Feasting Recipes

[RLNM]

TinaG,
I wanted to let you know... I tried the Pascha recipe. I had trouble with the pressing part- discovered that threadbare towels just won't substitute for cheesecloth. But, regardless, it was still delicious! My entire family are now big fans. (this was their first time having Pascha)

I haven't had the chance to fix the eggs yet. I will make it soon. In my home, it is better to spread the feasting over time, rather than trying to make everything in the same weekend. If I make it all at the same time, something (or two) gets left to mold. Yuk! So, a little at a time- much less waste. 

[TinaG]

I am really glad you and your family liked the recipe.  It's not traditional at all, but it is soooo good.  I brought some up to work just to get it out of the house.  I eat it till I'm sick.

There is no subsitute for cheesecloth.  I also don't have a real pascha mold, so I just use the large cottage cheese containers as my mold.  They're sort of the right shape and I just use a sharp knife to poke drain holes from the inside out (don't poke outside in or the liquid can't drain properly). 

[Tamara]

Tamara, those are very pretty.  I hope they were tasty too.  How was your Colomba Pasquale?

Thanks Elisha. I never had a chance to buy it that day, I think a small family crisis kept me from finishing my shopping.
How was your's?

Are these the semolina recipe or the flour recipe?

I used the flour recipe that I posted earlier on this thread. It's my mother's recipe and it is the best. 

[Elisha]

Thanks Elisha. I never had a chance to buy it that day, I think a small family crisis kept me from finishing my shopping.
How was your's?

You, like so missed out.  A.G. Ferrari's even came out with a chocolate version this year which went over well with the women I shared it with.  Next year, If I'm smart, I should be able to pick up a lot of hot women with it if I try and target the right groups.  Get both though (the regular and Chocolate) - they're both better than any kulich or greek bread you'll have.

[Tamara]

Dyeing deep red eggs for Pascha without using toxic dyes

The recipe I used was:

2 dozen brown eggs (bring to room temperature and boil in two separate pots so they won't crack, then let eggs come to room temperature again before dyeing)
1 (1 oz.) bottle of red food coloring
1/2 cup of white vinegar (intensifies the color)
8 cups of boiling water (but I let the water cool down before placing the eggs in it so they wouldn't crack)


I also used the trick Galina mentions of oiling the egg. I waited until the eggs were completely dry then I used a soft oily cloth (canola oil) and gently rubbed each egg. I wiped each egg so it wouldn't be oily but it still had a sheen. The oil gives the egg a deeper more lustrous red color. See photo below.

[Thomas]

Tamara,

A Greek sister in our parish several years ago suggested the edition of 5 drops of blue to the dye, they came out deep red like using the Greek Dye but at a much lower cost using American Food dye. I used it this year with great result.

Thomas

[Galina-Volga]

Tamara, the eggs look very beautiful. The special contrast of the green plate and red color of eggs makes them more attractive. Mine were reddish-brown (because of the onion shell). It was funny with collecting of the onion shell. I started to do it around the beginning of the lent. Then (a week before Pascha) I realized that it's still not enough so I went to Wal-Mart and bought 2 big red onions and in addition to them I put a lot of onion shell in the plastic bag. Still wondering what the cashier-desk woman thought about me. 

[Tamara]

Dear Thomas,

Thank you for the tip. I will try it next year.

Dear Galina,

Thank you. My elderly friend from Jerusalem uses onion skins too. She takes leaves of various plants and wraps them around the egg before dying them so there will be a white pattern of the leaves on the egg when she is finished. They are very beautiful. Do the red onion skins still create a brown colored dye?

Tamara

[Galina-Volga]

Tamara I mixed yellow and red onion skins. It creates deep reddish-brown color but in order to get that shade it takes me to dye eggs around 40 to 45 minutes. I think it sounds very interesting with the white leaves pattern. Does she tie the leaves to the eggs with the thread?

[Quinault]

Pho Ga (this is one of those rough estimate recipes)

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
2-8 anise star seeds
1-6 Serrano chilies sliced very thickly
2 bunches cilantro
1 good chunk of ginger peeled (no shorter than the palm of your hand)
1 onion peeled and halved
Rice noodles (the thinner the better)
Nappa Cabbage
Garlic
Green onions
Mongolian Fire oil
Braggs liquid amino's or soy sauce
Chicken soup stock (powdered) or base


Find a very large pot and place whole chicken into it (it doesn't matter if you take out the guts or not, obviously no paper though)

Fill pot up with water until it covers the chicken by 2-4 inches. Add half to 3/4 amount of stock in proportion to water. (so if you had 10 cups of water only add 5-7 cups worth of chicken stock/broth.

Throw in halved onion, one bunch of cilantro very roughly chopped, Serrano chilies, ginger, and as much garlic as you desire (more the better in my opinion)

Simmer until the meat is falling off the carcass. (On a high heat this could be an hour, on low heat there is more flavor and it takes 2 hours of simmering).

Take chicken out of pot and strain all the above stuff out of the broth.

Sample the broth to see if it is either too spicy or too watery. Add broth accordingly.

Strip chicken off the carcass in long strips and add the meat into the strained broth. (no skin)

You can skim oil off the top of the soup if you like at this point

After 10 minutes of simmering add rice noodles. Then roughly chop the Napa cabbage and add it. Simmer another 5m minutes.

Chop the remaining cilantro bunch and green onions.

Serve in bowls with cilantro and green onions sprinkled on top and a splash of soy or Braggs for salt. And if you want an eye watering experience add a good dose of fire oil.

Advice; if you are going to cook the inital chicken mixture for less than 1.5 hours use more chilies, if you are going to cook it for a long time add fewer chilies.

[Quinault]

And the above recipe needs at least 2 hours of work on it. Stripping the chicken takes a long time. And a whole chicken is necessary to achieve the best flavor, boneless skinless chicken won't work.

[Rosehip]

Quinault, that recipe sounds sooo delicious! Thanks for posting! I hope to try it sometime soon!

[Entscheidungsproblem]

Something simple, but so good...  Frico.

300g Fresco Montasio (young) [sliced]
150g Semi-stagionato Montasio (aged, but not too hard) [crumbled]
200g of Potatoes [Boiled and mashed]
Olive oil

First coat the bottom of a frying pan with a thin layer of olive oil.  Take half of your Fresco Montasio cheese slices and cover the bottom of the pan.  Crumble half of the Semi-stagionato Montasio cheese over the cheese slices.  Evenly spread all your mashed potatoes over the cheese.  Crumble the rest of the Semi-stagionato Montasio over the mashed potatoes evenly.  Now cover everything with the remaining slices of Fresco Montasio cheese.  Turn the burner up to high and cook the Frico until it is golden brown on both sides.  It should puff up a bit and come together during cooking, but still be nice and crispy.  Drain the oil and serve.     Grana Padano cheese would work too, or Asiago.

Of course, you can change it however you like.  Make it more potato-y, cheesier, crispier, softer, etc.  Enjoy!

[EofK]

Mmmm, my two favorite things:  Cheese and potatoes!  Thanks, this sounds delicious!

[Rosehip]

It does sound scrumptious, Friul! Likely not something I should be eating right now, but at any rate, something to dream of!

[ozgeorge]

Sinful French Toast

This is my favourite quick comfort food!

1 large thick slice of day old bread
4 tbsp caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup strawberries or raspberries (frozen or fresh)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tbsp milk
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp olive oil


Beat egg, milk & vanilla extract together in a shallow dish big enough to soak the bread in.
Soak bread in mixture, turning it over.

Thaw berries in microwave (if frozen) and mix with 2 tbsp sugar then puree well in blender.

Melt butter in oilive oil in a frypan over a medium heat, then fry soaked bread until golden on both sides.

Dust both sides of the French Toast with the remaining sugar, then pour the berry puree over it and enjoy!

[Quinault]

What is "caster sugar?" Nevermind, I googled it. It is a super fine sugar.

[EofK]

Here's a recipe that I modified this weekend:

Asparagus Risotto

Ingredients:
½ lb. fresh asparagus, cut into 1½ inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1 cup chopped onion
2-3 cups chicken broth (start with 2 and add more if needed to soften rice)
1 cup white wine (try St. James Wineries Seyval, but any semi-dry white wine will do)
1 Tbsp. butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups uncooked white rice (NOT instant rice)
2 garlic cloves, pressed or chopped
½ cup grated fresh parmesan
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Melt butter in 12 inch skillet over medium high heat.  Add rice and stir to coat.  Add wine and stir, then add chicken broth and stir.  Reduce heat to low and cover.  Cook 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  When rice is softened but still firm, add soup, asparagus, parmesan, onion, and garlic and increase heat to medium.  Cook another 5-10 minutes, stirring often until rice is soft.  Turn off heat, then add lemon zest, basil, parsley, and pepper.  Stir and serve.  Makes 4-6 servings.

[WPM]

Let's see - on a major feast day a medium size parish will have variety bread,cheese,assorted meats,potatoes,finger foods,and desserts...

[Luckster]

Redneck Turtle Burger

Step One: Mold hamburger meat into patties.
Step Two: Season the beef.
Step Three: Take a shot of cheap whiskey, our chef chose Bushmills.
Step Four: Continue to season the beef patties.
Step Five: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Step Six: Fold the bacon over the seasoned beef patty in a basket weave pattern.
Step Seven: Secure the bacon with toothpicks.
Step Eight: Insert five hot dog ends into the patty. They will serve as the turtle’s head and legs.
Step Nine: Make several small slits at the tip of each “leg” to serve as “fingers.”
Step Ten: Cut a triangle-shaped piece of hot dog and insert it into the patty as a tail.
Step Eleven: Pose awkwardly with your raw meat turtle burger.
Step Twelve: Place the turtle on an oven rack and then place on aluminum pan. Cover turtle loosely with foil dome and bake for 20 to 30 minutes.
Step Thirteen: Remove turtle from oven, let cool briefly and remove toothpicks. Enjoy.
Congratulations, you have successfully made a Redneck turtle burger, the most epic meal you will ever cook. Now go grab another shot of whiskey and dig in.

[Gayle]

WOW! you all make me hungry,by the way I am irsh,french,english and American native,..from Kansas!!!!!!!

[Amatorus]

Here is a recipe for the Red dyed Pascha Eggs that helped my family greatly when we tried our hands at dyeing "Orthodox Easter Eggs" for our first Pascha 18 years ago.

Red Pascha Eggs
You may want to ask why Red Eggs? Why the Coloring of the pascha eggs"?
 There are several traditions surrounding this coloring of the Pascha Eggs.
1) The red eggs symbolize the resurrection Jesus Christ, red for his blood and egg for life.                                             
2) Another, that shortly after the resurrection, Mary Magdalene traveled to Rome and presented the Emperor with a red egg while exclaiming "Christ is risen"
3) A Pious tradition is that the cracking of eggs symbolizes the shattering of Hades by the victorious Christ.

Ingredients:
•   Uncooked eggs
•   Water
•   3/4 cup Vinegar
•   Red food dye or coloring (Greek Powder Red Food Dye is best but you can also use  lots of American Red Food Coloring and still achieve a nice color by following the instructions below- the secret is to boil the dye into the eggs rather than dunking the eggs as we do in the US)
•   Vegetable oil
•   A few cotton balls

Directions:
1)Carefully wash and dry each egg brought to room temperature [this is an important step, cold eggs have a greater tendency to crack during the cooking process.]
2)Set a large pot of water to boil. Add a red dye or food coloring (water should look beet red]and 3/4 cup of vinegar to the water, and boil for a few minutes.
3)Slowly lower the eggs into the pot, and when the water comes to a boil, lower the heat.
4) Let eggs simmer for 15 min., then remove them carefully from the pot.
5)If you plan to cook more eggs, add an additional 2 tbs. vinegar to the water. And follow the same process.
6) Wipe cooked eggs with an oil-soaked cotton ball, then wipe each egg with a clean dry  cloth leaving a nice shine to the egg.     

Thomas                                                                                                                         

Did Mary Magdalene really do that?! Tiberius was emperor at the time. Can I get a source? Also I have a recipe for a special baked spaghetti-like dish I need to find.

[hecma925]

Did Mary Magdalene really do that?! Tiberius was emperor at the time. Can I get a source?

http://www.denver.goarch.org/parishes/Grand_Junction/mary_magdalene/

The problem with asking "Did x really do y?" is that it can be applied to anybody. 

[Amatorus]

Did Mary Magdalene really do that?! Tiberius was emperor at the time. Can I get a source?

http://www.denver.goarch.org/parishes/Grand_Junction/mary_magdalene/

The problem with asking "Did x really do y?" is that it can be applied to anybody. 

Very interesting, although I don't like the negative portrayal of Pontius Pilate here. Sure, it was a bad time to be neutral to say the least, but if you consider that he was being assigned to an unstable newly-unconquered province the Romans saw as a backwater, and the bribed crowd could easily start a riot, the tension of morality vs. stability got the best of him. But that's OT.

[hecma925]

Very interesting, although I don't like the negative portrayal of Pontius Pilate here. Sure, it was a bad time to be neutral to say the least, but if you consider that he was being assigned to an unstable newly-unconquered province the Romans saw as a backwater, and the bribed crowd could easily start a riot, the tension of morality vs. stability got the best of him. But that's OT.

?

[Amatorus]

Very interesting, although I don't like the negative portrayal of Pontius Pilate here. Sure, it was a bad time to be neutral to say the least, but if you consider that he was being assigned to an unstable newly-unconquered province the Romans saw as a backwater, and the bribed crowd could easily start a riot, the tension of morality vs. stability got the best of him. But that's OT.

?

Off Topic. not Old Testament, err...

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