Cookbook Project, Books #69 and 70
Jun. 28th, 2009 10:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladysprite"The Country Diary: Cookery Notes," Edith Holden/Alison Harding
This is an adorable little book that I got at Buck A Book more years ago than I can remember, mostly because it was pretty and charming. It's a combination of nature notes taken by a country lady in 1906 and Victorian and Edwardian recipes collected by a modern cookbook author that have been chosen to try to match the subjects she was writing about. I've looked through it plenty of times, but never actually used it - while the recipes are interesting, they're not always the most practical.
I was really looking forward to finally having an inescapable excuse to use it, though, even if I did kind of chicken out and pick an easy recipe - Savoury Vegetable Pie, instead of jugged hare or grouse on toast or lamb with quince. That said, the Vegetable Pie was excellent. It was almost like a vegetarian shepherd's pie, and while it was a lot of work - pre-cooking and slicing, and making a white sauce; and while poor planning and ingredient tracking delayed our making it by quite a while, it was absolutely worth it. Delicious the first night, just as good reheated as leftovers a few days later. And I *will* try at least one of the more challenging recipes at some point....
"Hamburger Recipes," Pillsbury
This is yet another glossy checkout lane booklet. This one I got while I lived in Ohio, mostly because while I lived out there ground beef cost about $0.99/pound and was incredibly fast and easy to work with while going to school full-time and studying half the rest of the time. I've actually used it before, and while it's not gourmet cuisine, some of the stuff has been pretty useful.
I wanted to try something I hadn't made before, though, and the Taco Salad Blossoms sounded really good. And they were. I'm a little embarrassed to have found the recipe here; if anything, it was more of a serving suggestion - salad, tomatoes, taco meat and toppings. That said, wherever the idea came from, it's one I'll be using again.
Now, please let there be some sun and warm days, so I can use my ice cream cookbooks before the summer is over....
This is an adorable little book that I got at Buck A Book more years ago than I can remember, mostly because it was pretty and charming. It's a combination of nature notes taken by a country lady in 1906 and Victorian and Edwardian recipes collected by a modern cookbook author that have been chosen to try to match the subjects she was writing about. I've looked through it plenty of times, but never actually used it - while the recipes are interesting, they're not always the most practical.
I was really looking forward to finally having an inescapable excuse to use it, though, even if I did kind of chicken out and pick an easy recipe - Savoury Vegetable Pie, instead of jugged hare or grouse on toast or lamb with quince. That said, the Vegetable Pie was excellent. It was almost like a vegetarian shepherd's pie, and while it was a lot of work - pre-cooking and slicing, and making a white sauce; and while poor planning and ingredient tracking delayed our making it by quite a while, it was absolutely worth it. Delicious the first night, just as good reheated as leftovers a few days later. And I *will* try at least one of the more challenging recipes at some point....
"Hamburger Recipes," Pillsbury
This is yet another glossy checkout lane booklet. This one I got while I lived in Ohio, mostly because while I lived out there ground beef cost about $0.99/pound and was incredibly fast and easy to work with while going to school full-time and studying half the rest of the time. I've actually used it before, and while it's not gourmet cuisine, some of the stuff has been pretty useful.
I wanted to try something I hadn't made before, though, and the Taco Salad Blossoms sounded really good. And they were. I'm a little embarrassed to have found the recipe here; if anything, it was more of a serving suggestion - salad, tomatoes, taco meat and toppings. That said, wherever the idea came from, it's one I'll be using again.
Now, please let there be some sun and warm days, so I can use my ice cream cookbooks before the summer is over....
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Date: 2009-07-03 11:49 pm (UTC)Start with lean ground beef. Or chicken. Or turkey. Or pork. Or shaved steak. Or shredded Steak-Ums. Or whatever. I'm not picky :). Brown in a skillet and drain. While draining, wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel.
Pour enough water into the empty skillet to cover the meat -- about 1/3" deep for 1 pound of ground beef in a 10" skillet. For each pound of meat add: 3oz tomato paste (1/2 of a 6oz can), 1/4 tsp ground chipotle, 1 tsp "Mexican Fiesta" (Frontier's brand name), 1 tbsp vinegar. Turn heat low and stir until tomato paste is dissolved. Add meat and mix carefully. Simmer on medium heat until the mixture starts to bubble. Turn heat down to medium-low and then low as the water evaporates. Stir occasionally. I think you know when it's done.
I like white rice vinegar but you can use whatever you like. I also sometimes add 1 tsp sugar depending on the tomato paste I use. Some brands are sweeter -- much sweeter -- than others.