Food Thread - Obsidian Gormand's Edition

[Bartimaeus]

I don't necessarily mind "chunks" if they're actual chunks of fruit as opposed to a vile gelatinous mass, which is what that "jam" was like. Chunks of raspberries would've been wonderful in comparison to that.

 

[Keyrock]

On 7/21/2022 at 3:01 AM, Gromnir said:

'ccording to the us census, luzerne county in pennsylvania is the only county in the US where polish is the most common reported ancestry. is quite possible after a visit to plymouth, kingston or nanticoke, @Keyrockwould never wanna leave. 

HA! Good Fun!

I have nothing against Pennsylvania, especially the western half of the state, there are some lovely mountains in that region. That said, I have grown fond of the warmer weather of the south and have zero intention to move back north. I'll accept the price of more limited availability of Polish food to never shovel snow again.

Anyway, pyzy attempt#2:

Boiled & mashed (russet) potatoes:

Finely grated raw potatoes with liquid squeezed out, plus egg:

Potato flour:

Bacon:

The finished product:

Still not the prettiest pyzy I've ever seen, but much less ugly than last time. More importantly, even more delicious.

The next step is pyzy z mięsem (meat filled).

[BruceVC]

9 hours ago, majestic said:

When we make jam, which is pretty much every year simply because we have a lot more fresh fruit and berries than we can eat, we just puree everything, then cook it with only a 1:2 ratio of fruit puree to sugar. The result is a very smooth jam that is easily spread on whatever you want it, with an incredible aroma and taste and a lot less cloying sweetness than the store-bought stuff. I just googled pictures of seedless raspberry jam, and that stuff looks like jelly good. Ugh. No thanks.

It also most certainly doesn't get goopy, like, at all. There's just not enough added sugar in it. Well, maybe after a couple of years, but a little stirring will fix that.

Needless to say, I also don't want chunks of fruit in my jam. That's just not my, uhm, jam. I know people who like that sort of stuff, but there's no accounting for taste, or something.

Talking about nice Austrian fruit, the first time I had a blueberry milkshake was in Austria 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Fish tacos. Very good, though really carried by the homemade salsa and cabbage. I think I should have spiced up the batter a bit more.

[Keyrock]

I took my sister out to Ray Nathan's for BBQ:

Ray Nathan's has some of the best BBQ I've had outside of Texas, their cole slaw is terrific too. When it comes to BBQ, my sister and I are alike, we're both all about the brisket.

[Gorth]

Working on my salmon technique... In the past, I would just shove the fish in the oven and bake it (in an oven proof bowl). But it gets much better if seared on a pan first and then stick the fish, with the pan and everything, in the oven. Now I just need to learn that the pan handle is hot when taking the pan out of the oven (like 220C hot)

[LadyCrimson]

My mother always broiled (vs. baking) salmon steaks, using your typical broiler pan a few inches below the heating element. I love the result of such and it's the only way I'll indoor-kitchen cook a steak/chops. I don't even like (flat surface) pan-fried/seared. I also liked broiling the last 5-10 minutes of any "pizza things" vs. only baking them the whole time. The for-smaller-items broiler function of a countertop toaster-oven is the main reason I have one of those too - I don't care about perfect toast (or any toast, these days). And actually, I'm one of those that likes "toast" to be mostly hot bread with butter, I don't like it all crusty/browned.

I kinda gave up on general cooking tho, after trying and failing to find a larger variety in low-carb stuff that I would both like and doesn't bother my digestive system (and isn't an every-day hassle to make). I mostly just use a frying pan to make eggs, or some shredded-bit o' meat+extra vegie mix to go into the 50000000 large bowls of "spring mix" salad I eat.  >.>  Hubby does more cooking then me now, since he doesn't want to live on a hamster diet.
 

Edited August 1, 2022 by LadyCrimson

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Last nignt I fried some halibut in olive oil and butter then added some lime juice to make the butter into a sauce. Very good with the rice and steamed vegetables I served it with.

18 hours ago, Keyrock said:

I took my sister out to Ray Nathan's for BBQ:

Ray Nathan's has some of the best BBQ I've had outside of Texas, their cole slaw is terrific too. When it comes to BBQ, my sister and I are alike, we're both all about the brisket.

While I am a brisket man for sure, if they have beef ribs available I have to get them. And a smoked link of boudin or some kind of cheese sausage is nice. I usually go hot for the sides with macaroni and cheese (if it's good, not the instant stuff) and some green beans being the most optimal. Now I'm hungry lmao.

[Gromnir]

19 hours ago, Keyrock said:

I took my sister out to Ray Nathan's for BBQ:

 

Ray Nathan's has some of the best BBQ I've had outside of Texas, their cole slaw is terrific too. When it comes to BBQ, my sister and I are alike, we're both all about the brisket.

am also a fan o' brisket, but am also cheap and brisket has become scary expensive o' late, so we found an alternative.

we do not smoke meat too often, but when we do we got the little chief. as an alternative to brisket we use a 4-5lb chunk o' chuck at least 4" thick with as much intermuscular connective tissue as we can find and a fair amount o' internal fat. trim off all the external fat. might be difficult to find such thick cuts o' chuck w/o speaking to your butcher and requesting.

regardless, we cook virtual the same way we would brisket with low and slow smoke for hours ('bout 5-6 depending on how long it takes to reach right internal temp o' 'bout 145F.), then wrap in foil (tight) for an additional +3 three hours in a regular oven at 225F. goal is to get to almost fall apart tender, but not quite. is art and not science so is no specific time or internal temp which is gonna enlighten you as to when is actual done. regardless, once we hit almost fork tender, we remove meat from foil and then put back in the oven for another twenty minutes so the surface crust gets dry and sets up a bit. take outta the oven and tent for another twenty minutes before slicing. takes a long time to cook not-brisket this way, but is almost complete hands-off for +90% o' total time.

we didn't mention what kinda chips we use for smoke 'cause everybody has their own preference and nobody is right.

only seasoning is dalmatian-- salt and pepper. we go heavy on the salt. is 4" cuts, so you want extreme salt and is best to let sit in fridge overnight after seasoning. 

am too cheap to do brisket nowadays particular when the chuck turns out so great.

HA! Good Fun!

[Keyrock]

Twice baked potatoes, which is a misnomer in this case, they're actually once nuked and once baked potatoes. Anyway, you know the drill: Potatoes, cheddar cheese, and bacon. Yummy in the tummy comfort food.

[Gorth]

5 hours ago, Keyrock said:

Twice baked potatoes, which is a misnomer in this case, they're actually once nuked and once baked potatoes. Anyway, you know the drill: Potatoes, cheddar cheese, and bacon. Yummy in the tummy comfort food.

Your arteries would like to schedule an appointment with you

[Gromnir]

53 minutes ago, Gorth said:

Your arteries would like to schedule an appointment with you

twice-baked taters is a good start. am original from the midwest so we got family who has no doubt found a way to add gravy and deep fry... probable add a pickle o' some sort as well. not a criticism. am personal a proponent o' the Cheese and Meat school o' cooking. every meal leaving our kitchen needs promote cheese and/or meat with both being the ideal plating solution.  bread and sweets is swell and all, and am understanding vegetables and fruits have nutritional value or some such. that said, from our pov, most o' those other "foods" is platforms or vehicles for cheese and/or meat. 

...

gonna admit we also require garlic. is a handful o' garlic-free recipes in our regular rotation, but those is outliers.

HA! Good Fun!

[Gromnir]

the only interweb cooking site we got bookmarked and check regular is american test kitchen. am mentioning 'cause we saw a video on the atk site which we found interesting... well, at least a minute or so were interesting as tomato water intrigued us not at all. 

am thinking were 'bout 3:30ish is what were new for us. has to do with tomato jelly, and is not some kinda tomato preserve but is a method to return concentrated tomato flavour back into long simmering tomato dishes. is probable less useful if you use roma tomatoes for your sauce (romas has less jelly and seeds than other tomato varieties) but am suspecting we may use this technique to infuse fresh tomato jelly goodness into sauces when using canned or romas as the base.  clarification-- what we meant were if we make sauce from can or am using romas, then we could also squeeze out the jelly from a few fresh and vine-ripened beefsteak tomatoes which we then add to our sauce after a period o' long simmer.

...

kinda makes obvious what a food dork/nerd we is that we found a tomato video worth sharing, but so it goes. gonna embrace our truth. 

HA! Good Fun!

ps (late edit) one o' the reasons we add a small 'mount o' worcestershire sauce to our tomato based sauces is 'cause o' the high glutamate levels o' tomatoes. nucleotides functional turbo charge the flavour from glutumates and am not exaggerating as is a 30-40x enhancement. the anchovies in worcestershire, when using small quantities, is gonna go unnoticed in a large pot o' tomato sauce, but the neucleotides make a big difference to the umami quality o' the tomatoes.

Edited August 3, 2022 by Gromnir

[Keyrock]

Speaking of clogging arteries, big greasy breakfast:

Cholesterol level rising, rising... 

Edited August 5, 2022 by Keyrock

[Gromnir]

taco tuesday.

...

if am being honest, it were also taco sunday, but as we made half a pork shoulder worth o' carnitas (our lazy man instant pot recipe,) today were taco tuesday and is more than a couple days worth o' carnitas remaining.

our preferred taco is a corn tortilla with carnitas and a mixture o' poblano/monterey jack. am charring a poblano stuffed with jack cheese over a gas burner and then rough chop the blackened pepper/cheese thing which we then use to top our carnitas. finish with a fire roasted tomatillo or roma tomato salsa. 

we got a house guest who is a big fan o' our fire roasted salsa(s) and we don't have the heart to tell her the ingredient which makes it so yummy is the onion from the carnitas cooking fluid. the onion, infused with well-spiced liquid lard, makes our salsa extra mouth watering. the tuesday taco spread included a black bean/healthy alternative to the carnitas 'cause the crispy pork is too fatty, or somesuch? nevertheless, we keep forgetting to mention how the salsa, which our guest believes is so fantastic we should bottle and sell it, is likely the least healthy item on our dinner table. if our guest's objection to pork were a religious thing, we would mention the "secret" ingredient, but as is simply a preternatural fear o' fat am admitted being a smidge dishonest. character flaw.

speaking o' character flaws, am using store bought tortillas.

HA! Good Fun!

[BruceVC]

https://www.woodandfire.co.za/

I  went  with  friends to this restaurant on Monday night in Pretoria. It was one of the best steak houses I have ever been to, the starters and mains were amazing and the red wine was flowing. I had Ox tongue for my starter which is photo 3 and then I had a BBQ game for my main which is photo 2. What a dining experience 

[BruceVC]

You know you living in Africa when you can buy Crocodile Pate, I cant wait to try it 

[Keyrock]

13 hours ago, BruceVC said:

You know you living in Africa when you can buy Crocodile Pate, I cant wait to try it 

I'm very curious.

[BruceVC]

Just now, Keyrock said:

I'm very curious.

I agree, my friends didnt want to touch it. So I will try it next week and let you know 

[Gromnir]

17 hours ago, Keyrock said:

I'm very curious.

...

typical weird Gromnir observation:

one o' the most vile things we have ever eaten is alligator liver. am suspecting all the wet fetid rot o' the swamp is collected in the alligator's liver during its lifetime. imagine the worst smelling roadkill you has ever encountered and then add a weird swamp stank to it and you got a notion o' the taste o' alligator liver. 

alligator and crocodile is not same, but you would need pay us to again eat alligator liver and we would avoid crocodile liver until assured they is very different by a signed affidavit from multiple michelin chefs... and at least one priest. however, our understanding is crocodile paté is not crocodile liver but rather crocodile meat turned into a spreadable paste with oil and herbs... mentions parsley on the tin, no?

HA! Good Fun!

[Keyrock]

This lunch contains no alligator nor any crocodile:

[Hurlshort]

That's a cool cup, but it seems a bit impractical.

[Gromnir]

cup don't bother us but am gonna admit am personal a little grossed out by the nail clippers adjacent to food.

am hopeful keyrock doesn't attend to his nails while eating.

HA! Good Fun!

 

[Keyrock]

27 minutes ago, Hurlshort said:

That's a cool cup, but it seems a bit impractical.

On the contrary, my drinking horn not only has a stand, it also has a holster. If you're somewhere without a table to set your bottle or mug down you have to occupy one hand with your beer. Meanwhile, I can holster my beer and have both my hands free.

20 minutes ago, Gromnir said:

cup don't bother us but am gonna admit am personal a little grossed out by the nail clippers adjacent to food.

am hopeful keyrock doesn't attend to his nails while eating.

HA! Good Fun!

 

I add the nail clippings to my meals for extra crunch. 

Edited August 13, 2022 by Keyrock

[Gromnir]

29 minutes ago, Keyrock said:

I add the nail clippings to my meals for extra crunch. 

am only 90% convinced you are joking.

HA! Good Fun!