Welcome to the Game-Night Kitchen!

MonkeyDragon · Jun 5, 2012

I've not made this for gaming, but I HAVE made it to keep a group of weary baristas sane during Christmas day rush.

White Turkey Chilli

1lb ground turkey
1 quart chicken broth
1 large onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 cans white northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 bag frozen corn
salt, pepper and whatever you like from the spice cupboard.
1/2ish cup of half and half or cream
2ish tablespoons of corn starch

Brown the turkey. Drain extra fat if necessary. Add onion and celery, cook until tender. Salt and pepper to taste, add spices. Add broth. Scrape all the brown stuff off the bottom and sides of the pan. Add beans and corn. Check seasonings. When everything is bubbling merrily, mix the cream and starch into a slurry, and dump it into the soup, stirring until everything is thickened.

This can be chilled and reheated, or kept warm in a crock pot. Happiest served with biscuits or corn bread.

Man in the Funny Hat · Jun 5, 2012

Marshall Field's Chicken Sandwich

Not really a Marshall Field's (which is turkey on rye, etc.) but it's good and I've always enjoyed this. Cook the chicken as you like and strip the meat off. Make the sauce with 1 part mayonaise to 1 part Chili Sauce. Use a good sharp sourdough bread. Slather on the sauce, add lettuce and as much chicken as you like. Tends to be a bit messy so I generally serve it as an open-face sandwich.

Gilladian · Jun 6, 2012

Variant Red Beans and Rice

A dish I really like is a sort of red beans and rice. It can be made ahead and reheated; in some ways it is better on the second day. Pasta can be substituted for the rice. Serves 4 or maybe 6.

1/2 lb hamburger
1 large onion
2 bell peppers (I have subbed in many other veggies, including grated carrrots, zucchini and yellow squash, mushrooms, and peas)
garlic - to taste
chili powder - to taste
1 -2 small cans tomato paste
beef or chicken stock (I like unsalted)
2 cans kidney beans
salt and pepper - to taste

Brown hamburger. If you want it low-fat, RINSE in hot water after it is brown. Does lose flavor, though.
Brown onions, green pepper and any other hard vegetable in the fat, with fresh garlic, if that's what you're using. Add the chili powder (I use McCormick's and only a little bit. I hate spicy-hot food, so use what you like. Red pepper flakes work too).

Add tomato paste and brown. You want it to get sticky and brown, but not burn, so watch the heat! This gives a good caramel flavor, so don't skip this step.

Add beans (you can sub in black beans, navy beans or even canneloni for variety) and broth, and any soft vegetables. You want it very moist, but not soupy. Simmer for 10 - 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as it cooks.

Make brown rice for this if you can; it's much healthier and holds up better with the beans. Use a rice cooker - they make rice preparation a DREAM. If you can, cook the rice in beef stock rather than water, and I like to throw in a bay leaf or other seasonings. Smoke flavor is a good choice. 1 cup raw rice will feed about 4 people. I usually make 2-3 cups and refrigerate the rest for stir-fries.

You can double or triple this recipe without any problems.

Dannyalcatraz · Jun 6, 2012

While that wouldn't fly with my creole family, that DOES sound interesting.

And I have to expend on something you said- IME, most bean dishes taste better after a day. I think it has something to do with the favors of the seasoning suffusing thë whole dish.

Gilladian · Jun 12, 2012

Yeah, beans are best on day two, maybe day 3. Then they start to get mushy.

If you make it, tell me what you think of it!

Rune · Jun 12, 2012

Episode 7: Cobbler.

I'm a day late posting this week's episode, I'm afraid. We had an impromptu game last night (for which, I made the pepperoni chips).

Anyway, this week, we're going to make a simple cobbler.

What you will need:

1 1/2 cup Milk
1 1/2 cup Sugar
1 1/2 cup Sifted Self-Rising Flour
Pinch of Salt
16 tablespoons Butter
Somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 cups Fruit

Fruity.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, or so. Put two sticks (16 tablespoons) of butter in a 9 x 13 inch pan and melt it in the oven.

While the butter is melting, mix the flour, sugar, milk, and pinch of salt in a bowl.

Remove the melted butter from the oven before it browns. Carefully tilt the pan so as to grease the sides with your butter. Pour in the batter you just made--right on top of the melted butter.

For the next step, you can use fresh fruit, frozen fruit (once thawed), or even canned fruit, but if there is any syrup or juice, you do not want to add it to the cobbler! Gently place the fruit into the batter by hand, spread out so that more fruit is in the outside than the inside of the cobbler (the outsides cook first and, consequently, will push the fruit toward the center somewhat as the cobbler cooks).

Cover the pan with foil and put it in the oven for about an hour, or so. Remove the foil and let the cobbler cook uncovered until it is golden on top.

At this point, remove the cobbler from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes before serving.

Until next week, good gaming, y'all!

The Red King · Jun 14, 2012

For those either short on time, or skill, we used to call this Dump Cake or Poor Man's Cobbler.... You get the same results with very little prep time.

This recipe is designed for kids to bake. It's incredibly easy with no mixing involved. Canned fruits are dumped into a baking pan, topped with cake mix, butter, and nuts, then baked. The result is something in between a cake and a cobbler, and amazingly delicious. Adults will also love this recipe.
Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Yield: 10 to 12 servings

Ingredients:

<LI class=ingredient>1 (20 ounces) can crushed pineapple, undrained <LI class=ingredient>1 (21 ounces) can prepared more fruit cherry pie filling <LI class=ingredient>1 (18.25 ounces) box yellow cake mix <LI class=ingredient>2 sticks (1 cup or 16 Tablespoons) of butter or margarine, each cut into 12 slices
1/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, pistachios, cashews, peanuts, etc., your choice)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (325 for glass baking dish). Have a 9 by 13-inch baking pan ready.

Dump undrained pineapple baking dish or pan and spread it out evenly.

Using a spoon, dump globs of cherry pie filling evenly on top of the pineapple.

Sprinkle the cake mix evenly over the cherry and pineapple layers.

Cut butter into slices with a butter knife and place slices evenly over cake mix.

Sprinkle nuts on top if you're using them.

Bake for one hour. Use heavy oven mitts to remove the dump cake from oven or let your older helper do it.

To serve, scoop cake out with a large spoon like a cobbler, and dump it on a nice plate. A scoop of vanilla ice cream is delicious with dump cake. Serve warm or cold.

Yield: about 10 to 12 servings

Rune · Jun 19, 2012

Episode 8: Spaghetti

Keeping in mind that the idea behind these recipes is to provide simple, quick, and cheap dishes for your game-nights, I now present a very easy spaghetti recipe. As I said in the first post, by all means, use fresh ingredients if you have them means to do so--it can only improve the quality. That said,

Here's what you'll need:

1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
Cooked Ground Beef, if desired
Onions, Green Peppers and/or Mushrooms, if desired
Garlic
Basil
Oregano
Sugar
Butter or Margarine
Spaghetti Noodles
Water

Use your noodles!

Bring a pot of water (with a bit of salt in it) to boil. Add the noodles and stir them down as they soften. Some people swear by putting oil in the water as the noodles cook to keep them from sticking. This works, but also coats the noodles, so that they can't be coated with the sauce. For this reason, I recommend that you do not do so, but instead prevent the noodles from sticking by stirring them well as they cook.

In the meantime...

If you haven't already browned any ground beef or sausage that you may be using, you'll want to go ahead and do so before making the sauce. You'll probably want to throw in the vegetables near the end of that process, as well. Once you have (and have drained the grease off), you can go ahead and make the sauce right in the skillet, although making it in a pot will not be a problem, either.

Add your cans of tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add some butter or margarine to make it rich, garlic, basil, and oregano (and salt or pepper, if desired) for flavor. Add a bit of sugar to cut the acidity of the tomato. If you have any leftover pizza sauce from the first episode, you can throw that in, as well. Cook this over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it is hot throughout.

Put it all together.

Once your noodles are cooked (still slightly firm), remove them from the water and drain them very well.

Plate them with sauce on top.

That's it--another quick dinner for your gaming group. Until next week, good gaming!

Dannyalcatraz · Jun 19, 2012

SCAMPI CASSAROLE

Ingredients:

2 bags, rotini
1-2 chopped onions. I used white, but red or a mix would work (and be tasty.
Many cloves of garlic (minimum 4) sliced/diced.
Chopped parsley- fresh is best, dried works , too.
1/2 lb unsalted butter
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup of dry white wine
Black & Cayenne pepper
2lbs shrimp
1 cup Parrano Cheese, grated
1 ball of Mozzarella Cheese, sliced.

Instructions

In a microwave safe measuring cup, melt your butter. Then add lemon juice & wine, mixing thoroughly.

Cook your pasta and laid in a largeish baking dish, 3" deep.

Top with uncooked shrimp, then onion and garlic & parsley.

Pour butter/lemon/wine mix over Cassarole, then sprinkle liberally with red & black pepper (to taste).

Top with shredded Parrano, then with the mozzarella.

Cook until shrimp are pink and/or mozzarella starts to brown.

Notes:

Yes, this is pricey, but it is tasty, and actually only takes minutes of Pre-cooking prep work. It throws together VERY quickly.

And if you want to do it cheaper, substitute cubed pork or shredded chicken breast for the shrimp.

If you want to gooey this up, add more cheese and mix the extra into the noodle layer.

Rune · Jun 26, 2012

Episode 9: Tortilla Chips

This is another simple snack perfect for these hot summer days.

What you will need:

Flour Tortilla Shells
Oil
Salt
Tomatoes
Onions
Cilantro
Hot Sauce
Sour Cream

Chips...

Heat your preferred flavor of cooking oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. You should not need more than half an inch, or so. If you can flick a drop of water into the oil and it immediately evaporates, it is ready to go.

(EDIT--Anytime you are dealing with a large quantity of oil, you run the risk of having some make contact with your heat source--and then--a grease-fire. In the event of a grease-fire, make sure you put it out by pouring a generous amount of salt or baking soda onto the base of the flames. They also make special fire-extinguishers for grease-fires. DO NOT try to use water (or other liquids) to put the fire out--that will just spread it around!) Of course, this assumes that the fire is still small enough to manage safely. If it is large enough to threaten your well-being, get out of the building and contact professional fire-fighters.

Cut your tortilla shells into strips or chips. Gently lay a few into the oil and cook them until crisp (this will not take long, at all!). Do not over-crowd the skillet. Once crisp (and nicely golden), remove the chips and drain the grease on a or bowl lined with paper-towels.

Lightly salt the chips while they are still hot. (Food is porous--when it is hot, these pores are open and any seasoning that you put on will be absorbed in. If, on the other hand, you wait until the food is cold to season it, the seasoning will just sit on top.)

Dips...

In the past, I've mentioned that I assume you are not using fresh ingredients when canned or dried ingredients will do the trick, but for this dip, you should really do yourself a favor and use fresh tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. Chop those up fairly fine. Add a hint of hot sauce and blend into the sour cream.

Chains, whips...wait, what kind of game is this, again?

There you have it. Another easy and quick game-night snack! Until next week, good gaming, y'all!