Whether it's just generally pottering in the kitchen at the end of pay month, trying to construct something resembling dinner, following online recipes or just making it up as I go along, there's few betterer to me than cooking.
And I suspect I'm far from the only fattyboomboom who has a penchant for pots and pans.
Let's here your recipes, and equipment/gadget must haves,
I cook when I can for myself and/or family, but usually I don't follow a recipe - I go with the flow and it seems to work out quite well
I bake too from time to time; I have some recipes for chocolate and peanut coated shortbread, but I think I'll be keeping those a secret for now
Best gadget you can have when cooking/baking is a penchant for experimenting - I have found that some of my best creations have come from doing something that sounds ludicrous, such as adding chocolate to a chilli, marmalade to creamy mash, and diced green apples to bacon wrapped chicken.
Essential tool: A proper non-stick omelette pan. I make the best omelettes on the planet...no gak...and you need an actual omelette pan, not just some generic skillet to pull it off.
I love cooking. And a slow cooker/crock pot is an awesome tool! Also, I love trying things that are just in my head that never come from a recipe book. Most of the stuff I cook is also pretty healthy. I make a killer lentil stew. And tequila lime roasted chicken! I don't use too much in the way of salt; but I use plenty of herbs and spices for flavor. And I make kickass Guac and salsa too!
Slow Cookers are an absolute must, I totally agree.
Whether you work long hours (such as in my case) or just want a fuss-free Sunday Dinner, they're the toy you want.
Though when I'm doing my stew, I eschew water in favour of more Red wine....and follow the advice of Keith Floyd - if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it.
Turn out beautiful every time! Plus, as my one has a 'keep warm' function, a single pot will feed me for most of the working week, bringing economy of scale to cooking for one.
This is the book that started my cooking journey over 20 years ago (an earlier edition of it actually). It may have just been curries at the start but there's very little I won't have a crack at now. I've even mastered that most deceptively tricky of meals - the Sunday roast with Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes that are crisp while at the same time being fluffy. Lush.
I've got a good collection of curry books now but nothing matches this one for versatility and ease - I'm still making at least one of the recipes out of this book at least once a month.
Although I do have recipe books, I find I'm flighty enough to prefer just googling random dishes.
For example? Watching DS9, and Sisko is making Jambalaya. Quick google and run to the shops that night, and I had a delicious dinner. I would say it was a delicious jambalaya, but never having had it before, let alone in a Louisiana Restaurant, I make no claims about authenticity. But it's now part of my repertoire - and has erm...helped me with the ladies now and again - another boon to being familiar with your pots and pans.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: Though when I'm doing my stew, I eschew water in favour of more Red wine....and follow the advice of Keith Floyd - if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it.
Would now be a bad time to say that I hate drinking alcohol, but love to cook with it?
Mum taught me one of her experimental recipes for making homemade flatbreads, one of which is infused with beer. I can't remember how it goes off the top of my head, but when I work it out I'll be sure to post it - goes fantastically with soups and chillies.
I always find stews and curries cooked in them lacking and a bit bland, I hardly use mine anymore.
The humble fired potato+bits is one of the staples of Saturday lunchtime for me, its also an excellent way to use up 'stuff' left in the fridge.
Its basically a few potatos cut up into small squares (don't bother peeling them) and boiled until just about cooked (10 mins or so) and then fried with anything suitable that you have lying around. My latest was potato, onion, bacon, cabbage with some cheese beaten egg run through at the end. Chilli, left over roast beef, turmeric, cumin and mustard seeds topped with a fried egg are probably the best additions that I have discovered so far though.
Cheap, easy and delicious.
I haven't had jambalaya in years, I may have to see what I can do about that
That's Bubble and Squeak that is - and a mighty fine lunch it makes too!
Automatically Appended Next Post: And for fish and chips?
I use Granny Grotsnik's method - don't use batter, use Paxo Golden Breadcrumbs.
Possibly not to everyone's preference and fair enough, but hey - it's one of the two Granny Grotsnik's recipes, and that's plenty good enough for me. And being shallow fried, arguably slightly better for you.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also, completely forgot....I cure my own bacon these days.
Got a big old bag of salt cure (pre-mixed, seemed best for a beginner), and it really does produce some of the best bacon I've ever tasted.
Trick is to get your porky goodness from a decent butcher, as they can clean it up for you, including removing the skin without removing the fat.
Gonna do a few batches in time for my main LARP of the year, and go from camp to camp selling it. That's the road to wealth right there, and my Silver sword, Stabatha, needs a Cold Iron sister, Stabigail.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: That's Bubble and Squeak that is - and a mighty fine lunch it makes too!
Automatically Appended Next Post: And for fish and chips?
I use Granny Grotsnik's method - don't use batter, use Paxo Golden Breadcrumbs.
Possibly not to everyone's preference and fair enough, but hey - it's one of the two Granny Grotsnik's recipes, and that's plenty good enough for me. And being shallow fried, arguably slightly better for you.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also, completely forgot....I cure my own bacon these days.
Got a big old bag of salt cure (pre-mixed, seemed best for a beginner), and it really does produce some of the best bacon I've ever tasted.
Trick is to get your porky goodness from a decent butcher, as they can clean it up for you, including removing the skin without removing the fat.
Gonna do a few batches in time for my main LARP of the year, and go from camp to camp selling it. That's the road to wealth right there, and my Silver sword, Stabatha, needs a Cold Iron sister, Stabigail.
Choose your cut (I prefer loin, because proper bacon, none of that streaky nonsense), and weigh it once trimmed.
Make a note, and work out 5% of that weight. Weigh out your salt cure to match the 5%.
Rinse and pat dry your cut of meat (I use paper towels, less chance of contamination), then start rubbing in your salt, remembering to work it into any folds in the meat.
Then, bag it up (ziplock are ideal) and bung in the bottom of the fridge for a week or so (five days minimum), turning it once a day.
Then remove, rinse, pat dry and slice up your luvverly bacons, trying not to consume the whole joint all at once.
Or in my case, slice up, divvy up into brown paper, two slices to a sheet, take to LARP in a cool box, hawk round the camps, selling it as a Copper a package. Sit back and laugh as the cash rolls in, then go and spend it on spanky new weapons until you're a veritable tool kit of blade types for every unpleasant occasion.
Oh absolutely. Bit of herbs added to the water does help massively.
And does allow you to get away with cheaperer pasta (which is daft, because pasta itself doesn't really taste of anything!)
Instead of sauce, you can also knock up pesto relatively easily - though I for one can't stand pesto! You don't need as much compared to sauce, so it's ideal for 'uh oh, what am I going to eat tonight' end of the pay month blues.
Buy a cheap sauce jar. Tom base, max a quid.
Add some tom puree. That thickens up and makes it more like thomato Than water. Bacon great add if your not broke.
Next. Herbs. Herbs save every cheap food I swear!
Last trick. After sauce and pasta done. Mix together. Then add frated cheese. Mature chedder best.
Very good cheap pasta with a few simple kitchen extras.
I've found the best way to flavour pasta is to add stock cubes to the boiling water - about 1 per serving, of any variety. Simple way of making it taste great.
I've also dropped teabags into water when I've made rice for curries. Trust me, it works, but it's better with Green Tea, and Jasmine Rice
burgers. *burgers, inject a little Worcestershire sauce into them. I personally like a light garlic dusting. Must be over a charcoal grill. Then throw on some foil, to smoke some bacon. Drench the bacon with maple syrup. A few minutes before take off bacon throw some pineapple slices onto the grill portion that doesn't have foil on it.
Fajitas, well they are a secret.
Essential items. Charcoal barbeque grill. tools. Bulleit or Four Roses bourbon (for the chef).
Burgers are probably my favorite thing to cook, any way, any style. Charcoal is great, but up here I only cook outside in the spring/summer. I hate cold. I also love em "burger joint" style.. seared in a super hot pan and squished thin.. cooked fast, and stacked 2 or 3 high with lots of cheese.
I usually go for the 85% meat, and mix in salt, pepper and usually like 2 cloves of garlic per pound, squished with my handy hand garlic squisher. My favorite toppings are mcdonalds style.. mustard & ketchup and pickles. Oh and bacon. Lots of bacon.
One time I tried grinding my own and mixed in some deli cut bacon, and ground it all up together. That was yummy, but super greasy. Maybe would have been better if I used the beef that was super lean, since the bacon had lots of fat.
And I always go for the homemade buns, I hate the little white bread ones, they just fall apart.
General Annoyance wrote: I've found the best way to flavour pasta is to add stock cubes to the boiling water - about 1 per serving, of any variety. Simple way of making it taste great.
It's even easier: Just remove the pasta from the boiling water before it's al dente and drop it in the sauce, stir to coat, absorb sauce/flavour, and finish cooking. No need to rinse with cold water or coat with olive oil to reduce stickiness as it's infused with your sauce. Of course if you want, you can add olive oil for flavour as needed.
I didn't cook for a very long time. I used to make cakes and stuff so a mixer was mandatory. Recently I made deviled egges and discovered that a blender is pretty much mandatory, too.
I'm with Fraz! Worchester sauce is a MUST in burgers. It's something I always do, and my friends always wonder why my burgers taste better than theirs.
timetowaste85 wrote: I'm with Fraz! Worchester sauce is a MUST in burgers. It's something I always do, and my friends always wonder why my burgers taste better than theirs.
I like a custom mix of Worchestershire and Teriyaki myself.
I'm honestly a fan of plain and simple grilled cheese XD
Frank's Hot Sauce for my Burgers. Lea and Perrins goes on Cheese on Toast (or grilled cheese sandwiches. Try it, you'll thank me!)
But Burgers, I did buy a manual burger press about a year ago, but haven't actually used it. Shall have to rectify that next week methinks.
But as for Maple Syrup on Bacon? You monsters. That Pig died for you, and you go and desecrate it's holy rashers? For shame! If you can't learn to respect bacon, you shan't have any.
I cooked one of my favorites last night, homemade honey sauce on a Sheep's leg, roasted for 9 hrs, one of my kids favorite's too, they wanted more roast rather then ice cream lol.
Sheep was done by me from walking to plate too, my own always seem to taste better then from the store.
I can't get by without a good set of knives, keep them sharp and they make things so much easier.
squidhills wrote: I once set fire to the kitchen cabinets while making Eggo waffles in the toaster.
...I'm not allowed in the kitchen any more.
This is a wise man. My tactic to be banished from the kitchen was to use the wife's commercial level mixer for something. I was banished to outside grilling only...with dispatch!
And they say old men are dumb heh heh heh.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: Frank's Hot Sauce for my Burgers. Lea and Perrins goes on Cheese on Toast (or grilled cheese sandwiches. Try it, you'll thank me!)
But Burgers, I did buy a manual burger press about a year ago, but haven't actually used it. Shall have to rectify that next week methinks.
But as for Maple Syrup on Bacon? You monsters. That Pig died for you, and you go and desecrate it's holy rashers? For shame! If you can't learn to respect bacon, you shan't have any.
I work with a bunch of Canadians. it was their idea. Its actually...awesome!
squidhills wrote: I once set fire to the kitchen cabinets while making Eggo waffles in the toaster.
...I'm not allowed in the kitchen any more.
This is a wise man. My tactic to be banished from the kitchen was to use the wife's commercial level mixer for something. I was banished to outside grilling only...with dispatch!
And they say old men are dumb heh heh heh.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: Frank's Hot Sauce for my Burgers. Lea and Perrins goes on Cheese on Toast (or grilled cheese sandwiches. Try it, you'll thank me!)
But Burgers, I did buy a manual burger press about a year ago, but haven't actually used it. Shall have to rectify that next week methinks.
But as for Maple Syrup on Bacon? You monsters. That Pig died for you, and you go and desecrate it's holy rashers? For shame! If you can't learn to respect bacon, you shan't have any.
I work with a bunch of Canadians. it was their idea. Its actually...awesome!
Wise folk, those Canuckistanis!
One of my favourite simple alterations to a very ordinary food: before you toss a porkchop into a bag of shake n bake, cover it in the hot sauce of your choice.
Na, it has to be a good sourdough. Something with some taste to it, with some good body to bite in to.
Or white sliced with a big pile of thin streaky bacon if I just want a dirty pile of unhealthy grease and salt.
As for vital cooking stuff:
A good set of knives.
A good heavy based frying pan, one large and one small steel saucepan (no need for non stick)
A good oven. I have had good ovens and bad ovens. Nothing is more likely to ruin food than an oven that can't keep a stable temperature. My oven is an all gas 80cm Smeg oven. It's huge and cost me £700, but I love it.
Rice cooker, because I sodding hate cooking rice in a pan. Its a pain. It needs to be watched, it boils over, it sticks, the rice is always under or over cooked etc. Rice cooker, I can throw in the rice and water, let it cook away whilst I sort out the rest of the food, and will stay warm if it is ready early.
I make bacon sandwiches a bit differently since I hate buttered sandwiches, or sauce.
Crisp up 3 rashers of bacon, but when they're close to being finished, get a roughly chopped tomato and add it to the pan. Keep poking them about till they start to break apart and form a sort of relish. Season with pepper, and lime juice if you have any. The bacon fat will do the rest of the flavouring for you.
Perfect lubricant for a bacon sandwich if you're no fan of ketchup, butter or HP like me
I recommend that you toast your bread for that one though, since the relish can leak through and burn your fingers if you aren't careful.
Something that I cannot live without is one of these:
Spoiler:
A big cast iron pot. You can make enough bolognese/chilli in this thing to last you an entire week (which is great when you're a poor student!), it will work on all hobs (gas, electric, halogen, induction), you can chuck it in the oven to bake things in (made lots of macaroni cheese in mine) and iron is an excellent conductor so it heats very evenly.
I follow my Mum's way. First make a roux (flour and butter, which will act as a thickener. Or just use cornflour), pint of milk, big old block of cheddar (good quality mind you, I'll let you decide what qualifies as that though) grated.
Add the milk to the roux, and start to heat it up. Once good and hot, but not boiling, start bunging handfuls of the grated cheddar in, letting each batch melt thoroughly. Stop when your sauce is thick enough for your own liking.
And don't forget to chuck in some freshly diced white onion for a bit of bite toward the end - you want it hot, but not actually cooked.
Combine with the boiled pasta, put in an overproof dish, cover with grated cheddar, whack under the grill until the cheese is crispy.
Butter both slices. Good and thick enough to leave teeth marks.
Squidge of HP sauce applied directly to one of the buttered slices.
Get your bacon good and crispy, using proper proper bacon and not streaky.
Luvverly.
Nope. Decent quality sliced white pan(standard bread basically) for the bread, grilled or dry fried back bacon and mayonnaise. You cant beat that.
Butter in a bacon sandwich? You heathen monster.
I think I’ve posted these a few times, but as I already posted them over in my blog a few years back, I can just copy/paste them in cooking threads.
Some cookies I normally bake around the holidays for gifts:
Brownie Roll-out Cookies
Spoiler:
3 Cups Flour (all purpose)
2/3 Cups Unsweetened coco powder
¾ tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Baking powder
1 Cup Butter
1 ½ Cups Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
Bake at 350 for 8-11 minutes.
Cream butter and sugar. Combine the dry goods in a separate bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter/sugar mix once it’s light and fluffy. Slowly add the dry ingredients. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for an hour before rolling and cutting.
While these are called “roll out” cookies I’ve never made them that way. I take the dough and form it into a ~1½” log and refrigerate it that way (but could be frozen for later). Then I just cut it into ¼” slices and bake. We frost these with a peppermint royal icing and sprinkle crushed candy canes on top to give out for the holidays.
Cranberry Pistachio cookies
Spoiler:
1 ½ Cup Flour
½ tsp. Cinnamon
¼ tsp. Salt
¾ Cup unsalted butter (softened, 1.5 sticks)
¼ Cup plus 2 Tablespoons Sugar. (total of 3/8 cups)
½ tsp. Orange zest
½ Cup Pistachios
1/3 Cup Dried cranberries
1 Egg, lightly beaten
¼ Cup Turbinado or decorative sugar (coarse, for rolling)
Mix dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, salt). Cream butter, sugar, and zest. Add the dry, and once that is incorporated, the bits (nuts/fruit). Form into a 1 ½” log, wrap in plastic wrap, square off, and chill for 2 hours. Once the dough has firmed up, brush with the egg and roll in the sugar. Cut into ¼” slices, and bake in a pre-heated 350 oven for 15-18 minutes.
For best results use unsalted pistachios. If you can only find the salted ones, let them soak in some water for a bit before mixing them in. Pour off the brine and dry them on a paper towel before mixing them in, and probably cut the salt out of the dry goods.
Candied Pecans
Spoiler:
1 egg white
1 tsp. orange juice
1 lb. pecans
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice or mace
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
Beat egg white with orange juice until stiff. Mix pecans in egg mixture until coated. Mix dry ingredients and toss to coat pecans. Bake on foil lined cookie sheet (or use a silpat) for 1 hour at 225. Stir once or twice while baking. Cool and store in airtight container.
Shortbread
Spoiler:
Recipe redacted by order of the Inquisition.
Cinnamon Bears
Spoiler:
1/2 lb. butter
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 c. flour
Roll dough 1/8 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters. Decorate with colored sugars and candies or frost with royal icing with the help of small children. Bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes. Watch and remove from oven when light brown. Cooking time can vary greatly with the thickness of the dough.
VARIATIONS:
To make cinnamon bears, add cinnamon and allspice to the dough. Cut with bear cookie cutter. Decorate with a chocolate chip for the nose and two silver candies for eyes.
Rugelach
Spoiler:
8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
½ lb butter at room temperature
¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
Filling:
6 Talespoons sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
¾ cup raisins
1 cup walnuts finely chopped
½ cup apricot preserves or jam(any preserve or jam will do)
Cream the cream cheese and butter. Add the sugar salt and vanilla and then the flour. Divide dough into 4 pieces, wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. Mix all filling ingredient except the jam. On a well floured board, roll out a ball of dough into a 9 inch circle. Spread with 2 Tablespoons of jam and sprinkle with ½ cup of the filling. Cut the circle into 12 wedges (a pizza cutter is the best tool for this). Starting with the wide edge, roll up each wedge into a crescent. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Repeat with remaining dough. Make an egg wash from I egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon milk. Brush each cookie with a little egg wash. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (3 Tablespoons sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon). Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.
On the topic of kitchen tools, I find Silpats make cookies a lot easier. Much fewer losses getting them off the sheets, and pretty much required for some cookies. Of course, as the cook gets to eat the broken bits, it does have a downside.
In a greased oven proof ramekin/cupcake tin/something similar put a ring of toast cut to fit the bottom. make a ring of streaky bacon inside the container and grate some cheese and put a layer over the toast. Break an egg into the centre and add some salt, pepper and worchester/hot sauce for preference, cover with a 'lid' of bacon and bake for about 20 minutes or until the egg is cooked.
Lately I’ve been making cheddar bacon bowls for breakfast on the occasional weekend for The Boy and myself.
Prep: Dice a potato and some onion.
Cut bacon into bits. Cook it up until crispy. Remove bacon from fat, set on a paper towel/drain. Cook potato/onion in bacon fat until golden brown. Drain. Fry 2 eggs over easy (in the bacon fat, because why not).
Mix potatoes, bacon, and shredded cheddar cheese in a bowl, top with the eggs. Enjoy.
And on the topic of favorite bacon dishes, my Grandfather’s potato salad:
German Potato Salad
4 lbs potatoes (I’ve used both Yukon Gold and Red, it’s all good)
1 lb bacon
1.5 cups chopped onion (diced fine)
2/3 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
pepper
2 Tablespoon prepared mustard
4-6 stalks celery, diced
1 cup mayonnaise
Fill a large pot with cold water. Put potatoes in their skins in the pot, bring up to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until tender. Cool, peel, and slice. Cut bacon into small pieces, sauté in saucepan until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, leaving the bacon grease. Add onion to pan and cook briefly. Add salt, sugar. Vinegar and mustard and bring to a boil, stirring until everything is dissolved. Pour warm dressing over potatoes. Add mayonnaise and celery, the cooked bacon, and some ground pepper. Taste to see if it needs more salt (this will depend on the saltiness of your bacon).
When my mom wrote the recipe down the first time, she said to only reserve a 1/4 cup of the bacon fat to make the dressing. Screw that. It’s not healthy, Not even close, with no pretenses of it. Embrace the bacon. Mmmmmm.
Ingredients: Chicken pieces (legs or thighs work very well but breasts will be fine, too) 5 tbsp Maple Syrup 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard 2 garlic cloves, crushed Sprigs of fresh rosemary (enough for one on each piece of chicken and some others to be around them 1 tbsp lemon juice New Potates Vine Tomatoes
Preheat oven to 190 degrees C (375 Fahrenheit, gas mark 5)
Mix up the syrup, olive oil, mustard, garlic, rosemary and lemon juice in a large bowl and marinate the chicken in it, mixing it thoroughly. (add salt and pepper to season to taste)
Parboil the potatoes, then put them and the chicken pieces in a large roasting dish. Spoon over the remaining marinade and put a piece of rosemary on each piece of chicken, the rest just around the place in the dish.
Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, adding the tomatoes for the last 20 minutes.
The maple syrup makes the potatoes and chicken really delicious and sticky and it is quick and easy to make, especially for a meal that with some extra vegetables (baby sweetcorn and green beans are what I usually do) makes a sunday roast.
Oh nice, a cooking thread. I'm actually hosting a Super Bowl party this year and I plan on doing the majority of the cooking for the group. What my menu is looking like so far is:
Pan-seared scallops wrapped with prosciutto (my signature dish, and since I'm blocks away from a good Seattle fish market, I got access to quality.
Some baked and super loaded nachos. Probably a mix of colby jack, cheddar and American cheeses (American is the best for melty and nobody can convince me otherwise), then work in chicken and jalapenos. Served with some homemade guac and salsa if I feel daring.
Slow-cooker jambalaya.
I'm torn on if I should make something else. Like if a starch is needed, or just more stuff with bacon. Thoughts?
Butter both slices. Good and thick enough to leave teeth marks.
Squidge of HP sauce applied directly to one of the buttered slices.
Get your bacon good and crispy, using proper proper bacon and not streaky.
Luvverly.
Nope. Decent quality sliced white pan(standard bread basically) for the bread, grilled or dry fried back bacon and mayonnaise. You cant beat that.
Butter in a bacon sandwich? You heathen monster.
Says Captain 'ooh, I love some Mayo with me Bacon'. That's a travesty that!
But I think we can find common ground. Black Pudding makes a full English - TRUE or false?
curran12 wrote: Oh nice, a cooking thread. I'm actually hosting a Super Bowl party this year and I plan on doing the majority of the cooking for the group. What my menu is looking like so far is:
Pan-seared scallops wrapped with prosciutto (my signature dish, and since I'm blocks away from a good Seattle fish market, I got access to quality.
Some baked and super loaded nachos. Probably a mix of colby jack, cheddar and American cheeses (American is the best for melty and nobody can convince me otherwise), then work in chicken and jalapenos. Served with some homemade guac and salsa if I feel daring.
Slow-cooker jambalaya.
I'm torn on if I should make something else. Like if a starch is needed, or just more stuff with bacon. Thoughts?
IMHO it’s not a Super bowl party without chili. Now there are about a zillion ways to make chili, and everyone’s is different, so run with what you like. Just make a pot.
Here's my cream of chicken soup recipe. It's real easy, and real yummy especially on a cold snowy day or if you're home sick and need something soupy.
1 cooked rotisserie chicken from the store
2 cans of chicken broth (or around 1 quart of stock)
2 chicken bouillon cubes to make it extra chickeny
1.5 cups of milk
3/4 cup of flour
1 cup cooked rice
3+ cloves of garlic, cut into teeny bits
optional - 1 small bag of your favorite mix of frozen veggies
Cook the veggies and rice ahead of time, I usually get one of those microwave steamer bags since it's easy. Pull off all the chicken meat and cut into little bits (skin can and should eaten separately while it's nice & crispy). Set the meat aside. Combine the chicken broth, bouillon cubes and 1/2 cup of milk in a big pot and heat it up so it starts to simmer but not boil. Combine the rest of the milk and flour and wisk together till there's hardly any lumps left. Add it to the broth and then let it simmer for about 10 minutes. It will get real thick as it simmers, keep stirring so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Add in the chicken, rice and veggies and simmer for a couple minutes more just to mix everything up good, and you're done.
I like to top it with grated parmesan cheese and enjoy with fresh crusty bread!
Necros, that looks like a very nice soup recipe, might have to try that! In fact, very nice recipes all round, especially the hand-cured bacon.
I wish I could say I've got something to offer, but all I have is chicken breast pieces cooked in Nando's sauce in a wrap with cheese, or my girlfriend's mac and cheese. Not exactly much, but it's something
I have been getting in to using the Crock Pot an awful lot lately. Mostly because I have learned it is a magical device which makes delicious foods. I recently made crockpot pizza for the first time, I looked up a common recipe for the base and I tweaked it a little.
Ingredients:
1lb Italian Sausage (I went Mild)
1lb Hamburger
1 Bell Pepper
2 Cups Bowtie Pasta (Uncooked)
2 Cups Mozzarella
1 Can Ricos Queso Blanco
2 jar Pizza Sauce (I like Newman's Own Sockarooni or Maranara)
4 Ounces of Pepperoni
Brown your Hamburger and Sausage together. Dice up your bell pepper. When your Hamburger/Sausage is browned, place in to crock pot. Mix in 1 Cup Mozzarella, 1 Can Ricos Queso Blanco, 2 Cups Bowtie Pasta (Uncooked still), 2 Jar Pizza sauce, diced bell pepper, Pepperonis (Save about 12). Once thoroughly mixed, cover with 1 cup mozzarella and your leftover Pepperoni. Let cook for about 2 hours so the pasta is done.
Pretty sure I got it all, I have a bad habit of committing my recipes to memory. Let me know if anybody makes it or tries it. I thought it was pretty good and my roommates enjoyed it, or they said.
Hoping you'd all have been jealous of dinner!! Chicken breasts (Perdue brand) roasted with garlic and a light amount of salt and pepper, and topped with sautéed broccoli rabe (olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar and red pepper flakes), prosciutto, fresh mozzarella and balsamic glaze over pasta.
I remember hating the broccoli rabe when I was a kid...absolutely love it now. Would eat it three times a week, easily!!
All about the variety. On it's Tod, can't stand Cottage Cheese, but as an ingredient it's indespensible. Whereas a good sized block of quality Cheddar is the bare minimum.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: All about the variety. On it's Tod, can't stand Cottage Cheese, but as an ingredient it's indespensible. Whereas a good sized block of quality Cheddar is the bare minimum.
Got to ve mature.... None of that mild malarkey! Weak chedder.. Just no.
Red Leicester is good.
Cheshire, white stilton, so many good cheeses!
Just made Chicken and Waffles for The Boy and myself. Little phoned in by using frozen chicken strips, but did make homemade cornmeal waffles. Top with maple syrup and eat together.
Considering one of the last times I cooked ended up with me contracting food poisoning and being physically sick at work, I've taken my foot off the pedal whenever I can avoid cooking anything from scratch. However, with my new job approaching, I will need to cook something in a big batch for lunches throughout the week.
I thought chilli (because I make an absolutely cracking chilli ) but it might be too heavy considering I'll be on the phone all day. Anyone here have any advice? I'm thinking rice based, but I'm open to suggestions
General Annoyance wrote: Considering one of the last times I cooked ended up with me contracting food poisoning and being physically sick at work, I've taken my foot off the pedal whenever I can avoid not cooking anything from scratch. However, with my new job approaching, I will need to cook something in a big batch for lunches throughout the week.
I thought chilli (because I make an absolutely cracking chilli ) but it might be too heavy considering I'll be on the phone all day. Anyone here have any advice? I'm thinking rice based, but I'm open to suggestions
G.A
Thai Green Curry? It's really easy to make and if you have a big pan (or ideally a wok) you can make loads.
If you like chili, you could just make a milder batch. I know it sounds blasphemous.
Or instead of a hearty chili, go for something lighter. I make a white chili that’s somewhere between a soup and a stew.
White Chili
6 c. (3 cans) northern white beans
4 c. chicken broth (or less if you want more of a stew than a soup)
2 cloves garlic, chopped (optional)
2 medium onions, chopped
1 T. oil
2 (4 oz.) cans chopped green chilies
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 c. diced cooked chicken
garnish:
grated jack cheese. Salsa, sour cream
Sauté onion in oil. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until desired thickness. Garnish each bowl with a generous helping of grated cheese, hot salsa and some sour cream. Less chicken broth and more chicken will turn this into a stew from a soup.
(While the recipe calls for cooked chicken, I just start by cooking it up in the bottom of the pot, and then adding everything else)
I make a few things for lunch that are cheap, easy and don't require to be refrigerated while at work.
Chickpea curry-standard curry spices, onions, tomato and a tin of chickpeas cooked gently for at least 40 minutes eaten with flat bread strips (home made is nicer and cost literally pennys but its a lot easier to buy them). Better reheated but you can have it cold as well.
Baked vegetables and pasta-cherry tomatoes, sliced onions, garlic and cubed carrots wrapped in tin foil and oven baked for about 40 minutes. Mix with cold pasta before you leave for work and that's about it.
Vegetable soup-any veg that is on special offer in the supermarket chopped fairly small, fried, seasoned and then simmered in stock for a 'while' and then liquidised. This does require reheating though.
Get a good thai green curry paste (if you're veggie/cooking for a veggie make sure you get one which is suitable i.e. doesn't have fish sauce in it). I quite like the Blue Dragon one though this is not suitable for veggies.
Get some tins of coconut milk or a block of coconut cream with which to make milk. The coconut milk is easier but the cream can give you a bit of wiggle room to make more milk to tone it down if you accidentally make it spicier than you intended.
For the meat part your best bets are chicken or tofu. For vegetables, I like using sugarsnap peas/mangetout and baby sweetcorn. You can often find them packed together in tescos and sainsburys so get enough of them for however much you want to make. Tenderstem broccoli also goes very well. Potato can also be added and will bulk it out quite a bit. You can add extra chillies if you want.
Cooking is really simple, heat up a little bit of the curry paste (not a lot, we're just using it to get a bit of oil in the pan, maybe a teaspoon or two max) in a large high sided frying pan (or wok if you have one, if you don't then get one they are amazingly useful ).
Then chuck in the chicken and the curry paste (a tablespoon per 400ml of milk you intend to use unless you want it very hot in which case add extra for preference) and cook until the chicken is cooked.
Then tip in the the vegetables, fry for a couple of minutes and get them all mixed up in the paste then tip in the coconut milk, give it a good stir to get the paste circulating in the milk and bring to a simmer. Leave it simmering until the vegetables are cooked, stirring it occasionally. Shouldn't take too long.
If you're using potatoes then parboil them beforehand. If you're using tofu then cut them into cubes or strips, cook them in the couple of teaspoons of curry paste then set them aside and add them back in towards the end of the simmering, basically just heating them back up in the curry so they don't disintegrate.
Silent Puffin? wrote:I make a few things for lunch that are cheap, easy and don't require to be refrigerated while at work.
Chickpea curry-standard curry spices, onions, tomato and a tin of chickpeas cooked gently for at least 40 minutes eaten with flat bread strips (home made is nicer and cost literally pennys but its a lot easier to buy them). Better reheated but you can have it cold as well.
Baked vegetables and pasta-cherry tomatoes, sliced onions, garlic and cubed carrots wrapped in tin foil and oven baked for about 40 minutes. Mix with cold pasta before you leave for work and that's about it.
Vegetable soup-any veg that is on special offer in the supermarket chopped fairly small, fried, seasoned and then simmered in stock for a 'while' and then liquidised. This does require reheating though.
Those sound pretty great! I'm not sure exactly what facilities the office has, but I'm sure there has to be a microwave kicking about somewhere...
I have about 3 and a half weeks before I start there, so I have plenty of time to try those out
A Town Called Malus wrote:Ummmmm, I kinda just wing it really.
Get a good thai green curry paste (if you're veggie/cooking for a veggie make sure you get one which is suitable i.e. doesn't have fish sauce in it). I quite like the Blue Dragon one though this is not suitable for veggies.
Get some tins of coconut milk or a block of coconut cream with which to make milk. The coconut milk is easier but the cream can give you a bit of wiggle room to make more milk to tone it down if you accidentally make it spicier than you intended.
For the meat part your best bets are chicken or tofu.
For vegetables, I like using sugarsnap peas/mangetout and baby sweetcorn. You can often find them packed together in tescos and sainsburys so get enough of them for however much you want to make. Tenderstem broccoli also goes very well. Potato can also be added and will bulk it out quite a bit.
You can add extra chillies if you want.
Cooking is really simple, heat up a little bit of the curry paste (not a lot, we're just using it to get a bit of oil in the pan, maybe a teaspoon or two max) in a large high sided frying pan (or wok if you have one, if you don't then get one they are amazingly useful ).
Then chuck in the chicken and the curry paste (a tablespoon per 400ml of milk you intend to use unless you want it very hot in which case add extra for preference) and cook until the chicken is cooked.
Then tip in the the vegetables, fry for a couple of minutes and get them all mixed up in the paste then tip in the coconut milk, give it a good stir to get the paste circulating in the milk and bring to a simmer. Leave it simmering until the vegetables are cooked, stirring it occasionally. Shouldn't take too long.
If you're using potatoes then parboil them beforehand. If you're using tofu then cut them into cubes or strips, cook them in the couple of teaspoons of curry paste then set them aside and add them back in towards the end of the simmering, basically just heating them back up in the curry so they don't disintegrate.
Serve with rice (Jasmine is perfect).
Well aren't you a superstar typing all that out I'm not a veggie, and I'm pretty sure my brothers are fine with Green Curry (not that they'd get any ) Thanks a bunch Malus
Get a good thai green curry paste (if you're veggie/cooking for a veggie make sure you get one which is suitable i.e. doesn't have fish sauce in it). I quite like the Blue Dragon one though this is not suitable for veggies.
Get some tins of coconut milk or a block of coconut cream with which to make milk. The coconut milk is easier but the cream can give you a bit of wiggle room to make more milk to tone it down if you accidentally make it spicier than you intended.
For the meat part your best bets are chicken or tofu.
For vegetables, I like using sugarsnap peas/mangetout and baby sweetcorn. You can often find them packed together in tescos and sainsburys so get enough of them for however much you want to make. Tenderstem broccoli also goes very well. Potato can also be added and will bulk it out quite a bit.
You can add extra chillies if you want.
Cooking is really simple, heat up a little bit of the curry paste (not a lot, we're just using it to get a bit of oil in the pan, maybe a teaspoon or two max) in a large high sided frying pan (or wok if you have one, if you don't then get one they are amazingly useful ).
Then chuck in the chicken and the curry paste (a tablespoon per 400ml of milk you intend to use unless you want it very hot in which case add extra for preference) and cook until the chicken is cooked.
Then tip in the the vegetables, fry for a couple of minutes and get them all mixed up in the paste then tip in the coconut milk, give it a good stir to get the paste circulating in the milk and bring to a simmer. Leave it simmering until the vegetables are cooked, stirring it occasionally. Shouldn't take too long.
If you're using potatoes then parboil them beforehand. If you're using tofu then cut them into cubes or strips, cook them in the couple of teaspoons of curry paste then set them aside and add them back in towards the end of the simmering, basically just heating them back up in the curry so they don't disintegrate.
Serve with rice (Jasmine is perfect).
I recon i'll have a bash at that too - cheers for sharing!
Looks lovely though - another thing I'll have to try!
It's not real cooking unless some of it is dribbling down the side of the pan
Also, I blame not having a wooden spoon. Only got plastic ones at the moment (my wooden ones seem to have got lost between leaving my uni house in Canterbury and coming to Bristol) which are way too flexible for effective stirring
A Town Called Malus wrote: It's not real cooking unless some of it is dribbling down the side of the pan
Well, thank god I'll never end up cooking with you (hopefully)
Also, I blame not having a wooden spoon. Only got plastic ones at the moment (my wooden ones seem to have got lost between leaving my uni house in Canterbury and coming to Bristol) which are way too flexible for effective stirring
I also only have plastic spoons - some of them are flexing garbage, but others can be pretty sturdy and reliable; the trick I've found is to gently move the spoon around the pan, lowering it in gradually and building momentum so you don't get any spillover.
Shorter plastic spoons are the best if you can't get some new wooden ones anytime soon - they can take a lot more force and bend a lot less
A waffle maker is my one guilty kitchen appliance. There is no real need for one. Pancakes are similar enough for day-to-day consumption. If I desperately need a waffle, I can always go out for breakfast. It takes up space in the cabinets, and only does one thing*
But I do love me some waffles.
As a perk, waffles also reheat much better then pancakes. So you can make a big batch on the weekend, and just toss the extras in the freezer. Slap them in the toaster, and a crunchy yummy breakfast is not far way.
Fun thing I need to try: When I was talking to my brother about making chicken and waffles, he told me that the cafeteria at his job just got a waffle iron and were doing lunch specials with it. Open-faced pulled pork BBQ, on a waffle. Genius. All the nooks and crannies of the waffle will keep the meat/sauce contained, and it has enough structure not to turn into a soggy mess. Next time I make pulled pork, I’m so doing this.
* I have used my waffle iron to make corned beef hash. Gets it nice and crispy, without adding a lot of oil/fat. Used it to make an Egg Benedict type breakfast, but replacing the Canadian bacon with corned beef.
A Town Called Malus wrote: It's not real cooking unless some of it is dribbling down the side of the pan
Well, thank god I'll never end up cooking with you (hopefully)
Also, I blame not having a wooden spoon. Only got plastic ones at the moment (my wooden ones seem to have got lost between leaving my uni house in Canterbury and coming to Bristol) which are way too flexible for effective stirring
I also only have plastic spoons - some of them are flexing garbage, but others can be pretty sturdy and reliable; the trick I've found is to gently move the spoon around the pan, lowering it in gradually and building momentum so you don't get any spillover.
Shorter plastic spoons are the best if you can't get some new wooden ones anytime soon - they can take a lot more force and bend a lot less
Woodern spoons are a help...
Though I found. Dish wash one regulary for 2 years its bends the wood banana shaped with a curve..
Random things only a uni student could of done.
Custard is... Yummy custard, him of vanilla...
Winter heaven.
If I’m going to go for a comfort food desert, I’d go with an apple crisp. Maybe berry, but I do like the apple better.
In the fall after picking apples, we cut, measure, spice and freeze ziplock bags of apple pie filling. So later in the year we can just thaw one out, slap it in a pie crust, and have an instant desert. Of if I’m feeling too lazy to fuss with a pie crust, just a crisp.
Custard is... Yummy custard, him of vanilla...
Winter heaven.
If I’m going to go for a comfort food desert, I’d go with an apple crisp. Maybe berry, but I do like the apple better.
In the fall after picking apples, we cut, measure, spice and freeze ziplock bags of apple pie filling. So later in the year we can just thaw one out, slap it in a pie crust, and have an instant desert. Of if I’m feeling too lazy to fuss with a pie crust, just a crisp.
Custard is quick and easy. and the touch of vanilla is plain nice.
its filling, warm and takes all of 5 minutes
Custard is... Yummy custard, him of vanilla...
Winter heaven.
If I’m going to go for a comfort food desert, I’d go with an apple crisp. Maybe berry, but I do like the apple better.
In the fall after picking apples, we cut, measure, spice and freeze ziplock bags of apple pie filling. So later in the year we can just thaw one out, slap it in a pie crust, and have an instant desert. Of if I’m feeling too lazy to fuss with a pie crust, just a crisp.
Custard is quick and easy. and the touch of vanilla is plain nice.
its filling, warm and takes all of 5 minutes
that's a perfect winter food
Problem is, I’m not a huge fan of custard. I know, filthy colonial heretic. I do like some custard-adjacent things, like quiche and bread pudding.
Custard is... Yummy custard, him of vanilla...
Winter heaven.
If I’m going to go for a comfort food desert, I’d go with an apple crisp. Maybe berry, but I do like the apple better.
In the fall after picking apples, we cut, measure, spice and freeze ziplock bags of apple pie filling. So later in the year we can just thaw one out, slap it in a pie crust, and have an instant desert. Of if I’m feeling too lazy to fuss with a pie crust, just a crisp.
Custard is quick and easy. and the touch of vanilla is plain nice.
its filling, warm and takes all of 5 minutes
that's a perfect winter food
Problem is, I’m not a huge fan of custard. I know, filthy colonial heretic. I do like some custard-adjacent things, like quiche and bread pudding.
our descendents have strayed so far lol
though one stranger but good home made invention
Mash up one banana in a bowl, add some jam, and some cream and that's it, give it a mix and its rather good.
Made a Leg of Lamb last night. Rosemary, Sea Salt and Black Peppercorn crust with slivered garlic inserted throughout in slits made in the meat. Served with a Mint reduction sauce made from the drippings and creamed spinach as a side. Mmmmmmmm...
Cold lamb and Dijon mustard sandwich for lunch today.
Took me a while, but finally gave the Waffle Maker a whirl.
Needed more batter on the plates, and perhaps a little longer cooking time - but otherwise great success!
Plenty of batter left over too, so may experiment further tonight. Topping was kept simple. Vanilla Ice Cream, sliced Strawberries, and a drizzle of Maple Syrup.
Needed more batter on the plates, and perhaps a little longer cooking time - but otherwise great success!
Plenty of batter left over too, so may experiment further tonight. Topping was kept simple. Vanilla Ice Cream, sliced Strawberries, and a drizzle of Maple Syrup.
Generally with waffles/pancakes you want to cook them all off ASAP. The baking soda/powder is doing it’s leavening thing as soon as it gets wet. While the double acting stuff will give it another kick once it gets hot, a lot of the light and fluffy part is going to go away once the batter sets.
In a similar vein, it pays not to over mix the batter. The more you stir, the more of the gas escapes. You want all those little bubbles in the batter.
Decided to make the lady beef wellington last night for Vday.
1.25 lb tenderloin, salt and pepper, then sear in a pan of olive oil and rosemary. Coat with mustard and chill. Cook lightly salted crimini mushrooms in a pan until dehydrated. Spread prosciutto on plastic wrap to form a flat sheet, cover with a layer of the mushrooms, then set the filet inside and wrap tightly so the meat is covered in the prosciutto completely, twist to form a tight seal and chill. After a few hours (it takes a while to get everything to solidify), remove from fridge and cover the meat in puff pastry using egg wash to seal. Coat the covered wellington in egg wash, lightly salt and slice the top so it opens nicely. 40 min at 400, and...
Serve with your choice of boring microwave-in-the-bag veggies.
Had my first attempt at making Curry last night. Came out rather well, IMO. Did an SE-Asian style rather than Indian style ones because some of my family is a tad wussy about spice.
Curry betterer. Always slightly baffled that for a place with such a taste for world food, Curry isn't widely embraced in the US. Definite market opening there
And talking of World Food, tempted to dabble with Ramen style dishes. Why Ramen 'style'? Never having been to Japan, no idea what it's meant to taste like! But seems a fun enough dish to cook up.
And talking of World Food, tempted to dabble with Ramen style dishes. Why Ramen 'style'? Never having been to Japan, no idea what it's meant to taste like! But seems a fun enough dish to cook up.
If you want a simple easy ramen dish, buy the noodles, boil them in some water with soy sauce and sake (you can skip the sake if you need to) and bam, done. Add an egg before you add the noodles for some protein if you like, or use a can of broth instead of water for extra flavor (and sodium.)
The ratios depend on how many noodles you use, but for small portions I generally add 1/4 cup of soy sauce and sake each. Maybe a bit more for taste depending on mood.
One of the things I really like about a lot of Asian dishes is the basically boil down to "take random things in fridge. Cook in pot of liquid. Make rice. Eat."
Bacon wrapped stuffed burgers with bacon wrapped onion rings just put on the smoker:
I cook on the smoker/grill all the time, rain or shine, hot or cold out. I love doing ribs, chicken, everything really. Did a big Boston Butt last weekend, along with a slew of sausages and hot dogs, for a cook out we had for a bunch of troopers and their families from my wife's unit. Had about 25 folks over, saddled up one of the horses and gave all the kids a ride, took the kayaks out to one of the ponds, ate a ton of chow, and had a great time.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Ribs on my old smoker (since given away to Son2)
It is by Tea alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by white with three that thoughts acquire speed
The mug acquires stains, the pot requires warming.
It is by Tea alone I set my mind in motion.
Just made a mushroom risotto. Not that hard, if a little time intensive. Of course, I had to open a bottle of white wine for the recipe, and now have to so something with the rest of the bottle.
jhe90 wrote: Hardest bit with pies and such can be pastry.
That's a art form of art forms to perfect.
Yup. It takes sorcery and witchcraft to avoid the terror of the soggy bottom.
The final riddle not even tenenzch can solve...
Its what Magnus been doing for 10,000 years lol.
You can always do the filling, and serve in a bowl with icecream, maybe some cream or custard etc whatever you like.
Gets round pastery.
Or make one of those fake "pies" you get in pubs and restaurants where it is filling in a ceramic dish with pastry over the top. That's not a pie! A real pie is filling encased in pastry on all sides!
jhe90 wrote: Hardest bit with pies and such can be pastry.
That's a art form of art forms to perfect.
Yup. It takes sorcery and witchcraft to avoid the terror of the soggy bottom.
The final riddle not even tenenzch can solve...
Its what Magnus been doing for 10,000 years lol.
You can always do the filling, and serve in a bowl with icecream, maybe some cream or custard etc whatever you like.
Gets round pastery.
Or make one of those fake "pies" you get in pubs and restaurants where it is filling in a ceramic dish with pastry over the top. That's not a pie! A real pie is filling encased in pastry on all sides!
Not always biggest pastery fan. But I love lemon mergange pie filling ..
Gotta make extra! Add some cream... Yummmm.
When I make pies, I just use a storebought crust, becasue I suck and am lazy like that. While I do love a good pie, I, again, am lazy. So generally make crisps. Sometimes I just phone it in. Take a couple pats of butter, and nix them with brown sugar/cinnimon/flour/oats until they get a nice crumbly texture, scatter on cut apples, and bake until the smell’s right.
But I do have a family recipe. It’s a bit different. I’ve only personally made it once. Seems a lot of butter, next time I make it, I’m going to cut that back; not sure if typo. Tasted fine.
Crisp (Apple, Peach, or Blueberry)
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon (you can substitute nutmeg, allspice or lemon rind, depending on the fruit and your taste)
1 egg, slightly beaten
(optional 1/2 cup oats)
mix above till crumbly
butter dish, fill baking dish with blueberries, peeled and sliced apples or peeled and sliced peaches (in a rush? 2 thawed packages of frozen peaches work very well)
put crumbs over fruit
melt 2/3 cup butter, drizzle over dish.
Bake at 325° until done.
Last week had National Margarita Day, which I always thought was Cinco de Mayo.
Anyway, Kronk's Margarita:
2 oz Patron Silver (Or large jigger if you ain't driving) 1/2 oz Gran Marnier (or 1/2 small jigger. Just judge, don't be a wuss) 2 oz margarita mix. I have tried making my own, but it always sucks. Don't buy Jose Quervo mix unless you are serving people you want to offend. Splash OJ. A bit of sweetness to offset the tartness of above 1 to 1.5 cups ice.
Blend in blender. You could shake the above and pour over rocks...if you're a communist.
Margarita glass from Libby Glass. There are other, inferior glasses, but these are best.
Rim glass with lime juice and dip in crushed salt. You could use regular salt, but I will judge the gak out of you.
Pour in margarita glass.
Enjoy outside in a hammock, while the neighbor is yelling instructions at his 11 year old on how best to pick up dog gak. Contemplate moving. Flip off neighbor.
My wife got some Waterford crystal glasses we use for Margaritas. My recipe is pretty similar, though admit I have used triple sec instead of Gran Mariner once in a while, and even mixed it up a bit using Blue Curacao to make blue Margaritas.
I gave up on trying to make a good pie crust. I just use pillsbury now .. it's not the greatest but it's easy and then I can just focus on making the filling awesomer
CptJake wrote: My wife got some Waterford crystal glasses we use for Margaritas. My recipe is pretty similar, though admit I have used triple sec instead of Gran Mariner once in a while, and even mixed it up a bit using Blue Curacao to make blue Margaritas.
Triple Sec is good. Waterford is acceptable, but less than Libby!
Seems he likes his 28 day aged Steak cooked well done.
FOR SHAME! What sort of monster does that!
And conversely, Theresa May has gone slightly up in my estimation (to be fair, that is the only direction left there), as Salt and Vinegar are her favourite crisps (chips, for the wrong'uns)
And here's Bernard the Satire Squirrel to illustrate the above is satire.
Anybody here a fan of Pork Steak? I discovered that a well seasoned pork steak really hits the spot when cooked on a grill. Considering using a few to make some Pork Tacos or Enchiladas. Any tips?
Dreadwinter wrote: Anybody here a fan of Pork Steak? I discovered that a well seasoned pork steak really hits the spot when cooked on a grill. Considering using a few to make some Pork Tacos or Enchiladas. Any tips?
Make sure you get them cut thick or they can be dry when grilled, leave any fat on them. I prefer pulled pork from a butt for tacos and enchiladas myself. Having said that, citrus based marinaded pork steaks should taste good for that purpose.
Dreadwinter wrote: Anybody here a fan of Pork Steak? I discovered that a well seasoned pork steak really hits the spot when cooked on a grill. Considering using a few to make some Pork Tacos or Enchiladas. Any tips?
I make a lot of grilled pork 'shoulder steak' sandwiches. Because its a fatty cut it is very cheap (£1ish per steak) and it takes grilling extremely well. Seasoning and a bit of garlic salt are all that is required.
Dreadwinter wrote: Anybody here a fan of Pork Steak? I discovered that a well seasoned pork steak really hits the spot when cooked on a grill. Considering using a few to make some Pork Tacos or Enchiladas. Any tips?
For pork tacos, I'd use a slow cooker so that it's tender enough for you to pull the pork into small pieces with two forks. You can google pork taco recipes.
I've recently heard the term "pork steak". Sounds like a fancy pork chop, but whatever.
I grill pork chops all of the time. I prefer a dry rub to a marinade.
Put the butt or roast on at Zero Dark Thirty in the morning (or before you go to bed the night before you want it) and let it smoke at about 225 until the internal temp is about 190ish. May take a bit longer than the slow cooker but OOOH WEEEE it is good.
If it finishes before you are ready to chow down wrap in heavy foil and put it in a cooler to keep it warm. I have an old styrofoam cooler I got from Omaha Steaks (folks got me some for Christmas several years ago) that I use specifically for when I'm smoking stuff and may have to hold it a bit before serving.
Yikes! wrote too much, open spoiler at your own risk:
Spoiler:
Books I swear-by (or at?): Tools / Toys of the trade: Silicone dipped TIG welding gloves: clean up well and you never feel the heat or burn your wrists in the oven.
Easy to clean, easy to use, cuts most things and almost safe for the kids.
If I could have only one knife this would be it: Zwilling Five Star.
OXO Large Silicone Flexible Turner
Essential Items for cooking: Large non-stick coated frying pan with large corner radiuses (for flipping well) and thick heat diffusing plate to prevent spot-burning on gas stoves.
A "simple" pan like above.
Pressure cooker, this one I like because it is safe with a relief valve and has been pretty much indestructible (for me).
Slow Cooker: I am a bit undecided on a "good one" I think I have not had a good one yet.
Weak plastic for handle lids and flaky heating controls are a concern.
I am an advocate for the thick ceramic pot for heat distribution.
If I was to get a new one it would be the above: Cornell Slow Cooker: CSC-D35C (3 Liter).
Favorite Ingredients On-hand: How to make meat taste meatier?, this is a start.
Not all salts are created equal, Kosher salt just dissolves faster and with a finer structure to it, it can get into the food better during cooking.
Herbs grow fast and fit well in pots on the kitchen window and taste best fresh.
Basil, chives, parsley and mint.
I cook with wine, where appropriate.
Not all of it finds it's way in the food.
Do not get suckered into "cooking wine" just get the good stuff.
Wolf Blass Green Label Shiraz is a favorite all-rounder for red sauces or to go in a marinade.
Alsace Willm Gewurztraminer for white is sweeter than most, and works great in reductions like say for a French onion soup.
Yeah, I write too much... but good topic!!!
Maybe I can find my 4-5 variants of spaghetti sauce that I actually managed to write down.
I do pulled pork in my crock pot too.. just cuz that's all I got in my little condo. Moving this summer and our house is gonna have quite the dedicated bbq area out back, so I'm hoping to get into smoking stuff soon. I wanna make my own bacon, just cuz!
I have neither (pressure/slow cooker) but I trust other articles from seriouseats that worked for me and this would convince me to get a pressure cooker instead of a slow cooker.
My favorite poor guy/deployment recipe came from a cook I was in afghanistan with. He used to take the scavenged MREs and use the left over bits to make a "stew".
Modern version.
1-2 cans ravioli
1/2-1 can cheeze wiz or velveeta
pinch of salt
hot dogs or weenies from a can
tobasco cause
stir it up, heat it up, enjoy.
other than that, I cook everything on a griddle. I can literally feed my family consistently from the griddle and one pan. Im a griddle artist.
Slow Cookers are ace for anyone living on their own. Because you can set most to 'keep warm', you can fill it up on a Sunday, and have your dinner ready to go throughout the week.
But today? Today I fancy making my own Burgers.
Seen a couple of recipes online, but always open to suggestions
Automatically Appended Next Post: Have also ordered a new deep fryer.
Because then very best chips are how my Granny used to do them - Oven Chips deep fried. Oh yes. Crispy outside, fluffy inside, absolutely ideal for a chip butty!
For burgers the bacon wrapped stuffed burgers I showed earlier in the thread would be my suggestion.
Take a ball of ground beef (about 85% lean) about 1/3 a pound. Use a beer can (or similar) to push down onto the ball and make it into a bowl. Wrap a slice of bacon around it. Stuff the bowl with what ever. I typically use 2-3 types of shredded cheese and some mushrooms, but also sometimes diced jalapeño/chili/bacon bits. I have seen all kinds of stuff used.
I put them on the smoker at about 300-350 for about 45 minutes. I suspect you could bake them in the oven if you don't have a grill or smoker.
You can see them on the net by looking up 'beer can burgers'.
Mix and match. Never know what’s going to come off the grill, and some are “spicy” Not that the jalapenio burgers were that hot, and paired well with the cheddar. First time I did it I only made one out of the dozen. After a number of people said they hoped they got it, I made more the next time.
Last summer I made double bacon stuffed cheeseburgers. Bacon/cheddar stuffed burgers, with strips of bacon and a slice on top. When I told my son what was for dinner, he asked what made then double bacon burgers. I replied without missing a beat in my best 40k Iron Warrior voice “Bacon without, Bacon Within!”
He didn’t get the reference/joke, but I thought it was hilarious, if mildly heretical.
So far, I've got a Steamer (ok, rubbish at rice), George Formby Grill (god send) griddle iron for my cooker (can't do without), Waffle Iron (because the ladies, electric scales (essential), a conventional slow cooker (everyone should), and coming soon a deep fryer (because chippychips!).
Yet on the BBC website, I've just learned of 'Instant Pot'. Sounded like some cheapo Pot Noodle knock-off, isn't. Seems instead it's a sort of new tangled gadgety clever Pressure Cooker.
Can anyone shed any light on these, and whether they live up to the buzz? (Despite asking on here, I'm dubious about 'social media successes)
My mom got one for Christmas. It seems to just be a pressure cooker. Do you want to slow cook something that would normally take hours? You can do it in a fraction of that. But a lot of the suggestions and recipes could be done easier in normal cookware. Her thought was that it had some uses, but would not have bought it for herself.
And how much space do you have for kitchen toys? Do you want to dedicate some for a large pot you might just use a few times a year?
Perhaps it's not for me then. Although I'm out the house most of the day for most of the week, the Slow Cooker gets loaded up on a Sunday, or the Monday morning with prep having been done on the Sunday before - so speed isn't really of the essence for me. Can just bung a timer plug on it and I'm Golden.
Just fried up chicken tenders for dinner. Perfect recipe:
Flour the tenders
Milk and egg wash mix
Italian breadcrumbs
Deep fry for about ten mins til a nice dark brown at 355
Always turns out delicious! Dip in honey mustard or BBQ sauce.
I love my a good savoury pie - and even a Fray Bentos will do in a pinch.
If there's a choice, Steak and Kidney for me pretty much every time. It's delicious. And in the style of the Imperium, anyone wot disagrees is a Heretic. Or in the style of Tyrion Lannister - anyone not eating a Steak and Kidney pie is disrespecting our Queen!
Dreadwinter wrote: Anybody here a fan of Pork Steak? I discovered that a well seasoned pork steak really hits the spot when cooked on a grill. Considering using a few to make some Pork Tacos or Enchiladas. Any tips?
For pork tacos, I'd use a slow cooker so that it's tender enough for you to pull the pork into small pieces with two forks. You can google pork taco recipes.
I've recently heard the term "pork steak". Sounds like a fancy pork chop, but whatever.
I grill pork chops all of the time. I prefer a dry rub to a marinade.
Pork steaks are pretty great. Not really a fancy pork chop, but I'm not 100% sure what the differences are. I do know they are seriously underrated.
I will try a citrus based marinade. Definitely going to leave them to soak it in overnight and try to cook them tomorrow. The downside is I do not have a grill at the new place, so a slow cooker is going to have to do for now.
Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote: Fish!
Got a decent fishmongers in town, so let's hear your fish recipes.
I had this tonight and its great, although it is quite strongly flavoured so people who don't like fish probably won't like it.
Mackerel fillets marinaded for at least an hour in:
3 parts soy sauce
1 part sake
teaspoon (ish) sugar
crushed garlic clove
finely diced ginger (1cm cube ish)
Grilled for 5 minutes skin side down until its cooked and then turn it over to crisp the skin (about a minute).
Eat with plain rice.
Costs about £1.50 per person.
If you want some really nice fish though try and get some John Dory (its much easier to get on the south coast) and simply saute it in butter with a dash of lemon.
I just picked up two point cut briskets cheap, i've never successfully cooked one tbh. Either turns out too dry or moist with not enough flavor. Maybe this time i'll actually try..instead of wingin it. Debating on using my slow cooker, or putting it on a cast iron pan in the stove. I can't say I love cooking, but I sure do like to eat good food.
I didn't know you could cook a brisket on anything but a smoker...
Put a decent rub on it over night. Low and slow (maybe 225) with some Hickory and Apple wood chunks. When internal temp is 190, pull it off and wrap in foil for about 30 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute. Slice and enjoy!
For a normal brisket (not corned beef) I braise it. Toss some beef stock, carrots, onions and potatoes into a sturdy pan. Maybe a splash of red wine. Lay the meat in there and slap the lit on. Cook it on the low end for a while. I’d have to look up the recipe for specifics.
Nevelon wrote: For a normal brisket (not corned beef) I braise it. Toss some beef stock, carrots, onions and potatoes into a sturdy pan. Maybe a splash of red wine. Lay the meat in there and slap the lit on. Cook it on the low end for a while. I’d have to look up the recipe for specifics.
I generally do this with a good roast, minus the wine, add a Guinness and a green bell pepper, maybe some mushrooms if I am feeling it. Let it go for 6-8 hours. Oh man, enjoy.
Tonight we had a regular pasta night, but I decided to do a twist and I made the tomato sauce (or Gravy like we call it here in Philly) out of fresh tomatoes. So, I had about 1.5 pounds of plum tomatoes, cut them in smaller bits and tossed em in the blender and blended till they were sauced. Chopped up around 7 cloves of garlic and sauteed that in some olive oil till it just starts to get brown on the edges, then you dump in the sauce and some salt & pepper and bring to a light boil, then lower the heat and cover it and let it simmer on low for 3-4 hours, give it a good stir every 10 or 15 minutes. Last 5 minutes or so, roll up some fresh basil, slice it all up into little strips and toss that in too.
I also like to add mostly cooked sausage or meatballs about half way through and let em finish cooking in the pot. And add in all of their drippings too of course.
That makes enough for around 2 pounds of pasta. We went with ricotta gnocchi tonight.
It's actually cheaper to use fresh tomatoes than it would have been if I bought jars of finished sauce, and tastes better than if you make it with canned sauce.
I used to have mutton all the time growing up but it's just not something that you can easily find in England. However I discovered a halal butcher near me who sells it so I treated myself to a leg of mutton for the first time in years
.
It doesn't taste much like lamb, its a darker meat and much closer to beef although with a more 'gamey' flavour. Its also comparatively cheap.
We had a roast last night and used the left overs for Jalfrazi today.
This is far and away the best thing to make with leftover cooked meat.
Fry some 'curry seeds'(mustard, onion, fenugreek, fennel etc, it doesn't really matter which ones but they are important) in hot oil for a few seconds.
When they start to spit add in a finely sliced onion and turn the heat down to medium. When the onion has softened add a sliced chili and a couple of cloves of crushed garlic, season and cook for another couple of minutes. Then add some pre cooked boiled potatoes that have been cut into small cubes.
Cook for another 5-10 minutes until the potato is thoroughly heated through and then add the cooked meat that has also been cut into small cubes. When the whole thing is hot serve topped with a fried egg.
Regarding tomato pasta sauce:
I like to start with a bit of rather flavourless oil (like sunflower oil) that can withstand heat (if needed). When it's hot enough add carrots (they add sweetness, flavour, and you get something with a bit of bite in it) and a bit later onions (sweetness, flavour), then the garlic (so it doesn't burn). You can also add other root vegetables with the carrots depending on your taste (like celery or parsley root, anything you like). Just cut it up a bit bigger than the onions. Overall the heat needs to be medium high for this. If it's too high then your stuff heats too quickly and starts burning and if it's too low then it will all absorb the heat too quickly and you need to wait for the heat to return while your vegetables are sitting in the oil. You can lower the heat once you have added the garlic, by then everything else should be okay with the existing heat.
Before you add the tomatoes you can add some tomato paste (make space in the middle and give it some time in the heat) and then a bit of flour (it helps with binding the oil/fats with the vegetable juices and water making everything a bit creamier).
Canned tomatoes can have a nice flavour but you need to buy the more expensive ones. Cheap ones are often filled with water (it's just the tomatoes and "tomato flavoured water" in the can) while more expensive ones have all the actual tomato juice (tend to be thicker in consistency). Remove the green stem and skin when cutting them up, then put them in, once the carrots/onions/garlic are ready and you have added the tomato paste and flour. Give it some time then mash bigger bits until they fall apart. If you want to use fresh tomatoes but want to remove the skin you can cut a X in the bottom and drop them in hot water for about two minutes and when you remove them it should be easy to remove (wait a moment for the tomatoes to cool down before peeling them).
After you have added the tomatoes but before the sauce is finished it's time to tune up the flavour to your preference. You can use cayenne pepper instead of regular (or use both) to increases the flavour of the tomatoes. Add a bit sugar (less if you include carrots/onions) and lemon juice (less than half a lemon for one can of tomatoes). The salt and a tiny bit sugar and acid complement each other and result in needing less of each while adding flavour. Don't forget a bay leaf or two and herbs to taste (fresh or the dried stuff, whatever works for you).
If you use root vegetables then the tomato sauce can easily work without additional meats but all the small chunks make it better for short pasta and not ideal spaghetti or other long pasta. Even without the roots vegetables it can work alone but is mainly about the tomato flavour.
As you move towards the end of making your sauce you should have started your pasta but cook it one/two minutes less than the box says. Take the pasta out of the pot and strain most of the water (but don't quench in cold water) then put that in the sauce to finish cooking a minute or two on low heat and absorb the sauce (and the pasta won't stick). That gives you a bit of time to clean up the rest of the of your mess. When finished you can add a bit of olive oil before serving if you want (for the flavour).
That's what's so awesome about tomato sauce. So many great ways to make it, and all of the ways are yummy.
I use cans in the winter, I usually just do fresh tomatoes when they're in season, but I just felt like it this time. I could tell the sauce came out all little less "tomatoey", the tomatoes were more oragney than red. Tastes so much better in the summer when they're big and red.
I've been thinking about growing my own, but I'm scared I won't take care of them. Maybe I'd be better off with a little pot to grow some herbs like basil and cilantro.. those are both my favorites.. one makes food italian and the other makes it mexican!
Nevelon wrote: For a normal brisket (not corned beef) I braise it. Toss some beef stock, carrots, onions and potatoes into a sturdy pan. Maybe a splash of red wine. Lay the meat in there and slap the lit on. Cook it on the low end for a while. I’d have to look up the recipe for specifics.
Yeah I realized it was corned beef brisket, not an ordinary brisket. So it ended up being fairly salty, but not to an unbearable point. Next time i'll have to sit it in water for a day or two or do something to tone down the saltiness. But I browned it in a pan with canadian steak seasonings and brown sugar real quick, then put it in the crock pot/slow cooker for about 10 hours with beef broth (which may have worsened the salt issue), a can of beer, red potatoes, celery, white onion. It stayed moist and was falling apart in a good way, I know some people who have tried this end up having it be rubbery or chewy like a tire. I guess its more or less a matter of waiting it out until its done. After 6 hours on low it wasn't getting anywhere so I put it on high until it seemed done. I bought two so this weekend I might try a different method.
Made a big pot of tortilla soup last night. I'm not a 'from scratch' type of guy, so used a Bear Creek brand soup mix as a base. Added some left over pulled pork from a butt I smoked last week, a can of black beans, a can of mexicorn, and a can of Rotel diced tomatoes with habanero.
Served topped with tortilla strips and shredded pepper jack cheese.
One of my favorite not from scratch recipes is cheesy potatoes.
2 regular sized 8 oz bags of shredded cheese, I usually get 1 cheddar and 1 pepper jack.
1 bag of frozen hash browns (the diced kind, I think it's 2 pounds or so)
2 cans of cream of chicken soup (chicken is the only neutral flavor, cream of celery or mushroom will just make it taste like celery or mushrooms)
Mix it all up, put it in a big casserole dish or pan and pop it in the oven for 1 hour at 400 F degrees and enjoy the cheesy goodness. I usually cook it in a disposable aluminum pan, and spray it with cooking spray first so it doesn't all stick to the bottom.
I keep telling myself I'll try and make real au gratten potatoes some day, but this is so easy and so good, why bother.
Necros wrote: That's what's so awesome about tomato sauce. So many great ways to make it, and all of the ways are yummy.
I use cans in the winter, I usually just do fresh tomatoes when they're in season, but I just felt like it this time. I could tell the sauce came out all little less "tomatoey", the tomatoes were more oragney than red. Tastes so much better in the summer when they're big and red.
I've been thinking about growing my own, but I'm scared I won't take care of them. Maybe I'd be better off with a little pot to grow some herbs like basil and cilantro.. those are both my favorites.. one makes food italian and the other makes it mexican!
If you have the space then growing your own tomatoes is a really good idea. Fresh store bought tomatoes are usually optimised for size and perfect skin. All the breeding created a lot of variants that are watery (so they feel plump and juicy) but lack favour. Here in Germany "Datteltomaten" (apparently "plum tomatoes") tend to taste better because they are less bred for looking nice.
So, got snowed in by the Nor-Easter, governor closed roads, blah blah. Roommate got quesadilla shells and we had freezer meat; but we lacked salsa. But I had apple, onion, garlic, corn, lime and some dried herbs. Apple and corn salsa, coming to town to go on top of the quesadillas!! Screw you, storm! I don't need tomatoes to make salsa!!
Yeah, my grandmother always said to use plum tomatoes, and that's what you see people using on youtube videos .. guess that's why. That's probably what I'll grow if I grow them. I'm kind of afraid they won't grow good though, this summer I'll be moving and the back yard of the house has lots of shade.. afraid there won't be enough sun for growing things.
We had a wonderful ice blizzard yesterday, we were right in the middle between snow and rain. Made lasagna with the last of my tomato sauce from Sunday
Plum tomatoes for homemade salsa? Oh yeah. It's the ONLY kind to use! But plenty of other fruits and vegetables can be used to make salsa in place of tomato; mango, melon, apple, corn, bean, etc. Be creative. Salsa, like pizza, can be made with just about anything!!
Anyone know how any creative uses for instant noodles to make something slightly better than out of the package? As always, I'm just asking for a friend I-- I mean, they typically have both instant ramen and instant yakisoba available. Good for budget meals, but something to spice things up might be nice for me-- I mean my friend
Anyone know how any creative uses for instant noodles to make something slightly better than out of the package? As always, I'm just asking for a friend I-- I mean, they typically have both instant ramen and instant yakisoba available. Good for budget meals, but something to spice things up might be nice for me-- I mean my friend
I've never eaten that type of stuff (we have local variants of instant soups so I never bought that stuff) and I don't know how much work you want to put into this. But you could get vegetable for a basic vegetable stock (onions, celery, carrots) cut them into eatable pieces and then put that into an bit pot with some sunflower oil (it's okay with most heat levels you abuse it with). You can also add any other root vegetables (also cut up potatoes if you want, and parsley root, parsnip, any hard vegetable really) Let it all sweat a bit until it gets colour and becomes softer. Add salt and pepper, then you can add a tiny bit flour to bind the now flavoured oil with the upcoming water, add cold water (more than just covering the vegetable this won't be stock exactly so a bit thinner consistency is okay) after that into the pot, an stir. It's not exactly vegetable stock but a light but flavoured vegetable soup that you can mix with the instant noodles. They include some dried power, don't they?
That would give you more vegetable in your soup, you can also add softer vegetable before you add the water (but after the hard, root vegetable have softened a bit), stuff like mushrooms, bell pepper, zucchini, leek, whatever you like. Once you added the water you can add vegetables that don't need that long, like cauliflower, broccoli, parsley leaves (any herbs you like and that fit). And maybe drop a bayleaf in there.
Basically you add oil, then add vegetables from the ones that take the longest to the one that don't need that long. Somewhere in the middle you add flour and fill the pot with water (to which degree you thin it depends on your taste) before adding all the easily cooked vegetable into the soup. Then you have a really simple vegetable soup that you can adjust so it tastes when mixed with the instant noodles dried powder flavour stuff (and noodles). Or you can leave out the instant noodles/powder and just eat your soup. It should have enough vegetables that you won't need the extra stuff.
If you have tons of instant noodle pack and just want variety then you can try using a subsection, like carrots one day, broccoli another day, and so on. The process is the same. All the harder vegetable go into a skillet with some oil until they are softer (then transferred to the soup) and the other stuff you can drop directly into the instant soup while it's heating up (according to desired consistency). Broccoli, for example, I would wash, cut into florets, then half/third as needed so they have a similar biteable size, and just drop them into the instant soup so they have some time to soften (but not too much). Cauliflower is a bit harder so you would drop that a minute or two earlier, leeks (cut into pieces), white side early, green side later, and so on.
Tonight I grilled up some thick cut pork chops I had marinating overnight in some Jamaican Jerk marinade.
Grilled them with some apple and hickory wood for smoke flavor. Once halfway done and flipped, brushed on some more Jerk sauce and sprinkled on some spices.
Anyone know how any creative uses for instant noodles to make something slightly better than out of the package? As always, I'm just asking for a friend I-- I mean, they typically have both instant ramen and instant yakisoba available. Good for budget meals, but something to spice things up might be nice for me-- I mean my friend
I usually toss in some shredded Nappa Cabbage, canned or smoked meats (Ham, Spam or Hotdogs, depending what's on hand) and drop in an egg to poach.
You can also throw in some shrimp (shell optional, preferably uncooked), crab legs (real or fake, both work), Lobster tail, Bay scallops (the small kind), or generic brand seafood mixes (which is usually mussle, clam meat, squid and sometimes scallops). For Garnishes, Deep Fried Onions can add some crunch if you serve it just after adding it. Green Onions and Bean sprouts can also give you some more of a natural "crunch" and can be added just before serving (they actually do cook in the broth if it's still hot). If you got wontons, you can ditch the soup mix entirely and just throw the noodle in the wonton broth.
Also I'd like to mention some cooking methods for the noodles themselves; I like to cook the broth separately then steep the noodles in the broth just before serving. This gives them a small bit of a bite to the noodles (Al dente I think it's called?) but my dad prefers them soft, so he boils the noodles in the broth as it's cooking. My method gives firmer noodles but the noodles don't absorb as much flavour, while my dad's method gives very "squishy" noodled that are basically concentrated broth. It all depends on the cook time and how you like your noodles.
Finally, Sesame Oil, chinese chili paste, tobasco, and Asian Fish Sauce can all help improve the flavour (I've tried them all). Just add according to taste. Just be warned that more than two spoonfuls of Sesame oil in your soup can result in extremely loosened stool (I gave this as a remedy for constipation to a friend and accidentally told him the wrong dosage. He ended up spending a whole day sitting on the toilet, quite literally). Incidentally I've tried soysauce in it and, despite being chinese myself, I hated it.
Note that all of this works with the fresh kind too. Generally anything that can flavour the broth more is more important than the noodles themselves. It's more of a soup with noodles than noodles with soup.
Last night for me was sausage and fennel risotto. It takes time to do a good risotto, but I find it to be very soothing and comforting to make, as well as eat!
We had a simple but great meal tonight. Grilled up some decent quality bun length beef franks and made chili dogs with those on Hawaiian Hot Dog Buns with Hormel spicy beanless chili and shredded pepper jack cheese.
Monday was cavatelli with broccoli rabe and sausage, last night was burgers with brussel sprouts, and tonight is homemade meat sauce in the slow cooker. The sausage is so tender I could cut it with a rubber spatula; and I did.
curran12 wrote: Last night for me was sausage and fennel risotto. It takes time to do a good risotto, but I find it to be very soothing and comforting to make, as well as eat!
I do like a good risotto. Not a fan of the slowly stirring for half an hour part, but all the alternative recipes just seem heretical. Food tastes better if you work for it anyway. Last time I made one it was bacon and mushroom. Froze a cup of the “filling” so I just need to break out the rice if I want to do it again.
Dinner tonight was chicken in waffles. Last time I made waffles I froze a few just for this purpose. Nice break from the leftover potato salad I’ve been eating all week. Made too much for an office party, and hate to waste food.
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Hoitash wrote: I soaked some uncooked brats in beer and another set in sake to see how they'd turn out.
The beer brats were of course amazing, the sake ones a waste of the sake, sadly. They weren't bad, just not really flavorfull.
Maybe some sort of noodle dish with the sausage and a sauce based from the sake....
Last time I was boiling brats in beer, I got into a discussion about alternative things to use. Gin was suggested. Never tried it; couldn’t bring myself to use that much fine beverage.
One fun thing to do with brats (and hot dogs for that mater) is to bake them into soft pretzels. Out of buns? No problem!
That would require some kind of technical aptitude. I'm most definitely a thinker rather than a doer!
Spotted one for about £130.00 which has good reviews, so that ought to do the trick nicely. And I can use the dehydrator for various other culinary experiments.
So LARP season is upon us, and this year I’m looking to invest in IC cooking equipment. It’s safer and probably cheaper than risking the path at night, looking for a burger.
One thing I definitely want to try is campfire chilli. I’ve had a loose browse on Google, but none seem quite right. So I’m hoping to steal recipes from you guys - and yes, I’ve got Frazz in mind!
I’d rather one that doesn’t rely on Mince, but chuck steak or similar for a chunkier texture.
So LARP season is upon us, and this year I’m looking to invest in IC cooking equipment. It’s safer and probably cheaper than risking the path at night, looking for a burger.
One thing I definitely want to try is campfire chilli. I’ve had a loose browse on Google, but none seem quite right. So I’m hoping to steal recipes from you guys - and yes, I’ve got Frazz in mind!
I’d rather one that doesn’t rely on Mince, but chuck steak or similar for a chunkier texture.
I do my chili in a crock pot, but it could be adapted to any low-ish heat I guess.
I start out with a chuck roast, cook it until it starts falling apart with some tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, onion and some of your spice mix, depending on how you want to do it. When that is ready I shred it and add my second meat - this is the texture meat - either more chuck cut into pieces and browned or ground beef or both. Put that in with the balance of your spice mix, and if you want beans, the beans - I do a mix of pinto, black and red beans, with about 40% of them pureed to give the chili some thickness. This is also when you add your diced tomatoes or more crushed tomatoes and some tomato paste, again depending on the texture you want, as well as whatever mix of peppers you want to use. I usually go for a handful of diced jalapenos, and/or a ghost pepper. Then cook that until it is a uniform red-brown color and the flavors have blended. If it's too watery - it probably won't be - I add more tomato paste. Water for the reverse, but I like my chili pretty thick.
For a spice mix I use mainly dark chili powder, cayenne, and cumin. Add about 1/3 the amount of any of those of coriander and garlic.
My ethos is if your face isn't sweating after a bowl, I have failed. But adjust the seasoning to your audience I guess.
Sounds tasty And after many years of curry based abuse, my three remaining taste buds are immune to hot food
Definitely liking the amount of beans in the recipe. It's all protein, which is very welcome when LARPing! Reckon add in some freshly toasted/warmed tortillas for starchy goodness?
What sort of ingredient quantities do you have in mind here?
Made a salmon/pasta ovendish today.
Good stuff, and other than the salmon not very expensive either.
Cut a leek, a paprica, and an onion. Stirfry them briefly. Add a packet of holandaise sauce herbs, some cream and ~600ml of water. Leave to simmer for a bit.
Put the uncooked pasta at the bottom of an oiled-up ovendish. Cut the salmon into small cubes, and put it on top of the pasta. If you like, add some shrimp here as well. Add the sauce, and maybe a bit more water if it seems dry spots are appearing.
Cut some cherry tomatoes and put them on top. Finish of with flaked cheese.
Put in the oven ~190deg Celsius for 35 minutes.
But can we have three cheers for the culinary marvel that is Worcester Sauce?
Seriously. I’ve never known such a tasty sauce which also serves in so many other areas.
Fantastic on cheese on toast (grilled cheese for the colonials). Base ingredient of so many other home made sauces. Critical to Jerky of all kinds, and most definitely one of the few sauces I could never replicate in my own kitchen.
Here’s to Lea & Perrins very, very, finest. When the Greeks wrote of Ambrosia. And the Israelites were promised Milk and Honey, it’s only because they didn’t know this kitchen cupboard staple!
I love it for beef. When I don’t have time to marinate, I’ll just pour a little on to of the steak or burgers when cooking. Or into the pot for pot roast.
When I have time, I’ll do a marinade and eyeball like 1 part worchestier, 1 part soy sauce, some salt & pepper, some diced onions and 3-4 cloves of minced garlic. Let it soak overnight and then throw it on a hot grill, 5 minutes per side.
I also only get Lee & Perins. there's other brands.. but why?
) Thanks a bunch Malus 
