What did you cook today??

I got to participate in a free pizza workshop about 2 hours away from home. Received some great instruction, and got some great comments! One person asked for my sauce recipe, whooppee! ...and the Chef that was teaching me (A NY Pizza style only man) said "Don't ever bring your thin crunchy crust into my kitchen again! he was kidding... sort of... I think...!
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Home in Texas for Christmas and feeling a bit experimental, so did a prep of "the four trees." The four trees are apple, almond, maple and cinnamomum. This is a simple recipe that does not take much time to prepare. The essential tool is a meat grinder. Mix raw almonds, maple syrup and cinnamon in a bowl and then push through a meat grinder. Peel and cut apples. Nuke the apples in a microwave for 4-5 minutes. Add some of the almond mix in for texture. Add some more maple syrup and cinnamon. On a plate, flatten the almond mix like a crust - its slightly moist and holds its shape well. Pour the apple mix on top. Then fold up the almond mix over the sides. Sprinkle the remainder of the almond mix on top. Now using the peels from the apple, decorate. I made a santa face with a beard. Very pretty. And, this dish is literally better than apple pie! I'll be serving my masterpiece Christmas morning for breakfast! Time to prepare ~ 15 minutes.
 
bigmoose said:
I got to participate in a free pizza workshop about 2 hours away from home.

Awesome BigMoose! Reminds me of my youth when I spent a year making pizza pies whilst going to college on the GI Bill after the Navy. Those were some great times crafting the best custom pizza on the planet.

Making dough was a love-fest: For the chain I worked with, it’s a two-day process, but worth it in the final product if it comes out right; definitely takes an artisan to make it correctly. It was a job that changed the way I looked at Life, mainly for all the things that it taught me and the people I met through serving:

  • Good business practices which coincided with college studies
  • Good service to customers – and the positive rewards of expanding clientele
  • Networking: Sales experiences trading lunches with other restaurants that were invaluable!
For a time (about one year exactly) it was fun to be The Chef making pies for my pals. Glad I did it when I did. I think about it whenever someone asks me to help them open a brewery: “Oh we have to have to serve pizza!” is my rejoinder! A part of me misses the simplicity of that food production. Inexpensive too.

Good on ya, KF 8)
 
KF enjoyed your post. My dough too is a 48+ hour ferment. Took me a few batches to get my leavening right to work with the extended ferment time. You should look into home wood fired brick ovens or a gas oven called the Black Stone I think. The Black Stone is on sale for $299 with free delivery and reaches 800 to 900 degree temperatures. Lots of good reviews. Bet one of those will get you back into making great Pizza!

Made this key lime pie (her favorite when we visit southern Florida) with a 1890 recipe last night to celebrate bringing my wife home from the doctor with a cancer free finding! Going to add the whipped cream, made from real 36% cream, tonight. This pie is so easy to make. Uses pasteurized in the shell eggs, so no cooking is required. (Eggs have a red circle R on them, and are not that expensive.)
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Added whipped cream and a night in the fridge. Wife liked it so much she had another piece!
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My own recipe for Yankee Pot Roast, served with home baked bread.
Red, white, and blue potatoes set as patriotic theme and give it a wonderful mix of flavors. The bowl gets a shot of red wine in it just before being served.
The bread is my own recipe as well, combining a traditional white loaf with a bit of cornmeal to give it a richer buttery flavor.

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Bamboo said:
You like italian food? I know another recipe, that went well when I cooked it for many others, maybe we can split this up again, you take the pics and I provide the recipe? :mrgreen:

Well, that took quite some time to get back here, didn't mean to appear ignorant.

Here goes:

Italian Pork Fillet with Bacon in Gorgonzola-Sauce

One pound pork fillet (can be replaced with Schnitzel, steak, but fillet definitely tastes better)
6 ounces / 200gramm of non smoked italian bacon with fat at the bottom side (very thin slices to wrap around the cut up fillet pieces, fat side to the bottom, traditional US/UK breakfast bacon is at least 3 times too thick and will taste horrible in this case)
mustard
1 onion, chopped in small pieces

Sauce:
6 ounces / 200gramm of high quality blue vein cheese (for example Gorgonzola, go to a good shop, ask the shopkeeper to try different ones and pick your favourite, for this sauce I like the kind that would be way to spicy/savoury to put it on bread)
6 ounces / 200gramm of cream/farmer cheese with italian herbs mix (french brands like Bressot also work)
6 ounces / 200gramm of cream, maybe a little more if the sauce is too savoury
1-2 Tablespoons of pickled green pepper corns (important IMHO)
black pepper
a handful of parsley

Directions:
Pork Fillet, like any other fillet is a long, roundish piece of meat where the fibres run lengthwise. To make it nice and chewable you have to cut the fibres. So you take your long, round piece of meat and cut it into small round "wheels", each maybe as thick as an index finger. What would be the tube on a bike wheel in this case is mustard, and the tire is bacon strips, so you cover the outer side of the meat with mustard and then roll a slice of bacon around it. When you crash your Mustard-Bacon-Wheels into the oven pan, the fatty side of the bacon(tire) should be on the (olive) oily ground.
Add the chopped onion, sprinkle it all over the wheels and on the ground.

Put it into the oven for 30 mins at 200 C / 390 F, while preparing the sauce.

To prepare the sauce, VERY slowly dissolve all ingredients but the parsley in a moderately heated pot. It shouldn't cook at any time, just slowly dissolve the Gorgonzola and cream cheese. Once dissolved, add the parsley and take it off the heat.

After 30 mins in the oven, pour the sauce over the meat and put it back in the oven for another 10 mins or until the sauce starts to develop light golden brown spots.

Serve with Basmati rice (any rice dish will very much improve IMO if served with Basmati instead of this tasteless filler preboiled long grain rice).

Enjoy, Jens:)

(Edit: Don't hit "Submit" before proof-reading;)
 
Blueberry Surprise
Thursday, June 19th, 2014
It’s a surprise cos I don’t know how it will turn out!

Began researching Blueberry Muffins, but discovered I no longer had a muffin pan. However I did have a nice 9-inch Pyrex cake square. The mixture below is based on various cake/Bundt recipes – with a little imagination thrown in.

4 large brown eggs
1 dollop of plain fresh yoghurt
2 good splashes of 2% Milk
2 good gurgles of extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 stick of real Butter at room-temp
Easily ¾ cup of Clover Honey
1.5 tsp of Baking Powder
2 tbsp of Flaxseed Meal
1 big pour of Whole Wheat Flour
1 dash salt
2 dashes of ground Cinnamon
1 dash of ground Nutmeg
1 dribble of Real Vanilla Extract
About 10-12 ounces of fresh blueberries

Oven set to 350°F preheat. Lightly oiled the Pyrex dish with the extra virgin and preheated it some so the process would wick faster.

I’ve been cooking from scratch for a number of years; just eyeball the measurements and make up here and there until the consistency is right. I didn’t have light oil or a lot of butter so had to make up with olive oil. Same with granulated sugar; didn’t have any so I used honey, but that was real thick and I am not sure how much was added.

All the ingredients were folded together except blueberries; it was a little thick at first so I thinned it down with more milk, oil, honey, and another egg (4 total). The consistency was thicker than most cake mixes from what I recall. The batter tasted closer to bran muffin, so not overtly sweet which is fine. I had been making blueberry pancakes for the last couple of days and they have plenty of flavor and juice – so I’m not expecting a dry bran-muffin experience.

Satisfied with the batter, I dumped in most of what I had left of the blueberries and folded them in. The Pyrex dish was filled about halfway, about 1 inch deep, and then gave it a wiggle back and forth until the contents leveled out and placed it into the oven - leaving the temperature set the same.

Most of the recipes said to bake between 350-375°F for 30 to 60 minutes. I figure we play this one by the ear. At 30 minutes the house is beginning to smell nicely. The center of the Surprise has risen nearly an inch with a fractured surface that is just now beginning to crisp. A couple of the blueberries near the surface have begun to weep; I think maybe another 15 minutes ought to do it.

At 46 minutes I yanked it out and it passed the toothpick test with flying colors. I has a nicely rifted caramel-colored crust that is mottled with eruptions of blueberry. Can’t wait to dig it!

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Allowed to cool for ½ hour, I sliced away a corner; it came out in two pieces mainly due to a large vein of blueberries clustered to one side, otherwise the second slice lifted out nicely. The taste is a little on the dense dry-bran side, although there is plenty of moisture and good fruit flavor. I think more honey to enhance sweetness and more Baking Powder to aid the leavening would be all the changes I’d make. I’m only on the second slice though it seems to me that many blueberries ended up on the bottom. I read one recipe where the lady put down the batter first, then topped with a large supply of blueberries, followed by a sweet cinnamon-crust topping.

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There’s always next time :)
Cheers! KF
 
Surprise Version-II

The last one was so dang good, but it only lasted about 4 days, or was it 3? :lol: It was dang good with each slice uniquely marbled with goodly fruit, so tasty – oh man… and I got some new ideas so here’s V2: More pound-cake-like with nearly twice the base ingredients, plus raspberries (cos they were on sale), and my favorite nuts. Spices & yoghurt are doubled. Eggs increased 150%. Measured more accurately this time on porpoise :wink:

Oven preheated top 350*F. Buttered the dish this time instead of using Olive Oil.

Major Dry Ingredients:
In its’ own bowl, assimilate…
~3 oz Pecans, ground; measured full amount in a Pyrex cup before grinding.
4 tbsp unsalted Sunflower Seeds, ground
9 tbsp Chopped Dates, ground
2 tbsp Flax Seed milled
2 tsp of Baking Powder

Assimilate the liquids in a large mixing bowl…
1/3 stick of butter, melted
1/4 cup 2% Milk
3 big gurgles of extra virgin Olive Oil
2 dashes of Salt
2 dashes of Allspice
4 dashes of Cinnamon
2 dashes of Nutmeg
1/4 tsp of Real Vanilla; estimated cos it’s all I had left
12 oz of Clover Honey
~1/4 tsp fresh Orange Zest; estimated
6 fresh Brown Eggs
2 dollops of fresh plain Yoghurt
2 cups of Whole Wheat Flour, enough to thicken; this may vary for you and your elevation.
…and one splash of hoppy brown ale for good measure! :)

  • Blend the dry with the wet little by little; for me the mixture is a little less fudge-thick than last time, though not quite soupy.
  • Fill the 9x9 Pyrex cake (or your choice) dish about 40% full with mixture to create the bottom layer.
Fruit Compote in a smaller bowl:
~3/4 cup fresh Blueberries; all that I had left
12 oz of fresh Raspberries (on sale)
  • Mixed Blue & Raspberries to create a blend and added them on top of the dish base layer.
  • Topped with the remaining breading mix - and it just barely fit; there's about 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the top of the dish. Smoothed the surface best I could towards the edges knowing the center would rise most, though unsure if this will work.
At 9 PM it went into the oven at 350*F over a sheet of aluminum foil with the bright-side turned down - just in case of spillage (I hope not!)

On the (raw) breading mixture taste:
  • The sesame seed had a pronounced flavor contribution akin to peanut butter! That was a bit of surprise and concern; next time it might be wise to cut this way back… time will tell.
  • With the Orange Zest, the tiny bit that was created from the cheese-grater, was definitely evident in the positive! Very glad I took the extra step.
Thoughts:
  • Used my coffee grinder to chop/grind the nuts. No doubt next time I make coffee I’ll have some pleasant residuals – hehe.
  • My biggest concern is the less-than-thick breading mix, and hoping it doesn’t spill over instead of rising. There are a lot of ideas riding on this improvement and we’ll know in an hour if it’s a go.
  • At 16 minutes: The outer edges have risen vertically about the dish by ¼ inch; a positive sign.
  • At 42 minutes, the NW corner is about even with the dish, but all others are clearly ½ inch above, and the center is nearly there as well. The edges are starting to brown darkly, and the top is a beautiful cinnamon color. It’s still rising so I’m willing to let this go the full hour.
  • 1 Hour: Wow, what a change! The center has risen about twice the edges and has a deep honeyed nutmeg color, fully fissured and IMO a better result than expected. The edges that had risen previously have now stalled and are nearly mocha-brown in color. Pulled it out for the toothpick test and the center fails. Hmmm – I’m beginning to understand the difficulty of adding too much fruit. However it does smell very much like delicious fruit; maybe it needs just a few more minutes; I turned the oven off and placed it back in. The color of the crust is incredible!
  • 1:18 – I dare not leave it in any longer; the surface has darkened to shades of mocha with the edges nearly espresso bean. Toothpick test in the center comes clean this time. Tomorrow at breakfast we’ll know the results.

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The whole enchilada just before going into the oven.

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Pulled out for the toothpick test at 1-hour. The center is not quite ready.

My belly awaits! KF 8)
 
This morning I checked the child for a slice and when the covering was removed I despaired for a moment for the center of the bread had fallen.

Taking a sharp knife, I sliced out a corner and that lifted out cleanly. However the middle part of this section where the berries were heaviest appeared a little on the … hmm, how shall I say? Almost uncooked, but that is not correct for the berries were definitely cooked through, but the moisture they emitted has kept the region extra-moist. The flavor is quite good; no hint of excess in any direction save for slight caramelization... nearing burnt at the very edges of the crust.

I realize now that I have created a true Bundt cake and understand why those types of pans are shaped the way they are. The experiment with placing the fruit in a layer between top and bottom did not go as well as planned; a harmonious mixture would have been better and I’d wager – along with the proper cookware – would have turned out just fine.

Each slice is rich and will take me some time to get through. I fear my ambitions got the best of me, but experience is what counts and next time we’ll do better.

Hiding the scale.
Mmmph… KF
 
Chicken & Dumplings… maybe

Preamble:
Ypedal recently posted a recipe that reminded me of Chicken & Dumplings. I still had a part of a peppery stew to get through, but that put an itch in my spine to have some chicken nibbles for snacks. Normally I fry up skinned boneless thighs, and actually I’ll cut them in halves or quarters to make them nibble-sized. But this time I used the Dutch Oven; it was sitting there all lonely… couldn’t remember the last time I used it in fact. When I baked with it, the food would dry out, but using the stove-top, everything stayed moist. So that’s what I did; cooked up like 18 pieces of chicken.

Pulled out a handful of nibbles and ate them right away, but left the rest in the pot. When it cooled, the fat and liquid congealed; no matter to me – I’ll eat cold chicken any style as well as warm. But then I got to thinking about the dumplings and wouldn’t it be great to make some! So here’s the recipe:

  • Started with 18 pieces of skinless boneless thighs on sale at Safeway; sliced into bite-sized nibbles and pulled off loose hanging fat when possible.
  • A large gurgle of extra virgin olive oil
  • 5 large cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 2-3 pinches of Dried Mexican Rosemary
  • Sautee briefly in the Dutch Oven before adding chicken
    This mix cooked maybe 45 minutes covered; made a lot of liquid which created the genesis for stock.
A few days later, I’ve eaten maybe 25-33% and decide to make the C & D. Pulled out the Dutch Oven from the fridge and placed it on med-low heat whilst I prepare the rest.

Went to Whole Foods and snagged a bunch of organic veggies, plus organic-raised chicken (I have no idea what the caging regime was, but the meat quality is one-level better than Safeway). Bought one more pound of skinless boneless chicken thighs…
  • So figure about 2 to 3 lbs. of chicken total, sliced into nibble size.
  • 2 strips of Black Forest Bacon, sliced in ¼-inch wide strips, for flavor.
  • Add tap water as fit to keep pace with the thickening… (guessing this was about 1 gallon when all said and done).
  • 1 large Yellow Onion (they were out of White which is my preference; Yellow tasted sweeter though).
  • 1 medium Bell Pepper (cos I likes them), diced
  • 2 medium Zucchini, thinly diced
  • 1 modest head of Broccoli, chopped to bits
  • 5 small stalks from really-green organic Celery, chopped
  • 1 modest bunch of fresh Parsley, chopped (including stalks; I love fresh raw parsley… I don’t know why, but I do!)
  • 1 modest bunch of small-diameter organic Carrots, all of it chopped into nice spoon-sized bits
  • 2 fresh sweet white Corn-on-the-cobb, shucked; made about 1 cup of kernels. I just like the taste and texture of fresh shucked corn!
  • About 8 oz. Purple Heirloom Potatoes, < 1-inch round, and quartered. Whole Foods didn’t have any heirlooms, but they had a 24-oz. bag of tiny pearl-sized potatoes that were a mix of Golden, Red, and Purple. I picked out all the purples and added them in. The rest will make for a nice breakfast scramble.
  • About 1 large cup of Brown Crimini Mushrooms, chopped
  • 9 oz. of frozen Black-Eyes Peas
Spices to taste:
  • Sea Salt
  • Whole and crushed Black Pepper
  • A dash of Red Cayenne Flakes
  • Rosemary, Mexican Dried, weak in flavor.
  • A few good pinches of Thyme, Dried
  • Lots of Bay Leaves, Mexican Dried, weak in flavor.
  • Fennel Seed, just a tiny amount cos a little goes a long way.
  • 1 oz. Dried Mexican Sesame Seed (for texture)
  • 2 Tbsp Milled Flaxseed (for health)
  • A small splash of local hoppy microbrew: Every pot should be blessed with malty goodness, however small.
Summary:
OK, so the basic recipe from what I have read is: Chicken, carrots, celery, onion, and dumplings. That seems really boring to me. So I augmented the concept into the mega Level-50 Chicken & whatever if there’s room for dumplings. It smells great! Woz worried that it would be too thick, but as it came to boil the moisture was released and has become soupy again.

BTW – did you know that Whole Foods does not carry Buttermilk? I found that to be odd. I wanted to make buttermilk dumplings. Oh well, guess they’ll be 2% if I ever get there. I also found a recipe that used dumpling noodles instead of soda-like biscuits. Odd. Lots of variations on an old classic dish that harkens back to Colonial times.

I’ll need to eat a few bowls before trying dumplings; planned for the 2nd reheat. As it cooks, the thickness reduces to provide moisture, and at 2 hours into cooking, it is less of a stew and more a of a “sloup” which is my term for an in-between produce of thick stew and soup. Covered, it will become soup, but I have that removed so we can boil down an inch and make room for dumplings. I swear by twice-cook; the flavor of leftover is incomparable to the original in my book.

Perhaps that explains why aged products take so good. It’s a mystery.
Bon Appétit, KF
 
My balls! Hahhaaa. Well, really cooking up my famous vegetarian chile, my own recipe honed over a lifetime (I'm originally from Texas), calling for a variety of raw pepers and 16 different dried beans, and my special seasoning mix. MmmMMMMmm good, and good for ya. Right when I was cleaning the seeds out of the peppers, needed to peeee. Ya, you get the picture. If only I had carefully washed my hands BEFORE peeeing.
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Fermented Chicken & Dumplings…

My M.O. on big stews is I cook them, then consume over days - reheating what I want in the nuker. If it goes a week, then I will cook it again before finishing it off and 99.9% of the time it will taste even better!

But I lost track of week. Totally forgot when I made this (9 days ago), had a bowl last night, noticed it was a bit lactic ...and actually it was closer to acetaldehyde. So I made a promise to cook it again today. It is definitely fermenting! Gives new meaning to "IT'S ALIVE, IT'S ALIVE!" :shock: :lol:

If I bring it to a boil and hold it for 30 minutes, I know pathogens will not survive, but I don't know about toxins, unless they are volatile - in which case they will upon boiling. A taste test will tell. :twisted:

I didn't have any problems with my digestion in the past 24 hours so I'm thinking it's just simple oral bacteria that inoculated it. We'll find out. If I never make a post again after tonight... presume I didn't make it and Call 911.

Definitely see the beginnings of claws and feets, possibly one large eye :wink:

Moving on to my next creation shortly. A Version 3 of the breakfast surprise. I bought a Bundt Cake pan tonight, and will be using blackberries as the fruit
...plus chocolate chips - ha HA! :twisted:

Stiring the pot, KF
 
Urp… I just got back from the hospital; they pumped my stomach afer I called 911 yestday.

Sorry- been a long day @#$% and I’m dehydrated.

The things those guys use :shock:

Pokey stuff down yer throat and then the bile…



Awe, wot a bunch of baloney  :p

Shooot, I woz never sick. Took me a while to piece together the events, but one day after I made the stuff I fell asleep and left a beer on the counter. Next day I thought nothing of it to add it to the stew. Thing is, I drink real beer, so every pint is loaded with yeasties; it’s live shite man!

Oh foq man, I’m about to urp! <belch> Ah… just a burp. :lol:

I think it was just brewer’s yeast fermenting. Had two bowls already. Safe and sane. In the meantime ~ I created a new treat!

Peptic, KF
New recipe posted shortly...
 
Ypedal said:
Breakfast !

Hash brown in frying pan with grape seed oil ( and a bit of bacon grease ) mixed in a few whipped eggs. with home made bread and butter and of course.. bacon. .. all with ketchup. tasty.
That looks good!!!!!
 
Red Bread anyone ?

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I was transferring red wine from primary fermentation to carboy and decided to try making a loaf with the bottom of the bucket sludge .. the mixing, rising and baking went well.. but the damn Bentonite Clay gives every bite a gritty texture like if you dropped your sandwitch on the beach and picked it off.. blew it off and bit into it..
 

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