Thread: Cooking -International Recipe Exchange- Come on Take a look!

Originally Posted by rockzmom

BASIL?!?!?! Do you have a great recipe for Pesto?

Nope, never made it. I use the Thai basil in curry recipes. The African blue basil I'm growing mostly because it's pretty.

Originally Posted by doninphxaz

Originally Posted by rockzmom

BASIL?!?!?! Do you have a great recipe for Pesto?

Nope, never made it. I use the Thai basil in curry recipes. The African blue basil I'm growing mostly because it's pretty.

Well then, you need to post some of those Thai recipes of yours and I will have to start hunting for a Pesto recipe and experimenting until I can come up with an easy one.

CREAM PUFFS COMING SOON!

Don't they just make your mouth water???? Now where is that scratch and sniff? How many situps do you have to do just for looking at this photo?

I have transcribed Nana's recipe for cream puffs and hope to make them with the girls VERY soon. The above photo is one I found that looks EXACTLY as I remember them (well, to be honest, Nana did not put sooooooo much chocolate on them). So, I have something to aim for when I try out the recipe. We can all see how close I can come to duplicating them and then depending upon the results, I will post the photos and recipe.

здесь удивительные топты в Санкт-Петербурге! кто-нибудь заходил? http://englishrussia.com/?p=851
Сheck out these incredible cakes from St Petersburg! Has anyone been?

Originally Posted by Winifred

здесь удивительные топты в Санкт-Петербурге! кто-нибудь заходил? http://englishrussia.com/?p=851
Сheck out these incredible cakes from St Petersburg! Has anyone been?

Winifred... I actually did not realize it was a CAKE!!!! I think someone needs to take a road trip for us!!!!

It reminds me of Charm City Cakes in Baltimore, Maryland http://www.charmcitycakes.com/gallery. They also have a show on Food Network called "Ace of Cakes."

BTW, read this about Duff, the chef and owner of Charm City Cakes (the world is a small place sometimes!)

His Ukrainian Great-Grandmother, "Mamo", was a baker as well as a renowned cook and fiber artist. Her daughter, Duff's grandmother, "Nana", was a silversmith, enamellist, painter and photographer who prided herself on her skills in the kitchen. Duff's Mom, Jackie, is also an artist who began in ceramics and is now an accomplished stained glass designer on the west coast. Duff studied at the Corcoran School in Washington, D.C. and was at one time a graffiti artist.

I love this thread!

Originally Posted by LaPistola

I love this thread!

LaPistola, thank you and to MR! If you have a recipe, please feel free to post it. Go treasure hunting in your parent's or grandparent's attic and then ask them for the history of it! It will make their day and yours!

I am actually cooking dinner right now or I would. I use all my great grandmother's and grandmothers recipes on a routine basis. Later tonight I will post some goodies I cook up

Yikes "later tonight" turned into days...sorry :/

So, at the request of my grandmother she would like me to keep the family Italian recipes just that family. With that said here are two delicious (non-Italian) recipes I use quite frequently.

MOUSSAKA
1 pound ground lamb
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup (8 oz can) of undrained tomatoes
¼ cup dry red wine or water
1 eggplant
4 eggs
½ cup milk
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375. In fry pan brown lamb; drain excess fat. Add onion, parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg, tomatoes, and wine. Simmer, uncover, about 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Peel eggplant and slice length wise into ½ inch slices. Arrange half of eggplant into bottom of pan. Top with half of meat mixture, remaining eggplant and remaining meat. Cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes or until eggplant is tender. Beat together eggs and milk. Pour over partially cooked casserole; sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered 10 to 15 minutes or until egg mixture is set. To serve, let stand about 10 minutes and cut into squares.

EASTER PASKA (one of my favorites during the holidays)

13 cups flour
8 egg yolks
2 tablespoon butter
1 quart lukewarm milk
1 ½ cup sugar
1 yeast (regular size)
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup raisins

(2 whole eggs- 1 tablespoon butter 1/8cup milk (cooked to pudding thickness).
Dissolve the yeast in quart of lukewarm milk. Mix all the ingredients together and let raise double in bulk. Knead and add 1 cup of raisins and mix in dough again , then let raise. Take enough of dough to fill ½ of pan and let raise until the dough is level with pan. Cover top of the dough with beaten egg yolk and put into oven. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
(Rinse raisins before using)

Nana's Cream Puffs! (finally!)

The girls and I just made these today and they passed inspection. The only complaint from the girls was that the chocolate was too bitter for them (I used 60% cocoa).

I know it looks like a lot and maybe too much to do; however, I wanted to write out the steps clearly. It really was not that hard and it is just the time of waiting for things to cool that is the hard part.

Here is the recipe and some photos! Let me know if anything is unclear or you have questions.

This recipe will make about 10-12 cream puffs


How to make the Vanilla Cream Filling (2 step process)

Ingredients/items needed:

2 packages vanilla pudding (cooking type, not instant)
3 Cups milk
Plastic wrap
1 Cup very cold heavy whipping cream (an older cream (check the date on the container) whips better than newer cream)
1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (always use pure when possible)
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
Speak of salt
Small to medium sized sauce pan/pot
Large mixing bowl
Mixer (unless you have really strong arms) and COLD/Chilled mixing bowl with cold beater(s)

Instructions:
1. In sauce pan, prepare pudding using three cups milk.
2. Pour into bowl and put plastic wrap on top of the mixture (so it won’t develop a skin).
3. Chill in refrigerator for approximately two hours.
4. STOP HERE AND go to HOW TO MAKE CREAM PUFF SHELLS while you are waiting for the pudding to chill, about two hours

AFTER pudding has chilled and AFTER you have made the shells….
5. Pour the whipping cream into the COLD mixing bowl along with the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, corn syrup and salt.
6. Whip until the cream is stiff and forms well-defined peaks. Don’t walk away and leave this while it is beating, though, for the mixture can turn into butter in a matter of second.
7. Take out the pudding out from the refrigerator and remove the plastic from the top
8. Fold the whipped cream into the pudding


How to make the Cream Puff Shells

Ingredients/items needed:
½ cup butter or oil
1 cup water
1 cup sifted flour
¼ teaspoon salt
4 eggs
Slightly greased cookie baking sheet
Small to medium sized sauce pan/pot
Mixer (unless you have really strong arms) and mixing bowl
Round Soup spoon
Cooling racks
Small knife

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Bring water to a boil
3. Add butter or oil and melt
4. Add flour and salt into the water stirring vigorously
5. Keep stirring until it forms a ball that won’t separate
6. Remove from heat
7. Put dough ball into mixing bowl and let it cool slightly
8. Put mixer on medium to low speed
9. Add 1 egg at a time, beating after each addition until mixture is smooth
10. Take a round soup spoon and put spoonfuls onto slightly greased cookie sheet about 1 ½ inches apart
11. Put into preheated oven for 15 minutes
12. REDUCE HEAT to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for another 25 minutes
13. Shells should be high & puffy
14. Remove from oven and place shells on cooling rack until cool
15. When cool, make a slit close to the bottom and remove the soft inner dough (note, you have a choice here, you can either cut off the top third of each puff and scoop out the soft dough in the center OR make a small or medium size hole in the bottom or side of the puff. Whichever you choose, this will be how you end up putting the cream into the puff. So, you will either have a “sandwich” type puff if you cut off the top, or a complete intact puff more like an “éclair” type if you have a smaller hole)

How to make the Chocolate Icing

Ingredients/items needed:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¾ cups heavy whipping cream
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (you can use a sweeter chocolate or flavored chocolate if you like)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (always use pure when possible)
Small to medium sized sauce pan/pot
A dozen or so toothpicks
Plastic wrap

Instructions:
1. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream just to a boil
2. Remove from the heat.
3. Add the chocolate, butter and vanilla
4. Let stand just until the chocolate is melted
5. Whisk until smooth
6. Drizzle some of the chocolate sauce over the puffs and serve, saving the remaining sauce for garnish and decoration
7. This icing must be lukewarm to ice the cream puffs. If it is too hot, it will run off; if too cold, it will not spread very easily
8. Place a few toothpicks in the taller cream puffs and then gentle cover creampuffs with the plastic wrap. (The toothpicks help to keep the plastic off of the chocolate)
9. Put creampuffs in refrigerator for about a half hour (if possible) for the chocolate to set.

Making the dough ball


Adding the eggs, one at a time...


Putting dough onto cookie sheet


The finished shells


Insides taken out of shells


Filling shells with cream


Putting on the chocolate (very artistically)


Finished Cream Puffs!

those look delicious! I have a similar recipe but I have never used cocoa syrup.....I will the next time I make them

Originally Posted by rockzmom

Finished Cream Puffs!

Hm-m-m-m. I wish some eggheaded guys will make it possible to send the puffs by e-mail. It's so pity that it is impossible today.

Корт (сушеный творог)

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

Вскипятить молоко. Влить в кипящее молоко катык и продолжать кипячение. Немного спустя в посуде образуется творог, который следует кипятить до покраснения, затем добавить сахар и продолжить кипячение. Корт будет готов, когда выкипит вся жидкость. Готовый корт следует переложить в другую посуду и охладить.

Остывший корт в тарелочках можно подавать со сливочным маслом на стол.

Для длительного хранения корт следует высушить на солнце , в печи, либо в духовом шкафу.

1 вариант: на 10 литров молока берется 1 литр катыка, 400 г сахару.

2 вариант: на 1 кг выхода корта 33% влажности: творога обезжиренного - 1400 г, сахару - 230 г, масла топленого -90 г.

To boil milk. To pour in in boiling milk катык and to continue кипячение. It is a little later in utensils cottage cheese which should be boiled before reddening is formed, then to add sugar and to continue кипячение. The court will be ready, when all liquid will boil away. The ready court should be shifted in other utensils and to cool.
The cooled down court in plateaus it is possible to submit with a butter on a table.
For long storage the court should be dried up on the sun, in the furnace, or in a wind case.
1 a variant: on 10 litres of milk 1 litre катыка, 400 г to sugar undertakes.
2 a variant: on 1 kg of an output of court of 33 % of humidity: cottage cheese skim - 1400 г, to sugar - 230 г, oils baked-90

Translation is made by the program. I regret.
I advise it to translate and try to make. It is very tasty

Originally Posted by CoffeeCup

Hm-m-m-m. I wish some eggheaded guys will make it possible to send the puffs by e-mail. It's so pity that it is impossible today.

What you need is Wonka Vision! It starts at 7:41, I could not find just a clip of only this part. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW2r1FOO6Ic (I love it when he says "Stop. Don't. Come back." )

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

Now my dad, he loves this Mocha Rum cake that was made by a pastry shop (Clement's) that used to have a store front location in Washington, DC, and now they only sell to resturants and such.

So about two years ago, I contacted the bakery and asked about the cake. No one remembered the cake. They said they don't make it. But then... they said wait a minute call back tomorrow and ask for so-and-so, if anyone remembers, she will. Sure enough, she did and she found the recipe. She said they could make the cake for me as long as I would come pick it up at the production warehouse and pay cash.

So right before my next trip to Florida, I did just that and I got on the plane with this cake. When I got off, I handed him this box and his eyes popped out of his head in surprise like a cartoon character. He was sooooo happy to have his beloved Mocha Rum cake! He has even gone so far as to take slices of the cake to other bakeries asking if they can copy it! No luck and the bakery will not give up the recipe even though they no longer make the cake (except for me).

http://www.clementspastry.com/national/national.htm

Originally Posted by rockzmom

Originally Posted by CoffeeCup

He has even gone so far as to take slices of the cake to other bakeries asking if they can copy it! No luck and the bakery will not give up the recipe even though they no longer make the cake (except for me).

LOL. My father was a chef and anytime he liked a certain dish or recipe he would go home and figure it out. The kitchen was a laboratory, you of sent my father a slice for "analyzing".

Originally Posted by rockzmom

Wonka Vision!

That's great . I'll hunt for a DVD to see entire the movie. I miss that time, every incredible fantastic thing seemed to be possible in the very near future .

Originally Posted by CoffeeCup

Originally Posted by rockzmom

Wonka Vision!

That's great . I'll hunt for a DVD to see entire the movie. I miss that time, every incredible fantastic thing seemed to be possible in the very near future .

I found these two links online:
http://stagevu.com/video/srpcaxzhmpvz
http://www.megavideo.com/?v=X4GPTDLW

I saw my mom the other day and she found some of my grandmother's recipes. They are worn and faded in her hard to read script. And she almost always used a pencil and not a pen for some odd reason.

Anyway, I thought I would post another one of her recipes. This one is for a coffee cake with icing; yet, it takes so long to make, you could drive or even walk to a great bakery and buy one, walk back and drink your coffee/tea and eat the cake all before this one has cooled! Yet... there is something to say for making your own and spending the time with your family doing so or having the pride in saying you made this!

Nana’s Coffee Cake & Confectioner’s Glaze

Total time about 3 hours


Ingredients/items needed for Coffee Cake:
½ cup milk
½ stick margarine or butter
1 egg
¼ cup sugar
2 cups flour (a little extra for use when rolling)
1 teaspoon salt
1 Table spoon vanilla extract
1 envelope dry yeast
½ stick margarine or butter (soften and will be used after dough has risen)
Raisins, finely ground pecans or walnuts, cinnamon (optional to your liking)
Small to medium sized sauce pan/pot
Large mixing bowl
Wooden Spoon
Cloth or towel to cover bowl
Rolling pin and board (or clean flat surface to work on)
9” round pan (greased)
Knife to make slashes in dough
Cooling rack

Instructions:
1. Pour ½ milk into a small to medium sized sauce pan/pot. Slice ½ stick margarine or butter into the milk and bring the milk and margarine/butter combination to a scalding temperature.
2. In a Large mixing bowl, slightly beat the egg and add sugar, salt and vanilla and stir.
3. Stir in scalded milk.
4. Add dry yeast, and stir until dissolved.
5. Using a wooden spoon, add 1 cup of flour at a time, and beat 150 times. Dough should be spongy and soft.
6. Cover bowl with cloth or towel and set in warm place to rise until double in size/bulk (about 1 ½ hours).
7. Empty dough on floured board (or clean flat floured surface).
8. Roll out dough to be ½ inch thick.
9. Spread soften margarine or butter on dough.
10. Fold dough into thirds and then spread margarine or butter on again.
11. Fold dough into half and then spread margarine or butter on again.
12. Keep repeating until margarine or butter is used up.
13. Roll out dough to ¼ inch thickness.
14. Sprinkle with cinnamon, raisins and finely ground pecans or walnuts (to your liking)
15. Roll up dough like a “jelly roll” (Remember the photos I posted earlier of the roll with whipped cream? Like that. Start at one end and roll the dough towards the other end.)
16. Place in 9” grease round pan, bringing the ends together.
17. Slash ring with knife every 2 inches.
18. Cover the dough ring and pan and let rise for 1 hour.
19. Preheat oven at 375 degrees.
20. Bake for 25 minutes until brown.
21. Let cool in pan placed on rack.
22. Iced with confectioner’s glaze (see recipe)


Ingredients/items needed for Confectioner’s Glaze:
½ cup confectioner sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
About 1 tablespoon HOT milk
Small bowl

Instructions:
1. In bowl, add vanilla to sugar
2. Gradually add milk until confectioner sugar is consistency of heavy syrup.
3. Spread thickly on cake letting it run unevenly over sides.

With the holiday season on its way here in the States, I thought I would post some more recipes here!

Up until I started feeling worse... oh about a few years ago now years... you used to be able to find me cooking and baking up a storm this time of year. I would make chocolate tree villages (all sorts of colors mind you... even purple and pink), gingerbread houses, all sorts of cookies and bon bons. If there was a request, I made it or created it.

One of my personal favorites sadly enough is not one that is liked by my own family! capecoddah , maybe you might enjoy this one!!!
Cranberry Cake with Butter Sauce, dumb question I know... but do they even have cranberries in Russia??

Here is the recipe and directions from Marcia Adams' "Cooking from Quilt Country" page 197

Cranberry Cake with Butter Sauce, serves 8 (and yes, you can have without the sauce)

Ingredients for Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter melted
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole cranberries

Ingredients for Butter Sauce
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 ½ cups half-and-half
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
Speck of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (177 C) in a large mixer bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the cake. In a small mixer bowl, beat the egg and add the melted butter, milk and vanilla. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in the cranberries by hand. Pour into an oiled 9-inch-roun cake pan and back for 40 minutes, until the top of the cake springs back when lightly touched with your finger.

Meanwhile, prepare the butter sauce. In the top of a double boiler melt the butter over low heat. Add the brown sugar, half-and-half, cinnamon, and salt. Cook over hot water for about 5 minutes, whisking smooth. To serve, cut the cake in wedges and serve warm with the sauce ladled over the cake.

NOTE: the sauce will curdle on reheating, so do not make ahead of time.

Now for a wonderfully simple yet elegant New Year's Eve dish... this Chicken Breasts in Champagne from The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook is a winner everytime. I have never had it fail to impress or win over a hard to please guest.

Chicken Breasts in Champagne
4 whole chicken breasts, halved
Salt & Pepper to taste
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup cognac
3 Tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
2 teaspoons dried tarragon
3½ cups non-vintage champagne
½ cup heavy or whipping cream

Sprinkle the chicken breasts with the salt & pepper. Melt the butter in a medium-sized dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken breasts, a few at a time, on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Pour the cognac into the pan, warm it and flame with a match. When the flame subsides, stir in the flour and tarragon. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually whisk in 3 cups of the champagne. Return the chicken to the pan. Cover & simmer until the chicken is tender, about 45 minutes.

Remove the chicken to a warmed serving platter. Stir in the remaining ½ cup of champagne and the cream. Cook the sauce over high heat until reduced and slightly thickened.

Pour the sauce over the chicken & serve immediately.

Now I am hungry and I am not a very good cook. I may have to try that chicken recipe though, yum.