The Food Thread

[belfpala]

Lately I've been addicted to chili. I've also been addicted to my girlfriend, who is vegetarian. I want to combine the two...

lol.

Put the chillis on a stick and... no, wait.

I'm having trouble keeping a seriousface.

Ok ok ok ok ok....

Any particular kind? I'm sure you've already tried all kinds of salsas. Other than that, remove the seeds and veins, slice/dice/chop/mince them up, and add them to pretty much anything. Jalapenos, for example, can replace green bell peppers in almost any recipe.

Vegetarian recipe that features the peppers... hmm. Ever had olives stuffed with jalapeno? Try reversing it. Mince a bunch of olives (get the pits far far away), hit with some lemon or lime juice, some finely chopped herbs (idk, oregano OR mint+cilantro). Stuff that into some halved jalapenos (seeds and veins removed), preferably pre-roasted.

[Grinderofl]

I've been searching like a maniac for two things. If you've ever had Tesco's Chicken and Stuffing Sandwich Filler or Chicken and Sweetcorn Sandwich Filler... those two. There's no recipes out there for them, and putting them together from the ones stated at Tesco web site "ingredients" page is difficult especially considering my country may not have Dijon mustard.

[Splenda]

Me too, I don't have any buttermilk. But I'll get some tomorrow. So this won't materialize until Friday, at the earliest.

It's a take on classic southern (US) fried chicken, but with a serious overdose of garlic. Probably best served with some variety of pickled vegetables.

---------- Post added 2011-07-07 at 08:32 AM ----------



Jasmine rice is fundamental to Thai cuisine. There will be no cheese, I promise.

Are you familiar with Thai? Do you have good asian markets nearby? There are some wonderful Thai dishes featuring anything from beef to shrimp, curry to soup, that go perfectly with jasmine rice.

I honestly haven't used brown rice much, sorry. All I really know is you have to use more water than you do with white rice.

I do in fact have a wonderful Asian market just up the street.

[belfpala]

I've been searching like a maniac for two things. If you've ever had Tesco's Chicken and Stuffing Sandwich Filler or Chicken and Sweetcorn Sandwich Filler... those two. There's no recipes out there for them, and putting them together from the ones stated at Tesco web site "ingredients" page is difficult especially considering my country may not have Dijon mustard.

I've never heard of either of these things. Can you post a link to their ingredients page? It's often easier than it seems, unless they hide their seasonings in "natural flavor" or similar terms.

---------- Post added 2011-07-07 at 09:12 AM ----------

I do in fact have a wonderful Asian market just up the street.

Well then, pick your poison.

Combine one option from list A:

* Thai Beef
* Thai Chicken
* Thai Pork
* Thai Shrimp

With one option from list B:

* Green Curry
* Red Curry
* Soup
* Stir-Fry

Try me

[Splenda]

Thai chicken and red curry!

I will be so happy to have an excuse to use the loads of rice I have in my pantry.

---------- Post added 2011-07-07 at 09:28 AM ----------

While I'm here, I have a flourless cookie recipe to share;

1 egg
1 cup brown sugar (golden)
1 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract and
1 tsp baking soda.

Combine everything but chocolate chips in a bowl, adding the chocolate chips in last. Use a spoon to take out small chunks and roll into a nice round ball. Bake at 350F until they begin to turn golden brown, and done!

I make these all of the time Very good.

---------- Post added 2011-07-07 at 09:37 AM ----------

Another recipe:

Half a cup unsalted butter
2 cups graham crackers all nice and smashed up into a powder
1/3 cup white sugar
1 lb milk chocolate (I use chocolate chips for this, they seem to melt the best)
4 cup mini marshmallows
1/4 tsp salt

Melt butter, combine with graham cracker crumbs, and salt. Push flat into a baking pan, and put in the oven at 350F until golden brown. Top with melted chocolate, smoothed out. Add the marshmallows (I use less than the recipe calls for), pressing gently into the chocolate. Put into the oven again until the marshmallows start browning. Cut into squares. (After letting it cool of course!)

S'mores bars!

Pssst hope you dont my sharing my recipes.

[Zardoz541]

I myself am a former professional chef, Graduated from the CIA in Hyde Park, NY little over 10 years ago. Have worked in some very fine establishments in Maryland, DC, NYC, New Mexico, and Oregon. While i oftentimes miss the beauty of the art and craft, sadly, the industry got the better of me, and I had to hang up my apron and roll up my knives.

I've been thinking about getting back in the game in some way though, and I may actually be deploying to McMurdo Station, Antarctica as a chef. In the meantime, I'm trying to get on that show Chopped, cuz it's awesome and I love the idea and challenge. I'm no Mike Symon, Mario Batali (my hero), or Tony Bourdain or Alexandra Guarnaschelli... But I can hold my own, and now that I'm only cooking for my family and my fiancees family, I can have fun with it and enjoy good food with good people.

Had this for dinner the other night: Roasted Pork Tenderloin, Porcini-Stone Ground Mustard Creme, Roasted Red Potatoes, House Green Beans. (House in this case meaning a common grouping of aromatics and what not I use for veggies now and then. In this case, garlic/shallots/fresh oregano/Oregon Pino Gris.)


Bon Appetite!

[belfpala]

Thai chicken and red curry!

I will be so happy to have an excuse to use the loads of rice I have in my pantry.

I don't know your nationality, but this is Thai curry. It's quite different from the Indian curry Brits might be used to eating.

Two additional things: I have no clue how to make this using curry pastes or mixes; and, when I make this it's usually in a huge pot and I don't measure things... I think this version is good for about 3-4 people...

The ingredient list will appear long. Anything in bold is probably only available at an asian market.

Curry sauce:
* 3-4 shallots, sliced (white onion is alright also, about 1/2 of a medium onion)
* 3-4 Tablespoons galangal or ginger (about a finger's worth), peeled and sliced
* 1 Tablespoon green peppercorns (available pickled, they last forever in the refrigerator)
* 2-3 Tablespoon lemongrass, outer stalks removed, inner stalks finely minced.
* 5 cloves garlic (if you're not in the US, try hardneck garlic)
* 8 medium sized kaffir lime leaves
* 1 Tablespoon chili powder (whatever you have from your supermarket)
* 2 fresh Thai bird chilis; substitute 2 Jalapenos, 1 serrano, or a quarter habanero if you must (or more to taste; this pepper level is for MILD). Dried peppers will not do the job here here.
* 1 teaspoon shrimp paste, the darker the better (if you dare). It also keeps forever in the refrigerator.
* 3 Tablespoons fish sauce, an amazing thing to sneak into many recipes
* 1 teaspoon palm sugar or brown sugar
* 1 cup coconut milk (from a can is fine for this one).

Add all of that to a food processor, along with enough of the coconut milk to keep the blades going (if you can get all the coconut milk in, great, if not, add it later). Should be a fine paste/sauce when you're done processing. This is your curry sauce. Nothing at all like an Indian curry, eh?

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Now, in a dutch oven or wide bottomed pot, put in a bit of cooking oil and sear about 2-3 pounds of chicken pieces on all sides. Pour off excess fat, or save for other things. Add in curry sauce and any remaining coconut milk and stir to combine. Place dish in oven, covered.

After about 45 minutes, add any vegetables you'll be using and return dish to oven. It should be done at about an hour (use temperature measurements, chicken pieces should be 160 F or more).

Remove and serve over Jasmine rice, garnish with a combination of fresh cilantro, mint, and basil.

---------- Post added 2011-07-07 at 10:29 AM ----------

the industry got the better of me, and I had to hang up my apron and roll up my knives.

As I was whining about just a bit earlier. It's so difficult and demanding, often without recognition. At the moment I have a pretty good gig but it's nearly morning here and I have to be back to the restaurant in a few hours after working all day. I think this will be 70 hours since Sunday, and over 100 hours including the whole weekend. Meanwhile I'm nursing a pretty bad cut on my left index finger. Thank god or whoever for super glue and latex gloves.

If you do decide to get back into it, you have my full support. Especially if you do Chopped.

[Splenda]

Sounds fun, thanks for the recipe!

[belfpala]

Sounds fun, thanks for the recipe!

The first time you do it, I'd recommend dropping in couple green veggies at the 45 minute mark (doesn't matter what really... but I'd say snap peas (for sweetness) and some small pieces of broccoli(for earthiness)). Then at just the last minute before you serve, throw in a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes (sweetness and acidity) and let it sit for a little while out of the oven.

THEN serve.

I've completely ruined myself for tomorrow. Thinking I need a few days off soon... night night.

[Deleted]

The following is a god-send if you're a student and fancy a chinese but have no money for one. I practically live off it, it's much nicer than sweet and sour chicken from the take away. (It's initally more expensive to buy all the ingredients, but you can make more meals per £/$/€ with it.)

Sweet and Sour Chicken

You will need: 1x Chicken Breast Fillet (Aprox 250g)
Tomato Ketchup
Soy Sauce
Brown Sugar (white sugar also works.)
Vinegar
Cornflour

Heat up a pan with oil in and start by slicing the chicken fillet into strips and marinade it in the soy sauce for a minute. Add the chicken to the pan and allow to colour. While the chicken is cooking, make the sweet and sour sauce by adding the following into a bowl:

2tablespoons (30ml,) tomato ketchup.
1tablespoon (15ml,) vinegar.
1tablespoon (15g,) brown sugar.
5 tablespoons (75ml,) water.
½-1tablespoons (7.5-15g) cornflour depending on desired sauce consistancy. (15g = a thick, rich sauce, 7.5g = a slightly more runny sauce.)

The sauce will appear pink and runny, but when it is heated the sugar will caramelise and the cornflour will thicken the sauce, it also turns a deep red colour.

Add any vegetables desired (I personally add beansprouts, frozen peas, mushrooms and peppers,) and allow them to cook with the chicken. When the chicken is cooked after about 8-9minutes (solid white appearance, not pink in the middle, internal temp above 70'C,) add the sauce. Allow the sauce to heat up and caramelise (it becomes slightly translucent,) and serve.

Then om nom nom.

[Kerath]

I absolutely love this thread!
Looking forward to trying out many of the recipes listed here when I move into my new house with my shiny brand spanking new kitchen. Keep it up

[Zardoz541]

It was a combination of factors that convinced me to leave the industry, the two major ones being the hours (god forbid i want any kind of life with my loved ones) and the need to make more money (i hate how much it costs to live). Honestly, it boiled down to the industry making me despise doing something I loved.

But, I've managed to keep making good food wherever I go, and I love to talk and converse with like minded foodies. I could do it all day long. I've often told myself to go back into Culinary arts either int he realms of education or entertainment, and see where that takes me.

More pictures! Here we have what HAS to be my favorite breakfast dish: Uova al'Inferno. Eggs in Hell. Fairly simple to make, as long as you're CAREFUL with your eggs! If anyone's interested, I'll put the full recipe here. Forgive the frozen hashbrown patty, it's the only starch i had on hand.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

Ok so one thing that has been bugging me.

Sea Salt.

What is different about it that makes everyone rave over it and it cost 10x the price of rock salt? I know for a fact that the following are false:

It has other minerals in it that make it taste differently. Salt for human consumption has to be 99% NaCl. Try adding 1 gram of any solid that is water soluble to 99 grams of salt, dissolve the mixture in water (distilled so you don't taint the results). See if you can taste anything other than saltiness. (get someone else to mix up 100% salt solution to the same concentration and test it blind to remove bias)

It has a sharper taste. No it doesn't. Sodium Chloride tastes the same whether it comes out of the sea, out of a quarry or out of a mixture of hydrochloric acid and Sodium Hydroxide. The only thing I can think of where this might be the case is the shape of the crystals (rock salt is small cubes, sea salt is flat crystals meaning it has a higher surface area so it would dissolve quicker). However this would only be the case if you were to put the salt directly in your mouth - add it to food and it is dissolves a long time before it comes close to your tongue. You don't eat just salt....

Why is it that recipes specify sea salt, and why is it that on all these cooking shows on TV they seem to use it exclusively? Is it purely to bring in the gullible customers? Kosher salt I can kind of understand, because that is an important part of the Jewish culture (but then only if you need to prepare Kosher food).

[Ragingtortoise]

so my family visited some relatives and came back with a crap ton of strawberries, so any strawberry related recipes would be nice.

I assume you have an icecream maker, as it is a common household appliance in this day and age. Mix 2 egs, 2 cups of heavy cream, and 1 cup of half and half, and 3/4 cup of sugar. You can replace the half and half with milk, or you can use 2 1/2 cups cream and 1/2 cup milk, but it isn't the same. Amounts don't have to be exact. Beat eggs until slightly frothy, then whisk in sugar a little at a time. Add the cream and half and half. Place this mixture in the fridge to cool, it shouldn't be hot, but the cooler the better.

Take you strawberries, how ever many you want, and put them in a bowl with the juice of half a lemon (a whole one if you have A LOT of berries), and about 1/3 to 1/2 cups of sugar (or more depending on amount of berries). Leave the mixture in the fridge for a few hours until the strawberries are soft and the juice is sticky and sweet. Mash up the strawberries and place them in the egg/cream/sugar mixture. Place into your icecream churn, switch on, and leave 'til the icecream is a consistency between soft serve and hard icecream. The longer you churn it, or the more frozen it is when you take it off and place it in the freezer, the better it will freeze (less icy more creamy).

[Disenchanted]

Ok so one thing that has been bugging me.

Sea Salt.

As it was explained to me, it's coarser. That means it stays on the tongue longer giving an equally salty taste while using less salt overall. Sounds plausible to me.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

But you don't go sticking salt crystals in your mouth, and dissolved salt fills the same volume regardless of the crystal shape (because when dissolved there is no crystal shape).

[belfpala]

Why is it that recipes specify sea salt, and why is it that on all these cooking shows on TV they seem to use it exclusively? Is it purely to bring in the gullible customers? Kosher salt I can kind of understand, because that is an important part of the Jewish culture (but then only if you need to prepare Kosher food).

They generally specify sea salt because it doesn't contain iodine additives like most "regular" salt. You can get non-iodine "regular" salt as well, and I'd say that's just as good. The iodine can leave a bitter, metallic, aftertaste.

All types of salt can come in various degrees of coarseness. Sea salt is often about the same as "regular" salt (just lacking the iodine) but is just as often a bit more coarse. Kosher salt is usually more coarse, and is preferred for things such as seasoning meat because of its flat flaky shape.

You do have to be careful substituting in recipes, especially when using larger quantities of salt (such as in brining). For small amounts (teaspoons) they're all pretty much interchangeable. Once you get closer to 1/4 cup, be careful. It would be best if we measured such things by weight, but Americans just don't do that.

Edit: Oh, and I decided to take the rest of the week off.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

By the way, I did a bit of digging with a popular search engine beginning with a G, and found this conversion table for British Imperial Measure -- Metric -- American Measure.

http://www.hintsandthings.com/kitchen/weights.htm

[Deleted]

i got a great recipe on a danish dish called koldskål. (im danish)

good in the heat.

6 egg yolk's
6 tablespoons of sugar
1 vanilla pod
1 liter of buttermilk.
2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon.

you mix the eggs, sugar and vanilla till the sugar is desolved.
add the buttermilk while sturring light.
add a small amount of lemon at a time and taste it, till its just right.

when done, you can put in fresh fruit in pieces and/or icecream.

its all yumyum

[belfpala]

By the way, I did a bit of digging with a popular search engine beginning with a G, and found this conversion table for British Imperial Measure -- Metric -- American Measure.

http://www.hintsandthings.com/kitchen/weights.htm

Neat!

I do measure by weight for baking bread/pastry on the rare days I do that. But most of the time, my nice digital scale is gathering dust in a dark corner somewhere.