quote:

Originally posted by striv:
Lithos you are too funny and sorry to say this LN about the above post but so are you. Especially I appreciated this part:

quote:

The irony about this thread is that my sister and I both started cooking in our early teens out of self defence. We didn't actually KNOW what good food was, but we were sure that there was something beyond the crap we were being shovelled at home.

Aw, thanks (I'd like to say "thanks" in Greek, but unfortunately do not know any Greek beyond food related stuff mostly because you rather annoyingly, for me, resisted being conquered by the Romans all those years ago) striv.

Splitters, ah, ever the American - blaming the foreigners .

You'll find that nine times out of ten the reason for ethnic restaurants being shithouse is because, sadly, they're catering for the demographic. When my Mum washed dishes for her uncle as a kid, she remembers fondly him getting worked into rages because the damned Anglo's asked for peas in the fried rice. And ordering chips.

You realise that most people descended from the English or Irish are allergic to flavour, right? If you've got a choice between lowering your standards or losing your business, guess what the sane do?

And, sadly, people like yourself with taste lose out.

And man, that company cookbook was genuinely scary.

Made pumpkin bread today with cream cheese filling.

quote:

Originally posted by lithos:

And man, that company cookbook was genuinely scary.

Hi L;

Strange that you should say that, as I was thinking that this thread could well be construed as the WGB company cookbook.

LN

quote:

Originally posted by Meru:
Made pumpkin bread today with cream cheese filling.

And broke the blender doing it, one presumes.

quote:

Originally posted by Meru:
Made pumpkin bread today with cream cheese filling.

Where are the pictures?

Risengrød (Rice Porridge)

Served as a traditional yuletide dish in Denmark

Ingredients
200 g short-grain rice
0.2 l water
1.5 l whole milk
salt
sugar
cinnamon
butter

Bring the rice and water to the boil in a saucepan. Once boiling stir for 3-5 minutes or until water is fully absorbed.


Add the milk and bring the mixture to the boil again, stirring frequently.


Lower the heat to minimum, cover the pan with lid and simmer for about 50 minutes. Stir about every 2-5 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for about another 10 minutes until the rice and milk have thickened into a creamy porridge. Season with a little salt.

Serve the porridge hot, topped with a pat of butter and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.

Be thankful for your kitchen
your pots and pans...etc.

As Christmas approaches and we are bombarded with the constant message of spend, spend, spend, overconsumption, etc. remember the victims of the earthquake in Pakistan.

It's cold, and there's little shelter and food. If you haven't already made a donation consider doing so.

Imagine if this were your kitchen

and that all of your pots and pans were crushed underneath the rubble of your former home.

The Danish newspaper Politiken has sent a friendly reminder to all of its readers about the situation in Pakistan and in cooperation with the Danish Red Cross is collecting funds to distribute 10,000 cooking sets to earthquake survivors in Pakistan.

On behalf of the WGB Cooking School I have donated one cooking set.


If you would like to donate one as well, click here:
Christmas Present of the Year

I will be happy to provide assitance in translating Danish to English, so that you can fill out the form. Just let me know.

The rice pudding is good (we do a similar one in Spain) but all that stirring is tiresome.

I also agree with the donation impulse, but as it is as much for my own mental health as it is for the physical health of others, I think it is better to choose one cause you agree with and like the organization and stick to it. Avoiding impulse help, that can be misguided. MSF is my feelgood drug of choice.

José

quote:

Originally posted by JRE:
I think it is better to choose one cause you agree with and like the organization and stick to it. Avoiding impulse help, that can be misguided.

José

Hi J

My thoughts entirely; several years ago a good friend was diagnosed with Leukemia and his life was saved by a bone marrow transplant arranged through a charity who kept a list of donors and their tissue types.

Since then I have always supported this one charity to the exclusion of all others, although at this time of year I append the following lines to emails going to my close friends.
"As before, I will not be sending individual Christmas gifts, I ask you to please choose something from this http://www.goodgifts.org/goodgifts/default.php?cPath=78 and I will be glad to make the gift in your name."

LN

Having worked for a non-profit organization, I agree that when you choose an organization to support, you should be willing to stick with it for a while, because otherwise administration costs of a single donation can quickly rise as they attempt to get you to continue to donate.

So I'm a card-carrying member of two organizations, Danish Cancer Society, where I also have 'adopted' a researcher (because besides doing good research, he's an awfully nice guy, and terribly cute) and the American Civil Liberties Union (I'll sometimes send them an extra donation after they've unearthed documents by using the Freedom of Information act).

Otherwise I make donations as I see fit, provided I can see that it is highly unlikely I will get on their mailing list. And I'm a sucker for kids (and others) selling raffle tickets, etc.

I generally agree that you should stick with charities you know and trust and avoid impulse giving. I give to homeless causes, but rarely hand money to them on the street anymore.

However, in the case of a disaster, I think it's a good idea to do the one-time donation thing.

quote:

Originally posted by Splitcoil:
I generally agree that you should stick with charities you know and trust and avoid impulse giving. I give to homeless causes, but rarely hand money to them on the street anymore.

Hell, I let the homeless live with me...
(provided I know and trust them)

There is also the UNICEF site for Pakistan:
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/pakistan.html

Meanwhile, back to topic.

I think I'll make some Danish curried chicken tonight. A bit excited how it will turn out, as my husband boiled the bird Saturday night after my son had eaten Risengrød. Neither he or I were very hungry, so we just put the saucepan in the fridge. So the boiled bird has been soaking in the stock for about 48 hours. I haven't looked to see if it has dissolved yet.

I've made the rice-pudding! It's mostly for the kids though. I'm having left-over cous-cous.

Jambalaya Revisited



Took advantage of the delicious chorizo I received as a present. Directions here.. This time I took Digitalprimate's advice about frying the rice in the fat from the Chorizo before adding the water. However I did not wait for the rice to cook before adding the other ingredients as the ham and chicken were only browned, not completely cooked.

********************
P.S. Politiken met their goal of collecting money for 10,000 cooking sets in a mere 60 hours! It just goes to show that if you let people know that there donated money is going to something specific that they are much more willing to open their billfolds.

I like my jambalaya moist with plenty of tomatoes, so that you can sop up the sauce with bread.

Macaroni and Cheese

Before I begin, you must now that what follows is the recipe for the best macaroni and cheese in the world. This is a simple yet irrefutable fact. If you think you've had better than what I describe here, you are mistaken. If after following this recipe you still hold the opinion that you've had better, you did something wrong in your preperations of this this most awesome delicacy.

You will need:
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, 3 boxes of - for best results get three different flavors.
Boneless center cut pork, 2 loins.
A Granny Smith Apple.
Onions
Peas and carrots, one 16oz bag.
Apple cider vinegar.
Beer, 12oz.
Pepper.
Salt.
Tobasco sauce.
Oregano.
Cilantro.
Olive oil.
Grated Colby/Jack cheese, approx 8oz.
Milk or cream.
Butter.
Maple syrup.



Slice the apple and chop the pork into little bite-sized hunks.




Put the pork and apple into a plastic container. Pour in about 2 cups of maple syrup (until the pork is nearly covered, equal parts vinegar and olive oil (about 1/2 cup per), about 6oz beer, and a few shots of Tobasco.



Refridgerate for at least 24 hours.

(A day passes...)

Start the water for the macaroni boiling. Add to the water a little oil, salt pepper and Tobasco.

Over low heat, simmer the apple, pork and little bit of the marinade.




Chop the onions and grate the cheese.




Once the water's boiling and you've added the macaroni, remove the pork from heat and seperate from the apple and marinade.
Drain the macaroni once it's done. In the same pot over low heat, melt about 4tbsp of butter with the onions, peas and carrots.




Add the macaroni and stir until it's coated with the butter. Mix in some salt, pepper, Tobasco, cilantro, oregano and the rest of the beer.




Add the cheese powder.



While mixing, add the milk or cream until the desired consistancy is reached.


Mix in the pork and the grated cheese and season to taste.



When the grated cheese is about half-melted, remove from heat.

Can be enjoyed hot, warm, or cold. Compliment with the beverage of your choice.

One of my favorite soups is bortsch (there are several spelling possibilities, but you know: red beet soup). My favorite recipe is Carême's, from the court of the Czar. If ever I get myself up to making a post with images again, it will be the Carême version.
But meanwhile tonights was very simple and easy to cook, but still really good.
I made a chicken stock from the remains of a chicken used for DP's jambalaya, an onion, a few sticks of celery and a lot of parsley. + bay-leaf, whole black pepper and thyme. When the stock was good and strong I sauted 5 diced beets in butter.
Then I added the stock, 1 diced potato and salt and left it to boil for 30 minutes. Meanwhile I juiced 1 beet. When the soup was ready I blended it with the fresh juice. Eat with sour cream. mmmmmmmmmm. The juiced beet improves both colour and health value.

This is an improv appetizer prior to broiling. I don't know what to call it. It's not exactly bruschetta.

I often make little bread flavor cakes like these to be had before a main course. They're never the same.

This one's a sliced pugliese baguette with olive oil, tapenade, thinly sliced (white) sharp cheese, dry salami, (Spanish) olives, and crumbly cheeses like feta or queso anejo to top. I garnish after broiling with chilled carrot shavings (not shown).

Very nice Metro!
I'm drooling and it's way past my lunch time. I need to go get me some food....