Cooking

[scienceguy8]

Even the most klutziest, inept person can fry a thin-cut pork chop. What have you been cooking lately? Show off your culinary skills and give us less kitchen-creative types ideas for our next meals. Bonus points if you give us the recipe/procedure or give us a link to the recipe/cooking show that inspired you.

I made my first pound cake this week. Turned out pretty good, too, although a touch dry (left it in a few minutes longer than it needed to be). Big Good Eats fan. The recipe came from the show with only a couple adjustments: hand mixer rather than a stand mixer (never again), salted megamart butter rather than the recommended unsalted European artisan butter, and because the butter was salted, I omitted the salt. Topped a slice with some fresh cut strawberries sweetened with sugar and some whipped cream (homemade, not from a can), and called it a most satisfying dessert.

Good Eats American Classics V: A Pound of Cake (http://youtu.be/qMHOjlaRxtw)

[Aedilred]

I made a Pasta Puttanesca (http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/european/italian/pasta-puttanesca-tarts-spaghetti.html) the other day which, if I say so myself, was really good. The ingredients aren't all that cheap and skinning the tomatoes is a bit of a pain, but it's well worth it in flavour, and I say that as a dedicated carnivore. I made a large quantity of it and have the rest for re-heating on a future occasion if I feel the need.

[noparlpf]

I tried making beef fried rice the other day. It turned out pretty well. My flatmate tried a bit and said it was good.

Edit: Recipe:
1. Boil up some rice. Jasmine rice works better than brown rice, although brown rice is healthier. I used jasmine rice. Add about two thirds of a mug of dry rice to a small saucepan. Add a bit less than a mug of water. Heat at low temperature to a boil, then turn it down and let it simmer until the water is all absorbed.
2. Meanwhile, slice some meat into smallish chunks. Pork, beef, whatever, I guess. Stick that in a largeish bowl. Add some soy sauce, a bit of garlic powder, a dash of chili powder. Mix it up. Let it warm up a bit. Supposedly meat cooks better from room temperature than from fridge temperature.
3. Chop a carrot into small pieces, and put that in a ceramic bowl. Add about the same amount of frozen peas. Add a few drops of water, not much. Microwave that for a minute or so.
4. While that's in the microwave, chop an onion, not too finely. Add that to a pan with a drop of canola oil. Add the meat. Turn on low-to-medium heat. Fry that up. Then add it to the veggie bowl for the moment.
5. Add another drop of oil to the pan and crack in two eggs. (Or one really big egg.) Add some soy sauce and scramble them.
6. Add the veggies and meat to the set eggs. Turn up the heat. Put the rice on top of that. Add some soy sauce, stir-fry for a minute or two. Serve.

I looked up a couple of recipes to get the gist of what I was supposed to do, and then I winged it.

[Dumbledore lives]

Beer Bread (http://www.food.com/recipe/beer-bread-73440) is delicious and he easiest bread I've ever made. Seriously aside from pre-heating it takes under five minutes to make and clean up, and it's just normal bread so you can toss whatever you like in it like nuts, raisins, cheese, butter, whatever, even chocolate chips and bananas I guess though I haven't tried that. Admittedly it depends on the beer you use with it, but the sheer variety of options makes it a good choice for a tasty and hearty snack.

[warty goblin]

The last bit of interesting cooking I did:

Main course: barbecue ribs. The ribs were from a six month old pig my father and I raised, slaughtered, and butchered together. This meant that they were very, very tender. I rubbed them down in a spice blend I've worked up, then slow-cooked them in their own juice with a splash of liquid smoke for about four hours. The sauce was store-bought, but flavorful and a perfect complement to the meat, which by this point was falling off the bone.

Alongside this I served fresh-baked whole wheat bread. Yeast unfortunately, my schedule generally lacks the time and predictability to do sourdough, but still a very nice, crusty loaf.

For desert I served home-made shortcakes with fresh strawberries and chocolate icecream.



Oh, and on the fourth Dad and I slaughtered and roasted another pig. Skin-on and whole over charcoal, stuffed with vegetables, for about eight hours. The skin holds the fat in, so the meat slowly tenderizes in a sea of rich pork juices, while the vegetables roast in the body cavity until they melt in the mouth. Turns out if you cook a fig in pig fat for a couple of hours, it turns into this tender, rich, sweet thing that just melts in the mouth.


In the non-pork based world, I'm probably gonna cook up a beet and apple casserole later this week. That gets spooned on top of my custom beanburgers, topped in a nice Havarti and then drizzled with balsamic.

[factotum]

I'm always partial to my sister's quiche recipe--forget all that egg custard stuff, you basically just line an ovenproof dish or tin with pastry, crack half-a-dozen eggs into the middle, cover the whole lot in about half a pound of grated cheese (decent stuff, mind, not some cheapo rubber substitute like you often get), then bung in the oven until cooked. Tastes absolutely gorgeous.

[Ravens_cry]

I made this (http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Bacon-Chive-Potato-Salad), substituting maple bacon cut into small chunks for the bacon bits, for a potluck I did with friends. It was very well received.

[valadil]

Our farm share started up so we've been inundated in vegetables. The wife decided she doesn't like leafy greens anymore, so I've been eating salad for lunch and dinner. Even that wasn't enough to kill off all the greens. So I've been making omeletes for breakfast with either lightly sauteed spinach (because it reduces dramatically when sauteed) or scallion and leak. Delicious.

[The Succubus]

Is this an opportunity to shamelessly plug my cooking blog?

I think it is! :smallbiggrin: (Click my sig banner!)

[Aidan305]

Myself and a friend had fun yesterday putting together a Desi Chana (Chickpea and Potato Curry), with accompanying Ferrar Bataka (Spiced and Buttered Potatoes with Green Chilli and Peanuts) and a Peanut, Coriander and Sesame paste.

It was delicious.

[Traab]

Slice up an onion or two, soak it in teriyaki sauce. Slice up a chicken breast or two and season it with garlic powder, onion powder, and seasoned salt, then pan fry them in a little olive oil. Sautee the onions as well, then throw them together for the last couple minutes for flavor. Add cheese after its done and melt it all together then chow down. Makes for a good sandwich or as a main course with whatever sides you prefer.

[Sabeki]

Anyone have good hamburger recipes? I've been wanting to learn BBQ for a while now.

[noparlpf]

Anyone have good hamburger recipes? I've been wanting to learn BBQ for a while now.

My method:
1. Crumble some ground beef into a mixing bowl.
2. Add chopped onion, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, and a bit of oregano.
3. Mix well by hand.
4. Let warm to close to room temperature.
5. Form patties.
6. Fry/grill. Cook it about two minutes on a side, flip, two minutes, then repeat another minute or two on each side. That depends on thickness, though. I have less experience on the grill than the pan, though.

[warty goblin]

Anyone have good hamburger recipes? I've been wanting to learn BBQ for a while now.

The key to a good hamburger lies in the seasoning, and not overcooking. I find anything above medium rare to medium starts to really lose flavor.

My version:


Patty out the burgers. Make 'em as thin as you can without them falling apart. This makes the meat cook faster.

Cover both sides generously with a seasoning mix. I use chili powder, black pepper, salt, garlic powder and smoked paprika, but there's a lot of options here.

Cook on a grill or in a cast iron skillet until the bottom and sides are browned, then flip and repeat.

Spoon some BBQ or buffalo wing sauce on the top, then flip again. If you're grilling, you probably should transfer to a pan at this point to retain the sauce.

Cook briefly, then sauce the top and flip again. Add cheese if desired. Cook until the sauce on the bottom has been absorbed.


If you can avoid overcooking, what you get is a tender, juicy burger permeated with the sauce's flavor. Top with lettuce, pickles, onion and tomato in a toasted bun and serve. You can add bacon as well, but frankly I think it's a waste of the bacon. The burger itself has more than enough flavor.

[noparlpf]

The key to a good hamburger lies in the seasoning, and not overcooking. I find anything above medium rare to medium starts to really lose flavor.

The issue there is that ground beef really ought to be cooked through. From Wikipedia: "Minced beef must be cooked to 72 °C (160 °F) to ensure that all bacterial contamination, whether it be endogenous to the product or contaminated after purchasing by the consumer, is killed. Cooked color does not always indicate the beef has reached the required temperature, as beef can brown before reaching 68 °C (155 °F)."

[scienceguy8]

Okay, so it is a bit risky, but you can cook a hamburger to medium. You just have to take a few precautions. First, if you can't look into the package, don't bother. Buy your ground beef on foam platters with clear wrap, so you can visually inspect it for "funkiness." Better yet, buy it whole and grind it yourself. Next, cooking environment should be as clean as possible. Your hands should be as clean as possible as well, if not encased in gloves. Take off your jewelry! When you are done cooking the meat, the juices should run clear or almost clear. Do not handle any other food while working with the burgers. Finally, you can cook medium burgers safely at home, but be wary at restaurants. You can't guarantee what's going on in the kitchen is entirely wholesome.

[Deepbluediver]

Ooh, I love these threads! I've put my usual assortment of soups, stews, and lasagnas on hold for the warm summer months, and have been cooking lighter fair.


Friday- pan fried loin lamb chops, breaded with parmesan cheese and with stir fried sweet and spicy broccoli and cauliflower on the side.

Sunday- Baja fish tacos; catfish chunks dipped in beer batter (I make mine with half wheat, half corn meal) and fried in veggie oil. Rolled in a soft tortia shell with raw cabbage and a sauce made from yogurt, sour cream, mayo, cilantro, cumin, wasabi, and tabasco.


Damn, now I've got myself drooling. It's off to the kitchen.

[warty goblin]

The issue there is that ground beef really ought to be cooked through. From Wikipedia: "Minced beef must be cooked to 72 °C (160 °F) to ensure that all bacterial contamination, whether it be endogenous to the product or contaminated after purchasing by the consumer, is killed. Cooked color does not always indicate the beef has reached the required temperature, as beef can brown before reaching 68 °C (155 °F)."

Unfortunately, cooking to 160 also succeeds in killing all the flavor and texture, to the point where I might as well eat a sock. Fortunately beef is pretty safe to eat underdone, it isn't like chicken - aka the salmonella special - in that regard. I'll continue to take the minimal risk and enjoy my pink on the inside burgers dripping with delicious, delicious meat juices.

I remember when I worked in a restaurant, we always laughed our heads off at the fools who ordered their beef well done. Almost as much as the people who ordered rack of lamb anything past medium rare.

The other thing I remember is that nothing lies about something being done more readily than a meat thermometer. I've had lamb chops temp to 150, and still be bleeding.

[Traab]

The way I make my burgers is to season them with my normal mix, seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder and cajun, then I smash the burger up and knead it so the spices arent just a nice coating on the outside, but through the entire burger. It lets the meat absorb all that flavor without giving you a crusty outside from all that powder burning on it.

*EDIT* I also have yet to get sick or die from an undercooked burger. I grill them till it mostly stops bleeding, then pull it off when its still at least a bit pink in the middle. Cooking it till its all the way grey is just not pleasant.

[Don Julio Anejo]

I've been very much into cafe-style soups recently. Tomorrow I have plans for Italian sausage, I've done corn chowder a bunch of times recently and one of my personal staples is split pea (or white beans) and ham. Smoked ribs work even better instead of ham, you just have to boil the ribs with an onion for ~1 hour before adding anything else to get a nice, rich, meaty broth.

Also, I seem to be addicted to green onions. Right now I put them in everything: cup noodles, tuna salad, liver pate sandwiches, soup...

[noparlpf]

The way I make my burgers is to season them with my normal mix, seasoned salt, garlic powder, onion powder and cajun, then I smash the burger up and knead it so the spices arent just a nice coating on the outside, but through the entire burger. It lets the meat absorb all that flavor without giving you a crusty outside from all that powder burning on it.

*EDIT* I also have yet to get sick or die from an undercooked burger. I grill them till it mostly stops bleeding, then pull it off when its still at least a bit pink in the middle. Cooking it till its all the way grey is just not pleasant.

It's no good to just mash the meat and spices all together roughly, or you end up with a dense block of meat. I crumble the ground meat apart and then mix it up. I don't press on it until I form a patty.

[factotum]

I remember when I worked in a restaurant, we always laughed our heads off at the fools who ordered their beef well done. Almost as much as the people who ordered rack of lamb anything past medium rare.


Speaking as one of those fools, has it ever occurred to you that maybe some people don't LIKE to eat stuff that's dripping with blood? And a well-done piece of beef can be tasty and tender too, so long as the cook knows what they're doing. (I hasten to add that I don't include myself in the category of cooks who know what they're doing, mind you!).

[Brother Oni]

The issue there is that ground beef really ought to be cooked through. From Wikipedia: "Minced beef must be cooked to 72 °C (160 °F) to ensure that all bacterial contamination, whether it be endogenous to the product or contaminated after purchasing by the consumer, is killed. Cooked color does not always indicate the beef has reached the required temperature, as beef can brown before reaching 68 °C (155 °F)."

I find that applying Japanese techniques also helps avoid food poisoning - either add wasabi (or any other mustard) or drink strong alcohol.

[Deepbluediver]

The issue there is that ground beef really ought to be cooked through. From Wikipedia: "Minced beef must be cooked to 72 °C (160 °F) to ensure that all bacterial contamination, whether it be endogenous to the product or contaminated after purchasing by the consumer, is killed. Cooked color does not always indicate the beef has reached the required temperature, as beef can brown before reaching 68 °C (155 °F)."

To my knowledge, if your food comes from a modern processing facility that keeps it's standards up, and you keep your food stored in a fridge or freezer until you use it, the chances of getting food poisoning are very VERY low.
Even for things like pork and chicken, and I've seen people eat ground-beef raw. (albeit in small quantities)

For anything like wild game or that I ordered outside of the U.S., Europe, and Japan though I probably wouldn't get it less than medium, because quality control may not be as stringent.

[Aedilred]

Speaking as one of those fools, has it ever occurred to you that maybe some people don't LIKE to eat stuff that's dripping with blood?
The normal answer to that is "those people are wrong" but I get that there's a personal preference involved.

The kicker for me is the cut of meat used. A rump steak you can grill until it's black and curling at the edges and there'll still be enough flavour remaining. With fillet, the last vestiges of actual flavour leave the building about the time the middle of the steak turns pink.

I have generally found that if people overcome their squeamishness about eating rarer steaks they come to prefer them, although I realise that's not universal. The same goes for offal a lot of the time, although there are a lot of people who genuinely don't like the texture of kidney or the iron taste of liver, and that's fair enough.

[valadil]

I prefer medium rare steak, but a well done steak is still better than a lot of other food out there. The only real crime committed in a steak house is ketchup.

[Morbis Meh]

Last week I grilled a marinated, rubbed pork tenderloin (marinade had brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, apple sause, fresh sage, olive oil and salt and pepper; rub (pork was covered with Worcester sauce: salt, chilli powder, garlic powder, onion powder). cooked over medium heat for about 45 minutes until interal temp was 145 deg F. Turned out really well and I reduced the left over marinade into a sauce.

[warty goblin]

Speaking as one of those fools, has it ever occurred to you that maybe some people don't LIKE to eat stuff that's dripping with blood? And a well-done piece of beef can be tasty and tender too, so long as the cook knows what they're doing. (I hasten to add that I don't include myself in the category of cooks who know what they're doing, mind you!).

There is one simple fact that must be appreciated about food service; the customer is the enemy. Particularly when they send back their medium well steak claiming it isn't actually medium well.

There's also a difference between dripping blood and well done. A medium cut is still pink on the inside, but it certainly isn't bleeding.

[Brother Oni]

There is one simple fact that must be appreciated about food service; the customer is the enemy. Particularly when they send back their medium well steak claiming it isn't actually medium well.

There's a clip on youtube where somebody ordered steak tartare then complained it wasn't medium well done.

This was to chef Gordon Ramsay - it didn't end well.

[warty goblin]

There's a clip on youtube where somebody ordered steak tartare then complained it wasn't medium well done.

This was to chef Gordon Ramsay - it didn't end well.

As you point out, not only is the customer the enemy, they are also frequently idiots.

(Except some customers, some customers are awesome. And many are completely acceptable, since they just order things off the menu and don't bitch about them.)

[Traab]

There's a clip on youtube where somebody ordered steak tartare then complained it wasn't medium well done.

This was to chef Gordon Ramsay - it didn't end well.

Can you give me a link or a video name I can look for? I love watching him totally go off his nut on someone. I have this mental image of him one day being so pissed he turns off the cameras then when they turn back on the offending person is gone, and there is broken furniture around the room, and ramsey has a bit of blood on his face. *EDIT* Never mind, I found it. Heh, guy came up like he was some sort of big bad expert. He wouldnt know low grade meat if he dropped his pants and stared.

[Karoht]

Customers are dumb.
In regards to complaints about Ramsey, spoilered for off-topic:

I constantly tell people, if it was your money being pissed down a drain by morons on your payroll you would swear too. This logic applies to all his shows. When he goes to help a struggling restaurant (Kitchen Nightmares), he puts in his own money, only to have the owner tell him that he doesn't know what he's doing? Bulltonkey. When he is trying to pick out a new chef to run a brand new several million dollar restaurant, he's not there to teach people what to do, he's there to weed out the wheat from the chaff. If you can't take him telling you off, you aren't going to do well when some self entitled moron (entitled because of the number of zeros on his paycheck) tells you off for not cooking his steak tartare medium well.


Now, that out of the way, on to some food stuff.

My fiancee and I have been uber busy lately. Haven't really put a lot of oomf or major effort into making anything in the last few months. We really need to fix that soon.

Risotto. Why on earth does it cost an arm and a leg in a restaurant when it is easy to make and made from cheap ingredients? I'll never know.
So I figure if I'm going to go to the effort of making Risotto, I'm going to make it my way, make it worth the effort.

First and foremost, I start with my stock. I make a turkey/chicken stock. It's not difficult to collect turkey and chicken bones and related gizzards and drippings (I keep a great big bag in the freezer) and boil them down.

Tip 1: Use a lower heat, take your time. It's bones and drippings boiling/simmering, there's no rush. Heck, for me it becomes a 2 day process usually.
Tip 2: Don't fuss about removing the fat while it's on the heat. When you are done simmering it and straining out the bones and the bits, leave it in the fridge overnight. The fat will rise and congeal, skim it off in the morning. OR, place it into individual containers in the freezer, and scrape it off the top when you use the stock. This will also allow you to do things such as use the turkey/chicken fat for carmellizing onions and such.
Tip 3: Caramellize before you boil/simmer. A good stock has more to it than drippings and bones and meaty bits. Rough chop an onion or two, some carrots, some mushrooms. Toss them in with a bit of butter, give them some time on the heat, then add your bones and water. Leeks and celery are also your friends, whole cloves of garlic contribute greatly.
Tip 4: Break up the bones. Bone marrow adds flavor. And while the boiling/simmering process will eventually release that marrow, getting some of that out early gives it more time to interact, therefore contributing more to the flavor. I use a potato masher and try to break them up every time I check on the stock.


Once we have a stock ready to go (like I said, two day process for me, I greatly enjoy just making a stock), lets talk about other ingredients in a risotto.
Rice-Arborio, I make 2 cups worth at a time, as such I go through about 2 liters of stock. We tried making it with that Parboiled rice you can find, I wouldn't recommend it. Jasmine rice worked out sort of okay (went mushy really fast though), basmati was similar. Trust me, get some Arborio.
Wine-As dry a white wine as one can find. Fruity white wines I find just add too much sugary flavor. Then again, I also like my risotto to actually TASTE of the white wine to some degree. One or two cups is fine, I usually push 3. IF you are going to use red wine, pair the risotto with a beef dish. But if you are using red, dry as you can find it, or it will overpower almost everything.
Cheese-Fresh mozzarella (not the stuff that comes in blocks) and one 'old' cheese. Pay for some good parma or even pecorino, asiago I find is a bit hit and miss.
Herbs-Basil. You can totally cheat and use a basil pesto. Oregano and Thyme are also excellent choices.
Optional Ingredients-Pine nuts give a good woody flavor, it adds a nice contrast. Dried cranberries are AMAZING in risotto but add them close to the end. Peas are nice, give it some greenery.

Method

Bring about 6-8 cups of stock to a boil. Warning, depending on the elevation and relative humidity of your region, you may need more stock, you may need less. Worst case scenario, when the pan gets low, add in some water, or more stock if you have it. And keep a lid on the pot so it doesn't reduce too much.

In a pan (non-stick is good but not required) toss in some diced onions with a bit of oil. When they start to sweat, hit that with a dash of the white wine and a dash of your stock. Not much, just enough to moisten the pan really.

Once the pan dries out, add in a bit more oil, and slowly sprinkle in your rice. Dry. Yes, dry, we don't boil or parboil it first (restaurants do, but they cheat). This is to coat the rice in the oils, and lightly toast the rice a bit. I typically add about a tablespoon of cold butter right about now, just helps everything blend. Keep it moving, don't let it fry. When all the rice looks shiney like it is sweating, add in your first cup of wine. And don't forget to take a big whiff of that amazing vapor, it is going to smell delicious. Stir, keep it moving, keep it from sticking. Once the pan dries out again, we begin with the stock.

Now take a ladel or two of that nice rich stock we made, and pour that into the pan. Keep the mixture moving, but try not to splash it around. For the first two cups of stock (and that first cup of wine) it is a wise idea to use a lid when you are not stirring. It's going to lock in the heat and keep it from reducing too fast. After about 5 minutes of this, the pan should be getting drier, and the rice should be getting a bit more plump and soft. That's good.

Continue adding in stock any time the pan looks too dry. You'll notice that this will all start to thicken. The stock is reducing, and the rice is giving off it's starch which also thickens it. Thats what you want to see. Keep tasting it constantly, if the rice is still too hard, keep going.

After the 3rd or 4th round of adding in stock, I typically add in some of those herbs we discussed, or some pesto, or both. This is the first course of such a treatment, I recommend half now, and the other half much closer to the end. Especially if you are working with fresh herbs.

Once the rice is getting close to done (soft on the outside, little bullet on the inside) this is when I start adding in some of those extras. Frozen peas at this stage are a good idea. They will add some more moisture to the pan that way (but will still need a ladel of stock to geth them going). I usually add in dried cranberries at about the same time, which keeps the pan from getting too watery. Grated carrot isn't bad either. Chopped mushrooms are wonderful.

Give that another ladel or two of stock, and if the rice is ready, we begin the final processes. Wine and cheese, and any remaining herbs.
Wine first, don't add any stock with this if you can avoid it. Wait until this is JUST starting to dry out. Then add in a fresh ladel or two of stock (probably the last of it) and your cheese and your herbs. The wine will perk up the onions again, mellow out the stock flavors. I usually add in about a teaspoon of cold butter at about this time, it helps things blend a bit better, integrates the herbs and the cheese as well. Once these are in, turn off the heat.


Tip 1: If you want to add in mushrooms and give them a bit of a sear first, I recommend the following in place of that last round of white wine. In a separate pan, fry up your mushrooms (and maybe a tiny amount of onion and garlic) until they brown up, and use a cup of white wine to deglaze the pan directly into the risotto pan. Stir.

Tip 2: Remember that turkey/chicken fat from the stock? The stuff you scraped out? It makes an excellent cooking oil for use on the risotto, just add it in when you are sweating your onions. Or browning those mushrooms. Or both.

[Deepbluediver]

Risotto. Why on earth does it cost an arm and a leg in a restaurant when it is easy to make and made from cheap ingredients? I'll never know.

From everything I've read, making a good risotto isn't complicated, but it requires constant attention.

For a good many meals, I can dump everything on one pot, put in on medium heat, then walk away for a while. Frying in a pan requires the occasional stir, but still not much attention; I can clean or prepare a salad while things bake/broil/simmer/saute/steam, etc.
Whereas with a risotto it needs to be stirred continuasly, adding in more liquid in dribs and drabs so it gets creamy without going mushy or burning.

Every depiction of a restaurant-kitchen I've ever seen has everyone rushing around constantly, doing about 8 things at once. Making a single serving of risotto probably limits what else you can do, so either everything backs up, or the rest of the kitchen needs to pick up the slack. Hence, restaurants price it high to discourage you from buying it.


That would be my assessment, but I've never actually made risotto or worked in a professional kitchen before, so maybe others can confirm or rebut that hypothesis.
What I want to try making is a seafood risotto; I don't get enough chances to eat fish.

[Vizzerdrix]

Six chicken breasts, half an onion, two potatoes sliced about half an inch thick. layer the whole thing in a baking dish and drown it in salad dressing (I prefer Cesar dressing). Bake it at 450 for about an hour and a half or until the taters are done. Takes five minutes to prep.

[KacyCrawford]

Good if you can post the recipies, I can try it out myslef

[thubby]

Customers are dumb.
In regards to complaints about Ramsey, spoilered for off-topic:

I constantly tell people, if it was your money being pissed down a drain by morons on your payroll you would swear too. This logic applies to all his shows. When he goes to help a struggling restaurant (Kitchen Nightmares), he puts in his own money, only to have the owner tell him that he doesn't know what he's doing? Bulltonkey. When he is trying to pick out a new chef to run a brand new several million dollar restaurant, he's not there to teach people what to do, he's there to weed out the wheat from the chaff. If you can't take him telling you off, you aren't going to do well when some self entitled moron (entitled because of the number of zeros on his paycheck) tells you off for not cooking his steak tartare medium well.



"the world isn't nice so im going to use that as an excuse to be a jerk"? ya, no. he is a grown man fully in command of and responsible for himself. there are perfectly civil ways to criticize and even fire someone.

the only thing I've done of late that's of note is grilled honey lime chicken. putting together the marinade and the glaze is a nightmare but the end result is a sticky, sweet, lime flavored deliciousness that I still havent found the proper side dish for.

also, fun fact, the stuff dripping off your raw meats isn't blood. it's a byproduct of what happens as the muscle tissues break down.

[Traab]

"the world isn't nice so im going to use that as an excuse to be a jerk"? ya, no. he is a grown man fully in command of and responsible for himself. there are perfectly civil ways to criticize and even fire someone.

the only thing I've done of late that's of note is grilled honey lime chicken. putting together the marinade and the glaze is a nightmare but the end result is a sticky, sweet, lime flavored deliciousness that I still havent found the proper side dish for.

also, fun fact, the stuff dripping off your raw meats isn't blood. it's a byproduct of what happens as the muscle tissues break down.

Yeah but he also has to make an entertaining tv show. Part of the reason american idol was so huge was simon cowel being an absolute MONSTER to people. In fact, thats probably what caused good old ramsey to get his shot on tv. I imagine the tv exec meeting went like this.

Chief "Ok guys, we need ideas! Whats hot right now?"

Random exec 1 "Well, American idol is getting fairly massive ratings and there is a big buzz about it."

Chief "Perfect! So america seems to like the competition shows right now. We need to come up with a new and different competition that hasnt been done a million times before."

Random exec 2 "Well, I caught an interesting program once, called Iron Chef. Seems to be a big hit. Get a couple cooks together and have them compete to make the best food."

Chief "Hmm, promising, but we cant just directly copy that, (its already been done) so how about making it a bunch of chefs competing to say, open a restaurant or at least be named head chef at a well known location?"

Random exec 1 "I dunno chief, I think it might need a hook. How about this? On Idol, one of the biggest talking points is about one of the judges, Simon Cowel. This man is BRUTAL to the contestants. He has no problem shattering their dreams into a million pieces and leaving them to cry tears he probably uses to cut his drinks with later. If we can find a judge that can do that for this show, it could be HUGE!"

Chief " PERFECT! Wrap a bow on it, find me the nastiest talented chef in the world, and submit it at the next meeting."

[Brother Oni]

"the world isn't nice so im going to use that as an excuse to be a jerk"? ya, no. he is a grown man fully in command of and responsible for himself. there are perfectly civil ways to criticize and even fire someone.

Spoilered for off topic.

He typically is not as aggressive in less stressed environments. I think his appearances on the US Masterchef are what he's usually like when not dealing with the same idiot for the umpteenth time that evening.

There's a good clip where a contestant gets angry at Ramsay for repeatedly using a diminutive of his name (Bob or Rob instead of Robert I think). The bloke goes in and explains the situation regarding his name, Ramsay apologises for doing so and says he'll make an effort to call him by his proper name in future.

Speaking as someone who's worked in a management position in a high throughput environment like that, when you have somebody constantly messing up, costing you time and money, not to mention damage to your reputation, you're liable to start shouting when they mess up (again), particularly if they're trying to pull the wool over your eyes and blame someone else.

Story time - a co-worker once gave me the wrong address for a delivery. After attempting to deliver to the wrong address, I had to return back to the shop for their number, call the customer up to get their right address, then go out and deliver again.

When I called the co-worker out on it, she refused to take responsibility, saying 'that's what they told me'.

So what's more likely? A customer that doesn't know their own home address, or you mishearding or writing down their address wrong?
"That's what they told me."

:smallfurious:

[Aedilred]

Yeah but he also has to make an entertaining tv show. Part of the reason american idol was so huge was simon cowel being an absolute MONSTER to people. In fact, thats probably what caused good old ramsey to get his shot on tv. I imagine the tv exec meeting went like this.
Ramsay's TV career actually started (in the UK) before Cowell's, although the success of Cowell's shows in the US might have influenced the decision to bring Ramsay over from the UK too.

[Deepbluediver]

I have a new favorite food.


Basically I got a cookbook with nothing but Taco recipes in it as a present, and I've been trying out some new combinations other than ground beef with cheese.

Peel and dice 1 medium butternut squash. Coat with a tablespoon or two of oil. Put on a baking tray and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 for 40 minutes, then broil for 3 to crisp them up.

Take ~2 pounds of pork, and dice into small pieces (1/2-1 inch, approx). Fry in a pan with a little oil and 1 packet taco seasoning. When browned, add 2/3 a cup salsa, 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, and hot sauce/tabasco/cheyenne to taste.

Serve on a soft tortilla shell with sliced raw pablano peppers, top with white sauce (mix of 1 scoop each sour cream, mayo, and yogurt, plus some cumin and cilantro).

The combination of sweet, spicy, and savory worked better than I could possibly have hoped. It took all my will power to put the leftovers in the fridge instead of just pigging out and finishing everything.

[Creed]

I'm a big fan of ginger ale, and lately I've been manufacturing two-liters of the stuff on a regular basis to dispel the blazing heat of summer. Here's the recipe I work off of, courtesy of Alton Brown:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/ginger-ale-recipe/index.html

[Ravens_cry]

Chief " PERFECT! Wrap a bow on it, find me the nastiest talented chef in the world, and submit it at the next meeting."
Which is why I do not watch the show. My favourite cooking show right now is, or was, but, hey, youtube, Good Eats.
A mix of exploring the science, silly comedy and a noted lack of over-presentation, I love that show.

[warty goblin]

Here's a nice, simple sandwich, which is a staple of my come-home-hungry cooking:

You need:
Bread
Pineapple
Onion
Cheese
Bacon Grease

Cut two slices of pineapple, about half an inch thick, cut off the skin and remove the core, and toss 'em in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cut four slices of bread, and spread one side of each with the bacon grease. You can also use butter, but the bacon adds a lot of flavor. Cut a couple rings off the onion, and two pieces of cheese.

Once the pineapple is brown on the bottom, flip it and cook the reverse. Add the bread to the skillet, and cook bacon-side down until golden brown. It's OK to do this in shifts if they all don't fit with the pineapple. At some point, put the cheese on the pineapple, so it gets all melty about the time the pineapple is cooked on the bottom.

Put the pineapple on the bread, cover with the onion, and close the whole thing up to make a sandwich. It's fast, tastes as good as lot of restaurant food, and goes well with sides ranging from fruit to salads to french fries.

[Knaight]

I've been a pretty lazy cook recently, but that doesn't mean there's been nothing of interest. Most notably, there were Fourth of July leftovers that actually worked really well. As such:

Steamed Marinade Grains
Get some tuna steaks, stick them in a bag. Add about 1/2 cup of wine, 4 cups of water, and a lot of lemon pepper. Marinade for as long as possible, then keep the marinade after cooking and eating the tuna.

Take this marinade, and put it in a pot, rice cooker, whatever. Add in a mixture of white rice and lentils, which are then spiced more heavily. Tumeric, cumin, Kabsah spices*, and yet more lemon pepper are the main parts, offset by rosemary, oregano, salt, and mint. Mix these into each other thoroughly.

Cut potatoes into small pieces, and place them on any sort of dish with a mesh or hole-filled bottom. Don't spice these, at least not heavily. Optionally, add some sort of dried meat as well.

Cook the rice and lentils, using the steam from them to cook the potatoes (and possibly meat). All of this should be in a closed container. When the rice and lentils are cooked, everything else will be as well. Serve them unmixed, as just a bunch of potatoes, a bunch of rice and lentils.

*This is a pre-made spice mix from Saudi Arabia for a regional dish. It is also optional.

Note that I was cooking just with what was on hand, for a group with particular tastes. Had this not been the case, ginger and anise would have been in there.

[Crow]

I made a Pasta Puttanesca (http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/european/italian/pasta-puttanesca-tarts-spaghetti.html) the other day which, if I say so myself, was really good. The ingredients aren't all that cheap and skinning the tomatoes is a bit of a pain, but it's well worth it in flavour, and I say that as a dedicated carnivore. I made a large quantity of it and have the rest for re-heating on a future occasion if I feel the need.

Damn, that sounds delicious.

As a dedicated carnivore, you may like one of these:

Broccoflower with Spicy Italian Sausage (http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/special-dietary-needs/broccoflower-with-spicy-italian-sausage/)

That recipe is my go-to when I want something easy, and is generally for non-workout days. It says it will serve two to four, but I pretty much eat it all.

CFFB Chili (http://www.crossfitfootball.com/page/index.php?menu=nutrition&page=chili)

Another easy one. Multiply the recipe by 4. Prepped at the beginning of the week for my lunches, and also completely guilt free. I don't do the chili mix, and instead use chili powder and cumin to taste (generally 1/2 cup of chili powder, and 1/4 to 1/2 of cumin).

[scienceguy8]

This is a particular favorite of mine. I got it from my dad, who seems to be morally opposed to measuring anything. The measurements are rough estimates on my part.

Combine a cup and a half of brown sugar, a teaspoon of garlic powder, three or four teaspoons of low sodium soy sauce, and a shot or two of whisky or bourbon (they are basically the same save for location, whiskey is from Ireland, bourbon is from the Southern United States, both are distilled grain alcohol allowed to age in charred barrels for a few years). Combine with roughly a pound of either chicken or pork, whole or cubed, and allow to soak for a while. A while could be as little as 30 minutes on the counter, just before cooking, or as long as 24 hours in the refrigerator. Dump the meat and the glaze directly into a deep 12 inch cast iron skillet and cook until the meat is done. Serve your delicious bourbon chicken or pork on top of or with rice, a salad, or steamed vegetables. Alternatively, as the meat comes close to done, toss in a bag of microwaved frozen stir fry vegetables. Alternatively alternatively, when the meat is done, evacuate the meat and cook carrots in the glaze.

Forgot to mention, the glaze also works well with salmon. It might also work with steak from what I once tasted in a restaurant, but honestly most steaks don't need a lot of fussing or seasoning. I can't bring myself to "ruin" a steak like that.

[Pepz]

Risotto is one of my go-to favourites :) For some reason people are always impressed when I tell them I make it regularly. I've tried all kinds of different recipes but the most fun to make was the beet an feta risotto. It was horribly pink but still really tasty :)

Other favourites are my "I can feed 5 people for 3 euros" chili sin carne and a hearty meal of grilled sausage, grey peas, leek and picalilly sauce.

[Togath]

I've started making Onigiri recently.. though I've only done Tilapia filling so far.
I've also been thinking of trying to learn how to make candies.. In particular I found a recipe for candy corn, which has always been one of my favorites :smallbiggrin:

[Vizzerdrix]

Longhorn Steak house makes amazing shrimp and I've started trying to backwards engineer it from scratch. No success so far.

I'm also trying to recreate the coconut sauce like you get at Chinese buffets up here in New England. Also no success.

[noparlpf]

Other favourites are my "I can feed 5 people for 3 euros" chili sin carne and a hearty meal of grilled sausage, grey peas, leek and picalilly sauce.

I like chili with beef better, but that's only really affordable when there's a sale on meat.

[Togath]

I'm also trying to recreate the coconut sauce like you get at Chinese buffets up here in New England. Also no success.

Have you tried the juice of coconuts yet?
I know it can be turned into a solid gelatin-like desert, so a sauce doesn't seem too far-fetched(if I can make one out of limes and ginger[with a little starch] I don't see why you couldn't do so with coconut milk/juice)

[warty goblin]

I like chili with beef better, but that's only really affordable when there's a sale on meat.

My general complaint with beef chili is that usually isn't so much chili as liquefied hamburger that contains a few beans.


Made beanburgers for the parents tonight. For some reason my parents are convinced beanburgers are this quasi-alchemical process. Take cooked beans, smash them with a bottle, add an egg or two, salt, pepper, and then stir in flour and rolled oats until it forms a paste that can hold together. Then cook. The only reason I don't have a recipe is that due to the variable moisture content of the beans, the amount of flour and rolled oats isn't fixed.

[noparlpf]

My general complaint with beef chili is that usually isn't so much chili as liquefied hamburger that contains a few beans.

I usually do about fifty-fifty. A pound of dry beans (which like, triple in size by the time they're done cooking) and maybe a pound and a half to two pounds of meat for a pot works pretty well for me.


Made beanburgers for the parents tonight. For some reason my parents are convinced beanburgers are this quasi-alchemical process. Take cooked beans, smash them with a bottle, add an egg or two, salt, pepper, and then stir in flour and rolled oats until it forms a paste that can hold together. Then cook. The only reason I don't have a recipe is that due to the variable moisture content of the beans, the amount of flour and rolled oats isn't fixed.

Ooh, that sounds interesting. If I had any flour or oats or eggs I'd try it...maybe when I get around to shopping this week.

[warty goblin]

I usually do about fifty-fifty. A pound of dry beans (which like, triple in size by the time they're done cooking) and maybe a pound and a half to two pounds of meat for a pot works pretty well for me.

Reasonable. I've made some fairly stellar chili using pork sausage as well, although that I keep quite dry, so I can put it in sandwiches.


Ooh, that sounds interesting. If I had any flour or oats or eggs I'd try it...maybe when I get around to shopping this week.

The only tricks are:
1) Use chickpeas. Other beans work, but chickpeas are by far the best in my experience.

2) Some recipes say you can use a food processor to pulp the beans. In my experience this breaks them down too much, so they don't stick together very well. I put 'em in a bowl and smash them with an empty beer bottle, which breaks the beans apart without cutting the fibers that allow them to bind. It's OK for some of the beans to be intact, or nearly so, just so long as most of them are paste.

3) Just add flour and rolled oats until the paste can be formed into patties that hold together. Oats soak up moisture from the eggs, and the flour makes the bean paste stickier, but the mix is very forgiving. I find it best to stir with a fork, and to wet my hands before pattying out the mix.

[Pepz]

Yeah, the bean burgers definitely sound interesting. I'll give em a try this week.

I love internet cooking tips:



I put 'em in a bowl and smash them with an empty beer bottle,

You won't hear that on Master Chef ;)

[Vizzerdrix]

Have you tried the juice of coconuts yet?
I know it can be turned into a solid gelatin-like desert, so a sauce doesn't seem too far-fetched(if I can make one out of limes and ginger[with a little starch] I don't see why you couldn't do so with coconut milk/juice)

Yup. No luck there. I can taste mayonnaise in it ( as can several of my friends) but I can't get any part of it right. Mayo, coconut oil and sugar was the closest I could get, but it was still off.

[TheThan]

I’m looking for a recipe for a real fruit smoothy that doesn’t use dairy, no milk or yogurt.
I don’t suppose anyone has any such ideas.

[Togath]

Yup. No luck there. I can taste mayonnaise in it ( as can several of my friends) but I can't get any part of it right. Mayo, coconut oil and sugar was the closest I could get, but it was still off.

brown sugar maybe then? or perhaps molasses.

Is it sweet? Spicy? Tangy? Creamy?

[noparlpf]

I’m looking for a recipe for a real fruit smoothy that doesn’t use dairy, no milk or yogurt.
I don’t suppose anyone has any such ideas.

Hmm, try searching for vegan fruit smoothie recipes. Here's some suggestions (http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2012/07/18-healthy-vegan-smoothies/). (They look kind of complicated and fancy though.)

[Karoht]

I’m looking for a recipe for a real fruit smoothy that doesn’t use dairy, no milk or yogurt.
I don’t suppose anyone has any such ideas.

Sadly I don't have a suggestion for you.

But I found a really really cheap and convenient alternative to buying frozen yogurt for smoothies.
Freeze yogurt. I'm 100% serious.
Frozen yogurt per gram works out to about 3 times the cost of an equivilant mass of non-frozen yogurt. Yogurt tends to get put on sale regularly. Buy yogurt, throw it in the freezer. Granted, eating this frozen yogurt isn't as tasty. Mostly because store bought frozen yogurt contains more sugar and flavoring.

The cool part is, you can usually buy those individual sized packs of yogurt on sale at a reasonable price. Throw them in the freezer. Take out one or two when you make a smoothie. Just run some hot water along the bottom, take the top off, push the frozen yogurt out directly into your blender.

And while we are on the topic of healthy smoothies...
Chia seeds and flax seed are actually not too bad in a smoothie, though they aren't for everyone. My advice is throw them into the blender first, and blitz them around a bit. Then add a bit of fruit juice, blitz it some more. Then add the rest of your fruit and yogurt and ice and whatnot.

Hey, you know what would help this topic along?
Orange Mocha Frappuchino's!
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98AzJT8FlmY)

[Ravens_cry]

I’m looking for a recipe for a real fruit smoothy that doesn’t use dairy, no milk or yogurt.
I don’t suppose anyone has any such ideas.
Well, fruit of course. Bananas will add a creaminess without dairy, but a thing that would probably also help would be silken, or soft, tofu. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silken_tofu#Soft.2Fsilken_tofu) If this gets too thick, add some watered down fruit juice.

[mistformsquirrl]

I just made a heaping plate of nachos < . .> Not exactly fancy; but quite tasty and enjoyable.

[Pepz]

I just gave this recipe (http://www.food.com/recipe/mole-mo-lay-sauce-35659?mode=us&scaleto=3.0&st=null) a shot. Basically, it's a very simple version of Mole, a mexican sauce.

The results were pretty cool for a first try. I had a bit too much chocolate and chili powder, but it still tasted great with chicken tortilla's with sour cream.

Does anybody else have experience with making mole and tips on how to make it even tastier?

[Togath]

Well, fruit of course. Bananas will add a creaminess without dairy, but a thing that would probably also help would be silken, or soft, tofu. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silken_tofu#Soft.2Fsilken_tofu) If this gets too thick, add some watered down fruit juice.

If I had to guess, it's less that he wanted a "vegen" thing and more that he, like me, simply doesn't like the flavour of fruit with cream.:smalltongue:

[Ravens_cry]

If I had to guess, it's less that he wanted a "vegen" thing and more that he, like me, simply doesn't like the flavour of fruit with cream.:smalltongue:
In that case, go with the watered down fruit juice as a thinner and use more fruit.

[noparlpf]

If I had to guess, it's less that he wanted a "vegen" thing and more that he, like me, simply doesn't like the flavour of fruit with cream.:smalltongue:

Maybe, but vegan recipes are the obvious first place to look for milk-free smoothies. They come up with some interesting substitutes.

[TheThan]

Dairy often times doesn’t sit well with me. So I try to avoid it. Besides last I had a smoothie with yogurt it was well, sour, probably needed to add some sugar to it.

Anyway, I’m just in the mood for a nice frosty fruity treat or dessert. I’m not really into the whole “live healthy” or vegan lifestyle.

[Dihan]

Once or twice a week I cook with my university friends. Yesterday we made a jambalaya. It went pretty well once we managed to find a lid big enough for the pan. Some of the rice still had some chalky texture, though, but it couldn't be helped. For dessert we made chocolate and marshmallow brownies served with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce. It was quite yummy!

[theangelJean]

Dairy often times doesn’t sit well with me. So I try to avoid it. Besides last I had a smoothie with yogurt it was well, sour, probably needed to add some sugar to it.

Anyway, I’m just in the mood for a nice frosty fruity treat or dessert. I’m not really into the whole “live healthy” or vegan lifestyle.

Simplest frosty fruit treat I've ever heard of, which also happens to be the healthiest:

Choose bananas which aren't overripe. Put straight into the freezer (still in skins). The skins may turn black but the flesh should still be white, even after a few months.

When completely frozen through, carefully peel one for each serving. A knife with a tip is helpful, but the blade doesn't have to be particularly sharp. This stage is messy but worth it.

Chop the peeled banana into large lumps and put into a food processor, still frozen. Start blending. It will go through a lumpy stage, and then a stage with the consistency of soft gelato (where the lumps don't ride up the side of the food processor bowl as much, and it still has tiny ice crystals in it) and finally if you let it go too long/warm up it'll just be banana puree. The soft gelato stage is where you want to stop. Serve ASAP.

If you can top it with fresh passionfruit (several passionfruit for each banana), all the better... We had this a few days ago, and one passionfruit wasn't really enough.

(Yes, it's the middle of winter here. I didn't care!)

[noparlpf]

Simplest frosty fruit treat I've ever heard of, which also happens to be the healthiest:

Choose bananas which aren't overripe. Put straight into the freezer (still in skins). The skins may turn black but the flesh should still be white, even after a few months.

When completely frozen through, carefully peel one for each serving. A knife with a tip is helpful, but the blade doesn't have to be particularly sharp. This stage is messy but worth it.

Chop the peeled banana into large lumps and put into a food processor, still frozen. Start blending. It will go through a lumpy stage, and then a stage with the consistency of soft gelato (where the lumps don't ride up the side of the food processor bowl as much, and it still has tiny ice crystals in it) and finally if you let it go too long/warm up it'll just be banana puree. The soft gelato stage is where you want to stop. Serve ASAP.

If you can top it with fresh passionfruit (several passionfruit for each banana), all the better... We had this a few days ago, and one passionfruit wasn't really enough.

(Yes, it's the middle of winter here. I didn't care!)

Can't you do it with pre-peeled bananas? Seems like it would be much easier if the peel isn't required for some arcane reason involving how it freezes.

[TheThan]

i imagine it'll probably turn black or something being all exposed to the air and such.

That treat sounds interesting. i don't think i've ever frozen a banana before.

[noparlpf]

i imagine it'll probably turn black or something being all exposed to the air and such.

That treat sounds interesting. i don't think i've ever frozen a banana before.

I've frozen peeled bananas before, as it's much easier than working with the brittle frozen peel, and they stay pale yellow. It's just the peels that will turn brown. It would have to be some arcane thing to do with crystal formation or something. I imagine it would work fine with pre-peeled bananas, as long as you freeze them in an airtight plastic bag or something.

[Ravens_cry]

I've frozen peeled bananas before, as it's much easier than working with the brittle frozen peel, and they stay pale yellow. It's just the peels that will turn brown. It would have to be some arcane thing to do with crystal formation or something. I imagine it would work fine with pre-peeled bananas, as long as you freeze them in an airtight plastic bag or something.
It isn't, they turn quite brown in my experience. It's fine if you are making banana bread, my usual use for frozen bananas, but a smoothie? Ick.

[noparlpf]

It isn't, they turn quite brown in my experience. It's fine if you are making banana bread, my usual use for frozen bananas, but a smoothie? Ick.

Hm. Might have to do with how airtight the seal is, or the temperature of the freezer (and how quickly they freeze), maybe.

[warty goblin]

Or how long they're frozen. I've used bananas frozen peel-off for a couple of days, and they look like bananas, with no additional browning.

[TheThan]

So I was looking in the freezer, and I’ve found some sort of frozen smoothie mix, you just throw the stuff in a blender, put in some apple juice and hit ze button. I’m going to try that and see how it comes out.

On a side note. I just made some tropical chicken fajitas.


Tropical Chicken Fajitas

Salsa
ingredients
2 tomatoes
1 Green bell pepper, quartered
1 onion, quartered
1 hot pepper, chopped, optional
1 Pineapple, chopped (or 1 can chopped pineapples, 8oz.)
2 ounces Lime juice
2 avocados, pealed, and quartered

Combine tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, peppers, pineapples and avocados in food processor and blend for three seconds. Add lime juice and blend for three more seconds. Serve with tortilla chips or apply as a marinade for fajitas.

Fajitas

6 Boneless, skinless chicken breast
Salt and pepper
1 Onion, sliced
1 Red bell pepper, sliced
1 Green bell pepper, sliced
12 medium Flour tortillas

Puncture chicken with fork. Marinade the chicken breasts in half of the salsa for a minimum of two hours (preferably over night). Remove from marinade and discard marinade. Grill chicken until done, salt and pepper to taste. After chicken is done, let chicken rest for a few minutes, then slice them into strips. grill the onions and bell peppers until soft and sweet or sauté them in butter butter until soft and sweet. Warm tortillas then place some chicken strips, onions and bell peppers into the tortillas and fold into burritos. Serve with tortilla chips and additional salsa. (I apply salsa directly to fajitas instead.)

[warty goblin]

Tonight: Saurkraut, dumplings and sausage. The ultimate in German peasant comfort food. Only problem is every time I make it, my underwear turn into Lederhosen.

[theangelJean]

Whoops, forgot to check the thread for replies.


Can't you do it with pre-peeled bananas? Seems like it would be much easier if the peel isn't required for some arcane reason involving how it freezes.


I've frozen peeled bananas before, as it's much easier than working with the brittle frozen peel, and they stay pale yellow. It's just the peels that will turn brown. It would have to be some arcane thing to do with crystal formation or something. I imagine it would work fine with pre-peeled bananas, as long as you freeze them in an airtight plastic bag or something.


It isn't, they turn quite brown in my experience. It's fine if you are making banana bread, my usual use for frozen bananas, but a smoothie? Ick.

I'm not certain on the best way to freeze bananas and still be able to eat them blended. I've tried this recipe precisely twice, the first time with bananas I'd peeled and wrapped in foil (I think I saw that in a cookbook), and the second time with unpeeled ones. The ones I'd frozen in their skins turned out great, while the foil-wrapped ones had turned brown on the outside, and when I'd blended them the result was brown and overly sweet. However this could be for a few reasons:

- Both times the bananas had been in the freezer at least a couple of months. Peeled bananas frozen for a week might be just fine. I'd suggest freezing them for at least a day though, to give the ice crystals time to make it all the way through. Airtight plastic bag is a good suggestion.
- I might have just blended the foil-wrapped ones in the food processor too long the first time, whereas I was careful not to leave it too long the second time, so it had a better consistency.
- I used a larger volume of bananas (two in one go rather than a single one) the second time, so they might have stayed colder.
- Not sure if the foil-wrapped ones were overripe.

I'm sure that we can apply the scientific method here... :P

Just looking up "frozen banana soft serve" it seems that freezing them peeled, in plastic bags, is the most popular method. Can't find the original website where I saw the suggestion to freeze them in their skins. Anyway, have fun and enjoy :)

[Krazzman]

First of the following, except for the Burger recipe, is going to be nearly Vegan. As in we try to refrain from eating meat and using Milk-products out of Cows.

Let's start with the Burger:
We usually just bought the bread or we used a "Fladenbrot" (Flatbread/Pitabread) to prepare for it we either toasted it in the oven or in the pan, depending on how we felt / what stuff we took.
Ingredients:
100% Beef (Cow) Minced meat
Onion
Pineapple
Flatbread/other bread
Olive Oil
Teriyaki Sauce (or Marinade)
Soy Sauce
Cayenne Pepper (powder)
Garlic (powder works best, with fresh or pickled garlic works too but is "clunikier")
BBQ-Sauce
Mayonnaise (we use Remoulade from Tomy or Miracle Whip)
Eggs
Cheese (we either used Emmentaler or Goatcheese as both are lactose free)

Step one:
Dice some onions. Filet an Pineapple to get rings. Take your loved BBQ sauce(tomaty-fruity works best). prepare some salad. Get 100% Beef Minced Meat. Either do it yourself or buy it with the knowledge of enough quality. Bad meat makes you cry and don't even dare to ask to use pork in it.

Mix Meat with Cayenne Pepper, Garlic(either Powder or freshly pressed) Teriyaki Sauce and Soy sauce.
Per pound of meat use: 1 Egg, 2 Spoons of each sauce, 2 Tablespoons of Garlic and 1 Tablespoon of Cayenne Pepper.
Mix and form patties.

Step two:
Toast Bread. Cut it open, lower half gets mayo and salad. Upper half gets Barbequesauced. (If using Flatbread wait with the onions until the end)
Onion in olive oil. Then on the barequesauced upper half. Make the patties, Tunr them once then add cheese right in the pan. Put on bread, put pineappleslice on top and Close bread.

In our meateating past we literally couldn't stop eating until every last bit was gone.

Now the more Veggie stuff:
Zucchini + Spring Onions + Rice or Pasta is our normal "goto" recipe. Maybe add Eggplant.

Generally marinading stuff is done via:
Olive or Nutoil + Garlic + Cayenne Pepper + Salt + Agaven Dicksaft (basically vegan honey, you could also use Maple Syrup which is likely cheaper overseas than here).

Minced Soya has to stay in hot water(not boiling, add Vegetable stock) for 20 to 30 minutes and then has to be marinaded.

Lasagna:

This is still in the we need to test phase... used Cheese so far but will probably switch to Almonds soon.
Ingredients:
Eggplant
Zucchini
Tomatoes (sieved)
Onions
Spring Onions
Champignions
Corn
Tofu
Pastastuff (those Plates of Pasta)
Joghurt
Spice and Herbs (Kräuter)

Mix Joghurt with Herbs. Roast grinded Tofu(or Minced Soya), keep in mind that you have to marinade it first, spice it and add onions and spring onions. Put Vegetables in a pot and make stew out of it. Add a little water so it doesn't glues on the bottom of the pot. Add Tofu/Soya + Onions to it.

Put a bit in a form. Add Pastaplates. Put a bit in a form. Add Pastaplates repeat until either you have no more Plates or Vegetables/form is full. cover the last plates with the Joghurt herb/spice mix add cheese. (dunno where we would put the almondcreme).


We recently tried our first quiche.
We just used a random recipe and replaced everything out of milk with the soya equivalent. Packed mangold(? sort of spinachy) and celery in it. Was tasty but I would replace the celery with onions and pears the next time.

We even tried making Semmelknödel (bread Dumpling ourselves) they were quite tasty too but I can't remember the recipe of the top of my head.

[warty goblin]

So it turns out you can substitute bacon grease for the butter in dumplings. This discovery may revolutionize my entire life.

[Death by DM]

The most exotic thing I made recently...is...uh...mac and cheese. From the box. With some help. :smallredface: Perhaps I shouldn't post on this thread.

[Knaight]

The most exotic thing I made recently...is...uh...mac and cheese. From the box. With some help. :smallredface: Perhaps I shouldn't post on this thread.

This is exactly why you need to be posting on this thread - you can get advice on how to make not-box mac and cheese. It's really simple, generally cheaper, and essentially guaranteed to end up better.


Knaight's Mac And Cheese For Lazy Slackers Who Don't Want To Make A Roux*

The Pasta
Get a big pot.
Put some water in it. Make sure that there is enough to submerge the pasta, no cooking experience is needed, but knowledge of volume is helpful.
Toss some salt in the pot. This is important.
Splash a bit of olive oil in the pot.
Boil the saltwater.
Add dry pasta to the boiling water.
Cook for about ten minutes. The pasta should be flexible, but not squishy.
Strain the pasta, and put it back in the pot.

The Cheese

Toss some milk in the pasta. You want a thin layer at the bottom of the pan, maybe 1/8 in. (.25 cm) deep.
Cut some slices of cheese. Cheddar works well, and mixing multiple kinds often works better. Mostly white cheddar with a bit of pepper jack is my prefered method.
Stir together over low heat.
Add spices. Garlic is good, lemon pepper is good, hot sauce is good, whatever. I use lots of spices in complex mixtures, but that can wait
When you have an even consistency, turn the heat off.
Optional: Put the macaroni and cheese in a large glass pan, preheat the oven to about 375 F (180 C), and cook until it browns. Adding a layer of grated cheese before doing this can also work.

Note: The actual Knaight style anything involves adding a lot of vegetables, which in this case pretty much consists of sticking lots and lots of vegetables in the boiling pasta water at various points. Carrots go in early, onions near the middle, broccoli late, and cauliflower really late.


*Developed on account of how I'm a lazy slacker who doesn't want to make a roux.

[warty goblin]

Going through my fridge, I realized I have half a bottle of some truly vile white wine I liberated from a conference a while back. It's far too wretched to actually drink, so does anybody have any good cooking suggestions for it? If it were a red, I'd make a ber rouge or however it's spelled, but I don't really know so many good uses for bad white wine, and don't feel like marsala sauce.

Or I guess I could buy some used furniture, and using it to strip paint.

[Krazzman]

Toss some salt in the pot. This is important.


Ok, I might be misremembering something here, but why do you toss salt in water to cook pasta? The salt will most likely not be absorbed and actually drags the cooking process out longer by around 1 to 10 minutes depending on your stove.
I know we cook our pasta without adding salt because else we would be wasting water.

We were lazy yesterday evening. Frozen "Asia Vegetables" in the pan with some fresh vegetables and that was it...

@warty
You can make your "favourite" white sauce and add a dash of the vine to it. A dash as in 1 shot, if you cook quite much then maybe add a second shot.

[factotum]

So it turns out you can substitute bacon grease for the butter in dumplings.

You put butter in dumplings? :smallconfused: Every time I make them it's basically just flour, suet and water...

[Aedilred]

Going through my fridge, I realized I have half a bottle of some truly vile white wine I liberated from a conference a while back. It's far too wretched to actually drink, so does anybody have any good cooking suggestions for it? If it were a red, I'd make a ber rouge or however it's spelled, but I don't really know so many good uses for bad white wine, and don't feel like marsala sauce.

Or I guess I could buy some used furniture, and using it to strip paint.
Assuming the bottle is still sealed, white wine goes well in a risotto, although you'd need to make a lot of risotto to use up a whole bottle.

I've also seen recipes for hot and sour soup that use sherry, so white wine might be able to fill in. Some other rice dishes might benefit from a splash of wine. With some imagination, you could probably use it in a curry - something like a dhansak which would normally have a lot of vinegar, you could substitute the wine, perhaps.

If the bottle's been open for more than a couple of days, though, it's vinegar. Chuck it, or use it for scouring pans or something.

[thubby]

I’m looking for a recipe for a real fruit smoothy that doesn’t use dairy, no milk or yogurt.
I don’t suppose anyone has any such ideas.

omg yes.
in a blender:
8 full sized (square) ice cubes, 1 banana, orange juice until the blender can function properly, a tablespoon of sugar or honey if you want sweet at the expense of pure health value.

for creamy banana smoothie, use 2 bananas and a dairy substitute as liquid. add vanilla to taste.

makes 2 mid-large sized glasses.

any smoothy can work without milk, you just need something to thicken it. strawberry, mango, and bananas do that. melons, citrus, and most other berries won't. apples have never works well for me ever.

pear and apple juice make good liquids to use as a base because they're mild in flavor but sweet.
coconut milk and almond milk make for good milk substitutes but don't go too crazy on either until you know how your stomach takes it. coconut is a mild diuretic and almond milk is obviously nut based.

i will mention silk only because it exists and somehow people like drinking paper :smalltongue:


You put butter in dumplings? :smallconfused: Every time I make them it's basically just flour, suet and water...

suet and butter are both animal fat, they're doing the same thing.

[thubby]

This is exactly why you need to be posting on this thread - you can get advice on how to make not-box mac and cheese. It's really simple, generally cheaper, and essentially guaranteed to end up better.


Knaight's Mac And Cheese For Lazy Slackers Who Don't Want To Make A Roux*

The Pasta
Get a big pot.
Put some water in it. Make sure that there is enough to submerge the pasta, no cooking experience is needed, but knowledge of volume is helpful.
Toss some salt in the pot. This is important.
Splash a bit of olive oil in the pot.
Boil the saltwater.
Add dry pasta to the boiling water.
Cook for about ten minutes. The pasta should be flexible, but not squishy.
Strain the pasta, and put it back in the pot.

The Cheese

Toss some milk in the pasta. You want a thin layer at the bottom of the pan, maybe 1/8 in. (.25 cm) deep.
Cut some slices of cheese. Cheddar works well, and mixing multiple kinds often works better. Mostly white cheddar with a bit of pepper jack is my prefered method.
Stir together over low heat.
Add spices. Garlic is good, lemon pepper is good, hot sauce is good, whatever. I use lots of spices in complex mixtures, but that can wait
When you have an even consistency, turn the heat off.
Optional: Put the macaroni and cheese in a large glass pan, preheat the oven to about 375 F (180 C), and cook until it browns. Adding a layer of grated cheese before doing this can also work.

Note: The actual Knaight style anything involves adding a lot of vegetables, which in this case pretty much consists of sticking lots and lots of vegetables in the boiling pasta water at various points. Carrots go in early, onions near the middle, broccoli late, and cauliflower really late.


*Developed on account of how I'm a lazy slacker who doesn't want to make a roux.

the closest blend i have found to match that box flavor many grew up with is a combination of cheddar, colby/jack, extra salt, and a tiny bit of ketchup of all things.


Ok, I might be misremembering something here, but why do you toss salt in water to cook pasta? The salt will most likely not be absorbed and actually drags the cooking process out longer by around 1 to 10 minutes depending on your stove.
I know we cook our pasta without adding salt because else we would be wasting water.
.

the salt raises the boiling point which allows the inside to reach temperature more quickly, preventing pasta from being gooey on the outside and firm on the inside.
in theory, anyway. in practice 1-2 servings of spaghetti don't care.

[Aedilred]

When cooking pasta (and rice) I boil the water (with salt) before putting the pasta/rice in. It might take a minute or two longer to boil the water in the first place but it makes little to no difference once the pasta is in. As mentioned above, the raised boiling point probably actually helps cook the pasta more quickly and evenly.

On the subject of cooking pasta, I once heard a story of someone who broke spaghetti in half to fit it in the pan. I assumed this was just an urban legend told to frighten foodies, or something, but the other day I saw someone actually do it. I was nearly speechless.

[TechnOkami]

I made Chocolate Mousse...

...with avocado's.

[Castaras]

Has anyone had any experience in making mayonnaise dressings for pasta? A supermarket near me had an amazing mayonnaise pasta, but it was a little too acidic for me, so was going to try make my own.

Was "Cooked Pasta in Mayonnaise dressing with basil", and had a load of lemon and vinegar in as well.

[thubby]

On the subject of cooking pasta, I once heard a story of someone who broke spaghetti in half to fit it in the pan. I assumed this was just an urban legend told to frighten foodies, or something, but the other day I saw someone actually do it. I was nearly speechless.

all it does is change the shape of the pasta. if you're cooking for 1, a sauce pan won't hold the full length dried spaghetti.
if you want to get flustered about it, i will criticize you're using of dried pasta as opposed to freshly made (which is messy but surprisingly easy)

[The Succubus]

Has anyone had any experience in making mayonnaise dressings for pasta? A supermarket near me had an amazing mayonnaise pasta, but it was a little too acidic for me, so was going to try make my own.

Was "Cooked Pasta in Mayonnaise dressing with basil", and had a load of lemon and vinegar in as well.

It's worth remembering that mayonnaise already has vinegar in it, so if the basil has a vinegarette dressing as well, it will be very acidic. Ideally, you want to use a light vinegar, such as a white wine one over the traditional sort. Something like this:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10870/watercress-mayonnaise

You might need to fine tune this recipe though as watercress and basil have very different flavours.


I'm thinking about making gingerbread for this week's blog entry. Gingerbread koalas, if I can find a decent template. >.>

[Aedilred]

all it does is change the shape of the pasta. if you're cooking for 1, a sauce pan won't hold the full length dried spaghetti.
if you want to get flustered about it, i will criticize you're using of dried pasta as opposed to freshly made (which is messy but surprisingly easy)
It just seems so... pointless. If the spaghetti was meant to be broken in half it wouldn't come in that length! It's a piece of cake to get the whole piece into even a small pan, since it softens so quickly.

Given that I only really eat spaghetti dishes (with a previously bulk-made sauce) when I haven't got the time or energy to cook anything else, making fresh spaghetti each time isn't really an option. In any case, I've also been reliably informed that for most kinds of pasta, including spaghetti, dried pasta is more "authentic" anyway.

[thubby]

It just seems so... pointless. If the spaghetti was meant to be broken in half it wouldn't come in that length! It's a piece of cake to get the whole piece into even a small pan, since it softens so quickly.


last i checked spaghetti doesnt come in universal lengths, but all i know is that my farberware saucepan won't keep the stuff in at full length.

[Krazzman]

Ok, about breaking Spaghetti... why not? I don't like them too long anyway and now they fit in the pot without me having to whirl till they are all submerged. We don't use "normal" spaghetti since the spelt spaghetti we buy are really tasty even without salt our sauce.
Only when cooking for our Pen and Paper group (is most likely spaghetti or rice) we use "normal spaghetti" as in discounterstuff. We even tried out wholemeal spaghetti but they are thicker and not that good in taste.


As a substitute for milk in smoothies you could also try out Soy-rice-milk. But if you don't want anything dairy in it then I think every fiber-fruit (Kaki, Mango or similar) works if stretched with a fitting juice.

[thubby]

fun fact, you can't actually break spaghetti in half. it will always break into 3 pieces if bent.

[Aedilred]

fun fact, you can't actually break spaghetti in half. it will always break into 3 pieces if bent.
That's even worse! If you're going to smash up your spaghetti into splinters, why not just use penne or fusilli?

I've never had a problem with getting spaghetti into a pan of any size (provided that I don't use more volume of spaghetti than the pan will physically hold, of course); really long spaghetti can be a bit of a pain, but I don't eat the really long stuff very often.

[Castaras]

It's worth remembering that mayonnaise already has vinegar in it, so if the basil has a vinegarette dressing as well, it will be very acidic. Ideally, you want to use a light vinegar, such as a white wine one over the traditional sort. Something like this:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10870/watercress-mayonnaise

You might need to fine tune this recipe though as watercress and basil have very different flavours.

Beautiful, thanks very much for the advice and recipe! :smallbiggrin:

Just made a load. Most has gone into the fridge to chill, and a little is now my chip dip. :3

[Knaight]

Ok, I might be misremembering something here, but why do you toss salt in water to cook pasta? The salt will most likely not be absorbed and actually drags the cooking process out longer by around 1 to 10 minutes depending on your stove.
Generally speaking, there is already some salt in the pasta that is part of the flavor. If you don't toss salt in that salt comes out, and the pasta loses some flavor.

[Dihan]

I made a Thai green curry with my friends yesterday. It was pretty good. :smallbiggrin:

[factotum]

I made a Thai green curry with my friends yesterday.


Most people use chicken, but whatever works for you, I guess... :smallbiggrin:

[Karoht]

Generally speaking, there is already some salt in the pasta that is part of the flavor. If you don't toss salt in that salt comes out, and the pasta loses some flavor.It also keeps it firm or 'toothy' as it is sometimes called. As the starch goes out it loses it's consistency. Basically, it keeps your pasta from turning into glue. Pasta should be al dente, not soggy goopy mushy shapes of starch.

Al dente is a difficult term to pin down. Google it for better answers.
Rice should also be Al dente, but this varies greatly between varieties of rice.

[noparlpf]

I have a question. Do fruit preserves in sealed airtight containers spoil?

[warty goblin]

I have a question. Do fruit preserves in sealed airtight containers spoil?

You mean like canned jam? Probably eventually, but if the seal remains good and they were properly canned in the first place, they should last years to decades. If the seal is broken when you retrieve it from storage though, do not eat it! That's a fast way to end up very dead.

If you mean a jam or similar in tupperware or suchlike, it'll mold eventually. Usually jams are so sweet this takes quite a while, particularly if kept in the fridge.

[Death by DM]

This is exactly why you need to be posting on this thread - you can get advice on how to make not-box mac and cheese. It's really simple, generally cheaper, and essentially guaranteed to end up better.


Knaight's Mac And Cheese For Lazy Slackers Who Don't Want To Make A Roux*

The Pasta
Get a big pot.
Put some water in it. Make sure that there is enough to submerge the pasta, no cooking experience is needed, but knowledge of volume is helpful.
Toss some salt in the pot. This is important.
Splash a bit of olive oil in the pot.
Boil the saltwater.
Add dry pasta to the boiling water.
Cook for about ten minutes. The pasta should be flexible, but not squishy.
Strain the pasta, and put it back in the pot.

The Cheese

Toss some milk in the pasta. You want a thin layer at the bottom of the pan, maybe 1/8 in. (.25 cm) deep.
Cut some slices of cheese. Cheddar works well, and mixing multiple kinds often works better. Mostly white cheddar with a bit of pepper jack is my prefered method.
Stir together over low heat.
Add spices. Garlic is good, lemon pepper is good, hot sauce is good, whatever. I use lots of spices in complex mixtures, but that can wait
When you have an even consistency, turn the heat off.
Optional: Put the macaroni and cheese in a large glass pan, preheat the oven to about 375 F (180 C), and cook until it browns. Adding a layer of grated cheese before doing this can also work.

Note: The actual Knaight style anything involves adding a lot of vegetables, which in this case pretty much consists of sticking lots and lots of vegetables in the boiling pasta water at various points. Carrots go in early, onions near the middle, broccoli late, and cauliflower really late.


*Developed on account of how I'm a lazy slacker who doesn't want to make a roux.
Thanks! I'll take that into account, even though box mac and cheese is tasty, super easy, and..uh...tasty. :smallbiggrin: Hey, I'm a learning cook. I plan to help with dinner... at some point.

Edit: I just remembered I probably can't use this very soon because my brother hates cheese. :smallfrown:

[Togath]

Tips for ramen spices?
I've recently started using my own instead of the packets.. but am curious what other people like for them.

My last two batches had;
1/2 cup soy sauce(added to the water)
3 packets/6 pieces of ramen
1 teaspoon of five spice powder
2 teaspoons of chile oil
2 teaspoons of curry powder(British, I realize, but it still tastes good)
1 tablespoon of beef bouillon

edit: I minor note, I only cook ramen noodles until just barely cooked, and then drain before seasoning(I often eat it at about room temperature as well)

[Karoht]

Fun trick I learned about making Ramen when I was in grade school.

Make the ramen with as little water as you can afford to use. Really, just enough to cover, and use a small pot.
The key here is, get the water boiling, add the stock packet, and let it reduce just a bit. Dump in ramen. Stir very carefully. Add in just a drop or two of oil, keeps it from turning into glue, and it prevents it from sticking to the bottom.
Keep it on the heat at boiling temperature until the stock reduces. As much as possible. You should have a slightly thick sauce-like substance along with your noodles. Add in chili oil and other seasonings, keep the noodles moving, keep going until you find a consistancy you like.

Warning, this will be salty, possibly overly so depending on your tastes.

[warty goblin]

Chocolate chip pancakes are nice lunch food. Also nice breakfast and dinner food. Here's a recipe that feeds one:

1 cup all purpose/bread flour
1/2 cup stoneground cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
some salt

2 eggs
1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups milk.
1 tablespoon melted butter
some vanilla extract.

Combine dries in one bowl, wets in another, stir separately then combine. Add chocolate chips to taste. I like to top these with yogurt and a honey sauce.

[thubby]

I have a question. Do fruit preserves in sealed airtight containers spoil?

no. anything properly jarred or canned stays good almost indefinitely. as in it will outlive you.
in fact, many supermarket products like that have expiration dates not because of the contents but because the containment is only rated to last so long.\

of course, use your best judgement and dispose of anything that seems questionable.

[Karoht]

Best Before dates are a guarantee of quality.
As in, the product is in it's Best condition Before that date.
But don't chance it with Mayo or salad dressings.


When we first moved into our house, my fiancee and I bought a huge crate of Mac and Cheese. We figured it was just a staple of living cheap, we wanted to be prepared.
We never got around to eating it for two years. Then we're both like 'hey I could go for some Mac and Cheese' and started cooking it up.
We threw all of it away when we went to add the cheese powder. It had turned brown. We also noticed the pasta went kind of glue-like in very very short order. And it smelled particularly bad.

I really really hope the hobos in our area didn't sift through our trash and think they hit paydirt when they found that stuff. Come to think about it, homeless joe seemed to stop coming around our way about that time. :smallfrown:


And thats when we learned how to make mac and cheese from scratch.
Cheese curds. Tiny amount of fresh mozzarella. So delicious.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

We discovered that it's 10x cheaper to buy bulk orange cheese powder from a bulk store and then get macaroni than it is to buy Kraft Dinner (Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for all you heathen non-Canadians). Tastes exactly the same, even better because you can add as much cheesy powder sauce as you want

[warty goblin]

Best Before dates are a guarantee of quality.
As in, the product is in it's Best condition Before that date.
But don't chance it with Mayo or salad dressings.


Although for seriously canned food, they're often decent well past that date. I once had some ten year out of date clam juice; can't say it was good, but I didn't get sick or anything.

[Castaras]

I like making my own mac cheese.

Take bit of butter. Melt it.

Add some salt and a little bit of flour.

Pour in a load of milk (500-750ml depending on how much you want to make).

Add in uncooked macaroni. Lots of it.

Add in some uncooked peas or broccolli, depending on what you prefer.

Keep stirring, keep simmering at a reasonable heat until pasta is cooked and the milk/butter/flour/salt has mixed fully and the milk is a little thicker than before.

Take off heat, put in loads of cheese (I use mozzarella because stringy) and keep stirring it until it's all cheesey and goopy and delish.

Then eat.

Warning: You may well have made too much. It doesn't reheat well, which is its only failing. I don't know exact amounts of ingredients because I never do exact.

[Togath]

Helped a friend smoke a brisket steak today..
We pulled it at 7 hours(was 4.77lb at the start) and roughly 1405-148 Fahrenheit..

seems like a good time/temperature?
Tasted fine to me.. but I don't eat many smoked things, So I figured I'd ask here what you guys thought of the end temperature and cooking time.

[scienceguy8]

1405 Fahrenheit

Considering certain aluminum alloys melt at that temperature, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that your brisket was a touch dry.

Joking aside, an internal temp of 148 in a 5 pound brisket sounds high enough. I mean, if the USDA says a burger should be 160 in the middle, a brisket could stand to be a touch cooler in its center without much risk.

Can you tell I've never smoked anything before, but want to try? I'm thinking two unglazed flower pots, a round grill grate, and an electric hotplate.

[Chessgeek]

Heh. Seeing a cooking thread made by "scienceguy8" made me think of the time my chemistry teacher tried to make hamburgers on heat plates. Good times. :smallamused:

I haven't made anything more adventurous than scrambled eggs in a while, but now I want to try out some of the recipes in here. Curse you all for inspiring me! :smalltongue:

[warty goblin]

Joking aside, an internal temp of 148 in a 5 pound brisket sounds high enough. I mean, if the USDA says a burger should be 160 in the middle, a brisket could stand to be a touch cooler in its center without much risk.

Every time somebody cooks a hamburger to 160, a chef somewhere cries. It's like lamb past medium rare; why would you do that to the poor meat?

(The best hamburger I've ever had probably had an internal temp of 100 or so. It was like sex for my mouth.)

[TheThan]

I'm making

Stir fried beef with zucchini

1 pound beef flank or boneless sirloin steak
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Dash of white pepper

1 pound zucchini
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup chicken broth

Trim fat from beef; cut with grain into 2- inch strips. Cut strips across the grain into 1/8th inch slices. Toss beef with vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon soy sauce and a dash of white pepper in glass or plastic bowl. Cover and refrigerate 20 minutes.

Cut zucchini length wise into halves; cut each half diagonally into 1/4th inch slices. Cut onion in half. Place each half upside down and cut into thin slices. Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch and water.

Heat wok until 1 or two drops of water bubble and skitter when sprinkled in wok. Add 3 tablespoons vegetable oil and coat pan. Add beef and garlic; stir fry until beef is brown; about 3 minutes. Remove beef from wok.

Add 3 tablespoons vegetable oil to wok, coating sides. Add onion, stir fry until tender; about 2 minutes. Add zucchini, stir-fry 1 minute. Stir in one tablespoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir in chicken broth, heat to boiling, stir in beef; heat to boiling, stir in cornstarch mixture; cook and stir until thickened. About 20 seconds.

5 servings.


The problem is that the zucchini at the store today looked awful so I pick up some yellow squash instead. It should come out fine. That’s the beauty of sir fry, mixing and matching, or straight substitutions of ingredients is easy and actually kinda hard to screw up real bad.

[MetDitto]

Just got a wok for college, anyone have any recipes for that?

[thubby]

throw in all available food products, heat, add sauce, consume.

honestly, stir fry isn't complicated.

[Erloas]

no. anything properly jarred or canned stays good almost indefinitely. as in it will outlive you.
in fact, many supermarket products like that have expiration dates not because of the contents but because the containment is only rated to last so long.
Actually from what I've read there are 2 primary reasons for expiration dates on some items (like vinegar, which has been found in tombs and is still good to eat hundreds of years later). One is the consumer, a lot of people get suspicious of foods that have been around too long. They don't want to go into a store and buy a product that has been sitting on the shelf for 5 years even if it is still good.
The second is the producers, they want you to use stuff faster. If you look at the item and see it expires in a few months you might go out of your way to make something to use it up. Or you open that seldom used cabinet and find something that had expired 6 months ago then you're going to just go ahead and toss the rest.

Funny store, at my grandparents house a few years ago someone got a can of... something from their back room (spam equivalent? maybe) and ate it. It was some time later the question of how old it was came up and the rumor was that it expired in something like 1988. My grandma insisted it couldn't have been that old but the container was tossed before before someone else checked it. No one got sick. Was it really that old (my grandparents have been living in that house for probably 60 years or more at this point) or did someone just read a number incorrectly.


I've been cooking even more recently. I started Whole30 about a month ago now. Haven't been following it exactly but trying the best I can. I've made some pretty good things.
Making frittatas quite a bit recently, first ones weren't that great but they have gotten a lot better. Not sure if it is consistency (picked up a food processor recently), or just a small change in what I'm doing or the fact that I'm cooking it in cast iron now (didn't have one before, pre-cooked everything then put it in a baking pan to finish it off). Can put all sorts of stuff in it. Last one had turnip, spaghetti squash and carrots that I first grilled, along with quite a few other things.
Grilled carrots are pretty good but it takes a while to get them soft without burning them.

Made a couple batches of guacamole and they have all been good with just enough heat to it.

Green smoothies are hardly cooking but I've made them a few times now. The fruit is what makes them eatable, they can get unappetizing looking though.

Kale chips are a lot better then I expected them to be. Easy too, worth a shot cooking them if anyone is interested.


As for breaking spaghetti noodles, I always used to do that (and still would if I ate pasta). It wasn't just to fit them in the pot, it was also because they were always just too long to eat before and it was just annoying and it was easier to "cut" them when they were dry instead of on your plate. :P

[noparlpf]

Actually from what I've read there are 2 primary reasons for expiration dates on some items (like vinegar, which has been found in tombs and is still good to eat hundreds of years later). One is the consumer, a lot of people get suspicious of foods that have been around too long. They don't want to go into a store and buy a product that has been sitting on the shelf for 5 years even if it is still good.
The second is the producers, they want you to use stuff faster. If you look at the item and see it expires in a few months you might go out of your way to make something to use it up. Or you open that seldom used cabinet and find something that had expired 6 months ago then you're going to just go ahead and toss the rest.

Well, the jar of blueberry preserves that I vaguely remember buying in Maine several years ago was tasty.
Personally I don't tend to buy things and just leave them around. I have a tight food budget, so if I buy something, it's to eat. Or it's something you can store for months like pasta or beans that I buy in bulk when they're on sale.


Funny store, at my grandparents house a few years ago someone got a can of... something from their back room (spam equivalent? maybe) and ate it. It was some time later the question of how old it was came up and the rumor was that it expired in something like 1988. My grandma insisted it couldn't have been that old but the container was tossed before before someone else checked it. No one got sick. Was it really that old (my grandparents have been living in that house for probably 60 years or more at this point) or did someone just read a number incorrectly.

One time in middle school we were doing some community service. During a break, a couple of us wandered down into the basement of the place. We found a soda machine tucked under the stairs in the basement, but plugged in and running. It gave us a variety of sodas (mostly Coke and Pepsi) from the late eighties and early nineties for five cents a can.

[THAC0]

I'm on a soup kick. Yesterday was tomato and bread soup, today will be tomato and butternut squash.

Yum.

[Dihan]

As part of my weekly cooking with friends thing, we'll be making a stroganoff... I'm really running out of friends to cook with now. :smallamused:

[The Succubus]

As part of my weekly cooking with friends thing, we'll be making a stroganoff... I'm really running out of friends to cook with now. :smallamused:

Oooo...try West Country Mushroom Stroganoff. You use dry cider in the sauce instead of white wine. Gives it a wonderful flavour kick. ^_^

[Haiiro87]

I can only make hamburgers, but they taste pretty good so I'm happy :smallwink:

[Dihan]

Oooo...try West Country Mushroom Stroganoff. You use dry cider in the sauce instead of white wine. Gives it a wonderful flavour kick. ^_^

Well we didn't use any alcohol because of student budgets and stuff... And our local supermarket is useless. We had to substitute soured cream for creme fraiche. We also had to use stewing beef rather than frying steak because of costs and quantities. It wasn't the most successful of dishes we've made but it didn't taste too bad.

[Ravens_cry]

I just made something amazing. I made this (http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Bacon-Chive-Potato-Salad) before, but, while tasty, it needed something. So, while the potatoes were cooking, I used the bacon fat from making the bacon bits to slowly, oh, so slowly, caramelize a thinly sliced onion.
This has been added to the everything. The whole thing will now sit in the refrigerator for over 16 hours, plenty of time for the flavors to meld and work their alchemy.
I have high hopes for this.

[Aedilred]

I'm off to the Oval tomorrow for (hopefully) a day watching the cricket, and I'm planning on taking a picnic. Anyone have any great ideas for things to make and/or take?

Unfortunately I can't take any cutlery other than the worst kind of plastic ones, so things which require slicing or cutting on the scene are probably out. I'll pre-slice a loaf of good bread before I leave.

[Crow]

I'm off to the Oval tomorrow for (hopefully) a day watching the cricket, and I'm planning on taking a picnic. Anyone have any great ideas for things to make and/or take?

Unfortunately I can't take any cutlery other than the worst kind of plastic ones, so things which require slicing or cutting on the scene are probably out. I'll pre-slice a loaf of good bread before I leave.

Almond butter and honey on squaw bread makes a great "peanut butter" and honey sandwich.

[Ravens_cry]

Greek salad is quite easy to make, mostly chopping, and very delicious.
Hummus is even simpler, and delicious with any kind of cracker.
Natural* peanut butter makes a nice, cheap, and easy to find substitute for tahini.
*Not organic. I mean the peanut butter without anything but peanuts and maybe salt.

[Crow]

Natural* peanut butter makes a nice, cheap, and easy to find substitute for tahini.
*Not organic. I mean the peanut butter without anything but peanuts and maybe salt.

You can make your own if you have a food processor!

[Pepz]

hey guys,

I have a fun little challenge for you :smallsmile:. I dislocated my shoulder last week and I'll have too spend most of this week with my arm completely useless :smallfrown:

Do you know any recipes so easy even someone with one arm can make it?

( it might be useful to note I don't have a blender )

thanks in advance!

[Knaight]

I made something like 6 pounds (probably more) of pasta salad yesterday, and it's going to last for a while. It is also so dang good. As in, so dang good. There was some weird experimentation going on, but the big thing is that the spice mix worked beautifully (basil, oregano, garlic, lemon pepper, salt) and throwing in a whole bunch of purple cabbage with the pasta as it boiled was a good idea.


Also, this can totally be made with one arm. Toss the pasta and cabbage (sliced to small pieces) in boiling water with salt and olive oil, cook until al dente, strain, throw in chopped carrots, chopped cucumber, chopped basil, and cherry tomatoes. Add garlic, lemon pepper, mustard, oregano, salt, and a little bit of mayonnaise (or plain yoghurt, if you have it), stir. Then leave it to cool for a while.

Exact proportions aren't that critical, and you can probably get a feel for them. The big thing is that you want lots and lots of cabbage, some sort of small noodle, and heavy spicing.

You can make your own if you have a food processor!

Or a mortar and pestle.

[scienceguy8]

hey guys,

I have a fun little challenge for you :smallsmile:. I dislocated my shoulder last week and I'll have too spend most of this week with my arm completely useless :smallfrown:

Do you know any recipes so easy even someone with one arm can make it?

( it might be useful to note I don't have a blender )

thanks in advance!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine 2 eggs and one cup of milk. If you can crack eggs one handed, great. If you can't, you can buy scrambled eggs in cartons at the store. Check around the whole eggs. Put whatever you have on hand in a frozen pie crust, bits of ham or Spam, some cheese, some leftover vegetables, etc, add some salt and nutmeg to the eggs and milk and pour the mixture into the pie. Cook for 45 minutes, but start checking it around 30. When it's done, you should be able to poke a hole in it and press down on the top and observe no liquid coming out of the hole. Let it come to about room temperature before serving.

I've never actually made this before, but since seeing it on Good Eats I've wanted to try it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVekcvnJTrg

EDIT: is your arm completely useless, say, in a sling or hanging at your side limply, or can you at least grab vegetables in your bad hand and a knife in your good one?

[warty goblin]

Tonight: grilled pineapple pulled pork BBQ sandwiches. Hell yeah.

I've finally figured out how to best cook the sauce into the meat. Normally of course whole hog BBQ shouldn't be sauced, but this has been in the freezer for a couple months now, and the spice sets off the pineapple. A little butter to keep the meat from burning until the fat liquefies, some black pepper, some red pepper flakes, some salt, some spicy BBQ sauce, slow-cook until the meat is hot and falling apart. Layer on grilled pineapple slices topped with a nice pepperjack.

[Castaras]

I'm so happy me and my boy got a slow cooker. It's been amazing, especially for bolognase.

Which has made our lasagne taste even more amazing. eeeee.

[Karoht]

Chorizo Mushroom bolognese.
It's exactly what it says on the tin.
It is exactly as awesome tasting as you think it is (so long as you enjoy Chorizo and Mushrooms).

Either slice/chop the chorizo and mushrooms really fine, or toss them together into a food processor and give them a rough blitz or three. If you are going the blender route, remove the casings from the chorizo first.

Otherwise, treat it as you would any other bolognese sauce.

Chorizo is very lean in most cases. Chances are you shouldn't need to add any olive oil when dealing with the rest of your ingredients. Especially if you are going to use a slow cooker to make the stuff.

[Logic]

EDIT: Yes, I know this isn't cooking, but it's still food preparation.
I make a phenomenal Pico de Gallo. (Salsa alternative)

Pico De Gallo
Ingredients

1 Bunch of Cilantro (also known as coriander in some countries)
1 Large Sweet Onion (For hotter Pico, use a regular onion instead of a sweet onion.)
1 Jar of Mezzetta Sliced Jalapenos (TAMED for mild, HOT for spicy)
1 Lime (Juiced)
9-12 Tomatoes

Optional ingredients

1-4 fresh green jalapeno or serrano peppers (depending on how hot you want it to be. With just the previous ingredients, the final salsa ends up to a mild-medium heat.)
1 Clove of Garlic (or garlic powder to taste)
6 Green onions (chives)
Salt (to taste, though I use none)
Fine black pepper (to taste)


Directions:

1) Thoroughly wash all your fresh vegetables, especially your cilantro, as dirt can easily get stuck between the stems and leaves.

2) Drain and retain the brine from your jar of jalapenos. You will be using some of the brine for the cilantro stems.

3) Cut the bulk of the stems off of the cilantro and finely chop or put in a food processor. You may want to put some of the brine from the jarred jalapenos in the food processor for this part. Puree until the stems have become a fine paste.

4) Juice the lime and dice or chop the remaining ingredients until they are the right consistency for you.

5) Mix ingredients together and let the flavors meld for 20 minutes before serving.

I do nearly all the dicing with the food processor. Exceptions: The tomato exterior (the tomato guts go in the food processor) and the cilantro leaves (I turn the cilantro stems into a fine paste)

This recipe yields a large bowl of Pico De Gallo (close to a gallon, or about 16 cups)

[Socratov]

Well, I have been stove(ly?) challenged tonight (only have ovens), and made sausages, potato disks and paprika in the oven today.

potatoes with paprika in the oven with pepper, salt, olive oil (copious amounts) and italian herbs.

sausage in a different oven with olive oil, worchester sauce, paprika powder, pepper.

it tasted awesome :smallcool:

I had high fives from my brother..

[Morgarion]

Last week I made angel hair aglio e olio. Molto buono! I know some people have an aversion to garlic, but if you're a regular person, it's the best easy pasta dish. I just took a whole bunch of garlic and diced it nice and fine, then added red pepper flakes (a lot). Then, I chopped up a couple of heirloom tomatoes that were on their way toward turning and added them. It was lovely. Extremely potent.

[Socratov]

Last week I made angel hair aglio e olio. Molto buono! I know some people have an aversion to garlic, but if you're a regular person, it's the best easy pasta dish. I just took a whole bunch of garlic and diced it nice and fine, then added red pepper flakes (a lot). Then, I chopped up a couple of heirloom tomatoes that were on their way toward turning and added them. It was lovely. Extremely potent.

if that is true, then you and I are probably the ones who compensate for that. if the onion is the queen of vegetables, garlic is the king :smallamused:

[Corlindale]

Whenever I truly don't feel like cooking but don't want to sacrifice money or health and get junk food, there's one recipe I keep returning to.

I call it "Lazy Man's Chili":
¨
Ingredients:
3 chopped onions
3 cans of chilli beans (or just regular kidney beans)
2 cans of chopped tomato

Dump into a big pot. Spice with salt, pepper, cumin and coreander. Optionally chilli powder if you didn't use chili beans or just want it stronger. Bring to a boil at low heat, let simmer for 45-60 minutes. Stir occasionally.

That's it, you're done.

Optional ingredients include whatever vegetables you might have on hand, leftover salsa sauce and possibly a bit of beer to give extra flavour. I like to throw in some frozen vegetables (like peas, corns and broccoli) because it's the laziest way of adding more ingredients.

It's nice when served over rice, but lately I've started to eat it with canned Dolmades (stuffed vine leaves with pre-cooked rice) to really keep up the whole "lazy"-theme (even though cooking rice is among the easiest things to do in a kitchen).

It's also good for filling tacos or pancakes, and I even made a quite nice mexican-style lasagna with it once - but that's probably for less lazy days :smallsmile:

[warty goblin]

Here's a rather odd beverage that I devised. It has something of the character of a red wine, but no alcohol, and the ingredients can be kept in the fridge for a considerable period.

About 1/2 to 3/4 cup pomegranate juice.
Two or three tablespoons water.
Three or four tablespoons lemon juice.
About a teaspoon of sugar.

Mix 'em, and drink. I find without the water it's just too strong.

[Castaras]

Nice and simple, but I made coleslaw! :smallbiggrin:

Love simple recipes. Although I was bemused to find so many different variations on coleslaw on the internets. Will have to look into them once I've finished my current batch.

Coleslaw is ridiculous simple. about 125ml mayonnaise, a couple of tablespoons of milk, a tablespoon of lemon, a little vinegar, a little salt, a little sugar. All whisked together to make it smooth. then throw in fine grated carrot and grated cabbage and bam instant cheap topping for jacket potato. Probably got about 3/4 more jacket potatoes worth of coleslaw in the bowl after today's lunch.

[Socratov]

I'm off to the Oval tomorrow for (hopefully) a day watching the cricket, and I'm planning on taking a picnic. Anyone have any great ideas for things to make and/or take?

Unfortunately I can't take any cutlery other than the worst kind of plastic ones, so things which require slicing or cutting on the scene are probably out. I'll pre-slice a loaf of good bread before I leave.

reading through some backlog, for future reference I have some ideas:

get some wraps, creamcheese (with or without herbs)/creme fraiche/pesto. some walnuts, old cheese (with loads of flavor) and cucumber and paprika. Slice the cucmber and paprika, crush the walnuts, smear creamcheese/whatever on wrap, put veg on, put walnuts on, grate cheese over it, roll up the wrap (tuck sides in, makes it easier), roll in plastic foil. Presto: you have great picknick recipies that can be eaten without spilling too much and they are easy and compact to take with as well.

[thubby]

Here's a rather odd beverage that I devised. It has something of the character of a red wine, but no alcohol, and the ingredients can be kept in the fridge for a considerable period.

About 1/2 to 3/4 cup pomegranate juice.
Two or three tablespoons water.
Three or four tablespoons lemon juice.
About a teaspoon of sugar.

Mix 'em, and drink. I find without the water it's just too strong.

that's essentially pink lemonade.

[warty goblin]

that's essentially pink lemonade.

Not at least in my experience of pink lemonade, which I've generally found to be lemonade that is pink, and may contain some touch of strawberry or raspberry. My concoction extremely tart, with a distinctly bitter undertone (none of the juices I use are sweetened at all). The water's there to cut the bitterness down a bit.

[theangelJean]

It's spring here, and asparagus was on special at the grocer and looked really nice. And I also bought spinach, which I love, but which I'm only slowly getting the hang of cooking. Hubby doesn't particularly like plain asparagus, so last night I made a spinach and asparagus omelette with wholegrain toast and tomatoes. Went down really well. (We're not vegetarian, that's just what I had in the house.)

Wasn't a proper enclosed omelette of the type where you cook the egg and fold it over filling in the middle. Instead, I stir-fried the asparagus (about 8 thin spears, chopped into 1cm pieces) in olive oil, added the spinach leaves until they were wilted, let them cool for a bit and added plenty of salt, and then put back on the heat and stirred in four eggs, which I'd beaten with a good slosh of cream and salt (I had leftover cream). Then just stirred and turned it over a high heat until the eggs were set. Hubby said it reminded him of spinach-and-ricotta filling on pastries. Maybe I should try to make that when I'm allowed to eat soft cheese again...

[thubby]

Not at least in my experience of pink lemonade, which I've generally found to be lemonade that is pink, and may contain some touch of strawberry or raspberry. My concoction extremely tart, with a distinctly bitter undertone (none of the juices I use are sweetened at all). The water's there to cut the bitterness down a bit.

the traditional pink lemonade, at least around here, is lemonade with grenadine (which is supposed to be pomegranate based syrup, though it rarely is these days)

[Socratov]

the traditional pink lemonade, at least around here, is lemonade with grenadine (which is supposed to be pomegranate based syrup, though it rarely is these days)

is it rare? I can just buy it in any supermarket. While I love it I have a slight love for cassis lemonade... It's delicious...:smalltongue:

[Knaight]

I've made a few broccoli and cashew stir fries recently. The lessons here

Sriracha really is pretty good. I've been underestimating it.
Dissolving peanut butter in heated vegetable oil makes a peanut sauce that tastes suspiciously similar to that in a number of less than great restaurants. Which is funny, as it was a short cut I would never use if I were cooking for anyone other than me.
Anise. It's still the best spice. That is all.

[luciérnaga]

Mixed pumpkin, potato, tofu and broccoli in pockets of puff pastry - coated with a mustard-almond paste. I like to experiment. This one was successful. :smallsmile: