Here is our October thread.  Chapter 1 is Appetizers, Snacks, Noshes and Such.  Let's start cooking!!

I know my first recipe is going to be Pick Pockerts, on Page 5.  I have never had an appetizer like them, it sounds ridiculous, but I love pickles so I am game to try it!!

The Hot Crabmeat Appetizer on page 11 is a classic for my house.  I have had that recipe forever, and it gets made at least a few times a year.  It is yummy!!  I leave the almonds off though.

Funny how hamburgers and pizza are in the appetizer section!

I think I'll try one of the recipes with chicken livers, I do like those.

I was tempted by the pick pocket recipe.  I was thinking about bread and butter pickles I can eat a zillion of those.  I'll look forward to your post on your findings.

I have a friend who can't eat anything but poultry or seafood because of allergies so it's nice to have a change from the shrimp plate I usual take to pot lucks where he will be.

I also like chicken livers.  I love it that we have other people who are willing to test recipes and share their results.  Otherwise I feel like I'm in left field all by myself.

Today I'm going to make the antipasto on page 14.  I plan to take it to my wednesday meeting.  I'm also making the Taste of Home recipe for Sage Bread.  I think an antipasto needs bread.  I don't know why.  We'll see if the two clash.

Later on in the month I'm going to make the mushroom cheese apetizer on page 21.  I love stuffed muchrooms and I'm wondering how the biscuit will work.  Is it going to bake right over the mushroom caps?  That would be cool.  I'm looking forward to making them.  I usually do them with bacon bits but ground pork is a good alternate.

I'm so glad you all decided to do this.

Oh Tammy, that Mushroom Cheese appetizer sounds great!!  Can't wait to hear your review.  It also sounds easy to make, which is a big bonus in my mind!!

The wrong olive oil make this dish less than it could have been.  I used the Crisco pure olive oil and it has a very strong floral flavor that wasn't to my liking.  The only other thing I didn't care for was the artichoke hearts.  I prefer steamed fresh artichoke and a butter sauce.  Not that I should ever have a butter sauce but yummy from my memory lol.

I don't think the mushrooms will last long since I love them in omlets, over steak, in salads and just about any other way they can be fixed so I'll probably be making them soon.  Cheese doesn't last long around here either so there is another reason to get right to making that appetizer.

Ever made mushrooms boiled in butter and beer?  These are truly wonderful, the alcohol burns off and it is better to use beer that is a little flat so it doesn't boil over.  Just slice up a bunch of mushrooms, put them in a pot with 1/2-1 stick of butter (depending on how much mushrooms) and add 1/2-1 can of beer, enough to barely cover the mushrooms.  Boil like mad until the liquid is reduced to about a quarter of what you started with.  Fantastic over steaks!!

I made the pick pockets and they were good.  I used kosher dill pickles, very tart, and I think I'm going to try the recipe again with a sweet pickle.  I'm thinking the sweet pickle might have been even better with the mild saltiness of the cheese.  Oh, and I used grated cheddar instead of the american cheese that the recipe called for.  But overall, a good recipe.

I substitute when recipes call for alcohol, I'm allergic and don't want to take the chance.  TGIF's used to have a marinaded mushroom that was scrumptious but they stopped having it on their salad bar :(

Thanks for the heads up I'm really going to add it to my cooking bucket list using the bread and butter pickle.  I love those pickles to start with so it should be a slam dunk.  Should you go with a cream cheese if we are going sweet? 

I'd like to join in too! I have had this cookbook for years but haven't tried one single recipe out of it.

Welcome, Louieg!  The more the merrier!!

Tammy, I think those mushrooms would still be good with some non-alcoholic beer, it is the tang in the taste we are after.

I think cream cheese might be the wrong consistancy for the pick pockets.  I would stick with a grated harder cheese.  However, if you make them with cream cheese, by all means, let me know!!

Hello Louie!  What's your recipe for chapter 1?

Hey Louie welcome, Your in for a treat.  I was drawn by this cook book because some of my favorite recipes come from the back of boxes.  One of my all time favorites is the Libby's Pumpkin Pie.  I've never had a better one.

Even the non-alcoholic beers have a percentage of alcohol in them.  So do rootbeer and cream soda.

I see what you mean.  You almost wouldn't need the butter if you used cream cheese.  Hum sounds like experiment time.

Think I'll start with the Easy Deep Dish Pizza on page 39.

I can see I'm going to have to keep the recipe book in the home office, lol.

I think I'm going to try the bacon-cheese popcorn as well, on page 25.

Tammy, I agree about the Libby's Pumpkin Pie, it's the best.

Louie, did you make the pizza yet?

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I've been sneaking a peek into chapter 2 and I'm wondering that since it is a huge chapter maybe we should do it over maybe 3 months rather than just one?  I know I've marked a number or recipes to try in it.  That's just a suggestion.

I'm looking forward to your bacon-cheese popcorn.  I don't like most of the flavored popcorn I've had other than caramel.  But everything goes better with bacon.

I did the stuffed mushrooms on page 21 today.  The stuffing is alittle liquid for my taste but I'm sure it would be good with the addition of a little salt and pepper and a thicker mayo?  I used baby portabellos and they tasted great.  The bisquick dough did not cover the bottom of the pan nor was it enough to rise over the stuffed mushrooms like I thought it would.  I'm thinking that maybe Doubling the amount of dough might work.  Then I'm thinking that to seal the stuffing mixture into the cap better sliced cheese would be better than grated. 

Has anyone else made this?  What do you think about the changes I am suggesting?

And while we are on the subject of mushrooms, I'm a washer how do you all feel about washing mushrooms?  And how do you feel about prepackaged veggies?

Reading that recipe, I get the idea that the bisquick is just to have a base for the mushrooms to sit on, like a cracker except not as crispy.  Mushrooms can hold a lot of water, and maybe washing is why yours came out watery.  Don't ever put a mushroom under running water unless you want more water in your dish, they can soak it up in a heartbeat.  All mushrooms are grown in sterile soil medium, (none are sold in stores grown in the wild) so all you should do is brush off any grit with a mushroom brush.  Did you use real mayo, not the reduced fat kind?  It makes a difference in recipes like this.  Absolutely, would add salt and pepper, and maybe some garlic powder and lemon-pepper too.  Not sure about how sliced cheddar would melt as opposed to grated, but then I think a milder white cheese like mozarella or provalone would be good.

I would make it again without washing the mushrooms, but doing the other things you suggested -  more dough, adding seasoning.

Here's my mushroom brush -

I'm not terribly scared of germs in general and I frequently 'forget' to wash even produce eaten raw. If it comes packaged I don't wash it. Mushrooms and strawberries can be tricky in water so I don't bother. One of the sciency cooking shows did an experiment and mushrooms washed in water didn't weigh any more after washing than they did before so they said that the absorbing water thing is a myth but I'm not so sure. If nothing else they can get a bit slimy. Grapes and cucumbers are the only things I always wash. Grapes just look and feel dirty until you get some Fit on them and cucumbers have that creepy coating. They get a good dose of Fit, especially when I get the little ones to pickle.

AB did the mushroom test and I've never noticed and water problem with washed mushrooms myself.  The mixture firmed up after baking in the oven.

That's interesting that the bisquick would act as a cracker substitute.  That's exactly what it did.  Everyone that ate mushrooms at the meeting liked them so I have to say over all a success.

I'll definitely be doing more appetizers during the month of November, when I do should I mention them here if they are from our book?

I vote yes, I would love to have posts to this and the other chapter threads go on, even after the prescribed month, so we get more reviews. 

I vote yes too, Tammy, whatever you try from whereever you find it, please let us know about it.  I am also a big fan of frozen veggies (they are SO MUCH EASIER) and honestly, per pound, often cheaper than fresh.  I'm also not a washer/rinser of mushrooms.  I usually wipe off any dirt with a damp paper towel.

Glad the mushroom recipe was favorably received.  I would probably add salt and pepper.  A sprinkling of salt is not adding the amount of sodium that most packaged products have.  And a very little goes a long way.  I remember reading somewhere that adding a little salt is "like adding a box of compliments", and it is often true.  Most people will miss it if it is not there, even a little.  Plus pepper, of course.  I am a BIG black pepper fan.

I am a big black pepper fan as well.

Tammy, regarding your suggestion of spreading Chapter 2 over 3 months.  Hmmm, I am inclined to resist.  Mostly because chapter 3 is side dishes, pasta etc., which i can't wait to get to!!  But also, because 3 months over the same chapter might be too long for some of us to hang in---although if others are inclined I will jump right on board.  And of course, no matter what, cook up a main dish storm in November and beyond, and please post all about it!!

When we did the Costco cookbook the whole book only sustained about 2 months and it was fairly active. I think 3 monts on a chapter is way optimistic. There is nothing wrong with going back and posting to an older thread if you go back to recipe from that chapter.