Bud, I cook 2 or 3 different types (Mixta, Valenciana, Verdura) 6 days a week, sometimes two or three times a day. I've never tried to cook it with out a 'paella' - the pan is also called paella. An average paella will feed 6-8 people. If you've got the pan, you'll need a propane grill large enough for it, or a charcoal grill with the coals spread very evenly. If you've got the hardware some ingredients could be: 1 each Green and red pepper 1 large onion (Spanish) few cloves of garlic (your preference) Saffron - It's not a must but you will almost always see paella's prepared with this expensive as a kid spice. Rosemary is a nice spice to add as well. Paprika, your choice of sweet, hot or smoked. Fresh tomato, if you like. 2 or 3 chicken breasts, cubed or 2-3 leg/thigh chicken half pound chorizo (Spanish is preffered but Mexican style is easy to work with as well). 2 cups rice - short or medium grain would be best. Cooking liquid, chicken stock/clam juice - enough to cover rice in the pan. Shrimp/mussels/fish Paella's can be infinitely customized though - I have caracoles (escargot) in one, another is vegetarian. I've found that browning the chicken/sausage/rabbit/whatever first and getting the fat rendered out, then cooking aromatics, then sauteeing the rice, add the meat back in and then add liquid works well. Once you add the liquid, don't stir, the crust that develops is wonderful. Add liquid as needed around the pan to get the rice cooked.
Thanks man. Three questions: 1) What is your opinion on using a cast iron skillet? 2) What is you opinion on using the packaged saffron rice? 3) Can the entire thing be cooked over the grill, or is baking towards the end the standard (from what I've seen) procedure?
1) As long as the skillet is really well seasoned, it should work as long as you can keep the heat even around the bottom. Can you make Jambalaya in that skillet? If you can then you should have no problem with paella. 2) Avoid, they taste awful. You'd be better off skipping saffron all together.
Just made some kickass sweet potatoes with a steak last night. Here's the recipe. Peel sweet potatoes, cut into slices, I made them about 1/2 inch thick. I used about 3 pretty small ones which were about a pound total. Lightly toss in veg oil and salt. Throw them in a pan or skillet and fry on both sides for a minute or two until you get some char. In a saucepan throw together some butter (maybe 2 or 3 tbsp, 1-2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 or 2 cloves garlic and some pepper and mix until it's pretty smooth. Pour over sweet potatoes and finish them in the oven for 15 minutes or so, until they're done. It's really good.
I cooked a KC strip steak tonight in my cast iron, and while it turned out great, it smoked like crazy. I had the heat on medium-high and used just a little bit of oil, maybe a tablespoon. Is there a trick to not smoking up my place?
If you aren't that talented in the kitchen and are looking for something simple to make that is still pretty tasty check out this grilled chicken with lemon basil pasta recipe. It turned out pretty well for me and it would probably make a good date meal. It is at least better than Applebees. But if you were seriously taking a girl to Applebees you are beyond help anyway.
What oil are you using? most veg and olive oils have a low heat point, which will make hem smoke on high or for extended periods. Try peanut, macadamia or avocado oil for higher burn temps, and heat the pan before adding the oil,if you must cook with (in a properly seasoned cast iron pan you should not need oil at all).
Peanut or canola oil have decent smoke points, and they're readily available and cheap. My guess is that your pan either isn't seasoned properly, or it had a little residue left over on it. Just make sure you clean it out well before you use it next time. Here's a chart. Most cooking oil in your average supermarket are refined (i.e. Safflower, corn, canola, etc.) <a class="postlink" href="http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/50/Smoke-Points-of-Various-Fats" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.cookingforengineers.com/arti ... rious-Fats</a>
Wal-Mart: Choice of Green Tramontina 3.5-Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven or 3-Quart Cast Iron Covered Braiser for $25 each (normally $49.97). Ships to store for free. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=tramontina+cast&search_constraint=0&tab_value=Online&ic=48_0&ref=&search_sort=4&selected_items=+&depts=F_Gi" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng ... depts=F_Gi</a>
Marinade the steak in olive oil beforehand, and you won't need to oil the pan... I think this is a lot tastier, less oil floating in the pan to burn, etc.
I generally just lightly brush oil on the steak (sometimes I use butter), and then put it in the pan. The steak might stick for a bit, but I've found that it'll basically come "unstuck" after it's had a chance to sear properly. I've also found a great way to season cast iron is to put a thick coating of vegetable shortening (Crisco or something like that) on it and put it in a high-temp oven for a few hours, occasionally re-coating the pan with more shortening. It might not do the entire seasoning, but it's a great "base coat" to work with.
Does anybody have any good recipes for (canned)tuna? I'm on a health kick and looking for a tasty way to eat tuna without bread.
I usually just mix in a bit of green relish, or chop up some pickles, add some freshly ground black pepper, and then grab a fork. I also make tuna salad like I normally do, but serve it in a bed of lettuce instead of bread.
I was going to suggest tuna cakes, just like crab cakes, but then I realized they are not only breaded, they have crackers and are fried. Whoops. Good shit though. I've done this with some canned salmon I got from a friend too. EDIT: Per rep I was asked to share my method. I really don't have one, I just kinda throw the stuff together and go with it. I use an egg to bind together some crumbled up saltines, S&P, maybe some onion powder, the crab, tuna or salmon. Pad them into desired size, dip them into a beaten egg, then into breadcrumbs and then fry them up in some oil. They don't take too long to cook, just a nice browning on each side and you're done. Some like them with tarter or a mix of mayo&ketchup similar to a thousand island.
I just make a tuna salad on a bed of mixed greens, with plenty of veggies & kidney beans for extra protein. You really don't need to prep the tuna at all, it picks up plenty of flavor from whatever dressing you have on hand. I'll usually make a dijon balsamic vinaigrette from scratch because it's so simple. Just mix some good balsamic with dijon and whisk in olive or canola oil. You can sub lemon juice in for the balsamic in just as easily and add a splash of sesame oil. Way better the the crap you get from a bottle.
I usually whip my canned tuna up with cottage cheese. The taste actually combines very well. Spring greens, tuna, cottage cheese, and ground black pepper is the shizz. Ive not tried it with the dill and spices used in real tuna salad but Im sure its probably pretty good. Im not a huge fan of (insert food) salads that require you poor mayo all over them, I find pasta and potato salad flat out disgusting.
Prepare an Alioli (re: aioli). Mix 3 parts tuna with one part aioli, bruniosed red pepper and onion. Garlic is always a good idea. Add paprika, salt, pepper, lemon/lime juice to taste
Tuna fish Frozen vegetables Pasta (optional) Eggs (optional) Cheese (optional) Mix it together and stir-fry with soy sauce or anything else. I've been eating this every day for the last couple weeks because I have $40 in my bank account to last me three weeks. Ironically, I always eat healthier when I'm poor because I can't afford anything unhealthy.
Ok, learned a new recipe while I was in Mexico last week. 1 cucumber sliced at an angle to make the pieces large, should be sliced about 1/8th of an inch thick. 1 white onion sliced thin 1 pound of sashimi grade fish (yellowtail/hamachi, tuna or rockfish will work) chili con limon seasoning soy sauce Tapatio sauce Juice from 1 lime Arrange cucumber slices around plate, place sliced raw fish in the center and top with onions, add soy and lime juice and top with chili con limon, add tapatio to cucumber. Remember to get fresh fish, if it smells bad don't eat it.
What with christmas on the way, I'm looking to get my brother something cooking related. He loves to cook, and already has excellent knives and pans, so I was thinking of something cool and unusual, which won't be some silly novelty item that will be relegated to the back of a cupboard. Any suggestions? I'll post this in the 'can somebody help me with this?' thread as well. SGEDIT:Go check that thread.