What's cooking? part 4

The trick for me for collard greens was to cut the damn stems out and cut them into smaller pieces and braise in something flavorful and meaty them as opposed to just throwing those big old stringy stemmy leaves into a pot with water and a slice of fat back and boiling them to hell and back.

That sentence is a fucking mess. Sorry!

Collards good - take out stems, chiffonade into bite size pieces. Crisp some bacon in a pan, and add some red pepper flakes, maybe garlic, throw in the collards for a quick saute, then braise them in a little stock until they are tender and delicious.
Collards bad - rinse those massive leaves, throw them whole into a giant pot with plain water and a hunt of fatty pork, boil until the entire block smells like farts.

I quarter sprouts, toss in melted bacon fat (what, you don't have a washed out soup can of bacon fat in your fridge? Who even ARE you?), s&p, spread across sheet tray and roast at 400-425 for a while, toss, roast, until almost black on the edges.

I actually really don't like their earthy...not quite sweetness otherwise--gotta be roasted and crispy to get some bitterness and whatever that sugar turns into.

carl totally OTM about collards. i LOVE collards when they are braised in a skillet with good flavors

christmas at my wife's grandma's house was so funny. the grandma is passed now but i just remember her having string beans and carrots and other vegetables in pots just BOILING - not a simmer, BOILING - for ever and ever and ever. like we'd be there all day the vegetables were just boiling all day. shit was GROSS

anyone have any good cassoulet advice? i'm taking it on this weekend and planning to follow this recipe, despite how different it looks from other cassoulets i have tasted and enjoyed

christmas at my wife's grandma's house was so funny. the grandma is passed now but i just remember her having string beans and carrots and other vegetables in pots just BOILING - not a simmer, BOILING - for ever and ever and ever. like we'd be there all day the vegetables were just boiling all day. shit was GROSS

I know exactly how that smells. It smells like Christmas at my grandmother's house.

My mum used to have to make two lots of veg, one for the grandparents and one for everyone else.

It makes me wonder what concessions our kids are going to have to make to our weird tastes when we get old.

"Granny insists on having fairy cabbage roasted in the oven with balsamic vinegar, instead of lazerblasted, which is healthier and tastes better!"

Gran won't eat food from the replicator. We have to cook everything on a stove!

(nb: damn straight I'd eat replicator food. I'm just biding my time, waiting for the day.)

I really, really want to roast fairy cabbage on Dec 25, but I fear many questions and comments and pushing stuff around on plates from the traditionalists.

Was it someone here who posted a few weeks back about romesco sauce? If so, thank you. I had bookmarked it and just made it tonight over sea bass and potatoes - it was superb and really easy. I overdid the smoked paprika a bit.

Really any vegetable. My family was shocked SHOCKED when as an adult I started eating asparagus and collard greens and sprouts. It was only because I discovered I could prepare them in a way other than boiling them unto sulphur-y mush.

so otm

my sister bought me a STOCKPOT for xmas so i'm gonna see about cookin up some stuff in that. like STOCK. or maybe just bigger batches of beans.

bah

decided to make fruitmince pies for myself for Christmas. no tart tins so I figured, hey I'll make turnovers instead. frozen puff pastry, jar of fruitmince, how hard could it be

clearly it was not my morning. cut the pastry squares too small (i was trying for 16 out of each sheet), even the smallest amount of mince splurted outside the seams, and the dough got too soft too quickly so they would fall apart just trying to put them on the baking tray.

so I cracked the shits and threw it all in the bin. I'll give it a day or two and try again when I'm in a better frame of mind.
definitely need bigger squares. some days are just not good cooking days

sometimes we all just ruin things!

things don't ruin we

back in the ring this afternoon for turnovers round 2

"This time it's personal."

prep stage complete. success so far!

...but now the garbage disposal is clogged

#circleoflife

<3 u

they worked! big pillowy flaky turnovers full of yummy fruit mince

uncancel christmas!

I cultured my own butter and it's delicious - I used the organic whipping cream from Trader Joe's and some kind of grassfed yogurt, left it covered for two days then ran it through my food processor.

Organic heavy whipping cream, that is. It was the only kind I found locally that wasn't ultra-pasteurized and whose only ingredient was 'cream.'

Wanted to use some grassfed blah blah blah cream but that's $6/pint around here.

VG did you use the fruit mince that has beef in it?

i cooked BEANS in my stockpot. with a HAM SHANK, for the first time.

the ham shank made it fucking stink. is there any way to… not do that?

Was looking forward to cooking family Christmas dinner, but currently extremely resentful of family, and by extension, towards cooking Christmas dinner.

xxpost no i just use fruit-only mince.

EMERGENCY!!!!

I MIGHT NEED TO COOK A GF MEAL TONIGHT TO IMPRESS A BOY

It needs to be delicious and relatively simple/easy to prepare, ideally something GF by nature w/ stuff I can just grab at the supermarket instead of lots of substitutey/emulatey shit

obv I could google this but y'all have such great recommends and I just want someone to hold my hand and say "here make this foolproof wonderful thing"

also note "to impress a boy" i.e. he is coming over my house i.e. let's keep it, shall we say, easy to digest

lol

easiest thing that comes to mind would be roast chicken (either whole or pieces), nice roasted veg mix, and a simple salad?

stevie i often make this when i have company, it's not super difficult and is very rich-tasting and satisfying. you need to have access to dried chiles and canned whole hominy (but most supermarkets in urban areas have both). it's always been well-received by guests. i'm vegetarian but you could easily brown some meat and add it to this stew.

posole with red chile pods

1-2 tablespoons safflower oil
1/2 onion, finely diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
3 dried guajillo chiles (usually available in the mexican food aisle of a grocery or a latin market, they are not super spicy)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 28 oz. can hominy, drained (any latin market should have this, i've even seen it at whole foods in the mexican food section -- hominy/posole are whole kernels of corn that have been treated with an alkali, usually lime (the mineral) or ash, which makes the corn more nutritious and flavorful -- this corn treatment creates that really good flavor that you get in tamales or good corn tortillas)
salt to taste
about 2-4 cups of stock, bean broth, or water (I don't measure this - add less if you want it thicker or more if you want it soupy)
garnish with any of the following: lime wedges, diced avocado, chopped cilantro, shredded cabbage, chopped green chiles, or diced white onion

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium-sized pot. Saute the onion with the guajillos for about 5-7 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and oregano cook until fragrant.
3. Add the drained hominy, stir, then add the stock/water/broth. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
4. Serve in bowls with the garnishes.

I am baking lemon-pecan biscotti atm. My back has been very sore for the past several days, which makes the usual Christmas preparations very difficult, but Mrs. Aimless and I will muddle through.

When I think "impressive and easy" I think lamb chops, but $$$$$$

oooh good one

Find a local butcher who sells pre-made frozen stock (beef, veal, or chicken). No cans, no cartons, no bullion. Anything you cook in it will be a million times better than if you just used water. (Couscous, rice, boiled things, etc.) I recently paid around $3.50 for a quart of stock iirc.

If you're cooking red meat, consider making a salsa verde (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salsa-Verde-51163810) or persillade to go with it (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roast-Lamb-Loin-Persillade-14269). Make them a day ahead so you don't have to deal with it when you're cooking the entre.

Two Christmas cakes marzipanned, ready to be iced tomorrow. Game plan for turkey, potato and veg timing written down. Veg prep tomorrow. Have not yet delivered on a promise to make brandy snaps.

Brandy snaps!!!!

Yes indeedy :)

So jealz, I haven't had those in at least 16 years (haven't had Xmas with family in 16 years).

I don't think I've had them in 16 years either! My mum just made them occasionally when the grandparents were coming, not for Christmas. I can't remember what we used to eat them with! Maybe cream, or did we scoop ice cream with them? Drawing a total blank.

we only ever had them at xmas, always filled with whipped cream. so goooooood. i think i might ask my mum to make some when i'm back again in august.

do you make the actual brandy snaps yourself? i think ours were store-bought and then we filled them.

thomas keller roast chicken will impress the fuck out of anyone

I think mum sometimes bought them and sometimes made them. I don't have her recipe, but I'm going to try this one: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2451643/brandy-snaps

False alarm, y'all; plans were highly tentative and wound up not materializing. Now I have more time to think up something great.

Xp omg I'm totally gonna try making them now!

STEVIE

I recommend this - http://vahuntergatherers.com/2013/12/11/moms-easy-paleo-greek-chicken-gluten-free/

Yessssss that says it's paleo but whatever, it's tasty and very good if you want to make something easy and impressive because: 1) you marinade the chicken so it will be all ready to go into the oven when your company comes over; 2) the marinade is seriously opening a bunch of cans and jars and dumping it together; 3) it can be as fancy as you want to make it as far as what level ingredients you buy but I've always made it with store brand whatever and it is still really good; 4) you can get as fancy or not with side dishes.

It's really good with couscous and cucumber feta salad. Couscous is easy and the salad you can make ahead so you have lots of time while the chicken is cooking to flirt with your dinner date.

Isn't couscous made from flour?

Oh did Stevie need a gluten free recipe? I missed that part.

Lundberg makes a roasted brown rice "couscous" that's gf and not bad, if you want some grain with it. I want to try that greek chicken; it sounds great!