I'm looking for a breafast bread recipe that I can mix stuff into without having to tweak too much - my mom had a recipe (lost in a move) growing up that used lemon yogurt and was really moist but better for you than poundcake.
Entertaining once per weekend lately, and since I can't vary the main course much (small kitchen, hot weather, cultural diet restrictions) I'm doing a lot of BBQ roasted chicken and trying to vary side dishes. Found a recipe for minted pea soup.
wondering if I can substitute half yams/sweet potatoes in an oven fries recipe that calls for 20 mins at 450 degrees F?
Sick of pita and hummus, my current obsession, right now. This is Israel, so no pork or shellfish - there go bacon-wrapped scallops or skewered grilled prawns. The sig. other of Friday's dinner guest can't eat cheese (checking on other milk products...) Menu currently consists of Israeli salad, Ina Garten's New Potato Salad with dill and wholegrain mustard, my grilled chicken leg quarters (hubby swears I killed the Colonel for the recipe!) and a cake brought by the guest for dessert.
@dianeb- That's how I grew up eating them, too - in England of all places! But I had a sweet potato fry last winter and haven't been able to stop thinking about it...
ooh, I had forgotten about a cream of asparagus I made at a friends house! (my housewarming gift was a week of me cooking when they first moved in and nothing was unpacked. I brought my own pots and pans and all the food each night.)
I served it with grilled cheese sandwiches with butterflied prawns and bacon for a grown-up twist on soup & grilled cheese. Mmmm... I know what I'm making next time I visit my mom...
I actually just found a Summer Tomato soup Emeril did back in 2003 that sounds good; no cream in it. Orange juice, which I thought sounded refreshing! Hubby won't do cold soups, and I'm not much on broth with chunks unless I'm sick - plus I just bought a new boat motor :-) I think I'm going to modify the basil pesto that you're supposed to drizzle on top - that just sounds oily to me on soup. I'll use the yogurt there, with basil in, for a refreshing garnish.
Serving salad as a side dish later in the meal, and bread and tapenade with the wine when they get here, so I think the soup is the perfect thing while the chicken rests.
yum! I think I will have to try both several ways to find a favorite :-)
hmmm... (sound of wheels turning) I now notice the recipe makes four servings, and we're going to have 7 people... maybe I'll make a full batch of each tuber and experiment with reheating them in a foil pan on the BBQ at the end of the chicken cooking time...
I KNOW I should do a dry run on these ideas, but who has time? Actually, I do, but the only time I have is when DH is at work and you do not want to see me alone with a pan of oven fries ;-)
ran out of room! my other thought was to use plain yogurt in a tomato basil soup instead of cream. Thoughts? DH hates cold soups, so that's out...
I will have to try some of the above, if it makes it that far. They sound delicious!
"Hi my name is cowprintrabbit and I'm a polenta-holic" I have to fix it just in time to serve it soft with the meal; if I make it ahead of time with the intention of cooling it to slice, I end up standing at the sink eating the whole pan...
I would normally "third" the anchovies, but I just saw you have mostly non-meat guests. Here in Israel, corn is a very popular pizza topping; I had it the first time when it was the only thing available and was pleasantly surprised. Now I get it whenever I see it. It's really good with tuna or anchovies, or just by itself.
My new can't live without is green Doritos - they're sweet/sour/spicy, and not available in the US. When we go back in two years, I wonder if I can have them imported by the pallet...
Waterford Crystal shakers on the table for show; the mill and salt pot are in the kitchen where I can get to them easily from stove. If I'm serving Caesar salad, the mill comes to the table for the salad course and then goes back in kitchen out of range of talking with hands!
Here's a link to "A to Z bread" which is a basic quick bread and you pick combinations of add-ins based on what you like and what you have on hand.
The recipe makes two loaves, but I don't know why you couldn't halve it and halve the add-ins as well.
http://www.recipesource.com/baked-goods/breads/machine/05/rec0535.html
Certainly, Google A to Z bread for variations.
Sweet potatoes are moister and harder to get crisp. I'm linking to a recipe here on SE, where you start them at a high temp, then finish in a slow oven for another 20 minutes - basically to dry out and crisp. If I wanted both, I'd cook them together at high temp, then remove the russets while the sweets remained, then reheat at a high temp when ready to serve. Hope it works out for you.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/01/mollie-katzen-oven-fried-sweet-potatoes-recipe.html
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!
@dianeb- That's how I grew up eating them, too - in England of all places! But I had a sweet potato fry last winter and haven't been able to stop thinking about it...
Being southern, we bake sweet potatos in their jackets alot. Because sweet potatos have fiber it is best to cook them at a lower heat 325 degrees for about an hour (depends on the size). Baking potatos at a higher heat is always good. Timing depends on the size of the potato.
I'm a polenta fan! I make polenta and spread it out on a jelly roll pan until it becomes firm. Using it as an appetizer during "happy hour", I use a small round cookie cutter to produce bite size pieces. The rounds can be topped with many things i.e. mushroom ragu sprinkled with romano cheese, goat cheese mixed with sundried tomatos etc. They are always a hit! In my opinion, polenta is a substitute for potatoes not pasta but I could be wrong! It's delicious any way you present it.
I make this recipe all the time, but I use the New York sharp white cheddar and substitute sharp yellow cheddar in place of the Gruyere. It's cheaper and the kids seem to like it better. I also don't use the bread crumbs on the top. I just put extra cheese.
A spicy tomato soup would be good, if you like the theory that spicy food makes you sweat which then cools you down.
You could do cold soups if you called them something else, maybe. A blended gazpacho or a fruit-yogurt blend in a glass instead of a bowl would make it an appetizer-drink instead of a soup. :-)
ooh, I had forgotten about a cream of asparagus I made at a friends house! (my housewarming gift was a week of me cooking when they first moved in and nothing was unpacked. I brought my own pots and pans and all the food each night.)
I served it with grilled cheese sandwiches with butterflied prawns and bacon for a grown-up twist on soup & grilled cheese. Mmmm... I know what I'm making next time I visit my mom...
Any vegetable will puree well into a beautiful light and tasty soup. For example, lightly sauté something like asparagus or zucchini and yellow crookneck squash with chopped shallots or onions in butter, add some chicken broth and a fresh herb of your choice and simmer briefly until just tender, puree in small batches in a blender or FP (carefully), return to pan over low heat until ready to serve. It will have a naturally creamy texture, but you can always add some milk or cream to make it a bit richer.
Along the same lines, vichyssoise is also delicious in summer, and can be served hot or cold.
It works with almost any vegetable.
@Brownie: it is good with applesauce. I think I probably started with an applesauce cake recipe. I actually like it better with barely pureed zucchini. The dark pieces of the zucchini skin are interesting visually and it's a little lighter with zucchini than with applesauce, I think.
I had a huge garden then and used to throw in almost any mild vegetable or fruit, even a mix. Squash, pumpkin, pears, green beans are things I remember trying. The spices kind of take over and the puree is mostly to keep it moist. You can also use nuts rather than raisins.
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Location: Caesarea, Israel
About: Un-desperate housewife; I dabble in Real Estate. I love quilting, reading, sewing, gardening, and of course cooking. I've become a serious foodie since I lost 25 lbs - it's got to be really worth eating to spend the calories on in my book.
Favorite foods: Bittersweet chocolate, dim sum, red curry with brown rice, filet mignon Oscar, sushi, crab macaroni & cheese, hummus made in Israel, chicken piccata, I could go on...
Last bite on earth: flourless chocolate cake with raspberry Grand Marnier sauce, washed down with Dom