Anyone Interested in Developing a Recipe Swap?

[miamired]

 I can not sing, dance, draw a straight line or sew on a button.  Being a great cook has been a life saver for me.  My mother and grandmother were both great cooks.  I was blessed to come home to the wonderful aromas of my  mother's cooking homemade soups, stews, etc.

Would any of you like to post some of your favorite recipes to share with AJ's fan club?  I may need some tips or suggestions on how to get this started, i.e. just type as a reply to topic for those who want to submit?
 
I am most known for my "Macadamia Blue Cheese Dip."  Yes, it's not low cal or low fat.  Most would savor it on special occasions.  The recipe was written, produced and directed by yours truly.(< I don't have many claims to fame, please allow me this one silly expression of vanity, LOL!)  It's a great "do ahead" recipe that is ideal for entertaining, ideally it should sit over night for flavors to develop.  If you don't think that you like blue cheese, keep an open mind, I have converted several that thought they did not like blue cheese.

If anyone is intersted in the recipe, just let me know.  I have considered sending a picture if anyone is interested but, quite frankly don't know how to do so on this site.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Carolyn (miamired)

[January]

Carolyn - I love the idea of a recipe thread - you might be able to post a picture like some of the people do of Alan -I have never figured out how to do it-  or email those who are interested - I would like to try your recipe - funny thing is the bleu cheese doesn't bother me - I am not a fan of the macadamia nut  but I would love to try your dip recipe - it is always nice to bring something new to the holiday get togethers.  And soup recipes? With winter coming those are always welcome!  Great idea! Gayle  [email protected]

[miamired]

January----MMMmm, not a fan of macadamia nuts?  Don't hear that too often.  I have not tried the recipe with out them.  In the recipe, they are lightly toasted in the oven and given a light crush in a zip lock bags.  I came up with the recipe at the height of the Atkins diet when many I knew were not eating crackers.  I thought, hands down, the macadamia has the highest degree of a buttery taste(like a Ritz cracker) and the hardness of the nut would hold up to being placed on top of a dip without becoming soggy and wanted the Atkins dieters not to be deprived of the crunch from not eating crackers.  Macadamia's are almost white, toasting them lightly gives color and enhances nut flavor, garnished with the green part of scallions for more color.  Initially, I served the dip in hard boiled egg whites.  It looked great, like something you would pay a fortune for in a upscale restaurant.  However, the dip became so popular that cracking all those hard boiled eggs became burdensome.  I now reserve using the hard boiled egg white for serving the dip in for small gatherings only, even then I do so with a variety of plain type crackers and some raw veggies.

As for soup recipes, I know that there are many out there but I always make it like my mom and grandmother did, without a recipe.  The soups and stews that I grew up on were a result of the great planning that many of the ladies of that day did.  For example, a Sunday ham was always purchased with extra weight for the leftover's that included the ham bone and enough left ham to assure a great split pea or navy bean soup.  I grew up knowing that soups would never taste exactly the same, i.e.  the recipe was largely based on using up left over's and was timed around that.  Left over gravy, veggies, you  name it...it could vary.  I have seen some great recipes for new and updated soups in Cooking Light magazine displayed around the fall.  I have tried good results with many of their recipes but have not tried the soup ones yet.

I have my dip recipe stored as a doc in Ms Word.  Don't know if I should just re-type it here or attach it as a doc.