The Random Recipe Thread

fitzcoff

My 5 year old went shopping with his Dad at the weekend and they brought home a pineapple, so now I have to do something with it.

The only thing that I can think of is a Pineapple Upsidedown cake, but googling recipes they all seem to state that I need a can of pineapple as the juice/syrup is in the recipes aswell as the fruit.

Anyone got any ideas of what I can make with it, thanks in advance

Bubblefett

Was watching Mexican Food Made Easy of food network and they suggested making a griddlepan pineapple with icecream and caramel sauce. Can't find the recipe though.
Basically remove outside, slice pineapple, brush one side with butter, put butter side down on griddlepan, brush other side, flip.
Serve with 1 scoop vanilla icecream and homemade caramel sauce (can't remember exact recipe but I'm sure any one you google will do).
Looked yummy and your 5 year old might like it too

John Mason

you can freeze fresh pineapple. just chop it up and stick it in a bag.

we always have a bag in the freezer for smooties, fruit salad and pizza etc,

livinsane

Pineapple fritters are a popular recipe. Battered and fried rings. 5yr old could help coat the pineapple rings. Simple recipe here:
http://www.cookitsimply.com/recipe-0010-0569x.html

Don't make the mistake I once did and eat a whole pineapple in one sitting. Nearly burnt the tongue of myself, so acidic! Was nearly worth it though, so so nice :pac:

fitzcoff

Thanks for those, I might try the fritters and freeze the rest.

He will be on mid term on Thurs and Fri so I'll attempt something then with him.

Thanks again

Pixie001

If you are looking for a savoury recipe, how about making a sweet and sour dish, like sweet and sour chicken/prawns etc? I dont have a tried and trusted recipe, but it could be a good way of using up the fresh pineapple

janja

Tried this last night, had to share, its delish!
This is the Perfect 10 Guacamole. Healthiest Snack i can think of that is this delicious. Very easy to make and remember since there is only 10 ingredients.

1. Avocados (5-6 halved)
2. Cilantro- Chopped
3. Lime Juice (1 or 2)
4. Jalapeno (1) minced finely
5. Onions (1 half) minced finely
6. Tomatoes (half cup) Diced "plum or cherry are best because of sweetness"
7. Sriracha (I used splash of Franks hot sauce instead)
8. Pepper
9. Salt
10. Cumin (I used cumin seeds and ground in mortar and pestle with the onion)

rich.d.berry

That looks like a tasty recipe. It has more in it than in the the traditional recipe that I was taught, and it does not have the smoked paprika and roasted peppers.

[Engage pedant mode]

I spent 8 weeks in Mexico City on business in 2009. The family I stayed with taught me a lot about Mexican food. The maternal granny (3 generations lived under the same roof) made all the accompaniments and sauces. I learned from her that "mole" translates to mass (as in cocoa mass). A good mole must be a paste with consistent colour and texture.

The chopped cilantro (fresh coriander) and diced tomatoes would affect both the colour and the texture.

If tomatoes are used then they are blanched and peeled, de-seeded and minced or crushed in a cast iron mortar and pestle. The cilantro stems and leaves are crushed separately in the mortar and pestle and the juices are strained through a fine sieve. The crushed cilantro pulp is kept to flavour dishes and lasts for weeks in the refrigerator if pickled in lime juice.

On a side note, I don't own a cast iron mortar and pestle but I would love to acquire one. I have a ceramic one which does not allow the heavier grinding that the cast iron one can handle.

When making mole the ingredients are kept as dry as possible until ground and blended. Because of the time and effort required, the base paste is normally made in bulk and refrigerated. The avocado and lime juice is added to the base and mashed just before serving.

Sriracha is of Thai origin, so would not be used in any true guacamole either. Guacamole is supposed to be mild, even bland, but any spiciness should come from seeded chilli peppers. The purpose of guacamole is to offset the spiciness from other dishes and to cool the palate.

[/Engage pedant mode]

janja

Thats very interesting, a lot of work though

sporina

Hi, can someone give me a recipe for roast beetroot please? (I will be using the pre cooked beetroot). I will be having it with goats cheese.
I am confused about the combination of sweet and sour in this recipe.
I know you use balsamic vinegar on the beetroot and then perhaps some sweetness from candied toasted pecans?

But I have also seen recipes with honey glazed roasted beetroot? But I am not a lover of honey.

And what about a dressing for baby leaves? Just a balsamic vinegarette?

cheers in advance?

Pigwidgeon

I've had a nice salad before that had watercress, pine nuts, feta cheese, broccoli, beet root and a herb dressing.

Simple and delicious!

Mellor

rich.d.berry wrote: »

I learned from her that "mole" translates to mass (as in cocoa mass). A good mole must be a paste with consistent colour and texture.

I was under the impression that "mole" was from the Aztec workd for "sauce".
Guacamole being avocado sauce.
Mole poblano another mole, the traditional sauce made with chili and chocolate

Dizzyblonde

I just roast my beetroot with olive oil but I roast them from raw. Since yours are cooked I'd drizzle them with a little balsamic vinnegar. A really nice dressing for salad with goat's cheese is simply balsamic vinegar and honey mixed to taste.

hardCopy

I had a salad recently made with long thin slices of pickled beetroot, pecans and balls of goat's cheese rolled in chopped walnuts. There was another pickled white vegetable too but I forgot to ask what it was. No leaves at all but it was very nice.

sporina

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I just roast my beetroot with olive oil but I roast them from raw. Since yours are cooked I'd drizzle them with a little balsamic vinnegar. A really nice dressing for salad with goat's cheese is simply balsamic vinegar and honey mixed to taste.

thanks for that - i might try roasting the beetroot myself sometime. But I think I might leave the honey out of the dressing and get the sweetness from the toasted pecans or caramelized red onions..


Its such an exquisite salad; I always have it out when ever it is on the menu - but i would like to make it myself..

Kitty-kitty

I'm looking for a recipe for cajun chicken. I know that's as broad as saying "I'm looking for Chinese chicken" but I mean cajun chicken as you would buy it from a deli here (most cafe sols do it, and the sugar loaf in heuston. Some Spars as well). The sauce is generally a salmon pink and seems to be a variant on coronation chicken - occasionally it has little red flecks in it. I can taste garlic and it has a good spicy kick to it.

Any help much appreciated, buying it constantly is bankrupting me!

dubh101

I would say that the sauce used in delli's would just be mayo with cajun spices added and maybe some tomato ketchup.I would also put a clove of crushed garlic in it.I could be wrong though.:)

Dizzyblonde

There was a thread about this before with a good recipe for cajun sauce: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=65424939

Gavin "shels"

Got some nice fillets on Friday and just baked them in the oven in some tinfoil with some garlic butter and a drop of milk, fairly boring stuff tbh, any suggestions of what else to do with them (needs to be healthy)?

huskerdu

So many good recipes to choose from.
Haddock can be used for any recipe that calls for cod.

If you want to bake it simply, add lemon juice or white wine and some dill.

Here are a few other ideas to get you started.

You mention you want healthy food - haddock is a very healthy food. make sure that you add lots of veg, dont use large amount of butter in the spuds, use a small amount of butter based sauces.

http://www.mealsmatter.org/recipes-meals/recipe/16601

http://www.failteirelandfoodtoolkit.com/recipeBooks/mainCourses-recipes.pdf


There are a few recipes from Martin Shanahan with cod or hake that you could try.
http://www.rte.ie/tv/martinsmadaboutfish/recipes.html

Dinkie

What about haddock and sweet corn chowder? Healthy, low fat and easy to make.

Parboil some potatoes and cut into chunky cubes
Sweat some chopped onions and chilli. When soft add the potato cubes and add stock to cover.
Simmer until potato is fully cooked
Add in a small tin of sweet corn
Add in smoked haddock and simmer until fish is cooked.
Add salt / pepper to taste
Add some milk/cream to make the chowder creamy.
Pour into bowl and top with parsley.

Its absolutely gorgeous.

Faith

Dinkie wrote: »

What about haddock and sweet corn chowder? Healthy, low fat and easy to make.

Parboil some potatoes and cut into chunky cubes
Sweat some chopped onions and chilli. When soft add the potato cubes and add stock to cover.
Simmer until potato is fully cooked
Add in a small tin of sweet corn
Add in smoked haddock and simmer until fish is cooked.
Add salt / pepper to taste
Add some milk/cream to make the chowder creamy.
Pour into bowl and top with parsley.

Its absolutely gorgeous.

Yum, definitely making that this week!

BailMeOut

Crunchy Oven-Baked Haddock

I do this with cod and haddock all the time.

http://haverecipes-willcook.blogspot.com/2010/01/crunchy-oven-baked-fish.html

should look like this....its a really nice way to do white fish.

Gavin "shels"

Cheers all, think the above it Fridays dinner.

Gavin "shels"

Another quick question, would it be easier to take the skin off before cooking?

huskerdu

Gavin shels wrote: »

Another quick question, would it be easier to take the skin off before cooking?

If depends what you are doing with the fish, but I would say no, unless there is a good reason.

Skinning a fillet of raw fish is not very difficult but there is a bit of a knack to it and you need a good knife. There is a good chance that you will make a mess of it the first time you do it. If you want it skinned, ask the fishmonger to do it for you when you buy it.

Gavin "shels"

huskerdu wrote: »

If depends what you are doing with the fish, but I would say no, unless there is a good reason.

Skinning a fillet of raw fish is not very difficult but there is a bit of a knack to it and you need a good knife. There is a good chance that you will make a mess of it the first time you do it. If you want it skinned, ask the fishmonger to do it for you when you buy it.

Just if i'm battering it like above I'd like it with no skin.

refusetolose

wanna keep it as easy as possible, ive tried curries before but made it too complicated ,would this work ?

fry onion until soft, with curry powder ,tumeric and red/green peppers
add garlic
add chicken and ginger
fry for 5 mins
add crushed tomatos
mix and stir for 1 min
add stock and thicken
add mushrooms and chilli peppers
simmer until cooked

thanks

stmol32

Looks good. Nice and simple but tasty.

I've just got two suggestions.

1) When you add the curry powder and tomato paste don't leave it for five minutes because the chicken is already cooked and if you do then the paste will scorch the pan. Just give it about a minute and keep it moving on the wok or pan.

2) When you add the stock, bring it to the boil then lower the heat to the lowest setting and let it simmer away for at least a half an hour. This lets the flavours mix. If you're not convinced then try this: take a spoonful to taste at the start and then another at the end and see if you can taste the difference.

Hope this helps and enjoy your curry.

old_aussie

I'd cook the chicken first and then ad it to the mix and then simmer until reduced/thickened so the chicken will absorb all the flavours.

Maybe even ad a bay leaf.