Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with recipes

Can has Chili's Baked Potato Soup at Home?

Xuff — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:32:07 -0800

Anyone know how to replicate Chili's baked potato soup at home? My girlfriend and I both love the stuff and were hoping to find a recipe that comes close, but Googling and searching previous questions has come up empty. So, any suggestions or recipes?

Mmm Soup!

SarahElizaP — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:17:50 -0800

Tomato Soup Recipes... I've looked through previous soup threads, but I would love to get your favorite tomato soup recipes. I'd prefer something more along the lines of a bisque, nothing too chunky.

Any fancy grilled cheese recipes would be appreciated as well! Thanks.

Lung-Health Measures

moorooka — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:54:34 -0800

Why doesn't my cannabutter work? Actually it's not mine... it's a friend's.

Anyway, there's lots of recipes out there, but this friend needs some reliable instructions. First time, he just chucked it in the pot, let it simmer, and then poured it into a dish and let it settle in the fridge overnight, leading to the most unexpectedly potent stonage of all time! But when trying to replicate this using the exact same simple procedure, the butter was a dud (I mean, tasted equally shite, but no effect). What happened? Is there a certain temperature that kills the active ingredients, or a certain length of time or what? It can be pretty annoying when you waste a big bagfull like this. Or so I've heard. Any special cannabutter secrets, or directions to fail-safe, idiot-proof recipes, will be appreciated.

Anyone have some vegetarian Tagine recipes?

mizike — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:24:29 -0800

Hi all; so my parents bought be a nice le creuset tagine for xmas, but I'm not quite sure what to use it for as a vegetarian. I'm sure I could make something like ratatouille but I'd really like to try some recipes that are specifically meant for a tagine and am getting the impression that lamb and chicken are going to feature prominantly in most of the recipes I find online. To that end, can anyone recommend some vegetarian tagine cookbooks?

Trying to find a pecan recipe from my youth

TedW — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:15:36 -0800

I am trying to find a specific pecan recipe; not the usual candied pecans but something smokey and spicy. My mother used to make a certain type of flavored pecan around Christmas each year. We have a bunch of pecans at our house so I would like to try my hand at them. Unfortunately it has been several years since my mother made them and she cannot remember or find the recipe. She is pretty sure it originally came from my father's mother in Texas. Anyway, these are pecans that are tossed with a seasoning mix and roasted in the oven, but they are not the sweet candied pecans you usually see. These tasted like they had a lot of Worcestershire sauce with maybe a little pepper and liquid smoke thrown in. There are some barbecued pecan recipes out there but they have ketchup or other tomato products in them which was definitely not the recipe I remember. If anyone can find the recipe I describe I will be grateful. And If I don't find exactly what I am looking for, I am more than willing to try another recipe, so feel free to point me towards a recipe even if you are not sure if it is what I am looking for. Thanks in advance!

Recommend a cookbook that features recipes with many different grains and legumes.

gregb1007 — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:04:07 -0800

Recommend a cookbook that features recipes with many different grains and legumes. I am looking for a cookbook whose recipes make use of many different grains beyond rice, legumes, and vegetables as well. (Reason: When I buy a grain, I want specific recipes for it instead of referring to rice recipes and using it as a substitute.)

However, to clarify, it doesn't have to be vegetarian since I am not looking to exclude meat from my recipes. But it would be great if the cookbook did have a vegetarian slant to it, focusing more on legumes than on meats. (Example: I'd prefer a recipe that calls for chickpeas rather than for chicken.)

VegetarianFilter: Give me your best veg taco recipes and tips!

pghjezebel — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:31:40 -0800

VegetarianFilter: Give me your best veg taco recipes and tips! I've been a vegetarian for several years now and then one thing I really miss? A good taco.

I've tried meat substitutes (boca crumbles) and find the texture rather gross. They always have a gristle taste/feel to them.

I've seen recipes for lentil style tacos - but my lentils always turn out hard. What about tofu?

What else can I try? Open to any and all recipes, suggestions and tips!

Secret ingredient: locally raised ribeyes

NoMich — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:28:20 -0800

I need new ways to cook some ribeye steaks. The meat: I've got two decent sized ribeye steaks purchased from a local farm. Their cows are allowed to graze in pastures all they want and eat all the grass they want, but are fed one grain meal a week to allow for a bit of marbling in the meat.

The challenge: make a delicious meal from these steaks from an electric stove. Usually I would just grill them up, but that's not possible right now. What would you chefs do with them?

All I want for Christmas is...two butt cheeks

bilabial — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:01:56 -0800

Ravenously hungry in the middle of the night, lazy, and bored with my known options. Also: eating plenty in the daylight. Bonus round: I'm poor. I've been adding some physical activity to my life. 10 - 20 minutes of bike riding, 2-4 days a week. I got the brilliant idea that building some upper body strength would improve my confidence, so I went to a rock climbing gym. Which I love. I'll be going back (the confidence? I brought some of it home from the gym! It doesn't even smell bad!).

But. I'm already to small for the regular adult harness. I eat nearly all day long - nuts, fruit, cheese ravioli, ice cream when it's BOGO at Publix. I try to drink juice instead of water (again, I stock up at sales) and I just started making alcoholic drinks with I syrup, limes, and seltzer.

Oatmeal with whole milk for breakfast. Eggs. Plenty of bacon (on sale a lot! I have 2 packs in the freezer!), fruit, and fresh veggies in my diet.

I carry candy bars everywhere when if remember to look for them cheap - bags of Baby Ruth bars were on sale last week.

I live alone, so buying bread is not cost effective, especially as even when toasted, previously frozen bread is...ick.
Protein shakes are expensive, the stuff made with powder requires lots of willpower (to be less polite, that shit is nasty) and I really think eating is fun. I don't want my unconceived children to ever see me choking down something I clearly don't enjoy.
Help me improve my lifestyle, not just find a quick fix. Exercise depletes my calories quickly. Before I added the climbing 2 days ago I was down 10 pounds below my comfort level. If I can't stem this tide, I'll have to quit climbing. (also, I got a package deal with a harness that's too big. If I keep going with this I need to sell it and buy one that fits, but I'm not investing until Im pretty sure I can sustain it.)

Metafilter, fatten me up. Delicious beans and rice recipes that feature
lard? Yes please. Websites for reaaly good grocery coupons on junk food I can eat at home? (I like doritoes, and ice cream, but sadly I often prefer more natural choices. Butter is natural though...) I'd like things I can prepare ahead, that might freeze well (or not), some things that require little prep - adding calories to a hot dog? I'm game.

My bloodwork is good, you are not my doctor, and I am not asking for medical advice.i

What recipes feature rarely-used spices, or spices used outside of their standard contexts?

kitcat — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:02:17 -0800

Recipes that feature a rarely-used spice? Or a spice out of its normal context? I was just thinking about how much I liked the paprikash I made a while back with caraway seeds in it. What other dishes use an oft-forgotten, back of the cupboard (to the North American palate, at least) spice? Or a spice used in an unexpected way? Herbs too.

Spectacular Japanese Vegetarian Feast!

Cygnet — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:21:47 -0800

My family isn't doing presents this year. Instead, each of us will cook a spectacular feast for the others during the upcoming holiday break. I want to cook a Japanese feast!! Difficulty: must be vegetarian. I'm really really excited about this. I have some experience attempting traditional Japanese food - I've done pickled cabbage, carrots and plums, onigiri, vegetarian soba broth (with kombu), sushi, and hand-made udon noodles. I'm looking for more suggestions of awesome vegetarian Japanese food that will be totally delicious and beautiful to look at.

I'd enjoy trying to make my feast as traditional as possible (I know it's impossible to make it 100% authentic). What makes for a complete Japanese meal? Should I serve green tea with dinner, and if so, what kind? Table decorations? Any other suggestions?

I will have lots of free time to prepare the food, so, short of recipes that take days to ferment or pickle or whatever, I'm up for anything. I have access to a great co-op that sells some Asian vegetables and condiments, but I may not be able to purchase something that's really only grown in Asia - I don't know of any Asian markets in rural VT where my family lives!

Lastly, I know that dashi containing bonito flakes is much-used in Japanese cooking, and no, I will not be using it, or any other product containing fish (or any other meat). Sorry!

Substitutes for ginger

srrh — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:11:54 -0800

What can I substitute for ground ginger in a peanut sauce recipe? I plan on making peanut sauce tonight, using a recipe that I've used a thousand times before, but I forgot to pick up ginger. Here is the recipe I usually use:

2/3 cups peanut butter
3/4 cups water
3-4 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp.lemon juice
1 scallion, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp. sweetener
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/3 tsp. chili powder

What can I use to substitute for the ginger? I read online that I might be able to use a combination of paprika and nutmeg. Does this seem at all feasible? What ideas do you have?

Vegan recipes without modern or Asian ingredients?

archagon — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:28:01 -0800

Where can I find vegan recipes, especially for baked goods, that don't use modern ingredients like margarine and egg replacer, or Asian ingredients like soy milk and tofu?

Neo-Luddite baking books?

just_ducky — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:53:12 -0800

Bakingfliter: Does anyone have any recipe book recommendations specifically for baking without a stand mixer? I was recently given Baking Illustrated as a gift, and while it is a beautiful book, I was disheartened to find that many of the recipes, especially the bread ones, are for stand mixers. Some of the recipes do have instructions for "hand-mixing variations", but the Test Kitchen folks mostly recommend against this for their recipes. This also happened to me with the bread recipes in How to Cook Everything. Frustrating!

So does anyone know of any baking or bread recipe books that focus on hand-mixing and kneading, rather than using a stand mixer? I have a hippy bread book of my mom's from the early '70s and it is all hand recipes, but I'm looking for some new things to bake. I also was given The Bread Bible, which has some great recipes and I'm going to work my way through them.

I will confess to owning an electric hand-mixer that I use for icing or whipping cream, but I rarely use it and really prefer using elbow grease if I can. And I don't have enough counter space to get a stand mixer in the foreseeable future.

Thanks!

International standard cookbooks?

cgc373 — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:26:32 -0800

When a friend online noticed Joy of Cooking referred to as "one of America's standard cookbooks" and wondered about internationally analogous "standard cookbooks," I immediately thought, "What a great question for AskMe!" And here we are.

Alcohol for the New

divabat — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:07:52 -0800

I've just started drinking alcohol this year. Help me find a cocktail/drink that doesn't taste like cough syrup. So far the only real alcoholic drink that I know I like is sparkling wine (bubbly), whether pink or white. I've had a version of a Long Island Ice Tea at Wagamama that was all right. I don't like alcopops; they taste too much like cough syrup. Whiskey and bourbon are much the same. I did plow through a box of sherry chocolates but I don't know how sherry tastes like on its own. I don't like beer, though Beez Kneez (honey beer) tastes OK.

I see my friends ordering all sorts of mixed drinks and I don't even know where to begin! I like chocolate, vanilla, Nutella, coffee-type flavours, and have been curious about liquer hot chocs/coffees. I'm not a big fan of fruity flavours, except if it's melon or banana (milkshake-ish) or lemonade. Flower flavours are good, and I really like ginger ale/ginger beer.

What would you recommend? Are there any drinks that don't taste overwhelmingly like cough syrup? I don't think I have a pretty high tolerance for alcohol (2 and a bit glasses of champagne and I'm already wobbly) so nothing crazy, but I'm up for experimenting.

What are some local specialties that I don't know about?

achmorrison — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:22:19 -0800

I am looking for foods (dishes, sandwiches, entrees, desserts, salads, whatever...) that are unique to a particular region. For example, many people have heard of Philly cheese steaks, Maryland crab cakes, and Chicago-style deep dish pizza. But, I'm interested in learning about lesser known (or well known to some, but not me) dishes.

For example, in central Illinois there is a sandwich called the horseshoe which made with the bottom of hamburger bun, then a meat (usually hamburger patty, ham or turkey) topped with french fries and slathered in nacho cheese sauce.

Another example is the "loose meat sandwich" which is popular in certain parts of Iowa. The most well known example of this sandwich is made by a restaurant chain called Maid-Rite.

I really want to know about the dish itself and the region that it is popular in.

Thanks!

Christmas pudding stock

bwonder2 — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:54:10 -0800

My Christmas pudding has just boiled for six hours and is now hanging happily. But what can I do with the water it boiled in? It smells so delicious and rich, buttery and brandy, yet I can find nothing through Google for ideas. Dessert soup? Sauce?

Oil and vinegar, hold the oil.

Hwaet — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:38:30 -0800

I like foods with strong flavors: lime juice, chili peppers, vinegar, red onions, whiskey, onion salt, cilantro, and so forth. I recently figured out that grains were the culprits that make me really sleepy and unfocused. I'm switching to a lean meat, veg-heavy diet. Can you recommend decently healthy, low-carb recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner that have LOTS of flavor? Thai food is an obvious suggestion (chicken larb is my favorite dish to order at restaurants), but I'm looking for specific recipes of all genres. I can eat a whole tin of those lime and wasabi almonds. I've been putting sliced turkey on spinach salad with toasted almonds and tons of balsamic vinegar. Hardboiled eggs with onion salt used to be my breakfast stand-by but now I'm sick of them.

What to do with leftover turkey

tr0ubley — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:01:56 -0800

Please share your best recipes for leftover turkey. Most of the recipes that turn up online sound bland, or like a bad sequel to Thanksgiving dinner. Help me think of something new and interesting to do with the leftover bird. Bonus points if it is not a soup or pot pie.

The most insane Turkey recipe ever.

melorama — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:36:42 -0800

I'm searching for an completely insane recipe for a "blackened" roasted turkey that David Rosengarten prepared on his old Food Network show, "Taste". Back in the early to mid 90s (when the Food Network had programs that were actually worth watching), the loveably snooty David Rosengarten had an awesome show called "Taste", where he would discuss one selected food item in excruciating and fascinating detail every week.

One one show, he demonstrated how to make a crazy Roasted Turkey recipe which required 30 or 40 steps to prepare. The culmination of the recipe, as I recall, was covering the whole bird with some sort of substance that caused the outer crust of the turkey to turn completely black.

The only other detail I remember is that the premise of the show was that the recipe was published by a newspaper or magazine writer many, many years ago, and that the pure insanity of the recipe had become an near urban legend that David Rosengarten sought to actually try out for himself to see if it was for real.

What's the name of this Turkey dish? (and an extra gold star if you can tell me where I can watch old episodes of "Taste" online)

What to blend with new immersion blender?

anthropomorphic — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:10:34 -0800

I just got a brand new immersion blender. What should I blend? I've only ever made butternut squash soup and have never made smoothies. Any tips on the use of this thing and/or recipes? Aside from soup and smoothies, am I missing anything? Could I use it to cut up the butter for, say, a pie crust? Any tips on use?

No Prep Potlucking

krippledkonscious — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:23:45 -0800

Late to the party, no time to prep: I'd like to have a collection of recipes that can be manufactured just-in-time; dishes that I can throw together in under 10 minutes with minimal use of kitchen tools. Bonus points if you can assemble the entire dish right out of the shopping bag. MacGyver me some meal ideas! For example, this past weekend I was headed out late to a BBQ. I'd left straight from work so had zero prep time and when I called to see what was already on the table, all the usual suspects were covered. After wandering the grocery store for a bit, I ended up grabbing a tray of portobello mushrooms, a stick of butter, a jar of minced garlic (for convenience), and beer. Assuming that the host had foil (which he did), all I had to do was put a slice of butter on the inside of the 'shroom, add a dollop of garlic, and then soak it with beer; wrap everything in foil, apply to grill, and 10 minutes later it was all yummers.

I get into this situation all the time, whether due to procrastination on my part or because a party situation has evolved without prior notice. It would be great to have several of these recipes to suit different types of parties and venues, using ingredients that can be found in most grocery stores. For me, it beats buying something already prepared, but at the same time I don't want to impose on the host and require extensive use of their fancy knives or kitchen appliances. Recipes for dips are fine, though I would appreciate creative, unexpected combinations that somehow work out - like pouring a jar of chunky salsa on top of a block of cream cheese. Which I heartily recommend.

How do you solve a problem like syrah? (-grenache blend)?

fontophilic — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:18:32 -0800

What can I cook with a whole bottle of red wine? My dad bought me a bottle of red wine, that wasn't exactly what I like to drink, (not bad, just not my preference). I've got the whole bottle minus a few sips to cook with today. I'm getting stumped because I don't often cook with expensive ingredients and a recipe that lists "1 bottle of red wine" would normally be quickly passed over. I have braised beef and caramelized onions in red wine before and it was great, but I'd be interested in something different this time.

I'd say I'm fairly experienced in the kitchen. I can run to the store for anything, and have a few hours to cook. I've got just about every kitchen gadget imaginable minus crock-pot and food processor, but I do have a blender. Bonus points if your recipe includes parsnips, fresh basil, turkey drumsticks, or thai-asian condiments, all of which are in my fridge right now. Meat and non-meat recipes are welcome. Also, it does not need to be a main dish, it just needs to use up this wine. (sauces? marinades? dessert?)

Notes about the wine:

It was much lighter and less complex than the wine (malbec, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir), that I usually enjoy drinking. The bottle I've got is a grenache-syrah blend. I'd say it has almost no forward notes, a berry middle, and a light finish, with almost no tannins. If dry was a 0, and sweet was a 10, this would be a 6. It wasn't particularly expensive.

Help me cook hivemind!

Help me find simple recipes for discussion evenings

modernhypatia — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:43:46 -0800

On a regular basis, I'm going to be having informal discussion evenings in my home, with two to four people at each one. They (and I) need to eat dinner, but the focus of the evening isn't the food. I'm looking for food ideas that meet a number of criteria, and trying to figure out more variety. I'll be providing the main dish (we potluck for some things, but not these discussions), and want to keep costs fairly low. People may well bring supplemental food (cheese and crackers, salad, desert, etc.) but will often be coming directly from work (so limited in what things they can easily bring along.)

These discussion evenings are basically religious education discussions, which I will be leading, so I want the food to be something that needs very little attention (and that will be ready to eat within 10 minutes of people arriving and settling down, so we don't need to disrupt the flow of the discussion.) People are usually on time, but traffic or other events can sometimes mean people run 10-15 minutes late, so dishes should be able to accommodate that.

Stuff that's worked so far:
- Soup + bread + interesting cheese
- Homemade pizza (if I get home early enough to let the dough come up to room temp.)
- Hot weather food plates (hummus, vegetables, baba ganoush, salads, etc.)
- Chicken wild rice stew (made in advance, reheated)

Me:
- Work full time, and would get home about 1-2 hours before the other folks show up. (School librarian: my day starts early.)
- However, work is a long day for me, and I'm not up for more than about 10-15 minute of food prep once I get home. (I need a break, plus usually need to do a little last minute tidying/moving of furniture, etc.)
- Live by myself (with a cat), and normally eat my main meal of the day at work (we have a great cafeteria): my meal habits are geared around that.
- I enjoy cooking, bake my own bread most of the time, etc. but prefer to do it in long batches on the weekend. (That said, long food preps like stew that can be reheated later in the week are great).
- Reasonable cooking skills, but nothing fancy.
- I do most of my food shopping at Trader Joe's and the local co-op or farmer's market, but also have a mainstream grocery (Rainbow and Cub) nearby.

My kitchen (in a 400 square foot house: space is limited):
- Gas stove/oven
- Smallish fridge/freezer (i.e. not tons of extra storage space after storing my own food that needs this space.)
- No microwave (and nowhere to put one that's accessible or safe for me to use.)
- Willing to consider a crockpot if I can figure out enough things I'd use it for.
- Avoid one-use-only tools, but do have a reasonable range of kitchen pots and pans, mixing bowls, storage, etc.
- Leftovers should be things I can either get through myself in a reasonable amount of time, or that can be easily frozen.

Other food notes
- Strong preference for avoiding highly processed foods. Recipes that involve 'add a can of cream of whatever soup', or 'pour in X amount of processed food' are things I want to avoid.
- I'd like to have a range of seasonally appropriate foods, though this isn't totally mandatory.
- I'd like to avoid protein heavy meals ("take 6 chicken breasts and X..."), I prefer sustainably raised animal protein when I buy it, and regularly feeding multiple people lots of that would be a big dent in my food budget.
- I don't do well with peppers; very mild chili would be fine, but not heavily spicy foods that rely on them.
- We are not currently dealing with significant food limits (allergies, sensitivities, vegetarians, diabetic, gluten free, etc.) but it's quite possible that'll be true some time in the future, and I'd like to have options that adjust for it.

My hopes:
What I really hope is that somewhere out there, there's a blog or six talking about exactly this, with lots of great recipes and ideas. Cookbooks that do the same would be great too. But I'll also cheerfully take links to specific recipes, or even ideas of what to look for. I've done a number of searches, but don't seem to be finding good ways to focus the specific stuff I want.

Thank you!