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Oct-1-2006 18:58

Hi Everyone,
I have been thinking about this for awhile and would like your input.How about a sleuth cookbook?We submit our favorite recipes and somehow compile them in a cookbook.Maybe in ebook format.Any thoughts?

Nov-6-2006 00:38

Chili Chicken with Cashews
---------------------------

When I first started cooking I developed an all-consuming obsession with Thai food. This was the first thing I got right - a pretty easy stir-fry, probably go pretty nicely with Srei's salad above. Getting everything ready in advance is the thing here, because it moves really quickly once you start cooking.

You need:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into thin strips
1 bunch of scallions, cut into roughly 1 inch lengths
a nice handful of snow peas, the ends trimmed
about 2 tbsp each of minced ginger, garlic and cilantro root.

(Yeah, the root - I'm serious. This root is one of the definitive flavours in Thai food. Heads up though; it needs to be washed pretty well. If you can't find the root, use the green stalk of the plant itself, below the leaves.)

3/4 cup unsalted cashews
about 20 whole, dried red chilies (don't be scared - you don't actually eat these; they just kind of flavour the dish and make it prettier than your little sister's lunchbox)

2 tbsp fish sauce (more if you like things really salty - soy sauce is not a great substitute, but do what you gotta do...)
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp sugar
oil for stir frying

Begin by pre-toasting the chilies and cashews. Get a non-stick skillet or wok nice and hot, toss them in and keep them moving around until they pick up some colour. The chilies will also start to give off a bit of their oil, which you will know is happening when you start to feel like you've been very mildly pepper-sprayed. This shouldn't be more than two minutes or so. Remove these from the pan and set aside.

Return the pan to the heat and get it really, really hot again. Now get ready - you're about to move like a TV chef. If it helps you get into the moment, hum the Iron Chef music to yourself.

Add the oil to the pan and immediately add the chicken, garlic, ginger, coriander and pepper.

(stupid limit - more)

Nov-6-2006 00:39

...Stir fry these like a maniac, keeping things constantly moving, until the chicken is just cooked and starts to brown – if your pan is hot enough, this shouldn’t be more than 3 minutes. Add the fish sauce – it should bubble up- keep stir frying until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Add the sugar, snow peas, scallions, cashews and chilies and stir fry for two minutes more to warm everything through.

You’re done! You can throw some wedges of lime on when you serve it, but make sure hungry peeps know not to eat the chilies unless they really like heat. Yum!

Nov-6-2006 08:59

These are all really really good recipies.

Too bad I don't know how to cook, or I'd be making them :)

Nov-20-2006 12:04

Jas. I think that is the point of a recipe. Now, most people can cook... it's the baking thing that is hard! Cooking is easy.. I'll prove how easy ;)

So, one night I was watching Nigella. That is short for Nigella Bites who is some politicians daughter in the UK whom has a cooking show. She's rather rich and rather beautiful.

So Nigella is all like, today I am making Pea Salad. I did mention she is from the UK right?

Anyhow, I was like .. okkkk..

Then do you know WHAT was in the Pea Salad?

PEAS.

That's it. Just Peas.

I was like what is this croak?

However, I then had an enema or etiffany or an emphinay or something.. cooking is that easy.. just throw something in a bowl and call it Salad.

So last night I was supposed to cook:

2 minute noodles/instant noodles
canned tuna mixed with Lea n Perrins, tobasco sauce
mayo with lime juice added

Cooked the noodles,
Mixed in tuna and mayo

Served it cold and called it a Tuna Noodle Salad.

Bite THAT Nigella.

Nov-20-2006 12:14

I totally love this thread..

I love to cook. I will be copying all these and making them soon. I will look through my stuff and find a really good one to add here. Until them please keep posting.... I love this..

Nov-26-2006 15:21

The UK is famous for its puddings - try this one...


Magic Lemon Pudding


Grease a 2 pint ovenproof dish. In a large bowl beat together 3oz soft margarine, 9oz caster sugar, 3 egg yolks, 3oz self raising flour, grated rind and juice of 2 lemons and 425ml milk. Don't worry if it looks curdled

Whisk 3 egg whites together until they form soft peaks and fold gently into the lemon mixture.

Pour the mixture into the dish and place the dish in a roasting tin . Pour enough hot water to come halfway up the dish, into the roasting tin and bake for about an hour at around 170 C until pale golden brown.

Serve with cream - the top of the pudding is a light sponge and underneath is a delicious lemon sauce.

Recommended for young children to cook with parents - they will love it.

Dec-30-2006 00:58

So I did a kind of poor man's bouillabaisse last week and my peeps are all over me *stage blush* for the recipe. Figured I'd chuck it up here too:

Thinly slice a large onion and a fennel bulb and sauté these over medium-low heat in a large pot in some olive oil and butter.

When they become translucent, add a few cloves of chopped garlic and about a half-bottle of dry white wine. No cooking wine please...you should cook with wine you would drink.

Add a few sprigs of thyme, maybe a tsp, of fresh ground black pepper and a Tbsp. of fennel seeds, a bay leaf or two and a pinch of saffron threads to the pot. Raise the heat and let it all simmer together to blend and burn off the alcohol.

Now some tomato. I was lucky enough this year to have done tons of tomato sauce with a very cool old Italian grandma, so I used about a half pint of that, but you could just as well throw some good quality canned tomatoes or fresh tomatoes in a blender and use that. S'fine...

<PAUSE> *narrator voice* If you wanna make the final product a bit fancier, stop at this point and strain what you've got through a pretty fine strainer of some sort, then return the whole mess to your pot. I rarely go fancy though...

Okay so check you out! What you have now is a great medium for poaching just about any seafood! Yay!

Add salt to taste. Put the pot back on the heat and get a low simmer going. I used a pound of cleaned mussels and as soon as they started to open up, a pound of de-veined shrimp as well. If it looks like it's not enough liquid, you can add hot fish, veg or chicken stock. Cook this all with a lid on. It's also a good idea to stir it around in the pot every few minutes to make sure everything spends the right amount of time down where the heat is.

The very second all your shrimp are pink and all your shellfish are open, take it off heat and throw in about a cup of shopped Italian parsley and half-cup of chopped cilantro.

Serve with bread and a shot of Pernod.

Dec-30-2006 01:06

addenda:

If you want to use fish, I'd poach it through before you add shellfish then return it at the last minute. Stirring with all those shells WILL tear it apart. Stick with a firm-fleshed white fish like sea bass, snapper or halibut.

If you use clams, they should go in just slightly ahead of the mussels. Thicker shells means longer cooking.

Rules for mussels and clams, in any recipe:

1. Soak them in lots of cold water prior to cooking.
2. If the shell is open or damaged before cooking, throw it out. Don't even think about eating it. You really don't want all that toilet time, like at all. Just not worth it.
3. If the shell is closed after cooking...see #2.

Dec-30-2006 05:09

Mmmmm. Foooood. Crunch, I am all over that Thai cashew chicken thing you posted.

Okay, this is going to tarnish my sophisticated image, but I must share with you my favourite CROCKPOT recipe. If you don't have a crockpot, you should get one. It's not just beef stew anymore--and once you whip up your recipe (which often doesn't take more than 20 minutes) it cooks all day, so if you're out you come home to a lovely hot meal, and if you're home, you feel like you're actually accomplishing something instead of sitting on your duff all day playing Sleuth. So here it is: Crockpot Hoisin Chicken

3 lbs chicken pieces (I use drumsticks but thighs or breasts would work too)
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup plum sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 piece fresh ginger, peeled & thinly sliced (I use a piece about the size of my thumb)
juice of one lime
3 tablespoons cornstarch
as much garlic as you like, chopped (I use 4-5 cloves)
pepper to taste (don't use salt, the soy sauce is enough)

1. Throw chicken in crockpot.
2. Whisk the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl.
3. Add the mixture to the chicken to coat all pieces.
4. Cook for 5-6 hours on low.
5. Serve with rice. In our family, the stickier the rice is, the happier we are--and it goes really well with this recipe.

Yum!

Dec-30-2006 05:24

Oh, I forgot to add the word "HA!" in brackets after the phrase "sophisticated image" above.