Food Thread - Those that eat

[ShadySands]

We've been watching a lot of Beat Bobby Flay who I call Roberto Flavor. He wins an awful lot even with visiting chefs having the advantage of picking what they make. Been watching for ideas on what to make because things have been a bit stale.

The other day I made a Cesar salad with baby romaine and crispy fried capers.

 

[Gromnir]

5 hours ago, ShadySands said:

The other day I made a Cesar salad with baby romaine and crispy fried capers.

we frequent use fried capers as a garnish. our linked microwave video from atk includes a quick, easy and usually mess-minimal approach to frying capers.

ff to 6:24 if interested.

however, we do recommend one o' these:

https://www.tovolo.com/product/tovolo-large-collapsible-microwave-cover-food-and-meal-prep-kitchen-gadget/

at $12 on sale it is one o' our better cooking gadget investments. nowadays we typical poach eggs in the microwave, and maybe one-in-twenty attempts (am ordinary poaching two eggs at a time, so one outta forty eggs) am getting an explody fail, which is not fun. is much easier to clean the cover than the entire microwave. am mentioning 'cause a catastrophic caper disincorporation has happened to us more than once, although the result is a bit less dramatic than the egg.

HA! Good Fun!

[ShadySands]

I also highly recommend a microwave cover. Saved me so much cleaning. I should probably get a collapsible one though for easier storage as mine is a dome.

I usually do my capers in the air fryer but I do sometimes make them in the microwave as well if the air fryer is in use.

[Gromnir]

speaking o' ease o' storage, am having a vulgar quantity o' pots, pans, knives, kitchen gadgets and utensils. so instead o' getting rid  o' the stuff we hardly ever use, we bought a couple o' these:

we figured if julia child organized her kitchen with a peg board, it wouldn't be gauche for us to do likewise.

am reasonably certain we failed to maintain kitchen class and dignity by adding the boards, but we did have enough additional room for a carbon steel pan we were ogling. 

we shouldn't need a collapsible microwave cover to save space, but we do.

we will observe the peg boards are convenient particular now that our knee is shot and we got trouble squatting, kneeling and the like.

HA! Good Fun!

 

 

[BruceVC]

On 10/22/2023 at 8:49 PM, ShadySands said:

We've been watching a lot of Beat Bobby Flay who I call Roberto Flavor. He wins an awful lot even with visiting chefs having the advantage of picking what they make. Been watching for ideas on what to make because things have been a bit stale.

The other day I made a Cesar salad with baby romaine and crispy fried capers.

 

Bobby Flay is so brilliant and skilled, he was  also one of the  most  successful Iron Chefs and won most of his  competitions in the  challenging Iron Chef arena  

The same as  Michael Symon, he was practically unbeaten in Iron Chef   

You should watch these other shows  of Bobby  Flay if you like his cooking style.  Great barbeque recipes in the second one   

https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/bobby-and-giada-in-italy

https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/bobby-flays-barbecue-addiction/recipes

 

 

 

[ShadySands]

Snowed in so I made a soup out of whatever I had. Potatoes, sausage, peppers, onions, garlic, celery, chicken and veggie broth, and spices. Added a little milk and lemon juice to finish. Turned out pretty great but sausage and potatoes so the deck was stacked in my favor.

[Keyrock]

35 minutes ago, ShadySands said:

Snowed in so I made a soup out of whatever I had. Potatoes, sausage, peppers, onions, garlic, celery, chicken and veggie broth, and spices. Added a little milk and lemon juice to finish. Turned out pretty great but sausage and potatoes so the deck was stacked in my favor.

The ol' clean out the fridge special. It does tend to be a stew or a casserole.

[ShadySands]

Carne asada nachos. I made tacos yesterday and the leftovers decided for themselves that their next form should be nachos.

[Keyrock]

After a long week of work, I was lazy today and didn't feel like cooking. I decided to order out, but I'm on the carnivore diet and didn't want to use a cheat day just yet. I decided to get wings from Buffalo Wild Wings and, in my hubris, ordered the blazing knockout wings. My experience has long been that when a place advertises something as "really spicy" the vast majority of the time it winds up at Tabasco sauce heat level, if that. Pfft.

Let me tell you, these blazing knockout wings bring the heat. When I cook something with hot peppers I typically go with serranos, that's my preferred heat level. These wings are at a heat level well beyond that, somewhere in the scotch bonnet/habanero heat level. Nothing I can't handle, but, yeah, it's going to take me some time to eat all these wings. This is the price of my arrogance. I deserve this punishment.

Edited November 10, 2023 by Keyrock

[ShadySands]

I made chili a few days ago and today I'm going to render a pork shoulder down in the pressure cooker and make fideo sopa con puerco.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

They had ground chuck on sale so I've got three pounds of it. Tonight is going to be gringo tacos and tomorrow is a meeting at a ****ty BBQ chain, but I'm feeling like making some meatballs or a ragu later. I haven't made meatballs in a while and ran across a thing for some very good looking ricotta meatballs, so I'm leaning towards that, but if yall know of a must try either way I'd be grateful to check it out.

[Gromnir]

in case anybody is interested, made-in has a couple o' pre black friday deals including discounts on a few o' their most popular cookware selections. 

also, while have mentioned we believe lodge has a fantastic selection o' enameled dutch ovens and there is no good reason to spend huge money for incremental improvement, there is a staub dutch oven deal worth considering. garage and estate sales is gonna be your best bet for finding a bargain on a piece o' true legacy cookware, but internet shopping is a smidge more convenient.  

almost everything breville is on sale at amazon. so you can have your kitchen look more like @Gorth's by christmas?

HA! Good Fun!

 

[Gromnir]

had family here for a few days and they left (finally) this morning. to send them on their way with a heartyish meal, we made breakfast sandwiches.

ordinarily we make breakfast 'wiches with sausage, but we had excellent ham in the fridge which we cut not too thin and then seared a bit in a pan. in another pan we cooked eggs via 3" stainless steel egg rings in a fair amount o' butter--2/3 o' the way through egg cooking, remove from rings, flip, top with a generous portion o' shredded cheddar, and then lid the pan and remove from heat to steam a bit and melt the cheese/finish the eggs. we toast and then liberal butter trader joes english muffins. stack the ingredients and serve... although we do have an optional sauce which am admitting is weird and divisive. the sauce is mostly mayo with a bit o' barbecue sauce, a bit less siracha sauce, and an even smaller % o' yellow mustard-- sounds ghastly, no? the sauce is a little hot, tangy and sweet and am thinking it works better when paired with sausage.

aside: am finding trader joes muffins work better for sandwiches than something such as thomas' 'cause the tj offering is less 'bout the nooks and crannies. our preferred english muffin choice is stone and skillet , but am finding 'em to be too freaking big unless we were to use ostrich eggs or the like. am not a fan o' baking so we ordinary buy breads from a bakery or store. stone and skillet muffins are available at whole foods stores btw and am highly recommending.

our family were oddly underwhelmed by the meal. sure, they all enjoyed the sandwiches, but one o' our cousins mentioned our sandwiches were "pretty much just egg mcmuffins," which were kinda the point but am thinking our guests were expecting something fancy or gourmet and instead they got drive-thru fodder.

everybody is a critic.

HA! Good Fun!

 

[Gorth]

4 hours ago, Gromnir said:

our family were oddly underwhelmed by the meal. sure, they all enjoyed the sandwiches, but one o' our cousins mentioned our sandwiches were "pretty much just egg mcmuffins," which were kinda the point but am thinking our guests were expecting something fancy or gourmet and instead they got drive-thru fodder.

Reading your posts here in the food thread, I'm not sure I can blame them

Gromnir, you need to get better at managing expectations

 

Edit: Still on the hunt for a source of remoulade. A condiment that is ubiquitous in Scandinavia and northern Germany, but dang it, unknown to most of the rest of the world. Haven't had it for 15 years now

[ShadySands]

I took some of the pork shoulder that I cooked down a couple of days ago and threw it on the grill and smoked it for a bit. Then we made tacos out of it.

[Gromnir]

5 hours ago, Gorth said:

Edit: Still on the hunt for a source of remoulade. A condiment that is ubiquitous in Scandinavia and northern Germany, but dang it, unknown to most of the rest of the world. Haven't had it for 15 years now

...

maybe scandinavian remoulade is different than the remoulade we know 'bout, (probably includes ketchup) but if @Gorthever visits lousiana, he will find local eateries include copious amounts o' the sauce as the defacto accompaniment for seafood, fried foods (particular deep fried seafood), chicken, roasted veggies, potatoes, eggs, burgers and a host o' other dishes. we would not be shocked to see new orleans natives adding remoulade to their ice cream. 

is a whole lotta ingredients, but is sooper simple to make remoulade 'cause you throw everything together and then hit it with an immersion blender for less than a minute; is no ricing, cooking, steaming or tricky emulsifying. 

@ShadySands mentioned making chili recent. am bringing up 'cause we recent made a bean and ground beef not-chili. bowl of red is slow cooked/stewed chilies, meat, and spices resulting in a thick and rich (not soupy) sauce. chili. on the other hand, the ground beef and bean dish we made were more akin to what is served at wendys. our not-chili is a bit easier to prepare than chili. so, we didn't make chili, but we did make that stuff which outside o' texas is often referred to as chili. 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited November 17, 2023 by Gromnir

[Gromnir]

y'know, now that am thinking 'bout it, mcdonald's big mac special sauce is kinda a knock-off remoulade. is no ketchup in special sauce but there is paprika and pickles in mayo along with what we assume is garlic powder. mcdonald's most iconic condiment eschews parsley and a bunch o' other remoulade ingredients-- special sauce is not a genuine remoulade. however, from a certain pov, and recognizing mcdonald's global reach, remoulade might be one o' the more omnipresent and well-known sauces on the planet. 

HA! Good Fun!

 

[Gorth]

Now I became curious, because I remember Louisiana coming up in the past when looking for remoulade...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remoulade

True enough. It features together with Denmark as two major variants of it. Originating from France

 

Danish remoulade

Danish remoulade has a mild, sweet-sour taste and a medium yellow color. The typical industrially-made variety does not contain capers, but finely-chopped cabbage and pickled cucumber, fair amounts of sugar, and a touch of curry powder (mustard seeds, cayenne pepper, coriander, onion powder, and turmeric) mostly for color. The fresh herbs are replaced by herbal essences, e.g., tarragon vinegar. Starch, gelatin or milk protein may be added as thickeners.

Homemade or gourmet varieties may use olive oil (especially good with fish), capers, pickles, carrots, cucumber, lemon juice, dill, chervil, parsley or other fresh herbs, and possibly curry powder of various contents.

In Denmark, remoulade is mostly used for french fries, hotdogs and for open sandwiches with roast beef, salami, fish cakes or fried fish.

 

Louisiana remoulade

Louisiana remoulade can vary from the French-African Creole, the rustic Afro-Caribbean Creole, or the Classic Cajun version, and like the local variants of roux, each version is different from the French original.

Creole versions often have tan or pink hues and are usually piquant.

Louisiana-style remoulades fall generally into one of two categories—those with a mayonnaise base and those with an oil base, but sometimes both mayonnaise and oil are used.

Each version may have finely chopped vegetables, usually green onions and celery, and parsley; most are made with either Creole or stone-ground mustard. Salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper are also standard ingredients.

In the oil- and mayonnaise-based versions, the reddish hue often comes from the addition of a small amount of ketchup and/or paprika.[6]

The sauce is often topped with paprika for the aesthetics as well as the flavor. Generally, lemon juice or vinegar are added for acidity. Other additions include hardboiled egg or raw egg yolks, minced garlic, hot sauce, vinegar, horseradish, capers, cornichons, and Worcestershire sauce.[6][7][8]

While the classic white remoulade is a condiment that can be offered in a variety of contexts (e.g., the classic celery root remoulade), Creole remoulade is used on shrimp, crabs, fried calamari, artichokes, and fried green tomatoes among other foods.

Today, shrimp remoulade is a very common cold appetizer in New Orleans Creole restaurants,[9][10][11][12] although, historically, hard boiled eggs with remoulade was a less expensive option on some menus.

Shrimp remoulade is most often served as a stand-alone appetizer (usually on a chiffonade of iceberg lettuce). One might also see crawfish remoulade, but restaurants seldom offer remoulade sauce as an accompaniment with fish, where ****tail sauce and tartar sauce are generally preferred. However, food columnist and cookbook author Leon Soniat does suggest to "Serve [remoulade] over seafood or with sliced asparagus."[13]

Central Mississippi has comeback sauce, a condiment that is very similar to Louisiana remoulade.[14]

 

The Louisiana version sounds a bit more complex to make, maybe because of the many variants. Time to dig up some recipes for the Danish version... google, here I come.

[Gromnir]

beware the internet... especial wikipedia. 

"Louisiana-style remoulades fall generally into one of two categories—those with a mayonnaise base and those with an oil base, but sometimes both mayonnaise and oil are used."

am s'posing this is true. kinda. am recalling a nytimes recipe for remoulade (sorry, "rémoulade") we saw five or so years past. the recipe opined that traditional remoulade calls for mayo, but their offering were oil-- directions called for creating an emulsion with egg yolk, vinegar, a neutral oil, mustard, paprika, garlic, parsley horseradish and a few other minor additions.

dude. an emulsion o' oil, egg yolk and vinegar is pretty much the definition o' mayonnaise. 

even the food pros at nyt says silly stuff at times and wikipedia has a tendency o' magnifying silly and wrong. 

am admitted mild curious 'bout the denmark version... and am dubious 'bout wiki. given color described, and fact it is a remoulade (eye roll,) am doubting olive oil (save for maybe a very light olive oil) is gonna be a major contributing ingredient for danish, but we could be wrong. olive oil is not an ideal choice for most mayo, particular for a home chef. in fact, sounds as if danish and lousiana versions is close cousins 'cause in spite o' wikipedia pronunciations, am personal using capers and lemon juice in our louisianaish remoulade... as well as parsley and horseradish. no lousiana spice blend or paprika for danish version, relying on tumeric and/or curry powder staples instead? danish version adds a bit o' cabbage, onion and carrot? 

regardless, if the danish version is in fact a mayo remoulade, then it should be kinda ez for @Gorthto replicate 'cause all you need do is chop and measure a few herbs/veggies and then add a handful o' spices as well as an acid and a mustard to a bowl with a fair amount o' mayonnaise and then mix. maybe add a bit o' sugar, salt and pepper, although perhaps the carrot in the danish version works to counter the acids a bit, so am not sure 'bout sugar. but again, am not trusting wiki.

HA! Good Fun!

ps the food am usual making remoulade to compliment is our catfish po boy. so thanks to @Gorth, we now have a hankering for catfish... which as luck would have it is present in our freezer.

Edited November 17, 2023 by Gromnir

[Keyrock]

I made deviled eggs. No special occasion.

If it's wrong to make deviled eggs just casually, I don't want to be right.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I had no idea that remoulade was anything but the creole or cajun sauce so thanks Gorth.

Anyways for Thanksgiving I'm going to see my folks and they already bought a 14 pound turkey.....which they expect me to cook. Since I don't want to burn their house down deep frying the ****er I'm gonna do the spatch**** roasted turkey with herb+garlic butter packed under the skin. Hopefully that will keep it moist and punch in some kind of flavor to that bland ass bird. Maybe I'll get to make some man and cheese at least.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Edit: Double post bug, thanks Bill Gates.

Edited November 19, 2023 by PK htiw klaw eriF

[Gromnir]

am having no personal experience with great jones cookware. however, we got a friend (a legit pro chef) who swears by the sheet pans, cast iron cookware (specific the 6.75 oval dutch oven), and the 9"x13" casserole dish. she is less enthused with the non-stick pots and pans from great jones. 

gets a mention 'cause o' the black friday pricing on the aforementioned items... but again, am not able to vouch for the gear. even so, am admitting the great jones cookware is... cute? am not averse to cute. we would buy a "the dutchess" in spite o' the fact we ordinarily hate puns. probable choose mustard for color. the big handles on the dutch oven and casserole dish should be industry norms but ain't. 'course we already own way too many dutch ovens. we also got an armory worth o' chef knives. is an illness.

regardless, we might buy the casserole dish after we read a few reviews from sources we trust.

HA! Good Fun!

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Gromnir

[Gfted1]

Now my home page banner is a rainbow of Great Jones dutch ovens.  Honestly though I liked all the colors except taffy. 

[Gromnir]

the reason am reluctant to full recommend the great jones gear is 'cause our chef friend, who we mentioned earlier, is most definite enamored with the aesthetics o' the cookware. am not 100% certain she is being objective 'bout the performance o' the cast iron, stoneware and sheet pans given how much she enjoys their appearance. if the stuff were complete garbage, she would tell us, but am thinking our friend might overlook minor quibbles. maybe.

aside, our favorite value chef knife, the mercer genesis 8" short bolster, is on sale at amazon for $40. is a smidge heavy for an 8" chef knife, but we like a bit o' heft. for cheap you get top quality steel in a knife designed for real kitchen use and the short bolster makes sharpening easy. easier. you can get a better knife, but am not certain you can score a better knife for less money. in fact, it might be tough to find better chef knife for less than ~$180 even with all the current sales.

our mac damascus knives is show ponies, but the real work we do in the kitchen is accomplished with two mercers (genesis 8" chef & millennia bread,)  a victorinox paring and a masutani nakiri. our kitchen shears also get loads o' use and they is on sale at amazon for ~$18--henckels 10.25".  am s'posing we also get a fair amount o' value from our flexible boning knife, which is a mercer 6" millennia we bought for ~$12. the victorinox paring cost us ~$8 and came with a lifetime guarantee. suckers. and am on number 3 for the victorinox 'cause we use hard. that said, is not as if we spent a whole lotta money on the knives we use on a daily basis. including the shears, the above six "knives" cost us about ~$160, and the $60 we spent on the nakiri were kinda an indulgence, but we do get considerable use from it, so...

HA! Good Fun!

Edited November 26, 2023 by Gromnir