Main Courses

Main courses

Chicken Cordon Blu

Contributed by Arch
I don't think I posted this before. This is really good and is not really hard to make.
Just don't forget the Creme (or Cream, whatever) and Sherry wine, I think that is the secret ingredient and takes very little.

Ingredients:
6 large, single, boneless chicken breasts
Caraway seeds
Salt and pepper
Cooked ham, sliced thin
Swiss cheese, sliced
1-2 eggs, beaten
Italian bread crumbs
1 (8 Tbsp) stick butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 box mushrooms, sliced
ca ¼ cup wine (preferably cream sherry)
10 ¾-oz can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz sour cream

Method:
Flatten breasts with tenderizer hammer.
Sprinkle a few caraway seeds and salt and pepper on each breast.
Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss cheese on each breast.
Roll up and fasten with toothpicks.
Roll in beaten eggs and then in bread crumbs to coat entire breast.
Heat about 3 or 4 Tbsp butter, sauté each rolled-up chicken breast, then place in a baking dish.
Add 2 Tbsp butter to drippings and sauté chopped onions and sliced mushrooms.
Add about 1/4 cup wine (I prefer creme sherry). Stir. Add 1 can cream of mushroom soup and one cup of sour cream (8 oz).
Stir and cook a few minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pour or spoon mixture over chicken breasts in the baking dish.
Place in oven. Bake at 350F for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Note: I have saved some of these in zip-lock bags in the freezer for over 6 months and then thawed and heated in the microwave, and they were just as good as when first cooked.)

JD's Roast Turkey

Contributed by JD Cooper

As some of you know, this dumb dusty cowboy likes to cook.
Some of you have seen the recipes I have posted and I tell you again that JD ain't no fool about food.
If I tell you it is good, you can take it to the bank like cash.
I don't mess around with food. I have always said that I prefer a tea cup of quality to a truck load of ordinary.
So, what has this got to do with turkey, you ask?
Well, I will tell you....
This dumb, dusty cowboy has spent his adult life messin' with turkeys.
I even raised them a few years.
I have carefully smoked them, BBQ'd them, roasted them and fried them.
I have done it all.
I like the fried turkeys the best, but next to the fried turkey, the absolute finest way to eat one is a recipe from a Canadian friend of many years ago.
If you are not lock-step in your customary way of roasting a turkey, have no appliances necessary for the preferred way of frying one, please consider the following recipe.
You will be amazed, I am sure.
Tooooo-wit:

Have your bird at or near room temperature.
Procure one each grapefruit, orange, and lemon.
Peel the citrus very, very well.
Remove as much of the white pith as you can that clings to the flesh of the fruit.
Remove the funky thing that holds the bird's legs together.
CUT the citrus into four or five large pieces.
Place the pieces into the cavity of the bird.
Do NOT season the bird in any way, no salt or pepper or anything.
Place the bird on a rack in a large baking pan, make a simple tent of aluminum foil and gently drop it on the bird, and set it in a 200 degree [F] oven and roast 1 hour per pound of weight.
(Just so you don't think I made a typo there, I will spell it: TWO HUNDRED DEGREE OVEN!)
A few hours before it is to be taken out, take off the foil.
When you remove the turkey, carefully scoop out the citrus and discard.
The turkey will NOT be brown.
It will be rather honey gold in color.
The meat will be tender as a jelly filled donut and juicy and the flavor to die for.
You will very nearly think the bones are eatable!
[JD added elsewhere: IMPORTANT, get an oven therm and verify that the oven is not less than 200F.
He also states: It would be my guess that if you wanna try this recipe for the first time you should try it on a small whole turkey.]
Please enjoy.

PS: Don't give me a ration-o-shit about how you like to "stuff" the bird! LOL!
Give it up just ONCE and see what you are missing! [grin] I have noticed that I can take the turkey from the oven, tent it well with foil and it will stay nice and warm on top of the stove while I bake the other goodies!
As a matter of fact, the "drippings" in the pan are a wonderful addition to the dressing or gravy!
The only problem I know of is that somewhere in the wee hours of the morning I am awakened by the aroma of the turkey in the oven!
It is difficult to face breakfast with that smell in the kitchen!!!!!!!!!
=:-)

JD<---loves good food!

Faith tried this and reported:
Your recipe for the Turkey is the very BEST!!!! We did Thanksgiving Eve Dinner and it was superb! The grandkids asked when I discarded the cooked orange, grapefruit, and lemon from the inside of the bird if that was the placenta........
She later added:
The very best--and it was passed on and tried in Virginia, Washington state, and California--not a secret any longer but I did say that the original was from the great land of Texas.
Carol P. tried it too and reported:
Ours was scrumptious as well, but I took all the credit.
Carol (ducking. :o))

Beer Braised Rabbit
Contributed by JD

Cut up a fresh fryer rabbit (typically 2 ½ to 3 pounds) like you would a chicken.
Salt and pepper the rabbit pieces and set aside

3 or 4 potatoes cut into big chunks (like you would an Irish stew or use whole New Potatoes)
3 or 4 carrots cut into big chunks (like you would an Irish stew)
1 large onion cut into chunks
1 minced clove garlic (or 2 if you like)
¼ cup (or more) hot chili sauce (or Picante or similar)
1 or 2 Tablespoons (or more) dark brown sugar
1 cup (maybe more) warm beer (probably more)
salt and pepper to taste as you go

In a small skillet or pan make a "roo" of flour and butter/fat/whatever, or simply dissolve some flour in warm water.
Set aside as you will need this to thicken the stew later. (by the way, how in the heck does one properly spell "roo", anyway?)

OK. here's what ya do.

Use a large, heavy (iron if you have it) skillet or Dutch Oven, get it
nice and hot with some oil in it (perhaps a quarter cup or more) and
then brown the seasoned rabbit pieces well. Blend the remaining items
(and liquids) in a separate bowl and then add everything to the skillet
and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer the mess about 45
minutes or until rabbit is tender and vegies are done. Now remove all
the solids from the liquid and set aside in a bowl. (keep hot!) Look at
the pot and add additional beer until you have perhaps 1 ½ or 2 cups of
liquid in there. While it merrily bubbles along, carefully whisk in the
flour mix/roo and continue carefully stirring 'til there is just enough
to thicken the mess into a nice "gravy" consistency. Return the solids
to the skillet, stir and serve the mess right out of it.

(PS: I have had this recipe some 25 or so years and I have no clue where it came from)
JD

Sinclair responded to JD:

JD,Try this one

1 Rabbit; disjointed
3 T Butter
1 1/2 ts Salt; optional
1/2 ts Freshly ground black pepper
2 T Flour
1/4 c Beef broth
1/2 c Dry white wine
4 sl Bacon; diced
12 sm White onions
3 cl Garlic; minced
1/2 lb Mushrooms; sliced

Clean, wash, and dry the rabbit. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven.
Brown the rabbit in it. Sprinkle with the salt , pepper, and flour, stirring until the flour browns.
Add the broth and wine; bring to a boil, cover and cook over low heat 45 minutes to one hour or until tender.

While the rabbit is cooking, brown the bacon lightly in a skillet; pour off half the fat.
Add the onions; saute until golden. Add the garlic and mushrooms; saute 3 minutes.
Add this mixture to the rabbit; cook 15 minutes longer or until the rabbit is tender.

If dry add a bit more beef broth

Chicken Fried Steak

Clark Simmons wrote:

All,
Last Friday evening my wife and I drove to Rockdale so she could do a loan closing.
She finished about 7 so we decided on supper before driving back to Round Rock.
I knew of a locally owned restuarant on the Cameron highway where I'd eaten some years ago.
It has a large dining room like you find on the highways in a small town. Not fancy.

I ordered the chicken fried steak.
It came with soup and salad bar so I went to build me a salad.
I was pleasantly surprised to find the lettuce finely shredded, which is how I like it.
The house dressing tasted like turpentine, though.

The CFS was quite good.
Batter was nice and crisp and hadn't soaked up a lot of oil.
Kind of small though, about 8-9 oz.
But there were plenty of french fries to dip into the cream gravy and they weren't oily either.

Wife chose seafood buffet.
I don't know where she puts it all. In her pocket maybe, but I couldn't catch her at it.
Service left a lot to be desired.
Had to ask for cream, bread, and coffee refill.
But I'm not too picky when the food's good.
Regards, Clark, in Round Rock Texas USA

This prompted a response from JD...
Odd 'bout them chicken fried steaks. Seems there are only two types, good and lousy.
It is becoming harder and harder to find a restaurant that knows how to do them right.
You spoke of that one being rather small which makes me recall days of yore when the cook would pound the living hell out of a round steak, dredge it in seasoned flour and drop it for a quick fry in popping hot oil.
The darned things usually hung over the edges of the plate and 'tween them and the taters and cream gravy and other things were essentially too damned much to eat. 'Course, a decent home made cream gravy is nearly extinct also. Seems everyone has gone to using boxed mixes and nobody cares to venture into the culinary exercise of creating a steaming hot skillet full of that heavenly sauce any more.
I kinda understand the principle, tho.. the idea in the cafes is consistency.
You know, everything on the menu has to be the very same each and every time. Gets kinda boring IMHO.
On the other hand... there is the arguments about whether the cream gravy should be made with a butter base, lard base, bacon grease base, or any number of other persuasions.
Some folks use no grease of any kind when making "cream gravy"... but somehow it just doesn't taste quite right to me.
I prefer to use the oil/grease in which I have cooked the steaks/chicken or whatever else I might be frying (except fish... fish does not make good cream gravy)
Anyway... if you are frying in a skillet, pour off all but just enough oil to make gravy.
I like to save all the little brown chunks left behind from the steaks.
Anyway, heat it up real good and quickly and deftly stir/whisk in some of the seasoned flour mix you dredged the steaks in and stir 'til it begins to brown.
Then slowly pour in milk and stir and stir...
Be careful about adding too much milk as the gravy may not thicken.
Anyway, stir and when it thickens, taste it and adjust the salt and pepper to taste and it's ready to go. (If it thickens too much, you can thin it with water)
About the only way you can mess this up is if you burn it. It tastes terrible that way.
It also amazes me that so many places can mess up a chicken fried steak.
Honestly! How can you do wrong what is so simple?
All you do is beat the living hell out of a chuck of round steak to tenderize it (if you start with a half in cut you'll end up with a quarter inch cut that is now about 50% bigger around.)
Then season it with salt, pepper, maybe some paprika or, if you like, a little garlic powder, then mix up a little milk with a beaten egg and pour into a shallow pan.
Next, dump a pile of flour onto a cutting board or a piece of wax paper or whatever.
Then all ya do is dredge the steak in the flour (both sides) and then into the milk/egg mix and then back thru the flour.
(Yes, your hands get to be a mess but so what?!)
Drop that sucker into a heavy skillet of HOT oil (or melted Crisco or lard for a better taste.)
Fry a minute on each side and POOF!
You have a piece of crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside heaven to plop on your plate!
(Turn it onto a rack to briefly drain before tossing it on your plate.)
Cover that cotton' pickin' thang with cream gravy and then chow down with mashed taters and green beans or whatever else you fancy wash it down with a tub full of iced tea and you just ate a piece of down home Texas!
Don't ferget to take yer hat off at the table if Ladies are present.
JD

Kidneys in Their Jackets
Contributed by Graham.

Buy lambs kidneys that are still in their suet (their fat).
A good butcher will have them or might be persuaded to wrench them from his lamb's carcasses.
I am lucky in town we have a Turkish butcher who does his own butchering for religious reasons and will willingly keep them for me if I phone a day in advance.

Turn your oven to 350F (mark 4).
Place the kidneys in a baking tin and cook in the oven for an hour.
The fat will slowly melt, and as it is doing so, it will be basting the kidneys, which, at the end of an hour, you remove from any remaining fat, season and serve.
As a whole kidney can look a little stark and physiological sitting on a plate, it is an idea to serve them tucked inside a split baked potato (which you have cooked at the same time) and spread with Dijon mustard.
Or you might perch them astride a mound of pureed parsnip or other root vegetable.
A nice salad completes this effortless meal.
Kidneys cooked this way are so meltingly tender and so lacking in any taste associated with their function that even offal haters will be diverted if not converted.

John That Alaska Guy's Chili

Ingredients list

3 cups dried onions (or fresh -- I just don't like chopping.
If you use fresh onions, you probably ought to use less.)

1/2 cup peanut oil
2 pounds lean ground beef
2 pounds lean ground pork

The next part is a basic recipe for the chili powder..
Use all of it or as much as you have a taste for; if you don't use all of it, add enough salt to the brew to compensate. I use all of it.

2 1/2 ounces ground red pepper
(I use medium New Mexican chili -- So sue me, I'm from there!)
1 1/2 ounces dried garlic powder plus 3 tablespoons
1 1/2 ounces dried cumin plus 3 tablespoons
1/2 ounce dried Mexican oregano
2 tablespoons salt,continuing ingredients list....

4 fifteen-ounce cans of Ranch Style (brand name) pinto beans
1 quart boiling water
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
1 tablespoon Folgers or Taster's Choice dark instant coffee
3 tablespoons or so crunchy peanut butter
OPTIONAL -
Chopped fresh jalapeno peppers to taste, with or without seeds, Thai peppers or Habaneros.

For topping - grated rat cheese, chopped red onions and cilantro if desired

*************
Directions
Choice of methods here:
If you're using dried onions, put them in a bowl and pour about two cups of water over them. Once they've soaked up that two cups of water (enough to moisten, not enough to have any left over -- use a fine strainer and drain them for a few minutes to make sure), saute them in the peanut oil until soft and golden, NOT BROWN. If you're using chopped fresh onions, just saute them. Use a strainer to drain off the excess oil from the sauted onions after they're cooked, no matter which kind they are.
.
In a heavy two gallon pot over medium heat, to which you've added a suitable modicum (2 Tablespoons or so) of the oil you drained from the onions, brown and kibble the meat. Toward the end of the cooking, add the cooked onions, the optional fresh peppers, and the chili powder. Continue cooking just a few minutes until the mixture blends a bit, the chili's wilt just a little and all the flavors transfer. Add the boiling water and beans. (Go easy with the water, you want stew, not soup.) Add the coffee, peanut butter and chocolate. Keep it warm while stirring constantly until the last ingredients disappear into the mix. Don't have the heat too high, or you'll burn the stuff on the bottom of the pot.

Serve with Beano, chili-cheese cornbread and a medium dry brown designer ale of some sort, or a nice hearty dry red wine (Gallo Hearty Burgundy used to be good....) The chili can be eaten immediately but it gets lots better if left to cool for a day in the fridge and then reheated in little microwave batches and topped with shredded rat cheese and raw chopped purple onions.

Rattlesnake
Contributed by Vickie who, when she saw the haggis recipe she felt it was time that we had one for the following:

Soon it will be time for the Rattlesnake Roundup in these heah parts. We treat
rattlesnake as you would any quick-cooking white meat (i.e., chicken,
shellfish). Of course, everyone will tell you it "tastes just like chicken",
but it's better. It is very good deep fried in a simple batter, and a lot of
people like to add it to their chili.

The following directions for dressing rattlesnakes might be helpful:
1.    Place dead rattlesnake on a cutting board and hold firmly behind the head.
2.    Cut off head and rattles and discard. (The rattles make a nice necklace.)
3.    Strip off skin and discard or save (for a hat band maybe?)
4.    Make a long slice along the underside and remove all internal organs.
5.    Cut into chunks and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

Vickie...not kidding

Award-Winning Authentic Texas-Style Chili con Carne
Contributed by Clark Simmons

1 lb coarse ground beef
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp comino (cumin)
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp cocoa
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 tsp salt (to taste)
1 (14 1/2-oz) can undrained diced tomatoes
3/4 can water
No beans

Sauté beef, onion, and garlic in butter in a 3-quart dutch oven.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 hour.
Stir occasionally. Uncover and simmer for an additional 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Pinto or black beans may be served separately.
Do not serve kidney beans.

Quick and easy chili con frijoles
Contributed by Clark Simmons

Sauté 1 pound ground round until brown.
Dump in a can of Ranch-Style Beans.
Simmer until hot.

Sinclair writes:

Here is a Muslim recipe for chicken for the Prophet's birthday.
I added the wine. The Muslims use stock.

2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. peanut or safflower oil
2 chickens, about 1 1/4 kilos each, trussed
1/2 tsp. each thyme and marjoram
about 1 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
2 - 3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, without leaves, chopped
1 kilo tomatoes, peeled and chopped coarsely
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 kilo seedless white grapes, skinned

In a Dutch oven or other similar baking pan heat the butter and oil together and in this brown the chicken well on all sides.
Season the birds with the thyme, marjoram and salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

In the fat of the pan saute the onion, garlic and celery for about 5 minutes, not letting them brown.
Add the tomatoes to the pan. On the tomato mixture place the chickens on their sides.
Cover and bake in a medium oven for about 20 minutes.
Turn the chickens and continue baking until tender (20 - 30 minutes longer).
Remove the chickens from the sauce and set aside to keep warm.

Blend the vegetables and juices in the pan into a smooth puree.
Return this puree to the pan and cook over a medium flame until it has reduced and thickened (about 10 minutes).
Add the wine and continue to cook, stirring regularly for 5 minutes. Add the grapes and continue cooking and stirring gently for 5 minutes longer.
Place the chickens on a large preheated serving platter and pour over the sauce with the grapes.
Serve at once.
Sinclair

Sinclair writes:
Here is a French recipe for Veal.
I know that it will be especially welcomed in Texas.

1 pound veal leg cutlets, cut 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Lemon-Caper Sauce:

2/3 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons drained capers
1 teaspoon butter

1. Pound veal cutlets to 1/8 inch thickness, if necessary. Combine flour, salt, paprika and white pepper. Lightly coat both sides of cutlets with flour mixture.

2. In large non-stick skillet, heat 1/2 of oil over medium heat until hot. Add 1/2 of cutlets; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until cooked through, turning once. Remove cutlets; keep warm. Repeat with remaining oil and cutlets.

3. Add wine and lemon juice to skillet; cook and stir until browned bits attached to skillet are dissolved and liquid thickens slightly.

Remove from heat; stir in capers and butter. Spoon sauce over cutlets.
Sinclair

Italian Chicken
Contributed by Lorraine

1 chicken or 6 chicken breasts
1 onion, cut into slices
4 celery sticks, cut into slices also
2 tins (2X398ml) tomato soup
2 tins (2X398ml) water
Salt and pepper to taste, oregano and Italian spices

If a chicken, cut the chicken into pieces.
Cook the chicken in a pan with a bit of butter than drain
Place the chicken in an oven proof dish and cover the chicken with all the other ingredients.
In the oven (with a lid) at 350F (180C) for about 2 hours.

It was just delicious! I served it with mashed potatoes and green beans and a salad.
Bon Appétit!

Lorraine tells us a bit abotu Quebec Cuisine:-)

Tourtière or meatpie is the most popular culinary tradition in the province of Quebec.
This dish, prepared with the same technique and the same ingredients (ground meat, onions and spices cooked before filling pie) bears two different names.
In the big cities, as in Montreal and Quebec city, it is called tourtière while in most of the other parts of Quebec, it is called meat pie.
The origins of the name meat pie is not really known, but it is sure that in some regions it differentiate the dish from another type of tourtière (some say the real one), prepared with tiny cubes of meat, potatoes and onions, placed raw in the pie lined pan before it cooks.

Meat pie

In the province of Quebec, there are many ways to prepare meat pie.
The most popular recipe is made of ground pork, onions and seasonings such as ground cloves, ground cinnamon, salt and pepper, to which sometimes are added dry mustard and garlic.
Some add whole peeled potatoes to the pot and purée them when they are cooked before mixing with cooked meat and broth.
Some use only pork while others prefer a mixture of pork and veal or else, beef, pork and veal.

At Iles-de-la-Madeleine and in some families of Eastern Townships, they prepare shredded meat pies with pieces of meat instead of ground meat.
One or many kinds of meats depending on families traditions, are simmered with seasonings, chopped onions and potatoes.
The preparation is then cooled down, the cooked meat removed from the broth, shredded with the help of two forks and mixed with mashed potatoes and broth.
I think there are as many recipes for tourtières, baked with raw meat, as there are families who delights in the dish.
There are always a minimum of three kinds of meats, onions and small cubes of raw potatoes in the recipes.
Trio of meats frequently are (beef, veal and pork) or (beef, pork and chicken) and for a special treat some games is added when available.
Moose, wild duck, goose, hare and partridge are the most popular game meats added to the dish.
When lucky enough to add some to the tourtière, it is used instead of beef and sometimes substitutes beef and veal.
Pork should never be omitted.

The tourtière cooks in a slow oven for 6 to 8 hours. It can be frozen and if it is, some broth or water should be added when reheated.
In the region of Charlevoix, some cooks took the habit of cooking the mixture for 20 minutes before filling the pastry lined casserole.
This is a special technique they developed to reduce considerably the cooking time when they wanted that the tourtière be ready when their schoolchildren came for lunch.
You can freeze unbaked tourtière, liquid included. When ready to bake, you put the frozen tourtière in the oven and bake as if just prepared.

PÂTÉ À LA VIANDE (Meatpie)
Every family has its own recipe for meatpie.
Some like their meatpie prepared only with pork while others use pork and veal.
Some like to add spices while others prefer to omit seasoning. Here is my own recipe for meatpie.

1 pound boned pork shoulder 454 g
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 medium potato, peeled
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup boiling water 250 mL
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard 1 mL
1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 mL
1/4 teaspoon ground clove 1 mL
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnanon 1 mL
Pie dough for two crusts
Salt
Dry bread crumbs as needed
Eggwash

Grind meat in meat grinder. Place ground meat into a medium casserole, insert peeled potato into meat, add boiling water, onion, mustard, pepper, cloves, and cinnanon.
Bring to boil and simmer until potato is cooked. This will take about 1 1/2 hour.
Remove potato from casserole, mash and return it to the casserole. Mix meat and potato well.
Season with salt. If mixture seem too liquid, add bread crumbs; it should have a consistency of thick meat spaghetti sauce.

Cool completely.
Meat mixture can be prepared one or two days ahead; place mixture in refrigerator until ready to use.
Prepare pie dough.

Line a 9 inch (23 cm) pie plate with pie dough; fill with meat mixture and cover with top crust sealing both crusts with eggwash.
Slit and brush top crust with eggwash.
Cook at 400?F (220?C) for 15 minutes and then for 20 minutes at 350?F (175?C).
Meatpie freezes well.
To defrost, place in a 350F (175C) oven for about one hour.

Bon Appétit!

Haggis

Submitted by Sinclair

My favourite

1 cleaned sheep or lamb's stomach bag
2 lb. dry oatmeal
1 lb chopped mutton suet
1 lb deer's liver, boiled and minced
1 UK pint stock the heart and lights of the sheep, boiled and minced
1 large chopped onion
1/2 tsp.. each: cayenne pepper, Jamaica pepper, salt and pepper
Toast the oatmeal slowly until it is crisp, then mix all the ingredients (except the stomach bag) together, and add the stock.
Fill the bag just over half full, press out the air and sew up securely.
Have ready a large pot of boiling water, prick the haggis all over so it does not burst and boil slowly for 4 to 5 hours.
Heaven!
Sinclair