So what have you cooked lately? (Year three!)

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i will probably have a similar dish for dinner. nice.

― Ai Lien, Monday, 16 April 2007 20:36 (seventeen years ago) link

making paneer tonite for tomorrow's sup.

― Ai Lien, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 16:16 (seventeen years ago) link

I will grill the salmon, splash some pesto over it, most probably, and also do the asparagus (with olive oil). Probably add some pasta.

On saturday will probably attempt to make PIZZA for the very first time in my life!

Yesterday chicory (belgian endive yo) with cheese (for dinner). Should have cut it up and added the cheese when *steaming* it. But didn't. It was alright but next time will be yummier (I hope).

― nathalie, Wednesday, 18 April 2007 07:21 (seventeen years ago) link

Instead of pizza:

meatballs (mixed with zucchini, cheese, egg and olives) in tomato sauce with bellpeppers (?) on basilicum linguini.

A bit heavy so had to *dump* some on my husband's plate.

― nathalie, Friday, 20 April 2007 11:58 (seventeen years ago) link

I haven't cooked it yet but am contemplating and planning for tomorrow: posole made from a pork shoulder I'm putting it a dry rub tonight, a roasted butternut squash and anasazi bean vegetarian stew, and several pans of cornbread. Can't decide on dessert.

― Jaq, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 00:32 (seventeen years ago) link

Not cooking much as parents have arrived. Kinda sucks in a way: I like to cook. But they don't like anything but Japanese food. *sigh*

― nathalie, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 09:55 (seventeen years ago) link

Both stews turned out really well. For the vegan one, I roasted two butternut squash, then peeled and chopped into chunks; made a pot (1 cup beans to 4 cups water) of anasazi beans seasoned with bay, juniper, allspice, epazote, grains of paradise, garlic, onion, and a shake of sesame oil. Combined these with an additional 4 cups of water, three chipotles in adobo, a can of drained white hominy, a teaspoon of ground cumin and a tablespoon of smoked spanish paprika. I let this simmer for an hour, which reduced the liquid and let some of the beans and squash thicken things further.

For the posole, I sliced meat from the dry rubbed roast into 1" cubes and thoroughly browned them in a bit of lard. These went into the pot with 8 cups of water and 2 cups of heavily concentrated pork stock. Browned 1/2 a chopped onion and 5 cloves of garlic in the pan, then deglazed all the fond with a cup of water. Added 3 chipotles in adobo, a tablespoon of epazote, 2 teaspoons of ground cumin, and 2 cans of drained white hominy. Simmered for an hour.

Both stews served with chopped onion, tomato, tomatilla, cilantro, and cotija cheese and a big pan of cornbread.

Dessert: butter layer cake filled with black raspberry and glazed with chocolate fudge.

― Jaq, Wednesday, 25 April 2007 16:11 (seventeen years ago) link

good grief, i'm hungry!

― Ai Lien, Wednesday, 25 April 2007 16:20 (seventeen years ago) link

I brought some posole and cake for my lunch today and am seriously considering breaking it out now (9:45 am)!

― Jaq, Wednesday, 25 April 2007 16:46 (seventeen years ago) link

Pappa col pomodoro, my favourite way to use up stale bread. I probably ate double the amount I should have and couldn't move for an hour afterwards.

― Madchen, Thursday, 26 April 2007 13:07 (seventeen years ago) link

lamb burgers, cucumber/feta salad, broccoli w/ lemon viniagrette. i'm really into acidic flavors at the moment.

― lauren, Thursday, 26 April 2007 15:29 (seventeen years ago) link

Strawberries have been sale for a month now and so I've been eating those to the point of ridiculousness. Unfortunately they are not the highest quality but I'm convinced anything sliced up and sugared can be palatable.

― brownie, Friday, 27 April 2007 17:33 (seventeen years ago) link

baked camembert with steamed asparagus to dip - ridiculously filling, but I did have it all to myself

― Vicky, Sunday, 29 April 2007 13:58 (seventeen years ago) link

lamb burgers -> do they also have a chunk of garlic butter on top?

― nathalie, Sunday, 29 April 2007 14:16 (seventeen years ago) link

chopped garlic was mixed in before cooking, and we made a curry mayonnaise for the topping. they were great, but next time i'm going to try to get leaner meat. i like grease as much as anyone, but it was a bit much. the leftover patties had a thick white crust of congealed fat the next day.

― lauren, Sunday, 29 April 2007 14:36 (seventeen years ago) link

last time I made lamb burgers I used half lam, half beef, you still get the lamb flavour (possibly nicer in fact) but they're much less greasy. The only other ingredients were an egg and chopped parsley.

― Porkpie, Sunday, 29 April 2007 16:12 (seventeen years ago) link

half lam? bloody amateur

― Porkpie, Sunday, 29 April 2007 16:12 (seventeen years ago) link

aha. next time i'll try a mix with lean ground beef.

― lauren, Sunday, 29 April 2007 16:25 (seventeen years ago) link

Baking powder biscuits this morning for breakfast along with rolled french omelets with tarragon and parmesan. And I haven't baked any bread for an age - not since well before we moved last September! - but I made up a biga last night and will make a nice loaf later today.

Also, lamb burgers - mmmmmm!

― Jaq, Sunday, 29 April 2007 17:17 (seventeen years ago) link

Tonight I made a ginormous meatloaf, which will surely outlive us all. (Cook's Illustrated recipe required more steps than I care to list but it involved 2 lbs. of beef, 2 eggs, cheese, saltines, and a slew of other stuff.) Also made mashed potatoes, edamame, and mushroom gravy for my anti-ketchup boy.

Mmm...already thinking about tomorrow's sandwich.

― lindseykai, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 01:18 (seventeen years ago) link

Now that Tesco have unceremoniously dumped their chicken and chorizo potato bake from their Finest range (my favourite can't-be-arsed-cooking fallback), I had a bash at making my own a couple of days ago since I'd roasted a chicken the night before and had lots of chicken to make things with. This went as follows:

Roast some little chunks of potato in oil and rosemary. Make up a creamy sauce (I used onions and garlic and some single cream and a dod of cream cheese to thicken it, but I guess any old white or bechamel sauce would do). Put lots of cooked chicken on top of the roasted potatoes in a lasagne dish, add lots of chopped chorizo (actually, I bought a pack of mini chorizos), pour over the cream sauce, mix, stick back in oven until it's hot all the way through, stick some salad on the side, pour glass of wine, go mmmmmmmmmmmm a lot.

― ailsa, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 06:57 (seventeen years ago) link

i wanna make some banana pancakes today. must do this.

― nathalie, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 08:11 (seventeen years ago) link

Cheese straws, which were definitely cheesy, but not as crispy as I thought they should be. How to tell when something that is essentially orange has baked to "golden"?

Anyway, 1 lb grated extra sharp chedder, 1/4 lb butter, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 2 c. flour, salt to taste. Cream butter until light then mix in everything else until dough forms a ball (mine didn't form a ball until I sprinkled in a few tbsp of water...), turn out onto a floured board and knead, then shape into a 3/8" high rectangle. Slice into 5"x3/8" strips. Bake in a 400 deg F oven on baking sheets until golden.

― Jaq, Monday, 7 May 2007 18:06 (seventeen years ago) link

I've been trying to improve my stir-fries lately by reining them in and using fewer ingredients. Last week I did baby bok choy with shitake mushroom, and it came out really good. Garlic, ginger, scallion, a little chicken stock and white wine (I might have been better off just with one or the other) and soy sauce of course at the end.

Last night I tried a similar thing with string beans, shitake, sapian eggplant and tofu, but something didn't work as well. I think there was just too much stuff in the pan for everything to cook properly. The eggplant was delish though.

― Hurting 2, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 01:45 (seventeen years ago) link

Hurting, do you do the thing where you put in the long cooking stuff first, then the next shortest cooking, etc etc? I have never made a successful stir-fry, btw. Everything always gets too mushy and salty. After watching the main guy at Thai Tom cook it right, I've decided it's a question of getting the pan really really hot and being lightning fast.

― Jaq, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 15:29 (seventeen years ago) link

i've heard/read that home ranges just don't get hot enough for stir-fries, which would explain a lot. aside from blanching things that take longer to cook before they go in the pan, i try to drain the pan between additions as i've found that stir-fry enemy #1 is the moisture that various ingredients release. it causes everything to boil, which is terrible.

― lauren, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 16:12 (seventeen years ago) link

I had a little trouble deciding whether string beans or eggplant needed more time - possibly the string beans.

But I still think it was ultimately just a matter of having too much stuff in the pan this time, resulting in just not enough heat to go around. Last time when I had less stuff it came out perfect.

A couple of things that I've found really help

1) Start at medium-high heat and cook your garlic/scallions/ginger for a VERY short time once the oil is hot (like only 15-30 seconds)

2) Go to highest heat possible, start adding your other ingredients and then keep everything moving almost continuously. Yeah, do your best to add ingredients in order of cooking time, but only a couple of minutes each.

3) Some liquid toward the end does wonders - maybe 1/2 cup to a cup of stock, wine or even water, and let a good amount of it cook off.

4) Soy sauce toward the end - cooking it too much seems to bring out a nasty taste.

― Hurting 2, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 17:40 (seventeen years ago) link

And yes, I always used to get the same mushy/salty result. But if you're using the highest heat possible, the flame on your range just might not be high enough. Try the low-sodium soy sauce too -- I find it tastes much better.

― Hurting 2, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 17:41 (seventeen years ago) link

Hey, sure enough, I just went to grab a NYTimes, and there's an article on the cover of the DiningIn section wherein he mentions that it's pointless and even counterproductive to have a wok unless you have a special high b.t.u. burner setup. As it happens I've been doing my stir-frying in a regular deep skillet.

― Hurting 2, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 18:12 (seventeen years ago) link

I tried making mac 'n' cheese. Fucked up a little when making the sauce (milk and flower was a bit lumpy but turned out okay). But how much sauce do you pour over the pasta? I did way too much - I made a solo dish but based it on a dish for FOUR hah! So how much sauce do you use and how long do you have to grill it?

― nathalie, Friday, 11 May 2007 12:27 (seventeen years ago) link

Nathalie, the trick to a lump-free white sauce is to mix the melted butter and flour first and cook for a bit, so it comes together. Then add the milk a very little at a time, stirring like crazy in between. Don't add more milk until the last lot has been absorbed and the sauce has an elastic quality to it. You'll get a sore arm but a smooth sauce. And as soon as O is old enough, teach her to do the sore arm bit for you :)

― Madchen, Friday, 11 May 2007 12:34 (seventeen years ago) link

Oh, forgot to say - keep it on a high heat the whole time, and work fast.

― Madchen, Friday, 11 May 2007 12:34 (seventeen years ago) link

Oh crap, my book said to put the milk and flour in first! I'll try your version next time! :-)

― nathalie, Friday, 11 May 2007 12:54 (seventeen years ago) link

My trick for a smooth sauce - melt the butter, stir in the flour well and let it cook for a bit (gets the raw flour taste out of it), then have the milk very warm (near simmering, but be careful not to boil it - not a bad use for the microwave actually!) when you add it and use a whisk to stir it up. Then the grated cheese goes in and the pepper and cayenne and nutmeg.

I think the proportion is about 3/4 cup of sauce to 1 cup of pasta - the normal batch I make uses 3 cups of the cheese sauce and 4 cooked cups of macaroni. This usually bakes for 20-30 minutes at 350 F, then you can finish under the broiler for a few moments to blister the top.

― Jaq, Friday, 11 May 2007 15:11 (seventeen years ago) link

We haven't had any beef in the house for months, but picked up 32 lbs (a family pack) of grass-fed and finished roasts, steaks, and ground beef yesterday, along with 6 lbs of lamb (boneless leg roast, pack of 6 chops, and a package of mince). So we had cheeseburgers last night and for lunch today I made meatballs casseroled in roasted garlic tomato sauce and covered with grated parmesan and provolone.

― Jaq, Sunday, 13 May 2007 21:38 (seventeen years ago) link

we got 3lbs of organic ground beef from costco, so last night i made giant mozzarella-stuffed meatballs with marinara. if the weather dips down as forecasted, then i'll probably make shepherd's pie with the rest.

― lauren, Thursday, 17 May 2007 14:35 (sixteen years ago) link

dude - cottage pie.

shepherds pie = lamb mince surely??

/pedant obv.

― Porkpie, Thursday, 17 May 2007 20:26 (sixteen years ago) link

haha, ok. i'll defer to your expertise.

― lauren, Friday, 18 May 2007 01:17 (sixteen years ago) link

Let's not go into whether cottage pie and shepherd's pie are pies, obviously.

― aldo, Friday, 18 May 2007 08:38 (sixteen years ago) link

I thought everything was a pie.

― Madchen, Friday, 18 May 2007 11:37 (sixteen years ago) link

Except Jaffa Cakes.

― Madchen, Friday, 18 May 2007 11:38 (sixteen years ago) link

Jaffa Cakes are as much of a pie as lasagne, surely?

― aldo, Friday, 18 May 2007 12:21 (sixteen years ago) link

MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― Porkpie, Friday, 18 May 2007 23:44 (sixteen years ago) link

I made POTATO SALAD. Extremely yummy. Consists of ham, garlic, mayo, potatos (ORLY), onion,...

― nathalie, Sunday, 20 May 2007 09:07 (sixteen years ago) link

I made cow's milk mozzarella yesterday because there was none at the grocery and I had some lovely roma tomatoes and fresh basil and gallons of organic milk were on sale. This morning for 1st breakfast, I made myself a caprese omelet. Mmmmm.

I also started a biga last night using some of the whey from the cheese as the liquid. I'll bake a loaf of bread this afternoon. Here's the last one I did, which was very toadstoolish:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/198/498781793_aed50f2cde.jpg

― Jaq, Sunday, 20 May 2007 16:06 (sixteen years ago) link

How do you make mozz, Jaq?

― Madchen, Monday, 21 May 2007 13:41 (sixteen years ago) link

Mr. Jaq got me a kit a few years ago from these folks. Basically, you add citric acid or lemon juice to a gallon of non-ultrapasteurized milk, then warm it up in a stainless steel pot to 88 deg F. At that temp, you remove it from the heat and gently stir in a tiny amount of rennet, then let it sit for 5-7 minutes for the curd to develop and solidify. It looks like a soft white custard in a yellowish clear liquid (the whey) at this point. You run a long knife through the curd, cutting it into 1" x 1" long rectangles, which helps the whey to drain out of the curds. You ladle the curds out as gently as possible, trying to drain out more of the whey.

After all the curds are out of the pot, they need to be gradually heated up to 135 F and kneaded and stretched into mozzarella, with some salt worked in. I use the microwave (zap on high for 1 min, knead and drain, then zap for 35 secs, knead some more, then zap again for 35 secs and knead and stretch). You can also just heat the whey up and dip balls of the curd into it to heat it up, which is more trad, but a lot tougher to control. After it's all a nice smooth ball, you cool it off in some ice water and start eating it.

1 gallon (about 4 liters) of milk makes about 3/4 lb (about 1.5 kg) of cheese. Making it's sort of technical and also magical so pretty fun on a weekend, as long as milk's on sale.

― Jaq, Monday, 21 May 2007 17:45 (sixteen years ago) link

Banana pancakes. Not bad, but not a big success with Ophelia and DH. (hah I just typed DH)

― stevienixed, Tuesday, 22 May 2007 19:04 (sixteen years ago) link

FRENCH FRIES. well, deepfreeze ones so not really anything special. :-)

― stevienixed, Thursday, 24 May 2007 08:56 (sixteen years ago) link

Simple black bean salad tonight - delish.

canned black beans (well washed)
avocado
chopped tomato
chopped red onion
chopped cilantro
fresh lime juice
salt & pepper
shredded cheddar cheese
(served with blue corn tortilla chips)

― Hurting 2, Friday, 25 May 2007 02:10 (sixteen years ago) link

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