And it will mark the 5th anniversary from the day we signed the papers adopting Sasha.
Beyond all of that, its my 20th wedding anniversary.
I had great plans that the present economy have shrunk to something homemade and cheap.
I thought, why not a recipe book, creating special recipe's for every year we were married. That's where you come in. Who has a good recipe for any of the following
1) Cocktail Sauce (as used with shrimp) 2) Pizza--home made--or how to spruce up frozen 3) Grilled or Baked Chicken 4) Carrots--cooked any way. 5) Salmon 6) Some Indian dish, not Curry or spicy. 7) Hawaiian pizza 8) Schnitzel 9) Escargo 10) Cranberries 11) Borscht 12) Coconut Cream Pie 13) Something Disney 14) Macaroni & Cheese 15) Roasted Turkey 16) Cheese Fon-Due 17) Something good in a Cast Iron Skillet 18) Good Chocolate Desert 19) Stir Fried Rice 20) Hot Tea
posted
If you check out the Jatraquero recipe site, you will probably find things already posted that meet several of your categories' requirements... Off the top of my head at least 2, 4, 5, 6, 17, 18 should be up there... It's a place to start. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Here's one not on the Hatrack recipe site, possibly because I haven't gotten around to adding it. For the sixth anniversary:
500gr plain yoghurt (it works much better with full-fat, but that's your call) large bunch coriander leaves, minced large bunch mint leaves, minced 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tsp chaat masala (A common spice blend which you can find in a box in many Eastern shops - MTR and Mangal are common brands. You can substitute mild curry powder if you really need to.) 1 1/2 tsp black or brown mustard seeds 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 2 large eggplant 4-5 large potatoes (peeled or not is up to you) some sort of neutral oil
Slice the eggplant into rounds about half a cm thick. Sprinkle salt over them to make them sweat. Meanwhile, chop the potatoes into inch pieces and set them to boil. Rinse the eggplant when it's done sweating.
In a large pan, lightly fry the slices of eggplant - I use PAM spray, but it works dry, as well. Drain potatoes when cooked and leave to the side.
In a large casserole dish, lay down a layer of eggplant slices, then a layer or potatoes, and then the rest of the eggplant.
Pour 1-2 tbsp oil into a small frying pan and add the mustard and cumin. Fry them until they turn black and begin to pop. Meanwhile, combine the mint, coriander, chaat, and garlic in the yoghurt, and spread it on top of the eggplant evenly. When the seeds are ready, get everyone to the table, and pour the seeds and oil right over top on the yoghurt, as evenly as you can.
Eat it hot the first night, but the leftovers are fantastic cold as well.
If you want a nice side dish, chop some (500gr, maybe) okra into slices and toss them with a tsp each of coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric, mustard seeds, and 1/4 tsp asafoetida. Fry them with garlic and onions.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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Heat about 1 tbsp butter in a saucepan. Add 1 lbs carrots, sliced into rounds, pinch of nutmeg, pinch of cinnamon, coating carrots with butter and spices. Cook for about 2 minutes, add 1 cup of water, simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Whisk in 2-3 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp lemon juice, and 3 tbsp parsley.
Good fall flavored carrots.
Posts: 4112 | Registered: May 2001
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Jalepeno Mac and Cheese Melt ¼ cup butter, add ½ diced onion, 2 cloves diced garlic, 2 seeded and diced jalepeno peppers, and stir till tender. Add 5 tbsp flour, 1 tea pepper, 1 tea cumin, ½ tea cayenne, cook 2 minutes. Add 2 cups milk, stirring slowly, til thick and creamy. Simmer 15 minutes, add 8 oz cheese, pour over 1 lbs cooked pasta, coat with italian bread crumbs, bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
Posts: 4112 | Registered: May 2001
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My pizza recipe (which is pretty basic but easy and gets lots of praise):
1 tbsp. yeast 1 tbsp. sugar 1 cup very warm water
Mix in large mixing bowl.
Add 1 cup flour, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 c. olive oil. Stir until fairly well blended, but there may still be a few lumps.
Add 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups flour, until the dough is a consistency you like. When in doubt, aim toward closer to 2 1/2 cups.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Turn oven off and put dough in, covered with a cloth. Let rise 20–30 minutes or until doubled. Roll out into two pizzas. Top with sauce, cheese, and toppings.
Some toppings we like are Italian sausage, green pepper, black olives, sliced ham, diced pineapple, pepperoni, breakfast bacon, onions, etc. Not all at the same time.
Bake 12–15 minutes at 425 degrees or until crust is browned and cheese is melted.
Posts: 1903 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Alton Brown's fondue recipe has worked well for me in the past, assuming you aren't averse to hard cider. Something like Martinelli's might work, but I couldn't vouch for the results. (Oh, and I tend to use something other than the curry powder, but that's a personal preference.)
I also have pretty good recipes for saag/palek paneer and Indian butter chicken, assuming you don't find anything else you like for those slots.
Cajun blackened cod is the best thing I make in a cast iron skillet, though the steak I made off of suggestions on another post came very, very close.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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For carrots, I'd make tsimmis, Tante-style. Slice carrots and sweet potatoes into rounds and put into a Dutch oven pot with 1/2 a box of prunes (I like the tart ones with the pits still in). Sprinkle with salt, pepper, allspice and cinnamon, and just barely cover it with orange juice. Cover the pot and bring it to a bare boil, then uncover it and let simmer for a long time. The orange juice will reduce and the whole thing will be quite soft. In the last half hour or so, add the other half of the box of prunes. The ones added at the beginning will have pretty much fallen apart.
I recently learned a good trick for baked chicken. Line the roasting pan with thick slices of stale bread -- I used sesame-coated baguettes, sliced lengthwise -- and chopped onions. Wash off and dry a whole chicken (if there are lumps of fat hanging on the chicken, pull them off and throw them away) and give it an olive oil massage. Tuck some chopped onion and fresh rosemary inside the chicken and sprinkle the outside with coarse salt (if you aren't starting with a kosher chicken -- kosher chickens don't need more salt), sage, paprika, and more chopped onion. Put the chicken breast side down on the bread and bake at 400 for about an hour. Then turn the chicken over and brown the breast side for 20 minutes. Of course, that's for a big chicken. For a small chicken, you'll cook if less.
The bread soaks up the pan drippings, making the pan super-easy to clean, and keeps the chicken moist, but not sitting in grease. The bottoms of the bread will get toasty brown, and the tops soft with drippings. You can cut up the oniony bread into croutons and serve some of them alongside the chicken, like stuffing.
And for cranberries, I make Cranberry Compote, Mom-style. For two bags of fresh or frozen cranberries, add one 14-oz can of crushed, unsweetened pineapple and either a can of mandarin oranges or a couple of clementines, peeled and sectioned, or an orange, knife-peeled to get off all the white pith and sectioned to eliminate the membranes. Put it all in a Dutch oven pot and cover until it starts bubbling and the berries pop. Once they are all popped, turn off the heat and you are done. It's good hot, warm or cold. I've made it in the microwave, too, in a covered glass bowl, and it also came out terrific. Unlike most cranberry sauces, this is not cloyingly sweet.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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And when you are all done, have it professionally printed on Blurb. It's cheaper than you think and fantastic quality. We used them for our wedding album. Look! cook books!
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There's a fun book for couples that my wife and I bought years ago. The book is short, and contains ideas for complete romantic meals.
Posts: 135 | Registered: Mar 2009
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quote:Originally posted by Juxtapose: 3) Wrap it in bacon. this is never not a good idea.
I had a big discussion with my family about "things bacon would not improve". The list was pretty short, but we all agreed on chocolate and custard.
Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
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Thanks all. I put it together and will have it in a PDF format later today. If your interested in reading it (its too big for a post here) I'll happily send a PDF copy to anyone who wants one. Its 1/3 fully plagiarized cookbook, 1/3 funny stories of our last 20 years, and 1/3 over sweetened relationship advice.
If you want a copy, email me at Dan_raven2@yahoo.com and I'll send it, but it may be later this weekend before I can get to it.
Posts: 1941 | Registered: Feb 2003
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