What's cooking? part 4

Baking a pumpkin cheesecake w/ almond flour crust right now.

I like that kind of cookbook, lukas. Like Mastering the Art of French Cooking - so many steps! But if you skip or combine steps, the results aren't the same.

stir fry: tofu, ginger, garlic, parsley, yellow bell pepper, tomato, tamari, rice vngr

jaq are you gluten-free now or just having fun w different flours?

tza, not intentionally gluten-free, but a side-effect of no sugars/no starches current way of life. But also having great fun with almond and coconut flours especially. Coconut flour makes v. delicious brownies, btw, plus is mad crazy to work with - 2 tbsp = 1 cup wheat flour!

oooh that sounds like it'd be good! let me know if you come across any a+ recipes!

So far, cookies/brownies are the only 100% coconut flour things I've made that rate pretty good. I tried making crepes with it and they were just too weird and WRONG. I will be trying it out for breading at some point though, and blending it with almond flour makes it more batter-y.

eggplant manicotti in the oven - uses strips of roasted eggplant instead of noodles. i think i may like it better than regular manicotti! the filling is fat free ricotta, baby spinach, asiago, egg, dash of crushed red pepper. homemade marinara on top and bottom of baking dish.

That sounds amazing. Did you use a recipe or just wing it. Either way - I'm gonna copy.

sorta followed this: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Eggplant-Manicotti-with-Ricotta-Asiago-and-Spinach-Filling-105539

love that a recipe from 2001 has to have a footnote telling you where to find asiago cheese. lol.

That sounds really good, will be trying it soon. I've been using arugula instead of spinach in stuff lately - frittata, lasagna, salad, etc.

oooh yum. i've also used a lot of arugula lately. can't get enough of it!

another big soup: onions, carrots, celery, bok choy, red potatoes, yellow squash, garlic, basil, chives, tamari

just made my first chicken marsala. i used smart balance and rice flour for the chicken to be sort of health conscious - yum!

Makin german potato salad with some lovely local baby tatoes from the markets I got today. Will add celery, dill and dill pickles, some haedboiled egg, and a mayo/sour cream/lemon dressing.

if i have a recipe that requires lobster mushrooms, what's the closest sub if i can't find any? oyster mushrooms?

i guess? what are lobster mushrooms?

Lobster mushroom (Hypomyces lactifluorum) is not a mushroom, but rather a parasitic ascomycete that grows on mushrooms, turning them a reddish orange color that resembles the outer shell of a cooked lobster. It colonizes members of the genera Lactarius (Milk-caps) and Russula, such as Russula brevipes and Lactarius piperatus in North America. At maturity, H. lactifluorum thoroughly covers its host, rendering it unidentifiable. Lobster mushrooms are widely eaten and enjoyed; they are commercially marketed and are commonly found in some large grocery stores. They have a seafood-like flavor and a firm, dense texture. According to some, they may taste somewhat spicy if the host mushroom is an acrid Lactarius.

Just popped this brisket into the oven. The apple barbecue sauce looked interesting.
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/chuck-hughes/brisket-sandwich-recipe/index.html

20 peeled and very thinly sliced fresh ginger

oh yeah, I left the ginger out of that sauce. Best guess, it was supposed to be 2".

I don't know though, a 2" piece would be a lot of ginger.

how do you guys store your fresh-cut herbs so that they keep for more than a couple days?

Stems in a glass of water in the fridge if there's room. If not, I wrap the stems in a damp paper towel then waxed paper with the leaves out in the open and hope for the best.

cooked a roast duck for my flatmate and myself tonight, with potatoes, pancetta and onions. really nice end to the weekend. had heard duck can be a nightmare to cook but it turned out very well.

Xpost I find that zip loc bags work really well

I grow most of my own so I can pick just what I need at the time. But when I buy enormous bundles of fresh dill, I use the wet paper towel method and try to use it up as fast as I can. Dill in everything for 2-3 days. In the winter, I stick with dried herbs.

I found dill lasted ages for me in the fridge, because it just dried out after a while and was still perfectly useable like that!

Whole fridge smelled of dill for weeks.

i have terrible luck w/ the leafier ones, like cilantro and parsley

Yeah that shit goes manky real fast. I get the same problem with baby spinach leaves.

just made a little array of puff pastry desserts: (some of them i tied up like samosas and others i rolled up like cannoli)

* chocolate chips/toffee chips topped with caramel sauce
* fig topped with rose petal jam
* raspberry with lemon curd
* a preserved pear slice made by s/a (wife of n/a) and her mom

all types look delicious, haven't tasted them yet though
i love puff pastry so much! so easy to work with.

i'm making this pasta thing with san marzano tomatoes, fennel bulb, swiss chard, onions, garlic, fresh thyme and dill (it's supposed to be tarragon but there is none to be found) and lemon. i've never had fennel before, i hope it's not gross!

i looooooooove fennel

fennel and (anise root) are awesome

discussion of herbs made me remember i have mint in the fridge so i made a mint julep. feels weird drinking this in january!

omg rose petal jam? where did you get this? want!

also, fennel rocks.

i got it at a middle eastern bakery -- this is what it looks like

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0013/9902/products/lg_rose_preserves_large.jpg?1292595774

it is SO DELICIOUS

hey if you guys find that you have a ton of mint and don't know what to do with it, do this:

mint leaves
lime juice OR red wine vinegar
red pepper flakes
salt
little bit of water if it's too thick

blendblendblend ~ drizzle some oo in while blending ~ blendblendblend

eat in the following ways:

* delicious topping for fish/shellfish
* tastes great on steak (and i mean really really great)
* flavor base for salad dressing
* sauce for samosas (i like TJs frozen samosas)
* plotzed into soup for a flavor zing

lasts in the fridge for a while so you can do lots of things with it

chicken grilled in moroccan spices, topped with slices of chorizo and melted emmental. Sliced and into a wrap with some salad, there's tomorrow's lunch.

man there is a piece of 'turkish delight' candy in my fridge and i just may have to eat it tonight!
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vqCp77E1L._SL500_AA300_PIbundle-36%2CTopRight%2C0%2C0_AA300_SH20_.jpg

that mint sauce sounds delish!

I'll be making my usual batch of chicken stock tonight from the left over roast carcass... I always end up making chicken/veg soup with it. Delicious, but doesnt last long. What else can I do with a pot of stock? Apart from risotto (kind of went off risotto)

you can also thin it out with some shallots, vinegar, water and use it as a dipping sauce
i like herby dipping sauces a lot, like Colombian ají

trayce why don't you freeze the stock and save for later?

I'm going to plant mint so I can make that sauce, La Lechera. It sounds amazing.

I always reduce my stocks to jelly, Trayce. They keep for months, don't take up much space in the fridge, and it's great to have them on hand for soups/sauces/hot rich broth/etc.

i am making muaddara tonight

Both good ideas!

I've only had it a day, but I'll rep for this Kitchenaid 5-speed blender that got recommended on the nn thread. Chili sauce last night, whole grapefruit smoothie this morning. Can't wait to make La Lachera chili mint sauce in it.

i wish i had an excuse to get a new blender. ours is a stupid 'smoothie' blender and shit gets stuck down in the bottom spout thing at the base.

http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww201/fashionjuicecris/fashionjuice/Cuisinart_Smooth_Operator.jpg

but it technically works, so i can't justify buying a replacement (i didn't choose this... it came with the boy).

here it is on some scallops and brown rice
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3363/4559431160_723169e223.jpg

and as a dipping sauce with steak
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5004/5353691408_9527a4031f.jpg