SF Cookbook Thread

Alfredo Sauce Resipie

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons sweet butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves , minced
2 cups heavy cream
¼ teaspoon white pepper
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
¾ cup mozzarella cheese
1 (12 ounce) box angel hair pasta

Directions:
1
Melt butter in medium saucepan with olive oil over medium/low heat.
2
Add the garlic, cream, white pepper and bring mixture to a simmer.
3
Stir often.
4
Add the Parmesan cheese and simmer sauce for 8-10 minutes or until sauce has thickened and is smooth.
5
When sauce has thickened add the Mozzarella cheese and stir until smooth. STIR FREQUENTLY.
6
While the sauce cooks, boil noodles for 3-5 minutes.
7
Place pasta on serving plates and spoon sauce over pasta.

Heard about the S.F. Cookbook thread in chat today and just I'd contribute this recipe! It's a little different take on salsa ~ Enjoy!

Cowboy Salsa

1 can black-eyed peas, drained & rinsed
1 can shoe-peg corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes, drained or 1 1/2 cup fresh diced tomatoes
1 small can diced Ortega chilies
about 2 diced jalapeno peppers
1 bunch green onions, chopped
3 avocados, diced
1 T. minced garlic
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt & pepper

Put everything in a large bowl. Squeeze the lemon juice over the avocado. Pour about 1/2-to-3/4 cup of Girard's Champagne dressing over it and mix together. ~ This is sooo yummy, make sure you have a large bag of tortilla (or pita!) chips! ** Hint ** when you add the jalapenos, be aware that the salsa will be hotter the next, if there's any left!

This is for the coffee lovers!

Cappuccino Chocolate Pie

1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash salt

1 graham cracker crust
1 cup chopped pecans
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
1/2 carton whipped topping

In a saucepan, melt chocolate, cream, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt over low heat. Stir until smooth. Spoon into the crust. Sprinkle with pecans.
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add milk and brewed coffee, mix well. Add pudding mix and instant coffee, beat until smooth. Spoon over pecans. Spread whipped topping over filling. Refrigerate until set.

here is my fav recipe (i have no idea where is came from tho)
layers:
potatoes (circles)
onions (circles)
beef + pork
salt + pepper
mayo
= 40 min oven
+ cheese on top + 5 more min oven
enjoy

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best audio editor

I loooove iced coffee, but I don't get to go to Starbucks as much as I would like, so I found a great recipe to make my own!
1/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup sugar (Or the equivilant in Truvia or no-calorie sweetener)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (Optional!)
Mix those three ingredients together, and chill until it's cool, then add it to 4 cups of freshly brewed coffee (cooled), and 1/2 cup of milk.
Ta-daaaaaa! Iced coffee!!

And it's nice because if you use sweetener and nonfat milk, you can keep it under 100 calories for the entire thing if you want it light! :ohmy:

Strawberry & Chocolate Cheesecake. (Made with limited-to-no cooking... for people like me who don't own a cooker. lol.)

Ingredients:
1 large bar of white chocolate.
1 large bar of dark chocolate.
Tub of double cream.
Tub of cream cheese (I used philadelphia light.)
Fresh strawberries.
Digestives (or alternative for your base.)
Knob of butter.
Vanilla extract.
Icing sugar.

STEP 1:
Break up at least 6 digestive biscuits and crush to a powder/small crumbs.

STEP 2:
Get a lump of butter and melt on the hob or in a microwaveable bowl. The amount you want depends on how big a cheesecake you're making.

STEP 3:
When melted, pour over the crushed digestives. Stir in, and then flatten your base using a fork.

STEP 4:
Break the dark chocolate into a few pieces. SAVE ONE PIECE FOR LATER. Melt in a microwaveable plate, or on the hob. You may not be able to tell if it's melted on the outside, but just check with a fork to see if it goes straight through. You don't want to burn it. Once melted, stir if necessary, and pour/spread over your base. If you've not got enough butter in with the digestives, spreading the chocolate on top will just cause a mess, so make sure you've got enough butter in with the digestives to make it firm. Once coated in dark chocolate, leave to cool in the fridge until solid.

STEP 5:
Use around 2/3's of a tub of cream cheese (though it depends on how thick you want this layer, and how wide your dish is that you're making it in...) with half a tub of the double cream. Whisk together in a separate bowl. Meanwhile, melt the bar of white chocolate, and then mix that in too. Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract, mix in again, and then place on top of your now-solid base. Leave to set for a few hours.

STEP 6:
Chop up some strawberries and heat with a tablespoon of icing sugar. Mash up, and then you've got your sauce for the top. Put it on the creamy layer in a swirl to decorate, and then add your leftover strawberries, with the ends removed. Grab your last piece of dark chocolate from earlier and grate it over the top.

Voila!

Disclaimer: If it turns out awful, sorry! lol.

This is a shot in the dark but... I've never dealt with curry powder before, so I wasn't sure what exactly to buy when a recipe I found called for it. Needless to say, I came home with the wrong stuff. I came home with curry sauce mix rather than powder. Turns out, no stores near me carry the powder anyway (so much for that recipe), but now I have a box of Golden Curry sauce mix and nothing to do with it. I was wondering if anyone had a curry recipe using the sauce mix that they'd be willing to share? I've dug and dug around the internet and only came up with one that looks half way edible. All the other curry recipes I've found are to make curry from scratch.

I decided to post this here as it's a personal favorite and I imagine a lot of people here are like I can be, and sometimes just lack the energy to spend hours preparing a meal. This one is quick and easy. It's how my mom always cooked tuna noodle casserole - being a single mother, she often found shortcuts for various recipes. Some recipes, this hurts the meal. This is not one of them. This tastes just as good as the tuna noodle casserole that takes a while to prepare and to cook, and takes minimal effort to actually make it. Even someone who's never picked up a pan a day in their life could do it. You don't even need milk - and believe it or not, without the milk, it's still as good. You just have to use extra cans for that creamy taste.

(My mom's tuna noodle casserole)
- 3-4 cans cream of celery (use four for a creamier casserole)
- 2 cans of tuna
- About 4-5 ounces of noodles (any kind, I usually use egg noodles)

1) Bring a pot of water to a boil on high heat (I never measure water for my noodles, neither did my mother). Once the water is boiling, pour in noodles, turn down heat, and cook until done.
2) Drain noodles once they're done and set aside.
3) Pour cream of celery and tuna in a sauce pan and stir until well mixed. Cook on a medium heat until boiling. Once boiled, remove from heat.
4) Serve noodles on a plate and pour sauce over, and you have the simplest tuna noodle casserole one could ever make.

Extra things:
- Mix in 1-2 cups of frozen peas to make it a meal.
- If you want to bake it, add a cup of milk to the sauce mix. Mix noodles and sauce together and bake in a casserole dish. Cheese and breadcrumbs are a great addition when baked. Of course, this makes the recipe less "simple".
- Cream of mushroom soup can be used instead of cream of celery.

ETA: Also, forgot to say (though it's usually assumed), don't forget to drain the tuna. :tongue:

Is it a just add water to make the sauce mix?

If so - you can make a curry quite easily.

Just get meat/meat substitute of your choice - I prefer Diced Chicken or Diced Beef Steak to make mine.
(N.B. - where I use the word meat - if you are a vegetarian you can use any meat-substitute - Quorn is equivalent in the UK)

Boil a kettle full of water - add to a pan of basmati rice (you can pre-wash it - i'm just lazy and don't) - either boil til water is consumed or rice tastes cooked (check after 10 mins or so)

Place the meat in a frying pan - drizzled in a bit of oil so it doesn't stick. You don't necessarily need to heat the oil first - it will heat up and take a few moments longer but it's better than putting frozen meat in hot oil and does save on a high flame that ensues (although there's nothing wrong with it if you're a trained chef).

Once the meat is cooked sufficiently (ie, no pink left inside chicken), turn the heat right down for about 20-30 seconds, then add the sauce mix - (not as powder). From there you can add a variety of herbs/spices to your taste (I prefer Mild Chilli Powder - Hot would be too spicy for me).

Leave the sauce to simmer in the pan for a few moments while you strain the rice - this maintains maximum heat on the curry. You can also add mixed veg (if frozen - add from start). and if the curry looks too thick - you can always add a little bit of water to take some thickness away.

If you've done enough rice - you can make a 'well' in which you can put the curry so the juice doesn't go all over the plate and risk sliding off.

Yes it is. Thanks for that. I've never made curry, so I was quite lost with what to do with it. Being the end of the month, I need easy things to cook (as our fridge and cupboards are mostly empty now, lol). It sounds like it might be good with chilli powder. I think I'll try it that way. I'm sure I have either some beef or some chicken in my freezer somewhere... Thanks for the post, though. You just decided for me what I'll be making for dinner tomorrow night.

Here's a fun, simple and tasty dessert I concoted several months ago. Enjoy!

Marshmallow Salad

1-2 apples, finely sliced
1 orange, segmented
14 marshmallows, whole- toasted
5-6 strawberries, quartered
3 figs- sliced into 4-5 segments
3 thin slices of honey dew- julienne
20 almonds, roughly chopped

method: mix it all up in a bowl then eat

My first Asian appetizer I made was pakora, I was asked to post this recipe don't be afraid to try it, tastes amazing.

Ingredients:
Cornflour 250g
Patatoes (optional)- 3 large/average
Onions- 3 large/average
Spinach leaves- big bunch
1 tomato
Green chillies (to your taste)
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp salt (adjust to your taste)
2 tsp garam masala
1 tbp lemon juice
1 tsp baking powder
(chicken or mince can be added too if wanted)

Chop all of the ingredients up as you like long or diced, add in your cornflower baking powder and spices, lemon too mix till its coated then gradually add water until it comes to a thick batter. Don't be afraid to check the salt and chilly adjust if needed, when it's mixed we'll simply take a tsp of the mixture and drop into the oil, depending on your pan add as many as can fit turn often until golden brown.
Pakora are very nice to eat with a cool chutni.. For that simply grind coriander and mint together and add it into some fresh plain yogurt add salt to taste and it'll be delicious.

This recipe was the first I learnt and I have to say its one of my favorites I hope you guys will try it and give me your feedback

Thank you, Tasha

I am not going to read through every post here just to check if someone has already posted this (there are too many) so if it has been posted, my apologies.

This is a fine Aussie and Kiwi (New Zealand) dessert by what is called Pavlova, a meringue dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer and a staple of many a fine family celebration foods such as birthdays, wedding anniversaries and other special occasions. There are numerous ways you can make it, but here is the basic one:

3 eggs
1 cup of white sugar
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
1 1/4 cups of heavy whipped cream
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1/2 cup of confectionary sugar
1 pint of fresh strawberries (preferably from your local green grocer and not the supermarket)
1 pinch of salt.

Preheat your oven to 150 degrees C (300 degrees F) and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Then you draw a 9 inch circle on the parchment (The best way to do this is to draw around the outside of a 9 inch pan with a pencil).
Now, with a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form, then add 3/4 cup of the sugar gradually, while continuing to whip until the sugar is completely dissolved. Mix together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with the cornstarch; lightly fold into meringue with lemon juice.
Spread a layer of meringue to fit circle on parchment, approximately 1/4 inch thick. With remainder of mixture, pipe or spoon swirls around the edges to form a shallow bowl shape.
Bake at 150 degrees C (300 degrees F) for 1 hour. Afterwards, turn off your oven, but leave the meringue in the oven for an additional 30 minutes. When it is cool, the meringue should be hard on the outside, and slightly moist on the inside.
Lastly, in a large bowl, combine the cream and half a cup of confectioners sugar, and whip until it thickens and then decorate with the fruit of your choice; strawberries are the most common, but I have found using pineapple or even pears to be equally as delicious.


G-gao^^

I have a recipe for cake pops (though admittedly I made cake balls and they are still yummy)

Required for this is a cake (shop bought or your own) buttercream, chocolate or meltable chocolate style sweets, and sprinkles or any topping of your choice (nuts, sprinkles, sugar shapes etc) (and lollypop sticks)

Firstly crush up the cake until its all crumbly, when all crumbly, slowly add the butter cream (or frosting, depending where you are from) a spoon at a time, mixing thoroughly. keep adding until it starts combining together into a bit of a sticky dough.

When it becomes a sticky dough, take small spoonfuls and roll into balls. sit them in the fridge to arden a little bit.

after 20 minutes you sould be ready to shove the sticks in, to secure them in pour in a small bit of chocolate and let that set before doing any more. Once set, you can now dip in melted chocolate and cover in sprinkles... hey presto cake pops!

heres my pretty lame example of a cake ball (because I couldnt get any sticks)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8k392y67ph8g4fo/IMAG0269.jpg

Cheats Chocolate Cheesecake

2 tubs Cream Cheese
1 packet Chocolate (or ANY) flavour Angel Delight or any instant dessert mix
1 can condensed milk

Base
Crushed biscuits
Melted butter

Line springform cake pan base with greaseproof
Grease sides
Mix crushed biscuits with melted butter
Press into tin & chill

Mix well packet dessert mix, can condensed milk & cream cheese
Pour onto base & chill for 6hrs or so
Decorate with fruit/grated chocolate or nuts

Enjoy xxx

Sticky Snickers Krispie Treats

Disclaimer: These have roughly 5 million calories each. I plan on taking them to work tomorrow to rescue myself from them lol.

You will need a tin - mine was around 11 inches by 7 inches and is actually a roasting pan - but it's what I had

• 100g butter
• 400g mashmallows
• 4 Snickers bars
• 350g Krispies cereal (I used a generic non-branded version)
• 250g chocolate
• A handful of salted peanuts.

1. Chop two of the Snickers bars into tiny pieces and freeze them (this stops them melting and disappearing when you mix them in)
2. Chop a third Snickers bar into tiny pieces and save.
3. Melt the butter, marshmallows and the remaining Snickers bar in a pan (Americans might call this a pot)
4. Throw in the Krispies and 3/4 of the peanuts plus the frozen Snickers shards.
5. Mix until coated.
6. Throw in the pan (LINE IT WITH BAKING PARCHMENT - or it is never coming out. Ever.) and flatten down.
7. Chill until set.
8. Melt the chocolate and cover the top.
9. Crush the remaining peanuts and scatter those, and the remaining chopped up Snickers over the top.
10. Chill until set.
11. Cut up (I used a bread knife and a sawing motion)

FINALLY...

Get them the hell out of your house before you eat them all and put on seventeen pounds

lol! Make that 20 pounds, and you got a deal!

If you like Reese's, you'll probably like these a lot. This recipe is for 11 x 7 pan, but you can double or triple or whatever as necessary.

Peanut Butter Bars

1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 stick melted margarine or butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (you can add more if it's too dry)

Mix together ingredients and press into pan. Melt together a 6 ounce bag of chocolate chips with the other half stick of margarine. Pour on top of peanut butter layer and put in fridge until chocolate sets.

May-Day (A Self-Made Dish)
This dish is a biscuit stuffed full of stuff that will make you gain weight, I eat this on holidays only.

What you'll need!
1/4 (Depending on how many you want) cups self-rising flour (or 2 cups all-purpose flour )
Baking sheet (or some kind of pan)
Salted-Butter (Half of a stick)
Parmento Cheese Spread (Normal cheese will suffice)
Rolling Pin (or you can use your hands)
Bologna (or any kind of meat, I prefer to use liver-mush)
2 tsp. baking powder


Optional:
Cooking Oil
Knife Set

Depending on the type of cheese it may need to be cooked, parmento spread is fine without being cooked or melted.
Any kind of meat should be cooked before adding to biscuit.

Let set it uup!

1. Cut the biscuit in half (save the top part for step 2!)
2. Take the top biscuit-half and cut a hole in the middle (Not to big, just big enough where the meat will show!)
3. When the slices have been sliced spread the cheese on the bottom layer
4. Return the top half of the biscuit to it's match
5. Place the meat on the hole on the top of the biscuit, smooth it out and make it look a little decent (In my case it looks like crap on a plate)

Ta-dah! May-Day! I usually eat my may-day with chopsticks.

Mountain Dew Cake

This is a great lemon cake, with a bit of a citrusy kick,

Ingredients:

1 package lemon cake mix
1 small box instant lemon pudding
3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
12 oz. Mountain Dew

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients until well mixed. Pour batter into greased and floured 13 x 9 pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Topping (optional) made it with and without this...both good

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple with juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch (or flour)
1/4 cup butter
1 cup flaked coconut

In a saucepan, combine pineapple with juice, sugar, and cornstarch. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring continuously until thickened. Remove from heat, add butter and coconut. Spread evenly over cake.