What's cooking? part 4

i was always gonna turn to the light. my best friend is a ridiculously good cook - the best home cook i've ever tasted in fact - and i frequently go to his house and assist with his cooking, so a few things have rubbed off. time to get the pork out of the fridge...

Epic. The garnish had plenty of salt in it and most of it had to be scraped from the crackling, but the crackling itself was near-perfect and the pork was absolutely perfect, tender-cooked and flavoursome. My gf made a lovely pasta salad (with olives and apples) to accompany it and the whole thing was wolfed down with some white wine. :D

i have been living in this house since last june and only discovered today that we have thyme growing in our front garden!

i made zucchini fritters tonight and they were a complete disaster - i couldn't seem to get the temperature of the oil right and the salsa i made to go with them was just awful, thanks some really foul olive oil :/

Yeah I could see fritters going quite greasy if the oil wasnt hot enough :(

I just made this awesome potato & leek soup that was pretty basic, but then I added some honey roasted parsnips and ham fried a bit in butter with garlic and it was epic. Somehow it was really rich despite only having a little cream in, and I could only eat a small bowl, dunno why. Anyway that plus homemade multigrain bread with super crusty crust = :D

ok so i really want to try this vegan pate recipe BUT i hate cilantro so i'm wondering what a good sub would be:

2 lb. fresh spinach, thoroughly washed
3 unpeeled garlic cloves
⅔ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. ground coriander
~ Pinch of cayenne
⅔ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
⅓ cup Italian parsley, chopped
½ cup grated onion, rinsed and squeezed dry
3 tsp. rice-wine vinegar
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

mint!!

alternately
basil?
maybe watercress?

arugula?

anything green and flavorful

could prolly just axe it altogether and up the parsley a bit, too

i mean it's basically an herb paste, right? whatever herbs you like will do.

mmm basil is a good idea - that never occurred to me.

ok so i found this ~other~ veg 'pate' recipe that i like the sound of, so i'm gonna try to fuse them somehow:

* 1 cup sunflower seed
* 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
* 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup canola oil
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1 potato, peeled and chopped
* 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
* 1 onion, peeled and chopped
* 1 stalk celery, chopped
* 1 clove garlic, peeled
* 1 1/2 cups water
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
* 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
* 1/2 teaspoon dried savory
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon ground dry mustard

Change Measurements: US | Metric

Directions:

Prep Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 1 1/2 hrs

1. 1 Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. 2 Lightly grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.
3. 3 In a food processor, blend all the ingredients until they are almost smooth.
4. 4 Transfer mixture to the baking dish.
5. 5 Bake for 1 hour, or until lightly browned.

any advice/suggestions from ILC's chefs?

You should try this one as well (you'd have to replace the gelatine with Agar to make it vegetarian tho)

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/6030/porcini+mushroom+pate

(or just omit it - tis just the trad jelly decoraiton on top I just realised)

ew i've always hated that cat food smell of real pate!

yeah i was def thinking of adding mushrooms for a meatier flavour.

well that was pretty shit!

it turned out more like a creamy pesto - but it was heaps of work (steaming spinach in batches and having to squeeze it out, plus grate an onion), i should have just made regular old pesto.

I made all this shrimp stock a few months ago, just from shrimp shells + onions, carrots, lemons, herbs, etc. It has a slightly bitter taste. I think I cooked it down way too long & now I have no idea how much to use, or what to use it for. What I am saying is I am afraid of this stock.

would it be a complete disaster/waste of my time to sub marg and egg replacer into this brownie recipe??

* Nonstick vegetable oil spray
* 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1 1/4 cups sugar
* 3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (spooned into cup to measure, then leveled)
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 large eggs, chilled
* 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour
* 1 cup walnut pieces

Preparation

*
Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 325°F. Line 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan with foil, pressing foil firmly against pan sides and leaving 2-inch overhang. Coat foil with nonstick spray. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking until butter stops foaming and browned bits form at bottom of pan, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; immediately add sugar, cocoa, 2 teaspoons water, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt. Stir to blend. Let cool 5 minutes (mixture will still be hot). Add eggs to hot mixture 1 at a time, beating vigorously to blend after each addition. When mixture looks thick and shiny, add flour and stir until blended. Beat vigorously 60 strokes. Stir in nuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

You won't get the browning/foaming going on with margarine, or the browned butter flavor, but as long as you use stick margarine (not soft spread, which is full of water) you'll get acceptable fudgie brownie goodness.

oooh good to know!

on a related note: i was making old-fashioned chocolate afghans the other day, and thought i'd veganize them with marg... but i ran out so i though 'oh hey i'm sure shortening will work just fine'.

it really didn't.

does anyone except nzers know what an afghan is??

surely americans have experienced the wonders of a good afghan?!

i can't remember if i got this link from ilx and it's already posted here but this is interesting:

the importance of butter in cookies

haha i dont know - none of my australian or uk friends know what they are! i was surprised as well i thought it was just a standard thing

one of my favourite nz junkfoods used to be the cookie-time brand of afghan: super huge, filled with actual chunks of chocolate as well as cornflakes and dipped in milk chocolate.

cookie-time! amazing i was just thinking abt their choc chip ones just the other day for some reason

i think we visited their factory at some point

I have just now looked up the afghan, and can say nope I have never heard of this breed of cookie before. Chocolate and cornflakes? Hmmmm.

ummm so i made those brownies w/the subs, and for some reason the mixture won't ~bake~... it's past the recommended cooking time and it's still completely liquid!

The very British Mary Berry has been putting afghan recipes in her books for years... now I'm hungry!

hey ilc-ers i need some advice on buying a new frying pan:

i have this great non-stick pan that i love - it's big and really deep and has a glass lid - but the teflon is flaking off, and i've only had it a year or so. my MIL asked us what we would like as an anniversary present, and i'm thinking a really high-quality pan is the way to go. but i don't really know what i want. or how to season one.

advice?

i like my stainless steel a lot, it's kitchen aid and i got it at target for like $30 though. not fancy. it doesn't need seasoning or anything. i am thinking about getting a good nonstick though, for omelettes and stuff because my nonsticks are old and probably not good anymore and i want to replace 3 different sized crappy ones with one nice one.

I don't have any non-stick myself, b/c mine are all cast iron (Lodge) or stainless steel. But I got my daughter some Calphalon commercial hard anodized and she loves them. They don't need seasoning. Hand wash any non-stick pan for the longest life of the coating and don't use metal utensils in them for the same reason.

Here's an historic pan thread, covering all sorts: Sticky pans

I've got 2 calphalon non-stick pans from bed bath and beyond (where the set seems to be perpetually on some sort of sale, plus you can give them a dummy email for a 10% coupon) and they're pretty nice.

Everything else I have is stainless/aluminum or cast iron, and I went without non-stick for a long time but there certain things I absolutely love them for.

I just realize that at some point the coating will wear off no matter what so I never pay a lot for them.

I have a Calphalon commercial hard anodized dutch oven and just last night a friend was cooking me dinner and commented on how great it is.

I just realize that at some point the coating will wear off no matter what so I never pay a lot for them.

i got an ikea nonstick pan about a year ago with this in mind (not the super cheap-o set of 2, i sprang for one, slightly heavier pan) and it's held up surprisingly well. like $15?

i think it's this one: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00129456

I get at least five years out of a nonstick skillet before it starts looking anything less than brand new. /braggin'

i admit that i haven't been so good about not using metal utensils on my nonstick - i think it's the whisk i've been using in it a lot lately.

Yeah, whisks can be brutal. I got a silicone coated one finally.

i hate my silicone-coated whisk!

why??

I will admit to still using the standard wire one, b/c the silicone one is too sproingy and doesn't seem to the do the job as well. Silicone one gets used in the le creuset though, so I don't destroy it.

btw i want to toot my own horn for a second - i made cake batter yesterday by hand with a whisk because i do not own a stand mixer. that's a workout for your arm! anyway, i really like whisking things. i think it helps get out pent up aggression or something. too bad my cake turned out a little bit dry! (but it's ok bc the toffee sauce on top made up for it!)

yeah what jaq says - it seems like, weak/limp?

if i ever own any le creuset, i will use a silicone whisk, i promise.

i was at a fancy kitchen store yesterday and i was looking at pans - i thought about getting one of the heavy cast iron lodge pans but they don't have lids and they're really fucking heavy. i looked at the stainless steel ones, which i like a lot bc they're light, come with lids and look professional (lol @ me). but i'm wondering if i shouldn't just get another good non stick like i already have. i don't cook meat so that whole crust-forming thing that seasoned stainless steel is supposed to be good for doesn't apply to me. but then again deglazing is better in a non-nonstick pan... i just can't decide!