What's cooking? part 4

wait, stevie, did you just roll out all the dough into one sheet of crackers? i divide mine into smaller equally sized portions to cook in batches -- i think usually 6 balls (6 sheets of crackers) for a double batch iirc.
they look like this

before cooking
[http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5038/5888487973_a412d4df05.jpg
after cooking
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3484/3770411927_7cabc1a5dd.jpg

after slightly overcooking (but i like the burnt ones)
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5038/5888503815_1bdb510642.jpg

i think the last ones have paprika on them too

Yeah I just did one sheet (scored of course) bcz I didn't realize how much they puffed

I did cheddar instead of parm too and I think it just didn't quite turn out right

ahhh that's the issue
next time divide, roll out, score, bake, gobble

I'm to make a dish for thanksgiving and I'm thinking of some sort of orange-vanilla-cinnamon cranberry sauce that I am going to sort of wing (unless someone has a recipe?)

My thoughts:

12-oz cranberries
1/2-3/4c sugar
zest and juice of 1 orange
1 vanilla bean
1/2t cinnamon

does that sound about right?

Should I use a stick of cinnamon instead of the ground?

Ummmm this is gonna simmer for a while? Yes? If so, I think just having a stick in the burbling brew, then pulling it out before serving, is a nice way to not make the whole thing a cinnamon bomb.

Oh yes, simmer for 15-20m for sure

agree w/stick cinnamon

STICK IT GOOD

stick cosigned

made tortillas for the first time for fish tacos. turned out ok, but i wish i'd used a nicer fish than red cod. looked up tilapia out of curiosity, made for some pretty o_O reading. apparently they feed them chicken shit in thailand, just dangle the bird over the pond and the fish come swimming to the surface, mouths agape like Cartman's mom.

left one tortilla uncovered in the oven, bam! surprise cracker. was great with salsa, liked it even better than the tacos.

never heard of red cod before but this seems unfortunate:
http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/what-we-do/publications/-best-fish-guide-/red-cod

i LOATHE that Asian tilapia but can stomach some domestic; still not a fish i'd go and pay for.

had one of those weird "what's in the pantry" nights last night. i made some bizarro meatballs and they were sooooo good.

1) bought "jenny's handmade romanian sausage" from my fave market
2) added some shawarma seasonings (bought premixed spice blend on a whim, not sure why)
3) added cumin seeds
4) topped with/dipped into sauce made of kefir and deshi chutney (not really sure what's in there but it's spicy and green)

served with roasted brussels sprouts/cauliflower
it was great!! i even froze some balls for later. i think they would make great sandwiches!

yum. i'm going to make meatballs tonight but they won't be nearly as exotic, altho i did make a nice roasted garlic/capsicum tomato sauce for them to simmer in. sometimes i find buying something like premixed spice blend is the only way i'll try a particular flavour combination, even tho i have a lot of spices in the cupboard that i put to use for many kinds of dishes.

xpost :( i'm usually good at buying ethically, and try to memorise lists like that so i won't end up feeling guilty about what i've eaten. i actually thought red cod was better than blue cod but maybe i just convinced myself of that so i could buy cheaper fish. it wasn't v good anyway, i think it's only really ok in fish curries, but i won't be buying it from now on. you've successfully shamed me. i kind of naively wish that fishmongers and supermarkets especially would be legally required to have those lists displayed at the counter but i don't think that's going to happen anytime soon.

awww, didn't mean shame, hope yr kiddin'....
anyways, found some sunchokes laying around so today we make a roasted veg sando:
roasted jerusalem artichoke, roasted red bell pepper, roasted roma tomato, balsamic roasted shallot - gonna pile on a nice bread, top with some kinda cheese and get it melty and toasty

I bought a boneless pork loin roast at Trader Joe's for crock pot pulled pork and then learned after that you don't rly make pulled pork w pork loin roast

What do I do w this thing?

Smear it with a paste of ginger, garlic, salt, pepper and sesame oil, roast to 140 internal temp. Another good smear is fresh rosemary, garlic, salt/pepper, butter or a neutral oil.

Or: cut it up into cubes, buy green chilies and hominy, make a posole-ish stew.

If you roast it, the leftovers make fantastic open-faced sandwiches. Mashed potatoes, gravy, mmmmmm...

yeah I put it in a skillet & whatever rubs etc, with maybe a tb of oil or less, roast at 375 for about 30 min

soooo good

30 minutes? Are you talking loin or tenderloin?

loin

Huh, maybe I'm overcooking mine.

fuck now i'm not sure which lol

WilliamC otm for that loin. Brine it first!!! Then rub and roast. I am a little wussy and take it to 145 instead of 140; by the time it rests it is around 155 which for me is a good porky temp, but to others is either over or dangerously underdone.

Like, my parents still have a bit of a hard time with pinkish pork as they were scarred by tales of trichinosis in their youth.

Loin usually is shaped like a giant dong, right? Roast is more of a hunk? If it's a hunk and not shaped like a dong, it's fine for the crockpot. If its a tenderloin, usually I roast at high heat but short time per Joy of Cooking.

Pork loin is this dude minus the bones, anywhere from a couple of pounds up to 10 lb. monsters -- very lean, dries out easily, moist heat methods work best.

http://www.askthemeatman.com/images/pork_center_pork_loin_roast.jpg

Pork tenderloin is smaller, 1.0 to 1.5 lbs. usually in my experience, similar shape to the pork loin but tapers to a point. Darker meat, more flavorful.

http://www.askthemeatman.com/images/pork_center_pork_loin_roast.jpg

http://www.traderjoes.com/images/fearless-flyer/uploads/article-1300/boneless-pork-loin450.png

it's this plop

xps i'm with your parents, quincie - i can't deal with pink pork. in NZ a restaurant would never ask you how you want your pork done, but in the US they do.

I can't see the plop.

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http://i.imgur.com/zfS7g9L.png
plop

that was a v failed attempt at motion lines

oh ok, then you should be ok with that for crockpot pulled pork!

I use shoulder or butt roast for pulled pork - just roast the loin. Personally, I like pork roasted low and slow, 300 or so until it gets to 140. Then if it's got enough external fat, crisp it up under the broiler or with a torch.

A center-cut pork loin might truly be my favorite piece of meat to cook (and you know how much I love beef so that's saying something).

I line the bottom of a deep roasting pan with diced yellow potatoes and smear the loin with a paste of mashed garlic, mustard, rosemary, s/p, olive oil, and stick it on top of the layer of potatoes. Roast that sucker. About like 20 mins from the end I add a diced apple or two and toss it with the potatoes to get everything coated with pork juice.

That plus some garlic spinach? Dinner for days.

i made steak and eggs (with brussels sprouts)

i haven't cooked much beef before. it was a thin cut, but i was surprised at how fast it was done - seemingly faster than bacon, even though it was a thicker cut than yr average skinny little strip of bacon. it seemed to take less time than the eggs!

I will try that w the apple! I just have to improvise a roasting pan :-(

do you have a skillet? works just as well

or dollar store disposable jobbie

^^^

Oh I use either a metal or pyrex-thingy rectangular pan, it's not special. The same kind of thing you'd make brownies in.

Making up apple butter today - steamed and sauced 25 lbs of apples (plus a pound of dates). I've got another 12 lbs or so to do, probably Tuesday when I can work from home. Then spice it up and cook it down over the long weekend, with the goal to get it all canned by next Sunday.

do you give it as gifts or is this for your own use? that's loads of apple butter!

For gifting, mostly. I think it will cook down to around 8 quarts or so. I also want to make bitters this year, but that will be a totally new thing so could massively backfire!

I whacked a chicken in a pot and made tomato white bean & arugula chicken soup plus 6C of broth to freeze plus several cups of pulled cooked chx for later recipes, and froze the carcass for future stock. Feeling accomplished tbh. XD

oh I have a couple 9x12's but no wire rack but there are ways to improvise.

You don't need a wire rack! You don't even want one! The potatoes are holding up the meat and we WANT them to get all juicy.