Catholic Cookin'

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My grandmother raised 6 kids through the worst of the depression, and she too knew how to stretch food. Every night, until she went into the hospital before she died at age 91, she would have her ‘coffee soup’. It was a comon depression meal. Just put a piece of bread in your coffee saucer, and pour your coffee over it. It was a hot meal for many through the roughest times. Anyopne else ever hear of it?
 
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Edwin1961:
Back in the 1970’s when inflation took over the economy, my mother used to make the same thing, but she took bacon, orthinly sliced lunch meats and served it on toast and poured homemade gravy over it, I liked it too. My parents were little children during the Depression, and my mother knew how to make meals for three hungry kids and for themselves on a budget of $25.00 a week!

go with God!
Edwin
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🙂 My dear grandma, God rest her soul, was a Depression-era child. She was one of those women who never threw anything out, leftovers were always carefully packaged up and turned into new meals, etc. One of her “economical” meals was a can of spaghetti sauce with crumbled bacon in it instead of ground beef, served over spaghetti. She called it “Poor Man’s Spaghetti”. We all loved it.

Oh, and about the shrimp: I personally can’t stand shrimp, but my husband swears by boiling them in beer for 3-5 minutes (until they change color). That might help prevent dry-out.
 
Well, if you really cooking, please be sure to ask the neighbors sometimes and other times forget it.

Thomas2
 
Does anyone out there have a good, easy recipe for Lebonese Spinach Pies?
 
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pittsburghjeff:
Does anyone out there have a good, easy recipe for Lebonese Spinach Pies?
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Jeff, where do you get yours? Kassab’s on the South Side? I haven’t been there, but I hear it’s the best in the 'burgh.

I missed the Lebanese food festival at Our Lady of Victory in Scott township in June…I hear from Lebanese friends that is the best place for good quality (raw) kibbe…

aaaaaaaa…(picture Homer Simpson slack jawed and drooling)
 
Mummybee

I usually get mine at the Strip District (has nothing to do with adult entertainment for all of you non-pittsburghers). I think the store is Stamouli Brothers or something like that.

I tried making them once but the recipe I had didnt work out well.
 
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pittsburghjeff:
Does anyone out there have a good, easy recipe for Lebonese Spinach Pies?
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Jeff, what exactly IS a Lebonese Spinach Pie? I would want to say it’s vegetarian?
I’ve been to Pittsburgh many times, and love it second to Cleveland.

go with God!
Edwin
 
With the Holidays fast approaching, any suggestions for quick and easy suggestions for a less mess meal that does NOT suggest going out to eat on the holidays? I would like to go a bit traditional but also something quite unique to put on the menu. This will be for my brother and myself (servings for 2).

Any suggestions?

P.S. on an eariler post, someone suggest how to cook shrimp, thanks!

go with God!
Edwin
 
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Mjohn1453:
Does anyone have good soup recipes that don’t involve meat? I suppose those that do have meat are welcome as well…just not for Fridays.

Thanks
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we got a vitamix blender we use for hot soups and for cold fruit smoothies. I don’t know if these hi-fiber veggies would puree in an ordinary blender, maybe a food processor
non-dairy “cream” of broccoli soup

1/2 C broccoli florets
1/2 c cauliflower florest
1 small can lima beans
1 stalk celery
1 green onion
1 veggie boullion cube
1 small potato, mike it for 4 minutes first

put the cut up veggies in the vita-mix with 3 cups hot water (not boiling), puree at high speed until smooth and creamy, and serve. terrific non-dairy cream of broccoli flavor

the tomato bisque recipe is
2 T tomato paste
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
1 green onion
thin slice lemon
1 veggie boullion cube
1/2 cup white beans
1 small potato (microwave it for 4 minutes first)
Process in vitamix with 3Cups hot water on hi-speed until smooth and creamy

I had a great pumpkin soup with a base of carmelized onions, served with sour cream, and also a carrot orange soup they used to serve at the Cleveland Art Museum cafe - anybody have these receipes?
 
My current favorite soup for meatless days is Leek and Potatoe soup

here goes:

about one pound of leeks cleaned and cut up into one inch pieces
two stalks celery chopped
about one pound of potatoes peeled and cut to one inch cube
one good sized onion chopped (It’s better to use a summer sweet onion, but a spanish yellow will do in winter)
three ouces of butter
about one and a half quarts of water
about two cups half and half
salt and pepper to taste
a little grating of fresh nutmeg
(one and a half tablespoons flour and half & half to make a paste with)

Get a good bunch of leeks no brown, yellowing, spotted or darkening leaves. Leeks look like giant scallions for those who’ve never seen them. Cut off roots and dark parts of leaves. Be careful about the leaves, the lighter parts of the leaves, an nice spring green, will be found under the outer layers of the leaves, so you remove the leaves in layers so as to preserve the tender shoots hidden under the bunch. You need about a full pound of leeks once pared down, so get about four or three if they’re fat ones. I cut them into about four inch lengths and halfs lengthwise and submerge them in water and put them in the frig for a least a few hours. This helps the grit that is sometimes found in the under layers to loosen up and this can then be rinsed away under running water easily before using them. This is the hardest part of this soup. Once your leeks have been cleaned up, cut them into about one inch pieces and get ready - here we go!

Put butter in a large non-stick pot and begin gently sauteeing the celery, for a minute or two, then add the onion and leeks and sautee until soft and beginning to get translucent. Add the celery first because it has a slightly longer cooking time and you want this done evenly so it goes in the butter first. Be careful not to allow this stuff to get brown, slow motion gets you there faster on this one, but don’t panic if they scorch slightly, just know that you’ll do better next time. After everything is nicely wilted, add the potatoes and water and simmer till the potatoes are soft as for mashed potatoes, 20 to 30 minutes depending on the type of potatoes you use. Then take a potatoe masher and squish the stuff in the pot off the heat. Take the flour and half & half and make a paste and stir into stuff in pot. Add the other half & half and bring back to a bubble stirring all the while. Once this yummy stuff is nicely bubbling add salt and pepper to taste and grate a little nutmeg over the top and stir in. Done and delicious! Serve with good bread and a salad and yummy! This recipe makes about enough for five or six (You can leave the flour/half& half paste out if you like, some folks like a thinner soup. I prefer thick and chunky)

Peace and all good,
Thomas2

P.S. I’m currently looking for a good cream of carrot soup recipe so if you’ve got one, let me know. I had a bowl of this wonderful soup a while back and haven’t quite found the right recipe.
 
Alrightie then, I’ve just finished reading through this recipe file and am feeling sorry for a few of the posters - here’s two more good recipes for meatless days-

Black beans and Rice and Shrimp Something

Two peppers chopped, one green, the other red; sautee in two tablespoons olive oil with one large chopped onion and about five cloves minced garlic. When soft add a tablespoon oregano, three tablespoons cider vinegar, half teaspoon salt, about 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, two envelopes Sazon Goya without annatto, a pinch of sugar and a good shake or two of cumin. Stir in a large can of black beans and add one can water, use the same can so you get the gook that settles in the bottom of the can, and simmer for about 45 minutes til thickened. Serve over cooked white rice along with grated cheddar or other cheese, a glob of sour cream and hot sauce. Yummy!

Shrimp Something (I made this one up so it has no real name)

3/4 lbs medium shrimp boiled gently for two minutes, then drained peeled and cut in half to bite size, then squeeze the peelings over them to get the juice out of the peels.
Put about two tablespoons butter in pan and gently sautee a good tablespoon of capers, two nice sized chopped shallots till soft. Add the juice of one lemon and simmer a bit, then add about a tablespoon of tomatoe paste, a shake or two of salt and about two tablespoons heavy cream. Stir till heated through and almost bubbling. Add shrimp and their juice and gently cook for another minute or two till shrimps are done and everything is heated through. Be careful you don’t want this to curdle. Serve tossed with angel hair pasta, egg type if you can get it. Sorry to all you folks who are in the fat-free crowd. You can add a little more butter or lemon to taste. It’s a quick nice dish and worth waiting for if you fast all day.

For those who get scruples about actually enjoying their Friday fare, I suggest not only abstaining, but keeping a fast so as to not lose your edge!

Peace and all good,

Thomas2
 
Does anyone have any favorite recipes to share for Christmas?

My brother took me out for Thanksgiving dinner and I wasn’t too impressed with the way the restraunt/inn cooked the dinner. (The turkey was dry and the service was poor…however the yams and stuffing were to die for).
 
I was going to start a new thread, but since you ask, here are favorite Christmas recipes. Anybody remember what your family served Christmas eve and New Year’s eve? What about Christmas dinner? I think there is already a cookie thread going on.

We are English and German on both sides, and always had a rolled sirloin roast (one year we must have been rolling in money because we had a standing rib roast), Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and carrots around the meat, peas with tiny onions, and salad.

For Christmas Eve in our family, since my dad’s family had always done it and it was a day of abstinence, New England Clam Chowder, cole slaw and biscuits.

My Irish MIL remembers colcannon on New Years Eve, mashed potatoes (of course), with chopped, fried cabbage stirred into it, and plenty of melted butter. Traditionally, tokens are hidden in the mixture, like a baby, coin, ring etc, and if you get a token it tells your fortune for the coming year.
 
all purpose fish recipe - somebody asked above about fish recipes, this is good for any fish filet
Poached Fish
Preheat oven to 350
grease a glass baking dish
heat milk on the stove (don’t let it boil), use whole milk, skim won’t work well,
lay the fish fillets flat on the bottom of the baking dish
add a bay leaf or 2, and a couple of peeled garlic cloves if desired
pour the hot milk over the fillets to cover
bake for 20 minutes, test the fattest fillet to see if it is done (flakes easily)
test every 5 minutes after that, should not take more than a half hour unless it is a thick meaty piece like salmon
nearly impossible to overcook this way

lift fillets out of the milk onto a warm platter
remove bay leaf and garlic
put pan on medium burner
add 1T cornstarch or flour shaken in a jar with 1/4 C milk slowly to the milk in the baking pan, stir with a spatula until sauce thickens
pour sauce over the fish, sprinke with dill weed and serve
 
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mercygate:
Stay tuned for about a year, and the Confraterity of Penitents’ Cookbook will be available. We haven’t yet given it a title, but perhaps it will be called, “THE ASCETIC KITCHEN.” Confraternity members eat only two meals a day and eat meat only on Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, and Solemnities. They also fast from November 11 until Christmas. Makes cooking "interesting!"Confraternity home page: penitents.org
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Mercygate–is this something with which you are directly involved with or comitted to? Would you be willing/able to share something of your experience? I find this so very intriguing–thank you for the website address.
 
This is a YUMMY fish recipe I make alot and always during lent. I found it in an old Southern Living annual cookbook. It’s very, very simple!! It calls for Haddock, but I use whatever white fish I have – Cod (related to Haddock), Perch or really good with Orange Roughy.

2 lbs fresh or frozen Haddock fillets, thawed
1 large tomato, chopped
1 small gr. pepper, finely chopped
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tbls veg. oil
2 tsp instant minced onion
3/4 to 1 tsp dried basil leaves
2 tsp salt (I use a little less)
1/4 tsp pepper
4 drops hot sauce (I use more)

Arrange fillets in a single layer in lightly greased 13 x 9. Combine remaining ingredients; mix well and spoon over fish. Bake 8 to 10 min. at 500 or until fish flakes easily with fork.
 
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