that were written in recipe format, but there were many conversations with cooking suggestions, and even around these recipes, the posts that followed might have suggestions for tweaking them. Now, let's get some more contributors to our Thinkdraw Food Network Recipe book!

Baldur

Heavens Robin, that was a lot of work.
Were you restless?

Baldur

From posts 1563 &1564

This morning Baldur chose a large eggplant colored Fiestaware mixing bowl and filled it with sliced cucumbers. I prepared the cucumbers by washing them and rubbing off the little spines. Then the ends were cut off and with a vegetable peeler strips of skin were removed leaving a nice striped effect.
Then the cucumbers were halved and any that had large tough seeds were deseeded, the small seeded ones were left as is.
Then i sliced them all rather thin.

To the sliced cucumber I added about 1/3 of a whole lemon sliced into paper thin rounds, a good sprinkling of celery seed, some freshly ground black pepper, a couple tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, a chopped fennel blossom and a few chopped chives.
I tossed everything around a bit, covered it and placed it in the refrigerator.
Between now and dinner I'll toss the cucumbers around a bit at least a couple more times.

sheftali52

Oh my--thanks a million, Robin, for locating all those recipes and putting them here! That took some time, and I for one, appreciate it very much. And, of course, we appreciate our host Baldur for inspiring such an exchange of great recipes. (Sheftali's mouth is watering as she types!)

polenta

I have a recipe for people who can't eat salt and want to butter bread or crackers with something very healthy.

1 can of green beans (the little balls I mean)
2 spoonfuls of ricotta (don't worry if you don't have it)
1 onion ( chop it a little)
1 hard boiled egg a little chopped ( if on very strict diet, maybe two whites only)
2 spoonfuls of oil ( the one you like)
pepper and any other spice you like : oregano, 1 spoonful of salt-free tomato sauce , etc.
MIX it all with a mixer. Add sodium- free salt (if you can't stand it without a salty taste) until you get something like a paste you can butter onto bread or crackers.
Not high cuisine but healthy and with few calories.
Maybe you can have lots of ready-made sodium-free products in the supermarket and then you don't need this kind of recipe. If you do, I envy you.

marius

I love to use things on bread besides butter, but what do you mean by "little balls" of green beans? What I think of as green beans are also called string beans or pole beans. They are long, 5"-7" long.

belladonnis

Robin you are awesome! Thanks so much. I cant wait to start cooking.

marius

Ditto what belladonnis said, Robin!!!!!

polenta

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=61078

maybe they are peas. They are green, round and soft, they come canned and you don't have to cook them. Their size is maybe like a necklace pearl.

marius

Thanks Polenta. I was wondering if maybe you had little round green beans in Uruguay. (giggle) But, really - there are many foods I've never had so anything is possible. I read that South America has something like 400 different kinds of potatoes. Is this true? Saw a cooking show once with PURPLE potatoes. That was strange to see. If you've eaten them do they taste the same?