The Food Thread

[ShadySands]

Yesterday I made these small tomato salad and steak bread bowls because it was Tuesday.

[BruceVC]

Last night for dinner I had an Ostrich steak with potato rostis

A good meal but only unusual for my choice of meat but I added a cheese sauce which really worked. Now I know what some of you many be thinking, " Gasp.....cheese sauce with this type of meat " ...thats gastronomic heresy....you food philistine !!!!

I would have preferred to eat something like Ostrich in the same way I would eat Venison, so a red wine or fruity sauce would be ideal. But sometimes I lack the skill or ingredients to  make the sauces I want so I make something compatible 

And I added lots of additional heat to my cheese sauce like Hot English Mustard Powder and white pepper so it was more like a spicy, cheese sauce which went down well with the Ostrich

[Gfted1]

Does ostrich taste like chicken?

[BruceVC]

17 minutes ago, Gfted1 said:

Does ostrich taste like chicken?

I dont believe it does, its got a much, richer taste than chicken like Venison but because Ostrich meat  has no fat it doesn't have the same inherent " nice " taste as pork or lamb

 

[majestic]

I had ostrich carpaccio once, like 20 years ago. We had business lunch etiquette training at school and it was the cold starter of the menu.

'Twas really good and I got some extra. My fellow students really didn't like the idea of eating ostrich, and raw to boot (the fact that you can actually pretty much tells how much not like chicken ostrich really is).  

The entire menu was ostrich carpaccio, cream of asparagus, fried asparagus with bacon and finally goat cheese with honey and strawberries as dessert. Plus a lengthy explaination of what the hell all those utensils and glasses really are for. Which I happily can say is knowledge I never needed in my entire life - and hopefully never will. Heh.

[BruceVC]

On 9/18/2020 at 1:21 AM, majestic said:

I had ostrich carpaccio once, like 20 years ago. We had business lunch etiquette training at school and it was the cold starter of the menu.

'Twas really good and I got some extra. My fellow students really didn't like the idea of eating ostrich, and raw to boot (the fact that you can actually pretty much tells how much not like chicken ostrich really is).  

The entire menu was ostrich carpaccio, cream of asparagus, fried asparagus with bacon and finally goat cheese with honey and strawberries as dessert. Plus a lengthy explaination of what the hell all those utensils and glasses really are for. Which I happily can say is knowledge I never needed in my entire life - and hopefully never will. Heh.

Thats a very interesting and  yummy meal...was the main meal the asparagus and bacon because those are normally starters ? ,Did  you enjoy the carpaccio.....interestingly enough you have raised another important difference between Ostrich and Chicken and I forgot to tell Gfted1 around  his expected question of " does it tastes like Chicken, you right as the Ostrich meat is not related to Chicken meat in any real way...its like eating a Venison steak

In SA its very common for people watching calories and training at gym to eat Ostrich regularly as it has no fat 

https://www.northforkbison.com/ostrich-meat/

I have eaten it plain and it definitely can be done but I have eaten far too much hot food and my taste buds have been cauterized by years of eating hot sauces and hot food....so I always require a good sauce with any meat but especially game and venison

[LadyCrimson]

The last of a smallish batch of spaghetti for lunch:  not visible but also has finely grated yellow squash in it, which adds more fiber/veggie but is hardly noticeable texture-wise. Wheat noodles work/taste fine. I actually probably like them a bit more than typical "white" egg-noodles...

 

The day after grocery shopping day is the bulk-cooking day. (edit: the beef is just top round, it's fine for stir-fry when cut very thin) - putting meat in the freezer for a couple hours makes it easier to slice.

 

I don't eat much protein per meal and just mix a bit of the cooked beef into whatever veggies I'm using at the time so that tub lasts all week.  I use other veggies too, ofc, but they don't go with this mix so they're separate, for change-up.

 

Edited September 23, 2020 by LadyCrimson

[BruceVC]

Tonight I having delicious German Blood Sausage and buttery mash potato 

[Keyrock]

Can someone explain to me the popularity of Panda Express? Local chinese food restaurants are ubiquitous, you can't walk two blocks anywhere in the US without running into one. They are dirt cheap, it only takes 10 to 15 minutes to prepare, and there's a 95% chance that it will be better tasting than Panda Express. Why would anyone EVER go to Panda Express rather than Dragon Wok, or whatever? Do Americans really crave below average orange chicken? What am I missing? 

[ShadySands]

My guess is that some people just like it for what it is rather than comparatively. That and there's no rolling the dice, they know what they're getting at the chain places.

I mean, I think Tucson has some of the best Mexican food anywhere but Taco Bell isn't an uncommon sight there.

 

[LadyCrimson]

It wasn't Panda Express (still have never tried them specifically, they're not common where I am) but years ago there was this local big-mall place with a similar setup - tiny spot with the trays of food you pick from. They made the best BBQ pork. Y'know, the kind that's all reddish tinged but in chunks with no bones. 6.99 (2 dishes + rice) for this huge huge serving. Also made a great jalapeno chicken and I often got the two together. Their basic fried rice wasn't bad either.

Would it beat some gourmet version you could find if you try. Nope. But great flavorful "comfort" food and honestly in that sense better than some "BBQ spareribs" I've gotten from more traditional "cheap Chinese food" spots.

I think it just depends on the dish.  I'd typically go for marinated or heavily sauced meat and or vegie dishes but not deep fried/battered at such places.

Edit:  darn you, now I desperately want some BBQ Pork (like in the pic below).  But there's nowhere near our house that has it like that.

Edited October 6, 2020 by LadyCrimson

[Gfted1]

I love char siu. I order a side of it every time we get Chinese food.

[LadyCrimson]

I wasn't a huuuge fan of Nutella chocolatey spread but I'd buy a jar now and then.  Of course now I "can't" since it's higher in carbs/sugar (and not much else) than I'd want even as once in a while. I mean it's basically spreadable candy right, despite the claims of hazelnuts.

Found this at Nob Hill tho. I tend to like almond butters more than peanut.  It's a little hard to stir in the jar if the oil separates a little (can in warm weather) so it's not the most evenly-smooth stuff, but it sure tastes good on bread/crackers. Don't know if I'd call it healthy, exactly, but at least it's more nut-fat/nutrition etc.  Less of that odd artificial flavor than Nutella too.  Lots of options these days if you're actually looking for them.

Edited October 8, 2020 by LadyCrimson

[ShadySands]

Thanks, LC. Now I want nutella smores.

[Keyrock]

I usually get the Smuckers (no brand loyalty, that's just what the stores in my area have readily available) natural peanut butter. It's just peanuts, a tiny bit of salt and nothing else. I even prefer the taste to "regular" peanut butter because it's less sweet. The only down side is that the oil separates after it sits for a while and you have to stir the oil and the nearly rock hard chunk of peanut together.

[majestic]

1 hour ago, ShadySands said:

Thanks, LC. Now I want nutella smores.

We have a small Italian ice cream and coffee joint right around the corner and he always has nutella ice cream. Mmmmm...

I think I'll get some tomorrow.

[majestic]

On 10/9/2020 at 1:00 AM, majestic said:

We have a small Italian ice cream and coffee joint right around the corner and he always has nutella ice cream. Mmmmm...

I think I'll get some tomorrow.

Turns out he was out of Nutella ice cream. So sad. But instead he had yoghurt with honey and sweet milk, which I promptly tried and found just a little too sweet for my liking, but overall still pretty good.

I'm used to the place not having all the ice cream he makes all the time. He's only making ice cream with the fresh fruits he can get. And mango. So while he has mango flavored ice cream all the time because there's no way to get fresh mangos here things like strawberry, peach, blueberry and various melon flavored ice creams are only available during certain times through spring and summer. I admire the guy for his dedicatio to quality, really. Strawberry ice cream is such a staple that most places keep making batches of it even with imported or bland tasting greenhouse grown strawberries. Or worse, with artifical strawberry flavor. Ugh.

Now he certainly didn't run out of "fresh" nutella which in the end can only mean he didn't make a new batch because he's going to close down for winter soon. I had hoped he'd keep open a little longer because of the lost time during the lockdown but apparently not. Ah well, can't have everything, right?

Edited October 10, 2020 by majestic

[BruceVC]

10 minutes ago, majestic said:

Turns out he was out of Nutella ice cream. So sad. But instead he had yoghurt with honey and sweet milk, which I promptly tried and found just a little too sweet for my liking, but overall still pretty good.

I'm used to the place not having all the ice cream he makes all the time. He's only making ice cream with the fresh fruits he can get. And mango. So while he has mango flavored ice cream all the time because there's no way to get fresh mangos here things like strawberry, peach, blueberry and various melon flavored ice creams are only available during certain times through spring and summer. I admire the guy for his dedicatio to quality, really. Strawberry ice cream is such a staple that most places keep making batches of it even with imported or bland tasting greenhouse grown strawberries. Or worse, with artifical strawberry flavor. Ugh.

Now he certainly didn't run out of "fresh" nutella which in the end can only mean he didn't make a new batch because he's going to close down for winter soon. I had hoped he'd keep open a little longer because of the lost time during the lockdown but apparently not. Ah well, can't have everything, right?

This pandemic has lead to much sacrifice my friend...no Nutella ice cream is yours 

[Guard Dog]

Dinner tonight was two pan fried fillets of real Hatchee River catfish. So fresh it was literally swimming 24 hours ago. I breaded them with hand ground cornmeal and served with steamed green beans and summer squash. Everyting on the plate with the exception of the oil used in the pan came from my garden or property. That is freaking cool IMO!

[BruceVC]

Tonight for dinner I had couscous, flavored with Beef stock because couscous is amazing to absorb liquids and there taste, and oven baked fish 

Very healthy 

 

[Gfted1]

Last night we dabbled in oven baked chicken wings with a couple of different dry rubs (buffalo and teriyaki) and they turned out pretty awesome. I would normally cook them on my grill but it was a little cold a rainy yesterday and I didnt feel like dealing with it.

[BruceVC]

56 minutes ago, Gfted1 said:

Last night we dabbled in oven baked chicken wings with a couple of different dry rubs (buffalo and teriyaki) and they turned out pretty awesome. I would normally cook them on my grill but it was a little cold a rainy yesterday and I didnt feel like dealing with it.

Do you serve the wings as a main meal and what do you normally serve with them?

[Gfted1]

Yeah the wings are usually the entree for us. With blue cheese / ranch dressing and celery on the side.

[ShadySands]

Made wings on Sunday

Smoked them for a long time then cranked up the heat to make the skin crispy

[LadyCrimson]

Cheap 12" 4 quart (or something) frying pan is too small.  Just saying.