Celtic Heroes

Well, Volde has scolded us for derailing another thread with popcorn and threatened to banish us to "off topic".

I hereby open the Morrigan Family Cookbook, Recipe Swap, and Food cinnamon roll thread. in the words of the immortal Homer Simpson "food goes in here"

I will start. This is a family favorite. We used to call this "crack" because you cannot stop eating it, but when my youngest child went to school talking about the awesome crack mom cooked up over the weekend, we realized we needed a new term!

Candied pecans

Original recipe makes 10 servingsChange Servings
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
1 pound pecan halves

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
Mix sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl.
Whisk egg white and water together in a separate bowl until frothy. Toss pecans in the egg white mixture. Mix sugar mixture into pecan mixture until pecans are evenly coated. Spread coated pecans onto a baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, until pecans are evenly browned, 1 hour.

Mmm... Good recipe, Keri, I made some!


My recipe is Shrimp Soup (I know, you're thinking Its gross, but it's yummy!)


In seperate pans:

Pan 1:
Choice of amount of shrimp (no tails, deveined)
On the shrimp, you need to buy pre-cooked so just put in the microwave for 1 minute! Once microwaved, put in 2 teaspoons of butter and let it melt.
Pan 2:
2 cans of Campbell's chicken broth
1/2 can of Campbell's beef broth
2/4 a cup of cilantro
1/5 cup of Lemon Pepper
A pinch of salt
Teaspoon of olive juice
Lastly, choose your own spice.

FOR SPICY: 2 cups of Cayenne
FOR MILD: 1/2 cup of Garlic Salt

As for the soup, boil at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes (stir!)

When finished, add the shrimp to the soup & enjoy!

Pecan nuts are utterly divine to me.This recipe sounds rather merengue like (and I sure as hell love them). Can a smaller amount be made of this delicious sounding sweet delicacy madam? A pound of pecan nuts would cost a fortune over here and no doubt kill me; being a ravenous peasant I would not be able to confine myself to a moderate intake.

Voldemort's favourite bolognese sauce
Serves 4

Chop up a medium *** into cubes and fry with a little oil and plenty of garlic because garlic is nice.

When *** is soft and translucent, add diced mushrooms (I use button) and fry until soft. Add a pack of beef mince. Pork is OK too. Fry until brown.

Add two cartons of passata and 2 teaspoons of tomato puree. Season with mixed herbs, salt, pepper.

Add a (very) generous amount of red wine. You can't put too much. Keep pouring. Good.

Leave it to simmer on a lower heat for about 15 minutes until thickened. Add to spaghetti and enjoy.

Make sure Harry Potter is nearby so you can enjoy it with him. Recommended setup is shown in the image below. Candle is mandatory.
Dessert:
This recipe. I love adding the juice and zest of 2-3 large oranges to the mixture. Tastes soooo good.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2013 ... p-cookies/

Quick Student Recipe
Serves 4

Get 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts, and slice them in half so they open like a book. Not all the way through.

Smear garlic and herb Philladelphia (possibly spelt wrong) cheese inside each breast.

Wrap each breast in bacon and wrap in silver foil.

Resist eating the raw chicken and bacon in all its goodness.

Cook at around 200C until chicken has cooked through. I recommend sealing the foil well since the Philly has a tendency to seep out.

If you want crispier bacon, unwrap the foil a bit of the way through into a bowl shape so the juices don't spill everywhere.

Thank me later

PS that Pecan recipe sounds amazing. Must try.

You could certainly cut the pecan recipe in half. Quartering it might be a bit more difficult as far as the egg goes, but being a bit off with the egg quantity shouldn't matter too much. Err on the side of moist I think.

A prettily presented packet of pecans makes a great gift. I make a batch or two at Christmas and give out multiple small packages.

Creating dishes using cans of ready made soup should be banned from this thread. Frozen veg, other than peas, are soggy, flavourless and pointless. Cans of soup and packets of flavouring will never create a sauce that tastes anything other than bland or chemical. When the mood took him, my father would produce these kinds of meals, and we shuddered every time he did. He would use packets of dried, instant soup, bits of frozen chicken, frozen veg and start whistling with self congratulation when his vile, stinking concoction was cooked. As the lid came off the pot and we stared at a watery mess that looked like a pond with scum on the surface, he would declare proudly, 'The chef has created again'....a more accurate description would be, 'The chef has crapped again'. My mother's stews were equally feared by us all. She did at least peel fresh carrots and onions (nothing else went in on the veg front). Her stews were made with the cheapest shin beef (about as tender as shoe leather). The gravy was again thin and simply flavoured with a small amount of Bisto. She never cut the fat or gristle off the meat, so you got these blobby bits of meat on your plate with chewing gum bits of gristle through them. It was a silent agony for us to consume one of our mother's dreaded stews.

The highlight of the month was when she announced with great drama, 'I've nothing in my purse and your father hasn't be paid, so there is only egg and chips for dinner' (I think in America you call them 'French fries'). Well to me the fried egg and chips was wonderful compared to the watery stew with blobby bits of shoe leather in it. I remember aged about 8 wishing my father never got paid so that we could just have egg and chips for dinner every day. I decided that when I grew up I would have egg and chips every day for dinner, plus drink Coca-Cola all the time (a treat we were only allowed at Xmas), and I would also chew bubble gum to my heart's content (a banned substance in our household as it was regarded by my father as another dissolute indulgence from American culture). Seems like other Brits of my generation had the same childhood culinary dream as mine and when they grew up lived on that kind of diet and raised their own children on it. No wonder obesity and diabetes in America and the UK is breaking all records.

Thank you Lady Keri for your 'Crack' recipe advice. And yes, I will err towards the 'moist'. I have often noticed how sensual delicacies usually involve a good amount of moisture in order to encourage full flavour and thus satisfy our senses to the full.

PS Anyone made béchamel sauce? If you have ever made lasagne you must have......oh God, it is another of life's great wonders (thank you Italy.....Michelangelo, Leonardo, Botticelli, anti pasta, Tiramisu, spaghetti, Torte Della Nonna). For these alone, Italy I LOVE you.

Oh geez....I haven't eaten Torte Della Nonna for 16 years.

Mmmm torte Della nonna looks wonderful.

Reminded me of this. May have to make this this weekend. Canned pears work in a pinch.

Pear pine nut cake
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
Cooking spray
2 cups thinly sliced peeled pear

Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Remove 1/3 cup flour mixture; place in a small bowl. Stir in pine nuts and cinnamon; set aside.
Combine the remaining flour mixture, sour cream, and the next 6 ingredients (sour cream through egg) in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Pour the batter into a 9-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray. Arrange the pear slices evenly over the batter. Sprinkle with pine nut mixture. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean; cool completely on a wire rack.

And mmmmmm bechamel. Yum.

My latest terrible discovery is a nearly foolproof hollandaise made in the blender. So easy it is terrifying and I should buy stock in a statin drug.