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fodgycakes

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  1. I'm quite interested in this thread as well. Two of my roommates are vegetarian (actually one is pescetarian) and we cook dinner communally so I'm always looking for more ideas. My roommates have a subscription to the Vegetarian Times which gives some good ideas. You can browse recipes online at the web site: http://www.vegetariantimes.com I'm the dinner planner/chore assigner for the household so I happen to have a list of all our meals on my computer so here is a list of dinners we've had. Occasionally I'll cook a meat and non-meat version. Forgive any repeats, I went through quickly to remove them but may have missed some. If anyone is interested in any recipes just let me know. sloppy joes, sweet potato fries calzones gazpacho, quesadillas orzo with feta, tomato, olives egg salad sandwiches, watermelon stir-fried green beans with black bean sauce Jamaican tempeh patties, collard greens, blackberries Eggplant, tomato, tofu stirfry Polenta, chicken/veg patties, brussels sprouts Pasta with roasted squash, tomato sauce Pad si iew with tofu Falafel in pita Pad Thai Chicken/tofu, baked potato Vegetable pan bagnat Cabbage slaw, stuffed peppers Pasta with marinara sauce, tofu, salad Mexican pizza Artichoke casserole Ethiopian lentil stew with injera Fried rice with tofu, broccoli Taco salad Vietnamese style curry, bread Pasta with alfredo, peas, salad Orange chipotle tofu, rice salad Chipotle pesto pasta Tofu, broccoli, green bean stir-fry Pasta with roasted red peppers, chickpeas, artichokes Asparagus, capers, and tofu with rice Spaghetti and meatballs/fauxballs Curry with cauliflowers, chickpeas Bean and rice burritos Eggplant and tomato casserole Lasagna Pasta salad Bun thit/dau hu nuong - Vietnamese grilled meat/tofu over rice noodle salad Roasted beet salad, avocado cheese and tomato sandwiches Tofu-carrot cacciatore General tso's tofu Grilled cheese, tomato soup Quiche, salad Italian-style spaghetti squash Mac and cheese, salad tofu/seitan/faux chicken pot Pie, green beans Pumpkin pancakes, hash browns, eggs Mummy hot dogs, roasted red pepper "blood" soup Kitty litter casserole (this was a series of halloween dinners haha) Spicy tempeh "bulgolgi", spinach Veggie cottage pie Mac and cheese pancakes, hash browns, fried eggs Sesame tofu, broccoli Ethiopian lentil stew, injera Vegetable soup, garlic crostini Pasta with tomato sauce, salad, garlic bread Eggplant, tofu, tomato stir-fry Beans and rice, spinach, corn salad Carbonara, spinach & kale Polenta pie, green beans Beans and rice, corn salad Huevos rancheros, cabbage slaw Dried bean curd, mushroom, bok choy soup Tortilla soup Lemongrass tofu with rice, stir-fried baby bok choy Canh chua - sour fish soup Ca kho, bok choy - caramelized fish Salt and pepper squid/shrimp, bok choy. (a series of dinner during which the vegetarian was out of town) Banh canh - Vietnamese tapioca noodle soup Onion confit and stilton quiche, roasted pear salad Tofurky, potatoes, salad Provencal style edamame Chili, cornbread Onion confit pizza BLT, roasted red pepper tomato soup Eggplant and hummus wraps Burgers, fries Brazilian stew Curry, rice Mexican lasagna Caramelized pork belly/tofu, pickled bean sprouts Pasta with pesto and potatoes Dolmas, salad Kalbi/tofu, rice, green beans, soy bean sprouts Bibimbap Kielbasa, spaetzle, swiss chard Palak paneer Salad, bread, cheese, fruit, wine Peanut sesame noodles Pasta primavera Tofu tomato soup
  2. Oops, sorry for the typeo above, "nun" should be "bun." Fodgycakes, You can try the following simple recipe Those leaves are called wild-betel or wild pepper leaves, if you can't find those you can follow SuzySushi and substitute shiso leaves (tia to). Good luck. ← A very late update! I finally got around to making this dish at home using the recipe here: http://www.recipehound.com/Recipes/1857.html I served it rice paper style, wrapping the beef in rice papers with rice vermicelli, fresh pineapple, and Vietnamese basil (the store was out of kinh gioi and tia to). My mam nem was just thrown together to taste.. minced chili peppers with fermented shrimp paste (mam tom.. I couldn't find the fermented anchovy paste at the store), lime juice, sugar, pineapple, and water. guppymo, do you have a favored recipe for mam nem? So good! I can't find la lot around here and grape leaves worked great. Sorry, I was planning on taking a picture but we all got to eating too fast!
  3. Hi there! I'm Vietnamese, and the translation of "bun nai xao" is exactly what the menu says.. vermicelli with stir-fried deer. nun = vermicelli noodles nai = deer xao = stir-fried Perhaps you can ask the staff there by writing on a piece of paper "thit nai?" with a dot under the i in "thit" and see if they say yes or no. (Thit means meat).
  4. Alright, I'll bite. I made banh xeo last Saturday. I have not been taking pictures of my food lately but here is a previous banh xeo.
  5. Hi Michelle, I have tried the WhiteTruffle girl tweaked version. While the taste and moistness is good, I find that the cake crumbles a bit too much for my liking when sliced. How did you find your version, with respect to crumbliness? Perhaps the extra oil in your tweaks would stop the crumbling problem? Lorinda ← Lorinda, Sorry I didn't answer you earlier, I didn't see your post until just now. I think I had similar crumbling with that first attempt of mine, which was using tweaks similar to WhiteTruffleGirl's. My second attempt with the addiitonal oil was much better in that respect. Try it!
  6. I think stuff like this is so fun. Here's the web site of the person who did this, with some explanation of what was done. Also Thorax Cake and Zombie Cake.
  7. fodgycakes

    Salmon Head Soup!

    How about Vietnamese sour fish soup (canh chua)? Minced garlic and thai chiles. 5 cups or enough water and/or chicken broth to cover the fish (adjust the rest of the ingredients if you use more/less water) 3/4 - 1 lb seafood like Salmon cut into pieces 2 tb Tamarind soup base or tamarind pulp to taste. 2 tb Fish sauce, 3 tb sugar, 1/4 tsp salt to taste. 2 Tomatoes, sliced. Vegetables: green onion, 1/2 onion, 1 cup okra, 2 cups bean sprouts, 1 cup taro stem 2 cups Pineapple chunks. Cilantro, "roc mung", rice paddy herb (rau ngo or rau om) [or lime juice], basil. Fry up garlic and chiles until fragrant. Add liquid. Bring liquid to a boil and add fish, lower to a simmer. You can add any other parts of the fish too, if you want more chunks of fish in the soup. Let simmer for about half an hour, then remove the fish and set aside. Add tamarind soup base, fish sauce to taste, sugar, and salt to taste. Add tomatoes, vegetables, and pineapple. Simmer until vegetables are cooked through. Readd the fish and let it warm back up. Garnish with herbs. Serve over steamed rice.
  8. She made quite a few changes, all with a certain reasoning, and she favors her tweaks to the original round of tweaks. I used some of her advice, like reducing the leavening and increasing the eggs and my first attempt was pretty good but not great and the second time I made the cake, I increased the oil and it was perfect. I tried a creaming method that first time like she did and used the original directions the second time but I don't know if the improvement might have been solely in the increase in oil. Here's what I keep in my recipe file to note the tweaks..: Double Chocolate Cake 1½ oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped 1½ oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (or no unsweetened, all semi-sweet) 1½ cups cocoa powder (regular or Dutch process) 1 cup +1 TB - 1½ cups hot brewed coffee *I used 1½ 1 TB espresso powder 4 oz. (8 TB) unsalted butter, melted 1½ cups white sugar 1 cup light brown sugar 2¾ cups cake flour 1-2 teasp baking soda *I used 1 tsp ¾ teasp baking powder 1¼ teasp salt 3-5 lrg eggs *I used 4.5 (because I did a 2/3 batch so using 3 eggs for that was easier) ½-¾ cup vegetable oil *I used ¾ cup 1½ cups sour cream (or buttermilk) 2 teasp vanilla 1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease two 9”x2" pans. Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper/parchment and grease paper. 2. Into a medium bowl, pour the hot coffee, mixed with the espresso powder, over chocolate, cocoa, and melted butter; blend till smooth. Let mixture cool slightly, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth. 3. Into a large bowl sift together sugars, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 4. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a stand mixer). Slowly add oil, sour cream, vanilla. Add melted chocolate mixture, beating until combined well. 5. Add dry ingredients and beat on medium speed until just combined well. 6. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 60 to 70 minutes (watch carefully--timing may vary). 7. Cool layers completely in pans on racks. 8. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper.[Moderator note: This topic continues here, Finding the Best Chocolate Cake Recipe (Part 2)]
  9. You're using an Italian flour with fairly low protein content that is used to make Napoletana-style pizza. You should definitely look into a higher protein content flour.. King Arthur's bread flour is 12.7% protein. I don't know if that's the only thing that will fix your bagels though. I first made the BBA bagels using KA All-Purpose flour (11.7%) and they deflated during boiling. Same thing happened when I used the KA bread flour. Another poster in another thread with bagel problems thinks it might be overproofing, but I don't know. Or maybe we're not making the dough stiff enough.
  10. fodgycakes

    Pork Belly

    I love Vietnamese-style braised pork in caramel sauce (thit kho) 2 tablespoons sugar 1 pound pork belly or side pork, or Boston butt, cut into 1 inch cubes 1/4 cup fish sauce 2-4 garlic cloves, slivered 1 shallot slivered 1 tablespoon peeled, slivered fresh ginger 1 cup fresh or frozen coconut water (not coconut milk, you want the coconut juice) or sub water or stock 2-4 hard-boiled eggs.. you can leave them whole or cut them in half or quarters Marinate the pork with garlic, shallot, ginger, and fish sauce. If you're in a hurry, just let it sit for 10 minutes, if you have the time or were able to start this earlier you can leave this in the fridge for a few hours. When it's cooking time, caramelize the sugar with a bit of water on medium until it's a nice brown. Turn the heat to high and add the marinated pork + juices, stirring. Add the coconut water or other liquid. It should just cover the pork belly, you can add more liquid if necessary. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the eggs and cover. Let everything simmer for 45 minutes. Then remove the cover and continue simmering until the liquid reduces to about a third way on the pork (or just to your taste). Serve with rice. I love mashing the egg and sauce into the rice, then eating the pork. The pork is similar to Chinese braised pork.. the pork fat is not rendered all the way and is a bit chewy.
  11. The cornbread in Bread Maker's Apprentice is so so good. I love the little bursts of sweet corn. Soaker: 1 c (6 oz.) coarse cornmeal 2 c (16 oz.) buttermilk Soak the cornmeal in the buttermilk, cover, and leave at room temperature overnight. Optional: 8 oz. bacon Cook the bacon, cool, and crumble into coarse pieces. Batter: 1 3/4 c (8 oz.) AP flour 1 1/2 Tb (.75 oz.) baking powder 1/4 tsp (.05 oz.) baking soda 1 tsp salt (.25 oz.) salt 1/4 c (2 oz.) granulated sugar 1/4 c (2 oz.) brown sugar 3 large eggs 2 Tb (1.5 oz.) honey 2 Tb (1 oz.) unsalted butter, melted 2 1/2 cups (16 oz.) fresh or frozen corn kernels 2 Tb (1 oz.) bacon fat, melted butter, or vegetable oil Preheat the oven to 350 F. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the sugars. In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs and mix in the honey and melted butter. Add this mixture to the soaked cornmeal mixture. Add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry mixture and mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Do not overmix, it is okay to have a few lumps (think pancake batter), it should bake out. Stir in the corn kernels until evenly distributed. You can use less, depending on how many little bites of corn you want in the bread. Baking: Place the 2 Tb of bacon fat or other fat into a 10-inch round cake pan/cast iron skillet (or 9" x 13" baking pan or 12" square pan). Place the pan in the preheated ove for 5-10 minutes, until the fat gets very hot. Remove from the oven and swirl to grease the corners and sides. Pour the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the crumbled bacon pieces over the top, gently pressing them into the batter. Bake 30 minutes, until the bread is firm and springy.. it may take longer or lesser, depending on the size of the pan. The top should be golden brown when finished, a toothpick should come out clean if inserted, and the internal temperature 185 F. Cool for 15 minutes before slicing.
  12. Here's a picture of one of the cupcakes. I took them camping this weekend and my zip-top of beautiful Italian meringue buttercream was left in the hot car too long. ): I'm home now and wanted to eat one right away so I placed a big homemade marshmallow on top and zapped in the microwave for a few.
  13. Update: I made the tweaked double chocolate cake as cupcakes with some additional tweaks. I decreased the baking soda to 1 tsp from 2 tsp and increased the eggs to 4.5 eggs. The tweaked version says 1/2 - 3/4 cup vegetable oil and I went with 3/4 cup. Baked at 325 for about half an hour for cupcakes that were about 1/2 cup batter. I made a 2/3 batch and it made 24 small cupcakes. They were so good. When I first made this cake I think I used just 1/2 cup vegetable oil and it wasn't as good as I was expecting, this time around it really came together as what I was looking for.
  14. Probably a dumb question but if you were making homemade marshmallows to make marshmallow fondant, would you just whip up the marshmallow, then go straight to mixing in the additional icing sugar and corn syrup to make the fondant rather than letting the marshmallow set? Or is the setting and melting of the marshmallow important? Or is it sort of inbetween, like you would whip up the marshmallow, then heat it up again since it would have started setting, then continue?
  15. Definitely non-stick for the reason people have noted. If you're out getting a new one, look for one where the center tube is taller than the edge of the pan. That way you can let the cake cool upside down simply by turning the pan upside down and letting it sit on the tube. That part isn't a big deal but if you're getting a new pan anyway, why not?
  16. It was the tweaked version of the Double Chocolate Cake with the additional tweaks I noted. I'm planning to try this recipe again today or tomorrow as cupcakes but I've seen there were some problems with the texture as cupcakes. Anyone had better success or a better recipe? I will decrease the leavening.
  17. Ann, interesting.. maybe that book is the source of Peter Reinhart's bagels? I believe it was you who posted a bagel recipe some time, which I copied down, and when I decided to try the bagels from BBA, I realized it was the exact same recipe.
  18. Never fear, you can still buy duty free in Jamaica. I was just there a couple of weeks ago. BTW on that same trip we "accidentally" managed to import some fantastic roasted chicken from Boston Bay. OOPS. I think the poster refers to being able to take it back on the plane since it's liquid. You couldn't carry on the alcohol, but you can bring it back in your checked luggage.
  19. glennbech, when I made the bagels from BBA they also collapsed a bit during boiling. I think the reason is that my dough was not stiff enough. The book says that bagel dough is the stiffest of the bread doughs. I also used AP flour and did not make the dough too stiff because I was hand kneading it and it was quite some work. I believe the stiffness of the dough is what allows it to hold up during the boiling and since we both used AP flour which has a lower protein content, the dough was not as stiff/had less gluten to keep shape. Ann_T posted how she does bagels and I believe she wrote that sometimes she skips the float test and just lets the shaped bagels proof for 30 minutes instead of testing at 20, and her bagels always look beautiful so I suspect our woes are not due to overproofing. I'm going to try again next week since I have bread flour on hand and resist adding more liquid to make the dough easier to work with, and I'll report back with the results.
  20. Here are some BBA bagels. My dough wasn't stiff enough so they flattened a bit during boiling but were still tasty. For really beautiful looking bagels, look through Ann_T's posts, I think she uses the BBA recipe too.
  21. Focaccia from Bread Baker's Apprentice. Dinner rolls also from BBA, the first formula. I've just started baking breads this summer from BBA and have really enjoyed it.
  22. Ohh, it is very close. I actually broke out the calculator and judged each dish individually, dividing up points and such and the result: Iron Chef #1: 8.85 Iron Chef #2: 8.95
  23. The last episode was definitely the best, thanks a lot to Chris, as many of you agree. I didn't make the connection that was you until just now, great job Chris!
  24. I vote for cheese! I'm very excited about this foodblog, I'm a big Ling fan. I almost never feel envy but I sure do get jealous of the quantity and quality of desserts Ling posts in the dessert thread, hah.
  25. Pad Si Iew Serves 3 as Main Dishor 6 as Side. Pad Si Iew is probably my favorite Thai noodle stir fry. There is one basic recipe that is floating around online, so I don't know the originator of this recipe, but the recipe I've posted here is based on it. <a href="http://www.nikibone.com/recipe/thai/padsi-iew.html">Here</a> is one of these recipes. I have used basically the same ingredient quantities except that I added some regular soy sauce to the stir fry sauce to add a bit more saltiness and have included how to make the dish with dried rice noodles, since they are easier to acquire and keep on hand. I usually use the widest dried "banh pho" (Vietnamese rice noodles for soup) I can find. The key to the taste is in using sweet dark soy sauce. It is thick and syrupy and is part of what gives pad si iew its sweetness. Healthy Boy is a common brand, it looks like <a href="http://www.templeofthai.com/food/sauces/blackthicksoy-5132222175.php">this</a>. If you do not have palm sugar, brown sugar also works, though palm sugar does have a distinctive taste. I have written the recipe using beef but you can use any other meat if desired. Tofu can be used and fish sauce substituted for more soy sauce for a vegetarian dish. I have listed the dish as serving 3 but if you have appetizers or any sides it can serve 4. Marinade 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 T fresh ginger, ground 1 T green onions (white portion), chopped 1 T shallots, chopped 1 T rice wine 1 T fish sauce 3 T sweet dark soy sauce 2 T oyster sauce 1 T palm sugar 1 T cornstarch, mixed in 1 T water 1 tsp sesame oil 1 T chiles, thinly sliced (optional) Stir Fry Sauce 1 T fish sauce 2 T sweet dark soy suace 2 T soy sauce 2 T oyster sauce 1 T palm sugar The Rest 8 oz beef, thinly sliced 8 oz wide rice noodles, dry or fresh 1 egg 1/2 lb chinese broccoli (or regular) 2 T green onions (green portion), chopped Mix together the marinade and marinate 8 oz. of thinly sliced beef for an hour. If you double this recipe the above amount of marinade works just as fine for a pound of meat, though I do double the aromatics, just not the sauce. For 8 oz. of meat I often use a little less than the above listed amounts. Mix together the stir-fry sauce (this I would double if I'm making a double recipe). Cut up the broccoli into 1-2 inch lengths. If using Chinese broccoli, steam the thicker stems for a few minutes or blanch them. You may want to slice the stems in half if they are very thick. For regular broccoli steam both the stems and florets. You want the vegetables to be mostly cooked to your liking, and they will finish in the stiry fry. The leafy portion of the Chinese broccoli does not need any cooking beforehand and will cook in the stiry fry. If using dry noodles, place the noodles in a large bowl and pour hot to boiling water to cover it. Let it soak for 20-30 minutes. It'll get soft but won't be cooked all the way. You can also cook the noodles in a pot on the stove like you would pasta if you want to do this more quickly, but you have to be careful not to let the noodles cook all the way or you'll end up with mushier noodles in your stir-fry. You want the noodles to be in a state where they still need to absorb more liquid so when you stir fry, they absorb the sauce. If using fresh, they are ready to go as is, unless they came in big sheets that you have to cut into noodles. Heat a wok or large skillet and heat up some oil until hot. Toss in your beef and stir it around to brown. Let it cook partway but not completely, since you'll be adding more stuff (I often do cook all the way, remove it, and add it back at the end so as not to overcrowd the pan). Add the broccoli, then noodles, then lower the heat to medium (here is where I diverge from what the restaurants probably do since my stove does not get hot enough to cook everything in a flash, so I go with a lower heat since everything will be cooking longer). Keep stirring. Stir in the egg and the stir fry sauce. Keep stirring the mixture, which can be a little difficult if you don't have a big pan like a wok but are using a skillet (I believe in a restaurant they would be cooking each individual serving portion separately). In five minutes or maybe a little more, the noodles should have absorbed enough of the sauce so that they are soft. Keep tasting until the noodles reach the proper texture. You can also adjust for seasoning, adding more of anything if you think it is needed. The tricky part is not overcooking so that the noodles turn to mush and it is also important to have enough sauce that the noodles remain nice and wet. Add more sauce if needed or even a bit of water if things are salty enough. This adjusting takes a bit of practice. Recombine everything if you took out the beef. Garnish with the chopped green portion of the green onions. Keywords: Main Dish, Easy, Pasta, Thai ( RG1779 )
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