Escapist Chefs: Recipe and Tip Swap!

[DaphneRose]

I know some of you out there like to cook. What are your favorite recipes? Any tips? My top two favorites are my mushroom burgers and chocolate chip cookie recipe. Both are easy to do.

For the mushroom burger you'll need:
1 pound of finely sliced mushrooms
3 shredded wheat bread slices
1 diced onion
2 eggs
2 tbs of soy sauce
pinched of wheat germ

Put a greased skillet on medium heat. Put the diced onions and mushrooms on. Keep them on for about four minutes, until they begin to juice. Then put in the bread and soy sauce. Keep it in for about a minute. You're going to need a bowl. Put the mixture there and allow it to cool for a bit. Clean up the pan. Now, beat the egg into the cooling mixture and throw in a bit of wheat germ. You can season it to taste, if you like. Regrease the pan and shape small (a little smaller than fist sized!) patties to put on. Let them cook for three minutes or so each side. Maybe a little longer, depending on how dark you like it.

Obviously, they are not up to par with burgers. But it's a fantastic vegetarian option. If this thread sees any support, I'll post my moist, chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe.

 

[VanityGirl]

Vanity's Kickass No Bake Pudding Pie!

1 packet of instant chocolate pudding (you can do vanilla if you want)
1 8oz pack of cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
1 graham cracker crust
Some coolwhip!

First, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until its nice and mixed. Coat the bottom of the graham crust with the mixture.
Then, make the pudding as instructed and pour on top of the cream cheese.
Set in the fridge for at least 3 hours to get nice and chilled.
Cut a piece and do a dollop of coolwhip on top!



I freakin' love cooking BTW. I could share my kickass pasta recipe, but that might take a lot of typing and I'm not sure how many kitchen savvy people are on the escapist.

 

[c_westerman13]

I could share my kickass pasta recipe, but that might take a lot of typing and I'm not sure how many kitchen savvy people are on the escapist.

Pasta recipe sound good.
heres one of mine:

2 Peppers - Diced or Julienned
2 Medium Onions - Finely Diced
1 Can Chopped Tomatoes
10 Vine-Ripened Cherry Tomatoes - Quartered
Half-Glass of Red Wine (Ideally Cabernet Sauvignon)
3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 Clove Garlic - crushed
(optionally) 6 Slices Cured (eg Parma) Ham, cut into strips
4 Portions of Pasta (Fusilli, Ideally)
Butter

Boil the pasta in lightly salted water for 10 minutes, Drain, and add butter, mix around and leave

Fry the Onions and Garlic in butter until lightly browned, and add the Peppers and Cherry Tomatoes. fry until peppers are soft.

Add in Can of Tomatoes, and Allow to simmer lightly for a few minutes before adding the wine and balsamic. Stir well, then add the Pasta. Allow to simmer for a further 10 minutes, and serve

EDIT: yeah, this is 4 servings, by the way...

 

[alittlepepper]

I have a chicken soup recipe that I'm quite fond of. You'll need:

One bunch fresh cilantro
one bunch fresh curl parsley
2-4 medium sized potatoes
a smallish bag of fresh, adult carrots
A good sized box of fresh whole mushrooms
2 qt of chicken stock
2 lbs or so chicken breast, deboned (or boneless)
A medium sized crown of broccoli
Salt, pepper, garlic to taste
A large bag of your preference of noodles, as long as there's a lot of them to use in a soup
Chicken Bouillon, at your discretion, for taste

Cut up the chicken breast into small cubes and lightly cook in a sautee pan with a bit of salt and pepper and butter. You don't want to cook it too much, just enough to thicken the outside.
And pretty much just throw everything else into a big pot, except the noodles. Bring stock and a bit of water to a boil. Finely dice the cilantro and parsley, and add to the broth with salt, pepper, or whatever else you'd like to use. Slice the mushrooms and carrots and potatoes (peeled), leaving all uncooked, and put them into a large pot with the stock and water. Break up the broccoli bunch into individual crowns and mix them in. Do your hard vegetables first, since they'll take longer to cook. Add water and stir well, taste; add bouillon to your preference. Then add the chicken, turn to low heat, cover and leave it, stirring occasionally.
Boil noodles separately and pour soup over (or you can add them in; I prefer to do them separate so they stay firm. Soaking in the broth makes them very soft, which I don't prefer.)

As an edit, usually it's ready after about 45 minutes to an hour. The chicken is really the only thing you need to be worried about, make sure it's cooked through and all the vegetables are soft to your preference. Makes enough to serve a household and with plenty to put away for later, though it's best when it's eaten the day it's made.

 

[Chechosaurus]

Not my favourite recipe but it's tasty and soooooooooo easy. It's like a kind of Chinese/Thai/Stew dish and it's perfect for students or people who don't have much cooking experience. I do everything by eye when I cook so I can't really give you accurate measurements so just do it to taste.

You need:
1 Tbsp of Ginger Paste/Shredded Ginger
3 cloves of Garlic - Very finely chopped
3 Tbsp of Soy Sauce (Dark or reg.)
Chilli powder (Fresh Chilli is better but it works either way)
500ml Chicken Stock
4 Chicken Thighs/Legs/Wings (Something with bones)
MUSHROOMS! Just add as many as you want - I use button mushrooms as I'm not a huge fan of mushroom but they really help to bulk out the meal.
Noodles - Any kind

How to?
Get your Chicken Stock and put it in a stew pan (anything with a lid really) on a medium heat. Throw in your Garlic, Ginger, Chilli and Soy Sauce. Give it a good stir and bring it up to heat. It should smell fuckin' awesome already. Make cuts into your chicken to allow the sauce to get in there nicely and then put it in the pan with the Mushrooms. Turn the heat right down, put the lid on and leave it to simmer for around 2/3 hours, checking on it to make sure it isn't boiling over and just to smell how awesome it is. After the designated time, check that the chicken in cooked (It should be ready to fall off the bone and very tender) Throw some noddles in there and cook them in the sauce. The sauce will be very thin and the noodles help to thicken it out nicely. Once the noodles are done, throw that shit on a plate and have it with a bit of salad or bread or whatever takes your fancy.

It's so easy - It just takes a while so start cooking when you're not so hungry. I also suggest adding Green/Red peppers and some very chunky sliced onion too. You may want to fry those off first until they have softened before adding them into the mix. Anyway - ENJOY.

EDIT - You should be able to get at least two servings out of it, depending how much you bulk it out with veg.

 

[thylasos]

Vegetarian Borscht.

Not the sort of thing you'll find on a lot of recipe sites, but a fairly authentic reproduction of my original хозяйка's борщ. Forget the Madeleines in A La Recherche du Temps Perdus, this recipe transports me straight back to a grotty little Krushchev-era flat which I really enjoyed living in, and looking out at the Gulf of Finland in the middle of a snowstorm, warmed by this soup.

Damn tasty, filling, and best enjoyed with a wine-glass of decent straight-out-of-the-freezer vodka.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Righto, get yourself (roughly; I tend to do it by eye),
Olive/Vegetable oil.
A large onion.
A couple of fair-sized carrots.
4-6 Beetroot (I use the pre-cooked ones, just because they're easier to locate)
About half a large white cabbage. (Savoy doesn't really work.)
Red wine vinegar.
Lemon Juice.

Dice the carrots, onions, and beetroot to roughly 1cm cubes, apart from the carrot and cabbage, which ought to be into thick strips about 3-5cm long.

Whack everything (apart from the cabbage) into a frying pan with plenty of olive oil, and let it soften the vegetables for about ten-fifteen minutes.
That almost done, bring the kettle to the boil, put a couple of stock cubes in the bottom of a soup pan, and add roughly a litre of water, (Though obviously you can add more later) medium heat on the hob, and whack the cabbage in there for five-ten minutes.

That done, add the veg from the frying pan, two tablespoons of red wine vinegar, and nearly half a lemon's juice, put a lid on, and leave it for half an hour or more on a simmer, adding more water if the vegetables are noticeably protruding from the top. This is a fairly watery soup, and if you add too much, take the lid off and let a bit boil off.

In terms of serving, garnish with dill (compulsory) to taste and sour cream, (optional) similarly. But more than a heaped tablespoon is overdoing it a bit. A bit of proper black bread, or if you can't get that, toasted wholemeal, on the side.

This'll sort out about four portions. To bulk it out, just use the remaining cabbage. I've noticed that it improves slightly as leftovers, but perhaps that's just me linking the pleasure and thriftiness centres of my brain.

What was I saying? Oh yes.

Enjoy.

 

[Not-here-anymore]

Joe's 100% kick-ass chicken and bacon pasta bake.

Pasta (penne's probably best, you'll need enough for about 4 people)
250-400g chicken (diced)
A packet of bacon (6-8 rashers, cut into bite-sized bits)
An onion (diced)
Milk
Flour
Chicken stock
Peas
Lots of cheese

Boil pasta
Whilst pasta is boiling, fry onion.
Add chicken and bacon to onion.
Pre-heat oven to 180[sup]0[/sup]C
Once the meat is mostly cooked (about 5 minutes), throw about two tablespoons of flour on top, then pour in a fair bit of milk (I do everything by eye, sorry. But it should almost submerge the meat, I guess. About 150ml?) Turn the heat down.
Add chicken stock. 2 cubes if you're using stock cubes, equivalent if not.
Keep stirring until the milky-floury mix becomes gooey sauce. Add more flour if necessary to increase the consistency
After about 5 minutes/once the pasta's cooked, drain pasta, put it into a casserole dish.
Add the meaty milky goop, and pour on some peas (from frozen is fine). Mix it all in together
Grate enough cheese over the top to cover the thing, then stick it in the oven for 10 minutes or so.

Om nom nom. Although all of my cooking is massively approximate. Recipes are way too conformist

 

[Nooners]

I'm just posting this here so I can come back and read these all later. Please don't hate me.

 

[Chechosaurus]

I'm just posting this here so I can come back and read these all later. Please don't hate me.

I won't hare you if you try my chicken!

 

[c_westerman13]

I'm just posting this here so I can come back and read these all later. Please don't hate me.

Why not use favourites...?

 

[Metal Brother]

I bake a lot more than I cook, and when I travel I tend to take cookies with me to share with friends and colleagues. This is one of my favorite cookie recipes. It looks a little involved, but the results are spectacular. These cookies are essentially what Oreos want to be when they grow up.

Chocolate Espresso Sandwich Cookies

Cookies
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened non-alkalized cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. Salt
1 3/4 tsp. instant espresso powder
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature

Espresso Ganache Filling
5 oz. Bittersweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup plus 1 tbs. Heavy cream
1/2 tsp. instant espresso powder

Make the Cookies
1. Position one rack in the top third and another in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, using a wire whisk, stir together the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt until thoroughly blended.
3. In a small cup, combine the espresso powder and vanilla and stir with a small rubber spatula until the espresso is dissolved.
4. In a large bowl, using a hand-held electric mixer set at medium speed, beat the butter for 30 seconds, until creamy. Add both sugars and continue beating for two to three minutes, until the mixture is light in texture and color. Scrape down the sides or the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the egg until blended. Beat in the espresso mixture.
5. At low speed, beat in the flour mixture in three additions, scraping down the side of the bowl after each addition.
6. Drop the dough by slightly rounded measured teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake the cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, until the edges are very lightly browned but the centers are still slightly soft; switch the position of the baking sheets halfway through the baking time for even browning. (For crisp cookies, bake for 8 to 10 minutes until the centers are no longer soft.)
7. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on wire racks for 1 to 2 minutes. Using a metal spatula, transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Make the Espresso Ganache Filling
8. In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process the chocolate until finely chopped. In a small saucepan, combine the cream and the espresso powder and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the espresso powder. With the motor running, add the hot cream mixture to the chopped chocolate and process for 25 to 30 seconds, or until completely smooth, stopping to scrape down the side of the bowl once or twice as necessary.
9. Scrape the ganache into a medium bowl. Let stand at room temperature until just slightly set and spreadable, about 30 minutes.
Assemble The Cookies
10. Spread a gently rounded teaspoonful of the ganache filling onto the bottom of half of the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies, right-side-up, and very gently press each sandwich together. Let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to set the ganache. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

 

[Deskimus Prime]

One of my all-time favourites; requires a slow-cooker but is really not that difficult to throw together. And sweet zombie jesus is it ever tasty.

(if the format looks wonky, it's cause I copy/pasted it from Notepad)

Hoisin Beef Pot Roast

4 pounds boneless cross rib or blade pot roast
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion -- chopped
5 cloves garlic -- minced
1 tablespoon ginger root -- minced
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup beef stock
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch -- (or less)
2 green onions -- thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds -- toasted
4 packages stir-fry noodles -- 1 package = 175 g

Sprinkle beef with pepper. In large shallow Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat; brown beef all over. Transfer to slow-cooker.

Drain fat from pan. Add onion, garlic, and ginger to Dutch oven; fry over medium heat, stirring occasionally until onion is softened, about 2 minutes. Add hoisin sauce, beef stock, brown sugar, soy sauce, and water, stirring and scraping up brown bits; pour over beef in slow-cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or high for 6 (I usually don't get up early enough to do 8-10), or until meat is tender.

Transfer meat to cutting board, cover, and keep warm. Skim fat from liquid in slow-cooker.

Prepare sauce in either in slow-cooker or a medium saucepan:

Turn slow-cooker to High or cook in saucepan over medium-hign heat for 10 minutes. Add sesame oil and 1 - 2 tbsp cornstarch + 1/4 cup water, stirring constantly to thicken; cook another 5 minutes.

To serve, shred beef on top of noodles, top with sauce, and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

 

[Biodeamon]

home-made marzipan skulls:
1 pound blanched almonds, finely ground
1-2 teaspoon orange extract1 pound powdered sugar
food coloring
paintbrush, thin bristle
¼ cup water
1/8 cup light corn syrup (optional)
Combine ground almonds, sugar, water, corn syrup and orange extract in a saucepan.Cook until mixture becomes less chunky but don?t let it become goopy or it will be very hard to mold!Remove from hot pan, cool slightly.Take pieces of the marzipan and shape into skulls.Place on wax paper to dry for 2 hours.
With the paint brush and food coloring, paint design details on the skulls.

You have to make sure you get the right water and marzipan-mixture ratio otherwise the marzipan will either be too goopy or hard to shape.

 

[iphonerose]

Anybody got any good vegan recipes? the catch is i cant stand green veg... i've just turned vegan three months ago but i was a vegetarian for 12 years. i'm finding the transition kind of difficult

 

[Hero in a half shell]

Ingredients
1 Dish
1 portion of Revenge

Serving Suggestion
Cold

 

[TartanLlama]

Anybody got any good vegan recipes? the catch is i cant stand green veg... i've just turned vegan three months ago but i was a vegetarian for 12 years. i'm finding the transition kind of difficult

Out of interest, what do you actually eat? And what are your reasons for being vegan?

OT:
My recipes are all very vague in measurements, but here's one which I really enjoy.
My peri-peri/southern fried chicken fusion with sweet potato chips
Ingredients:
Large chicken thighs
Sweet potato

For the marinade:
Chilies
Cayenne pepper
Lime juice
Olive oil
Thyme
Cumin
Garlic
Ginger

For the rub:
Plain flour
Paprika
Cayenne pepper
Salt
Pepper

Make the marinade a day or two in advance to really let the flavours develop. Put everything except the olive oil and lime juice in a blender. Blend until you have a moist powder. Add olive oil and lime juice and blend until you have a thick sauce (you'll need quite a lot of oil). Cover the chicken in the marinade and leave in the fridge overnight.

When ready to cook preheat the oven to 200C, take the chicken out the fridge and remove most of the marinade (put it in a bowl, you'll need it later). Combine all the rub ingredients together and rub the chicken all over with it, making sure to press the spices hard into the flesh and having a nice full coating. Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry the chicken on all sides until crispy. Remove chicken from heat.

Chop the sweet potato into chips and cover generously with the marinade you took from the chicken. Place the chicken and chips on a baking sheet and put in the oven until the chips are soft and the chicken is cooked all the way through.

 

[thylasos]

Anybody got any good vegan recipes? the catch is i cant stand green veg... i've just turned vegan three months ago but i was a vegetarian for 12 years. i'm finding the transition kind of difficult

My borscht, above, ought to do fine for a few days.

As it is, though, I've not made the vegetarian to vegan transition yet, so I'm not too hot on meals specifically without dairy etc yet. Still, the borscht is honestly a good one to try.

 

[iphonerose]

Anybody got any good vegan recipes? the catch is i cant stand green veg... i've just turned vegan three months ago but i was a vegetarian for 12 years. i'm finding the transition kind of difficult

My borscht, above, ought to do fine for a few days.

As it is, though, I've not made the vegetarian to vegan transition yet, so I'm not too hot on meals specifically without dairy etc yet. Still, the borscht is honestly a good one to try.

Are you thinking of making the transition? Let me tell you, it's a lot harder than you might think. You can pretty much forget about eating out anywhere unless you wanna have to ask the waitor/ress a milion questions that she has to go back and forward to the chef to ask- very awkward.

It will be ok once you get over the chocolate and ice-cream cravings and start cooking yourself Ill try the borscht soon thanks, do you have anything else? because im not too keen on cabbage lol! before i switched to vegan, i didn't eat any vegetables, (i know a vegetarian who doesnt eat vegetables) but i'm making progress ryt

 

[thylasos]

Are you thinking of making the transition? Let me tell you, it's a lot harder than you might think. You can pretty much forget about eating out anywhere unless you wanna have to ask the waitor/ress a milion questions that she has to go back and forward to the chef to ask- very awkward.

It will be ok once you get over the chocolate and ice-cream cravings and start cooking yourself Ill try the borscht soon thanks, do you have anything else? because im not too keen on cabbage lol! before i switched to vegan, i didn't eat any vegetables, (i know a vegetarian who doesnt eat vegetables) but i'm making progress ryt

I don't eat a lot of sweet stuff, besides fruit, or eat out often (at the moment) anyway, so I'm OK there. As it is, it's something at the back of my mind, but not incredibly pressing.

Thinking about it, I've been eating vegan for about two weeks now, what with trying not to stay up incredibly late by switching milky tea for green tea.

Er...

Oh, here we are.

------------------------------------

Spicy Lentil, Bean, and Vegetable Pie


This is from my friend's book 'Porters English Cookery Bible', we had it recently when a few of us were staying at his house and it served 4 of us but we had HUGE portions so with a side dish it'd probably do 5-6 people.

Gas mark 7

2tbsp oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 carrot, peeled and cut into small chunks
1/2 a small butternut squash, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 small courgette, chopped
1tsp ground coriander
1tsp ground cumin
1tsp ground turmeric
1/2tsp ground cinnamon
1/2tsp cayenne pepper
1tbsp tomato puree
110g puy lentils
1x400g tin chopped tomatoes
150ml vegetable stock
1x420g tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
225g puff pastry

-Using a large pan, heat the oil and cook the onion gently for 5 minutes.
-Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for another 2 minutes.
-Add the potato, carrot, squash and courgette and cook for another 2 minutes.
-Add the spices and mix thoroughly for 1 minute.
-Add the tomato puree, stir for 1 minute.
-Add the lentils, chopped tomato and stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
-Pre-heat the oven.
-Add the kidney beans and simmer for a further 20 minutes.
-Assemble the pie, this quantity of puff pastry is suitable if you are only putting pastry on top of the pie, you will need more to make a whole pie casing. I find that puff pastry is not suitable for blind baking as it tends to shrink. Either way allow a small overhang to allow for shrinking.