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[nakedsushi]

Making tofu was really easy. The hardest part is finding nigari (or magnesium chloride) which is used for the coagulant. I found some nigari in a bottle in Mitsuwa finally, which spurred the tofu making.

Directions (starting off with soy milk):
- heat soymilk to 85C on the stove
- pour the soy milk into a container with a lid
- while stirring, drip in nigari until you start to see the soy milk congealing and separating.
- cover and don't move the container for 15 mins

For soft custardy soy milk like I made, just pour the congealed soy milk through a strainer with a cheesecloth on it and let it sit for 10 minutes.

For harder soy milk (the square kind), you need a square container of some sort. Never made the harder kind, but this is what I would do: you can use the plastic tofu containers that storebought tofu comes in. Just poke some holes on the bottom for drainage. Put the cheesecloth over the container and pour the soy milk mixture inside. Wrap the cheesecloth over the top, and weigh it down with a plate or something. Let it sit for 10 minutes. The longer you weigh it down or the heavier your plate is, the firmer the tofu.

 

[OnkelC]

quite the impressive stuff on this page and the last. I am pleased!:lol

Keep it coming.

 

[nakedsushi]

Yay morel season is here! All two weeks of it.

Scrambled egg with morels:

Home-made gnocchi with morels:

If you can't tell, I love mushrooms.

 

[santouras]

have been experimenting with this recipe over the last few nights, something I came up with, honey and lemon chicken with capsicum and tomato. I think with some cashew nuts it would be perfect!

 

[santouras]

dinner tonight, stuff I've made and posted before but took some better pics, am plating it better these days

 

[Cosmic Bus]

What is that last one? It kind of looks like ice cream on a chicken breast...

 

[Cornballer]

What is that last one? It kind of looks like ice cream on a chicken breast...

Looks like a dessert crepe with ice cream and an orange sauce.

 

[beelzebozo]

Looks like a dessert crepe with ice cream and an orange sauce.

maybe crepe suzette?

fits the profile, anyway.

Crêpe Suzette is a typical French dessert, consisting of a crêpe with a hot sauce of caramelized sugar, orange juice, lightly grated orange peel and liqueur (usually Grand Marnier) on top, which is subsequently flambéed.

 

[santouras]

yeap. crepe suzette. Is always a winner

 

[beelzebozo]

classics never die, my friend. nice work.

 

[Cornballer]

maybe crepe suzette?

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

I need to take a stab at making crepes sometime.

 

[beelzebozo]

i've been way into this pancake recipe lately--making them every saturday for the fam--that splits the egg whites from the rest of the batter, whips them, and folds them in to make them extra fluffy and light, not dense and impenetrable (my pancake pet peeve). i topped them off with some greek yogurt and honeycomb (thank you jamie oliver) which was incredible and different, but naturally, maple syrup would work just as well.

i know this started as a crepe conversation, but hey, crepes are a kind of pancake, right?

recipe incoming! brace yourselves! and it's the best one i've ever seen.

CORNMEAL PANCAKES

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 large eggs, separated into yolks and whites
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

[1] preheat oven to 200 degrees and set a wire rack on a baking sheet. set in oven.

[2] whisk flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in large bowl. whisk egg yolks with buttermilk, milk, butter, and vanilla in separate bowl. whisk buttermilk mixture into flour mixture to make a thick batter--don't overmix or the pancakes'll be tough. in another bowl whip the egg whites until they have stiff peaks. use a rubber spatula to fold the whipped whites into the batter (may want to use 1/3 or so of whipped whites to stir in and lighten the batter before you try and fold the rest in).

[3] heat large cast-iron skillet or nonstick skillet over medium heat and coat surface lightly with butter. use 1/4 cup to scoop pancake batter into skillet, leaving space between pancakes. cook until bubbles break surface and undersides are golden brown; flip and cook 1 minute more. move pancakes to baking sheet in oven to keep warm until you finish cooking the rest.

[4] EAT THEM


. . . and a stock picture of pretty pancakes to spurn you to try the recipe

 

[nakedsushi]

^ damn that pancake looks good. But I'm usually not a big pancake eater. I always get bored or sick of it by the 1st one.

Made (vegan) baked ziti last night. The "cheese" part was crumbled firm tofu with fresh basil and nutritional yeast.

 

[Cornballer]

Pancakes look good, beelze. Might give those a try sooner or later, though I've been on a waffle binge recently.

Going to try making gougères tomorrow morning. Should be fun - I hope they turn out all right.

 

[ElectricThunder]

Tonight I pursue a vision of uncharted sandwich territory for me. Technically, it is a vision that plays off another recent successful vision---but still!

I shall work Peppercorn Caesar(Quiznos) dressing into what I hope to be a tasty sandwich as an affront to the usual Ranch dressing that has an establish foothold of sorts in the kingdom of sandwiches. I shall report back if I survive.

 

[ElectricThunder]

Total success. Ranch is forever dead to me now at Quiznos. Tuscan Turkey was epic. Now convinced Mesquite Chicken will achieve a new level of epicness. (Peppercorn) Caesar Dressing on Sandwiches FTW!

I'm so hyped up after devouring it. This is the highlight of my week and instills greater hopes in me for the month of May.

Go try it!

 

[abstract alien]

dinner tonight, stuff I've made and posted before but took some better pics, am plating it better these days

Damn, that looks so good, nice presentation too.

^ damn that pancake looks good. But I'm usually not a big pancake eater. I always get bored or sick of it by the 1st one.

Made (vegan) baked ziti last night. The "cheese" part was crumbled firm tofu with fresh basil and nutritional yeast.

Looks good enough to put you to sleep.

 

[Silkworm]

Pancakes look good, beelze. Might give those a try sooner or later, though I've been on a waffle binge recently.

Going to try making gougères tomorrow morning. Should be fun - I hope they turn out all right.

I hope your gougeres turn out well. I tried making them using a recipe I found at Bon Appetit's website (recipe found at http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2009/04/classic_gougeres ). The trickest part for me was to judge when they were done so that they still retained their slightly eggy and moist centers. If I try this recipe again I think I'll check them earlier to avoid making them too dry. All in all, I think they turned out well, and I hope you had even better success than I. Cheddar and chives sounds like a nice variation on the Gruyere ones I made

 

[Keen]

Didn't make any food, but I did buy some nice wine. Sine Qua Non from Santa Barbara CA. From one of the best makers of new world, or any, Syrah and Grenache´, Manfred Krankl! If you can get ahold of it, buy it. Pain in the ass to get in Europe though :/

 

[Winterblink]

Gave this a whirl with the recipe from that VahRehVah.com guy on Youtube. I probably could have added a pinch more water, and/or used half and half water and milk when making the dough, but this came out fucking fantastic. So easy, from start to finish was well under an hour.

Edit: that's roasted red bell pepper dip on the side, I usually have a couple of containers of this stuff handy for all sorts of things.

 

[OnkelC]

Really nice stuff everybody, keep it coming!

We'll make a sammich in this vein tonight:

 

[Zyzyxxz]

been sick for the past few days so I havent really ate much but went out to dinner for an early mother's day.

It was a bad idea to have Hunan food though, dam spicy food killed my sick stomach.

 

[santouras]

maaaaaaaaaaan that looks tasty......

 

[scissorfight]

how do you normally prepare your chops, scissor? pan-sear?

here's a recipe on chow.com for lamb-chops in an olive and herb crust. they're coated in the crust then prepared much like you would a steak: pan-seared, then roasted in the oven to the desired doneness.

i would personally experiment a little with greek flavors here. heavy on the oregano, and maybe even serve them with a dollop of tsatziki on top, almost like a greek play on the whole "pat of butter on a steak" thing people often do. the nice cool cucumber and garlic creaminess of tsatziki would really cut through the richness of a lamb chop quite nicely i think.

i don't eat a lot of lamb though! you'd probably know better than me. personally i'd just go nuts and play around, see what happens.

made a rack of lamb for my wife tonight and went with something similar to your suggestion. just sea salt, pepper, oregano, 1 clove garlic minced , 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp dijon. mixed and coated the top of the rack and let it sit for an hour before roasting to medium-rare.

served the chops with some slices of seared tomatoes+onions, homemade tzatzkiki, and some small toasted pita bread (i was going for a 'deconstructed' gyro...who knows, i'm no chef. :lol ) and a greek salad. she loved it and i really enjoyed it as well. nice to have a staple chop recipe now with no rosemary or mint.

i never remember to take pics. too bad, it was probably the most nicest looking plate i've made other than the prime rib roast i made for xmas. two crossed chops have a way of looking impressive even if there's nothing special to your plating.

thanks for the ideas, beelz.

i also made this lemon pudding cake with berries after she saw it on the food network. came out great. again, no pic, but it pretty much looked identical:

 

[ThatCrazyGuy]

Hey guys, anybody have any recommendations for good thai curry paste I can buy through the internets?

So much good food in here, damn.

side story: I tried to make Coq Au Vin (I gave the good eats recipe a go). Turned out terrible. I don't know if I soaked it too long, or I just don't like the taste of chicken soaked in red wine.

 

[OnkelC]

Awesome read (not for the faint of heart):
http://www.thesneeze.com/steve-dont-eat-it/

 

[santouras]

steve don't eat it is one of my favourite pages. I wish he would update more often tho, maybe one of his dishes got too much for him.....

 

[Zyzyxxz]

Some of the stuff on that site is truly disgusting but funny to read about.

Lunch today was curried fishballs and potatoes

 

[Ad Infinitum]

Quick question for der Onkel, do you buy your food/ingredients knowing when you're going to use it or do you always have a well-packed fridge/pantry? I'd love to make those sandwiches at random times of the day, but never have the right stuff in the fridge.

Damn you, Onkel and your amazing food. Damn you.

 

[OnkelC]

Quick question for der Onkel, do you buy your food/ingredients knowing when you're going to use it or do you always have a well-packed fridge/pantry? I'd love to make those sandwiches at random times of the day, but never have the right stuff in the fridge.

Damn you, Onkel and your amazing food. Damn you.

It's a kind of mixed logistics. The bases (ham, cheese, tuna, eggs, condiments, onions) are always covered/in the fridge or pantry, the bread, salads and other "fresh" toppings are usualy bought on the same day as preparation takes place.
A well-thought / stocked (not stuffed!) fridge and pantry is key to good cooking IMHO.

 

[nakedsushi]

side story: I tried to make Coq Au Vin (I gave the good eats recipe a go). Turned out terrible. I don't know if I soaked it too long, or I just don't like the taste of chicken soaked in red wine.

Whoa, isn't Coq Au Vin pretty complicated? I remember someone doing it in Top Chef and they had to seal the chicken in a plastic bag to boil it or something weird like that.

Dinner tonight was spicy herbal soup with home made noodles:

The fresh noodles were actually easier to make than I thought. Took me about 2 hours total for dinner and they were tasty!

 

[santouras]

that looks unreal. I really want to make my own pasta some day

 

[slidewinder]

Hey guys, anybody have any recommendations for good thai curry paste I can buy through the internets?

Mae Ploy and Maesri are both good. You don't have any Asian markets nearby?

 

[santouras]

welp as mentioned I altered my honey and lemon chicken recipe a bit and it tastes amazing now

 

[abstract alien]

Whoa, isn't Coq Au Vin pretty complicated? I remember someone doing it in Top Chef and they had to seal the chicken in a plastic bag to boil it or something weird like that.

Dinner tonight was spicy herbal soup with home made noodles:
The fresh noodles were actually easier to make than I thought. Took me about 2 hours total for dinner and they were tasty!

...I should really hurt you for not being able to ship this nation wide. That is astonishing to be honest.

welp as mentioned I altered my honey and lemon chicken recipe a bit and it tastes amazing now

It damn sure looks amazing, and beautifully presented as well. Now...hand it over :lol

 

[beelzebozo]

thanks for the ideas, beelz.

god, all this sounds amazing. i'd totally forgotten typing that post, but i'm glad it was of some minor help. you sound like a pretty damn excellent chef, bud.

 

[abstract alien]

Chicken breast topped with mozzarella and crab on top of angel hair tossed with cherry tomatoes, parsley, basil, lemon juice, and a little olive oil. Oh yeah, and some toasted cheese bread.

This is one of my moms fav dishes of mine, I think she is obsessed with it lol.

 

[bud]

i'd be obsessed with, too! that looks sooo tasty.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

welp as mentioned I altered my honey and lemon chicken recipe a bit and it tastes amazing now

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_q2FMTIUkt2c/SgvtJQPhFcI/AAAAAAAABOc/8xu-j9lFgMo/s400/DSCN1434.JPG

hehe, those rice mounds look like boobs....

in all seriousness it looks good.

*lunch edit*

Since I quit my internship and am in between I decided for a recession antidote... steak!

 

[santouras]

holy sheeoot abstract that looks pretty amazing. I love the way it is plated as well, very nicely done!

 

[nakedsushi]

Wow, nice plate of meat. I like the presentation too. It's like I can almost bite it.

 

[santouras]

There are a few more but this is a decent starting list

You know you're addicted to IronGAF when..

- You're subscribed to the IronGAF thread with an instant notification
- You've made guests wait to eat until you've taken a photo of their meal
- You've photographed, uploaded and posted your meal in the IronGAF thread before you've actually taken a bite of it
- You've bought a new camera specifically to take better pictures of your food
- You've bought new crockery/cutlery to make your photo's look more presentable
- You curse jarosh whenever he posts gorgeously plated and photographed food

Spoiler

I love you and your food jarosh!

 

[abstract alien]

*lunch edit*

Since I quit my internship and am in between I decided for a recession antidote... steak!

Damn that looks tasty. Had to quote the pic too, didnt want anyone to miss out on it since its on the bottom of the previous page.

holy sheeoot abstract that looks pretty amazing. I love the way it is plated as well, very nicely done!

Thanks!
...and yeah, Im a victim of this thread's addictiveness if that list has anything to say about it.

i'd be obsessed with, too! that looks sooo tasty.

I wont be an ass, ill share :lol Glad you like it, thanks

 

[Samara]

Some of the stuff on that site is truly disgusting but funny to read about.

Lunch today was curried fishballs and potatoes

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2034/3527344434_eb17649b8f_o.jpg[/IMf][/QUOTE]

Mind of you have the recipe? That look delicious and so easy

 

[nakedsushi]

Some stuff I made for mom on Mother's Day:

 

[OnkelC]

There are a few more but this is a decent starting list

You know you're addicted to IronGAF when..

- You're subscribed to the IronGAF thread with an instant notification
- You've made guests wait to eat until you've taken a photo of their meal
- You've photographed, uploaded and posted your meal in the IronGAF thread before you've actually taken a bite of it
- You've bought a new camera specifically to take better pictures of your food
- You've bought new crockery/cutlery to make your photo's look more presentable
- You curse jarosh whenever he posts gorgeously plated and photographed food

Spoiler

I love you and your food jarosh!

:lol :lol :lol

 

[Zyzyxxz]

You know you're addicted to IronGAF when..

- You've photographed, uploaded and posted your meal in the IronGAF thread before you've actually taken a bite of it
- You've bought a new camera specifically to take better pictures of your food
- You've bought new crockery/cutlery to make your photo's look more presentable
- You curse jarosh whenever he posts gorgeously plated and photographed food

Spoiler

I love you and your food jarosh!

Pretty much these are true for me, except partially for my new Nikon D40 I bought it in preparation for my New York trip planned for August. Taking pics of my food is just a side benefit.

Damn that looks tasty. Had to quote the pic too, didnt want anyone to miss out on it since its on the bottom of the previous page.

Thanks for the kind words, it turned out more to the medium side than I wanted, I was going for a Rarer-medium-rare but left it in the oven too long. Still not bad since I rarely cook a steak.

Mind of you have the recipe? That look delicious and so easy

Don't really have one since I kinda winged it for a quick meal. Just frozen fish balls and peeled and cut potatoes in simmering water, the curry flavor came from a tablespoon of indian curry powder and single block of Japanese curry roux to make it quickly thicken. The best curry fishballs are from the streets of Asia though! Man I could use some right now.

 

[JimiNutz]

I have a cooking related question so figured this thread would be best.

I plan on making some chilli that I saw on MMA Live. The recipe simple says 'add some chilli powder, all spice, paprika, cumin, oregano etc.', but how much? :lol

My Dad simply said add it until it tastes good? Surely someone can give me an estimate, bearing in mind that I'm cooking for one (although I eat pretty epic portions, so really I'm cooking for two.)

Would a teaspoon of each be enough?

 

[nakedsushi]

>> add some chilli powder, all spice, paprika, cumin, oregano etc.

Uh, don't use a whole teaspoon of cumin. I'd say start with:

1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano

Taste, and then keep adding a pinch of whatever you think the chili needs more of. With cumin, a little goes A LONG way.

 

[JimiNutz]

Thanks for the advice dude, you probably saved my meal from being a complete disaster.
I'll let you know how it goes