The Cooking Thread

Zakhary said:

But they're nothing as fancy as the stuff PJ posted. I can do stuff like... uh...
Meatloaf! I love meatloaf. The food, not the band. Then a heavily optimized stripped down version of what might resemble pasta carbonara. Also chili-chicken soup. Pan-pizza with bacon and cheddar. Meatballs with feta cheese and chili IN them.

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Those sounds interesting. I make carbonada myself. Far too often, since I don't have that many different simple recipies to make lunches off. It's that, omelet and noodles with these wok mixes you can buy and put in your fridge. It feels like I'm in the Sims and have three ranks in cooking... You know how to make five things!

Übereil

magerette said:

I do something similar with bratwurst--simmer it in good beer til it's about half-cooked--before we finish it off on the grill. It keeps it moist and the beer and grill flavors meld nicely.

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I know the technique with steaks and most other grilled meat (BBQ) - sprinkle it with beer for good measure during grilling. But actually simmering it sounds interesting, got to forward that.

I have another dish that I prepared for a vegetarian friend of mine:

Fried vegetarian burger with candied leeks(I hope this is the right word for 'prei') and a mustard sauce. (4 persons)

Ingredients:
*4 vegetarian burgers
*1200gr leeks (1 big one)
*5 spoons of white port
*4 spoons of balsamic vinegar
*2 small spoons of suggar
*8 spoons of olive oil
*salt and pepper
*250gr of rice

for the sauce:
*3 small spoons of regular mustard
*3 small spoons of grain mustard (the one with the little things in it, I mean)
*2dl cream
*3 small spoons of soyasauce

How to:
*Cut the leeks into pieces of around 6 cm (and wash the off course). You can leave on the green stuff too.
*Heat 3 spoons of oil in a big pan, add the pieces of leeks and then add around 2 spoons of water. Season it with some salt and pepper and stir well. Let it sudder for 15 minutes, but make sure that the leeks don't burn.
*Add 5 spoons of white port and 2 small spoons of suggar. Leave it on a small fire for about 30 minutes. You can add a bit of water too again, but make sure that at the end of the 30 minutes all the fluids have to be sucked in by the leeks. The leeks have to be truned over from time to time to make sure that they don't get burned.
*In the meantime the rice can be cooked too. Depending on the sort it takes from 6 to 25 minutes. The preferable one is the full rice: that means 25 minutes. Boil the rice with a bit of salt in the water or a bit of boullion (there are some that are specially made for pasta and rice)
*Heat 5 spoons of oil in a pan and frie the burgers.
*When the burgers are done, put them somewhere where they can be kept warm for a little while. The pan itself will be used for the sauce. -> Make sure that you dispose of the remaining oil first and then add the cream in it.
*Add both kinds of mustard and the soya sauce. Leave the mixture cooking for around 3 minutes.

This dish is best accompagnied by a bottle of wine called: Berton De Crillon, côtes-du-Ventoux. It's a rosé from grapes grown on the flanks of the Ventoux.

Always seasion your meat before frying - just rubbing it with salt and a splash of olive oil is plenty but you can use various spices to complement if you like.

You can also learn to tell how well done the meat is by pressing on it the firmer it feels the more cooked it is.

Always rest meat after cooking (set it aside on a warm plate and cover it), this'll let the meat relax and make it more tender - keep in mind it'll cook longer while resting so unless you like it grey (yuck) under-cook a bit on the pan - (also a good trick for searing, tuna say, is to quickly cook the outside then cut the ends from the piece to let the heat escape and stop the cooking process when you rest it)

Fresh herbs and spices make a world of difference they loose most of their flavour within a few hours of being picked, but dry herbs are better than nothing.

Keep a supply of stock - its easy but a little time consuming to make (bones, root vegetables and herbs in a pot with water, simmer) but you can also get reasonable liquid stocks form the shops now - it'll add flavour and can be used just about anywhere.

The secret to good sauces is butter (preferably continental unsalted) added at the end and stirred until incorporated - gives the sauce a rich glossy finish. (try cooking a seasoned stake on a pan - when you take it off to rest deglase the pan with 1/2-1 cup of red wine and beef stock, scrape all the caramelised bits from the bottom of the pan into the liquid (I also poor back any juices that escape the resting meat), simmer it down a bit then put on a good nob of butter and stir until melted to make a quick and easy red wine sauce).

Beer wine and spirits all work great in cooking - another recipe I use is pork fillet (cut flat) or veal (schnitzel) - flour both sides and into the pan to cook, then deglase with a sweet fortified wine like Masalla + a bit of chicken stock and finish with butter (a big handful of fresh parsley, preferably continental broadleaf, goes well in the sauce too). I also do a cider sauce with pork (thinly slice an apple, I use a peeler, then fry gently in some butter until it starts to get some colour pour on a generous measure of cider and some chicken stock and simmer until reduced then add a large spoon or two of thick cream, stir and serve).

Making chips - always wash the starch off the potato's first (in a bowl keep filling and emptying them till the water runs clear) and leave them in the fridge a couple of hours if you have time.

Fat helps a lot with flavour - just remember to watch the portion sizes.

If you're going to fry with butter and it starts smoking throw it out and start again, oils will generally take a higher heat without burning and you can use a butter oil mix to make it a little easier to handle.

Final recipe – Chicken Mistral (modified) from Patricia Wells (former food writer for the IHT) – peel forty or so cloves of garlic, in a deep pan add a lump of butter and a splash of olive oil then chicken thighs (thighs generally have better flavour, try and avoid the supermarket stuff that tastes like plastic if you have the option - I prefer skinless thighs for this) and get them lightly browned on both sides, add the garlic gloves and brown them two resting the chicken atop, when everything starts to look nice add a cup or two each of chicken stock and white wine and simmer for an hour or so until the garlic starts to break down and make a thick sauce, enjoy (I generally serve with a salad to cut through the richness).

You seem to cook a fair bit with meat, V7. I use it more rarely, and I make steaks and other prime cuts even more rarely, although it's a real occasion when I do. The meat I use most commonly is probably shoulder of lamb or mutton. It makes for really good stews or soups: first brown it under a grill in the oven, then put it into a stew (or soup), and cook until it falls off the bone.

Iranian-style lamb stew:

* Shoulder of lamb (or similar "cheap" cut)
* Chick peas (either tinned or, preferably, dried and soaked overnight in water with a bit of baking soda)
* Onion
* Garlic
* Roma tomatoes (tinned)
* Lime juice
* Saffron
* Turmeric
* Salt and pepper
* Stock (optional but nice)
* Olive oil for cooking

Brown the pieces of meat as above. Chop the onions coarsely. Crush the garlic with salt and olive oil in a mortar (or just crush it with a knife if you don't have one). Put some oil into a big kettle, heat to medium heat, blanch the onion in it. Add the turmeric and some black pepper. Then add the pieces of meat and the crushed garlic; toss until the garlic paste is blanched (but not burnt!) as well. Add the tomato and enough stock (or water if you don't have any) to cover the meat, saffron, lime juice, and a bit more pepper. Stew for about two and a half hours, or until the meat falls off the bone. Add the chick peas about an hour before the meat is done (if using dried and soaked chick peas), or near the end if using tinned ones.

(I also like steak au naturel -- no sauce, no seasonings before searing; just a twist of salt and pepper and perhaps lemon juice for every bite as you're eating. I think, though, that this probably wouldn't be that good if you like your meat well-done; I certainly leave mine very rare when eating it this way -- not quite "take the horns off, wipe its ass, and put it on the plate" rare, but close. Although I usually do salt and pepper them before cooking, as you describe.)

Prime Junta said:

You seem to cook a fair bit with meat, V7. I use it more rarely, and I make steaks and other prime cuts even more rarely, although it's a real occasion when I do. The meat I use most commonly is probably shoulder of lamb or mutton. It makes for really good stews or soups: first brown it under a grill in the oven, then put it into a stew (or soup), and cook until it falls off the bone.

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Currently living in a cattle producing region so there's a lot of high quality meat around. Its also warm for 9 months of the year so I don't do a lot of stews, love them in winter though. Personally I'd brown the meat in the pot I stew in to preserve the flavor for the stew - getting a good brown crust on the bottom of the pot before adding the liquids.

For steak I salt and oil (no pepper thanks) and can go either way for a sauce (though I generally eat the sauce with the vegetables/bread) and cook it rare - I do like a nice tangy dijon on the side though.

I avoid cooking with butter -- like many Finns, I have a genetic risk of cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol, so I try to avoid stuff that makes it worse, while preferring food and activities that lower the risks. That means lots of olive oil, lots of fresh, oily fish, a glass or two of wine a day (or the equivalent in other forms), and fairly regular physical exercise. All which I enjoy -- also, it makes me appreciate things cooked in butter more, on the relatively infrequent occasions that I make or eat them. Like that rhubarb pie, for example.

I think the original recipe for the Iranian stew specifies ghee, and you are supposed to brown the meat in it, in the pot. Browning it in the oven and blanching the rest in olive oil was a variation (as you know, meat doesn't brown properly in oil); IMO it doesn't make the stew taste any worse, though. Just be sure to pour any juice released by the meat when browning into the stew.

Prime Junta said:

I avoid cooking with butter -- like many Finns, I have a genetic risk of cardiovascular disease and high cholesterol, .

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Which is more than fair, don't want to give the impression either that i'm sitting here with half a dead cow in one hand and a stick of butter in the other - though looking back i can see why it might look like that - spent a bit of time in France and the cooking rubbed off. Most people would be shocked to see how much butter gets used in restraunts (particularly french) but olive oil works perfectly well for most cooking - and you should try and get fresh oil (if it doesn't have a date on it take it as a warning sign) - not sure what the situation in Europe is these days but certainlly in Australia most of the bulk oil is shipped from Spain or Italy and is pretty much ruined by the time its crossed the euqator and got to our shelves. Luckily its possible to get good localy produced produce if you're willing to look.

Well, I hear one of the pithy pieces of wisdom bandied about by the British Foreign Service is "beware of Greeks bearing an olive oil surplus."

IOW, there's no problems on that score, even up here in Finland -- plenty of choice of olive oils of all prices and qualities; even small corners stores usually carry a couple of varieties, none of which are actually bad. The "generic" variety my local supermarket carries is perfectly good for most things, although the quality varies a bit by batch -- it's Spanish, and they probably have several suppliers.

It's funny what you say about France -- I've spent a lot of time there too, but mostly in the South -- and there the cooking is definitely with olive oil rather than butter; when I think of French cooking, I actually think of the kind of stuff they do in Provence, Nice, and the Languedoc coast, which is really closer to Italian or Spanish than what most people think of as French.

I remember once I was in a little village restaurant on the coast of Languedoc, eating an enormous pile of seafood, and we got to chatting with the people in the next table. They were from Lille, and said that while the food down here is sort of OK, it's much better up north, because "there we cook with cream!"

Ever been to Normandy? Beautiful cream and butter in everything. While there's certainly a lot of regional variation I think most of what people outside France think of as French is the northern haut causine as that's what the local french restraunts tend to serve - I could well be bised though

I mention the oil mainly as many people out here arn't aware it goes off like any other food - like most consumables the fresher the better and it does can make a noticable difference.

I have, actually, once. I was fourteen, and we spent a couple of weeks there. We had bad luck with the weather, though, which put a bit of a damper on it. The food was very good, as I recall, but heavy.

The Belgian kitchen is normally also filled with cream and butter for all kinds of stuff. After All the North of France and Belgium is wel connected to the Bourgondy kitchen style (way to much of everything and although very tastefull and rich, to fat also)

Any meal without LOTS of meat is not really a meal IMHO!! My freezer is usually stocked with prime cuts of beef, pork and lamb with plenty of chicken and assorted fish also. For me, meat and 3-5 vegies is normal. I use Australian Olive oil only, unless a recipe calls expressly for butter. I avoid salt as much as possible and use lots of herbs and spices!!

So, what do you do with the meat?

Scallops are cheap here right now, so we've been eating lots of pan seared scallops in olive oil and butter, and steamed redskin potatoes, with asparagus which is also fairly cheap right now. That's been a staple around here, plus bbq chicken and cheeseburgers. We have a freezer full of nice t-bone steaks we bought when they were on sale, we'll probably tear into those this weekend. Just waiting for tomatoes to come into season.

I love scallops. Over here, we can only find them frozen, and the quality is pretty variable. Lucky you!

Prime Junta said:

So, what do you do with the meat?

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Cook it of course!!

I usually grill, BBQ, or roast most. I avoid frying anything but eggs as much as possible since fried foods usually make me feel ill. OK, here's a chicken recipe:

Take one skinless chicken breast and cut it carefully to flatten it out. Flour both sides to avoid too much moisture. Make the following stuffing - Soak some breadcrumbs (fresh are best) in red wine, chop a small onion, grate some cheese (your choice). Now get some smoked oysters, and mix them with the onion, cheese and breadcrumbs. Season with pepper and favourite herbs. Microwave this for a few seconds to melt the cheese then stir to form a paste consistency. Spread the stuffing mix on the flattened breast, fold and wrap in a sheet of puff pastry. Prick the pastry and bake for about 30 mins at 200C. Serve with scalloped potatoes and fresh green vegetables.

Personally, I've begun experimenting with making my own Pizza.

My last one was so big I had 4 days to eat from it ...

The other thing I do really like to cook, are what I call "vegetable pans". Mostly tomatos, paprica [capsicum], onions, mushrooms ... sometimes carrots ... All that together in a pan with some rice to mix with it.

The only problem is to take care of the vegetables not to become ... well, kind of destroyed due to the heat. Especially the Vitamines.

I often use sweet&sour sauce for this, because I just love it !

All in all, in my opinion, the experimenting with stuff is the most fun part of it all !

I decided to make breakfast burritos today, because I am bored and still a little sick (allurgies/sinusitus)

Anyways, first, I took some ground beef and made taco meat, because tacos rule. Then, I took some pinto beans and mashed them into refried beans (and added a bunch of pepper, garlic salt, chili powder, and crushed red pepper to make them spicy). I also made scrambled eggs and bacon. Mixed all of that together and put them into tortillas. Next time I may try to get my hands on some potatoes and attempt to make home potatoes/home fries and mix that in as well.

Experimenting is fun!

Alrik Fassbauer said:

Personally, I've begun experimenting with making my own Pizza.

My last one was so big I had 4 days to eat from it ...

The other thing I do really like to cook, are what I call "vegetable pans". Mostly tomatos, paprica [capsicum], onions, mushrooms ... sometimes carrots ... All that together in a pan with some rice to mix with it.

The only problem is to take care of the vegetables not to become ... well, kind of destroyed due to the heat. Especially the Vitamines.

I often use sweet&sour sauce for this, because I just love it !

All in all, in my opinion, the experimenting with stuff is the most fun part of it all !

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Homemade pizza is tough to pull off, but it can be done and if it's done right it's amazing. A ceramic pizza stone and paddle is a great investment, and really needs to be heated to the max before putting your pizza in the oven. Corn starch is absolutely critical on the paddle while you are assembling it, and on the stone, otherwise the pizza will stick to the paddle/stone (a nightmare). I like to use Hunt's tomato sauce and good quality mozzarella. The real trick to making really good pizza at home is to get the pizza stone as hot as possible, and I'm talking searing hot., I usually keep it in there for about 45 minutes before cooking.

But I think the one major key to making good homemade pizza is the dough. Knead the heck out of the dough for 15 or 20 minutes and roll it out thin or if you want deep dish, use a cast iron skillet.