what's cooking? part 5: 2017-2027

best way to enjoy fennel is to throw it in the damn garbage bcz it tastes like licorice and it is GROSS

I made a great pork dish with star anise the other night and the first time I made it I used like one star anise (recipe says 5) because I hate licorice but actually it's so subtle it's really good so I always use 5 now

THANK U STEVIE YOU <---> ME = SAME TEAM

anise and fennel are wonderful flavors

that said i have bought fennel bulbs in the past and they have rotted in my fridge bc i couldn't decide what to do with them fast enough :/

tbh I wish I didnt' loathe anise/fennel bcz it wd make things a lot easier but welp here we are, what can ya do

parsnips are the devil fyi

hmph

parsnips are fine, they're sweet and a lil weird but they're fine

quickest way to ruin a soup imo

THE DEVIL

parsnips are good caramelized together with other vegetables as the base for a winter soup stock, they contribute a lot of complexity and are similar to carrots w/ their sweetness. im not a fan of plain parsnips though

for burly winter root vegetables i prefer celeriac

I stand with VG.

Honey roast parsnips are my secret ingredient in a veggie soup

monsters, all of u

mushroom pizza that has a bunch of rehydrated porcinis sauteed with a load of criminis and garlic, on top of fontina, carmelized onions with rosemary playing the role of sauce on some bland-o plain white dough i made

haven't had farinata in years, might attempt this recipe for saturday lunch http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/05/how-to-make-farinata-italian-chickpea-pancake.html

we had my brother and his family over for dinner the other night. they love cooking indian and so do we, so we made a huge feast. i haven't cooked this much food in a while:

masoor dal
benghali green beans and potatoes
tomato sambal
summer squash w/ mustard seeds
saag tofu

All the way at the other end of the vegetarian-omnivore spectrum, I'm making beef stock today.

I agree with VG that parsnips would not work well in any soup I know about, but they roast well and were quite acceptable in a beef and peanut stew recipe my wife made just a few days ago.

I really like roasted parsnips but they are such a damn awkward shape--the top fat part and the itty bitty skinny end make it diffcult to get evenly-roasting pieces.

had some oddly delicious parsnip cake last winter

I'm out. Can't take this parsnip thread. Too triggering.

I had a couple of ideas for pesto variations yesterday — roasted peanuts instead of pine nuts, and mustard greens instead of basil. I got some mediocre mustard this morning and tried that one out -- pretty good, but it needs fresher, more-peppery greens.

my co-worker's ex-husband hunted a deer and gave her a bunch of venison she couldn't use and i'm the leading consumer of meats in the office so i got some and made venison/pork chili and it's the best

niiice

My father in law used to give us venison and it was always good in chili. I don't really like chili tbh but it was ok.

i impulse bought a frozen rack of venison back around the holidays and still need to do something with it

just recently realized how freaking awesome delicata squash is. it's my new kabocha (eg fave winter squarsh). thinkin' of stuffing a couple a la http://beardandbonnet.com/delicata-squash-burrito-bowls/

Venison is awesome with mole. You're welcome.

delicata is great xp, i like it too because you don't have to peel it and it cooks faster than other winter squash

I'm also a fan of delicata. And venison! Had a discussion with a rabbi about kosher venison, which is a thing but v. v. expensive.

yeah delicata is like the french fries of squash in a good way

steely dan of squash even?
ended up making a Killer kale salad -- dino kale sliced v thinly, rubbed with salt and mashed roasted garlic, added some lemon juice and olive oil. threw in some quinoa/amaranth that i'd cooked together mixed it together and plated. topped with 1/2" slices delicata that had cumin and smoked paprika rubbed into the inside (automatic salt and pepper all around, natch) and dressed the top of salad with a simple but yum tahini/apple cider dressing. salad loving housemate was in heaven.

i have some lamb mince - it looked nice at the butcher so i bought it. not sure what to do with it.

my thoughts:

shepherd's pie
mince and potatoes cooked separately not in pie

i mean, do any recipes use lamb mince without being some celtic stodgefest?

go greek imo

you could make meatballs! flavor them however you want (i like parsley, something spicy, onion, garlic, ginger, ??) and eat with rice & vegetable of your choice. or put I guess you could also put them in soup.

shepherds pie with garlicky sweet potato mash

mince is ground meat right?

yep

actually I was looking at this keema recipe earlier, could try that?
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/461642/keema-with-peas

yeah that's right, sorry should have said!

meatballs is prob a good idea, i thought about something like a kofte tho think the spices i'd need might not have survived moving flat a while ago - could prob improvise a bit with szechuan pepper or something maybe as the spicy element.

xpost that keema recipe looks good, prob do have the spices for that. i can obv buy new ones just my cupboards are packed.

oh ok, in that case, keema meatballs?

lately my favorite meal is meatballs as described above + rice w saffron & a small piece of cinnamon + some kind of chopped radish/greens thing. colorful and flavorful but not overwhelming.

that does sound p good. i have saffron i believe. i think the meat should be quite nice so prob doesn't need too much done to it.

trying to impress a new friend of the human female species so am gonna try and pull off homemade ramen noodles, which i've been considering for awhile. http://luckypeach.com/recipes/fresh-alkaline-noodes/
and gonna use a couple bits from that cool recipe someone posted above for "the ultimate rich and creamy vegan ramen" like the soy shiitake tare and the mushroom-scallion oil

I've had an Instant Pot for a week now. I've tried steel cut oats, soft-boiled eggs (one batch overcooked, one batch undercooked -- I'm zeroing in on the sweet spot), pork loin roast, and potatoes and carrots to make hash out of the leftover pork roast. It's an interesting tool, worth the money I think. Going to try yogurt in the next few days.

xposts
Bifteki. I usually make it with ground beef, but sometimes a mix of beef and lamb; all lamb would probably be awesome. Especially if you could grill it over an open flame.

One of my favorite Indian restaurants does their lamb rogan josh with minced lamb. It is reminiscent of a bolognese sauce and is divine.

A lamb burger with feta and/or tzatziki is easy and tasty, too! Lately I really like dill with lamb.

My Mum used to make something kinda similar w sauteed onions, shredded cheese & Australian tomato sauce (used similarly to ketchup but diff flavor, more straight tomatoey)

my little brother loved it so in our house forevermore we always called it “Adam’s Favorite”

Made durian pizza today.

https://i.postimg.cc/SQZPqt5R/image.png

https://i.postimg.cc/wv4kKnvD/image.png

https://i.postimg.cc/L6137CMX/image.png

o would try! sour cream and mozz?

Yeah the layers are

mozzarella
mashed durian + mild cheddar
plain cream cheese
pizza crust/base

why

because delicious

Genuinely I was a bit mystified also.

Last night I made a cannelloni, used sausage and some diced chicken hearts in the ragu, I love offal in ragu. I haven't baked it yet but it's for this evening.

we're having winter melon with pork belly today

made khao soi last night, it ruled. eating the leftovers for tonight's dinner.

Making so many of these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCU6nic60-Y

Particularly recommend the tofu w/ dipping sauce, North Korean radish, braised potatoes, bulgogi beef, doenjang cabbage.

cool! thank you! i've gotten away from doing Korean-inspired dishes the past couple of years, but plan to make japchae part of our summertime routine

japchae my fave for sure altho galbi is really good

it sounds good!

Japchae are great, sadly my wife isn't a fan tho.

I think I gravitate towards Korean because a lot of it is pretty straightforward to make (I am dyspraxic) but also always has enough going on, veggies to chop, sauces to make, meat to marinade. Plus even though Koreans are known as the foremost garlic eaters of Asia I find most dishes stay delicious even if you remove that and onions (low fodmap diet).

Or msybe I just had better luck finding youtube cooks for that arra.

if anyone subscribes to kenji's newsletter, the peruvian take on halal cart chicken and rice is so good

I bought this localized Caribbean cookbook for our extended trip, "105 recipes based on eleven staple ingredients":
https://www.kitchenartsandletters.com/products/belly-full

so far I've made this rad chicken stew with a lot of allspice - "chicken colombo"

if anyone subscribes to kenji's newsletter, the peruvian take on halal cart chicken and rice is so good

― comrade jhøsh (k3vin k.), Tuesday, April 21, 2026 9:12 PM (fourteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

where does he put his stuff now? his grilled peruvian chicken is amazing so i'm curious about this variation.

he's got a patreon, the recipe link is here https://frienji.kenjilopezalt.com/posts/154925785?collection=1800562

email me at kkeller914 at gmalil dot com if you can't see the recipe there and I'll send you screenshots of the recipe

offer is good for anyone here btw just email me

though should be said kenji is a mensch and has great shit for home cooks and is worth your dollars

thanks kev! i was a huge fan of kenji when i was learning to cook and still reference the food lab and his seriouseats stuff on a regular basis. did not realize he had moved to patreon. i am loathe to do subs but maybe i'll check it out for a month or two.