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IronGAF Cookoff (hosted by OnkelC)

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Habaneros it is! :)

Hah, I was thinking that as I was typing. I think it's doable, if you use them sparsly. I was thinking how sneaky it would be to use habanero, but plate the bread so it's pepper-side down and then when an unsuspecting person takes a bite...HAHAHAHA.

I had a quickie lunch today since I was working at home and had to do some errands. I love having enough vegetables growing in the backyard to account for my "OMG no food in the house!" emergencies.



BLTE:
tempeh bacon (store bought)
lettuce (from the backyard)
tomatoes (from the backyard)
eggs (from the store)
bread (baked a few days ago)

My husband and I have been debating on whether or not to get a chicken so we can get fresh eggs. Does anyone raise chickens for eggs here? Are they smelly? High maintenance?
 

Cosmic Bus

pristine morning snow
My husband and I have been debating on whether or not to get a chicken so we can get fresh eggs. Does anyone raise chickens for eggs here? Are they smelly? High maintenance?

My sister does this. They started out with a couple of chickens because they thought it would be somewhat educational and interesting for the kids, and she was so happy with the quality and quantity of the eggs that their family ended up buying several more. Fast forward a few years and now they've got an entire one-family farm with chickens, ducks, goats, sheep, a cow, horses, rabbits, cats, and dogs. Her girls were even pushing one of the bigger chickens around in a baby stroller once.

If you've got the space for it, chickens really aren't that bad to take care of. As long as you're taking good care of them and the coop or pen, there isn't much smell or noise (both of which are kind of pleasant, in a rural sort of way) and it's a pretty inexpensive venture. Just do some reading before you commit to anything.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
Hah, I was thinking that as I was typing. I think it's doable, if you use them sparsly. I was thinking how sneaky it would be to use habanero, but plate the bread so it's pepper-side down and then when an unsuspecting person takes a bite...HAHAHAHA.

Haha, you devil! Sadly, everyone that I cook for likes really hot stuff so that little trick wouldn't work.
 

Chris R

Member
Made "Tinga" tonight with a pork shoulder. Didn't think it was going to turn out while braising the pork (didn't smell that great, or look that great to be honest), and my shredding technique isn't the best, but man is the final product sooooooo good. The spice level is perfect too, I added just the right amount of chipotle and adobado. I'll make sure to take pictures next time I make this.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
Made "Tinga" tonight with a pork shoulder. Didn't think it was going to turn out while braising the pork (didn't smell that great, or look that great to be honest), and my shredding technique isn't the best, but man is the final product sooooooo good. The spice level is perfect too, I added just the right amount of chipotle and adobado. I'll make sure to take pictures next time I make this.

Recipe plz.
 

Chris R

Member
Recipe plz.

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=23306

Give them your clicks, but because they want you to provide an email address (for free recipes :| ) I've provided the Tinga part below.

2 pounds boneless pork butt , trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch pieces (see note)
2 medium onions , 1 quartered and 1 chopped fine
5 medium garlic cloves , 3 peeled and smashed and 2 minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Table salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (14.5-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon ground chipotle powder I used chipotle and adobado instead
2 bay leaves

1. FOR THE TINGA: Bring pork, quartered onion, smashed garlic cloves, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 6 cups water to simmer in large saucepan over medium-high heat, skimming off any foam that rises to surface. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and cook until pork is tender, 75 to 90 minutes. Drain pork, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Discard onion, garlic, and thyme. Return pork to saucepan and, using potato masher, mash until shredded into rough ½-inch pieces (see Step-by-Step below); set aside.

2. Heat olive oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add shredded pork, chopped onion, and oregano; cook, stirring often, until pork is well browned and crisp, 7 to 10 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Stir in tomato sauce, chipotle powder, reserved pork cooking liquid, and bay leaves; simmer until almost all liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves and season with salt to taste.
 

Zyzyxxz

Member
My husband and I have been debating on whether or not to get a chicken so we can get fresh eggs. Does anyone raise chickens for eggs here? Are they smelly? High maintenance?

Are you open to duck eggs? I ask because when I worked in Colorado the guy who supplied our alcohol for the restaurant said he raised his own animals (chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep) and said ducks are much easier to raise than chickens as they eat anything and don't get sick easily compared to chickens.

But I hope you have a longterm plan for them once they stop laying eggs since they may stop after several years but live for much longer.
 
My husband and I have been debating on whether or not to get a chicken so we can get fresh eggs. Does anyone raise chickens for eggs here? Are they smelly? High maintenance?

When I lived in Berkeley me and a few friends helped raise chickens for co-ops and community gardens. In general, they require less effort to maintain than a typical household pet, say like a dog. Then again there is a slight learning curve, with things such as how to properly maintain a coop and preventing illness. But if you and your husband are into DIY projects and can commit to them, the benefits of having your own flock are pretty amazing. Just make sure your city ordinance allows for them.
 

thespot84

Member
Are you open to duck eggs? I ask because when I worked in Colorado the guy who supplied our alcohol for the restaurant said he raised his own animals (chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep) and said ducks are much easier to raise than chickens as they eat anything and don't get sick easily compared to chickens.

But I hope you have a longterm plan for them once they stop laying eggs since they may stop after several years but live for much longer.

where'd you work in CO?
 

cryptic

Member
I rendered down a whole bunch of lard from the store for my cast iron skillet. It's extremely inexpensive and much healthier than using nasty vegetable oils.
 
Are you open to duck eggs? I ask because when I worked in Colorado the guy who supplied our alcohol for the restaurant said he raised his own animals (chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep) and said ducks are much easier to raise than chickens as they eat anything and don't get sick easily compared to chickens.

But I hope you have a longterm plan for them once they stop laying eggs since they may stop after several years but live for much longer.

I only like those Chinese salted duck eggs. OMG, so good in porridge. And the yolk! <3

I don't like using duck eggs like a normal egg because there's too much protein in the white and the texture is too rubbery when I cook it. They're pretty good to bake with because of that, but other than bread, I don't bake much.

I think if we were to get chickens, they'd have to be quiet chickens because technically, we're not allowed to raise them in my city =(
 

TheExodu5

Banned
IMG_0660.jpg

Made a batch of pretzels :)
Perfectly light and fluffy, as opposed to boiling the dough making it hard and blackening it.

Made these earlier this week. Awesome.
 

Nezumi

Member
Today I made stuffed tomatos.

Before cooking:

IMG_20120223_175206.jpg


And after cooking:
IMG_20120223_182013.jpg


The stuffing was chopped up mushroom, onions, cream cheese, garlic, herbs, peper and salt, with a bit grated gouda cheese on top. I put them in the oven at 180°C for about twenty minutes.
 

endre

Member
My husband and I have been debating on whether or not to get a chicken so we can get fresh eggs. Does anyone raise chickens for eggs here? Are they smelly? High maintenance?

My mother and grandmother raise poultry since its cheaper then buying. Although if I think about it, its only for meat not for eggs. You won't get far with one chicken (hen that is). You'll need a couple, food of course, light and heating (generally achieved by an appropriate light bulb) if you live in a "cold" area.

They need to be fed and you need to clean the place under them. Also can you slaughter them if the time comes? I don't know what you consider smelly, but yeah I'd say they are. The poo is at least. Chicken farms are among the more toxic ones, but that's different.

Also their cage needs to be predator proof. Weasels for example like to feast on defenseless chicken. Luckily it haven't happened to us in decades, but last year our cat caught one weasel in our yard.
 
My husband and I have been debating on whether or not to get a chicken so we can get fresh eggs. Does anyone raise chickens for eggs here? Are they smelly? High maintenance?

We've been raising laying hens since last spring; got chicks, kept them indoors in a big box that I built a custom lid for, then I built a coop according to plans I bought and we moved them in there. Here you can see it before I finished putting the roof on.

We have 7 hens; we had 8 originally but one turned out to be a rooster, he was given to a livestock store in the country. We have two of each of these varieties: buff orpingtons, wyandottes, ameracauna (one was rooster), barred rocks. They're all pretty awesome. They don't smell, and it's very easy maintenance; their cans can hold several days of food and water, although the water can freeze in the winter. They can crap a bit over your deck, which is annoying, but the eggs are so awesome (ameracauna lays blue ones), and they eat bugs like mad. We're hoping they make a serious dent in our tick population this year.

Let me know if you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer.
 
We've been raising laying hens since last spring; got chicks, kept them indoors in a big box that I built a custom lid for, then I built a coop according to plans I bought and we moved them in there. Here you can see it before I finished putting the roof on.

We have 7 hens; we had 8 originally but one turned out to be a rooster, he was given to a livestock store in the country. We have two of each of these varieties: buff orpingtons, wyandottes, ameracauna (one was rooster), barred rocks. They're all pretty awesome. They don't smell, and it's very easy maintenance; their cans can hold several days of food and water, although the water can freeze in the winter. They can crap a bit over your deck, which is annoying, but the eggs are so awesome (ameracauna lays blue ones), and they eat bugs like mad. We're hoping they make a serious dent in our tick population this year.

Let me know if you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer.

Oh wow, thanks for the info. That coup looks like a mansion! Do you let them roam outside the coup? I'd like to let them run around my backyard (in SoCal, so it's always warm and never freezing here) most of the time, but I also have a vegetable garden, so not sure how compatible that is. Will they eat pests off my vegetables, or will they just eat my vegetables?
 
That coup looks like a mansion!
Yeah, when I was buying the materials for it a guy at the lumber yard thought it was hilarious. "These chickens gonna be living like queens!" But it was a fun construction project and I really enjoyed building it. I probably put just under $700 into it since I put a shingle roof on it (better insulation for Maine winters) and coated all the wood with an expensive child/animal safe sealant. The hardware mesh is expensive, too. But we know lots of people who just nail scrap wood together and paint it with whatever.

Do you let them roam outside the coup?
Yes, most of our 3.5 acres is fenced in so they just putter around it, go through the woods digging up the leaves, etc. In the winter they hang out above our septic tank since it always melts the snow :p.

I'd like to let them run around my backyard (in SoCal, so it's always warm and never freezing here) most of the time, but I also have a vegetable garden, so not sure how compatible that is. Will they eat pests off my vegetables, or will they just eat my vegetables?

Yes, they can eat your vegetables (our chicken's favorite thing is carrot greens), or just their scratching and dust baths will make a mess of things. Luckily our gardens are outside our fence. I know some people recommend ducks instead for pest control in the garden, they're supposed to be more gentle. If you can put a small fence (mesh or otherwise) around your garden it should be fine.
 

Xeke

Banned
Is there any danger to a stainless steel pan...melting?

I accidentally left a dry Emeril stainless steel pan on the stove top on high heat (7/10) and only noticed it once it started smoking. I saw a black, melted liquid running near the seam/edge where the side of the pan meets the bottom, so I pulled it off immediately and let it cool before resuming cooking.

Now I'm kinda worried some of that liquid ended up in my food when I was moving the pan around over plates (I should've cleaned it off before continuing...), or that the fumes could've been toxic. I've read some stuff online about the aluminum bottom or solder on these specific pans melting at higher temperatures.

My roommate thinks the smoke and black stuff is just built-up grease on the pan and stove top and I'm being paranoid. Should I be worried at all?

Unless your stove has the amazing power to get to 1400-1450 °C or 2552 F you didn't melt shit. Thats for steel but aluminum is still 1220 F. Your stove doesn't get anywhere near that hot.

On another note I roasted a head of garlic today. Delicious!
 
U7cj5.jpg


Another nice meal!

Cheese: Pyrenees (Le Roy) Plain One of the softer cheeses, not to the same degree as Brie and the like, but still. Also very creamy, gooey, sweet tasting---for some reason it kind of gave me a sense of deja vu to eating some cheese toast as a small kid that mom sometimes made.

Crumble: Levant All Natural Falafel Chips Mediterraneans-styled seasoning on ground up beans/peas in chip form---what's not to like. The seasoning isn't especially pronounced, but given the nature of the cheese this time, that blended in rather nicely.

Finally finished my meat this time, so a new one for next week.

Question: Said new meat is the first one I've gotten that has a peppered outside to it---I presume that is fine to heat/eat or does it benefit from peeling?
 

MrBig

Member
I made this stuff turn in to pizza
22512.jpg


It's all wiggly :(
225121.jpg


Tried making a dough without sugar. Never again. The rise wasn't very good, it didn't hold together well, and the taste was rather yeasty.

Topped with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, swiss, and moz.

I also made some mini calzones which I soaked in boiled water and baking soda like a pretzel (that's what the strainer thing is for). They were really damn good, but I forgot to take pics.
 
^-- Nice charring on that pizza! I haven't made pizza dough in a while, but I don't remember putting sugar in it before. Maybe you need to add more salt to the dough so it doesn't taste as yeasty?

Made steamed mussels tonight with a white wine and tarragon broth. It was my first time preparing mussels. It was quite easy!

6787879830_13444196f3.jpg
 

Talon

Member
Yes! Mussels are a gloriously easy, cheap, and delicious dinner option.

Love playing around with different preparations.
 

Keen

Aliens ate my babysitter
Decided to up my game. Time for real immersion circulator. Got a great deal on a used one.

6926968005_fd601e897b_b.jpg

Very nice! Definitely on my to buy list (once I buy a new apartment with a proper kitchen)


What have or are you planning to make with it?
 

Zyzyxxz

Member
Very nice! Definitely on my to buy list (once I buy a new apartment with a proper kitchen)


What have or are you planning to make with it?

So far tried a soft boiled egg, chicken breast, steak.

The only issue I have is that I need to calibrate it or I think I do because it doesn't match temperatures with my shitty thermometer so I need a second opinion with a decent thermometer to make sure its not the unit.

So far I love the fact that the temperature is so stable, back when I used the PID controller and rice cooker method the thing would take forever to get water up to temperature and once you added meat it would throw it off for a few minutes.

Also anything becomes a vessel as well, as seen in my picture a big pot works but I'm planning on buying a Lexan with a lid.
 

Keen

Aliens ate my babysitter
So far tried a soft boiled egg, chicken breast, steak.

The only issue I have is that I need to calibrate it or I think I do because it doesn't match temperatures with my shitty thermometer so I need a second opinion with a decent thermometer to make sure its not the unit.

So far I love the fact that the temperature is so stable, back when I used the PID controller and rice cooker method the thing would take forever to get water up to temperature and once you added meat it would throw it off for a few minutes.

Also anything becomes a vessel as well, as seen in my picture a big pot works but I'm planning on buying a Lexan with a lid.

Nice! Looking forward to your future cookery and recipes! ;)


Right now I'm pickling some red onions and jalapenos from a recipe by Bobby Flay

Later on I'll make a tomato salsa-ish type sauce, and dry rub a pork shoulder for pulled pork sandwiches tomorrow!

Zxslll.jpg
 

DJ_Lae

Member
Tried making marshmallows for something a bit different - my daughter enjoyed playing with it in the process but doesn't seem all that interested in eating the end product.

Also, the handful of recipes I sort of followed talk about whipping the sugar syrup with the gelatin for a good 12-15 minutes. Bullshit - by the 7 minute mark it was incredibly thick and I even started feeling a bit bad for a mixer that I usually subject to all sorts of whole wheat bread kneading.

7hUzi.jpg


Sticky, sticky, sticky. This is my first time working with anything candy related and I wasn't quite prepared for that sugary mess. Not that adding gelatin to it makes it any less messy.

V7OaI.jpg


qQz9a.jpg


I actually like the end product, which is interesting as I normally can't stand marshmallows. I've already tried cutting them into tiny squares and dumping them into hot chocolate, and of course some makeshift smores.

The smores make me want to bake some of my own graham crackers, as wasting these marshmallows on store bought ones seems, well, a waste.
 
Breakfast for dinner this evening. Pancakes are from Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pancake & Waffle mix, but I did cook the eggs and used the oven for the bacon. There were more pancakes obviously but the first one was terrible and saved the others for breakfast.

72598c98.jpg


Would definitely love to revisit the pancakes with real pumpkin come this fall.
 

Keen

Aliens ate my babysitter
So, all my prep yesterday turned into this rather lack-luster looking sandwich. But damn was it good!!

Pulled pork on levain bread with cheddar, homemade tomato sauce, and pickled red onions and jalapeños.

Vfbqel.jpg
 
Lodge is okay but if you have some time and money look for an old and used Griswald on ebay or Craigslist, high chance it will already be seasoned and seasoned well indeed.

Something just seems wrong about buying used cookware. What they fried up some semen in it????

I'll look into the lodge one. Thanks
 

Zyzyxxz

Member
Something just seems wrong about buying used cookware. What they fried up some semen in it????

I'll look into the lodge one. Thanks

Suits you then, I have a lodge but want to add a Griswald to my collection. The thing is most of them are 50+ years old and the seasoning on them will be awesome, they are basically non-stick pans if properly cared for without any of the adverse health defects.

I literally would not care if somebody boiled semen up to the rim in it as long as the season is good and I can get it for a good price. Blasting it in a 500F degree oven will destroy anything resembling a semen molecule.
 

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
I literally would not care if somebody boiled semen up to the rim in it as long as the season is good and I can get it for a good price. Blasting it in a 500F degree oven will destroy anything resembling a semen molecule.

What if they fried up some AIDS burgers* in them?

*True Blood reference
 

DJ_Lae

Member
Dear Lord that looks fantastic and you are living the dream---I've often wondered just how interesting a marshmallow could get upon being fashioned from better ingredients than the average Jet Puff!

They're really simple, too:

Mix 3 packets of gelatin with 1/2 cup water in a mixing bowl

Boil 1.5 cups of sugar and 1 cup of corn syrup with 1/2 cup water until 240-250 (soft ball stage, I guess)

Slowly pour into the bowl while whipping on low, then turn to high and keep whipping until it starts getting thick and cools a bit - in my case, about seven minutes. Near the end of that whipping process you can toss in a teaspoon of vanilla extract, or some cocoa powder, or food colouring, or whatever you want I suppose. I was happy enough with just vanilla.

Then you dump it into a pan of some kind that you've lined with oil/shortening and sprinkled all over with roughly equal parts icing sugar and cornstarch. You also need more of that mixture on top, and more again when you cut it into squares after it's set (4-8 hours) as it's really damn sticky.
 

TheExodu5

Banned
Lodge is okay but if you have some time and money look for an old and used Griswald on ebay or Craigslist, high chance it will already be seasoned and seasoned well indeed.

I've spent the last few weeks trying to find a nice Griswald skillet...can't find something that is less than 12 inches and doesn't need a good amount of restoration.
 

Zyzyxxz

Member
I've spent the last few weeks trying to find a nice Griswald skillet...can't find something that is less than 12 inches and doesn't need a good amount of restoration.

Well it's either you pay 80-100 for a nice clean one or pay 20-30 and restore it yourself.

I have no problem with rusted ones as you can fix that but I'm still looking for that special one that has a perfect seasoning already.
 

Zyzyxxz

Member
Finally started getting steak right with my immersion circulator, here I cooked the steak for 1 hour at 120F or 48.8C for you inferior countries.
6796130030_02b673b491_b.jpg


Served with roasted baby carrots, a potato pave (process here: http://momofukufor2.com/2010/03/ad-hoc-potato-pave-recipe/), and a quenelle of a potato puree (or in layman's terms a football shaped mash potato. After taking steak out of water bath it was rubbed in coffee, salt, pepper and seared in it's own fat.
 

Yami

Member
Haven't posted in here before, but I like what I see! Here's something I basically made yesterday, but didn't photograph, so here's a photo from a couple months back:

8bbf78e8c964421faac482e11884c52e_7.jpg


This picture is grilled chicken breasts seasoned with salt n' pepper and a bit of bbq powder stuff and drizzled with some garlic-chilli Sriracha sauce after, which makes for some tasty and simple eatings alongside rice and broccoli.

Nowadays I don't have the patience to stand by the grill and check the chicken to flip, so I stick it in the oven and bake it. Yesterday's chicken breasts were salted, peppered, chilli powdered, and then added a dash of soy sauce and xiaoxing rice wine over the top for some extra flavour. Covered it up in foil and bunged it in the oven for about 20-25 mins and served with brown rice and stir-fried bok choi (with garlic, spring onions, xiaoxing rice wine and oyster sauce).

Fairly simple, but what can I say, I'm a simple student.
 
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