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[Etrian Oddity]

Yeah I think I'll look into those eventually but the place I am moving into can't support a large citrus tree. I might just do a finger lime tree on the balcony until I can move to a larger place in a few years.

I guess the advantage yuzu does have over sudachi and Japanese citrus is that it's one of the toughest, most resilient crop trees you can find. Those things are covered in spines and they can survive damned near any non-apocalyptic hard freeze.

 

[CrankyJay]

I've eaten a piglet in a restaurant in Spain once, and it wasn't really a tasty experience. The meat was good on the outside, but the insides weren't obviously seasoned, and it smelled and tasted like sweat. The tail was crunchy like chips, and the tongue like a chewing gum. =)

Sweat is basically salt water...I'd want my pig to be properly seasoned and taste slightly like salt.

 

[Keen]

Sweat is basically salt water...I'd want my pig to be properly seasoned and taste slightly like salt.

Ours was properly seasoned

 

[CrankyJay]

Ours was properly seasoned

heh, the angle with with you took the camera shot freaked me out a little...you know, crucifixion style. lol

 

[Keen]

heh, the angle with with you took the camera shot freaked me out a little...you know, crucifixion style. lol

Well, this was my instagram post of that pig

 

[LocknessMobster]

Pre cook photo incoming,smoking some pork baby back ribs today at the homies house. We each are gonna make our own ribs and compare whos is better,we both are competitive when it comes to cooking so its all in good fun. I slather mine in mustard and cover them in a sweet/spicy rub. We are using a mixture of apple and pecan woods,should be on point! Ill get some pics once we finish!

 

[CrankyJay]

Pre cook photo incoming,smoking some pork baby back ribs today at the homies house. We each are gonna make our own ribs and compare whos is better,we both are competitive when it comes to cooking so its all in good fun. I slather mine in mustard and cover them in a sweet/spicy rub. We are using a mixture of apple and pecan woods,should be on point! Ill get some pics once we finish!

Should join the smoking thread!

 

[Maiar_m]

Have you guys ever tried Napolitan puffs? I learnt about them very recently. It's a bit tricky to make, but worth it I've found.

 

[Cfh123]

Anyone ever make homemade yogurt?

I bought a yogurt maker and the yogurt turned out really good. Just whole milk mixed with some store bought yogurt with active bacteria to start the fermentation. Next time for the bacteria I will use some of the current batch.

Per the instructions I first heated up the milk to 180'F to break down the milk and thereby speed up the fermentation. Then after the milk cooled I added the bacteria. It fermented for 6 hours then my yogurt maker automatically goes to a cooling mode. It ended up being nice and firm.

Not much point posting a picture - yogurt looks like yogurt.

 

[HOMEBOY OVER HERE]

anybody vegan cooks in this thread? there a vegan cooking thread?

 

[Haly]

nakedsushi is our resident vegan cooking expert (despite not being vegan).

 

[dude]

My vegan beet risotto *____*

crappy instagram photo, but that's all I have.

I would love a vegan cooking thread

 

[Mekere]

Anyone ever make homemade yogurt?

I bought a yogurt maker and the yogurt turned out really good. Just whole milk mixed with some store bought yogurt with active bacteria to start the fermentation. Next time for the bacteria I will use some of the current batch.

Per the instructions I first heated up the milk to 180'F to break down the milk and thereby speed up the fermentation. Then after the milk cooled I added the bacteria. It fermented for 6 hours then my yogurt maker automatically goes to a cooling mode. It ended up being nice and firm.

Not much point posting a picture - yogurt looks like yogurt.

I do quite often. I'm not using a yogurt maker though, just a simple vacuum flask and a kitchen thermometer.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

All, I'm roasting some chicken thighs tonight so my oven is taken up. My side is cauliflower, what's a good way to prepare it aside from roasting? Cut it up and sautee? Any recipes? I don't have a ton of extra ingredients but I do have spices and stuff.

What do you all suggest to do with cauliflower if not roasting it?

EDIT:

Maybe this? Minus the raisins and pine nuts. http://food52.com/recipes/24372-cavolfiore-palma-a-la-leah-pan-roasted-cauliflower

 

[CrankyJay]

All, I'm roasting some chicken thighs tonight so my oven is taken up. My side is cauliflower, what's a good way to prepare it aside from roasting? Cut it up and sautee? Any recipes? I don't have a ton of extra ingredients but I do have spices and stuff.

What do you all suggest to do with cauliflower if not roasting it?

EDIT:

Maybe this? Minus the raisins and pine nuts. http://food52.com/recipes/24372-cavolfiore-palma-a-la-leah-pan-roasted-cauliflower

Dare to be different, make some cauliflower rice: http://www.everydaymaven.com/2013/how-to-make-cauliflower-rice/

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

Dare to be different, make some cauliflower rice: http://www.everydaymaven.com/2013/how-to-make-cauliflower-rice/

I've debated trying that, but we have actual rice.

 

[Haly]

Despite being on the recovery from surgery, with oxy in the evenings and steroids in the mornings, I've been cooking more than ever.

My first attempt at congee! Even though I was raised on Chinese food, congee was never a mainstay in our home so I went in blind, with some chicken thighs, old rice, and whatever was in the fridge, making shit up as I went along.

Turned out surprisingly good. And I have enough for like 3 days worth of meals, so I can zonk out in the mornings and afternoons.

EDIT: Between me and my mom, I barely have enough left over for breakfast tomorrow orz.

 

[Funky Papa]

I seem to have killed the thread, maybe this can revive it. Suckling pig cooked whole over a fire pit-ish. Made for a friend's bachelor party. Well, maybe I didn't do too much to it, my task was a fois gras toast. But still, damn delicious.

This is metal as fuck.

Crossposting from the GIANT PANCAKE THREAD

----

So first things first, this is actually a tale of sadness and alcoholism. I intended to suprise a ladyfriend with a GIANT PANCAKE for breakfast, but alas, things didn't went as I expected, which lead to eating the pancake all by myself like a gluttonous fat fuck.

All said and done, I've had worse Sunday mornings.

PREPARATIONS:

I don't actually have a rice cooker, but one of those electronic pot-thingies that also serve as slow cookers. I know they can be used to make cakes, but I mostly use it to prepare rice and make stews/pulled meat in large quantities, eating some in the day and freezing the rest. This was kind of a first for me.

Programmable slow cooker, mixing bowl, mixer, pancake mix, Nutella.

I didn't occur to me that as far as kitchen gadgets go, this is one huge bitch. One real huge ass motherfucker. As soon as I saw the inner pot, I realised that my pancake wouldn't be as thick as I was hoping due to the sheer size of the pan/pot. Alas, it was too late and I was HANGRY, so that would have to make do.

Mixing the batter. I purchased a bag of pancake mix apparently sourced from America because I'm lazy and I didn't feel like making my own mix.

I had no butter in my fridge, so I greased the pan using some olive oil.

Put everything together and programmed the pot to "cake". I decreased the timer from the original 28 minutes to 15.

Then I realized that I had no milk to go with the pancakes. No biggie, beer it is.

Waiting.

End result, still in the pan/pot. The top of the pancake was pale and with some holes due to bubbling, but it didn't look bad. I could tell from the smell it was thoroughly cooked, so... success?

The beast itself. It was kind of brownish and the lower part of the pancake had a crispy texture. I'm not sure if that was due to the olive oil or the timing; I'm afraid that 15 minutes may be a bit too much. Probably 10 minutes would have suffice, but at least it wasn't burnt.

TASTY TEST:

I didn't realize I'd need some syrup, so I fucked up there. Luckily enough, I had a jar of Nutella. That did the work. As soon as it warmed, it spread all over the pancake as it it were chocolate fondant *notbad.jpg*

The final result was surprisingly good. Other than the crusty surface on the lower part of the pancake, the entire thing was fluffly and light and warm and not overtly moist at all. Still, I believe it would have worked better if I set the timer to 10 minutes instead of 15.

GET IN MAH BELLY

In the end, it was a fun experiment and it tasted good, despite the surprisingly crusty surface at the bottom. I just wish I would have had some actual mapple syrup to soften it up a little bit. Now I'm curious about making smaller pancakes mixing the batter with some vanilla whey protein powder for bulking.

9/10 will fat again.

 

[Aurelius]

Ravioli with spinach/ricota filling.

Mascarpone with cherries.

 

[Funky Papa]

Unfairly good looking.

 

[Aurelius]

Unfairly good looking.

Thanks! I like cooking and my wife is practicing food photography. So it's a joint effort.

 

[Aurelius]

Pad thai.

Grilled chicken with pasta and ratatouille.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Pad thai.

Grilled chicken with pasta and ratatouille.

Dude they both looks amazing.

Could you share the recipe please?,

 

[Haly]

I really like the crisp on the chicken, you don't do anything special to it? Just slap it on an oiled pan?

I wish I could get my chicken to crisp up like that.

 

[OnkelC]

Made Satay tonight:

 

[Haly]

THAT sauce

 

[Aurelius]

I really like the crisp on the chicken, you don't do anything special to it? Just slap it on an oiled pan?

I season the chicken with salt and pepper and sprinkle some oil on it. Then i put it in a hot grill pan. I sear it on both sides and then lower the heat. I keep turning it until done. Usually around 10 minuten, but that depends on the thickness of the chicken.

 

[Gen.Grievous]

Amazing sate

THAT sauce

I had a phase where I put peanut sauce (at least it looks like a peanut sauce) on everything. It's really good with a baguette or on french fries (with some mayo) as well.

 

[Funky Papa]

I'm an uncultured swine. Is there any reason to keep those skewers in water, Onkel?

Also, I'm still fighting with yesterday's giant pancake. Blech.

 

[Maiar_m]

I'm an uncultured swine. Is there any reason to keep those skewers in water, Onkel?

Also, I'm still fighting with yesterday's giant pancake. Blech.

It prevents them from splinting while on the heat, IIRC.

 

[Funky Papa]

It prevents them from splinting while on the heat, IIRC.

Interesting. Never happened to me.

 

[OnkelC]

I'm an uncultured swine. Is there any reason to keep those skewers in water, Onkel?

Also, I'm still fighting with yesterday's giant pancake. Blech.

It prevents them from splinting while on the heat, IIRC.

Exactly this. Skewers like Saté need short grilling time at high temperatures. Wooden skewers tend to burn at the ends, so watering them beforehand (1 or 2 hours) is a good way of preventing that.

I am shopping for stainless steel ones at the moment.

 

[Haly]

You can also wrap the ends in aluminium but a soak is best.

 

[CrankyJay]

Well that's settled, I want to make chicken satay now with a peanut sauce.

 

[Funky Papa]

I have a difficult relationship with peanuts in my food. I can't even tolerate their sight, but sometimes (sometimes) I may end genuinely enjoying them if I'm in the mood.

Vietnamese food definitely goes bananas with them, though.

 

[CrankyJay]

I have a difficult relationship with peanuts in my food. I can't even tolerate their sight, but sometimes (sometimes) I may end genuinely enjoying them if I'm in the mood.

Vietnamese food definitely goes bananas with them, though.

Kung Pao anything with peanuts is awesome.

And Panera makes a bomb-ass thai chicken salad with a citrus vinaigrette and a peanut sauce.

 

[BriareosGAF]

Kung Pao anything with peanuts is awesome.

Massaman curry... man, I haven't had a good one in ages.

 

[Aurelius]

I have a difficult relationship with peanuts in my food. I can't even tolerate their sight, but sometimes (sometimes) I may end genuinely enjoying them if I'm in the mood.

I tend to replace them with cashew nuts. But with saté you need peanut sauce.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

Massaman curry... man, I haven't had a good one in ages.

I haven't had a good one except for the one I've made. the recipe from She Simmers is pretty good starting point.

 

[BriareosGAF]

I haven't had a good one except for the one I've made. the recipe from She Simmers is pretty good starting point.

Thanks, will pick up a copy of her book.

 

[Aurelius]

In the mood for a big piece of meat. Ribeye grilled medium rare, with homemade herbal butter. Green beans and potatoes baked in goose fat on the side. Only thing is, the piece of beef could have been thicker. Have to pay attention next time when the butcher is cutting it.

 

[Funky Papa]

This weekend I made my first stew(s). Because I'm a filthy bachelor and I never actually cared to cook one until now. They turned out INCREDIBLY good.

I was kind of scared at first because I have not a proper pressure cooker, but one of those programmable ones that can be used to make rice, pasta, stews (duh), fish and even bake cakes. Actually, the first thing I did with it was a GIANT PANCAKE OF DEATH which turned out surprisingly ok.

Anyway, I had my doubts about this because I had never made a stew before and all I knew about them is as good as they are, my mother's tend towards the dry side and the manual made no mention to adding any measure of water, which made me fear I was about to turn a good kilo of beef into meatcoal. No such thing happened.

For my first try I used 1 kg of beef cut into big pieces, a medium sized onion cut into thick slices, a green pepper cut into big pieces, a finely cut leek, one chopped carrot, one and half tomatoes (cut into big pieces), an entire potato cut into big pieces, five laminated garlic cloves, some mushrooms, one glass of white wine, some black pepper and some salt. I set the pressure to maximum and the timer to 20 minutes and let it work. The pot was greased with 80 ml of olive oil in the bottom.

The result was AMAZING.

In the end, the stew didn't need any water at all. The juices from the vegetables were more than enough to cook everything and the meat was juicy and soft, yet throughly cooked (even if it the pieces below the surface looked a bit pinkier than the usual).

The carrot and the potato were super tasty and firm enough to be easily picked by sticking a fork to them, but the rest of the vegetables turned into a glorious chunky sauce. And since it was some pretty lean beef, the entire stew had nearly no fat floating at the top of the pot, just a tiny amount of oil (the rest was basically absorbed by the stew).

But that was yesterday. That pot basically had enough beef stew for five days, so I put it in separate containers for freezing and used the remaining kg of beef to make some more rations, these ones with some extra carbs as required by my current diet.

This time I added one extra leek, two more carrots, more mushrooms (portobello, french horn, shiitake), some more wine, 250 g of peas and a fistful of rice. I also added a decent amount of parsley, oregano and a small dash of sweet paprika. I set the timer to 30 minutes to account for the added ingredients and let it be while I was doing some house chores. The resulting broth was even more flavourful and with some added thickness due to the rice. The meat is even better. It's absolutely stunning.

Seriously, it may not look great (stews rarely do), but I couldn't be more satisfied with my programmable cooker. This thing is amazing.

 

[OnkelC]

Looks great, thanks for sharing!

The wife an I attended a local cooking event today, the Esskultour Remscheid, which was initiated a few years ago by some of the members of my organisation. About a dozen restaurants do open-air cooking for a weekend and share the results for small change. price per dish is between 4 and 8 Euro, the serving sizes are small so you can savour several chefs' efforts.

We started with a few drinks:


followed by a Coffee Rubbed Steak mit Chili-Potato wedges, Whisky-Salsa and a bit of ratatouille:


Orange-Caramel-Cannelloni with a white chocolate mousse and a mix of forrest berries:


Viennese Fried Chicken with potato salad and a suace tartare:


Salmon bun:


Spaghetti "Paulus style" with oriental veggies and grilled shrimps:


Sous Vide Peach with Thai-Vanilla-Parfait and a raspberry smoothie:


select patisserie for the way home


tonight we'll have a simple Calzone fritta, should suffice

 

[Shiina]

Spaghetti "Paulus style" with oriental veggies and grilled shrimps:

.

 

[Funky Papa]

I'm not a big fan of pink steaks, but that one looks terrific, Onkel.

 

[Halo 2]

I'm planning on making some lamb shanks soon.

You guys have any go-to recipes?

I've only ever gone the classic rosemary braised with veggies route.

 

[Funky Papa]

Anybody here with an induction kitchen? I recently discovered that the type of pan makes a whole world of difference. I've been using some shitty, shitty "ceramic" frying pans I got for free some time ago (I believe they were a gift from my bank) and I was pissed off beyond words because the heat was in no way uniform with my new induction top and I couldn't cook a omelette worth a damn. Finally I gave up and bought a Castey.

It's balls out awesome. You can tell the heat propagates a lot better and my egg whites omelettes don't stick at all. Also, it has a detachable handle so you can use the pan in the oven. I intend to renovate my entire set with Castey pans as soon as the ones I have give up (it won't be too long, I'm afraid, those things are terrible).

 

[CrankyJay]

I'm planning on making some lamb shanks soon.

You guys have any go-to recipes?

I've only ever gone the classic rosemary braised with veggies route.

I've only cooked with them once and ended up braising them in chicken stock and red wine. They were delectable.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

Anybody here with an induction kitchen? I recently discovered that the type of pan makes a whole world of difference. I've been using some shitty, shitty "ceramic" frying pans I got for free some time ago (I believe they were a gift from my bank) and I was pissed off beyond words because the heat was in no way uniform with my new induction top and I couldn't cook a omelette worth a damn. Finally I gave up and bought a Castey.

It's balls out awesome. You can tell the heat propagates a lot better and my egg whites omelettes don't stick at all. Also, it has a detachable handle so you can use the pan in the oven. I intend to renovate my entire set with Castey pans as soon as the ones I have give up (it won't be too long, I'm afraid, those things are terrible).

Thanks for the rec! I recently went all induction in my new place and I've been looking for a good induction friendly nonstick.

 

[Haly]

Moules Frites Toasts Beurrés

Wasn't really happy with how this turned out, but it was only a test run so I wasn't too disappointed. I had to make a lot of last minute substitutions and omissions I'd rather not have made, because it's a Sunday and I didn't buy my ingredients ahead of time. Red wine for white wine, garlic powder over fresh garlic (I don't understand this, my family's fridge had like three bulbs the last time I checked and today they were all gone), I had to leave out the leeks as well, and no fries. I figured the fries weren't important, I was grossly mistaken. I've had good mussels, and I've had bad mussels, and these two bowls were firmly in the middle.

The real problem, I think, is that I don't really understand Moules Frites, never having had it before. I've had it described to me, and I've read up on the basic idea, but I don't really know how it's supposed to taste. So, next week's mission is to go find the best Moules Frites in the city to acclimate myself to it before attempting this dish again, which was supposed to be my gift to my mother for her birthday.

Mitigating factor: At least the mussels were fresh. Out of 2 pounds, none of them were cracked or broken and only 3 didn't open correctly after steaming.