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Thread: What's cookin' ?

  1. #301
    Our roast beast was quite good --- rubbed with garlic powder and cracked pepper (no salt) and baked at 500 degrees for 15 minutes, then @ 325 degrees for 15 minutes per pound. If I'd had a gas oven, it would have been slightly different.

    I positioned the meat fat side up, so the juices would drip into the meat. It shrank quite a bit, and since the recipe instructions said "don''t open the oven door!", the meat came out a bit distorted. But still quite juicy and tasty.

  2. #302
    Senior Member Flixy's Avatar
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    For Christmas dinner I made deep fried shrimp risotto balls and it was delicious!
    Keep on keepin' the beat alive!

  3. #303
    I was going to give home-made foodstuff as gifts....but the recipes can't use any butter (because the Greek matriarch hates butter in any form).

    I made a lovely citrus curd, but can't give it to my vegan sister, because the recipe used eggs!

    So, I cooked up some Apple Butter (that doesn't use butter, or eggs) and have to figure out how to process/ ship /deliver the product. Happy Fricking New Year.

  4. #304
    Apple butter is pretty delicious though, esp when flavored with cinnamon, cardamom, honey and a little lemon zest and properly made it keeps for frickin EVER.

    that said your matriarch sounds like a damn pain in the ass, no matter how beloved she may be
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  5. #305
    I used cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. But cardamom sounds yummy The boiling-bath canning procedure said it'd last a year in the pantry, but I guess as long as the seal is intact it could be longer.

    (yeah, she also hates basil, so that ruled out my marinara sauce. And I thought my vegan sister was a pain in the ass....)


    PS Happy Birthday!

  6. #306
    As a child from the 60's, when home-cooking meant soggy vegetables, or crappy TV dinners.....I feel pretty good about learning how to cook.

    My mom used to watch Julia Child on tv, and read many cook books, but she still cooked as if it was all too difficult. She was the perfect subject for canned goods, dehydrated foods, prepared foods. But she never had access to fresh fruits or veggies in the new suburbs, so I'm reluctant to place blame.

    She was a good cook in her era, and I learned some things by watching her cook. But I'm happy to be a better cook than my mom. She used to tell us to eat our vegetables, even though they were inedible.

    My sons knew how to use a knife, and build a roux, better than I did at their age. They loved broccoli and kiwi before they could talk. Who knew cooking skills and taste preferences are learned behaviors?

  7. #307
    Also, the notion that celebratory food can bring families together is bullshit. I've learned from experience that it only takes one food extremist (like my vegan sister) to ruin a family holiday like Thanksgiving.

  8. #308
    Celebratory, or holiday food - I disagree with you, GGT. If your sister is going out of her way to be unpleasant about it that is one thing, but unless someone seriously wants to make an issue of things it shouldn't be. My son's autism and sensory issues also used to lead to a lot of picky eating and inability to eat things he didn't like - it did not cause anyone any emotional distress for me to give him something he was comfortable eating or allow him to just pick at the things at the holiday meal he liked and not make an issue of what he was not eating (this has actually gotten much better as he has gotten older). I was a vegetarian from when I was about 13 until when I had massive cravings for steak in my first pregnancy, it was never a point of contention. My younger sister is still a vegetarian, she also does not have these problems.
    We're stuck in a bloody snowglobe.

  9. #309
    Don't get me wrong, Lolli. I'm only saying that my extended Greek family (by marriage) doesn't put out a very good American Thanksgiving turkey dinner, and neither does my vegan sister. And it's not a fun holiday when so much time is spent on sieving tomato seeds, let alone avoiding rennet, pectin, honey, milk, eggs or butter.

    Vegans are not just vegetarians who don't eat meat or fish. They won't use or consume anything that contains an animal by-product, whether it's in a shampoo, or honey.

    My vegan sister is only extreme in our family, but is normal in the vegan community. I wouldn't mind if she spent every Thanksgiving with her fellow vegans, and let the rest of us feast on turkey, meat gravy, and buttered potatoes.
    Last edited by GGT; 01-23-2015 at 09:27 AM.

  10. #310
    I know vegans. I don't know any who would expect that everyone else conform to their dietary needs for a holiday dinner.

    Of course,you could probably have a much better dinner if you skip the turkey and mashed potatoes.
    We're stuck in a bloody snowglobe.

  11. #311
    I too don't know any vegans who are as unpleasant or as disruptive as your sister seems to be, nor do I know anyone who's as obnoxiously fussy as that Greek harpy you're saddled with. I'm very sorry you have to deal with the latter and also sorry that your sister isn't more cool about food

    Taste is definitely a learned thing, and fussiness is something that is avoidable for most people. Check out the book "French Kids Eat Everything" if you ever get the chance a little overstated but still interesting.

    Today I took our new Anova Precision Cooker for a test run. Overall, I'm pretty pleased I made the best sweet potato purée I've ever made by prepping the potatoes differently, and served it with sous vide beef tenderloin (yay discount meat ) and a delicious quince-and-red-wine gravy/sauce. I got a jar of home-made quince jelly from a nurse whose mother brought it to Sweden from Germany just for me it's so goddamned delicious that I can't figure out whether I should eat it all at once or one teensy weensy little spoonful at a time. For dessert, I'm making little tarts with an almond-coconut crust, not sure if we'll fill it with the Ginger's homemade lemon curd or with caramelised bananas... or both.

    The other day I made the best black-bean burgers I've ever had. I've always disliked the texture and mehness of bean-burgers and veggie-burgers in general, but we tried a trick from the internet and dehydrated tinned (and rinsed) black beans in the oven until they were transformed into delicious nutty chewy little beanies which we then ground up with some other stuff. The patties were great and I have some ideas for how they can be made even more delicious. It'll make it easier for me to eat less meat I think/hope
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  12. #312
    How to cure a post-call hangover:

    Black bean burger (rinse tinned black beans, dehydrate them on sheet-lined baking-tray in the oven, grind up with an egg, some dashi, soy, cumin, other spices, cheese of your choice, sautee some julienned leeks and celery with garlic and shelled seeds or nuts eg pumpkin, cashew, mix into the bean mush, form into firm patties and fry in olive oil on medium heat. Add some thinly chopped feta cheese and some mung bean sprouts for even more textural variation) and 75-degree egg with carelessly presented sous vide carrots and the best avocado ever.



    Eeeggcellent...



    Sponge cake with one layer of bananas caramelized in butter and sugar, one layer of homemade lemon curd, one layer of dulce de leche and just a bit of whipped cream.



    Caramelized bananas have changed my life this week
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  13. #313
    Quote Originally Posted by Aimless View Post
    I too don't know any vegans who are as unpleasant or as disruptive as your sister seems to be, nor do I know anyone who's as obnoxiously fussy as that Greek harpy you're saddled with. I'm very sorry you have to deal with the latter and also sorry that your sister isn't more cool about food

    Taste is definitely a learned thing, and fussiness is something that is avoidable for most people. Check out the book "French Kids Eat Everything" if you ever get the chance a little overstated but still interesting.
    I heard a radio broadcast about food preferences as learned behavior, also very interesting. Why some kids raised by the same parents, in the same household, can have divergent tastes and preferences....and cause angst in the family dynamic. Why are some kids picky eaters? Why won't they eat broccoli or brussel sprouts or mushrooms (or pickled herring or gefilte fish) even though their parents do? How can a Greek hate feta cheese, or an Italian hate tomato sauce?

    Can food textures or aroma preferences be a "learned response", in the 21st century of global/ethnic food diversity?

    <Until that radio broadcast, I didn't know there were so many people who hate cilantro so much that they started a cilantro-hate group on Faceboook.>
    Last edited by GGT; 01-29-2015 at 09:49 PM.

  14. #314
    Quote Originally Posted by Aimless View Post
    How to cure a post-call hangover:

    Black bean burger (rinse tinned black beans, dehydrate them on sheet-lined baking-tray in the oven, grind up with an egg, some dashi, soy, cumin, other spices, cheese of your choice, sautee some julienned leeks and celery with garlic and shelled seeds or nuts eg pumpkin, cashew, mix into the bean mush, form into firm patties and fry in olive oil on medium heat. Add some thinly chopped feta cheese and some mung bean sprouts for even more textural variation) and 75-degree egg with carelessly presented sous vide carrots and the best avocado ever.



    Eeeggcellent...



    Sponge cake with one layer of bananas caramelized in butter and sugar, one layer of homemade lemon curd, one layer of dulce de leche and just a bit of whipped cream.



    Caramelized bananas have changed my life this week
    If you're making those dishes at home, with restaurant quality, not many people can share your enthusiasm.

  15. #315
    I don't know what "restaurant quality" is supposed to mean, it was tasty and fun to make and food is nice ya goddamned weirdo
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  16. #316
    Senior Member Flixy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GGT View Post
    How can a Greek hate feta cheese, or an Italian hate tomato sauce?
    Racist

    Interesting yeah, I wonder how much non family social life makes a difference though, and other influences (media, ads, etc).

    btw just because there's a facebook group doesn't mean it's a big thing, there's groups for everything you can imagine, and then more. Though it is quite a strong taste so it's hardly surprising some people hate it.
    Keep on keepin' the beat alive!

  17. #317
    Is there a garlic-hating Facebook group that cross-references Italian restaurants or pizza places? Garlic is a strong flavor/taste, too. No need to answer that, it's rhetorical.


    The other part of the radio broadcast that got me thinking---was the caller who said she loved a good reuben sandwich, but hated its individual components (rye bread, thousand island dressing, pickled cabbage, cured beef).

    I can relate to that type of food 'discrimination'. I don't like eating peas or mushrooms in their whole form for textural reasons, but I like the flavor they give to dishes. Some people claim to hate onions, but they like foods cooked in onions, and onion-based sauces or gravies.

    Even the cilantro-haters probably love dishes that use a bit of the herb in the recipe. They just don't like it sprinkled on top like an edible garnish, which many restaurant chefs do these days.

    I like mint as a flavor, but don't want to chew the raw leaf.
    Last edited by GGT; 01-29-2015 at 11:32 PM.

  18. #318
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  19. #319
    The NPR broadcast wasn't limited to cilantro. It was just used as an example.

    Apparently cilantro has a "soapy" smell to some people, and that's why they don't like it.

    (Most people wouldn't eat something that smells "soapy". Little children don't count, since they'll eat soap, dirt, or dog biscuits before figuring out what's human food, or healthy food.)

    My older sister hated celery from early childhood, for some reason, and had the uncanny ability to "smell" celery. Somehow, she knew when people had eaten foods containing celery, even celery seed or celery salt, by their breath.

    Inexplicable, but very real.
    Last edited by GGT; 01-30-2015 at 12:26 AM.

  20. #320
    So?
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  21. #321
    Sew buttons in your underwear?

  22. #322
    Well thank you for editing that post at least so that it made some sense, but it would have been better to just post that stuff in a new post
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  23. #323
    After reading recipes on the web, and seeing cooking shows on cable tv....I've gained new confidence in how I cook, and how ingredients are used/chosen. If there's a bunch of ripe bananas, they won't have to end up as banana bread. If I have tons of oranges, but can't use them up in juices or recipes, I can make orange marmalade!

    If I can't use everything before its expiration date, even if it's chicken or pork, I have options, and know how to use them.

  24. #324
    So lunch was great although my photographic documentation needs improvement one of each item was borked so I got those but forgot to take photos of the nicer ones.



    Kalix löjrom on butter-fried sourdough bread. The white stuff is a kind of sourcream with chopped shallots and fish-roe and the bread was rubbed with some raw garlic after being fried.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalix_L%C3%B6jrom



    Sous-vide chicken-breast with a ton of chimichurri + thin puff-pastry cup filled with fried wild mushrooms, shallots, parsley, a little cream, Västerbotten cheese, all topped with a sous-vide egg cooked at 75 C for about 13 mins. The chicken-breasts were brined overnight together with some spices. The puff-pastry turned out not to be a disaster the eggs got a little too cold and this one broke a little because I was slow and clumsy.

    For dessert we made fro-yo. Drain vanilla yogurt overnight, mix with lemon-zest, cream and cornstarch, churn, freeze, serve with fruit and a little honey. Next time I'll probably mix in some Turkish yogurt too because this was a little too sweet but it tasted great and the texture was fantastic!!

    Best of all... we could prep most things beforehand and putting it all together was relatively easy and painless which meant we could both enjoy hanging out with my in-laws.
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  25. #325
    Sounds/looks like good dishes, minx. I found a show on PBS that highlights Scandinavian cooking, mostly from Norway. But I can't stand the host...his mannerisms. and speech patterns. are on the verge. of seizure. activity.

  26. #326
    What's cookin' has taken a back seat lately. It seems crazy to talk about recipes when thousands of people are trying to find food.

    It's even crazier that "ethnic foods" have found their own commercial niche....while immigrants who bring their cultural cuisine to the western world have been denied citizenship.

    Too bad there's no "patent" for the ethnic/exotic foods that westerners love to eat, huh.

  27. #327
    So the ginger went elk-hunting again this year and, though the rest of the party didn't do as well as they did last year, she nabbed a nice one and came home with just under 20kg of goodness in the form of mincemeat, tenderloins, steaks, liver and this month's number one hit: elk tongue. We brined it for about 5 days and then poached it in a delicious spicy broth for a few hours. Tongue is frustratingly difficult to find in Swedish grocery-stores (and on Swedish menus) but it's one of my favourite bits so dinner last night was really a treat whether hot or cold, as-is or fried or stewed or pickled or whatever, it's rich in flavour and has an incredible texture and consistency unlike regular ol' meat. The broth was transformed into a very nice soup today I need to figure out where I can get tongue for cheap in this godforsaken town.

    I put one of the black cardamoms we stole from my mum's pantry into the broth and it was really nice, def. try it out if you get the chance.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_cardamom
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  28. #328
    I have a plan for our multi-ethnic Thanksgiving dinner that doesn't 'traditionally' put the Turkey at center stage. I'm going to brine a whole turkey in salt water. Then I'm going to cut the bird into pieces, and marinate all the parts in a mixture of oil, acids, and savory herbs.....and cook some of it in advance by braising/roasting, and bring some of the bird for their grill as souvlaki.

    I'm tired of a "Greek" Thanksgiving that doesn't mean a good roast turkey, with pan gravy, or mashed potatoes with butter, or yeast rolls in the bread basket. I don't want potatoes with lemon, or green beans cooked to mush, or a turkey breast heated in the microwave. But I do want to enjoy the holiday with my extended family.....so I'm going to have to "Americanize" the event somehow.

    The Greek matriarch may not understand the whole thing, but hopefully she won't see it as a slight to her cooking skills or traditions. (I've been told that guests bringing dishes is a faux pas, because it suggests the host can't accommodate their guests.)

    BTW, I've offered to host the Thanksgiving dinner, but they don't feel comfortable in a household with indoor pets......
    Last edited by GGT; 09-25-2015 at 03:29 AM.

  29. #329
    Senior Member Flixy's Avatar
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    Might be a way to solve it, hope the matriarch won't make drama over it.
    Keep on keepin' the beat alive!

  30. #330
    That harpy

    Anyway I have just made steamed eggs for the first time and it is just so goddamned delicious and fun. I love eggs because they're so versatile, tasty and affordable and because they're a lot of fun to work with <3 this dish was a bit of a hassle because the bowls got pretty hot and I didn't have one of those lifty-thingies and the saucepan could only fit one at a time but the texture was like smoothest silken tofu and the chicken stock, the bacon and the mushrooms gave it a lot of flavor. I'll probably use a little less water next time and make sure to get some scallions for garnish. Anyway, give it a try
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

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