Has anyone here tried smoking mussels before? My friends and I are having our annual summer barbecue and I want to try something a little different this year by having a couple of hors d'oeuvres style dishes, with the catch being they all have to be cooked on a smoker. This is what I'm thinking of going with, but I'm very open to critiques or suggestions. 2-3lbs fresh mussels spread out in a shallow roasting pan I want to try simmering it in a broth of the following: Garlic Unsalted Butter Salt Pepper White wine Bail Parsley Bay I was also thinking of very roughly chopping some jalapeno to give the mussels a little bit of a bite.
I didnt watch his reason for doing it like that, but unless you're in jail and have to have some jerky, why the fuck would you do that? The money spent on the filters is basically the same as a dehydrator. Also, Alton Brown is fucking annoying and he irritates the bejesus out of me.
Why not? Air filters are cheap and you can use the fan for other stuff. I'm not dropping 50 bucks on a subpar kitchen appliance just to try something out once. I'm just wondering how effective the method is in general.
This weekend was all about smoked meat and BBQ. On Friday, I used a Big Green Egg for the first time to do two giant boston butt pork roasts. I made a simple paste which I smothered these things with made up of Tony's, brown sugar, and a little bit of root beer: The Big Green Egg was a little tricky. It didn't really put off any smoke, and the temp ran high all day (around 350), but I'll be damned if after 8 hours, both roasts were falling apart. They also had the good red smoke ring despite the lack of smoke, so who knows how it happened. All I know is that it tasted amazing: As mention before, I made a version of Hooker's tortellini pasta salad to go with it. Only difference was the addition of lump crabmeat, artichoke hearts, smothered red onion, and other stuff, I can't really remember: Now yesterday, I went to my best friends house and threw a small brisket and some ribs on a smoker, same rub as above. This one we did low and slow (225 for 10 hours):
Do any of you have a good gazpacho recipe? For whatever reason, I've had it on the brain, eaten a couple bad ones recently, and need to make my own. I've found a few online that are sort of what I'm going for, but I figured I would throw the question up here, too. The chef at a place where I used to serve made a great gazpacho - slightly chunky, with lots of pepper, onion, and garlic flavor, and who knows what else, since she refused to share how she made anything that wasn't on the menu. That is ideally what I am looking to replicate, as the cold can of campbell's tomato thing doesn't do it for me.
I love Gazpacho, here is my go to recipe: 1 egg 2 cups chopped fresh plum tomatoes 1/2 cup chopped green or yellow pepper 1 cup chopped cucumber, seeds removed 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion 2/3 cup olive oil Juice of 1/2 lemon 2 cups beef broth (optional) 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1/4 cup finely minced parsley 1 teaspoon dried oregano 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Pepper, coarsely ground 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped Salt 1 46-ounce can tomato juice 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs Tabasco, to taste Garnish (optional): chopped parsley, minced red onion, chopped olives print a shopping list for this recipe preparation *Place egg in small pot of cold water, bring to boil, and let simmer for 10 minutes. *In a pot or large bowl, combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, red onion, olive oil, lemon juice, cold beef broth (optional), red wine vinegar, parsley, oregano, Worcestershire, and coarsely ground black pepper to taste. Stir. *Sprinkle garlic with a pinch of salt, and set in bowl. *When egg is finished cooking, run under cold water, remove shell, add to garlic and salt mixture, and mash together with fork. *Pour tomato juice into large pot or bowl with vegetables, and add garlic, egg, and salt mixture. Add bread crumbs and stir so that they dissolve into liquid. *Taste for seasoning and add salt, pepper, and Tabasco to taste. Chill for at least 4 hours and serve. Garnish with chopped parsley, minced red onion, and chopped olives if desired. And to give appropriate credit, the recipe is from here: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Moms-Gazpacho-105096#ixzz1UMOMV8cp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/ ... z1UMOMV8cp</a>
I made a big pot of chili the other night to get rid of some cans in my pantry. For me it is a basic recipe, but the two other people who sampled it thought that it was strange that I put chickpeas in it. So here is the recipe: -1 onion, coursely chopped -1 can black beans -1 can chickpeas -1 can chili beans -1 can tomato paste -around 2 cups of water -1lb ground turkey -4 tablespoons of baking splenda, red pepper flakes, yellow curry powder, a shitton of garlic powder, chicken broth powder, dill weed, chives, and marjoram. Brown the turkey, get rid of the water and fat. Dump all the other ingredients together (I drained the cans of chickpeas and black beans and slightly washed the black beans from that soupy goop), including the raw onion, and allow to boil for 5 or 10 minutes, then reduce to simmer. Add the ground turkey, and start adding spices. Basically, I measured the sweet stuff carefully because if the chili was too sweet then that would be nasty. For the other stuff, I added on a tablespoon basis to amp it up slowly. Let simmer, while covered, for a couple of hours. This ends up being a little sweet with a slow burn. To do things differently, I would cook the spices directly into the meat next time. I also would have used a can of diced tomatoes or even raw ones, but I had neither of these things.
Have you guys ever made vichyssoise? I think it may be one of those things that isn't too well known, but it's delicious. It's basically cold potato leek soup and it's so easy to make and really refreshing. You cut up a bunch of leeks and cook them in butter in a stock pot. Then you throw a couple of peeled, diced Idaho potatoes in there. Cover it with chicken stock, add some salt and pepper and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Let cool, then add a little carton of 1/2 and 1/2. Blend everything and refrigerate until cool. Cut up a some chives to toss on there before serving. Yum.
So I just made some vichyssoise using this recipe: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/vichyssoise-with-sour-cream-and-chives-recipe/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robi ... index.html</a> I didn't add thyme or marjoram, and used russet potatoes because new potatoes are of the devil. If there's one thing I would change, I would add a strip or two of bacon to the pot first. Crisp them up, remove them, add in some butter, deglaze, and go from there. If you've already got leeks and potato, that's just begging for a little bacon goodness to round out the flavour. Otherwise it makes a nice, light soup.
Sweet Potato, Chickpea, Chicken Chili, inspired by Sweet Potato Chickpea Chili, but FUCK not eating meat. I had sweet potatoes, and chickpeas, and a lot of chicken that I needed to get rid of - but I didn’t have much else. So, I followed the recipe as a guide, but instead of carrots, I used yellow bell peppers. And instead of red kidney beans, I used white kidney beans. I shredded the white meat from two left over chicken breasts and dumped that in to make it meaty. To get it to thicken, I cooked it exactly the way the original recipe said I should, but I did it early in the morning. Then I pulled it off the stove and let it sit for a while, so that everything would suck up all the juices (there has to be a sexual joke in there somewhere). Once it was thick enough, I put it back on the stove at a really low heat and just stirred it occasionally. It was super fucking easy - but I bet a crock pot would make it even easier.
Also... I made these bad boys the other day, and they were fan-fucking-tastic. Butternut Squash and Feta Muffins (that actually turn out a little more the consistency of a scone than a muffin, fyi) Recipe is here.
Anyone know any good meals that would fit the Slow Carb diet (i.e. no carbs, cheese, fruits, or anything really sugary)? I've been making a lot of chicken and beans, scrambled egg dishes, and I'm making meatballs tonight, but I'm looking for a little more variety. I have lost eight pounds in the last week, though, and that's after bingeing on my cheat day with pizza and In'N'Out.
Made Cashew Chili last night. Ingredients: 1/2 – 1 cup cashews 2-3 cups kidney beans 4 medium onions 2 green peppers 2 stalks celery 3 cloves garlic 1 tsp basil 1 tsp oregano 1 tblsp chili powder 1 tsp cumin 2 cans tomatoes 1 tsp salt 1/4 cup cider vinegar (this is really much more than is needed) handful raisins black pepper, bay leaf Cooking Instructions: Saute onions, bell peppers, celery, garlic. Add spices, fry with onion mix, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, pepper, bay leaf, cashews, salt, raisins, wine. Add beans, simmer covered for 30 min. Add water if necessary. Add vinegar when chili is almost ready. For variety, add carrots or green beans (may need to cook longer until they are tender). My suggestion is to make is way spicier than the recipe says it should be, because the combination of cashews, sweet raisins and lots of heat is actually way better than it sounds.
I live in an apartment and for that reason, can't have a grill. In an attempt to make up for that, and the fact that all of my cookware is non-stick, I recently bought a cast-iron reversible grill pan/griddle. I used it last night to cook up some sausages, and I kept the heat too high and didn't use enough oil, so now I've got charred on sausage skin that I need to clean off the grill pan. I know I've read on this thread that you should only use a wet paper towel to wipe down cast iron cookware to keep the seasoning, so is this a soak-and-wipe situation? Should I scrub off the food and re-season it? Appreciate any tips or advice.
Scrub it off and start over. Just don't be too worried about getting it too clean, and don't try and take off the paint or anything. If anything, heat it up and pour small amounts of water on the crusty parts a bit at a time so that the water flash-steams when it hits, it'll loosen up or remove that burned on stuff. Same concept as deglazing. It might be a bit smoky, but it's easier than taking an emery pad or steel wool to it.
It's probably been mentioned before, but I use Kosher salt as an abrasive. It will actually absorb some of the leftover stuff and doesn't screw up the seasoning. Just pour a liberal amount and use a paper towel to scrub with. It might take a few applications, but it usually works for me.
Made fish tacos for the first time last night. My wife and I have been meaning to make them for awhile, but just haven't gotten around to it. Nice and refreshing. Seasoned a few tilapia filets with ancho chile powder and grilled the fish. blended some pepper, spices and some sour cream to line some corn tortillas. Chopped the fish up and mixed with some red cabbage, white onions and cilantro. Topped with a squirt of lime juice. So simple and nice. We've been trying to eat fish at least once or twice a week. We've been buying large packs of frozen individually wrapped filets and I'm trying to find new interesting ways to prepare it. Light filets like tilapia, etc. I've made the tacos above, a couple different breaded dishes and I've baked them in foil with lemon, butter and some spices. Any other suggestions for inexpensive, quick recipes I can make for the wife and baby? I've got a pretty good repertoire of beef, chicken,pork and fish like salmon but I'm lacking on the flaky fish ideas.
Straight up delicious, and healthy (as far as carbs and sugars go). Super quick and easy for bachelors or anyone on a low carb diet. 2/3 of a white onion, medium sliced. 1 large green pepper, also medium sliced 5-6 of your favorite sausages (hot italian, brat, anything that slices well) sliced up Coat the bottom of your frying pan lightly with Olive Oil, light salt and medium garlic cover that toss in the various sliced things season with more garlic powder to taste cook until the sausages are done (the onions should be slightly droopy, I cover my pan with a lid or another frying pan to intensify the whole heat) I used a local organic pineapple and bacon flavored sausage tonight, the sweetness of the pineapple really offset the salt, garlic, and onions well. MMMMMM.... Looks a bit like this, depending on the sausage: