What's cooking? part 4

- cut cauli into pieces, pulse in food processor til it's smaller
- saute some chopped onion (avoid frozen leeks imo) and then add the cauli bits and some salt, whatever seasonings you want (depends on what you're eating it with)
- cook for a while, but not til too mushy -- this takes a while, so if you are stir frying something else, you can do it while the cauli cooks
- top with whatever you want, eat

(i just googled cauliflower rice and read some recipes to know whether i should just chop or food process and did what i could)

i forgot to say that i sauteed in butter/coconut oil because that's what i have the most of atm but you could use whatever fat you want, i'd imagine?

yeah I only ever have vegetable oils on hand

ty!

cut cauliflower into pieces / this is my fast risotto

I tried roasting tiny cauliflower pieces - they got more chewy than crunchy. Tasty though. I used it to make a finely chopped parsley salad with lemon, mint, and olive oil dressing.

ooh, tabbouleh! tabouli!
that sounds delicious.

It was really good - we eat a lot of cauliflower pureed with ghee as well. I refuse to call it faux-tatos.

bonus -- leftover cauliflower warmed up a little, then tossed with chard, roasted beets, pecorino, and pine nuts (and a little salt) = totally delicious.

cut cauliflower into pieces / this is my fast risotto

you are such a dork

I do not like cauli except this one place in Philly (Zahav, w/o a doubt the best restaurant in town, if you are ever around and can go to only one spot, go there) has this crispy cauliflower w some sort of mint yogurt thing and it is like *omg my face is exploding* good

I think you might like this preparation more than you think you would -- I don't like cauliflower at all, really, have avoided it because its paleness kinda oogs me out a little, but I'm going to try to do more things with it now. I haven't really experimented much lately food-wise because I've been monomaniacally focused on moving, but this summer? It's on.

Here's a pic of my day 2 meal (I forgot to take a picture with the stir fry)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8235/8593310366_3d708d9c1f_n.jpg

I'm smdh at myself for not getting the difference between kalua pork and Kahlua pork upthread.

Not my cooking but my gf's: Easter chocolate lobster!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8247/8607134078_716285cfc4_z.jpg

Made chocolate truffles, ganache was more difficult than it sounded.

That is a really nice shine on that lobster! I don't understand chocolate making but I know the temperature stuff is really important, and large molds are not easy to get to work right! That looks like a triumph.

yeah that's a fab lobster!

Choc Lobster! (down, down)

lol

kudos 2 u!

Ljub--how did you make the ganache? Every time I've done it it's just pouring v hot heavy cream over finely chopped chocolate and whisking it after like 5 minutes.

i would like to announce to ILC that i sold all my kitchenware today. everything. i bought this and im not looking back. it was nice to know all of you. peace god

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XILbEZlS0U

omg

i bet you could put cake batter into that thing. apple sauce. ranch dressing. mayo

hot dogs, brats, . . .

vertical cooking! Everyone needs a Rollie!

I put an 11 lb chuck roast in the slow cooker this morning. Doesn't look like it's gonna be done anytime tonight. It's just about to overflow too. Yikes.

It's so reassuring that that happens to experienced, amazing cooks and not just to me because I'm dumb.

xp stevie - that's what I did, but I think I whisked the cream in too slowly, so I ended up with lumps. Also my recipe said to whisk after 30 secs - I'll leave it longer next time.

Pot roast plan b is in effect. Giant (and somehow expanding) hunk of beef shifted to the large oval le creuset along with all the juice. Fingers x'd that all night in a warm oven will do the trick.

made my Patti Labelle mac & cheese for Easter dinner today.

still delicious! But I haven't made mac & cheese a whole lot, and I'm still wrestling with how to handle it if it's cooked before the rest of the food's done. I've tried keeping it warm in the oven but it keeps cooking and gets clumpy. I've tried taking it out, but then it goes cold. I'm wondering about water baths and such.

Anyone got any genius ideas?

The only thing I can think of is some kind of steam table setup, but a bain marie might work pretty well. What size pan do you make it in?

Just a normal 9 x 13 pyrex casserole

Not sure this works for everything but we tend to keep food warm on a tealight-powered warmer.

You'd need a pretty big pan of hot water to keep a 9x13 warm. I bought an electric buffet server awhile ago that's worked pretty well for dips/entrees, but that might be ott. Depending on how long the wait is, you could try setting the hot pan on towels or cork trivets in a cooler (the insulation will keep things warm as well as cold).

yeah a big cooler sounds like the way to go. those things are boss

i'll give that a go, good idea

I hope it works - cheesy things can be problematic!

There's probably mathematically a sweet spot where if you took it out a bit early the internal heat would keep cooking it while it sat, and it could finish on the counter. You'd have to get the top as crispy as you wanted it with some high heat and then...turn it down and then pull it? Idk exactly.

yeah i might have to experiment with it

Crisp up the top with a torch right before you serve it!

I'm all about the flaming. And the knives.

I don't have a torch. I want one but my potential for creating kitchen hazards leads me to think this might be a bad move. cf: absent minded thread

Someone gave me one, but there was no creme brulee in my future so I gave it away. Douse it with alcohol and set it on fire! Add drama to your holiday get togethers!

lololol

Mr jaq roasted me some beets today, but forgot they were in the oven. Tomorrow I have wizened little lumps with charred bases for lunch.

I've done that overnight. Apartment smelt like nothing on earth.

anyone have thoughts on duck legs?

i bought a couple, put them overnight in a modified hoisin sauce, and roasted them on 300 for 2 hours after a very brief sear on the skin. they still ended up black on the outside and not very moist inside. maybe they need more of a braise? idk.

Confit, all the way.

I like to sear duck breast, skin side down to render the fat, then flip over to briefly sear the other side but leave the meat med rare - it's not like chicken. Pre-sear marination optional but recommended, esp. with asian flavors.

I accidentally discovered something great about pecans today -- they can be toasted at a low temp for a really, really long time before they burn. I was making a broccoli/pasta salad today, one of those straight off the salad bar type things (but better because it's homemade, right?) and put some pecan halves in a 300˚ oven to toast. Set the timer for 20 minutes, but I was busy with something else when it went off, and thought "oh I'll get those in a minute." Forgot all about them until at least another hour had passed and my wife noticed that the oven was on. They came out really dark brown, like mahogany colored, but didn't smell burned at all. They were delicious!

2 hrs sounds long for a couple of legs, even at 300. Maybe less time and/or cover with something (baking bag type thing) so they steam more than roast?

yeah, covering prob would have helped