Kai's "Old-Fashioned" Recipe Thread

[the fugative]

Pasta With Green Beans, Potatoes and Pesto


• 2 c. tightly packed basil leaves

• 1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed

• 1/2 lb. new potatoes, peeled

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

• 3 tbsp. pine nuts

• 1/2 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt

• 1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil, preferably Ligurian (or another mild and fruity oil)

• 1/3 c. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated

• 1/3 c. Pecorino Sardo or Romano cheese, grated

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 12 oz. tagliatelle pasta (or linguine)

Clean the basil with a slightly moist paper towel rather than dousing the leaves in water. Boil water in a medium pot. Cook green beans for about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. In the same water, boil potatoes until tender, about 7 to 12 minutes. Drain, cool and slice.

Place garlic, pine nuts and salt in processor and blend to a paste. Add basil and blend, drizzling in oil as you go, until smooth. Transfer to a large serving bowl and stir in 1/4 cup of each of the cheeses, then add the rest to taste. Stir in black pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain slightly and place in the pesto bowl (still dripping). Add the beans and potatoes, and toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Variations:

• Toast the pine nuts if you want a smokier pesto, or use walnuts if you prefer their "meatier" flavor.

• For a slightly thinner sauce, drain the pasta thoroughly and mix 2 tablespoons of the pasta water with the pesto before tossing it with the pasta and vegetables.

The smaller the basil leaves, the better. This recipe can be made with a mortar and pestle, but the method described allows you to mix in the cheeses to taste.

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[Jolie Rouge]

Charlotte Russe


1 (1/4-ounce) package unflavored gelatin
4 Tablespoons milk
5 Tablespoons sweet sherry
6 eggs, separated
5 Tablespoons sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pint heavy cream
18 ladyfingers, split

Soften gelatin in milk in top of double boiler. Dissolve over low heat. Cool slightly and add sherry. In separate bowl, beat egg yolks with one Tablespoon sugar and vanilla extract. Quickly stir egg yolk mixture into milk mixture; set aside to cool. Beat egg whites until stiff, gradually adding three Tablespoons sugar; set aside. Beat heavy cream until stiff and add one Tablespoon sugar. Fold whipped cream and egg whites into yolk mixture. Line an eight-cup serving bowl, or two smaller bowls, with ladyfingers. Pour mixture into it and chill two to three hours. Serve from the bowl.

Note: Recipe dates to about 1850.

SERVINGS: 10 - 12

[Jolie Rouge]

How to Obtain Edible Insects
By far the most difficult part of attempting any insect recipe is acquiring the necessary ingredients. Insects are rarely sold in supermarkets, nor, aside from various novelty items, are there many pre prepared insect food products. Therefore, those who wish to eat insects must acquire them either by catching insects in the wild, by buying insects from pet stores or bait shops, or by raising their own.

Catching insects in the wild, unless you're fortunate enough to live in a rural area, is a laborious and potentially dangerous task. I advise this type of insect collection only if you're sure that the insects you're collecting are edible (doyous...), and that the area where you're collecting is free of pesticides. Cicadas, field crickets, grasshoppers, grubs, tomato hornworms, and so forth, are among the edible insects one is likely to find on such hunting expeditions.

Buying insects is the easiest way to get edible insects, but it is also the most expensive (ain't it always the way?). Most pet stores and bait shops carry crickets and mealworms, two of the most easily raised and prepared insect species. You can also buy these insects in bulk from various insect suppliers (see my Links, Etc. page for more information on the subject). The only preparation that you need give to insects acquired in this manner is that of feeding them for a few days on fresh grain; most insects you buy at bait shops or pet stores have been eating newspaper, sawdust, or similarly unsavory packing material, which, while completely harmless, might affect the insect's taste if you ate them while the material was still in their digestive tract.

Raising insects, in my opinion, is the optimum way of ensuring a steady supply of palatable insects. While not entirely as convenient as simply popping into the pet store whenever you need insects, it is far cheaper, more environmentally friendly, and more rewarding in the long run. See my page on Raising Insects for all the juicy details.

How to Prepare Insects for Cooking

Those who are accustomed to eating animals probably know that most animals must be killed, cleaned, and cooked before one can eat them. The case is similar with insects. While there are many people in other countries who prefer to eat insects live and raw, and while it is true that you could probably get the most nutrients that way, I prefer food that won't crawl off my plate. I have tried eating live ants and mealworms, and in fact present a "recipe" for live insect consumption below; however, I would advise that beginning insect eaters start with cooked insects.

To prepare a batch of crickets or mealworms:

Take the desired quantity of live insects, rinse them off and then pat them dry. This procedure is easy to do with mealworms, but fairly hard to do with crickets. To do so with crickets, pour them all into a colander and cover it quickly with a piece of wire screening or cheesecloth. Rinse them, then dry them by shaking the colander until all the water drains. Then put the crickets or mealworms in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer until they are dead but not frozen. Fifteen minutes or so should be sufficient. Then take them out and rinse them again. You don't really have to clean mealworms, though if you want, you can chop off their heads. Cricket's heads, hind legs, and wing cases can be removed according to personal preference; I like doing so, since cricket legs tend to get stuck in your teeth. You are now ready to use the insects in all kinds of culinary treats!


Mealworm Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup mealworm flour

Cream butter well, then mix in sugar, egg, vanilla flour, salt, baking soda, chocolate chips, oats, and mealworm flour. Drop batter by the teaspoonful on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees farenheit. This recipe doesn't have much in the way of palpable insect content, but is an excellent way to introduce others (or yourself!) to entomophagy. Even many rather squeamish people will try mealworm cookies, since the cookie format doesn't look "gross" to most people, and since it is rather difficult to actually taste the mealworms, though they enrich the cookie with a somewhat nutty flavor and extra protein.


To make insect flour:

Spread your cleaned insects out on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Set your oven 200 degrees and dry insects for approximately 1-3 hours. When the insects are done, they should be fairly brittle and crush easily. Take your dried insects and put them into a blender or coffee grinder, and grind them till they are about consistency of wheat germ. Use in practically any recipe! Try sprinkling insect flour on salads, add it to soups, your favorite bread recipe, on a boat, with a goat, etc.

[b
Chocolate Covered Crickets [/b]
25 adult crickets
Several squares of semisweet chocolate
Prepare the crickets as described above. Bake at 250 degrees until crunchy (the time needed varies from oven to oven). Heat the squares of semi sweet chocolate in a double boiler until melted. Dip the dry roasted crickets in the melted chocolate one by one, and then set the chocolate covered crickets out to dry on a piece of wax paper. Enjoy! This is a little time consuming to make, but definitely worth it...the crickets are deliciously crunchy!

Ant Brood Tacos

2 tablespoons butter or peanut oil?
1/2 pound ant larvae and pupae
3 serrano chilies, raw, finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
Pepper, to taste
Cumin, to taste
Oregano, to taste
1 handful cilantro, chopped
Taco shells, to serve

Heat the butter or oil in a frying pan and fry the larvae or pupae. Add the chopped onions, chilies, and tomato, and season with salt. Sprinkle with ground pepper, cumin, and oregano, to taste. Serve in tacos and garnish with cilantro. (Not living in an area exceptionally prolific with ants, I have never been able to try this recipe. But it sounds perfectly delicious! I found it in 'Creepy Crawly Cuisine', an excellent recipe book.)

"Natural Style"

As many mealworms as you can sanely eat

Open mouth. Insert live mealworms. Chew. Swallow.

You can eat almost every kind of edible insect raw; however, this method of eating insects should only be performed on insects that you keep yourself or know are free from pesticides. Do not snag passing cockroaches, ants, or termites in an urban area unless you have developed a natural immunity to pesticides. And don't forget to wash your insects before eating them!

[Jolie Rouge]

Mealworm Spaghetti
From Man Eating Bugs: The Art and Science of Eating Insects, by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Alusio.

1/2 pound roasted yellow mealworms
4-1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon safflower oil
1 sprig marjoram
1 sprig thyme
2 bay leaves
1/4 onion, chopped
8 ounces dry spaghetti
6 to 8 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
Olive oil
3 to 4 tablespoons pine nuts, finely chopped
10 sprigs parsley, finely chopped
1/2 pound purple basil, finely chopped
1/2 pound ricotta cheese
1/4 cup whole pine nuts

Boil water; add safflower oil, salt, marjoram, thyme, bay leaves, and onion. Add spaghetti. Drain when done. Melt butter in saute pan. Add spaghetti. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix basil, parsley, ricotta, oil, and chopped pine nuts with the spaghetti. Heat but do not boil. Top with mealworms and whole pine nuts.

http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes..._mealworm.html

[Jolie Rouge]

Delectable Mealworm Recipes











To prepare a batch of crickets or mealworms:

Take the desired quantity of live insects, rinse them off and then pat them dry. This procedure is easy to do with mealworms, but fairly hard to do with crickets. To do so with crickets, pour them all into a colander and cover it quickly with a piece of wire screening or cheesecloth. Rinse them, then dry them by shaking the colander until all the water drains. Then put the crickets or mealworms in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer until they are dead but not frozen. Fifteen minutes or so should be sufficient. Then take them out and rinse them again. You don't really have to clean mealworms, though if you want, you can chop off their heads. Cricket's heads, hind legs, and wing cases can be removed according to personal preference; I like doing so, since cricket legs tend to get stuck in your teeth. You are now ready to use the insects in all kinds of culinary treats!


Mealworm Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup mealworm flour
Cream butter well, then mix in sugar, egg, vanilla flour, salt, baking soda, chocolate chips, oats, and mealworm flour. Drop batter by the teaspoonful on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees farenheit. This recipe doesn't have much in the way of palpable insect content, but is an excellent way to introduce others (or yourself!) to entomology. Even many rather squeamish people will try mealworm cookies, since the cookie format doesn't look "gross" to most people, and since it is rather difficult to actually taste the mealworms, though they enrich the cookie with a somewhat nutty flavor and extra protein.

To make insect flour:

Spread your cleaned insects out on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Set your oven 200 degrees and dry insects for approximately 1-3 hours. When the insects are done, they should be fairly brittle and crush easily. Take your dried insects and put them into a blender or coffee grinder, and grind them till they are about consistency of wheat germ. Use in practically any recipe! Try sprinkling insect flour on salads, add it to soups, your favorite bread recipe, on a boat, with a goat, etc.


"Natural Style"
As many mealworms as you can sanely eat
Open mouth. Insert live mealworms. Chew. Swallow.

You can eat almost every kind of edible insect raw; however, this method of eating insects should only be performed on insects that you keep yourself or know are free from pesticides. Do not snag passing cockroaches, ants, or termites in an urban area unless you have developed a natural immunity to pesticides. And don't forget to wash your insects before eating them!

http://www.d303.org/schools/Munhall/...IN/recipes.htm

Adapted from the web site: Eat Bugs

[the fugative]

Chocolate Pecan Squares


• 1 1/2 c. chopped pecans

• 1 c. flour

• 4 tbsp. ( 1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened

• 3/4 c. packed light brown sugar, divided

• 1 1/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips

• 1/4 c. light corn syrup

• 2 eggs

• 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tbsp. vanilla

Toast the pecans in a large frying pan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until they begin to color and become fragrant, about 7 minutes. Pour them out of the pan immediately and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch-square pan. Put the flour, butter and 1/2 cup of the packed brown sugar in the small bowl of an electric mixer and beat until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Press it evenly across the bottom of the prepared pan and bake 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the chocolate and corn syrup in medium saucepan over low heat, stirring until the chocolate melts. Wash the small mixer bowl and beaters. Beat the eggs lightly. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of packed brown sugar to the eggs, and beat well. Add the chocolate mixture, Worcestershire sauce and vanilla and beat well.

Stir in 1 cup of the nuts. Pour the chocolate-nut mixture over the hot crust, and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts on top. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with slightly fudgy crumbs (the toothpick should be neither wet nor clean). Cool and cut into squares.

[Jolie Rouge]

Bet you could use crickets instead of Pecans in that recipe .... MMM MMMM GOOD !

[the fugative]

Originally posted by Jolie Rouge
Bet you could use crickets instead of Pecans in that recipe .... MMM MMMM GOOD !

Yasureyoubetcha

[Jolie Rouge]

Spinach Salad with Blue Cheese

6 - 8 cups baby spinach
1 red apple, chopped
1 green apple, chopped
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup pecans, chopped

Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Combine dressing ingredients in a cruet and shake well. Pour dressing over salad just before serving and toss.



Sesame Logs

1 block cream cheese
sesame seeds
soy sauce

Cut cold cream cheese into 2 logs, roll in sesame seeds, place on serving dish and pour soy sauce over top. Serve with favorite crackers.



Stuffed Shells

1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Ground pepper to taste
12 oz. box jumbo macaroni shells, cooked
1 - 12 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Saute ground beef, onion and garlic in a saucepan. Drain off any fat. Add beef broth, parsley, basil, pepper and Parmesan cheese and mix well. Stuff each shell with meat mixture and place in a glass baking dish. Pour sauce over shells and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.A lot of stuffed shells recipes only use cheese for the stuffing. We like this recipe because of the meat and the fact that, well, I guess we are carnivores, or omnivores to be more precise. If you are not a carnivore, or omnivore than you can omit the ground beef and substitute sun-dried tomatoes or some chopped spinach in the filling.


French Bread

4 packages dry yeast
2 and 1/4 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
7 cups flour
corn meal
1 egg white, beaten with 1 Tbsp. water

Dissolve yeast in warm water in large mixing bowl. Add salt, sugar and flour to yeast and mix into dough. Knead dough on floured surface until smooth, about 15 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl and cover bowl with damp towel.

Let dough rise for about 2 hours until doubled in size. Squish dough back down and let it rise again for about 1 hour. Divide dough into three pieces. Roll dough out with rolling pin on floured surface and then shape each piece into a loaf.Sprinkle corn meal on cookie sheet and place loaves on cookie sheet. Slit tops of loaves with sharp knife and brush with egg white/water mixture. Let dough rise again, uncovered, for about 1 hour and then brush again with egg white/water mixture.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Brush loaves again with egg white/water mixture and bake for 15 minutes longer.



Chocolate Pie

1 - 9 inch pie crust
3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs. beaten
1 Tbsp. flour
6 oz. evaporated milk or half and half
whipped topping for garnish

Place pie crust in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Meanwhile, melt chocolate and butter in a large saucepan, add sugar and vanilla and beaten eggs and continue to cook over low heat. Combine flour and evaporated milk and stir until flour is dissolve. Add to chocolate mixture and cook for several minutes until mixture starts to thicken. Pour into pie shell and bake at 375 for 20 - 25 minutes. Allow to cool and serve with whipped topping if desired. We made this pie for Thanksgiving and the kids loved it. We have now made it two more times at the request of the kids.

[Jolie Rouge]

Shrimp Vegetable Mold


1 can (11 ounces) tomato soup, undiluted
8 ounces cream cheese
1-1/2 Tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup minced celery
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cups chopped shrimp
1 Tablespoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 Tablespoon horseradish

Bring undiluted tomato soup to boil. Remove from heat. Add cream cheese that has been broken up. Stir until creamy. Dissolve gelatin in cold water; add to soup mixture. Let mixture cool; add other ingredients. Turn into wet mold, or mold greased with mayonnaise. Chill until set.

Hint: Hot pepper sauce gives this salad a hot, spicy flavor.

Serve with crackers or bread rounds

SERVINGS: 12

[Jolie Rouge]

Linguine in Egg Sauce


INGREDIENTS:
1 pound uncooked linguine or noodles
8 slices bacon, diced
3 eggs at room temperature, slightly beaten
1 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup butter
TO PREPARE:
Cook linguine in boiling salted water 8 - 10 minutes. Drain, season with salt, and return to pan to keep warm. Fry bacon until crisp, drain, and keep hot. Reserve bacon drippings and keep hot. Add eggs, cheese, pepper, hot bacon pieces and hot bacon drippings to linguine. Mix well. If eggs are not entirely set, mixture may be heated slightly. Place in a heated serving dish and top with slices of butter. If all ingredients are mixed while very hot, the eggs will be set and the linguine ready to serve when the slices of butter have melted.

SERVES: 4 - 6