What's cooking? part 4

it's like opening a recipe for refried beans to find that it's just someone opening a can and heating them up

On the topic of refried beans: I had the most amazing smokey refried beans at a fancy mexican joint in Houston. TBH my only experience is refried beans from a can. How to proceed? It will definitely involve some time in the big green egg to get some smoke, but. . . what the hell else is involved? Do I start from dried beans? What kind? What other stuff? Lard is not a problem fyi.

whole beans from a can with liquid go into a pan with oil. maybe 1 tbs oil / lard / drippings for every can of beans? you mash them up in the oil with a masher as they fry over medium heat. takes 10-20 minutes. that's it!

if you want you can put a little chopped onion and/or jalapeno and/or garlic in there to start

but i think the amazingness of restaurant fried beans comes down to what they're using for the oil more than anything else, they're generally really simple. like if they have really good rendered pork fat from making carnitas all day, well, the beans are going to be amazing.

i bet you could blend canned with a chipotle pepper and get the same thing with minimal fuss compared to working from dried peppers?

i mean dried beans! stupid me. sorry.

get a deep fryer off of craigslist

I've deep fried a few times, my proudest accomplishment has been deep frying a big mac coated in batter

lies

my deep fryer has been living with Tombot for the past, oh, five years or so.

so really it is Tombot's deep fryer now.

Funny this came up, ive been thinking of gettin' a simple pot and fyer basket set again! I want to make potato scallops (dunno if theyre a thing outside of aus/UK?) but then I had this idea.... CELERIAC SCALLOPS.

I had some leftover pinto beans in the fridge, not getting any fresher or younger -- thread inspired me to cook them down/mash them and make a couple of tacos of beans/onions/tomatoes/cheese and some really hot jalapeno ketchup that my mother bottled last month. That ketchup is hair-raising stuff, and delicious.

I'm so about black beans and pinto beans lately, I want to eat them all the time (and often do)

Yo quince, Bittman's refried beans recipe says you can use butter and OMG SUCH FLAVOR!! Everyone I serve them to wigs out.

Sauté some garlic in that shit first and you are golden.

What sort of oil should I be frying the mac in? Canola is fine, right? I am not going to get spendy w this tbh

Canola's fine.

Totally fine. Or veg, or peanut. Or Crisco. Or lard--what the hell you're frying mac and cheese!

Just told spouse I'm gonna make him refried beans with butter and he has agreed to be my spouse for another year :)

Tonight: carrots I GREW MYSELF TYVM with brussels sprouts; blanched v lightly, shredded, then tossed with walnut oil, lemon zest&juice, toasted walnuts, and walnut oil! With grilled salmon! Am I f'n paleo tonight or what? Oops also roasted potatoes with rosemary and garlic.

suspicous of brussels sprouts but applauding you anyway bc it sounds muy tasting

tasty not tasting

Okay so: mac turned out eh but the frying process went WONDERFULLY!! If anything the oil may have been a bit too hot bcz it browned up in like 30-45 sec, and the mac inside was not as hot as I'd hoped. My downfall was a) the mac, though refrig'd, did not really want to stay in nice neat little chunks, and also the panko needed salt. That aside it was awesome, and the rest of the oil was strained and put in a bottle and is in the fridge awaiting the other half of the leftover mac.

yeah sounds like the oil was too hot.

try freezing the mac another time, and maybe try smaller squares, or even balls. they'll cook in about 5 minutes or so.

I'm going to have to try it now, you've made me hungry!

don't usually ask but i have a large bowl of tomato/avocado/lettuce salad in my fridge, which i used at lunch today and when i came in last night. and i can't figure out what to have with it, i am thinking meat or fish, i mean, i guess anything would go with it really but anyone got a good idea, plus a dressing perhaps?

i'd throw some (protein of your choice) in there, top with some tomatillo salsa and lime juice, and eat.

i would also add hot sauce but i am a savage

hot sauce on all things

Grilled chicken with a lime/chili dressing.

make it look like a crime scene is my general motto
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8041/8056596888_ccbc470e30_n.jpg

OMG that looks SO FREAKING GOOD

is that tapatio?

cholula?

on a spinach quiche garnished with avocado

it's the TJ's jalapeño hot sauce on a spinach quiche garnished with avocado

not quiche actually -- tortilla

did you make tortilla w/ potato, onion and egg?

i just used a tortillera to make a spinach tortilla (afaik a generic name like frittata or omelette)

like this?

http://spanishfood.about.com/od/tapas/r/tortilla.htm

yup only it's single-serving size!

i freaking love those, never tried making it single serving size, always make mine pie-sized

mine looks like this only the sides are squared off and it's orange
http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/leonskitchen/29576498/25204/25204_320.jpg

i like the single serving size because it's way easier to flip and also mr doesn't like little egg rounds as much as i do so usually i am just making one for me

yummy impromptu "whats in the fridge/pantry" dinner

ground turkey, threw in some dijon made into patties & grilled

sauce for patties of avocado & greek yogurt

kale braised with tomatoes & black beans

yummo!

We're having a small party today to celebrate August's baptism so I'm going to grill pork tenderloins! I'm going to make vegetable kabobs with portabellas, onion, squash etc. Also roasting potatoes. Trying to figure out a dry rub and is searing the tenderloin important before I put it on the grill?

Smoked salmon salad (a la tuna salad) using the last jar of salmon from my parents' last trip to Alaska. Salty, yow!

The searing can/should be done on the grill; no need for separate step. Kabobs sound great. Tenderloins benefit GREATLY from a seasoned brine + dry rub.

Any suggestions for making yellow summer squash someting other that totally fucking boring?

My stepmom used to make a casserole of yellow squash, sweet onion, and carrot baked in sour cream (or possibly cream cheese, but probably sour cream) with a buttered bread crumb topping.

I like cooking squash how my grandmother would, which is slicing the squash in inch size chunks, adding a little onion and butter then slowing cooking the squash down removing most of the water until it's almost a pulp. Add lemon juice and dill.

It's like caramelizing squash, you really want it slightly blackened it parts.