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[zbarron]

^--- Ah, I see! I wonder if you can re-heat it and then cook in some sugar? Or you could always serve a few teaspoons with club soda on ice, charge $11 and call it a shrub.

I actually thought about doing that. The brightness of this jam worked wonderfully in the vinaigrette so if it doesn't look like I have many more uses like this I will try it if nothing else for the sake of future knowledge.


In June we have pick your own strawberries around here. I will either do that or get a bunch from the farmer's market and make a giant batch while listening to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHW-ycESaM8

I also got a watermelon yesterday and tried it. It was tough, dry and not very sweet. I made Agua Fresca out of it. That made it taste like it should.

My favorite is making it with small watermelons that I slice the top off, scoop out the insides and then fill it back up with ice and this drink served with a straw and an umbrella. That's relaxing.

It was funny. My son has been on a Zelda kick since Majora's Mask 3DS came out so this became Red Potion.

 

[Funky Papa]

Newest YouTube obsession: Fit Men Cook.

Lots of interesting recipes for people dieting, particularly for those who exercise a lot and want to shed fat/gain muscle. It's unfortunate that some ingredients such as okra and quinoa are hard to get in Yurop, but for the most part they are not difficult to substitute with some imagination.

 

[BriareosGAF]

That does sound good. If I ever can't get it to set I will probably use it on top of cheese cake or ice cream or something.

Coulis + clotted cream + bread pudding == omg.

 

[zbarron]

Newest YouTube obsession: Fit Men Cook.

Lots of interesting recipes for people dieting, particularly for those who exercise a lot and want to shed fat/gain muscle. It's unfortunate that some ingredients such as okra and quinoa are hard to get in Yurop, but for the most part they are not difficult to substitute with some imagination.

I watched a few. I think I will watch more. I want my fridge to look like that. I just can't believe he has bread in the refrigerator.

Coulis + clotted cream + bread pudding == omg.

That does sound good. I am not sure if I have even seen clotted cream at the stores around me. I never went looking but I spend a decent time in the dairy section.

 

[Funky Papa]

It looks like making clotted cream at home is a rather simple endeavour looking at the wikipedia.

That reminds me that the day I tried to make my own roscón I made the idiotic mistake of trying to make whipped cream using heavy cream at room temperature instead of cold, so I ended up with a massive amount of a fresh, fluffy butter-like solid. Which if course I promptly used in my coffee instead of milk. Delicious.

Spoiler

#allthegains

 

[zbarron]

It looks like making clotted cream at home is a rather simple endeavour looking at the wikipedia.

That reminds me that the day I tried to make my own roscón I made the idiotic mistake of trying to make whipped cream using heavy cream at room temperature instead of cold, so I ended up with a massive amount of a fresh, fluffy butter-like solid. Which if course I promptly used in my coffee instead of milk. Delicious.

Spoiler

#allthegains

From what I read looking it up you use unpasteurized milk which is illegal here.

That sounds like you overwhipped it. I make home made whipped cream and butter fairly often. If you want a forearm exercise whip it by hand. If you whip it past the whipped cream stage it turns that consistency. If you keep going eventually liquid comes out of the solid mass. The liquid is buttermilk and the solid is butter.

 

[Funky Papa]

Oh, not at all. I used a small 200 ml brick of pasteurized cream such as this one:

Alas, as I learned the hard way, cream is better if cold, specially if you are going to use an immersion mixer that can overwhip it very easily. My cream basically went from getting a little bit of fluffy thickness to straight up whipped butter in less than 5 seconds. It didn't even turn into whipped cream, it just went from liquid to solid in a blink. I was mystified.

 

[zbarron]

Oh, not at all. I used a small 200 ml brick of pasteurized cream such as this one:



Alas, as I learned the hard way, cream is better if cold, specially if you are going to use an immersion mixer that can overwhip it very easily. My cream basically went from getting a little bit of fluffy thickness to straight up whipped butter in less than 5 seconds. It didn't even turn into whipped cream, it just went from liquid to solid in a blink. I was mystified.

A mistake where you learn something is a mistake worth making. Plus you got basically whipped butter out of it. Everyone loves butter.

 

[Zoe]

Speaking of whipped butter, is it actually worth it making your own? There's nothing I love more than airy, whipped butter and hot bread.

 

[Coriolanus]

Did three attempts at tamagoyaki style omelette rolls today.
One i did a single layer, plopped a slice of cheese in the middle, then folded the sides and rolled it, was pretty good and managed to stay moist.

The others were multi-layer attempts and while i did manage to to not overcook the second one, meh, far too dry for my tastes. Can't see how all the folding wont end up cooking the whole thing through.

Is there a way to make a sorta runny big tamagoyaki or might as well just settle with the single layer ones?

 

[zbarron]

Speaking of whipped butter, is it actually worth it making your own? There's nothing I love more than airy, whipped butter and hot bread.

I think it is worth it. I either use my own butter or Kerrygold. Since I buy unsalted butter I add a little pinch of salt and water or milk. Lately I use my stand mixer with room temperature butter and just turn it up until it is fully whipped.

 

[Rookje]

What's your guys all time favorite taco recipe?

I've made Tacolicious' Short Rib taco recipe twice now, and it's probably the best Taco I've ever had (and I live in SoCal). I noticed America's Test Kitchen has a Short Rib taco recipe this season too. Haven't made it yet, but the Tacolicious one seems superior... you brown the meat, saute the onions and garlic before hand whereas ATK forgoes browning and just adds halved onions to the crockpot.

 

[Silkworm]

What's your guys all time favorite taco recipe?

I've made Tacolicious' Short Rib taco recipe twice now, and it's probably the best Taco I've ever had (and I live in SoCal). I noticed America's Test Kitchen has a Short Rib taco recipe this season too. Haven't made it yet, but the Tacolicious one seems superior... you brown the meat, saute the onions and garlic before hand whereas ATK forgoes browning and just adds halved onions to the crockpot.

Hmmm, favorite? I haven't really played around too much with taco recipes, but I do recall using a recipe for Shredded Beef Tacos (Carne Deshebrada) from Cook's Illustrated which I did enjoy. https://myyearwithchris.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/shredded-beef-tacos-carne-deshebrada/

 

[Face it Tiger..]

Newest YouTube obsession: Fit Men Cook.

Lots of interesting recipes for people dieting, particularly for those who exercise a lot and want to shed fat/gain muscle. It's unfortunate that some ingredients such as okra and quinoa are hard to get in Yurop, but for the most part they are not difficult to substitute with some imagination.

Okra you may be able to buy in Caribbean/ Ethnic stores.

 

[BriareosGAF]

I think it is worth it. I either use my own butter or Kerrygold. Since I buy unsalted butter I add a little pinch of salt and water or milk. Lately I use my stand mixer with room temperature butter and just turn it up until it is fully whipped.

You can also go the other way--put some cream in a plastic/rubber container or mason jar and have a child shake it for ten, fifteen minutes, and boom, you've got soft butter + buttermilk. Super easy to mix in chives for a compound, too.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

It looks like making clotted cream at home is a rather simple endeavour looking at the wikipedia.

Spoiler

#allthegains

clotted cream is easy to make but having access to unpasteurized heavy cream is key otherwise you can get the texture but not the taste of true amazing clotted cream.

 

[BriareosGAF]

clotted cream is easy to make but having access to unpasteurized heavy cream is key otherwise you can get the texture but not the taste of true amazing clotted cream.

Where is this hard to get and/or illegal? Come to Maine, folks, we got unpasteurized milk out the wazoo...

It's unfortunate that some ingredients such as okra and quinoa are hard to get in Yurop.

Okra and quinoa hard to get? From looking at cultivation maps it's grown far more in Europe than in NA, where both are easy to obtain.

When I was a vegan I ate so many weird grains. I haven't had kamut in a long, long time... used to be great in split pea soup.

 

[ElectricThunder]

I actually had Kamut for the first time a couple days ago care of a random massive refresh of the Bob's Red Mill offerings in my area as that was the cheapest one to grab that I'd never had nor even heard of---good stuff, just cooked it about like rice and paired it with some vindaloo-laden lamb cooked in a clay pot. Next on the eventual list is something called Freekah and one or so others that I can't quite remember the name of...

In decidedly less impressive things:

Cheese: Saxon Snowfields Winter Seasonal Raw Milk Butterkase Style Taste/etc is generally ok....but nothing at all of the butterkase attributes is present, nor much of anything else, so the end result is decidedly meh.

Crumble: Cape Cod Wafflecut BBQ Ranch The sad fate of a chip that is just somewhat weaker forms of the same outfit's existing separate chips haphazardly thrown together.

 

[Mario]

Newest YouTube obsession: Fit Men Cook.

Lots of interesting recipes for people dieting, particularly for those who exercise a lot and want to shed fat/gain muscle. It's unfortunate that some ingredients such as okra and quinoa are hard to get in Yurop, but for the most part they are not difficult to substitute with some imagination.

Thanks for that. Watched a few videos and already have a few ideas and tips for the next phase of my diet and exercise program. Subscribed.

 

[zbarron]

Today was another big cooking day but sadly no pictures. Lunch was Cubanos. I sous vide'd pork loin last night and matchsticked it. Today I sliced Ciabbata in half spread mustard on both sides and layered pork, pickles, ham and Swiss on it and then buttered the outside and cooked it between two hot cast iron pans in place of a panini press.

After that I made another batch of strawberry jam. This one came out far better and I just eye balled it. Tasting really is key.

Next I threw my no knead bread in the oven and whipped room temperature butter with a splash of milk and flaked sea salt. I ate the bread topped with whipped butter and fresh jam while still slightly warm. Yum.

Dinner was sirloin steak with compound butter. I took the whipped butter, folded in chives, parsley, and Rosemary then rolled and chilled.

 

[Mario]

Quick dinner tonight - Scotch fillet steak with sautéed radish, kale, blue cheese and walnut salad

 

[OnkelC]

Looks great!
Am I wrong, or is kale getting a bit more widespread in the USA? A few years ago, nobody seemed to know it.

 

[Zoe]

Am I wrong, or is kale getting a bit more widespread in the USA? A few years ago, nobody seemed to know it.

It used to just be garnishment that nobody would touch on their plates or even surrounding bowls on a cold buffet. Now people order it explicitly.

 

[Haly]

We're eating it in my family (Chinese and we've never even heard of kale until this year) on the regular now, yeah.

I believe its surge in popularity is off the "organic" and "health" fads currently gripping the US.

 

[Mario]

Looks great!
Am I wrong, or is kale getting a bit more widespread in the USA? A few years ago, nobody seemed to know it.

I'm from NZ. It's a pretty new thing here. I just grabbed a bag of it for the first time at the supermarket because I knew it was a new healthy fad in the US. I don't know the specific dietary benefits.

 

[zbarron]

Looks great!
Am I wrong, or is kale getting a bit more widespread in the USA? A few years ago, nobody seemed to know it.

It's been a thing the past few years here.

I made cod for my wife and chicken for myself in the Anova tonight. I cooked it with lemon juice, butter and chives. I served it with asparagus and I attempted my first hollendaise sauce. It was a total failure. I tried the serious eats 1 minute method and it never thickened. After giving up I looked at it a minute or two later and it was broken.

 

[le-seb]

This one?
I love how it's a 'foolproof' method, yet so many people say they've failed their first attempts following it in the comments.

I know sabayon based sauces are a bit tricky to succeed, but his method looks a bit barbaric to me.
I'm not sure how mixing egg yolks and lemon juice together from the beginning doesn't coagulate the yolks, for example.
You gotta go fast to succeed, I suspect.

Whatever, if you're using some induction cooker, you'll probably be able to set the heat low enough that you can't fail the sabayon.
The rest of the recipe is a breeze, and it's so satisfying making it the traditional way.

 

[BriareosGAF]

Looks great!
Am I wrong, or is kale getting a bit more widespread in the USA? A few years ago, nobody seemed to know it.

I ate so much kale as a vegan in the 90s (not a huge fan of bitter greens, honestly, more a watercress and arugula guy). It was definitely a bit oddball back then, completely mainstream now.

 

[zbarron]

Tonight I made a dish without a recipe. I caramelized onions and celery with some smoked paprika. On top o that I put butter and three chicken breasts. I deglazed the skillet with some Guinness and stuck the whole thing in the oven until the chicken was almost at temp. From there I took it out added some more butter to the sauce and put it back on the stovetop until the sauce reduced to just glaze the chicken and veggies. I finished with a splash of lemon juice and some parsley. The garnishes are Sriracha.

 

[le-seb]

Made a roll cake today:

It's filled with some orange jam made from an artisan living here.
I'm not sure why it looks so dark, maybe because it's made with cane sugar, but I can tell you his jams are amazingly delicious!

I was certain something would go wrong, but everything went well.
And it's gooooood.

 

[CrankyJay]

Made a roll cake today:

It's filled with some orange jam made from an artisan living here.
I'm not sure why it looks so dark, maybe because it's made with cane sugar, but I can tell you his jams are amazingly delicious!

I was certain something would go wrong, but everything went well.
And it's gooooood.

That looks amazing...

 

[le-seb]

That looks amazing...

Thanks!

As expected, it didn't last long.

I guess I'll have no excuse for not trying to make a bûche de Noël (Yule log) next Christmas.
As I dislike the traditional buttercream icing, this should make for some interesting challenge.

In the meantime, I absolutely must try the biscuit roulé aux bananes variation from my recipe book, which features a rum flavoured dough and some rum flambéed banana purée as a filling. *drools*

 

[zbarron]

Made a roll cake today:

It's filled with some orange jam made from an artisan living here.
I'm not sure why it looks so dark, maybe because it's made with cane sugar, but I can tell you his jams are amazingly delicious!

I was certain something would go wrong, but everything went well.
And it's gooooood.

That does look awesome. What is it presented on?


I had the day to myself in Downtown Cleveland today so I stopped by a restaurant supply store. I can't believe I haven't done this sooner. A lot of their stuff is very reasonably priced and hard to find at a normal store. My haul today was this:
10" Piano Whisk
Wooden Spoon
6"x3" White Handle Spatula
8" Double Mesh Strainer (Fine)
Loaf Pan
9" Round Fryer Basket Mesh
12 Qt Square Container Cam-Wear
Floor Sweeper
Bus Tub
2x Stainless Steel Plate Covers
Popcorn Salt

I used a bus tub at work for years and never considered until today how helpful it could be to keep one around the house.

 

[le-seb]

It's a slate plate.

Speaking of kitchen accessories, one thing I've long been missing in my kitchen without knowing are silicone tongs.
They're simply so useful to stir things in a pan, turn pieces of meat over, or just handling things when carving.

That and a proper (round bottomed) whisking bowl.

 

[zbarron]

It's a slate plate.

Speaking of kitchen accessories, one thing I've long been missing in my kitchen without knowing are silicone tongs.
They're simply so useful to stir things in a pan, turn pieces of meat over, or just handling things when carving.

That and a proper (round bottomed) whisking bowl.

I don't see the need for silicone tongs for myself considering my only non stick cookware is my rice Cooker. Do you not like the way normal tongs dig into the meat?

Now that I want. I still have a grudge match with hollandaise ahead of me. This time I will be the one victorious. I don't even have any metal mixing bowls. I have three colored plastic ones and one glass one with a very wide flat bottom.

 

[BriareosGAF]

Herbed polenta with tallegio and roasted mushrooms:

We really should take the pictures before we start eating it... but it was... pretty good.

 

[nakedsushi]

^-- That looks really good. I over underestimate how good polenta with cheese is, even though most of the time I eat it, it's vegan =(

Did you cook the polenta directly into the cast iron pan? Did it brown correctly that way? I'd love to skip the step of mixing the polenta with water, cooking it, and then putting it into a separate container, cool, slice, and then brown, so if I could just cook it and brown it in the same pan, that would be great.

 

[demon]

I gossa question.

I'm going to my parents place for the weekend and I want to make them an egg strata. I've made four or five so far and they all turn out pretty well. I want to make one with bacon this time. First off, maybe a dumb question but how will bacon turn out if you bake it in a strata for 45 minutes or so? I've only ever friend bacon before. Also, what other ingredients would go good with bacon in an egg strata? I've usually tossed in stuff like mushrooms, spinach, stuff like that.

Thanks.

 

[le-seb]

I don't see the need for silicone tongs for myself considering my only non stick cookware is my rice Cooker. Do you not like the way normal tongs dig into the meat?

I wouldn't want it to damage the products I'm cooking, for sure.
But, yeah, I'm still using a bunch of Teflon-like coated cooking pots and pans, so the silicone will prevent scratching them.
My point was rather that using tongs for cooking is great, as it allows easy handling of ingredients.

Bought some more new toys today, and had to test this blowtorch.
So, especially for you, IronGAF, here comes my first crème brûlée :

I was a bit impatient, so it probably wasn't as cold as it should have been, and I also wasn't sure how to burn the sugar on top, so went a bit too much I think.
But, IronGAF, even with its flaws, I swear it was nearly orgasmic.

 

[Etrian Oddity]

I used to make a ton of matcha-flavored creme brulees in a previous job. A lot of fun and pride go into those, I'm glad yours turned out well!

 

[le-seb]

I used to make a ton of matcha-flavored creme brulees in a previous job. A lot of fun and pride go into those, I'm glad yours turned out well!

Sounds good, and yes, my next step will certainly be to try flavouring them (with something else than vanilla, I mean).

Fifteen years ago, when I had to traverse the whole country for my job, I had found a really nice restaurant - I think it was in Montélimar - that almost only had crèmes brûlées for desserts on its menu. But like 6 or 8 different ones.
A shame I didn't stay there long enough to try them all, but I still have vivid memories of how delicious the lavender, violet and licorice flavoured ones were. Really amazing!

 

[InfiniteBento]

I was a bit impatient, so it probably wasn't as cold as it should have been, and I also wasn't sure how to burn the sugar on top, so went a bit too much I think.
But, IronGAF, even with its flaws, I swear it was nearly orgasmic.

It looks like you went a little light on the torching actually :3 The top should look a little more full when it comes to the caramel color like so:

I bet it was amazing though. I loOoOoOove creme brulee. Vanilla bean or salted caramel creme brulee is a dream come true.

Seeing you making creme brulee got me excited !

I'm applying to attend the French Pastry School in Chicago within these next few months. If I get accepted the program is only 6 months so by February of next year, I should be have my degree in pastry art ! IM SO EXCITED TO MAKE SWEETS ON A DAILY BASIS AHHHH

Im definitely going to post my assignments and creations on here as I go so I can get some critiques ! :]

 

[zbarron]

I gossa question.

I'm going to my parents place for the weekend and I want to make them an egg strata. I've made four or five so far and they all turn out pretty well. I want to make one with bacon this time. First off, maybe a dumb question but how will bacon turn out if you bake it in a strata for 45 minutes or so? I've only ever friend bacon before. Also, what other ingredients would go good with bacon in an egg strata? I've usually tossed in stuff like mushrooms, spinach, stuff like that.

Thanks.

I have never made a strata or even heard of it before googling it with this post. That said while bacon cooks great in the oven my main concern would be it expelling grease into the dish.

=Im definitely going to post my assignments and creations on here as I go so I can get some critiques ! :]

That sounds exciting. I hope you have fun.

Today I am trying a new bread recipe. Jason's Quick Coccodrillo Ciabatta Used Unbleached AP flour instead of bread flour but it still turned out great. I had no idea how much you could strengthen the dough by beating the crap out of it in a stand mixer for 15 minutes. I accidentally put 491 g of water instead of the 475 giving it a hydration of ~98.2% and the dough initially looked like a loose pancake batter but after it's appointment with Mr. Grey it was behaving a bit better.

After Mixing:

After two and a half hour rise:

Before dividing:

Divided:

Still flat:

Poof!:

This bread was very good. They blew up like balloons. Obviously the middle one was baked in the loaf pan. The one on the right got misshapen during the transfer from the baker's rack to the oven.

 

[le-seb]

Nice breads!

It looks like you went a little light on the torching actually :3

I think the problem is with my torch's flame being too thin. I've made some poor investment, I'm afraid.
As I've got two crèmes left, I'll try one with some iron I've got but never used, and the other one under the grill.

I'm applying to attend the French Pastry School in Chicago within these next few months. If I get accepted the program is only 6 months so by February of next year, I should be have my degree in pastry art ! IM SO EXCITED TO MAKE SWEETS ON A DAILY BASIS AHHHH

Im definitely going to post my assignments and creations on here as I go so I can get some critiques ! :]

Hope you'll get in.
Can't wait to see your chefs-d’oeuvre here!

When I'm brave enough, I'll try making this [HEART-ATTACK WARNING] :
William Lamagnère's Paris Brest reinterpretation trailer (in French, but you'll get the thing, I guess).

Spoiler

Paris-Brest pastry augmented with some roasted apples and salted butter caramel

 

[Keen]

It looks like you went a little light on the torching actually :3 The top should look a little more full when it comes to the caramel color like so:



I bet it was amazing though. I loOoOoOove creme brulee. Vanilla bean or salted caramel creme brulee is a dream come true.

Seeing you making creme brulee got me excited !

I'm applying to attend the French Pastry School in Chicago within these next few months. If I get accepted the program is only 6 months so by February of next year, I should be have my degree in pastry art ! IM SO EXCITED TO MAKE SWEETS ON A DAILY BASIS AHHHH

Im definitely going to post my assignments and creations on here as I go so I can get some critiques ! :]

Tell me more!!

And best of luck!

 

[Ether_Snake]

Anyone has a suggestion for something to do with apples that doesn't involve adding more sugar?

 

[Face it Tiger..]

Anyone has a suggestion for something to do with apples that doesn't involve adding more sugar?

a very crappy apple pie.

you could always use splenda in your recipes.

 

[le-seb]

As I've got two crèmes left, I'll try one with some iron I've got but never used, and the other one under the grill.

Here's the one made using the iron:

It looked much better, but it also burnt the sugar too much, leaving a bitter taste.
I'm also not sure whether I could use it when doing a proper batch of desserts.
And finally, it looks like it'll be hell to clean properly, so I'll see how it goes with the grill before getting back at it.

Anyone has a suggestion for something to do with apples that doesn't involve adding more sugar?

As a dessert, try making some apple tart:

There's a bit of apple jam added on top of this one to make it glossy, but you can just do without.

Also, oven roasted apples are delicious.

 

[Cosmic Bus]

I'm applying to attend the French Pastry School in Chicago within these next few months. If I get accepted the program is only 6 months so by February of next year, I should be have my degree in pastry art ! IM SO EXCITED TO MAKE SWEETS ON A DAILY BASIS AHHHH

Good luck and have fun. I will say, though, I hope you aren't in it for the money... I'm currently looking at my options to get out of the industry because the pay is so awful.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

Good luck and have fun. I will say, though, I hope you aren't in it for the money... I'm currently looking at my options to get out of the industry because the pay is so awful.

Dang sucks to hear that, I'm guessing you aren't considering corporate jobs too?

Honestly I've dealt with the shitty pay for almost 6 years now, don't know how I've done it but I'm finally making moves to really make some decent money (or go bankrupt doing it), so fingers crossed.