Cookbook Dorks

Wine Racks: Choosing The Right Wine Rack For You

2008-06-11T11:07:08Z

Wine racks have become something that just about anyone wants to purchase and have within their home. They are supplied in a wide variety of styles, shapes and dimensions to fit just about anyones needs.

Adding one to a home can heighten the homes value and separate it from other homes. It can also help to keep wine fresh, undisturbed and easy to access when you need it. You dont have to be a wine lover to find the value in adding a wine rack of some sort to your home.

Selection: Opting for The Best Wine Rack For You

Since there are so many unique sorts of wine racks to choose from, it makes sense that you would need a little help knowing which is the Best one for you. Here are some of them and a little info that you need about each one.

Top Of The Line: The top of the line wine racks are those that can be custom constructed in a cellar of your home. These are fantastic choices for individuals who have room to add a room in a cool area of the residence and those that adore wine.

They can be custom built out of the wood types of your preference, fitted for the area that you have chosen and shaped in virtually any form that fits your needs. The bad news is that with any customized work you will also have to pay quite a bit more for it.

Metal Wine Racks: For a more fashionable way of displaying your wine, consider a metal wine rack. These are available in a wide range of sizes and can be used to display your wine in a beautiful way, as you would other dcor within your residence.

They are often bought to stand on the floor or they can be purchased as counter top sitters as well. The number of bottles they will hold depends greatly on the size of the wine rack you purchase. Often, they can be bought in the style you are after. The one drawback to these is that you will need to find a location, out of the way of children, to place it.

Hanging Wine Racks: To take care of that problem with room, you can add a wine rack to your wall or hang it from your ceiling. These are great choices when it comes to adding a little style to your kitchen.

Again, they come in a wide variety of sizes and styles, depending on what you like. If you choose these, you will likely get less storage than you would any other method but if you only keep a few bottles on hand, this is ideal.

Environmental Controls: If you are a wine enthusiast, you should consider investing in an environment controlling unit. If you were to build a wine racking setup in a cellar, you would be able to add to it climate control. If you are looking for a way to control the environment in your kitchen, you can do this with a wine chest.

These fit under counters like your dishwasher can or they can be stored above the counter in smaller units. They are a critical appliance for your kitchen. These are much more pricey than wine racking systems but can keep your wine at the best temperature.

Any and all wine racking systems can be bought online. You will find that custom made options as well as those that are a simple hanging racks are offered to you in the sizes and styles that you really want to have. Wine racks are an excellent choice for upgrading your home.

A toast to the perfect wine rack! Please visit our site for more information on metal wine rack products as well as other racks for storage needs.

About the Author: Hurry onto the author's website for good stuff on hanging wine racks insider hints before it's too late!

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cookbook_dorks @ 2007-02-26T20:10:00

2007-02-27T00:11:10Z

View Poll: Weird, Stange and Unusual Recipes with a Dash of Humor

If you answered yes above, here's the link:

http://community.livejournal.com/funnyrecipes/profile

Chicken Madras Recipe

2007-02-19T16:50:50Z

Hi all! I wanted to share a recipe I thought you might like for Chicken Madras. It's part of a neat feature called Dinner and a Game at our website, Casual Review (original article) written by our resident chef and sweetheart, Sara Schweid, but I'm reprinting it here for everyone to enjoy. Here's the text from the second half of the feature:

To go along with the Indian-theme of this game, I’ve got a delicious meal for you this week, and yes, it’s an actual dinner this time (I’ve been sort of on a dessert kick). Chicken Madras is a flavorful dish filled with traditional Indian spices. You should be able to buy the curry powder, curry masala gravy and garam masala (a blend of ground spices) in the spices aisle of your local grocery store, or else at a specialty market. Curry comes in a variety of heat (from mild to spicy), and you can use whichever you prefer. This recipe is quick and easy and a delicious supplement for this fun and addictive game.

Chicken Madras (Serves 2)

You’ll need:

- 3 chicken breasts cut into chunks
- 1 cup curry masala gravy
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons curry powder (or more to taste)
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 4 cloves crushed garlic
- ½ cup grated ginger
- 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 5 tablespoons chopped coriander
- 1 teaspoon garam masala

1. Start by making a paste of the curry powder and chili powder with just enough water to get it wet and sticky.
2. Fry the onion in a pan with the oil until it's translucent.
3. Add the garlic, ginger and cayenne pepper and fry it another 30 seconds or so.
4. Add the curry and chili powder mixture and stir until combined.
5. Add the chicken and fry until the chicken is cooked a bit on the outside.
6. Add the masala gravy and simmer until the chicken is cooked, stirring constantly.
7. When it's almost done, add the coriander and stir.
8. Serve this delicious treat with a side of basmati rice.

If you like the recipe and the writing, we have a nice backlog of Dinner and a Game features and new ones each week at the website! Check us out here.

cookbook_dorks @ 2007-02-14T17:11:00

2007-02-14T22:10:03Z

Does anyone know of a Betty Crocker book that was released between the years 83-86 that had a recipe for German Chocolate Cake and also something with enchiladas? My dad's looking for it and that's really the best description he has..

Edit: He just added some more dishes that the book has...
Lemon Chicken
Chicken Keiv
Potato Pancakes
Onion Soup

etc etc...

Smoothies!

2007-02-14T19:54:22Z

Here are a few smoothie drinks that are really good. Try them out and let me know what you think.

Brandon

PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SMOOTHIE
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons blackberry or raspberry jelly
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 banana, frozen and chunked
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons wheat germ
In a blender combine milk, jelly, peanut butter, banana, honey and wheat germ. Blend until smooth.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER BANANA SMOOTHIE
1/2 cups rice milk
1/2 cups silken tofu
1/3 cups creamy peanut butter
2 fresh bananas, frozen and sliced
2 tablespoons chocolate syrup
6 ice cubes
Combine the rice milk, tofu and peanut butter in a blender. Add the bananas, chocolate syrup and ice cubes. Blend until smooth, about 30 to 40 seconds. Makes 2 servings.

SUGAR FREE STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIE
1 8 ounces carton plain nonfat yogurt
1/4 cups skim milk
3 packets equal or 1 teaspoon equal measure
3 cups frozen strawberries
1 cup ice cubes
In a blender container combine yogurt, milk, and equal. With the blender running, add berries a few at a time through opening in lid. Blend until smooth, then add ice cubes one at a time through opening in lid, blending until slushy. Pour into glasses.

ORGANIC SMOOTHIE
2 cups organic calcium‐fortified orange juice
1 cup frozen organic strawberries
1/3 cups frozen organic blueberries (more or less ‐ to taste)
1 banana
Blend in your blender till smooth, then add the following optional ingredients, if desired: slightly less than 1/4 cups flax oil 2. 5 scoops of your favorite powdered protein supplement this recipe makes a lot of smoothie, enough to feed myself & my 2 sons for breakfast. It also freezes really well (for smoothie Popsicles). If you only need to feed yourself, then you can cut the ingredients in half.

MANGO TANGO SMOOTHIE
1 cup frozen mango
1 frozen banana
1 cup peach sorbet
1 can papaya nectar
Blend until smooth.

AMAZING APPLE SMOOTHIE
2 cups apple sauce
1 cup apple cider
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons Vermont maple syrup
1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

--
Free Recipe Books
--

Hi.

2007-01-30T19:55:50Z

Hi. My name is Brandon. I am new this community. I am a "cookbook dork" too! lol. I just wanted to say "Hi" and introduce myself.

Nice to meet you all.

Brandon

cookbook_dorks @ 2007-01-17T00:57:00

2007-01-17T06:57:26Z

(i hope this is allowed)

Chicken and Dumplings
6 cups fat free chicken broth
1 large can of chicken breast
1 can fat free cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup water

cut tortillas into dumpling size pieces
bring broth, chicken, and water to a boil
drop in tortilla pieces one at a time
boil until tender (about 5-6 minutes)
add soup, salt, and pepper
continue boiling for two miutes, stiring frequently

Red Pepper Fettuccine For Two
8 ounces dry fettuccine pasta
1 red bell pepper, julienned
2 cloves garlic, minced (less if you don't love garlic like i do)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (more to spice it up a bit)
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup grated parmesan
salt and pepper

bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes; drain.
spray cooking oil in a large skillet and saute red bell peppers, garlic and chili powder over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes.
stir in sour cream and broth; simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
remove from heat and stir in cheese.
toss hot pasta with sauce and season with plenty of salt and pepper

to swap more, join kitchenprincess.

(crossposted)

cookbook_dorks @ 2006-10-26T19:08:00

2006-10-27T00:09:55Z

Hello all. I just wanted to let my fellow cookbook dorks know that I have created a new "food community" called super_supper. Stop by and take a look. It's been very interesting so far. :)

Caribbean Braised Pork Chops

2006-09-21T23:49:59Z

The second straight Caribbean-themed post by me! You're gonna read this and be like, "WTF, that's not gonna work" -- but it did. I even surprised myself, just slapping together things that were gonna go bad while I'm on vacation.

6 pork chops, thin cut
1 1/2 Granny Smith apples, diced
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp lime juice
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c cider vinegar
1/4 c ginger ale
2 bananas, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 green chiles, roasted and diced
1 shot rum

Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Brown pork chops on both sides, 2-3 minutes a side, in oil or butter if necessary/desired, and remove to a plate.

Add about 1 Tbsp olive oil to the saute pan. Add the onions and apples, along with a pinch of salt and the dry spices, and cook until just soft, stirring occasionally, about 5-7 minutes.

Add the lime juice, vinegar, ginger ale, and brown sugar, stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Add the bananas and chiles and simmer for about 2 minutes. Add the rum, stir it all together, then layer the pork chops on the top, pushing down to partly submerge.

From here, you can either slap on a lid and simmer the whole thing to doneness, about 10 more minutes, or you can park it in a 325 oven for 30-40. Basically, you want the pork chops tender but not quite falling apart, and you want to reduce the liquid so it's at least a little bit saucey and not so much watery. (I didn't cook mine long enough, but I was hungry.)

E. Coli outbreak - don't eat any fresh spinach!

2006-09-18T20:34:40Z

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01453.html

Caribbean Cornbread

2006-09-14T14:53:08Z

About a month ago, I bought a six-pack of malta, a Caribbean soft drink, because I'd seen it a lot in Florida and wanted to try it. Here's some free advice: Don't. It is not suitable for human consumption on its own, much like buttermilk. But much like buttermilk, it can be used to make some pretty good baked items, as I discovered with this cornbread recipe.

DRY INGREDIENTS
1 cup corn meal
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

WET INGREDIENTS
2 eggs
7 oz bottle of malta
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp butter, melted

CHUNKS
4 oz chopped roasted green chiles (you can use the kind in the can, if you have no taste buds ... or just leave it out)

Put about a tablespoon of shortening or vegetable oil into a 7-inch cast iron pan (I've also used an 8-inch square glass baking dish for this, but the cast iron gives you more crunch). Put the pan into the oven and preheat the whole thing to 350 degrees.

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl, and the wet ingredients in a smaller bowl (I just use my two-cup Pyrex measuring cup). Pour the wet onto the dry and fold it together. When thoroughly combined, fold in the chiles.

Pour the cornbread mixture into the preheated pan (SLOWLY -- don't slosh the hot oil over the sides). Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the center feels just firm. Serve hot with butter or your favorite saucy Caribbean dish (i.e. ropa vieja) poured over the top.

I modified this recipe from the Northern Cornbread recipe in Joy of Cooking. The Southern Cornbread is good, but I tend to think that a little wheat flour makes the end product a little fluffier, and without it the cornbread is too cracker-like. You could also put some cheese into this, about a cup shredded ... Monterrey Jack would be good.

Goat Cheese Beer Biscuits

2006-08-21T19:52:34Z

1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup mayonassie
1/2 TB sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
1/3 cup Goat Cheese (Cheddar can be substituted)
1/4 TB Garlic Powder
2 TBs butter
1 cup beer (Budwieser or similar)
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Do not over mix. Drop biscuits on sheet pan at least 2" apart or fill lined/greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 10-15 mins, or tops are lightly golden. Cool 5-10 mins. Serve.

Yeilds 8-10 biscuits

Eggplant Parmesan

2006-08-03T13:57:26Z

I've made this before, and it's always stringy, bitter, leathery, and overall not-good. But yesterday I finally figured it out and made the best I've ever done.

INGREDIENTS
1 large eggplant
1 cup short tube pasta (I used macaroni)
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided
1 jar tomato-based pasta sauce (I used Newman's Cabernet Marinara)
splash red wine vinegar (about 1 oz)
1 cup flour
2 eggs mixed with 1/4 cup milk
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
olive oil for cooking
8 oz mozzarella cheese, sliced thin
handful of fresh basil leaves

Slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch rounds. Spread out on a cooling rack (over the sink is best) and salt liberally on both sides. Let stand for 30 minutes.

Cook the pasta to al dente, drain, and combine with butter and 1/2 cup of the parmesan. Spread over the bottom of a 13x9 baking pan. Top with about a cup of the sauce and the vinegar.

Line up three shallow dishes for dredging. Put the flour in one, the eggs and milk in another, and the breadcrumbs in the third. Heat a saute pan or shallow fry pan over medium-high heat. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

Rinse the eggplant slices to remove excess salt, and squeeze them between your palms to wring out any excess water. Coat each slice in the flour (shaking off any excess), the egg mixture, and the bread crumbs, and return to the rack.

Add about 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil to the saute pan. Cook 3-4 eggplant slices at a time, about 2-3 minutes on each side until browned, adding more oil as necessary. Spread the eggplant in one layer over the top of the pasta.

Spread the mozzarella evenly over the eggplant. Top with the rest of the sauce, followed by the remaining parmesan. Bake until the cheese is melted and the sauce is hot, about 5 minutes. Top with the basil and serve.

(You may want to leave the pasta out, but I really felt like it made the dish. If you don't want it, you should still put some sauce on the bottom of the pan, with the parm that would have otherwise gone into the pasta on top of it.)

Yay!

2006-06-10T22:16:30Z

This may come as a shock to other, more knowledgeable people, but I just found out that you can grill dough. As in flatbread/pizza-type dough. I am just floored by this. How cool! I can have homemade pizza even when it is too hot to heat the kitchen this summer!

contest for best recipe

2006-05-21T13:05:52Z

For those of you who might be interested in posting your recipes or in recipe contests, there's a recipe contest going on here

the horror

2006-05-06T13:38:34Z

Foie Gras Banned In Chicago

I'm glad I don't live in Chicago right now...

Savory Biscuit Bread with Sweet Plantains

2006-04-14T16:50:56Z

Mix together 2 cups of Bisquick biscuit mix with 2 eggs, 1/2 cup apple butter, 1 Tbsp ketchup, 1 tsp kosher salt. Bake in a greased casserole dish or pie pan at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until done. Cut 2 ripe plantains length wise and into 1" pieces, soak in a bowl of 1 cup passion fruit juice and 1 1/2 cups milk. In a medium frying pan begin warming 1/4 cup apple butter, once heated add plantains with all juice and milk to the pan. Bring liquid to a low simmer and place a lid on the pan. Cook the plantains until there is no more liquid in the pan. Serve with biscuit bread, black berries, and honey.

Foodwriting Recommendations for the new year:

2006-03-28T14:15:05Z

Hi All;

Just finished these foodwriting titles and I highly recommend all of them.

'The Big Oyster' by Mark Kurlansky: a history of how the once great oyster beds of NY shaped the city & the culture of this area. Great read, great recipes. I also recommend 2 of his other books: 'Salt, a Natural History' and 'Cod' *yes, it is about the fish!*

'1000 Days in Venice' and the sequel '1000 Days in Tuscany' by Marlena de Blasi: both books are part travelogue, part foodwriting and very well done. Wonderful recipes.

'Candy Freak' by Steve Almond *ironic, I know*: One man's journey into the strange yet engrossing world of mass produced candy. The author concentrates on smaller companies and why their owners got into candy making in the first place. Funny, touching and a great trip down junk food's memory lane *I read about candy I haven't seen since I was about 10 years old*.

Enjoy;
A.K.

Appetite for Seduction Premiering on iTunes this Valentine's Day

2006-02-13T20:48:00Z

Join Sensual Cooking Diva, Shani Castri, as she explores the romantic history and potency of some of the finest aphrodisiacs found in New York City and around the world. Shani consults with the experts on her journey to help awaken your appetite for seduction. From caviar to vanilla, pomegranate to garlic, join Shani every two weeks, when as she guides you towards creating an evening—or morning—of passion and food that you and your partner are not soon to forget.

Click here to subscribe via iTunes
Visit www.appetiteforseduction.com
Visit the Appetite for Seduction Livejournal Community

Chicken Curry

2006-01-18T07:21:52Z

I enjoy playing around with cultural cuisines, trying to figure out the basics and how stuff evolves from there. The other day, I decided to make a chicken curry, and collated several recipes (plus my own memory of Japanese-style curry rice, which I love) into this one. I'm proud to say it came out pretty good.

To start off, you really need to make your own curry powder. The stuff in the jar is mostly yellow food coloring and turmeric, and doesn't taste like anything. Here's how I did mine.

2 Tbsp coriander seed
1 Tbsp cumin seed
1/2 Tbsp black peppercorns
8-10 allspice berries
4-5 whole cloves
1 dried New Mexico chile, torn up
1/2 Tbsp turmeric

Toast the first six ingredients in a skillet over medium heat until the coriander starts to pop and the chile starts to turn black, about 5-7 minutes. Pour into a spice grinder (or clean coffee grinder), add turmeric, and blend to a powder. Turn out onto parchment paper and let cool before placing into a tin or jar. Makes about 1/4 cup.

If you insist on buying the stuff, at least get the garam masala. It's more authentic to India (specifically north India) than the fakey, British-inspired curry powder.

CURRY INGREDIENTS
1 large onion, sliced thin
2 Tbsp canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 Tbsp curry powder
2 carrots, small dice (1/4-1/2 inch)
1/2 red apple, small dice
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 14-ounce can chicken stock
1 1/2 pounds chicken, large dice (3/4-1 inch) (I used boneless breasts, but do it however you want -- if you want to use whole chicken, up it to 2 pounds)
1 pound potatoes, medium-large dice
4 oz plain yogurt

In a large stir-fry pan or wok, cook the onions in the oil over medium heat until light brown and transparent, stirring frequently to allow liquid to evaporate.
Add garlic, ginger and curry powder and stir and cook for about 2-3 minutes, until everything's about the color of a manila envelope and the smell is pretty strong.
Add carrots and apple. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, for another 3-5 minutes, until the apples and carrots have browned slightly.
Add tomatoes in juice and chicken stock, stir to combine, and bring to a low boil.
Stir chicken and potatoes into the liquid. Add water or more broth to cover, return to a boil, then reduce heat to low or medium-low, just enough to keep liquid bubbling gently. Cook about 25-30 minutes, uncovered, until potatoes are done.
Turn off heat, stir in yogurt, and serve with rice.

This isn't quite as good as the Green Chicken Curry I posted in here last year, but I was pretty happy with it. You might want to reduce the amount of potatoes or increase the curry powder -- it was good on first eating, but the leftovers are quite bland. I actually reduced the potatoes in this recipe by half a pound from what I actually used, so try that first and then cut if necessary.

Holiday Potluck recipe

2005-12-27T19:26:19Z

So, for the holiday season, my workplace had a potluck. I was lucky enough to grab the Honeybaked Hambone before anyone else. So I made soup.

Lazy Man's Ham and Bean Soup

3 cans of Beans (I used pinto and black, thanks to leftovers from rjmoya's chili recipe.)
1 Large ham hock.
10 cups of stock (veggie, beef or chicken) OPTIONAL!
8 ounces chopped sausage.
2 medium chopped onions.
3 cloves chopped garlic.
1 can (28 ounces) of peeled, halved tomatoes.
2 tablespoons oregano (sage, basil, or parley are also good for a mix-n-match)
Juice of 2 lemons.
Salt
Pepper

Drain the beans while you are prepping the other ingredients. Cover ham hock with water, stock or a combination. Bring heat to Medium high, adding water as needed until meat is falling off the bones. Bring heat down to meduim. Remove hock, and set aside to cool. Add beans, onions, tomatoes (with juice!), garlic, herbs, and sausage. Remove meat from hock, shred into pieces, and add back to soup. Continue to cook until tomatoes are broken down. Add lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Of course, this is modified from the original recipe, but really, with everything else going on during the holidays, who has room (or time) to let the non-canned beans soak? And I KNOW I didn't have the spare pans. Maybe Harry Homemaker does, but durnit, I'm working 50-hour weeks.

......just created new service to share recipes...........

2005-12-22T04:14:01Z

http://howdoicook.ning.com/index.php

Take a look, please, it must be very heplful for anyone, who cooks, now it's almost empty, but you can add your content, they have free storage 1 Giga.
This is an application to share recipes of ALL the things worth cooking! Design allows to browse the recipes by tags, by people, who've added, and, of course, by the product (food) name.
(if you don't like this, sorry, and i apologise if commited the rules of this community)

cookbook_dorks @ 2005-11-22T16:39:00

2005-11-22T22:40:10Z

HELP!!! Need quick answers. My favorite customer from work brought me in the biggest shrimp from Florida that I've ever seen in my live. Rather than eating them as cocktail shrimp, I'd like to make a dinner with them. Any suggestions???

cookbook_dorks @ 2005-11-21T16:03:00

2005-11-21T21:03:47Z

I need help in making a green bean casserole without the cream of mushroom soup...any help would be apperciated !!

semi-beginner cookbook suggestions?

2005-11-14T14:40:01Z

hi i'm new!

i've got a very important question. i want to initiate my brother into the wild world of cookbooks for christmas. he loves to cook, but my mom doesn't keep a very stocked kitchen. He loves the tv chefs Mario Batali and Emeril (though i personally can't stand Emeril), but i think their recipes would be a bit too complicated for him just yet.

So i'm wondering, does anybody know of a good beginner cookbook that might fit him? Since he's not a complete beginner I was thinking of something a little better than "Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen" *lol*.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!