Foo - secret recipes

Do you have one? Really, one that has that special ingredient(s) that nobody can figure out...a recipe that you won't even share with family?

A former coworker has such a recipe for salsa. She said it had something that absolutely nobody else uses. I tried guessing but she wouldn't let on. And it wasn't cuz I had trouble looking her in the eyes. :innocent:


I like cooking/baking but haven't stumbled on anything mindblowing so as to hog it to myself. Have you? And can you be bribed? ;)
Discuss

I was given a "secret ingredient" for Carrot Cake once. It works great.







Carrot Baby food

I do. It's a spice mix for chili. Adapted from a recipe from an 1880's chuckwagon. This is the real deal. I will not share the recipe with anyone.

I do. It's a spice mix for chili. Adapted from a recipe from an 1880's chuckwagon. This is the real deal. I will not share the recipe with anyone.

Why won't you?

I do. It's a spice mix for chili. Adapted from a recipe from an 1880's chuckwagon. This is the real deal. I will not share the recipe with anyone.

You could probably replace saltpeter/gunpowder with msg nowadays I imagine.

You could probably replace saltpeter/gunpowder with msg nowadays I imagine.

carefull with that stuff :innocent:

We recently had a party with chili and people told me it was the best they ever had. I just made it up as I went, and made three different kinds. Here is the super top secret recipe for the favorite version:

--As much ground beef as you want
--Part of an onion
--A ton of celery
--2 cans of corn
--1.5 small cans of green chilis
--Small thing of tomato paste
--2 cans of chili-ready tomatoes
--A ton of chili powder
--A ton of cayenne pepper
--A fair amount of cumin powder
--No garlic powder, sugar, salt, or pepper
--2 cans of kidney beans
--2 cans of chili beans
--Add whatever else you want that is chili-like

Fill a huge pot and simmer for 4 hours or until it starts to boil over and burns to the pan

Serve hot, but don't serve the part that stuck to the pan, because that tastes really gross.

Enjoy!

Some of my best recipes are so secret that even I don't know them. Notable examples include my pizza and chicken pot pie. Which reminds me. I have a chicken carcass in the fridge so it's time to make more.

Yes, shortbread. The recipe and mould has been in the family for 8 generations that we know of. One person from each generation has the recipe and the mold. The technique is what makes the difference although we have never given out the ingredients either. I only make it a Christmas and do so for the month of November to meet friends and family demand.

I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

I make a killer Salsa. I won't tell people I serve, but I'll tell you guys... It's in the Fannie Farmer Cookbook. It's really more of a Pico de Gallo. I call it Salsa Cruda.

Mostly tomatoes, some bell peppers maybe two big ones, a large onion. All diced to about the size of a kernel of corn. All enough to make about a gallon.
Cut the kernels from two or three fresh ears of corn.
Dice a jalapeño or two finely. Seeds in make it hotter. Seeds out is cooler.
Add finely diced garlic to taste, season with about 1/2 cup oregano, some salt, fresh black pepper.
Add about 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil and the juice of a whole lime.

Mix and try not to eat it all before serving to the masses. I found if if it tastes like it needs something, oregano and salt are good choices for adding more.

There are other secrets too; my wife's family has a recipe that calls for a shredded carrot, but it's not listed in the recipe because her grandfather (or great-grandfather?) hated carrots. So you just have to know to add it. On my side there's something similar, my great-grandmother couldn't write well so when she wrote down egg instead of egg white, she said she meant it and enforced that ever after that pie would be yellow and not white.

Why won't you?

One of these days I may market it. If I give it away, I won't be able to sell it.

We recently had a party with chili and people told me it was the best they ever had. I just made it up as I went, and made three different kinds. Here is the super top secret recipe for the favorite version:

--As much ground beef as you want
--Part of an onion
--A ton of celery
--2 cans of corn
--1.5 small cans of green chilis
--Small thing of tomato paste
--2 cans of chili-ready tomatoes
--A ton of chili powder
--A ton of cayenne pepper
--A fair amount of cumin powder
--No garlic powder, sugar, salt, or pepper
--2 cans of kidney beans
--2 cans of chili beans
--Add whatever else you want that is chili-like

Fill a huge pot and simmer for 4 hours or until it starts to boil over and burns to the pan

Serve hot, but don't serve the part that stuck to the pan, because that tastes really gross.

Enjoy!

That's not chili, that's a stew. Beans are a side dish. Yes, I am a chili snob.

None I can think of. A couple of little tricks however.

There is a recipe that comes with any Mirro cookie press for ginger cookies. It is tricky to get them off the pan, only a 20 second or so time period. Too early and the cookie is too soft and the bottom crumbles and/or it sort of falls apart. Too late and it is glued to the cookie tray. That is using a teflon coated sheet! One tricl is using a flexable pie server, a cheap one. That way one can get under the cookies and do 2 rows at once.

Other trick is the family cheesecake recipe. The trick is using a modern mixer and finishing with the wisk attachment and wisking in a lot of air and getting a thick mooselike mix instead of something liquid. I discovered it by accident, leaving the mixer on while making the crust (just grahm cracker crumbs and butter). It was a secret just because I didn't mention it.

. The trick is using a modern mixer and finishing with the wisk attachment and wisking in a lot of air and getting a thick mooselike mix instead of something liquid. I discovered it by accident, leaving the mixer on while making the crust (just grahm cracker crumbs and butter). It was a secret just because I didn't mention it.

That must be really gamey.

One of these days I may market it. If I give it away, I won't be able to sell it.

Hm.

Good thing I'm not particular about chili.

There are a few other tricks in the process, but the key ingredient I can tell you all. Bolognese sauce using kangaroo mince.

Keeps the crowd guessing as they come back for seconds.

That's not chili, that's a stew. Beans are a side dish. Yes, I am a chili snob.
?

You lost me.

It's not THAT secret since it's from a Food TV personality, but most people can't guess it. Wife makes brownies that have a bit of instant coffee in them. It's very subtle, but gives it just the right amount of zing to it.
My grandmother used to put instant coffee in EVERYTHING. It was a staple ingredient in her kitchen. Yes, EVERYTHING from gravy to scrambled eggs to anything else she made. Maybe she was just senile.

I was given a "secret ingredient" for Carrot Cake once. It works great.





Carrot Baby food

Although not so secret, I did discover one ingredient that helps to keep cookies and cakes more moist. Even a little bit helps. Those that don't care for it prolly wouldn't even notice if you added a smidgen.



shredded coconut

What is it, skijor?

I'll share my recipe for om nom bisquits!

Plankton has been trying to get to me Krabby Patty recipe for years.

?

You lost me.


There are some people out there that swear that it has beans in it, it is not chili.

My recipe and technique for ultra-high gravity ale (21.5% a.b.v.) is a secret, and one of the ingredients is not available to the public.

Well, I said I'd post my recipe...so here it is.

3 parts flour
1 part butter (salted)
2 parts cold water
1 tsp baking powder for every 4 oz of flour
salt to taste

Mix up the flour, powder, and butter, making sure to get the butter into pea sized chunks. Add water and knead until consistent. Drop onto a cookie sheet and bake at 400º for 20-30 mins. I make mine 3:2 white-wheat:white flour. :)

I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.okay, then just tell ModoVincere and Wordbiker

My recipe and technique for ultra-high gravity ale (21.5% a.b.v.) is a secret, and one of the ingredients is not available to the public.

Where should I look in the Sigma catalog?

Although not so secret, I did discover one ingredient that helps to keep cookies and cakes more moist. Even a little bit helps. Those that don't care for it prolly wouldn't even notice if you added a smidgen.

Ick... I hate that stuff, but I may have to try it. I can bake anything, but for some reason cookies baffle me. I did recently figure out that the kind of butter used makes a huge difference in "fluffiness", though.

I have a secret ingredient for banana bread. YUM.

Ick... I hate that stuff, but I may have to try it. I can bake anything, but for some reason cookies baffle me. I did recently figure out that the kind of butter used makes a huge difference in "fluffiness", though.

For flaky pie-crusts, freeze butter and then shred it with a cheese grater. Makes perfect pockets in the crust when it melts away during baking.

Ick... I hate that stuff, but I may have to try it. I can bake anything, but for some reason cookies baffle me. I did recently figure out that the kind of butter used makes a huge difference in "fluffiness", though.

I have a secret ingredient for banana bread. YUM.

You put this in your banana bread?

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:4eqQ6VPpyIPraM:http://www.great-lakes.org/graphics-2/Lurenet/rev-07-28-08/10-pellets_ss.jpg

I would have guessed the secret ingredient is bananas ;P

okay, then just tell ModoVincere and Wordbiker

Tell StupidlyBrave several times, but keep count and don't overkill him.

Six times. I think I'd like living on the edge.

Also, why are you envious of our delicious Hockey Team?

You put this in your banana bread?

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:4eqQ6VPpyIPraM:http://www.great-lakes.org/graphics-2/Lurenet/rev-07-28-08/10-pellets_ss.jpg

I would have guessed the secret ingredient is bananas ;P

You found me out! :p

Hmmm, my wife puts 2 shots of espresso and a shot of brandy in her brownie batter. THAT gives it the zing you want.


It's not THAT secret since it's from a Food TV personality, but most people can't guess it. Wife makes brownies that have a bit of instant coffee in them. It's very subtle, but gives it just the right amount of zing to it.

Putting espresso in chocolate is a well-known idea. You will see that a lot of commercial bakeries and pastry kitchens have a jar of Medaglia D'Oro instant espresso powder on the shelf. This is what they use it for.