Your Favorite Recipes

So I got myself all moved into my new apartment over the weekend. Thank God I have no more roommates. Roommates are cool sometimes, but OMG they drive you insane most of the time. Now I can use the kitchen when I want to, I don't have to wait for the laundry, and when I want to go to sleep I don't have to hear the TV or the late night conversations.

I do like to cook, but don't cook too much. So, I thought I would start a thread to maybe share favorite recipes. Right now I just have a basic cookware set, three sheet pans for oven cooking, and a 4qt crock pot. Looking forward to making some good stuff.

Share what you like, be it main course or dessert. Then we just have to make it and see what happens.

So you've happily moved your delicious butt into your new apartment - great!!! Congrats for your new home!!!

I baked a few pineapple filled butter cookies for Chinese New Year.
鳳梨酥; pinyin: fènglísū

Are you not going to share the recipe for the great looking cookie? We have a new rule in our home starting this year of no desserts or sweets unless they're homemade using no canned or frozen items except for fresh frozen fruit and also as little processed food as possible. I have not figured out as of yet to get around using some processed dairy items. I will be watching this thread closely for dessert and other recipes. I am glad I am retired as this type of cooking takes a lot more time. I know so many of us older Gays are great cooks and I think RazzmaTazz had a great idea in starting this thread. I know at least in decades past Gays put a lot of effort in serving fabulous meals so let's hope we can share. I will be sharing some of my recipes also.

This is my take on the old fashioned filled cookies of yore we played with as kids. Skipped the rolling into thin halves, just scaled into uniform weight, did the same for the filling. Flattened the dough on the palm of one hand place the rounded filling in the centre, enclose it with the cookie dough and pressed it flat for free-form baking or into your favourite mould for your desired shape.

If intended for presentation, make them perfectly uniform by flattening each dough ball sandwiched between wax paper squares with a tortilla press using appropriate wedge for the right thickness and use this to wrap the flattened ball of filling. Press into the tart cavities and invert to hide the seams.


Use your favourite filling or whatever is cheap, available and not cloyingly sweet. The possibilities are endless; figs, dates, apricots, raisins, nuts or any mincemeat combination thereof . Peanut butter or frozen balls of Nutella if that’s what you like. I try to tailor it to suit the season as what I did with the pineapple which has a punny auspicious significance in Chinese.



Short Crust

380 g cake flour
60 g whole milk powder
50 g confectioner’s sugar
3/4 t baking powder
1 t salt

250 g unsalted butter
1 extra large egg
1 t vanilla extract


This will produce a soft crumbly dough that can be used right away or chilled for use later. When baked, it turns out very tender and crumbly without any resistance at all and with subtle buttery flavour.

Mix all the ingredients together, wrap and chill in fridge. Scale crust at 30 g and 16 for filling. This will fill the tart moulds with a bit of heap on top.

Baked at 300 for 28 mins. Allow to cool down before unmoulding.

Do not be tempted to use egg wash. It causes serious cracking of the top.

Giada's Creamy mushroom rigatoni

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Rigatoni with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
176 Reviews

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis
Show: Everyday Italian
Episode: Giada's Vegetarian Favorites
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Rigatoni with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Total:22 minPrep: 10 min Cook: 12 min
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Level: Easy
Ingredients

1 pound rigatoni pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound assorted mushrooms, (such as cremini, shiitake and button), cleaned and sliced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 7 minutes. Turn the heat to high. Add the wine and cook for 3 minutes until all the liquid evaporates. Add the stock and simmer until liquid is slightly reduced. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the mascarpone cheese. Stir until creamy. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water, and transfer to a serving bowl. Add the mushroom mixture and the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss well to coat pasta, adding the reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Garnish with the chopped chives. Serve immediately.

Bought a jug of apple cider to make a pork belly recipe recently recommended on my Youtube bookmark. Sear the pork pieces on all sides, throw them into an enamelled pot, add sliced ginger, pealed and flattened garlic, knotted bunch of green onions and whole hot peppers. Submerge in sweet apple cider with a bit of soy sauce just to colour. Cook slowly until pork pieces become tender to your liking. Turned out surprisingly tasty, sweet, spicy and hot. Ate it with boiled buzzed cauliflower in place of white rice. Nil carbs.