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Favorite Recipes Thread

OK, what are your favorite recipes? Something exotic, or "comfort food", ethnic treats, hot'n'spicy? What do you make when you want to impress someone? Or when 4 friends suddenly show up at your door? Post them here!

The rules: Can't be just a TV dinner, or a Hamburger Helper. I wanna see what people can actually COOK. Like, FROM SCRATCH. Preferably with ingredients, and measurements. And you must have made it yourself at least once...

Go on, now, post em if ya got em! I'll post some after I get home from work...
 
Alrighty, then, here's one I got from Vincent Price...

Trout- about a 14" trout will do. Chop off the head, tail, de-fin it, (hopefully it has already been cleaned) on the inside rub butter on the flesh. Sprinkle with garlic, pepper. Cut up an orange into thin slices (1/8" is fine) and a lemon (the same) and place the slices in the cavity. Add some cilantro or parsley, place fish on big piece of foil. Bend up the sides of the foil, like making a tray, then liberally pour red wine into the cavity. Seal up the fish in the foil, making sure the "package" is water-tight. Put the prepared fish on the bottom rack of the dishwasher, making sure no dishes or soap are present. Make sure, as well, that any Energy Saver options are turned off, then run it through a full cycle. The heat from the hot water and the heating element in the dry cycle perfectly poach the fish in it's snug little "capsule" and it will come out perfect every time! Of course, your dinner guests will look at you like you're absolutely NUTS if they see you getting their entree out of the dishwasher- but then, that could be part of the fun!!! :D
 
Here's a bachelor type recipe:

Scrambled eggs, crack 3 or 4 eggs in a bowl, put a splash of milk, a spoonful of pasta sauce, chili powder, parmesan cheese, oregano, salt and pepper, a drop of olive oil and maybe some garlic(I don't have any garlic at the moment so I don't know, but it'd probably work). Scramble.

Olive oil on a hot pan, pour the egg goop into the pan, proceed to make eggs. As they start to form, and are nearing completion, pour on some more parmesan cheese.

eat with bread, hot sauce, a spoon, a fork, your hands... whatever.
 
Tandoori Grilled Lamb

Boneless Leg of Lamb, either 1/2 or whole leg.
Score leg with a knife so it lies flat.
Cut open remove netting and marinate overnight.
(At least 3 hours anyway. )

Marinade:
Equal parts of the following 5 ingredients. I use a half cup
each.

Sharwoods Tandoori Spice
Canola Oil
Lemon Juice
White Vinegar
Plain Yogurt

Mix thoroughly in a 4 cup measuring bowl. Stuff the lamb in a
gallon ziploc and add the marinade.

Grill at high heat, turning occasionally. when browned,
turn off 1 side of the grill and bake off. Total cooking time about 40 mins. A little burning doesn't hurt. Splash some more
marinade when turning, but not in th last 10 mins.


Serve with Basmati Rice:

I make the rice with 1 cup Basmati rice, 2 cups chicken broth,
1 Tbs butter, 1 Tbsp of Patak's Mild Red Curry paste.
Throw it all in a sauce pan, mix, heat till boiling and turn to low, simmer for 20 mins.


Outstanding meal, if you like lamb.
 
That lamb sounds great! I might make it next Tuesday nite. I like spicy food! I've won awards for my chili, every time I've entered it in a contest. It's truly awesome, really puts hair on your chest. I make it with my own chili powder. I also put habaneros in it. Can you say

FIRE!!!
 
It's very flavorful, but not real hot. But try it that way, you
can add hot sauce on the side.

Tangy Sauce:

I make my own special hot sauce blend. I don't like
it super hot, but tangy. Makes a great marinade as well.
I do it by proportion.

1 big bottle of Franks Red Hot. Pour off half into another container. Fill up to 3/4's of the bottle with Teriyaki Sauce.
Fill up almost to top with 1/2 lemon juice and 1/2 balsamic
vinegar. Stuff in 2 tsp of Beef Base, I like Minor's brand
paste.

Shake well and store in another bottle. Repeat process for the second half of the Franks Hot Sauce.

The combo of hot sauce, teryaki and vinegar is just
outstanding.
 
Does anyone know the secret of Tommy's Original Burgers chili? I've been trying to make it for years. I miss my 3am Tommy's fixes... :bawl: I used to stop there every time I went up to LA for any reason. I didn't care if I was going to Santa Monica, after I finished my business, I would detour all the way over to Beverly and Rampart, stand in line, and get the double cheeseburger, fries, and a can of soda. Even at 3am, there was a line (admittedly shorter than at lunchtime, but the lot was still somewhat full). Of course, you'd have to keep an eye out for potential drive-bys while you ate at the counters, but I guess that was part of the appeal...

They will sell you a gallon of their chili, frozen in a mustard jug, and send it overnite, but it costs $15 for the chili, $19 "processing fee", and somewhere between $70-$100 for the shipping!!! :eek:
 
When I send frozen seafood samples via Fedex with dry ice,
it usually costs me 125-175 bucks. So I am not surprised at
the shipping.

I guess you would have to take a jar and break it down
and weigh the meat, onions, peppers and whatnot.

Then the hard part is the spice blend.
 
They state on their website:

Tommy's Original World Famous Burgers said:
The chili recipe at Original Tommy's was started by Tommy Koulax at our landmark restaurant in Los Angeles in 1946. It is comprised of an all beef chili con carne base, water, flour, and a special "secret" blend of spices for that great flavor.

I've tried and tried, but I just can't get it exactly right. There's always something missing... :confused: If I could find about 10 other LA ex-pats around here to go in on it with me, I'd order a gallon and have a Tommy's party. :D
 
Baked Tilapia

This one is easy and it tastes great.

Fresh Tilapia, about 8 oz per person.

Oven at 400

Lay out the Tilapia in a baking pan. Take 1 sleeve of Ritz
crackers and crush them up. Spread evenly over the top.
Put 1 pat of butter on each fillet. Bake 20 mins till done.
 
Tempura Jalapeno Poppers

This is one of those recipes where I basically just wing it for the most part. Not a lot of specific measurements. You can improvise this.

Make tempura batter. There are variations, but I usually use an egg, a cup of COLD water, and a cup of flour. This stuff has to be kept cold.

Take Jalapenos, slit them lengthwise down one side, scoop out all seeds and ribs. I usually use a mellon baller or small metal teaspoon.

Now, stuff the jalapenos with whatever you wish. I like to saute some chopped up chicken with a little chopped cayenne or serano, chopped onion or shallot, and a little cilantro. Stuff that with a some cheese into the jalapenos. Stick a toothpick through them to hold everything together if necessary.

Dip 'em in the batter, and throw them into about an inch of medium hot vegetable oil. If you have a deep fryer, even better. Cook them until the batter is crisp and golden.

Goes great with some sort of salsa or queso.
 
Chicken/Turkey Pot Pie

I'm not much of a cook, but this is the best chicken pot pie ever. One of the girls at work put me onto it. Easy and perfect for leftover chicken, I used leftover thanksgiving turkey.

chicken or turkey
pre-made pie crust
1 can condensed cream of broccolli soup
1 bag of frozen veggies of choice

Mix chicken, veggies and soup (do not add water - the water from the frozen veggies is plenty) together. Put in a pie tin with crust on bottom and top. Cut slits in top of pie crust. Wrap edges of pie w/ strips of aluminum foil - this is key to not having the burnt edges. Bake on 400F until golden brown, roughly 30 mins. I also made a vegetarian one for my girlfriend with frozen baby potatoes which was killer.
 
Thor said:
or with Olives


Lay out Tilapia and cover with Pasta sauce. Throw
some sliced Kalamata Olives on top and a little shredded
Parmesan. Bake for 25.

You didn't get that recipe from me by any chance when I posted it before did you?

Anyway, here's a version of it that I've tweaked a bit and it's really good. It's SO easy but people are ALWAYS impressed by it and it has a good presentation:

Baked Vodka Tilapia

Ingrediments:
4 filets of tilapia.
Jar of Bertolli Vodka Sauce. If you can find Tuscany Cipriani Sauce that's good too (that one's a brandy sauce)
Sea Salt
Ground pepper
Any kind of pasta..I like angel hair
Finely shredded asiago cheese
a half cup or so of chopped calamata olives (optional but adds to the flavor)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and put a sauce pan on the stove with water to boil the pasta
2. Spray a 9x12 or x13 or so baking dish with Pam or oil
3. Season each side of tilapia with sea salt and ground pepper...don't overdue it but you may want to put a little more than you think because you won't taste the salt as much through the sauce
4. Lay the filets out in the dish and cover each filet in a coating of the vodka sauce'
5. Put the whole thing in the heated oven for 10 minutes
6. Put your pasta in the boiling water and cook according to package directions based on whatever kind of pasta you chose.
7. After 10 minutes pull the dish out and top each filet with some asiago cheese and chopped calamata olives.
8. Heat for another 2 minutes
9. Remove from the oven and serve immediately by placing the fish over the pasta on each plate. I also like to heat up a little more of the sauce separately so there's enough for all the pasta too. Don't drown it though...just a little should do.

With this dish I like to serve maybe asparagus (sauted with fresh garlic and basil if available and then tossed with shredded parmesan or asiago) and perhaps also a green salad or some green beans. I also occasionally serve a steamed artichoke with this as well. I like to cut up a ton of basil and garlic and stuff it down in the artichoke leaves, steam it and then serve with melted butter for dipping... mmmm..


Here's another one since we've just come through pecan season:

Pecan crusted creamy honey mustard chicken:

You'll need
honey mustard (I'd lean more towards a thick salad dressing blend rather than a sandwich topping type blend. The brand I use is in the refrigerated section and I think it's called "marie's." It's great for this recipe.)
sour cream
two halves of a chicken breast
a couple of green onions, chopped
flour
finely chopped pecans - maybe a third to a half of a cup

Put each half of a chicken breast between two pieces of wax paper or plastic wrap and beat it down with a mallet or rolling pin until it's fairly thin.

Heat up a pretty big frying pan on just-below-medium heat and melt a tablespoon of butter into it.

Lay out flour, honey mustard and pecans on three separate plates or wide flattish bowls.
Coat each side of the chicken lightly in flour, then coat in honey mustard on each side and then place in pecans on each side so the pecans are coating the chicken. After pan is fully heated up place chicken breast halves in there. You may have to experiment with the heat on your stove. You don't want it too hot because the pecans will burn but too cool and the chicken takes too long to cook. It takes a little longer than normal anyway. I'd say 6 to 7 minutes per side.

After the chicken is fully cooked remove from pan and set aside. Drop a tablespoon of sour cream and a tablespoon of honey mustard into the pan with the drippings and whatever pecans, etc.. stay in there. Bring it to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for a minute or two until the sauce thickens. Put the chicken on a plate and then pour some of the sauce over each breast half and the top with some of the green onions. I love this recipe. It's great.

brad cook
 
Eric's World's Best Shrimp Scampi

This one's awesome for a date! Works every time!

Ingredients:
Pound or two of extra jumbo shrimp, deveined and butterflied
Olive oil
Garlic, minced or chopped (at least a couple Tbsp worth)
Shallot, minced
Capers
Dry white wine
2 Large lemons
2 Quarters Unsalted butter
Pasta (fettucine or angel hair are my favorites)
Fresh Mint (for garnish)

In a small saucepan, place the two quarters of butter, heat on low. When hot, take a spoon and take off the gnarlies that gather on the top. You should be looking at clear, golden, clarified butter. Remove from heat, set aside.

In a skillet, over a medium flame (or med-hi on electric), heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan about 2-3 mm deep. Before the oil gets hot, add in garlic and shallots. Sautee it for a minute or two. Add butterflied shrimp. I unshell and butterfly them. leaving the last shell segment and tail intact. They'll coil up as they cook. When the white, cooked part of the shrimp reaches the line from the butterfly cut, turn them. Watch carefully, as before the white gets to the line on the other side, add about half the butter, then let simmer for a minute. Turn heat up to high, and add the wine. Tip- if you tip the pan a little, and splash the wine as you add it, the alcohol in the wine will burn off in a mighty fireball. Very impressive, but if you choose to do this, make sure your kitchen is well-ventilated, with a high ceiling! You will add about a cup or so of the wine. As soon as it is in the pan, stir with a spatula a few times, then add a handful of capers. Squeeze the juice of the lemon over the scampi. Serve immediately over a bed of pasta.

The other half of the butter can be used to augment the sauce, or brushed onto Italian bread, with some minced garlic, a dash of oregano, and some Parmesan cheese, then popped into a 400-degree oven for a few minutes. As soon as the edges turn brown, slap some Provolone slices on it, and top-brown it for a minute or two until the Provolone bubbles and turns a nice golden brown. Remove from oven, slice bread, serve with scampi.

I don't eat shrimp at all, but I usually use some cubed chicken breast for myself in another batch. It makes a wicked good chicken scampi!!! This whole thing takes about ten minutes or so to make, if you do your prep work beforehand. Enjoy!
 
DigMe said:
You didn't get that recipe from me by any chance when I posted it before did you?

Anyway, here's a version of it that I've tweaked a bit and it's really good. It's SO easy but people are ALWAYS impressed by it and it has a good presentation:

Actually, no. But it is a pretty common Italian style,
'Puttanesca' iirc. I gave that recipe to secretdonkey about
2 years ago. (He is now about 60% of the man he used to
be, no thanks to me.)

Your recipe sounds great, I'll have to try that one, my
daughter loves Vodka Sauce. THANKS!
 

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