Vichyssoise (French Potato Soup)

* 2 cups finely diced raw potatoes
* 4 tablespoons butter
* 6 leeks, cleaned and cut into 1 inch pieces
* 3 cups chicken stock
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshy ground black pepper
* a dash of nutmeg
* 1 and a half to 2 Cups of heavy cream
* Chopped chives

Preparation

Cook the potatoes in salted water to cover until just tender. Melt the butter in a skillet and cool the leeks gently, tossing them lightly, for a few minutes. Add the chicken bouillon and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer the leeks until tender. Add the potatoes to the leeks and the broth and season to taste with salt, papper and nutmeg. Put this mixture in the blender (you will need to blend it in two lots) and blend for 1 minute, or until smooth. Chill. When ready to serve, mix in heavy cream. Garnish with chopped chives.

I know, it's a no-brainer, right? Don't-be-so-sure. The first time I tried to cook rice, I got everything started, then sat down w/ a book.

20 minutes later, my apt. is getting smoky and filled w/ that 'black stuff on the bottom of yr pot' smell.

5 minutes later, the Fire Dept. come by, a good samaritan had seen the smoke coming out of my window and called them.

Don't be like me! No reading! Watchful-and-Bold, an' all that!

Okay, this is for normal, generic rice, no Basmati or Jasmine, etc. Take any measurement of rice (say 1 cup) and put it in a strainer of some type and rinse under cold water, rubbing the grains with your hands. This gets rid of starch, which makes your rice taste good (as opposed to cardboard). You may have to do this as many as 5 times, the water running out of the rice should be clear, not milky.

Next, double the amount of water you will put into the pot (say 2 cups).

Put a dash of salt inside the water, add the rice, mix, turn the heat on high.

Remember: Don' leave. You estay put!

When you see the water start to ripple, stir it once more, turn the heat down to low/simmer, and cover. Put a timer on for 10 minutes.

When the timer goes off the rice should be done! If still a bit soupy, cover and try another 10 min.

That's it!

How to Make Thai Sticky Rice at Home

Thai sticky rice, (called Khao Niew in Thai) is an essential and integral element of Thai cooing and cuisine, and is a must have accompaniment for certain dishes such as Laarb or Som Tam (papaya salad, preferably with a little grilled chicken). It's also something rarely made in home kitchens outside of Thailand, and that's a shame, cause sticky rice is easy peasy and really really good.

Sticky Rice Cooking Instructions

Take the sticky rice and soak covered in water. The time needed for soaking depends on the age of the rice, and the older the rice, the drier it becomes and the longer the soaking period needed. New rice may only need an hour or so, but older rice is best soaked overnight, or for 8 hours or so. Since most rice sold outside of Thailand has endure some lengthy travels and processing times, you are probably safer with the longer soak. Call it 8 hours to be on the safe side.

A tricky trick, if you are in a hurry and forgot to get your soaking started, is to soak the rice in hot water, and thereby cut the soaking time in half.

In Thailand, the rice is then placed in a conical woven bamboo steamer thingy. If you have one of those, use it, and if you don’t, you can just use any form of steamer.

To keep the rice from falling through the holes in the steamer, first line the steamer area with cheesecloth. If you don't have cheesecloth, just use the thinnest cloth you have. Once the cheese cloth is covering the steamer area completely, throw in the soaked rice, cover and set heat to high.

One thing to think about is that you don't want to overfill the bottom part of your steamer with water. Once the water gets to a rolling boil, you don’t want the bubbling water to leap up and soak the bottom of your rice.

Sticky rice cooks fairly quickly. Check it once about 10 minutes after the water has come to boil. It should be sticky at this point. Ideally, you should flip the rice over now for another 5-10 minutes of cooking.

The best way to judge doneness is by taste. Different batches of rice will require slightly longer cooking times. When it is very sticky and all clumped together and soft and chewy to taste – it is done.

Once finished – before serving you should give it a real good stir, letting some of the steam escape and ensuring that the rice won't be overly wet while eating.

Sticky rice is a staple food of the north and north-eastern parts of Thailand. To eat, grab a small portion of rice and smoosh it into a little ball. You will then use the rice like an eating utensil, and dip and grasp in shared dished of food on the table.

Forget about trying to eat sticky rice with a fork or spoon!

It's delicious, quite different from Jasmine rice and well worth making at home. Enjoy!

Nam Prik Ong Recipe. Spicy Northern Thai Ground Pork Dip

Cooking wise, Thailand is a very regionalized country - and Thai food can be split into 4 distinct and very different categories:

1. Southern (The spiciest)
2. Central (Bangkok)
3. Isaan or North Eastern Food (Many would argue the finest!!!)
4. Northern Thai (Food with Burmese influence)

Here is a recipe for Northern Thailand's famous red minced pork nam prik. A spicy pork based dipping sauce for raw and steamed vegetables and one of Northern Thai cooking's signature dishes.

Although the dish is traditionally made spicy, those with tamer palates may choose to omit or reduce the chili as desired.
Nam Prik Ong Recipe (A Starter for 4)

* 1 lb ground pork
* 4 plum tomatoes
* 5-6 cloves of garlic
* 5-6 small shallots (A half red onion in slices can be substituted if shallots are unavailable
* 1 Tbls vegetable oil or neutral oil of your choice
* 3 Tbls fish sauce
* 1- 1 1/2 Tbls of sugar
* 1 key lime or ½ of a larger lime
* 20 Thai bird chilis (or less if you don't care for mouth fire)
* ½ cup of water

Easy steps

1. Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat. When pre heated, toss in your whole tomatoes to dry roast them (No oil is needed) Let cook turning occasionally until cooked through and browned/blackened all over – 5 – 10 minutes. Remove and set aside
2. Repeat the same dry roasting procedure with the shallots, chilis and onions. Again, remove and set aside.
3. Add the pork to your skillet (if it is too blackened, get a new skillet fired up) and cook through.
4. In a mortar and pestle, squish squash the chili, shallots and garlic very well (you may use a blender if you don’t have a mortar and pestle here). When well smashed up, add in the tomatoes and squish them up too.
5. Throw another heavy skillet on the stove top, and heat it up to medium high. When hot, add in the Tbls of oil and the pork, the chili-tomato-garlic-shallot paste, and the remaining ingredients, the water, fish sauce, sugar and lime juice.
6. Heat it all up to a vigorous boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer until it is well combined and uniform, and has the consistency of a thick Bolognese pasta sauce.
7. Taste for seasoning and serve with fresh cut slices of cucumber and wedges of crisp cabbage (pork rinds are also a traditional accompaniment.

This works very well as an appetizer before a Thai style or better yet, a Northern Thai style dinner. Enjoy!

Moo Gratium. Thai Fried Garlic Pork. An Easy Recipe

A very tasty and quick one dish Thai dinner – perfect for an easy meal for one or two, moo gratium can be prepared in about 10 minutes.
Fried garlic pork (It tastes as good as it sounds!)

* ½ lb of lean pork, chopped into one inch by half inch by half inch pieces (pork loin or tenderloin works well here).
* 1 Tbls of finely SLICED garlic
* 2 tsps of ground black pepper
* 1 tsp of sugar
* 1 tsp of fish sauce
* 1 tsp of soya sauce
* 2 tsp of oyster sauce
* Cilantro as garnish
* ½ cup of vegetable oil

1. In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium, and when hot, add in the pork. Fry for about 3 minutes, or until the pork is cooked well (Thai people don’t much care for a pink center in their pork)

2. Take all the pork out of the oil with a slotted spoon and reserve.

3. In the still medium-hot oil, add in the garlic slices, and fry them until they turn a golden brown. Watch carefully – it should only take 10-20 seconds. When just golden brown (it will continue to cook and color for a bit after you remove it from the oil – so be careful!) take out of the oil using a slotted spoon and toss on the reserved pork.*

4. Discard the hot oil.

5. In the still hot fry pan, add in the pork, garlic, and all other ingredients, and stir fry until the pork is well coated with the other ingredients (kind of a sheen)
6. Serve over rice (very good with a single fried egg as a meal for two) or as a part of a larger Thai style dinner.
7. Garnish with the cilantro sprigs and with slices of cucumber.

This can be scaled down by about half to make an easy meal on rice for one.

*To be totally authentic, the garlic should be fried before the pork, thus infusing the oil with the garlic flavor. It's risky though! If you are not used to frying garlic (something that seems innate to most Thai people…) you are at risk to burn the garlic and stink up the oil - and so doing the pork before the garlic lowers the risk. If you are a confident garlic fryer, you would fry the garlic first.

A side note…

This is one of the meatier Thai dishes (boasting nothing but meat) and yet even still the serving size of meat protein per portion is modest. In general, Thai cooking is better when you hold off on the meat a little bit – and many Thai recipes are ruined by a modification for North American audiences to include much more meat than they otherwise would.

The Thai way to cook with meat would be to buy about 1lb of pork or beef or chicken at the supermarket and cut off what was needed from the piece of meat for each meal, saving the rest for future meals.

Ahh, this is what I've been wanting to post on!

1st post, Rice vermicelli (Recipe: rice noodle salad with chicken), and, just as important, how to prepare rice vermicelli. This woman writes a cool column.

Multiple Choice:

1. 6 pack of PBR Tallboys = $3.99
2. 6 pack of Boulevard Porter bottles = $6.99
3. 6 pack of Guinness Draught bottles = $6.99
4. 30 pack Old Milwaukee cans ($13.99-$7.00 mail in rebate) = $6.99

There is no wrong answer!

and look at the people just standing there and watching....DAMN YOU FOOLS...GIVE THEM BEER!!!!!!!

Check out this letter  from the Prohibition Era in the USA...

From the Letters of Note blog

Actually, It makes a great dip too!  Always comes out REALLY thick... You can serve it as dip w/tortilla chips at a party or dilute it into soup.  Plays well with others!

Man, this sounds hearty! Never have enuff garlic!

We all heard those songs: Cooking Crawfish, Barracuda, Shrimp, Ducks - and all of their kind! All tasty - all fishy! Grilled, steamed, whole, diced or fresh & raw!

(Again, excuse me my lame start here, I'll soon follow suit with fish recipes and picture!)

(....errrr sorry, Ducks are only fish where I live...)

Well, you asked for it!  Don't take any of his insults personally...I'm pretty sure he's just talking to me.  Cooking For A**holes    If you want to make Margueritas with ground beef - you NEED this!

From the classic southern fried Peanut butter and Banana sandwich, to your Bacon-burger and Chili Cheese Fries! Alls welcome here! (I will yet have to drop a picture and starting recipe here, so bear with me!)

Oh there's lot's to love here! + I love me that kind of hummus with some extra lemon taste.

dave said:

Thanks, Mike, if you have any other cool Middle Eastern food recipes, please turn me on! Still a newbie at that region.

Thanks, Mike, if you have any other cool Middle Eastern food recipes, please turn me on! Still a newbie at that region.

Dave,
Off the top of my head, my hummus recipe calls for 1/4 cup of tahini and I don't add olive oil. Same basic process. I start with drained can of garbanzos, garlic cloves and the tahini and start that in the food processor then slowly add the liquid from the garbanzo bean can until I get the consistancy I want then add salt and lemon to taste. So just a little different than yours. Baba Ganoush is one of my faves, but I've never tried to make it myself. Will have to do so soon though now with your recipe.

I was thinking about making a discussion titled "grease please!" Cause I like myself some fried stuff. I guess Soul food can cover that part too, nah? Speaking of that, is there one for fish? I'll do that one! "...TOO, NAH!" Aw, 'cmon I thought it was funny....

Among New Orleans’ many food secrets is cold-brew coffee. It’s as low-tech as you can get: no coffee maker, French press or special equipment is needed. Heck, you don’t even need electricity. Just combine coffee grounds and cool water in a bowl. After 12 hours, strain the solids out, and iced coffee is at your call — no extra chilling required. Yes, you need the long soak, but prep it before you go to bed, and coffee will be waiting for you in the morning. Once you try it, you’ll see how backwards it is to brew coffee with hot water and then wait for it to cool down.

“Heat brewing releases acids and oils, and as the coffee sits in the refrigerator, the bitterness intensifies,” according to a NY Times Magazine article. Cold-brew coffee is 67% less acidic, making it smooth, rich and naturally “sweeter.”

Cold-brew coffee concentrate
Cold-brew is so common in New Orleans that you can buy syrupy coffee concentrate at neighborhood supermarkets, as well as Whole Foods.

For better or worse, I can now enjoy coffee! For the longest time, regular cups would dehydrate me like crazy. I switched to decaf, and still no dice. The culprit, as I found out, wasn’t caffeine. It was the acid. I also would take my coffee unsweetened, since sugar somehow made it sour (the exception: coffee from Dunkin Donuts and Oaxaca, Mexico). Again, the culprit was the acid.

For an authentic experience, try a coffee-chicory blend from Cafe du Monde, French Market or Blue Bottle Coffee company. During their civil war, the French ran short on coffee, so they used chicory as an extender. Chicory is the root of the endive plant. It tastes chocolatey, is caffeine free, cleanses the blood and improves your liver’s health.

Cold-Brew Iced Coffee Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 12 hours

Yield: 1 1/2 cups coffee concentrate

Serving Size: 1 cup

Ingredients
1/5 pound dark roast coffee and chicory, medium ground (about 1 cup)
2 cups cold water
Ice
Milk

Instructions

Put coffee in a nonreactive container, like a stainless-steel bowl. Add 1/4 cup water, stirring gently to wet the grounds, then add remaining water, agitating the grounds as little as possible. Cover and let steep at room temperature for 12 hours.

Strain coffee concentrate through a medium sieve, then again through a fine-mesh sieve.

[As I've seen it made, most people use a reuseable mesh bag, ultra-fine, you can probably find it in decent grocery stores, def. at gourmet shops/restaurant supply shops]

To make iced coffee, fill a glass with ice, add 1/4 cup coffee concentrate and 3/4 to 1 cup milk, then stir. To make café au lait, warm 3/4 to 1 cup milk in a saucepan or microwave, then pour into a mug and add 1/4 cup coffee concentrate. (Concentrate will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.)

I know the feeling, the days of cool cafes full of second-hand sofas and bookcases stuffed w/ books (and cool people) may be at an end.

Tapioca Pudding Recipe

One of my favorite desserts growing up was tapioca pudding. You don't see it that much anymore. Kids get pre-made over-sugared puddings from the grocery store. My parents don't make it that often as it requires too much (for them) careful stirring while the tapioca cooks. And you won't find tapioca on any low-carb diets as it is pure starch, from the same plant as cassava. Yet tapioca pudding is one of those comfort foods that conjures up happy childhood memories. It's actually really easy to make.

Look at the instructions on the package of tapioca that you buy. Some small pearl tapioca requires overnight soaking in water. If your package has that requirement, reduce the milk in the recipe to 2 1/2 cups from 3 cups.
Ingredients

1/2 cup small pearl tapioca (you can usually find it in the baking section of the grocery store, do not use instant tapioca)
3 cups whole milk (or skim milk with cream added)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Method

1 Combine tapioca, milk, and salt in 1 1/2 quart pan on medium high heat. Stir until boiling. Simmer 5 minutes, uncovered at the lowest possible heat, adding sugar gradually.

2 Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Mix in some of the hot tapioca very slowly to equalize the temperature of the two mixtures (to avoid curdling).

3 Return eggs to pan with tapioca. Slowly bring mixture barely to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and stir several minutes at a low simmer, stirring constantly until you get a nice thick pudding consistency. Cool 15 minutes. Add vanilla. Serve either warm or chilled.

Note: If you want to make a more light and fluffy, but still rich, tapioca pudding, separate the eggs. Use the egg yolks to stir in first to the pan with the tapioca. Once the pudding has become nice and thick, beat the egg whites in a separate bowl to soft peaks. Remove the pan of tapioca pudding from the stove, fold in the beaten egg whites into the pudding.

Serves 4-6.

Creamy Rice Pudding

Ingredients

3/4 cup uncooked white rice
2 cups milk, divided
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

In another saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg and raisins. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm.

A guess this is a little different from hangover food, whatever heads straight to yr heart...

For me, it's anything (at least, lately) w/ potatoes, rice, or beans...

Whipped Potatoes

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled, quartered and cooked
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste
Paprika

Directions

In a large bowl, mash the potatoes. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, butter, garlic salt, salt and pepper; mix until smooth. Transfer to a greased 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika if desired. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Note: Obv. there is no 'whip' here, so if you want break out the mixer you'll aerate these spuds and make them fluffier. Also, you can omit the sour cream or cream cheese, and add some whipping cream while you do this (kinda like vichyssoise, but more solid).

Not being from the south, it was a Waffel House in Mississippi i think it was that introduced me to cheese grits which I love.

Yep, odd alright... back to the drawing board I guess...