Carrie's Coconut Rice

Coconut Rice

found at "ourbestbites"

this stuff is YUMMY! great with Topher's Chicken Tikki Masala....

2 c. white, Jasmine, or Basmatti rice (we used Basmatti at the FFFFF and it was owesome!)

1 can coconut milk (NO to the "Thai Kitchen" Brand-not as good as others)

2 c. water

1 tsp. Kosher salt

Splash of white vinegar (optional, but it helps with the texture)

2-3 tsp. white sugar

Handful of chopped green onions, plus chopped green onion tops for garnish (didn't use this...remember; this is Carrie's recipe)

Black pepper to taste *no again to the pepper

Combine rice, coconut milk, water, salt, vinegar, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil

Turn heat to low and cover for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Allow to stand 5 minutes. Add green onions, black pepper (if desired), and additional salt if necessary.

Aunt Cheryl's Scalloped Potatoes

Aunt Cheryl made these the other day, and OOOhhhh they were delicious! The Romano cheese is a great addition....i'm sure you could use Parmesan cheese if that's what you have.

8 large baking potatoes

1 quart heavy cream

1/2 c. chicken stock

1/2 t. white (or reg.) pepper

1 t. chopped fresh garlic

dash nutmeg

1 c. grated romano cheese

* wash potatoes clean

* cut just the bottom of potatoes (so they can stand)

* cut slices about 1/4" thick - not all the way through

* layer in a casserole dish

* mix the cream, chicken stock, pepper, garlic, and nutmeg together and pour over potatoes. (NO cheese yet)

* Bake at 450* for 25-35 minutes till cream is reduced and potaotes are tender (Cheryl said it took her's 1 hour to bake!)

*take out and sprinkle with the Romano cheese, bake for another 5 minutes or so

YUMMY!!!!

Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Bites

these are owesome. even katie likes them!

Ingredients

• 8 slices uncooked bacon
• 1 T Olive Oil
• 1 Lg. red bell pepper, diced (1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 cup crumbled goat cheese (3 oz)
• 2 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 can crescent dinner rolls (8 rolls)

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray large cookie sheet with CRISCO® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray, or line with cooking parchment paper.
2. In 10-inch skillet, cook bacon over medium heat 10 to 15 minutes, turning occasionally, until crisp. Remove from skillet; drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon; set aside.
3. Discard bacon drippings. Add oil to skillet; heat over medium heat until hot. Add onion and bell pepper; cook about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and tender. Stir in salt and pepper. Place mixture in food processor bowl with metal blade. Cover; process until smooth. Or blend in blender on medium speed about 30 seconds, stopping once to scrape sides, until smooth.
4. In small bowl, mix goat cheese, cream cheese and parsley until smooth.
5. Unroll dough; separate into 4 rectangles. Press perforations to seal. Cut each rectangle into 8 (1 1/2-inch) squares. Place squares on cookie sheet. Spoon rounded 1 teaspoon red pepper mixture on each square, spreading slightly. Spoon slightly less than 1 teaspoon cheese mixture on pepper mixture on each square. Top each with about 1/4 teaspoon crumbled bacon.
6. Bake 15 to 22 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Serve warm, or refrigerate and serve chilled.

Crisp Rosemary Flatbread

i have this food site that i LOVE. i have tried many of the recipes there and am almost always so glad that i did. Smitten Kitchen go there.

so naturally, my first recipe post should be from its archives. the following is straight from the site. also, i just made this for the second time in three days. the first time, these "crackers", as we call them, lasted mere hours. they are so simple and so good.

Crisp Rosemary Flatbread
Adapted from Gourmet, July 2008

Nothing could be easier than making this cracker, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t tell people you slaved all day over it because they’re going to be impressed, really impressed, and I see no reason not to milk it.

I think you could easily swap the rosemary for other herbs, such as thyme or tarragon, or punch it up with black pepper or other spices, but personally, I like it just the way it is here.

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary plus 2 (6-inch) sprigs
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil plus more for brushing
Flaky sea salt such as Maldon (has anyone seen this stateside?)

Preheat oven to 450°F with a heavy baking sheet on rack in middle.

Stir together flour, chopped rosemary, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in center, then add water and oil and gradually stir into flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead dough gently on a work surface 4 or 5 times.

Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll out 1 piece (keep remaining pieces covered with plastic wrap) on a sheet of parchment paper into a 10-inch round (shape can be rustic; dough should be thin).

Lightly brush top with additional oil and scatter small clusters of rosemary leaves on top, pressing in slightly*. Sprinkle with sea salt. Slide round (still on parchment) onto preheated baking sheet and bake until pale golden and browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer flatbread (discard parchment) to a rack to cool, then make 2 more rounds (1 at a time) on fresh parchment (do not oil or salt until just before baking). Break into pieces.

Flatbread can be made 2 days ahead and cooled completely, then kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

*here are my changes: i didn't brush the top with more oil. i felt the dough had plenty. on the other hand, if you have a good oil i suppose the more the merrier? i dunno. i also used kosher salt in the dough, and sprinkled (just a bit) more on top. oh yeah, and i also also also have a thing with big pieces of dried rosemary, so i had a bottle of dried, crushed rosemary that i used. our fresh stuff is getting woody.

More Advice: if you remove the flatbread from the oven, just as the edges are beginning to brown, the texture results in more of a chew than a snap. i liked that. ammon, however, wanted his crispy & snappy, so i left one in just a litttttttle bit longer. and there you have it.

Cheesey Corn Dip

This is one of Tyler's favorite things and he makes me make it insanely often. :)

3 cans drained corn
2 C. mayonnaise (I use a little under 1 C. cause it's not as fattening that way.)
1 C. Parmesan cheese
16 oz. Pepper Jack Cheese (Aldi only sells it in 8 oz. packages of slices, so I just tear the pieces up)
1/2 to whole can sliced jalapenos (I actually skip this part cause I don't like them.)

Mix together in 9x13 dish. Bake 20 minutes at 350. After its done I get a spoon and mix it all together a little more now that it's all melted.

Yummy! Make sure you have some tortilla chips!

Greek Potatoes

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Cut up 7 or 8 potatoes into bit size chunks and put in a medium size bowl. Add about a 1/2 cup of olive oil? (I've never measured, use enough to really cover potatoes)

Crush 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, lots of sea salt and pepper, and oregano....be very generous with the oregano...like 3 teaspoons. Squeeze a half of lemon into it too if you have one, (I can't remember which way I like it better.) I add a few big dashes of basil too. Toss to coat the potatoes well and spread out on a cookie tray. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until the potatoes have browned edges and are as crisp as you like them. Of course we dip them in ketchup :)

Sweet Corn Cakes

These are just like the ones at El Torito.  YUM.

1/2 C Butter
1/3 C masa harina
1/4 C water
1 1/2 C frozen corn
1/4 C cornmeal
1/3 C sugar
2 T heavy cream
1/4 t salt
1/2 t baking powder

1. Beat butter til creamy.  Add mexican corn flour & water.  Mix well.
2. In food processor mix thawed corn, leave some chunky.  Stir into butter mixture.
3.  In separate bowl, mix cornmeal, sugar, cream, salt and baking powder.  Add to cornflour mixture.  Pour into 8x8 dish and cover with foil.  Place in a 9x13 dish and fill 1/3 way with water.
4. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes before enjoying.