Thanks! We do have slow cooker liners. I finally purchased some after Mr. Kipper complained several times about having to clean the slow cooker. :D

+1 on making it the night/day before, if it's not possible for the same day, and warm it up the following day. Even if you make it the same day, you'll have to let it stand for a while to set (?). Easier to cut it in squares.

Good luck
Zeus

I think I'm going to plan on making it that Saturday after he returns, since I don't want to leave the oven on while I'm gone, and I'd rather he experience it freshly prepared. :D

Cajun seasoning recipe
 

I love spicy food. I searched the internet for Cajun seasoning recipe ideas and finally feel I have one dialed in. Good on beef, chicken, fish - you name it. I just used it on ribeye steaks cooked in a hot cast iron skillet with olive oil and butter. Delicious!:D

Anyone else have one you'd like to share?

Equal parts
Salt
Garlic salt
Ground black pepper
Ground white pepper
Cayenne pepper
Paprika
Onion powder
Oregano leaves

I put cumin in mine, and it's less heavy on the salt/pepper, which appears to be about half of yours.

Sometimes I will use smoked paprika, or chipotle powder instead of cayenne.

Good tip: I added cumin today and put it on chicken breasts and fried them in the ol' cast iron skillet with a little olive oil and butter. ^

Slow cooker recipe app?
 

Everyone I've looked at on my iPhone have horrible reviews. Does anyone know of a good one?

Slow cooker recipe app?
 

Allrecipes.com

Help with recipe - Vermicelli
 

I want to make this dish at home as I had it at Moti Mahal years ago and thought it was fabulous:

https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=177674444454

I have everything but vermicelli which I couldn't find at my local Tesco today. Two questions I guess - the ingredient list specifically calls for 'roasted' vermicelli, so not sure what that means, and since I couldn't find it anyway, is there an easy substitute, or would that defeat the whole purpose?

I think you might be over worrying and it is pretty much a standard thin noodle, and I think you could choose any thin noodle that is thinner than spaghetti. If you google lockshen this sounds like it. Also thin wonton noodle. Also shop for a fine soup egg noodle. One variety of thin noodles is called 全蛋麵 (Cantonese jyutping). The noodle is basically just assuming the carb role of absorbing flavour from the test of the dish.

Good luck.

Good info - thank you!

We have a tradition in my part of Spain of using "toasted" vermicelli. Only thing is that it's a little thicker (not much more) and much shorter than the Seviyan the recipe calls for and it isn't sold ready toasted, that's something we do ourselves.
This recipe shows an example of how it is done
http://lasrecetasdelmarquesdemuchaba...rossejats.html
(Rather than actually being roasted the vermicelli is fried in a large pan - or wok - with a few tablespoons of good olive oil).

I'd be cautious about adding standard vermicelli along with the water in your recipe. If you can't find the pre toasted kind perhaps you could fry it with the other ingredients for a few minutes before adding the water (let the colour change a bit at least). Since the pre-toasting/frying makes such a big difference to the Spanish pasta dishes, I can't help but suspect that having toasted vermicelli will make a difference over just boiling standard vermicelli in the dish you want to recreate.
Hope it works out!

Help with recipe - Vermicelli
 

Roasted or toasted vermicelli will taste nuttier and absorb less liquid than the same amount of simply dried vermicelli. It is usually short in length and made from basically pasta dough.

A good substitute would be to break up angel hair pasta into short pieces (1.5 cm) and then fry in some butter, ghee or olive oil until lightly browned, stirring constantly. This will burn easily so be careful and enjoy!

(Edited for typo)

Found the vermicelli at M&S. Will give it a go this week. Going to try to roast and see how it turns out

Be very careful, vermicelli burn very quickly. It starts browning and you turn around for a second and it burns. Keep an eye on it.

Wise continued guidance! ;)

Raw vermicelli always burns very quickly if you fry it from the pack uncooked. It has no moisture and can only burn and crisp. You are further crisping and drying out an already dried product.

When frying noodle in most other cuisines one fries cooked pasta and that gives a degree of moisture and surface caramelisation of surface sugars.

Your warnings are spot on and as with everything interweb the OP will read all guidance and do as they wish!

:D

"y los movemos continuamente para que no se nos quemen y se vayan tostando." Means: and we stir them continuously so that they don't burn and just keep toasting.

They don't burn that quickly, it's just common sense to keep stirring so that they brown evenly. Much simpler than toasting sesame seeds or cashew nuts in a pan. I'd suggest 1 tablespoon of oil for each 100g of pasta.
Also, don't worry if a few of them do burn a little. They still taste good. You'd have to be really inattentive when cooking them to burn them enough to ruin your dish.

As well as changing colour you'll see that the strands actually puff up a little.

Even though it might not be "the norm" it is pretty common to fry pasta and noodles before boiling them, the techniques vary so sometimes freshly made pasta is fried (like Cantonese Yi Fu Noodles) or dried noodles might be par-boiled and then flash fried before packing (instant ramen and other Eastern made instant noodles are a common example). I'd guess that most Spanish fideos aren't pre-toasted and they are just added to chicken stock. Dried rice is often fried before boiling also, may not be the most common way to prepare rice, but it's a worldwide practice all the same.

Help with recipe - Vermicelli
 

Okay, so I managed to roast my vermicelli without burning the house down and this dish turned out amazingly. We thought it was better than the restaurant version. Of course, maybe that's to be expected when you can season to your liking - my wife went Ratatouille on it midway through. I'm strictly a recipe guy.

Great news. Well done. :)

Again, I get rave reviews on this one:

Tex Mex Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

2 14-1/2 ounch cans reduced-sodium chicken broth (or just one of the big boxes that equals two)

1 14-1/2 ounce can beef broth (i used reduced sodium)

1 14-12 ounce can tomatoes, undrained and cut up (any will do, i get the ones w/ green chiles)

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup - or if you prefer, green onion chopped up)

1/4 cup chopped green sweet pepper (or you can use frozen green pepper which is already chopped up)

4 medium skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound total - i go up to 1-1/4 lbs), cut into bite-size pieces

1 cup frozen loose-pack whole kernel corn

1 to 2 teaspoons chili power (i use 2 heaping teaspoons)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (again, heaping)

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper3 cups tortilla chips, coarsely crushed (i use the tortilla strips, which are in the salad dressing section of meijer)

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces - I just get an 8oz or 16 oz package of whatever is on sale - mexican 4 cheese, monterey jack)

1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks (optional - i always use; makes a difference for toppings)

Snipped fresh cilantro (optional - again, i always use; makes a difference; i chop it up)

Sliced fresh jalapeno chile peppers (i've never bothered w/ this)

Lime wedges (optional - i've never bothered)

Directions:

In a 4-quart Dutch oven combine chicken broth, beef broth, undrained tomatoes, onion, and sweep pepper. Bring to boiling. Add chicken. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add corn, chili powder, cumin, and black pepper. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes more.

To serve, divide crushed tortilla chips among six soup bowls. Ladle soup over tortilla chips. Sprinkle with cheese. If desired, top with avocado, cilantro and sliced jalapeno peppers, and serve with lime wedges.

Sharon's note: I just put the toppings in various bowls & let my guests add whichever toppings they prefer.

Rob's AwesomeSauce Chicken Buffalo Dip

1 - 16 oz Can of Chicken
1 - Small package of crumbled Feta cheese
1 - Bottle of Buffalo Sauce
1 - Bottle of Ranch Salad Dressing
1 - Bottle of Bleu Cheese Salad Dressing
1 - Package of Cream Cheese
1 - 16 oz of Mozzarella Cheese (shredded, pick how fancy you want it)
1 - Package of bacon bits

Heat oven to 425º F or so. Combine the dressings, all of cream cheese, and half of the mozzarella, half of the bacon bits, and as much of the buffalo sauce as you'd like. The consistency should be a bit thicker than condensed cream of mushroom soup. Fold in the chicken. Pour into a casserole dish, and top with the rest of the mozzarella cheese, and bacon bits. Cook until cheese is browned on top. Serve with crackers, chips, things and stuff you like to dip.

Rob's Roasted Brussel Sprouts Dujour
(These are good, just trust me.)

Brussels Sprouts
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Optional Seasonings - Curry, Cayenne Pepper, or anything else you like. I've been using Old Bay recently

Heat oven to 400º F, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil (or don't, I couldn't care less, you're the one who is going to have to wash the dishes.) At some point before putting into the oven, you'll need to cut the bottom of the sprouts off, and peel the nasty leaves off. Cut each sprout in half, put into a bowl, coat gently with olive oil (they're cold now, but won't be in a few minutes), put onto the cookie sheet, add the salt and pepper, and other spices. Cook for about 10 minutes or so, remove from oven and move them about a bit, and cook for another 10 minutes or so. Until they're mostly golden brown, and the outer leaves are a bit crusty.

By definition, there is no such thing as fresh pancetta. ;) But I know what you mean.

I get inspired by recipes and then riff off of them. A few of the perennial favorites:

Mark Bittman's spaghetti with fried egg is one of my favorite quick meals, but I kick it up a notch by rendering pancetta or bacon and then cook the garlic in the fat, then crumble the pancetta/bacon over the top.

On a somewhat similar theme, I love Serious Eat's brussels sprouts, kale and potato hash, but also use rendered bacon/pancetta fat instead of the oil and then toss the bacon/pancetta in at the end.

Rick Bayless's chicken salad tacos are fantastic, though I recommend pureeing the dressing (first sentence in step 1) to ensure the chipotle peppers are fully incorporated.

Because you won't use the entire can of chipotle peppers in adobo, you should serve the tacos with Bayless's mushroom studded tortilla soup.

I usually freeze leftover chipotle peppers from the can. I just dump them in a zip lock freezer bag and then just break off a bit whenever I need some. I have even grated the frozen adobo sauce into dishes...makes it real easy because you are right---that's a lot of hot in that can! It lasts a while in my house.

My recipe for a Long Island Ice Tea

1/2 ounce Bombay Saphire Gin
1/2 ounce Ketel One Vodka
1/2 ounce 1800 Tequila
1/2 ounce Cruzan white rum
1/2 ounce Grand Marnier

Top with sweet & sour mix and Coke made with real sugar. Everyone loves my long island ice teas and I think the real sugar Coke makes a difference.

Now we are talking

I can get into drink recipes ^

Shrimp and Oyster Perloo - a delicious recipe courtesy of www.saveur.com

Another one pot meal (well I guess two pots as I made some quick shrimp stock from the shrimp shells). I also did not use 25 oysters, I used 9. I also did not use the oyster liquor as I purchased my oysters already shucked, so I used shrimp stock. Not only was this a wonderful dinner but with a poached egg on top it made for a delicious breakfast this morning.

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄2 lb. country ham, finely chopped
1⁄2 lb. kielbasa, cut on the diagonal
into 1⁄4"-thick slices
2 medium onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded,
and chopped
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
3 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp. dried thyme
1⁄2 tsp. cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground
black pepper, to taste
3 medium tomatoes, peeled,
seeded, and chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup long-grain rice
3⁄4 cup chicken broth
25 medium oysters, shucked (about 9 oz.),
1⁄2 cup of their liquor reserved
35 large shrimp (about 1 1⁄2 lbs.), peeled
5 scallions, chopped, to garnish

1. In a 6-qt. pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add ham and kielbasa and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add onions, peppers, jalapeños, parsley, thyme, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid from the tomatoes thickens, about 10 minutes. Stir in rice, chicken broth, and oyster liquor. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, until rice is almost cooked through, about 20 minutes.

2. Stir in shrimp and oysters. Cover and continue to cook on medium-low heat until the shrimp are bright pink and the edges of the oysters have curled, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Serve perloo sprinkled with the chopped scallions.

I do that, too. Still, it's more likely to go to waste once it lands in the freezer, so I like to use as much as possible when I first open the can.

I put the open can in the ice box, wait until it dries out and then throw it away.

You left out the Bacon!

My cornbread recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can cream-style corn
1 medium to large onion, diced
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers, drained
1 (4 ounce) can of chopped jalapenos, drained
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
½ cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal (I use ½ cup white and ½ cup yellow)
4 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Lightly grease 9x13 inch baking dish.

2. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in cream corn, onions, chiles, jalapenos, and cheese.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to wet mixture; stir until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into center of the pan comes out clean.

Love it 🍸

Kale and Spinach Artichoke Dip
 

2 bags of spinach or one of each. ( 8-16 oz)
1 pack of cream cheese
1 cup of parmesan cheese (grated)
2 cups of any other type of shredded cheese or grated.
1 can of artichoke hearts

Cook spinach and or kale first. While that is cooking, add every thing in a pot ( leaving some cheese for the top)

Stir and mix until all melted. Then add spinach and or kale to the mixture.

Pour into a baking tin and add the remaining cheese on top.

With the stove on 350 ,bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Foolproof Herb-Crusted Steak
 

There's nothing I like better than a good steak and after preparing them a million different ways (charcoal-grilled, pan-seared, broiled, wet-rubbed, dry-rubbed, au poivre, etc.) I have pretty much converged on doing them only one way, I never manage to screw it up, and everyone always loves it.

Get a big pile of coarsely ground sea salt and fresh cracked pepper in about equal parts. Grind more than you think you will need. Then mix up a roughly equal amount (meaning that the sum of these ensuing ingredients should equal the volume of the salt/pepper mixture) of paprika, garlic powder, cumin, and dried oregano, parsley, and rosemary. Dried herbs work better than fresh here as the lack of water content gets along better with high heat cooking. Then add to this an oil with a high smoke point; canola has always worked fine for me but if you have a fancier one use that. Add just enough oil to cover the stuff and start mixing; you want it to be about the consistency of paste. Let it sit for about 10 minutes so the dried herbs soak up the oil.

Remove steaks - I have done this with everything from filet to sirloin to ribeye to skirt - from refrigerator and coat extremely liberally with the seasoning oil paste. Every side should be thickly coated. Let them sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature.

Get a big cast iron skillet insanely hot, as hot as you can get it. Add steaks and do not touch. After 4 minutes, flip. After 4 more minutes, remove from pan. Want them cooked differently? Go to someone else's house. Let steaks sit for 5-10 minutes and enjoy.

This is great for left-over turkey from Thanksgiving, but can be made year-round either using chicken or turkey. This is very quiche-like. If there are left-overs of the pie, cut them into individual servings and freeze them. They still taste great warmed up.

EASY TURKEY PIE

25 minutes preparation plus chilling, 35-40 minutes baking. Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:

* 1/2 package (10 to 11 ounces) pie crust mix

Filling:

* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
* 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 cup shredded, cooked turkey breast
* 1 cup frozen chopped broccoli, thawed & drained
* 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
* 3/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:

* 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Prepare pie crust mix according to package directions

2. On a floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll dough into a 10-inch round. Fit dough into a 9-inch quiche dish or tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim dough even w/ pan edges. Chill for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat over to 375F. To prepare filling, in a medium saucepan, heat broth and tarragon over medium heat until mixture begins to boil. Add red bell pepper. Cover; cook until just tender, 5 minutes.

4. Mix together sour cream and flour until smooth. Stir sour cream mixture into broth mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, 2 minutes. Remove from hea. Stir in chicken, broccoli, beaten eggs, and salt.

5. Pour filling into prepared crust. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake pie until filling is set, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool slightly.

Shortcut: Can use frozen package of red peppers/broccoli/corn instead of fresh red pepper & broccoli. 2 cups.

This recipe can also be used at other times of the year using chicken instead of turkey.

Sweet Dill Pickles
 

This is my mother's recipe. I used to love them as a kid and always keep them in the refrigerator. Great to snack on, in a relish tray or with a good sandwich. I experimented by making them with Splenda instead of sugar. They are just as good and now, I make them with Splenda exclusively.

Sweet Dill Pickles

2 quarts whole Kosher dill pickles
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups sugar (2 cups Splenda works just as well - for guilt free pickles)
1 T dry mustard
2 cloves garlic minced
3/4 cup white vinegar
1 medium onion sliced
1 1/2 t horseradish

Drain and discard the pickle juice. Slice the pickles into quarters (or halve them if using baby dills) and return to the two jars. Heat the other ingredients until the liquid just begins to boil. Pour over pickles and refrigerate at least four days. Recipe is easily doubled. They last for months. I've had them in the fridge for up to 8 months and never had an issue.

I shred a 1/2 rotisserie chicken and use cheddar cheese. Gonna add the bacon bits next time.

We made Serious Eats' Chicken, Bacon and Lentil Stew for the first time last weekend, and I cannot begin to describe how fantastic it was. The only tweak we made was adding some already-cooked brown rice (a handful or two) at the end just to thicken it a bit. This dish is so flavor packed that I could eat daily for a month and never grow tired of it. Really. I promise you. Go straight to the grocery store and thank me later.

If you don't have a pressure cooker, I'd highly recommend the Instant Pot. It's a pressure cooker/slow cooker/rice cooker/other cooker. Really fantastic small appliance.

Just wanted to chime in and say that I made this for an open house we hosted over the weekend. Beer, bourbon, wine & football plus heavy appetizers. This was well-received and I would definitely make it again. Now that I've done it once I see how the proportions can be adjusted to match personal taste with respect to the cheese/chicken/bacon mix as well as the flavor of the buffalo sauce.

Good recipe though! ^

Martini for salmon lovers

Very cold good vodka
Splash of Grand Marnier

The vodka zaps the sweetness and so you have a very refreshing, lightly orange flavored martini.

I discovered these at Mayflower Hotel in Seattle, home to the annual Seattle Martini Classic Challenge.

Goes great with salmon!

Mayflower had a menu pairing the winners of the Challenges with appetizer plates. Yum!