Real men can cook (recipes) (Page 42) Corwin: I've been buying a lot more pork these days, but I can still find the odd cut of cheaper beef with some nice marbling. No more Prime Rib, but we get lucky with some nice cuts now and then. Fortunately, pork is damn good, and so many different cuts and ways to prepare them... not the same as a nice bloody rare steak, but it beats monkey butt.   jazzcat67: Monkey butt is really hard to find, can't get it at any major chain, you need to source it from special shops like Whole foods. It's in the Exotic import isle. I guess if you want cheap beef you need to find a rural farm like you see in Ireland where they move the cattle between fields on the main car roads. If you hit one just right to knock it off its feet but not damage your car you should be able to keep it. I mean that's the least the farmer could do right. Corwin: Actually, if I go to the local meat packers (well, it's a 40 minute drive, but that's local out here in the boonies ) I can usually pick up a huge slab of "ungraded" beef for a couple of bucks a pound. I can usually carve 3 or 4 okay steaks out of it, and then a whole bunch of bits for stew or soup... for about $6 to $10. Not fit for a king, but it's beef. But it's all local meat and produce, so no hope of finding monkey butt there. Corwin: Ooh.... THIS was a winner.  I bought a bunch of those "fast fry" uber-thin steaks a few weeks ago that were on sale, and were practically being given away... and picked up a few kilos of really good no-name bacon that was on sale a few days ago... ... I came up with an orgasmic combo here... I laid out the fast-fry steaks, sprinkled salt and pepper and a dash of Worcestershire, then pounded it all out with my meat tenderizer until you could make "shadow-puppets" with them. Then laid bacon strips over the steaks, and a layer of finely chopped sweet onion... then rolled them up... THEN wrapped the tubed steaks on the outside with another layer of bacon. Seared them on the grill until the bacon was crisping on the outside, and the inside reached about 150F (medium-rare). Oh..... my..... GOD!  It's kind of like a twist on the "London Broil"... you could serve it in tube-form with a steak knife, or cut it into 1cm thick coiled medallions arranged on the plate with a sprig of parsley and a final drizzle of Worcester. They look really fancy served like that. (Edited by Corwin) Corwin: Oh.... and I can't believe it's been 9 days since the last post here.... let's keep this thread alive, guys.  jazzcat67: My daughters watch a lot of Youtube shows. What has viewing come to when anyone can have a show from their own home and they have millions of viewers. That sort of thinking would have put me out of a job if I still worked in the TV world Anyhow one of the shows called "Good Mythical Morning" the hosts Rhett and Link do a challenge where they take a food item..... say Monkey butt and then they ask "Will it....Mac and Cheese" The food item and the dish are always changing for this challenge. They were even on Food network with this concept last week. OK that's the back storey. My 7 year-year-old LOVES Mangos. I mean it's an obsession. So she asked if we could make Mango bread. I'd never heard of or tasted such a thing so we decided to see if "Mango....Will it quick bread?" So we took a basic quick bread recipe for banana bread and used pureed mangos I whipped up in the blender to resemble mashed bananas. The end result was YES Mangos will quick bread with great success. I'm no baker but this was a huge hit as the texture was better than any banana bread I've ever made. The flavor is subtle so we're going to add finally chopped mango in addition to the puree for Mango Bread 2.0 when we try this again. Makes me think what you did Cor, Maybe a "Will it" segment would be fun to try here. You just did "steak and bacon...will it Roulade?" Apparently, the answer is yes there too. Great fun! Corwin: Oh... that reminds me of how for years now I've been making spaghetti sauces with fruit in place of (or added to) the tomato... usually with beef in it as well. Apple has been one of my traditional ones, and in fact if I don't throw an apple or two into my tomato/meat sauce for spaghetti it tastes like it's missing something now. Also... did Mango/meat spaghetti sauce once... was also awesome, with how the sweet tanginess of the mango combined with the onions and garlic and meat... ... but.... I tried banana once... that was just WEIRD! jazzcat67: Apricot is a natural sweetener, I bet that would be good too. Great idea, I 'm trying it next time I make sauce.  Big Bopper: I made butternut squash (from last year!) and bleu cheese ravioli. I roasted the butternut until a little softer, then cut it into 8mm x 15mm pieces. Using Chinese dumpling wrappers, I centered the butternut with a 1/4 tsp bleu cheese. I closed them like dumplings, brushed water around the edge and crimped them closed. They look just like dumplings so I made sure to label the bag when I froze them. To serve them, pop them into boiling water until they float, then brown them in butter, black pepper and sage. The sage is lovely. Use lots of butter to serve as a tasty sauce. After picking them, I wiped the butternut squash with bleach and stored them in the wine cellar. The squash with no cuts in the skin wintered well. I still have a little bit of the last of 12 from last year.  Dagon_Hastur: My apologies for not keeping this going, guys. Here...I will punish me for that...  There are so many things to do with squash. Even the simplest recipes and preparations are great, like simple roasted chunks of summer squash, with a bit of baking spray to rest them on...a drizzle of olive oil (extra virgin), salt and pepper over the top. There's also the roasting of yellow crookneck squash halves, with the spray in the pan, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, and a nice sweet onion cut into rings and draped over the top of the split squash. I have even used smashed roasted squash, salt and pepper, olive oil and minced garlic as a sauce for pasta. Since tomatoes are also plentiful this time of year (and on the subject of simple preps), I have a little something to share. I love cherry and grape tomatoes by themselves, on salads, etc. One of my favorite ways to use them is in a simple pasta dish. (prepare spaghetti, angel hair or linguine noodles and leave warm in the pan they were boiled in, and put the pan to the side - I also half some cherry and grape tomatoes, and keep them on the ready nearby, too) In a frying pan, I pour in a bit of olive, then throw in some minced/roughly chopped garlic and let the garlic infuse that oil really well. Before the garlic gets bitter from overcooking, I throw the tomato halves into the pan with salt and red pepper flakes, and I usually throw in some roughly chopped fresh basil, too. Then, I use tongs to grab some pasta, put that in the pan a little at a time, toss with the oil, garlic and tomatoes...serve on plates or in bowls, and I love to top the final dish with a nice sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. You guys have any interesting tomato recipes, or other summer veggie prep ideas? (Edited by Dagon_Hastur) Corwin: Bumpety-bumpety BUMP! We gotta revive this thread once in a while... it's the only decent Foodie thread on Wire. Mussels in Shrimp Flavoured Batter Okay... today I made these lovely bite-sized crispy battered mussels... the wife and I have been buying these kilo-bags of pre-steamed frozen mussels at our local Food Basics supermarket for $10... a real bargain... super fresh, and ready to thaw and eat, or use in whatever dish comes to mind... chowder, pop a few in some Ramen, throw them in an omelette, top a pizza, toss them in a salad... just about anything. (I've been brining them in liquid smoke too, but that's another story). Well... today I thought of frying them in fish batter... and I came up with a winner - bite-sized food orgasm... but... the secret ingredient that made it magic was these dehydrated shrimp that Deb picked up at the Asian market. I got wind of "dehydrated shrimp powder" watching a Louisiana cooking show (apparently shrimp powder is a staple down there) but harder to find up here in Canada. But Deb found something even better... teeny-tiny dehydrated shrimp (no more than a few millimeters across ) and LOADED with flavour... almost a powder, but not quite. I made my usual fish-batter: 1/2 cup corn starch 1/2 cup flour 1 tbspn baking powder 1 tspn salt some black pepper, and Amchor Powder (powdered green mango - tastes like lemon ice tea) Just enough water to make a thick batter (1 teaspoon water one way or the other makes the difference - careful with the water) - (if you screw up and it's too runny, adjust with a teaspoon of corn starch, NOT flour - the corn starch is what makes it crispy) I did a few mussels in the hot oil with the usual fish-batter... good... nothing to write home about... then... added the secret ingredient... about a teaspoon of those dehydrated tiny shrimp into the batter... ... OH... MY... GOD!! The blast of shrimpy flavour paired with the fresh mussels in the crispy batter is simply orgasmic... pinch a lemon over them... I'm in greasy deep-fried heaven. (Edited by Corwin) Corwin: Oh... that is also my awesome fish-batter recipe... double it or triple it to coat more fish... ... and after today, I would HIGHLY recommend finding yourself some of this dehydrated shrimp stuff (in whatever form you can get your hands on)... it's going into my next fish-fry batter as well. Wicked stuff. Corwin: Bumpety bump. Shrimp Biscuits I'm having a field day with the stuff I've been getting at the Asian market... this time adding dehydrated shrimp and shrimp paste and a few other things to a basic biscuit recipe. 2 cups flour 1/4 cup whey powder 4 tbspn dehydrated shrimp 1 tspn shrimp paste 1 tbspn baking powder 1 tspn salt 1/2 tspn MSG (optional) 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives 1/2 cup shortening 3/4 cup milk Mix the dry ingredients together and cut in the shortening until you have a crumble. Stir the milk and shrimp paste together until dissolved. Mix the wet and dry ingredients all at once and stir together until evenly moist. Roll into a ball and fold over about 4 times (don't over knead) Form biscuit shapes and bake at 400F for about 15 to 20 minutes (until slightly golden) Yummy and shrimpy biscuits. Corwin: Absolutely. Please do. The title was merely intended to encourage the gents, not to keep out the ladies. Big Bopper: I pressed extra firm tofu wrapping it in paper towel overnight. I made a vegetarian pie, trying to get a full-flavoured, meat-like taste. I made a vegetable stock by roasting onion and carrots adding celery and simmering it for a few hours. After removing the solids I reduced it a bit to improve the flavour. I shredded the firm tofu with two forks thrying to get the consistency of ground meat. I browned mushrooms with black pepper and garlic powder. I chopped an oinion and added oil then the tofu, which I seasoned with Montreal steak spice, a little soy sauce and Hy's seasoned salt. I chopped some potato and carrot adding it to the broth along with other veggies. When the spuds were getting tender, I added the tofu. I de-glased the pan with some of the vegetable broth. I thickened it with a well-browned roux. This tasty vegetable stew was baked in pastry pies that were egg-washed and baked until brown. I'm pleased. Next tofu faux meat will be made into Chinese dumplings. Corwin: Sounds tasty. Tofu has been a part of my regular menu for a long time now... it's so inexpensive, and there's so much you can do with it, that it always finds its way into my shopping cart. For a quick tofu/sushi snack, I've been cutting firm tofu into 1 inch square strips, rolling it in seaweed, then cutting it into 1 inch cubes. I garnish the tops with a little pickled ginger and sometimes a bit of caviar, then make a dipping sauce with soy sauce, wasabi, a splash of fish sauce, and a little brine from the pickled ginger. Or you can add strips just about anything next to the tofu before you roll it up, like crab meat or smoked salmon... basically using the tofu in place of the rice, and no prep-time. It's the flavour of sushi, but it only takes about 5 minutes to prepare.  calybonos: I thought of that, but I was afraid it might make me replacable. I'm having trouble keeping up with her Steely Dan as it is. jazzcat67: You don't drop in for awhile and the conversation really changes. You guys are talking tofu now? I'm the resident vegan on this board and I don't even eat the stuff, lol. Well not exactly true, I do love silken tofu from time to time. You can make chocholate pies out of the stuff or I like to mix it with a fruit compote I made and a bit of probiotics and make my own vegan yougurt to put on fruit with my wheat berries in the morning. Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving by the way. I spent mine at family over in Penticton. They invited us for the big feast but then I ended up cooking it because they didn't know how to do a turkey or make gravey, or make cranberry sauce, ect. I taught them howe to brine and then roast the bird with a nice compound butter under the skin. They loved it and said it was the moisest bird they'd ever had. I made sure that they told frinds they learned how to cook the best turkey ever from a vegan. If that's not an oxiymoron I don't know what is. LOL Corwin: With just the wife and I enjoying our Turkey Day dinner, I found myself a small young turkey, and carved it up into 4 meals before I cooked it. That way the different portions like breast and dark meat can be cooked separately to perfection. We had the legs first... just injected with butter, rubbed with salt pepper and olive oil, and roasted to 180F while being basted a few times. In the freezer I still have the breasts, the wings, and the remaining carcass for broth. Doing a whole large turkey to perfection is something I've never learned.. kudos to you, Steve. jazzcat67: For me the magic is in the brine. Never ever stuff a bird, let the heat get in there. I do put a half onion and a carrot or celery in the cavity just to impart a bit of flavor and act as a moister souce. I also put about 8 cups of stock and more veg in the botton of the roasting tray under the rack which I line with tin foil and poke some holes in to let the fat drip down. This source of moister can not be over looked. Also, I start the bird breast down for the first hour then I flip it. This way the breast meat will not over cook. Take the birds temperature in the inner thigh and when it hits 165 its done. I also swear by the compound butter with herbs and seasoning under the skin on the breast itself. It's pretty discussing to do but the end result is worth the extra effort. The biggest mistake people do is check it too often to baste it. Every time you open that oven door the temp drops. I set my timer and look at it once an hour and I'll baste it with more of the compound butter I've melted in the microwave. The 14 pound bird I did on the weekend was cooked in about 3 hours. Maybe 15 minutes over. Then take it out and let it rest. Another mistake people make cutting it too quick. That goes for any meat people. LET IT REST! I tent it with a bit of tin foil with a hole in the top to let steam escape. While it rests I fire anything elese that needs the oven in and I can start on the gravey. It actually gets pretty easy after youve done it a few times. I hope you give it a shot Big Bopper: I agree with everything you say, Jazzy. And yes, it is easy after you've done it a few times.  Ka0tic: "Spaghetti Bolognese" Serves 4 prep 15 min's Cooking time 1 1/4 hours 2 tbs olive oil 1 brown onion 1 garlic clove crushed 1 kg lean beef mince 1/3 dry red wine Pinch of dried oregano 2 tbs tomato paste 1 ~ 415g can of red tomato soup (heinz if your aussie reading this) 1/2 cup of chicken stock 2 tbs tomato sauce 2 tbs sweet chilli sauce Sea salt and cracked black pepper 3/4 packet of spaghetti 2 tbs of freshly chopped parsley Shaved parmesan 1. heat the oil in a frypan over medium heat.Add onion and garlic and cook stirring for 3 minutes until the onion is soft 2. Add the mince and cook for 5 mins or until changed colour,reduce heat and add the wine and oregano.Simmer uncovered stirring occasionally for 2/3 mins or until liquid evaporates. 3. Stir in the tomato paste and cook,stirring for one minute or until well combined 4. Add the tomato soup.chicken stock,tomato and chilli sauce and bring to the boil over medium-high heat.Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered stirring occasionally for 1 hour,taste and season with sea salt and cracked black pepper. 5. Meanwhile cook the spaghetti in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente then drain. 6, Add sauce to the spaghetti sprinkled with the shaved parmesan.. Serve with either buttered french bread or garlic bread and a glass of your favourite dry wine.. "Bon Appetit" | Off Topic Chat Room Similar Conversations |
