Monthly Archives: July 2020

Cobb Salad goes global x 3, July 31-Aug 6, 2020

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Hosted by Barbara J Nosek

New Salon every Friday – c’mon in

CS friends, and help yourself to tasty resources

We want to help us all stay safe – and find joy in the kitchen, our own special haven

♦  COMFORT FOOD  ♦

Salad at its tasty best 

Well I had a bonus discovery here, aside from the salads, and likely many all you are already in this loop. But for those who aren’t, as I was wasn’t, there is a great food site preemptively called Food.com, which is actually in the same biz family as Food Network and Cooking Channel among other brands.

So that’s where I found the boffo Mexican Cobb shown here, recipe by PanNan. It comes together with the freshness of Mex veggies, the richness of cheese, and the heartiness of chicken and beans. And, so pretty!

Rachael Ray’s fan blog gives us the Italian version, straight out of Ray’s Express Lane Meals cookbook. In this one the side by side ingredients give the chicken some competition with salami and Italian peppers to kick it all up.

One of CS’ faves, Taste of Home, checks in with a taste of Asia, or more specifically Thai. The chicken and veggie-rich mix takes on a whole new life with the drizzle of peanut-sesame dressing.

Next week: Smoked Salmon/cream cheese pizza

Mexican Cobb Salad  ♦  Italian Cobb Salad  ♦  Thai Cobb Salad  

Rachael Ray’s Express Lane Meals cookbook on Amazon

♦  FOOD TIPS FOR THE TIMES  ♦

Shopping, cooking, storing, substituting, using up, helping, amusement, health & safety

♦  Experts say a good breakfast can get us off to a good start with benefits that last well into the day. And with today’s extra challenges that may be even more necessary than usual. Now you may well agree with that and still think . . . borrrrring. Well, now, see if this might change your mind. “These 5 Beautiful Breakfast Bowls Will Brighten Up Your Morning” from Clean Plates- surprisingly satisfying combos.

♦  Need a treat? Like Black Forest Cake? If yes to both you may well be ready for a Black Forest Sundae. And it’s just what it sounds like in terms of the tasty components. The news is in the sourcing. French vanilla ice cream left over from the ice cream bread, 07.17.20 Salon. Cherry filling leftover from our fruit pizza, also 07.17.20 Salon. Chocolate sauce left over from our banana split {breakfast!}, 06.26.20 Salon.

♦  This site is like “don’t waste food” central. Called Save the Food, it helps you do just that with prep and storage tools, recipes that give a second life to otherwise trash-bound items, a lesson in how much money you can save with these practices, even a party planner that guides you on amounts to purchase, plus stories galore in the Community. As they say on the site, become a food waste warrior.

Send a message to both sides of the aisle in DC & beyond with Tees, Sweats, Hoodies, Mugs, Hats, Buttons – nice styles & colors

“Make America Decent Again” collection crafted by Zazzle – see it right here on CS  OR go right to the Zazzle page

CS Marketplace Directory

Click here or on the Amazon logo    to go directly to their home page

You can still see full-featured Salons in the Archives, 04.10.20 & earlier

Looking for something in CS?

Scroll & check previews OR use the search box OR contact me at bjnosek@gmail.com

Questions, comments?

Use the same email, enter CooksSalon in the subject line – see the Let’s Chat tab for further details

Note

All transactions are solely between the buyer and linked supplier

and I’m associate of Amazon, Zazzle, and SunFrog, only

Cook with passion and a party spirit, whether for a crew, or for two, or just for you

All pages ©2020 CooksSalon.com

 

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Turkish Eggs – a flavor blast, July 24-July 30, 2020

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Hosted by Barbara J Nosek

New Salon every Friday – c’mon in

CS friends, and help yourself to tasty resources

We want to help us all stay safe – and find joy in the kitchen, our own special haven

♦  COMFORT FOOD  ♦

Oh my goodness, this is good 

Thank you AllRecipes! These Turkish Eggs send waves of flavor over breakfast, brunch, any time you want to turn poached eggs into a wonderfully satisfying meal.

Luckily, despite its exotic vibe, other than maybe the aleppo pepper, probably everything else is already in your household. What isn’t, likely has a ready substitute {see below}.

I used chili pepper flakes instead of aleppo but note that the latter is way milder and so best not to use the same amount of any dried hot pepper. Just taste as you go.

Also, I pretty much combined the latter two items in a single butter sauce that I used under and over the eggs. And though I’m a big fan of jalapenos didn’t want “pieces” in an otherwise fine textured sauce. Did add a bit more cayenne to compensate.

Served this with crisped flour tortillas which also made great scoopers. One thing to note: once you break into the eggs and start that scooping, the changed look can be interpreted two ways. A mess on a plate. Or, a culinary work of abstract art on a crockery canvas. Your choice.

Substitutions if needed: dillweed to taste instead of fresh, dried parsley to taste instead of fresh, peppers as above or chili powder in place of aleppo.

Next week: Cobb Salads go ethnic

Turkish Eggs recipe  ♦  Aleppo pepper on Amazon

♦  FOOD TIPS FOR THE TIMES  ♦

Shopping, cooking, storing, substituting, using up, helping, amusement, health & safety

♦  If you have Prime Video, a treat awaits called Food Safari. As they say, it “takes you on a culinary journey across Australia.” Host Maeva O’Meara’s eclectic tastes take us right to the stoves of professional chefs and passionate home cooks from one end of the continent to the other and maybe most surprising, deep inside the diversity of cuisine found here.

♦  Like to bake? Take some enjoyable time to wander through the site called What’s Baking, Babycakes. When you see that one of host Jennfer Gilbert’s baking tabs is “Candy Bar,” you can pretty well jump to the conclusion that decadence is a predominant ingredient here. Some of the recipes featured when I tuned in: Milky Way Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Icing, Boston Cream Pie Popsicles, Chocolate Nutella Toffee Cake. Aiyyyyyy.

♦  Use up your boxed pasta. Use up your summer veggies. End up with one of these “10 Healthy Pasta Recipes for Summer.” Thank you Clean Plates.

♦  A bit of whimsy, that starts with, Is your dishwasher running? OK, close your eyes, take a deep breath, relax. And with a little {OK, a lot of} imagination you can mentally transport yourself to an oceanside resort. Take your escapes wherever you can.

Send a message to both sides of the aisle in DC & beyond with Tees, Sweats, Hoodies, Mugs, Hats, Buttons – nice styles & colors

“Make America Decent Again” collection crafted by Zazzle – see it right here on CS  OR go right to the Zazzle page

CS Marketplace Directory

Click here or on the Amazon logo    to go directly to their home page

You can still see full-featured Salons in the Archives, 04.10.20 & earlier

Looking for something in CS?

Scroll & check previews OR use the search box OR contact me at bjnosek@gmail.com

Questions, comments?

Use the same email, enter CooksSalon in the subject line – see the Let’s Chat tab for further details

Note

All transactions are solely between the buyer and linked supplier

and I’m associate of Amazon, Zazzle, and SunFrog, only

Cook with passion and a party spirit, whether for a crew, or for two, or just for you

All pages ©2020 CooksSalon.com

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Ice Cream Bread, 3 ingredients, July 17-July 23, 2020

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Hosted by Barbara J Nosek

New Salon every Friday – c’mon in

CS friends, and help yourself to tasty resources

We want to help us all stay safe – and find joy in the kitchen, our own special haven

♦  COMFORT FOOD  ♦

Is this too good to be true – No!

Whaaaaaat? The unique flavor of ice cream right in your bread?

Yes! And you make it with just three ingredients.

The recipe calls for butter pecan, which I sure do like, but I made mine with vanilla bean. It would seem you could use any flavor, and if I do try another one will let you know right here.

So, how does it taste? Good! Sweeter than bread, less sweet than cake, with a texture kind of between French bread and pound cake.

And it’s fine just plain. But like culinary icon MFK Fisher, I’ve long been a fan of bread and chocolate and this is a natural for that pairing, here using our own chocolate sauce.

Also good with preserves. Or just toasted with butter, though keep watch because of the sugar content – I actually browned it in a skillet.

Want to make your own ice cream? There’s a Ben & Jerry’s recipe book with inventive flavors made with fruit, candy and cookies and even some of their “greatest hits.”

Recipe notes: This makes a very compact loaf so you want to be sure you have a small enough baking pan. The one I used was wider and shorter than specified and so baked in about 20 min. If it tests done and the sides have pulled away but it still seems a little moist on the bottom when you remove it from the pan, just cool it on the rack upside down.

Next week: Turkish eggs, breakfast with a kick

Recipe  ♦  Ben & Jerry’s Recipe Book

♦  FOOD TIPS FOR THE TIMES  ♦

Shopping, cooking, storing, substituting, using up, amusement, helping, health & safety

♦  Staying in Saturday afternoons? Something I’ve discovered at 3pm {PT} on ABC is RecipeTV. As the site says, the series takes us across America and beyond, “bringing together some of the world’s greatest culinary artists, superb restaurants, and unique recipes that satisfy the inner chef in all of us.” They have a button to check your local listings.

♦  Need to use up some fruit? A great way to do just that and at the same time show off your artistic skills: fruit pizzas. Just layer different colors of fruit and jam on a baked pizza crust spread with soft cream cheese and voila! a work of art. And so pretty!

♦  So, it’s hard to find much that’s good coming out of this pandemic, but maybe there is one thing. And that is a new view of our groceries and other household goods. Better storage so food doesn’t go bad and more vigilance so it’s used up before it goes bad, because even now we can’t always be sure replacements are available, or that the replacements we prefer are available. And the net result is less waste, more conservation of our personal resources.

–  And that can extend beyond the kitchen. While that’s seriously all to the good, there can also be a lighter take. Saw this online about the bathroom and I promise it’s not gross: “I used to spin the bath tissue like a wheel of fortune and now I turn it like I’m cracking a safe.”

“Make America Decent Again” collection crafted by Zazzle – see it right here on CS

Tees, Sweats, Hoodies, Mugs, Hats, Buttons – nice styles & colors

CS Marketplace Directory

Click here or on the Amazon logo    to go directly to their home page

You can still see full-featured Salons in the Archives, 04.10.20 & earlier

Looking for something in CS?

Scroll & check previews OR use the search box OR contact me at bjnosek@gmail.com

Questions, comments?

Use the same email, enter CooksSalon in the subject line – see the Let’s Chat tab for further details

Note

All transactions are solely between the buyer and linked supplier

and I’m associate of Amazon, Zazzle, and SunFrog, only

Cook with passion and a party spirit, whether for a crew, or for two, or just for you

All pages ©2020 CooksSalon.com

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Gussied, extra melty, grilled cheese sandwich, July 10-July 16, 2020

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Hosted by Barbara J Nosek

New Salon every Friday – c’mon in

CS friends, and help yourself to tasty resources

We want to help us all stay safe – and find joy in the kitchen, our own special haven

♦  COMFORT FOOD  ♦

Nothing wrong with classic grilled cheese. The happy harmony of toasted bread and melty cheese is the epitome of comfort food.

But this variation from Eat This Not That!’s best comfort foods in our 05.29.20 Salon is sufficiently removed to be a whole different dishes. For starters, instead of just cheese, the filling is cheese, and, and. With other ingredients that create a whole new extra melty texture.

Two things about that filling. Given the amount of cheese, you might want to increase the pimento, jalapeno and scallions. In fact, “truth in advertising,” I reserved some of each of them to place along the cutline to be sure you would be able to see them.

The other thing. Once you have the cheese mix – cheddar, yogurt, mayo, hot sauce – you could add more stuff, or other stuff entirely. Thinking ham, bacon, sausage, pepperoni, tomato, corn, black beans, nuts, grapes or . . . and . . .

And if you happen to have leftovers, great in or on an enchilada. Or for an extra tasty mac & cheese, and then once again add in at will. Or not. Btw, the recipe page also has a garlicky tomato soup recipe.

Substitutes if needed: regular mayo instead of olive oil mayo, green bell pepper in place of jalapeno, red or white onion in place of scallions.

Next week: Ice Cream Bread {this is a big surprise}

Recipe

♦  FOOD TIPS FOR THE TIMES  ♦

Shopping, cooking, storing, substituting, using up, helping, amusement, health & safety

♦  CS-ers are quite awesome at avoiding waste. But even now, when there are still times and places where we can’t necessarily rely on being able to readily replace any of our groceries, it’s especially helpful to know how to keep potatoes fresh, including shopping, storage and washing tips. Now, sometimes despite our best efforts those taters can go bad, and this same msn.com story gives you those telltale clues that can make clear this has happened.

♦  Wow, follow this link at your own risk. You might be surprised by that innocent looking box in your pantry that in fact can become any number of Super Moist Cake Mix Recipes. It’s not exactly breaking news that you can turn this Betty Crocker staple into a fine cake in lots of flavors. But there are so many variations – poke cakes, dump cakes, sheets, bundts, a festive rainbow version. And cupcakes and shortcakes and even cone cakes and cake pops.

–  But wait, there’s more, coloring outside the lines of the cake category – squares, crisps, trifles, pancakes, breads, cookies, cinnamon rolls, coffee cake. As a nice bonus, also many fun decorating ideas, with this pic from their site being just one example.

♦  Yet another super helpful guide from msn.com, this one citing Eat This Not That! This kind of thing is helpful anytime but now more than ever. In effect you can eat and drink your way to telling disease neener neener when you fill your plates and cups with these “Best Foods to Strengthen Your Immune System.” To your health!

“Make America Decent Again” collection crafted by Zazzle – see it right here on CS

Tees, Sweats, Hoodies, Mugs, Hats, Buttons, Tote Bags – nice styles & colors

CS Marketplace Directory

Click here or on the Amazon logo    to go directly to their home page

You can still see full-featured Salons in the Archives, 04.10.20 & earlier

Looking for something in CS?

Scroll & check previews OR use the search box OR contact me at bjnosek@gmail.com

Questions, comments?

Use the same email, enter CooksSalon in the subject line – see the Let’s Chat tab for further details

Note

All transactions are solely between the buyer and linked supplier

and I’m associate of Amazon, Zazzle, and SunFrog, only

Cook with passion and a party spirit, whether for a crew, or for two, or just for you

All pages ©2020 CooksSalon.com

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Chocolate filled crescents, so easy, July 3-July 9, 2020

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Hosted by Barbara J Nosek

New Salon every Friday – c’mon in

CS friends, and help yourself to tasty resources

We want to help us all stay safe – and find joy in the kitchen, our own special haven

♦  COMFORT FOOD  ♦

Ah darn, but then all better 

So I saw what appeared to be a crescent roll filled with chocolate and maybe something else in an ad. The bummer about this kind of thing is when the tempting item is merely a prop, no recipe will be forthcoming.

Ha! Pillsbury to the rescue.

Their basic recipe couldn’t be easier, just the rolls, mini chocolate chips and optional powdered sugar. I had a few raisins to use up so after softening them in some hot water {then drained and blotted} added those in too. I chose not to top with powdered sugar because I didn’t want to cover up that beautiful golden exterior.

Breakfast, midday, dessert, all good. And of course you can stroll all through the site’s recipe pages for countless sweet and savory ways to fill crescent rolls.

Recipe notes: I found two things help keep the chips in place while you’re “rolling in the dough.” One is to use the palm of your hand to press them down into the crescent. And second, what worked best for me was to fold the point up to the wide edge and then roll from the fold to the wide edge, turning them seam down in the baking pan – if you look at the cheesecake crescent shown beneath the recipe on the Pillsbury page, it looks like that’s how those rolled.

Next week: gooey, gussied grilled cheese sandwiches

Pillsbury recipe  ♦  Their other crescent roll recipes  ♦  Pillsbury cookbooks on Amazon  

♦  FOOD TIPS FOR THE TIMES  ♦

Shopping, cooking, storing, substituting, using up, amusement, helping, health & safety

♦  Be the smartest person in the grocery store, or picking up groceries, or having groceries delivered. The NBC news site gives a shout-out to canned goods which, as the story says, because of their longevity cut back on waste and also mean “your pantry holds a treasure of quick meal solutions.” Here’s where it turns to gold. The report includes pointers for selecting the most nutritious canned goods, and maybe even better a roundup of the nation’s top food pros and nutritionists citing their favorite canned goods and why. Here are all the secrets.

♦  Meanwhile, here’s another take on wash produce the right way. This one from Yahoo, in turn citing the CDC.

♦  Well I never thought I’d be saying, I love the idea of a “garbage jar.” Let’s just say this is not only yet another way to avoid waste but as well to make maybe some of your best baked goods ever. Find the sweet scoop from MyRecipes here.

♦  Wait, don’t throw that out! EatingWell magazine tell us, “Instead of tossing the stems, ends and seeds of your produce, learn how to give them new life. It’s easy.” Details and a demo are here at Grow Scraps {never quite sure what threat this might pose, but please note the EW site shows “not secure” – rest assured CooksSalon is!}. This is actually quite fascinating. Will let you know if I give it a try.  

“Make America Decent Again” collection crafted by Zazzle – see it right here on CS

Tees, Sweats, Hoodies, Mugs, Hats, Buttons, tote bags – nice styles & colors

CS Marketplace Directory

Click here or on the Amazon logo    to go directly to their home page

You can still see full-featured Salons in the Archives, 04.10.20 & earlier

Looking for something in CS?

Scroll & check previews OR use the search box OR contact me at bjnosek@gmail.com

Questions, comments?

Use the same email, enter CooksSalon in the subject line – see the Let’s Chat tab for further details

Note

All transactions are solely between the buyer and linked supplier

I’m associated with Amazon, Zazzle, and SunFrog, only

Cook with passion and a party spirit, whether for a crew, or for two, or just for you

All pages ©2020 CooksSalon.com

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