Cooking tastes really good

1/4/2016 9:36:14 AM

my secret is to throw a bunch of shit in a crockpot and hope it comes out edible

1/4/2016 10:03:25 AM

[u]0EPII1[/user] said:
[quote]By the way, is it safe to store a medium-rare or medium cooked steak in the fridge and have it the next day?

If yes, the next day should cook it to medium-well (or well) or could I just heat it and eat it?

Would appreciate a quick answer as that will help me decide if I should cut this steak in two before cooking or not.

Thanks![quote]

I've never gotten sick from it, and as I understand it, most of the concerning things (e. coli) are typically located on the exterior of the meat and die during the cooking process. I've found it difficult to maintain any sort of rarity when reheating meat. In short, I think you'll be fine, but I am not an expert and have not googled

1/4/2016 4:29:11 PM

I purchased a Boston Butt on sale last week and tossed it in the freezer. We'll probably be making it next on weekday...how should I cook it. Smoking is not an option as I'll be at work during the day. My wife works from home, so we can slow roast it in the oven or put it in a crockpot. Her sister roasted a Butt over the holidays that wasn't my favorite. There wasn't enough flavor and I think she used too high of a temperature (only had it in the oven for three hours).

Thoughts?

1/4/2016 6:44:12 PM

^For some reason, I lol'ed, picturing you taking a bite of the butt, flipping your plate across the table, standing up, throwing your napkin down, and declaring, "THIS WASN'T MY FAVORITE."

1/4/2016 7:42:19 PM

Why not save it for a weekend when you can at least smoke it for a complete hours before tossing it into an oven.

1/4/2016 8:23:36 PM

We're busy the next couple weekends and I want to eat this fucker now. Also not completely confident in my grill and own personal smoking capabilities.

1/5/2016 6:51:06 AM

http://www.livingtodine.com/2013/01/28/asian-style-slow-cooker-pulled-pork/ is very tasty

1/5/2016 8:39:04 AM

I guess you could put a rub on it and throw it in the oven at ~250-275 for 8+ hours or until it gets 190ish and it should be good (how big is it?). Always allow more cooking time than you think you need.

I'd probably start it at 350-400 for the first 30 minutes or so to get the process started...thats pretty much what happens when I smoke butts and they turn out well.

Wrap it in foil when cooking and open it up every hour or two and baste it. Some people use mustard to help the rub stick...won't affect the final flavor. Don't use oil instead.

Something like this http://allrecipes.com/recipe/222157/big-james-pork-rub/
You can read the comments for other ideas on how to cook.


[Edited on January 5, 2016 at 9:51 AM. Reason : What kind of grill do you have?]

1/5/2016 9:50:42 AM

I have this:

1/5/2016 11:01:03 AM

Looks like that would work well for smoking

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/2-zone_indirect_cooking.html

Keep vents mostly closed to maintain 250-275, smoke with around a pound of the wood of your choice (I throw 1/4 lb of wood in there 4 times...one after the one before it burns out)

[Edited on January 5, 2016 at 11:29 AM. Reason : but otherwise just rub and bake...should be fine]

1/5/2016 11:27:34 AM

I've been convinced by a friend to either use the slow cooker or smoke it. Although he just gave me a bunch of directions for smoking (tinfoil, placement, etc)...and I don't know if I want to go through the trouble. He just said there's no way to avoid it drying it out in the oven.

1/5/2016 12:07:18 PM

Honestly, if you're not going to smoke it your best bet is probably a crock pot. You can brown it first in a pan if you'd like for some crustiness and then just toss it in there with some BBQ sauce of your choice. About the easiest no-fuss prep you can want.

1/5/2016 12:10:56 PM

Quote :

"He just said there's no way to avoid it drying it out in the oven."

It won't dry out if you wrap it foil, only opening to baste then re-closing.

But ^ is probably right. Use a rub like I linked to above, let it sit on there for a few hours then brown it and slow cook it.

[Edited on January 5, 2016 at 2:01 PM. Reason : hell it's hard to imagine that cut of meat drying out]

1/5/2016 2:00:50 PM

I made a bomb ass kielbasa, cabbage, and bean soup last night. It's really going to hit the spot, seeing how its 19/degrees right now

1/19/2016 11:10:12 AM

Mmm that does sounds good. I make a lot of soups too during the cold season. I used a miso paste to make a chicken and spinach miso soup. I added some imitation crab and dried seaweeds too.



I also like to make pho with this base. My favorite. I toast up a few star anise, ginger, and yellow onion on the gas stove. Get it charred a bit and will add some brown color to your stock.

1/19/2016 10:17:37 PM

Other weekend I made a batch of scratch Matzo Ball Soup, turned out pretty good and I had the chicken leftover to make some chicken salad.

Might be looking for something to make this weekend if we're gonna be 'snowed in'.

1/20/2016 7:59:10 AM

^^I'll have to try that Pho base. Making it from scratch is a pain.

I love making soups - I save all of my discarded veggies (celery roots / celeriac, carrot ends, broccoli stalks, etc.) in a big bowl in my freezer and any kind of meat bone (like from split chicken breasts) I'll throw the veggies in and make a stock - boil it down until it's super rich and concentrated and then add it to my other jars of stock in the freezer. Makes a wonderful base.

You can also use the leftover broth from Low Country Boils and reduce it way down and get a nice seafood stock.

I recently did a Broccoli Cheddar soup (basically a roux with chicken stock, cheese and broccoli) but I found the just subbing in Cambell's broccoli cheddar as the roux base is easier and just add fresh broccoli and cheese. You can use the same base (home made or the Campbell's) for potato soup, etc.

My main winter soup is Erwtensoep - it's the Dutch split pea soup. It's time consuming to make but totally worth it.

[Edited on January 20, 2016 at 10:13 AM. Reason : SOUP]

1/20/2016 10:11:29 AM

Soup sucks. I only eat ice cream

[Edited on January 20, 2016 at 10:24 AM. Reason : my heart is cold as ice]

1/20/2016 10:24:02 AM

i burnt myself out between christmas and new year's. What do y'all do when you just don't wanna cook anymore and you've hit your takeout limit for the month?

I hate making something huge and eating the leftovers forever. I hate eating cold things for dinner, except for sushi, so salads and sandwiches don't appeal. blah!

1/21/2016 12:01:21 PM

quesadillas with whatever's on hand

1/21/2016 1:37:28 PM

White Chicken Chili in the crockpot this weekend. Am excite.

1/21/2016 3:24:00 PM

Made a sausage, chicken, and bacon gumbo this week. I hope it's awesome.

1/31/2016 9:42:37 PM

made this last night...turned out really well. http://vegangela.com/2014/01/09/coconut-curry-lentil-soup/

2/5/2016 8:31:40 AM

This morning's breakfast: overnight French toast, potatoes o'brien, bacon, mimosas


BREAKFAST OF KINGS. KINGS!

2/6/2016 12:09:12 PM

pancit tonight, with some coconut curry shrimp!

2/7/2016 8:16:47 PM

After Thanksgiving I made some really tasty stock using this recipe: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015731-roasted-turkey-stock and it's been in the freezer since.

I'd like to make some sort of soup out of it this weekend. I don't necessarily need a recipe to strictly follow, but I could definitely use some ideas. Whatcha got TWW?

2/11/2016 7:30:18 PM

Not anything impressive...but Trader Joes has this cinnamon raisin bread that I purchased last week just to have as toast in the morning with a little butter (really good btw...just have to remember to keep TJs bread in the freezer because it will go bad in a day or two without preservaties). Made french toast this past Sunday and it was fucking delicious. Wife doesn't even like french toast and she was lapping it up. Let is soak in some milk, eggs, dash of nutmeg, and the smallest splash of vanilla extract. Two thumbs up.

2/11/2016 7:45:48 PM

Late dinner... chicken liver with tomato and onion.

Actually, I had my vegetable part of the dinner a couple of hours ago, green peas and kale.


OMG, the liver is so awesome... cooking/eating it after many years. (I got it today because I am donating blood tomorrow, so need to make sure my iron is not low... will have it for lunch tomorrow also)

I had forgotten how much I love organ meats, especially from chicken. From now on I will only get organ meats. Fraction of a price of flesh, far tastier, and significantly healthier too.

Next week I will buy fresh beef liver, chicken gizzards, or chicken hearts.

How come several chicken organs are available at Walmart, but none from turkey? What happens to turkey organs?


[Edited on February 15, 2016 at 12:24 AM. Reason : ]

2/15/2016 12:10:03 AM

Quote :

"After Thanksgiving I made some really tasty stock using this recipe: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015731-roasted-turkey-stock and it's been in the freezer since. I'd like to make some sort of soup out of it this weekend. I don't necessarily need a recipe to strictly follow, but I could definitely use some ideas. Whatcha got TWW?"

You could do a Matzo Ball soup. Pretty easy with the stock you have, throw in some dill and Matzo meal balls and you're good to go. You can usually find the ball mix in the international section in most grocery stores.

I like this recipie:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/04/the-best-matzo-balls-recipe.html

2/17/2016 10:20:18 AM

^^I really like organ meats too, specifically duck and chicken liver. One of my favorite meals my mother-in-law makes is Pickled Green Bananas and Chicken Gizzards https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=398634 Allegedly, it's considered hurricane food on the island, since it can just sit out.

Earlier this week:
Baked porked tenderloin marinated in ACV, maple syrup, cumin, and cayenne.
Served with a spinach-lemon orzo.

2/18/2016 11:02:41 AM

^ will have to try it out!

Eating chicken gizzards right now that I just cooked with fresh tomato and garlic... mmmm!

3/6/2016 1:50:13 AM

Mary Roach had a whole bit in Gulp about older Inuit generations trying to get the younger ones to eat their organ meats because they're so high in vitamins and minerals, and it's hard to grow veggies/fruits in the snow, and importing them is prohibitively expensive.

Quote :

"To explain how one's tastes reflect one's culture, she documents the predilection for organ meat among the Inuit, or Eskimo, people, as a function of supply and demand. "Organs are so vitamin-rich, and edible plants so scarce, that the former are classified, for purposes of Arctic health education, both as 'meat' and as 'fruits and vegetables,'" she says. In fact, when she visited in 1993, "cucumbers were so expensive that the local sex educator did his condom demonstrations on a broomstick.""

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2013/04/15/guts-and-glory-mary-roach-tackles-digestion

[Edited on March 6, 2016 at 8:55 PM. Reason : .]

3/6/2016 8:53:03 PM

^ Thanks for that, will read it soon.

I am fascinated by how food choices change as societies change. It is a shame that the vast majority of contemporary Americans turn their noses up at organ meats, when just around 50 years ago they were consumed a lot more widely. They are still quite popular in Europe. In the UK not as much, but still more than in the US. Eastern Europeans still eat a lot of organ meats, and so do Scandinavians, Germans, Swiss, and related people, but again understandably, not as commonly as Eastern Europeans. Asia, Africa, and South America are polar opposites to the US, but sadly, as Western eating paradigms (and trash masquerading as food) infiltrate those continents, their consumption is slowly declining in many countries.

Yes, organs are super high in vitamins and minerals, even vitamin C! And of course, I love the unique tastes and textures.

On that note, I am going to go cook some fresh beef liver (first time ever cooking or eating it; if it is similar to sheep liver, I will love it) as I am donating blood tomorrow at noon and need to make sure I have adequate iron levels.



P.S. When I got the liver a couple of days ago at Walmart I also found fresh whole beef tongues! Weighed about 3.5 lbs and cost about $17, and they were about 2 feet long! I want to get one, but the thing is humongous and don't know what to do with it. Not that that matters as I always experiment with new foods and can Google it, but it is just too big for one person, so I will have to cook it all and freeze a lot of it. I have had sheep tongue once and it tasted delicious. Have you had tongue of any animal? How about beef tongue?

3/7/2016 12:45:09 AM

Ate this about an hour ago... bit of a late night dinner

Fresh sauteed beef liver with sauteamed vegetables

3/7/2016 3:28:13 AM

The only time I've ever had it is in tacos de lengua, which is IIRC is beef tongue. It's pretty tasty. I'd imagine that you can treat it like a roast or braise it.

3/7/2016 7:39:29 AM

^ I also have had that. It's pretty tasty, much more tender than I was imagining it. Only complaint I had was that compared to the other tacos I got it was not as "mexican" flavored but rather just tasted like a tender roast beef on a corn tortilla.

3/7/2016 7:42:29 PM

i've had tacos de lengua. it was ok. about like any other taco with beef.

3/7/2016 7:51:09 PM

^

also 3lbs for $17 isn't cheap. for that price you'd be better off getting sirloin or even strip if it's on sale. tongue is tough and has to be cooked down forever to be palatable and it doesn't have much flavor on its own. it's cheap in Mexico and a novelty in America.

3/8/2016 1:14:50 PM

Last night:

Seared some chicken thighs then sauteed garlic, onion, carrot, and bell pepper in the same pan. I added brown mushrooms, crushed tomato, red wine, and oregano. Then added the thighs back and let the whole thing cook in the oven with the top on. It was beautiful. A really rich red sauce from the veggies and wine. I had planned to eat it over pasta, but it was great on its own, so we just ate it like a stew. Thanks, Fresh 20

3/8/2016 1:30:38 PM

Would appreciate input!

What general purpose spice/seasoning/herb mixture do you recommend that's versatile enough to be used on sauteed vegetables, eggs, beans, and chicken and red meat?

I bought TJ's 21 Seasoning Salute today, but I am not going to open it for a few days. I saw a bunch of different of Mrs. Dash blends at Walmart last week and they looked pretty good. There is also Emeril Lagasse's blend that seemed appealing. Anybody who has tried said TJ's blend and any of the Mrs. Dash blends? Which did you prefer?

So what do you say?

Thanks!

(I love garlic, so anything with a pronounced garlic flavor is always welcome, although I do use fresh garlic in most meals.)

4/26/2016 9:58:24 PM

I like 8th Wonder because it contains almost no salt. That way I can put a lot of it on without worrying about getting the food too salty.

http://www.8thwonderspice.com/

4/26/2016 10:01:50 PM

^ thanks, that's new to me.

1) salt is the 3rd listed ingredient, however, the 2nd ingredient ("spices") is 10 different ingredients, so that's good. (TJ's blend contains none at all, which is also good)

2) i wish they would expand on "spices", as that's a catch-all term for 10 different spices/herbs. hard to imagine what flavor it is going to have! how would you describe it?

3) it contains cocoa and coffee... that's the first time i have seen either of those in a spice/herb blend. do either of those have a pronounced flavor?

4/26/2016 10:10:46 PM

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/105333542218/magic-mushroom-powder-diy-holiday-gift

4/26/2016 10:11:36 PM

i'm not really sure how to describe it. there's no single overwhelming flavor in it, which makes it very versatile. the cocoa and coffee are not pronounced at all. i doubt anyone would even know it's in there if they didn't tell you.

[Edited on April 26, 2016 at 10:16 PM. Reason : i really like it on grilled vegetables. asparagus, squash, zucchini. grilled turkeys too.]

4/26/2016 10:14:25 PM

^^ that looks great, and i absolutely love mushrooms. don't have a blender/processor, so can't do that for now. but will bookmark it!

^ i am intrigued now. not available on amazon! i thought amazon sold the whole world. and not really finding any other online retailer. i wonder if walmart carries it. will have to check next time i go.

do you know site which sells it? (found one, but it is a massive refill bag... just need the small shaker)

4/26/2016 10:23:48 PM

walmart won't have it. the only brick and mortar stores that have it are mostly around wilmington, nc, where it's made. otherwise, buy online. they only sell it in small tear-open packages and the tin. i would just go ahead and buy the tin. it's not a huge quantity.

[Edited on April 26, 2016 at 10:30 PM. Reason : the refill bag is maybe half a cup]

4/26/2016 10:27:52 PM

not finding the tin, but i will keep looking.

******************************************

others who post here, please give your input on my post 7 posts up. thanks!

4/27/2016 7:04:45 AM

Made some amazing pickles I thought I'd share:

For a large mason jar

Kirby cucumbers
Zest of one lemon
2-3 tbsp salt
Juice from 1/2 lemon
5+ garlic cloves slivered
1 shallot cut in wheels/rounds
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
60/40 white vinegar to water ratio

I can't stop eating these. So good with the lemon, garlic and rosemary instead of dill.

When you're done eating the pickles you could probably mix this with olive oil for a nice vinaigrette too

5/23/2016 8:21:25 PM

Pho. That's right, with pork blood I just made this under a short time frame with bone in chicken breast. Then I just added more protein and 2 cups spinach. Traditionally there is no pork blood in pho.

5/23/2016 9:44:53 PM