What's cooking? part 4

OK this probably doesn't really qualify as "cooking," but it is the closest I'm going to get in a hotel room! Today I'm going here to, among other things, *create my very own, one-of-a-kind Cup Noodle*!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momofuku_Ando_Instant_Ramen_Museum

i froze some of the gumbo that i made on christmas and ate it last night with tater tots instead of rice after going to a bar where the two were being served together and it was sooooooo gooooood
like gumbo poutine

gumboutine

omg LL that is blowing my mind, I'm gonna try that

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2887/11920912085_405e73cd3d.jpg
i plated it like this so the tots wouldn't get soggy

oh for a wonkavision app

I made some cinnamon biscuits from the Silver Spoon cookbook. They're like snickerdoodles, but made with olive oil. Don't think I've ever made a sweet anything with olive oil before.

That looks like the gumbo and the tots are going into battle

In my little camp-like kitchen (details posted on the cookbook thread) I have thus far prepared:

Steamed pork buns. Well, I bought the buns and warmed them up, which took some improvisation because at the time I had only one pot with zero lid or steaming rack at my disposal.

Udon with stir-fried beef, ginger, garlic, scallion, soy, sesame oil

Three-cup chicken with pepper, carrots, udon

Today's plan: rice cakes (the noodley disks, not the crispy styrofoam stuff) with pork and pickled mustard greens

Lot of noodles going on around here, basically.

I'm making my very first lentil soup, from Cooks Illustrated

Lentil soup gives a lot of payback for a little money and not a lot of work. Hard to beat.

holy shit I never ever thought I would describe lentil soup as "rich" or "sumptuous" or "a universe of flavor" but damn

fyi

INGREDIENTS

3 slices bacon (about 3 ounces), cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped fine (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped medium (about 1 cup)
3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained (I used TJ's fire roasted w/ green chiles)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 cup lentils (7 ounces), rinsed and picked over
1 teaspoon table salt
Ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fry bacon in large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onion and carrots; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, bay leaf, and thyme; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in lentils, salt, and pepper to taste; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until vegetables are softened and lentils have darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to high, add wine, and bring to simmer. Add chicken broth and water; bring to boil, cover partially, and reduce heat to low. Simmer until lentils are tender but still hold their shape, 30 to 35 minutes; discard bay leaf.

2. Puree 3 cups soup in blender until smooth, then return to pot; stir in vinegar and heat soup over medium-low until hot, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons parsley and serve, garnishing each bowl with some of remaining parsley.

does the pureeing just end up thickening it? could you skip that step and get a more liquid broth that was full of lentils? (cuz i don't have a blender.)

i made more macaroni, put some shit in it. i'm a goddamn whiz now. and fancy. chopped up some spinach, added it, looks like i am eating a meal prepared by an adult.

i wld assume it's just to thicken it a bit, yeah.

Nah, before you purée it the liquid/solid ratio is way off; it's just a pot of stuff with some liquid between the cracks and maybe an inch or so on top

gotta puree lentil soup! i use an immersion blender for everything and it works great.

Experimenting with adding proteiny things and extra vegetables to Nigella's Happiness Soup and making it into more of a Happiness Stew. Today: baked tofu, red peppers and spinach.

ah well, maybe i'll look for more of a soup-with-lentils recipe

xp to self: this was much better with hotdogs.

Soup is in the air! Today I am going to make some chunky (no blender here, immersion or otherwise) tomato basil soup to go with this delicious cheese bread we found at a random bakery yesterday, which I am afraid I will never find again now that I am addicted to their chocolate-peanut bread :(

lentils are dope as hell, dal bhat classic dish maybe w some greens or yogurt or something, so wholesome

damn i want some dal bhat now, no dal tho

Turning 40 lbs of apples into apple butter today.

Lemon rice mk 3: with seafood. Excellent, but I need to buy better shrimp.

I'm attempting cinnamon rolls! they are currently 'rising' by the woodburner.
Going to cook a full roast pork dinner in the meantime

whoa

Made some cinnamon rolls myself today. They've turned out pretty well.

Currently halfway through cooking meat stuffed apples, which I found in a Greek cookbook and I think will either be great or awful. I have no idea which.

making a beef tagine

Today, a sweet potato/peanut stew. Been feeling a little guilty about the amt of meat in my diet lately, so it's nice to get back to some vegan basics.

crockpot chicken & gravy

Vgrrl, I met Michele from NomNomPaleo on Friday and got all fangirl about the chicken and gravy!

Shockingly, I have all the ingredients to make the chicken biryani from HT Cook Everything, but then I noticed it doesn't call for curry or coconut, and I'm not very interested in it without those things so I guess I'm making a curry like a biryani but with curry and coconut cream.

No curry? But does it have some of the spices that normally go into curry powder?

It calls for cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, saffron.

Hmm, I guess most curry powder has cumin, cilantro, turmeric, chilli powder at a minimum.

God, I love cardamom. I'm going to make some cardamom tea.

omg that was amazing
pro tip: having a broken oven thermostat that massively overheats every time ==> best crackling ever
(the meat was only in that oven for not that long so was ok)

I can now vouch for meat stuffed apples being quite tasty. Not sure I'd make them again but was worth trying once.

Today, a sweet potato/peanut stew. Been feeling a little guilty about the amt of meat in my diet lately, so it's nice to get back to some vegan basics

recipe please WilliamC?

xxxpost

Xps, biriyani is traditionally not a curry dish. It's often eaten with a curry sauce though. In most restaurants what's sold as biriyani is just pilau rice mixed with whatever curry the chef happens to have handy.

Behold: pan-roasted chicken thighs with harissa chickpeas

http://i934.photobucket.com/albums/ad184/sdolnack/42310C94-B3C9-4F5C-AC2A-CAA23307F041_zpsfwc4ueln.jpg

#winnerwinnerchickendinner #iwokeuplikethis #harissaexplainsitall

#flawless

recipe please WilliamC?

I looked at 7-8 recipes online and combined/freelanced it this way:
First I toasted about 2.5 cups of raw peanuts on a baking sheet at 350˚ for 25 minutes, giving them a shake a couple of times during to make sure they didn't get over toasted on one side. Divide them in half; salt one half liberally while they're still hot and shiny from the oils coming out, leave the other half unsalted.

1 large onion, rough chopped
3 large cloves of garlic, chopped
a quantity of fresh ginger, grated -- I wound up with about 1.5 tablespoons

Sweat the onion in just enough olive oil until sweaty, add garlic and ginger and give it another minute. Then add spices:
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
some hot chili paste. I have to make things pretty mild because meds blew my wife's taste buds up a few years ago. 1 tsp of sambal oelek gave it a barely noticeable heat -- 1.5 or 2 tsp would be better, I think
1 tablespoon of tomato paste

Stir it all around for another minute, then add:
3 large sweet potatoes cut into 3/4" dice
one 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
Enough unsalted vegetable stock to cover, 4-5 cups
the unsalted half of your toasted peanuts

Low simmer for 45-50 minutes
At this point I pulled out a couple of cups of potatoes/onions/peanuts, pureed the rest with the boat motor and put the rest back in so there would be some chunky bits, but you can puree the whole thing if you want.

Then whisk in some peanut butter -- I think I used about 1/2 cup, more or less to suit you. Taste it and adjust the salt if needed, simmer at low for another minute or two, and it's done. Throw a small handful of the salted peanuts into each bowl for a nice crunchy surprise.

Stevie I made that lentil stew for my sick Mama - A+! I forgot the vinegar and didn't have fresh spices, but it still worked. Added Tabasco sauce.

#winnerwinnerchickendinner #iwokeuplikethis #harissaexplainsitall

^^^^^^^^^^

about to bake off a GIGANTIC pizza. half of it: clams and garlic, nice Italian fontina and chopped habaneros; b/w blanched broccoli/sundried tomato/mozzarella/habanero.....

habs packed no punch but the garlic/clam/fontina part killed.
salad day today - baby kale, mango slices, toasted hazelnuts with simple lemon/honey/extra virgin dressing

adventures in leftover gravy day 1 : shredded leftover chicken, sauteed veggies, brown rice + gravy.
day 2: turkey burgers on bread smothered with gravy
day 3: profit

Can anybody help me identify this vegetable

http://i975.photobucket.com/albums/ae232/daggerlee/SH/86EB40F5-6091-4875-8C48-77D221818672_zpsoiqc96uv.jpg

I think that's a seed/bean in the middle