I hear icewine and blue cheese is amazing. I have yet to try that myself.
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IronGAF Cookoff (hosted by OnkelC)
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I hear icewine and blue cheese is amazing. I have yet to try that myself.
CrystalGemini
Member
I made shredded turkey tacos.
Making some chicken divan (casserole with brocolli, shredded chicken, a sauce, and topped with a gratin) for workplace fundraising sale in a few weeks.
Trying to perfect the recipe right now. I'm good on the sauce and brocolli, but I'm trying to improve the chicken and the gratin.
For the chicken, I was thinking to have a more flavorful chicken, instead of just boiling it in water, I might try poaching chicken breast in a chicken stock, with some sliced onions and lemon (the sauce has a tiny bit of lemon, so I think it would complement well). Good idea? Bad idea?
My gratin didn't turn out too well last time...I'm not sure if it's because of the breadcrumbs I used, or the cheese I used, but the breadcrumbs didn't really brown. I would have expected the breadcrumbs to mix in with the cheese fat as it melts, but they just kind of sat on top so they didn't brown all that well. Should I butter the breadcrumbs? I'm just worried about making the dish a bit too greasy if I do.
Trying to perfect the recipe right now. I'm good on the sauce and brocolli, but I'm trying to improve the chicken and the gratin.
For the chicken, I was thinking to have a more flavorful chicken, instead of just boiling it in water, I might try poaching chicken breast in a chicken stock, with some sliced onions and lemon (the sauce has a tiny bit of lemon, so I think it would complement well). Good idea? Bad idea?
My gratin didn't turn out too well last time...I'm not sure if it's because of the breadcrumbs I used, or the cheese I used, but the breadcrumbs didn't really brown. I would have expected the breadcrumbs to mix in with the cheese fat as it melts, but they just kind of sat on top so they didn't brown all that well. Should I butter the breadcrumbs? I'm just worried about making the dish a bit too greasy if I do.
on the chicken, why not try roasting whole? flavorful and most of all easy. You could speed it up by going spatchcock http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatchcock, http://www.marthastewart.com/953786/roast-spatchcocked-lemon-chicken
Boneless-skinless chicken breast was on at half price, so I'll be going that route. Otherwise, I would have just bought some already cooked Costco chickens. I do need to try roasting my own chicken at some point.
I have trouble getting a lot of flavor out of boneless skinless breasts (mostly because the flavor is in the bones and the skin! lol). I like to do a salt/pepper rub and pan fry in order to get some real caramelization/maillard reaction out of it, but that sounds like a lot of work for a casserole, as the whole point of a casserole is to be quick and easy. Do you have a grill handy?
codswallop
Member
We usually have a couple in the freezer at all times. Not always red, sometimes green or masaman but almost always a Thai curry of some sort. I usually cook enough to get 10-15 servings.
Ether_Snake
å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®å®
I made creme caramel, should have posted a picture but it basically came out 100% like in the top picture. It's very tasty, a bit of bitterness from the sugar since it is slightly burned, but it's a pleasant bitterness. Next time I think I will add a bit of grated orange zest to it.
It is extremely easy to make, because I suck at this stuff and got it on the first try
It is extremely easy to make, because I suck at this stuff and got it on the first try
Thanks for the replies! I tired pan frying salmon once before but the skin kept getting stuck on the pan and trying to flip it caused it to break apart making everything a mess.
Oh I could fry them just fine...I just rather a uniform texture for the chicken, so I'm going with a poach...I'm trying to avoid browning the chicken in this case. I also don't want to add anymore grease to the casserole since it has a fairly rich sauce and is covered with cheese.
I'll try a brine and I'll poach the breasts in some chicken stock with onions, lemon, and maybe some herbs.
I should add that I have tried this with pan-seared chicken before...I just don't feel it goes well with the dish. The chicken really needs to be just plain and shredded. I'm just trying to impart as much flavor into it as possible.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
So, what's a good chicken wing recipe with vegetables I can use?
I haven't been taking photos lately, but I've started to cook more and more. Recently made some sambal prawns with garlic scapes. Garlic scapes are delicious.
I haven't been taking photos lately, but I've started to cook more and more. Recently made some sambal prawns with garlic scapes. Garlic scapes are delicious.
Metroid Killer
Member
drools... I haven't made this in a long time, and I haven't made any caramel stuff lately either, thanks for reminding me!I made creme caramel, should have posted a picture but it basically came out 100% like in the top picture. It's very tasty, a bit of bitterness from the sugar since it is slightly burned, but it's a pleasant bitterness. Next time I think I will add a bit of grated orange zest to it.
It is extremely easy to make, because I suck at this stuff and got it on the first try
Last weekend we surprised my mother-in-law with a show at the opera while I was making desserts for the group of friends she didn't know would be there for her 60th birthday:
The theme was apple!
More apple puff pastry, apple/plum trifle, apple mousse cake. And with that, I think I'm gonna close off apple season this year. It's not like I got time to make anything else with apple anyway. Also that apple swan, scores soooo many points for being so easy to make.
Funky Papa
FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Loving that appleduck. Duckapple. Duckpple. Whatever that thing is. Did you make it yourself?
I also love that we are in the season for dried figs and apricots. I will be feasting on them for the next few weeks.
I also love that we are in the season for dried figs and apricots. I will be feasting on them for the next few weeks.
ive only had serrano ham cut straight from a leg, it is some amazing stuff
nakedsushi
Member
Salmon spinach benedict?
Yes! Any benedict is great for breakfast.
Not as fancy as Metroid's desserts, but made a vegan stout chocolate cake with salted whisky ganache topping.
Yes! Any benedict is great for breakfast.
Not as fancy as Metroid's desserts, but made a vegan stout chocolate cake with salted whisky ganache topping.
Annnnnnd. . . How did it taste?! It looks pretty delicious.
Tonight I'm on my own and had to "scavenge" for dinner in the fridge. Luckily I had ingredients that can't possibly taste bad. Pancetta, parmesan, pasta, broccoli, onion, garlic, eggs, milk. So I tried my hand at pasta carbonara. The egg mixture seemed to take a long time to cook and I had to keep the pasta over the heat for a while, but they didn't scramble and it tasted great.
nakedsushi
Member
Annnnnnd. . . How did it taste?! It looks pretty delicious.
It tasted pretty good. Really rich, but was a little too crumbly.
Nice looking pasta. I like how you made it healthy with broccoli. The shape of the pasta looks pretty tasty. I like weird shaped pasta for things like that.
Mackenzie 92
Member
Pasta looks delicious EasyG.
Made some lasagna last night. Tasted better than it looks. Used a mixture of ground beef and italian sausage with some fresh onions and garlic for the meat sauce and just some mozzarella and cheddar for the cheese. Don't like ricotta.
Served with
Made some lasagna last night. Tasted better than it looks. Used a mixture of ground beef and italian sausage with some fresh onions and garlic for the meat sauce and just some mozzarella and cheddar for the cheese. Don't like ricotta.
Served with
triplestation
Member
yo guys
hello?
im planning on making a cheesecake later this week
and id just like an opinion on mascarpone cheese
should i use this? i know it may be a matter of opinion but will this cheese amplify the cheesecake experience or what?
hello?
im planning on making a cheesecake later this week
and id just like an opinion on mascarpone cheese
should i use this? i know it may be a matter of opinion but will this cheese amplify the cheesecake experience or what?
I've made mascarpone cheesecakes before and I've really enjoyed them (used a recipe from a newspaper clipping long ago and now I'm not sure I could ever track it down again). I've never tried a mascarpone cheesecake side-by-side with a cream cheese cheesecake to note the taste/texture differences (if there are any). However from the very little research I just did on this issue just now, it seems that a mascarpone based cheesecake is likely richer in taste since it doesn't have the acidic tang of cream cheese. But I think any cheesecake can taste cloying sweet if you have too large of a serving, so I say go for the mascarpone which also is higher in fat content than cream cheese. If your going to make a cheesecake why cut any fat? ;-)
triplestation
Member
After thinking about it some more I decided to stick with new York style
But I will do a mascarpone afterwards as an experiment
I got the feeling it'll be overwhelming cause of the higher fat content..
But I will do a mascarpone afterwards as an experiment
I got the feeling it'll be overwhelming cause of the higher fat content..
D
Deleted member 59090
Unconfirmed Member
A friend of mine got me a Swedish cookbook recently so I made kycklingpaj which is a chicken tart.
Good stuff.
Best thing I have seen in this thread in a long time...bravo.
Metroid Killer
Member
Wow, can you post the recipe for that? Seems like the perfect winter eating.
Cosmic Bus
pristine morning snow
Yeah, a full-on mascarpone cheesecake is serious business and is definitely better in very small portions. I did some maple pecan mascarpone bars last winter that were pretty rock n' roll, but they were cut into 2"x2" squares and that was plenty big.
ElectricThunder
Member
After ages, I actually scored a cheese that was on my proper To-Do list.
Ricotta Salata: Well...if definitely doesn't really melt, nor have a smell, or even really brown so much as just kinda be there and firm to the touch and bite. The taste has a tiny tinge of salt to it, but very little really and the whole of it in no way lingers. So....decent yet entirely ephemeral.
Crumble: Regenie's Tangy Ranch Pita Chips Far more potent stuff and the first bag of any sort of Regenie's I've stumbled across in literally years probably---really nice texture and seasoning work and easily up there in the ranks of Best in Ranch across the narrow gambit with Late July's Dude Ranch and whatnot.
I really need to start taking more pictures and contributing. Threw together a breakfast with what I had around this morning.
Blintzes with banana maple topping.
The topping was kind of spur of the moment. I just added a bit extra coconut oil to the same pan I cooked the crepes, tossed in some sliced bananas, then poured some Grade B maple syrup over the top of them. Turned out perfect!
Blintzes with banana maple topping.
The topping was kind of spur of the moment. I just added a bit extra coconut oil to the same pan I cooked the crepes, tossed in some sliced bananas, then poured some Grade B maple syrup over the top of them. Turned out perfect!
I tried something similar once as well except for french toast. That looks delicious! Bananas are shockingly good with breakfast, but I think I and most people forget about them.
so I'm trying out some stuff for our family Christmas dinner
made Apple Pie last week, with some added Almond Paste beneath the apples (the white-ish layer) ... tastes like heaven ;D
tonight I tried to make the Hasselback Potato Gratin after seeing it on Serious Eats. Didn't came out like it should look because my dish was too large which caused some potato slices to fall over (already had more potatoes than the recipe used).
Only the slices in the bottom left were standing vertically like they were supposed to. Still it was damn tasty, everyone liked it a lot so I'll be making this for Christmas dinner (but with much more potato slices obviously). The Parmesan cheese is nice, the cream is ... well creamy, the garlic and thyme taste wonderful but most importantly the potatoes are just cooked very well (probably because of all the moisture evaporating)
It does contain quite some cream (I used 400 ml creme fraiche and a splash of milk as the European equivalent to "two cups Heavy Cream") so it's a fair bit "heavier" than the gratin we usually eat (which contains just milk and eggs).
made Apple Pie last week, with some added Almond Paste beneath the apples (the white-ish layer) ... tastes like heaven ;D
tonight I tried to make the Hasselback Potato Gratin after seeing it on Serious Eats. Didn't came out like it should look because my dish was too large which caused some potato slices to fall over (already had more potatoes than the recipe used).
Only the slices in the bottom left were standing vertically like they were supposed to. Still it was damn tasty, everyone liked it a lot so I'll be making this for Christmas dinner (but with much more potato slices obviously). The Parmesan cheese is nice, the cream is ... well creamy, the garlic and thyme taste wonderful but most importantly the potatoes are just cooked very well (probably because of all the moisture evaporating)
It does contain quite some cream (I used 400 ml creme fraiche and a splash of milk as the European equivalent to "two cups Heavy Cream") so it's a fair bit "heavier" than the gratin we usually eat (which contains just milk and eggs).
D
Deleted member 22576
Unconfirmed Member
Anyone have any experience making scalloped potatoes on a gas range? My oven is broken and I'm determined to make scalloped PTOs. Just gonna blanch and fry the potatodisks and then simmer forever in the cheesesauce. IDK.
ever top your blintz with sour cream?
Metroid Killer
Member
Forgive me IronGAF for I have sinned
So a colleague at work has a 13 year old daughter who is a huge Justin Bieber fan, and I was comissioned to make a Justin Bieber cake for her birthday party. It's one of the biggest single cakes that I've baked as it had to serve 30 people. Which is sorta why I made the extra small round cake to make sure there was enough(there was, they didn't even touch the small cake). The cake consists of 3 layers of chocolate cake, filled with raspberry mousse and blueberry mousse. Coated with lavender swiss meringue buttercream and decorated with edible paperprint and royal icing.
First time using edible paper, which was really easy to use and was a good fit for this kind of cake. It's also the first time that I've made royal icing, believe it or not, and ended up with a huuuuge batch.
Using lavender in food is also a first. I bought a syrup in a special shop and knew it would be perfect for a purple themed cake. The taste is floral, but with some weird connection to soda pops... The buttercream ended up separating at one point, but luckily not beyond repair, which was another good lesson.
I was happy with the cake, and my colleague was thrilled, so good times overall!
Now that huge batch of royal icing shouldn't go to waste, so I baked cookies the next day so that me and my girlfriend could decorate them together. Forget about the cookies, they were just plain sugar cookies, great tasting, but the highlight was defintely having fun decorating them together. I had forgotten how much fun it is to sit a listen to christmas music while being creatively together with your loved ones. Great idea for a date.
So a colleague at work has a 13 year old daughter who is a huge Justin Bieber fan, and I was comissioned to make a Justin Bieber cake for her birthday party. It's one of the biggest single cakes that I've baked as it had to serve 30 people. Which is sorta why I made the extra small round cake to make sure there was enough(there was, they didn't even touch the small cake). The cake consists of 3 layers of chocolate cake, filled with raspberry mousse and blueberry mousse. Coated with lavender swiss meringue buttercream and decorated with edible paperprint and royal icing.
First time using edible paper, which was really easy to use and was a good fit for this kind of cake. It's also the first time that I've made royal icing, believe it or not, and ended up with a huuuuge batch.
Using lavender in food is also a first. I bought a syrup in a special shop and knew it would be perfect for a purple themed cake. The taste is floral, but with some weird connection to soda pops... The buttercream ended up separating at one point, but luckily not beyond repair, which was another good lesson.
I was happy with the cake, and my colleague was thrilled, so good times overall!
Now that huge batch of royal icing shouldn't go to waste, so I baked cookies the next day so that me and my girlfriend could decorate them together. Forget about the cookies, they were just plain sugar cookies, great tasting, but the highlight was defintely having fun decorating them together. I had forgotten how much fun it is to sit a listen to christmas music while being creatively together with your loved ones. Great idea for a date.
TestMonkey
Member
Where is the GAF cookie?
My husband & I spent Thanksgiving alone due to bad weather. We cooked our first ever Thanksgiving meal (we are always at our parents') and it turned out great. The highlight was surprisingly the cranberry sauce. My only experience with cranberry sauce has been from a can so I love this. And it was so much fun to make- especially when the cranberries started popping!
I used Alton's recipe.
I used Alton's recipe.
D
Deleted member 22576
Unconfirmed Member
Great color to the photos! Did you do any post processing?
^Wow how was it?
^Wow how was it?
Pictures straight from my iPhone!
It was really good! My husband loved it! His family usually makes a jello-like cranberry salad so it was fun to have the real thing.
So after having to end my relationship of nine years I've had to move out to my own place and cook for myself. Before, I was living with my fiance in her parents home so I didn't really ever cook.
It's been tough living on my own, but fortunately, I'm finding some comfort in learning how to cook my own food. This thread actually taught me how to make basil pesto but as I mentioned before, I went a few years without needing to cook. Now that I have to learn how to take responsibility into my own hands I thought I'd share some of my humble efforts from the past few weeks.
This is what I made last night: Chicken with bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms over cilantro rice:
Followed a Gordon Ramsay video on YouTube for this. Pork Chops and Sweet and Sour Peppers. Forgot to put some cuts in the fat so the chops ended up curling quite a bit:
The first meal I made in my new apartment, beef stir fry (mostly stir fry):
Another Ramsay thing, scrambled eggs with toast, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Didn't have nice ciabatta bread so I just used plain ol' white bread instead:
It's been tough living on my own, but fortunately, I'm finding some comfort in learning how to cook my own food. This thread actually taught me how to make basil pesto but as I mentioned before, I went a few years without needing to cook. Now that I have to learn how to take responsibility into my own hands I thought I'd share some of my humble efforts from the past few weeks.
This is what I made last night: Chicken with bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms over cilantro rice:
Followed a Gordon Ramsay video on YouTube for this. Pork Chops and Sweet and Sour Peppers. Forgot to put some cuts in the fat so the chops ended up curling quite a bit:
The first meal I made in my new apartment, beef stir fry (mostly stir fry):
Another Ramsay thing, scrambled eggs with toast, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Didn't have nice ciabatta bread so I just used plain ol' white bread instead:
So after having to end my relationship of nine years I've had to move out to my own place and cook for myself. Before, I was living with my fiance in her parents home so I didn't really ever cook.
It's been tough living on my own, but fortunately, I'm finding some comfort in learning how to cook my own food. This thread actually taught me how to make basil pesto but as I mentioned before, I went a few years without needing to cook. Now that I have to learn how to take responsibility into my own hands I thought I'd share some of my humble efforts from the past few weeks.
This is what I made last night: Chicken with bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms over cilantro rice:
Followed a Gordon Ramsay video on YouTube for this. Pork Chops and Sweet and Sour Peppers. Forgot to put some cuts in the fat so the chops ended up curling quite a bit:
The first meal I made in my new apartment, beef stir fry (mostly stir fry):
Another Ramsay thing, scrambled eggs with toast, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Didn't have nice ciabatta bread so I just used plain ol' white bread instead:
Cooking is an amazing way of getting your mind into a normal place, giving you something to concentrate on and learn, and getting yourself healthy. Glad to see you're enjoying it!
Those are definitely more than humble dinners. They look delicious. It took me way too long to realize that tomatoes are delicious for breakfast. And the chops look amazing. I'm gonna go ahead and assume they are juicy. For being something that has traditionally been so dry, once you learn to cook pork it is great.
EDIT: Looking a second time those eggs may be just fine. If they turned out well disregard the following.
One critique going off your pics (so it may be unfounded since I can't see them too well), did you consistently whip those eggs and keep them on a low heat (or on and of as Ramsay does)? They look a bit stiff. If the heat was too high or they were allowed to sit still too long they can get dry and hard. Also if you cook them too long. I never let them stop moving and turn the heat off while they still are shiny. Also, try adding some chopped chives to them. Turns out incredible.
The chops did come out juicy, much to my surprise. Was really pleased since I've always had dry, tough chops whenever someone that isn't my mom is cooking them.
Yeah the eggs did come out fluffy the first time I made them. Ramsay uses creme fraiche but since I didn't have any and couldn't buy any I used mexican crema instead, which other people have suggested. The pictures lie a bit, I've never made scrambled eggs like that and now I can't imagine making them any other way.
Thanks for the suggestions and comments, though. I'm hoping to contribute more in the future. I've got tons of hobbies as it is but none of them are as tasty as cooking. It's a great way to force myself to focus on one thing and let any troubles wash away if only for a little while.
The chops did come out juicy, much to my surprise. Was really pleased since I've always had dry, tough chops whenever someone that isn't my mom is cooking them.
Yeah the eggs did come out fluffy the first time I made them. Ramsay uses creme fraiche but since I didn't have any and couldn't buy any I used mexican crema instead, which other people have suggested. The pictures lie a bit, I've never made scrambled eggs like that and now I can't imagine making them any other way.
Thanks for the suggestions and comments, though. I'm hoping to contribute more in the future. I've got tons of hobbies as it is but none of them are as tasty as cooking. It's a great way to force myself to focus on one thing and let any troubles wash away if only for a little while.
I've managed to get very creamy eggs without even using creme fraiche (just some butter to start in the pan), but it's not like creme fraiche could hurt. You can also try sour cream which is very similar and usually more readily available.
And I forgot to make a joke about the ever present Shiner Bock in your pictures. Consider this that joke.
killertofu
Member
Looks good! I remember that Chef Ramsey egg recipe. Might have to make that tomorrow....
killertofu
Member
BOOM.
Damn I forgot how expensive groceries are -___-
Metroid Killer
Member
More icing decorative goodness. Gingerbread men! These cookies turn you completely addicted. One slain gingerbread man turns to two, and suddenly you have a genocide on your conscience, a very yummy one at that. That gingerbread man dipped in a cup of milk has already made my christmas!
BriareosGAF
Member
Very good. Coincidentally my daughters were decorating today, too. My wife does a quick cream cheese icing base and adds food coloring, then puts them into ketchup/mustard bottles that we buy cheap in bulk for such things:
Other things we have been up to. Gnocchi from scratch. I forgot to take a picture of these sauced because I was too busy eating them. Brown butter and sage and a classic slightly spicy tomato sauce. We had a few leftover that I sauteed in garlic and butter with some salt and pepper and had with some eggs for breakfast. Really tasty.
Coffee cake that went with that dinner:
December means, as alluded to above, baking season, as we send out little chinese take-out boxes full of sweets to our friends and family as gifts. Making butter crunch:
Cooling on the almonds:
Coated with tempered chocolate and crushed almonds:
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