How do you make this *American dish* from scratch?

[SandraVB79]

I love going to the US on vacation, not only because I like to visit American places, but also because I love the food. Unfortunately, I always have to wait a year or so, before I can eat some of my favourites during three weeks.

Therefore, I'll need your help to learn me how to make these favourrites at home. From scratch. Unfortunately, we don't have biscuits-in-a-can or so

Some things I'd like how to make:
- Biscuits (I already know how to make the gravy)
- Pancakes (those thick American ones, mmmm)
- Chicken Pot Pie (have eaten this at DL and WDW, and love it, although it was different at both places! At DL, it had a biscuit-like top, at WDW a flaky top)
- Chicken alfredo
- Brownies
- Peach cobbler (I used to have a very easy recipe for this (basically: throw all this stuff in a pan, put in the oven and it will come out well), but can't find it anymore)


These are the first I can think of, but I'm sure I'll think of some other favourites!

 

[ENSOCK]

How about a quick peach cobbler?

1 cup flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 can sliced peaches
1 cup sugar
1/2 stick of butter
2/3 c. juice from peaches

Combine flour, sugar and baking powder. Stir in juice from peaches, adding water if necessary to complete 2/3 cup measurement. Melt butter in baking dish, pour batter into dish. Place peaches over batter. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until brown. Enjoy!

 

[ENSOCK]

A second peach cobbler:

1 stick of butter
1 can sliced peaches
1 box of yellow cake mix
cinnamon
chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Melt butter in a bowl. Sprinkle 1/2 box of cake mix in the pan and drizzle with 1/2 stick of butter. Spoon the peaches with the juice on top of the cake mix. Cover with the remaining cake mix and melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and chopped pecans. Bake until golden brown about 45 minutes. (it depends on your over; could be less could be slightly more)

 

[SandraVB79]

Thank you for the cobbler recipes.
How much is 1 stick of butter? We can't buy it in "sticks", but I have bought American "cups" and "half cups" in order to make recipes

Also, every time there is something like "1 box of cake mix" or "box of stuffing" or whatever, I can't make it. We don't have it, or it's not the same as in the US.
I really need the "from scratch" recipes.

 

[ENSOCK]

Sorry, but the first one you can use. I just have to check on the stick of butter. I can't remember exactly if it is 1/2 cup or 1 cup. I will let you know.

On the other recipes, I will have to do some research for you. Alot of our recipes call for either a box or bag of something. Now spaghetti sauce, gumbo or jambalaya I cook from scratch, but since I am not a big baker that stuff I purchase for the local grocery store!

 

[ENSOCK]

I found a recipe for Angel Biscuits I hope that you can use.

1 pkg. yeast
5 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 Tablespoons lukewarm water
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 cup shortening

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Sift all dry ingredients into a large bowl. cut in shortening and add buttermilk. Add yeast mixture and stir until thoroughly moistened. Do not overmix. Turn onto floured board and knead a minute or two. roll out to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut into rounds. Brush with melted butter and bake on ungreased pan for 12-15 minutes at 400.

I hope you have these ingredients!

 

[MazdaUK]

a stick of butter is about half a pack of Uk butter (i.e. 125g). I used to have a 2conversion table" from a website - I can't remember the name of it but if you google conversion terms it might help.

How big is a pack of yellow cake mix? (g??) Ours seem to come in different sizes!

 

[ENSOCK]

a stick of butter is about half a pack of Uk butter (i.e. 125g). I used to have a 2conversion table" from a website - I can't remember the name of it but if you google conversion terms it might help.

How big is a pack of yellow cake mix? (g??) Ours seem to come in different sizes!

I will have to check for you! It is just so easy to dump and add ingredients that I never notice the ozs.

 

[SandraVB79]

Thank you for the biscuits recipe. Yes, I can buy all those ingredients here
mmmm, biscuits.... love them!

 

[cirquelovers]

For chicken alfredo I make a basic alfredo sauce and add cooked chicken breast sliced up. If my husband wants lots of chicken I use two breasts but usually I just sliver cut one and it is plenty. The sauce I make is
Alfredo Sauce:
1 pint heavy cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Freshly cracked black pepper
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

To prepare alfredo sauce: Heat heavy cream over low-medium heat in a deep saute pan. Add butter and whisk gently to melt. Sprinkle in cheese and stir to incorporate. Season with freshly cracked black pepper. In a large stockpot, cook pasta in plenty of boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Quickly drain the pasta and add it to the saute pan, gently toss the noodles to coat in the alfredo. Transfer pasta to a warm serving bowl. Top with more grated cheese and chopped parsley. Serve immediately.


For brownies I just make the Hersheys recipe:

1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup insweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional

Blend oil, or melted butter, sugar and vanilla in large mixing bowl. Add eggs; using spoon beat well. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Gradually blend into egg mixture. Stir in nuts.
Spread in greased 9 inch square pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until brownie begins to pull away from edge of the pan. Cool, cuts easiest with a plastic knife I have found.

I'm not much help for the chicken pot pie, I cheat! I make a chicken gravy add cooked chicken and cooked cut up veggies, either left over, canned or occasionally frozen and then top it with a store bought pie crust. Voila I have a chicken pot pie!

I'm actually horrible at making biscuits, so I don't bother anymore. My husband would rather die he says than eat them from bisquick so it's canned or nothing with him because I still can't make a scratch biscuit

I'm trying to fins a good recipe myself for pancakes, especially sour dough is what my husband is after. I just found an old sourdough starter recipe which is a start!

 

[cirquelovers]

How big is a pack of yellow cake mix? (g??) Ours seem to come in different sizes!

All of my cake mixes are 18.25 ounces. I even checked the different brands to make sure they are all the same size. So that appears to be the standard size for American cake mixes.

 

[Katy Belle]

Hello! I'll try to help you out a little. I'm from the USa living in Qatar. We can get some American products, but its sporadic. If we see something we like, we buy ALL of it!
-----------------------------------------------------
Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo
recipe yield: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into cubes
6 tablespoons butter, divided
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 pound fettuccini pasta
1 onion, diced
1 (8 ounce) package sliced mushrooms
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 cups milk
1 cup half-and-half
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese
3 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup sour cream


DIRECTIONS
In a large skillet over medium heat combine chicken, 2 tablespoons butter, garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons butter in the skillet. Saute onion, 2 tablespoons garlic and mushrooms until onions are transparent. Stir in flour, salt and pepper; cook 2 minutes. Slowly add milk and half-and-half, stirring until smooth and creamy. Stir in Parmesan and Colby-Monterey Jack cheeses; stir until cheese is melted. Stir in chicken mixture, tomatoes and sour cream. Serve over cooked fettuccini.

Italian Seasoning is basically dried oregano, basil, etc.
Half and Half is half milk half cream, or light cream. Not sure if this is the type of recipe you wanted. I haven't actually made the above recipe, but below is an alfredo sauce I have made that is great.
---------------------------------------------------------
Easy Alfredo Sauce I
Original recipe yield: 8 servings

INGREDIENTS
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan combine whipping cream, butter or margarine, and grated Parmesan cheese. Cook over medium low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Sauce will thicken upon standing.
-------------------------------------------------
Pancakes
INGREDIENTS
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the egg, milk and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until combined. Pour batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top of the pancake; cook until second side is golden brown.
--------------------------------
I haven't made the pancakes, but its a basic recipe and got good ratings on allrecipes.com I would venture to say most Americans use boxed pancake mix which you just add egg and milk too.

I'll see what else I can come up with.
Katy

 

[MazdaUK]

Can you substitute 1/2 fat creme fraiche for the cream in those recipes? Got to TRY to make an effort with the diet you know! (Yeah, just when I'm on my way to Chocolateland, aka Belgium )

 

[SandraVB79]

Thanks for the recipes!!!!!
I am quite sure I'm able to found those ingerdients (except for one kind of cheese, but that's OK)

Once in a while, when my mom is in Germany, she will find some "American" products, mostly in towns where they still have US military bases. Last time she bought me pancake mic (woohoo, she bought me one whole box! instead of just buying every box they had, duh!) and a jar of Ceaser dressing. I know she meant well, but if I can, I try to avoid ceasar dressing
Once every 10 blue moons, we can find Mountain Dew in belgium, OMG! I feel like I'm in heaven then, lol!
And a colleague and I have already talked a couple of times of having a dozen of Krispy Kremes overnight Fedexed. Yes, we're willing to pay the high shipping price for one of those!

Can you substitute 1/2 fat creme fraiche for the cream in those recipes? Got to TRY to make an effort with the diet you know! (Yeah, just when I'm on my way to Chocolateland, aka Belgium )

Leonidas has the best price/ quality. But: those should be refrigerated, since they contain fresh cream and/ or butter!
They are not like the boxed Guillian or Duc D'o ones or so, which you can keep... until exp date and even longer.

 

[greeneeyes]

Here is the Chicken Pot Pie recipe from WDW's 50's Prime Time Cafe --


Chicken Pot Pie



2 cup chicken tenderloins, uncooked
1 cup broccoli, tops only
½ cup carrots, cubed
½ cup celery, cubed
¼ cup leeks, diced
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk or half and half
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 chicken bouillon cubes
Pastry dough for a single pie (double crust)
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (used a chart for conversion and they say its 204 degrees)

In boiling salted water, simmer chicken tenderloins, broccoli, carrots, celery, and leeks until chicken is fully cooked and vegetables are tender, but still firm (about 15 minutes). Drain well and set aside. In a medium sized skillet, melt butter and add flour. Cook for 5 minutes and add milk or half-and-half. Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened (about 10 minutes). Dissolve chicken bouillon cubes in 1/4 cup warm water and add to sauce. Blend in grated Parmesan cheese and remove from heat. Add cooked chicken and vegetables and mix well. Pour mixture into a deep-dish pie plate and cover with pie dough. Seal edges well and brush top with beaten egg. Bake until crust is golden brown and the filling is hot (about 45 to 50 minutes). Brushing a little milk on the top of the pie dough before baking will give the crust a delightful color.


EDIT: just wanted to add that the Hershey Brownie recipe is the best; we don't add the nuts, but throw in chocolate chips instead.
And I usually make a chicken pot pie the same way as cirquelovers, but instead of gravy I use Campbell's cream of chicken soup.

 

[SandraVB79]

Thanks a lot!

 

[AlicesAdventures]

59 Diner Pancakes

2 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk *
6 T. vegetable oil

1 ¾ cups flour
2 ¼ tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 T. sugar

Combine liquid ingredients and dry ingredients separately. Mix together with whisk until smooth. Let batter rest for 10 minutes. Cook on a preheated, lightly greased griddle for 1 minute. Sprinkle fresh blueberries, pecans, bananas or strawberries on uncooked side. Turn pancakes and finish cooking. Makes about 10 pancakes.


*Buttermilk Substitution: I always added the tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, but a chef on a cooking show once said, first you add the 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice into the (1cup) measuring cup, then add the milk, filling it to the 1 cup mark, and of course letting it set for 5 minutes before using it. Since I never have buttermilk around when making basic pancake batter, this is what I substitute for the buttermilk in the mix.

 

[greeneeyes]

59 Diner Pancakes

2 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk *
6 T. vegetable oil

1 ¾ cups flour
2 ¼ tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 T. sugar

Combine liquid ingredients and dry ingredients separately. Mix together with whisk until smooth. Let batter rest for 10 minutes. Cook on a preheated, lightly greased griddle for 1 minute. Sprinkle fresh blueberries, pecans, bananas or strawberries on uncooked side. Turn pancakes and finish cooking. Makes about 10 pancakes.


*Buttermilk Substitution: I always added the tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, but a chef on a cooking show once said, first you add the 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice into the (1cup) measuring cup, then add the milk, filling it to the 1 cup mark, and of course letting it set for 5 minutes before using it. Since I never have buttermilk around when making basic pancake batter, this is what I substitute for the buttermilk in the mix.

Re: the buttermilk...can you buy this in your area?

http://www.sacofoods.com/culteredbuttermilkblend.html

Its wonderful and seems to last forever in the pantry. I use it all the time when making bread.

 

[MazdaUK]

I think we can only buy fresh buttermilk (thanks to Delia using it most supermarkets stock it now ). Waitrose now stock Bisquick, which can be used for pancakes, dumplings and biscuits (aka scones )

 

[greeneeyes]

I think we can only buy fresh buttermilk (thanks to Delia using it most supermarkets stock it now ). Waitrose now stock Bisquick, which can be used for pancakes, dumplings and biscuits (aka scones )

Bisquick is one of the best things on the market! It can be used for so many things and I'm never without it! Sign up for the newsletter (bottom left) and you will get new recipes to try out.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/bisquick/Bisquick-Product-Landing-Page.htm

Biscuits are not quite like scones as they don't usually have sugar in them (though some recipes do) or fruit or seasoning (like cinnamon, etc).