What's cooking? part 4

Well, I was also trying to do that. ;)

hahaha

i like that. f's market. it could be a name of a store!

the source of the orzo must be concealed

made a pretty bitchin green curry tonight

Still pisses me off that the green curry paste I use (the only paste i can find across 4 grocery stores) now has zero heat in it .. I have to add chilis, and I never used to need them before!

Yum, def gonna try that orzo thing. I made an amazing sausage casserole last night. secretly kind of glad it's finally the season for hearty stews and whatnot.

veg can you find maesri paste at an asian grocery store? that stuff is hot. i made panang curry sat night with beef. the beef was way too tough.

I haven't cooked anything in like a month, it is such a disgrace. Someone throw me a really really simple and delicious and rewarding (and perhaps smallish-portioned) thing to make that is your favorite.

zucchini pancakes

http://www.justhungry.com/files/images/zucchinipancakes2.jpg

Makes 2 large pancakes, which make 2 main dish servings or 4 appetizer/side dish servings

3 medium zucchini, or about 4 cups shredded
2 zucchini flowers (optional; adds a bit of color)
Some coriander or basil leaves (optional: adds flavor)
1 cup chickpea flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. hot red chili powder
1/2 tsp. curry powder
Olive oil for cooking

Equipment needed: a non-stick frying pan

Finely shred the zucchini - I use a food processor for this. Julienne the zucchini flowers and the herbs. Put all into a large bowl; add the salt, spices and the chickpea flour. Mix well - the moisture that comes out of the zucchini may be enough to turn this into a batter, but if not add a tiny bit of water, just so that it turns moist but not runny.

Heat up a small (8 inch / 20cm) non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add some olive oil and spread around. Put in about half of the batter and spread around to form a circle. Cook for about 5 minutes, then turn and cook for another 5 minutes or so, until it’s cooked all the way through. (You can slice into the middle a bit to see if there’s any batter oozing still; if so, cook a bit more.) Repeat for the other half of the batter.

Cut into wedges, and serve hot or at room temperature.

Note: If you want a crispy outside, use more oil in the pan; if you want it soft (and less caloric) add less. You can use ghee or butter instead of the olive oil.

You can also adjust the spices to whatever you'd like. Adding basil is highly recommended if you have some on hand.

That sounds healthy! I can totally fuck w that, and also can use the shredder on my food processor I've never actually used.

well isn't that handy - thanks LL! I bought zucchinis to make something along those lines this week!

Yes, it is healthy and delicious and you can use your food processor! I like to serve with a little salad (spinach, beets, a good bell pepper that is not green) tossed with a combo of a sweet vinegar (like the orange stuff from TJs) + mint chutney from the indian food store (or homemade, which i rarely have on hand anymore) + a little oo or whatever o you have.

Reheats well the following day, tastes like light falafel!

TZA told us about this recipe a long time ago and I think about her every time I make it.

Good website
http://www.justhungry.com/zucchini-and-chickpea-pancakes

i have some skinless drumsticks. not sure what to make.

Dinner was
brie & pita crackers
six figs
a tiny leftover corner of steak
two screwdrivers
perfect

I know it's not cooking but that's because GOD DID IT ALL FOR ME
for once

i love nibbly meals like that

GUYS I COOKED TODAY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A MONTH:

cavatelli w broc, garlic, butter, Italian turkey sausage. Very good and healthy-ish I hope.

Two diff stores were out of chickpea flour :-(

Made that orzo and eggplant thing! It's great! not really taht much prep compared to stuff I usually make, except for salting the eggplant, which I think did make a difference.

Awesome. I'm glad you liked it. I guess it just seemed like there was a lot of chopping. lol.

I just made THE BEST MOST ULTIMATE BEEF STROGANOFF

it is so fucking unreal; every bite is a universe of flavor

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 pounds sirloin steak tips, trimmed of excess fat and cut lengthwise (with grain) into 4 equal pieces (see note)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 pound white mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered (see note)
2 teaspoons hot water
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
Ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)
Table salt
2 teaspoons tomato paste
4 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon white wine or dry vermouth
1 1/2 cups beef broth (see note)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves or dill

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Using fork, poke each piece of steak 10 to 12 times. Place in baking dish; rub both sides evenly with soy sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour.
2. While meat marinates, place mushrooms in medium microwave-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high power until mushrooms have decreased in volume by half, 4 to 5 minutes (there should be as much as ¼ cup liquid in bowl). Drain mushrooms and set aside; discard liquid. Combine water, dry mustard, sugar, and ½ teaspoon pepper in small bowl until smooth paste forms; set aside
3. Pat steak pieces dry with paper towels and season with pepper. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Place steak pieces in skillet and cook until browned on all sides and internal temperature registers 125 to 130 degrees, 6 to 9 minutes, reducing heat if fond begins to burn. Transfer meat to large plate and set aside while cooking sauce.
4. Add mushrooms, onion, and ½ teaspoon salt to skillet and cook until vegetables begin to brown and dark bits form on bottom of pan, 6 to 8 minutes. Add tomato paste and flour and cook, stirring constantly, until onions and mushrooms are coated, about 1 minute. Stir in 1/3 cup wine, beef broth, and mustard paste and bring to simmer, scraping ¬bottom of pan with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce has reduced slightly and begun to thicken, 4 to 6 minutes.
5. While sauce is reducing, cut steak pieces across grain into ¼-inch-thick slices. Stir meat and any accumulated juices into thickened sauce and cook until beef has warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let any bubbles subside. Stir in sour cream and remaining tablespoon wine; season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley or dill and serve.

cannot even deal w/ how rich this is

looooooooove stroganoff, I will try that recipe for sure!

I've had a weeklong craving for it but tbh after tasting this I realize I've never actually had real legit stroganoff before.

legit stroganoff is the best

I've just realised I haven't made a proper roast dinner since I've been back (several months) and as it's rainy out I'm going to compensate with roast lamb, mint sauce, stuffing, roast spuds etc etc

Making Jamaican goat curry tonight!

Made a batch of meatballs the other day to go with a tomato sauce and spaghetti, but I held some of them back for today: meatballs in an onion cream sauce over rice, with leftover green peas w/mint on the side.

excitedly made my first thing from recently-acquired mexican everyday by rick bayless--mole amarillo with chicken thighs, chayotes, and green beans. it resulted in a really nice stew type thing over some brown rice and got me interested in trying the "authentic" mole recipes (since this book is designed to take some shortcuts).

that sounds incredible

I've made the "authentic" red mole from one of his earlier books and it's kind of a pain but if you get your space together it isn't so bad. It's actually pretty great for a lazy sunday sort of thing where you can babysit it for a while and do a bunch of dishes.

I've doubled (tripled?) the recipe and frozen the extra with no ill effects which also makes the time it takes not as bad.

How do I learn how to stir-fry/saute properly? Like I'm doing mushrooms, leeks, and garlic tonight to put on pizza and I know better than to just throw them all in the pan at once but I'm still not sure what order to do it in to make the mushrooms rich and earthy, the leeks still sharp and leeky, and the garlic pungent and garlicky. I guess mushrooms for a while, then leeks a few minutes before they're done, and then garlic at the v end for like 30 sec?

I dunno if this is 'right' but I take mushrooms out and put in a bowl when they're done as they give off so much liquid.

I tend to cook each ingredient separately too, so they're just right, and then throw them all in together at the end for a minute or so, stirring/flipping continuously to blend the flavors.

I would do them in the order that you said - separately, or add each to the same pan as you go.

Main thing with mushrooms, or any sauteeing really is not crowding the pan, and a nice med-high heat so they get nicely browned.
I find that the mushrooms will reabsorb some of the liquid they give off if you cook them for long enough, it makes them nice and plump.

Get the mushrooms in there in one layer and after you've tossed them a bit to get the oil distributed on them, spread them out and don't move them, don't stir them around. Let them sit and sear for a good 2-3 minutes, then flip them like a bunch of little steaks for the other side.

You may wish to google Julia Child's mushroom technique because those turn out sooooo good. Leeks I don't have suggestions for :(

WmC pretty much explained the JC technique. But she uses butter AND oil, heh.

julia's mushrooms are the bomb.com

don't overcrowd the pan, that's my $0.02

I got a delivery of dried pig's blood yesterday. Going to try and source some backfat today and if I can will attempt black pudding over the weekend.

I got some fresh Brussel's sprouts yesterday, which is my new favorite thing. I am going to wrap them in foil and throw them on the grill with a lot of butter.

Also, I live around a lot of Greeks, but I can't find orzo anywhere anymore? Is there a embargo against Greece that I don't know about?? I guess I can mail order it!

I spent ages trying to find orzo the other day! Got it in a deli in the end.

http://www.israelisuper.com/ShowImage.asp?file=RONZ1-22.jpg&folder=/Images/&xSize=200&ySize=300&HWM=0

Just in with the reg pasta at my supermarket.

that's where it should be! We have literally 5 shitty small Tescos within 5 mins of each other all selling the exact same range of stuff so if you don't find it in one, it won't be in the others. Rage-inducing.

within 1 min of each other actually, took 5 mins to visit them all.