# The Cooking Thread



## Supe (Oct 10, 2019)

Your one stop cooking thread.  Turkey bacon not allowed.  If you can find it at a bakery, it belongs in the Baking thread.

Let 'er rip!


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## JayKay PE (Oct 10, 2019)

I'm feeling very discriminated against due to the 'no turkey bacon' rule.  I need an adult.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 10, 2019)

JayKay0914 said:


> I'm feeling very discriminated against due to the 'no turkey bacon' rule.  I need an adult.


Same.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 10, 2019)

Dinner last night with my bestie.

Pan fried hake (flour, salt, pepper) topped with a herb-lemon brown butter. Side of local cauliflower pan fried with capers, pine nuts, lemon zest.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 10, 2019)

Few weeks ago I made butternut squash potato leek soup and homemade croutons. There was a satchet of herbs in the pot I forgot to remove before using the immersion blender  so its chunky than it should be because the cheese cloth wrapped itself up into the blade shaft 

Taste really good tho


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## JayKay PE (Oct 10, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> Few weeks ago I made butternut squash potato leek soup and homemade croutons. There was a satchet of herbs in the pot I forgot to remove before using the immersion blender  so its chunky than it should be because the cheese cloth wrapped itself up into the blade shaft
> 
> Taste really good tho


Recipe for soup?  I do a potato leek soup with scallions and I usually don't add a lot of herbs since I sauté the onions/leeks/scallions/garlic beforehand, so I'm curious since I've never thought to have butternut squash soup (but it sounds delicious).


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## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 10, 2019)

@JayKay0914 https://flavorthemoments.com/butternut-squash-potato-leek-soup/

I used chili powder since I didn't have cayenne. I could have used much plus some more salt. I did 4c chicken stock with 2c water and added the 1/4c cream to the whole batch. And I used like 6 gloves of garlic


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## leggo PE (Oct 10, 2019)

Calling @knight1fox3....


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## leggo PE (Oct 10, 2019)

Last night, we had grilled veggie skewers with a cilantro lime avocado "sauce" and cilantro lime black bean rice. Conveniently, this is also my lunch today (leftover win!). Super delicious! Recipe was from the cookbook Love Real Food by the blogger Cookie and Kate, and is legitimately my favorite cookbook right now.


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## Supe (Oct 10, 2019)

JayKay0914 said:


> I'm feeling very discriminated against due to the 'no turkey bacon' rule.  I need an adult.






LyceeFruit said:


> Same.






leggo PE said:


> Calling @knight1fox3....


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## Master slacker (Oct 10, 2019)

We got a Lodge 12" dutch oven before our camping adventure last month and only used the lid as a skillet to fry up some eggs and bacon.  Not bad, but I was wanting to practice with some real meals at home before diving in at the campsite.  The Lodge book that came with the oven has a number of recipes and one that stuck in my mind looks awesome.  It uses two whole chickens (cut up), 2 or 4 lbf ribs, onions, vinegar, etc... Takes 3+ hours to make.  Debating whether to try this or something less... big. 

Anyone have successfully done dutch oven recipes using charcoal briquettes?


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## Supe (Oct 10, 2019)

From a thread the other day, here is my current go-to chili recipe:


Angus chuck (cubed)

Ground beef

Bottle of Budweiser

Cocoa powder

Fresh garlic

Onion

Tomatoes w/green chilies, e.g. Rotel

Beans (at the wife's insistence) 

Ancho chili peppers and cajun bell peppers

Spices - salt, pepper, oregano, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, brown sugar (not much), garlic powder, Hungarian Paprika (sweet, because the wife didn't want it very spicy)

Few splashes of balsamic vinegar (forgot this part the other day)

Started by browning/searing the chuck and ground beef, then came in with the onions/garlic/peppers.  Bottle of beer to deglaze, then everybody in the pot, tweaking the seasonings between hours 2-5 depending on how much certain flavors mellowed out.  

I am VERY tempted to give this another go, but try smoking the chuck roast before hand.  I have on good authority that smoked chuck can actually taste better than brisket, and I think it could add an interesting depth of flavor that would play off the anchos and chili powder really well.


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## Supe (Oct 10, 2019)

Master slacker said:


> We got a Lodge 12" dutch oven before our camping adventure last month and only used the lid as a skillet to fry up some eggs and bacon.  Not bad, but I was wanting to practice with some real meals at home before diving in at the campsite.  The Lodge book that came with the oven has a number of recipes and one that stuck in my mind looks awesome.  It uses two whole chickens (cut up), 2 or 4 lbf ribs, onions, vinegar, etc... Takes 3+ hours to make.  Debating whether to try this or something less... big.
> 
> Anyone have successfully done dutch oven recipes using charcoal briquettes?


Give it a go.  There are some charts out there that do a pretty good job of telling you how to control temperature on dutch ovens with amount of charcoal on/under.  I think one of the keys is to use GOOD charcoal if you're worried about temperature control, especially on an extended cook, or it burns up too quick and you'll have to babysit.  Slow cook BBQ is pretty hard to screw up in a dutch oven, so I wouldn't hesitate to try it with chicken and (presumably) country style ribs.


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## JayKay PE (Oct 10, 2019)

Master slacker said:


> We got a Lodge 12" dutch oven before our camping adventure last month and only used the lid as a skillet to fry up some eggs and bacon.  Not bad, but I was wanting to practice with some real meals at home before diving in at the campsite.  The Lodge book that came with the oven has a number of recipes and one that stuck in my mind looks awesome.  It uses two whole chickens (cut up), 2 or 4 lbf ribs, onions, vinegar, etc... Takes 3+ hours to make.  Debating whether to try this or something less... big.
> 
> Anyone have successfully done dutch oven recipes using charcoal briquettes?


Personally, if you're going to try a camp recipe, I'd make a mini fire in the backyard and try.  Usually my family did something like this in our fire pit during the summer.  We'd do the potatoes/hobo meals in the fire as it warmed up, stick the cast-iron in the fire to pre-warm, and mom would make stuff while we toasted marshmallows and stuff.  Unless you bring charcoal briquettes out when you camp?  I mean, they do heat/hold heat a different way than a normal campfire would.


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## JayKay PE (Oct 10, 2019)

Supe said:


>


...I'm allergic to pork and would need to use that while complaining after eating bacon.  T_T


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## Master slacker (Oct 10, 2019)

JayKay0914 said:


> Unless you bring charcoal briquettes out when you camp?  I mean, they do heat/hold heat a different way than a normal campfire would.


That's what we've done so far with just the skillet setup.  It's cheap and predictable.  Logs are an added challenge and if the oven is on the logs when they shift / crumble, dinner spills.  We don't want that.


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## Ble_PE (Oct 10, 2019)

leggo PE said:


> Calling @knight1fox3....


We don't need his Tim Horton approved crap in here.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 10, 2019)

Ble_PE said:


> We don't need his Tim Horton approved crap in here.


mmm Tim Hortons... I love Timbits. So much better than munchkins.


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## Supe (Oct 10, 2019)

Ble_PE said:


> We don't need his Tim Horton approved crap in here.


The P in P90X stands for "poutine".


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## Road Guy (Oct 10, 2019)

Guess who thinks my white bean chili is the jam?


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## leggo PE (Oct 10, 2019)

Road Guy said:


> Guess who thinks my white bean chili is the jam?


You?


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## Road Guy (Oct 10, 2019)

yep - also added in a little bit of pheasant left over in the freezer - was a nice touch!


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## Master slacker (Oct 12, 2019)

Under way.  Will definitely take a 6 pack to get all the way through. 

Chicken and dog tax included.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 13, 2019)

Going thru leftovers in the fridge (hence huge salad). Highlight here in the fried fish tho lol

Boyfriend caught a perch so I filleted it and fried it up. My filleting skills have improved but still have work to do


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## Master slacker (Oct 14, 2019)

Well, everything pretty much fit.  Two whole chickens and four lbf of ribs.  This was a winner in our book.


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## Supe (Oct 14, 2019)

That looks pretty damned good!  I'd be tempted to throw the chicken over the charcoals for a bit just to get the skin nice and crispy.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 14, 2019)

Cooked salmon this weekend so boyfriend could try it so bestie &amp; I could figure out what we're making for friendsgiving.

He ate it but it isn't his fave so I think I'll cook lamb - idk, we did a roast last year and I'd like something more budget friendly since I mistakenly listened to my coworker and got a very spendy piece of meat.

Also roasted a chicken using the Run Fast Eat Slow recipe.

And then he made us chicken noodle soup using local purple carrots so everything is grey and looks kind of unappetizing but it's delicious


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## Master slacker (Oct 14, 2019)

Supe said:


> That looks pretty damned good!  I'd be tempted to throw the chicken over the charcoals for a bit just to get the skin nice and crispy.


No skin on this recipe.  All removed.  Better moistness.


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## Supe (Oct 14, 2019)

Master slacker said:


> No skin on this recipe.  All removed.  Better moistness.


Gotcha.  It looked like there was skin on that drumstick on the right.


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## JayKay PE (Oct 15, 2019)

Woke up on Monday after a flight from hell/driving from Chicago to Indy after an ultra-delayed/potential cancellation and realized I had off (whaaaaaaat?).  Decided I needed to use up a good amount of potatoes, due to a semi-moldy one lurking at the bottom of the bag causing some to begin to turn.  Made a huge batch of potato soup with some celery + onions + head of garlic, idk 3lbs of potatoes?  6c. water + a few of those chicken bouillon cubes.  Came out adequate.  I always forget to skin the potatoes, and since it's just me feeding myself, I don't care if the emulsion mixer leaves a couple behind.

Def good for cold weather/froze the majority.  Took a big batch of chicken chili from the freezer, will prob make some rice for it tomorrow.  Meal prep is hard when you're only prepping for one person...Means I can't get too creative since I end up cooking in batches for a family of five instead of a family of me.


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## mudpuppy (Oct 15, 2019)

JayKay0914 said:


> Woke up on Monday after a flight from hell/driving from Chicago to Indy after an ultra-delayed/potential cancellation




Pro tip for living in the midwest:  do not under any circumstances connect through Chicago.


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## JayKay PE (Oct 15, 2019)

mudpuppy said:


> Pro tip for living in the midwest:  do not under any circumstances connect through Chicago.


Yeah, original flight was through Detroit.  The only return flight was through Chicago and was United.  My dad booked it, got $200 off with points, but it was difficult.  I'm def avoiding Chicago airport unless that is my final destination.  T_T


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## NikR_PE (Oct 15, 2019)

JayKay0914 said:


> Meal prep is hard when you're only prepping for one person...Means I can't get too creative since I end up cooking in batches for a family of five instead of a family of me.


I totally agree. When I used to do it, i was eating the same thing the whole week because it is difficult to cook in small batches.


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## Master slacker (Oct 15, 2019)

NikR said:


> ...i was eating the same thing the whole week ...


THE HORROR!!!1!1!!1


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## NikR_PE (Oct 15, 2019)

Master slacker said:


> THE HORROR!!!1!1!!1


Man you seem to be a master at that. Life would be simple if I had that skill.


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## leggo PE (Oct 15, 2019)

I can't stand eating the same thing every day of the week, which is why my husband and I cook dinner pretty much every night, and usually end up with leftovers for lunch the next day (or if soup/chili, freeze the rest for another dinner in a different week). I need variety in my meals, and also like that when I'm getting variety, I get a good balance of different proteins, vegetables, and grains. Eat the rainbow, kids!


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## JayKay PE (Oct 15, 2019)

NikR said:


> I totally agree. When I used to do it, i was eating the same thing the whole week because it is difficult to cook in small batches.


I don't mind eating the same thing throughout the week for lunch or dinner.  It's when I have to eat the same thing throughout the week for lunch AND dinner.  Hell, I used to have the same lunch for a good 6-7 years when I was in highschool/most of college:  Peanut butter sandwich.  Apple.  Water.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 15, 2019)

Pyrex containers or mason jars and freeze. Or half the recipe. My freezer is ridiculous most of the time due to this method but totally helps the variety and/or laziness


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## Supe (Oct 23, 2019)

My daughter has been begging me to make my slow cooker tortellini soup, but it's soooo bad for you:


Italian Sausage - I usually peel links and use bigger chunks

Onion

Carrots

Garlic

Italian seasoning

Chicken bouillon cubes

Vegetable broth or stock

Half and half or heavy cream

Spinach

Cheese tortellini 

Corn starch

I brown the sausage in a pan with the garlic, and slightly under cook the tortellini ahead of time.  Everyone in the pot except the starch, spinach, and tortellini, which go in at the end (starch with water pre-mixed to thicken).  Salt and pepper as needed.  I could eat that shit all day.  You can use beef bouillon and broth instead of chicken/vegetable.

The heavier on the sage/fennel/caraway seed the sausage is, the better it is, IMO.  If you have a good/coarse grind chicken sausage, that works OK too.  Fine grinds don't work very well and give it an odd texture.


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## leggo PE (Oct 23, 2019)

Soup!

Our go-to's right now are the following:


red lentil butternut squash soup (https://www.toneitup.com/recipe/red-lentil-butternut-squash-soup/) - super easy, filling, and yummy

Instant Pot Taco Soup (https://www.101cookbooks.com/spicy-instant-pot-taco-soup-recipe/) - this is ridiculously good, and you can make it without an IP too, I think; it will just take more time

split pea soup (takes a long time to make, so is usually a weekend make sort of thing)

kitchen sink soup with whatever veggies I have on hand. chicken sausage, some sort of rice, and veggie broth

crockpot lasagna soup

chicken and barley soup


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## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Oct 23, 2019)

Master slacker said:


> Well, everything pretty much fit.  Two whole chickens and four lbf of ribs.  This was a winner in our book.
> 
> View attachment 13967


Upvote for good usage of lbf.


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## JayKay PE (Oct 24, 2019)

*chastised by @Supe to come into this thread to talk about soup*

I've only made my usual potato soup at my new apartment (which I don't think is an actual recipe?  It's just a ton of sautéed onions/celery/garlic boiled/simmered with as much water I think is appropriate + bullion cubes +  potatoes then emersion mixer'd).  I love making soups, but it's such a pain for me since I'm single so when I make a soup...I have to either freeze it, eat it for a full week, or freeze it and then end up eating it 3 or 4 days out of the week.  I'm on the search for a soup that can stay in the fridge for many days, won't go bad, but when it freezes won't be a pain when I'm reheating (like potato soup w/ the cream usually requires low&amp;slow reheating so the cream doesn't curdle).


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## Supe (Oct 24, 2019)

Soups with dairy hold up the least in the fridge, though I've had it last over a week with no issue.  I trust beef and cooked pork more than I do poultry.  Anything with a tomato-based or light broth tends to hold up pretty good.  If you plan on freezing a bunch of it, undercook any vegetables just slightly so they're not mush later.  Anything with a bunch of fresh herbs also seem to go flat after being frozen, so either add it later or stick to soups that are spice-based rather than herb-based.  Vacuum seal tupperware or mason jars can make the fridge stuff last longer and show you outgassing to know if somethings really gone bad.


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## JayKay PE (Oct 24, 2019)

Not going to lie, totally forgot about using mason jars for storage in the fridge (though I use it for almost all my cooking/baking spices in the pantry for longevity).  I don't really care about the particular feel of a soup after it's been frozen, so the veggie thing doesn't make a big difference to me, but I do tend to stick to chicken based soups (just because I'm allergic to pork and beef stew...Idk, I like making crock-pot stew, so I might start going down that path again?).  When I make most of my soups, my herbs are usually jarred because my soup making is never planned out?  So I just use what I have?  I know dried herbs are usually stronger, and I tend to over-spice anyway since I don't know what the hell I'm doing with my life, but I'll keep these in mind. 

Do you have any specific recipes you think I should try?  I really really like crockpot soup recipes/recipes in general, so I can leave something simmering all day while I'm out since I have no SO/am not living with someone I can ask to help meal prep, but the chicken ones are never that great.


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## Supe (Oct 24, 2019)

JayKay0914 said:


> Not going to lie, totally forgot about using mason jars for storage in the fridge (though I use it for almost all my cooking/baking spices in the pantry for longevity).  I don't really care about the particular feel of a soup after it's been frozen, so the veggie thing doesn't make a big difference to me, but I do tend to stick to chicken based soups (just because I'm allergic to pork and beef stew...Idk, I like making crock-pot stew, so I might start going down that path again?).  When I make most of my soups, my herbs are usually jarred because my soup making is never planned out?  So I just use what I have?  I know dried herbs are usually stronger, and I tend to over-spice anyway since I don't know what the hell I'm doing with my life, but I'll keep these in mind.
> 
> Do you have any specific recipes you think I should try?  I really really like crockpot soup recipes/recipes in general, so I can leave something simmering all day while I'm out since I have no SO/am not living with someone I can ask to help meal prep, but the chicken ones are never that great.


Look up a good beef bone soup recipe.  Those can be done in the crock pot.  Works well with cheap bone-in cuts of beef, tomatoes, green beans, carrots, etc.  I wish I had gotten my grandmother's recipe before she passed, my eldest sister and I would literally fight over it, it was that good.  She made hers in an old school pressure cooker pot.  She did not use potatoes, but would serve over egg noodles, which is my preferred way of having it.


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## JayKay PE (Oct 24, 2019)

Supe said:


> Look up a good beef bone soup recipe.  Those can be done in the crock pot.  Works well with cheap bone-in cuts of beef, tomatoes, green beans, carrots, etc.  I wish I had gotten my grandmother's recipe before she passed, my eldest sister and I would literally fight over it, it was that good.  She made hers in an old school pressure cooker pot.  She did not use potatoes, but would serve over egg noodles, which is my preferred way of having it.


This...sounds a lot like my mom's recipe.  She'd grab a huge piece of cheap chuck, as well as her 12-quart, and she'd make something amazing from random stuff in the fridge that was getting a little 'old'.  Mostly she'd look in the fridge, sigh, and go "You're dad bought 5-lbs of carrots and we're not a 5-lb of carrot family", while grabbing some string beans and potatoes (usually the little red ones quartered), and now I'm wondering why I haven't asked her for the recipe.  I know she sometimes added some of this dark brown mustard that was gritty to it?  But she always served it over egg noodles!!!  I guess this was her cheap way of feeding a family of 5 Polacks on a budget.


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## Supe (Oct 24, 2019)

Polish grandma here, too.  No surprise.  My Slovak grandmother made the best chicken soup ever.  Her broth was always crystal clear but tasted SO rich, I never could figure out how she did it.


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## JayKay PE (Oct 24, 2019)

Dude.  It must be something Polish for making amazing soups.  My grandma is full Polish and did all the cooking in the house and my grandpa is full Irish, so he did all the drinking in the house (not an alcoholic, but shit, he makes drinks strong).  This means my mom is an amazing cook of random 'fill you up' recipes while also being able to out drink most college frat boys while surfing eBay.

My dad is Ukranian and Czechoslovakia (before the split), so he knows about hot dogs and random desserts that nobody in American likes but he adores (mostly poppy seed rolls and the random "Christmas cookies" my grandma used to make in ridiculous quantities before she passed that I have the recipe for that uses anise and Hartshorn).


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## Supe (Oct 24, 2019)

My grandma was also pre-split and came over during WWII.  One tough lady, but man, her chicken soup and stuffed cabbage were to die for.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 28, 2019)

Its been requested that I stop making soup...

I made potato leek soup! (&amp;homemade biscuits)


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## JayKay PE (Oct 28, 2019)

@LyceeFruit ^^ The perfect response to someone requesting you to stop making soup.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 28, 2019)

@JayKay0914 he requested it after I made this soup. 

Which is a bummer since I was going to make tomato soup in the crockpot this weekend... but I'm also running out of jars and freezer space so I should probably chill...


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## JayKay PE (Oct 28, 2019)

Perfect!!!  All soups, all the time!!!  I actually took a container out of my freezer to thaw out, I think it might be good for dinner tonight.  I don't think I'll be bringing soup into the office...Last time I did, the Tupperware container held more than my soup bowl...and it ended poorly when a co-worker surprised me (hot soup all over my hand/the counter).

I might attempt to make biscuits tonight.  I'm just really bad at them since I feel I can never get my butter cold enough.  Might be a good excuse to try tonight.  OR I could just make fried rice tonight for dinner since I have so much left over from rice cooker.  OR I could heat up a cup of rice, with some potato soup, and combine them into something delicious and ultra-filling.

Also, random side note in the thread, I'm kinda miffed that my parents said they were going to come out with all my stuff I left behind at the house when I moved cross country (mostly dresses + a lot of kitchen stuff that wouldn't fit in my car), but now they're pushing it off.  I don't want to re-buy a lot of stuff, like my crockpot or pyrex or pastry cutter, only to have them suddenly bring it sometime in December. I'm going to have to talk to them to see if they can ship it, and I'll just reimburse them.  I just hate that they're like, "That's a lot of money" and I have to be like, "Well, if you're not driving out here, I'll just pay it to get the rest of my stuff, since I'm not coming home until after Christmas via plane (so I obvs can't smuggle a crockpot in my luggage [well, I could, but it would be very cumbersome]).


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## leggo PE (Oct 28, 2019)

Bummer about your parents putting off their visit, especially if you have been counting on their visit to bring you your stuff! The shipping might be a good option.

Here's my roasted chicken from yesterday:




It was super yummy! I served it with Mustardy anchovy green beans, which were so very delectable. That meal was a bit outside of our normal dinner routine, but I just bought Alison Roman's cookbook _Nothing Fancy_, and was inspired to make a few recipes from it last night. When picking recipes, I asked my husband what he thought looked good, and he replied with the repeated chicken that was on the cover, do that's what I did!

It was pretty darned easy to make, and tasted great!


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## leggo PE (Oct 28, 2019)

My apologies for the unflattering lighting. Here's a more flattering picture of it before it went into the oven:


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## Supe (Oct 28, 2019)

Supe's pro-tip - putting it on a rack keeps the bottom from getting soggy, and open air drying in the fridge the night before with a light coat of baking powder dries the skin out and makes it super crispy.


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## leggo PE (Oct 28, 2019)

The chicken skin was decently crispy, and tasted good!

But I only bought the chicken in the morning yesterday and starting roasting it in the later afternoon. I did a quick salt and pepper brine in the fridge, but it wasn't open air... Open air in the fridge creeps me out a little bit, due to it being raw chicken, I think.

What do you mean putting it on a rack? Like, you put the chicken directly on a rack, and a pan below to catch any juices it emits? I'm not an experienced chicken roaster, or roaster of any kind, really. My oven is usually for baked goods or pizza, if I'm being honest!


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## JayKay PE (Oct 28, 2019)

Yeah, when you cook it kinda have it on a little rack?  It's like an cross rack that you can adjust to hold to chicken or roast so it's not sitting in the juices/allows the juices to settle on all the veggies underneath.


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## Supe (Oct 28, 2019)

JayKay PE said:


> Yeah, when you cook it kinda have it on a little rack?  It's like an cross rack that you can adjust to hold to chicken or roast so it's not sitting in the juices/allows the juices to settle on all the veggies underneath.


This.  Doesn't have to be much of one, I've even used a cookie cooling rack in a baking dish.  You just want to keep it from swimming in the juices that run out so that the bottom skin and meat doesn't end up as mush.

If you don't like true open air, you can cover in cheesecloth and lightly drape in plastic wrap.  

And if you haven't given spatchcocking a try, you should.


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## JayKay PE (Oct 28, 2019)

leggo PE said:


> Bummer about your parents putting off their visit, especially if you have been counting on their visit to bring you your stuff! The shipping might be a good option.


Hahahahahahaha, update on that: I complained to my mom about this, since if my dad keeps putting it off it'll be closer to February when he finally comes out (due to gigs and stuff).  Now my dad is potentially driving out Saturday morning, coming Sunday to help unload/stay the night, and then leave Monday morning when I go to work.  Which seems like a really short stay for a very long trip (he's driving), but maybe he just wants to see how long the trip is?  I'm going to be facetiming my mom sometime this week to help her pack/identify what she should make my dad bring.

Main thing I'm concerned about is that my lease specifically states something about overnight guests/leaving guests unattended (since this is in someone's home, not a normal apartment complex), so I'll need to figure that out with them once I figure out if my dad is serious about coming out or not.


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## leggo PE (Oct 28, 2019)

JayKay PE said:


> Hahahahahahaha, update on that: I complained to my mom about this, since if my dad keeps putting it off it'll be closer to February when he finally comes out (due to gigs and stuff).  Now my dad is potentially driving out Saturday morning, coming Sunday to help unload/stay the night, and then leave Monday morning when I go to work.  Which seems like a really short stay for a very long trip (he's driving), but maybe he just wants to see how long the trip is?  I'm going to be facetiming my mom sometime this week to help her pack/identify what she should make my dad bring.
> 
> Main thing I'm concerned about is that my lease specifically states something about overnight guests/leaving guests unattended (since this is in someone's home, not a normal apartment complex), so I'll need to figure that out with them once I figure out if my dad is serious about coming out or not.


What the heck does it say about overnight guests? Most leases will just say things like you can't have anyone stay overnight for like, two weeks at a time, or for more than, say, 30 calendar days in a year. I couldn't imagine having your dad stay for a night would be a big deal, even if it is someone's home...


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## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 28, 2019)

@leggo PE my last landlord had a clause like that. I was supposed to notify them of overnight guests. Their rules were so invasive. It was so weird and felt like I was living with my parents. I was so happy to move on so many levels


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## leggo PE (Oct 28, 2019)

I've literally never told any landlord I've ever had about overnight guests. And I'm pretty sure my leases have always had some sort of clause like that!


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## JayKay PE (Oct 28, 2019)

I think the lease specifically has that clause because this is literally in their house (like, I’m on the top floor and it requires you to walk through portions of the house to get to it). I talked to them and they’re totally fine with my dad staying over (and I was able to convince him to stay until Tuesday morning instead of Monday). This isn’t a big deal, since I usually don’t have overnight guests/all my conquests are done at their house, but I wanted to make sure it was okay before he drove out here. I think my lease also has something about having more than 3 guests over at a time, since I guess the footsteps are really loud downstairs, but even when I was home and had friends I never really invited them over. Again, a weird lease clause but nothing that really affects me. I’d rather live with lease stipulations that don’t really affect me in all my renting history, for a really nice/safe apartment, than have a looser lease but then be in a real apartment complex with a shit ton of people destroying things around me.


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## JayKay PE (Oct 28, 2019)

Update on dinner: 

Reheated my rice with my potato soup (I forgot how...unwell that soup thaws). Tastes almost kinda like a risotto? It’s not pretty at all, but I really enjoyed it (please ignore pasty jk legs and concentrate on wonderful potato/rice/tasty carb mush)!


----------



## Supe (Oct 29, 2019)

JayKay PE said:


> all my conquests are done at their house


:rtft:  "Hey baby, lets go back to your place and _violate your lease agreement._"

Made chili again last night per the wife's request.  Only had stew meat in lieu of the good stuff, and had to leave out the cocoa powder since her mother can't have chocolate.  Can confirm, the cocoa powder and good meat make a world of difference.  It was just good, and not amazing like it normally is.


----------



## JayKay PE (Oct 29, 2019)

Supe said:


> :rtft:  "Hey baby, lets go back to your place and _violate your lease agreement._"
> 
> Made chili again last night per the wife's request.  Only had stew meat in lieu of the good stuff, and had to leave out the cocoa powder since her mother can't have chocolate.  Can confirm, the cocoa powder and good meat make a world of difference.  It was just good, and not amazing like it normally is.


Lol, more like "uh, I don't want you in my space/I don't want you lingering any longer than necessary.  How's 'bout we go to yours, have a good time, and I'll buy a dozen doughnuts afterwards as I scamper off to have brunch."

And cocoa powder/espresso powder makes a world of difference in meat and chocolate dishes!  I use espresso in a lot of my baking stuff, just a tbsp., and it makes everything taste so much more chocolatey/decedent/wonderful!


----------



## JayKay PE (Oct 29, 2019)

Forgot I had a rotisserie chicken in my fridge from Sunday (saw it this morning when I grabbed my lunch).  Going to pull everything off the bone tonight, since I'm not doing gym, and throw it in the freezer since I have other food in the fridge already.  I feel like I need to get a big dry erase board or something to plan out my meals.  It's so much more difficult when you're cooking/meal planning for one since I keep cooking for 4+.  So I end up eating huge portions or throw everything into my freezer (which is slowly getting more and more full). 

Tonight JK dinner is prob going to be more potato rice soup carb bomb to finish off that thawed-out soup.  I'll take some ground beef from the freezer to thaw out and cook it up on Wednesday if it's thawed.  If not, I think I can make tuna or something since I have celery that looks like it might be going.  Ugh.  This is so much more difficult than wondering if someone ate my food while I was at work.


----------



## jeb6294 (Oct 29, 2019)

Supe said:


> Supe's pro-tip - putting it on a rack keeps the bottom from getting soggy, and open air drying in the fridge the night before with a light coat of baking powder dries the skin out and makes it super crispy.


General rule when I do stuff on the smoker too.  Meat gets hit with the dry rub the night before and sits in the fridge.  Next morning it comes out and sits for 1/2 hour or so while the smoker comes up to temperature so the meat can get closer to room temperature.  Lets all the seasoning soak into the meat.


----------



## Supe (Oct 29, 2019)

Need to come up with a pre-Thanksgiving side dish for dinner with the neighbors.  Green bean casserole, stuffing, potatoes have already been spoken for.  Mac and cheese is the obvious answer, but maybe something a bit different?


----------



## JayKay PE (Oct 29, 2019)

Sweet potato samosas with cranberry dipping sauce!


----------



## Supe (Oct 29, 2019)

I hate sweet potatoes AND cranberry sauce, LOL.  Someone else already had dibs on sweet potato casserole anyways.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 29, 2019)

JayKay PE said:


> Sweet potato samosas with cranberry dipping sauce!


That sounds amazing


----------



## NikR_PE (Oct 29, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> That sounds amazing


Agreed


----------



## JayKay PE (Oct 29, 2019)

Supe said:


> I hate sweet potatoes AND cranberry sauce, LOL.  Someone else already had dibs on sweet potato casserole anyways.


Sweet potato casserole =/= Sweet potato samosas.  I always think the sweet potato casserole is more of a dessert and a samosa is a delightful pre-dinner treat to get you in the mood.

I mean, you could always modify, but you could do like a sweet potato + shredded turkey with a cranberry chutney (maybe with some mint).  Make mini-samosas so they're more of a finger-food instead of a huge part of the meal?  Add some curry to the sweet potato.

Um.  Ignore all that.  I might be attempting this myself.


----------



## Supe (Oct 29, 2019)

JayKay PE said:


> Sweet potato casserole =/= Sweet potato samosas.  I always think the sweet potato casserole is more of a dessert and a samosa is a delightful pre-dinner treat to get you in the mood.
> 
> I mean, you could always modify, but you could do like a sweet potato + shredded turkey with a cranberry chutney (maybe with some mint).  Make mini-samosas so they're more of a finger-food instead of a huge part of the meal?  Add some curry to the sweet potato.
> 
> Um.  Ignore all that.  I might be attempting this myself.


I will indeed ignore all of that, because it continues to utilize sweet potatoes and cranberry, which, as previously noted, I hate.


----------



## JayKay PE (Oct 29, 2019)

Supe said:


> I will indeed ignore all of that, because it continues to utilize sweet potatoes and cranberry, which, as previously noted, I hate.


I thought this dish was about humiliating the other participants in the meal and show them you are the superior chef?  I didn't realize you wanted to actual like what you made.

Uhhhhhh, Brussels sprouts with candied bacon?  Onion gratin with rosemary?


----------



## Supe (Oct 29, 2019)

JayKay PE said:


> I thought this dish was about humiliating the other participants in the meal and show them you are the superior chef?  I didn't realize you wanted to actual like what you made.
> 
> Uhhhhhh, Brussels sprouts with candied bacon?  Onion gratin with rosemary?


I am a fat kid, I am not aiming to impress.

Hate brussel sprouts, but this onion gratin has me intrigued, since I love onions.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 29, 2019)

@Supe can you lobby for an appetizer instead?


----------



## Supe (Oct 29, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> @Supe can you lobby for an appetizer instead?


I can bring whatever I want that hasn't already been "dibbed".


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 29, 2019)

Bbq chicken roll apps: wonton wrapper, slaw mix, bbq sauce, shredded chicken, cheese. Pretty easy. Can send the full recipe if youre interested


----------



## JayKay PE (Oct 29, 2019)

^^Do that.  Sounds delicious!

If you want a onion gratin recipe, a lot online are amazing.  I like the one that uses red wine and cream.  Makes it a little more calorie-heavy, which is the entire point of Thanksgiving.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 29, 2019)

https://www.andiemitchell.com/barbecue-chicken-rolls/

Theyre delicious and you can make ahead, freeze, and bake from frozen. Ill usually do a double or triple batch


----------



## JayKay PE (Oct 29, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> https://www.andiemitchell.com/barbecue-chicken-rolls/
> 
> Theyre delicious and you can make ahead, freeze, and bake from frozen. Ill usually do a double or triple batch


This is vitally important to me, since I have a full rotisserie chicken that I'm shredding but will need recipes for future stuff.  And it's baked, which makes it much more appealing than frying.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 29, 2019)

JayKay PE said:


> This is vitally important to me, since I have a full rotisserie chicken that I'm shredding but will need recipes for future stuff.  And it's baked, which makes it much more appealing than frying.


Ive used leftover rotisserie chicken, leftover roasted chicken, leftover turkey for these. She has a buffalo version too if youd rather. These are so delicious and easy. Ill eat 3 or 4 with a side of steamed broccoli for a meal


----------



## JayKay PE (Oct 29, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> Ive used leftover rotisserie chicken, leftover roasted chicken, leftover turkey for these. She has a buffalo version too if youd rather. These are so delicious and easy. Ill eat 3 or 4 with a side of steamed broccoli for a meal


I am def going to check out the buffalo chicken version.  I know I can freeze my chicken, but I didn't want to just eat it plain or whatever after it thaws out (since I can def see the texture getting a little wonky, so I want to 're-cook' it again).  I will eat...all of these if I make them.  I can see that very easily.


----------



## Supe (Oct 29, 2019)

I'll just assume the buffalo chicken version has hot/buffalo sauce and cream cheese in it, i.e. thicker buffalo dip in a wonton wrapper.

OR MAYBE I WILL JUST SOUTHWESTERN EGG ROLL THIS BITCH UP.


----------



## Supe (Oct 29, 2019)

Better yet.  REUBEN EGG ROLLS.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Oct 29, 2019)

Supe said:


> I'll just assume the buffalo chicken version has hot/buffalo sauce and cream cheese in it, i.e. thicker buffalo dip in a wonton wrapper.
> 
> OR MAYBE I WILL JUST SOUTHWESTERN EGG ROLL THIS BITCH UP.


Franks red hot and bleu cheese iirc, I made them once 6years ago


----------



## leggo PE (Oct 29, 2019)

I loooooovvvvvveeeee Reubens! I have never had a Reuben egg roll before, though.


----------



## JayKay PE (Oct 31, 2019)

Not sure what I made (a bastardized version of hamburger Mac and cheese?) but I am a fan:


----------



## leggo PE (Oct 31, 2019)

Looks cheesy and amazing!!


----------



## kevo_55 (Nov 1, 2019)

Squash soup will be made this weekend.

Report will be forthcoming.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 2, 2019)

I made curry from scratch. First time ever having curry


----------



## kevo_55 (Nov 3, 2019)

Squash soup was pretty good!!!

Here's the recipe: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/77981/butternut-squash-soup-ii/?internalSource=hub recipe&amp;referringContentType=Search


----------



## Supe (Nov 4, 2019)

They were short a mac and cheese for the pre-Thanksgiving dinner, so I had to take it.  Can you believe the hostess had the audacity to ask me if I was going to show up with boxed mac and cheese?  I replied with several angry memes.


----------



## JayKay PE (Nov 4, 2019)

Supe said:


> They were short a mac and cheese for the pre-Thanksgiving dinner, so I had to take it.  Can you believe the hostess had the audacity to ask me if I was going to show up with boxed mac and cheese?  I replied with several angry memes.


You should bring a box with you...just to chuck at their head after you place your beautiful homemade mac-n-cheese on the table for everyone to feast on.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 4, 2019)

I want mac &amp; cheese. I meant to make some last week while boyfriend was traveling. And this time while he's out, I'm getting myself sushi instead.


----------



## Road Guy (Nov 4, 2019)

The good thing about cold weather is the food!

Homemade chicken pot pie!


----------



## jeb6294 (Nov 10, 2019)

Did keto chicken taco soup tonight. Keto or not, it’s really good and super simple. 2lb chicken, 2 blocks of cream cheese, 3tbsp Mrs. Dash chipotle seasoning, 1 pack ranch dressing mix, 2 cans Rotello ‘maters (I get the ones with mild chilies), an 4 cups of chicken broth. Throw everything in the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours, shred the chicken an mix it back in for a bit. It’s really good and reheats well do I doubled it. I also diced up some fresh cilantro and threw it in around the halfway mark.


----------



## Road Guy (Nov 11, 2019)

I'm not supposed to like this stuff, but the wife made up several of these pizza crusts made with Zucchini and I think Almond flour? But I ate 3 slices for 80 calories total so that works for me! I couldn't really taste the zucchini to be honest, Id say it was not as good as Papa Johns but better than little Caesars. 

Its kind of a pain because you have to make the crust (in the oven) and then make the pizza - but let me know if you want the recipe.


----------



## jeb6294 (Nov 11, 2019)

I’m still planning to try a keto pizza at some point, just haven’t gotten around to it yet.  I think the crust is just ground chicken mixed with moz. cheese. Same idea...cook up the crust first...but it sounds pretty good.

i am still firmly of the opinion that people who bitch about zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash are bitching for the sake of making a show of it.  Do you honestly think regular pasta really tastes like much of anything? All you taste is whatever sauce is on it. Same with zoodles or spaghetti squash, they don’t really taste like anything, they’re just a means of getting the sauce to your gut.


----------



## Supe (Nov 12, 2019)

jeb6294 said:


> I’m still planning to try a keto pizza at some point, just haven’t gotten around to it yet.  I think the crust is just ground chicken mixed with moz. cheese. Same idea...cook up the crust first...but it sounds pretty good.
> 
> i am still firmly of the opinion that people who bitch about zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash are bitching for the sake of making a show of it.  Do you honestly think regular pasta really tastes like much of anything? All you taste is whatever sauce is on it. Same with zoodles or spaghetti squash, they don’t really taste like anything, they’re just a means of getting the sauce to your gut.


It's mostly a textural thing.  I can tolerate spaghetti squash, even though its mushier and can make everything watery (I use salt to leach out the water and roast for extra time, and it still "weeps" over time).  I can't even gag down zucchini noodles due to the texture. 

I'm also really taste-averse to zucchini and a lot of gourds/starchy vegetables.  I detest roasted sweet potatoes, regular squash, pumpkin, yams, etc.


----------



## JayKay PE (Nov 12, 2019)

Didn't do any cooking this weekend, which would have been amazing, but tonight I'm thinking ginger chicken boy choy soup?  Something of that nature that will let me use up a chicken breast I accidentally defrosted and some of the huge amount of ginger/boy choy that I picked up at the Asian market.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 12, 2019)

this week is "let's eat from the freezer" since we moved my freezer stuff over. I did have to toss some stuff to get everything in (frosted over things). I'm hoping to actually cook this weekend. [and yes, last week was also some ;"let's eat from the freezer' too lol]

Boyfriend will be gone for dinner so I'm making salmon with a bunch of veggies he doesn't like (brussels sprouts &amp; peas) 

I really wanna make lasagna rolls


----------



## JayKay PE (Nov 13, 2019)

Made...something last night?  Lots of ginger/garlic/onions and cornstarch-covered chicken breast and then a shit ton of bok choy.  I tried to make a sauce, but it didn't really thicken?  I've never made this combo before, so I'm afraid it's going to suck.  I brought it in to share with people at work (because that's a thing?) and hopefully I'll get some tomato soup out of the exchange.


----------



## ChebyshevII PE PMP (Nov 13, 2019)

JayKay PE said:


> Made...something last night?  Lots of ginger/garlic/onions and cornstarch-covered chicken breast and then a shit ton of bok choy.  I tried to make a sauce, but it didn't really thicken?  I've never made this combo before, so I'm afraid it's going to suck.  I brought it in to share with people at work (because that's a thing?) and hopefully I'll get some tomato soup out of the exchange.


Day 34 in the village: I have learned the concept of “potluck.”


----------



## JayKay PE (Nov 13, 2019)

ChebyshevII PE said:


> Day 34 in the village: I have learned the concept of “potluck.”


Day 35 in the village: The keeper tell me more information about their kin-members when I show reluctance.  I am unsure what this sharing of knowledge is, except someone's patriarch is in the healing tent and they want to share soup.


----------



## leggo PE (Nov 13, 2019)

I made a potato kale hash thing last night. It was tasty!


----------



## ChebyshevII PE PMP (Nov 13, 2019)

Man, I come to this thread expecting to see pictures of yummy food, but no...I have to resort to my imagination.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 13, 2019)

@ChebyshevII PE

Fresh salmon I had frozen. A frozen sauced Brussels sprouts box and then I added  peas and more butter to account for the peas. Easy and makes space in my freezer


----------



## leggo PE (Nov 13, 2019)

ChebyshevII PE said:


> Man, I come to this thread expecting to see pictures of yummy food, but no...I have to resort to my imagination.


You know, I really thought to myself that I should take a photo of my dinner last night... But then I just wanted to start eating and my phone was in the other room, so no photo was taken. Sorry to disappoint!


----------



## Supe (Nov 13, 2019)

So who here will be picking up the Han Solo Signature Roaster for the low low price of $450 from Williams Sonoma this year?

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/le-creuset-star-wars-han-solo-roaster/


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 13, 2019)

Supe said:


> So who here will be picking up the Han Solo Signature Roaster for the low low price of $450 from Williams Sonoma this year?
> 
> https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/le-creuset-star-wars-han-solo-roaster/


it weighs 11lb!


----------



## Supe (Nov 13, 2019)

I'm pretty sure nobody thought carbonite was a lightweight material.


----------



## leggo PE (Nov 13, 2019)

Haha, oh my!


----------



## NikR_PE (Nov 13, 2019)

Supe said:


> low low price of $450


Well the price is not awfully off from other Le Creuset products


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 13, 2019)

speaking of cast iron enamel pans... I bought an oval one - so fecking stupid. but anyone, I FINALLY used it last fall.

I made this:

https://playswellwithbutter.com/2018/11/08/braised-lamb-ragu/

except with beef because I couldn't find US lamb. and I used stock instead of wine


----------



## Road Guy (Nov 13, 2019)

Supe said:


> So who here will be picking up the Han Solo Signature Roaster for the low low price of $450 from Williams Sonoma this year?
> https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/le-creuset-star-wars-han-solo-roaster/


Take my money!!!


----------



## JayKay PE (Nov 14, 2019)

Supe said:


> So who here will be picking up the Han Solo Signature Roaster for the low low price of $450 from Williams Sonoma this year?
> 
> https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/le-creuset-star-wars-han-solo-roaster/
> 
> *snip*


The only item I was really contemplating getting from that 'line' was the porg pie bird!  I've always wanted le creuset stuff, but it's so expensive (and I know the quality is good, but my lodge stuff has lasted me forever so far, and I'm not making roasts as much as I used to).


----------



## Supe (Nov 14, 2019)

I was today years old when I learned what a pie bird was.


----------



## JayKay PE (Nov 14, 2019)

@Supe How to reduce soggy bottom: Use a pie bird (okay, okay, I'm moving back to the baking thread).


----------



## csb (Nov 14, 2019)

Road Guy said:


> I'm not supposed to like this stuff, but the wife made up several of these pizza crusts made with Zucchini and I think Almond flour? But I ate 3 slices for 80 calories total so that works for me! I couldn't really taste the zucchini to be honest, Id say it was not as good as Papa Johns but better than little Caesars.
> 
> Its kind of a pain because you have to make the crust (in the oven) and then make the pizza - but let me know if you want the recipe.


Share that recipe!


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 14, 2019)

It continues to be "freezer cleanout" week here


----------



## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Nov 21, 2019)

Picking up shaksouka topic here from the lunch thread @leggo PE. I found my 10" cast iron is too small for the quantities I cook, so I think Santa is getting me a 12" this year!


----------



## leggo PE (Nov 21, 2019)

I'd love to have a 12" cast iron pan, but I already can't lift the 10" one with only one hand... Also, storage is a slight issue.


----------



## Road Guy (Nov 21, 2019)

The 12 in cast iron pan we have I got for Christmas many moons ago    I was like, man I need to toughen up my image!


----------



## blybrook PE (Nov 21, 2019)

I've developed a good cast iron collection over the years (grew up cooking with it. I have an action packer in the garage full of cast iron hardware.  Mrs. Bly can't really use them, so I only keep a 10 &amp; 12 in the cupboard. All others are in the garage and used as needed.

Earlier this summer, I found a 10" lodge that someone chucked into the trash at my office. Needs a good re-seasoning to be useful, so it's sitting in the shed until I get to it.


----------



## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Nov 21, 2019)

I'm not too worried about hurting the seasoning, I can always reseason. It's more that I'd like to avoid the metallic taste if I can help it. But if Leggo says it's a go, then it's a go.


----------



## leggo PE (Nov 21, 2019)

squaretaper PE said:


> I'm not too worried about hurting the seasoning, I can always reseason. It's more that I'd like to avoid the metallic taste if I can help it. But if Leggo says it's a go, then it's a go.


Nothing ever tastes metallic-y to me... Not the shakshuka or anything thereafter.


----------



## JayKay PE (Nov 21, 2019)

I need to re-season my 10.5-inch cast iron.  I gave my mom my bigger 12-inch, because I never really used it.  I might rescue it when I visit this Christmas since I think I'm going to be cooking more in the future (and my dad has told me that mom put it in the dishwasher, so I want to give it a safe home).  Not going to lie, I like my little 8-incher for breakfast for one meals, but I lost it somewhere when moving.  Might have donated it to a friend as a mini-gift.


----------



## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Nov 22, 2019)

Ohhhhhhhh snap, shaksouka is my new favorite thing. Thanks @leggo PE. Yum.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 22, 2019)

I think my cast iron is 10in. Im less afraid of it and havent messed up the seasoning yet. So maybe next year, ill ask for a larger one


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 22, 2019)

Boyfriend has a small cast iron, I think 6in? And I think his ex left it behind. I think I need to grind it down and start over. Its a little flakey


----------



## leggo PE (Nov 22, 2019)

squaretaper PE said:


> Ohhhhhhhh snap, shaksouka is my new favorite thing. Thanks @leggo PE. Yum.


Did you make it last night? Glad you like it!!


----------



## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Nov 22, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> I think I need to grind it down and start over. Its a little flakey


Are you talking about the boyfriend or the pan? :rotflmao:



leggo PE said:


> Did you make it last night? Glad you like it!!


Yes! And a friend made homemade sourdough so I soaked it up with that. I'm hungry again...


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 22, 2019)

squaretaper PE said:


> Are you talking about the boyfriend or the pan? :rotflmao:


Mostly the pan lol


----------



## blybrook PE (Nov 22, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> Boyfriend has a small cast iron, I think 6in? And I think his ex left it behind. I think I need to grind it down and start over. Its a little flakey


Best way to re-season is to burn off the old seasoning in a hot fire (such as a camp fire), then use several coats of flax seed oil.  I use my grill outside to not stink up the oven / house.

I have NEVER taken a grinder to any of my pans.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 22, 2019)

blybrook PE said:


> Best way to re-season is to burn off the old seasoning in a hot fire (such as a camp fire), then use several coats of flax seed oil.  I use my grill outside to not stink up the oven / house.
> 
> I have NEVER taken a grinder to any of my pans.


He will gladly build me a fire in the backyard


----------



## blybrook PE (Nov 22, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> He will gladly build me a fire in the backyard


I've used the grill for burning off the old seasoning, just max out all the burners and let it cook for several hours.  If propane, use a full cylinder.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 22, 2019)

blybrook PE said:


> I've used the grill for burning off the old seasoning, just max out all the burners and let it cook for several hours.  If propane, use a full cylinder.


Less exciting


----------



## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Nov 22, 2019)

Oldie but goodie.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 24, 2019)

Made marinated chicken thighs (boyfriend helped as my flight was delayed by 2hrs), rice, and broccoli.

Seasame oil, soy sauce, garlic, scallions, parsley, and a couple of other things made up the marinade


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 24, 2019)

Made a roast, Yorkshire pudding (which didn't rise quite right), gravy, and green beans for an early Thanksgiving dinner with Boyfriends family


----------



## Master slacker (Nov 25, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> Made marinated chicken thighs (boyfriend helped as my flight was delayed by 2hrs), rice, and broccoli.
> 
> Seasame oil, soy sauce, garlic, scallions, parsley, and a couple of other things made up the marinade
> 
> View attachment 14502


What do you want for the arcade?


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 25, 2019)

Master slacker said:


> What do you want for the arcade?


Not for sale. Most prized possession (not even kidding).

You don't even know what game it is!


----------



## Master slacker (Nov 25, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> Not for sale. Most prized possession (not even kidding).
> 
> You don't even know what game it is!


I'm guessing Joust


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 25, 2019)

Master slacker said:


> I'm guessing Joust


wrong


----------



## kevo_55 (Nov 25, 2019)

Ms Pacman?


----------



## JayKay PE (Nov 25, 2019)

Cooking thread: request

I went to Costco and bought x2 eye rounds.  Originally my plan was to make for Thanksgiving beef stew (cutting up one into smaller pieces) and throw the other one in the freezer for future idk.  Well, that plan went out the window due to a new friend wanting to do a simple Thanksgiving movie + dinner somewhere.  So I threw the packaged eye rounds in the freezer to wait, since I didn't want them to get weird in the fridge since it'd already been a couple days.

Now I'm trying to figure out some good recipes for them.  Any ideas?  Something beginner-friendly?  Maybe not just making a roast from it (unless that's the only thing it's good for)?  I'm pretty good at baking, but I always get confused about cooking for some reason...


----------



## Road Guy (Nov 25, 2019)

we did 90% of the thanksgiving cooking / meal prep this weekend - what a long waste of a weekend!

But were heading up to the mountains to hopefully sky and get out of dodge for the holiday so it will be nice to just put stuff in the oven and not deal with the "fuss"


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 25, 2019)

@JayKay PE google is only giving me roast recipes.

Plus: https://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/cuts/cut/2441/eye-of-round-roast

I know this says a different cut of meat but you *might* be able to sub: https://smittenkitchen.com/2015/02/oven-braised-beef-with-tomatoes-and-garlic/
I've made it 3-4 times with varying success


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 25, 2019)

kevo_55 said:


> Ms Pacman?


no


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 25, 2019)

I am getting 2 rack of lamb roasts for Thursday for Friendsgiving. Never done, what can go wrong...

I mean last year, I got a 115$ roast and that worked out just fine - last time I listen to my foodie coworker for advice.

I didn't eat red meat for years so I still struggle with how to cook it beyond "here's a steak" or "here's a burger". And after the meat-aganza that is this week, I'll be cutting back on the red meat again and trying to switch to local sources


----------



## envirotex (Nov 25, 2019)

What do you put in your dressing?

I use cornbread, two slices of bread, celery, onion, fresh herbs, and andouille sausage....


----------



## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Nov 25, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> meat-aganza


Yet another great band name.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 25, 2019)

envirotex said:


> What do you put in your dressing?
> 
> I use cornbread, two slices of bread, celery, onion, fresh herbs, and andouille sausage....


dressing = stuffing?


----------



## leggo PE (Nov 25, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> dressing = stuffing?


My understanding is that this is true.


----------



## JayKay PE (Nov 25, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> @JayKay PE google is only giving me roast recipes.
> 
> Plus: https://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/cuts/cut/2441/eye-of-round-roast
> 
> ...


Yeah, I think I'm going to look into this a little bit more.  I'm thinking I can do a stew, but I'm maybe thinking roast with the garlic shoved all over it type of deal?  Very happy I threw them both in the freezer since I don't really have a plan right now and I don't want like 3lbs of beef sitting in my fridge.


----------



## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Nov 25, 2019)

Kinda want to make moules frites...but with Manila clams instead of mussels. They're okay, but dollar for dollar I'd rather have a clam.


----------



## JayKay PE (Nov 25, 2019)

squaretaper PE said:


> Kinda want to make moules frites...but with Manila clams instead of mussels. They're okay, but dollar for dollar I'd rather have a clam.


Wouldn’t we all? 

Also made monster leek soup with potatoes (I can’t call this potato leek soup due to the volume of leek, but was excited to use some frozen stock I had, look at that oil sheen at the end, lol). This was the first time I used the whole leek, including the dark green tips, and the flavor is...more earthy? Heavier? I only added maybe half a cup of milk to make it a bit lighter, but the thickness of the soup was much thicker than normal (maybe the tops/maybe my wack ratio of liquid to veggies)  

Meal prep lunch and dinner + a container I can throw into the freezer for future noms. Just worried because I have another monster leek...and I don’t know if I want to make another big pot of soup or not.


----------



## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Nov 25, 2019)

Honestly, that's about the volume I make for meal prep soup. Well done! Send some ova to CA!


----------



## JayKay PE (Nov 25, 2019)

squaretaper PE said:


> Honestly, that's about the volume I make for meal prep soup. Well done! Send some ova to CA!


But this is meal prep soup for only JK!!! I love this soup so much, but I def am going to be gnawing on leftovers for a while (I foolishly went grocery shopping this past weekend, so I have so many veggies in my fridge that I need to eat). I might go through my freezer and see what I can make soon. 
 

I def am going to attempt a pot roast with one of my eye rounds once I organize my freezer better. But my grocery store was sold out of cheap potatoes due to the holiday upcoming. And I’m not paying $5 for red potatoes when I want trashy russet or white to get me through the day. So that might be something this weekend.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 26, 2019)

@JayKay PE you could make a leek quiche &amp; freeze. Risotto with the leek and freeze.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 26, 2019)

OOOO maybe I'll make risotto tonight... I only have the shallots tho, nothing else to add since I don't think I can get the dried mushrooms I have rehydrated in time... I do have peas in the freezer but Boyfriend doesn't like peas (he'll go for anything else but he stands his grounds on peas lol)


----------



## JayKay PE (Nov 26, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> @JayKay PE you could make a leek quice &amp; freeze. Risotto with the leek and freeze.


Oooooo, I like this idea.  Lets me use up that extra pie crust I have kicking around and maybe use Parmesan instead of risotto (since that's what I have on hand and it should be pretty easy to put together).  All these recipes only use the lighter part of the leek, and I feel bad just getting rid of a huge amount of greens.  Maybe I'll do something with eggs?  Like, chop the greens up way tiny into strips and then saute/egg it up.  I don't see that not working out?


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 26, 2019)

JayKay PE said:


> Oooooo, I like this idea.  Lets me use up that extra pie crust I have kicking around and maybe use Parmesan instead of risotto (since that's what I have on hand and it should be pretty easy to put together).  All these recipes only use the lighter part of the leek, and I feel bad just getting rid of a huge amount of greens.  Maybe I'll do something with eggs?  Like, chop the greens up way tiny into strips and then saute/egg it up.  I don't see that not working out?


risotto isn't cheese: its arborio rice with broth, parm, some folks do white wine too, shallots, garlic


----------



## JayKay PE (Nov 26, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> risotto isn't cheese: its arborio rice with broth, parm, some folks do white wine too, shallots, garlic


No, I know what risotto is, but I don't have any of that rice/a majority of those ingredients and didn't feel like buying it special to get rid of a leek.  Also risotto is dangerous because I'll make a big pot and then...eat it all in one sitting.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Nov 26, 2019)

JayKay PE said:


> No, I know what risotto is, but I don't have any of that rice/a majority of those ingredients and didn't feel like buying it special to get rid of a leek.  Also risotto is dangerous because I'll make a big pot and then...eat it all in one sitting.


I read it wrong lol


----------



## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Nov 26, 2019)

Quoting a friend: "I love food, that's why I'm fat."


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Dec 1, 2019)

Roasted a chicken (Run Fast Eat Slow recipe). Made risotto which I messed up in the last step - added too much broth whomp. But it all tastes so good


----------



## Supe (Dec 2, 2019)

My green bean casserole was a hit at Thanksgiving (as was my "Friendsgiving" mac and cheese.)

Butter, flour, cream of mushroom, french cut green beans, white cheddar cheese, mushrooms, black pepper, heavy cream, fried onions

Make a roux from the butter and flour, dump in your cold heavy cream, and slowly melt in your cheese.  Add pepper.  Saute the mushrooms after dicing them, mix with green beans.  Stir glop into mushroom/green bean mix, top with fried onions, bake.

I don't add extra salt because the cheese has a ton of it in there.  I may try a different cheese next year, as I felt like it needed the cheese to be a little sharper - it's pretty subdued with the cream of mushroom and roux.  Had lots of folks saying it was good though, and they wiped it out - no leftovers.


----------



## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Dec 2, 2019)

Supe said:


> glop


Green bean glop is the best glop. I was on green bean casserole duty, too. Mostly the same recipe, but I also added some of the juice from canned chopped garlic for a little garlic hint without actually biting into any chunks. Also added finely chopped Shiitake (only about 1/8 cup) for extra umami.


----------



## Supe (Dec 2, 2019)

I normally add jarred minced garlic, but they didn't have any at the MIL's house, and I forgot about it at the grocery store.


----------



## mudpuppy (Dec 3, 2019)

Not cooking per se, but I'm not creating another thread for this.

I'm picking up my venison from the processor this weekend.  I also bought a new electric smoker.  I'm planning to make some venison jerky.

Any recipes and/or tips?


----------



## Supe (Dec 3, 2019)

mudpuppy said:


> Not cooking per se, but I'm not creating another thread for this.
> 
> I'm picking up my venison from the processor this weekend.  I also bought a new electric smoker.  I'm planning to make some venison jerky.
> 
> Any recipes and/or tips?


Marinate in soy sauce, worcestershire, hot sauce (something thicker/pasty, like sriracha), minced garlic, brown sugar, mustard powder, onion powder, paprika, ground chili, celery salt, and cayenne.  You can sub everything after the brown sugar with an off-the-shelf barbecue rub.  

I also like a marinade of soy sauce, honey, garlic, hot peppers or hot sauce, lime juice, and grated fresh ginger.

One other one I like is marinading in garlic, pepper, brown sugar, and your bourbon of choice.


----------



## JayKay PE (Dec 3, 2019)

Baking a quiche tonight.  Hope I don't fuck it up!


----------



## JayKay PE (Dec 4, 2019)

JayKay PE said:


> Baking a quiche tonight.  Hope I don't fuck it up!


Welp, I lied.  Came home, chopped up the leeks, and my body visibly shuddered when it thought about rolling out the pie crust.  Instead made turkey bacon + eggs + salsa + mexican cheese + hot sauce burritos for a quick kinda protein-filled dinner.

Then had dried mango as dessert.  Because I don't even know what my life is anymore.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Dec 8, 2019)

Made chickpea ratatouille from Run Fast, Cook Fast, Eat Slow. It says chickpeas or tempeh so I went with chickpeas.


----------



## mudpuppy (Dec 9, 2019)

Made chili yesterday with tomatoes and jalepenos we grew in the garden and venison I harvested in the back yard.  Besides the spices the only ingredient we didn't "make" were the kidney beans.  Might have to try to grow those next year.


----------



## JayKay PE (Dec 9, 2019)

Threw my eye of round roast in the crockpot for like 12-hours on Friday (turned it on before I went to work and got back to the apartment around 6:30pm).  Used my chopped up leeks, onions, and potatoes as the base, threw the meat with a rub on top (I cut the roast in half lengthwise since it was still kinda frozen), and made a 'stock' of Marsala wine + beef broth + a gravy packet.  Came out really good!  Was able to shred the whole thing when I came home.  Realized I didn't add carrots, so I microwaved a couple cups, threw them in, and left it on low for another 20-minutes as I made rice.

Meat has gotten a little dry from subsequent re-heating, but considering it was such a lean piece of meat, I am def going to do this again!


----------



## leggo PE (Dec 9, 2019)

We had friends and family over for dinner on Saturday, and made spiced braised short ribs with creamy potatoes. We served it with roasted broccoli and kale with lemon and coriander, a side salad, and some of my homemade sourdough bread. Dessert was brownies.

It was bomb!


----------



## Supe (Dec 9, 2019)

What kind of spice we talking here?


----------



## leggo PE (Dec 9, 2019)

Supe said:


> What kind of spice we talking here?


Coriander seeds, fennel seeds, ground cumin (the recipe actually asked for cumin seeds but I didn't have them), and cinnamon. Then broth and white wine vinegar were also involved.


----------



## Supe (Dec 9, 2019)

Good sausage mixture, wouldn't have pictured it on short ribs.


----------



## leggo PE (Dec 9, 2019)

Supe said:


> Good sausage mixture, wouldn't have pictured it on short ribs.


It was really tasty! I don't make short ribs (or heck, even red meat) that often, but was very happy with how it turned out.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Dec 9, 2019)

@Supe you changed your avatar! I was v confused about who was talking lol


----------



## Supe (Dec 9, 2019)

LyceeFruit said:


> @Supe you changed your avatar! I was v confused about who was talking lol


It's still Bobby.


----------



## FLBuff PE (Dec 10, 2019)

Supe said:


> It's still Bobby.


Damnit Bobby.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Dec 10, 2019)

I made dis. Noodle-less pad thai


----------



## Ble_PE (Dec 11, 2019)

FLBuff PE said:


> Damnit Bobby.


That boy ain't right.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Dec 24, 2019)

Oven fried buttermilk chicken


----------



## Ble_PE (Dec 30, 2019)

LyceeFruit PE said:


> *Oven fried* buttermilk chicken


Doesn't compute...


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Dec 31, 2019)

Ble_PE said:


> Doesn't compute...


oven "fried"


----------



## Orchid PE (Dec 31, 2019)

Ble_PE said:


> Doesn't compute...


Almost like Air Fried....

Made some venison chili last night with meat straight from the processor.


----------



## Orchid PE (Dec 31, 2019)

We did a ham for Christmas Eve in the oven and the recipe we followed said to cook it @ 325F for 2 hours. After 2 hours it was still 75F in the center, so I cranked it up to 350F for another 45 minutes and we got to 145F. It ended up being pretty dry.

Whats the best way to cook a ham? We have another one sitting in the fridge waiting to be cooked. Would a crock pot help it stay moist?


----------



## Road Guy (Jan 2, 2020)

We picked up a WOK after christmas,  so far we have just made some omlets in it - anything really good we should try?  I have always wanted one, but never really looked into what the hell I should make with it now that I have one?


----------



## Orchid PE (Jan 2, 2020)

Road Guy said:


> We picked up a WOK after christmas,  so far we have just made some omlets in it - anything really good we should try?  I have always wanted one, but never really looked into what the hell I should make with it now that I have one?


Pancit and Thai Fried Rice are some of my favs in the wok.


----------



## leggo PE (Jan 2, 2020)

Made this yesterday for New Year's!

https://www.ranchogordo.com/blogs/recipes/black-eyed-pea-stew

It took a while, but was SO worth it. I used Rancho Gordo's black eyed peas (I recommend any and all of their dried beans) and followed the recipe exactly. It turned out SO SO SO good. I'd make this again in a heartbeat when I have an afternoon to devote to the soaking and cooking time. Luckily, we are left with four servings of leftovers. Yay!

Anyone else do black eyed peas as a tradition for good luck for the new year?


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Jan 3, 2020)

I made bone broth. And then took half of a sip of it yesterday and was like "why did I think I'd drink this?!" so I'll freeze it and use it in soup bases lol


----------



## JayKay PE (Jan 3, 2020)

LyceeFruit PE said:


> I made bone broth. And then took half of a sip of it yesterday and was like "why did I think I'd drink this?!" so I'll freeze it and use it in soup bases lol


Whaaaaaaaat?  You didn't drink it!?!?!  I can hear my mother wailing from across the continent - "~it's good for you!  It'll keep you from getting sick!~ Drink more!~"

...but, yeah, freeze it in an ice cube tray and use that stuff as stock base.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Jan 3, 2020)

JayKay PE said:


> Whaaaaaaaat?  You didn't drink it!?!?!  I can hear my mother wailing from across the continent - "~it's good for you!  It'll keep you from getting sick!~ Drink more!~"
> 
> ...but, yeah, freeze it in an ice cube tray and use that stuff as stock base.


I know these things and that'swhy my plan was to drink it. But it's kinda greasy from the fat (I skimmed off what I could) and not wicked clear nor it is as dark as the picture from the blogger whose recipe I followed...

I don't have ice cube trays... So it'll be frozen in the mason jars I've put it in *shrugs*


----------



## JayKay PE (Jan 3, 2020)

LyceeFruit PE said:


> I know these things and that'swhy my plan was to drink it. But it's kinda greasy from the fat (I skimmed off what I could) and not wicked clear nor it is as dark as the picture from the blogger whose recipe I followed...
> 
> I don't have ice cube trays... So it'll be frozen in the mason jars I've put it in *shrugs*


Hahahaha, I remember being put on skimming duty (it's a full time gig) so I def understand where you're coming from saying it's greasy.  Did you do beef stock?   My mom used to use bread to sop up grease when it was a thin layer and a freezer-ladle sometimes to grab the last little bits, but this was usually after she had it sitting on the stove for many hours/much skimming by bby!JK.

Only thing that sucks about the mason jars is you have to unfreeze the whole thing to use it, but if you're using the whole thing for the recipe = you're golden.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Jan 3, 2020)

JayKay PE said:


> Hahahaha, I remember being put on skimming duty (it's a full time gig) so I def understand where you're coming from saying it's greasy.  Did you do beef stock?   My mom used to use bread to sop up grease when it was a thin layer and a freezer-ladle sometimes to grab the last little bits, but this was usually after she had it sitting on the stove for many hours/much skimming by bby!JK.
> 
> Only thing that sucks about the mason jars is you have to unfreeze the whole thing to use it, but if you're using the whole thing for the recipe = you're golden.


It's beef stock.

My gram (who I lived with) never made stock growing up. I was put on whoopie pie cookie matching duty instead tho.

I did mine in the crockpot because lazy.

I picked mostly smaller jars. One is jam jar. Most of the rest are 16oz jars which isn't too bad.


----------



## FLBuff PE (Jan 3, 2020)

leggo PE said:


> Made this yesterday for New Year's!
> 
> https://www.ranchogordo.com/blogs/recipes/black-eyed-pea-stew
> 
> ...


I make black eyed peas every New Year's. I soak the peas overnight in water, saute onion and green pepper first, then add a ham hock and turkey kielbasa for flavor, then cook the beans in chicken stock for about 1.5 hours. Served over rice...so good.


----------



## mudpuppy (Jan 3, 2020)

My wife likes to make black eyed peas on NYD too, but bleh.  But she put some in the collards too, and that was tolerable.

I smoked four pork tenderloins and they were tasty, but very salty from the brine.  I'm thinking maybe I brined them too long?


----------



## JayKay PE (Jan 3, 2020)

mudpuppy said:


> My wife likes to make black eyed peas on NYD too, but bleh.  But she put some in the collards too, and that was tolerable.
> 
> I smoked four pork tenderloins and they were tasty, but very salty from the brine.  I'm thinking maybe I brined them too long?


How long did you brine them?  Whenever my dad brined pork he tried to limit it to 2-hours and to more lean cuts.


----------



## mudpuppy (Jan 3, 2020)

JayKay PE said:


> How long did you brine them?  Whenever my dad brined pork he tried to limit it to 2-hours and to more lean cuts.


Pork tenderloin is very lean, thus the brine.  But I brined them for like 20 hours.  So probably waaay too long?


----------



## JayKay PE (Jan 3, 2020)

mudpuppy said:


> Pork tenderloin is very lean, thus the brine.  But I brined them for like 20 hours.  So probably waaay too long?


Oooooooof, I think so?  I feel like pork is already kinda salty?  Idk.  I just asked my dad (he likes to brine, so I figured why not?) and he said the max he would brine a whole tenderloin would be around 12-hours, but he'd maybe decrease the standard amount of kosher salt/gallon ratio he usually uses (1.5 cups to 1 gallon down to 1 cup/1 gallon for a longer period of time).  He then mentioned something about the grain of the meat being important, but I don't really understand?  I only know to cut against the grain, not sure how brining would be involved with that.


----------



## mudpuppy (Jan 3, 2020)

JayKay PE said:


> Oooooooof, I think so?  I feel like pork is already kinda salty?  Idk.  I just asked my dad (he likes to brine, so I figured why not?) and he said the max he would brine a whole tenderloin would be around 12-hours, but he'd maybe decrease the standard amount of kosher salt/gallon ratio he usually uses (1.5 cups to 1 gallon down to 1 cup/1 gallon for a longer period of time).  He then mentioned something about the grain of the meat being important, but I don't really understand?  I only know to cut against the grain, not sure how brining would be involved with that.


I only did 3/4 cup of salt per gallon (which is what my book on smoking meat called for) but I did read elsewhere you could increase the salt content and only soak for a couple hours.  I'll definitely cut down on the brine time next time, but in the meantime I have three more salty tenderloins to eat!  They did turn out plenty juicy, so at least the brining worked.


----------



## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Jan 3, 2020)

mudpuppy said:


> salty tenderloins


Another great band name.


----------



## Orchid PE (Jan 6, 2020)

I made some schnitzel last night for the first time. It's not hard to make, but it was pretty darn good. That with some Saverne kraut = amazing.



mudpuppy said:


> I only did 3/4 cup of salt per gallon (which is what my book on smoking meat called for) but I did read elsewhere you could increase the salt content and only soak for a couple hours.  I'll definitely cut down on the brine time next time, but in the meantime I have three more salty tenderloins to eat!  They did turn out plenty juicy, so at least the brining worked.


So does the brine help with less fatty cuts of meat? Could I brine some deer tenderloins to make them more tender? I've tried making fillets out of them, but they're just too chewy.


----------



## JayKay PE (Jan 6, 2020)

You know what's great?  Realizing that your oven bake element is going, which accounts for the Christmas cookies being more dough than cookie, your pizza being almost burnt on top/pale on bottom, and your salmon being still kinda dark pink in the middle after 30-minutes of cooking.  Going to text my landlords, who are in the Caribbean, and see what they want to do.  It still...bakes.  Just, the broiler kicking in the regulate the temperature seems to be doing more cooking than the actual lower element.

Def buying an oven temp tonight after the gym/work and going to see how far off it is.  Ugggggh.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Jan 6, 2020)

JayKay PE said:


> You know what's great?  Realizing that your oven bake element is going, which accounts for the Christmas cookies being more dough than cookie, your pizza being almost burnt on top/pale on bottom, and your salmon being still kinda dark pink in the middle after 30-minutes of cooking.  Going to text my landlords, who are in the Caribbean, and see what they want to do.  It still...bakes.  Just, the broiler kicking in the regulate the temperature seems to be doing more cooking than the actual lower element.
> 
> Def buying an oven temp tonight after the gym/work and going to see how far off it is.  Ugggggh.


Nip that one in the bid friend. Our was going and Boyfriend didn't order the new element (60$) and then we spent a Sunday afternoon getting a new stove (600$) since the element arced and almost caught fire. We could have still replaced the element but there's a high potential for it to have damaged control circuits. So now I have an oven with a window!


----------



## JayKay PE (Jan 6, 2020)

LyceeFruit PE said:


> Nip that one in the bid friend. Our was going and Boyfriend didn't order the new element (60$) and then we spent a Sunday afternoon getting a new stove (600$) since the element arced and almost caught fire. We could have still replaced the element but there's a high potential for it to have damaged control circuits. So now I have an oven with a window!


Yeah. I think I can order the part/replace it by myself pretty easily (it's only like $25, since it's an older ge electric stove), but I don't want to be held liable if something goes wrong since it is in the landlord's house/they are away on holiday.  I think the husband mentioned maybe replacing it, since it is an older unit, but I want to throw that ball in their court.  I haven't seen arcing/anything bad so far, but I know electric stuff goes fast...means I might be only using the stove top for the next couple of weeks.


----------



## mudpuppy (Jan 8, 2020)

Chattaneer PE said:


> So does the brine help with less fatty cuts of meat? Could I brine some deer tenderloins to make them more tender? I've tried making fillets out of them, but they're just too chewy.


The brining helps the meat to hold moisture, so it doesn't dry out too much in the smoker (or oven.)  I don't think it helps with tenderness.

Are you talking about venison tenderloin (aka backstraps) or loins?  I haven't cooked my venison tenderloins yet, but I plan to turn the loins into jerky.

For the backstrap/tenderloin, a friend of mine gave me this recipe:  https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/bacon-wrapped-venison-backstrap


----------



## Orchid PE (Jan 8, 2020)

mudpuppy said:


> The brining helps the meat to hold moisture, so it doesn't dry out too much in the smoker (or oven.)  I don't think it helps with tenderness.
> 
> Are you talking about venison tenderloin (aka backstraps) or loins?  I haven't cooked my venison tenderloins yet, but I plan to turn the loins into jerky.
> 
> For the backstrap/tenderloin, a friend of mine gave me this recipe:  https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/bacon-wrapped-venison-backstrap


Tenderloin. The name is deceiving to me. I've never found them to be tender on any deer. Just super chewy. I usually just turn the backstraps into jerky because of this.


----------



## JayKay PE (Jan 12, 2020)

Changing my New Years resolution from bake a new thing each week to bake and/or cook something new each week (the perils of having an oven that consistently heats to 50-degrees lower than what I need it to be). Following that, made a curry butternut squash soup AND crockpot butter chicken this weekend. They both came out amazing and I’m so happy that I’m randomly trying out recipes now. Not this week, but next week I want to make some chili (I’m almost out of chicken breast, but have soooo much ground beef in the freezer). Pics below (you get a sideways soup pic since I can’t change it)!


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Jan 13, 2020)

Spaghetti squash with homemade sauce and meatballs. Used my sourdough biscuits to make garlic bread.

"Paleo" sticky &amp; spicy chicken with cauliflower rice. Original recipe is paleo but I just eat food so used soy sauce and corn starch instead of what called for. And leftovers were eaten with real rice


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Jan 14, 2020)

i have a beautiful 4qt Staub cocotte (dutch oven), what can I make in it besides bread (because this is the cooking thread, not baking lol)

i've used it twice to make red sauce of all things lol (I'm not a huge red sauce person tbh)

no pork ideas


----------



## Supe (Jan 14, 2020)

Pot pies/chicken and dumplings, cioppino, braised short ribs, fried chicken, chili (see my earlier recipe), whole roasted birds, stuffed/unstuffed cabbage to name a few.


----------



## Supe (Jan 16, 2020)

We caved yesterday and bought an Instant Pot after forgetting to start our pot roast in the slow cooker yesterday morning.

Any must-have Instant Pot recipes that aren't soups?  Chicken or beef preferably.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Jan 16, 2020)

Supe said:


> We caved yesterday and bought an Instant Pot after forgetting to start our pot roast in the slow cooker yesterday morning.
> 
> Any must-have Instant Pot recipes that aren't soups?  Chicken or beef preferably.


https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/instant-pot-chicken-teriyaki-bowls/

https://damndelicious.net/2018/03/21/instant-pot-mushroom-risotto/


----------



## JayKay PE (Jan 21, 2020)

I've got a pound of thawed out ground beef that I'm trying to figure out what I want to make with tonight.  I was thinking chili, or bastard hamburger helper, but does anyone else have any recipes that they'd like to share?  Can use the stove top but can't bake anything...


----------



## Supe (Jan 21, 2020)

JayKay PE said:


> I've got a pound of thawed out ground beef that I'm trying to figure out what I want to make with tonight.  I was thinking chili, or bastard hamburger helper, but does anyone else have any recipes that they'd like to share?  Can use the stove top but can't bake anything...


https://therecipecritic.com/korean-ground-beef-rice-bowls/comment-page-3/


----------



## Supe (Jan 21, 2020)

Just don't break up the ground beef too much, it's better when it's got clumps to it.


----------



## JayKay PE (Jan 21, 2020)

Supe said:


> https://therecipecritic.com/korean-ground-beef-rice-bowls/comment-page-3/


This is perfect!  And I have all the ingredients at home, so even better!


----------



## Supe (Jan 22, 2020)

I really like it, just have to be careful if counting calories since the brown sugar adds up quick.  I prefer it with actual beef chunks/strips, but the ground beef is still good.


----------



## JayKay PE (Jan 22, 2020)

Womp womp, I didn't make it last night due to an over-abundance of mashed potatoes I forgot were in the fridge (aka: my dinner last night was just mashed potatoes).  I'm going to try and make this tonight after the gym!  I'm ultra excited!  And I get the whole 'counting calories'/brown sugar debacle, but I'm also like...I'll be splitting it into portions for moi to eat over a couple of days.  And now I totally know that my beef is thawed out instead of kinda frozen.


----------



## JayKay PE (Jan 23, 2020)

Supe said:


> I really like it, just have to be careful if counting calories since the brown sugar adds up quick.  I prefer it with actual beef chunks/strips, but the ground beef is still good.


Made it last night!  Had to sub some stuff, since I forgot to chop garlic (I added a ton of garlic powder to compensate), didn't have red peppers (added around 1/6 tsp of cayenne pepper + a couple long squirts of sriracha sauce), and it came out really good!  Gives me an excuse to eat more rice and enjoy life for a couple days!


----------



## leggo PE (Jan 27, 2020)

We grilled Sticky Chili Chicken w/ Hot-and-Sour Pineapple last night for dinner, and served it with celery salad w/ cilantro and sesame and rice. It was SO DAMN GOOD!

The recipes for the chicken and the salad are in Alison Roman's cookbook, Dining In. I highly recommend this cookbook - everything I've made from it has been stellar!


----------



## JayKay PE (Jan 27, 2020)

Nothing too exciting tonight.  I think I was getting a little sore throat and feeling homesick after working late tonight, so I made sad chicken soup (I like a ton of veggies to my chicken, but, idk, I just want food):


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## leggo PE (Feb 4, 2020)

What'd everyone make for the super bowl? 

I made a baked potato bar, that had baked russet and sweet potatoes, as well as a bajillion toppings... Cheese, sour cream, salsa, chives, scallions, dill, pepperoncinis, bacon (not turkey, in case you were wondering @knight1fox3), and probably a few other things I am forgetting about.

I also made ridiculously good ricotta stuffed shells with mushrooms and herbs. More than 3# of cheese went into it, and it was well worth it!


----------



## Supe (Feb 5, 2020)

Absolutely nothing.


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## JayKay PE (Feb 5, 2020)

I only made espresso brownies and went to someone else's house.  They had sliders and some other stuff.  Etouffee with kelbasa (?!) and a ton of munchies.  

@leggo PE, please post link to stuffed shells?  I didn't realize that was something I might be hankering until I read it and my stomach made a sad noise.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Feb 5, 2020)

I made nothing for the superbowl.

I happened to make the sourdough pretzels on Sunday but it was a coincidence lol


----------



## jeb6294 (Feb 5, 2020)

Wasn't specifically for the Super Bowl, but it worked out....4 racks of ribs on the smoker.


----------



## FLBuff PE (Feb 5, 2020)

We went to a neighbor's across the street to watch, and were assigned an appetizer, so I made bacon-wrapped Lil' Smokies. Wrap each in PORK bacon, sprinkle with brown sugar, bake in 350 degree oven until bacon is crisp. They were gone before the game started.


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## leggo PE (Feb 5, 2020)

JayKay PE said:


> @leggo PE, please post link to stuffed shells?  I didn't realize that was something I might be hankering until I read it and my stomach made a sad noise.


The recipe is from Alison Roman's Nothing Fancy cookbook. Here's a link on some blogger's website to the recipe:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.stephaniedickison.com/articles/alison-roman-recipe-ricotta-stuffed-shells%3Fformat%3Damp


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## JayKay PE (Feb 5, 2020)

leggo PE said:


> The recipe is from Alison Roman's Nothing Fancy cookbook. Here's a link on some blogger's website to the recipe:
> 
> https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.stephaniedickison.com/articles/alison-roman-recipe-ricotta-stuffed-shells%3Fformat%3Damp


*looks at it*

I remembered I don't really like mushrooms (they always taste...musty to me?), but I want to try more and I think something like this will def make me enjoy them.  Or at least give me an excuse to eat stuffed shells again.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Feb 5, 2020)

leggo PE said:


> The recipe is from Alison Roman's Nothing Fancy cookbook. Here's a link on some blogger's website to the recipe:
> 
> https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.stephaniedickison.com/articles/alison-roman-recipe-ricotta-stuffed-shells%3Fformat%3Damp


sO i THINK i NEED TO FIND THAT COOKBOOK


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## LyceeFruit PE (Feb 5, 2020)

also did not realize i was in caps lock when i typed that but too lazy to retype. so yelling it is


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## leggo PE (Feb 5, 2020)

JayKay PE said:


> *looks at it*
> 
> I remembered I don't really like mushrooms (they always taste...musty to me?), but I want to try more and I think something like this will def make me enjoy them.  Or at least give me an excuse to eat stuffed shells again.


I used a mixture of 1 lb crimini, and half pounds each of oyster and shiitake mushrooms, to attempt to keep costs down. I like mushrooms and it worked out really well!

Though buying all the cheese was $$!


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## leggo PE (Feb 5, 2020)

LyceeFruit PE said:


> sO i THINK i NEED TO FIND THAT COOKBOOK


Everything I have made from it has been super good! Except for the cheesy seeded breadsticks, but I say that was my own fault for not putting enough liquid in the dough (I should have known better!). 

I highly recommend this cookbook!


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## LyceeFruit PE (Feb 5, 2020)

leggo PE said:


> Everything I have made from it has been super good! Except for the cheesy seeded breadsticks, but I say that was my own fault for not putting enough liquid in the dough (I should have known better!).
> 
> I highly recommend this cookbook!


It's showing as backordered thru my local bookstore. I'll check the other bookstore plus the library.


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## JayKay PE (Feb 5, 2020)

leggo PE said:


> I used a mixture of 1 lb crimini, and half pounds each of oyster and shiitake mushrooms, to attempt to keep costs down. I like mushrooms and it worked out really well!
> 
> Though buying all the cheese was $$!


CHEESE IS SO EXPENSIVE.  It's why my mom doesn't make her 20-lb lasagna as much, since it takes like 4 containers of ricotta and gets sooooo expensive.  I might try this recipe this upcoming Sunday, if I have grocery money in the budget to splurge on cheese and mushrooms.  I want to try new things, but don't want to pay too much like in a restaurant?  Does that make sense?  Like, if I taste it while I make it, maybe it will endear me more to it?

And ditto to @LyceeFruit PE.  I want to try and find this cookbook and try it out a bit before maybe buying it.  I got a dessert cookbook for Christmas, I saw it at Costco and mentioned it to my sister.  It...has a lot of really pretty pictures, but the recipes aren't anything super dramatic/exciting?  I'll look through again, but it was all instagram recipes instead of solid desserts.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Feb 5, 2020)

There are 18 people in front of me for the Nothing Fancy cookbook. And 12 on her other one. 

So I'll just sit here and wait til it's my turn lol


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## JayKay PE (Feb 5, 2020)

LyceeFruit PE said:


> There are 18 people in front of me for the Nothing Fancy cookbook. And 12 on her other one.
> 
> So I'll just sit here and wait til it's my turn lol


*places hold through libby*

I am number 10 for nothing fancy and number 2 for the other one.  Maybe we have more copies?


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## LyceeFruit PE (Feb 5, 2020)

JayKay PE said:


> *places hold through libby*
> 
> I am number 10 for nothing fancy and number 2 for the other one.  Maybe we have more copies?


We have 2 copies of Nothing Fancy and one for the other. My library has 4 branches 

OOOO I still have my library card from the last town I lived in PLUS MaineCAT! OOOOO


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## JayKay PE (Feb 5, 2020)

LyceeFruit PE said:


> We have 2 copies of Nothing Fancy and one for the other. My library has 4 branches
> 
> OOOO I still have my library card from the last town I lived in PLUS MaineCAT! OOOOO


Library crowd-source that cookbook!


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## leggo PE (Feb 5, 2020)

It's a very popular cookbook... It was backordered on Amazon (I got my copy through an independent bookstore) in mid-December and just got restocked like, yesterday.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Feb 5, 2020)

JayKay PE said:


> Library crowd-source that cookbook!


I did!

It was available thru MaineCAT 

17 libraries across the state have it (2 of them being my library system)

it was only available now at 3 of them. And 3 have it as "local use only" lol


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## Violator (Feb 6, 2020)

We just purchased a bunch of wings from Wing Stop and called it Dinner and Snacks!


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## ChebyshevII PE PMP (Feb 6, 2020)

Violator said:


> We just purchased a bunch of wings from Wing Stop and called it Dinner and Snacks!


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## LyceeFruit PE (Feb 15, 2020)

I picked up the book this week. The shear amount of fennel is disappointing. I cant stand fennel. Im happy that i didnt pay for this book. Im going to copy 15 of the recipes and will probably make like 4.


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## Supe (Feb 17, 2020)

I finally took a whack at my Nana's beef soup recipe.  I really wish we had it written down before she passed, but I'm in the ballpark for a first attempt going from memory/scratch.  It would good enough for me to overeat, anyways.

-Big package of soup bones from BJ's.  Roasted in the oven at 450 until browned on both sides over a bed of carrots, onions, garlic, and celery.

-Took roasted items, tossed into instant pot, filled with water, pressure cook high for 2 hours.

-Drain pressure cooker contents through cheese cloth, making sure to really squeeze the bag.

-Brown some bone-in chuck on the stove.

-Into a giant pot goes the beef chuck, large can of diced tomatoes, half a big can of crushed tomatoes, small can of tomato paste, salt, pepper, seasoned salt, bay leaves, and Hungarian paprika.  Simmer contents on medium-low for what seems like an eternity.  

-Add carrots, onion, and celery late in the game.  Cook until the carrots are tender.  I made a mistake and thought there were green beans in her recipe so I added them too.  I was wrong, will omit the green beans next time.

-Pull the beef chuck remove the bones.  Coarse chop the fall-apart beef, return the beef and the bone marrow to the pot.

-Serve over egg noodles with an extra dash of seasoned salt.

One thing is that this recipe HAS to be better the next day.  In fact, I'm not even sure my Nana ever served it the day it was cooked.  First reason is that a lot of grease/fat floats to the top of the pot on this one, from both the bone broth and subsequent cooking of the meat.  She always let this solidify and then scraped it off to make the soup a little less oily.  The other reason is that some magic happens with the melding of the flavors when it sits.  When I started with just the bone broth, which smells kind of funky, I thought it was going to be a disaster and that I was all wrong.  Once the tomatoes and everything started going in, I still thought it was going to be a disaster, as all the constituents sort of float around on their own.  It's not until much later in the cooking does everything start to really break down, and you get this intensely red broth.  I ate a bowl hot, it was good, not great.  It sat on the stove for a while mostly cooled down at that point, when I snuck another taste (or 12).  THERE it was, that "this tastes like Nana's soup" moment.  

I do need to experiment a little more with the tomato aspect.  Something seemed just a bit off, and I'm wondering if she may have used an actual can of plain tomato sauce in lieu of crushed tomatoes, purely from a textural perspective.  I may try that next time instead.


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## JayKay PE (Feb 18, 2020)

Supe said:


> I ate a bowl hot, it was good, not great.  It sat on the stove for a while mostly cooled down at that point, when I snuck another taste (or 12).  THERE it was, that "this tastes like Nana's soup" moment.
> 
> I do need to experiment a little more with the tomato aspect.  Something seemed just a bit off, and I'm wondering if she may have used an actual can of plain tomato sauce in lieu of crushed tomatoes, purely from a textural perspective.  I may try that next time instead.


As someone who has had to deal with a lot of 'older recipes', cheaper ingredients + time always end up getting closest to the result.  I remember my mom would make soup (tomato, chicken, beef, whatever) and she would start in the morning and by around 1pm I'd be on 'skim the surface'-duty, in-between running outside like an idiot and playing in the dirt.  For tomato flavoring, my mom and grandma always used tomato paste with seasoning instead of crushed or diced tomatoes.  I think they only threw that in if it was the last resort.


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## Supe (Feb 18, 2020)

I had tomato paste in there, but distinctly remember the chunks of tomato in the soup.  I don't believe she used basil/oregano like most of the stuff comes pre-seasoned with now, but I know for sure it had thyme and paprika, so those went in.  Time is definitely important though, this pot probably had a good 6 hours of cook time on it, in addition to the two hours for pressure cooking the bone broth.  

Unfortunately, Mrs. Supe is now obsessed with the soup, and over half the giant-ass pot is already gone.


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## JayKay PE (Feb 18, 2020)

Supe said:


> I had tomato paste in there, but distinctly remember the chunks of tomato in the soup.  I don't believe she used basil/oregano like most of the stuff comes pre-seasoned with now, but I know for sure it had thyme and paprika, so those went in.  Time is definitely important though, this pot probably had a good 6 hours of cook time on it, in addition to the two hours for pressure cooking the bone broth.
> 
> Unfortunately, Mrs. Supe is now obsessed with the soup, and over half the giant-ass pot is already gone.


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.  YOU'VE TRICKED YOURSELF INTO BECOMING THE SOUP KING.

Aka: Mrs. Supe is how I am with any soup made by my mom.  I once ate a huge 12 qt thing of tomato soup, which was then refilled with bone brother/chicken soup.  Which I then ate.  I feel like I should have lost weight, since I was only eating (drinking?) soup for like 2 weeks, but it was so dense in deliciousness that I might have gained...

Time = the most important thing with homemade soups.  We never had a pressure cooker, and my grandma def did not, so all soups would be simmering for houuuuurs until they were ready.  Additional sampling made the volume decrease/become more flavorful.  Please remember to sample/eat throughout!


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## Supe (Feb 18, 2020)

My Nana had an old school pressure pot.  Beat up old thing, seat and quarter turn to lock, with a single little thumb screw to bleed off pressure if you needed to.  Went on the stove, and it was in God's hands whether or not you blew up your house.  Looked just like this but with a black plastic handle.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Feb 18, 2020)

Pressure cookers scare me. My gram used one and I hated it


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## NikR_PE (Feb 18, 2020)

Well instant pot is pretty much the same thing, just electric.


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## Supe (Feb 18, 2020)

NikR_PE said:


> Well instant pot is pretty much the same thing, just electric.


It's actually got safety features, though.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Feb 18, 2020)

Supe said:


> It's actually got safety features, though.


and that's why IPs are way less scary


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## JayKay PE (Feb 18, 2020)

LyceeFruit PE said:


> Pressure cookers scare me. My gram used one and I hated it


My friend used one in college and blew off the hood of their oven.  I am ultra, ultra, leery of them.  Including IPs.  Because safety features fail.


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## leggo PE (Feb 18, 2020)

LyceeFruit PE said:


> I picked up the book this week. The shear amount of fennel is disappointing. I cant stand fennel. Im happy that i didnt pay for this book. Im going to copy 15 of the recipes and will probably make like 4.


Too much fennel? I've made several things from this cookbook, and have not purchased anything fennel... You're talking about Nothing Fancy, right?


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## LyceeFruit PE (Feb 18, 2020)

leggo PE said:


> Too much fennel? I've made several things from this cookbook, and have not purchased anything fennel... You're talking about Nothing Fancy, right?


yeah, it calls for fennel or fennel seed and that's a big no for me


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## JayKay PE (Feb 18, 2020)

LyceeFruit PE said:


> I picked up the book this week. The shear amount of fennel is disappointing. I cant stand fennel. Im happy that i didnt pay for this book. Im going to copy 15 of the recipes and will probably make like 4.


Now that you said that I'm going to pour through the one I borrowed and haven't had time to look through.  I like fennel...but only if it's cooked a particular way.  I hate licorice, so fennel usually is a turnoff.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Feb 18, 2020)

JayKay PE said:


> Now that you said that I'm going to pour through the one I borrowed and haven't had time to look through.  I like fennel...but only if it's cooked a particular way.  I hate licorice, so fennel usually is a turnoff.


exactly, i can't stand black licorice so fennel &amp; anise are deal breakers


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## Supe (Feb 18, 2020)

I hate licorice, but I think the best sausage is heavy on fennel and caraway seeds.


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## leggo PE (Feb 18, 2020)

Supe said:


> I hate licorice, but I think the best sausage is heavy on fennel and caraway seeds.


Agreed! I do not like licorice flavored things.



LyceeFruit PE said:


> yeah, it calls for fennel or fennel seed and that's a big no for me


I will check out what recipes I've made, they definitely didn't use fresh fennel but may have used fennel seed. I don't have an issue with fennel seed.

The tiny chocolatey cookies don't use fennel!!

The stuffed shells (if I'm remembering correctly) don't either. I don't think the sticky chili chicken does either...

I also made the roast chicken on the cover and the short ribs. The short ribs might have used fennel (I know they used whole coriander seeds), and I can't remember about the chicken...

I also HIGHLy recommend the anchovy green beans!


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## LyceeFruit PE (Feb 18, 2020)

leggo PE said:


> Agreed! I do not like licorice flavored things.
> 
> I will check out what recipes I've made, they definitely didn't use fresh fennel but may have used fennel seed. I don't have an issue with fennel seed.
> 
> ...


You just mentioned most of the recipes i copied


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## leggo PE (Feb 18, 2020)

LyceeFruit PE said:


> You just mentioned most of the recipes i copied


Haha so it wasn't a complete loss! And it was free, since you rented it. Maybe I was unintentionally choosing recipes without fennel?

I felt like a lot of her recipes use anchovies! But that is something I definitely don't mind. Gimme those itty bitty fishies!


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## LyceeFruit PE (Feb 18, 2020)

leggo PE said:


> Haha so it wasn't a complete loss! And it was free, since you rented it. Maybe I was unintentionally choosing recipes without fennel?
> 
> I felt like a lot of her recipes use anchovies! But that is something I definitely don't mind. Gimme those itty bitty fishies!


I didnt pick many (any?) Of those. Im meh on them and Boyfriend wont eat them - haddock/cod can be a battle


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## ChebyshevII PE PMP (Feb 29, 2020)

Chicago deep dish pizza, first shot at it.


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## ChebyshevII PE PMP (Feb 29, 2020)

And obligatory photo before consumption. It was really good! Maybe could have made the sauce a little less spicy and used a finer grind of cornmeal, but otherwise I enjoyed it. (And so did my family!)


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## jeb6294 (Mar 2, 2020)

Apparently they do a chili cookoff here at work as a fundraiser for the Christmas party.  Boss is chairman of the event team and asked if I was going to enter.  Being the 'new guy', figured it wouldn't be a bad way to suck up and it's a good excuse to make some more chicken taco soup...I'll just use a little less chicken broth to make it less soup and more chili.  Just got to figure out how to get the crock pot here on the bus without making a giant mess.


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## JayKay PE (Mar 2, 2020)

jeb6294 said:


> Apparently they do a chili cookoff here at work as a fundraiser for the Christmas party.  Boss is chairman of the event team and asked if I was going to enter.  Being the 'new guy', figured it wouldn't be a bad way to suck up and it's a good excuse to make some more chicken taco soup...I'll just use a little less chicken broth to make it less soup and more chili.  Just got to figure out how to get the crock pot here on the bus without making a giant mess.


Your...Christmas party?






BUT FUCK YEAH CHICKEN TACO SOUP.  I forgot about that recipe!  Maybe I'll attempt to make something like that in a few days (aka: I've got a single chicken breast, but a ton of peppers + seasonings, let's do this!).


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## LyceeFruit PE (Mar 2, 2020)

we have a chili day here too but it's unrelated to our holiday party. and no longer a cook-off, it ends up being catered instead.


----------



## Supe (Mar 3, 2020)




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## jeb6294 (Mar 3, 2020)

Sorry...our 'holiday' party.  The party is catered but they do events during the year to cover it so there's no cost to attend the party and people will actually show up.


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## JayKay PE (Mar 3, 2020)

jeb6294 said:


> Sorry...our 'holiday' party.  The party is catered but they do events during the year to cover it so there's no cost to attend the party and people will actually show up.


The best type of party: one you don't have to pay for.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Mar 3, 2020)

jeb6294 said:


> Sorry...our 'holiday' party.  The party is catered but they do events during the year to cover it so there's no cost to attend the party and people will actually show up.


our holiday is in the yearly office budget so there isn't fundraising to do for it or a price of admission.

it seems odd that your company doesn't account for it that way.


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## Road Guy (Mar 3, 2020)

Made my world famous pork tacos last night... smoked a pork loin and some other stuff Sunday, I almost look forward to the pork taco leftovers as much as I do the actual Q!


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## Supe (Mar 3, 2020)

Road Guy said:


> Made my world famous pork tacos last night... smoked a pork loin and some other stuff Sunday, I almost look forward to the pork taco leftovers as much as I do the actual Q!


Recipe?   Love some good pork tacos with pickled red onion and hot sauce.  I usually slow cook in a bunch of seasonings, shred, then throw in a skillet to brown it up.  I almost always end up toasting a tortilla and throwing the crisped pork on there with a pair of fried eggs, onion, and cotija cheese the next morning.

Really need to find a place around here that sells beef tongue.  Our family loves tongue tacos (heh), even though the prospect of peeling a 14" long cow tongue is a bit much, lol.


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## Road Guy (Mar 3, 2020)

I do a rib rub on the pork loin and that's all I use when I smoke it.

Our recipe  is pretty basic

I use corn tortilla's (warmed up in a large skillet) - cause my latino friends tell me that only white folk use flour tortillas

Dice red onions and cook till soft

Add some cilantro and some diced mangos (if we can find them)

topped off with some Sweet Baby Rays Spicey BBQ sauce and thats about all we do!


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## Supe (Mar 3, 2020)

I like corn tortillas, Mrs. and Junior only like flour, so I have to settle for the softest ones I can find.  Sometimes I can trick them if they're white corn.  BBQ sauce sounds pretty gringo, though.


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## Road Guy (Mar 3, 2020)

Wait - did you say tongue?


----------



## Supe (Mar 3, 2020)

Road Guy said:


> Wait - did you say tongue?


If you haven't had beef tongue/tacos de lengua, you don't know what you're missing.  Hands down, best tacos I've ever eaten.  It's like a ridiculously tender, soft, intensely beefy nugget of pot roast.


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## Road Guy (Mar 3, 2020)

Man i hope they sell this at Whole Foods!  This is defin something I would want to make very visible as I shop around the store


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## JayKay PE (Mar 3, 2020)

Road Guy said:


> Man i hope they sell this at Whole Foods!  This is defin something I would want to make very visible as I shop around the store


FYI.  A cow tongue is way longer than you think it should be.


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## Road Guy (Mar 3, 2020)

So dont let the wife see it?


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## jeb6294 (Mar 4, 2020)

Road Guy said:


> Man i hope they sell this at Whole Foods!  This is defin something I would want to make very visible as I shop around the store


We've got an oddball grocery store near us...according to this week's ad, ground camel is on sale.  As part of this last Halloween's haunted trail, I got to go buy a pig head, some duck heads and chicken feet.  I thought the cashier was going to spit out her dentures when I plopped the head down.

BTW, none of it was for eating, they were all props for the trail.

BBTW, pig heads are surprisingly cheap per pound.


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## ChebyshevII PE PMP (Mar 8, 2020)

Struggling to think of what to make for dinner tonight. Anyone have any (realistic) suggestions?


----------



## ChebyshevII PE PMP (Mar 8, 2020)

Decided to try my hand at cheesesteaks today. I fully expect @RBHeadge PE to find something I did wrong.


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## RBHeadge PE (Mar 8, 2020)

Looks like a decent first effort. It's hard to tell form the picture, but it looks like you got the right bread (or at least the best you could find in Eastern Washington). _At least I hope that's not a baguette - in which case: don't do that._ Did you lightly toast it on the grill too?

Fried onions and green peppers are a personal choice, but it looks like it was done right. FTR I'm a "wit" guy; and don't add green peppers.

Minor complaints: the steak should be ribeye, and either thinner sliced or finely diced. I prefer thin slices, but that's also a person choice.

I can't tell what kind of cheese you used; but I assume it's american or provolone? Cheese is another personal preference, but if you used sliced cheese it should be melted upon the meat toward the end of the grilling process, and the meat should be mixed or further cut a bit prior to being added to the bread. It helps distribute the flavor better. If whiz is used, the cheese  should be pre-heated and added atop the meat after the meat is added to the bread.


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## ChebyshevII PE PMP (Mar 8, 2020)

RBHeadge PE said:


> It's hard to tell form the picture, but it looks like you got the right bread (or at least the best you could find in Eastern Washington). _At least I hope that's not a baguette - in which case: don't do that._ Did you lightly toast it on the grill too?


Yeah, the bread was probably my biggest complaint. It was a little too small (diameter-wise) and a bit too crispy on the outside, which leads me to believe what I had was, in fact, closer to a baguette than a French loaf. I will definitely be looking a little harder for bread next time.

Most of the examples I saw did not toast the bread beforehand, so I decided to follow suit. Seems like this may also be a preference?



RBHeadge PE said:


> Minor complaints: the steak should be ribeye, and either thinner sliced or finely diced. I prefer thin slices, but that's also a person choice.


It was ribeye, but probably not sliced thinly enough. I bought it as a large hunk and sliced it myself.



RBHeadge PE said:


> I can't tell what kind of cheese you used; but I assume it's american or provolone? Cheese is another personal preference, but if you used sliced cheese it should be melted upon the meat toward the end of the grilling process, and the meat should be mixed or further cut a bit prior to being added to the bread. It helps distribute the flavor better


I used provolone and melted it on the meat just before serving, but I didn’t think of stirring it up before adding to the bread. I think that would definitely have added to it!


----------



## RBHeadge PE (Mar 9, 2020)

ChebyshevII PE said:


> Yeah, the bread was probably my biggest complaint. It was a little too small (diameter-wise) and a bit too crispy on the outside, which leads me to believe what I had was, in fact, closer to a baguette than a French loaf. I will definitely be looking a little harder for bread next time.
> 
> Most of the examples I saw did not toast the bread beforehand, so I decided to follow suit. Seems like this may also be a preference?
> 
> It was ribeye, but probably not sliced thinly enough. I bought it as a large hunk and sliced it myself.


The bread is the most important part! It needs to be a hoagie roll. But those are hard to find outside the Delaware Valley. You can find them, and numerous other types of breads, at any deli, supermarket, or bakery in the region. 

The outside of the hoagie roll should be soft, almost chewy. Not flaky or hard at all. 

There are some Philly expats who opened cheesesteak places outisde the area. The more successful and authentic ones will have their hoagie rolls flown in. Usually from Amorosa, but there are other suppliers.

To be blunt: it's hard to find good bread outside of Pennsylvania, but that's a whole other rant.

I've always seen the rolls lightly grilled before the meat is added, so I don't think it a preference thing. It should on the grill just long enough to soak up some oil and add some firmness to the outer layer of the newly exposed interior of the bread. But not too long that makes the bread crispy. Basically only about 10 seconds.

The ribeye slices should only be a few mm thick after cooking.


----------



## RBHeadge PE (Mar 9, 2020)

Oh yeah, and use cooking oil liberally when grilling. There's an old "joke" that the paper bag used to transport the sandwhich home should be transparent by the time you get home.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Mar 9, 2020)

we got grinder rolls here in Maine @RBHeadge PE because we need them for our Ham Italians.


----------



## civilrobot PE etc etc (Mar 9, 2020)

husband made barbacoa in the crockpot yesterday. we had it with steamed rice, guacamole, and black beans. 

queso and chips were also available... it was really good!

Recipe: https://chefsavvy.com/slow-cooker-barbacoa-beef/


----------



## Supe (Mar 9, 2020)

civilrobot said:


> husband made barbacoa in the crockpot yesterday. we had it with steamed rice, guacamole, and black beans.
> 
> queso and chips were also available... it was really good!
> 
> Recipe: https://chefsavvy.com/slow-cooker-barbacoa-beef/


That's how I always make mine, just never thought to cube it first or put cloves in it.  May have to try that next time!


----------



## Road Guy (Mar 9, 2020)

ChebyshevII PE said:


> Decided to try my hand at cheesesteaks today. I fully expect @RBHeadge PE to find something I did wrong.
> 
> View attachment 16654


that looks better than anything you can get in Denver!


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Mar 9, 2020)

civilrobot said:


> husband made barbacoa in the crockpot yesterday. we had it with steamed rice, guacamole, and black beans.
> 
> queso and chips were also available... it was really good!
> 
> Recipe: https://chefsavvy.com/slow-cooker-barbacoa-beef/


Boyfriend made us slow cooker barbacoa last spring.

Recipe called for 2 chipotles in adobo. He put 2 cans in...


----------



## JayKay PE (Mar 9, 2020)

Dinner tonight = salmon with veggies.  Because I forgot I defrosted it last night.


----------



## jeb6294 (Mar 9, 2020)

civilrobot said:


> Recipe: https://chefsavvy.com/slow-cooker-barbacoa-beef/


I hate getting recipes online anymore.  Just give me the f-in recipe already.  I don't need to read a 4 page dissertation about how busy your family is and how much they love this easy dinner.  Also, if I'm reading a recipe on how to make beef barbacoa, pretty good chance it's because I know what it is and just want to see how to make it.  I don't need a Mexican history lesson.


----------



## civilrobot PE etc etc (Mar 9, 2020)

jeb6294 said:


> I hate getting recipes online anymore.  Just give me the f-in recipe already.  I don't need to read a 4 page dissertation about how busy your family is and how much they love this easy dinner.  Also, if I'm reading a recipe on how to make beef barbacoa, pretty good chance it's because I know what it is and just want to see how to make it.  I don't need a Mexican history lesson.


lol again, my husband made it so I didn't even know it read that way until he sent me the link. while he was cooking, he asked me to read what it says about taking it out of the crockpot. I opened it and I was like "omg, why so many paragraphs? where's the list of ingredients?" I HATE recipes like that. Husband had way more patience than me with that one.


----------



## Supe (Mar 9, 2020)

jeb6294 said:


> I hate getting recipes online anymore.  Just give me the f-in recipe already.  I don't need to read a 4 page dissertation about how busy your family is and how much they love this easy dinner.  Also, if I'm reading a recipe on how to make beef barbacoa, pretty good chance it's because I know what it is and just want to see how to make it.  I don't need a Mexican history lesson.


This is why I've started writing down the ones that are actually worth a shit.


----------



## NikR_PE (Mar 9, 2020)

Supe said:


> This is why I've started writing down the ones that are actually worth a shit.


yup same.


----------



## JayKay PE (Mar 9, 2020)

Supe said:


> This is why I've started writing down the ones that are actually worth a shit.


Ditto.  Have it open on my phone when baking/cooking then if it's actually good - into my black notebook.


----------



## jeb6294 (Mar 9, 2020)

I had a brief 'aha' moment, but when I looked it up, they want $4k to buy the justtherecipe.com domain name.


----------



## mudpuppy (Mar 9, 2020)

jeb6294 said:


> I hate getting recipes online anymore.  Just give me the f-in recipe already.  I don't need to read a 4 page dissertation about how busy your family is and how much they love this easy dinner.  Also, if I'm reading a recipe on how to make beef barbacoa, pretty good chance it's because I know what it is and just want to see how to make it.  I don't need a Mexican history lesson.




But they need all that crap to slip in all the affiliate links that generate them money.  No one blogs (including sharing recipes) to actually share information any more, it's solely to generate revenue.


----------



## Road Guy (Mar 9, 2020)

Im going to invite a small wooden box that you can put index cards in it with recipes on them for quick use in the kitchen.  Might even add in some way to alphabetize it?  What do yall think?


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## JayKay PE (Mar 9, 2020)

That sounds vaguely familiar...like something old made new.  And you're saying I don't need to use my phone to use these recipes, lovingly written out in script, potentially pencil, that are stored in this small wooden box?


----------



## jeb6294 (Mar 10, 2020)

JayKay PE said:


> That sounds vaguely familiar...like something old made new.  And you're saying I don't need to use my phone to use these recipes, lovingly written out in script, potentially pencil, that are stored in this small wooden box?


Have to print everything for future generations...if you use cursive, they won't be able to read it.


----------



## JayKay PE (Mar 10, 2020)

jeb6294 said:


> Have to print everything for future generations...if you use cursive, they won't be able to read it.


But...I only know how to write in script/my hand hurts so much from writing in block.

UGH.  I'M TAKING ALL MY RECIPES TO THE GRAVE.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Mar 10, 2020)

I write in a combo of script and print. Unless its for drafting, then its print. But notes to the drafter are in script


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Apr 15, 2020)

I made ricotta gnocchi from scratch and then tried to fry it in garlic butter after boiling. Chicken sausage from a local farm. And roasted brussels sprouts


----------



## JayKay PE (Apr 16, 2020)

Made baked fajitas last night, because I needed something super easy.  I always forget to make double the veggies, so now I have too much chicken and not enough veggies!  ...I also may have forgot to cover/put the remainder in the fridge last night, and I'm eating it for lunch, so here's to hoping I don't die!


----------



## Supe (Apr 16, 2020)

Mrs. Supe had a HUGE pork shoulder that was going to go to waste, so I turned it into a brunswick stew.

Pulled pork, chicken stock (I didn't have any, so I used water/Vegeta mix for seasoning), onions, sweet corn, butter beans (didn't have lima) diced potatoes, BBQ sauce, garlic powder (because I have no fresh), salt, pepper, chili powder, splash of hot sauce.  Not half bad once it cooked down, Mrs. Supe loved it. 

But it also gave me the worst farts I've had in ages.


----------



## snickerd3 (Apr 16, 2020)

making stuffed peppers and boiled potatoes for dinner tonight....although it will only be an okay meal since we are out of peas.


----------



## leggo PE (Apr 16, 2020)

Ricotta gnocchi! So good.

Also, #thestew. If you know, you know.

Dinner last night was lentil rice salad. Yummy.


----------



## leggo PE (Apr 27, 2020)

Haven't made dinner yet, but this is on the docket for tonight: https://www.citymarket.coop/recipe/african-groundnut-stew

I've never made it before, and I'm subbing in Japanese sweet potatoes and collard greens (and olive oil for the peanut oil), but I'm excited for a new recipe!


----------



## leggo PE (Apr 28, 2020)

Review: the peanut stew was delicious! My husband, who loves peanut butter, loved it so, so much.

And Japanese sweet potatoes are freaking awesome. They transformed wonderfully and when cooked, turned out so creamy and delectable. I will definitely seek them out again!


----------



## leggo PE (May 6, 2020)

I'm gonna make this tonight (for the first time): https://www.101cookbooks.com/instant-pot-fiasco-beans-recipe/

I'm following the recipe exactly using some cranberry beans I bought back at the beginning of sheltering in place, and will serve with some pitas. I wanted to make Smitten Kitchen's yogurt flatbreads that she posted about last week, but didn't get my eggs in a row and don't have them made. I'm thankful for my farmer's market pitas!


----------



## leggo PE (May 12, 2020)

Last night, I made fish cakes! I've never made fish cakes before. They were super good! I used the NYT Cooking recipe for "Fish Cakes with Herbs and Chiles" and served them with a sriracha mayo, a bit of rice, and salad.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017088-fish-cakes-with-herbs-and-chiles


----------



## Road Guy (May 14, 2020)

This is happening way to much


----------



## snickerd3 (May 15, 2020)

we are looking at this Ninja air fryer.  Seems more versatile than the crockpot looking variety.


----------



## Road Guy (May 15, 2020)

air fryer??

no you want the regular grease!


----------



## envirotex (May 15, 2020)

leggo PE said:


> Last night, I made fish cakes! I've never made fish cakes before. They were super good! I used the NYT Cooking recipe for "Fish Cakes with Herbs and Chiles" and served them with a sriracha mayo, a bit of rice, and salad.
> 
> https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017088-fish-cakes-with-herbs-and-chiles


I dunno...I have way too many unpleasant memories of salmon croquets from my childhood.  That was always the worst dinner of the week.  Mmmm...canned salmon.


----------



## mudpuppy (May 15, 2020)

envirotex said:


> I dunno...I have way too many unpleasant memories of salmon croquets from my childhood.  That was always the worst dinner of the week.  Mmmm...canned salmon.


I used to think I hated salmon.

Turns out it's because all my family ever had was canned salmon.  Now I love (non-canned) salmon.


----------



## envirotex (May 15, 2020)

^^^Same.


----------



## leggo PE (May 18, 2020)

envirotex said:


> I dunno...I have way too many unpleasant memories of salmon croquets from my childhood.  That was always the worst dinner of the week.  Mmmm...canned salmon.


This didn't used canned fish. I cooked fresh (possibly previously frozen) sea bass fillets in white wine. It was fancy and delicious!

Note to future self: always, ALWAYS get the fish fillets deboned. That was not fun to do by hand, even when I tried the apparently simple way to do that a random French chef so kindly recorded a video of to show to me on Youtube. Good thing the fillets were getting flaked and turned into fish cakes and not getting presented as whole fillets, which they were definitely NOT after my deboning them.


----------



## leggo PE (May 18, 2020)

Also, I've never had canned salmon. But I loooove salmon fillets. Grilled, baked, sushi (sashimi), yep!


----------



## Road Guy (May 19, 2020)

wife got a bunch of Texas Q from her aunt - we have been trying to find a way to use all the brisket - so last night we made nachos, i wasn't sold on adding a little corn to the nachos but it turned out pretty good &amp; now I will do intermittent fasting until lunch today


----------



## envirotex (May 19, 2020)

Road Guy said:


> wife got a bunch of Texas Q from her aunt - we have been trying to find a way to use all the brisket - so last night we made nachos, i wasn't sold on adding a little corn to the nachos but it turned out pretty good &amp; now I will do intermittent fasting until lunch today
> 
> View attachment 17588


Brisket nachos are a Texas staple...Same with brisket tacos.  Kind of like Forrest Gump and shrimp, really.


----------



## Road Guy (May 19, 2020)

we were going to do brisket tacos tonight (corn shell) - this is good but if I have a hard time making it go away with 3 adult kids at the house its "too much"

Cant recall where she got it from, her aunt sent us  pack of ribs, pork loin, brisket, and some sausage - it appears texas bbq sauce is close to my Ga Vinegar based Q sauce roots. 

The wife asked her brother in law "the doctor" if he got  a pack as well- I guess she only sent it to "essential" medical personnel    he was like WTF???


----------



## Supe (May 19, 2020)

Beef soup is on the stove.  Still needs to simmer, but doesn't seem as flavorful as last time.  I noticed the bone broth was much clearer and a little less pungent this time.  I think I needed to use fresh bones again for the higher marrow content like last time.  Lesson learned.


----------



## snickerd3 (May 19, 2020)

probably roast a chicken tonight, then make stuffed peppers tomorrow.   gluten free pasta selection here sucks....so lasagna has to wait until I can find some non-no boil variety or else I will have a buy like 3 boxes and spend like $10 just on noodles.


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (May 22, 2020)

Made the crispy pan pizza from KAF


----------



## leggo PE (May 26, 2020)

Last night, I made Zuni Cafe's roasted chicken... If you have heard of Zuni Cafe, they have a famous dish on their menu called Mary's Chicken. It's roasted chicken served over a warm bread salad. It's freaking amazing.

I think my rendition turned out pretty nice! It was worth the annoyance of having the chicken dry brining in the fridge for three days prior. I'll post a picture when I can.


----------



## JayKay PE (Oct 27, 2020)

*revives thread*
It got cold, so I did what I do best: make soup. Copious amounts of soup for a single person. The Tupperware is after I had two huge bowls. I also calc’d out the calories (using MyFitnessPal) and it comes out to around 250 calories per huge bowl of soup. Yes. Veggie soup so good.


----------



## snickerd3 (Oct 28, 2020)

Made both lasagna and chili this week.


----------



## Road Guy (Oct 28, 2020)




----------



## Supe (Nov 3, 2020)

Junior wanted steak and macaroni and cheese for her bday.  So, I ended up buying a dry aged bone-in Delmonico (not very thick, maybe an inch) for me, and since they don't like the bones, a pair of wet aged ribeyes for them.  

Honestly, the slightly cheaper wet aged ribeyes were the better tasting steak.  While the dry aged Delmonico tasted good, that cheesy popcorn flavor really masked the taste of the beef.  Mrs. Supe on the other hand loved the dry aged and was middle-of-the-road on the wet.  I think the dry aged cut just wasn't thick enough to have the beef/funk balance.


----------



## leggo PE (Dec 21, 2020)

So what's everyone making for the holidays?

I just picked up a ridiculously good looking Polish sausage from a Polish deli, that I'll be using for my family's traditional potato soup with polish kielbasa (I also pressure-bought a ridiculous garlic kielbasa, which is huge and could probably feed a family of 12, for some unknown purpose) on Christmas Eve.

For Christmas Day, I'm planning to turn a smoked ham into a faux honey-baked ham, a la Mr. Leggo's family's Christmas dinner tradition before his dad died. I've never done a ham before, but I think it'll be fine. I'll be serving in with homemade Parker house rolls, sauteed kale, and sweet potatoes w/ tahini butter.

The stoke is high!


----------



## Supe (Dec 22, 2020)

Mrs. Supe wants ham, junior wants steak and a baked potato.  I don't feel like ponying up a fortune for the good dry aged stuff again, so I'll probably just pick up a couple filets.  Depending on what the grocery store has for seafood, I will do either baked stuffed shrimp or baked stuffed lobster tails.  Last year I had to wait in line and pay serious bucks for yuge lobster tails from the out-of-the-way seafood place, and with COVID, I'm just not doing that again, so if the grocery store ones are a decent size I'll just go that route.  

I'll also make broccoli bread (french bread with garlic butter spread, broccoli, and cheese), and some other side.  Not sure exactly what yet.  Probably something a bit different than normal, like pierogis or poutine (if the local meat market has any curds in stock).

For x-mas eve, our tradition is Chinese food take out.


----------



## Road Guy (Dec 22, 2020)

> For x-mas eve, our tradition is Chinese food take out.


I'm digging this idea! we normally ski Christmas Eve and leave some white bean chilli in crock pot but so far this season is a shit show so we likely will be home 

We also do steaks for Christmas Day - my grill died this past weekend and Ive already replaced the guts once- does anyone get more than 8 years out of a weber anymore?  have to pick something up between now and thursday


----------



## mudpuppy (Dec 22, 2020)

I'm smoking a turkey tomorrow.  First time I've tried smoking a turkey.  Going to use the leftovers to make enchiladas for Christmas.  Don't ask, that's just what my wife wants.


----------



## Road Guy (Dec 22, 2020)

you cant start early enough! (on the smoking)


----------



## akwooly (Dec 22, 2020)

Rib roast, scallops and halibut.


----------



## kevo_55 (Dec 22, 2020)

Sticky rice with pork wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed!

Mrs. Kevo has spoken. I will obey.


----------



## csb (Dec 23, 2020)

leggo PE said:


> Made this yesterday for New Year's!
> 
> https://www.ranchogordo.com/blogs/recipes/black-eyed-pea-stew
> 
> ...


Do not make this same recipe for 2021, please.


----------



## leggo PE (Dec 23, 2020)

csb said:


> Do not make this same recipe for 2021, please.


You clearly didn't read my post from above! We're having steak and tiramisu this year for NYE.


----------



## csb (Dec 23, 2020)

Phew!


----------



## leggo PE (Dec 23, 2020)

I mean, if I'd known...!


----------



## mudpuppy (Dec 25, 2020)

mudpuppy said:


> I'm smoking a turkey tomorrow.  First time I've tried smoking a turkey.  Going to use the leftovers to make enchiladas for Christmas.  Don't ask, that's just what my wife wants.




Turned out pretty good, especially since it was my first time smoking a turkey.  I did learn not to make gravy from the drippings of a brined, smoked turkey.  Extremely smoky &amp; salty!


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Dec 25, 2020)

Roast (local), carrots (local), homemade yorkshire pudding (made with local eggs and milk)

Nommmmmm


----------



## BlueBlueprintPE PMP (Dec 29, 2020)

I traditionally host Christmas Eve dinner. My husband's family is Italian and their traditional dinner is seafood fettuccini alfredo. The seafood traditionally includes crab, shrimp, scallops, and smoked salmon. I've been hosting for about 6 years now and it gets very hectic trying to keep the sauce from getting too thin, not overcooking the noodles or the seafood (primarily the shrimp and scallops) and having everything fresh and ready to go for a large crowd (typically 30 people) and my kitchen typically looks like it exploded by the time we are serving. This year decided to change it up to a seafood lasagna alfredo so that the prep work can all be done ahead of time and I just have to put it in the oven when guests start to arrive. It turned out amazing. In addition to the crab, shrimp, scallops and smoked salmon (caught and smoked by my Dad), I added some lobster tails I found at Costco. I even made my own lasagna noodles! My mom (pictured) helped me roll them out with my new kitchen aid attachment. I'll probably never be able to make it the same way again!


----------



## envirotex (Dec 29, 2020)

BlueBlueprint_PE said:


> I traditionally host Christmas Eve dinner. My husband's family is Italian and their traditional dinner is seafood fettuccini alfredo. The seafood traditionally includes crab, shrimp, scallops, and smoked salmon. I've been hosting for about 6 years now and it gets very hectic trying to keep the sauce from getting too thin, not overcooking the noodles or the seafood (primarily the shrimp and scallops) and having everything fresh and ready to go for a large crowd (typically 30 people) and my kitchen typically looks like it exploded by the time we are serving. This year decided to change it up to a seafood lasagna alfredo so that the prep work can all be done ahead of time and I just have to put it in the oven when guests start to arrive. It turned out amazing. In addition to the crab, shrimp, scallops and smoked salmon (caught and smoked by my Dad), I added some lobster tails I found at Costco. I even made my own lasagna noodles! My mom (pictured) helped me roll them out with my new kitchen aid attachment. I'll probably never be able to make it the same way again!


That's a great idea!  We usually make cioppino as our version of Seven Fishes during the holidays, but I love the idea of a seafood lasagna!  On Christmas Eve, we usually have tamales.


----------



## envirotex (Dec 29, 2020)

@mudpuppyWe sometimes make a Shiner Bock "beer blanc" to go with our smoked turkey...


----------



## BlueBlueprintPE PMP (Dec 29, 2020)

envirotex said:


> That's a great idea!  We usually make cioppino as our version of Seven Fishes during the holidays, but I love the idea of a seafood lasagna!  On Christmas Eve, we usually have tamales.


I love tamales!   at one of the places i used to work, the wife of one of the guys used to make a huge batch and sell them out of their trunk in the parking lot. they were the best tamales i've ever had.


----------



## envirotex (Dec 29, 2020)

Those are usually MUCH better than the store bought ones!


----------



## BlueBlueprintPE PMP (Dec 30, 2020)

envirotex said:


> Those are usually MUCH better than the store bought ones!


goes for most things i'd say!


----------



## akwooly (Dec 30, 2020)

I bought some tamales off FB marketplace. Dang tamales were the best. I had second thoughts after creepin on their FB profile but wow they were good. Met them in a parking lot at Safeway, felt like a drug deal. I got the vibe she sells more than tamales...


----------



## Supe (Dec 31, 2020)

For Christmas, I made Junior a steak and baked potato (per her request), and made broccoli bread, baked stuffed shrimp, and baked stuffed lobster tails for me and Mrs. Supe.  And somehow, I mixed up/forgot one of my medications and felt super nauseous/pukey about 2 hours before we were supposed to eat and ate none of it fresh


----------



## JayKay PE (Jan 4, 2021)

Okay.  New Year starting it off with a no take out month, which means I'm going to need to actually cook (nooooooo).

I did look in my pantry/freezer, and I actually do have a ton of stuff.  Have to figure out what I'm doing with all this pasta that I hoarded (I never know how to cook pasta for one...).  Also, can you make tomato sauce and/or tomato soup from canned tomatoes?  I have so many for some reason and, yes, I know fresh tomatoes are best, but it's the middle of winter in the Midwest, so I want to attempt with the things I have.


----------



## envirotex (Jan 4, 2021)

JayKay PE said:


> Okay.  New Year starting it off with a no take out month, which means I'm going to need to actually cook (nooooooo).
> 
> I did look in my pantry/freezer, and I actually do have a ton of stuff.  Have to figure out what I'm doing with all this pasta that I hoarded (I never know how to cook pasta for one...).  Also, can you make tomato sauce and/or tomato soup from canned tomatoes?  I have so many for some reason and, yes, I know fresh tomatoes are best, but it's the middle of winter in the Midwest, so I want to attempt with the things I have.


I have made a couple of pretty good soups from canned tomatoes...Look for recipes that roast the tomatoes in the oven first...Can't find the recipe I used to use or I would link it.


----------



## Supe (Jan 4, 2021)

JayKay PE said:


> Also, can you make tomato sauce and/or tomato soup from canned tomatoes?


There's almost zero reason NOT to use canned tomatoes unless you're wanting to eat them sliced/diced, especially off season.  Canned whole tomatoes are picked in season at peak ripeness and canned immediately, so they usually taste better and are more consistent.


----------



## leggo PE (Jan 4, 2021)

Supe said:


> There's almost zero reason NOT to use canned tomatoes unless you're wanting to eat them sliced/diced, especially off season.  Canned whole tomatoes are picked in season at peak ripeness and canned immediately, so they usually taste better and are more consistent.


Agreed! The only tomatoes I've had in the last year that were better than canned tomatoes are the tomatoes we grew on our front porch (which still produced through December -- champion cherry tomato plant!!).

I use canned tomatoes in soups all the time. Mr. Leggo uses canned tomatoes for his homemade pizza sauce, which could just as easily be a pasta sauce, as well.

Growing up, my mom would make a huge batch of spaghetti sauce using ground beef, onions, canned tomatoes, and a few other things (I don't have the recipe on me) and then freeze it in single meal portions, which for a single person would be much smaller for a single adult than a family of four. It's something I should actually replicate, me thinks... Thanks for the inspiration!

Also, @JayKay PE, to make pasta for a single person, I used to cook half a box at a time, and then would have enough for at least two servings for me. I'd try to eat the leftovers the next day, heating up in the microwave (back when I had one) or on the stove (like now) with a little water to reconstitute the sauce and make sure the pasta isn't too dry.


----------



## JayKay PE (Jan 4, 2021)

Supe said:


> There's almost zero reason NOT to use canned tomatoes unless you're wanting to eat them sliced/diced, especially off season.  Canned whole tomatoes are picked in season at peak ripeness and canned immediately, so they usually taste better and are more consistent.


I am unwise in the ways of tomato sauce and soups.  My mom usually made a huge 12 qt+ thing of tomato soup, but she'd use all the garden tomatoes, and the sauces she'd just doctor jarred cause.  I never knew!  Please do not smite!

@leggo PE, I think I'll start from the place you mentioned.  I'll start just making half a box of pasta, versus a whole box, and only use pasta once a week instead of ignoring it (like I am now).  I think this'll also force me into making shrimp scampi pasta, one of my favorite things (which I know isn't super hard to make, but I just get so overwhelmed for some reason).


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Jan 5, 2021)

JayKay PE said:


> Okay.  New Year starting it off with a no take out month, which means I'm going to need to actually cook (nooooooo).
> 
> I did look in my pantry/freezer, and I actually do have a ton of stuff.  Have to figure out what I'm doing with all this pasta that I hoarded (I never know how to cook pasta for one...).  Also, can you make tomato sauce and/or tomato soup from canned tomatoes?  I have so many for some reason and, yes, I know fresh tomatoes are best, but it's the middle of winter in the Midwest, so I want to attempt with the things I have.


I only ever use canned tomatoes for soups &amp; sauce (except ratatouille obvs)

As much as I hate the name of the site, I really like the crockpot creamy tomato soup from Skinny Taste (it's a WW blogger). I use a bunch of her recipes as starting off points because I won't use low-/no-fat for everything like she does or de-skin chicken drumsticks *rolls eyes* 

The tomato soup freezes really well &amp; I add tortellini sometimes


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Jan 5, 2021)

Recently I'd made:

- chicken alfredo with spiralized parsnips (we're drowning in parsnips from the CSA, Boyfriend likes it better with parsnips than regular pasta)

-beef ragu with homemade gnocchi &amp; homemade garlic bread (didnt make the bread but made it garlic bread lol)

-spicy tahini noodles (Boyfriend agrees it can be in the rotation on occassion but requests different noodles - I used 2 different kinds of rice noodles that had different cooking times/methods so it was a bit gummy - I did cook them separately tho) 

[I want to try 6 new recipes this month. these represent 2 new recipes!]


----------



## Supe (Jan 5, 2021)

That gnocchi looks on point.


----------



## mudpuppy (Jan 5, 2021)

JayKay PE said:


> Also, can you make tomato sauce and/or tomato soup from canned tomatoes?


Just to pile on. . . yes!  We canned about 50 quarts of tomatoes from our garden this year.  Just made spaghetti sauce with some this weekend.  I add some tomato paste to thicken it a little.  So, two quarts of canned tomatoes, 15 oz-ish of tomato paste, two pounds of meat, plus seasoning.  We used the venison I harvested a couple weeks ago, so the majority of the meal came from our yard.  (minus the pasta and seasonings)


----------



## akwooly (Jan 5, 2021)

Halibut corn chowder. One of my favorites. Tastes better when you catch the fish you’re!


----------



## LyceeFruit PE (Jan 10, 2021)

I made hummus!


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## JayKay PE (Jan 10, 2021)

I made an eye round!!! This is the first time I’ve made one in the oven, and it came out so tender and delicious. The little bit of “overdone” is where the fatback is. It fell over in my Dutch oven and was pushed against the cast iron wall. There weren’t a lot of drippings, so I did my best making a kinda thick gravy from the garlic and stuff that fell off. I still have not done dishes.


----------



## leggo PE (Jan 20, 2021)

It's not exactly cooking, but I'm considering making my own riccotta, to then turn around and either make a lasagna with or some other creamy, cheesy pasta. It doesn't seem hard! I'm excited just thinking about it!


----------



## BlueBlueprintPE PMP (Jan 20, 2021)

LyceeFruit PE said:


> Recently I'd made:
> 
> - chicken alfredo with spiralized parsnips (we're drowning in parsnips from the CSA, Boyfriend likes it better with parsnips than regular pasta)
> 
> ...


I love making gnocchi! it's a special occasion staple in our house and my son's bday dinner request - every year. Also the traditional Thanksgiving dish, with both a marina and a carbonara sauce, in addition to the Turkey. 


JayKay PE said:


> Okay. New Year starting it off with a no take out month, which means I'm going to need to actually cook (nooooooo).
> 
> I did look in my pantry/freezer, and I actually do have a ton of stuff. Have to figure out what I'm doing with all this pasta that I hoarded (I never know how to cook pasta for one...). Also, can you make tomato sauce and/or tomato soup from canned tomatoes? I have so many for some reason and, yes, I know fresh tomatoes are best, but it's the middle of winter in the Midwest, so I want to attempt with the things I have.


I generally make my marina sauce with San Marzano canned tomatoes. They make an amazing sauce. My husband's grandma's recipe.  

Apparently I didn't get pictures before people started digging in to the food on Turkey Day.... but it was amazing.


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## Supe (Jan 20, 2021)

I made my "you've goat to be kidding me" burgers the other day.

-80/20 chuck with some minced onion
-brioche buns
-caramelized yellow onions with a splash of balsamic vinegar during the last 10 minutes or so
-goat cheese medallion, dipped in flour, egg, panko bread crumbs

Cook burger to medium rare. Deep fry goat cheese at 375F until golden brown. They were AMAZING. Didn't even need condiments, warm goat cheese just smooshes over the burger top to add the salty to offset the sweetness of the onions. That said, I am going to try it again, but this time, with a thin layer of my habanero jelly on it.


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## LyceeFruit PE (Jan 20, 2021)

Supe said:


> I made my "you've goat to be kidding me" burgers the other day.
> 
> -80/20 chuck with some minced onion
> -brioche buns
> ...


want


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## NJHHEngineer P.E. (Jan 21, 2021)

Sweet Potato Ground Turkey Chili - Evolving Table 

One of my go-tos especially fall/winter time. Just made a batch last week.


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## jeb6294 (Jan 22, 2021)

Tried HelloFresh a couple weeks ago. My sister got it as a Christmas present for Jack, our burgeoning chef. Gotts say, I wasn't terribly impressed. The meals weren't bad, but all the ingredients for a meal are thrown in one paper bag together and then all the bags are boxed up. We had a tomato get crushed so all our bags were soaked in tomato juice. On the website they've got a ton of meals, but when we went to do the next week, the number you can choose from was only about a dozen and I couldn't find three that we'd probably like short of adding the "gourmet" meal which cost quite a bit more.

They give you most of the exact ingredients (might need to come up with your own salt/pepper/olive oil/etc.) you need for each meal and the step-by-step instructions are pretty easy to follow so I could see it being a good choice for someone who doesn't know how to cook, but even Jack thought he could do fine without it.


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## leggo PE (Feb 24, 2021)

It’s what’s for dinner tonight:









roast chicken with schmaltzy cabbage


I didn’t know I needed a new roast chicken in my life when Helen Rosner, the New Yorker’s roving food correspondent and all-around fascinating person, posted on her Instagram a few week…




smittenkitchen.com


----------



## snickerd3 (Feb 24, 2021)

jeb6294 said:


> Tried HelloFresh a couple weeks ago. My sister got it as a Christmas present for Jack, our burgeoning chef. Gotts say, I wasn't terribly impressed. The meals weren't bad, but all the ingredients for a meal are thrown in one paper bag together and then all the bags are boxed up. We had a tomato get crushed so all our bags were soaked in tomato juice*. On the website they've got a ton of meals, but when we went to do the next week, the number you can choose from was only about a dozen and I couldn't find three that we'd probably like* short of adding the "gourmet" meal which cost quite a bit more.
> 
> They give you most of the exact ingredients (might need to come up with your own salt/pepper/olive oil/etc.) you need for each meal and the step-by-step instructions are pretty easy to follow so I could see it being a good choice for someone who doesn't know how to cook, but even Jack thought he could do fine without it.


THat's my biggest issue with these types of things. They show lots of choices to hook you in then reduce it quickly. Add in gluten free and minimal dairy and there goes another chunk out the window. 

Roasted meat and potatoes basically has become the new staple. I can't eat instant potatoes anymore...within the last year most have upped the amount of milk powder. We have tried a couple different brands for when don't have 45-60 minutes to boil potatoes, and they all have noticeably increased the amount of dairy.


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## leggo PE (Feb 25, 2021)

Real potatoes for the win! Though yeah, they do take time. But if you are looking for mashed, cut them small and they boil in like 20 min. You can make a hash with parboiling and then baking or frying on the stove in less than 40 minutes, too. I get that it’s not nearly as convenient as instant potatoes, but man, it’s so good!


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## jeb6294 (Mar 5, 2021)

Jack was talking about one of the meals he made from HelloFresh. Did a quick search and found out you can still get all the recipes even if you're not active anymore. They're the .pdf's that come with the meals so they have ingredients, quantities and the prep steps. All you get with paying for HelloFresh is the ingredients delivered to your door for twice the price of getting them yourselves.


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## akwooly (Mar 5, 2021)

Roasting garlic right now and the aroma from downstairs is making me hungry.


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## Dothracki PE (Mar 23, 2021)

Spring’s Hottest Drop Is This New Shape of Pasta


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## JayKay PE (Mar 23, 2021)

jeb6294 said:


> Jack was talking about one of the meals he made from HelloFresh. Did a quick search and found out you can still get all the recipes even if you're not active anymore. They're the .pdf's that come with the meals so they have ingredients, quantities and the prep steps. All you get with paying for HelloFresh is the ingredients delivered to your door for twice the price of getting them yourselves.


That is something I do. My landlords had a delivery of HelloFresh that they didn't want to use, so they gave it to me (for free) and I went on the website, not to buy, but one of the recipe cards were missing. Once I realized I could just follow the recipes, after going on reddit to see what the 'spice mixes' were, it was super easy to just do that. I'd rather go to the store and buy my own groceries and not just the 'specific' amount they include, which always seems much smaller than if I buy local.


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## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Mar 25, 2021)

Dothracki PE said:


> Spring’s Hottest Drop Is This New Shape of Pasta


Looks like a nudibranch!


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## Supe (Apr 12, 2021)

Made a couple of decent sauces over the weekend.

First one I stole from "Sam the Cooking Guy" - no secret that I hate vegetables, so trying to find ways to make them palatable. Sauce was butter, lemon, thyme, garlic and a bunch of anchovy paste. I don't like anchovies by themselves, but they definitely gave it a salty/savory flavor. Put it on some peppers, asparagus, green beans, and red onions on a baking sheet for about 15 minutes, and they were awesome. You can eat damn near anything slathered in that stuff. 

Second one was a DIY concoction of leftovers - cilantro, ginger, lime, garlic, salt, pepper, honey, and olive oil in the food processor for a sort of cilantro chimichurri sauce for kebabs. Came out pretty good.

Also did a quickie hibachi steak recipe - steak, mushrooms, soy sauce, white vinegar, little sugar, garlic, ginger, and white pepper. I made a ton of it, and there wasn't much in the way of leftovers between the three of us, even after making a bunch of fried rice to go with it.


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## Supe (Apr 15, 2021)

My new tools arrived today from Canada.

My Henckel has a crack in it, and the only other knife we had was a battered old Cuisinart. Decided to upgrade. Both are fantastically sharp out of the box. The Gyuto is longer than I'd have thought, but is so sharp it's actually slowing my cutting down because the cutting board isn't resilient enough. White #2 steel, clad in SS. The cleaver is great too. Got it for big vegetable chop/scoop sessions, super fast with some serious heft to it. Just waiting on my honing rod to show up to keep it sharp. 

Knife #1: Masakage Yuki Gyuto (210mm)




Knife #2: An inexpensive Tojiro Chinese Cleaver


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## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Apr 15, 2021)

Supe said:


> Just waiting on my honing rod to show up to keep it sharp.


Gahhh! No honing rods with Japanese knives! I highly, highly recommend using a whetstone instead (you can get VERY good el cheapo two-sided 1000/3000 grit ones for ~35 bucks, and of course fancier).



Supe said:


> Decided to upgrade.


Ooh! New knife day! I will play.

Top is a Dexter carbon steel Chinese cleaver, ground to a 90/10 bevel (kind of extreme, but I like to slice smoothly, not hack chop). Sooo cheap, I love this thing. I...kind of wish I didn't buy the others and just had this one knife since I use it for pretty much everything (fine and coarse work).

Second is an el cheapo Minonokuni carbon steel yanagiba slicer. I only use it for proteins. It's scary sharp. Got the cheap-ish one in case I screwed up the single bevel sharpening.

Third is a 810mm gyuto like yours with a 70/30 bevel. It's a Togiharu carbon steel but I cut a kiritsuke-style tip. I like to claim it's for fine work but honestly I just did it because it looks cool.

Fourth is a stupid New West utility knife that I hate. They run a fantastic marketing campaign and I was bamboozled into getting one. Happy to support USA manufacturing but TBH...the Japanese stuff is better.






Also below, my beater Masahiro molybdenum gyuto upon which I also cut a kiritsuke tip (come on...it looks cool!). Had some scrap mahogany laying around so I made a little saya for it. This brand is kind of cool because it's a true one-sided knife (the cross section is a right triangle) but without being as fragile as a traditional Japanese slicer.









Edit: Stabby stabby.


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## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Apr 15, 2021)

Also, here's my ready-to-deploy chef kit for when I'm going to a friend's place, they're hosting, but they don't really know how to cook.

It's my degustatory battle sling complete with plating spoon, ceramic peeler (to avoid oxidation on garnish), silicone mini spatula, bench/dough scraper, offset spatula, handle-free Microplane (to feel/appear extra "chef-y"), and probe thermometer because food safety.










Edit: that little MAC 5.5" utility knife is the shiznit. I'm 100% certain I could ditch all the other knives and accomplish everything I need to with just the Chinese cleaver and the little utility knife.


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## Supe (Apr 16, 2021)

Knifewear recommended the honing rod. It's a very mild ceramic one just for maintaining between sharpening, not even aggressive enough to take a burr off. I have one of the whetstone sharpener kits that uses the articulating ball and blade clamp because I'm terrible at holding the right angle, but it's also time consuming to use, so I pretty much will only bother using it on a really dull knife. Since I can just toss the honing rod in the cutlery drawer, it's the thing I'm most likely to actually use. I may consider grabbing a leather strop for it.

I do have to get accustomed to holding the gyuto, though. There's a pretty sizeable gap between the handle and the back of the blade, so you feel really far forward on the blade when holding it with a pinch grip like you should. It's so much lighter than the German knives I'm used to, it's just a strange feeling.

I'm already in love with the $60 Chinese cleaver though. It is the bees knees for chop and scoop. I suspect it will become my go-to for 90% of what I do if I can keep an edge on it.

I wish I had room for a knife stand, but we have zero countertop space. May see if I can find a small magnetic strip for the two, assuming I can find somewhere to put it.


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## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Apr 16, 2021)

Supe said:


> Deep fry goat cheese at 375F until golden brown.


Hey @Supe how do you fry things? Just curious how people fry small quantities of things (I rarely fry b/c it's such a pain to get oil in/out of the dutch oven, clean it, etc, etc).


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## Supe (Apr 18, 2021)

squaretaper LIT AF PE said:


> Hey @Supe how do you fry things? Just curious how people fry small quantities of things (I rarely fry b/c it's such a pain to get oil in/out of the dutch oven, clean it, etc, etc).


If its something I can flip, I do it in my cast iron skillet. I did salt and pepper shrimp last night, so it only took about 1/4" of oil in the pan. Anything big, I use my regular big non stick cooking pot. Small stuff that needs submerged, I will use just a regular small cooking pot (like the goat cheese rounds, I would just do two at a time in a small pot to save on oil). As long as you're doing small batches, you won't lose enough heat from the oil that cast iron is a necessity. I found it was just easier to clean than my dutch oven, which has the ceramic coating in it. I dump the waste oil in a big wide mouth container like a pretzel jar or something. It is indeed a PITA, though.


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## Supe (Apr 19, 2021)

Speaking of salt and pepper shrimp - Junior requested them this weekend. They were one of her favorites at the Chinese buffet we used to frequent before COVID hit. We bought them from the local Asian Market, because the grocery stores don't care them head/shell on. 


Whole shrimp. Trim off the barb on the head and all the legs. This is the biggest PITA part, and those kitchen shears kill your hands after a while.
Dust the shrimp with corn starch
Roast some whole peppercorns and salt in a pan. Once they get super fragrant, grind them up, set aside.
Add some oil to the pan. In goes some garlic and some thin cut Thai chili rounds. Put them on a paper towel to drain.
Add some more oil to the pan, just enough for half the shrimp to be submerged. Fry the shrimp for about 30 seconds per side. I can fit about 8 large shrimp at a time in a pan without overcrowding.
While they're still hot, sprinkle with salt/pepper mixture, and toss in a bowl with the fried garlic and hot peppers.
They were damned good. Mrs. Supe has a textural freakout over things that are in shells and wouldn't eat them, so Junior and I ate way more than we ever should have. Way better than the buffet shrimp.


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## pbrme (Apr 21, 2021)

Couldn't decide between the funny pic thread or here. Sooo... apparently this is a thing.


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## Supe (Apr 22, 2021)

No.


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## leggo PE (Apr 27, 2021)

Wrong thread, ha.


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## caychanh (Apr 27, 2021)

So is this recipe thread or baking goods thread?
Been awhile since I have checked out this forum.
Chicken broth with glass noodles for dinner.


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## Supe (Apr 27, 2021)

Fried eggplant rounds with skin on - OK
Baked eggplant rounds with skin on - sucky


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## leggo PE (Apr 27, 2021)

caychanh said:


> So is this recipe thread or baking goods thread?
> Been awhile since I have checked out this forum.
> Chicken broth with glass noodles for dinner.


Glad you asked! This is a cooking thread. Recipes, cooking, etc.

There is also a separate baking thread:









The Baking Thread


Are there any other bakers out there? I love to bake, but typically stick to muffins, the occasional donut, and easy loaves I can make in a pan without yeast, starters, what have you. I've been wanting to start to bake my own bread for a few years now, and I think I'm finally going to bite the...




engineerboards.com





It’s a lovely place to post about your baking adventures!


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## caychanh (Apr 27, 2021)

Nice. I definitely prefer eggplant with skin on for baked, fried, or in a soup broth.
Ever tried baking whole eggplant and then peel skin off? Its naturally sweet and flavorful with no seasoning.


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## caychanh (Apr 27, 2021)

Tomorrow I might make some "banh bao" buns. Its almost like pizza dough, but we use milk instead of water, knead the dough to desired shape, stuff with sauteed ground pork and boiled egg and steam for about 10 mins. Its a great vietnamese traditional snack.


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## Supe (Apr 27, 2021)

caychanh said:


> Nice. I definitely prefer eggplant with skin on for baked, fried, or in a soup broth.
> Ever tried baking whole eggplant and then peel skin off? Its naturally sweet and flavorful with no seasoning.


Nope. Like all veggies, I need to slather in anchovy butter to make it palatable.


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## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Apr 27, 2021)

caychanh said:


> Tomorrow I might make some "banh bao" buns.


YASSS! We have the exact same thing (Canto version). Buuut, I'm not allowed to have them around...because I WILL eat ALL of them. No, really.

(also, send pics @caychanh!)


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## Supe (Apr 28, 2021)

I have frozen bao buns in the freezer from the Asian market, but I ruined the last batch because I only have a metal steamer tray and they stuck to the bottom


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## leggo PE (Jun 23, 2021)

Ginger dill salmon w/ citrus salad and avocado. Pretty good! Cooked the salmon at 325 degrees for 15 min, probably could have cut it to 12 min max, but it was still so buttery and soft. Yum!


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## leggo PE (Jul 27, 2021)

Tomato pie (really more of a cobbler, as there’s no bottom crust) with buttermilk bleu cheese biscuits! Recipe is from Joy the Baker. Very yummy, but next time I’ll double it for more leftovers.


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## leggo PE (Aug 3, 2021)

Coconut shrimp and broccoli salad with garlic and sesame. Super yummy!


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## snickerd3 (Aug 3, 2021)

made gluten free lasagna last night. Jovial GF pasta FTW. Even the kids like these noodles.


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## aepe (Aug 15, 2021)

I roasted four lbs of tomatoes down into about two cups of tomato-caper spread. Was it worth it? Possibly. I’m too tired to make crostini so I’ll just have to eat it with a spoon.


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## leggo PE (Aug 24, 2021)

This might count as baking, but I’m sticking it here because it also involves cooking… Tonight’s main part of dinner:



The picture doesn’t quite do it justice, but it was delicious! It’s Melissa Clark’s Tomato Crostata with Honey-Thyme glaze. I served it alongside Smitten Kitchen’s avocado cucumber salad. Super duper tasty combo.


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## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Aug 25, 2021)

Non baker ova hea (measuring things intimidates me, just a regular cook), I made some cast iron pizza. Pretty happy with the crust n crumb n bublz.


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## leggo PE (Oct 20, 2021)

Does anyone here make their own yogurt? I’m currently attempting to!

I started the process on Sunday, and wasn’t seeing the desired results until this morning. I think I didn’t have the starter and milk warm enough in the original attempt to get it to thicken. Last night, I put it in the oven (gas, with pilot light) and a towel wrapped around it, and this morning, it had thickened! Now my yogurt is chilling in the fridge, waiting to be strained into Greek yogurt (which is our household’s preference). My hope is at this point that it’s not too sour for us to want to eat! Ha!


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## pbrme (Oct 20, 2021)

leggo PE said:


> Does anyone here make their own yogurt?


No but Mrs pbr went through a scoby kombucha phase for a while. It's all black magic to me, so I just stick to converting sugars to booze.


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## leggo PE (Oct 20, 2021)

pbrme said:


> No but Mrs pbr went through a scoby kombucha phase for a while. It's all black magic to me, so I just stick to converting sugars to booze.


I’m gonna stay away from making my own kombucha, since there are only a specific few (two) brands I like and only a few flavors within them that I favor. I have heard, and do believe, that trying to make your own kombucha taste as good as store bought is not so easy.

All that being said, I am sure Mrs. pbr’s kombucha was lovely!


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## leggo PE (Nov 5, 2021)

I’m gonna make a farrotto (risotto like thing using farro) with roasted honeynut squash with crispy sage leaves for dinner. New recipe! From my new favorite cookbook, Weeknight Vegetarians by Jenny Rosenstrach. I’ve also never had honeynut squash before, but it seems kinda like a mini butternut, maybe sweeter?


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## Supe (Nov 8, 2021)

Made beef tongue tacos yesterday (I always order it, but this was my first time cooking it).

You can definitely tell it was from a local farmer with grass fed cows, because the beef flavor was very forward/less mild and it was much richer/fattier than what the local taco trucks/Mexican restaurants tend to serve around here. 

8 hours in the crock pot with some bay leaf, peppercorns, and garlic. Served on some fresh tortillas (Walmart sells pre-formed, uncooked flower tortillas that cook in just a few seconds, and they're my new favorite), with red onion, cilantro, a touch of El Yucateco green hot sauce (my favorite by a mile for tacos) and lime juice, and it was awesome. 

You really need the red onion and lime juice with beef tongue to cut through the richness of it, otherwise, it would just taste like eating pot roast on a tortilla.

I may try a quick pickle red onion to see how that tastes in comparison to fresh, but some pickled radishes would be good too.


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## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Jan 14, 2022)

Needed to step away from PM tasks and decided to put a mirror finish on ALL THE EDGES. @Supe thought you might appreciate this. Developed a burr with a Naniwa 1000/3000 traditional, then a Naniwa 5000 ceramic (it's what I have), and finished on a King 8000 for a mirror finish!


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## BlueBlueprintPE PMP (Jan 14, 2022)

squaretaper LIT AF PE said:


> Needed to step away from PM tasks and decided to put a mirror finish on ALL THE EDGES. @Supe thought you might appreciate this. Developed a burr with a Naniwa 1000/3000 traditional, then a Naniwa 5000 ceramic (it's what I have), and finished on a King 8000 for a mirror finish!


I nearly sliced the tip of my index finger off Christmas Eve cutting a loaf of homemade Italian bread. I had to throw the entire loaf away because it all had drops of blood from pulling my hand away quickly ....  suffice it to say, my knives are still extremely sharp. I probably should've gotten stitches, but super glue worked pretty well. thankfully I'd made 4 loaves of bread, so the one sacrificial loaf was not missed!


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## leggo PE (Jan 14, 2022)

BlueBlueprintPE said:


> I nearly sliced the tip of my index finger off Christmas Eve cutting a loaf of homemade Italian bread. I had to throw the entire loaf away because it all had drops of blood from pulling my hand away quickly ....  suffice it to say, my knives are still extremely sharp. I probably should've gotten stitches, but super glue worked pretty well. thankfully I'd made 4 loaves of bread, so the one sacrificial loaf was not missed!


And you’re not posting about this too the Baking thread?? Or wait, did you? My memory is mush.


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## Supe (Jan 17, 2022)

squaretaper LIT AF PE said:


> Needed to step away from PM tasks and decided to put a mirror finish on ALL THE EDGES. @Supe thought you might appreciate this. Developed a burr with a Naniwa 1000/3000 traditional, then a Naniwa 5000 ceramic (it's what I have), and finished on a King 8000 for a mirror finish!


Any idea what the blade angle is on that?


----------



## leggo PE (Jan 17, 2022)

So I didn’t bake this past weekend, but I did create an all vegetarian small plates meal from one of my newest cookbooks, Weeknight Vegetarians by Jenny Rosenstrach, of Dinner, A Love Story fame.

Enough about that. Please let me implore you to make yogurt flatbreads, and if you have it in you (an Instant Pot and a large food processor help immensely with this process), make some homemade hummus using dried chickpeas. Eat together, and marvel at how a simple few ingredients can turn into something so fantastic.

Here’s a very similar recipe for the yogurt flatbread from one of my other favorite food bloggers/cookbook authors. Honestly, to match the recipe I used, just up the baking powder to 2 tsp and use 1.25-1.5c plain yogurt, and eliminate the water. Don’t be intimidated, these are so freaking easy to make!









layered yogurt flatbreads


For many years I’ve been fascinated by variations on yeast-free yogurt flatbread recipes (sometimes called yeast-free naan) that follow a loose formula of a cup of yogurt, a couple cups of fl…




smittenkitchen.com


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## leggo PE (Jan 17, 2022)

Also, should you do this, a less involved way to shape the flatbreads is simply roll into balls and then roll flat (with a rolling pin) to maybe 1/4” thick, then fry up in the olive oil in a cast iron pan for 2 min per side.


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## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Jan 18, 2022)

Supe said:


> Any idea what the blade angle is on that?


Exact angle? No... It's whatever I can replicate on all the stabby stabbys by hand haha. I'm guessing...15 degrees on all (at least, that's what I shoot for). They're all 80/20 ratios though. Except the traditional Japanese ones, of course. Those are 100/0 with a teeny tiny micro bevel. 

I have to say the ceramic whetstones don't cut as fast, but gosh...they are way more convenient since they're splash n go.


----------



## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Jan 18, 2022)

Supe said:


> Made beef tongue tacos yesterday (I always order it, but this was my first time cooking it).


PapaSquare describes it as "the only food that tastes you back."


----------



## wilheldp_PE (Jan 18, 2022)

leggo PE said:


> Enough about that. Please let me implore you to make yogurt flatbreads,


I used to make a mean Indian curry, and I always made naan to go with it. That's the first time I found out that yogurt was used in some bread recipes. I cooked the naan on my pizza stone at about 500 degrees. It's no Tandoor, but the naan was fantastic.


----------



## leggo PE (Jan 18, 2022)

Flatbreads in general are soooo easy to make! It’s like a dirty little secret.


----------



## leggo PE (Jan 19, 2022)

Homemade sourdough pizza a la Mr. leggo last night and sweet & spicy tofu w/ udon noodles tonight!

Yum!


----------



## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Jan 20, 2022)

Made stir fry tofu n tempeh, it was heckin' good. Also, a bit of furikake on rice always makes it look fancee!


----------



## Supe (Jan 24, 2022)

Made both French onion and beef soup this weekend. French onion was OK, I should have gone heavier on the dry sherry and gone with a little more flour to thicken. The beef soup was also OK. I tried making the stock just by simmering on the stove as opposed to the pressure cooker, but IMO, it just wasn't as flavorful as previous iterations. Maybe if I had let it go a full 24 hours or something and not just 12, but I'll just do it in the instant pot again next time. I definitely need to buy a big stock pot though, the dutch oven isn't big enough, so I'm having to split it between the dutch oven and a regular pot.


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## leggo PE (Jan 24, 2022)

I, too, made a soup that was okay, but not great. It is a curry butternut squash soup, from Cookie + Kate — I have her cookbook and normally love her recipes. I nearly doubled the recipe because my butternut squash was so big, but it ended up being a pretty light soup once puréed — I was expecting a thicker texture, though I couldn’t say exactly why. I’m hoping the soup might taste better today, now that it’s sat in the fridge overnight, especially because I have a crap ton of it as leftovers! Also, for me, it needs a carb — either a pita/naan/flatbread situation, or rice, or I even considered potentially adding cubed potatoes TO it, to bulk it up, or maybe some separately cooked udon noodles. Lunch today will see it served with a naan-like pita.


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## Supe (Jan 24, 2022)

I deliberately didn't eat the beef soup, because I KNOW it will be better today after sitting overnight in the fridge. I made a double batch because Mrs. Supe annihilated it last time.


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## leggo PE (Feb 3, 2022)

New recipe for dinner tonight, from someone who usually never fails me (Angela Liddon): Golden French Lentil Stew served with a long-awaited serving of leggo sourdough. It is a fairly basic recipe in terms of ingredients but does have a little cashew cream added to it, yum! The cashews have been soaking since this morning.


----------



## pbrme (Feb 14, 2022)




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## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Feb 18, 2022)

Supe said:


> Any idea what the blade angle is on that?


@Supe send me your knives! I got more stones and they need to be used.


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## JayKay PE (Feb 20, 2022)

Simple dinner for a jaykay trying to empty out fridge/pantry. I have to make mashed potatoes tomorrow, they’re starting to aggressively sprout, and I still have more random frozen stuff.


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## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Feb 22, 2022)

JayKay PE said:


> potatoes


You had me at taters.

On topic: oooh, looks good! Nice color!


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## leggo PE (Mar 4, 2022)

This was actually dinner for 8 from last weekend. Two lasagnas (one veggie and one sausage) plus a Caesar salad (not pictured):




Though they both look basically identical from the top, if memory serves, the veggie one is on the right and had cremini mushrooms, spinach, cherry bomb peppers, and onion. The meat one had hot Italian sausage, spinach, cherry bomb peppers, and onion. Yum!


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## Supe (Mar 5, 2022)

Made a super easy pasta yesterday that was really good. Two packages of cherry tomatoes in a pan with some EVOO to blister them, mushed them down, added garlic, salt, pepper, squeeze tube basil, 2 tbsp ish of balsamic vinegar, and some grilled chicken. Couple ladles of pasta water for volume/thickness. Probably would have been better without the chicken, but it was awesome.


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## leggo PE (Mar 29, 2022)

Make. This. Quiche.









Potato Leek Quiche with No-Roll Crust


I had a few guests in town for Mardi Gras a few weeks back and I wouldn't be me if I didn't have a fridge packed with prepared food and snacks JUST IN




joythebaker.com


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## leggo PE (Apr 11, 2022)

Dinner last night was what we, inspired by Dinner, A Love Story’s Jenny Rosenstrach, call “small plates”! It’s essentially a collection of different recipes combined together to form a full meal.

It started with homemade hummus (I think I have cursed myself by making things at home that taste better than the typical store bought editions — hummus is one example, Greek yogurt is a second, and basically all bread, bagels, and many other baked goods are another) served with yogurt flatbread — seriously so good, please make.

I accompanied that with spring onion fritters (soooo good — and not difficult to make at all, see the Baking Thread for a bit of discussion about the chickpea flour that went into them!) and a parsley sour cream dipping sauce. Next was singed broccolini tossed with a little balsamic, and finished off with a dill Napa cabbage slaw. It was scrumptious.

Two additions thoughts: Firstly, I’ve been delighted with the evolution of my understanding of hummus going from being simply a dip to what could be considered a major protein hit in a meal. Combined with the yogurt flatbread above (whose recipe is half Greek yogurt), I was happy with the amount of protein in the meal. Plus it made for a chickpea, two ways meal, what with the chickpea flour in the fritters! Which brings me to my second thought… Make these fritters!!









Spring Onions Battered in Chickpea Flour


Chickpea flour is great for adding a really nutty flavor and a light, crispy texture, while still being able to bind things like tender spring onions together.




tastecooking.com





And here’s the accompanying article, talking about chickpea flour:









Chickpea Flour Has Big Frying Power


Whether a crispy socca or wispy spring onions, chickpea flour brings the crunch.




tastecooking.com





Okay one more thing… the recipe developer of the spring onion fritters used to work at one of my favorite restaurants in SF, Zuni Cafe! If you ever find yourself there, get the roast chicken!!


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## leggo PE (Apr 11, 2022)

Oh, and in case you were wondering, this is going to be tonight’s dinner (you can skip the post and just jump straight to the recipe, if that’s your style):









Glowing Spiced Lentil Soup – Oh She Glows


First off, thank you all so much for your excitement and congrats about our news! I really enjoyed reading your comments and stories. I’m also happy to hear my impending loss of sanity should only be temporary. Truthfully, I’m not sure that I ever got it back after our first! Second of all, I’ve...




ohsheglows.com


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## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Apr 13, 2022)

leggo PE said:


> spring onion fritters


I grew up eating this (dipped in spicy garlic chili oil):









Scallion Bing or Chinese Flat Bread (羌饼)


Scallion Bing or Chinese Flat bread-fragrant with a crispy crust and a fluffy inside with layers of scallions and sesame seeds.




thefoodietakesflight.com





Edit: Buuut tonight I'm making this:


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## leggo PE (Apr 13, 2022)

squaretaper LIT AF PE said:


> I grew up eating this (dipped in spicy garlic chili oil):
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Love it all! Also, are we secretly (not-so-secretly) on the same wavelength right now? I want/plan to make focaccia this weekend…


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## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Apr 13, 2022)

leggo PE said:


> I want/plan to make focaccia this weekend…


I'M ON A QUEST FOR BUBBLES


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## leggo PE (Apr 13, 2022)

squaretaper LIT AF PE said:


> I'M ON A QUEST FOR BUBBLES


Might I suggest we move this conversation to where it rightly belongs, the Baking Thread?


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## squaretaper LIT AF PE (Apr 14, 2022)

leggo PE said:


> Might I suggest we move this conversation to where it rightly belongs, the Baking Thread?


Fiiiiine.

On topic: received a fluster-ton of heirloom towmaters from my CSA box so made a batch of marinara. Grabbed some fresh pasta from Corti Brothers here in Sacramento (@leggo PE I think you'd like shopping here). It was eaten so fast there was no time for pictures. Just trust that it was heckin yummo.


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## leggo PE (Apr 14, 2022)

squaretaper LIT AF PE said:


> Fiiiiine.
> 
> On topic: received a fluster-ton of heirloom towmaters from my CSA box so made a batch of marinara. Grabbed some fresh pasta from Corti Brothers here in Sacramento (@leggo PE I think you'd like shopping here). It was eaten so fast there was no time for pictures. Just trust that it was heckin yummo.


I like shopping anywhere and everywhere with quality food products. This sounds up my alley!!


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