Food Thread - Obsidian Gormand's Edition

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Well I tried making smash burgers. I think I went too thick for the patties (about 4oz each) but otherwise it turned out well. They came out juicier and crisper than most un-smashed burgers I've made and it seemed like they took half the time. I'll probably do burgers like this from now on unless I've got a fire going.

[Amentep]

My niece gave us a recipe for apple-chicken curry some time ago, but my brother who is not a fan of chicken decided this time to substitute paneer for the chicken.  It was an alright substitution to me.  He loved it as he didn't have to eat chicken.  My dad ate it and said it was okay, I'm not sure he's ever been much for curry though.

[LadyCrimson]

I post this mostly to say that far as I'm concerned, that is the best store bought Caesar dressing ever. I use it constantly and it's what makes eating so many salads tolerable. Well that and the meat I put in them.

 

[Keyrock]

Over the years I've eaten many a snack mix. The ingredients vary in different varieties, but I have found that consistently my favorite part of most snack mixes is the sesame stick. So I got the brilliant idea to cut out all the other lesser parts of the snack mix and just buy sesame sticks. I don't generally see just sesame sticks on a shelf of my local grocery store. I'm sure there are specialty stores that do stock them, but also the internet is a thing.

Anyway, I ordered a whole case since it was much cheaper to buy in bulk. 

[BruceVC]

16 minutes ago, Keyrock said:

Over the years I've eaten many a snack mix. The ingredients vary in different varieties, but I have found that consistently my favorite part of most snack mixes is the sesame stick. So I got the brilliant idea to cut out all the other lesser parts of the snack mix and just buy sesame sticks. I don't generally see just sesame sticks on a shelf of my local grocery store. I'm sure there are specialty stores that do stock them, but also the internet is a thing.

Anyway, I ordered a whole case since it was much cheaper to buy in bulk. 

I wonder what they would  taste like with a nice blue cheese like Gorgonzola or Roquefort  

[Gfted1]

Great Value Asian Nut Crunch Trail Mix, 20 Oz. - Walmart.com

This is my favorite but they stopped carrying it at my local Walmart.  

[Gromnir]

On 2/8/2022 at 8:18 AM, LadyCrimson said:

I post this mostly to say that far as I'm concerned, that is the best store bought Caesar dressing ever. I use it constantly and it's what makes eating so many salads tolerable. Well that and the meat I put in them.

 

have never had a decent caesar outta a bottle, so is worth a shot.

real caesar, done in the classic style, is kinda quirky to get right and unless you are a person such as Gromnir, there is a fair chance you do not have enough quality canned anchovies on hand if you have a sudden hankering for the dressing (although the brand we use actual comes in a jar.) our personal recipe is also a a fair bit lighter on the oil, but we will add more parmesan as a thickening agent if necessary.

as an aside, is kinda a trick you may use in lieu o' the classic boil-your-egg-for-60-90-seconds step, and is a timesaver to boot. blenders get hot. ordinarily you avoid using a blender for stuff such as caeser salad precise 'cause is egg and 'cause o' the heat, but we find by mixing in a hot blender, the egg firms perfect w/o the pin-hole boiling. may take a bit o' practice. 

am admitting recent have been going extreme simple with salad dressing. we didn't get much use outta costco until the pandemic hit and then we started shopping for neighbors who all had costco lists, but one o' the positives o' needing suffer costsco is am a convert regarding at least two dressing related ingredients: extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. color us shocked, but the "kirkland" olive oil is excellent and the balsamic is amongst the best we has ever used, regardless o' price. we add a little salt, pepper and a really good stone ground mustard to our balsamic and olive oil for a sooper ez dressing we use multiple times a week. 

we do not suffer raw onions in a salad, but we will throw in fine chopped carnalized leaks, and in lieu o' croutons we do a quick toasting o' panko bread crumbs in butter/olive oil and along with a clove (or more) o' minced garlic... not too fine a mince or the garlic becomes over toasty and tasteless. toss in a bit o' salt with the panko and whatever aromatic herbs we speak to us for a kinda crunchy and garlicky crouton substitute. 

seriously though, the kirkland balsamic is incredible for the price.

HA! Good Fun!

  

[Keyrock]

5 hours ago, Gfted1 said:

Great Value Asian Nut Crunch Trail Mix, 20 Oz. - Walmart.com

This is my favorite but they stopped carrying it at my local Walmart.  

Interestingly, wasabi peas are not listed yet I see what looks like wasabi peas in there. Are there wasabi peas in there? If not, what are the green balls?

[Gfted1]

Theyre in there but I think they must fall under the "seasoned with wasabi & other Asian spices" description for some reason.

[Keyrock]

Philly Queen City Cheese Steak

[BruceVC]

4 hours ago, Keyrock said:

Philly Queen City Cheese Steak

The first time I ever had an authentic Philly Cheese Steak was in 2011 in Atlanta at the airport and I said to the lady working at the Philly Steak takeaway  " I have never had a Philly Cheese Steak before " and she said " You will love it, I will make this one special for you "

And she was right, I loved it but whats not to love about steak and cheese 

 

Edited February 12, 2022 by BruceVC

[Gromnir]

hate to go all food snob again, but the ideal philly cheesesteak is gonna look like

https://alikhaneats.com/johns-roast-pork-philadelphia/

you want the onions, meat and cheese to become a single uniform, gooey and inextricable mass o' ingredients. need thin cut veggies and meat to make it all come together. sadly, our most frequent complaint o' a cheesesteak is the steak; quantity is somehow meant to cover for lack o' flavour. find genuine good meat and am gonna be willing to endure other shortcomings.

we got family in eastern pennsylvania and they is 'mongst the heretics who swear by two non traditional venues championed as bestest cheesesteak options. will offer for any persons planning on visiting philly anytime in the near future:

1) john's roast pork

is what we got linked 'bove. holds a slight edge 'mongst our family which means #2 is likely superior.

2) donkey's place

is actual in camden, nj. is why we suggest it may deserve the #1 spot, 'cause if Gromnir family is recommending a nj place as best, then it must be special. anthony bourdain did a segment on the donkey's place cheesesteak if you are curious and genuine interested enough to do a search.

have enjoyed the john's sandwich and it were indeed sublime. have never been to donkey's, so am sharing based on the strength o' the recommendations.

am gonna observe how both #1 and #2 use white american cheese, although when Gromnir makes we most often use provolone. s'posed white american melts superior resulting in a virtual emulsion. 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited February 12, 2022 by Gromnir

[Keyrock]

I'm back to my greasy breakfast ways:

It's the standard greasy breakfast ingredients bacon, eggs, and potatoes along with some cheddar cheese because I happen to have some that I need to use up. Rather than have separate strips of bacon and eggs and tater slices, I just chop or grate everything and mix it together. I don't care about presentation when cooking for myself. It's tasty and it fills my belly, that's good enough for me.

[rjshae]

I'm continuing to look for low sodium food products. One surprise is that organic canned food often has significantly less sodium than non-organic; like under a third as much. Perhaps the product doesn't need to be drowned in as much salt to give it flavoring? Anyway, the low sodium level makes it worth the cost, for me.

[Gromnir]

50 minutes ago, rjshae said:

I'm continuing to look for low sodium food products. One surprise is that organic canned food often has significantly less sodium than non-organic; like under a third as much. Perhaps the product doesn't need to be drowned in as much salt to give it flavoring? Anyway, the low sodium level makes it worth the cost, for me.

best way to get low-sodium is to avoid canned altogether if possible. make-it-yourself is almost always gonna result in less sodium. 'course am recognizing is much less time consuming to get soup from a can than to prepare yourself, and most people do not have the time or inclination to make their own stock or whatever. 

had a close fried for whom we cooked for frequent during the last few years o' his life. his wife had passed some years previous (cancer) and the guy were not an accomplished home chef by any stretch o' the imagination. he lived alone and his heart problems necessitated a low-sodium diet. 

https://www.mowp.org/our-story/

these folks is fantastic, but it might surprise you to learn that in spite o' the number o' seniors who need help with low-sodium meal prep, particular men as they is more likely to suffer from chf and the like, the meals on wheels fare, and similar services, rare offer a low-sodium menu. 

we did teach our self how to cook low(er) sodium and learned that swiss cheese has less salt compared to other cheeses, but am not certain how long we would want to survive if we had to strict follow a serious low sodium diet. 

regardless, as you no doubt is already aware, canned and shelf stable is near always gonna be higher in sodium than homemade, unless you is serious heavy handed with the salt.

use kosher as 'posed to traditional table salt also tends to result in the use o' less salt in a recipe. much smaller individual grains means you get more salt for volume with table salt.

HA! Good Fun!

[BruceVC]

9 hours ago, rjshae said:

I'm continuing to look for low sodium food products. One surprise is that organic canned food often has significantly less sodium than non-organic; like under a third as much. Perhaps the product doesn't need to be drowned in as much salt to give it flavoring? Anyway, the low sodium level makes it worth the cost, for me.

You should consider eating more venison, I am not a food nutritional expert in any sense but I know its low in fat and generally considered " healthier " than normal beef or pork . I checked for what venison is available in your state and I know from the US cooking shows I watch that you have  a nice selection. This article also highlights the health reasons for eating Venison and its from your state 

https://www.aameats.net/exotic-meats-lakewood-wa

[Gfted1]

For work lunches my wife likes these premade soups that are offered in the deli section of our grocery store. Theyre delicious (lobster bisque is her favorite) but one day she was reading the label and that lone cup of soup represented 85% of the recommended daily intake of sodium! And frozen lunches arent any better. The only solution I can come up with is to make sammiches or take leftovers (which we already do), but nobody feels like making lunch as their trying to leave for work in the morning.  

[Gromnir]

weekends is an ideal time to make large quantities o' soup, vegetable protein and chicken.  soup, in particular, freezes extreme well and while it may be time consuming to produce quarts/gallons o' soup, it is not particular labor intensive... although am admitting the best way to keep your soup as low sodium as possible is to make your stock, which most people do not do even if is actual kinda ez, but again, most people don't have the time or inclination to do so. however, there is low sodium stock options available for purchase, but they is rare flavorful. there is ways to kinda improve those stocks by adding additional aromatics or a small amount o' something such as better than bullion's low sodium options to whatever pretty-much-no-different-than-water low sodium stock you may be using.

so on the weekend make quarts o' soup and quarts o' beans, lentils, whatever, and a whole bunch o' boneless skinless chicken thighs, 'cause thighs is far more flavorful than breasts and you will need less salt to make 'em tasty. during the week all you need do is prepare a bit o' rice and vegetables and you got healthy meals covered with a relative low labor investment.

takes little more effort to make a gallon o' soup than it does to make a quart. takes little more effort to prepare a dozen boneless skinless thighs as it does to make two. go big on a weekend. freeze the excess soup, lentils and beans which will last for potential months. 

...

if you don't have freezer space then you probable wanna ignore our suggestions. make a gallon o' soup or red beans is reasonable if you are able to freeze 3/4 o' what you prepared. we literal got 2-3 varieties o' soup in our freezer at all times as well as a considerable quantity o' frozen stock, and am admitting maintaining such reserves takes up a considerable amount o' volume in our chill box. once a month we make soup. once every month or two we make stock. go big on the quantities and such doesn't represent much time spent on meal prep compared to trying to make healthy meals daily during the week.

'course now that am retired, we don't need worry 'bout saving time, but old habits...

HA! Good Fun!

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Gromnir

[ShadySands]

Made my wife lamb loin chops with mashed potatoes and a chanterelle red wine gravy. I don't care much for lamb but my wife goes crazy every time I make it. I also made chocolate covered strawberries with crushed hazelnuts but the chocolate was too bitter for us but that's what I get for trying to use dark chocolate.

[majestic]

I'm more and more thinking of Shady as Tyr Anasazi.

Too bad it doesn't continue because Beka asks Tyr where he got the candles from, and just deadpans: "I rendered them from the fat of my enemies."

Eh, I got nothing on food though at the moment, not really. We're going to make Belgian waffles for dinner, that should be fine.

[Keyrock]

Writing about New York City pizza got me wanting a pie, so I got a Margherita pizza from Simonetti's:

Simonetti's in Belmont makes an above average pizza for the Charlotte area and a well above average Margherita, plus it's close by. It can't compete with NYC pizza but it's about as good as I can do 'round these parts. They really nail the dough, it has just the right balance of crunch and chewiness, and they don't skimp on the basil, which is sadly all too common in this area. I've seen places not even use basil and try to pass it off as a Margherita, which is shameful.

Edited February 18, 2022 by Keyrock

[Keyrock]

I made chicken & dumplings:

It's not as dialed in as my beef stew or chili yet, but the addition of peas was definitely a success and staying in on my next iteration.

[BruceVC]

On 2/18/2022 at 7:22 PM, Keyrock said:

Writing about New York City pizza got me wanting a pie, so I got a Margherita pizza from Simonetti's:

Simonetti's in Belmont makes an above average pizza for the Charlotte area and a well above average Margherita, plus it's close by. It can't compete with NYC pizza but it's about as good as I can do 'round these parts. They really nail the dough, it has just the right balance of crunch and chewiness, and they don't skimp on the basil, which is sadly all too common in this area. I've seen places not even use basil and try to pass it off as a Margherita, which is shameful.

That  looks delicious, its made me hungry for a cheesy pizza. I normally order double cheese with my pizza

 

[Keyrock]

3 hours ago, BruceVC said:

That  looks delicious, its made me hungry for a cheesy pizza. I normally order double cheese with my pizza

 

Simonetti's uses regular shredded mozzarella and the sliced buffalo mozzarella that's traditional for a Neopolitan pie.

[Gfted1]

I removed strawberries from my smoothies and added mago. Wunderbar! I think Ill try cherries next week but theyre hella expensive in comparison to the other fruits.