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

For those of you who longed for the cream puffs my girls and I made or downloaded her cookbook, my dear Nana died early this morning. She was 106 and one day short of 5 months. I'll have to find some more of her recipes and try them out with the girls and post the results!

Oh, dear... I'm sorry for your loss. Wish I could give you a hug.

Have my deepest sympathies on the death of your Nana.

Rockzmom, I'm so sorry for your Nana. Even so we never met her, she become an example for us which way of life we should get for being well.

I'm sorry for your loss, Rockzmom. My condolences.

Thank you all for your kind words! You all are fantastic and amazing people and I am honored to have "met" you!

Sorry for your loss. But at least you had many more years than we usually do to enjoy her! If long life is in your family, you planning on being around that long too?

Originally Posted by chaika

Sorry for your loss. But at least you had many more years than we usually do to enjoy her! If long life is in your family, you planning on being around that long too?

hehehe... My dad (her son) is going to be 79 this year. Not long after Nana turned 99, she finally stopped living on her own and moved in with my dad. My daughter used to joke that my dad still lived with his mom! Imagine.. he was almost 80 and had his mom still bickering at him!! It was fun to watch the two of them. A couple of years ago we were all out at an ice cream store and he was picking on her and she was just ignoring him and then he was complaining about the whipped cream and that he didn't want any and he got some anyway and where should he put it? Nana muttered "I'll tell you where to put it!" My girl's mouth's just dropped to the floor when they heard that and my dad was like "what? what did she say?!" Nana just went on calmly eating her ice cream....hehehehe

Originally Posted by doninphxaz

Originally Posted by lae

Originally Posted by doninphxaz

The translation of «на умеренном огне» bugs me a bit. Does it mean “at a moderate temperature”?

Maybe, "bake with a moderate fire"? It's a common translation of "выпекать на умеренном огне"? I don't know, what does "a moderate temperature" mean and is it the same as "a moderate fire"?

«A moderate fire» doesn't make any sense to me in terms of oven cooking, although I think I recall reading it in older recipes. In most recipes we state a specific temperature, so the phrase gives me no idea how hot the oven should be. Hm. I wonder if any of my cookbooks would tell me? I'll have to look.

For me, moderate fire is very descriptive! it means you have a chance to pull cookies out that are not burnt, even if cooked longer time.

Actually , moderate is very useful, because you have more latitude for your cooking time. e.g. Extra time when cooking bread means thicker crust, not burnt crust. Usual bread cooking temps can blacken bread instead of giving thicker tasty crust. A hot oven means you have to be very precise with your time. No chance for mistakes. Slow (cooler) or moderate oven, very forgiving. Get an oven thermometer. Typical oven is not calibrated well. You may need to do the recipe a few times at different temps to get the right feel/taste.

Actually there's more to it. Slow/mod oven to cook, so not dry out, then hot oven, or broiler to get the crispy. This is not for bread/cookies etc. It's for some of those main dishes.

And deepest sympathies to rockzmom for the loss of your Nana. I've never seen that grieving comes to an end. It just changes into deeper appreciation.

Rockzmom: A bit late (been away) but I'm very sorry for you loss. From what you wrote about her, she seemed like a fantastic woman who enjoyed life to the fullest. My deepest sympathies.

Ahh... weather here is finally turning colder and younger daughter is asking for hot chocolate. I happened upon this recipe from the Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School. Interesting that they suggest cinnamon and a peppercorn AND that you can make it, refrigerate it and reheat it later for a more deep chocolate flavor!!!

Here it is...

Ingredients
1 litre / 1 quart whole milk
250 ml / 1 cup heavy cream
120 g / 4 oz. dark chocolate (70%)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1 peppercorn
2 tablespoons sugar

Method
Place the milk and cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and slowly bring to a boil.
Chop up the dark chocolate, and add to the hot liquid along with the cinnamon, peppercorn and sugar. Allow to gently heat for 10 minutes while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
Strain the hot chocolate through a fine sieve, and divide among six warmed cups. Serve immediately with a marshmallow, if desired.

Chef's tip: for a deep chocolate flavor, make the mixture ahead a time, allow to cool and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Gently reheat before serving.

It's been a long time since I've posted in this thread. Two things made me think about posting in her again, the recent post for help about what to cook for a guest and my dad has moved in with me and in doing so while packing him up we found a box containing all of his mother's recipes. My dad has also, after a number of years of not, started to cook again.

A couple of weekends ago he made an apple pie with my girls. My younger daughter was so cute, she posted on her Facebook page that "making apple pie with my grandpa, weird because I hate pie." This week he made chicken soup by taking a whole chicken and cutting it up and putting it in a pressure cooker with all the vegetables, spices and some water and a few sort minutes later... poof an amazing chicken soup. He plans on making an onion soup soon too. However the next thing he is going to make is one of MY childhood favorites and something that when I was growing up he would never let us watch him make. We thought this dessert was sooooo hard to make and it is just the opposite. It is probably the easiest thing in the world, which is why he never wanted us to see. The hardest part is the waiting overnight for it to be ready to eat.

Ice Box Cake
FAMOUS_Chocolate_Refrigerator_Roll.jpg chocolate.wafers.jpg

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
1pkg. (9 oz.) Nabisco FAMOUS Chocolate Wafers (comes in a Yellow Box and they are usually in the ICE CREAM section not the cookie section)


How to make Whipped Cream Topping
Sometimes, cooks complain that their cream doesn’t whip. An older cream (check the date on the container) whips better than newer cream, and the bowl and beater should be well chilled before using.

2 cup very cold heavy whipping cream
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Speak of salt

In a cold mixer bowl, combine all the ingredients and 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 seconds.

Directions:

1. Whip the cream (see above instructions)
2. SPREAD 1-1/2 tsp. whipped cream onto each wafer; stack, then stand on edge on serving platter. Frost with remaining whipped cream.
3. COVER the plate (while trying not to touch the whipped cream) with plastic wrap.
4. REFRIGERATE 4 hours.
5. CUT into diagonal slices to serve.

This is a VERY rich dessert so you don't need to cut large pieces. Everyone wants to have a large piece, but once you try it, you'll understand a small bite goes a long way. On these HOT, HOT, HOT summer days, this is a great treat.

Here is a full proof Challah recipe.

Source: Jennie Grossinger's "The Art of Jewish Cooking"

Yield: 1 very large or 2 large challahs

Prep time is 3 hours of rising
Cooking time is about 40-50 minutes

1 package yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 cup lukewarm water
4-1/2 cups sifted flour (you can sift a little extra and set it aside to have to work with)
2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs
2 tablespoons salad oil
1 egg yolk (possibly 2)
4 tablespoons poppy seeds (optional)

Combine the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup lukewarm water. Let stand 5 minutes to proof (until the liquid-yeast mixture gets a nice layer of foam on top)

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.

Make a well in the center and drop the eggs, oil, 1 cup lukewarm water, and the yeast mixture into it. Work into the flour. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic.

Optional method to hand kneading: Place the ingredients into KitchenAid bowl, attach the dough hook and let it go until the dough has a spongy texture.

Place in a bowl and brush the top with a little oil. Cover with a towel, set in a warm place, cover and let rise 1 hour. Punch down, cover again and let rise until double in bulk, (one more hour).

Divide the dough into three equal parts. Between lightly floured hands roll the dough into three strips of even length. On a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil (you can dust it with cornmeal if you like) braid them together. Cover with a towel and let rise until double in bulk (one hour).

Preheat oven to 375°F

The egg yolk is to paint the challah. Brush the braided challah and if you made one large one, you may need two egg yolks and then sprinkle with the poppy seeds (optional).

Bake in a 375°F oven 50 minutes or until browned. To see if it is done, turn it over and thump it, it should sound hallow.

Makes 1 very large challah. If you wish, divide the dough into 6 parts and make two large loaves, or make one loaf and many small rolls.

Let it rest for a few minutes before slicing.

Make certain you wrap up any uneaten challah as it will go bad as there are no preservatives in it.

L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem

Not a big fan of broth soups and yet, my daughter's boyfriend (yes, can you believe my daughter has a boyfriend!! how can they be getting that old??) made this soup for our family yesterday and it was rather good. He added more lemon juice than what is called for and I think that might be why I enjoyed it. He actually used real fresh lemon and then thinly sliced up the lemon and tossed that into the soup as well. The vegetables turned out very crispy and not soggy at all. He also did not include the leeks or garlic as he does not like leeks.



Garden Vegetable Soup
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2004

Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped leeks, white part only (from approximately 3 medium leeks)
2 tablespoons finely minced garlic
Kosher salt
2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds (approximately 2 medium)
2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
2 cups fresh green beans, broken or cut into 3/4-inch pieces
2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth
4 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes
2 ears corn, kernels removed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup packed, chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 to 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions
Heat the olive oil in large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the leeks, garlic, and a pinch of salt and sweat until they begin to soften, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, and green beans and continue to cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.


Add the stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add the tomatoes, corn kernels, and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the vegetables are fork tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add the parsley and lemon juice. Season, to taste, with kosher salt. Serve immediately.

SERVES 6
Calories: 255
Total Fat: 12 grams
Saturated Fat: 1 grams
Protein: 6 grams
Total carbohydrates: 33 grams
Sugar: 8 grams
Fiber :6 grams
Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
Sodium: 1385 milligrams

We finally have snow here in the Washington, D.C. area. It has taken almost two years to get a good amount of snow. So today was a good day to make a big pot of soup. I made a Mushroom Barley and thought it went nicely with Lampada's thread about Mediterranean Diet. It is very simple to make:

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sliced mushrooms (your favorite kind or mixed)
4 chopped carrots
2 sliced cloves garlic
2 sprigs thyme
3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoons black pepper
6 cups either low-sodium or no-sodium vegetable broth
3/4 cup pearl barley
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add the mushrooms, carrots, garlic, thyme salt and pepper and cook stirring occasionally until carrots are tender about 8 to 10 minutes (I don't like my carrot too mushy so I cooked them a little less).
3. Add the vegetable broth and barley.
4. Simmer, partially covered, until barley is tender, about 30 to 35 minutes.
5. Top with parsley and enjoy!

The best mushrooms for us would be dry porcini.

Hello,
i was so glad to find this thread about international cooking!
I love to cook, and today I cooked... Beef, barley and mushroom soup, too! t has been pretty cold this week in Florida, and I have been cooking soups every day this week.

I cook This soup with a slight twist, by adding: 1) 1 pound lean ground beef, browned, 2) a cup or more of frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, green peas, green beans and corn) and 3) a can of petite diced tomatoes. By adding meat, you pack this soup with protein, and you will stay full for a long time!

I am so glad to participate in this thread!

As soon as I find extra time, I will post some of my favorite Ukrainian and American recipes, including Panera Bread Cheese'n'Broccoli Soup recipe.

In honor of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday that just past...