What'cha Cookin' Tonight II

[hobbsyoyo]

No problem, hope it isn't too difficult to fix.

 

[Cassius Critzer]

Looks like one version of angel biscuits (not the country version) and stir fried zuchinni. Did you use a hint of sesame oil? Try pecans.

There is a recipe from the Yucatan ( so originally Mayan)that adds ground pumpkin seed to lima beans and that also would taste good with zuchinni.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/five-ways-to-eat-lima-beans-101049299/

 

[yung.carl.jung]

Looks like one version of angel biscuits (not the country version) and stir fried zuchinni. Did you use a hint of sesame oil? Try pecans.

There is a recipe from the Yucatan that adds ground pumpkin seed to lima beans and that also would taste good with zuchinni.

From my earlier post: Chinese steamed buns, cucumber pickled in rice vinegar topped with roasted sesame seeds, vietnamese-style caramel marinated roasted pork belly.

I used japanese sesame oil for the cucumber, yes. Will definitely try out pumpkin seeds, sadly I'm allergic to nuts (only slightly, not full blown hospital allergy.. I still eat nuts every now and then )

 

[yung.carl.jung]

I quite disagree but threw y'all a bone by mentioning "fusion"...which you also are discussing.

By not understanding the history of a recipe then some silly obtuse American will think spaghetti is American and is not but imported and so maladapted that spaghetti bolognose becomes some insipid awful mess and nearly unpalatable. Like the other day when I caught someone adding A1 steak sauce to the recipe to give it a kick. Yuck.


Radically overcook the noodles, use a jar of some wretched sauce, apply some so calked Parmesan which contains wood pulp as filler(I am serious) and that is not spaghetti anymore and brings no one any pleasure whatsoever...just calories to sustain life.

To be honest a true patrician would never eat Spaghetti with his ragut bolognese. I myself do homemade tagliatelle, occasionally papardelle or fettucine. If you're into food snobism I have a feeling you'll love this forum

The ultimate degraded conclusion of cutting corners and ruining recipes is what passes for bread in American supermarkets. They are typically overpriced garbage and yet anyone can make delicious yeast bread at home and do it based upon nearly no skill and do it inexpensively. And applying this consistently enriches your life and is not being a snooty Epicurean but a pragmatic and considerate cook.

The epitome of bread is a solid, crusty sourdough, and to be honest my friend, that is a whole bunch of work, unless you have the starter already. Nothing wrong with supporting your local bakery. I go there every day and banter with the resident retirees.

 

[Cassius Critzer]

Nah, I'm not a foodie. Most of them enjoy presentation and tiny overpriced portions. I enjoyed encouraging people like teenagers to cook and demystifying the process.

I don't care for sourdough. I like salt rising which is challenging to make and typically saying, "she can make salt-risin' bread!"to be quite an admission of skill. I like Challah, brioche, made from scratch croissants, new york city crusty bread, cuban bread, japanese pan (Portuguese pastry bread made uniquely in Japan), etc. Austrians and Japanese will sometimes make their yeast from raisins in some recipes.

I would die without pecans and almonds.

Amish Friendship Bread uses a similar process a sourdough and is typically enjoyed and is a cross between a cake and bread.

https://www.crazyforcrust.com/amish-friendship-bread/

So that is an English cucumber?

An unusual vegetable that can be grown practically everywhere is bitter melon and you may like it. It has remarkable health benefits to knock down excessive blood sugar.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

I'm familiar with bitter lemon. Lived in Korea for half a year and hat lots of chinese food.. The Chinese love bittermelon Seriously weird taste, but I dig it.

Thanks however for the hint towards that amish friendship bread.. Never ever heard of that, I'll try that out sometimes.

 

[Cassius Critzer]

You can't be a good cook and fail to try unusual food. Without adventurism then the recipes in your reportoie begin to be too similar.

The strangest fruit I know of is calpis which I genuinely dislike. It is a tropical fruit which typically are delicious.

Well olives like Kalamata have a unique flavor that grows on you until you crave them.

 

[onejayhawk]

Friendship bread is sometimes called a sweetdough starter to distinguish from the similar sourdough. Sweetdough starter is kept cold where sour starter is not. It must be replenished or it dies, which produces a lot of starter. Hence, the tradition of passing it around. Rather than use flour as indicated, potato flakes work well and are less voluminous.

There is a similar tradition with brandied fruit. While there is a very nice cake recipe included below, the fruit itself is a good dessert topping.
http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/prt/0,196,147180-248196,00.html?

J

 

[Cassius Critzer]

I guess in a sense then such a.method is akin to a dough sponge which slows the fermentation on purpose by refrigeration. It is not the sole way to ferment for Amish Friendship bread. I should ask some Mennonites as they know if it is authentic or equivalent to Gen Tso's Chicken which was created for Americans like Chop Suey.

See this link discussing refrigeration as a variation but not standard practice.

https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faqs/

An Italian cracker like crust for pizza uses refrigerated dough sponges for ripening the flavors.

Pruno is what incarcerated folks make in prison as that is all they can manage and ferments the fruit by an awful method of gathering wild yeasts.

 

[onejayhawk]

St Louis style pizza does not even use yeast, which is why it is so thin. As to the Italian style, you can get a workable dough much more quickly if it is not refrigerated, but many of the flavor components break down and escape. This may explain why so many restaurant pizzas are disappointing.

J

 

[yung.carl.jung]

I cooked for my close family on the day after christmas, 8 people in total. It was a little adventurous but I think everyone liked it pictures are not too great, I apologize-

A bed of polenta, which I hardened, cut into squares, then breaded with flour and spices, then shallow fried. Some Guacamole, a piece of cod covered in beer-batter that's been explosively deep fried, topped off with a spicy hollandaise, white onion and chili flakes.

Also made a vegetarian alternative that uses cauliflower instead.

I made two different custards, one caramel custard and one orange custard. First I poured in the caramel custard, put it in ramekins, put the ramekins in a waterbath and put that into a oven until it reached desired consistency. Added the orange custard on top and repeated. Added sugar on top and then torched it until it crisped up.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

You made an awesome meal!

 

[onejayhawk]

I love fried polenta. Using it as a cracker under fish is ingenious. The guacamole is a nice choice with a spicy sauce.

Cod is pretty mild. How well did the fish come through? I would have tried something a bit more forceful, like salmon.

Creme Bruleé for most intents and purposes. Nice choice.

What was the beverage?

J

 

[civvver]

As a somewhat authentic cook and able to cook for 125 people as an occupation and praised for it,then I think you should try to cook as authentic a recipe as possible, and not stray too far from what adds the blend of delicious flavors and textures and transforms it into "comfort food". It also enhances the meal if there is just enough to satisfy,with nothing left over, so people are murmuring how satisfying it was, with wonderful aromas, but are left wishing they had a second spoonful to be full. Since it takes time for the brain to register fullness in your belly, then when not fully sated, then the repast is more appreciated.

If making chili then you should pay attention to its Mexican roots, add the wonderful thickener of masa flour as it imparts a unique flavor, use pinto beans not kidney, never add macaroni though a tiny portion of rice is delicious, and use beef tongue when possible.

Just as there are lots and lots of carbonara recipes,when you don't use an authentic Italian cheese and use bacon instead of panchetta, well...it is no longer carbonara. Romano should be used and when ever possible fresh pasta as it is heavenly. You shoudn't use milk but cream if going that route but that isn't true carbonara. You should use olive oil as that blend of oil and the drippings of the panchetta combine to add a signature to the meal.

Except that you're wrong. Carbonara, as someone else mentioned, was invented by Italians serving Americans or using American food products for themselves during WWII and specifically uses bacon and eggs cus they are American staples they had available. A variation of it uses pancetta instead- both are acceptable, neither is gospel. So to say it just ins't carbonara cus it uses smoked pork vs unsmoked pork is simply misinformed or snooty.

Also there's nothing wrong at all with using dried pasta. I have been reading Marcella Hazan's cook books and she loves dried, eggless pasta. She says both fresh and dried have merits, and neither is better, and use should actually depend on the sauce. The problem is americans eat crappy dried pasta, just like we eat crappy supermarket bread. If you get good imported italian semolina macaroni it has a magnificent chew and texture to it when cooked correctly, and when salted right has great flavor (another issue americans have is not salting pasta water, I just don't get it).

For other stuff like bolognese, yes, canned pasta with some hamburger thrown in is barely palatable, but there's no such thing as one authentic bologense recipe either. It's basically something peasants used to make with a bunch of ingredients on hand so it varies by region. Some really good recipes actually put gelatin in it to mimic the gelatin from marrow bones and some will use a dash of fish sauce to mimic the funky taste of older beef! Other people I know will put some bacon in it over pancetta because they like the smokey flavor. So while I agree the first time or two making something pick a good recipe and stick to it as close as possible, I don't think you need to try to be authentic. Authentic is overrated. I think what we should do is try for scratch made quality food.

Some stuff is just too burdensome though, like I use quality,100% parmesan cheese that tastes good but almost never spring for the imported parmigiano reggiano but it's extremely expensive and is hard to find it not dried out cus it's usually cut into wedges and stored in individual plastic. The point is to use a good cheese made in the correct style, but it doesn't have to literally be from cows in a specific region in Italy to taste good.

Anyway, I like chili with beans, though it might not be the most authentic. I don't like cut tomatoes in it, but I do like some tomato sauce or paste. But I probably suck at making chili cus I don't use whole chilis, I just throw in the powdered spices- chipotle, cayenne, cumin. And I put garlic salt in mine too.


Tonight we're having chicken burrito bowls cus it's a slow cooker meal and I have to take kids to dance class. It's super easy, and I think it's tasty.

-Two boneless, skinless chicken breasts
-Can of black beans drained
-Salsa
-Frozen corn
-Taco seasoning or you can use your own blend of spices like chili powder, cumin etc

1. Put chicken in crock pot
2. Season with half the taco seasoning, rub into the chicken
3. Pour all other ingredients over chicken and add remaining taco seasoning
4. Give a little stir
5. Cook on low for 6-8 hours
6. Shred chicken with a fork a half hour before serving and stir it up
7. Serve over rice, in tortillas, on nachos, or plain. Top with whatever you like- avacado, cheese, green onion, hot sauce, sour cream, anything really.

 

[Cassius Critzer]

The whole story of the origin of this dish and its place in cucina romana is vague. The origin of carbonara is much discussed, yet no one really knows. There are several competing theories, but all are anecdotal.

First, although thought of as a typical Roman dish, the name is said to come from a dish made in the Appenine mountains of the Abruzzo by woodcutters who made charcoal for fuel. They would cook the dish over a hardwood charcoal fire and use penne rather than spaghetti because it is easier to toss with the eggs and cheese.

Second, is the obvious one that given the meaning of alla carbonara, coal worker’s style, that the dish was a dish eaten by coal workers or that the abundant use of coarsely ground black pepper resembles coal flakes.

Another story is that food shortages after the liberation of Rome in 1944 were so severe that Allied troops distributed military rations consisting of powdered egg and bacon which the local populace used with water to season the easily stored dried pasta.

There is also a theory that in the province of Ciociaria, in the region of Lazio about halfway between Rome and Benevento, pasta was seasoned in a Neapolitan style with eggs, lard, and pecorino cheese. During the German occupation of Rome during the World War II, many middle class families dispersed from Rome into this region to escape the oppressiveness of the occupation and learned about this dish. After the war, Roman cuisine became very popular throughout Italy and this dish, now transformed into carbonara, became a prime example.

Carbonara history is far more complicated. And I limit how much I cut and paste because technically you're supposed to otherwise it is interfering with copyright.

http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/food/entries/display.php/topic_id/4/id/117/

I really don't care what people put in their recipes, but I would always say to young people working in the kitchen with me, is that authentic or just random additions to the recipe? Yet magic happens on occasion by the inspiration of an ingredient.

I mean, you might find that adding cardamom to a recipe really enhances it. Go for it. But that isn't necessarily authentic. You might not have availability of ingredients so you have to substitute. If you making hummus and you skipped the tahini and added peanut butter...yuck...then what your final product ended up might just be an abortion.

Cardomom by the way adds something extremely pleasant to tea and the Persians do that. It is typically added to doughnuts ( and the secret ingredient there is unsalted mashed potatoes).

Try vising a grocery store that caters to immigrants and you will find countless new ingredients. You may find hibiscus flowers which are dried and used to make a delicious tea, and done in Latin America and Africa. But later you may discover that your ancestors collected hibiscus flowers and enjoyed it at the family homestead and knew that it actually helps with heart problems.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

I love fried polenta. Using it as a cracker under fish is ingenious. The guacamole is a nice choice with a spicy sauce.

Cod is pretty mild. How well did the fish come through? I would have tried something a bit more forceful, like salmon.

Creme Bruleé for most intents and purposes. Nice choice.

What was the beverage?

J

Agreed on the cod, it tastes like absolutely nothing The fish didn't come through at all, it had a nice texture and was juice, but barely had any recognizable taste. The batter is really strong anyway with its yeasty/hoppy taste. The thing was, I had to buy two days in advance and obviously couldn't buy fresh fish in that case, so I opted for frozen fish. We had an assortment of local beers and some red wine, but nothing too fancy

 

[Cassius Critzer]

If anyone ever has trouble with batter, say making good onion rings, the trick is cornstarch. It acts like glue to bind the other flour components.

It is so difficult to get good seafood as I am too far land locked from the sea and must rely upon freshwater ingredients. Still that leaves farm raised prawns which can be quite tasty.

I miss the sea. The smell. The complex diversity of organism. Spiny lobster tail. Fresh oysters pan fried. Having a choice of ten species of fish on any given day. Sea bass which I know..I know you aren't supposed to eat. Ceviche made with fish. Fresh Tuna maguro sashimi. Broiled halibut. Cajun redfish.

And they all were spiced with the rich accents, often patois, of blended people.

 

[onejayhawk]

We needed to do fish tacos, with which that dish has a passing similarity. The available fish was premarinated catfish, in either a sweet or a spicy vein. I went with the spiciest choice and did everything else to play off the heat--a very basic cabbage slaw and a creamed cilantro sauce wrapped in a charred corn tortilla, with green salsa on the side.

J

 

[Sofista]

Carbonara history is far more complicated. And I limit how much I cut and paste because technically you're supposed to otherwise it is interfering with copyright.

http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/food/entries/display.php/topic_id/4/id/117/

True that. And to add another thing: the name of pasta alla carbonara only appears in literature after WWII.

I really don't care what people put in their recipes, but I would always say to young people working in the kitchen with me, is that authentic or just random additions to the recipe? Yet magic happens on occasion by the inspiration of an ingredient.

I mean, you might find that adding cardamom to a recipe really enhances it. Go for it. But that isn't necessarily authentic. You might not have availability of ingredients so you have to substitute. If you making hummus and you skipped the tahini and added peanut butter...yuck...then what your final product ended up might just be an abortion.

There's a line, I suppose. What I cook at home, whatever variations I come up with in my kitchen, are my business - to wit, my own carbonara is made with... speck Alto Adige, which would cause an uproar in a traditional Roman restaurant. Conversely, in that same Roman restaurant I'd expect guanciale, even though I'm not a fan of the stuff myself.
They asked the guy who runs the Italian Kitchen nightmares what he thought of people who put tomato sauce in spaghetti alle vongole. His response was: "You like it like that? Then put the damn tomato in", simple as that. But while a restaurant might play with herbs, the presence of tomato would take 90% of the clientele by surprise (here, at least).

 

[onejayhawk]

So the question becomes, must coq a vin be a rooster? It says so in the name. Or, is it wine braised chicken with a catchy name?

Old Joke

A cannibal has a bad stomach ache. He goes to the medicine man, who asks about the recent diet. The cannibal describes a man in a brown cassock with a tonsure. The medicine man's diagnosis. His patient's stomach was upset because had boiled a friar.

J