Piano World Home Page Forums Restricted and Archives The Coffee Room Favorite Recipe's

OK, Penny...rumor has it, you've got something to share. ;-)

Oh don't get me started!!! I fear that the first LA piano party may be the last time anyone eats my white chocolate bread pudding because I lost the recipe the next day! It was a "Mrs. Field's" recipe (of cookie fame), so of course it had a ton of butter.

For really good recipe hunting, try www.epicurious.com. That's my favorite place. People rate the recipes on a four-fork system (think four stars). Don't make anything less than 3 1/2 stars and you will be the envy of all your friends!

penny

BUTTERSCOTCH CANDIES

Heres a very, very simple recipe thats been in my family for generations. It once appeared in the Point Roberts, Washington town cookbook many years back when my great-grandparents submitted it. Anyway:

Mix in large bowl (make sure that its a bowl that can go into the oven) a bag of butterscotch chips (I usually use toll-house) and peanute butter. It doesn't matter wheather its crunchy or creamy peanute butter. I prefer creamy myself. There should be at least enough peanute buttter so that there are no loose chips in the bowl. No measurements are really required.
Melt together in the oven, at about 350 degrees F. make sure to mix the contents about every 4-5 minutes, so that it doesn't harden/crust and so that it melts down evenly. Don't let it stay in too long so that it doesn't harden/crust, just long enough so that the contents melt together. Then, on a greaced/pamed cookie sheet, place spoon fulls of the mixture and then place the cookie sheet in the freezer to cool. It usually takes about 5-8 minutes, at least, to cool and harden. When done, KEEP THE CANDIES REFERIDGERATED! If you don't, they melt, and while they still taste good melted, it makes an awful mess.

If any of these directions are confusing, since I am writing this at 12:30 AM my time and I don't have the actual instructions that my grandma wrote for my in front of me and I'm doing this from memory, just let me know so that I can try to simplify it. Its not too difficult, and they are the best candies in the world. Give em a try, you'll like them. I want feed back, please, if you make these.

jgoo,
You'd probably have equal success melting the butterscotch with the peanut butter in a double boiler (with a pot of boiling water underneath and either a sturdy metal bowl or another pot that fits on top with the ingredients in it). Would make it easier to constantly stir and keep the top from getting crusty (although this would be less a danger without the heat element coming from on top).

try it and let me know how it worked!
penny

Wow, jgoo, that sounds very nice indeed. I second Penny's thought that a double boiler would make things easier. I wouldn't know what to do without mine. (Well, really it's an improvised one, have a 3L pot filled with water, and a stainless steel bowl above that, filled with whatever it was I was trying to melt.)

When I was in grad school, I experimented with vegetarian cooking. Had a couple of roommates who were vegetarians, and they wanted to try Filipino cuisine. Problem was, there aren't many vegetarian Filipino foods. A friend of mine at UIUC decided to put my recipes up on a website, and to my knowledge, it's still in existence. Haven't updated the page though for at least the last 4 years. If anyone is interested, I can try to locate the URL and then I'll post it here.

Thats actually what the actual recipe calls for. I've just been useing the oven, though, and it turns out just as good. My great-grandmother used to make it with a double boiler, but the oven has just about the same results.

For the people who will be there, I'll make some of my candies to bring to the Pacific Northwest Get together.

Sniffle sniffle

Too bad I'm over on the other side of the country. How well do they keep via US Post?

You'd have nothing but a big, melted mess. Sorry, you'll either have to make them yourself or come on over to Seattle, becuase I have no plans on going to North Carolina in the near future.

[ February 22, 2002: Message edited by: jgoo ]

The only credit I will take for these two goodies is posting them on this site. The remaining credit belongs SWMBO.

Try these - they are among my favourite deserts, dead easy to make, and they are delicious.

Warning - there's not a single calorie can be found in either of them! (hundreds perhaps - but not a single.


Jamie

Ice Cream Cheese Cake

250 gram pkg. Cream cheese
1 tin sweetened condensed milk
1 large tub and 1 small tub Cool Whip topping.

Whip above together well.

Base:
2 cups graham wafer crumbs
½ cup butter (melted)

Combine & press into spring form pan.

Topping:
Fry ½ cup slivered almonds and 1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut in 2 tbsp. butter.

Pour cool whip mixture over graham wafer base, pour on coconut and almonds and drizzle with "Smuckers" liquid chocolate. Freeze overnight.

Crispy Crunch Ice Cream Pie

1 Graham Pie Crust
1 pkg. vanilla pudding mix
1 pkg. Dream Whip
4 Crispy Crunch Bars

1. Make vanilla pudding as instructed, except cut back milk from 2 cups to 1½ cups
2. Add pkg. dream whip - mix well.
3. Crunch up 3 of the bars & fold into mixture.
4. Pour into piecrust.
5. Crunch up remaining bar & decorate top of pie.
6. Freeze uncovered
7. Thaw for approximately ½ hour before serving.

Heres a good one that my Aunt gave me. They are for Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Chookies, yet she titles it Aunt Shari's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Chookies. :rolleyes: Anyway, who cares, right? Heres the recipe:

Combine in bowl and set aside: 1-3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Combine in mixing bowl: 3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco
1-1/4 cups light brown sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

>Beat at medium speed intil well blended.
>Add 1 egg and beat just until blended.
>Add the bowl of dry ingredients (flour, etc) and mix until blended.
>Stir in 2 cups fo Chocolate chips.
>Place ball of dough 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.
>flatten dough with tines of a fork dipped in granulated sugar.
>cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet. Remove onto foil to cool completely.

Enjoy with a glass of ice cold milk. Yummmm!

(That last sentence is actually on the instructions, so I added it here too).

ChemicalGrl,

I am a vegetarian. These days I am finding it very hard to come up with stuff with enough protein, and I need a little bit of variety. I eat mostly Boca burgers, cottage cheese, yogurt and salads. I am getting bored with my diet. So, what's your website. Does anyone else out there have vegeterian recepies? HELP....

I second the www.epicurious.com recommendation. I always check there first when I am looking for an interesting recipe. Sam - you could type vegetarian into their search box and see what it comes up with. Jodi

All,
I admit to being a real food snob, so forgive me for not participating more. I want to keep my good rep at Piano World!

Sam,
I have been a vegetarian for 19 years! I have a million recipes. How could it ever be boring? Here's one of my newer, favorite recipes (courtesy of the Los Angeles Times, which depsite its shortcomings has a really great Food section). It's incredibly creamy but has no cream! Replace the parmesan cheese garnish and addtional olive oil garnish with some truffle oil after dishing it into bowls and you will be FLOORED at how good it tastes:

White Bean Chowder With Tomatoes, Mushrooms and Spinach

Active Work Time: 30 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour * Vegetarian
*
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 onion, chopped
3 (15-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, rinsed, drained well
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
3 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1/4 pound mushrooms, stems trimmed, sliced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
Freshly ground pepper
1 (6-ounce) bag baby spinach, rinsed, stems trimmed
2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley or snipped chives, for garnish, optional
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving
*
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a 3-quart pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onion. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
Reserve 3/4 cup of the beans and place the rest along with the rosemary in the bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth.
Transfer the puree and the reserved beans to the pot. Add the vegetable broth, vinegar, tomatoes, mushrooms, salt, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more to taste) and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. (The chowder can be made 2 days ahead to this point and refrigerated, or frozen up to 1 month. To serve, gently reheat the soup until hot.)
Stir in the spinach leaves. Cook 1 minute. Taste; adjust the seasoning.
Serve hot, drizzled with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and garnished with parsley or chives, if using. Pass the Parmesan cheese.
*
4 main-course servings. Each serving: 544 calories; 1,294 mg sodium; 2 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 90 grams carbohydrates; 29 grams protein; 18.63 grams fiber.



if anyone tries it, let me know what you think?

Hi Sam -

Here's the URL. I was looking over the recipes, and oh my does this ever need updating! I've got to get to experimenting in my kitchen once again!

Please note - not all these recipes are vegan. Most are ovo-lacto ... er, well, maybe mostly ovo as we don't really use much milk/cheese products in our cuisine (unless it's a borrowing from the Spaniards or if it's one of the sickly sweet, but totally scrumptious desserts).

Enjoy!

Lyn
http://www.tribo.org/filipinofood/vegetarian/

Jodi, Penny, Lyn: I love you guys. Thanks a bunch! Usually, I don't cook, but since nowadays I NEED to stay home more often to WATCH my cat, I'll be doing some cooking. Penny, I can't wait to try that recipe, it sounds absolutely divine.

Penny,

I forgot to ask above, but is it possible for you to share some of your other recipes with me. If you have them already as Word documents, you could email them to me as an attachment. If it's not too much trouble, that is. Thanks!

Most are newspaper and magazine clippings (or cook books). But I have a few on the computer. I'll look into it!
penny

Hey Sam - how is your cat? Is he behaving himself? Jodi

Wow, it's great to find other vegetarians here. Sam, there's a nice magazine called "Vegetarian Times". I'll post their address info tommorrow. It comes monthly and has some pretty good recipes.

I'm vegetarian with the exception of fish, which I do eat. I've only been so for 2 years but since I stopped eating meat and taking a vitamin tablet every day, I feel better than I did before. Do you eat fish?

I have a great bean-pot recipe that I like alot and a recipe for what I call "Franco-Russian" perogi. They are like traditional perogi but made with a fluffy pastry with a filling of potato and onion. I'll post both of them later this week.

For all you coffee lovers out there I would like to share my original recipe for spiced coffee. I use a special ingredient: tea! But before you scream and yell, read on. The brand and name of tea is very important to this recipe. You must use a tea called "Gentle Orange". I'm afraid I can't remember who puts it out (maybe Tetly, but I'll check and post the answer tommorrow), but that's the name. It comes in tea bags. Here's how I make my coffee (makes 4 cups):

Put 4 scoops of coffe beans (Columbian is OK) in the grinder. Tear open one of the tea bags and place about l/2 the contents in with the beans. Grind 15-20 seconds. Put in drip coffee maker. Pour in a little more than the 4-cup mark (on the carafe) of water (Note: this is not 4 full cups). The orange and spices of this tea blends really well with the coffee and makes a great brew. I know it sounds a little wierd.