Friends

My boyfriend has gotten on a kick for a sweet onion salsa, and I'd love to make it at home. Does anybody have any recipes that call for sweet onions? What is your favorite salsa recipe?

Crossposted

I have a bunch of leftover fresh parsley that I need to do something with. Any recipes for homemade pesto (I think my mom used to make parsley pesto)? Or any other suggestions for a large amount of fresh parsley? I've also got about half a bunch of fresh cilantro - any ideas for it?

Or many someone out there has advice for how to dry your own herbs?

Wrap opened cheese tightly in wax paper, then tightly wrap over that with aluminum foil.  How often the wax paper needs changing from it getting funky depends on the moisture content in the cheese.  It really works for me.

Okay, I've got this recipe. All it says is:

Asian Chicken
3# chicken
.25 c. hoisin sauce
.25 c. plum sauce
.25 c. soy sauce
pinch ground ginger
juice of 1 fresh lime
3 T cornstarch

Marinate chicken overnight. Add chicken and marinade to slow cooker. Low 5-7 hours.


I'm thinking that the cornstarch should not be a part of the marinade, and should be added later, say in the last 15 minutes of cooking, to thicken up the leftover sauce. Would you all agree?

I need the most amazing mashed potato recipe known to man, but it cannot contain Onion. We used to do a cream cheese mashed potato but the method got lost so we've been doing okay mashed potato wise but I want something really amazing. There are no allergy or vegan concerns but if you have something really rocking that's vegan, awesome.

Anyone have some never fail mashed potato recipes?

 I posted about a week ago asking what to do with copious amounts of spinach....  My mother in law and I harvested 15lbs of the stuff.  We froze most of it (blanched and then froze) and I ate about 1lb raw (at one sitting....).  

Then, the other day, I had to harvest it AGAIN and got about 10lbs.  This time it is all raw, washed, and in a special refrigerator JUST FOR THE SPINACH.

One suggestion that stood out to me was spinach soup, but I do not have a recipe and was wondering if anyone had some tried-and-true recipes for it?  

Fortunately, my mother in law is going to use some of the spinach as well, since she didn't plant any.  But I have to havrvest this bed of spinach one more time and then plant more....  eek!  I'm going to have spinach coming out of my ears!  

So those soup recipes... ;-)  

Thanks!

I had an Indian cooking adventure today:

Does anyone know of any recipes that use gorgonzola?

Holy crap I just bought some CHOCOLATE PASTA from the farmer's market! Has anyone mastered this confection? What kind of "sauce" should I mix with it? (obviously chocolate derivative, but possibly some kind of raspberry variation?)

I have loads of left over roast beef and no idea what to do with it other than sandwiches but if I do that we'll be eating them for a week. Any ideas? It's done quite rare if that makes a difference.

Thanks in advance!

Current Mood: full

Okay, so I bought green onions to make ( this recipe )
Only it turns out I don't have plain yogurt--I have vanilla. So--will it taste awful if I use the vanilla (which I suspect it will)? should I sub sour cream? or should I just run back out and get some plain yogurt?

My mother in law gave me a dozen duck eggs from a friend who raises vegetarian ducks locally, and they have been sitting in my fridge for a week because I am SCARED of what they are going to taste like. I read things that scared me on the interwebs about the taste.

So my question to you is, what does the duck egg really taste like? And, also, what would be the best way to cook them?

Thanks!

I have questions about soft-shelled crabs.

I'm hoping that some experienced eaters in this community can help me out.

Seafood is a favorite of mine - I pretty much love it all. I think that crab is delicious. But I've never had a soft-shell crab. I see them prepared with a batter and fried. I love fried stuff, too. So, it's probably something I would enjoy.

Here's my questions:

If you've eaten them, can you tell me about the textural experience of biting into a soft-shell crab?

Is there a taste to the shell?

What should a first time eater of soft-shell crab expect?

As many details as you can provide are greatly appreciated. Thank you!


EDIT: I want to clarify this question. I really want details of the texture of a soft-shelled crab. If you have eaten one, what are some common foods that you would compare the texture with? For example: "Eating a soft shell crab is like biting into a grilled cheese sandwich wrapped in thin wax paper." A description that compares it to something I can really imagine. Thank you!

A home goods store ran a sale recently where if you bought two bags of their ground coffee, you got a really nice coffeemaker for free. Now my family has a ton of really weak coffee that is just icky. Of course, we have trouble throwing things away so I'm looking for a way to use it. I've made chocolate chip coffee cookies in the past but I want to shy away from desserts since we're about to have a big party which will likely leave us with a ton of sweets. 

Any ideas for non-dessert dishes which incorporate ground coffee? Thanks in advance!

*I checked the tags, but if I missed anything, please point me in the right direction!*

I feel like my boyfriend and I eat the same meals, just on a regular rotation. Chop suey, tacos, baked ziti, chicken nuggets, pizza, burgers, macaroni and cheese, pasta, various sandwiches.

Sounds great, except for one thing: IT'S BORING! I used to look forward to dinner since we'd be able to spend time with each other and all that jazz, but now it's just another "thing to do," since the whole thinking of and making of the meal is such a chore.

( this got a lot longer than I thought it would be )

I just dreamed this one up yesterday-- very simple and really highlight's summer's bounty..
Awesome Summer Salad
Ingredients:
3 Ears of corn, barely cooked (still has a crunch), shucked from the cob
Tomatoes, diced (I used 4 or 5 plum tomatoes but use your faves)
1 large(not the tiny pre-sliced cans unless you like fewer olives than i do) can of olives, sliced
Approximately half a cup of crumbled feta
4-5 Cloves of garlic, finely chopped (i used a garlic press)
A couple of good glugs of your favorite olive oil
A couple of good glugs of your favorite (non-balsalmic) vinegar (I used champagne-- I could also see lemon juice working well here)
Salt and pepper to taste

This salad was so very good-- the sugar sweetness of the corn, the richness of the feta, the saltiness of the olives, the tangy-ness of the vinegar....it amounted to far more that the sum of its parts! Enjoy!

I bought 2 large French bread loaves yesterday, and I'd really like to make some sort of spread for them. I've never made an herb butter, but here are some add-ins to unsalted butter I've collected from respected chefs:


-garlic
-salt
-chives
-lemon juice
-parsley
-pepper
-cayenne
-dill


What are your thoughts? What sounds good to you? What has worked in the past?
Thanks for your help!

Current Location: Denton, TX
Current Mood: curious

I made my chicken/potato dish thing. I used red potatoes. It came out AWESOME. No pics because the batteries are MIA. I think next time I'll nuke the diced potatoes for a few minutes to start them cooking before mixing everything together and baking in the oven. I used salt, pepper, thyme, bacon grease, hot paprika, onions, garlic, and parsley, along with the potatoes and cut up chicken thighs. Partially cooking the bacon and adding it at the last 10 minutes was a good idea. It's meaty but not crunchy. I have a new dish to bring to a pot luck!

I have a few items in my kitchen that need using. I have Old Folk's brand mild ground sausage (1lb) , 3/4 a jar of "traditional" flavored Ragu sauce, a small bottle of sorghum i picked up from my local veggie stand, and way too many potatoes for 2 people to eat.

Any ideas on recipes? I don't necessarily want to combine all 4 of those ingredients but I'm thinking tomorrow will either have some kind of sausage/potato mix or spaghetti with sausage but I'm not sure if breakfast type sausage will work in a spaghetti sauce.

I picked up the sorghum at my FIL's request but my inlaws have gone out of town and I'd like to find a way to use it. It was always a staple item in my grandparents house but I can't really remember what they used it for.


And here's a recent grilling recipe I had success with:
( Flank steak with caramelized onions. )

Thanks for any help!
Waifu

So I made Pioneer Woman's sundried tomato pasta salad on Tuesday, and while it is DELICIOUS, it is super duper tomatoey (surprise... who'da thunk?). Anyone have any suggestions as to what I can sub some of the sundried tomatoes with (that isn't olives or roasted red peppers) to kind of tone down the tomatoeyness a little bit, while complimenting it at the same time, for next time?

Alternatively, will you share the recipe of your favorite pasta salad?