Ask the A2K cooks!

Ah, here's Mismi's recipe -

http://able2know.org/topic/72647-345#post-6007175

I like what Im seeing in your recipe osso. I dont think Id want to try Mismi's. Im not really that big on glomping CREAM into dishes unless theres a real need. (Like a dessert).I like the idea of the tomatoes garlic, and the fry it in butter!!. Anything fried in butter is second only to bacon for taste

There was a restaurant I used to love back in Los Angeles, called Ca'Brea. Turns out they are still there, so I looked up the menu, as I remember a simple eggplant dish. There's still one in the appetizers, same or similar to what I remember -

melanzane al grana padano 14.95
grilled eggplants baked with tomato, basil, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese

I don't remember tomato on the one perfect slice of grilled eggplant, just basil, mozzarella, and parmigiano. I don't grill, but I tried this once by baking it in a hot oven. Their's was better..

grilled eggplant is my default

I love it. I love it in salad, on sandwiches, or on a plate with other grilled veggies and bread.

I particularly like it if there are charred or slightly burnt bits.

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/grilled-eggplant.aspx


had an excellent eggplant dish at dim sum today - stuffed with fish - I need to google up a recipe for that

does that bitter taste get converted to sugars?

Could be. I don't think of grilled eggplant as sweet, but perhaps it's just far enough away from bitter as a result of the char.

grill some sweet peppers, garlic, eggplant, onion

layer it all on a big fat bun with some goat cheese - throw it in the panini (or waffle iron - even faster)

heaven

something like this

Chocolate Chip Cookies (double batch, makes between 30 and 40 depending on size.)

- 4.25 cups (I actually fill the measuring cup as much as I can so probably works out to over as there's some room above the 2 cup mark, call it 4.25 cups in all) white wheat flour. Not all white wheat flours are equally nutritious so check labels and pick the best.
- 3 cups firm-packed brown sugar (Wal-Mart's storebrand is moister than C&H so it's what I use. Dark or light is personal preference.)
- 1 cup white sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking soda
- 4 teaspoons iodized sea salt
- 3 eggs
- 4 cubes softened salted butter
-6 tablespoons vanilla extract (imitation works too if el cheapo hehe, admitly I keep a 98 cent bottle in the pantry in case I run out of the 'good stuff.')

- 23 or 24 oz chocolate chips (depends on whether milk chocolate or semi-sweet. Prefer milk chocolate myself. Dark chocolate works too but definitely an aquired taste.)

Bake at 350F approximately 12-13 mins. First tray may take a couple extra minutes as pan heats up.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS

I've taken to covering my cookie sheet with a layer of aluminum foil. Was burning the undersides getting too hot and the foil prevents this keeping the undersides perfectly done and soft. Just be sure to let each traylfull cool on the stovetop a few minutes to firm up so they don't stick when lifting off. Do it too soon as they're too molteny and come apart.

Also, when placing rounded balls of batter, to reduce sticking, once placed on the foil/sheet lift them up then set back down. And to ensure they flatten out, if that's a problem, smoosh each one down a bit with base of your palm. Just be sure to then lift, replace to reduce sticking.

Towards the bottom of the bowl there may be a lot of plain batter with no chips due to not mixing them in deeply enough. I've begun making these into snickerdoodles (sugar cookies with cinnamon.) Can use recipe for all-snickerdoodle batches just by omitting the chocolate chips.

As each tray (usually get between 6 and 10 of these with last of the batter) comes out, sprinkles white sugar then cinnamon onto still hot n soft cookie (as they cool and firm up they'll trap most of the sugar n cinnamon, though I tell people to eat them horizontally anyway hehe.)

NOTE

Recipe and procedure is the culimnation of over 2 years trial and error and experimentation and is VERY precise. Every time since nailing down the recipe when I've tried to make them 'even healthier' they've come out very badly. So 3 eggs means 3 eggs, 4 cubes butter 4 cubes butter etc. Recipe doesn't tolerate deviation so do so at own risk.

what is a cube of butter?

About 112 grams to 1 stick

I like green bell peppers.

Color me bad.

I'm badder, as I have now left the skin on.

Dunno. I am now taking it that eggplants with less seeds, aka younger, will be less bitter.

Baked Paprika Pepper Chicken

- package of chicken breasts (3 or 4, tenderloins work too but baking time will be greatly reduced)
- apply paprika, salt, pepper, to bottom of oven-safe pan (how much is all personal preference but I've used whole small bottles of paprika and a ton of black pepper and enough salt to make a nutritionist faint heh.)
- 1 cube or stick of butter (112 grams butter for our metricly challenged friends hehe)

Bake at 500F (like all my meats well-done having grown up with a Mom who chronically undercooked everything heh) for about 20 minutes, then flip pieces over for another 20, then slice each breast into halves length-wise to ensure baked all the way through reasoning insides to taste for another 10 min or so. How long ya do your's is personal preference and my times are approximate. Can skip the last slicing in half step to keep breast whole if preferred.

Can have with noodles, rice, or tortillas. For noodles and rice I cut up the chicken after done so each morsel absorbs some of the molten seasoned butter then dump the noodles or rice into the pan (once those have been boiled of course hehe,) if gonna use with tortillas slice into strips as for burritos. Got a batch with brown rice in the fridge now which'll be my dinner here presently.

I think its something that certain tasters pick up and I dont think young or old would make much difference
Ive had those young japanese eggplants and they too were bitter

your times will yield charcoal with those temps. We all know about high temp roasting but its based upon room temp bird in a preheated oven at 500 F and no more than 10 min pwr pound. Its still juicy but done nicely on the outside. A coupl breasts in a 500 F oven for an hour (better hve 911 in your friends list)

I think the skin is normally left on.

I think the FC reference to trimmed means topped/tailed.

you're putting the spices on the bottom of the pan? under the chicken?

and yeah, that is a burning temp, not a cooking temp, you're suggesting - 50 minutes @ 500F for chicken breasts is going create something hard to recommend

I'm familiar with sticks of butter (not that I'd buy it that way, but that's a separate issue). Is a cube 1/4th, 1/16th, some other segment of a stick?

It used to be peeled (I am old), as in my link re Claiborne. That was part of his recipe.



What are FC references?

FC= Fine Cooking