Okay, this is the most recent Recipe Thread

[Urbane Guerrilla]

SOS can be... shoddily... made. Phooey on trying to pass off unseasoned plain hamburger as the one true Creamed Chipped Beef. It needs the chipped beef, or this Turkish-style variant.

Or for heaven's sake, do something to pep up the ground beast. Try minced garlic and ground red pepper.

Middle-Eastern markets can get you pastirma, as can some middle-eastern restaurants. You may have to get creative to land a supply.

Armour Brand chipped beef in the little jars gets its zip from nitrite curing. Some pastirma does likewise, but in the main it gets its zing from a rub of powdered red pepper and garlic. Nitrite is optional. Pastirma can be found sliced, in half-pound and 1-pound family size packets in the freezer case, and costs like pretty good cheese, about eight dollars the pound. You won't need more than the half-pounder one.

SOS with Pastirma

3 to 4 oz Pastirma slices, snipped or sliced 1/4" across -- about an eighth of a kilo
2 TBSP (30ml) Butter
2 TBSP (30ml) Flour, all purpose or w/w
1 1/3 (220ml)cups Milk
1/2 tsp (~10ml) Worcestershire Sauce
Buttered Toast, cut in points if you're feeling Martha Stewartish or James Bearded

Lightly sauté Pastirma bits in the Butter, about 3 minutes. Stir in the Flour, making a roux, then add the Milk all at once. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly, then cook and stir 1-2 mins more. Add Worcestershire Sauce with a dash Pepper if desired. Spoon mixture over buttered toast points.

Option: fry 1 large clove crushed Garlic in the butter with the Pastirma, remove and discard Garlic. Makes your white sauce Béchamel-ish.

Serves 3-4, unless you really like Creamed Chipped Beast on etcetera and hog it all yourself.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

One-Skillet Bacon & Sausage Guy Food

from some guy in Levittown

1 lb smoked bacon
1 lb good polish kielbasa
1 really huge onion or 2 regular ones
several large potatoes, sliced thickish
tablespoon of mustard, salt and pepper to taste.


These instructions are for a house with a normal sized large frying pan. Also you need a baking pan, or else bake it in the frying pan too.
Cut the bacon into 2 inch strips, cook it just short of done, you want it a bit soft - remove from pan.
Cut the kielbasa into @ 1/4 inch slices, cook in the bacon fat until it is just short of browned, remove from the pan.
Cut the onion into large slices cook until just translucent remove from pan.
Combine bacon, kielbasa, and onions and put into a deep baking pan. Oven preheat at about 350 F.
Cut the spuds into 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick slices and cook in the fat in the frying pan until browned. Move the potatoes into the baking pan as they are done, and you are adding more, you only want one layer of potato cooking at any time.
Stir the bacon, sausage, onion, potato mix in the oven occasionally as you finish and add more potatoes. [??? - UG]

I have no idea why he thinks he should stir it while it's baking, or why he hasn't put all the potatoes in at once. --UG

Ready to roll once everything is cooked and a bit of shredded cheddar on top is nice.
Yes, you're right, I'm really pissed off at my heart.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

From a cooking class conducted by Rocky Durham:

The Santa Fe School of Cooking is at 116 W. San Francisco St. (upper level of the Plaza Mercado). The school was founded in 1989 by Susan Curtis; her daughter, Nicole Curtis Ammerman,, joined her in the business 13 years ago. The storefront shop offers cookware, tabletop accessories, regional products and ingredients. For ingredients and online information, go to www.santafeschoolofcooking.com.

Got fresh chiles? Roast 'em like so for a good peeling -- from the article:

Durham started with Anaheim chilies to make his green sauce, a necessary substitute until the fall harvest of fresh New Mexican Hatch chilies is conducted.

"The skin can taste like plastic, so these green chilies are always peeled," Durham said, placing fresh Anaheim chilies atop a screen set over stovetop flames. They made loud pepper-popping noises as their skins dotted with black blisters. Removed from the heat and sealed in a large, zipper-style plastic bag, the chilies were set aside to cool and steam a little before their skins would be rubbed off and interior seeds removed.

Santa Fe Enchiladas recipes

You will need to double this Green Chile Sauce recipe to provide enough sauce to make the enchiladas. If you're looking for a shortcut, instead of roasting, seeding and peeling fresh Anaheim chilies, use canned mild (diced) chilies instead.

Green Chile Sauce

Yield: about 2 1/2 cups

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 to 3 teaspoons minced garlic

2/3 cup roasted, peeled, diced Anaheim green chilies

2/3 cup roasted, peeled diced Hatch chilies, defrosted if frozen; see cook's notes

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3/4 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano; see cook's notes

Optional to use as needed: beurre manie made with 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour mixed with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Salt if needed

Cook's notes: Frozen Hatch chilies (roasted, seeded, diced) are available online at www.hatch-chile.com (as well as on other sites). They are available in mild, medium (Big Jim variety) and hot (Sandia variety). When I was leaving Santa Fe to go to the airport in Albuquerque, I stopped at Sam's Club and bought several bags of frozen Hatch chilies. They are the Sandia variety and are extremely hot. I balance them out with mild Anaheim chilies in this sauce. I like to double this recipe and freeze leftover sauce. I use leftover sauce for tacos and stews. If desired, fresh cilantro (to taste) can be added to the sauce at the last minute.

Dried Mexican oregano is sold at most supermarkets in the Latin American specialty section. Most often, it is sold in clear cellophane bags.

"The oil should look like the hem of a woman's skirt — shimmering and dancing," he said about the oil he was heating in the pot. I thought about the moving surface of the oil and envisioned the motion at the bottom of a full, sequined skirt. I may never look at hot oil the same way again.

Procedure:

1. Heat oil in Dutch oven or large saucepan on medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook about 1 minute. Add chilies, pepper and chicken broth. Rub oregano between your hands and let it drop into mixture. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes.

2. If sauce is too thin, stir in about a teaspoon of beurre manie. Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste and add salt as needed.

Nutritional information (per 1/4 cup): calories 30 (less than 3 percent from fat), protein 0.2 g, carbohydrates 3 g, fat 1.5 g (saturated 0.5 g), cholesterol 0 mg, sodium 230 mg, fiber 0.1 g.

— Source: Rocky Durham, The Santa Fe School of Cooking, Santa Fe, N.M.

Red Chile Sauce from Ground Chilies

Yield: 3 cups

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup finely diced onion

2 to 3 teaspoons minced garlic

1/2 cup ground medium Chimayo red chilies; see cook's notes

2 1/2 cups chicken broth or water

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano; see cook's notes

2 teaspoons sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

Salt to taste

Cook's notes: I bought ground medium Chimayo red chile at www.santafeschoolofcooking.com. If desired, you can substitute ground California chilies or ground New Mexican chiles, or a combination of both.

Dried Mexican oregano is sold at most supermarkets in the Latin American specialty section. Most often, it is sold in clear cellophane bags.

He cooked onions in a large saucepan until they were soft, then added some minced garlic and let it cook about 1 minute. Meanwhile, in a large pan, he briefly toasted red chili powder, no longer than about 30 to 40 seconds. He warned that if the powder scorched, it would become bitter. He added the powder to the onion mixture, stirred in chicken stock, ground toasted spices, a pinch of Mexican oregano. A splash of sherry vinegar and a smidgen of honey followed.

Procedure:

1. In a small, dry skillet, toast cumin seeds and coriander seeds over medium-high heat until seeds are lightly browned and aromatic; shake handle of skillet to rotate seeds and brown on all sides. Use a clean, electric spice grinder or coffee grinder to grind toasted seeds into a powder. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in large saucepan on medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat.

3. Place ground red chiles in a separate large saucepan. Place on medium-high heat and heat chilei powder, shaking handle and stirring to keep powder from scorching. Heat it about 30 seconds or so, to lightly toast it. Remove from heat.

4. Stir chile powder into onion mixture and stir to combine. Stir in broth or water. Stir in cumin-coriander seed mixture and Mexican oregano. Stir in vinegar and honey. Bring to boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer about 20 minutes, or until mixture has thickened slightly. Taste and add salt as needed.

Nutritional information (per 1/4 cup): calories 33 (less than 3 percent from fat), protein 0.4 g, carbohydrates 3.8 g, fat 1.5 g (saturated 0.5 g), cholesterol 0 mg, sodium 278 mg, fiber 0.1 g.

"There are three ways to clean the grinder," he said. "You can grind up a piece of bread and discard it. Or you can grind up some raw rice and discard it. Or you can grind coarse salt and keep it. The toasted, spice salt can be used to flavor lots of dishes."

We loved the dual-purpose salt trick. I could see a potential gift, shown off in a jar tied with a red ribbon.

As the small appliance whirled salt with the residual spices left behind in the grinder, he said he would pass the mixture around for students to taste.

"But don't lick and dip," he said. "Just pinch, then taste."

— Source: Rocky Durham, The Santa Fe School of Cooking, Santa Fe, N.M.

Chicken or Cheese with Corn Enchiladas

Yield: 10-12 servings

Vegetable oil, for greasing pan

3 cups red or green chile sauce (see recipes)

About 16 corn tortillas

4 cups cooked chicken (boned, skinned) or 3 cups corn kernels

1 1/2 pounds (6 cups) grated Monterey jack or cheddar cheese (or a combination of both)

1 1/2 cups diced yellow onions

Garnish: 2 cups shredded iceberg or romaine lettuce

Garnish: 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes

Garnish: 1 1/4 cups sour cream

Optional garnish: sliced green onions, including green tops

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with vegetable oil.

2. Spread about 1 cup sauce over bottom of pan and layer half of tortillas evenly over sauce. If using chicken, toss chicken with about 3 tablespoons sauce. Spread half of chicken over tortillas. If using corn, spread half of corn over tortillas.

3. Sprinkle with one-third of cheese and half of the onion. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for second layer and top with the last cup of sauce and remaining cheese.

4. Bake 20 to 30 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

5. To serve, spoon portions onto dinner plates. Garnish with shredded lettuce, diced tomato and top with sour cream.

Nutritional information (per 1/4 cup): calories 323 (49 percent from fat), protein 11.9 g, carbohydrates 30.5 g, fat 17.6 g (saturated 5.5 g), cholesterol 40 mg, sodium 670 mg, fiber 0.5 g.

— Source: Rocky Durham, The Santa Fe School of Cooking, Santa Fe, N.M.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

...that came out really pretty good.

I had some leftover baked potatoes, rather overdone in fact. Overdone baked potatoes are less fun than ones done just right. So, what to do to salvage the poor shrunken things?

Nameless Skilletstuff

Quantities approximate.

Half dozen Baked Potatoes, small
Half can (15oz) diced Tomatoes, juice and all
1 cup frozen cut Okra
1/3-1/2 cup Barbeque Sauce
1/2 cup turkey Pastrami, diced

Heat through in skillet or wok-pan on medium heat, covered, stirring occasionally. Uncover pan and reduce liquid towards a sauce texture, stirring occasionally to prevent any burning.

The okra actually doesn't yuck this up because of the tomatoes it has to play with, and your favorite BBQ sauce is about all you need for seasoning. Probably any kind of pastrami would work.

Pastirma? Maybe substitute jerk sauce for BBQ sauce, then.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Tried this one recently. I like it.

Fusilli alla Caprese

For sure put the cubed cheese in at the end, with the heat off. Heating the cheese too long melts it into glop that sticks on your serving spoon. A little meltiness about the edges is fine, but the cheese should retain its structure and its identity.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Hey, do you like iced coffee?

Vietnamese style or Thai -- whatever, they're both good, aren't they?

Thai sugars the living heck out of the coffee, then floats heavy cream on it. I think they do the sweetening with simple syrup.

The Vietnamese is a Winnie-the-Pooh sort of approach: the coffee is straight, generally espresso-roast, and it gets turned into something like coffee ice cream, liquefied, by stirring in quite a bit of condensed milk. Darn good with ice, though you shouldn't let too much ice melt into the mixture or it gets diluted.

Fix that by freezing coffee in an ice tray for this purpose.

But try grating a little nutmeg into your coffee grounds before brewing. To taste, of course, but don't go too strong. You want a touch of the flavor, and the sweetness of the condensed milk will bring it out.

If cardamom is more your thing than nutmeg, grind a few pods of green cardamom in with your coffee, milk it and ice it as above.

And cardamom and nutmeg both -- they dance well together here, too.

<Sip>