The Cooking Thread

[jeb6294]

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.

 

[JayKay PE]

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.

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

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. 

 

[Road Guy]

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!

 

[Supe]

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.

 

[Road Guy]

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!

 

[Supe]

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.

 

[Road Guy]

Wait - did you say tongue?

 

[Supe]

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.

 

[Road Guy]

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

 

[JayKay PE]

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.

 

[Road Guy]

So dont let the wife see it?

 

[jeb6294]

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.

 

[ChebyshevII PE PMP]

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

 

[ChebyshevII PE PMP]

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

 

[RBHeadge PE]

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.

 

[ChebyshevII PE PMP]

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?

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.

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]

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]

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]

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