Looking for tested recipes

[Kamen]

If anyone has good, tested recipes for chocolate fudge, please let me know. I am also looking for an easy yet tasty trifle recipe.

I have some great recipes for various cookies, if anyone is looking for those. This can be an informal recipe exchange! :D

Oh, a favorite recipe site is www.epicurious.com. There are valuable comments and ratings for each recipe.

[Dingfod]

Ingredients:
Nitric Acid (HN03)
Glycerine (C3H8O3)
...

Oh, fudge! That's not the recipe for fudge. Nevermind.

My mother had a good recipe for fudge, she didn't ever let the sugar completely carmelize so it had kind of a granular texture in the fudge. Almost nobody makes fudge like Mom used to make. Even Mom doesn't make fudge like Mom used to make. Damn diabetes.

[Kamen]

Warrenly, are you trying to kill my thread? :wtf:

[Dingfod]

No. But I almost did.

[livius drusus]

I know, really! Talking diabetes on a fudge thread just ain't right.

Sorry I can't help you myself, Kamen. I've never actually made fudge. Can I offer you an oatmeal sheet cake with broiled coconut icing?

I myself would love to get a good, non-greasy recipe for Eggplant Parmigiana.

[Kamen]

Sorry, I am not a fan of oatmeal in any form.

Greaseless Eggplant Parmigiana? Let me know if you ever find it.

I do have an excellent family recipe for an eggplant spread. It will ward off vampires and dates, but hell, who needs them anyway?

[Kamen]

No. But I almost did.


I have my eye on you. :devious:

[JoeP]

Warrenly, are you trying to kill my thread? :wtf:
:happy: :happy: :happy:

[livius drusus]

Sorry, I am not a fan of oatmeal in any form.

That's cool. We all have our cilantros.

Greaseless Eggplant Parmigiana? Let me know if you ever find it.

It's a bit of a snipe hunt, I know, but I'll keep trying anyway. Hmm... Maybe I should check Cook's Illustrated. Holy crap! They have one! Oh. My. God. It looks amazingly delicious. :faint:

I do have an excellent family recipe for an eggplant spread. It will ward off vampires and dates, but hell, who needs them anyway?

Not I. Hook me up. Would you care for an equally garlic-centric Black Bean hummus?

[Socratoad]

Kamen, I have a great fudge recipe book around here somewhere so do not despair. As soon as I find it I will post some of the recipes that I have tried and awarded the Toad good housekeeping seal of approval.

[Dingfod]

I know, really! Talking diabetes on a fudge thread just ain't right.

Sorry I can't help you myself, Kamen. I've never actually made fudge. Can I offer you an oatmeal sheet cake with broiled coconut icing?I will stop talking about diabetes for an oatmeal sheet cake with broiled coconut icing. It's my mother that has the problem, not me. I've been given the all-clear by my doctor.

[livius drusus]

I will stop talking about diabetes for an oatmeal sheet cake with broiled coconut icing.

You've got yourself a deal, mister. :handshake:

This is the single most successful birthday cake I've ever made. Moist, airy, cut into brownie-sized squares so it can be eaten easily with no need for forks, it's not only unexpectedly delicious, but ideally convenient as party food.


1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
8 Tblsp unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla

All ingredients (except the boiling water, natch) should be at room temp. Preheat oven to 350 deg, and grease one 13 x 9" pan.

Combine the oatmeal and water, and let stand for at least 20 min. Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In a medium bowl, beat together butter and both cups of sugar at high speed until lightened in color and texture (about 5 min.). Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Beat in the oats. Beat in the flour mixture.

Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 min. Set to cool briefly in a pan on a rack.

Turn on the broiler.

Broiled Coconut Icing

1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 Tblsp heavy cream
3 Tblsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 to 1 cup shredded sweetened dried coconut (you could toss in some nuts for some crunch, but I hate 'em so I haven't tested that theory)

Stir together until smooth. Spread on the warm sheet cake. Place 4 to 5 inches below the heat source in a preheated broiler. Broil until the icing bubbles all over, 1-3 min, making sure it doesn't burn.

Remove and let sit for up to 2 days, assuming you can resist just devouring the whole thing while it's still hot. Making it the day before works for me.


If you make it, be sure to report back in this thread, okay, Warren? Actually, I think we should just stipulate that any recipes from this thread that actually get tested should also be reviewed here.

[Kamen]

Greaseless Eggplant Parmigiana? Let me know if you ever find it.

It's a bit of a snipe hunt, I know, but I'll keep trying anyway. Hmm... Maybe I should check Cook's Illustrated. Holy crap! They have one! Oh. My. God. It looks amazingly delicious. :faint:


Woohoo! :cheer: Let me know how it comes out.


I do have an excellent family recipe for an eggplant spread. It will ward off vampires and dates, but hell, who needs them anyway?

Not I. Hook me up. Would you care for an equally garlic-centric Black Bean hummus?

Black bean hummus... :pant: Yes, please!

All right, this is kind of like babaganoush, except a thousand times better. This is a recipe that has been made the same delicious way for about a century, so it is pretty labor intensive. However, when I tried various time saving measures, it just wasn't the same. A lot is dependent on technique here, so I will describe it exactly. Amounts of garlics and such are personal preference. Of course, since I learned from my grandmother, there are no measured amounts, rather a splash of this and a dash of that :)

Ingredients
Dark, bulbous eggplants. They reduce greatly, so use at least two. They have to be heavy, glossy and spotless. For this recipe, the rounder the better.
5-8 garlic cloves per eggplant used
some vinegar to taste. Don't use balsamic or any other vinegar with overbearing flavor
a splash of olive oil.
salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 400. Pierce eggplants with a sharp knife in 8-10 places. Line a cookie sheet with foil, as eggplants will release a lot of juice. Put eggplants in the oven, and turn them over every 10 minutes until they collapsed their shape and became flat. Their skin should be dark and split, and start to curl, insides should be seeping out, and be nearly liquid. This should take about 30-50 mins, depending on the eggplants. (Actually, this is one change from how my grandmother made it- she had a special place in her oven she could roast them on an open flame. I imagine grilling them might work, but I never tried. Roasting them in the oven in their skins gives them a good smoky flavor.)

Take them out of the oven, and while hot (be careful!) separate the gooey insides from the skin. Use a wooden spoon or a blunt knife to scrape the skin. Discard the skins. Discard the liquid, you can put the mush in the collander and let it drain for a bit. While still hot, lay out in small portions on a cutting board, and proceed to chop with a chef's knife. If you put it in a blender, or use any other method, I will hunt you down. Trust me, blender or food processor makes this into icky mush.

Ok, so chop at the mush, making sure there are no large pieces, until it reaches a pretty smooth consistency. Keep chopping in portions till you are through them all, and do the whole thing again. You should still see individual small seeds, but it has to be smooth.

Put garlic through the garlic press and add to the eggplant, mixing well. Add a little olive oil, a little vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Voila! You can eat it cold or warm. Don't leave the house for a week. Do NOT add mayo. Do NOT add sour cream. Do NOT add yogurt, tahini and so on. Do NOT add anything else*. It should be slightly grainy, but smooth overall.

Sorry to be so weirdly protective, but this is one of the few things I remember my grandmother for, and damn, the woman knew how to cook. I still remember chopping it along with her.


*One variation that proved surprisingly delicious is adding finely chopped freshly roasted red peppers to the mix. Also, some like a little lemon juice, but I don't.


OK, you can experiment with various additions, just don't tell me about them.

[Kamen]

Kamen, I have a great fudge recipe book around here somewhere so do not despair. As soon as I find it I will post some of the recipes that I have tried and awarded the Toad good housekeeping seal of approval.

Excellent, thanks! :yup:

[Kamen]

Actually, I think we should just stipulate that any recipes from this thread that actually get tested should also be reviewed here.

Great idea! This could be our recipe exchange thread. People can share their most succesful and time tested recipes.

[livius drusus]

What a beautiful, gorgeous, special recipe, Kamen. I can't wait to make it just exactly as you (and your grandmother) command. :)

[Socratoad]

OK I found the fudge book, although I have been sorely wounded in the process as a gigantic herd of dust elephants trampled me into the hardwood.

I have tons of fudge recipes, however this one is pretty well a fail-safe basic fudge recipe to which one can alter to ones' content by adding various flavours.

Bread and Butter Fudge

2 cups granulated white sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 lb (1 stick) butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 square oz. unsweetened chocolate .....grated or otherwise crushed
Or 1 cup( 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

STEP 1: Prewarm thermometer; use 3 quart saucepan; butter sides of saucepan; dump in all ingredients except vanilla. Grease a 5 by 10 inch pan. Fill glass with with ice cubes and water.

STEP 2: Dissolve sugar, stirring constantly with wooden spoon over low heat until butter melts, gritty sounds cease, spoon glides smoothly over bottom of pan. Increase heat to medium and bring to boil.

STEP 3: Boil after making sure to brush down any crystals that may have formed on sides of pan using pastry brush dipped into hot water from thermometer bath, using as little water as possible. Introduce prewarmed thermometer. Reduce heat while retaining boil. Stir no more than necessary.

STEP 4: Test when mixture becomes thick and bubbly.. Ball formed in ice-water should retain shape until heat from your hand begins to flatten it.. This ball stage happens at approx. 234F to 242F (112C to 116.5C)
PS: I never bother using a thermometer.

STEP 5: Shock by placing saucepan in sink.

STEP 6: seed by adding without stirring the vanilla

STEP 7: Stir when fudge becomes lukewarm and skin forms on top. Stir fudge thoroughly but definitely not vigorously by hand or with electric mixer on low.

Step 8: add any additional ingredients before fudge totally candies.

STEP 9: score and cut into chunks and store in refrigerator or at room temperature in airtight container.

STEP 10: Eat

Yield 1 lb. Recipe can be easily doubled and can be frozen.

Please pay attention as there will be a written test at the end of the week.

PS: Added content: one needs to have ice cubes and water in a sink or other suitable place to lower saucepan of fudge into, making sure that no ice water enters pan. This is what is referred to as "shocking". If you eliminate this step you will end up with toffee or caramel.

[Dingfod]

All the fudge recipes I've found specifically instruct you not to scrape the sides of the pan because some of the crystalized sugar will get into the fudge? I hate when that happens... NOT!

[Socratoad]

That may very well be the case however having made countless batches of fu\dge over the years I did not find this to be the case. It stands to reason that if you scrapped down the sides without gently stirring to ensure blending/melting, then of course this would happen.

[Dingfod]

The point I am making is that I LIKE a granular sugar texture to fudge. I don't find it too often, but that's how my mom used to make it.

[Socratoad]

Ah, now I understand. I prefer mine to be as smoth as possible.

[Kamen]

What a beautiful, gorgeous, special recipe, Kamen. I can't wait to make it just exactly as you (and your grandmother) command. :)


Thank you, and let me know what you think! What I like about this one, as opposed to various baba ganoush recipes is that you can really taste the compex texture and taste of the eggplant. However, some people don't like eggplant, they think it is bitter, so this is not for them.

My grandmother was an amazing cook. She made dozens of types of jams and pickles, not to mention regular everyday recipes. She never wrote anything down, she remembered all the recipes in her head. We wanted to create a recipe file of hers, when we lost her very suddenly and all too early. We were only able to recreate the relatively simple recipes, like the eggplant one. Others are all gone. When we ate the last jar of jam she made, we made a huge party out of it, honoring her. Being in her fragrant kitchen, slicing cucumbers, pitting cherries, chopping eggplants and helping her in other ways are some of the best memories I have.


Now, livius...about that black bean hummus? :cool:

[Kamen]

OK I found the fudge book, although I have been sorely wounded in the process as a gigantic herd of dust elephants trampled me into the hardwood.

Oh, so that's where my dust zoo escaped to when I cleaned last week. Sorry about that!



I have tons of fudge recipes, however this one is pretty well a fail-safe basic fudge recipe to which one can alter to ones' content by adding various flavours.


Just what I needed. I will experiment this week and let you know. If you have recipes that have really dark, intense chocolate, or perhaps maple fudge, please don't hesitate to post more.

By the way, I made caramel once, and it was spectacular. If people want a wonderful caramel recipe, I can try to unearth mine.

[Socratoad]

OK, I shall post some more. I prefer maple or plain brown sugar and vanilla fudges myself, but do not hesitate to ask as I have a whole tome full of fudge and other candy recipes. I used to make my own marshmallow too, with toasted coconut . I'm not sure whether that recipe is in here. I was really quite pleased with myself as I have never met anyone who made marshmallows.

Pleased? Perhaps smug would be more accurate

[Kamen]

Marshmallow and toasted coconut? That sounds yummy! Please post that recipe if you find it. :) And brown sugar fudge..Damn, I am getting a sugar high just thinking of it!

[livius drusus]

Thank you, and let me know what you think! What I like about this one, as opposed to various baba ganoush recipes is that you can really taste the compex texture and taste of the eggplant. However, some people don't like eggplant, they think it is bitter, so this is not for them.

I do tend to have a strong bitterness reaction to eggplant, but that's only when it's sliced or sauteed and still very much intact. I'm sure that will not be an issue with your recipe, which, incidentally, looks far better than any babaganoush I've encountered.

My grandmother was an amazing cook. She made dozens of types of jams and pickles, not to mention regular everyday recipes. She never wrote anything down, she remembered all the recipes in her head. We wanted to create a recipe file of hers, when we lost her very suddenly and all too early. We were only able to recreate the relatively simple recipes, like the eggplant one. Others are all gone. When we ate the last jar of jam she made, we made a huge party out of it, honoring her. Being in her fragrant kitchen, slicing cucumbers, pitting cherries, chopping eggplants and helping her in other ways are some of the best memories I have.

That's touching, Kamen, both for the devastating loss of your grandmother and her knowledge, and the way you and your family celebrate her life. I'll think of her when I make it.

Now, livius...about that black bean hummus? :cool:

Ah yes, of course. It's really enormously easy to make, but unless you have one of those person-sized mortar and pestles like the badass Lebanese women have installed semi-permanently in their back yards, you have to use a food processor. I myself have a 12" diameter version of this badboy (http://www.eurocosm.com/Application/Products/Mason-cash/pestle-and-mortar-1GB.asp). :pleased:

Warning: do not attempt to make in a blender. Blenders and chickpeas do not, repeat, do not play well together.

Black Bean Hummus

2 cups cooked black beans
1 cup cooked chickpeas
2 Tblsp minced garlic
1 tsp ground cumin (toast the seeds and grind them in a small mortar & pestle for dreamy delicious results)
2 Tblsp tahini
1 Tbslp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

[Socratoad]

Thanks Livius, damn stores just closed twenty minutes ago or else I would be dining on black bean humus this evening.

Quick edit to correct my atrocious spelling of Liv's handle.

Oh lord its hard to be fucking blind, dyslexic ..... and dumber than a doorknob.

[livius drusus]

You're very kind to edit, Socratoad. Thank you. :thankee:

Damn those early closin' stores! Still, tomorrow is another day. Should you hit the shops then, be sure to pick up some pita for dippin' purposes. Small tip: cut the pitas in half horizontally and turn the rounds inside up. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, grated parmesan and pop in a 350 oven until golden crisp (ca 5 min).

[Socratoad]

Oh my, oh my, Liv, with your further instructions regarding the eating of said humus the poor old toad is now drooling all over eeeeess keyboard, and alas the grocery stores are closed tomorrow here in Polarbearland ......its tundra thanksgiving day

[livius drusus]

Good lord, Toadster; that's just madness! Surely there's some amoral corporation willing to exchange money for goods and services even on an official holiday, no?

Minor addition to pita instructions: once the pitas are baked, you break them up into chips. It's a bit of an obvious point, perhaps, but just in case...

[Kamen]

Ah yes, of course. It's really enormously easy to make, but unless you have one of those person-sized mortar and pestles like the badass Lebanese women have installed semi-permanently in their back yards, you have to use a food processor. I myself have a 12" diameter version of this badboy (http://www.eurocosm.com/Application/Products/Mason-cash/pestle-and-mortar-1GB.asp). :pleased:

Is it wrong to lust after a mortar and pestle? That's baby is going on my wish list. I shall "accidentally" e-mail the link to some people before my birthday.

When you say cooked black beans and chickpeas, do you mean canned, or cooked from scratch?

It sounds absolutely perfect. Will shop for ingredients this week and let you know what happens.

Note to self- do not read this thread when hungry.

[livius drusus]

When you say cooked black beans and chickpeas, do you mean canned, or cooked from scratch?

I've done it both ways. Canned is way easier and there's no perceptible difference in quality, so if you're buying new (as opposed to using fridge leftovers from last night's fajita party or something), I say go canned.

It sounds absolutely perfect. Will shop for ingredients this week and let you know what happens.

Sweeet... If this thread turns out to be as yummy as I think it will, we should totally compile the recipes for a "Best of" article. :)

[Socratoad]

Toad creeps through the night with a bag of high quality giggleweed searching for an amoral business person who just might be tempted to exchange said giggleweed for the elusive canned chickpeas and black beans ......... hop hop hop

[livius drusus]

Now that's what I call a good bargain. :weed:

[Socratoad]

Hahahahaha choke choke sputter.

The above will have to suffice cuz my already feeble mind turns to mush at this time O day, and therefore I cannot find the smilies

[Socratoad]

The above post has been presented to you by a toad whose feeble mind has become so damned undisciplined that he appears to have forgotten that the OP is about posting recipes.

PS: Of the morrow I shall post more recipes starting with the marshmallows

[Socratoad]

The above post has been presented to you by a toad whose feeble mind has become so damned undisciplined that he appears to have forgotten that the OP is about posting recipes.

PS: Of the morrow I shall post more recipes starting with the marshmallows

Ahhhh, bah bloody humbug, I'm feeling very crummy, and so further postings of recipes will have to await another day :(

[livius drusus]

I hear that black bean hummus is an effective cure for the crummies. Take care of you. :hugsmile: