What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[turbo]

I must say that Alton Brown's method of pan-frying steak is quite handy. Last night it was pouring rain, so instead of grilling our flat-iron steak, I cooked it inside. The method is drop-dead simple.

Warm the steak to room temperature. Put your skillet in the oven and preheat it to 500 deg. Lightly oil the steak and season it with salt and cracked peppercorns. Transfer the skillet from the oven to the grill-top with the burner set on "high" and put the steak in the skillet. Don't move the steak while it is searing. After 30 seconds, flip the steak using tongs. After searing the second side for 30 seconds, put the skillet right back in the oven. After 2 minutes, flip the steak and leave it in the oven for another 2 minutes. Then get the skillet out of the oven and immediately put the steak somewhere where it can relax. I use an inverted luncheon plate on top of a dinner plate (to catch the juices) and cover the steak with the cover from my large Revere stew-pot. After 2 minutes, serve the steak. It's a pretty fool-proof method. Not real energy-efficient, but the results are quite consistent.

 

[lisab]

what are you eating on your work? Are you eatin in canteen or taking homemade food?

I bring my lunch from home about half the time (usually a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich...ah, like food of the gods ). After a long search I finally found some frozen, microwavable meals that are fairly healthy, with not many calories, for days I run late in the morning and don't have time to make a sandwich. I keep a bunch of those in the freezer at work.

 

[turbo]

My wife juices fruits, berries and vegetables every morning, and that's her breakfast, along with black coffee. She also blends thick "shakes" of yogurt, banana, wheat germ, flax-seed, soy milk, and various fruits, and takes that to work in an insulated container for her lunch.

I snag some left-overs for breakfast, and skip lunch. When she comes home after work, we make a nice sit-down supper. Weekends, we make up "batch" dishes like chili, baked beans, stews, etc. Except for the occasional crackers, chips, etc, everything we eat is home-made.

 

[suvorav]

I usually take home-made food. My girlfriend cooks it on weekend. It is usually soup and pork with rice or pasta. and vegetables.

 

[Evo]

I usually take home-made food. My girlfriend cooks it on weekend. It is usually soup and pork with rice or pasta. and vegetables.

Sounds yummy.

 

[Evo]

[RANT]Grrr, On American Iron Chef, Mario Battali says he's serving grits, or polenta, like there is no difference. People in the south only call milled white hominy corn "grits", yellow cornmeal, course or fine grind, when cooked in water (or milk) is called cornmeal mush, now that is what the Italians call polenta. I understand that only a small portion of the US is familiar with grits, and I may be the only forum member to have eaten them, but if you are a chef, you shouldn't talk about things you don't know about. Just spreading misinformation.[/RANT]

 

[turbo]

Nope! You're certainly not the only grit-eater here. Most of my consulting work (pulp and paper mills) was in the deep south, and I ALWAYS ordered grits with my breakfast down there. Some diners automatically included them in a standard breakfast. Order eggs and sausage, and you'd get toast and grits, too as standard sides. Grits seemed to be better at little family-owned diners. Forget Denny's, Waffle House, Cracker Barrel and other chains. The little diners seemed to take real pride in their grits. Even as far north as northern Kentucky, there were really good places to get grits - just avoid the chains.

 

[Evo]

Nope! You're certainly not the only grit-eater here. Most of my consulting work (pulp and paper mills) was in the deep south, and I ALWAYS ordered grits with my breakfast down there. Some diners automatically included them in a standard breakfast. Order eggs and sausage, and you'd get toast and grits, too as standard sides. Grits seemed to be better at little family-owned diners. Forget Denny's, Waffle House, Cracker Barrel and other chains. The little diners seemed to take real pride in their grits. Even as far north as northern Kentucky, there were really good places to get grits - just avoid the chains.

YAY! Another fellow griter! Oy, tell me about Denny's grits, made that mistake once, it would've made a fine substitute for plaster of paris. Absolutely inedible.

 

[turbo]

YAY! Another fellow griter! Oy, tell me about Denny's grits, made that mistake once, it would've made a fine substitute for plaster of paris. Absolutely inedible.

I think that the chain restaurants made grits in huge batches, and the little diners made them in small batches to keep supplied all through the breakfast period. You can't control the consistency of grits well if you make big batches and keep them heated with steam table. I tried really hard to find local diners to eat at everywhere I worked. Sometimes they were mom-and-pop stand-alones, sometimes they were in-house restaurants in truck stops... Whenever I started working a contract in a new location, I'd mention food to some of the mill-workers and the ones who were most enthusiastic would give me directions to their favorite diners and tips about what was best on the menu.

 

[turbo]

A little tip: If you have a recipe that calls for mace, but have none on hand (it happened to us today while making raisin bread), you can substitute nutmeg. Just cut the quantity in half. Mace is made from the milder outer layer of the nutmeg seed.

 

[Evo]

I must say that Alton Brown's method of pan-frying steak is quite handy. Last night it was pouring rain, so instead of grilling our flat-iron steak, I cooked it inside. The method is drop-dead simple.

Warm the steak to room temperature. Put your skillet in the oven and preheat it to 500 deg. Lightly oil the steak and season it with salt and cracked peppercorns. Transfer the skillet from the oven to the grill-top with the burner set on "high" and put the steak in the skillet. Don't move the steak while it is searing. After 30 seconds, flip the steak using tongs. After searing the second side for 30 seconds, put the skillet right back in the oven. After 2 minutes, flip the steak and leave it in the oven for another 2 minutes. Then get the skillet out of the oven and immediately put the steak somewhere where it can relax. I use an inverted luncheon plate on top of a dinner plate (to catch the juices) and cover the steak with the cover from my large Revere stew-pot. After 2 minutes, serve the steak. It's a pretty fool-proof method. Not real energy-efficient, but the results are quite consistent.

This is a method I tried and it was very good, but I found that my steaks were coming out overdone. I like rare. This works pretty well for a thick bone in steak.

For a petit sirloin 6oz, this is perfect - heat skillet on medium high heat on the stove top, throw meat down and cook for exactly 2 minutes, do not touch, when timer goes off, flip and cook for another two minutes. When timer goes off, remove to plate and cover for 2 minutes. Dig In.

For filet mignon

I had one of those custom restaurant aged filet mignons from my meat connection tonight. I only used a fork to eat it, it was so tender, I did not need a knife, unbelievable. Like "buttah".

I seared it on the stove at medium high heat for 2 minutes on each side, seared the edges, rotating it with my tongs, then finished it for 4 minutes in a 375F oven. It was 2 inches thick. It was rare, cook it for 6 minutes in the oven if you want it medium. If you like it cooked more than medium, don't waste your money, go to McDonalds and buy a Big Mac.

 

[physics girl phd]

[RANT]Grrr, On American Iron Chef, Mario Battali says he's serving grits, or polenta, like there is no difference. People in the south only call milled white hominy corn "grits", yellow cornmeal, course or fine grind, when cooked in water (or milk) is called cornmeal mush, now that is what the Italians call polenta. I understand that only a small portion of the US is familiar with grits, and I may be the only forum member to have eaten them, but if you are a chef, you shouldn't talk about things you don't know about. Just spreading misinformation.[/RANT]

Also: "no self-respectin' southerner uses instant grits" (My Cousin Vinny, 1992)


(Grit part starts at about 8:30)

In my opinion: the two best things about the south... grits and sweet tea.

 

[Evo]

Also: "no self-respectin' southerner uses instant grits" (My Cousin Vinny, 1992)


(Grit part starts at about 8:30)

In my opinion: the two best things about the south... grits and sweet tea.

Too bad the screenwriters don't know that there are "instant" grits and then there are the pretty much standard "5 minute" grits. I use 5 minutes grits, set the timer to 5 minutes, turn off, stir and eat.

 

[Evo]

mmmm, I made shrimp scampi served with couscous. Fabulous!

I used 1 pound of shelled and deveined shrimp, sauteed it in one stick of melted butter, 6 finely chopped garlic cloves, 1/4 cup of white wine, the juice of half a lemon, and a good covering of Morton's Nature's Seasons.

 

[MotoH]

I had crab legs tonight.

Word of advice: Dont get crab legs when you are in the middle of a continent.

 

[Evo]

I had crab legs tonight.

Word of advice: Dont get crab legs when you are in the middle of a continent.

I love Alaskan King Crab legs, so they are always precooked and frozen. Trouble is they are almost always too salty and have freezer burn. :(

 

[Evo]

I thought this little "what food is in season" guide with tips might be hlpful for some people.

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/seasonal-fruit-vegetable-tool-00000000008233/

 

[turbo]

I thought this little "what food is in season" guide with tips might be hlpful for some people.

It should be helpful for some folks. In fact, it should be required reading for managers of produce departments. Sometimes it seems that either they don't know that their produce is sub-standard, or they don't care because they can get poor quality stock cheaper and foist it off on the clueless. Much of the produce in New England comes all the way from Florida, California, and Mexico, so it is rarely of good quality. I can't wait for gardening season, so I can cook with really great ingredients!

 

[hypatia]

I wish my partner liked string beans, apparently he was traumatized by one at a young age. Maybe I could tie some broccoli to the ends and call them Mongolian asparagus?

 

[Evo]

I wish my partner liked string beans, apparently he was traumatized by one at a young age. Maybe I could tie some broccoli to the ends and call them Mongolian asparagus?

Buwahahah.

 

[turbo]

I wish my partner liked string beans, apparently he was traumatized by one at a young age. Maybe I could tie some broccoli to the ends and call them Mongolian asparagus?

I can't wait for fresh garden string beans! I love them raw, steamed, in stir-fries...about every way you can think of. I plant Provider beans, and once they start coming, we get more beans than we could ever eat fresh. I put a pizza pan and some cookie-sheets in the freezer and spread the beans out on those, so they freeze quickly, then bag them. No chopping, rinsing, or other processing. They don't stick together, so when you want to put beans in a soup or casserole, just open a bag, take out a handful or two, rinse them in a colander, snap them and throw them in the pot. Real easy, and lots better-tasting than commercially-frozen stuff, in large part because they were frozen within minutes of being picked.

 

[turbo]

Book recommendation: If you do any baking, get "Beard on Bread" by James Beard. A co-worker who used to own a bakery gave a copy to my wife and it seems every recipe that she tries out of it is great. Today, she tried out one of the banana bread recipes, and baked it off in a muffin tin instead of making a single large loaf. Very tasty.

The rye bread she made last week is gone, now - it's a very hearty bread that stands up well to strong flavors. Great with smoked shoulder, sharp cheddar, sliced dill pickles and hot beer mustard (my lunch yesterday). I'm glad I bought her a bread-stone/pizza stone - she's getting excited about baking bread and has Post-It notes marking all the European-style whole grain bread recipes in the book.

I hope my cukes produce well this summer. If I keep eating sandwiches like this, I'm going to have to make lots more kosher dill pickles.

 

[Astronuc]

I wish my partner liked string beans, apparently he was traumatized by one at a young age.

Maybe I could tie some broccoli to the ends and call them Mongolian asparagus?

Or cut them diagonally across? They are great with almonds. Of course, if it's the taste, then try sugar peas.

 

[turbo]

I had to finally break down today and order a Thiers Issard 7" Santoku. I love my TI 6" chef's knife, but it is a knife designed for slicing, and sometimes, I want a knife that is designed for chopping and mincing. The santoku has ground hollows that help release materials while cutting, and I really want that quality. That was brought home tonight when I was chopping mushrooms and onions for our pizzas. With a French chef's knife, you have to cut down and rock up toward the tip, which is a bit slower than a santoku, and you have to deal with the thin slices of vegetable that stick to the polished blade. Not a big deal most of the year, but if the garden comes in well this summer, I'll be a chopping fool, making salsas, chili relishes, pickles, etc.

BTW, Thiers Issard is the primo knife-maker in France. Other firms have the legal right (somehow) to use the name Sabatier, but TI is the gold standard. Their knives are very pricey, but they are wonderful, and they can be passed down for generations.

 

[turbo]

Tonight, my wife brought home a 12-pack sampler of Dundee beers and ales. So far I have tried Pale Ale, Pale Bock Lager, and Porter. 3 down, and no winners. The beers and ales produced by the local Oak Pond Brewery are far superior, with more character, unique flavors, etc.

 

[Evo]

Ok, I am ready for St Patrick's Day. Corned beef points (I prefer the point cut) were on sale for $1.58 a pound, I found a pretty lean one, you need to really check point cuts for fat. Cabbage was 25 cents per pound. And avocados were on sale for 69 cents each, don't ask me why they were part of the St Patrick's sale, but I scooped up three of those.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I'm thinking of making some corned beef or something irish like for Patty's Day.
I was thinking something along the lines of a stew, which should be easier for me with my tiny kitchen.

Any one know any good recipes? I was kind of thinking of some sort of creamy potato stew with corned beef in it.

 

[GeorginaS]

And avocados were on sale for 69 cents each, don't ask me why they were part of the St Patrick's sale, but I scooped up three of those.

On sale because they're green?

 

[turbo]

My wife is taking care of her mother today, so I'm cooking for tonight's meal. New England-style baked beans (no tomato sauce, you Texans!)

It's easy, you just have to plan ahead a bit. Last night, I put a pound of dried black beans (turtle beans) in a large bowl and covered them with water to soak. Always put in more water than you think you'll need because the beans soak it up quickly and swell, leaving the top beans uncovered if you didn't use extra water. This morning I drained and rinsed the beans, put them in a large saucepan, covered them with water, and brought them to a slow boil and let them boil for about 10-15 minutes while preheating the oven to 300 deg. Drained the liquid and transferred the beans to a large casserole dish. Then added 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of molasses, salt, pepper, 1 tbs of prepared mustard, one large chopped onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Lastly, add water until all the ingredients are well-covered, stir a bit to mix things, put on the lid, and transfer the dish to the oven. After 2 hours or so, I'll check the water level (adding boiling water from a teakettle, if needed) and taste the bean-juice to see if I need to touch up the seasonings. When the beans are tender, they're done, and I'll remove the lid from the casserole and pop the dish back in the oven to let the bean-juice evaporate off, if needed. Usually, I stop when the beans are just a bit on the runny side, because they will soak up more juice over the next day or so.

 

[Borek]

When cooking beans I use a method my Mom read about somewhere 30 years ago. Put beans into cold water, bring to boil and wait till they start to float on the surface. Get the pot off the heat, wait till beans fall to the bottom. Then cook as usuall. Much faster than keeping beans in water for whole night.

 

[turbo]

My wife made pumpernickel bread this weekend, and we had a bit of leftover rye bread and about 1/4 loaf of black bread (both of which she had made previously) in the 'fridge. Not wanting them to go to waste, I cubed the bread, tossed them in a bowl with garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, basil, parsley, and extra-virgin olive oil, spread the bread cubes out on a large baking sheet and popped it into the 300 deg oven while the beans were baking. About an hour later, the croutons were done. Nice and crisp and spicy. Now, she has croutons to put on the tossed salads she often takes for lunch. Lots more flavor than the store-bought stuff.

Don't waste money tossing out bread that is beginning to dry out or go stale. Make croutons and use them on your soups and salads. It's really easy. It's especially nice if you have a loved one that is watching their sodium intake, because you control the spices, and don't have to use salt. I didn't.

I should have added another really great use for such croutons. When you have a roasting chicken and want to stuff it, soften the croutons in milk, season liberally with sage, add a raw egg or two and chopped onion and mix with your hands. Chopped walnuts and finely-slice mushrooms are options, too.

 

[turbo]

That was fast! My Thiers-Issard Santoku arrived today in the mail. Here is a line-up of my current stable of cooking knives. At the top is a French-made hidden-tang chef's knife. I bought it from an old friend who buys and sells knives. He knows of my love for old cooking knives and he saved this for me. It was pretty corroded (surface-stuff, no pitting) and he only charged me $10. The blade is so beautifully tempered that if you stroke the edge, it rings. I buffed the blade with crocus cloth and then gave it a nice coating of gun-blue to help prevent further corrosion. Next is a chef's knife that has been sharpened over and over again, bought at a lawn sale years ago. From the extreme re-shaping due to sharpening, I expect that it lived much of its life in a busy commercial kitchen. Next is the new Santoku, which will be my primary vegetable/herb-chopping knife. Next is my Thiers-Issard 6" chef's knife - the real workhorse of the group. Under that is a Kuhn Rikon utility knife. The beveled blade and non-stick coating give this sturdy little knife good release properties for small slicing jobs. Last (and least) is a little Acuto paring knife. It has a thin, flexible blade and non-stick coating. My wife bought the last two knives at TJMaxx for a couple of bucks each. They sharpen easily, and fit her smallish hands well.

The 6" chef's knife replaces a similar carbon steel TI that was lost in a move years ago. the new Santoku replaces a 10" Chicago cutlery chef's knife. That knife has a heavy and rather soft blade. It was my vegetable-chopper for years (using the rear portion of the blade), but the large squarish handle and blade-heavy (lack of) balance made it awkward for my wife to use.

Tip: For you newly-weds or newly-employed former students who want to upgrade your cutlery, do not fall into the trap of buying a large set of $$$ knives. Go slow! Buy high-quality 6" chef's knife first - it will be your most-used knife. Get a nice diamond hone and a good sharpening steel, and you're good to go. Keep some inexpensive paring knives around, and then upgrade your other knives from open-stock. I still have my Chicago butcher's knife in the knife block - it is thick and heavy and does a heck of a job on chicken and turkey carcasses, and for the really heavy jobs, there is the big Gladiator cleaver.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

So I found a recipe for creamy corned beef, potato, and cabbage stew. I'll be making that later today after I get some sleep.

This is the recipe I am using...
http://meemoskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/03/quiet-man-pub-cream-of-corned-beef.html
Though I decided to not use carrots, since I do not want to accidentally over cook them and have nasty carrot mush, and I decided to use whole baby potatoes instead of cut potato. Also I think I may use some whiskey in place of the beer though I am unsure about this as of yet.

 

[turbo]

That sounds interesting, SA. Never had a creamy corned beef soup before...

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

That sounds interesting, SA. Never had a creamy corned beef soup before...

Nor have I. I thought it might be interesting. I was going to improvise if I didn't a recipe.

I think I may leave out the corn starch too, or at least keep the quantity small. I'm not really looking to have something very thick.

I'll let you all know how it turns out. Just put the brisket in the pot a few minutes ago.