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From Recipes

Grilling: Beer-Marinated Chicken Tacos

I've been obsessed with pork carnitas this summer. This chicken recipe will be just the ticket to take our taco making another direction for a while. I applaud you allowing the meat to marinate overnight. It clearly was worth the extra wait.

From Talk

Anchovy Fillets or Paste? Substitutions OK?

OK - nobody is answering the question - HOW MUCH PASTE SUBSTITUTES FOR HOW MANY ANCHOVY FILETS? How do you know how much to use to sub in paste in a recipe please?

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From Talk

Eggplant Overload

From Talk

How do you replace canned soup in recipes?

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Recent Comments | Response to Comments

From Recipes

Grilling: Beer-Marinated Chicken Tacos

I've been obsessed with pork carnitas this summer. This chicken recipe will be just the ticket to take our taco making another direction for a while. I applaud you allowing the meat to marinate overnight. It clearly was worth the extra wait.

From Talk

Anchovy Fillets or Paste? Substitutions OK?

OK - nobody is answering the question - HOW MUCH PASTE SUBSTITUTES FOR HOW MANY ANCHOVY FILETS? How do you know how much to use to sub in paste in a recipe please?

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Giada's Kitchen'

olive oil, parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'A Platter of Figs'

Cream of butternut squash soup (w Italian Sausage)

From Talk

Got roasted peppers. Need inspiration.

dbcurrie: If you just got them at the Farmer's Market they might be roaosted Hatch chiles - it is their time of year and they are showing up everywhere.

A wonderfully decadent favorite here in the SW is green chile/cheese fries.

You take hand cut french fries, sauce them with queso and top with chopped green roasted chiles. A plate of those and a really cold beer and you can face any challenge.

The roasted chiles also make a great enchilada sauce blended with a little oil and sea salt to taste. We routinely eat this on enchiladas made with corn tortillas stuffed with chicken and MJack cheese.

Hope you'll report back on how you used them.

From Talk

a source for loquats?

Ravara I have two huge loquat trees in my back yard. Here in Texas, they are way past the fruiting stage for the season. All we have left by the end of July is frozen pulp (for sangria) and jam/jelly.

Unless they are on a different timetable on the West Coast I am sorry to say I think you'll have to settle for peaches or cherries for now and wait for next year's crop.

From Talk

what's your sure-fire beat the heat tips?

Central California, we here in Texas feel you. We have been dealing with heat year in/year out. Here are some tips:

Hydration is important. Multiple small snacks work better than big meals. Don't overlook replacing the salt you will lose when it gets hot and you are sweating.

Prioritize. Pace yourself. Some things you let slide when it is dangerously hot. Other tasks you have to allow more time for in extreme heat. Fans help a LOT. Air that moves takes 10+ degrees off.

Use your microwave rather than your oven. That rice salad suggested by thewrighttaste? Make the rice in the microwave.

If you have an outdoor grill, use that to cook meat in the morning and plan for several meals using the leftovers without heating up your house.

Finally, if you can get your hands on good fresh fish make ceviche. Serve that with some gazpacho and you'll do better than survive - you'll thrive!

From Talk

Eggplant Overload

Thanks, SE posters for all the great suggestions. I will check with the Eggplant Overlord to see if he has any preferences about being frozen into tomato sauce or canned as caponata.

If I can't find a canning recipe for caponata per se, do y'all think following the time specified for a chutney type concoction will do? I have canning jars on hand but the whole salmonella thing this summer is giving me the willies. I'd love to hear from an experience canner about processing time.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: Grill Every Day

grilled tube steaks (hot dogs, brats, nilgai sausage) and potato salad

From Talk

Minced Garlic

Stephie - Americans waste/throw out approximately one pound of food a day per person. If you don't want to use the garlic in the jar that you bought, please donate it to a food bank (if still unopened) or to a community kitchen where they prepare meals for kids living below the poverty level or for homeless or underemployed folks?

If you decide to open it and use it - in my experience, the garlic in a jar does not taste quite as good as fresh, but it isn't awful, either. I keep some on hand for those times I unexpectedly run out and don't want to make a trip to the store for just one thing.

It works if you use a little more than you ordinarily would (to make up for the loss of allicin). I tend to throw in a bit of organic sugar to offset the loss of natural sugars in a preserved food.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper

Rick Bayless

"What was your first exposure to Mexican cuisine - the first dish you had -and were you an instant convert at that point or did you learn to love the food and the people?"

From Talk

Food blogs

Austin Agrodolce
http://austinagrodolce.blogspot.com/
Food and fun, cooking AND eating out, adventures in CSA baskets, etc

Also - my son is a chef here and has a new blog
Gastronome
http://austingastronome.blogspot.com/
Cooking/eating out/techniques

From Talk

Your Favorite Budget Wine?

Vinho Verde's Sonalto. A lovely light sparkling white from Portugal that generally runs around $6 a bottle here in Central Texas.

From Talk

starting a food blog ........

"The Butcher's' Blog" or "The Cutting Board"

Matt, I have a question for you. My grocery store has a sign saying something to the effect of "please ask us to trim your meat to your specifications - we are always happy to help!"... Only when I asked to get a tenderloin trimmed of the silverskin before taking it home, the butcher acted sort of insulted. Is there a way to ask for additional trimming without it being taken the wrong way?
.

From Talk

How do you replace canned soup in recipes?

Thanks all for the suggestions. Looks like some sort of a bechamel using mushrooms - maybe some onion etc. to punch up the flavor a little. Yes some more trouble than opening a can, but worth it long run to know what is REALLY going into my recipes.

I will try this out in one of my few remaining "add a can of" recipes soon and blog on the results. Y'all be sure to check in there some time and say hello!

http://austinagrodolce.blogspot.com/

From Talk

Buying Produce for One

Buying/cooking for 2 as an empty nester is almost as hard (especially if you'd gotten used to shopping/cooking for 4). What has worked for me is joining forces with a couple of other empty nester friends. We buy and then split up bags of potatoes, apples, other produce that we couldn't otherwise use before they spoiled (especially since we are trying to stick to organic produce whenever possible).

At least I hope you are able to compost the produce you can't eat? If you are able to recycle that stuff into your garden/planter soil eventually you haven't completely lost out on your investment.

From Talk

How do you replace canned soup in recipes?

Thanks for the comments so far. Help from the group is one of the best features of SE!

renzata - thanks for the heads up to your previously posted question. It looks like lots of us are struggling with how to replace those cans of soup.

chiffOnade, I like where you are heading, but then there is that can of milk. I am trying to cook without cans for the most part, especially after learning they are nearly all lined with that BPA plastic coating.

Same thing with your otherwise good idea, buffyholic, I would like to try to get the cans out of my kitchen!

And sure, Lilartist, I could search the internet for a similar recipe but I was hoping somebody on SE has already tried something out and can assure me I won't be wasting time/ingredients on something that won't work very well. (I don't like to think of myself as LAZY - just, "efficient"?)...

OK - no perfect alternative has shown up for canned soup. There are red cans and other healthier can alternatives but all still involving cans so far. Or 1500 extra calories.

I'm not a food snob either - I cook and eat what I like - what tastes good. Tuna casserole, green bean casserole, this Chicken Curry recipe - all big comfort food favorites. I would like to keep enjoying them without having to use cans, though. Maybe this will remain a "moderation" situation.

Any other ideas/suggestions out there?

From Talk

SE users: please introduce yourselves.

TexasDeb here - native gal happily returned to the Lone Star State after living other places with husband and then 2 kids. Totally into supporting sustainable agriculture/permaculture now - taking out almost all our lawn, creating new garden bed spaces, growing more of our own food and cooking our way through weekly organically grown local CSA baskets. I'm here most of the time trying to find recipes to prepare something new (to us) in our weekly basket, like, kohlrabi. I just didn't grow up eating anything like that. I enjoy the site and appreciate helpful comments for substitutions, hints, shortcuts. I have a food blog as well- y'all are welcome to check it out: http://austinagrodolce.blogspot.com/

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: The Cornbread Gospels

Jiffy rules, although the old Dromedary box was great as well. I like to add sliced jalapeños but was always leery of the "add a can of corn" variations. I've tried it with a chiffonade of fresh sage from the garden, yummmm...now I am hungry for cornbread! I'll have to give this moist recipe a try.

From Talk

What do you eat when you're feeling under the weather?

When I was little my Mom used to make me a soft boiled egg, toast bread, cut it into strips and we would march the toast strip "soldiers" into the egg yolk. That and orange juice mixed with ginger ale always make me feel cared for, even as an adult.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: Nigella Express

I buy extra organic chicken breasts to grill/poach and have on hand for a healthier protein to add to salads, sandwiches, and soft tacos throughout the week. If I poach them I save the stock and add it rather than water, to recipes for a bit of additional flavor and nutrition.

From Recipes

Cook the Book: Frito Pie

Word of warning, y'all - the Fritos bags nowadays are not as substantial as they used to be. Having something more substantial in between the Frito Pie and your lap (or hands) is recommended, especially for younger diners.

Otherwise, as we all know in Texas already, Frito Pie is just one more proof God loves us.

From Talk

Food blogs

Cocina Savant
http://cocinasavant.blogspot.com/
Avid husband and wife cooking team exploring new ideas and twists on traditional cooking form different cultures.

From Talk

Anchovy Fillets or Paste? Substitutions OK?

I just wanted to say--I got here through a google search for an answer to this question. There seems to be a bit of a disagreement online about how much anchovy paste equals one filet. I was glad to find a forum of people talking about it--so thanks for your question and answers.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Osteria'

Thank you for participating, and congratulations to our winners:

texasdeb
Runningwithbeaters
tchoughtby
vdeliz
NYCEater

Winners have been notified by email and also appear on our Contest Winners page.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Osteria'

Roasted root vegetables and nice warm tea just hit the spot when it's cold.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Osteria'

My favorite cold weather food is crisp nut waffles with fruit compote.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Osteria'

i love baked ziti and meatballs for comfort!

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Osteria'

I like to warm up with a hearty bowl of tortilla soup!

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Osteria'

My favorite cold-weather comfort food is beef stew with plenty of vegtables.
Second choice is chicken soup with rice instead od noodles. Thanks for the contest.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Osteria'

I like beef stew with buttered toast on frosty days

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Osteria'

Homemade hearty chili with plenty of honey cornbread. Yum!

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Osteria'

Homemade vegetable beef soup with cornbread. Thanks.

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Osteria'

Brisket Grill to prefection & friend or boiled crawfish !

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Osteria'

This looks like a good cookbook. I live in the northeast, so it gets COLD up here in the winter. I like to make homemade soups, chowders or stews, for supper, during the wintertime. Thanks for having the contest!

From Serious Eats

Cook the Book: 'Osteria'

my mom's potato soup, complete with dough balls, bacon, and enough pepper to make you sneeze.

Recent Posts

From Talk

Eggplant Overload

From Talk

How do you replace canned soup in recipes?

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About texasdeb

Website: http://austinagrodolce.blogspot.com/

Location: Austin, Texas

About: Empty nester, enjoying increased time/energies to spend on cooking, eating, drinking, and generally enjoying life. Gardener, reader, blogger.

Favorite foods: I love to eat ANYTHING I don't have to clean up the dishes/kitchen after! But my new "favorite" at the moment is arugula. I can't get enough of that stuff.

Last bite on earth: Grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. For me it just doesn't get any better than that.