What is your specialty (food dish)? (post your recipe inside)

Used to be my lasagna, until I came up with a butterscotch cookie recipe that my family now literally tries to steal from my recipe book. I actually had to wrestle it off of my sister at one point.
I would post the recipe, but this stuff is a secret. ;)

Secret… pssh! ;)

@Jude honestly, I don’t have a recipe for my lasagna. It is one of those things that I just make. I mean, I put the same things in it every time.. but I don’t know how much, it’s more like I just toss it all in the pan. Or I would share that one.
The cookies… well, those just aren’t up for debate. lol.

I make a fantastic fresh pasta.

Recipe: flour, eggs, elbow grease…

½ cup rolled oats
1 cup water
Breakfast with the fire department
:)

4 eggs poached, 2 toasted bagels, 2 cups of coffee, 2 glasses of orange juice, fresh cut rose from the garden and breakfast in bed! Best meal you will ever have! ;)

Sticky lemon chicken.

Brown some chicken with some garlic and lemon thyme (I use legs cut so the bone is exposed). Then add some sherry vinegar, cook till its reduced by half. Add 2 tbsp dark soy sauce, 3 tbsp honey and a sliced lemon. Add some hot water if you need more liquid and then leave the whole thing to cook for 10 minutes or so till the chicken is cooked.

Serve with potatoes and vegetables.

Corn & Squash
1 small Acorn squash, peeled and diced
1 diced onion
Tbsp of minced fresh cilantro
Tsp of fresh cracked black pepper
1 cup of corn nibblets

I sautee the squash, onions and black pepper in butter, sometimes a little goose fat if I’ve got it. Add the corn nibblets and cilantro once the squash is softened but not mooshy and cook until the cilantro wilts. I’ve cut fresh corn of the cob, used canned/drained and also frozen niblets but there hasn’t been that great of a difference in taste. Same goes for using a white versus yellow onion.

My signature dish is chicken salad, and it’s a combo that I adapted from the tuna salad my mother made when I was a child. (And this works great for tuna.)

Since I eyeball all this, I couldn’t begin to give you quantities, and I think you’ll know what works best for taste:

Chicken (I usually buy one of the roasted chickens from my local deli and pull off bite-sized pieces)
Granny Smith apples diced to your size preference
Sweet pickles diced to your size preference
Boiled eggs diced to your size preference
Pecans diced to your size preference
Real mayo to your heart’s content

Fold it all together and enjoy on your favorite bread, wrap, cracker or right off the fork.

Fresh corn on the cob.

Pick corn, rush back to house. Peel half the husk back and dribble some water into space between corn and husk. Replace husk

Microwave, 3 minutes/ ear. Eat as is..needs no butter or salt.

I have a few, but…I’ll go with three easy and delicious ones for the summer scene.

1. ) Cashew cole slaw

Mix shredded red & green cabbage with shredded carrots, mix with your cole slaw dressing of choice. ( creamy is best instead of vinegarette style ) then, mix in a can of Cashew halves, chill for an hour or two, and enjoy! This is one everyone loves, if your a cole slaw fan.

2. ) Tuna-pasta salad. really good!

6 cups of boiled small shell pasta
add…

1 cup of diced sharp cheddar cheese
1 large can of white albacore tuna
⅓ cup minced red onion
1 cup diced sweet pickles
enough lite mayo to mix well, dependent on your taste

Mix all ingred. and chill for several hours. I am just guessing at the amounts as I whip it up according to my taste, lots of sweet pickles, cheese and medium on the onions, do your own experiment

3. ) Chicken ceasar and red grape salad with slivered almonds

1½ cups diced, cooked, fresh chicken breast or can of white chicken meat
2 TBS. of ceasar dressing
¼ cup lite mayo or mix to blend to taste and texture
½ cup minced seedless red table grapes
⅓ cup or so of slivered almonds
2–3 TBS finely minced red onion

Mix all nigrediants, chill for one hour and serve in pita pocket bread with romaine lettuce

This was a favorite at a cafe/bakery I once worked in some years ago, so yes, it is a plagerized recipe, haha

I usually rely on Cook’s Illustrated recipes, which I have a cultlike devotion to. One of the few recipes I’ve made up myself is a southron cassoulet. Well actually, the topping is just CI’s all-purpose cornbread recipe crumbled up, but I imagine you can use any good cornbread.

I reckon you can use duck for the confit but turkey is cheaper. I wouldn’t use chicken.

I realize this is a ridiculous recipe. It helps to measure out the spices all onto a small plate. I don’t actually know how much spice I used, by the way.

Ingredients

For the confit:
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cayanne pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch scallions (aka green onions), washed and trimmed
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 1.5 lb turkey legs/thighs (2 or 3 pieces)

For the stew
• 1 cup (a little more than ½ lb) dried red kidney beans, rinsed and picked over
• 4 slices thick cut bacon
• 1.5 lbs pork shoulder (i.e. boston butt), cut into 1½ inch pieces or smaller, fat trimmed AND RESERVED (very important)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
• Vegetable oil as needed
• 1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, diced
• 3 medium ribs celery, diced
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon cayanne pepper (or more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 3 cups chicken broth (low salt if possible)
• ¼ cup flour
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, plus more to taste

• A few pieces of cornbread (you can make it yourself, freeze leftovers, and use it frozen)
• Scallions, green parts sliced on the bias, for garnish

Directions:

For the day before:
1. Marinate the confit. Combine all confit ingredients in a food processor except turkey and pulse until a thick, fragrant paste forms, scraping down sides as necessary. Put turky in a bowl, pour paste over, and massage into and under turkey skin. Put turky in a plastic bag, pour in any remaining paste, squeeze out air, and seal. Refrigerate overnight.

2. Brine the beans. In a large container, dissolve 5 teaspoons salt in two quarts cold water. Add beans and soak overnight.

Day of cooking:
1. Marinate the pork. In a medium bowl, toss together pork shoulder pieces (sans fat, which you’ve trimmed and reserved) with the soy sauce and liquid smoke. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour at least.

2. Render some fat. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Chop bacon and saute in a skillet over medium heat until fat has rendered and bacon is crisp. Strain bacon, reserve bacon pieces, and reserve all the strained, rendered fat in a small bowl.

Finely chop the reserved fat from the pork shoulder (the finer the better; freeze it a bit to help make chopping it easier). Add to pan with a bit of reserved bacon fat and saute over medium heat until most of the fat has rendered, about 15 minutes. Strain solids and discard; reserve the strained fat. Altogether you should have more than a cup of fat—the more the better. RESERVE ¼ cup of this fat for the roux.

3. Make the confit. Take marinated turkey out of fridge, rinse under cold water, dry well. Place turkey in a small, tall ovenproof saucepan or baking dish (I used a loaf pan). You want to use a vessel that just barely fits the turkey. Pour the rendered fat—except for the ¼ cup you’ve reserved for the roux—over the turkey. If the fat doesn’t completely cover the turkey, add vegetable oil to cover.

Place confit in preheated 300 degree oven and cook for about 3 hours. Turkey should be falling off the bone and offer no resistance whatsoever when poked.

4. Make the stew base. In an ovenproof dutch oven, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil over high heat. Remove marinated pork and dry thoroughly on paper towels. When oil is smoking, add half of the pork pieces and sear until browned on all sides, 5–10 minutes. Remove to a plate; repeat with additional oil and remaining pork.

Add tomatoes and chicken broth and scrape pan bottom to release the fond. Add tomatoes and bay leaves. Rinse the brined beans under cold water; drain, and add to dutch oven. Add back the pork pieces plus any accumulated juices, bring to a simmer, and reduce heat to low while making the roux.

5. Make the roux. In a big, heavy stainless skillet or dutch oven (don’t use nonstick), heat reserved ¼ cup pork fat over medium heat until hot. Add flour. Now get ready for some fun. Stir with a heatproof spatula, constantly, for 20 minutes at least. Every few minutes, whisk the mixture to thoroughly combine, then go back to stirring. The roux will darken to the color of a copper penny. Then it will start to smell like toast. You eventually want it the color of dark chocolate—the darker, the better. This could take up to 30 or even 40 minutes. If it starts to smell like it’s burning, or if you start to see black burned specks, immediately remove from heat and whisk constantly to cool down. Reduce heat if you’re scared of burning. Be patient.

When you’ve darkened the roux as much as you dare, CAREFULLY (it will splatter and it’s 400 degrees) add diced onion, celery, and green pepper. Stir to coat vegetables and cook for about 10 minutes until vegetables have softened and are starting to carmelize. Add garlic and spices and cook for an additional minute until very fragrant. Take off heat.

6. Finish the stew. Slowly and very carefully pour the roux-vegetable mixture into the stew in the dutch oven, whisking constantly as you pour. It will probably “break” a little, with fat blobbing off into globs. That’s okay, but you’ll want to minimize this by whisking constantly as you pour. Bring roux-enriched stew to a simmer, stirring to combine. Increase oven temperature to 350 (it’s okay if the confit is still in there) and place dutch oven in the oven. Cook for 1.5 to 2 hours (depending on how long the pork has been simmering) until pork pieces fall apart and beans are tender.

7. Combine and season. When confit is cool, remove meat in large chunks from the bones; discard bones, skin, and fat. Add meat to the stew. Add red wine vinegar (plus more to taste) along with additional salt and pepper. Add the bacon pieces you’ve reserved from all the way back in step 2. This will be your last chance to season so make sure it’s delicious.

8. Bake cassoulets. Ladel stew into souffle dishes or small ovenproof bowls. Sprinkle a thin layer of cornbread crumbs over the top of the stew. Place bowls on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Remove cassoulets from oven. The cornbread layer should looked soaked into the stew. Sprinkle another layer of cornbread crumbs over the tops. Return to oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes until top is golden brown and crackly.

Remove from oven, let stand 15 minutes. Sprinkle tops with scallion green garnish and serve.

@Qingu: Do you have a job, family, other hobbies?

It’s worth it!

@Qingu

No Duck! aaaagh! ;-)

You would be surprised at how awesome that turkey confit tastes! I don’t usually like turkey at all, but if you simmer something in pork fat for 3 hours it’s going to taste good. Plus I think turkey marries well with the southern flavors.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich

Ingredients:
Peanut butter
Jelly
Two slices of bread

Directions:
Take a knife and spread peanut butter on one slice of bread. Then, spread jelly on the other. Combine slices of bread, peanut butter to jelly.

Enjoy.

@erichw1504

Your hired, I’ll add you my stable of helpers, midnight PB & jelly boy on call. lol
I make sure you can hear my bell ringing from your room. hahaha

Cool goose juice salad

Place one white chinese gander in hot tub, freshly filled with sparkling chemical free granite pumped well water.

Let marinate for 30 minutes, remove chilled goose, check flappy feet for proper cooling factor, and serve over bed of baby spring greens.

@Coloma Yep…That’s my favorite way to serve the ducks at my home ;0) They love their salad on a nice bed of fresh greens.

We also serve a lovely Spring Robin Salad…Yum!

I make a nifty Pesto Pasta Salad for potlucks that all of my relatives have raved over.

Get some packaged cheese tortellini (I use Costco’s own brand of refrigerated, not dried cheese tortellini in the doulbe sized pack, that way I can make more or less depending upon how many people I’m feeding).

Cook the pasta according to package directions, then immediately drain and plunge into iced water and drain again, and put into a large bowl. Put about a teaspoon of olive oil onto the pasta mix well, so that it won’t stick (be gentle when mixing, so you don’t break open the tortellinis).

Then take about a cup (or more, if you are doing a double batch of tortellini) of broccoli florets and quickly blanch them in boiling water for about 30 seconds, drain and rinse with iced water. Put the broccoli into the bowl with the tortellini.

Then add about a cup of cubed mozzarella cheese (or more for bigger batches)

Add about a half a cup of toasted pine nuts

Add a pint container of grape tomatoes (sliced in half, to release their flavor)

Then add half or a whole jar (depending upon whether you are using one or both of the packs of tortellini) of Costco’s own brand of Pesto Sauce

Mix all of the ingredients gently, but thouroughly. Serve with a few sprigs of fresh basil on top for a lovely presentation.

Mac n Cheese. I am the master of the Blue Box. If you ask me to make some Mac n Cheese I do not simply follow the directions. No, no, I make delicious additions that will wow your taste buds. My favorite is sour scream and paprika, it’s nice and creamy with a little kick.

Filipino Adobo

It’s whatever type of meat you have simmered in a broth of water or bone broth, garlic, vinegar, black pepper, and sometimes coconut milk and/or hot peppers. Served on rice. Different meats often go better with different types of vinegar.

@incendiary_dan

My daughters boyfriend is half Filipino..OMG…can he cook his grandmas recipes. His Lumpia is to die for!

I want him to be my son-in-law…very much! hahaha

Cottage Pie
Adapted from Crepes of Wrath

Ingredients:

olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, diced
¾ cup diced carrots (about 2 large carrots)
5 stalks celery, diced
½ cup white wine
28-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juices
1½ cups (12 ounces) low-sodium beef stock
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup frozen peas, cooked according to package directions

For the potatoes:
1.5 pounds potatoes, washed and chopped roughly
¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons buttermilk (or regular milk)
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot. Over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef until no longer pink. With a slotted spoon, remove the meat to a separate bowl and set aside.

2. Heat a bit more olive oil in the pot if needed, then add in the onion, carrots, and celery. Cover and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Uncover and add in the wine, scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine has evaporated, about 5–7 minutes.

3. Add in the tomatoes and their juices, beef broth, garlic, oregano, and thyme. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.

4. Add in the ground beef, cover, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Allow to simmer covered for 30 minutes, then uncover and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes, until the sauce has reduced significantly. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
5. Pre-heat oven to 375.

6. To make the potatoes, place the potatoes in water and bring to a boil, allowing to boil for 15–20 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender. When cooked, drain and mash together with the butter, buttermilk or regular milk, garlic powder, cheese, salt, and pepper. Set aside until ready to use.

7. When the meat is reduced, add in the peas and stir. Remove from heat.

8. Spoon the mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish or 4–6 individual serving dishes/ramekins (depending on how big they are). Spoon/spread the potatoes on top, fluffing a bit with a fork if needed and sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese and paprika, if you like.

9. Bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes if using a 9×13 dish or at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes if using individual dishes. Serve hot and enjoy!

lasagna made with my sauce.
stuffed peppers.
Pecan turtle cheesecake

Need to ask and grovel for a family recipes.

@fundevogel, is that the same as shepherd’s pie? Recipe looks similar.

@Qingu It’s basically shepherd’s pie, but with beef instead of lamb. I’m not really much for lamb. I usually call it shepherd’s pie, but technically it’s cottage pie when you use beef. I figured around here I should keep my terminology tight.

The more you know!

I tried to make an “upside-down” peach cake once. It wanted to turn out right.

So that wasn’t too peachy. Yep.

My whole family does the “chicken and noodles” thing. I don’t know where it came from – no other family seems to know about it, but it is the ultimate in comfort food for us.

Break two (or three) eggs in a bowl. Mix together with a fork. Add a cup of flour and mix again. Keep adding flour until the dough isn’t sticky anymore. Roll out on a floured board as thin as you can get it. Let dry.

In the meantime, boil some chicken pieces in a pot of salted water. I would say fill a regular soup pot half full, because this isn’t a soup. You don’t want too much broth. The secret is that you put a teaspoon of whole allspice in a teaball and hang it over the side of the pot in the water.

While that is cooking, and when the noodle dough starts to look and feel like leather, cut it into strips, stack the strips on top of each other, and then cut into thin, thin noodles. Let dry some more while you fish the chicken pieces out of the broth and debone. Return the chicken to the broth. Add the noodles and cook until noodles are tender.

I think this recipe came over with my Swedish great-great-grandma.

@Skaggfacemutt Ya Sure’ Uff Da mmmmmmm Swedish Chicken and Noodles. My Aunt Ollie’s was Über good. I recall Chicken and Noodles gatherings back in Minnesnowda.

Depends on the gathering. For birthdays – Twinkie Cake, Easter/July 4th – Potato Salad and Thanksgiving -

Pumpkin Bars.
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups pumpkin or 1 (16 oz) can pumpkin
1 cup vegetable oil

Pour into an ungreased jelly roll pan bake at 350 for 20–25 mins.
Frost with confectioner’s sugar glaze.

That’s the original Amish recipe I have for them.
I adjust it a bit and use pumpkin pie spice (instead of cinnamon) and canola oil (instead of vegetable oil). I also bake them for more like 25–30 mins and frost with a cream cheese frosting.

@blueiiznh You are my kind of person. :) Trevlig dag!

Hold the phone while I find the recipe for kale chips (better than you might imagine) .