Welcome to Fare Exchange, friends, and to these two requests.
Jack Rose found a small roadside barbecue in Blythewood, South Carolina, Dojo's. "The most popular thing they serve is barbecued brisket. The slices are thick and fall apart when you put a fork into them. Never had any brisket like this before. I want to know how to make brisket this tender."
Jane HenegarHe had one more request about an accompaniment to barbecue. "Does anyone have a moist potato salad recipe that includes sour cream, not just mayonnaise?"
CROCK-POT CHICKEN 1
Susan Potts today added the final installment in the discussion of "the apparently popular dried beef/chicken recipe. I don't remember where I got this recipe, but it was called Chicken Continental. Mine is similar to the ones in the Feb. 6 Fare Exchange, except it's prepared in the crock-pot, which makes it super easy and convenient. The chicken is tender and delicious, and the gravy made by the soup and sour cream is out-of-this-world yummy. I serve it along with (or over) rice."
Chicken Continental
1 jar dried beef, rinsed
5 to 6 chicken tenderloins
5 to 6 slices of bacon
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 to 1 1/2 cups of sour cream
Layer dried beef in bottom of crock-pot. Wrap each chicken tenderloin with a slice of bacon, and place on top of dried beef. Mix soup and sour cream, and pour over chicken. Cook on low 6 to 8 hours.
SOUP THANKS
Tucked into Ms. Potts' recipe was her shout-out to Glenna Johnson, "whose Best Ever Tomato Soup also appeared in the Feb. 6 column. I've been on a hunt for a good tomato-basil soup and have been very disappointed in every canned variety I've tried. I made Glenna's recipe that very week on a day when my 3-year-old granddaughter joined me for lunch. I served her a bowl of the soup and watched as she ate every last bite and said, 'More please, Nana.' I'd say that is high praise, so again, thank you, Glenna."
CROCK-POT CHICKEN 2
Keep the crock-pot on the counter for the next recipe, also made with chicken, from Dan Cobb of Soddy-Daisy. "I really don't recall where I got this recipe, but it must have been someplace special. It is unusually terrific."
Alpine Chicken
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
3/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/3 cup diced Canadian bacon
2 to 3 carrots, thinly sliced
1 to 2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup water
3 pounds chicken thighs, skinned
1 can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
8 ounces wide egg noodles, cooked and drained
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
In a small bowl, mix bouillon granules, parsley and poultry seasoning; set aside.
Layer in crock-pot, in order: Canadian bacon, carrots, celery and onion. Add water.
Place half of chicken in pot, and sprinkle with half the reserved seasoning. Add remaining chicken, and top with remaining seasoning. Stir soup and flour together, and spoon over top. DO NOT STIR.
Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or until chicken is tender and juices from chicken run clear when cut along the bone and vegetables are tender.
Spread cooked noodles in a shallow 2- to 2 -quart broiler-proof serving dish. Arrange chicken on noodles. Stir soup mixture and vegetables until combined. Spoon vegetables and some of the liquid over chicken. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Broil 6 inches away from heat source for 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned.
MOCHA COOKIES
The gluten-free vegan cookie that follows was shared by Emily E. "My friends and I have experimented with the recipe, including using a little coconut flour in place of some of the almond flour. I did learn when experimenting that fine almond flour is what you need to use, not the coarser almond meal."
Elena of Elena's Pantry wrote, "I ate these vegan cookies with a glass of cashew milk. They were quite a lot of fun to make. I find the repetitive nature of baking especially soothing. Combine the dry ingredients, mix into the wet, bake, cool, etc. For me, it's pretty much the same every time.
"Today, however, is altogether different. These cookies taste so good that I cannot stop eating them. They are based on a recipe by my favorite food blogger, Heidi of 101Cookbooks. Her recipe is called Triple Chocolate Espresso Bean Cookies and has candy-coated espresso beans in it. I find her blog to be a constant source of inspiration. Further, in this recipe, I really like her use of ground coffee in the cookies.
"Yes, this recipe uses plain old ground coffee in it."
Double Chocolate Mocha Cookies, Gluten-Free and Vegan
2 1/4 cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
1/4 cup cacao powder
2 tablespoons organic decaf coffee beans, espresso grind
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1/2 cup grapeseed oil or palm shortening
1/2 cup agave nectar or honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup chocolate chips
In a large bowl, combine almond flour, cacao powder, ground coffee beans, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, stir together grapeseed oil, agave and vanilla. Stir wet ingredients into dry, and then mix in chocolate drops (or chunks). Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 8 minutes. Cool and serve.
SHADES OF PEPPER
Some things are still black and white; not all topics have shades of gray. So it is with the comments from Mr. and Mrs. Sunday, who are here speaking of salt and pepper
Because you asked: "White pepper is naked black pepper - they strip the black skin off a black peppercorn, and what's left is called a white peppercorn. If you want a hint of pepper flavor without harshness, reach for white pepper.
"The black outer skin is somewhat more flavorful that the white inner portion, so you need to use more white to get the same effect as using black. This (along with the removal process) drives up the cost of using white pepper.
Both white and black peppers are best when freshly ground. As soon as you grind them, the flavors start to evaporate.
"Use white pepper when you want to avoid the black flecks for aesthetic reasons. For example, it's traditionally used in making vichyssoise to preserve a pure white soup."
And where would we be, I ask you, without the simply joys of salt and pepper? Our lives would be mighty tasteless. Here's to generous sprinklings on the dishes at your table. And as always, here's to the promise of next week.
REQUESTS
* How to make tender brisket
* Potato salad with sour cream
TO REACH US
Fare Exchange is a longtime meeting place for people who love to cook and love to eat. We welcome both your recipes and your requests. Be sure to include precise instructions for every recipe you send.
Mailing address: Jane Henegar, 913 Mount Olive Road, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750
E-mail: chattfare@gmail.com