The Official Recipe Thread

[captmojo]

Bocks and double bocks have been referred to as liquid breads as the brewers/monks supposedly existed on these for days/weeks at the time while "fasting." I have read that before but just can't remember where. Several of us have described Fat Tire on the "ymm, beer" thread as being "bready" or "toasty."

I left off a on that question.

[devildeac]

I left off a on that question.

I kinda figured it was a half-serious/joking question so I answered it semi-seriously, also. I really have heard some brews described as liquid bread. I know I'd rather have a bock/double bock beer than several slices of bread (which then means cheese and/or butter added, too).

[bjornolf]

I have a few recipes that I'm pretty proud of, but I don't want to throw TOO many out there and just hog the thread. So, if anybody is interested in any, or all, of these, I'd be happy to post them:

Baked Ham

Pork Tenderloin and Gravy

Chicken Noodle Vegetable soup

Chicken Enchilada soup

Chicken Tortilla soup

Cheese Ball (good for holiday parties w/ crackers)

Beef and Potato Pie (served with brown gravy)

Pecan Pie (this is my wife's aunt's recipe, but she loves to share it. Everyone she or I have EVER made it for has said it was the best they'd ever had, except for a pecan pie connoisseur friend of my parents who was a minor league ball player all through the South who has literally eaten 1000s of pieces of different pecan pies in 1000s of different restaurants, little diners, bakeries, and dives. He put it in his top 10...and yes, he keeps a list. You know, so she's got that goin' for her. )

Turkey Stuffing/Dressing (my mother makes this AMAZING sausage dressing that you cook in the turkey. It's UNBELIEVABLE, but it's all by feel, so it's impossible to do more than just give the ingredients and let people experiment)

Okay, I'm going through my cookbook in order. Here's a family favorite that's good in the winter.

Poppyseed Chicken:
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
1 small onion, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 tablespoon garlic
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
¾-1 stick melted oleo
2 tsp. poppy seeds
Instructions
Cut chicken to bite-size and brown in a pan with garlic and onion. Add soup.
Mix poppy seeds, crackers, and oleo.
In 13x9 baking dish, put in chicken, then top with poppy seed mix.
Bake @ 350º for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Notes: You can use two cans of mushroom or chicken soup. I just like the taste mix of the combo. Also, I like to boil the chicken for 20 minutes then shred it before browning it in the pan with olive oil and the garlic and onion, but that's just a texture thing and it takes a lot longer, obviously. I also like to season the chicken when browning it with some poultry seasoning and maybe a little Cayanne Pepper or Creole Seasoning, but that's just a taste thing. Also, some like to do multiple layers, chicken, then topping, then chicken, then topping. I like it with just the one layer of chicken and one of topping, as the middle layer of topping isn't as crispy, but again, it's a preference thing.

[bjornolf]

Chicken Enchilada Soup
Ingredients
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. chicken breast fillets
½ cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, pressed
4 cans chicken broth
1 cup masa harina
3 cups water
1 cup enchilada sauce
1 lb. American cheese
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. cumin
Instructions
1. Add oil to large pot over medium heat. Cut chicken breasts to bite-sized pieces and brown for 4-5 min., stirring occasionally. Set aside.
2. Add onions and garlic to pot and sauté until onions become translucent. Add chicken broth.
3. Combine masa harina with 2 cups of water in a bowl and whisk until blended. Add mix to pot.
4. Add remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese, and spices and stir, then bring mix to a boil.
5. Add chicken to pot, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Should thicken.
6. After putting in bowls, garnish with choice of shredded cheese, tortilla chips, avocado, and/or sour cream.
Notes: I like to boil and then shred the chicken, then brown it with the onions and garlic, texture thing, your choice. I don't bother removing it. Masa harina is some kind of mexican corn flour, if you're not familiar with it. Instead of enchilada sauce, we like to use our favorite salsa. I chop up the american cheese so it will melt easier.

[bjornolf]

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
3 tbsp. olive oil
1-1.5 lb. chicken breast, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp. garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
½ tsp. chili powder
2½ tsp. cumin
1 (10 oz.) can diced tomatoes w/ green chilies
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 qt. chicken broth
1 tbsp. dried parsley
⅔ cup salsa
1 cup corn
salt to taste (depends on saltiness of broth)
½ tsp. cumin
Instructions
Brown chicken, garlic, onion, cumin, and chili powder in olive oil in pan.
Put into pot and add remaining ingredients. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Garnish in bowls with choice of tortilla chips, shredded cheese, avocado, and/or sour cream.
Notes: Again, I like to boil the chicken and shred it first. Just a preference thing, and it DOES take time.

[bjornolf]

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen. My wife's Aunt Joyce's pecan pie recipe. A moment of silence out of respect please... thank you.

Pecan Pie (Aunt Joyce)
Ingredients
1 stick oleo, melted
1¾ c. white sugar
¼ c. brown sugar
¾ c. white karo syrup
5 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. pecans pre-chopped (approx. 1½ c. chopped), chopped
Instructions
Mix all ingredients.
Pour into 2 unbaked pie shells.
Lay pecan halves on top of unbaked pie in fun pattern.
Bake @ 325º approx. 45 min., or until firm in center.
Let cool. May garnish with whipped cream if desired.
Notes: We use the refrigerated Pillsbury pie shells that are rolled up and boxed with two in a box. They are about as good as homemade and no work. I like it refrigerator cold. My wife likes it room temperature. Others like it warm.

[bjornolf]

BTW, if you didn't know (I didn't when I started), oleo means butter/margarine. I think it can also mean oil, but we use it for butter or butter-like products. I like to use butter 99% of the time, but it's your choice.

[bjornolf]

Beef and Potato Pie
Ingredients
2 unbaked pie crusts
1 cup raw, tenderized round steak, cut bite-sized
3 strips sliced and uncooked bacon
3½ cups thinly diced potatoes
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
small onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp. garlic
2 tbsp. water
1½ tbsp. butter
Instructions
Pan fry potatoes in olive oil. Put onions and garlic in at the end to brown.
Preheat oven to 400º Place unbaked bottom crust in pan. Add filling. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust. Flute edges and cut vents in top.
Bake 15 minutes, then lower temperature to 350º and bake 45-50 more minutes. Should be bubbly. Serve with brown gravy.
Notes: Again, we use the Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts.

[bjornolf]

With both pies, I use a pie shield or folded up aluminum foil to cover the edges until about the last 15 minutes so they don't burn too bad.

[bjornolf]

Oh, and I use a handful or so of the cooked Hormel bacon pieces instead of whole, uncooked bacon on the beef and potato pie.

[BlueDevilBaby]

If you want to turn them into shrimp and grits and call it a meal, I'll fold on the mimosa and see you a pale ale.

MMM! Shrimp and grits and a little bacon. Louis' Backyard in Key West has the best shrimp and grits - has to be one of the best meals I have ever eaten.

[ArnieMc]

BTW, if you didn't know (I didn't when I started), oleo means butter/margarine. I think it can also mean oil, but we use it for butter or butter-like products. I like to use butter 99% of the time, but it's your choice.

Oleo is short for oleomargarine as is margarine. Margarine just won the nickname battle. I've never heard oleo used for anything but margarine, but I don't eat it anyway. Thanks for the clarification, however, because I was a little puzzled at oleo showing up in your recipe, and I was wondering if butter could be safely substituted. (Sometimes there's a smoke point problem or something.)

[bjornolf]

Everyone in my wife's family uses oleo to mean any product in the butter/margarine family. They live down in the Shenandoah Valley. My understanding from poking around the internet is that this is a fairly common thing in spotted areas of the rural South.

According to wikipedia, it is a bastardization of the word for oil in Italy (olio) and can be used for everything from oil to butter to margarine to fake-butter-oil-based-spread. Of course, wikipedia is hardly the be-all-end-all.

Thanks for the info. Appreciate it. Most of my recipes come from my wife's cookbook which she has been compiling from her family over the last 20 years. A LOT of these recipes are 30-50 years old. Maybe it was more common back then?

[DukeUsul]

Everyone in my wife's family uses oleo to mean any product in the butter/margarine family. They live down in the Shenandoah Valley. My understanding from poking around the internet is that this is a fairly common thing in spotted areas of the rural South.

According to wikipedia, it is a bastardization of the word for oil in Italy (olio) and can be used for everything from oil to butter to margarine to fake-butter-oil-based-spread. Of course, wikipedia is hardly the be-all-end-all.

Thanks for the info. Appreciate it. Most of my recipes come from my wife's cookbook which she has been compiling from her family over the last 20 years. A LOT of these recipes are 30-50 years old. Maybe it was more common back then?

My 80-something grandmother who was born and raised in Massachusetts still uses oleo to refer to margarine.

[dukeforester]

My 80-something grandmother who was born and raised in Massachusetts still uses oleo to refer to margarine.

As did my dearly departed grandmother, born and raised in Sugarcreek, Ohio, about 1.5 hours south of Cleveland for those non-buckeye types.

[bjornolf]

Beef and Potato Pie
Ingredients
2 unbaked pie crusts
1 cup raw, tenderized round steak, cut bite-sized
3 strips sliced and uncooked bacon
3½ cups thinly diced potatoes
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
small onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp. garlic
2 tbsp. water
1½ tbsp. butter
Instructions
Pan fry potatoes in olive oil. Put onions and garlic in at the end to brown.
Preheat oven to 400º. Place unbaked bottom crust in pan. Add filling. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust. Flute edges and cut vents in top.
Bake 15 minutes, then lower temperature to 350º and bake 45-50 more minutes. Should be bubbly. Serve with brown gravy.
Notes: Again, we use the Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts.

DARNIT! The recipe is supposed to include 3 tablespoons of parsley. I missed that. Sorry.

Oh, and I use frozen southern style diced potatoes from Ore-Ida instead of hand-dicing a raw potato. That's probably why I need to fry the potatoes first. If you're willing to hand-dice a raw potato, you probably won't need to brown it first.

Oh, yeah, and I usually use that stuff they call stew beef. It's pretty good, and it's pre-cut into basically bite-sized pieces, so it saves time.

Also, I usually combine everything in a mixing bowl before putting it in the crust, or it doesn't get mixed up enough. Recipe never mentions that. And don't forget my tip about using the cooked bacon pieces instead of uncooked bacon!

[devildeac]

Okay, I'm going through my cookbook in order. Here's a family favorite that's good in the winter.

Poppyseed Chicken:
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
1 small onion, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 tablespoon garlic
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
¾-1 stick melted oleo
2 tsp. poppy seeds
Instructions
Cut chicken to bite-size and brown in a pan with garlic and onion. Add soup.
Mix poppy seeds, crackers, and oleo.
In 13x9 baking dish, put in chicken, then top with poppy seed mix.
Bake @ 350º for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Notes: You can use two cans of mushroom or chicken soup. I just like the taste mix of the combo. Also, I like to boil the chicken for 20 minutes then shred it before browning it in the pan with olive oil and the garlic and onion, but that's just a texture thing and it takes a lot longer, obviously. I also like to season the chicken when browning it with some poultry seasoning and maybe a little Cayanne Pepper or Creole Seasoning, but that's just a taste thing. Also, some like to do multiple layers, chicken, then topping, then chicken, then topping. I like it with just the one layer of chicken and one of topping, as the middle layer of topping isn't as crispy, but again, it's a preference thing.

Beer match-pale ale or IPA.

[devildeac]

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
3 tbsp. olive oil
1-1.5 lb. chicken breast, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp. garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
½ tsp. chili powder
2½ tsp. cumin
1 (10 oz.) can diced tomatoes w/ green chilies
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 qt. chicken broth
1 tbsp. dried parsley
⅔ cup salsa
1 cup corn
salt to taste (depends on saltiness of broth)
½ tsp. cumin
Instructions
Brown chicken, garlic, onion, cumin, and chili powder in olive oil in pan.
Put into pot and add remaining ingredients. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Garnish in bowls with choice of tortilla chips, shredded cheese, avocado, and/or sour cream.
Notes: Again, I like to boil the chicken and shred it first. Just a preference thing, and it DOES take time.

Dos Equis or a brown ale might be tasty with this

[devildeac]

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen. My wife's Aunt Joyce's pecan pie recipe. A moment of silence out of respect please... thank you.

Pecan Pie (Aunt Joyce)
Ingredients
1 stick oleo, melted
1¾ c. white sugar
¼ c. brown sugar
¾ c. white karo syrup
5 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. pecans pre-chopped (approx. 1½ c. chopped), chopped
Instructions
Mix all ingredients.
Pour into 2 unbaked pie shells.
Lay pecan halves on top of unbaked pie in fun pattern.
Bake @ 325º approx. 45 min., or until firm in center.
Let cool. May garnish with whipped cream if desired.
Notes: We use the refrigerated Pillsbury pie shells that are rolled up and boxed with two in a box. They are about as good as homemade and no work. I like it refrigerator cold. My wife likes it room temperature. Others like it warm.

1. large cup of coffee
2. cold glass of milk
3. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

[devildeac]

Beef and Potato Pie
Ingredients
2 unbaked pie crusts
1 cup raw, tenderized round steak, cut bite-sized
3 strips sliced and uncooked bacon
3½ cups thinly diced potatoes
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
small onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp. garlic
2 tbsp. water
1½ tbsp. butter
Instructions
Pan fry potatoes in olive oil. Put onions and garlic in at the end to brown.
Preheat oven to 400º Place unbaked bottom crust in pan. Add filling. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust. Flute edges and cut vents in top.
Bake 15 minutes, then lower temperature to 350º and bake 45-50 more minutes. Should be bubbly. Serve with brown gravy.
Notes: Again, we use the Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts.

I might enjoy a porter or a brown ale with this.