Chatbug Karen

A fellow blogger had a picture of gelato on her blog and it reminded me of the time we went to The Hill in St. Louis and had gelato. It seems that everyone, including a raleigh business lawyer, has had gelato except me!

Gelato is an Italian frozen dessert similar to ice cream. Well, I wasn’t impressed. Nothing can hold a candle to Atz’s Moose Tracks. For those of you who are interested in how gelato is made, I did find the following recipe from Allrecipes.com.

Gelato
Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream

4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, mix milk and cream. Warm until foam forms around the edges. Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until frothy. Gradually pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture gels slightly and coats the back of the spoon. If small egg lumps begin to show, remove from heat immediately.
3. Pour the mixture through a sieve or fine strainer into a bowl. Cover, and chill for several hours or overnight.
4. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a sealed container, and freeze until firm. If the gelato is too firm, place it in the refrigerator until it reaches the desired consistency.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2011 Allrecipes.com

This weeks Four Foods on Friday:
Tell me four things that you like cold or uncooked almost as much as you like cooked.

I like tuna when it is made into tuna salad for sandwiches. I don’t usually like tuna warmed up. I do make a mean Tuna Casserole!

I too, enjoy a good meatloaf sandwich. Especially on whole wheat bread with lots of ketchup. We often eat our leftovers on tv stands in the living room. Shhh, don’t tell my kids.

I like rice when it is cold. Add sugar and raisins.

I like spaghetti when it is put into a cold salad and mixed with green peppers, red peppers, black olives and Italian salad dressing.

The question for this week’s FFonF is What can you make with meat or poultry, rice, cheese and a vegetable?

A few years ago, I entered a contest, hosted by Val, and won a wonderful cookbook. The cookbook is called, Campbell’s 3 books in one and has wonderful, easy recipes. This cookbook is all about fuss-free preparation and easy clean-up. One of my favorite recipes is in the Casseroles and One-Dish Meals book section. After cleaning hot tub covers and lawn furniture, I needed this recipe last night! It has everything to fit Val’s FFonF for this week except the cheese so, let me just say, I’d lay some slices of yummy cheddar cheese beside a serving of:

JOLLOF CHICKEN & RICE

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pound broiler-fryer chicken, cut up
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
1 can (10 1/2 oz) Campbell’s Condensed Chicken Broth
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Few saffron threads or 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh spinach leaves

1. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until it’s well browned on all sides. Remove the chicken.

2. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Stir the broth, water, red pepper, saffron and rice into the skillet. Heat to a boil. Return the chicken to skillet and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

4. Stir in the spinach. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Makes 4 servings

Join us at Four Foods on Friday, which, at the rate I work at, falls on any day of the week.

On Saturday, both hubby and I decided we were hungry for potato soup. I relinquished the shopping duties and let him buy the groceries and make the soup in his fashion.

This recipe is close to how he made his soup. It was wonderful. We have been eating it every day for 4 days. He doesn’t know how to cook small amounts.

Potato Soup
Ingredients

* 1 quart chicken stock
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 pounds baking potatoes, like russets
* 1 yellow onion
* 1 cup whipping cream
* 1 baked potato
* 12 ounces Cheddar, shredded
* 4 tablespoons sour cream, for garnish
* 4 tablespoons scallions, for garnish
* 4 tablespoons bacon, cooked and crumbled, for garnish
He also used a stick of butter and substituted ground sausage for the bacon. Any quick weight loss for this gal was not going to happen this week!

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a heavy 1 1/2-gallon stock pot, heat the chicken stock. Add thyme, salt, and pepper.

In a food processor, puree raw potatoes and onions. Add to stock. Simmer slowly for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add whipping cream and diced baked potatoes. (If soup becomes too thick, thin with water).

To serve, ladle 8 ounces of hot soup into an oven proof serving bowl or slow cooker. Top with 2 to 3 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese. Place under the broiler for 4 to 6 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Place on plate. Top with 1 tablespoon sour cream, 1 tablespoon diced scallions, and 1-tablespoon bacon, and serve.

1. Do you have any food related New Years resolutions?

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions.

2. What’s one thing you’d like to learn how to make from scratch this year?

I have always wanted to learn how to make big cinnamon rolls from scratch.

3. What’s the most unusual thing in your cabinet, refrigerator or freezer right now?

I cannot think of a thing that is unusual unless you count the multivitamin supplements I forget to take!

4. What kind of can opener do you have?

The good old fashioned crank kind. The electric one we received as a wedding gift 36 years ago, bit the dust. It was harvest gold and had lived a good life.

#1. Mashed potatoes. Do you usually buy the boxes, the frozen or make from scratch?
I make them from scratch.

#2. Cottage cheese. What kind do you like? (large curd, small curd, 2%, 4%, no salt, etc) I like large curd, regular cottage cheese but I eat lowfat small curd.
I like to mix fruit or a small container of fat free yogurt in it for a healthy snack.

#3. Is there a food that you are brand loyal to?
I tend to always buy Campbells when I buy soup.

#4. When cooking do you usually use fresh onions or the ones from the spice aisle that are chopped or powdered? both

Every holiday meal I make corn souffle. I didn’t realize it had become a tradition. I thought I would blog the recipe to have it for reference.

Corn Souffle
1 can whole kernal corn drained
1 can cream style corn
3 eggs
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c salad oil
1, 8 oz sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 pkg Jiffy corn bread mix
Mix all and place in a 9×13 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Four Foods on Friday questions have me scratching my head. It isn’t that the questions are hard but that I am so sleepy! So, with toothpickes holding my eyelids up, here is Four Foods on Friday.

#1. Name one cookbook, cooking website or food blog that you frequently use.

Around twenty years ago, our Sunday school class collected recipes from church members and made a cookbook. That is my favorite cookbook.

#2. Do you watch any cooking shows on tv? Which ones? I catch them when hubby has them on. He watches Emeril Live and Rachael Ray. I think our favorite one is Paula Deen.

#3. Are you in a cooking rut? Name a food or dish that you’d like to find a recipe for.
hmmm I can’t think of any.

#4. Share a recipe created by somebody else that you haven’t tried but would like to.
I would like to learn how to cook stir fry and have the vegetables crunchy but cooked. My vegetables always get soggy.

I think that Clair’s recipe for wontons sounds yummy.

I’m trying to get ahead start on Friday’s fun stuff so here is my submission for Val’s Four Foods on Friday. By the way, the mailman hand delivered a big box to me today. I received a wonderful cookbook, t-shirt and grocery list notepad because I won the Four Foods On Friday Players Contest for April. Thanks Val.

#1. What’s your favorite beverage containing chocolate or chocolate flavoring? I love mudslides.

#2. What’s your favorite chocolate bar? My favorite chocolate candy bar is a Snicker bar. OR Share a pic of your favorite candy, chocolate or otherwise. Hey! I try not to have that stuff in the house.

#3. What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten that had chocolate in it? Hmmm, can’t think of anything unusual. I know when I read the other participant’s entries it will jog my memory.

#4. Share a recipe using chocolate.

Add 1/2 pound of softened butter to 3 cups of oreo cookie crumbs to make a form able consistency. Press into a very large pie pan leaving a slight mound in the center and the crust going all the way up on edge. Freeze the crust for several hours. Fill crust with chocolate mint chip ice cream that has been allowed to soften slightly. Drizzle chocolate syrup over the top. Freeze until 20 minutes before serving.

Hey ya’ll, this meme is a lot of fun and I have met some very nice bloggers participating. I have also been introduced to some yummy recipes. Get on over to Fun, Crafts and Recipes and answer the questions.