I Need a Recipe!

[EllieH]

Quote

I volunteered to host students for Thanksgiving, and I found out today that one doesn't eat dairy and the other is vegan. Does anyone have any favorite Thanksgiving recipes that they can enjoy?

Maybe a crisp or crumble for dessert, and use vegan butter or another oil in place of the butter in the topping?  Then serve it with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream the vegan and non-dairy person can skip.

[GreekGeek]

Thank you for the vegan suggestions. I ended up making carrot and ginger soup with coconut milk in place of dairy, some roasted brussels sprouts with butternut squash, green beans with lemon, olive oil, and garlic, stuffing with the vegetables sauteed in vegan margarine and moistened with vegetable broth, sweet potatoes with coconut milk, and pie with shortening and vegan margarine in place of butter. I did serve a few non vegan dishes plus the traditional turkey.

[BooksRule]

Does anyone have a good Cranberry Relish (Chutney?) recipe they would like to share?  The two people in my family who like cranberry sauce like the traditional can-shaped jelly from Ocean Spray (I like cranberries, but not that sauce).  I want to try a relish made with real cranberries (and maybe orange?) this holiday even if I'm the only one who eats any.  I've got cranberries in the freezer, oranges, sugar, etc. so I probably have most if not all ingredients I would need.  I can google recipes, but I thought maybe someone here has a favorite they would share.

[chessiegal]

I've never made this cranberry conserve, but it's from Ina Garten and has very good reviews.

Ina Garten Cranberry Conserve

[Bastet]

I've made a different one of Ina Garten's, her make-ahead cranberry sauce.  The conserve recipe basically just adds nuts and raisins.

I like cranberry juice well enough (with or without vodka), but can't stand that canned cranberry glop, so wanted to try a "real" version of cranberry sauce to see if I liked that.  And I did.  The only thing I changed was to use less sugar, because I don't like adding a bunch of sugar to fruit, but I can't remember how much I reduced it by. 

[BooksRule]

Quote

 

I've never made this cranberry conserve, but it's from Ina Garten and has very good reviews.

Ina Garten Cranberry Conserve

 

That looks good.  Thanks!  I have all ingredients except apples, and I have to make a Wal Mart run today anyway to get other Christmas food.  I'll give this a try.

[fairffaxx]

This Marlene Sorosky recipe tastes great, very easy (no cooking), keeps & freezes well.  I don't peel the apples because the green looks beautiful with the red berries.

[chessiegal]

Not a recipe but an ingredient. I was watching Sara Moulton and Ming Tsai make a black bean, zucchini, and sea scallop stir fry that looked delicious. It used fermented black beans. Would you have to go to an Asian market to buy them?

[biakbiak]

2 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Not a recipe but an ingredient. I was watching Sara Moulton and Ming Tsai make a black bean, zucchini, and sea scallop stir fry that looked delicious. It used fermented black beans. Would you have to go to an Asian market to buy them?

The WF nearest me carries them but it’s the sort of thing that varies by market so if you don’t want to make a trip I would call. 

[chessiegal]

1 minute ago, biakbiak said:

The WF nearest me carries them but it’s the sort of thing that varies by market so if you don’t want to make a trip I would call. 

Thanks. I'd be buying the scallops at WF. How are they packaged and in what section of the store?

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Thanks. I'd be buying the scallops at WF. How are they packaged and in what section of the store?

It has an Asian section this is the brand I usually get. If you can’t find them black bean and garlic sauce which is made from them and sold in a lot more places is a good substitute you just lower the amount of garlic, well I don’t but I love garlic!

[biakbiak]

Does anyone have a good recipe for a vegetarian pot pie? My friend who is vegetarian (not vegan) requested one so I was looking at a variety of recipes and several had beans, I am assuming for protein, for some reason I don’t think I would like it but I don’t know why! Anyone with a favorite version? I am probably doing a buttermilk cheddar biscuit crust. 

[GreekGeek]

18 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Does anyone have a good recipe for a vegetarian pot pie? My friend who is vegetarian (not vegan) requested one so I was looking at a variety of recipes and several had beans, I am assuming for protein, for some reason I don’t think I would like it but I don’t know why! Anyone with a favorite version? I am probably doing a buttermilk cheddar biscuit crust. 

The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook has a vegetarian (not vegan) pot pie recipe. It's reprinted here.

[Mindthinkr]

5 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook has a vegetarian (not vegan) pot pie recipe. It's reprinted here.

I’m not a vegetarian, but do enjoy meals without meat. That looks delicious. Thx for posting it. I’ll probably make it soon. 

[biakbiak]

7 minutes ago, GreekGeek said:

The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook has a vegetarian (not vegan) pot pie recipe. It's reprinted here.

Thanks that looks delicious though a little too cheesy for what she wants but I will definitely make it another time. 

[Trini]

My mother recently made a vegetarian pot pie, but just replaced the chicken with imitation 'chicken' chunks in a normal chicken pot pie recipe.

[biakbiak]

9 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

So, if you are preparing meals for vegetarians, it might be a good idea to ask the vegetarians what they mean by "vegetarian".  It would be a waste of time and food to make a meal if a person won't eat it.

I always do that because I was a vegetarian for 20 years and always make sure that the cheese I use when I cook for vegetarians doesn’t include an animal rennet. I do the same with wine and beer because some are also not vegetarian and vegan. I do find it amusing that a lot of vegetarians don’t know either of those two things. 

[fairffaxx]

5 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I always do that because I was a vegetarian for 20 years and always make sure that the cheese I use when I cook for vegetarians doesn’t include an animal rennet. I do the same with wine and beer because some are also not vegetarian and vegan. I do find it amusing that a lot of vegetarians don’t know either of those two things. 

Not to mention gelatin, made from hooves, which is in marshmallows and Jello and some yogurt -- even kosher gelatin is made from hooves, just from different animals. 

[Mindthinkr]

6 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I always do that because I was a vegetarian for 20 years and always make sure that the cheese I use when I cook for vegetarians doesn’t include an animal rennet. I do the same with wine and beer because some are also not vegetarian and vegan. I do find it amusing that a lot of vegetarians don’t know either of those two things. 

Wine not vegetarian? Can you enlighten me on this? I thought it came from grapes, yeast, tannic acid and sometimes sugar. This is educational. 

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

Wine not vegetarian? Can you enlighten me on this? I thought it came from grapes, yeast, tannic acid and sometimes sugar. This is educational. 

Gelatin, fish gut, egg whites and a few other animal derived products are used to refine the wines, beer and liquor.

Its not complete but Barnivore is a site where you can look up more mainstream brands and find out if they are vegan or vegetarian.

[Mindthinkr]

10 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Gelatin, fish gut, egg whites and a few other animal derived products are used to refine the wines, beer and liquor.

Its not complete but Barnivore is a site where you can look up more mainstream brands and find out if they are vegan or vegetarian.

Well that was a eye opener. One of my reds is not vegan friendly but another and my favorite white wines are. Great link. Thx. 

[fairffaxx]

It was news to me, but Wikipedia points out that "Isinglass is a substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish. It is a form of collagen used mainly for the clarification or fining of some beer and wine."

[auntlada]

2 hours ago, fairffaxx said:

It was news to me, but Wikipedia points out that "Isinglass is a substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish. It is a form of collagen used mainly for the clarification or fining of some beer and wine."

Interesting. And weird. I only knew isinglass as something you could roll right down In case there's a change on the weather.

[emma675]

I need a super basic recipe, but I just cannot find it. Homemade yellow cake and chocolate frosting. I know, I know. 

I'm trying to replicate my grammy's cake and I've tried so many and while the cake comes close, the frosting isn't close at all. I tried another one this weekend that used cream cheese in the frosting and nope, too much of an overpowering taste.

Her cake was buttery and moist and the frosting was chocolate but not a super strong fudgy flavor, if that makes sense.

I have her old recipe box and I just don't think she wrote it down, which bums me out. She passed away a few years ago and I just can't seem to replicate her cake.

[larapu2000]

1 minute ago, emma675 said:

I need a super basic recipe, but I just cannot find it. Homemade yellow cake and chocolate frosting. I know, I know. 

I'm trying to replicate my grammy's cake and I've tried so many and while the cake comes close, the frosting isn't close at all. I tried another one this weekend that used cream cheese in the frosting and nope, too much of an overpowering taste.

Her cake was buttery and moist and the frosting was chocolate but not a super strong fudgy flavor, if that makes sense.

I have her old recipe box and I just don't think she wrote it down, which bums me out. She passed away a few years ago and I just can't seem to replicate her cake.

I just saw that King Arthur Flour had a link to a recipe like that-yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  I've always had excellent results with their recipes as well. Birthday Cake

[emma675]

larapu2000, you're fast! Thanks for that link, too. I've made that cake before and it's come very close, but it's not 100% (although I don't know if I'll ever totally replicate her flavor at this point, maybe it was a "grammy thing"?). I'm going to noodle over that frosting. 

[Lovecat]

@emma675, I can't help you with a recipe, but you let me know if you have any trouble eating up all of your "experiments"--I've never met a cake I didn't like, and I am HERE TO HELP!! 🙂

[GreekGeek]

On 3/18/2019 at 11:45 AM, emma675 said:

I need a super basic recipe, but I just cannot find it. Homemade yellow cake and chocolate frosting. I know, I know. 

I'm trying to replicate my grammy's cake and I've tried so many and while the cake comes close, the frosting isn't close at all. I tried another one this weekend that used cream cheese in the frosting and nope, too much of an overpowering taste.

Her cake was buttery and moist and the frosting was chocolate but not a super strong fudgy flavor, if that makes sense.

I have her old recipe box and I just don't think she wrote it down, which bums me out. She passed away a few years ago and I just can't seem to replicate her cake.

Maybe it was 1-2-3-4 cake? The proportions are easy to remember, which may be why your grammy didn't write it down.  The recipe is usually on the box of Swans Down Cake Flour.

[Mindthinkr]

@GreekGeek Goodness. I remember that cake and hadn’t seen the recipe in ages. I know what I’m making this weekend! Thanks. 

[emma675]

larapu2000, I tried the King Arthur recipe and while the frosting was delicious, the cake was very dense. I have no idea why, I followed the recipe exactly. I think I'm going to keep looking for the cake recipe, but I'm keeping that frosting!

[Mondrianyone]

Did you use AP flour or cake flour?  Trying it with cake flour might make a noticeable difference.

[emma675]

I used AP flour, which the recipe called for. I've made similar yellow cakes with AP flour and never had this dense issue, so I'm not sure what happened. It also wasn't as buttery as I hoped for, so I'm still searching. 

Edited March 23, 2019 by emma675d

[Mittengirl]

Emma675, I wonder if the problem lies not just with the recipe, but with “modern” ingredients.

 My mother worked in an egg factory(?) back in the ‘40’s and for the last decade or so she has been saying that eggs are not as large as they used to be - what is now graded extra-large were considered large up until fairly recently. (Other sizes have “shrunk” as well.)

Feed for cows and chickens probably have changed over the years - maybe changing the taste of milk, butter and eggs.

Maybe things like extracts have changed formulas, or you are using different brands than Grammy used?   Unfortunately, using the ingredients you have available today, even if you could find the identical recipe, you may not be able to duplicate the flavors you remember.

[Captain Carrot]

I have a question. I want to make meatballs, but a lot of the recipes I find include veal. I don't eat veal, and was wondering if anyone knew of a good substitute for veal in this type of recipe?

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, Captain Carrot said:

I have a question. I want to make meatballs, but a lot of the recipes I find include veal. I don't eat veal, and was wondering if anyone knew of a good substitute for veal in this type of recipe?

Just increase the amount of other meats you are using. I usually use equal parts pork and beef.

[Mondrianyone]

We don't eat veal either.  Mostly what it contributes to meatballs or meat loaf is collagen, or moisture.  I learned the trick a few years ago of adding unflavored gelatin to meat loaf--just sprinkle it over whatever liquid you're using in the mixture and let it bloom for a while before adding to the meat.  Usually about a teaspoon for every two pounds of meat seems to work, but you can play with that and add some more to see what suits your taste.

[annzeepark914]

On 3/28/2019 at 4:57 AM, Mittengirl said:

Feed for cows and chickens probably have changed over the years - maybe changing the taste of milk, butter and eggs.

I've noticed (in the past few years) that milk smells like corn.  So one day I mentioned that to Mr. P914 and he said it's because farmers are feeding corn to cows.  I said, "Really?" and he laughed and said no, that he had no idea why milk smelled like corn.  I'm not a milk drinker (loathed it as a kid) so I don't know if the taste of milk has changed as I just use it in recipes.

[Mittengirl]

I haven’t noticed milk smelling like corn, and I do drink it, but cows are absolutely fed corn.  Beef cattle and dairy cows are fed it, both as silage and as feed corn. 

Edited April 1, 2019 by Mittengirl

[GreekGeek]

On 3/28/2019 at 4:57 AM, Mittengirl said:

Emma675, I wonder if the problem lies not just with the recipe, but with “modern” ingredients.

 My mother worked in an egg factory(?) back in the ‘40’s and for the last decade or so she has been saying that eggs are not as large as they used to be - what is now graded extra-large were considered large up until fairly recently. (Other sizes have “shrunk” as well.)

Interesting thought! I don't know what to do about "different" tasting milk and butter (other than paying premium prices at farmer's markets rather than buying them at the supermarket). But for the eggs, you might try brown eggs. The hens that lay them are bigger, so a "large" brown egg seems pretty similar to an "extra large" white one to me.

[Mittengirl]

I don’t know if Amish butter is available in groceries everywhere - I live in W. Michigan - but it might be worth a try, or European butter.  Both have a higher butterfat content.

[Bastet]

Do you have a favorite recipe for a cold dip that's good with chips and/or crackers?

A friend and I have movie nights, and when she hosts, she just makes onion dip from the onion soup packet as our snack (or sometimes opens a bag of Cheetos Puffs, heh), so she's pretty easy to please (it just has to be vegetarian).  I usually cook an appetizer when I host, but I'm not going to have time next weekend, even to heat something up on the stove; I need something I can make in advance, toss in the fridge, and then take out and serve cold when I rush in minutes before she arrives. 

I may make guacamole, because I have plenty of avocados and we both love it, or make the dill dip I usually serve with vegetables and include chips/crackers (her preference), or maybe a spinach dip I haven't made in eons (because I always make a hot spinach, artichoke & cheese dip whenever the spinach dip urge strikes), but I thought I'd see if any of your favorite chip & (cold) dip recipes spark my interest.

No hummus; neither of us like it.  No onion dip; I never make a homemade version for her, because I feel like it would be saying, "Here's how it's supposed to be done."  I hate cream cheese, so nothing with that.  (I don't like yogurt, either, but it's easy to sub a mayo/sour cream combo; with cream cheese, I always worry that substituting/omitting will result in an overall taste that doesn't quite come together because it was relying on that particular flavor being an element.)  Other than that, let me hear it.  We'll order in a late-night dinner, probably pizza, but this is very casual so no need to coordinate with that.

[festivus]

N/M

Edited April 7, 2019 by festivus

[Mindthinkr]

@Bastet Do you eat clams? I’ll drain a can of the tiny ones and mix it into some sour cream with some minced shallots. 

Or

Knorr vegetable dip. Buy a box of the Knorr vegetable and the instructions are right on the box. Very tasty. 

Neither recipe calls for cream cheese. 

[Bastet]

30 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

@Bastet Do you eat clams?

I do, but she's a vegetarian.

[Mindthinkr]

19 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I do, but she's a vegetarian.

Cut some watermelon into 1” cubes and top with a small cube of feta holding them together with a toothpick. Then drizzle some good aged balsamic over the top. It’s even better if you can find some small leaves of mint to add to it. 

[Bastet]

2 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

Cut some watermelon into 1” cubes and top with a small cube of feta holding them together with a toothpick. Then drizzle some good aged balsamic over the top. It’s even better if you can find some small leaves of mint to add to it. 

It's a couple of months too early here for watermelon - and, like I said, she prefers something with chips/crackers, so I'm looking for a dip - but I heartily co-sign that flavor combination on general principle; it's so good.

[GreekGeek]

There are a couple of good vegetarian Greek dips here. (Scroll past the hummus.) The cucumber/yogurt dip is generally a winner, as is the fava bean dip.

[biakbiak]

Whipped feta with herbs of your choice and lemon is a nice dip. When I don’t have cream cheese I have lightened it with sour cream a mayo.

[jenh526]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this question, but here it is. I live at about 5000 ft elevation, so when I bake Tollhouse cookies I have to use the high altitude recipe. The recipe says to “add 2 tsp water with flour”. The first time I tried this I added the 2 tsp water to the flour mixture. Later I convinced myself this was not correct. So now when I add the flour to the wet ingredients I add 2 tsp water with the first addition of flour. Now I’m thinking this isn’t right either, and I should add 2 tsp with each addition of flour (I don’t have a mixer, doing all this by hand). The last batch of cookies I did turned out well with just the 2 tsp water added with the first addition of flour, if a tad dry. The batter was very hard to mix though. Anyone familiar with high altitude baking that has a suggestion?

[Mondrianyone]

Saw you haven't gotten any replies, @jenh526, so I did a little Googling.  I found a bunch of recipes that mention adding water with the flour, and none of them are any more specific than that.  I also found this one that doesn't have any water listed in the ingredients, but the reviews for it from people living in high altitudes are very good.  So you might want to give it a try.  Curious to know if it works for you!