What's cooking? part 4

Hahah hardly! ;P

Positive feedback!

fnarrr

that pizza looks delicious trayce (the cakes too!)

btw, do you know what happens if you use all purpose flour instead of special bread flour? how does that affect the texture? want to try the pizza recipe but don't want to buy an entire new thing of flour...already have like 3 diff flours right now...

I use AP flour for my dough, turns out good!

I do use yeast though & let it rise, might be a different technique

hmmm ok. i will try it.

I am a cooking newb and general kitchen disaster area and I made WmC's mushroom sauce and it was very good!

Misjudged a few amounts and timings on the way but it still turned out delicious. I also poured it on some not-great shop-bought fresh pasta, which is the main thing I hope to improve on next time, but there will definitely be a next time. Thank you, WmC.

Today I'm cooking the pork belly! Really excited and hope it turns out well. I'm making a beet spinach salad with goat cheese to go along with it.

xpost

Glad it turned out well! All the talk of creamy mushroom pasta has been making me crave it myself. I'm thinking about doing a version with some tuna in it tonight. (Need to remember to warn my wife so she can dab a bit of Vicks Vaporub under her nose.)

Also, for whatever reason, I'm starting to crave creamed spinach -- something for the weekend maybe.

anyone tried roasted beets on a grill or roasting beets in general? Any suggestions?

I like raw beets cut into matchsticks on salads, myself. Are you opposed to crunchy raw beets?

Otherwise just roast like you would roast any other root vegetable.

I've always saute beets or any root, I've never roasted them. I was thinking of placing them in foil and turning the grill on low, should I cover them in oil?

I usually roast them in a foil pouch with some olive oil and salt, then peel them when they're just cool enough to handle. There's something sexy about feeling the skin slide loose under my fingers. xp

^^ what he said

oh so I shouldn't skin the beets?

not necessary but you can if you want

Excellent beet thread: Beets

I think if they are wrapped in foil, oil probably doesn't matter, though a little would help keep them from sticking? Roasting with skin on is easy and keeps you from getting dyed fingertips.

Thanks guys!

Oh man, that mushroom pasta is so good with tuna (and peas). Takes me back to my yout'.

Re the pizzsa: yeah the strong flour for pizza and bread just helps its integrity I guess but its fine with regular flour - I use yeast either way - I think strong flour just makes it crispier?

So the pork belly has been cooking at 300 for 3 hours in the aromatics and basing liquid I made. It looks like a huge slab of fat, not the most appealing sight. Now I have to slice it and place it under the broiler, I hope this works out, after looking at it I'm second guessing myself with this whole idea.

Yeah pork belly is basically a giant slab of fat, but it's extremely delicious if you don't think about how each bite takes at least a month off of your life.

I generally braise it for a while and let it sit in the liquid overnight so I can peel the sheet of solid pork fat off the top, then boil off all the liquid and cook it like you would for Vietnamese caramelized clay pot stuff - with garlic, fish sauce, sugar, black pepper, green onions, and cilantro. That with some sticky rice and cabbage or papaya salad is one of my favorite things ever.

It was maybe the best dish I have cooked! The fat tasted like butter and would dissolve on your tongue, underneath the crispy cracklin like top. The meat was super tender and full of the flavor. I don't think I can eat this again for a year, but it was worth the time it took to cook. We have a few pieces left over that I'm going to chop and make a sort of pulled pork with tomorrow.

I'm throwing a BBQ tomorrow! Any excellent side dishes? I am thinking:

Hamburgers with various condiments
Wheatberry & bean curry salad
Chips
Potato salad & macaroni salad? (<--I am lame, will probably just buy these things because I like the store brand a lot)
Tomato & bocconcini salad with basil, balsamic & olive oil

I feel like this is standard, but also not enough? I will make a cracker & cheese & grapes plate.

Tempted to attempt devilled eggs! Are those hard?

They're really easy! And flavorwise they're kind of a blank canvas that encourages you to try all kinds of things.

I just looked up a recipe. I think I could do this! I've never peeled a hard boiled egg before, hah. Will report back!

Pro tip: fresher eggs are harder to peel.

it's tedious but not a big deal

hmm, I've got 6 or 8 eggs in the fridge that are a week old, at least. I'm good a tedious; skill is where it all falls apart for ole Lex.

Deviled eggs are great but peeling the eggs is one of the most maddening things ever - if I do one of course the shell slips right off but if I need a dozen they never seem to come off until all the eggs are destroyed.

Hahaha. Well I forgot to buy more & we'll need some for breakfasts so I shall try another time.

Bought a watermelon so that I can make a gigantic Fruitbasket out of it!

"Potato salad & macaroni salad?"

I would not do both, eliminating the mac salad as it's one food that seems to have no reason to exist.

Maybe some grilled corn on the cob?

Man I love both potato & macaroni salads! Hate corn IMO. plus our BBQ is small, couldn't fit anything but burgers really..

Most store-bought mac salads have very little flavor but lots of calories, so I never eat them. I have found that adding a little good vinegar makes them more edible.

You guys don't really have halloumi as a staple in the US, right? But halloumi & veg kebabs on the grill are amazing. Although every kebab type thing I make always breaks off the skewer. So maybe big halloumi slices.

Oh yeah BBQ haloumi is the BEST. So squeaky and salty. Firm tofu and veg kebabs are also a go-to for me (lotta vege friends)

Made this tonight, not bad, and only about 25 minutes of work.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/nickn/smpizza.jpg

Fresh and Easy dough, chorizo (the Spanish sausage, not the Mexican type), herbed goat cheese, mushrooms, dry-cured olives, roasted red peppers.

Oh nice!

roasting some new potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, and many many cloves of garlic and gonna make a salad of them with goat cheese and lettuce and try to make dressing out of the roasted garlic and some mustard and honey

that sounds delicious. I did a frittata with eggs from my hippie coworker with roasted red and banana pepper, onion, garlic, and new red potatoes; oregano and smoked paprika to season. Looks and smells good; hope it tastes that way!

the dressing was pretty good. i mashed about 4 of the roasted garlic cloves and added dry mustard, a tablespoon (or more? it was a tiny bit too sweet), red vinegar, and olive oil

cooking bison burgers with merlot gazed onions and roasted garlic mustard!

my new favorite salad is assorted roasted vegetables + lettuce + a cheese. i am eating the leftovers from yesterday with feta instead of goat cheese and a handful of dill and roasting some different vegetables with lemon juice, olive oil, dill, and plenty of salt. asparagus, zucchini, and red peppers.

I made my first brisket yesterday! It was rubbed with spices, seared, then cooked in a sauce of puréed tomato, apricot jam and horseradish. It was so good! And today I made my first strawberry rhubarb pie :) sadly our a/c seems to be broken again, as it was the first time we tried to use it last summer, so cooking means a very hot apartment and a very exasperated me :(

I made some green chile enchiladas today. They're really just a green chile delivery device. Layers of torn-up corn tortillas alternated w/layers of ground-up green chile (with a little milk added in) and cheddar cheese on top, casserole style. I swear green chiles give me some kind of high, the heat plus some crazy x factor. They make my face feel the same way it does when I smoke weed. The chile from Hatch is god's greatest creation.

I want to cook a brisket soon, but I really want to meat to be super tender, almost falling apart. Does this depend on the quality of the cut of meat, fat to meat ratio, or the cooking process, ei cooking in a stove or a outdoor grill or pit?

marbling and amount of fat is important, but keeping the temperature of the meat low (like never over 155 F) for a long time (think 1 hour/lb) will give you a super tender but also moist result.