Spring, MO The cooking/recipie thread

Amongst all my other interests, one thing that I love to do is cook various things. Tasty food tends to make people happy, so I figured I should start a thread on all the wonderful tasting things I like to make. I'd also be interested to see what sorts of other thigns everyone enjoys. So feel free to post your favourite recipies here, and if you have them, pictures. Try to make instructions, esepecially for more difficult recipies, as detailed as possible. Also, please give a difficulty rating (1-5 *'s with 1 being the easiest) so that anyone interested in trying them might be warned.

I'll start with something I made tonight.

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[image=http://s94958815.onlinehome.us/hosting/lun-tonkatsu.jpg]

[b]Name[/b]: Tonkatsu
[b]Region[/b]: Japanese
[b]History[/b]: This dish was originally invented in Japan in the 1930's and has since become a cultural favourite with entire resturaunts devoted to it. Premade tonkatsu can be found in grocery stores in Japan for as little as a few US dollars. However, at the more expensive resturaunts, a single dish of tonkatsu can cost nearly $50 US. As a variation, tonkatsu is sometimes served on bread as a sandwitch, or with cheese, shiso (an asian leaf of the mint family), or other ingredients sandwitched between the meat. The name translated means "pork cutlet" (ton = pig, katsu = mispronuncition of cutlet).
[b]Difficlty[/b]: **
[b]Cooking time[/b]: 45 minutes

[b]Ingredients[/b]:
-4-8 Pork cutlets sliced thin (ie, <1/2". Thicker is ok, but you should cut it yourself)
-~1/4 cup Flour
-1 Egg (beaten)
-1 1/2 cups of Panko (japanese style bread crumbs available in most asian markets). If you can't find this, generic bread crumbs will work, but the crust will not be as flaky. A mixture of bread crumbs and rice crispies is also possible.
-Vegetable oil

[b]Instructions[/b]:
1. If pork is not already sliced thin enough, cut into cutlets <1/2".
2. In three seperate, shallow dishes, place flour, egg, and Panko
3. In a pan, heat oil. The oil will be hot enough when a small drop of egg mixed with Panko instantly rises to the surface (you'll be getting chunks of this in the next step so don't worry about trying to make some for testing purposes).
4. Dredge pork cutlet in flour. Then coat with beaten egg. Finally cover in Panko (this is where you will get the chunks of egg/Panko. It will stick to your fingers as you're covering the pork).
5. Using chopsticks, carefully place covered pork cutlet into hot oil. DO NOT DROP. Doing so may cause hot oil to splash, burning you severely, or going onto the burner, causing a fire.
6. When the Panko becomes a golden brown, remove the cutlet from the oil, setting aside on a covered plate to keep warm.
7. Repeat for remaining cutlets.
8. Slice finished tonkatsu into 1 inch strips.

[b]Notes[/b]: Tonkatsu is generally served with shredded cabbage (uncooked). For a dipping sauce, a sauce aptly named "Tonkatsu sauce" is generally used. It is similar to Worcestershire sauce and can be found in most asian markets (Bull-Dog is the most common brand available in the US).

A more advanced recipie using this as a base is known as "katsudon" which has the tonkatsu in a dashi broth (made from kelp, dried fish flakes [bonito], or dried sardines depending on taste), along with onion and egg, all of which is served over rice or udon (thick wheat) noodles. Often it is also garnished with green onion.

 

Wow! Jon, how surprising you cook too. Your gf must love you!
That sounds yummy! Most of my recipes are southern style and not real healthy for you. LOL!

 

Umm, I made a frozen pizza today.

 

I made it to Schnuks and bought frozen dinners

 

And deep fried pork is healthy?

Perhaps next I should share some of my microwave recipies for all our college students.

 

Hey, we non-college people would appreciate the microwave recipes, too.

 

Sounds kind of tasty.

Over in the FFC, there is a thread to submit recipes for the Global FF Cook Book. I have already sent in a few so why don't we try to send in several and show the rest of the world that we are the #1 chapter and #1 in cooking since there are so many cultures in our area.

 

It's not a microwave recipie, but I've been on a Japanese kick recently. This recipie is the japanese version of shishkabobs (sp?) but uses a sweet sauce instead of barbecue sauces which gives it an unexpected but suprisingly good flavor.

[image=http://s94958815.onlinehome.us/hosting/yakitori.jpg]

Name: Yakitori
Region: Japanese
History: Yakitori has been a standard Japanese recipie since before the 1800's. During the harvest season it was considered good luck to travel to the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine in Kyoto to pray for a good harvest. On the road, travellers would generally hunt small birds such as sparrows, which were a nusiance because they ate crops (especially rice). Traditionally yakitori was a finger food and was picked off the skewer to eat. However, in the past century, it has become acceptable to eat it directly from the skewer.

In modern day, chicken is generally used as the main meat. However, I've also seen it using beef. "Negi" (a close cousin to the leek) is also cooked with the meat. Yakitori is also frequently seen with mushrooms (generally ****ake), green peppers, ginko nuts, quail eggs, and/or green onions. Today, it is a cultural favourite and is a form of Japanese fast food as it is frequently served at street stands or corner shops called Yakitoriya and sold to go.

The skewer is generally served with salt and/or additional "tare" (the sauce the meat is marinated in). It is generally washed down with a japanese beer. So Tim, you'll probably love these
Difficulty: *
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
-Chicken Thighs, sliced into ~1 inch chunks
-Negi (available at Asian import stores, or if you can't find it, leek will suffice)
-4 tbsp Soy sauce
-3 tbsp Sugar
-Honey (to taste)
-1 tsp Mirin or Sake (Japanese wine made from rice. Inexpensive sake tastes like rubbing alcohol to me, but more expensive brands are smoother. Has about the alcohol content of vodka. If you can't find this, it's acceptable to omit it.)
-Skewers

Instructions:
1. Mix soy sauce, sugar, honey and mirin or sake in a pan. Cook over low heat, stirring until smooth. This makes the "tare".
2. Turn off heat and add chicken thighs, ensuring that they become well covered in the tare.
3. Place covered chicken onto skewer, alternating with negi.
4. Grill until chicken is cooked thoroughly.
(Alternate step 4 If you're unable to grill you can bake the skewers at 395ºF. However, make sure you wrap the entire deal in aluminum foil to prevent the skewers from burning off.

Notes:
I personally hate trying to cut up chicken thighs. Although the best yakitori I've had has been made from thigh meat, I've also made them from breast meat and not been displeased. As I mentioned earlier, yakitori can also be made using beef, or any other sort of meat you may have the fancy for (although the name should be changed given that yakitori translates to "grilled chicken").

 

I think she loves me, although I'm hoping it's not just for my culinary skills.

And I'm sure Dajuan's not marrying you for your culinary skills.

I just submitted 5. I'll probably remember a few more that I like later.

 

Nah that I'm not Sadly I cook a lot like him, frozen food in the microwave. When I do bother to try I make decent stuff, pasta's my speciality.

 

so... much... good Japanese food! Too bad I can't cook

 

Both the recipies I've posted are idiot proof for the most part. I'll eventually get to some really hard ones (although not japanese).

 

I'd try making them if I had any cookware...

 

You can check the cookware out at the front desk in your building.

 

holy crap... I did not realize that... *goes to plop head through a wall*

 

Much to learn.... you still have...[/Yoda]

 

My girlfriend got me in the mood for some spinach artichoke dip last night. So I'm going to do some experimenting tonight. I'll let everyone know how it goes!

 

I ended up with a very good dip. Here's the recipie I used. It's a blend of a few different recipies:

[image=http://www.crisco.com/recipes/images/dbimages/cheesy_spin_dip.jpg]

Name: Creamy Spinach Artichoke Dip
Region: American
Difficulty: **
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
-2 cloves minced garlic (fresh)
-1/4 cup butter
-1/4 cup flour
-2 cups heavy whipping cream
-1/4 cup chicken broth
-2/3 cup Parmesian Romano (do not get inexpensive Parmesian)
-2 tbsp lemon juice
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 cup sour cream
-15-20 oz chopped spinach*
-12 oz jar of chopped artichoke hearts
-1/2 cup white cheddar (I used New York sharp white cheddar)

Instructions:
1. Over medium heat, saute garlic in butter for a few minutes.
2. Add flour and stir till it forms a thick paste.
3. Slowly add the whipping cream and chicken broth.
4. When boiling, add romano, lemon juice and salt.
5. When cheese has melted, remove from heat and add sour cream.
6. Mix well and add spinach and artichokes.
7. Sprinkle cheddar evenly over top.
8. Turn into a baking dish and bake in oven at 350ºF until cheddar begins turning golden brown.
9. Serve with side of tortilla chips, bread, or crackers.

*To prepare the spinach dry it thoroughly. To do so, if spinach is bought frozen, microwave until defrosted and then squeeze excess water. Failure to do this will result in an extremely runny dip as I probably squeezed almost a cup of water out of the 20 oz of spinach I bought.

Notes: I added the full 20 oz of spinach to my recipie and thought it was too much. I'd tested it after putting in closer to 15 oz and thought it was much better then because the spinach wasn't overpowering. Thus, I recommend adding it to taste. Additionally, I wish I would have bought more artichokes because even the full 12 oz jar wasn't sufficient for my tastes.

Another recommendation for this recipie is to exchange the sharp cheddar for monteray jack as seems to be popular in many resturants. For those that don't know the difference, cheddar is a fairly sharp cheese, which monteray jack is much richer.

This recipie also saves very well. It makes a lot of dip and I don't think I'm going to be able to get through all of it using a full family sized bag of tortiallas. Fortunately, it reheats extremely well. It can be frozen or simply placed in the refridgerator if it's going to be used more quickly. It should not be reheated on full power as that will curdle and burn the cream and cheese. Instead, microwave at 50% power for a few minutes at at time, stirring occasionally.

As mentioned, this can be served on bread. The bread would probably be best for this if brushed lightly in olive oil and then sprinkled with basil and oregano and then baked until the outsides are crispy.

 

That actually sounds pretty good. How much of the artichoke can you taste in it?

 

This can be done to taste. Using the full 12 oz jar, I don't really taste it too much unless I get a big chunk of the artichoke heart. Personally, I love artichoke and would consider almost doubling the amount next time I make this, which might be in a few days. I've already eaten nearly the full batch and damn is it good.

I'm also considering adding bacon bits to the mix next time. Like it really needs more artery hardening power...

 

I agree this sounds yummy! I do an artichoke dip that is super yummy!

Artichoke Dip

2 jars of Artichoke hearts
1 1/2 cups of Hellman's Mayo (no name works fine too)
1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese (not the stuff you use to put on pizza and spaghetti, the real stuff)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Drain and chop artichoke hearts in food processor or chop as small as you can get with knife (food processor is easier, but not everyone has one)

Add all ingredients together in bakeable glassware or at least 3 inch deep pan. Place in oven and bake till slightly brown on top.

Serve hot with crackers of your choice. I prefer a sesame cracker, but that's just me.

 

Here's another recipie I thought I'd share before it gets too warm for anyone to use stoves again. No picture this time as this is a family recipe.

Tuna Broccoli Rice Casserole
Difficulty: ***
Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
-1 small onion, diced
-1 tbsp margerine
-2 cups cooked instant rice
-10 oz package chopped broccoli (defrosted)
-1 can cream of mushroom soup (or cream of celery for those of you who are fungaphobes)
-1/2 cup chicken broth
-1/2 cup mayonnaise
-1 tbsp lemon juice
-1 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp pepper
-2 cans tuna (drained)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a large pan, sautee onions in margerine.
3. Add rest of ingredients and mix until well blended.
4. Turn into a greased casserole dish and bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes.

Notes: This meal is also good with chicken substituted for the tuna.

 

This is one of my favorites -


Take a frosted glass,


pour in one 12 oz beer (Bud Light of Corona works best I think, if using Corona garnish with a slice of lime)

enjoy!

 

Good one! If your son has your sense of humour. You are going to be getting alot of calls from his teachers. LOL!


Oh and Jon, that is funny Jeremy made almost the same thing the other night, but used noodles. It was yummy and the kids ate it. But, my kids like broccoli.

 

I've done similar caserroles with noodles, but decided I like the rice better for this because it sticks together better instead of having noodles falling off your fork. The nickname for this recipe in my family is "Tuna Smush".