Most Successful Shared Recipe?

[livius drusus]

Do y'all have one recipe that never fails to get rave reviews when you give spread it around? Here's my 100% winner:

Greek Salad Pita Pockets

1 bunch of spinach
16 leaves of fresh basil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 english cucumber
2 tomatoes
some olives
some feta
1/4 cup olive oil
5 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2-4 whole wheat pitas (the kind with the pockets)

Wash the spinach and basil and pat it dry. Tear the spinach into bite-sized pieces until you have 6 loosely-packed cups. Stack the basil leaves and cut into thin lengthwise strips. Slice the cucumber into thin rounds. Cut the tomatoes in half, squeeze the seeds and spooge out of them, and chop them (this is important 'cause tomato spooge waters down everything and will make the pitas all soggy). Cut the olives in half and pit them. Put everything together in a large bowl for tossin'.

Cut the pitas in half and run a knife into the pocket to make sure they're open. Put them on a baking sheet and toast in a 350 deg oven for about 5 minutes. They should still be squishable without cracking when you take them off, but have the slightest layer of crisp on the outside.

Meanwhile, put the minced garlic into a jar with a lid. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper. Screw the lid on tightly and shake until emulsified.

Pour the dressing over the salad. Dump as much feta on top as floats your boat and toss. Use tongs or a large fork to stuff the salad into the pockets but don't overstuff. A bloated pita is a sad pita.

Best. Lunch. Ever.

[xorbie]

Mine is very simple, and I personally love it.

Joel's Green/String Beans

Some green/string beans
Some garlic
Some soy sauce
Some olive oil
Some other stuff, if you feel like it

As you can see, I'm being very scientific here. :cool:

Basically, put some olive oil in a pan. Heat up. Chop up the garlic. Put the beans in, wait ten seconds or so (this may or may not have any affect on the whole process) and put the garlic in. Then put some soy sauce on it.

The thing I like about this, is how simple it is to make. This means I can experiment with it a little, and add various seasonings. As long as you don't add to much, you can really do no harm :D . I've found a little paprika is actually pretty good.

By the way, this is really the only thing more advanced than a salad that I make.

edit to add: I know most people know how to make string beens correctly, and are wondering why I bothered to put this up. It's because I am sick of the travesty that is bland string beens! It breaks my heart :(

[RevDahlia]

xorbie, another thing that goes wonderfully with string beans is fermented black bean sauce. Lee Kum Kee brand makes an admirable one, located in the weird-food section of the supermarket in a squat jar with a red/orange label. Give it a try, you'll love it.

My most successful recipe, which I've mentioned here several times, is one I adapted from her Royal Highness Laurie Colwin. I have tinkered with it quite extensively, to good effect. EVERYONE, but everyone, loves this. Even confirmed spinach-haters. (This boy I was in love with long ago, who never ate anything green if he could help it and hated spicy food on top of that, began to fall in love with me after I served him this. Fortunately I was in the process of getting over him at the time.)

It sounds weird, but it is extraordinarily good. It is also kind of tricky. Lots of things can go wrong considering that it's basically just a debris blanc casserole. But it is so delicious that I will take great pains with the directions -- I love it and want y'all to love it too.

Creamed Spinach with Jalapeno Peppers

You need:

A truly insane amount of fresh spinach. One of those gigundo bags of baby spinach will cook down to about the volume of a deck of cards, so you will need two, or maybe even three gigundo bags of baby spinach. The kind that comes in the bag may seem like a frivolous, unnecessary expense, but you won't have to pick it over. If you cook too much (you won't) it is delicious cold on toast, with a poached egg, the next day.
Water (or chicken stock if you like, but I've found it doesn't matter that much)
Bottled jalapeno peppers, as many as you like (I like lots.) Fresh simply will not do; you want the khaki ring-shaped kind.
1 clove garlic, microscopically minced. Resist the urge to add more.
1/2c evaporated (NOT condensed) milk
2 tbsps flour
2 tbsps plus 1 tbsp butter plus some more for dotting
Pepper Jack cheese, 3/4 cup shredded, or regular Jack and a couple of tablespoons of crushed red pepper flakes
Salt
Bread crumbs, seasoned or un, a large handful

In a huge skillet with a lid, or a huge skillet and a lid from something else that will fit on top of said skillet, heat 1 tbsp butter (clarified if possible) quite hot. Fling in the spinach and garlic and immediately add 1 cup of liquid, water or stock. Stir like crazy and then clap on the lid. The idea is to let the spinach steam and saute simultaneously. Lift the lid and stir often, but mostly keep the lid on.

You will probably have to do the spinach in batches. When it is all wilted, remove it, squeeze it out and reserve the liquid. Save whatever liquid may remain in the skillet, too. If the combined total /=1 cup, make up the difference with more water or stock. Set liquid aside.

Butter a casserole and lay out half the spinach in one layer on the bottom. Pave the top with jalapenos, chopped or not, as many as you like. They will lose almost all of their fire in the cooking, so I recommend being pretty liberal. Top with the other half of the spinach and some more jalapenos. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350.

In a saucepan, melt 2 tbsps butter over medium-low heat and then add the flour. Stir constantly for three minutes and do not allow the roux to brown. If it gets brown, throw it away and start over. I'm serious. After 3 minutes add the evaporated milk, the salt, and the reserved spinach liquid. Kick the heat up to medium-high, stirring all the time, till it thickens. When it is thickish, remove from heat and stir in the shredded cheese.

Pour cheese sauce over the spinach and stir gently to incorporate. Scatter breadcrumbs over the top, dot with butter, and pop it in the oven for 25 minutes or so, or until it is bubbly around the edges.

This will be like unto napalm for quite while after it comes out of the oven, so respect it and allow it to compose itself. There you have it.

(This will do as a side dish and also a wonderful, wonderful dip for tortilla chips. If you make your own tortilla chips, your guests will be prostrate with joy.)

[livius drusus]

xorbie, my dad told me yesterday that he was just back from picking a huge mess of green beans from his vegetable garden. He's gonna ship me some and I'm totally going to make them your way. :)

Rev, that's fucking awesome looking. I love spinach and I can't wait to try it. He he... Like unto napalm...

[xorbie]

Forgot to post this... but keep me updated on how they turn out (unless they suck :( )

[Beth]

I have some recipes but I need to pull them oout of filing. I am not sure they are things that would be wanted in here. They are more country type foods that I make when going to pot lucks and so on.

[livius drusus]

As long as you've spread them around and gotten rave reviews, those recipes are just the kind of thing wanted in this thread, Beth :)

I know it looks like I'm a hopeless food snob - I'm certainly very picky when it comes to Italian - but I love a fine hot dog and potato salad. In fact, I just stumbled on some really killer hot dog buns (they aren't rounded and bready, but more like folded toast) that I've been raving about for 2 days.

If you do find yourself digging through your files, I'd love to see some of the favorites.