We still cook in this place, right?

[Charley]

Just checkin' ;)

Haven't done much of it myself for the past month, since I've taken a post-matrimonial hiatus ^_^; However, getting fresh produce from my grandpa has put a skip in my step again, and I am getting back in the game.

Kicked off a successful shopping trip to a new-found indian market with some saag chicken:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/saag1.jpg

For the rice:
1 cup jasmine or basmati rice (whatever you like best)
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon kala jeera (also known as black cumin seed, you can find this in indian markets or online)

For the curry:
2 tbsp ghee or canola oil
2 tsp corriander seeds, crushed
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
8 cardamom pods, crushed
5 cloves
1 tsp kosher salt, fine ground
3 chicken breasts, in 1" cubes
1/2 cup plain yogurt
6 ounces of baby spinach, chopped (one entire salad green bag, basically)
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
Peppers of your choice, as hot as you like (I used 4x jalapenos but this should be as spicy as you're comfortable with)


Begin by cooking the rice with your method of choice, adding all ingredients in at once.

In a heavy bottomed skillet, heat the ghee or oil as high as you can go without smoking. Throw your whole spices in and let them pop, stirring quickly. Once the popping subsides, throw the chopped onions, garlic, and pepper into the mix, stirirng to coat evenly with hot oil. Add your turmeric and salt and stir again, frying until the onions start to get slightly clear. Add the chicken. Add spinach gradually and stir in as the leaves turn dark green and wilt. Once that'd added, turn to low heat and add your yogurt and cinnamon. Stir it evenly and let simmer for another five to ten minutes, tops.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/saag2.jpg

Serve over your awesomely fragrant rice, and pair it with a white wine. I had some Bighorn Cellars Chardonnay that was really good with it :)

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/saagfinal.jpg

[Fionn Halcyon]

I made some chickpea stew the other day, with carrots, potatoes, beef and celery and a whole bunch of spices, served with bulgur. No pictures, though.

I'm moving and what with going to school and only really having time on the weekends I haven't had much time for cooking. But if we want to start the contest again, I'm all for it....

[Dasquian Belargic]

mMmmmmm.

I don't cook at all now, with living at home :(

[Peter McCoy]

I swear Charley, when I eventually manage to visit the US, - you sir, are cooking that dish for me! It looks gooooorgeous! I'd try it myself with the ingredients and instructions but I just know I'd knacker it up. :p

[Charley]

I made some chickpea stew the other day, with carrots, potatoes, beef and celery and a whole bunch of spices, served with bulgur. No pictures, though.

I'm moving and what with going to school and only really having time on the weekends I haven't had much time for cooking. But if we want to start the contest again, I'm all for it....

Mmmm chicpeas. That stew sounds like complete comfort food! I love a good heavy veggie stew with a beef base :)

I'm going to mill down some grilled eggplant my grandpa sent me with chicpeas for mutabbal, then probably make a batch of chana masala for work next week if I can go to the store and get more tomato. I have POUNDS of chana dal sitting around the house and it needs to get et.

As for the contest, I don't think we need to start it up again right now, but it would be nice for us to be able to snap pics and talk about interesting food we make, and just have this to be a graphical e-cookbook of a sort


mMmmmmm.

I don't cook at all now, with living at home :(

This is the perfect time to do it :D Think about it, you have access to food that parents are buying, and probably a decent kitchen too. Use the opportunity to go all mad scientist and surprise your mum and dad with something that is probably really good. I had a similar arrangement when I was out of college where I was living at home, but did the cooking along with other work so that I wasn't just a bum who got to chillax without paying rent ;)



I swear Charley, when I eventually manage to visit the US, - you sir, are cooking that dish for me! It looks gooooorgeous! I'd try it myself with the ingredients and instructions but I just know I'd knacker it up. :p

It's pretty easy really! The hardest part is finding a few of the tricky bits like kala jeera, but even that is highly tangential and you don't really NEED it. It's basically just a fragrant spice that gets your nose tingling once that rice is done and it really gets you ready to eat :)

Curry is one of those foods I find that tastes so good that its very easy to impress people and make them think that you worked hard to make it, when you essentially just grab stuff and throw it in the skillet's general direction lol. The only thing I guess you would even need to know is to start with oil as hot as you can get it before it hits a smoke point. You throw your whole spices in and stir quick to let them all pop, then add your savories (garlic, onion, asafoetida, whatever) followed by turmeric and salt. From there, keep stirring, add whatever chopped up bits and bobs you like, and finish with delicates like milk, yogurt, and powder spices before taking it off the heat.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I always want to go mad scientist, but I don't really have any kitchen confidence. I always seem to mess things up, if they are at all complicated. :/

[Charley]

Try this on:

Give me a run-down of the foodstuffs and spices and such you have on hand. I will see about putting together an easy rough idea that you can expand on.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I like to make roast beef with gravy and yorkshire puddings.

:yum

And so easy! I :love you crock pot.

I also made an incredibly awesome meatloaf with bacon in it last month, and a white chicken chili with hushpuppy topping that was delish. Yes, I used recipes. :)

[Charley]

Crock pots are amazing tools and also a good way to begin to experiment with combining food flavors. It's pretty hard to mess anything up like that. You add your meat, veggies, and whatever spices you think. Turn it on, and go do something for a few hours.

<3 I need to dabble a bit with mine again. I used to make a lazy pseudo-bbq pulled pork dealie in college that was not too shabby.

[Taja Loraan]

Charley, if I ever visit the US, I'm bringing you a ton of traditional spices since you're so fond of south asian cuisine. My pantry is practically overflowing with the stuff. :D

[Charley]

That would rock :) I am always looking to try new things!

[Taja Loraan]

If you're interested, I could ask my mom for some of the more "complicated" recipes that are made in our house regularly but which I'm too lazy to bother trying out on my own.

Have you ever tried making khichuri (or khichri, if we're being all Hindi/Urdu about it) ? What about haleem ? I made the latter once a few months ago ... so incredibly time-consuming but well worth it in the end.

[Charley]

I haven't, but that looks pretty interesting. I'm assuming it uses gosht and toor dal? Tell me more :)

[Charley]

Oh yeah:

Made a red pepper cream soup with roma tomato and rosemary!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/rpsoup1.jpg

Basically split open at least a half dozen red peppers, get the seeds out, drizzle a little olive oil and add fresh rosemary and ground peppercorns, then cook that in the oven on 350 for 30 minutes.

When that's out, unpeel the skins from each pepper half and toss into the food processor with half of a roma tomato and liquify the hell out of it. Add that to 16 ounces of chicken stock, a teaspoon of salt, set it on medium heat, then add a half cup of heavy cream when it's hot.

Garnish with a rosemary sprig, and I served with rosemary artisan bread. Did I mention I love rosemary way too much?

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/rpsoupfinal.jpg

I used a little too much tomato in this and it was a bit tart for my liking. If you keep it to like half a tomato you should be fine though :)

[Taja Loraan]

We don't make haleem at home but I was having withdrawal symptoms so I looked up a bunch of recipes online, and combined together a few that seemed relevant to the taste I was aiming for (e.g. the meat marinade was only suggested in one recipe, but imo the yogurt enhanced the overall flavour). I couldn't find any wheat so I used oatmeal, and I thought the amount of daal looked inadequate relative to the wheat-substitute so I accidentally added a little too much.

---

300 gm – meat (beef/mutton)
1 ½ cup – cracked wheat
2 tbsp – chana daal
2 tbsp – masoor daal
4 tbsp – toor daal
1 ½ cup – yogurt
½ tsp – turmeric
4 tbsp – ginger/garlic paste
2 medium – onions chopped
1 tsp – green chili paste
2 tsp – green coriander paste
¼ cup – lemon juice
3-4 – black cardamom seeds
½ tsp – cinnamon powder
1 tsp – chili powder
2 tsp – coriander seeds (roasted and powdered)
2 tsp – cumin seeds (roasted and powdered)
1 tsp – garam masala


1. Soak wheat and lentils separately overnight.
2. Mix yogurt, lemon juice, chili/coriander paste, cardamom/cinnamon powder, 1tbsp ginger/garlic paste, ½ tsp turmeric and salt. Marinate meat in mixture for 3-4 hours.
3. Boil wheat with daal till thick and cooked.
4. Heat oil and butter and fry onions until light brown; keep aside.
5. In same oil, add rest of ginger/garlic paste followed by chili powder first then all other spices (turmeric, coriander, cumin) and salt.
6. Add meat and brown.
7. Keep quarter of the onions aside and add rest to meat mixture.
8. Add water and let it cook till tender.
9. Add wheat mixture to meat, cooking on medium heat till the mixture boils.
10. When well blended, sprinkle with the rest of the onions, coriander and mint leaves and a sprinkling of garam masala powder.

---

The slower you cook it, the better it'll turn out. I've heard of people spending 8-9hrs making this, so go figure (I spent roughly half that time; you can use a pressure cooker for the meat but I have no idea if that'd detract from the taste). I prefer the chunks of meat being somewhat visible in the end so didn't add it in too soon and I made sure they were sizeable pieces, say 1-inch or so, but that's really up to you. I also used boneless meat, but added in bone separately to augment the flavour. The end product should look like a monster with the consistency of thick porridge, not fluid but definitely not lumpy either, and it is so sooo heavy and good. You should try it. :)

[Taja Loraan]

Here's a recipe that I'm too scared to try out, but my mom made it and it turned out really well. It's for eggplant bhorta. I don't really know how to describe a bhorta ... it's basically a combination of mashed up ingredients and a lot of spices. For example, potato bhorta basically resembles mashed potatoes, except it's spicy rather than creamy or whatever. You can make it out of saag, dried prawns, etc.

They're fairly difficult to get right, and are served as accompaniments along with rice. They're generally quite spicy so you take relatively small amounts of it and mash it up with plain boiled rice, which serves as sort of an "appetizer" before you proceed to the other dishes such as curries or whatnot. This one is a fairly atypical recipe since the end product doesn't resemble a single-coloured lump (saag bhorta is a dark green lump and prawn bhorta is a beige lump, for instance). Actually, when I first saw it I didn't think it was a bhorta at all, but I suppose it qualifies due to the mashed-up nature of it. :p

---

Eggplant – 2
Black pepper – to taste
Tomatoes – 4
Chili (fresh) – 7 or 8
Onion (sliced) – 1 cup
Spring onions – ½ cup
Garlic (cloves) – 2
Ginger (sliced) – 1 tablespoon
Sour yogurt – ½ cup
Mustard oil – as required
Soy bean oil – as required
Coriander (fresh) – to taste
Salt – to taste



1. Coat the eggplants in mustard oil and place on an open fire, along with the whole garlic cloves.

2. Once the eggplants have burned slightly, place them in cold water so that their skins are softened and easier to peel. Cut the eggplants into small pieces.

3. Peel the burned garlic. Crush the cloves and then dice them into small pieces.

4. Heat a mixture of mustard oil along with soy bean oil. Add the sliced onions and fry.

5. Add the sliced ginger and chopped chili.

6. Add the garlic and eggplant at the same time. Add salt to taste.

7. Once the eggplant has been fried, add the chopped tomatoes; stir the mixture thoroughly and cover for a few minutes.

8. Add the chopped spring onions, followed by the sour yogurt.

9. Add freshly crushed black pepper and chopped coriander. Serve.

---

You can replace the soy bean oil with whatever else you want but the mustard oil is absolutely mandatory. As ever, you can modify the quantities of the chili, salt, etc. as per your taste (I can take an ungodly amount of chili). Again, it'll look like a mish-mashed monster in the end. :D

[Charley]

Haleem sounds like it can easily prep in a crock pot. I'll pick up plenty of dal this week and make sure to try it out. I have some lamb, but I want to get more because I was going to do something else with that.

I've had bhorta before :D Its good, you just want to squeeze any liquid excess off the aubergine before you give it a go. I actually just used up all of the aubergines in my fridge to make mutabbal since grandpa had a big batch of them from his garden. I may have more to pick up this week but I'm not sure what he got for me :)

[Daiquiri]

I have led a sheltered life :(

[Charley]

So start experimenting today!

Seriously people, if you had any notion of how boring my diet was when I was just starting college, it would speak volumes. I considered japanese steak house fried rice as "exotic". I ate very few veggies at all, and didn't stray far from a very plain playbook.

These days, there's little out there that I won't try at least once. I'm just about to the point where if it isn't interesting, I won't eat it. Boring food is a killer.

[Peter McCoy]

I might give that curry a go sometime soon. I'd have to modify it for my own palatte though. I hate korma because of the coconut - I don't like anything sweet unless it's dessert. How sweet is plain yoghurt? I'd imagine sweet in which case it'd go, but I would have thought that's what gives the curry a lot of its substance. I'm a bit ignorant when it comes to what food is actually made of. But I've always wanted to get into cooking.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Plain yogurt is not sweet.

[Charley]

The yogurt is supposed to sort of become an emulsion (I'm pretty sure this is the wrong term but the correct one eludes me) with the hot ghee/oil and spices, so as to evenly coat and bind everything and carry the flavors throughout.

I think this sort of thing is more of a northern Indian, Pakistani, and Afghani thing where the curries are thicker. South Indian and Tamil curries are pretty thin but also have a lot more pungency, and the ones around Bengal & SE Asia are more down with the coconut or mustard oil.

Taja can skewer me on this if I'm wrong or glossing over, this is just what I've seen when dabbling. :)

[Peter McCoy]

My girlfriend and I are off into town for the day tomorrow. Gonna do some shopping and go to see Pineapple Express. I might buy the ingredients and give it a whirl on Friday evening with her. Should be fun. I'll keep you posted. She's got a digital camera so I'll try to get some snaps.

It feels like Can't Cook, Won't Cook. Let's rattle those pots and pans!

http://www4.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Chef+Ainsley+Harriot+Promotes+Cookbook+Melbourne+-JPT3qEpMoFl.jpg

[Taja Loraan]

The yogurt is supposed to sort of become an emulsion (I'm pretty sure this is the wrong term but the correct one eludes me) with the hot ghee/oil and spices, so as to evenly coat and bind everything and carry the flavors throughout.

I think this sort of thing is more of a northern Indian, Pakistani, and Afghani thing where the curries are thicker. South Indian and Tamil curries are pretty thin but also have a lot more pungency, and the ones around Bengal & SE Asia are more down with the coconut or mustard oil.

Taja can skewer me on this if I'm wrong or glossing over, this is just what I've seen when dabbling. :)


Nope, that's pretty much it. :) North Indian and Pakistani dishes like to go overboard with the yogurt, ghee and oil, and their foods tend to be thick and very, very heavy -- mostly because their staple includes chapatis, naan and other wheat-based foods. On the other hand, in South India and Bangladesh (our food is closer to South Indian cuisine, not SE Asian) the staple is rice, which is complemented better by thinner curries. In Bangladesh we use a lot of mustard oil and mainly bring out the ghee only during special occasions, but not coconut, which is more of a SE Asian thing. The reverse also applies: I live in Malaysia right now and mustard oil doesn't seem to be very widely available around these parts, although I may not be looking in the right places.

I have a Pakistani friend who was brought up in Bangladesh, and she always says that while she loves Pakistani food, she can't have it too frequently because it's so rich and heavy and we're just not used to that. Similarly, my ex was a Pathan who used to pour in half a bottle of oil whenever I had my back turned while cooking. :x

[Peter McCoy]

Ewwww!

I'll have to remember to print off that list of ingredients Charley, so I can go hunting tomorrow. I'll start wth Tesco's and then check out Marks and Spencers - should be a load of different spices to choose from so hopefully I'll get everything I need.

I'm quite looking forward to this. :)

[Csephion Draxus]

You should be ashamed if you can't best me in foodstuff procurement. I'm some guy in Alabama of all places. I found everything I needed relatively close to me :p

[Ilias Nytrau]

You people are making me very hungry. |I

[Peter McCoy]

Righto, off out now. Got all the ingredients. Gonna go cook up a storm in my girlfriend snow. Lets tickle those tastebuds!

[Park Kraken]

Joshua's Beef Vegetable Stew
________________________

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Diced Carrots
1/3 Cup Diced Celery
1 28oz Can crushed tomatoes
2 14.5oz Cans Corn, Drained
2 14.5oz Cans Diced Potatoes
1 14.5oz Can Green Beans, Drained
3 24oz Cans Vegetable Broth
4 Tsp Dried Parsley
1/2 Tsp Garlic
2 Tsp Basil
2 Tsp Oregano
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Pepper
1/4 Cup Mopping Sauce
1 1.5-2lb Sirlion Tip Roast

Preparation:
1) Place Sirlion Tip Roast and Diced Potatoes into a Crock Pot and cook on low heat for 10 hours, or until roast is done and tender.

2) Heat Vegetable Broth on medium heat in large pan.

3) Add in all the vegetables (including the potatoes) and bring to boil.

4) Remove three cups of vegetables and 1 cup of liquid, place into blender, and blend until smooth puree is formed. Stir back into soup.

5) Shred the Sirlion Tip Roast, add into stew along with spices and mopping sauce, stirring really well.

6) Cover and Simmer for 20 minutes.

7) Serve while hot. Eating stew over rice is recommended.

Enjoy.

Photos will be up soon as I prepare a batch for a community meeting tonight.

EDIT: Added in pictures of the shredded sirlion tip roast and the simmering stew.

[Peter McCoy]

Well mate, I tried my hand at what I have dubbed 'Alabama Charley Chicken'. And aside from the rice being sub-par (me cooking it, not the taste) I have to say it was de-lish!

I'm not a well-prepared cook, and so by the time I'd prepared the vegetables and actually cooked the chicken, the rice was cold and had hardened somewhat. But the taste on that chicken! Mmmmmm. I'll be doing it again very soon, trying to perfect my culinary techniques.

Following the instructions of 1/2 cup of yoghurt, I found it to be nowhere near enough. I used almost 3/4 of the yoghurt tub and it still wasn't thick enough. As I was cooking it I thought 'how big is his cup!?' (drinks cup, you rude people!).

Very, very enjoyable. And I never knew how much onions make your eyes water. I'd seen my mum and nan with watery eyes after making a pan of scouse or spaghetti bolognese, but my God! I thought I was going blind. Now people may laugh but this was a new experience for me. I had to get my girlfriend to dice the other half, it was that bad.

Oh and I think the word you were looking for to describe the yoghurt's purpose was marinade?

I fried my rice - did you boil yours? I prefer fried to boiled. Just need to do it as I do the chicken next time I think. Lesson learnt.

And I was really expecting it to be hot as hell. I thought those spices would burn my mouth off but it was incredibly mild. Delicious, but I was expecting (and hoping) for something with a bit more bite to it. Now I'm not a lover of really hot foods, but I do enjoy a nice tikka masala. Any recommendations for that recipe on how to make it a bit hotter?

And after this evening, I'll be perusing the BBC's cooking recipe website for some more ideas to try now that I've gotten a taste for it (pun intended). So thank you very much Charley for this thread. I think I've found a new hobby.

[Charley]

Glad you had fun, and glad the food was tasty. As long as you get that much, everything is a success :)

Re: yogurt, go wild with it. It does thin out when you put it in the skillet so don't be worried at that. If you want more yogurt, it'll still taste great. If the thickness if offputting, you can cheat with a little white flour to make a variation of a roux.

Marinade isn't the word, which is usually for something with a vinegar base that you use to prepare meat before cooking so it soaks up flavor. Emulsion is a suspension of fat in liquid, which is sort of (not quite) what you get with that spice-flavored hot oil and the yogurt getting to be buddies.

I didn't fry my rice, but I have a well-used rice cooker that I loaded up with a batch. What kind of rice did you use? I strongly suggest basmati or jasmine if possible. Long grain white seems not as firm, fragrant, or tasty, not to mention is a messier bit to clean up. I also have trouble with regular white in that it gums a bit on me. If you can spare all fifteen to twenty pounds, you can probably find a cooker that's more than competent for cooking rice with ease.

I've done curried fried rice before in another dish, which is pretty fun. It was a bastardization of Pilau that I prepped in the rice cooker with saffron and orange flower water, then transferred to hot & spiced oil in my cast iron skillet.

As far as onions, yeah I get it bad. Christin is a Sicilian and her people have nictitating membranes over their eyes that protect them from onions and garlic, so she usually helps me out with that sort of thing. She suggests to store your onions in the fridge, and that reduces the tear gas effect. A good knife is also a good idea, because you spend less time over onions if you are making fast, clean chops :)

If you want some heat, you should be able to find dried chilis that you can crumble into the dish as you add your liquids. They keep very well, are hotter than hellfire, and will reconstitute in the moist food and release a bit of their power in the dish. USE SPARINGLY. You want to crumble or crush (while wearing gloves!) them into small flakes.

I just finished drying a batch actually, I'll upload pics later :)

[Charley]

Joshua's Beef Vegetable Stew

I think this is the best thing you've posted since we started. That looks like a wonderfully hearty stew that at the same time doesn't look too rich. Explain the mopping sauce to me as I'm not familiar with it. That's more of a barbecue thing, right?

[Peter McCoy]

Yeah mate, went for basmati rice.

Regarding thickening the sauce up - when would I apply the flour? Mix it with the yoghurt before adding it, or adding the yoghurt, mixing, then adding the flour?

I've really got a cooking bug now. The preparation was the most tasking part. Once everything was in the frying pan it was plain sailing. I'll enjoy it next time more as I'll be doing it myself rather than checking a sheet every so often.

Another thing I'll need to bear in mind is the vegetables. I didn't cut them small enough for my liking. I just used two green bell peppers in my dish. Jalapenos are the really small ones aren't they? I assume they were diced up?

[Csephion Draxus]

I'd eyeball the consistency of it after the yogurt's in. Add a teaspoon or so if you think it needs a bit, and stir it about. You can also use cornstarch for thickening but I've never done it. I know a lot of restaurants have the northern curries as pretty thick dishes, so if that's your bag, feel free to tune the consistency to your desire. If you thicken it out, you may want to consider serving with naan or roti instead of rice, and just scoop with the bread.

As far as veggies like bell peppers and onions, make sure you add them early in the cooking so they can fry and get tender. Crunchy peppers and onions are good in salads and sandwiches, but I like to get them tender for food like this so that they flavor up the whole dish but don't distract.

Jalapenos are things that look like this: (these are split, imagine them whole. The green ones are the ones you usually see, and the red ones are usually just smoked and put into chipotles)

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/pepper2.jpg

Dice them up and they're fine :) They're moderately warm, but for hot stuff like serrano, thai bird, etc you want to chop that up fiiine

[Park Kraken]

Explain the mopping sauce to me as I'm not familiar with it. That's more of a barbecue thing, right?

This particular brand of Mopping Sauce was labeled as being a BBQ Baster. I used to use Everglades Mopping Sauce which was slightly less BBQ-esque, I first found out about it when my soon be brother-in-law used it to make his hamburgers with, and they turned out delicious.

But the local grocery stores no longer seem to carry it. So I used the BBQ Baster Mopping Sauce as a substitute, and it turned out okay. The stew drew a lot of compliments from the people at the community meeting.

[Charley]

What goes in the sauce? Like, gimme a rundown on the ingredients if you've got it. You may be able to isolate a few of the things that you really like out of it and get a clearer idea of what you want. Sauces and pre-mix stuff are good to get an idea of, but ingredient control is also good. What I remember about BBQ that's really fun is that you can do a little bit of tasting, and you can get a sort of tongue memory for sauce and when you know the fundamentals, you can pretty much assemble by taste. Lots of sauces work that way because they're so similar really. You've got your acid (vinegar) your savoury (onion, garlic, etc) your salt source (salt, soy, etc) and your sweet (honey, sorghum, etc).


And back to the pepper topic, my dried chilis and jalapenos came up after less than a day in the machine :D

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/pepper3.jpg

[Charley]

I rarely ever make desserts. I'm not very good at baking, and that limits my options sometimes. There are, however, a few things that I get a huge craving for at times, and one of those things is gajjar ka halwa, which is an Indian carrot pudding.

Use this stuff:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/gajjar1.jpg

1 pound carrots
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp ghee (not pictured)
1 tsp vanilla extract (not pictured)
1 tsp crushed cardamom seeds
1 tbsp chopped almonds
1 tbsp chopped walnuts
Dried fruit (optional)


Grate up your carrots, and get the water up to a quick boil. Combine all that and let it cook for about five minutes on high heat.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/gajjar2.jpg

Add milk, bring down to medium-low, and cook for about an hour to let the liquid reduce and the carrots to soak up a bunch of milk. Add sugar and stir. Keep cooking until the consistency evens out and the liquid becomes syrupy:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/gajjar5.jpg

Add your ghee and cardamoms and keep on a simmer for another five minutes to distribute the cardamom flavor. Take it off the heat, put the vanilla in, stir thoroughly, and put into a dish:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/gajjarfinal.jpg

Add your nuts and/or fruit on top. I've got some strawberries in the dehydrator that'll go with this in the morning. The serving size is pretty small, this stuff is incredibly sweet. You'll never go back to carrot cake after you try it.

[Dragon]

Been cooking for myself for the first time now that I'm in grad school. This is what I made tonight.

ROASTED CHICKEN CAPRESE

Ingredients:
1 3/4 - 2 lbs worth of boneless, skinless chicken breast
6 medium Roma tomatoes
8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Sugar
Chopped basil
Pepper

Marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 clove minced garlic
3/4 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Cut chicken breasts into small pieces and place in a plastic Ziploc bag. Whisk the marinade together in a bowl and pour it over the chicken. Refrigerate marinaded chicken for 30 minutes.

Quarter the Roma tomatoes and toss gently in a bowl with 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tsp. sugar, and 1 tsp. salt. Spread tomato mixture on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Once the tomatoes have roasted, pour them, along with the juice, back into the bowl. Add 8 oz. mozzarella cut into 1/4" pieces along with chopped basil and ground pepper to taste. Toss lightly and let the mixture sit at room temperature.

Take the chicken from the marinade bag and spread on the same baking sheet. Discard the marinade. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees and roast the chicken for 30 minutes, turning once.

Serve by spooning the tomato and cheese mixture over the chicken and your pasta of choice. I used tortellini.

Results were delicious.

[Charley]

That looks so good. A nice rustic dinner :)

Did you use fresh basil leaf? Keep a bit of it in reserve for garnish. Fresh herbs are always great to bring in at the end, ESPECIALLY basil, because it has a taste when fresh that it doesn't have any other way :)

[Jordana Jax]

I love to cook so hopefully I can add a recipe or two here myself. I'm addicted to the Zuppa Toscana soup. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients (makes 6-8 servings)

1 lb ground italian sausage
1 1/2 tsp crushed red peppers (I cut this down to 1/2 tsp when I make it)
1 large diced white onion
4 TBSP bacon pieces
2 tsp garlic puree
10 C water
5 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 C heavy cream
1 lb sliced russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
1/4 of a bunch of a kale

Directions:

1. Sautee Italian sausage & crushed red pepper in pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.

2. In the same pan, sautee bacon, onions, & garlic for approximately 15 minutes or until the onions are soft.

3. Mix together the chicken bouillon & water, then add it to the onions, bacon, & garlic. Cook until boiling.

4. Add potatoes & cook until soft. About half an hour.

5. Add heavy cream & cook until thoroughly heated.

6. Stir in the sausage.

7. Add kale just before serving.

[Jordana Jax]

Piccata Di Pollo Al Limone

3 TBSP all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt or regular salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/3 C dry white wine (or chicken broth)
3 TBSP lemon juice (or you can use lime juice)
2 TBSP capers, rinsed and drained
1/8 tsp kosher salt or regular salt (yes, this is in addition to the salt required previously)
1/8 tsp ground black pepper (yes, this is in addition to the pepper required previously)
3 TBSP butter (Or olive oil)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBSP snipped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
Lemon slices (or lime slices) halved (optional)

Directions:

1. In a shallow bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper. Set aside. Place a chicken-breast half between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, lightly pound the chicken until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Remove the plastic wrap from the chicken. Repeat pounding with the remaining chicken-breast halves. Lightly coat chicken pieces on both sides with the flour mixture; shake off excess.

2. For sauce: In a small bowl, stir together wine, lemon juice, capers, 1/8 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. Set aside.

3. In a 12-inch skillet, melt 2 TBSP butter over medium-high heat. Add the coated chicken pieces to the skillet, cook for 5 to 6 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the browned chicken from the skillet, reserving the drippings that are left in the skillet.

4. Add the remaining 1 TBSP butter and the garlic to the skillet drippings. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir the sauce mixture in the bowl. Carefully add the sauce mixture to the skillet. Cook and stir the mixture for 30 to 60 seconds or until the sauce is bubbly and reduces slightly, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Return the chicken to the skillet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes more or until the mixture is heated through. Sprinkle with parsley. If you like, garnish with lemon slices and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

In addition:

Serve chicken over angel hair pasta with zuppa toscana soup and garlic bread sticks.

Add sauteed mushrooms, diced tomato, and onion to the top of the chicken just before serving. Be sure to marinate these in olive oil for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking and serving this meal

[Charley]

Ok that looks amazing. I'm going to add that to my "cook soon" list.

I made this mystery meal for Christin last night. She wanted a chicken thigh and mushrooms, and said "don't make it too fancy". I tried at least!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/mysterymeal.jpg

Pan fried the thigh with a little garlic and the mushrooms, then deglazed the pan with chicken stock and cream to reduce into a sauce. Added basil, oregano, and pepper. Added half-cooked penne pasta to the reduction to finish cooking. Served chicken on penne and mushroom bed with sauce poured over, a tiny bit of manchego goat cheese grated on top, and a sprig of fresh oregano for garnish.

[Jordana Jax]

I love when I can just throw things together and that looks/sounds like it turned out to be pretty tasty. I'll have to try that one. Here's another dish that's a favorite in my house. (I need to get a digital camera so I can take pics to add, too.)

Fettuccini Alfredo with Shrimp

Ingredients: (Makes 4 servings)

8 oz fettuccini pasta
2 TBSP butter or margarine
1 red or green pepper sliced (I use green)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (I usually reduce this to 1/4)
1 lb. frozen cooked, peeled & de-veined shrimp; thawed according to package directions, patted dry. (If you can afford it, buy it fresh from the seafood market/dept of your local store)
1 pkg (1.6 oz) Alfredo pasta sauce mix (or make your own)
1/3 C white wine
1 C milk
1 C frozen peas, thawed under hot water (optional)
1/3 C thinly sliced fresh basil
Grated and shaved Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook fettuccini according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt butter over high heat. Add diced pepper, garlic & pepper flakes; cook until softened, 5-6 minutes.

2. Add shrimp. Cook 1 minute. Dissolve Alfredo sauce in wine. Add to skillet with mil; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens slightly. 1-2 minutes.

3. Stir in peas, cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in basil.

4. In large bowl, toss fettuccini with shrimp mixture. Serve with grated Parmesan & garnish with shavings, if desired.

Your time in the kitchen: 20 minutes
Ready to serve in 20 minutes.

[Dragon]

Heh, I was looking for a chicken piccata recipe, but I didn't think to look here... I pulled one off the net and tweaked it just a little. I didn't feel confident in my knife skills to butterfly the chicken, and I had about two pounds of chicken breast and that would have taken a bit too much room in my skillet, so I just jullienned the meat, dredged it in a flour-parmesan-salt-pepper mixture, and browned it up in a Tbsp. of butter. For the sauce I used a quarter cup of chicken broth, a quarter cup of sherry, three Tbsp. lemon juice, and another three Tbsp. of butter (not really a heart-healthy dish, this) and a quarter cup of capers. Didn't have any mushrooms or parsley, but I might go grab some and add it to the leftovers.

Simple dish served over farfalle pasta. I was really surprised how tender the chicken was. The sherry added a bit more flavor than the wine would have, and the lemon came on a little strong, but it was still very good. Can you tell I like chicken pasta dishes?

Didn't think of it until after I took this picture and had taken a few bites, but I also added some grated parmesan on top.

[Charley]

I just got into the wild world of risotto, after having one of the tastiest dishes of my life on my honeymoon. I've heard so many horror stories from everybody about making this stuff, but it hasn't deterred me at all. If I can even come halfway to making something that good, I'll be a happy guy. I had bought some bags of arborio rice a few weeks ago with the notion of doing it eventually, but after getting some new cookware for a belated wedding gift and realizing that I have $5 worth of heirloom tomatoes in the fridge that need to be eaten this week, I figured I'd give it a try.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/risotto.jpg

The chicken thigh on top was nothing to write home about, and honestly I wish I didn't even cook it. The pan-fried garlic cloves, however, were mega good!

I pan-fried a diced tomato in clarified butter, and added the arborio, letting it cook and get oily. Then I added pinot grigio and let that reduce at a higher temp, then brought it back down to a simmer, and slowly added the better part of 1 1/4 quarts of chicken stock. I used about a quarter of three different heirloom tomatoes to get that silly multi-color effect thing, and added fresh basil from my garden. That was topped with sea salt, cracked pepper, and grüyere cheese.

I don't know what all the fuss is about with this, it was pretty easy to make. I think mine was just a shade below al dente when all was said and done, but that was because I ran out of stock. It maybe needed another ladle and it would've been there.

[Ilias Nytrau]

Yeah, I honestly don't understand all the fuss about risotto being so hard. It does take a little time, but it's worth the effort. I usually do a four cheese risotto, myself.

Now, gnocchi is pretty good. My favourite way to do it is making pumpkin gnocchi with sage sauce. Delicious, I tell you. I'd at least put up the recipes, but the cookbook they're in is currently in storage. Along with all my other cookbooks. |I

[Fionn Halcyon]

I need that recipe - the pumpkin gnocchi, I mean.

And yes, risotto is quite easy to make.

[Katchen]

(Insert Kill Bill Soundtrack here)

"CHARLEY!!! YOU AND I HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS!!!"

(Stands in the center of Kitchen Stadium wearing the Yellow tracksuit with an apron)

:D

[Charley]

Bring it!

I'm totally ready to be schooled :)

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

New plates! New silverware! Oooooh!

Time for goat curry with mango!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/goat.jpg

A little tart, but I think if I take out the lime juice it will be good. Needs probably some cream or coconut milk or something to give the sauce a little more oomph. Not bad though, and it was great as leftovers today :)

[Nya Halcyon]

Hmm... can't find my camera at the moment so no pics, but I made an interesting version of pumpkin soup last friday which featured diced sweet potatoes and roasted pecans and pumpkin seeds. It was to die for.

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

I've never had pumpkin soup, as I've always associated any pumpkin food with pumpkin pie, which I'm not a major fan of. How is it? I've seen pumpkin risottos about and other such things, but never really gotten intrigued enough to try.

[Flux]

I'm going to attempt Wei's White Chili tomorrow for my study group:


White Chili

4 or 5 split chicken breasts
5 to 6 cups of Chicken Broth
4 or 5 cans of Great Northern Beans (Navy beans work too)
1 large onion, sliced thin or chopped
1 small can chopped green chilies
1 jar medium salsa
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper (cayenne is good)
1/2 cup canola oil
3 or 4 minced garlic cloves
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Boil for or five split chicken breasts in just enough water to cover them for 30-35 minutes; keep the skin on to have a richer broth. Set aside to cool (I put mine in the fridge; better yet, do the chicken a day ahead). When cool, Shred.

In a large pot bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the onions and cook until tender. Add remaining ingredients then return to a brisk boil, then reduce to what Julia Childs calls the "smiling simmer."

If you want to you can allow the soup to simmer 30-45 minutes and serve. I transferred the soup to my crock pot and cooked in on low for 12 or more hours. It won't break the beans and may even allow the flavors to blend.

Serve hot and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro, cheeses, sour cream, jalapeño peppers, and hot sauce, depending upon the taste of the consumers.

Good with cornbread, tortilla chips, and such.

[Nya Halcyon]

Pumpkin soup really is great. It's hard to describe the flavour of it, but safe to say it doesn't taste anything like pie :p

I usually add quite a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin and a dash of curry powder to it, which brings out a wonderfully nutty sort of taste to it.

[Cneidon Mako]

I have a creative wife who is an organizational godsend:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/spice1.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/spice2.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/spice3.jpg

My spices and cooking ingredients used to be spread out across this whole big table and the situation was generally horrible if I needed to find anything without looking for a few minutes.

[Jordana Jax]

Ooo! Do you rent her out? She can come and organize all my cooking goodies, too!

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

Made bread for the first time!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/braid1.jpg

Rosemary and Swiss Grüyere. I can't believe I didn't mess this up. It turned out perfectly!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/braid2.jpg

[Dasquian Belargic]

Ohhhh that looks so delicious.

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

Like that, huh? How about five of them? :)

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bread1.jpg

Aged cheddar & garlic. Not as noticeable of a flavor as the rosemary & grüyere, but a really great texture!

[I'nu]

I'm a vegan I cook weird stuff, like scrambled tofu, and interesting pasta, and vegetarian pancakes.

[Charley]

vegetarian pancakes.


Dosa? Or are you referring to something else?

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Well post some of your recipes then, dingbat :p

[Park Kraken]

BBQ Pork Ribs - my style -

Get a package of Pork Ribs w/bone in the local supermarket. While there, also get a bottle of Original BBQ sauce and Sweet BBQ Sauce.

At home, place Ribs into Crockpot, pour combined BBQ sauce over them, and cook on low for 10 hours. Then serve up and eat.

Quick little description of the finished product -

The Ribs are well done and very tender, able to be cut with a spoon, with the meat having fallen off of the bones. All the flavor from the BBQ sauces was absorbed into the meat, making for a very excellent tasting dish.

The leftover flavor in the sauce, which is now more of a gravy juice, makes for a very excellent gravy to pour over a side of mashed potatoes, although I ended up having Mac&cheese and Beans for sides.

[Zem Vymes]

I'm also a fan of doing faux-BBQ (I say faux because for purists, BBQ is all about slow smoke) in a crock pot.

Have you made your own sauce before? Nothing wrong with using pre-made, but that way, you get a little more control over what kind of flavor you get from your sauce. I'm sort of particular about how barbecue sauce should ideally taste, so thats why I like to prep my own. It's not much more involved than mixing pre-made sauces. The real rule of thumb is that a good sauce combines multiple flavor profiles. You want sweet, sour, salty, umami (the sort of savory effect you get from onions, shallots, garlic, things like anchovies, mire poix, etc etc) and optionally, spicy.

Try this as a base:

Use molasses, apple cider vinegar, minced fried onion, salt, and a mix of white and cayenne pepper. Try combining those in a bowl in various ratios while tasting the blend. I add a bit more to mine, like cumin, cilantro, a shot of Jack Daniels, and often a brown roux for thickening. You can add other things as well, the sky is the limit. I know some people who add apple sauce, which is wonderful if you're making pork.

Now for ribs, I've never tried them explicitly in my crock pot, as I usually do a shoulder roast or a tenderloin there. I've heard people suggest that blanching your ribs before cooking will also assist in tenderizing and separating connective tissue from bone.

[Byl Laprovik]

Article up on my blog about recent pizza project (http://chuckskitchen.blogspot.com/)

Preview:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/roma2.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/kalamata2.jpg

[Cneidon Mako]

Lazy cooking image dump, which I've also posted on my blog

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/loaf.jpg

One of the two cheddar garlic bread loaves I made the other day. They sort of sagged in the middle lol, but it's otherwise great stuff. Been toasting two slices and having an egg in between for breakfast :)

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bindi.jpg

Bindi Masala, an awesome South Indian curry featuring okra.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/redpeppercrostini.jpg

A cream of roasted red pepper soup with rosemary. This was served with some rosemary bread, which I sliced and shaved Swiss Grüyere onto, and made into crostini.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/garganelli.jpg

This is some spinach garganelli pasta with a sauce made of roasted red peppers, rosemary, toasted pine nuts, and garum. Served with chicken cooked in a white wine reduction, and topped with manchego.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/mushroomrisotto.jpg

Risotto with sliced portabellas, white truffle oil, and manchego.

That's about it lately. Some other crap I made, but it didn't turn out as well.

[Wyl Staedtler]

The boys demanded meat tonight, so I cooked super simple chicken.

Take equal parts balsamic vinegar, low-sodium soy sauce, and brown sugar and mix them in a saucepan. Add as much minced garlic as you like, and put on low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is melted.

Pour over chicken in a baking pan. Add pepper to taste.

I also added a little red wine, cinnamon, garlic powder, and cumin.

Bake until done and voila! Yummy chicken(according to my kids and James)! We served it with brown rice, steamed spinach, and fresh cranberries and green beans (not pictured).

Oh and Menage a Trois is an excellent (and cheap) red wine that paired perfectly with the combo.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a266/lizmclellan/RandomHawaiiLife001-1.jpg

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

Take equal parts balsamic vinegar, low-sodium soy sauce, and brown sugar and mix them in a saucepan. Add as much minced garlic as you like, and put on low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is melted.

This is a no-fail sauce for serious. I've used similar before and its awesome.


I also added a little red wine, cinnamon, garlic powder, and cumin.

Did you add wine to the baking dish or deglaze in the pan with it?


Oh and Menage a Trois is an excellent (and cheap) red wine that paired perfectly with the combo.

I seem to remember liking their merlot a bit. Did you use that, or another red?

That looks great. The cranberries especially seem to be a good pairing!

I made a few random things this weekend. To begin this weekend, I almost got Japanese fried rice down. It's still not the same as the stuff at restaurants, but it's got a base note at last! Used a bit of sesame oil and wasabi on the rice, which as usual had peas, carrots, and egg. Served with stir fry veggies and teriyaki shrimp

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/fliedlice.jpg

Tonight was a cream of butternut squash soup, which actually turned out to be amazing. I don't care for regular squash very much, but this was wonderfully sweet and full-bodied. I had some rubbed sage, cumin, and a pinch each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper to give it a great fall flavor. The garnish are squash seeds, pan-toasted with a little salt.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/squash.jpg

That was paired with braised leg of lamb with rosemary and thyme, and some slices of baguette that I topped with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and dried onion.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/lamb.jpg

[Wyl Staedtler]

Did you add wine to the baking dish or deglaze in the pan with it?

Straight into the baking dish. It meant that the chicken didn't come out as "sticky" as it usually does, but it lent a delicious, dark undernote to the flavour.


I seem to remember liking their merlot a bit. Did you use that, or another red?

The bottle just says 'California red wine' and then on the back 'a delightful blend of three varients: Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

ETA: Oh. Hehe, the brand is actually Folie A Deux. That makes more sense. Anyway, it's lovely.



I made a few random things this weekend. To begin this weekend, I almost got Japanese fried rice down. It's still not the same as the stuff at restaurants, but it's got a base note at last! Used a bit of sesame oil and wasabi on the rice, which as usual had peas, carrots, and egg. Served with stir fry veggies and teriyaki shrimp

Fried rice is, along with popcorn, one of the things I've never been able to cook well.

Did you add the wasabi to the rice itself while it cooked (infusing? is that the right term?) or to the pan when you were frying it?


Tonight was a cream of butternut squash soup, which actually turned out to be amazing. I don't care for regular squash very much, but this was wonderfully sweet and full-bodied. I had some rubbed sage, cumin, and a pinch each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper to give it a great fall flavor. The garnish are squash seeds, pan-toasted with a little salt.

That was paired with braised leg of lamb with rosemary and thyme.

Ohhhhh that soup sounds so good. And the lamb looks like it'd just melt in your mouth!

We also had soup tonight - a curried tomato soup. I took tomatoes (duh), roasted garlic, finely chopped red onion (that I first caramelized), brown sugar, cumin, fennel and Thai red curry paste and simmered that in some water and vegetable broth for a bit, then pureed the lot.

Annnnd served with wine, of course. ;)

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a266/lizmclellan/RandomHawaiiLife002.jpg

[Jane Starborn]

Menage only comes in red, white, and pink. They're blends, hence the name. ;)

[Wyl Staedtler]

Yeah I just caught on to that. Thankfully I can blame the drinking of the wine for not understanding the wine. :D

[General Dan]

Straight into the baking dish. It meant that the chicken didn't come out as "sticky" as it usually does, but it lent a delicious, dark undernote to the flavour.

How long did you bake it? I've heard stories from people about cooking with wine that wasn't done on a deglaze or another aggressive cooking technique and they ended up with an alcohol bite to the food. The garganelli I made a while back got some pinot grigio tossed into the stock pot when I was making the sauce, and I realized about halfway in that it didn't really reduce. I was dreading it, but it actually cooked just fine and there wasn't any tell-tale boozy note, thankfully. I've always questioned the notion especially since alcohol evaporates at a lower temp than water, so it really shouldn't be an issue.



Fried rice is, along with popcorn, one of the things I've never been able to cook well.

Did you add the wasabi to the rice itself while it cooked (infusing? is that the right term?) or to the pan when you were frying it?

I added a mix of sesame oil and wasabi (not really an emulsion, but mixed up very well) to the rice on the griddle, to use as my cooking fat. I took a tablespoon of canola before heating to rub into the griddle, but the sesame/wasabi was applied onto the rice itself.



Ohhhhh that soup sounds so good. And the lamb looks like it'd just melt in your mouth!

The soup was great. It just tasted entirely like everything good and autumny. I'll run out of squash seeds before I do soup, so then I'll just grab some pecan bits and toast them.

The lamb I thought was actually a little under-flavored. It needed something, but I'm not sure if its just a little more salt or if I should have sweated a mire poix for the braise. What I love about lamb is that rendered lamb fat has a really unique savory note of its own, which is so very easy to recognize. I may reserve some of the rendered fat for cooking vegetables later, or maybe even to make a confit. If I started maybe this week, I could have a confit ready in time for new years day.


We also had soup tonight - a curried tomato soup. I took tomatoes (duh), roasted garlic, finely chopped red onion (that I first caramelized), brown sugar, cumin, fennel and Thai red curry paste and simmered that in some water and vegetable broth for a bit, then pureed the lot.

Annnnd served with wine, of course. ;)

Sounds pretty hearty, which is pretty cool for a tomato soup.

I unfortunately don't have much experience with Thai. Tell me about the red paste. I actually have some in my spice rack but I've never really taken advantage of it.

[General Dan]

Menage only comes in red, white, and pink. They're blends, hence the name. ;)

I think I'm getting Menage a Trois and Little Black Dress confused then.

[Wyl Staedtler]

How long did you bake it? I've heard stories from people about cooking with wine that wasn't done on a deglaze or another aggressive cooking technique and they ended up with an alcohol bite to the food.

Oh gosh, I never really time things. Maybe forty minutes? I use wine in a lot of cooking and it's never overpowered any dishes - hard alcohol is another matter but wine just seems to highlight everything so delicately.


...or if I should have sweated a mire poix for the braise.

I'm entirely unfamiliar with this - what's involved?


I unfortunately don't have much experience with Thai. Tell me about the red paste. I actually have some in my spice rack but I've never really taken advantage of it.

Great stuff, such an awesome alternative to dry spices - a little goes a long way, too! It's great as a rub for baking (and goes amazingly well on seafood - prawns are to die for when sauteed with a bit), and in stir-fry, or soups/stews to add a zing. We mix it with butter and spread it on corn on the cob, as well.

Of course, you can always just toss it in some coconut milk for a tasty and quick curry.

[Charley]

Oh gosh, I never really time things. Maybe forty minutes? I use wine in a lot of cooking and it's never overpowered any dishes - hard alcohol is another matter but wine just seems to highlight everything so delicately.

Ah ok. Like I said, I've never actually been able to taste a bite to anything I cook in wine, so I was getting a second opinion on it :) I think some people are serious ninnies about cooking with wine (OMG ARE U TRYIN TO GET DRUNK) and don't understand the bright notes that the leavings of a Pinot Grigio can impart on a risotto, for example.


I'm entirely unfamiliar with this - what's involved?

Mire poix is a classical preparation used mainly for stocks that involves a proportion of celery, carrot, and onion to whatever you're slow cooking. Mostly used in stock and soup, but also for some roasted & braised selections as well.


Great stuff, such an awesome alternative to dry spices - a little goes a long way, too! It's great as a rub for baking (and goes amazingly well on seafood - prawns are to die for when sauteed with a bit), and in stir-fry, or soups/stews to add a zing. We mix it with butter and spread it on corn on the cob, as well.

Of course, you can always just toss it in some coconut milk for a tasty and quick curry.

I'm going to give this a try, maybe this week :)

[Charley]

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/pppp.jpg

The alliteration special! Penne with prosciutto and porcini mushrooms with peas in a parmesan cheese sauce!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/pancettapie1.jpg

I broke my rules with these pizzas. I used a tomato sauce made from heirloom tomatoes. I also used meat - pancetta.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/pancettapie2.jpg

I paired up a leek with the pancetta. I pre-fried the pancetta about halfway done and set it aside, and reserved the fat to soften the leek pieces. The sauce was a pair of sweet heirloom tomatoes. I crushed and minced garlic and fried in some olive oil, then added the diced tomatoes with a cup of pinot grigio. Turned the heat up on high to boil off the alcohol, then brought it to a simmer, added a bay leaf, and a teaspoon each of basil, oregano, and sugar, and a half teaspoon each of salt and black pepper. I let that reduce for a good hour, until it was pretty thick. I also did the crust a little different, with 1 part semolina flour to two parts all purpose. It was hard as hell to mix with all of that gluten, but totally worth it. The dough held together well and was crispy, but chewy just within.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/pancettapie3.jpg

Christin loved this :)

[Mandy with an I]

Yes! Pistachios from Iran :D And my sister got a container of saffron :o

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The few things I've eaten that have been prepared with wine were gross. I really don't like the taste of wine. :( Red wine marinade for steaks is just barely passable - had some that were then stuffed with blue cheese and it was pretty good.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Pizza :love Charley, can I just come live in your kitchen?

[Charley]

Yes! Pistachios from Iran :D And my sister got a container of saffron :o

Pistachios are the best :) I need to cook more things with them.

What kind of saffron? Where was it grown? I've got spanish as well as kashmiri, and I haven't yet used the latter. It's a very subtle taste, but wonderful stuff.


The few things I've eaten that have been prepared with wine were gross. I really don't like the taste of wine. :( Red wine marinade for steaks is just barely passable - had some that were then stuffed with blue cheese and it was pretty good.

I admittedly haven't had much success with red wine cooking. I made a braise of oxtail with red wine that I didn't really enjoy. It's a lot less versatile than a dry white wine, which can accent many more dishes.

What sort of stuff have you made, and how did you prepare it? I add wine to my cooking fat and savories (onion, garlic, shallots, etc) and then crank up the temp to a brisk boil to reduce the liquid down. On top of that goes things like tomatoes and meats and such, so by the time that the dish is ready, all that you get is a bright note of the fruit in the wine.


Pizza :love Charley, can I just come live in your kitchen?

Well, if we find hotels with full kitchens for Dragoncon, I'll bring some of my equipment and cook for us.

[Peter McCoy]

Charley: The Survivalist Chef.

Shotgun - check.
Map - check.
Food and water - check.
Wok - check.

[Dasquian Belargic]

^ I would totally watch that if it was a TV show.

[Neutron]

^ I would totally watch that if it was a TV show.

Isn't this what Ted Nugent does now? :lol

Anyway:

Tonight's meal was spinach risotto served in roasted portabella caps with marjoram. Risotto was perfectly al dente, and the whole caps are tender but still maintain their body.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/risottocap.jpg

I'm not really keen on this arrangement. It needs something else for color and to show off the mushroom, which you only get a peek of. It was fun to eat though.

[Liam Jinn]

Look, let's make this easier for people that don't cook (yes I'm one of them). Explain what (I'm using this as an example) 'Al Dente' means. I'd like to know what you're talking about without having to google it.

I'd appreciate it. :)

[Neutron]

Sorry, I thought al dente was a commonly-used term. It just means "to the tooth" and is usually a term for perfectly-cooked pasta. Just a little resistance when you bite, but soft throughout.

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

Made challah!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/challah.jpg
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/challah2.jpg

Sweet Jewish braided bread with honey, cinnamon, cardamom, and poppy seeds :) I made cinnamon toast with some. Tasty!

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/farfalle.jpg

Farfalle alla Lupa e Gamberi. The sauce is slightly punchy with some diced chilies and anchovies, but it doesn't overpower the tomatoes. Very nice with shrimp, but could be served without them and be fine.

[Wyl Staedtler]

I made your soup Charley! It was delicious - no garnish, but I roasted the squash with macadamia nut oil. :yum

We're eating it now, with grilled ahi salad and baked sweet potato (for Rhys).

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a266/lizmclellan/food-1.jpg

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

Wow that salad looks great! How was it paired with the squash? :)

Tonight, I took some strip steaks & seared/broiled them in my cast iron skillet. Sliced up & served with arugula, wild mushrooms, and a little gravy made from au jus and the reduction of mushroom stock in the pan.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/arugulasteak.jpg

I thought it was a little salty, but Christin liked it :)

[Wyl Staedtler]

Oooh mushrooms. :love

The salad was awesome - it was one of those days where we were just craving some veggies and our garden is in full swing now. The fish was great too, just done with a garlic rub and some salt and pepper and lemon juice. Simple stuff that hit the spot.

It paired really well with the soup - the savoury twang to the salad went well with the mild sweetness of the soup. Even the boys loved it and they hate squash! (of course we told them it was just yellow tomato ;))

ETA: Crap! I forgot to put the avocado in the salad. Ahhh darn it. Well, we'll have plenty of guacamole, that's for darn sure.

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

The salad was awesome - it was one of those days where we were just craving some veggies and our garden is in full swing now. The fish was great too, just done with a garlic rub and some salt and pepper and lemon juice. Simple stuff that hit the spot.

It paired really well with the soup - the savoury twang to the salad went well with the mild sweetness of the soup. Even the boys loved it and they hate squash! (of course we told them it was just yellow tomato ;))

ETA: Crap! I forgot to put the avocado in the salad. Ahhh darn it. Well, we'll have plenty of guacamole, that's for darn sure.

I don't normally eat ahi with anything more than a sear, but that's the best presentation I've seen of grilled ahi in a long time. I'd totally nosh on that.

Glad the boys liked the soup, and I totally know what you mean about loving this soup and hating squash. It's just a whole different sort of thing. :)

Plenty of guacamole is an oxymoron btw (how does it last?). You should make more of that ahi and make some street cart tacos. Tomatillo & lemon, and a slice of onion or radish? Bingo!

[Wyl Staedtler]

Last nights dinner: salt-rubbed ono baked with vidalia onions, shallots, garlic, lemon and rosemary. Served on top of spinach, cucumber, and carrot salad, with feta and pan juices as dressing.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a266/lizmclellan/stuff024.jpg


And breakfast this morning: spinach poached eggs, edamame, a spelt bagel with peanut butter, hummus, and fresh raspberry (no sugar) spread. Protein shake with strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, vanilla Almond Breeze, and chocolate protein powder with spirulina.


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a266/lizmclellan/stuff026.jpg

[Darven]

Alright... since I finally had some time and got the opportunity to cook, here's something I made for New Year's Eve.

Thai Fried Trout with Sweet Pork and Mango Salad, yasmine rice, cucumber carrot salad with chili & coriander dressing, and green beans with a cashew sesame dressing. (The beans aren't on the picture because they didn't fit on the plate anymore)

http://www.nyahalcyon.net/misc/thai.jpg

My mom initially thought I was crazy to cook something completely unknown (at least to her) from scratch and present it to our guests, but she took every word back once she'd had the first bite.

It was REALLY, REALLY yummy.

[Peter McCoy]

(Egg) Fried Rice - help anyone?

Okay, I just tried my hand at some egg fried rice and I have to say it was boring and tasteless as hell. Where have I gone wrong?

My manager in work used to be a chef and he said to boil the rice, then throw it in a seive/strainer and run cold water over it to wash the starch off, then to throw it into a frying pan with a little bit of oil, throw an egg in and stir it up good. He said the boiling part would take around 10 minutes, and then the frying part just a few minutes -I did it for about 3 minutes but I wasn't exactly keeping time.

It was predominantly white as opposed to the golden/brown I get in restaurants, and the taste just wasn't there. Have I done something completely wrong? Are those instructions rubbish or does my manager just like really bland egg fried rice? Perhaps restaurants cook it a certain way or use extra ingredients?

[Ryan Pode]

Well, for the best fried rice, boil the rice and whatnot, then let it sit in the fridge for a day or so. It'll help maintain traditional texture, but if the taste is bland, try using more spice.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

I assume you're going for japanese style, yes?

It's frustrating as hell, because it seems like it should be easy. Here's what I did on my last batch that turned out okay:

1. Use white Jasmine rice. It may not be traditional but I find the grains to be firmer to the tooth and have a much better body for this sort of thing than generic long grain white. Also, wash your damn rice like Pode said. You'll get a lot of the sticky stuff when you do that. Chilling it after the initial cook is also going to help, because it keeps the grains intact much better than going with hot rice.

2. Sesame oil! While you probably want to grease your pan with a thin layer of neutral cooking oil like canola or clarified butter, add sesame oil to the rice when it's frying for a baseline. This is probably the most important thing to improve the taste of the dish that I've found. Accenting with sesame seeds on top is also good, although borderline overkill, hehe.

3. Peas & carrots, Jennay. It's that faint hint of sweet in the veggies that will set off the nutty notes of sesame and the salty soy sauce. I buy mine pre-cooked & flash frozen, and they work very well. Carrots you may have to fine dice and pre-cook though, but it's worth it.

4. Cook at a high enough temperature. We're talking a good medium-high clip. You want your rice grains to practically saute, and move that stuff around with the quickness. Brown it, but keep things stirred to avoid a burn.

5. This is completely my own preference, but consider mixing your sesame oil and soy sauce with a bit of wasabi paste. You don't want it to be much at all, but that little moment of hotness is really great in the background of it.

Try all this out. I still can't make a plate of Japanese rice that bests the restaurant stuff, but I've tried for years and this is my best rebuttal.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

SOY SAUCE is required when you fry it up. Ty makes a good fried rice. :)

edit: also, fry it in garlic butter.

[Peter McCoy]

Thanks guys. Will give it another go in the week.

[Anna Fernandez]

Its always better if you add chicken in it too, makes it a whole meal. :D

[Peter McCoy]

Well I know that - never had any thought, I just wanted to have a crack at the egg fried rice.

I wanna try making a nice chicken curry tomorrow night. I have some spices already - cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon, tumeric, a few others I think. Aside form the chicken and curry powder is there anything specific I'll need? I really enjoyed the consistency of that chicken saag - I assume plain yoghurt is fine for a chicken curry?

The thing I'm concerned about is the hotness. I don't like really hot food. I love chicken tikka but I dunno if the one I have in my local Wetherspoons is the standard hotness or if tikka masala can come in various piquancies. Korma is slightly milder than I enjoy, but it traditionally has coconut in it whcih I hate. So I'm aiming for a tikka masala-ish curry. If it helps, the one I like from Wetherspoons is rated with 2 red peppers next to it on the menu, out of 5 I think.

I'll also be wanting Pilau rice (unless there's a better choice for having with Tikka Masala) so any tips on cooking that would be appreciated. I'll just be heating the poppadums and naan bread so thats easily done. Mainly the dish itself.

I've seen a few recipes online but I thought I'd ask here as well, especially since I enjoyed your saag chicken so much, Charley.

[Wyl Staedtler]

I'll shoot you a PM a bit later with a recipe from my gran. She's a born and bred Afrikaaner and by golly, that woman knows how to make a curry. :D

Do you have apricot jelly/preserves by chance? Or something similar?

[Peter McCoy]

No, not got any of that. Nor do I have all of the ingredients for the recipe you PM'ed to me. I'll have to expand my collection when I get paid at the end of the month.

I had a crack at it last night. It was really tasty and my mum really enjoyed it too, she gave me 10/10 - and despite being her son she doesn't hold back if my cooking is rubbish, so I was quite pleased. Especially since it was my second go. I just used Uncle Bens Express Pilau Rice as my two attempts at rice have failed in my eyes (should have used a pan, really!). I need more practice/guidance on rice.

I kept things really simple for my first curry.

2 tbsp Somerfield Vegetable Oil
4 chicken fillets, cut into 1-inch(ish) chunks.
1 onion, diced (at least what I call diced)
2 tbsp Schwartz Mild Curry Powder
1/2 tsp tumeric
400g chopped tomatoes (tinned)
4 cardamom pods*
4 cloves*

*These were improvised. I had them in the saag chicken from Charleys recipe and just thought 'what the hell' and threw them in.

I chose the wok over the frying pan since it was deeper.

Started by heating the oil for around a minute or so, then threw in the onion. I cooked that for about 5 minutes until it softened, then added the curry powder and stirred thoroughly. I shortly added the extra bit of tumeric, as well as the cloves and cardamom pods. Cooked and stirred for a few minutes, then added the tin of tomatoes and once again stirred for a few minutes. Then I added the chicken and cooked for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

I just microwaved the rice for 2 minutes when the chicken was almost done, then served with naan bread (lightly grilled) and poppadums.

While we thoroughly enjoyed it, I found it quite mild for my palette, which was a surprise. I did, however, buy a tub of medium curry powder as well, so I'll try this one next time. I had enough chicken for 2 people, but my sster (who had already eaten) came into the kitchen - lured by the smell according to her - came and thieved some of my mums chicken and rice. I couldn't finish all of mine (too much rice) so she polished it off and thoroughly enjoyed it.

So I'll rate it as an overall success but I can already dientify what I want to improve on.

1: I'm awful at preparation - took me ages to cut the onion. I need to get more confidence for that part. It's not so much the fact that I'm using a sharp knife - just that when I cut it the layers start sliding over each other and I start to struggle to keep them in line while cutting them.

2: I used a mild curry powder. I'd prefer to make it from scratch using spices in jars but I just wanted something a bit quicker for last night. The spices I have are limited anyway so I'll need more purchases first. Unless someone has any examples of a curry that uses relatively few spices.

My current inventory is:

Cardamom pods,tumeric powder, cinnamon powder, cumin seeds, whole cloves, coriander.

3: Consistency - I want my curry sauce to be thicker next time. I added a few tbsp of plain yoghurt to the mix, but not much because I wasn't too sure about it. It wasn't noticably thicker as a result but I'm just wondering if using more would make it thicker, or is there another ingredient I could use?

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Add more yogurt to thicken it up. You're basically making a gravy with it.

Also, if you're wanting options for a low-spice Indo-Pak style curry try pureeing some mango to add to it. Christin loves mango curries, since she doesn't really care for coconut either. I'm of the opposite mind, but still the sweet & tart in a mango will certainly complement cooking with chicken and give you that shot of *something else* that you want to have in the dish.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Also, you may want to add a little bit of sweet to it. If you want authenticity, get jaggery, which is a natural sugar product that you can find in Indian groceries. If you can't find jaggery, use brown sugar. Giving a little sweetness to the curry pairs very well with meat curries.

[Khendon Sevon]

What I cooked in the past few days:

- Homemade vodka sauce (mother's secret recipe) that I smothered penne in, served with garlic bread, and salad for about 6 friends.

- Homemade chicken alfredo sauce with fresh three colored tortellini, garlic bread, and salad to serve 3 friends.

- Teriyaki chicken and shrimp with broccoli over sticky rice for me and the semi-ex-girlfriend-who-I-hang-out-with-way-too-much-and-still-cook-dinner-with-who-will-now-be-called-the-quasi-girlfriend-for-simplicity.

- Sauteed shrimp in a light garlic, white wine, and lemon sauce with fresh basil, olive oil, cherry tomatoes, and parsley over thin pasta with freshly grated parmesan served with a salad (quiet night with the quasi-girlfriend).

I'll be making a lasagna later this week, me thinks... Possibly Friday?

Not too shabby for a college student, if I do say so myself.

[Mandy with an I]

Cookies!

From the back of the Kraft peanut butter jar ;)

1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

Put everything in a bowl and stir until well blended. I used a wooden spoon, because the batter is really sticky. Put little blobs on an ungreased baking sheet, press them down with a fork. I sprinkled a little more sugar on top because that's how I've always remembered these cookies being made (well, when I ate them and someone else made them!). Bake in a pre-heated 325 degree oven for 15 minutes.

I wish I took pictures. If you don't make giant cookies, you can make a ton of them. I think I got at least 24 good sized ones out of the recipe.

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

I have a vague idea at the consistency on these, but I'm not sure. Is it sort of gooey or more crumbly?

[Mandy with an I]

The batter is gooey. Think of when you mix all the wet ingredients together, that kind of consistency. The recipe said to roll it into balls, but it was too sticky to that. I just used a spoon.

[Vipul Chandrashekar]

Well I mean, how's the consistency of the finished product?

[Barton Henning]

Not too shabby for a college student, if I do say so myself.

I wish I could have afforded to dine like that when I was in college :shakefist

[Mandy with an I]

Oh, crumbly. It's like a regular peanut butter cookie :p

[Khendon Sevon]

Not too shabby for a college student, if I do say so myself.

I wish I could have afforded to dine like that when I was in college :shakefist

When you split the cost with several people, it's not too shabby. That's especially true when you consider that I get all of my produce and such from one of the super trendy organic markets nearby and I'm in an expensive town (Hoboken).

But, we probably drop $5 each on the meal-ish. My girlfriend's parents own a restaurant, and so do mine; so, we get chicken, shrimp, and any fish from them.

[Barnaby Wednesdaydale]

Do your homework on your organic foods. The criterion for qualifying to label food as "organic" is very fast & loose, so if that sort of thing matters to you, you're inclined to know what you're paying a premium for. You may be paying more for essentially the same product, or alternatively, there may be some stuff that's local grown that you can buy on the cheap, when they don't bother to even label it.

Also a big tip for eating cheap is to know what produce is in season. You can look online for that info, or if you're lazy like me, just pay attention to what is being pushed in the produce area of your grocer.

[Dasquian Belargic]

My girlfriend's parents own a restaurant, and so do mine; so, we get chicken, shrimp, and any fish from them.

For free/cheap? That'll explain how you can afford it then :mneh Everything I've seen locally that is labelled is organic or free-range is always expensive. Especially meat. Damn free-range chicken, being so tasty.

[Barnaby Wednesdaydale]

Probably not free, but more likely at a wholesale discount. I used to do this with chicpeas and other stuff from the Syrian expat guy near my office who had a shawarma restaurant & little market. He had pretty good prices, but some things he didn't have out for sale in the market and he'd bundle them up from his kitchen and name a price for me. Super cool guy, and I miss that restaurant so much :(

[Charley]

I finally got around to updating my blog with two new entries (http://chuckskitchen.blogspot.com/).

Apologies for the holiday laziness, and now I hope to be able to keep regular updates for a change.

[Khendon Sevon]

Well, we don't pay for it :)

As for the organic bit, in NYC/NJ, practically everything is labeled as organic. Yes, I know the requirements for such a label aren't high, it's evident. That being said, I find that Garden of Eden and Trader Joe's tend to have fresher, riper producer than A&P or Shoprite.

Of course, the best fruit and vegetables I've bought from a market were in California. Mmm... memories.

And, nothing can trump the local produce you find in smaller countries. Oh man, food in Greece is amazing.

[Charley]

Farmers markets usually sell organic without bothering to toot their horns about it, especially if you find smaller markets in the country. My mom's family is from Clay county Alabama and I love to go out there and browse. Now, the Birmingham farmers market? Hit or miss, because you're going to be getting more of the commercial growers in that crowd. You're still likely to find great veg at even the worst one though.

[Charley]

Xocoatl (http://chuckskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/01/xocoatl-and-heart-of-darkness.html)

I made some awesome Aztec chocolate candies. Spicy!

[Wyl Staedtler]

Those look tremendous and I'm impressed you took the time to wrap them - I would have eated them all. ^_^;

I need to start cooking again. My kids are starting to look knobbly.

[Charley]

Something to think about since it was mentioned on SA, and I did a little digging:

If you're trying to afford organic produce, google it up to see if your city has a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program that services it. Basically, you'll be buying direct from a local farm or farms, and it's generally weekly shipments of fresh and seasonal produce, throughout the growing season. This time of year is supposedly the usual time to sign up for membership, in advance of spring harvests like asparagus and the like.

You basically front-pay for your contract, so say you're paying $230 for ten weeks of produce delivery. That works out to about $23 of produce per week, which if you eat veggies like I do, comes out to a pretty decent amount of savings. The downside is that it's a per share basis, like the stock market. Crops turn out huge, you get a ton of food. Crops turn out small, you get proportionally less. You also don't really pick what you get or don't get. You get what the farmers grow, and what's in season at that time. Now, if you wind up with a windfall of corn or something, you can take a little time & blanch a whole bunch of it, and freeze that for a time when corn isn't in season, so it works out well enough.

I'm looking into trying this out so if I do it I'll let you know what else I find out. There's a CSA serving Tuscaloosa and one serving Birmingham at the very least, so I know I have options. I've also heard that some CSA's diversify into stuff like fresh eggs, honey, and even some meat. Best thing to do is to look them up and check.


Those look tremendous and I'm impressed you took the time to wrap them - I would have eated them all. ^_^;

I need to start cooking again. My kids are starting to look knobbly.

Well, I wanted to see how the wrapping turned out. It was hit or miss, really. I'd almost just get a pretty candy box and fill it with some hearts instead of hand-wrapping, but as long as you're handling frozen chocolate, it's not a bad process.

Now what I want to find out is why the chocolate I'm working with makes a product that's more readily melty in my hand than the bulk ingredient I work with. For this, I basically combined unsweetened to bittersweet baker's chocolate in a 1:2 ratio. I'm told that I may have goofed by doing this instead of just buying product that's graded on european cocoa solids percentages.

My suspicion, however, is that this doesn't matter, and that I'm goofing the process by melting the chocolate in the microwave. I'm concerned that the heat may be uneven, and may be breaking the emulsion, which would account for a little more pliant chocolate, at least in my head. I'm wondering now if I should invest in a bain marie and try some indirect cooking to try and keep any emulsion constant in the chocolate when it's melting down. It would also be a good idea for whenever I get around to making Bearnaise, as I'm sure I'll want to do that for some Steak Oscar at some point or another.

[Charley]

SWEET

Snow's Bend Farms (http://www.snowsbendfarm.com/ourcsa.htm)

We do have a CSA here, not far outside Tuscaloosa even!

And they have a sample pic of a weekly box:
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/share.jpg

Madre di Dios...I would eat the hell out of that.

[Dasquian Belargic]

We used to get a big box like that of fruit/veg every week. Bananas, apples, grapes, oranges, plums, peaches, carrots, potatos, spring onion, leek - all for £6. It was always really tasty too.

[Charley]

We used to do athletic fundraisers when I was in high school football and track, where we would sell big boxes of fresh fruits & stuff. That always ended up being a much better seller than candy bars or whatever other shit that some people peddle. I know I would end up selling like 100 crates myself, and of that I'd keep like two boxes of apples, a box of navel oranges, and a box of clementines. It wasn't unusual to see like three tractor trailer loads pull up at our school so we could load up our product to deliver.

I love finding ways to get my food without going to a store for it.

[Morgan Evanar]

My parents are part of CSA and the vegetables that come from it are astounding.

[Sanis Prent]

Making a roux properly is so damned frustrating at times:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/roux.jpg

But when you do it right, you can make some amazing creole and cajun food. I made a little twist called Salsifried Gumbo (http://chuckskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/02/salsifried-gumbo.html)

[Ryan Pode]

I am making chicken wings today.

4 pounds of chicken wings
2 bottles of Texas Pete hotter hot sauce
1 bottle of soy sauce
1 bottle of honey



1. Wash and cut chicken. Place the wing and drum into a large tupperware.
2. Pour in the soy sauce.
3. Pour in the honey.
4. Pour in one whole bottle hotter hot sauce and half of the other.
5. Place the lid on the tupperware and shake it around, so everything gets coated.
6. Let it marinate in the fridge for about a day. Occasionally, shake the contents to get everything mixed in there real well.
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
8. In a long pan, I'll be using like marinating/casserole pans today, take a paper towel and spray it with cooking spray, then coat the inside of the pan lightly. Enough to make the wings not stick, but not become crispy.
9. Now place the wings.
10. Pour the remaining marinade on top of the wings to give them a coating.
11. Bake for about 35-40 minutes.

And that's about it. I'll post some photos later once I start baking them.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I have never tried any kind gumbo before (I guess it's cultural thing?) but it sounds/looks tasty!

[Sanis Prent]

2 bottles of Texas Pete hotter hot sauce
1 bottle of soy sauce
1 bottle of honey

How does Texas Pete taste? Never had it, but I've heard it's pretty good. Does it have a vinegar base? Some kind of savory stuff too? I know it's got a little heat but not too much, at least from the commercials. That said, if it's like it is in my head, then combining with soy and honey makes sense to me. A good sauce can be anything you want as long as it's got a little of each of those flavor characteristics, plus saltiness and a bit of sweet, which the soy and honey would give. Definitely take pictures, hope they turn out well.


I have never tried any kind gumbo before (I guess it's cultural thing?) but it sounds/looks tasty!

Yes it's a regional cuisine that's generally in Louisiana but also Mississippi and Alabama, and all along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It's basically French food (Acadians immigrated to Quebec from France and from Quebec to Louisiana) with native, african, spanish, and american frontier influences.

[Charley]

Fried egg chutney sandwich with chili sauce (http://chuckskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/02/its-like-cross-between-food-and-bowel.html)

Preview:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eSvTm4kUQzk/SYYDyVM7qdI/AAAAAAAAAFc/JichNvkpeH0/s320/rimmer.JPG

[Ryan Pode]

Texas Pete is like a louisiana hot sauce. It's not that hot, but it brings the right flavor to the combination.

[Charley]

Texas Pete is like a louisiana hot sauce. It's not that hot, but it brings the right flavor to the combination.

In that case, it sounds really good. Should be a nice rounded flavor.

[Wyl Staedtler]

Oh my god you guys, I am eating feta made from our very own goats and olives that my neighbor brought back from Greece and it's like they're having sex in my mouth and the olives just orgasmed. *dies*

[Wyl Staedtler]

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a266/lizmclellan/Food%20Blog/grangrampafood030.jpg


Lime-and-Honey Glazed Ahi Salad (http://isleofeden.wordpress.com/)

[Charley]

Oh my god you guys, I am eating feta made from our very own goats and olives that my neighbor brought back from Greece and it's like they're having sex in my mouth and the olives just orgasmed. *dies*

YOU SUCK! WHEN DID YOU MAKE THIS??!! LUCKY!!!

Did you guys remember to keep the ladies and gents separated so as to make the milk mild? Man I am jealous right now!

[Wyl Staedtler]

Yup, we finally clued in on that one. This is our fourth or fifth batch, I think, and the only one that's been good. Stupid goats are finally worth their upkeep!

[Charley]

Man, if only there was a way to ship food to each other without going into the poor house. I would love to try that feta. Did you make it mild or the traditional pungent style?

Also what sort of cheesemaking resources do you use? Special equipment? I would love to hear more of it.

[Ryan Pode]

You should just buy a goat Charley.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

No he shouldn't. Don't put horrible ideas into his head like that :mad

[Keerrourri Feessaarro]

You should just buy a goat Charley.

That's what I plan on doing when I get a fenced yard of any decent size. Of course, if I have a garden in the back, then I'll have to probably keep goats in front.

[Charley]

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/th_baguette1.jpg (http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/?action=view&current=baguette1.jpg)

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/th_baguette2.jpg (http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/?action=view&current=baguette2.jpg)

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/th_baguette3.jpg (http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/?action=view&current=baguette3.jpg)

I made four french baguettes last night. Nibbled on one with some fruit for breakfast/lunch today. Stored another one up in my bread box for later, and sold the others to people at work for $7 each.

People are asking me to bake them stuff and are willing to pay for it. I'm going to run with this for a while I think.

[Ryan Pode]

Now it's selling food to coworkers... a year from now it'll be "Uncle Charley's." That's the name of your diner, if you didn't know.

[Wyl Staedtler]

Really enjoyed your recent blog post on lobster stock, Charley. Go practicality! *highfives*

If I can get James to stop molesting me I'll try and update our blog with a special chutney episode. :)

[General Dan]

You're making your own chutney?! EEEEE

Okay that can probably survive a shipping right? I want some I want some I want some!!!

[Wyl Staedtler]

Eeeeee you want some!!??? I will totally send you some!! We are up to our fucking ears in chutney - it's basically my go-to dish when we've got too much produce to deal with. Like now. >_<

[General Dan]

Now it's selling food to coworkers... a year from now it'll be "Uncle Charley's." That's the name of your diner, if you didn't know.

I hope not. I love to cook but I think if I actually made a living off of it I'd start to lose creative control and begin to dislike it. Baking bread for people is a sort of happy medium.


Eeeeee you want some!!??? I will totally send you some!! We are up to our fucking ears in chutney - it's basically my go-to dish when we've got too much produce to deal with. Like now. >_<


Yes I do. I also want to see how you make that on the blog :)

[Ryan Pode]

Now it's selling food to coworkers... a year from now it'll be "Uncle Charley's." That's the name of your diner, if you didn't know.

I hope not. I love to cook but I think if I actually made a living off of it I'd start to lose creative control and begin to dislike it. Baking bread for people is a sort of happy medium.


Perhaps, perhaps not. You should get a cooking show.

[General Dan]

Too lazy. A cooking blog is free and I don't have to update squat if I feel like just sitting ardound and doing nothing :)

[Wyl Staedtler]

Although the benefits of having a show are not having to do any of the really tedious prep work or cleanup!*


*an alternative solution is to have kids and proudly endorse child labour.

[General Dan]

Although the benefits of having a show are not having to do any of the really tedious prep work or cleanup!*


*an alternative solution is to have kids and proudly endorse child labour.

I tried the wife labor option and that failed terribly.

[Ryan Pode]

I tried the wife labor option and that failed terribly.

That's because she already had tasted freedom. Children a dumb and are easy to trick.

[Mandy with an I]

Yeah, you can tell children doing prep work and cleaning is "fun" and they won't know the difference!

[Wyl Staedtler]

My favourite line is, "you need to learn to do this so that you can be self-sufficient and impress girls when you're older." ;)

[Neutron]

For lunch today, made a salad of arugula & spinach with heirloom tomatoes, red onion, carrot, shredded anchovies, and capers. Tossed that with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and topped with some shaved parmesan and pignoli. Not pictures is a little slice of french baguette:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/th_anchsalad.jpg (http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/?action=view&current=anchsalad.jpg)

I've never made anything Thai, and decided to just bullshit something with a few ingredients that seemed Thai enough to me. Some chicken, peas, cabbage, carrots, and a lot of chili, ginger, coconut milk, and curry stuff later, and here's dinner:

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/th_thaifighter.jpg (http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/?action=view&current=thaifighter.jpg)

[Neutron]

I feel like Neo in the Matrix with the whole "I know kung fu" except its "I know how to make bagels" and also Morpheus is a kindly old Jewish Bubbeh.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/th_bagel10.jpg (http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/?action=view&current=bagel10.jpg)

[Charley]

Gentlemen, I have no words that can improve upon what's in these pictures, so I'll leave it at that.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/th_truffle10.jpg (http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/?action=view&current=truffle10.jpg)

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/th_truffle11.jpg (http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/?action=view&current=truffle11.jpg)

[Xavier Synik]

Holy shit that's a lot of truffle...

And that's not a complaint...

Nice choice of wine too.

Did you just go with truffle risotto or is there something else in there. Oh and chicken or veg stock?

[Charley]

Truffle risotto only. I mean I even had a cup of shredded parm ready to go, and I paused, slapped myself, and put it back in the fridge, thinking what the HELL was I doing trying to add anything to this. That said, this thing has a half stick of butter in it, so I mean my risotto is really loaded. No cheese necessary in that case.

I used chicken stock because I think it's got a better savory mouthfeel that would fit for truffles more than veg stock.

The wine is great. I don't really drink pinot much (I cook with it near constantly) but this stuff is really mellow and easy going.

[Charley]

Here's my writeup on it:

Fresh Truffles (http://chuckskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/02/fresh-truffles.html)

[Charley]

Valentine's Day blog posting (http://chuckskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/02/valentines-day.html)

Caviar crostini with blue vodka, and spaghettini alla bolognese with merlot.

<3

[Charley]

Ich habe ein Salzbretzeln mit eine Weissbier.

(thats probably horrendously wrong, oh well)

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/th_pretzel11.jpg (http://s127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/?action=view&current=pretzel11.jpg)

Fresh baked pretzel with salt & poppy seeds, some supa thick mustard with horseradish, and a really good German beer.

[Charley]

I tried making pretzels with a parboil similar to bagel treatment with some caustic soda, and traded off by using a stiffer dough and half the proofing time from before. Made a double batch of both pretzels and bagels to give away to my mom & sister tomorrow.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/caustic.jpg

The crust is ridiculously brown, but gives way instantly to perfectly supple & chewy bread. Had to try a pretzel with mustard and a bagel with lox & schmear to make sure I'm not giving away crappy bread, and I'm happy with my results!

[Charley]

I made some sage & cheese focaccia bread (http://chuckskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/02/focaccia-alla-salvia-e-formaggio-and.html)

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/focaccia01.jpg

[Mandy with an I]

Cookies and how to mail them! :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/Blog/Cookies2.jpg

Cookie mix is cheaper than buying all the ingredients (esp. for chocolate chip cookies) and Quaker makes one of the best. My mum gave me the tin, and I got a box from work. Oooo!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/Blog/Cookies3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/Blog/Cookies4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/Blog/Cookies5.jpg

The mix was simple - 2 3/4 cups of mix, one egg, two teaspoons of water, three tablespoons of margarine/butter! I put the butter in the mircowave to soften it, but it melted >_> It was too hot, so some of the chocolate chips melted too.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/Blog/Cookies6.jpg

The batter was a little runny cos of the butter.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/Blog/Cookies7.jpg

Put on a lightly greased cookie sheet, baked for ten minutes!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/Blog/Cookies8.jpg

They turned out really crunchy on the edges, but soft in the middle. They spread out a lot and were thin (which I LOVE!)

[Mandy with an I]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/Blog/Cookies10.jpg

Yummy :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/Blog/Cookies19.jpg

I didn't count how many cookies I put in the tin, but I had to make the rest of the dough to finish filling it. The mix makes 60 cookies, and most of them went into the tin! I put a layer of plastic wrap between each stack of cookies, and wrapped the entire tin with it too.

Now for the packing! I read online that you can use air-popped popcorn instead of packing peanuts or paper. It's better for the environment, plus it's hilarious!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/Blog/Cookies13.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/Blog/Cookies14.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/Blog/Cookies18.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/Blog/Cookies.jpg

We used old stale Christmas popcorn. It took two bowls to fill the box, and you could shake it without any rattling :cool:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/Blog/Cookies16.jpg

Snaggle Puss was not impressed at all :(

[Charley]

Those cookies came out so nice and round. You did a good job :)

And the popcorn idea is incredibly novel. Definitely trying that.

[Wyl Staedtler]

Mmmm cookies. I bet your house smelled fantastic. :D

[Pierce Tondry]

So tonight is taco night. I will describe what I have done and whether it was any good. Unfortunately there are no pictures due to my lack of a digital camera.

I enjoy rice with my tacos, and for simplicity's sake I have previously purchased a taco dinner kit including seasoning and shells.

(please note, I use a gas stove/oven so the fire cooks things very fast and very well)

My ingredients are:

1/3 green pepper
1/3 white onion
2 cups brown rice
2 cups water
1 vine tomato
4 caps full of extra virgin olive oil
2 forks full of coconut oil
1.4 lb ground beef (93% lean)

First, I cooked the rice. Simple stuff. I mixed the rice, a cup of water, and three capfuls of extra virgin olive oil. Fluffed it as I cooked it for about 8 minutes, stopping when the rice has a nice and squishy texture and when there is no obvious pool of water in the bottom of the pot.

Next, prepared the beef. Tonight I decided I would add a bit of oil to the meat for a bit of extra savory taste. I heated the meat in the pan using a spatula to kind of scrape and chop the meat up so that it wound up in various size crumbles in the pan. After the meat had been separated and was beginning to brown, I decided to add my oil.

As I added the olive oil cap, I had a bit of a brain flash. I also had some coconut oil in the house and wondered what that would do to the meat mix. So I added two forkfuls of it to the meat. I continued to let the meat brown while I diced the onion and pepper, then added them to the mix. After they'd cooked for about a minute, I added the kit seasoning and remaining water to allow the flavor to spread among all the ingredients in the pan, stirring with my spatula to ensure an even coating on everything. I then let it brown for another couple minutes as I diced a tomato and removed it from the flame when I deemed it thoroughly cooked.

Last, I heated the shells in the oven. 8 1/2 minutes, 325 degrees (instructions say 6-7 minutes but I like my shells on the crispy side).

I topped everything with various cheeses and the diced tomatoes and at Chuck's suggestion I am eating it with Dos Equis green label beer.

I am about to have my first bite. The moment of truth! How is it?

...

OH. OH I like this. The oil blend and cooking the meat in its own fat makes it a little on the greasy side, but to my taste buds it's soooo flavorful. The pepper and onion add a little texture and the tomatoes are cool and sweet. I'm currently eating cheddar and mozzarella on it, which has a similar tang/cool sweet theme to it.

Plus there's beer in there somewhere. Even if you don't like the rest, you can get drunk enough that it doesn't matter.

[Charley]

Glad that worked for you :) Making tacos is always fun.

Couple of thoughts for you:

1. Lean ground isn't really ideal for tacos, but adding coconut oil to that was a really cool idea. I like that. Solves the problem for the most part. That said, it's not a neutral oil, so bear that in mind when you're building your flavor profile. The taco seasoning in your kit is probably going to include a little cayenne, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, that sort of thing. When you make your next ones, try and experiment with your own spices. The coconut idea is pretty neat, so maybe flow with that a little. Lets see, with the coconut, you could probably keep most of the flavors, maybe not oregano, but cumin & garlic and your pepper would be fine. Cilantro would also be good. Think about what goes with all that sort of thing.

2. Not sure about the cheese combined with the coconut. They seem like competing flavors. Now if you're wanting a little creaminess with the coconut flavor, think about maybe some rough chunks of avocado on top? That would keep a bit of richness to the taco and give you that yummy tropical accent.

3. Definitely pan-fry soft corn tortillas next time you make this. The pre-formed shells in the kit aren't in the same league. Plus, it's a lot cheaper to buy those, because they come in big bulk packs.

All in all, good start. You had coconut oil, used it in a pinch, and you've got opportunity to make something inventive and truly your own. That's the most fun about cooking, is the whole act of creating something out of nothing.

[Pierce Tondry]

I have a very loose understanding of flavor profiles so that goes over my head a bit.

As it stands, the coconut oil was just a brain flash. I had it onhand, and I knew it, and I said why not try it out? I was actually thinking about doing crazy tropical tacos after I'd tried the results, with some grilled mango or starfruit thrown in just because I like all those exotic fruits. I have no idea how well it would work together though. I'm at the point where I'm still not combining flavors so much as I am throwing things together and seeing if they work. Sometimes it's great, and sometimes I get Frankenstein's monster. :)

The cheese is also something I had onhand. I do typically eat it with tacos, but I don't usually add veggies to my tacos or anything of that nature. To be honest, the way this turned out I think I'd go for less cheese (maybe something very finely shredded and just to top it) and more veggies next time. Maybe grill the veggies by themselves? Don't know. Something to experiment on!

With the tortilla thing, well, I'll give it a shot. Can't do any worse than make the kitchen explode!

[Charley]

Mango would be excellent. I've not had star fruit but anything with a little sweetness would really set it off. Pineapple, lime juice, maybe some stuff like that. Your brain is already in the right geography, think about where coconuts grow and something sweet is bound to hit you.

I won't bother talking too much about cuisine purity since you're creating something new, but Mexican tacos are the origin, so I'll at least explain that much. For mexican tacos, there was never really any cheese. The reason is pretty much one you can guess, there's enough fat in the stuff already. You want to have your ingredients to not feel heavy, because your using pretty fatty meat, and if you're doing street cart style with the soft corn tortilla, you're probably pan-frying those in a little bit of oil to crisp. It's not something that would be apparent if using a pre-formed shell, but try cooking a soft tortilla like that and taste it. You won't miss the cheese :)

Now, if you stick to the shells, which I don't recommend personally but is up to your own taste, then you could probably do mild cheese. Queso Fresco is a pretty mild one that's derived without rennet from curdling milk over heat. In fact, it's such a simple cheese that you can easily make the stuff from scratch. You don't have to do that if you don't want, they sell it in just about any store. It's white, and crumbly/fluffy, with a gentle creaminess, so its not as heavy as cheddar or even mozz.

If you're looking into veg, I'd actually suggest going the opposite of grilling them. Serve em raw. The contrast of hot greasy meat and cool, crisp veggies (especially onion!) gives you a great experience. Not sure how you feel about the texture of onion though, so if that's not your bag, then go ahead with the grilling option.

For an example, when I make my street cart tacos, I mash avocado in with whatever veggies I use, whether its diced red onion or smashed tomatillo or whatever. I leave it raw and kind of chunky. With a caribbean flavor to yours, you could even do something like maybe some black beans in the mix and give it a cuban thing?

Edit: Random brainstorm, but do you have any jerk seasoning? Try that in your meat next time, I bet that would be badass. Also, you could top this with chunks of plantains too. I am going to live vicariously through you because I can't eat any of this stuff till Easter, so this is really a cool direction.

[Pierce Tondry]

Mango would be excellent. I've not had star fruit but anything with a little sweetness would really set it off. Pineapple, lime juice, maybe some stuff like that. Your brain is already in the right geography, think about where coconuts grow and something sweet is bound to hit you.

I won't bother talking too much about cuisine purity since you're creating something new, but Mexican tacos are the origin, so I'll at least explain that much. For mexican tacos, there was never really any cheese. The reason is pretty much one you can guess, there's enough fat in the stuff already. You want to have your ingredients to not feel heavy, because your using pretty fatty meat, and if you're doing street cart style with the soft corn tortilla, you're probably pan-frying those in a little bit of oil to crisp. It's not something that would be apparent if using a pre-formed shell, but try cooking a soft tortilla like that and taste it. You won't miss the cheese :)

Now, if you stick to the shells, which I don't recommend personally but is up to your own taste, then you could probably do mild cheese. Queso Fresco is a pretty mild one that's derived without rennet from curdling milk over heat. In fact, it's such a simple cheese that you can easily make the stuff from scratch. You don't have to do that if you don't want, they sell it in just about any store. It's white, and crumbly/fluffy, with a gentle creaminess, so its not as heavy as cheddar or even mozz.

Well, cheese is one of those things that I think of as being included in the "traditional" American-Mexican taco and given that I had a small variety of it on hand, I naturally included it with my meal. I can take it or leave it though, since the cheese is kind of a filler ingredient.


If you're looking into veg, I'd actually suggest going the opposite of grilling them. Serve em raw. The contrast of hot greasy meat and cool, crisp veggies (especially onion!) gives you a great experience. Not sure how you feel about the texture of onion though, so if that's not your bag, then go ahead with the grilling option.

I'd grill the onions just because my tummy don't handle them as well raw. I think I could have gone with the non-grilled pepper option though. I bought both a green and an orange pepper and didn't use them up (didn't add the orange pepper just because I didn't want to go overboard while experimenting). I think I'll revisit my creation tomorrow and try just dicing the green and orange peppers and another tomato and going without the cheese for toppings to see how it tastes.


For an example, when I make my street cart tacos, I mash avocado in with whatever veggies I use, whether its diced red onion or smashed tomatillo or whatever. I leave it raw and kind of chunky. With a caribbean flavor to yours, you could even do something like maybe some black beans in the mix and give it a cuban thing?

I have some black beans on hand and intended to include them in tonight's meal, but when I added the coconut oil I held off. I wasn't sure how it would turn out and didn't want to waste that ingredient.


Edit: Random brainstorm, but do you have any jerk seasoning? Try that in your meat next time, I bet that would be badass. Also, you could top this with chunks of plantains too. I am going to live vicariously through you because I can't eat any of this stuff till Easter, so this is really a cool direction.

I don't have jerk seasoning on hand, although it wouldn't be hard to get. I can pick some up whenever I choose to make tacos again.

I think my goal for my next round of tacos will be to make them with no taco kit, so I will have to come up with seasoning and shells on my own. That will change the makeup of them quite a bit I think. I'll stick with the ground beef base, but experiment with natural spices and black beans. Since the meat mix and shells are already going to be hot, I'll try adding diced green pepper raw and at least one other raw veggie ingredient.

The more I think about it, the more I really like the mango taco idea. Since I usually make enough meat mix to go several meals, I think maybe I'll try some grilled mango or pineapple with one meal and then try them cold the next and see which I like better.

This is a little exciting. :)

[Charley]

Seeing inspiration take off like this is the most fun thing about cooking. Definitely keep us updated!

[Charley]

I made some Russian borscht (http://chuckskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/03/borscht-dasvidanya-hunger.html), which may well become one of my favorite soups. It's freakin awesome!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/borscht2.jpg

Also, bumping this because Liz needs to update her shit asap.

[Wyl Staedtler]

Fuck off, Iron Chef, I was making pretzels.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a266/lizmclellan/pretzels001.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a266/lizmclellan/pretzels002.jpg

Whole wheat w/black gomazzio, and whole wheat & dill topped with garlic, red pepper, and sea salt. Your directions were fab - made a double batch tonight and there are three left. :D

[Charley]

Wonderful rounding! How long did you proof before the parboil? The baking soda bath wasn't too fussy was it?

I'm so happY!

[Wyl Staedtler]

The second proofing, right? I have to admit that after we twisted them up and laid them on the pans, I completely forgot about proofing and waited probably about five minutes while the water got back down to a nice simmer before plopping them in. Halfway through I realized I'd totally buggered out on that and was like 'oh, crap' - but they turned out really tasty anyway!

The baking soda bath was fine - I was surprised at how much colour they picked up just from that alone. They were so brown even before they hit the oven. And your suggestion about spritzing with a spray bottle was spot-on; they're so moist and chewy!

We're gonna try making these again, only with filling. I've got an almaretto almond meal recipe that would be so good. Maybe put some cinnamon in the dough or something.

Also, we're going to attempt some focaccia this weekend. :D

[Charley]

Well, there's only one proof, but jargon gets passed around a lot. Basically the proof is the rise that you give it after its formed.

You bloom the yeast, then sponge in the flour, then mix, then knead, then rise, then punch, then proof (then parboil for pretzels and bagels etc) then bake.

You do it enough times you'll end up doing it in your sleep :)

[Charley]

Ah, baking bread time. Maybe I should drink beer while I do it!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/Newcastle1.jpg

Oh noes my beer!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/Newcastle2.jpg

Whew, its okay!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/Newcastle3.jpg

This dough was just barely held together. By far the most moist dough I've made, but I was on a mission. That mission was for Newcastle rolls, and these things are criminally soft on the inside.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/Newcastle4.jpg

[Wyl Staedtler]

Did some baking today.

Dill-&-Roasted Garlic Focaccia Topped with Spanish Onion, Kalamata Olives, Feta, and Garlic Jack Cheese.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a266/lizmclellan/food004.jpg

Dill-&-Roasted Garlic Focaccia Topped with Sea Salt, Havarti, and Chipotle Cheddar Cheese.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a266/lizmclellan/food003.jpg

Tomato Soup Cupcakes with Sage-&-Amaretto Cream Frosting (dusted with cinnamon)

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a266/lizmclellan/food008.jpg

[Regulus Varo]

So are the cupcakes sweet? Is that kind of like a carrot cake?

Glad you liked the focaccia. Those look very nice. Crust and crumb turned out well, and the toppings are amazing, especially the top one.

[Wyl Staedtler]

They're actually a bit spicy - they have ground cloves in them. I'm not sure what to compare it to as it's got such a unique flavour. They're super moist though.

The icing is a bit too sweet for my tastes. Next time I'll cut the confectioners sugar by half and maybe have a bit more cream cheese and amaretto. The sage goes really well with it all though there could have been a bit more added in. Trial and error, I guess. :)

[Charley]

Yeah, I'd love to hear more about those. I've never made cupcakes, but I have a very small fudge pan that I may adapt to make some small desserts.

Seeing as I'm really lame at dessert, any help would be great!

[Charley]

Its not delivery, it's

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/vegpie09.jpg

n/m just playin'

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/vegpie10.jpg

Picked up some bizarro mutant retard smoked mozzarella that for some reason will never melt. Never buying that shit again. Christin liked it though.

That's okay, I made one for me!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/vegpie12.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/vegpie13.jpg

Pizza margherita.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/vegpie14.jpg

[Sudoku]

http://homepage.interaccess.com/~june4/spaetzle.html

Charley, those are those dumplings I keep telling you about. I don't think my grandma used cream of wheat in them though.

http://homepage.interaccess.com/~june4/hunchicpaprikas.html

I'm going to have to ask my mum how to make Paprikas, but that seems right minus the sour cream. :) Now I really want some >_>;

[Charley]

Thank you. I've been wanting to make paprikash since I got some good paprika and I wanted to get your take on it.

[Ryan Pode]

Where does one find Hungarian paprika?

[Wyl Staedtler]

I'm not sure this actually counts as cooking because it's so freaking fast and simple but hey. It's a favourite brekkie in the Mehling household.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a266/lizmclellan/brekkie004.jpg

Cherry-Vanilla Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Anjou Pears and Agave

So all you do is basically cook your oatmeal til it's ninety percent done, toss in some chopped cherries and half a teaspoon of (real) vanilla. Let that cook til it's done then dish it into a bowl, top it with some diced pear and cinnamon and add the sweetener of your choice. We usually use agave nectar, but maple syrup works very nicely too. :)

[Sudoku]

Thank you. I've been wanting to make paprikash since I got some good paprika and I wanted to get your take on it.


Before you make it - I've always had it with the dumplings made in the actual dish, not before. There's a special little kitchen gadget that you put the dough onto and it makes the little dumplings >_>; It looks like a cheese grater, lol.

I want to see pics if you make it :D

[Charley]

Where does one find Hungarian paprika?

I bought mine on the internet. Go to Amazon. Watch the shipping costs, thats where they get you usually.

Could probably find it at Whole Foods too, but I usually hate buying spices at a grocery store. You're paying for the container usually.

[Charley]

I'm not sure this actually counts as cooking because it's so freaking fast and simple but hey. It's a favourite brekkie in the Mehling household.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a266/lizmclellan/brekkie004.jpg

Cherry-Vanilla Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Anjou Pears and Agave

So all you do is basically cook your oatmeal til it's ninety percent done, toss in some chopped cherries and half a teaspoon of (real) vanilla. Let that cook til it's done then dish it into a bowl, top it with some diced pear and cinnamon and add the sweetener of your choice. We usually use agave nectar, but maple syrup works very nicely too. :)

I've started to look into more and more stuff like that as a breakfast idea. I usually don't like oatmeal, but I'm sort of coming around. There's a really cool Shopsin recipe that I think uses bulgur wheat called Ashura Hot Cereal that's similar to this as well.

I wonder if I can find agave nectar here.

[Wyl Staedtler]

You should be able to find it at most health food stores - I'd be surprised if Whole Foods didn't have it. If not though, lemme know and I'll send you some. It's cheap and comes in good sized bottles.

I myself have never been an oatmeal fan but have recently come around; it's all because of steel-cut oats. They take a lot longer to cook than conventional oats but are so much more enjoyable taste and texture-wise.

[Charley]

What's that texture like? I admit the only sort I've ever known are the bulk container rolled oats, which are fine for things like fortified smoothies but honestly come off a bit gooey in any hot breakfast.

EDIT: Also, wait a fuck, did you take that picture? If so, holy shit, good work!

[Wyl Staedtler]

That's exactly why I've never liked regular oatmeal - but the steel-cut aren't gloopy at all. They've got a much firmer texture, sort of a happy medium between rolled oats and brown rice.

And yes, I took the pic - I'm usually pretty crap at it and I've been really trying to find angles and stuff that show off the food. So thanks! :D ^_^;

[Charley]

Sold me on the oats. I'm shopping this weekend and will look to put something together. I've got some pomegranate and not afraid to use it.

Also, put that shit on your blog. It looks delicious.

[Wyl Staedtler]

Oooh pomegranate? Man, that'd be awesome with like, fresh grated ginger and a bit of soy milk and honey. :yum

[Charley]

Honey, yes. I'd go some cinnamon and maybe cardamom too. Smother that in moo cow milk.

[Wyl Staedtler]

Sounds epic. Oh man I really hope you like those oats - I'm a fairly new convert and so I'm filled with zealous praise about them.

[Charley]

Wait, forget the milk. Yogurt. Hot whipped up yogurt with the cinnamon in it.

Damn I never thought I'd actually look forward to fucking oatmeal of all things.

[Sudoku]

Oatmeal is delicious, especially cold with milk. Crunchy >_>; (yes, I am weird and kind of gross, but I love uncooked instant oatmeal)

[Charley]

No thats not gross. I've always liked "al dente" oatmeal if it can be called such. Not necessarily in oatmeal per se, but done with other ingredients.

[Redik]

So hey, people that aren't Liz and Charley still cook in this place right?

My dinner tonight, a recipe improvised by Charley with the ingredients I had on hand.

Here now, is how to make Charley's Odd Chow!

Ingredients List

Spices:
Tumeric
Coriander
Cumin
Mustard seed
Garlic
Cinnamon Sugar
Cilantro
Salt (I like sea salt)

Oils:
Coconut
Extra Virgin Olive oil (any oil you like will do here)

Vegetables:
Onion
Green and Orange pepper
Vine Tomatoes
Lemon

Meats:
Breaded catfish

How to cook this biotch

First, heat the olive oil. I used just enough to cover the bottom of my little frying pan. When the oil is hot and popping, add 1 tsp tumeric and 1/2 tsp each of coriander, cumin, and mustard seed.

Cover it, let it cook for about a minute or so (basically the length of time it takes to chop your onion). When the onion is chopped, add that in along with 2 tsp salt, stir it, cover, and cook it on low heat for about 10-15 minutes. Take a break about halfway through and add your coconut oil and half a teaspoon of sugar.

While that's going on, chop your tomatoes. Then, add garlic powder (if you have chili pepper, Charley suggests adding it here), water, and the tomatoes. Turn up the heat so that the tomatoes break down and become more saucy than anything else.

When that's happened, add the fish and cook the entire concoction over gentle heat for about five minutes. Serve with rice and fresh cilantro. I added some diced green and orange pepper and lemon juice to taste. It's really good!

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1) Instead of catfish, I'm more inclined to use non-breaded salmon. It's got a different taste and texture that I really like and I think it would go well with the rest of the dish.

2) I had no chili pepper which I am regretting. I think some kick would be really delicious with this dish.

3) Bigger portions of spices! I wound up making a lot of food and I think a little more spice and a little more oil in the beginning would make sure the spice flavor spreads to the rest of the dish evenly. At a certain point, I stopped trying to measure things and just sort of eyeballed it, which I think worked well for me. :)

4) Something sweet for dessert! I'm really wanting some fruit, or some delicious confection to top off the evening. Perhaps a smoothie or juice to drink would suffice. Wine wouldn't hurt either. I had my last Dos Equis and am not complaining.

5) Be really careful with your oil. If you aren't, you might end up burning your first oil/spice mixture, like I did.

All in all, it was a delicious and unique dish! Thank you for the idea Charley!

[Csephion Draxus]

Dude that's awesome. I'm glad the dish turned out well for you.

About the spice, if you're popping the whole stuff, you want to be FAAAST about it. Really it should be a matter of seconds. You toss them in, cover to let them explode for about five to ten seconds, take the heat down, then add those onions. It doesn't take much, and you're aiming to just have enough time to pop, rather than to cook the seeds or whatnot. That'll happen on lower heat, you just want those flavors in your oil, which then flavors the sauce.

As far as a dessert, fruit would be awesome. Cinnamon on those apples, baked in a ramekin or whatever until they're soft and sticky sweet. It's simple and tasty.

[Redik]

Dude that's awesome. I'm glad the dish turned out well for you.

About the spice, if you're popping the whole stuff, you want to be FAAAST about it. Really it should be a matter of seconds. You toss them in, cover to let them explode for about five to ten seconds, take the heat down, then add those onions. It doesn't take much, and you're aiming to just have enough time to pop, rather than to cook the seeds or whatnot. That'll happen on lower heat, you just want those flavors in your oil, which then flavors the sauce.

I agree and can't stress this enough actually. Because I cook on a gas stove I can't measure temperature just by turning a dial so I have to watch my temperature. I wasn't used to heating the spices though, so on my first go I overheated my oil so much that as soon as I added my spices they charred and the mixture smoked.

At least the smoke detector was kind enough to have a silence button. ^_^;


As far as a dessert, fruit would be awesome. Cinnamon on those apples, baked in a ramekin or whatever until they're soft and sticky sweet. It's simple and tasty.

:idea If I am feeling particularly brave, sliced and spiced bananas, lightly cooked, over some cold chocolate pot du creme.

[Csephion Draxus]

The bananas sound like a winner to me. If you get some young ones, you could add some sugar and milk to a pot, kinda make a puree/pudding out of them, and add your favorite spices, and maybe some coconut too.

I hate banana pudding myself, but I think there's room to make it pretty good.

[Charley]

If none of you have ever eaten any South African food, you need to rectify this immediately. Despite being a pretty domesticated Alabama boy, I've had it enough times to be utterly smitten by the cuisine. I posted a recipe for bobotie a long time ago, and I frequently nosh on funeral rice when I need a tasty side. Needless to say, when you mix African natives, European colonials, and Chinese and East Indian indentured laborers in one place, you're naturally going to find some really amazing food in the culture.

Bunny chow is a name derived from several sources. Chow comes from the slang borrowed from the Chinese to describe some general foods. Bunny is a word originating from an Indian tradesman caste that immigrated to the area called Baniyas. From there it gets hazy. Depending on where you hear it, it's either the Indian street food merchants way of serving the racially segregated customers during Apartheid, or it was a day laborer takeout invention for sugarcane workers during the Great Depression, or it was a way to economically feed poor young kids. I've heard about a dozen, who knows, who cares I guess. Either way, it's stupidly good food like just about anything in South Africa. Here's how you do it:

The Bread

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny01.jpg

No surprises here, it's formulaic white bread. I've taken some of the water out of this and replaced it with buttermilk. You can use water if you want to keep this vegan. This is enough for two loaves of bunny chow. Scale down if you prefer. I like baking two loaves because its not significantly more time than one, and you can keep the other in your bread box, keep the rest of the curry in the fridge, and make another bunny chow a few days later, or for friends!

Use this:

6 1/2 cups bread flour
4 tsp kosher salt
4 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
2 cups lukewarm buttermilk

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny02.jpg

Combine salt & flour, make a well. Combine yeast and water. Let that rest for five minutes, and stir into a uniform swill. Pour into the well, and draw flour from the sides, stirring briskly to make a paste. Cover and let rest 20 minutes to sponge.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny03.jpg

Sponged! Add about half of your buttermilk, stir in the flour as much as you can. If the dough is dry, add more buttermilk, but be careful not to get too moist. You want it lightly tacky on your fingers.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny04.jpg

Turn out onto work surface, knead like crazy for ten minutes, then chafe it up, grease a bowl, plop it in and cover for about 90 minutes or until doubled.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny05.jpg

Punch down, chafe, split into two pieces with a sharp knife, and chafe into balls again. From here, you want to form into loaves and fit into greased loaf pans, but for some reason I forgot to take a picture. Use your imagination! Cover your loaf pans with a damp cloth for 45 minutes to proof.

You then want to preheat the oven to 425, and just before putting the loaves in the oven, give them a vertical slit across the top with a very sharp paring knife or scalpel. Pop those in, and spritz the side walls of the oven with a spray bottle, or whatever your choice of steam may be. I give it a spritz every five or ten minutes, but don't really keep track. Let them bake for 40-45 minutes and turn out onto a wire rack. Again no picture, I guess because I make a dozen loaves of bread a week and I just forgot about it.

Now, for the curry

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny06.jpg

Here's a crappy mise en place for sure. Some of this stuff I didn't even use, and other stuff I used but forgot to mise en place. Oh well!

No matter, here's what I used for my curry. If you have another curry you like, use it instead. It really doesn't matter. You could even take restaurant takeout curry and just pour that slop in if you're super lazy!

If you are a stickler for making it like I did, here's what I used:

3 tbsp ghee (canola or olive oil if you want vegan)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander seeds, slightly crushed
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
3 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp garam masala
About 20 curry leaves (omit if you can't find them)
2 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 tbsp grated ginger (or paste if you're lazy like me)
2 tbsp dried chili flakes (or potentially much, much more!)
One or two big tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 small potato, diced
2 cans black beans, drained
1 young-ish plantain, diced
About six or seven ounces of coconut milk
Big handful of cilantro, chopped


http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny07.jpg

Start with your ghee in the pan, get it good and hot, just shy of smoking. Throw your turmeric, mustard seed, coriander, and fenugreek, and immediately turn the heat down. The spices will pop, so get ready to quickly cover for a moment. Immediately add your onion and garlic, and a teaspoon of your salt. Cook covered on low heat for about 10-15 minutes to sweat the onion.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny08.jpg

From here, add your tomato, potato, curry leaf, ginger, and chili flakes. Ramp the heat up to boil for a minute or two, then back to a good hard simmer to break that tomato down and soften your potato somewhat. I'd say about ten minutes.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny09.jpg

Beans beans the magical fruit. Add both cans and your garam masala. Another five minutes of covered simmer.


http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny10.jpg

In goes your plantain and coconut milk. Simmer for another ten to fifteen minutes.

[Charley]

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny11.jpg

Should be nice and fragrant by now. Add your cilantro, then salt gently to taste. By now your curry should be quite creamy, but still with a bit of chunkiness. Take that off the heat.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny12.jpg

If you are just an impatient baby or can't justify eating a whole bunny chow in one sitting, tide yourself over and ladle some of it over basmati rice with kala jeera, if you've got it. It's curry, silly!

This works especially good if you're just making the bunny chow a day in advance and didn't bother to make any dinner that evening. At least it worked out that way for me, since I made the ingredients the day prior.

Okay, now the fun begins!


http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny13.jpg

Remember that bread? Go and get it! Measure about an inch down from the top, or about where it sort of puffs up if you made a conventional loaf like me. Carefully saw horizontally with your bread knife so that you remove the "lid" of the bread. Make your cut as even as you can.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny14.jpg

Using a knife, carefully score the crumb of the bottom part of the bread, so that you make a rectangular outline. Then, rip out as much of the crumb as you can in big pieces. You want to create a nice little hollow. A good side note if you're a fiend for South African food like I am, these bits of the crumb can be air-staled for a day or two and used as the thickening binder if you want to make bobotie (minced meat curried casserole with fruit and egg custard on top) Since I'm vegetarian for a while, I'll use it for something equally tasty later on I'm sure!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny15.jpg

A fitting hidey hole for curry. Also if you need to hide your wallet, keys, or uh, something. Preferably not at the same time.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny16.jpg

If your curry is in the fridge, warm it back up however you please (I just microwaved it big whoop) and ladle it lovingly into the cavity. Let it sponge a little, and pack as much curry in there as you can fit. It'll go, don't worry.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny17.jpg

Cover with the "lid". See, just an innocent loaf of white bread...shhhhh...

Wrap that in tin foil, and preheat oven to 350. Let it sit in there for about 15 minutes.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/bunny18.jpg

When it gets out, it'll be gently warm and steamy. Unwrap the foil, pop the lid, and invite your neighbors.

Under any circumstances do not use any utensils to eat this. Your utensils are the bread. You tear some of the lid, or some of the bread wall, and use that to shovel curry into your mouth. If you eat this with a fork, spoon, knife, chopsticks, or whatever just make sure you have no South Africans near you because they are going to think you're a complete fruitloop.

You should also drink a lot of beer when sharing this. If you're cool enough to have Castle or Windhoek, then that would be ideal. If not, whatever beer you please. I've always enjoyed an IPA with curry in general.

Feeds approximately six or eight people per bunny chow.

[Wyl Staedtler]

Agh bru, uitstekend werk! Dis is baie lekker - lyk baie smaaklik. :yum Nou jy benodig net om te hê sommige boerwors op die brai en jy sal wees 'n ware afrikaaner. ;)

[Charley]

I love it when you post in Afrikaans. It's like a happy guessing game and you can usually get (some of it) right!

Now we need an mp3 of you saying "dakadak" like Leo in Blood Diamond ^_^;

[Wyl Staedtler]

Ah yes, the 'ja ja' movie. :D Maybe one of these days I'll upload some recordings of me'n my brother jabbering in Afrikaans and singing old folk songs from the Cape and Swazi areas. Or better yet, do a podcast about South African cooking in Afrikaans.

[Pierce Tondry]

Yes, that is awesome. As long as you provide a translation too so us linguistically deficient people are able to keep track.

That's suspiciously similar to the recipe you gave me Chuck. ;)

[Charley]

That's suspiciously similar to the recipe you gave me Chuck. ;)

Wonder why I was able to BS that thing in my sleep? Curry (and a lot of other dishes of similar composition) have a lot of culinary leeway in them, but they also follow a pretty straight-forward system.

1. Pop your spices in hot fat on higher heat

2. Sweat your aromatics with salt under lower heat

3. Break down your watery veg under higher heat (as well as cook the hearty stuff)

4. Simmer your more delicate stuff on lower heat (add meat here if you do that sort of thing)

Once you figure that, it takes the mystery away from it, leaving you with a game of Mad Libs where you're just filling in flavors that you know go together.

[Mandy with an I]

Okay, so tonight I made pancakes. But I wanted to experiment, so I added peanut butter. They tasted just a little bit like peanut butter cookies (yum!). Next time I make them, I think I'll add more PB and maybe chocolate chips >_>;

[Charley]

I made four pizzas to bring to a party at work today, but you shan't be seeing any of them, because Charley was having a bad pizza sliding day and sometimes he gets very angry in the kitchen, and sometimes things happen.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/peelsmash.jpg

I Bo Jackson'd this fucker over my knee in a rage, then angry that it actually broke on me, threw it across the kitchen. Cooking usually brings out the best in me, but sometimes the worst too!

[Aurelias Kazaar]

Okay so I will never be on Hell's Kitchen, because here's what I did tonight.

I was making steak and arugula salad (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sliced-Steak-with-Arugula-233986) and as I'm heating up the oil, I notice it started smoking a lot. So I go to open a window, turn around, and see the stove has caught on fire. I race into the kitchen and (since I don't have baking powder), dumped the oil into the sink and turned the water on. Now, I KNOW, I KNOW, do NOT use water and oil. But at that point, I was thinking, "Fire bad, water good," so I didn't remember the consequences.

Needless to say the smoke alarms went off, but thankfully not the sprinklers.

Fire was put out, smoke alarms stopped beeping, and I remade the dish.

Came out excellent. Just as good as the last six times I've made it.

Guess ya gotta christen the apartment somehow.

[Charley]

Steak & arugula salad hell yes. I blog posted about that a while back and it's a killer dish thats easy to make.

And don't fret about the occasional retarded kitchen mishap, it happens. I turned some curry spices into volcanic ash doing about the same sort of thing in my new Cuisinart saute pan. Gotta watch those oils.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Ask him about the time he smoked out the house so bad the cats started retching :colbert

[General Dan]

Heh, which time? Goat curry or taco cart tacos?

[The Black Man]

Here's the finished product on the steak and arugula

[General Dan]

Looks great. Good to see you did the steak proper and left it plenty bloody.

If you're gung ho for it, try my iteration of the dish too. It's just about as simple, though trading the acidity of the wine and balsamic for a little earthiness from wild mushrooms. No matter how you do it, trick is to never make this anything other than a thing about steak. Arugula has that really unique buttery/bittery thing to it that makes it amplify steak flavor.

These flavors pop up a lot, at least in Birmingham restaurants, in a very similar beef carpaccio dish that seems to be at every good establishment. It's carpaccio (paper-thin mallet flattened raw beef), arugula, shaved parmigiano reggiano, and an aioli made from horseradish and (I think) lemon zest. With the exception of maybe the lemon zest, all of these things just amplify that sort of experience to a crescendo.

[General Dan]

I bought a pack of Monty Python's Holy Ail, expecting it to be a purely crap beer. To my surprise, it's actually decent, tasting a bit like Fat Tire actually!

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/holyail.jpg

[Darven]

I baked a Baked Apple Cake yesterday. Unfortunately forgot to take pictures and when I came home from my gran's this evening there was none of it left....

Apparently it was to die for. Oh well.

The other week I made Jambalaya with a bunch of different seafood stuff in it, and spicy sausage....

I can't wait for next month, tho - it's my dad's 70th birthday and we have to celebrate it three times with different people, so I'm doing the cooking for all three parties.

There shall be lots of good stuff coming up.

[General Dan]

I'd love to see your interpretation on Jambalaya. Do you have your recipe?

[Pierce Tondry]

Don't ask me what the $%)# $)#$%)* $(#$%%*() fucking #)%)$ I did, but I managed to make a tasty dinner.

Brian's "Shrimp in Beer Fried Rice with Garlic Mixed Vegetables!"

Ingredients

Breads
Beer (beer is liquid bread okay)
Brown Rice

Veggies
Celery
Mixed Vegetables

Oils
Coconut
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Spices
Coriander
Tumeric
Cumin
Mustard
Salt
Garlic
Cinnamon Sugar

How to make it

Uh, what? You want to know how to make this?

Well, I'm no Charley but okay. It was pretty tasty. Bear in mind, I completely eyeballed my portions and tossed stuff together on the fly. Your results may vary.

First, combine coconut oil and spices, heating the oil enough to pop the spices when you add them, but not hot enough to burn them. When that's done, pour the oil out of that pan and into a bigger pan with your rice. Mix the rice with the oil so everything gets an even coating. Then add beer and salt and heat on low heat to break down the alcohol. While that's going, chop and add celery and continue to let it cook on low heat. Stir it while you prep the veggies.

Next, add olive oil and garlic to the bottom of a rice pot. Use a little oil and a lot of garlic. Then add your mixed vegetables and get them coated in it, then add water and boil. When your veggies are boiling to a foam, set them in the fridge a moment.

While that's going, pop back to your fried rice. If you have stirred it and the heat has done its job, the alcohol will have broken down and the water will have boiled off. Turn it up to high heat momentarily to make sure you fwoosh anything left in the pan to boil it away. Then add your shrimp and cook on low again. When the shrimp are visibly cooked, get your veggies out of the fridge, drain them completely, and add them in. Flash heat everything until it's hot, then turn off the stove and let it cool just enough to eat it.

Then you serve it, adding however much garlic, salt, or cinnamon sugar on top as you would like.

Then you eat it.

Points of note.

1) Don't use a lot of oil for this. I didn't use much, but I feel as though I used a little too much. My finished product was slightly "wet" (oily) and I think it would be even tastier "dry" (only a little oily).

2) When you do the thing with the vegetables, use a lot of garlic. Enough, at least, so that the vegetables all have that garlic taste to them.

3) The beer I used was Yeungling traditional lager. It was what I had on hand, and tasty.

4) Hey, don't burn your spices when you heat your oil. Don't!

5) My oil removal techniques include draining, swapping things to a different pan and draining, and lightly padding things with a paper towel.

[General Dan]

Very inventive :)

I did have a few comments:

1. Why transfer the popped spices and oils to another pan? You could pop them in the larger pan and save you some dirty dishes :)

2. I would probably cook the mixed veg before the shrimp, just because it usually takes a lot less heat to finish shrimp since they're kinda delicate.

Other than that, you did a really great job with the resources you had, and made something really unique and tasty :)

[Pierce Tondry]

1) My reasoning is actually based on my available equipment, so I guess that's relevant.

I have a small skillet-type pan that heats oil nicely and holds just the right portion of oil and spice to cook things in a larger pan that I have. It's perfect for that. However, my skillet can get way too hot too easily, and doesn't hold a lot of other ingredients. It's a lot easier for me when I am throwing together an oil and spice blend on the fly to just use that little skillet to zap my oil and then combine everything into a larger pan for the slower cooking phase than it is to do it another way.

My skillet isn't hard to clean, and admittedly I use it as a holding pan for veggies to clear my cutting board (smallllll kitchen space for the lose). Works well for my needs, but feel free to do that bit differently if you choose.

2) Another relevant detail. My shrimp were frozen to begin with, so my seat-of-the-pants flying took that into consideration with my cooking times. If I'd used fresh or thawed shrimp, I'd have probably used a little more heat and a little less time. I cooked it slowly to make sure that I didn't heat the shrimp too quickly and ruin them.

[Cneidon Mako]

Fair enough. For heat control next go, I'd suggest spreading the shrimp on a plate and zipping through the microwave defrost. Or even better, let your bag o' shrimp rest under a hot water tap for a few minutes, and that'll do the task even better.

You can add em frozen, but bear in mind that adding frozen ingredients is going to retard the temperature in the whole pot. If you're trying to keep the cooking temperature consistent, it makes it a little tougher when the food is very cold. It'll still happen with thawed food, but the effect would be lessened.

[Charley]

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/pasta06.jpg

Fresh pasta tossed with olive oil, toasted garlic, pine nuts, peppercorns, and fresh black truffle, topped with manchego cheese.

Never made pasta from scratch before, and it was actually a lot easier than I imagined. You do it that way, and you cook the fresh stuff far less than you do the dried stuff in the box.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Mmm fresh pasta sounds delicious. :yum

This is probably a dumb question but why 'pop' the spices? Why not no pop?

[Charley]

Popping spices causes the essential oils in the spices themselves to release into the hot fat you're cooking with. The flavors come on stronger using whole spice since they haven't degraded by being ground up and pre-processed.

There are still times when you will grind spices rather than pop them. Baking and roasting applications come to mind, since the heat is indirect and gentle. You'd never have the sort of temperature needed for popping in that state, so you'd go for a grind. You'll still get flavor, it's just not as robust.

Regardless of whether you use whole or ground, you should at the very least be buying whole spices exclusively if you can. You can always grind whole spices. Can't ungrind ground ones. All you need at that point is a cheapo mortar and pestle and you're in business.

[Charley]

Here's my fresh pasta write-up (http://chuckskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/03/fresh-pasta.html)

[Katchen]

Popping spices causes the essential oils in the spices themselves to release into the hot fat you're cooking with. The flavors come on stronger using whole spice since they haven't degraded by being ground up and pre-processed.

There are still times when you will grind spices rather than pop them. Baking and roasting applications come to mind, since the heat is indirect and gentle. You'd never have the sort of temperature needed for popping in that state, so you'd go for a grind. You'll still get flavor, it's just not as robust.

Regardless of whether you use whole or ground, you should at the very least be buying whole spices exclusively if you can. You can always grind whole spices. Can't ungrind ground ones. All you need at that point is a cheapo mortar and pestle and you're in business.

Or you can use a spare coffee grinder. ;)

DO NOT use the same grinder for Coffee & Spices. Pick up a second one and use it exclusivley for spices. Microplanes are also nice.

[Charley]

Yep, a coffee grinder is great especially if you're grinding curry spices on demand, since the volume is going to be more than for other cooking jobs. If I want taco seasoning or something, I use M&P for small batch, but you can't beat a grinder if you're making a lot of the curry powders and pastes yourself.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I have created the ugliest apple pie ever. I cannot figure out rolling out pie dough to save my life. There's a reason why I made the pie dough for mom but let her create the pies when I was growing up.

But there is crust on the bottom, apples in the middle, and crust on the top. Mostly. Not very much crust on the sides, and there was no 'sealing' happening. :( But I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted pie so I just chucked it in the oven anyway.

Cut it, throw it in a bowl and scoop ice cream on it and no one will know. Right?

[Mandy with an I]

It all comes out looking the same in the end ;)

I made pork chops with an appley bechamel sauce the other night. Turned out pretty good. :) Will post up a pic later.

[Charley]

I have created the ugliest apple pie ever. I cannot figure out rolling out pie dough to save my life. There's a reason why I made the pie dough for mom but let her create the pies when I was growing up.

But there is crust on the bottom, apples in the middle, and crust on the top. Mostly. Not very much crust on the sides, and there was no 'sealing' happening. :( But I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted pie so I just chucked it in the oven anyway.

Cut it, throw it in a bowl and scoop ice cream on it and no one will know. Right?

The best apple pies I've had are done this way. My mom even makes a short order pie that's more like apple cobbler than apple pie, and you dish it up with a spoon. It's got a crust, but only on top. As long as you've got that toothsome contrast to cooked apple, it's going to taste good.



I made pork chops with an appley bechamel sauce the other night. Turned out pretty good. :) Will post up a pic later.

Awesome. I'm stoked that you used a mother sauce :)

[Ilias Nytrau]

Things I have made lately:

Fajitas
Cheesecake w/ Strawberries on top
Blueberry pancakes
Blueberry muffins
Deep dish apple pie

And tonight, I made veggie burgers. All the other things I've made before, but this is the first time I've made veggie burgers and let me tell you they turned out delicious. Even my daughter, who tends to be a little specific about what she ingests, ate some of her burger before deciding she was done eating. The recipe comes from a cookbook from the Fresh Tracks Café at Whitewater Ski Resort in Nelson BC... I'm thinking if these were so good, there has to be at least a few other things in the book that will make my stomach happy.

[Mandy with an I]

Okay, here is the picture of the pork chops I made. OOooooOoooo.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/March128.jpg

And what I will for sure be getting Charley for xmas ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/mneh/001.jpg

[Charley]

I'm betting like 600 of the 620 pages in that book are:

"Make this regular dish like normal"

followed by

"Add bacon on top as an afterthought everybody likes bacon get it lol lol lol"

;)

Re: your porkchops, those look great! Make them again, and integrate them into a full meal. Think about some veggies and a starch to go with em too, so you can have something to catch some of that tasty looking bechamel sauce. I'm going to rock your fucking world because here's an application where I think you could most certainly use bacon as an actual integral ingredient, not as a kitschy lazy afterthought. If you make cheddar kraft dinner and cook some applewood-smoked bacon, that would tie in so damn well with your chops that it would be a sin to not do it.

EDIT: Maybe you could braise your chops with apple slices and some juniper berries to soften em up, and instead of making a fully apple bechamel, you could use a little apple and some sharp cheddar to combine with bechamel to make an apple sauce mornay, and THEN crumble bacon into that, fold in your cooked macaroni, etc. You could even make gratin-style slices of apple to put on top, salt and pepper those, and bake that in the oven all together.

[Charley]

I've been tinkering with a few flavor ideas and put together a ravioli soup recipe thing I'm going to test today. Here's the recipe I bullshitted if you want to play along:

1 1/2 cup semolina flour or bread flour
2 eggs
pinch of kosher salt
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp water
1/4 pound spinach, washed, blanched, and finely chopped
1/4 pound feta cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp fresh tarragon, washed, blanched, and finely chopped

Combine flour, egs, salt, oil, and water in a bowl and mix to combine until a thick dough is formed. Turn out onto a work surface and with floured hands begin to knead. If you use semolina its going to feel pretty rough and gritty at first, but keep kneading a good 15 minutes until the dough is a uniform consistency. If you can't easily knead it, add a few dabs of water during the knead. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Return to the dough, and on a floured work surface, begin rolling the dough out with a rolling pin or vodka bottle or whatever.You can also do this if you have a pasta maker like I do. Get it as thin as you can (I use next-to-thinnest setting on pasta machine), and then use a drinking glass to cut out circles in the dough, transferring them to a floured work surface. You may have to take the trimmings and re-form into another bit of dough and repeat this. Make as many circles as you can.

Combine your spinach, tarragon, and feta cheese until evenly mixed. Take a generous pinch of the mix and put it into the center of each dough circle. Fold the circle in half, wetting one edge of the dough with a finger dipped in water. Pinch the edges together to form a half moon, and then make a ridged seal with the tines of a fork. You've now made a ravioli. Do this until all of the circles are filled. From here, you can either cook the ravioli immediately or store them in the freezer. If you do the latter, lay them flat until frozen, take them off the flat surface, and then arrange them between parchment paper in a freezer bag.

Now, the soup.

Use this:

2 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, minced
2 tsp kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
3 bay leaves
1/2 cup of dry white wine
Juice of half a lemon plus teaspoon of zest, reserved
3 quarts water
1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
1 pound fresh (big buds with a twinge of purple) asparagus
Pinch cayenne pepper
Kosher Salt + Pepper to taste

In a stock pot, boil your water with a teaspoon of salt. When its boiling, add your porcini mushrooms and bay leaves. Let boil for five minutes, and bring to a simmer for ten more.

Take the asparagus, and cut away the lower 1/3 of the stalk approximately (feel it, if its woody, its got to go). With the remaining 2/3, cut the stalks into one inch lengths give or take.

In a saute pan, add your oil, bring to medium high heat and add your shallots and the other teaspoon of salt. Stir, then bring the heat to low and cover for 15-20 minutes. Uncover, add your asparagus, garlic, and white wine, and bring the heat up to high for a few minutes until the wine boils the alcohol off. Take the saute dish off the heat, and add the contents of it to the stock pot.

Bring the stock pot up to a boil, and add your ravioli, cooking them for about two minutes total. Take off the heat and your lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Stir, taste, and adjust your seasoning.

This serves 4-6 people. Put into a nice wide soup bowl, and sprinkle just a bit of the lemon zest on the top for garnish.

[Charley]

I put off the ravioli till this weekend and made something a little lazier.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p156/LoungieMu/nachos1.jpg

CARL'S JR XXX-TRA BIG-ASS NACHOS.

Home-fried tortilla chips, tomatillo guacamole, tomato, black beans, salsa roja, and cilantro.

THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING CARL'S JR. FUCK YOU, BUDDY. I MEAN IT.

[Mandy with an I]

We all know Breakfast Nachos are the best nachos ;)

BTW Charley, I found some cooking classes! They have them at the LCBO (our ABC store). I'll have to show you the list :D

[Charley]

Yeah I'd like to see that list :)

[Khendon Sevon]

My dad said he'd pay for culinary school after I graduate in May with my degree in computer science ;)

Oh, silliness.

Code + food. Sounds good to me.

[Charley]

There's a culinary academy in Birmingham I've considered taking a few odd courses at just for the hell of it, but it's pretty damn expensive. I don't know if I could do that on a whim.

[Salem Ave]

Breakfast nachos? Crazy...

[Mandy with an I]

http://www.lcbo.com/learn/cookingclasses_fairview.shtml

[Ryan Pode]

Charley, I had no idea how easy it was to make tortilla chips. I think I might try that later today. Although, a different variation on the toppings.

[Charley]

Yeah it's pretty funny. It seems like one of those simple things that should be obvious but you don't really think to make the connection. I was reading Kenny Shopsin's book and he mentioned that, and I was like "OH DUH, why haven't I done this?"

You can make an absurd number of chips with even a pretty small pack of those things, and they're really cheap. Also as long as you keep them in the fridge or freezer they last for a very long time.

[Charley]

http://www.lcbo.com/learn/cookingclasses_fairview.shtml

The stuff that leaps out at me are the comfort food course, the spring course, and the singles course. I think any of those would be great to help you get your feet wet. I know you're not huge on veggies but the spring seasonals taste great if you can learn to prepare them well.