Recipes and foodie treats?

[Silvermink]

I made cha gio (AKA "Vietnamese spring rolls") a couple nights ago from this recipe and they came out really good. The only modification I made was that I swapped the taro for an equal amount of jicama, which is more traditional: http://chowtimes.com/2009/12/26/vietnamese-cuisine-spring-rolls-cha-gio/

I used a deep fryer, but you could do it in a pot if you were determined. The only caution I'll offer is that the recipe as written makes a lot of rolls - I halved it and still had enough meat mixture for about 30 of them, so next time I'd probably quarter it.

I'm told you can swap the pork for tofu if you want to make them vegetarian, as well, but I haven't tried that myself (not sure what you would want to do with the dipping sauce in that case, since the original recipe is fish-sauce-based).

I was able to get all the ingredients at T&T.

[Renwaldo]

This just in: Fry your bacon in maple syrup.

It is delicious.   :P

[Selkit]

Nice necro, Ren. ;)

So it's a content plus necro, though? My favorite nut brownie recipe:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup chopped nuts of your preference (Personally prefer almonds!). Nuts are optional, removing them won't affect quality.

1) Preheat oven to 350f
2) Melt butter in sauce-pan or microwave, remove from heat.
3) Stir in sugar into butter mixture
4) Stir in eggs and vanilla
5) Cream in remaining ingredients until smooth.

Makes 1 pan (8x8") of brownies. Recipe easily doubles or even triples. Bake time is 25-30 minutes.

Coffee-cocoa frosting:
3 tbsp melted butter
3 tbsp cocoa
2 tbsp espresso-strength coffee
1 cup of confectioner's sugar

Simply cream ingredients until smooth. Frosting will gradually set and harden. Don't make a batch too soon before the brownies; If it hardens, it won't go on evenly. Best to put it on as soon as possible, as it will then form a delicious, crisp glaze. Don't worry about the consistency, either; it will set.

[Renwaldo]

Sorry Rattie. I hope I didn't hurt the site servers too much?

If so I can donate a little to the site if you like. I have been getting full 8 hour shifts lately, so I'm happy to take advantage of any opportunity to shove my newfound wealth in peoples' faces.  :monocle:

[Selkit]

I am not a ratty. Ferrets eet ratties.

Also, more thread-relevant content, from tonight's dinner:

Homemade pizza sauce:

1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes.
1 tsp thyme leaves
2 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp of garlic powder (Alternately, substitute 1 tbsp of crushed/minced garlic. Or more. Garlic is tasty)
1 tsp of onion powder
1 tbsp of olive oil

Simply mix and apply. Makes enough sauce for 4 12" pizzas.

[Renwaldo]

No you goofball I was apologizing to Rattie not you!

>.<

Thread related content: Boiled Mussels!!!

Ingredients
      3/4 cup white wine
      3/4 cup tomato and clam juice cocktail
      3 cloves garlic - peeled and sliced
      1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
      1 pound mussels, cleaned and debearded
      3 tablespoons butter

Directions
In a stock pot, combine the wine, juice cocktail, garlic and pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and add mussels.
Cover and continue to boil for about 4 to 6 minutes or until all the mussels have opened. Discard any mussels that haven't opened.
Remove mussels from liquid and keep warm. Pour off liquid to leave about 1 cup. Try not to discard the garlic. Boil the 1 cup of liquid until it's reduced to about 3/4 of a cup.
Add butter and stir until butter has melted and sauce has thickened slightly. Serve mussels with sauce.