One of my favourites is Shepherd's Pie. I made some for the crew for this past weekend's races, and they loved it. 8am, they were chowing down, and our crew chief had 5 bowls before we even started the day. I made 2 distinct types; one for Saturday, one for Sunday. The first type was the classical savoury flavours; cloves, thyme, dry mustard, etc. But one of the keys is to slow cook the meat after you initially brown it (and I used ground beef, pork, and venison). Once it's initially browned/cooked, I drained off most (but not all) of the fat, and then added some beef broth, a spicy red wine (in this case a peppery Shiraz), a dark German beer, and a couple ounces of scotch, and then let it reduce down and caramelize the meat slowly for 8+ hours. I also added a cube of demi-glace that I'd made previously. (About a year ago I spent a weekend making demi-glace and saved the results in a couple ice cube trays inside a freezer zip lock bag in the freezer, making it easy to pop one out when monster flavour is required). The boys really like spicy food, so I also loaded it up with various types of heat like come chili pepper (fresh and dried seeds), a little bit of super-hot horse radish, and some cayenne pepper. Also added lots of garlic (12 cloves) and a bunch of chopped up onion, leeks, celery, carrots, peas, and corn. While it definitely had some heat to it, it was very much in the background, and the cloves/etc were at the front. The mashed potatoes were made with lots of garlic-infused butter, some fresh bacon bits, some dried onion flakes, and lots of sliced up garlic. It was topped with smoked paprika, which I find is an unsung hero of smokey, spicy flavour. Day 2 was more of a non-savoury version, made more like a Hungarian goulash with pretty well the same ingredients, but different spices than the first. I have collected a fair range of various chili powders and hot mustards, and used a bunch of them to build up a rather slow-burn, complex heat profile. Didn't use any cloves or savoury spices. The mashed potato top was infused with dried onion, dried red peppers, freshly ground black pepper, tons of garlic, and again the smoked paprika. It was gone faster than the first one. I keep it in a generator powered slow cooker in the pits all day, and the 8 of us finished of 12 quarts by 2pm. Because it's outside, on high heat (to combat the cold ambient temps), I intentionally make it way more liquid than it normally would be, as it evaporates liquid pretty fast all day. Next race weekend it's going to be a Beef Stroganoff.
Tomato Spinach Chickpea Simmer (so good, so easy!) 265 Calories, per serving (since I'm on this idiot health kick) 2 tbsp (25 mL) extra virgin olive oil 1 chopped onion 3 minced cloves of garlic 1 tsp (5 mL) dried oregano 1/4 tsp (1 mL) hot pepper flakes 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt 2 tbsp (25 mL) tomato paste 1 can (28 oz/796 ml) diced tomatoes 1 can (19 oz/540 ml) chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 tsp (5 mL) paprika 1 8 oz/250 g bag spinach, trimmed (about 6 cups/1.5L) In large saucepan, heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the oil over medium-high heat; sautee onion, garlic, oregano, hot pepper flakes and salt until onion is softened, about 4 minutes. Add tomato paste; fry for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, chickpeas and paprika; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thick enough that space remains after spoon is dragged through, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, in skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat; sautee spinach until wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir into chickpea mixture. (makes 4 servings)
How long do tortilla shells last? It says on the bag to refrigerate them to allow them to last longer but doesn't list a date that I see on the ones I bought. Also, can I freeze them and have them last even longer?
Answer: a long fucking time. I've used ones that are a month old with no problems. They don't behave the same way as bread. You can freeze those suckers in a freezer bag for years. *edit: And by no problem I mean they looked good, smelled good, tasted good, and didn't cause me to run for the toilet for a vicious bout of IBS. Geeze people.
This is totally happening at some point this weekend... Recipe here: <a class="postlink" href="http://communities.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/blogs/anythingandeverything/archive/2010/06/14/bacon-cheese-turtle-burger-recipe.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://communities.canada.com/reginalea ... ecipe.aspx</a>
I've been on a huge barbecue sauce kick lately, just made one found in this article. It was adapted from a local Massachusetts (if you live in Newton or Arlington, you need to go) chain called Blue Ribbon Barbecue, and fuck me if it doesn't taste pretty damn close if not better, a nice feeling of nostalgia since I haven't eaten there in two years. I don't know what they're talking about with the "serves 8" thing, unless they think people are going to drink it out of pint glasses or something, I've never seen 8 people plow through a half gallon of barbecue sauce before. How did it turn out? It always struck me as something that looks and sounds good on paper but is actually bland in real life.
Made Amost Gaunt's mango chicken this weekend and it simple and delicious. I used habanero peppers in place of red chilis and added some fresh pineapple because I didn't think 2 mangoes were enough. Thanks for the recipe, it's a keeper and highly recommended. And as luck would have it, Sprouts had the mangoes, peppers and boneless breasts on sale this week, so it was also dirt cheap to make!
It's simple, and I don't really measure stuff. Basically, in a blender, add the following: -- 4 or 5 anchovies -- lots of fresh garlic (as much as you like/want) (I usually rip it apart with the tines of a fork for best results) -- 1/2 a teaspoon or so of Keens dry mustard -- 3-4 teaspoons of vinegar, to start -- few shakes of Lea and Perrins worcestershire -- a few drops of fish sauce if you have it (Chinatown special) -- an egg yolk Put it in the blender, on low, and let it rip, slowly adding vegetable oil until it gets to the thickness you want Salt and pepper to taste. The longer it sits, the hotter it gets. If you want to make it hotter still, add a bit more vinegar, and maybe a bit more dry mustard. If you're not careful, it'll burn the fuck out of your mouth.
I'm making lobster ravioli for dinner and would like to serve it with a creamy tomato sauce. Anyone have a good and simple recipe for one?
Rachel Ray's "You Won't Be Single For Long Vodka Cream Pasta" (minus the tacky name) is actually the best (and easiest) sauce ever. I make this often and it is still my favorite tomato cream sauce, by far. Here: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/you-wont-be-single-for-long-vodka-cream-pasta-recipe/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rach ... index.html</a>
I'm having a fancy dinner for friends later this week (which also doubles as a kind of contest. I'm determined to break my opponents). I've worked out most of the menu, but I'm struggling with two things. Maybe you guys can help me out; - I'm going to put a whole fish with a crust of sea-salt in the oven. I've already tried it and the fish tastes great. Problem is, the skin of the fish is so salty it will dry out your kidneys and your corpse will disintegrate into dust as you collapse. Does anybody have a suggestion for keeping the salt off the fish, beyond wiping it off (doesn't work)? - I'm not sure what to serve along with the fish. I'm thinking about making a red-wine risotto and some crunchy green vegetables (haricots verts, courgettes or asparagus). Would that work?
Are you using Kosher salt? I've done this once before, but with Kosher salt, and it worked out really well... I've never done it with sea salt. Also, be sure that you use enough salt. As in I don't think you can use too much, the more the better. If you use too little salt you won't get the sealed mini-oven, and the salt might dissolve and coat the fish rather than form a shell around it.
I've used coarse sea-salt, mixed with an egg-white and a bit of water. (Thank you Google, for showing me that there is a difference between those salts after all.)
Is there really a difference? I thought it was always a scam. Not talking about ice cream salt or anything, just kosher vs regular table salt. The texture seems the same to me, and the ingredients label is identical. What's the supposed difference?
Kosher salt is chunkier than table salt, and doesn't have any iodide in it. (Iodide is, I believe, the additive that stops table salt from sticking together and chunking up). I cook exclusively with kosher salt, and prefer it for the texture and taste. It's also way, way better for meat rubs and stuff. I first heard about it about 5 years ago from Alton Brown's show Good Eats. He recommended it, and he's never steered me wrong, so I bought some the next time I was grocery shopping. (It's not hard to buy or anything, and is usually right beside table salt, etc). Tried it, and liked it. Used it ever since. Here's a side by side comparison between kosher and table salt. There is quite a difference.
What's the deal on this? Some people say there is a difference while others say it's a scam considering governmental agencies mandate a certain amount of NaCl must be present in it anyway (something like 97%). Can you guys comment on this?
Iodide is added because it is required for your thyroid to work properly and isn't in a lot of foods. I'm not sure about the clumping effects, and I personally haven't noticed a taste difference (though I have never tried them side by side). I've had kosher salt that was chunky, and I've had it as fine grain. They also make kosher ice cream salt, which has fatter grains like the picture you showed (I find it to be good to dust the top of casserole bread with). Even in that category, there is both kosher and non kosher. I'm not sure what makes something kosher...I know there are rules and standards, and if its about the iodide, I'm not sure if the process of adding iodide would disqualify an item of kosher status.
Changed pics in my post above to show you a side-by-side example of kosher vs table salt, by the way. I've tried a couple of different sea salts over the years, but never really liked them. They kind of have their own flavours, which makes sense if you take a look at how they're made, which is by evaporating sea water and then harvesting the left over salts. I'm sure there will be other impurities that will affect the flavour, while kosher and table salt are pretty well pure NaCl, just with or without the iodide. I've always seen sea salts touted as an "all natural" alternative to NaCl, and more expensive, but it's always struck me as a scam. Personally, I'd rather have "artificially" produced salt that will taste the same every time, and is pure.