topic Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020? in Kitchen

What’s Cooking This October 2020?

4kitties — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 01:01:43 GMT

Hope you are okay and that it is okay for me to start this thread this month. I like to read what everyone is cooking and I miss it.

We had big salads tonight. Kind of like a chef's salad with ham, cheese, olives, and different salad veggies.

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

Harpa — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 12:45:48 GMT

I've been cooking lately....sirloin steaks, stuffed peppers (I always stuff the red bells), chicken pot pie (store-bought crust, though), and meat loaf.

I never make extra sides. Some of the dishes don't need it. But if I do a steak (or salmon), that's it with nothing else.

(I hope my DH doesn't get used to this!) I am actually happiest with salads.

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

4kitties — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 15:03:25 GMT

@Harpa

I have gained a few lbs............ Working hard to get them off.........

Too much cooking here too! Plus a bit of snacking.......☺️☺️☺️☺️

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

KaySD — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 18:38:42 GMT

I baked a large spinach and feta frittata, or maybe it's a crustless quiche, this morning, so we can have it all week/end. It was so good we ate two days rations. Oops.

Planning pork potstickers with steamed edible-pod peas for dinner. Unless I change my mind...I confess the frozen pizza I tucked away is calling to me as well.

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

Wendy Lou Hoo — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 18:43:34 GMT

Planning on country fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. Green beans and a salad for sides. Fall brings out the yearning for comfort food.

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

Laura14 — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 19:18:14 GMT

Cucumber salad here with homemade pumpkin bread and I think I am going to sautee mushrooms for tonight.

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

Winifred — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 15:51:25 GMT

4kitties, thank you so much for starting this. My feeble mind and body are just worn out after months of what everyone else is going through. Thanks again. Actually no one is the sole owner of any of these threads. If they aren't started jump to it.

We are a bit chilly out her in Sou Cal this morning. Had th heater checked and turned on the other day.l It would really feel good this morning but I still have a few brains left. If I turned it on I would be miserable in a few hours - suppose to get into the 80s today and in a few days nearing or at 100 again.

Have not been cooking from scratch much - but continue to eat well. I think later today I am going to cut some white squash, dip it in batter and then fry it. I LOVE fried vegetables.

Always enjoy reading what everyone is cooking and eating.

Have a great day everyone.

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

jannabelle1 — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 23:11:12 GMT

I made egg casseroles in my new Curtis Stone mini loaf pans today. I love those little pans and they're perfect for so many things. I added green pepper, onion, sausage, tater tots and cheese. I made 2 mini loaves - we shared one loaf and I made spinach (frozen) for a veggie.....we'll have the other loaf in a day or so. BTW - it's just the 2 of us and we're in our early 70s....neither one of us has the big appetite we used to have.

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

KaySD — Sat, 10 Oct 2020 02:03:04 GMT

I'm getting close to making fruitcake. I have my mother's recipe, which I haven't made for years. It makes a very moist loaf with barely enough cake to hold the fruit and nuts together.

I discovered the incredible quality of fruits and nuts from nuts.com. I just got the shipment. The dried fruit is so incredibly fresh tasting, and even the glazed fruit is not too sweet. So much better than the sticky stuff from the grocery store. If you've never ordered from them, they are worth a look.

My recipe uses a pound each of pineapple, cherries, dates and pecans. There's little brandy in the recipe, and then the cakes are irrigated with a little more brandy every week from mid October to mid December. Unsurprisingly, they do not spoil! My mother used to keep the foil-wrapped loaves inside the big roaster, sitting on the basement stairs. So that would have been about 55 degrees.

I bought that set of 4 mini-loaf pans from Temptations. I know, they tend to fall apart. But they are polka dotted! And the small size may sound stingy, but with 1/4 lb of all the ingredients I mentioned, a bite at a time will go a long way.

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

peachesncream — Sat, 10 Oct 2020 02:19:31 GMT

I decided to roast a chicken, which I haven't done in a long time. It kind of bugs me how the house smells like chicken for a few days and the oven does too. I decided to use a Reynolds Baking Bag (large size) for a change.

I picked up a 6 lb. chicken at Aldi's (their Never Any Whole Chicken, which is antibiotic free, etc.). I put a quartered lemon inside the chicken. Spread melted butter on top, then Lowry's Seasoned Salt.

The chicken took around 1-1/2 hours at 350 (faster than without the bag). It was lightly browned. The chicken meat was very moist and tender. We really enjoyed it. Clean up was easy.

We had a lot of chicken to eat. I used the leftovers to make chicken enchiladas.

I would do this again. I like the ease and shorter cooking time with the bag.

FYI, my MIL always roasted her Thanksgiving turkey in a Reynolds bag - and it was always delicious.

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

aroc3435 — Sat, 10 Oct 2020 05:17:34 GMT

@KaySD I just placed an order with nuts.com also. Must finish getting my holiday baking supplies in place.

Was your mother's fruit cake the more typical dark type or light? Was it from a news clipping or a cookbook she had? Dare I ask if you would share the recipe?

I've been looking at a variety of different ones and haven't made my mind up yet, but I have to get going soon to give the cakes time to age. Would prefer to use a well loved, used by real people recipe.

Best,

aroc3435

Washington, DC

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

KaySD — Sat, 10 Oct 2020 20:19:59 GMT

@aroc3435 Isn't nuts.com the best? I need to make the cakes before I start eating the fruit!

My recipe is my great-grandmother's originally--which puts it back what, maybe 150 years. It was updated when electric ovens appeared in homes and candied fruit appeared in grocery stores, maybe in the 40s, though whether pre or post WW2 I can't say. When my mother died, I found a few different versions. Probably she kept tweaking it, but it may have been because the ingredients available were different from year to year. I remember it always tasting the same every time, though that's probably not exactly true.

What I am sure of is that people raved over it and ate as much as they could hold. She would slice it thickly and cut the slices into smaller pieces. Then she'd pile the pieces on an oval platter with a small pair of silver serving tongs, and surround it with small, fresh, green holly leaves for decoration.

Here's the one I will be making. She called it White Fruit Cake, but it's not that light if you use dark brown sugar. I also sometimes add some walnuts without increasing anything else if the batter doesn't seem stuffed enough!

Since the timing is a bit vague, I start testing the cakes after about 2 hours.

Yields one 6-lb cake or can be divided into smaller ones.

250 degrees for 3-6 hours, depending on the size of the pans.

1 lb chopped pecans

1 lb glazed cherries

1 lb dried chopped pineapple

1 lb chopped dates

1/4 lb butter

4 eggs

1/2 lb flour (2 cups)

1/2 lb sugar (1 cup)

1T baking powder

1T real vanilla

6T brandy

Cream butter and sugar. Add whole eggs, one at a time, and continue to cream. Add brandy and vanilla. Sift baking powder with flour, add to creamed mixture . Keep out 2T of the flour to dredge the fruits and nuts; then fold them all into the batter.

Line pans(s) with oiled brown paper or parchment, then pack the dough tightly into the pans and put a piece of the oiled paper on the top of the dough.

Bake the cake(s) on the second or third shelf position of the oven, and on the shelf below, fill a shallow pan, like the bottom of the broiler pan, with 2 cups water, and place it directly below the cake pans. During the last 30 minutes of baking, uncover the cakes (there should be no water left in the broiler pan). They will be firm, but it's important to not overcook them to the point they darken and have a burnt smell.

Once the cakes have cooled completely, you can wrap in waxed paper and then in heavy foil. Store them in a cool place, not as cold as the fridge unless you have to. Every week or two, open the cakes and add brandy evenly across the top and let it soak in. You don't have to do much at a time, because you will irrigate it several times before it's ready. Also, the brandy you put in before baking will lose its alcohol, but the brandy you put in afterward will be full strength, so serve small slices or parts of slices, especially to children or people who are drinking other alcoholic beverages. It's a very happy cake!

When you serve the cake, it should be moist but not soggy, and dense but not crumbly. Be sure to close the wrappings very well between irrigations.

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

4kitties — Sat, 10 Oct 2020 20:24:51 GMT

Went to my favorite farm stand this morning and got fresh green beans. We will have them to night. I cook them in beef broth with onion and chopped turkey bacon. I add little new red potatoes too. A one pot meal!

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

aroc3435 — Sun, 11 Oct 2020 07:38:33 GMT

@KaySD My sincerest thanks to you for sharing this wonderful vintage recipe passed down to you through the generations.

Be assured I will be thinking of you and your family when I make it this autumn.

My mother did not bake so I have no inherited recipes for that.

She was a very good cook, but baking--not even from a mix--was ever in her wheelhouse, nor in her mother's. So I especially appreciate your willingness to share your fruitcake tradition with me.

With warm regards,

aroc3435

Washington, DC

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

tiny 2 — Sun, 11 Oct 2020 15:06:39 GMT

@KaySD, Now that is my idea of a great fruit cake. Thank you so much for this recipe.

ETA, Please feel free to post any other versions .

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

RedTop — Sun, 11 Oct 2020 16:00:32 GMT

Another nice rainy day in southern WV.

We will be eating turkey breast, homemade dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and cranberry sauce for supper today.

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

KaySD — Sun, 11 Oct 2020 18:18:42 GMT

@aroc3435

I hope this works out well for you, and wish you a happy holiday in advance. I really love the idea of my mother's recipe being enjoyed at your table. She was an excellent cook.

One of my favorite memories is of her scooping some flour into her big mixing bowl, tucking it into her elbow, cutting in some shortening and salt, and quickly running the bowl under the faucet. A few minutes in the oven and we'd have flaky, light, perfect biscuits! I can see her now, with her big mixing bowl tucked into her elbow. She could never tell me how much of the ingredients to add, of course, and I never mastered it.

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

KaySD — Sun, 11 Oct 2020 18:22:46 GMT

@tiny 2

You're welcome. But you have to come up with your own variations--you can probably think of a bunch just by varying the fruits and nuts. My version using ingredients from nuts.com is definitely less sweet than my mother's. I'm not a big fan of super-sweet things so that's perfect for me. If you like your fruitcake extra sweet, I wouldn't increase the sugar but get fruits that have a sweeter glaze on them.

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

tiny 2 — Sun, 11 Oct 2020 23:04:30 GMT

@KaySD wrote:
@tiny 2
You're welcome. But you have to come up with your own variations--you can probably think of a bunch just by varying the fruits and nuts. My version using ingredients from nuts.com is definitely less sweet than my mother's. I'm not a big fan of super-sweet things so that's perfect for me. If you like your fruitcake extra sweet, I wouldn't increase the sugar but get fruits that have a sweeter glaze on them.

@KaySD, I am definitely a less sweet person. I hate when I cannot taste anything but sugar. I usually reduce the sugar in most desserts.

Re: What’s Cooking This October 2020?

KaySD — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 18:02:44 GMT

@peachesncream Roast chicken is one of my very favorite things. Your method sounds great, and thanks for the tip about Aldi birds. Yikes, 6 lbs is a big one!

I do love the smell of a bird in the oven, though. And the longer cooking time is perfect in the winter, because I don't need the furnace. To be fair, I don't often use the furnace anyway because I like the windows open, but it's nice to have a cozy warm kitchen for a few hours--and then our favorite meal when it's done.