2012 Picnic Recipes

Folks,

You know what to do here.

Liege Waffles

Yields about 10 waffles

3 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c bread flour
1 packet of yeast ( I use the fast kind)
3/4 c of whole milk between 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit
8 oz softened unsalted butter
2 eggs
1/2 t salt
1 t. Vanilla extract
3/4 c Lars own Belgian Pearl Sugar

Dissolve yeast in milk.
Gradually add all ingredients, BUT NOT THE PEARL SUGAR, to the flour. This will look more like a bread dough ( think brioche) than a batter you maybe accustomed to pouring into the waffle iron? Cover with plastic wrap and set-aside ( preferably some place warm & draft-free), allowing the dough to rise, roughly double in size, about 30 min. Heat waffle iron after the first 20 minutes of dough rising time. At the end of the dough's rise time add the sugar and don't be surprised if you need to mix it in with your hands like bread. Divide dough into 4 oz. patties. Add to waffle iron and heat. Each iron is different but I like the result best somewhere between 3 min & 45 sec to 4 min. on my iron.
Cool on a rack and then enjoy, plain or topped with preserves, ice cream,or whipped cream.

Best Ever Cornbread
1 cup (two sticks) butter, melted
4 eggs, beaten
3 cups milk
2 cups sugar
2 cups cornmeal
3 cups purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 can creamed corn

Line a 12" Dutch oven with foil (or grease a 9x13" pan)
Mix together butter, eggs, milk and creamed corn
Mix together sugar, flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt
Combine wet and dry, pour into pan.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes - cover Dutch oven, placing 8-10 briquettes below and 14-16 on top. Every 15 minutes turn the oven and lid 1/4 turn in opposite directions for even browning.

Chocolate Syrup Coffee Cake
1 package pain yellow cake mix
1 package vanilla instant pudding
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Line a 12" Dutch oven with foil (or grease a 9x13" pan)
Combine all ingredients except for chocolate and nuts, poor into pan and spread out evenly. Drizzle syrup over the top, then use a knife to swirl through the batter to create a marble effect. Scatter the nuts over the top.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes - cover Dutch oven, placing 8-10 briquettes below and 14-16 on top. Every 15 minutes turn the oven and lid 1/4 turn in opposite directions for even browning.

Chicken and Squash Curry
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" cubes
3 delicata squash (about 2.5 lbs), peeled, cut in half, seeded, cut into 1" cubes
3 large onions, sliced thinly
4 jalapenos, minced
7 cloves garlic, minced
2 inches ginger, peeled, minced
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup oil
2 tsp salt
Water
2 Tbs turmeric
3 Tbs coriander
2 Tbs cumin
2 Tbs Chile powder (I used medium sun dried Chimayo)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Heat Dutch oven over about 15 coals add oil
Brown chicken pieces in two batches, remove to a bowl
Place onions in pot, stir constantly until soft and brown, about 20 minutes or more.
Add garlic, ginger and jalapenos, cook for two minutes.
Add spices, stir for 1 minute
Add tomatoes, squash, salt. Add water to not quite cover, about 3 cups.
Cover Dutch oven and place a dozen briquettes on top. Cook covered for 40 minutes, then uncover and cook until thickened. Stir occasionally.
Add cilantro and serve

[edit]After tasting the leftovers today, I probably should have dropped a cinnamon stick or two in the curry (cardamom and nutmeg would be gilding the lily), and maybe more ginger. Personally I like it spicier, but it was reasonably warm for a mixed crowd.

no recipe for the STRAWBERRY LIMEADE just a list of ingredients:

fresh squeezed limes
water
simple syrup
pureed strawberries (food processor)
pureed pineapple
canned coconut milk
unsweetened cranberry juice
a little frozen passion fruit puree (find at a pete's market, or hispanic grocery store)

the balance between flavors is up to you. if you remember the big bucket i brought the punch in, i can tell you that there was 1 can of coconut milk, 1 quart of strawberries and 1 pineapple in there. the rest was lime, water and 1/2 bottle of unsweetened cranberry juice. and about 1/2 cup of passion fruit puree. and simple syrup to taste. this bucket holds 2 gallons of liquid. so you can scale down, if you want.

(edited to add bucket size, and change 1 pint of strawberries, to 1 QUART.)

Hi,

Burmese Tea Salad

1 head Romaine lettuce, washed & chopped
1 medium tomato, diced (I USED ROMAS)
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 lemon, cut into wedges (LIME JUICE SQUEEZED INSTEAD)
¼ cup unsalted sunflower seeds (DID NOT INCLUDE)
¼ cup sesame seeds, roasted
¼ cup unsalted peanuts, roasted
¼ cup laphet
¼ cup fried yellow split peas
¼ cup fried garlic
1 Jalapeno pepper (optional)

Last winter on a visit to Ft Wayne, Indiana, I purchased the essential ingredient: the fermented tea leaves aka laphet. This kit had the tea leaves in one packet and some beans and things in the other. I did not open the packet until I reached the grove, there was some duplication what I brought already made fresh: fried garlic, toasted sesame seeds, peanuts.

CrazyC was my consultant on the salad, since she has spent time in Burma. She never saw Romaine lettuce or tomatoes in tea salads there. We guessed it was done here to stretch an exotic and relatively expensive ingredient as well as make it more palatable to those who were unfamiliar with it.

The packet had not been checked or opened when I began throwing everything I prepared at home into the bowl: lettuce, tomatoes, minced Jalapeno pepper, sweet red pepper, fried garlic, toasted sesame seeds and peanuts.

Opened the tea salad packet into the salad, then looked over the other ingredient packet realizing there was duplication, though not 100%. CrazyC added half, then we added the rest plus some additional lettuce.

CrazyC added juice of maybe 3-5 limes in total until it was sufficiently sourish.

Since Burmese food is so rare, there is a thought of having a Burmese dinner in Ft Wayne. From gauging people's reaction to the tea salad yesterday, I think there are some who may like to go.

***

Corn came from Vonbergen's Farm in Hebron/Richmond, IL.

Regards,

Thai rice noodle salad with chicken, from the NYT via Smitten Kitchen. I used twice the amount of noodles and omitted the scallions (just forgot, d'oh!) and peanuts (didn't have them). We have had this maybe ten times this summer, I love it so much!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/18626930@N00/7972000262/

(I can't seem to get the img tag to work with flickr, so here's a link instead, so sorry!)

Several people raved about my Rosemary Garlic Focaccia... thanks! I only made a single batch this time (since last time I brought it we took about half of it home)... so of course this time it all evaporated in about 30 minutes.

The recipe is here.

(One deviation from the recipe as written was that I used a bit more potato; maybe 12 ounces? Dough was extremely wet and did not rise as much as it normally does, but the result was pretty good.)

My dish was a gazpacho with a tomato-olive oil sorbet and a manchego cheese straw.


Gazpacho

I didn't use any exact recipe for the gazpacho, although I owe much of the success of the dish to Tomato Mountain . . . they offer a great variety of tomatoes, and outstanding quality control, and can be found at many of the Chicago area farmers' markets. As far as ingredients, I used mostly tomatoes (a variety) so that would be the predominant flavor, and after coring I roasted and charred some and also used some raw (about 10 pounds of tomatoes total). I also mixed in some roasted and charred red and green pepper (just one of each), a couple of raw, peeled cucumbers and several cloves of fresh garlic. Importantly, none of the vegetables ever visited my refrigerator until the gazpacho was finished. I also added some day-old ciabatta (no crusts) that had been moistened with some of the tomato juice to thicken the gazpacho slightly, along with olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. I also pureed the mixture in batches in my blender (definitely need to emulsify because of the oil), then strained it in a china cap to ensure it was smooth. I then chilled it, tasted and slightly adjusted the seasonings (vinegar, salt and pepper). You just have to decide when the flavor is to your liking. I finished it was a small bit of raw cucumber, green pepper and microgreens.

Tomato-olive oil sorbet

Enough tomatoes for 3 cups of juice
3/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup (maybe another tablespoon or two of sugar, depending upon your tastes and the acidity/sweetness of your gazpacho and tomatoes)
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
3 basil leaves
salt to taste
kuzu (sold in crystal form at Whole Foods in Asian food aisle), ground in mortar and pestle or spice grinder - 1 T/cup of liquid

Mix all of the above in a blender, strain and freeze in ice cream maker. Because of the olive oil, you will not be able to completely freeze it in the ice cream maker . . . after about 30 or so minutes, I simply placed it in the freezer. You'll need to freeze for several hours because of the oil so plan accordingly. You'll need the kuzu (or similar) to emulsify the mixture and to prevent it from separating.

Manchego cheese straws

Really the same as any cheese straws, which are more of a southern treat, but I decided they'd fit in well with the gazpacho if I used manchego.

9 ounces all purpose flour (2 cups)
16 ounces manchego cheese at room temperature (aged 12 months is perfect, but 6 months great too)
6 ounces unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon each of salt, baking powder and black pepper
2 Tablespoons and about 1 teaspoon of water
1 egg yolk beaten with 2 teaspoons of water

In a large bowl (KitchenAid if you have one) mix grated cheese thoroughly with butter.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and pepper.
Add the flour mixture to the butter-cheese mixture along with the water (but not too much) and mix just until combined and holds together like a dough.
Wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper and refrigerate at least an hour.
Remove from refrigerator and roll out on lightly floured surface into a rectangle so that it's about 1/4 inch thick.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut into strips to your desired thickness and length and place on a parchment-topped baking sheet (they won't spread but give some room to breathe).
Brush each strip lightly with egg wash.
Bake for 20 minutes.

S'more Tartlets
("Tartlet" sounds much fancier than what I have been calling them: "mini muffin cup thingys." Thanks to whoever coined that at the picnic!)

The recipes for the basic individual components - graham cracker and marshmallow - can be found here. Sweetapolita is a fantastic (and gorgeous) dessert blog that I have not been able to explore as thoroughly as I would like. I mostly just stare at the food porn and sulk about my poor cake-baking and photography skills.

My trial and error notes:

First, I made the graham cracker dough as directed. Its consistency is most like a (very tasty) sugar cookie dough. The only tricky issue I encountered was that the dough, which is primarily butter-based, had a tendency to soften and become unworkable relatively quickly. To deal with this, I separated the dough into two parts, and while I worked with one half (rolling, cutting, etc.), I kept the other half in the fridge to harden up. I switched back and forth between doughs as needed.

I rolled the dough as thinly as I could (about 1/8 in) and cut it into circles big enough to fill the spots in a mini-muffin pan with no overhanging edges (because they tended to burn before the rest was fully cooked). I sprayed the pan with cooking spray, and pressed the dough into each of the spots on the pan. It was somewhat labor-intensive, but everything came out okay even after I became more careless as the process wore on.

Before baking, I stuck the muffin pan in the freezer for about 20 minutes to harden up the dough. I baked the tartlets at 350 for about 8-10 minutes, or until they started to turn brown. They puffed up quite a bit while baking, so after I pulled them out, I used the handle of a spoon to kind of smash in the puffy parts and create more room for yummy filling. I let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, and they popped out very easily. The graham cracker recipe above made about 48 tartlets, although I threw a lot of scraps away rather than re-roll them. I probably could have eked out another 12 or so.



Once the cups were fully cooled, I added the chocolate into the bottom of each cup. I used plain old semisweet chocolate that I melted in the microwave, though you could use whatever chocolate appeals to you. In fact, you could just throw a few chocolate chips or a Hershey's kiss into each cup and call it a day. Obviously, you can adjust the amount of chocolate to your taste; I used about a teaspoon in each cup.



Finally, I prepared the marshmallow for the topping. I followed the recipe above to a T, with perfect results. The first time I made the marshmallows, I included the optional vanilla bean. No one could tell a difference. This past time for the LTH picnic, I steeped some lavender from my garden in the sugar mixture. No one could taste it. I think unless you are eating the marshmallows on their own, it is fine to skip the fancy flavorings.

Rather than go through the effort of making individual marshmallows only to promptly melt them, I tried to go straight from mixer to tartlet. The problem is that the marshmallow starts to set and harden almost immediately. Thus I ended up with ugly lumpy dollops of hardened marshmallow on each tartlet. (No photo this time.) To fix that, I popped them in a 200 degree oven for about 3-5 minutes until the marshmallow melted a bit and rounded out. That's it!



One final thing to note: the marshmallow is super-sticky and will cling to everything that touches it. The recipe above describes how to make a cornstarch/confectioner's sugar mixture to coat the marshmallow. I would recommend making some and dusting it over the tartlets to finish them off, although I was too lazy to do that and paid the price.

Like most everything, these s'mores prove that homemade food can be so much tastier than store-bought if you have the time to devote! Even considering how labor-intensive these are, I am sort of addicted.

Teresa

Teresa wrote:S'more Tartlets
("Tartlet" sounds much fancier than what I have been calling them: "mini muffin cup thingys." Thanks to whoever coined that at the picnic!)

The recipes for the basic individual components - graham cracker and marshmallow - can be found here. Sweetapolita is a fantastic (and gorgeous) dessert blog that I have not been able to explore as thoroughly as I would like. I mostly just stare at the food porn and sulk about my poor cake-baking and photography skills.

...

Wow, I'm not even a big marshmallow fan and those look really good, and so cute!

Makes me sorry I missed the picnic, too!

Rum Raisin Cookies:
These are an adaptation of A Martha Recipe- she calls them shortbread- I didn't find them shortbread-y so I call them cookies.
There is an overnight soaking step which is important-maybe you could speed them up in the microwave-I didn't try...
My adaptations are noted in bold.

From Martha Stewart's Cookies
• Yield Makes about 4 1/2 dozen
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup dark rum (I used Myers)
• 1 cup dried currants
• 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature (I used salted)
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar (I used 1 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ( I increased to just over 1 ¾ cup)
• 3/4 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut (I used regular coconut from the baking aisle)
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt (I just used a pinch)
• (I added sanding sugar to top the cookies)

Directions
1. Combine rum and currants; cover, and let stand at room temperature overnight. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons rum.
2. Beat butter, sugar, and orange zest with a mixer on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and reserved rum, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour, coconut, and salt, and beat for 3 minutes. Stir in currants by hand.
3. Form dough into 2 logs, each about 1 1/2 inches in diameter; wrap in parchment, and refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 3 days).
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (I increased to 350). Remove parchment. Slice logs into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, and space about 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment.
5. Sprinkle tops with sanding sugar and let sheet cool in the frig for about 10-15 min. (MY step)
6. Bake until pale golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool.

mamagotcha wrote:Thai rice noodle salad with chicken, from the NYT via Smitten Kitchen. I used twice the amount of noodles and omitted the scallions (just forgot, d'oh!) and peanuts (didn't have them). We have had this maybe ten times this summer, I love it so much!

Thanks for posting this recipe. I made it for dinner tonight. Good stuff.

Greek Potatoes
per request

Nah! I'm not really going to post the recipe, cause all I did is loosely follow the recipe here, the first thing that comes up when one googles "greek potatoes." Now I didn't measure anything 'cause measuring is a drag. I'm sure I added more lemon then called for, 'cause I like 'em lemony. I'm sure I added more garlic than called for, 'cause I like 'em garlicky. In addition to the dried oregano, I finished them off with some fresh oregano, 'cause I'm fresh.

The ones I brought to the picnic suffered texturally steaming in the cooler. They are much better not steamed.

The pans get really hard to clean. Next time, I'll consider using aluminum foil. Yet, I think I'd tear the foil up while stirring the potatoes mid-cook and still end up with a mess. Perhaps those disposable aluminum pans that always make me feel guilty ...

-ramon

Dill Pickle Potato Salad

Unfortunately, this recipe comes with my usual caveat that I don't cook with recipes nor am I very good at remembering exactly what I do from one outing to the next so, with that in mind, please taste as you go ...

4 large russet potatoes (peeled, place in cold water, bring to a low boil and cook for 30 minutes or until a skewer will enter the potato cleanly without breaking apart the potato--in other words, you don't want to overcook them--I like mine still a tiny bit crunchy)
1/8 cup lite mayo
1/4 cup lowfat sour cream or greek yogurt (I used sour cream this time but I like greek yogurt just as much)
1/2 cup of finely chopped dill pickle (think relish consistency)--I used my own which are in a combo of white and champagne vinegar, which is why I though this batch of potato salad was just the slightest bit sweet.
Splash or so of pickle juice
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
2 tbsp jalapeno, minced
1 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Mix everything together. Should feed about 8.

Try the non stick foil. It works really well when you need to roast something sticky like cheese or crusty stuff. The potatoes do sound delicious and I will try them.

toria wrote:Try the non stick foil. It works really well when you need to roast something sticky like cheese or crusty stuff. The potatoes do sound delicious and I will try them.

Parchment paper works great, too.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

toria wrote:Try the non stick foil. It works really well when you need to roast something sticky like cheese or crusty stuff. The potatoes do sound delicious and I will try them.

Parchment paper works great, too.

=R=

From my experiences, roasting (baking) foods that are moist on parchment paper (including potatoes, which contain a lot of moisture) will lead to bits of wet, disintegrating parchment paper all throughout your food. Trust me on this.

The dukkah recipe is courtesy of 101 Cookbooks web site, which reprinted it from The Spicy Food Lover's Bible by Dave DeWitt & Nancy Gerlach (Harry N. Abrams, 2005)

Spices all came from the Spice House in Evanston. Hazelnuts, already skinned, from the Fresh Farms Niles. Olive oil was Captain Porky's private reserve from Greece. Bread from Argo Georgian Bakery.

Dukkah Recipe

Evil Ronnie wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

toria wrote:Try the non stick foil. It works really well when you need to roast something sticky like cheese or crusty stuff. The potatoes do sound delicious and I will try them.

Parchment paper works great, too.

=R=

From my experiences, roasting (baking) foods that are moist on parchment paper (including potatoes, which contain a lot of moisture) will lead to bits of wet, disintegrating parchment paper all throughout your food. Trust me on this.

I cook oil-tossed potatoes on parchment all the time and have never once had this happen. Did it last night, in fact.

=R=

Hellodali wrote:The dukkah recipe is courtesy of 101 Cookbooks web site, which reprinted it from The Spicy Food Lover's Bible by Dave DeWitt & Nancy Gerlach (Harry N. Abrams, 2005)

Spices all came from the Spice House in Evanston. Hazelnuts, already skinned, from the Fresh Farms Niles. Olive oil was Captain Porky's private reserve from Greece. Bread from Argo Georgian Bakery.

Dukkah Recipe

This was almost the only thing I took home. My Mom loved it. Thanks!

Hey Ramon,

The recipe lady says to Pam the pan--did you? Wonder if that would help...

Recipe looks very tasty; I'm with you on upping the garlic and lemon! Gotta try it.
Yukon Golds, I would think, eh?

Geo

Hungarian Sausage & onions

1. Slice onions, simmer slowly in olive oil over low heat, come back an hour later, stir and continue simmering until caramelized. These can be made the day before, and be reheated.

2. Simmer Hungarian sausage links in 155 - 160 degree water (use a really deep skillet) for 20 minutes. Flip them after 10 minutes if necessary to make sure they cook evenly.

3. Finish on charcoal grill for about 5 minutes each side to brown.

4. Slice into 3" or 4" segments and hold them warm mixed in a tray with the onions.