Cooking Corner

[alla]

http://www.europeancuisines.com/Weet-Bix, and it has been a case that we've polished off nearly a whole batch in a day. Only Nan's Rum Balls have a bigger reaction. Anyway, the Rum Balls are a story for another day .

The Weet Bix Slice Recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

3 Weet-Bix (or local equivalent)
1 Tablespoon Coco
1 Cup self rasing flour (1 cup in Australia is a 250mL measurement)
1 Cup dessicated coconut
1/2 cup sugar
4oz melted butter or margarine

Directions:

Crush the weet-bix in a bowl
Sift in coco and self raising flour
Mix in coconut and sugar

Pour the melted butter/marg over the dry ingredients (the texture should be crumbly)

Press into a 7"*11" tin
Cook for 15min at 400degrees Farenheit

Ice (chocolate icing is best) and slice while warm

Enjoy!

This goes really well with a nice glass of cold milk

[Garrett Fitzgerald]

Venus de Milo soup

Great idea, alla!

There's a banquet center in southern New England called the Venus de Milo, and they're particularly known for their soup. Every now and then, "authentic" recipes show up in the local papers. The one I use goes like this (from memory):
----
Brown 1 lb of hamburger and drain

Add 1 lb frozen mixed veggies, 1 packet onion soup mix, one can (14oz?) stewed tomatoes, and four cans of water.

Bring to a boil, and add 1/2 cup orzo pasta.

Cook 10 minutes or so.

(If you can let it sit overnight and reheat it, it tastes a lot better.)

Serve with Italian bread.
----
If I get home and anything's wildly off, I'll correct the post and note it here.

[Jacq]

This is an excellent thread! I would try your weet(a)bix recipe, Alla, but it's been banned in my house by a disgruntled kiwi. Maybe I can sneak some in: I'll let you know!

Here is the most delicious banana bread in the whole universe:

3-4 disgustingly ripe bananas. We're talking those black, nasty ones in the back of your freezer.
2 eggs
1.5 cups (375mL) flour
1 cup (250mL) sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all that stuff together in one bowl. I use a potato masher because I'm hardcore. Stir in.

2/3 cup chocolate chips (or more, if it's near that time of month )

And pour it all in an 8 inch square pan. I'm really lazy, so I line the pan with wax paper so I don't have to wash or grease it.

Sprinkle sugar, cinnamon, and chocolate chips on the top, and bake 35-40 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

[bookdove]

question

ok this may be a dumb ?, but was is weatbix?

[alla]

Bookdove, you broke the rules of the thread, you need to post a recipe in every response! I'll let you off this once.

Weet-bix, is an Australian cereal, made of processed wheat flakes. It comes in a brick form. If you follow the link that is in my first post in the thread, then you might see what the equivalent cereal is in your country

Jacq: Try and make it while the Kiwi is out, and then offer them some - see if they recognise what its made of I'm going to have to try your recipe at some point, too...

And now I have to think of a recipe... Hmmm... family pasta recipe, I think:

500g Mince (Beef works best, but lamb was tasty too )
1 270g tin of crushed tomatoes
1 270g tin of condensed tomato soup
1 Medium Onion
Garlic (as you like it)
Mixed herbs (to taste)
(Optional) Diced Bacon
Pasta (any shape or type)

Place Mince, Diced onion and bacon (if using) into a saucepan/frying pan (something deep enough to hold the soup and crushed tomatoes)
Cook until mince is cooked through
Add rest of ingredients and simmer (I usually let it simmer for long enough to cook the pasta and then serve while hot)

Simple and tasty

[Tuttle]

Weetabix is the equivalent of Weet-bix in many countries. Weet-bix is the original one, and the Austrialian/New Zeland one, and Weetabix is the British version. It also is in the United States (depending on where you are), Canada, and a variety of countries around the world. Because of where I am, I hadn't realized that this wasn't something common in the US.

As for a recipe:

Meringue (cookies)

2 egg whites
half a cup of powedered sugar
little bit of vanilla
optional flavoring
parchment paper and cookie sheets

Directions:
Make sure your bowl is clean and dry, not being clean can ruin the recipe. Crack two eggs and put their whites in the bowl, make sure not to get any of the egg yolk in - fat will also ruin the recipe. Whip the eggs to add air until they are stiff enough that you can make peaks which don't immediately fall down in the eggs. Then slowly add the sugar, continuing to whip the eggs. Also, add the vanilla. Check to see if the sugar is completely dissolved in the egg white, if it is, then put spoonfuls on the parchment paper on the cookie sheets. Bake. The baking time and temperature depends on the crunchiness and dryness that you want. I generally use 350 for a half hour and then 250 for another hour to dry them out more.

[bookdove]

cookies

sorry about not putting in a recipe last time. these are my grandma's cookies we always make them together when she comes to vist. i can eat like 2 dozen all by myself
Snickerdoodle Cookies
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, put the vegetable shortening, butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and eggs mix until light and fluffy. Add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; stir until well blended.

In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon.

Using your hands, roll dough into balls the size of small walnuts; roll in sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. NOTE: Cookies puff when they begin to bake and then flatten out with crinkled tops.

Yields 8 dozen cookies.

[bookworm438]

Does anyone have any recipes for like really good scrambled eggs. I'm to lazy to use google.

Grilled Cheese:
2 slices of bread
Cheese(any kind)
Butter
Ham

Heat a pan to medium.
Butter one side of each slice of bread.
Place one slice on the pan, buttered side down.
Place a couple slices of cheese on the bread, enough to cover it.
Place a couple slices of ham on top of the cheese, as much as you'd like.
Place the last piece of bread on top, buttered side up.

Let cook till bottom of the bottom slice of bread is browned then flip. Take of pan and eat!

Yes I know grilled cheese. I can only cook grilled cheese and eggs. Anything else I burn. Of course I have burned eggs... If your asking how. Well you go sit down watch TV. An interesting show comes on. Well 59 minutes later...what's that smell?
I can't cook toast to save my life. I either under-toast it or over-toast it. :P

[alla]

Scrambled eggs for me is a bit of a throw stuff in and it should come out well on the other side. The following is a base recipe that I use:

2 large eggs per person (or three smaller ones)
Milk (as you like it, though too much makes it soggy)
Handful of grated cheese

Optional extras:
Mixed herbs (small pinch works best, as the flavour can become overpowering)
Diced ham (half a handful per person)
Toast on the side
Bacon also works well on the side

Crack eggs into a bowl or cup - something that will fit the number of eggs you're using plus a bit of milk
Add milk - I usually add half a cup (125mL) to a cup (250mL) of milk for 4 eggs, depending on how far I want it to stretch
Beat milk and eggs
Heat a frying pan or saucepan on a moderate heat
Add scrambled mixture to frypan
Add cheese and optional extras
Keep stirring until eggs are cooked to desired level

[Jacq]

Alla is much more awake than I am in the mornings. XD

Jacq's Scrambled eggs for lazy people
Ingredients:
Eggs

Heat the pan for about five minutes on a medium setting (I use 4).Be sure to grease the pan well: I use PAM or olive oil. Crack as many eggs as you want and GO WILD with your spatula, mushing everything around constantly until they're all cooked.

Eat. om nom nom.

[Daisy]

Here is a recipe for chocolate cake that is a family favorite. It was in the back of a picture book my little sister got for her 4th birthday. My mom made it once and since then, there has not been a birthday in our family when this cake has not been made.


Ghost Pleasing Chocolate cake

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare one 13x9 inch pan by greasing(with butter) and flouring.

In a large bowl, mix together:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups flower, sifted
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons buttermilk powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium saucepan, melt over low heat:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
8 oz bittersweet baking chocolate

Remove from heat and add:

1 cup water
4 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just blended. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool thoroughly on a rack.

[Stormwind]

Everything BUT the Kicthen Sink Salad

I love the thought of this thread... This one takes a bit of time to prepare, and some strange ingredients that some say don't go together (my sister) But:
Fruit - pinapple, apple (all types) cherries, grapes (my family prefers fresh, but you can use fruit cocktail) we tried banana once.... (shudders, didn't work right, but I don't really like the taste of bananas)
Vegetables - olives (I said weird combo) peas (we prefer frozen petite)
CHEESE! - we use velvetta, but I'm sure any will work if it's not too soft.
Tunafish... I know strange, but it works for me, you could probably try ham or turkey or chicken if you don't like tuna... haven't done that yet...
Miracle Whip (Mayo doesn't really work as well, we tried it)
Juices of pinapple, cherries, whipped together with the Miracle Whip and sugar to taste...
*smacks forehead* Almost forgot the noodles.... any type of pasta will probably do, we use elbow and shell macaroni.
You cook the macaroni, let it cool, thaw the peas (if using frozen) mix the Miracle Whip and juices, then put all the ingredients together, and let cool for at least half an hour... I like it better the next day...
You can call me crazy, but it's one of my favorite summer dishes, you can make a lot and have it for meals through the week... I miss having it, I haven't had any since I moved last July...

[Kathy Li]

I'm frustrated. I can't find Manischiewitz Everything Matzos for Matzo Brei. And with Passover coming up, they should be out and about. I can only find the Tam Tams and it's not the same. Grrrr..... Things are never gonna go back to normal after the great matzo shortage of 2008.

2 eggs
1/2 cup cottage cheese
2 everything matzos (Ok, you can use plain or egg or whatever matzos you like, but I like the everything matzos).
salt, pepper (to taste)

Break the matzos up into bitesize pieces in a collander, and boil some water. Heat up some oil/butter in a pan. Mix the eggs and cottage cheese together in a bowl salt and pepper to taste. Pour the boiling water over the matzo and drain--you don't want to soak them, you just want to soften them a little; add them to the egg and cottage cheese mixture. Throw everything into the pan and either scramble or do the fluffy-omlette thing, depending on how you like your eggs.

[alla]

Time to revive this thread, because I need ideas/input .

The following recipe/discussion contains references to alcohol, but not in high quantities - just adding flavour.

So, as some of my christmas presents may not arrive in time for the holiday, due to postage delays, I'm going to make people rumballs, as they are a favourite in my family. But, I'm going to try experimenting with different liqueurs (baileys, Kahlua, butterscotch schnapps, and possibly creme de menthe). Has anyone done this before?

Rum Balls
1 Packet of milk/coffee biscuits
1 tin of condensed milk (skim)
1 cup of coconut (+extra for rolling in - see 2. below)
1 Tbls of Cocoa
1 Tbls of rum (this is where my experimenting will begin)

1. Mix all above ingredients together. Mixture should be solid enough that it can be rolled into balls that will hold their shape - don't overload on the rum/alcohol.

2. Roll into balls and roll in extra coconut (I'm going to be trying sprinkles/100s and 1000s too - different colour for each different flavour)

3. Put on a plate

4. Keep in fridge - this is necessary for Australian summer, as they might melt, but I'm not sure how quickly or how hot it has to be to do so.

5. Enjoy - good with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk. Ok with tea.

Does anyone have any other good recipes that make nice presents?

[SilveredBlue]

I don't do that much cooking- that's more my sister's forte- but occasionally I like to experiment with odd things. So I don't know about the rum balls, but I made a plate of candied orange peels for a nursing home last Xmas and ended up eating too many myself, they were so good. It's basically candy, but really pretty easy once you get it going.

Candied Orange Peel

6 thick-skinned Valencia or navel oranges
4 1/2 cups sugar, plus extra for rolling
1 1/2 cups water- you might have to put a tad more in later, since it boils away

1. Cut tops and bottoms off of the orange and score the orange into quarters, cutting down only into the peel and not into the fruit. Peel the skin and pith of the orange in large pieces. You can use the orange for another recipe, but it will get all hard and crackly in a few days, so I just ate mine.

2. If you want to, first carefully edge your knife between the white pith and the actual rind, and chuck the pith since it tastes too bitter for me. Cut the peel into strips about 1/4-inch wide. Put the orange peel in a large saucepan with cold water to cover, bring to a boil over high heat. Then pour off the water.

3. Repeat 1 or 2 more times depending up how assertive you want the orange peels to be. If you cut off the pith it won't be as bitter and probably won't require more than one blanching. I did once, but I like strong orange taste. Remove the orange peels from the pan.

4. Whisk the sugar with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8 to 9 minutes
The recipe says that if you took the sugar's temperature with a candy thermometer it would be at the soft thread stage, 230 to 234 degrees F, but this is only a suggestion. I didn't have a candy thermometer and mine turned out fine.

5. Add the peels and simmer gently, reducing heat to retain a simmer. Cook until the peels get translucent, about 45 minutes. Resist the urge to stir the peels or you may introduce sugar crystals into the syrup. If necessary, swirl the pan to move the peels around. Drain the peels, (save the syrup for iced tea).

6. Roll the peels in sugar and dry on a rack, for 4 to 5 hours.

Yum! I dipped a few in dark chocolate, and they were gooood. You can also roll around dates and choco-fy, if you like dates.