Topic: A Cooking Thread? (Read 489026 times)

Lines · « **Reply #1850 on:** 30 Sep 2013, 20:30 »

Honestly it wouldn't surprise me if my bff and her husband fit into that fetish... But she's mine, you can't have her, you no can haz her foodz, precious.

lepetitfromage · « **Reply #1851 on:** 01 Oct 2013, 06:58 »

Quote from: lepetitfromage on 28 Sep 2013, 17:43

I was feeling lazy but brave after a busy day, so I decided to do an impossible chicken pot pie. I made a similar thing with ground beef a while back but this time I went into it blindly (with the exception of the crust). It's in the oven now- let's hope it tastes as good as it looks and smells!

This was DELICIOUS. I think it may become a regular in our house. It was so easy and tasted sooooo good. And just as good (if not better) in the toaster oven the next day. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. I need to remember this one.

I did a stir fry the other night, using a technique that was new-ish to me (as in, I've tried it before but it wasn't as successful that time). I used a sirloin I had in the freezer and instead of defrosting, I sliced it paper thin while it was still frozen. I let that brown, then I threw in one of these. Once everything was cooked, I tossed it in some chow mein seasoning mix. I'm having leftovers for lunch and I just want to tear into them now! I have to remind myself that it's not even 10 am......

Carl-E · « **Reply #1852 on:** 01 Oct 2013, 19:51 »

We did that with chicken and teriyaki sauce! I had the leftovers for lunch the last two days at work...

We even sliced the chicken frozen. It was a trick I'd learned years ago preparing beef heart for an SCA feast. The stuff's almost rubbery defrosted, but frozen you can slice it thin, across the grain, and we made a really tasty and tender Mongolian beef dish from it.

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #1853 on:** 06 Oct 2013, 10:30 »

I made pancakes. Pancakes were a good call. Also fired up a little ham in the skillet for some protein.

Lines · « **Reply #1854 on:** 06 Oct 2013, 11:11 »

I'm trying to perfect my zucchini lasagna recipe. I've only made it twice so far - the first time I didn't steam the zucchini so it was a little tough. This time I did, but I'm not sure I'm cutting it thin enough or maybe I need to steam it longer, because it still wasn't easy to cut through. Has anyone ever tried using zucchini in a lasagna before? The flavor is great, I'm just trying to anchor down the best texture.

Also I'm never using a thinner marinara-like sauce in a lasagna ever again. Sauce got waaaaaay watery somehow expanded in the heat and made a mess. I've never had that happen before. I didn't intend to use a thinner sauce, I didn't even realize how thin it was until I opened the jar.

Metope · « **Reply #1855 on:** 06 Oct 2013, 11:30 »

I hit the jackpot with flatmates, it seems. They both love cooking and I don't, so I chip in with a little money and provide some wine, and get to eat lots of delicious food. And there's always way too much food as well, so I get tasty leftovers for lunch the next day instead of my regular boring sandwich. Tamales are being made right now!

lepetitfromage · « **Reply #1856 on:** 06 Oct 2013, 14:41 »

Carl, I've got to try that with chicken now!! I HATE defrosting stuff so any technique that gets around that process is awesome.

We're having leftovers tonight from my giant crockpot experiment last night. I threw in a few frozen (of course) chicken breasts, a can of black beans and a jar of mango salsa (the recipe called for any salsa and mango was all we had so I was hoping it wouldn't suck). Cranked the crockpot to high for 6 hours, then low for 2 just to keep it warm. About 45 minutes before we were ready to eat, I tossed in some chopped green peppers and a brick of cream cheese. Served it over elbow macaroni because I couldn't be bothered to make rice.

It was heavenly........and the chicken! It was so tender and juicy that it just fell apart when you speared it with your fork. *drool*

Lines · « **Reply #1857 on:** 06 Oct 2013, 14:49 »

Ooo, that sounds yummy, I'm going to have to try that!

Also, Carl, what kind of knife do you use to cut frozen meat? I didn't realize you could do that...

cesium133 · « **Reply #1858 on:** 06 Oct 2013, 14:56 »

I usually partly do that. I have difficulty cutting through it if it's completely frozen, but what I usually do is when I defrost it in the microwave, I tell the microwave the chicken weighs about half what it actually does, so it ends up partially thawed, but solid enough for cutting it easily.

Aimless · « **Reply #1859 on:** 06 Oct 2013, 15:19 »

Quote from: Linds on 06 Oct 2013, 11:11

I'm trying to perfect my zucchini lasagna recipe. I've only made it twice so far - the first time I didn't steam the zucchini so it was a little tough. This time I did, but I'm not sure I'm cutting it thin enough or maybe I need to steam it longer, because it still wasn't easy to cut through. Has anyone ever tried using zucchini in a lasagna before? The flavor is great, I'm just trying to anchor down the best texture.

Cover the slices in salt for a while, rinse thoroughly and squeeze out the water. Zucchini is gonna be a little tougher to cut through than pasta either way but this way you can better approximate the texture of pasta. Sometimes it's easier to cut through if you fry it in oil and butter first!

Slicing half-frozen meat thinly is second only to velveting when it comes to easy effective stir-fry upgrades!

http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/04/velveting-meat-asian-cooking-technique-cornstarch.html

Lines · « **Reply #1860 on:** 06 Oct 2013, 16:00 »

I'll try that next time, thanks!

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #1861 on:** 06 Oct 2013, 16:56 »

Experiment: Add stuff to hamburger helper.

I took the cheeseburger mac hamburger helper (whole wheat) and followed the directions as shown, I seasoned the beef while browning and added onion, carrots, and hot sauce along with the noodles at the next phase on the box instructions.

Result: Tasty.

cesium133 · « **Reply #1862 on:** 06 Oct 2013, 17:11 »

I used to add stuff to the mac and cheese mix to make it taste better. Then at one point I realized I was adding so much stuff to it, that there was no point in using the mix. So now I make the sauce for mac and cheese from scratch.

Lines · « **Reply #1863 on:** 06 Oct 2013, 18:16 »

It's pretty easy to make from scratch, too. Also very very easy to customize with different spices and cheeses! Last batch I made I used cheddar + pepper jack, tossed in some garlic and bacon, and used spinach rotini instead of macaroni. So very very delicious...

~~mustang6172~~ · « **Reply #1864 on:** 06 Oct 2013, 21:24 »

Quote from: Linds on 06 Oct 2013, 11:11

Also I'm never using a thinner marinara-like sauce in a lasagna ever again. Sauce got waaaaaay watery somehow expanded in the heat and made a mess. I've never had that happen before. I didn't intend to use a thinner sauce, I didn't even realize how thin it was until I opened the jar.

You didn't cook the noodles to al dente before baking did you?

Carl-E · « **Reply #1865 on:** 07 Oct 2013, 00:46 »

I use a large chef's knife (10") that I use for damn near everything except slicing roasts. My daughter uses the smaller (7"?), narrower curved trimmer when she cuts it up, but I find I have less control as far as thickness (well, thinness) of the slices with the smaller knife. Also, longer knife = more leverage = less force necessary (sorry, recovering physics major

).

ev4n · « **Reply #1866 on:** 07 Oct 2013, 06:45 »

Made beef stew on Saturday. Really liked how it turned out.

Opted for mashed potatoes on the side, rather than in. Also, I wound up a bit short on liquid for the stew, and was forced to add a bottle of red wine to make up the difference. (aw darn)

Lines · « **Reply #1867 on:** 07 Oct 2013, 10:50 »

Quote from: mustang6172 on 06 Oct 2013, 21:24

Quote from: Linds on 06 Oct 2013, 11:11
Also I'm never using a thinner marinara-like sauce in a lasagna ever again. Sauce got waaaaaay watery somehow expanded in the heat and made a mess. I've never had that happen before. I didn't intend to use a thinner sauce, I didn't even realize how thin it was until I opened the jar.

You didn't cook the noodles to al dente before baking did you?

I was using while wheat noodles and with those I have to or they don't get soft enough during baking. But the sauce was reeeealy thin. It was a kind I hasn't used before, but it was all I had, so I was all yeah whatever and dumped it in. It tasted good and doesn't disappear after reheating, so I'll deal.

jwhouk · « **Reply #1868 on:** 13 Oct 2013, 18:41 »

Ladies and gentlemen: Poutine du Sud.

(click to show/hide)

Relatively simple: Crinkle-cut fries, Wisconsin cheese curds, and southern-style sausage gravy.

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #1869 on:** 13 Oct 2013, 21:20 »

....oh my.

cesium133 · « **Reply #1870 on:** 14 Oct 2013, 20:07 »

I substituted sour cream for the milk in my curry-tomato-chicken-monstrosity, and it turned out to be surprisingly good. It also goes well with my unintentional doubling of the number of jalapenos I put in.

Carl-E · « **Reply #1871 on:** 15 Oct 2013, 10:25 »

Quote from: jwhouk on 13 Oct 2013, 18:41

Ladies and gentlemen: Poutine du Sud.

Tastiest heart attack that fits on a plate!

Barmymoo · « **Reply #1872 on:** 17 Oct 2013, 15:16 »

My muum is having a bit of a panic because I'm going to stay next week for the first time since I became vegan and she doesn't know what to feed me. I'm just a bit confused because she's vegetarian and has been for my entire life, so basically all we need to do here is buy some soya milk and vegan margerine and basically I will eat the same things as she does? She said herself that the only time she uses cheese is in her sandwiches for lunch, and I'll just, y'know, make my own sandwiches, without cheese...

Lines · « **Reply #1873 on:** 22 Oct 2013, 10:02 »

Quote from: GarandMarine on 07 Sep 2013, 15:34

Haters are welcome. It's curry time.

Ok, so I found curry blocks! Just to double check - the veggies you used were potatoes, carrots, and onion and you had...beef? mixed with them? (You said you had pork cutlets and shimp, those got fried, but you didn't say what the diced meat* was.) Because I think I might make a variation on this by using peas instead of carrots, using chicken instead of meat*, and see how that goes.

And this definitely seems to be a version of Japanese curry, which I am assuming is different than Indian curry. ~~Has anyone used curry blocks for Indian style curry?~~ (Just checked, yes it's different, so nevermind!) I'm trying to branch out my cooking skillz. Definitely going to try making yaki udon this weekend.

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #1874 on:** 22 Oct 2013, 10:19 »

Yeah I used steak because I had them cheap, and the veggies really seem to be your choice. Chicken, pork, etc are perfectly viable.

Lines · « **Reply #1875 on:** 22 Oct 2013, 10:25 »

Okie doke! Thank you!

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #1876 on:** 27 Oct 2013, 17:59 »

When deep frying things... I know veggie oil's bad news in the end, is there an oil that you can use for proper frying that kills you at least a little less? Maybe?

Lines · « **Reply #1877 on:** 28 Oct 2013, 17:45 »

I doubt peanut or canola would be any better, but maybe coconut? I think I remember seeing somewhere that you could deep fry things in coconut oil, but really, if you're deep frying things...it's gonna be bad for you either way.

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #1878 on:** 28 Oct 2013, 18:13 »

I went with... uh... shit... canola oil. Yeah. That stuff.

I have an ever loving fuckton of panko, so I'm gonna fry up some katsu, ebi and... well it's generic white fish (tm)

Yeaaaah, gonna have myself a big ol'fish fry to celebrate the harvest! ...of the sea? Or some shit?

Barmymoo · « **Reply #1879 on:** 29 Oct 2013, 04:31 »

Is canola what we call rapeseed oil? The oil which is made from what we call oilseed rape?

pwhodges · « **Reply #1880 on:** 29 Oct 2013, 04:51 »

Yes (I've got used to the term now). Although sold as the cheap option here, it is actually one of the best oils from a health perspective, and can be used at higher temperatures than olive oil (which is also good).

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #1881 on:** 29 Oct 2013, 04:54 »

It was EVOO or Rape Seed (Canola) oil as the "healthy" options for deep frying. I decided Canola was the better of the two picks (especially at 1/3 the cost of EVOO)

It's not hard to see why they call rape seed oil canola oil though. Hard term to market.

ev4n · « **Reply #1882 on:** 29 Oct 2013, 06:40 »

Plus Canola was developed as a variant of rapeseed in Canada.

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #1883 on:** 02 Nov 2013, 16:53 »

So. Fish Fry. Good call. Time for another beer.

Basically what I was doing here is Karaage (Kah-RAH-ge) or at least a similar concept, but then again, a "fry up" is pretty common world wide. The common marinades for Karaage are soy sauce, garlic and/or ginger. I went with Garlic and a little pepper. It came out very well!

Welu · « **Reply #1884 on:** 02 Nov 2013, 17:04 »

That looks great. I miss eating fish, don't get to cook it too often unless I'm eating alone.

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #1885 on:** 02 Nov 2013, 17:33 »

My only regret is picking Flounder over Cod or Halibut for the white fish. It tastes okay, but just isn't as yummy as good cod or halibut.

Why can't you eat delicious sea food at home Welu?

Welu · « **Reply #1886 on:** 02 Nov 2013, 17:48 »

Partner hates fish and refuses to eat it. He doesn't even like the smell of any kind. When he was working I could cook it for myself when having dinner alone but now we eat almost every meal together. If we're eating out or I'm at my parents I'll get it but that's maybe two or three times a month.

Lines · « **Reply #1887 on:** 02 Nov 2013, 17:59 »

I love fish, but I do hate the way some of it stinks up the house. (I'm remembering when my mom would cook scallops while I was out and I'd come home to the smell. Like coming home after someone has cooked bacon only it's not pleasant like bacon.)

Aimless · « **Reply #1888 on:** 03 Nov 2013, 10:10 »

We were feeling lazy so we decided to try out a variation on this chicken-in-milk thing:

(http://www.thekitchn.com/jamie-oliver-chicken-in-milk-best-chicken-recipe-all-time-80388)

It looked a little manky, but smelled and tasted delicious. And it was so ridiculously simple! The effort-to-yums ratio was very very low. Made it a little more Indian, served it with some nice spiced rice and had chocolate and some moscatel for dessert.

Got some oxtail for cheap and it's now in the oven being braised with a buncha other ingredients.

Lessons learned this weekend: I should use sage and lemon more often; I love cinnamon in almost all dishes; ditto for nutmeg.

lepetitfromage · « **Reply #1889 on:** 04 Nov 2013, 09:42 »

I experimented with a few fun things this weekend!

On Saturday night I made stuffed peppers for the first time (since I only started eating peppers in general a few months ago). They were simple and delicious! My head was spinning a little bit from all the different variations on the recipe but I went with the simpler idea and it turned out wonderful. Just ground beef, brown rice, chopped garlic and tomato sauce. Topped with some mozzarella in the last 10 min of baking and then sprinkled with some parmesan. It was delicious but for experimentation purposes I think I'll branch out next time and change up the recipe a bit. Maybe add corn and black beans and top with cheddar and chili powder. Mmmm...

To serve with the peppers, I got really brave and decided to try a recipe I found in my favorite cookbook for garlic. It's prepared as a side dish instead of just another way to add flavor. You break it apart and roast the cloves in olive oil. They came out sooooo smooth and creamy and delicious. I botched some of the prep somehow because one of the cloves exploded lol but the rest were tasty!

Yesterday I decided to be brave with meat.....much harder for me than veggies because of the squick factor. I threw some bone-in pork shoulder into the slow cooker with some sweet and sour sauce. When it was just about done, I de-boned everything and cut the fat off, then put it in a foil lined dish and stuck it in the oven at 450 for 10 minutes. It was succulent and juicy but all the edges were crispy. Served it over the leftover brown rice with more sauce and some pineapple chunks.

Barmymoo · « **Reply #1890 on:** 04 Nov 2013, 11:06 »

My brother loves roasted garlic as a side dish - he orders it whenever he goes to a fancy French restaurant in his town. I'm keen to try it!

Yesterday my friend came to visit for the afternoon and while I was tutoring via Skype she raided my fridge, located all the squishy week-old vegetables and made the most delicious bubble and squeak. I just finished it for dinner; it had leek, potato, savoy cabbage, onion, garlic and carrots and we ate it with soy sauce. Nom nom nom.

lepetitfromage · « **Reply #1891 on:** 04 Nov 2013, 11:12 »

I have never heard of bubble and squeak but after googling, I want to try it! It sounds delicious.

Emperor Norton · « **Reply #1892 on:** 04 Nov 2013, 12:08 »

I made a burger and added an overeasy egg, fried braunschweiger, and salsa. It was an abomination of protein but it was so delicious.

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #1893 on:** 09 Nov 2013, 10:07 »

Mmmmm my goddess you KNOW you're cookin something tasty when it's not even VAGUELY cooked yand you're eating it already.

Today's Chili recipe involves black, pinto and kidney beans, tomato puree (base) and diced tomato (I like tomato, sue me), sliced up pork tenderloin, sliced up sirloin steak, ground beer/pork mix, a few pieces of cut up bacon, red onion, garlic, white pepper, sea salt, a little crushed red pepper, chili powder and two kinds of hot sauce. My crockpot can barely contain the gloriousness. I might need to go see if Walgreens has an easy make corn bread packet.

Barmymoo · « **Reply #1894 on:** 09 Nov 2013, 10:16 »

I've spent the whole day cooking! I've made a sausage casserole (not brilliant - I made up the ingredients and it's a bit too watery but at least that'll be good for going in my Thermos for lunch), a carrot cake, flapjack, vegetable soup and a fruit crumble. Also made a disappointing risotto for dinner, it is lacking mushrooms.

Carl-E · « **Reply #1895 on:** 09 Nov 2013, 15:55 »

Quote from: GarandMarine on 09 Nov 2013, 10:07

ground beer

Want.

lepetitfromage · « **Reply #1896 on:** 10 Nov 2013, 20:01 »

Lol! I can't imagine what you'd have to do to get beer to a decent consistency that allows for grinding.

I imagine it being odd little gelatinous blobs.

We went apple picking last weekend! I made an apple pie this weekend! It was glorious. Perfect heated up with a little butter pecan ice cream on top. Mmmmmm....

I cheated and used two of those pre-made rolled crusts, but it was pretty damn close to made from scratch. Also, I can't believe how fresh the remaining apples are- still. I have about 20 left. I think I'll make an apple crisp, do some baked or fried apples for dessert one night this week and make applesauce with whatever doesn't get used up.

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #1897 on:** 10 Nov 2013, 20:40 »

Mmmm I could stand making an apple or pecan pie, but... I dunno, then I'd have to /eat/ the pie you know what I mean?

Carl-E · « **Reply #1898 on:** 11 Nov 2013, 05:21 »

Apple picking? Last weekend?

How far south are you? We lost all the fruit off the trees here over a month ago...

Barmymoo · « **Reply #1899 on:** 11 Nov 2013, 09:54 »

If you think about it, when you buy apples from a shop it's probably been two weeks between picking and purchase, or more if they were shipped all over the place. So freshness from just-picked fruit is not that surprising!

The fruit I get in my vegetable box is not fresh. It is usually going soft within a day or two.

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Author Topic: A Cooking Thread? (Read 489026 times)