What's cooking? part 4

we won a ten pound "pasture sampler" of various meat cuts from a local farm in a silent auction and it has been really fun trying out all these different things. We have 2 lbs of stew beef and a small chicken and like a pound of ribs left over, this weekend we are making chili w/the beef and maybe that 40-garlic-clove chicken recipe? not sure yet.

A 40-clove recipe would definitely drive me to buy one of those deli containers of already peeled cloves. It's probably about the only thing that could.

OMG I want that 40 clove recipe where is it

http://hormelfoodws.blob.core.windows.net/products/7505000611.jpg

this is my new go-to for stir-fry sauce. mmmmmmmmm

I've been going to TOWN on my new stove this holiday season, esp the big griddle thingie. So far I've used it to make tons of pancakes and arepas and also falafel? i dunno, it was not as good as fried, but still tasty. Makes a great tortilla warmer too.

dutch-oven chicken turned out ok --- unfortunately it ended up a bit over cooked, the oven temp was a little higher than I thought and i should have checked it after an hour, but it was waaaaaaaaaay done at an hour 20.

made some BITCHIN gravy though. damn. gonna try it again, shorter cook time should do the trick.
despite being overcooked though, it was ridic tender

I pulled a pack of roasted green chiles from the freezer today and made my version of posole. I didn't taste these chiles back when I roasted them, just peeled and froze 'em -- holy shit are they hot. The stew turned out so good, but my wife couldn't eat it.

I took some to my mom, who loves some Scovilles -- she took a bite and said "that's good -- not too hot, thoughOH MY LORD, WOW"

The 40 garlic clove chicken recipe originated with James Beard, iirc. I made it a couple of times back in the early 80s. All I remember for sure is that you were supposed to seal the lid onto the casserole dish with a paste of flour and water.

and then use a crowbar to open it back up again?

OK this probably doesn't really qualify as "cooking," but it is the closest I'm going to get in a hotel room! Today I'm going here to, among other things, *create my very own, one-of-a-kind Cup Noodle*!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momofuku_Ando_Instant_Ramen_Museum

i froze some of the gumbo that i made on christmas and ate it last night with tater tots instead of rice after going to a bar where the two were being served together and it was sooooooo gooooood
like gumbo poutine

gumboutine

omg LL that is blowing my mind, I'm gonna try that

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2887/11920912085_405e73cd3d.jpg
i plated it like this so the tots wouldn't get soggy

oh for a wonkavision app

I made some cinnamon biscuits from the Silver Spoon cookbook. They're like snickerdoodles, but made with olive oil. Don't think I've ever made a sweet anything with olive oil before.

That looks like the gumbo and the tots are going into battle

In my little camp-like kitchen (details posted on the cookbook thread) I have thus far prepared:

Steamed pork buns. Well, I bought the buns and warmed them up, which took some improvisation because at the time I had only one pot with zero lid or steaming rack at my disposal.

Udon with stir-fried beef, ginger, garlic, scallion, soy, sesame oil

Three-cup chicken with pepper, carrots, udon

Today's plan: rice cakes (the noodley disks, not the crispy styrofoam stuff) with pork and pickled mustard greens

Lot of noodles going on around here, basically.

I'm making my very first lentil soup, from Cooks Illustrated

Lentil soup gives a lot of payback for a little money and not a lot of work. Hard to beat.

holy shit I never ever thought I would describe lentil soup as "rich" or "sumptuous" or "a universe of flavor" but damn

fyi

INGREDIENTS

3 slices bacon (about 3 ounces), cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped fine (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped medium (about 1 cup)
3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained (I used TJ's fire roasted w/ green chiles)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 cup lentils (7 ounces), rinsed and picked over
1 teaspoon table salt
Ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fry bacon in large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onion and carrots; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, bay leaf, and thyme; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in lentils, salt, and pepper to taste; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until vegetables are softened and lentils have darkened, 8 to 10 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to high, add wine, and bring to simmer. Add chicken broth and water; bring to boil, cover partially, and reduce heat to low. Simmer until lentils are tender but still hold their shape, 30 to 35 minutes; discard bay leaf.

2. Puree 3 cups soup in blender until smooth, then return to pot; stir in vinegar and heat soup over medium-low until hot, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons parsley and serve, garnishing each bowl with some of remaining parsley.

does the pureeing just end up thickening it? could you skip that step and get a more liquid broth that was full of lentils? (cuz i don't have a blender.)

i made more macaroni, put some shit in it. i'm a goddamn whiz now. and fancy. chopped up some spinach, added it, looks like i am eating a meal prepared by an adult.

i wld assume it's just to thicken it a bit, yeah.

Nah, before you purée it the liquid/solid ratio is way off; it's just a pot of stuff with some liquid between the cracks and maybe an inch or so on top

gotta puree lentil soup! i use an immersion blender for everything and it works great.

Experimenting with adding proteiny things and extra vegetables to Nigella's Happiness Soup and making it into more of a Happiness Stew. Today: baked tofu, red peppers and spinach.

ah well, maybe i'll look for more of a soup-with-lentils recipe

xp to self: this was much better with hotdogs.

Soup is in the air! Today I am going to make some chunky (no blender here, immersion or otherwise) tomato basil soup to go with this delicious cheese bread we found at a random bakery yesterday, which I am afraid I will never find again now that I am addicted to their chocolate-peanut bread :(

lentils are dope as hell, dal bhat classic dish maybe w some greens or yogurt or something, so wholesome

damn i want some dal bhat now, no dal tho

Turning 40 lbs of apples into apple butter today.

Lemon rice mk 3: with seafood. Excellent, but I need to buy better shrimp.

I'm attempting cinnamon rolls! they are currently 'rising' by the woodburner.
Going to cook a full roast pork dinner in the meantime

whoa

Made some cinnamon rolls myself today. They've turned out pretty well.

Currently halfway through cooking meat stuffed apples, which I found in a Greek cookbook and I think will either be great or awful. I have no idea which.

making a beef tagine

Today, a sweet potato/peanut stew. Been feeling a little guilty about the amt of meat in my diet lately, so it's nice to get back to some vegan basics.

crockpot chicken & gravy

Vgrrl, I met Michele from NomNomPaleo on Friday and got all fangirl about the chicken and gravy!

Shockingly, I have all the ingredients to make the chicken biryani from HT Cook Everything, but then I noticed it doesn't call for curry or coconut, and I'm not very interested in it without those things so I guess I'm making a curry like a biryani but with curry and coconut cream.

No curry? But does it have some of the spices that normally go into curry powder?

It calls for cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, saffron.

Hmm, I guess most curry powder has cumin, cilantro, turmeric, chilli powder at a minimum.

God, I love cardamom. I'm going to make some cardamom tea.

omg that was amazing
pro tip: having a broken oven thermostat that massively overheats every time ==> best crackling ever
(the meat was only in that oven for not that long so was ok)

I can now vouch for meat stuffed apples being quite tasty. Not sure I'd make them again but was worth trying once.

Today, a sweet potato/peanut stew. Been feeling a little guilty about the amt of meat in my diet lately, so it's nice to get back to some vegan basics

recipe please WilliamC?

xxxpost