What'cha Cookin' Tonight II

[onejayhawk]

Cod is such a light sweet fish, people would want it even if it was expensive. Instead, it's as common as sand on the shore. I like using a cornmeal batter for frying but lately, the microwave covers most meals. Nuking is surprisingly effective for delicate fish. Just don't overcook.

Kohl? How does that work?

J

 

[yung.carl.jung]

We slice it extremely thinly with a mandolin. It's like a thinner cole slaw, but without the heavy dressing, just dressed with lime. Since my post have been kinda contentless I'll post some of my creations. Keeping the theme Italian:



this is some caprese with mozarella di bufalo and basil from my parents garden



pizza I did in their pizza oven. one of my best to date.



this pizza I did in our horrible 20 year old oven. still came out mighty fine. the air pockets are huge. intense bubbling.



A white Pizza (I use cream cheese) with champignons, thinly sliced eggplant and ramson/bear leek/wild garlic (or whatever you guys call it). this herb I foraged, it's sort of custom around here and in my family. love using it for bear leek butter or pesto, too!

 

[onejayhawk]

I see the problem. Kohl is an eye makeup. Cole is a group of salad greens.

that pizza looks outstanding.

J

 

[Sofista]

this is some caprese with mozarella di bufalo and basil from my parents garden

Yummy! Are those yellow tomatoes?

 

[yung.carl.jung]

Yummy! Are those yellow tomatoes?

yo. got them from the farmer's market and I have a special supplier for the mozarella, which I pre-order.

 

[Azem.Ocram]

I cooked chicken picatta a week or so ago
https://instagram.com/p/Bl8dDl4AIcd/

And made variations upon a BLT (BSTA) and Reuban (Rachel)
https://instagram.com/p/BmEMgUGgecO/

 

[yung.carl.jung]

followed you on IG. love the reuben but you rly have to work on your pic taking. a lil natural lighting and a different angle would go a long way. I think the plating on the 1st pic is actually pretty good! I suck at taking food pics myself, have been trying to improve for years

 

[Quintillus]

Yesterday I dove into Gambian cuisine, and made domoda, following this recipe. It's a stew with sweet potato (or pumpkin), peanuts, and tomato as the dominant flavors. It turned out pretty good, and made a ton!

Today I have plenty of leftovers.

As for grilled pineapple, I decided to try it like Behemoth the cat in The Master and Margarita, which is with salt and pepper. It works decently well, and the pepper adds a nice mild spiciness to it. I love pineapple by itself too, but it was worth the strange looks to try it that way.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Spoiler Rainbow Jell-O :

It took most of the day to prepare this for dessert. Dinner was ham steak, corn pudding and kidney beans with hot sauce.

 

[onejayhawk]

It is getting into pumpkin season. Here is a chili recipe which is a standby for Thanksgiving leftover turkey.

Pumpkin Chili

2 medium onions, diced
2 cups mixed peppers, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 butternut squash, cubed, or three cups cubed pumpkin
2 cans beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp light (salt free) chili powder
2 tsp cumin
2 cups cooked meat (turkey is a favorite)
4 cups water plus 1-4 cubes bullion
S&P to taste
Wilt onions and peppers in oil. add garlic and squash/pumpkin. Cook til softened.
Add remaining ingredients. Bring to low boil and cook an additional 10-15 minutes over low heat.
​

It is easily made vegan, simply leave out the turkey. I would suggest black beans in that case.
Any winter squash will do. Given Quintillus' post, I might consider adding a tablespoon of peanut butter.

J

 

[civvver]

I tried to make broccoli cheese soup like panera bread's but it didn't come out that great. I used a recipe online, saute onion, make a roux with flour and butter, add half n half, chicken stock, simmer your carrots and broccoli in it, season with salt and pepper, stir in grated cheddar cheese on lowest heat just so it melts. In the end it was bland, and I don't think it's just salt. I salted my individual bowl a bit to take it up a notch but it still wasn't right. Also the texture was not bad but not as creamy as panera.

So I checked the panera ingredient list for both their in store soup and the one sold in grocery stores. And lo and behold, it uses processed cheese! It says right on it, this is the grocery store ingredients:

Milk, Chicken Stock (Chicken Base [Chicken Meat Including Chicken Juices, Salt, Chicken Fat, Yeast Extract, Sugar, Natural Flavor, Potato Flour, Carrot Powder, Turmeric]), Water, Broccoli, Pasteurized Process Cheddar Cheese (Cheddar Cheese [Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Culture Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Whey Protein Concentrate, Skim Milk, Sodium Citrate, Salt, Milkfat, Lactic Acid, Oleoresin Paprika [For Color], Annatto [For Color]), Heavy Cream, Carrots, Corn Starch, Contains 2% Or Less Of: Onions Seasoning (Wheat Flour, Salt, Spice), Butter (Cream,S Alt), Dijon Mustard (Water, Mustard Seed, Vinegar, Salt, Spices), Hot Pepper Sauce (Distilled Vinegar, Red Pepper, Salt) And Nisin Preparation.

Notable differences, processed cheese, which would definitely give a different texture and melt better, corn starch as a thickener, onion seasoning not actual onions, dijon mustard and pepper sauce.

Also water is a main ingredient so I'm not sure how that's incorporated. Maybe mixed with the corn starch? So what I am thinking now is, melt butter with carrots, broccoli, add cream and stock, simmer and add a corn starch slurry to thicken, add a dash of frank's red hot sauce and dijon mustard, use onion powder, stir in velveeta sharp cheddar at the end so it melts through.

Do you think that will be closer to the original flavor?

 

[onejayhawk]

I may have posted this before, but it's worth repeating. I call it the

Soup Primer

1. Choose a base: 2 cups tomato sauce, 6 cups water, 3 cups stock
2. Add a meat: 1# browned beef, 1 cup diced cooked poultry, 8 pieces of cooked bacon, 1 cup cooked game, etc.
3. Add 2-4 cups fresh or cooked vegetables: onions sautéed in olive oil, carrots, celery, corn, parsley, diced tomatoes, green beans, peas, parsnips, rutabagas.
4. Add a starch: 2 cups cooked rice or pasta, 1 cup dried peas or lentils plus 2 cups water, 1 cup barley or millet plus 1 cup water, 2 cups cooked beans, 2 cans beans with gravy, 2-3 cups potatoes, or 2 cups frozen fries (the cheap kind with no oil).
5. Add 1 to 1 1/2 Tbsps seasonings: dried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage. If fresh, use triple amounts.
6. If a cream soup is desired, 2 cups 1/2 and 1/2 or heavier cream or 1 cup powdered coffee creamer. Shredded cheese may also be added but not to a boiling mix or it will curdle.

Cook fresh vegetables in water or stock til tender or saute in butter or olive oil til slightly browned. Mix all ingredients in large pot or slow cooker and heat over low heat for 1-2 hours to blend flavors. Add beer, popcorn, croutons, shredded cheese just before serving if desired.

J

 

[civvver]

Those pizzas do look pretty awesome.

Being nearly fall it's soup and chili time! I made a creamy white bean chicken chili. I don't know if I'd call it chili even, it's more like a stew or thick soup. To be perfectly honest with you, I love hormel's white chicken chili and I was trying to create something close. Regular hormel chili is pretty awful but the chicken one is surprisingly amazing.

Spoiler :

Anyway, here's my take:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 15 ounce can of great northern beans drained
1 15 ounce can of great northern beans undrained
1 10 ounce can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (rotel)
1 7 ounce can of diced green chilies
1 15 ounce can of chicken broth
4 tbsp of butter
seasonings to taste:
cumin
black pepper
white pepper
garlic powder
salt or garlic salt
cayenne pepper
dried oregano
1 cup of half and half
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup of water

Place chicken in a slow cooker and add on top everything above except for half and half, cornstarch and water. Stir a little and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Remove chicken, shred it on a plate or something and chop into bite size pieces. Season to taste with more garlic, salt, black pepper.
Return chicken to slow cooker.
Stir in half and half.
Stir water and cornstarch together in a bowl.
Stir into slow cooker.
Turn slow cooker to high and let it cook for another 30 minutes, or until it's heated through (simmering) and thickened.
Makes about 6 good size bowls. Throw some scallions and shredded cheese on top if you want.

One tip is be careful with the salt when doing the initial cooking. Since it's raw chicken you won't want to taste it until later and all this canned stuff has a lot of salt to begin with. It's very easy to stir in extra salt later, but you can't take it out! Actually you can follow that guideline with any of the spices. I stirred in some extra cumin with the half and half into mine. Also drain the one can of beans or you'll have too much bean liquid, but don't drain anything else.

 

[Drewcifer]

I tried to make broccoli cheese soup like panera bread's but it didn't come out that great. I used a recipe online, saute onion, make a roux with flour and butter, add half n half, chicken stock, simmer your carrots and broccoli in it, season with salt and pepper, stir in grated cheddar cheese on lowest heat just so it melts. In the end it was bland, and I don't think it's just salt. I salted my individual bowl a bit to take it up a notch but it still wasn't right. Also the texture was not bad but not as creamy as panera.

So I checked the panera ingredient list for both their in store soup and the one sold in grocery stores. And lo and behold, it uses processed cheese! It says right on it, this is the grocery store ingredients:



Notable differences, processed cheese, which would definitely give a different texture and melt better, corn starch as a thickener, onion seasoning not actual onions, dijon mustard and pepper sauce.

Also water is a main ingredient so I'm not sure how that's incorporated. Maybe mixed with the corn starch? So what I am thinking now is, melt butter with carrots, broccoli, add cream and stock, simmer and add a corn starch slurry to thicken, add a dash of frank's red hot sauce and dijon mustard, use onion powder, stir in velveeta sharp cheddar at the end so it melts through.

Do you think that will be closer to the original flavor?

They probably use water because it is cheaper than half and half. I would keep using half and half. From your description it sounds like it was lacking umami which is read as richness by our palate. That comes from glutemate compounds. They probably add MSG to their soup or there is a ton of it in the processed cheese they use. Dairy and meat are high in natural glutemates. Usually when a chef wants to make a soup, stew or sauce richer they add more stock, or cook down the stock to make it more intense. If I were you I would start by making your stock richer.*

*was a chef for 25 years

 

[onejayhawk]

If you want more umami, why not add a fish sauce or mushroom broth. No need to use artificial chemicals.

J

 

[Drewcifer]

If you want more umami, why not add a fish sauce or mushroom broth. No need to use artificial chemicals.

J

I'm not suggesting using MSG, just richer stock. Umami comes from naturally occurring glutemate compounds. When I cook at home I use home made demiglace cubes as a natural substitute for MSG. If you are making stock from scratch you can make it richer by reducing it. If you are making it with bullion cube or something like that, just add more. Fish sauce or mushroom broth will add umami but they will also change the flavor profile a bit. Chicken or beef stock just turn up the richness without changing the flavor.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

As for grilled pineapple, I decided to try it like Behemoth the cat in The Master and Margarita, which is with salt and pepper. It works decently well, and the pepper adds a nice mild spiciness to it. I love pineapple by itself too, but it was worth the strange looks to try it that way.

I made a mexican torta sandwich with guacamole, refried beans, arugula, pulled pork spiced with chiles and pink pepper and a big slice of pan-seared pineapple which I slathered in honey garlic

also recently made beef with grilled peach salsa, it was bomb. really, I might start grilling every tipe of fruit just to see where it leads

that book is one of my favorites

 

[MaryKB]

Your cooking looks amazing @yung.carl.jung, especially your pizzas!

Here's my spinach pizza from Friday, my style is different, I'm doing deep dish, but I have my recipe just right now, and my fiance loves it. I use ground garlic and herbs to coat my crust, and on top of the spinach/mozzarella mix I have shredded parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. It has a very strong flavor from my combination of ingredients.



A couple weeks ago I made him some steak, just a basic new york strip with seasoned baby potatoes and parmesan asparagus, but he really enjoyed my home made red wine sauce. Mine was the filet minion, which was much smaller, he chose the larger steak when we went shopping.

 

[onejayhawk]

Being nearly fall it's soup and chili time! I made a creamy white bean chicken chili. I don't know if I'd call it chili even, it's more like a stew or thick soup. To be perfectly honest with you, I love hormel's white chicken chili and I was trying to create something close. Regular hormel chili is pretty awful but the chicken one is surprisingly amazing.

I ran across a version of this using a rotisserie chicken. Basically, use the meat as is and increase the broth by two cups. That seems like a bit of a waste, provided you have time. The short version is that rotisserie chicken makes very good stock.

Separate the meat. Save two cups of meat and put the skin and bones in the slow cooker with 4-6 cups of water.
Cook for at least an hour but not more than four. Strain.
Add two cups of your chicken meat and your remaining ingredients except for the broth and dairy.
Cook on low for an hour. Add the cream five minutes before serving. You will not need the butter.

J

 

[yung.carl.jung]

why thank you kindly mary

this is a vegan bbq sandwich we came up with for a festival we catered

mushrooms are slow cooked, then pulled apart and mixed with a bbq sauce based on beetroot and hickory smoke. it has salad, kale, fast-pickled cucumber and it's topped with my fav pickled red onion



thai curry with carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, chicken and beans on jasmine rice