Haha! yeah, Fromage is cheese in French. And Fromage Frais/Fromage Blanc is a type of cheese (non fermented for a long time i think in comparison to other "hard" cheese) that is actually famous in France and Europe and really easy to make from milk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fromage_frais
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IronGAF Cookoff (hosted by OnkelC)
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Haha! yeah, Fromage is cheese in French. And Fromage Frais/Fromage Blanc is a type of cheese (non fermented for a long time i think in comparison to other "hard" cheese) that is actually famous in France and Europe and really easy to make from milk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fromage_frais
TOM f'N CRUISE
Member
i dont post on here often but that is awesome
I wish i could find an example of a freezing table. There's a raw food place here in town that has one, it's about 2ftx2ft and the surface is -30C or something, so everything you put on it freezes instantly. You can do a lot of fun things with it.
EDIT: Found it! http://cuisinetechnology.com/the-anti-griddle.php
EDIT: Found it! http://cuisinetechnology.com/the-anti-griddle.php
BriareosGAF
Member
Very nice work! This reminds me of a galette we made recently with mushrooms, leeks and chevre. The trick there was a little egg wash and sea salt sprinkled on the pastry edge, really kicked up the savoriness. Believe that was a Cooks Illustrated recipe, too, actually.
A couple of nights ago, I made my youngest daughter's favorite recipe - Chicken Pot Pie. This one is from Cooks Illustrated and is named Skillet Chicken Pot Pie. It is a bit labor intensive but it's quite good since it has lots of vegetables. I recently went to some sort of benefit dinner where they also served chicken pot pie but it was nasty - just chicken and some sort of funky gravy.
Here's the pie before it goes into the oven.
Fresh out of the oven.
Individual serving.
The recipe calls for a single top crust but I double it and have a bottom crust. You can never have too much crust.
Oh my god that looks incredible? Any chance you can share the recipe?
For this to work, the membrane needs to be still moist.
Which means you can't overcook the egg...
If the membrane is still moist, it's a pretty easy task to peel off the entire shell in a single layer (at least after the hole that you make to gain leverage).
Mackenzie 92
Member
The advantage of asking here is that sometimes people share their "secrets" and personal touches to those recipes that can enhance the basic directions.
I'm also interested in that recipe neocoder!Transform it into a kick ass chili! hehehehe
SquiddyCracker
Banned
A quick tagine with some couscous.
nakedsushi
Member
^-- Looks great! I want to start making more tagines now that it's getting colder. What's in this one? Recipe?
SniperHunter
Banned
A couple of nights ago, I made my youngest daughter's favorite recipe - Chicken Pot Pie. This one is from Cooks Illustrated and is named Skillet Chicken Pot Pie. It is a bit labor intensive but it's quite good since it has lots of vegetables. I recently went to some sort of benefit dinner where they also served chicken pot pie but it was nasty - just chicken and some sort of funky gravy.
Here's the pie before it goes into the oven.
Fresh out of the oven.
Individual serving.
The recipe calls for a single top crust but I double it and have a bottom crust. You can never have too much crust.
Earlier tonight, I made Chicken Tikka Masala which is also from Cooks Illustrated.
This recipe is a bit easier than the pot pie. The only tricky aspect is coating the chicken with this yogurt mixture and broiling it. It's tricky only because it's a pain to clean the cookie rack afterwards. Here's a photo of the broiled chicken:
The yogurt mixture is the key to giving the chicken a goof flavor and keeping the inside very moist.
Here's the chicken tikka masala cooking in my favorite pot, Le Creuset 7qt round dutch oven. It's 15 years old and still looks great.
An individual portion:
I still remember the first few times I served Tikka Masala to my daughters when they were young (like 7 & 4). Their immediate reaction? "Uggh, it's disgusting". Yes, I've heard that many times. Now that they're 12 & 9, they're much better about most of the stuff I make. They're more appreciative of my cooking after going to their relatives' or friends' house.
both look great!! YUMMYY I want some now! >_<
SquiddyCracker
Banned
That one is a variation of the following recipe:
I skipped out on the onion as I thought it didn't fit the rest of the ingredients (it was slimy and relatively tasteless compared to the "bite" you got from the potatoes and cauliflower). Unfortunately overcooked my cauliflower a tiny bit, so I ended up with a bit too many pieces of it (you want them to stay as visible little florets). Didn't have any fresh coriander, so I just threw in a teaspoon of ground coriander for taste.
I need to get myself a kitchen herbarium so I can make use of more fresh herbs.
I used some of the liquid from the tagine, mixed with some concentrated tomato puree and vegetable stock, threw in the couscous and some added ingredients (diced bell bell pepper and courgette that I'd fried, chickpeas, dried raisins, various spices) - covered it up and let the couscous absorb all the juices for a couple of minutes.
Sure, I put it up on dropbox. Click on the spoiler to see the link:
Skillet Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
The recipe calls for a whole chicken. I have done it in a couple of different ways. I've used 2.5lbs of boneless breast and I've also used bone-in breasts (3.5lbs) worth. I've used the lemon juice and have skipped it as well. The recipe also calls for adding the broth to the vegetables, scraping the brown bits, and then straining it. I skip that. I just dump out the veggies and then start making the roux & gravy.
If anyone wants the recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala, I uploaded it as well:
It's on the cooksillustrated.com website but it's locked behind a paywall. You can get a 14 day trial subscription for free. Otherwise, I think it's $19/year.
I have both the print & web subscription because it's handy to look at some recipes when at work in order to prepare my grocery shopping list.
Awesome. Much appreciated.
Mackenzie 92
Member
Yeah I found a mirror for it. Ended up making it tonight using boneless breasts, turned out great, though next time I think I will go with boneless skinless thighs. I also folded in about half a cup of butter into the crust which was amazing.
Just wondering since you've tried recipes from Cooks Illustrated, have you tried the other variation of Chicken Pot Pie, i.e. Chicken Pot Pie with Savory Crumble Topping? It's from their 2010 September issue. I made it and liked it but I'm not sure it was necessarily quicker than the traditional chicken pot pie recipe since making crumble topping still took me a while (probably too much OCD'ing). Then again you seem to like a lot of crust so I'm not sure if the crumble topping would be enough for your taste ;-)
EatChildren
Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Cheap, easy but super tasty eggplant parmigiana time!
First up, and ideally, you want to weigh that eggplant down to get some of the bitterness out. Cut your eggplant into ~1cm slices (try not to go too far over). Dump them in a colander, salt 'em, stick a plate on top, and sit something heavy on the plate. I used a full kettle. Leave it sit in the sink for ~1 hour and the pressure will drain a lot of the bitterness out. After an hour you can sit the slices on paper towels for a little longer if you'd like to further drain them, but it's not necessary.
Next up is the sauce. You can do anything you want with this. In this instance I cut up a hot green chilli, one onion, and handful of mushrooms. Threw in some red kidney beans for good measure. Give all that a brief fry in a pan, just to slightly brown. However long you want, really.
When you're good, throw in a jar of passata. To further spice the sauce I added in Italian herbs and hot smoked paprika. Mix it all together and let it simmer for awhile. I like to start my sauce while the eggplant is draining, that way I can put the sauce on a low simmer heat and leave it be while the eggplant drains. Simmering for the whole hour is pretty keen, so maybe start the sauce towards the latter end of the draining. Whenever, whatever.
Sauce ready? Cool! Beat two eggs (or more if it's a large eggplant) and mix in some plain flour to make your batter. Dip in each side of your eggplant slices. Yep.
Either move your sauce to a bowel and give the pan a wash, or use a second pan, to fry up that eggplant. Just need to brown each side. Note, at this point it might be time to preheat your oven to 180°C / 356°F.
Sauce and eggplant ready! Almost there!
Layering time. How you wish to layer is entirely up to you. Grab an oven tray and get working. In this instance I did sauce/eggplant/cheese/sauce/cheese/eggplant/sauce/cheese. I think it's good to have some of your sauce on the very bottom for the first layer of eggplant to go on. Two layers is usually fine. In this instance I did three because why the fuck not.
If you haven't already, set your oven to 180°C / 356°F. Pop it in and let it cook for 20 - 30 minutes, whatever gets the cheese browned to your liking.
First up, and ideally, you want to weigh that eggplant down to get some of the bitterness out. Cut your eggplant into ~1cm slices (try not to go too far over). Dump them in a colander, salt 'em, stick a plate on top, and sit something heavy on the plate. I used a full kettle. Leave it sit in the sink for ~1 hour and the pressure will drain a lot of the bitterness out. After an hour you can sit the slices on paper towels for a little longer if you'd like to further drain them, but it's not necessary.
Next up is the sauce. You can do anything you want with this. In this instance I cut up a hot green chilli, one onion, and handful of mushrooms. Threw in some red kidney beans for good measure. Give all that a brief fry in a pan, just to slightly brown. However long you want, really.
When you're good, throw in a jar of passata. To further spice the sauce I added in Italian herbs and hot smoked paprika. Mix it all together and let it simmer for awhile. I like to start my sauce while the eggplant is draining, that way I can put the sauce on a low simmer heat and leave it be while the eggplant drains. Simmering for the whole hour is pretty keen, so maybe start the sauce towards the latter end of the draining. Whenever, whatever.
Sauce ready? Cool! Beat two eggs (or more if it's a large eggplant) and mix in some plain flour to make your batter. Dip in each side of your eggplant slices. Yep.
Either move your sauce to a bowel and give the pan a wash, or use a second pan, to fry up that eggplant. Just need to brown each side. Note, at this point it might be time to preheat your oven to 180°C / 356°F.
Sauce and eggplant ready! Almost there!
Layering time. How you wish to layer is entirely up to you. Grab an oven tray and get working. In this instance I did sauce/eggplant/cheese/sauce/cheese/eggplant/sauce/cheese. I think it's good to have some of your sauce on the very bottom for the first layer of eggplant to go on. Two layers is usually fine. In this instance I did three because why the fuck not.
If you haven't already, set your oven to 180°C / 356°F. Pop it in and let it cook for 20 - 30 minutes, whatever gets the cheese browned to your liking.
I'm bad about trying new recipes once I find one that works. So no, I haven't tried it. I think the only other chicken pot pie recipe that I made would be the one from the Soups & Stews cookbook. I preferred this skillet one because I liked the idea of roasting the chicken/veggies in the oven and using one pan/pot for everything (a little less cleanup).
Making the pie crust is a bit of a pain but I do use the food processor. So I pulse everything for the first crust and then empty it out onto a piece of saran wrap (plastic wrap). I push it all together to form a disc and let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two. Now there's still residue in the food processor bowl but I still use it to make the next batch of dough. It doesn't really have any effect.
The chicken pot pie can also be made ahead. I was going on a ski trip and had to bring something. So I rolled out the crust and then folded it on itself like a pizza slice and put it in a bag. The filling I put in another bag. When I got to the ski condo, I put the crust in a pie plate, empty out the filling and then put the other crust on top.
@EatChildren, the eggplant parm looks good. I do have an eggplant pie recipe that I'll post one day. The advantage of it is that you don't fry the eggplant. It's surprisingly good although I do admit breaded eggplant is hard to beat.
Maklershed
Member
Never had that type of chicken pot pie before. Around here we only make (and you can only buy ... except for frozen dinners) PA Dutch Chicken Pot Pie
At this point I love it because its a major part of my childhood and its comfort food but neocoder's kind of chicken pot pie looks way better to me :b
At this point I love it because its a major part of my childhood and its comfort food but neocoder's kind of chicken pot pie looks way better to me :b
dragonlife
Member
I thought this was a brain at first.
Last night, I made Beef Stroganoff from the Cooks Illustrated Soups & Stews Cookbook. No, I'm not a shill or nor do I work for them. I probably use their recipes for 80% of my cooking because they're consistently good. It's rare that I come find one that I dislike. I also have Fine Cooking magazine but I stopped my subscription a couple of years ago. I also have a huge collection of cookbooks but tend to use a handful over and over again.
Here's a picture of it be ready to serve:
Here's an individual serving:
The CI recipe calls for beef tenderloin which I sometimes use when it's on sale at the local supermarket. I will substitute a sirloin cut like I did last night. It calls for 3/4 lb of meat but I usually put more than a lb (probably 1.25) or sometimes double the recipe. The sauce is based on red wine, chicken stock, flour, butter, and tomato paste. I just serve it over some egg noodles.
I'll try to scan the recipe and upload it. The ones on the CI website are different from the Soup & Stew version. My kids like the recipe but won't eat the mushrooms.
The pan I used is a Calphalon 14" skillet. I've been meaning to write to customer service (lifetime warranty) because this pan is warped on the bottom. It drives me nuts. Many of my Calphalon pans are like that. No, I don't abuse them (e.g, get them hot and then put under cold water or stick them in the dishwasher). I will never buy another Calphalon pan again. Instead, I hope to buy an All Clad.
About a year ago, I bought a couple of non-stick skillets from Sur La Table. I think they were 2 (8" & 10") for $40 or so. They look like Calphalon, are heavy and have a red plastic handle. I've been impressed with the quality of the pans considering what I paid for them. The coating still looks new. No warping of the pans yet. Pretty decent alternative to spending $100+ on an All Clad.
Here's a picture of it be ready to serve:
Here's an individual serving:
The CI recipe calls for beef tenderloin which I sometimes use when it's on sale at the local supermarket. I will substitute a sirloin cut like I did last night. It calls for 3/4 lb of meat but I usually put more than a lb (probably 1.25) or sometimes double the recipe. The sauce is based on red wine, chicken stock, flour, butter, and tomato paste. I just serve it over some egg noodles.
I'll try to scan the recipe and upload it. The ones on the CI website are different from the Soup & Stew version. My kids like the recipe but won't eat the mushrooms.
The pan I used is a Calphalon 14" skillet. I've been meaning to write to customer service (lifetime warranty) because this pan is warped on the bottom. It drives me nuts. Many of my Calphalon pans are like that. No, I don't abuse them (e.g, get them hot and then put under cold water or stick them in the dishwasher). I will never buy another Calphalon pan again. Instead, I hope to buy an All Clad.
About a year ago, I bought a couple of non-stick skillets from Sur La Table. I think they were 2 (8" & 10") for $40 or so. They look like Calphalon, are heavy and have a red plastic handle. I've been impressed with the quality of the pans considering what I paid for them. The coating still looks new. No warping of the pans yet. Pretty decent alternative to spending $100+ on an All Clad.
Wuthering_Heights
Banned
You know, I couldn't cook up a decent batch of rice to save my life.
And then I discovered Basmati rice.
Now every batch is perfect, every time.
And then I discovered Basmati rice.
Now every batch is perfect, every time.
Metroid Killer
Member
Basmati >>>>>>>>>>>>> Every other rice
nakedsushi
Member
Do you use a rice cooker? I think I've cooked rice on the stove about 2 times in a life and I'm Asian so you know I eat a lot of rice. The rice cooker is the way to go!
SquiddyCracker
Banned
I've only ever cooked rice in a dedicated rice cooker two or three times, using a housemate's ricecooker.
I guess it works just as well as cooking on the stove (which is my to-go method).
I guess it works just as well as cooking on the stove (which is my to-go method).
Time to try braising again. Went out and bought a pot roast (seems to be chuck...I think). Has nice marbling and seemingly enough fat so hopefully it turns out nicely.
I'd wager it's around 2lbs or so. I plan on cooking it with carrots and onions. Plain and simple. I need some advice though, since I have very little roasting/braising experience.
What should I use for braising liquid? Should I just go with water? How much liquid should I use? Should I put in the vegetables in at the start, or only partway through? What temperature should I braise at? Was thinking maybe around 225F.
I'd wager it's around 2lbs or so. I plan on cooking it with carrots and onions. Plain and simple. I need some advice though, since I have very little roasting/braising experience.
What should I use for braising liquid? Should I just go with water? How much liquid should I use? Should I put in the vegetables in at the start, or only partway through? What temperature should I braise at? Was thinking maybe around 225F.
nakedsushi
Member
I also read about a method of cooking rice where you cook it like pasta (tons of water, add rice, when it's cooked, drain the excess water) but I don't know how well it'd work for short grain or sticky-rice.
I made a quick lunch today since I'm working from home. A tin of anchovies, a clove of garlic, a pinch (or two or three, which was too much) of aleppo pepper, plenty of cracked black pepper, olive oil, arugula and dried spaghetti turned into this:
Heat water to boil pasta and put pasta in to boil. In the mean time, in a frying pan, heat olive oil, roughly chopped garlic, anchovies, aleppo pepper, and cracked black pepper over super low heat. The anchovies should end up disintegrating into the oil. Make sure the heat is low enough not to brown the garlic. When the pasta is almost done, take it out with a pair of tongs, turn the heat up to high on the frying pan, and throw the pasta in there. It's ok if there's still some water on the pasta, it'll evaporate or steam away. Stir and toss pasta in the frying pan, throw in half a cup of pasta cooking water and scrape up any stuck bits on the bottom, turn the heat down to super low again, and stir in the arugula. Turn the heat off, stir some more till the arugula is wilted, add more cracked black pepper, and serve. By this time, I find that the pasta water and anchovy and oil have made a pretty tasty, savory, thin sauce to coat the pasta.
For braising liquid some redwine and chicken/beef stock would be nice. Cover just cover until the top is barely visible. For veges you can add in onions, carrots, and celery for flavor but they will likely turn to mush. You can always add some in the last 45 mins to 1 hour of cooking if you don't want to cook them on the side. 225 sounds like a good temp but it may take quite some time like 4 hours give or take.
I'll start with water/stock or maybe beer this time, I think. I want to get it right before I add a $10 bottle of wine to the mix.
Thanks for the advice.
I would think you want to cut the meat up in 2" chunks and brown it on the stove top. That is, a little oil at a medium high temp. Don't turn the meat over too quickly because you want it to carmelize it. Then you finish it off in the oven.
You can go with shitty cheap ass $1-2 wines. Doesn't make much of a difference. The type of wine makes more of a difference than the quality of it.
Yes. About that, I remember an episode of No Reservations where Anthony made a Boeuf Bourguignon and said that the cheapest wine available makes for the best dish at the end. hehehe
At my last job we just used those shitty table wines for our red wine sauces and this was at one of the best restaurants in Los Angeles too.
Metroid Killer
Member
3 layered Dark Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream and 70% Chocolate glazing
First try at Swiss Meringue Buttercream! Fuck yeah success!! And now I understand why it's the standard layered cake cream for filling in the proffesional industry. 1) It's very handy to decorate with sturdy and airy texture. 2) A buttercream that doesn't have this overwhelming buttery taste, yes thank you! 3) Ones it's done, it doesn't give a fuck about what you do with it (refrigiate -> room temp -> refrigiate, other abuse) it just stays as it is.
Can't wait till my next sugar attack this cake is gonna give me tonight!
First try at Swiss Meringue Buttercream! Fuck yeah success!! And now I understand why it's the standard layered cake cream for filling in the proffesional industry. 1) It's very handy to decorate with sturdy and airy texture. 2) A buttercream that doesn't have this overwhelming buttery taste, yes thank you! 3) Ones it's done, it doesn't give a fuck about what you do with it (refrigiate -> room temp -> refrigiate, other abuse) it just stays as it is.
Can't wait till my next sugar attack this cake is gonna give me tonight!
Cosmic Bus
pristine morning snow
Go go go, Metroid Killer! Great job!
Here are a couple that I did on Thursday and Friday:
S'mores cake (aka please inject the sugar directly into my veins)
• Two layers of cinnamon walnut sponge with an outer ring of chocolate joconde imprime
• Milk chocolate mousse
• Dark chocolate mousse
• Layer of homemade marshmallow
• Dark chocolate ganache
This one is probably my favorite that I've done, partly because of the excellent (and surprisingly, not too sweet) flavors but also because it wasn't out of any of the recipe packets. I'm considering a variation of this for my "chef of the day" presentation that comes before graduation.
• Flourless white chocolate tort layer
• Matcha mousse
• Honey ladyfinger sponge layer
• Coconut cream mousseline
• Tinted glaze and white chocolate decor
Here are a couple that I did on Thursday and Friday:
S'mores cake (aka please inject the sugar directly into my veins)
• Two layers of cinnamon walnut sponge with an outer ring of chocolate joconde imprime
• Milk chocolate mousse
• Dark chocolate mousse
• Layer of homemade marshmallow
• Dark chocolate ganache
This one is probably my favorite that I've done, partly because of the excellent (and surprisingly, not too sweet) flavors but also because it wasn't out of any of the recipe packets. I'm considering a variation of this for my "chef of the day" presentation that comes before graduation.
• Flourless white chocolate tort layer
• Matcha mousse
• Honey ladyfinger sponge layer
• Coconut cream mousseline
• Tinted glaze and white chocolate decor
Metroid Killer
Member
Nice... double chcolate mousse and still other layers to divert the attention... Would love to have seen a close up of the layers. Also that exterior wall is excellent.
Yes it looks very beautiful. Eventhough my tastebuds are in favor of chocolate cakes, I can't ignore the beauty of cakes in pastel colors.
Also as always I'm insanely impressed by the way you decorate your cakes. I defintely want to go that extra mile as well!
Welp...looks like I seriously need to calibrate our oven.
The 2.3lbs pot roast cooked to 209F in under 2 hours at 225F. This oven is way off.
Somehow it wasn't super dry even being cooked that much...I guess the cut was plenty fatty which helped. Just using it for roast beef sandwiches at this point.
Cosmic Bus
pristine morning snow
I've been trying to try some different things recently and it's been going well. Assembling the actual components of these cakes is pretty quick and simple once you've done it a few times, so that leaves me a lot more time to focus on making a strong visual impact.
Metroid Killer
Member
Yup indeed. I always end up messing a bit too much with the time logistic when trying completely new recipes, not leaving much time for creative decorating (Getting home from work, riding around town to find exclusive ingredients, making dinner, and then cake... wasn't finished until 1am last night).
Question on Pistachio Paste
So yesterday I found some cheap Pistachip Paste that will expire next saturday. I have an idea for a use but that will maximum use half of the paste. It's 100g and it's the sweet kind of paste used in confections. Any good ideas for uses?
Maklershed
Member
Didn't look that impressive from the outside but when you cut that baby open it looks like the best cake ever. Also, cute dog. :b
ElectricThunder
Member
Absolutely stunning series of cakes folks...especially that S'mores one!
Crumble: Whale Tails Hawaiian BBQ Solid little chip, mango powder being kind of an oddball inclusion versus most.
Cheese: Sartori Mediterranean Fontina Nicely messy, nicely milky, nicely melted, vaguest sense of herb doings.
Looking forward to finally cracking open a new pack of something meat wise come next week!
Crumble: Whale Tails Hawaiian BBQ Solid little chip, mango powder being kind of an oddball inclusion versus most.
Cheese: Sartori Mediterranean Fontina Nicely messy, nicely milky, nicely melted, vaguest sense of herb doings.
Looking forward to finally cracking open a new pack of something meat wise come next week!
Mr.Squirrel
Tom
ElectricThunder
Member
There is no better rice for absorbing the delicious broth of meats cooked in a clay pot than sushi rice. I would guess some of these others do better for other, likely lesser, tasks though.
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