We have a 16'X30' free standing covered deck out by the pool and over the years since we built it we've had loads of parties out there for all sorts of occasions. One thing that is always popular are what we call my Smoked Salmon Toasties, a thing I made up once upon a time and are always devoured everyyime I make them...
Tonight is music night and everyone will be bringing their guitars or instrument of choice and a nibble to share. They'll also be drinking beer, or Pims, or the ever famous G&Ts and tonight I made a big tray of toasties. They are so simple...
First you cut a bagget into slices about 1/4 inch thick and fry the bread (both sides) "lightly" in olive oil. Once cool you cover them with Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese...
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On top of that some finely chopped red onion
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Then a few capers
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And top them off with a nice bit of smoked salmon
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There's usually never any of them left over and they're really pretty simple to make so I thought I'd share....
Notes:
A few things: I rarely measure anything. If there is a measurement it’s because something is prepackaged or it’s something like a can of something or an onion. I can take some guesses, but I’m going to just write up what I used. Everything is to taste.
You don’t have to use butter. You can also use any kind of oil. The important part is having some kind of fat to cook the onion and chicken in.
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Ingredients
Boneless skinless chicken breast (Breast or Tenders)
Ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Herbs de Provence
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
Butter
1 can condensed French onion soup (+⅓ can of water)
Ham, sliced (black forest)
Swiss cheese, sliced (baby swiss)
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Slice onion. I used a mandolin to slice the onion thinly. Set aside for the moment.
Season chicken. Place chicken breasts in a bowl or plate and season with pepper, garlic powder, and herbs. Set aside.
Prepare a baking dish. I used a 9x13x3 baking pan. Spray with a thin coating of cooking spray (I use canola) and pour in french onion soup, along with about ⅓ can of water. Stir slightly. Set aside.
Melt butter in a pan. I started with about 3 Tbsp. You will need more depending on how much chicken you have to cook. I ended up using about 6 Tbsp.
Saute onions until they are soft, translucent and begin to caramelize. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add chicken to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes on each side until browned. Add pieces of chicken to the baking pan. Continue to brown the chicken until all the pieces are done and in the baking dish. You may need to add more butter to the pan if it starts to get dry.
Evenly layer sauteed onions on top of chicken.
Place slices of ham on top of chicken evenly. I only used one layer of ham.
Place slices of cheese on top of ham, only one layer.
Put the pan in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Check to make sure the chicken is cooked through (165 degrees) using a meat thermometer.
Eat with your favorite side dish.
“What is better ? to be born good or to overcome your evil nature through great effort ?”
It's been more than a week, but I was asked to post this recipe.
Hungarian Mushroom Soup
4 T unsalted butter
3 cups chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1-1/2 pound mushrooms (any)
2 t dried dill weed
2 T sweet paprika
1 T soy sauce
4 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
1 1/2 cup milk
4 T all-purpose flour
1 t salt
ground pepper to taste
3 t lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 cup sour cream
Directions:
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat; sauté onions in butter for five minutes; add and sauté garlic. Add mushrooms; sauté five-ten minutes. Stir in dill, paprika, soy sauce, and broth. Simmer 20 minutes on low heat, covered.
Mix milk and flour together. Pour into soup; stir well to blend. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in salt, pepper, lemon juice, parsley, and sour cream. Mix together over low heat, about five minutes. Do not boil. Serve!
I'm guessing what makes this Hungarian is the sour cream and paprika. I would add more paprika, particularly some more at the end. Let the sour cream get to room temp before adding at the end. The original recipe does not call for garlic, but I added it. Sometimes I add flour to the sour cream when I'm making other Hungarian recipes.
I have other recipes that have been handed down, but this one I got from the Internet when I was looking to make mushroom soup. The paprika and sour cream got my attention. I think it's an easy recipe to make and to adapt. Nice with a good bread.
And, wow, what happened to posting recipes? I didn't realize how much I missed this topic until I went to put this one in.
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
Scavenging the internet for interesting recipes yesterday I came across this...
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So I invited the kids to come for dinner and gave it a go... The corn salsa was okay but that was the tastiest most tender melt in your mouth chicken I've had in a long time! YUM!
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
A while back we had some discussion, not sure, it may have been in this thread, about dipping fries in ketchup vs mayonnaise. I shared that when I lived in southern Louisiana I never saw a local person use ketchup on fries. They all dip their fries in mayo. I remember my first reaction when I saw this was pretty much...yuck. Then, I tried it, and then I understood.
I have a favorite aioli that I like to make, it is super easy. And I make oven fried steak fries and dip them in this aioli and it is out of this world, one of the best snacks I can think of. Also makes a great side for a nice burger. Better than just plain old French fries.
For the steak fries:
Baby Yukon Gold potatoes. I cut them in half and then slice the halves into wedges. I put olive oil, salt, and fresh ground four pepper blend (from Penzeys) in a plastic container, add the potatoes, put the lid on the blastic container and shake them up until the oil, salt, and pepper blend are nicely distributed on all sides of the potato wedges. Put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper at 425 degrees until cooked to your liking. I like for them to get little browned spots on them, but still nice and tender. In my oven that takes around 18 minutes.
Chipotle Aioli:
Fresh minced garlic
Chipotle pepper, ground
Mayonnaise, a really good one - homemade is super good.
Mix the above aioli ingredients, put in a container and refrigerate for a few hours at least to let the flavors mix together. You can add salt and maybe pepper if you like, to taste. I usually don't add any salt and pepper, if the mayo is a really good one I don't find it needs salt or pepper.
Use the Chipotle Aioli for dipping the potato wedges, slather onto hamburger buns along with whatever else you like for really yummy burgers. I use the Chipotle Aioli for lots of things I would normally use plain mayo for - sandwiches, dipping stuff, pretty much lots of different uses for it.
"It actually doesn't take much to be considered a difficult woman. That's why there are so many of us."
RVInit wrote: ↑Sat Jan 29, 2022 11:27 pm
Chipotle Aioli:
Fresh minced garlic
Chipotle pepper, ground
Mayonnaise, a really good one - homemade is super good.
Mix the above aioli ingredients, put in a container and refrigerate for a few hours at least to let the flavors mix together. You can add salt and maybe pepper if you like, to taste. I usually don't add any salt and pepper, if the mayo is a really good one I don't find it needs salt or pepper.
Use the Chipotle Aioli for dipping the potato wedges, slather onto hamburger buns along with whatever else you like for really yummy burgers. I use the Chipotle Aioli for lots of things I would normally use plain mayo for - sandwiches, dipping stuff, pretty much lots of different uses for it.
filly wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 11:30 pm
Why do recipes say to use parchment paper in a 425 degree oven when my parchment paper box says “oven safe up to 420 degrees?”
filly wrote: ↑Sun Jan 30, 2022 11:30 pm
Why do recipes say to use parchment paper in a 425 degree oven when my parchment paper box says “oven safe up to 420 degrees?”
Thanks. I used it last week to roast some vegetables and it turned very very brown. I found this disturbing, despite what they say (why do they have the statement on the box about "safety"?). I'll be using aluminum foil for high temps from now on.
Phoenix520 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 12:44 pm
I’ve never had parchment burst into flames unless it touched an element or something. I don’t like aluminum anything so I use parchment in lieu.
The only aversion I have to aluminum is when it doesn't tear properly and I cut my finger on it. So now I just make my husband line the pans.
My MIL was the Worst Cook In the World and as a result my husband is very ignorant about cooking. He's trying to learn by helping but honestly, it's exasperating. I literally had to teach him how to boil pasta a few weeks ago!
Phoenix520 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 12:44 pm
I’ve never had parchment burst into flames unless it touched an element or something. I don’t like aluminum anything so I use parchment in lieu.
I like to use parchment paper because I find food sticks to aluminum foil too much and nothing sticks to the parchment paper. At 425 my parchment paper will turn a little bit brown around the edges, but it doesn't give off any bad taste to the food, so I don't sweat it.
"It actually doesn't take much to be considered a difficult woman. That's why there are so many of us."
