What's cooking? part 4

Try adding some epazote - traditional mexican herb sort of like minty oregano.

do i just put in the cooking water? what kind of amount?

Yep - maybe a half tsp per cup of dried beans. I just toss in a handful usually.

I have one of those grill pans! I just rarely clean it and only vaguely do so when I do. At first I thought the weighted top was stupid, it didn't seem to do much but squeeze out the fat of the meat, but then I started doing eggplant and zucchini slices on it and it was super effective

I am in love with savoy cabbage + a Japanese mandolin = chiffonade cooked in a pot with bacon fat and fennel seeds

i can see how it might be good for vegetables but i tried to make chicken on it and i lost my mind

Tried making Cincinnati 5 Way Chilli, didn't like it at all. It tasted like what I imagine Americans mean when they say British chilli is rubbish (note I do not eat them), only worse. The raw ingredients were just fighting with each other and the sauce was WAY too wet and/or full of tomato to be good.

i don't have a weighted top -- mine looks like this

http://rainbowonyourplate.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Lodge-Cast-Iron-Grill-Pan.jpg

i had no idea how quick/easy rack of lamb roasts are until tonight.

also, i need to remember that the more i avoid snacks and things that come in boxes at the grocery store, the more money i can spend on racks of lamb.

About to log off and make a big batch of borscht. Bought a nice loaf of bread to go with.

you'll need a belt too, iirc

my first attempt to make corned beef tonight

bought a nice corned beef brisket from the old school specialty food store -- it was a little spendy but I was keen because they do the corning themselves and bcz I didn't want the prepackaged ones at the supermarket. was going to do it in the crock pot but decided that I would try steaming it in the oven instead - little bit of water, into the dutch oven with the lid on for 3 or so hours.

I'm excited! Mum used to make corned beef but she boiled it...and that whole boiled meat/boiled veggies thing is probably one of my least favorite food smells in the world. But oh how tasty corned beef is. I can't resist.

Am going to make colcannon too. Subbing out cabbage for kale, yes sacrilege but I seriously cannot eat cabbage anymore, it fucks up my stomach and makes me literally inflate with gas lol.

any ideas for a dessert involving ricotta? and maybe caramel?

i got a tub of tofu ricotta to use in a salad, first time trying it, and it's way too sweet. i also want to try out turning coconut cream into caramel or condensed milk.

Cannoli? Or cheesecake?

burned the hell out of my hand flipping fish which had been searing. still hurts an hour later, but whatever, got more crispy fish skin.

crispy hand skin and crispy fish skin

have any of y'all ever made kalua pig/hawaiian style pulled pork? It's, like, pork butt and salt and liquid smoke in a crock pot, super easy, super rich, and my friend *swears* by it and I am p stoked to make some tomorrow.

That sounds really good. My mom used to make Kahlua pork chops, which everybody loved -- haven't had those in like 15-20 years.

that sounds delicious.

coming around to the fact that i need to get a crock pot

i almost bought one the other day, then i realized i should make the ultimate sacrifice of giving my email to bed bath and beyoooooooond so i can get the 20% off coupon first

I make kalua pork about once a month, using bacon instead of liquid smoke though. Tasty and great for sandwiches or in stews or whatever too.

it's way better cooked in a pit in the ground but do what you gotta do :)

Throw some dirt into the crock pot?

We've been trying to eat more fish and had leftover baked steelhead in the fridge. I made up a sauce of ghee, capers, and Meyer lemon juice by just barely heating the ghee and whisking in the cold juice to thicken it some. I love how capers are salty little bursts of sour. And also flowers.

oh my goodness, what is one boy to do with four pounds of smoky pulled pork?? Ideas incl: nachos, sandwiches, eating it w rice.

weirdo tacos with cabbage slaw & lime?
on a plate with some greens and roasted potatoes/sweet potatoes
????

cubanos dude: ham/pulled pork/cheese/some kind of flatbread or tortillas - cook in frying pan or panini press & put in face
mix with mac & cheese (and sriracha) = seriously it's great
put it in ragout sauce on pasta
pizza topping
with eggs for breakfast

Make stew of chopped pulled pork, tomatoes, artichokes, garlic.

Posole-ish stew starting with sauteed onion, green chili, garlic. Dump in can of hominy (rinsed) and a can of Rotel, add chick stock and pulled pork, season with cumin and some minced chipotle with adobo. Add big squeeze of lime and tortilla strips before serving. Love this stuff--hominy is criminally underrated!

I need to just continuously buy brisket, I just finished off the adobo beef that I made and then froze, and I wish I had a whole nother pot of it.

The secret, as it turns out, was some diced tomato that wasn't in the recipe, and a splash of apple cider vinegar.

It's pork day today, in prep for pork week ahead. 8 lb pork butt covered in tamarind and bacon has been in the slow cooker all day. Now making the red cabbage - apple - bacon slaw from Bittman's piece in last week's NYT magazine. 4 lbs beets roasted and 5 lbs sweet potatoes too.

I just killed a whole plate of tacos and you are still giving me the hots for tamarind pork.

i had some delicious roasted cauliflower a week or so ago, so I bought some at the store yesterday and tried to make this (it really pains me to use this term) "cauliflower rice" (aka finely chopped cauliflower pan fried with onions) and i was pleasantly surprised! i am repulsed by the idea of making this out of that, but it made a good base for a very basic tofu/veggie stir fry. would eat again. refuse to categorize as "rice" though, that's just ridiculous.

i was thinking next time i might try to roast the little tiny pieces instead of sauteeing? would they get a little bit crunchy? if so, that sounds delicious. i had to use frozen leeks instead of onion and the whole thing wound up most closely resembling cous cous.

what's your cauliflower bits w/ onions recipe???

- 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!