Tasty Recipes Anyone? Post them here!

I love cheesesteaks, eat them quite a bit too often actually.

*real* cheesesteaks use cheez whiz though :)

-- Gary F.

LOL ....Well, you tell your Wife, she's one lucky woman!!! Some of those recipes sound mighty tasty.

FUD even most of my bread recipes only make 4 loaves....? I can't imagine making 6 at a time. I make mostly sourdough breads these days....even "capture" my own wild yeast. I haven't tried to bake bread on the grill, although I have had some success with cornbread....I did bake a nice round of sourdough in a Dutch Oven in a pit.

Colleen

Before I decided to try going to raw foods (still struggling and failing) I was looking into getting the material to make a stone oven. If you're into baking, THAT would be the nice thing to have.

using cheesewhiz on cheese steaks is like using a disposable razor to shave ;).

Here's a nice recipe for cheeseCAKE. Not necessarily a summer recipe but nice still.
Ingredients
16 oz sour cream
24 oz cream cheese (if you have an aldi store or a similar bag your own these can be fairly cheap)
2 cups or so of sugar (can be adjusted to taste)
3 medium to large eggs
1 to 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract per taste (REAL vanilla! not imitation!)
3/4 teaspoon almond extract (pure is better but imitation can do in a pinch)
pinch of salt (about 1/4 tsp or so)
2 nine ounce graham cracker crusts or 3 six ounce crusts. You can substitute a chocolate cookie crumb crust for the graham cracker if you want
(optional) sem-sweet chocolate chips (if you have an aldi's then use the 11 oz austrian chocolate bar instead, much much much much much much better ;).
canned topping of your choice (cherries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc. for a different treat try poppy seed filling for a topping )
(optional) whipped cream

Instructions
1) PreHeat oven to ABOUT 375 degrees farenheit, (190 celsius)
2) In a REALLY big mixing bowl (not huge just really big), soften cream cheese to room temp.
3) IF you're using the imported austrian chocolate from aldi's chip it at this time.
4) Whip the eggs in a bowl and set aside.
5) After cheese is soft, add sugar and blend with electric mixer until smooth
6) Add whipped eggs, blend with mixer very well
7) add vanilla, almond and salt, blend very well
8) add sour cream and carefully FOLD into mixture, DO NOT STIR OR BLEND
9) IF you're using chocolate, add at least half, no more than 2/3 at the same time as the sour cream and carefully FOLD into mixture, DO NOT STIR OR BLEND
10) spoon mixture into pie crusts of your choice. It will be fairly liquidy and likely slightly bulge over the top of crust. this is ok.
11) bake until golden brown around the edges and creeping into center (about 30 to 45 mintues depending on altitude), often the mixture will rise several inches above edge of pie tin and have a broken cheezy look around the edge cracks. Don't be alarmed. the cake top will level off around the top if the pie tin.
12) remove from oven, let cool about an hour
13) top with favorite topping and cover carefully, if using chocolate put rest of chocolate on top at this time, I generally pull the labels and glue off the plastic covers from the crust and turn them upside down then just close the edges of the disposable pie tin over it. This provides support and safety if you have to stack them 2 high in the fridge.
14) refrigerate over night (minimum 8 hours)
15) serve with whipped cream.

I have never gotten less than first place with this recipe regardless of the toppings I use. I've put fresh berries inside before too but this can be tricky if you're not already good at baking and don't know how to adjust everything accordingly.

Nah, I disagree on the cheez whiz. I don't use it when I make them myself (it's a heart attack waiting to happen) but on the rare occasion when I've had the pleasure of a real honest-to-God steak in Philly proper it was made with cheez whiz in all it's glory and it was magnificent.

Want the *real* deal? Try Pat's, the absolutely finest steaks you can find.

Here's their recipe: http://www.patskingofsteaks.com/recipe.htm

-- Gary F.

FUD....Do you compete at State Fairs...? Or local cooking contests...? how do you find contests to enter ?

I actually have a book on "Making Your Own Earth Oven"...But I guess that will be next years project..

Your Cheese Cake recipe....is absolutely divine! I have never heard of an Austrian Chocolate Bar....Is it just a better grade of chocolate ?

Colleen

Colleen I haven't competed in over 5 years, but I've done done the fair, churches, and local cookoffs. I especially love chili cookoffs, I use my wife's recipe for the base chili then add my own flavorings for the spicy effect. She makes a mean base chili.

I actually found the Austrian chocolate because I shop at Aldi's food store. It's an economical "bag your own" grocery store. Aldi's is based out of Chicago I think and very prevalent in the midwest and some southern states. It's growing in popularity so it may be nationwide relatively soon. They do have stores in many other countries as well so it's already gone international.

The Brand name on the chocolate is "Choceur's" . I think that's spelled properly. It's made specifically for Aldi's under contract by a chocolate maker in Austria. I've had premium swiss chocolate before and I'd pick the austrian chocolate over any swiss chocolate I've had any day of the week. I use the blue wrapper as it's plain chocolate. The yellow wrapper has almonds in it and very tasty but a bit hard to work with on baking.

The chocolate bar isn't intended to be for baking, but regular eating. It's just so good I had to try it in muffins, cakes, etc. and the results were very delicious.

And my family wonders why I have such a hard time losing weight :p.

Just to keep this topic going... I have the smoker going tonight. Smoking a fattie (no, not that kind of fattie, a maple sausage log) and ABT's (Atomic Buffalo Turds). I'm also smoking some stuffed mushrooms and a few hotdogs just to take up the rest of the grill space.

ABT's - fresh jalapenos, cut the end off and core them out, removing the membrane and seeds. Mix chorizo and cheese (any kind, cream cheese works great, I'm using grated cheddar tonight) and stuff the peppers, then put a toothpick through them and stand them up on end in a rack on the smoker. You can go nuts on the filling, varying it however you like. Smoke them for an hour or two depending on the temp of whatever else you're smoking (they'll get about 2 hours at 250 tonight).

You can wrap them in bacon too, I didn't have any so I skipped it on these.

A fattie is just a chub of breakfast sausage (I'm using jimmy dean maple sausage) tossed straight on the smoker out of the package, no rub or anything. I also took a little of the sausage and mixed some cheddar cheese, then stuffed some mushroom caps and am smoking them as well as some unstuffed mushrooms.

-- Gary F.

Oh My...I'm licking my Chops !! LOL..

I'll have to see if I can find a good recipe to post....in the meantime "I'm Taking Notes" !

Colleen

Got a bunch of people coming over for Independance Day today so I have been up since about 6:30 getting stuff ready.

On the smoker today: 3 slabs of baby back ribs done "BRITU" style (google for BRITU, Best Ribs In The Universe) with a dry rub, a dozen ABT's and a sausage fattie all being slow smoked over apricot wood.

I'm also grilling teriyaki chicken (done with my fiancee's own special teriyaki sauce) and beer brats. I do a "bratwurst hot tub" approach, I have a cast iron "pan" basically that sits inside my grill and I sautee onions and peppers on low heat in a little bit of beer, then I fill the tub up with more beer and grill the brats on the grill, dunking them in the "hot tub" every few minutes to keep them basted. As they finish I cut them up and add them to the hot tub, then when they all are in it I cook down the beer until it thickens. Then you just scoop out the brats, onions and peppers and serve it with homemade bread scoopers. Oh, I'm also grilling corn on the cob.

We're also having caprese salad (tomatoes, fresh basil from our garden, fresh mozzarella cheese, a spritz of olive oil, a dash of balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of kosher salt), potato salad, homemade peach cobbler (my fiancee makes peach cobbler that is so good it will make you cry), cold beer and lemonade with vodka :)

Gonna be a good day heh.

-- Gary F.

One fellow I know puts beer in his sausage mix before putting the brat into the skin. Then he lets it age in the fridge for 2 days. He freezes what he doesn't cook right away.

Had another grill night last night. My stepdaughter got me an "All American Grill Guy" apron for my birthday because she knows how much I love my grill.

Grilled mahi mahi with a side of grilled zuchinni, yellow squash, bell peppers and slivered jalapenos, lightly dusted with cornmeal and grilled in olive oil in the dutch oven while the fish was grilling.

Key to grilling fish is to oil your grates and to be very careful not to overcook it. Fish cooks FAST on the grill.

Funny thing is my SWMBO decided I was working too hard or something (I worked my butt off all weekend) and decided to "relax" me with some vodka in my lemonade (she made fresh squeezed lemonade). After sucking down a couple of those right after another (it was hot, I was drenched in sweat, you get the picture) I was relaxed alright... within an hour or so of dinner I was horizontal and snoring :)

-- Gary F.

speaking of corn meal Here's a simple cajun recipe gone grill that works wonders.

Ingredients

• 4 to 8 - six ounce or so deboned and cold (not frozen) catfish flanks, the thicker the better.
• 6 to 8 eggs
• 1/2 stick pure butter
• 1 pint (german keg) beer at about 45 degrees when added
• 3 to 5 tbsp store bought cajun spices (ethnic section), depending on taste
• If your cajun spice mix doesn't already have it, salt
• 2 to 4 cups cornmeal (freshly ground if you got a hand crank or whisper mill)

Instructions

1. for charcoal or wood, prep your grill accordingly. for propane get your wood smoking box ready and preheat the closed grill 10 mins before hand. The rest of the instructions assumes you use charcoal and you're prepping the food while the coals get ready
2. crack the raw eggs into a bowl and whip them thoroughly (bad eggs! bad eggs!)
3. melt the butter to just melted, add to the eggs and whip some more (naughty naughty!)
4. gently mix in enough corn meal to thicken into a good batter mix
5. add about half the beer and stir very gently. do NOT whip or beat. (Good beer. Good beer)
6. add cajun spice and if needed salt while gently stirring.
7. If you like you can add about half the remaining beer at this time. (the rest you probably drank already :p)
8. add more cornmeal until very thick batter consistency
9. dip fish flanks into batter and place on pan use/make one of those foil pans I keep raving about
10. place on grill away from fire.
11. smoke accordingly till done. Hickory or misquite tastes best. apple does ok also
12. If you have any left over batter you can dip some portabella mushrooms in it and smoke those as well
13. Depending on your grill and smoking techniques, anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours If you've done everything right.

Notes

1. This recipe was originally for fried fish and then switched to the grill so you can try frying it if you prefer that way or have a hard time with the batter staying on in the grill.
2. Some people find that spreading mayo on the catfish steaks prior to dipping seems to help hold the batter on better when they have trouble. I don't do this. I usually get a nice thick batter and with the refrigerated meat it helps a lot.
3. I've also dipped mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, shrimp, cod, chicken, and pork in this batter with varying results. all ok to good

On a related note (FUD's comment about mayo reminded me of this), a tip that a friend of mine gave me for smoking meats.

If you're having problems using a dry rub and getting it to stick, coat your meat in mustard, then use the dry rub. The mustard will *not* impart a flavor to the meat after it's smoked. I didn't believe it either until he proved it to me.

Nothing fancy, just plain old yellow mustard, enough to coat the meat lightly and give the dry rub something to stick onto.

-- Gary F.

What's a summer recipe thread without an ice cream recipe? I have a small ice cream maker and this is my best chocolate ice cream recipe:

* 1 cup milk, well chilled
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 8 oz Scharfenberger or other *good* chocolate (I like half semisweet, half milk chocolate).
* 2 cups half and half, well chilled (can use heavy cream if you want the extra richness and fat content, half and half works very well also).
* 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Heat the milk (I use 2%, you can use whole milk if you want but I'd avoid using skim) until it just barely starts to bubble around the edges. In the meantime put the sugar and chocolate into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Pour in the hot milk and process the mixture until well blended and smooth. Set it aside and let it cool completely (don't chill it, just let it cool to room temp).

Once cooled, stir the well chilled half and half (or cream) into the chocolate mixture. Put it in the fridge and chill it for 30 minutes or longer.

Add it to your ice cream machine, process until firm (25-30 mins).

My favorite variation to this is to add a little bit of cinnamon. You can also add marshmallow cream once the mixture starts to firm a little, or you can add nuts (toasted almonds are really good). You can also add chopped cookie bits, brownies or whatever. Honestly, if you use good quality semisweet or dark chocolate (cut with a little bit of milk chocolate) I rarely get a chance to add anything else because it's so freakin' good.

I use 2% milk and half and half because I find the full strength fat content is way too rich for me. It's OH so good with all the extra fat from whole milk and cream, but it's just a bit much for me anymore.

-- Gary F.

This isn't a summer recipe but I thought I'd share it since I've been having to do impromtu cooking for my FIL in the middle of the night when he's a big hungry.

Simple Egg Drop soup:

3 cups chicken broth
chives (to taste, usually 2 tablespoons or so)
2 large eggs
parsley( to taste, usually 1 tablespoon or so)
salt (to taste)

Have the parsley pre chopped and ready. You can use the dried chives found in the spices section of the grocery store.

1) put both eggs ina bowl and whip liberally, set aside
2) bring broth quiclkly to a boil
3) add chives and parsely
4) slowly pour eggs into broth while whipping broth in order to form egg strands.
5) immediately remove from heat.
6) salt to taste and enjoy

If you don't have broth available, you can use 3 cups water and 4 chicken bullion cubes. Just remember that bullion is heavy in sodium so adjust the salt accordingly.

Mornin!

That sounds yummy! Is there a thread for Winter recipes ?

Colleen

this one is simple and easy, all you need is:

one pound of sausage ( I use jimmy dean regular, wish I could get Bob Evans down here)
2 cans crescent rolls
1 block cream cheese

crumble up sausage in skillet, cook thouroughly and drain
in a bowl fold sausage with cream cheese until well blended
put first can of crescent rolls in a 9x13 pan ( you will have to stretch them to get the seams to fit together, should almost look like one sheet of dough.)
pour sausage mix on top then cover with other can of crescent roll dough and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown (whichever comes first)

Enjoy

OMG....I can feel my arteries squeezing shut ;) THAT sounds like a perfect dish for a cold winters day...MMMMM I believe I'll give it a try this weekend. Thanks for the recipe!

Colleen

I do several variations of this one.

Ingredients

• 3 regular size boxes chocolate pudding, or 2 large size boxes
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 containers coolwhip
• 1 cup water
• 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips or 1 finely chipped austrian chocolate bar.
• 1 ready made deep pie crust in pan. (optional)

Instructions

1. In mixing bowl mix water, pudding, and condensed milk
2. add 2/3 of one of the cool-whip containers, mix well
3. sprinkle lightly with a small amount of the chocolate and fold
4. pour into pie crust or bowl and smooth
5. in a separate bowl, mix the rest of the chocolate together with the rest of the coolwhip
6. spread the coolwhip mix over the mousse
7. cover, chill at least 6 hours and serve.

This is really simple.

1. take 2 slices of your favorite bread (I use wheat) and butter each slice on one side.
2. on the non-buttered side put very light mayo, then spread cream cheese on it.
3. put your favorite roast beef slices in between, cheese to the inside, and grill in a pan over medium heat until golden brown on each side.

for a delightful twist, dip in hot beef broth or beef soup.

Very tasty

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FUD

This is really simple.

1. take 2 slices of your favorite bread (I use wheat) and butter each slice on one side.
2. on the non-buttered side put very light mayo, then spread cream cheese on it.
3. put your favorite roast beef slices in between, cheese to the inside, and grill in a pan over medium heat until golden brown on each side.

---

Wow. That is nearly identical to one of my favorites... only instead of sliced beef, I use a really thick slice of vidalia onion(about 1/2" thick slice) when they are available. Don't laugh... it's really tasty.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Scrapyard Ape

. . . instead of sliced beef, I use a really thick slice of vidalia onion(about 1/2" thick slice) ... it's really tasty.

---

That does sound tasty. I'll have to try it. Thanks! :)

Basic Ingredients

• cooking oil of your choice (I use soybean oil)
• 1 chicken breast fillet, cubed
• 2 tablespoons diced onion
• 1 tablespoons diced mushroom
• 1 tsp dried chives
• 1 pita bread rounds

Sauce Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon Hellman's mayo (brand makes a difference in this case)
• 1 tablespoon sour cream (optional)
• 1/4 tsp hidden valley ranch dressing mix.

1. whip yogurt, mayo, sour cream, and dressing mix and set aside (tastes better if you can refrigerate for a couple hours after mixing)
2. cut pita bread round in half and set aside.

1. sauté chicken in skillet lightly coated with cooking oil till done
2. add onions, mushrooms, and chives, and sauté for flavor.
3. put chicken mix into pita bread halves, cover with sauce, and enjoy.

Traditional americanized gyros use a cucumber sauce made with yogurt, and use a mixture of lamb and beef for the meat, along with a few other ingredients. The mayonnaise brand does make a difference in this case. Hellman's Mayo has a distinctively different (better) flavor than generic Mayo and it's considerably different than any Kraft brand.