What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[nismaratwork]

Yes, there at people here who like spicy food. Not just for the sake of heat or spice, but for the added dimension to the flavor of the end-product. I can't for the life of me figure out why people spend big bucks to buy some strong pepper-concentrate in little designer bottles when they could use law-enforcement pepper-spray instead. I love to cook with habaneros and jalapenos, etc, but if they had no flavor of their own what would be the point? Those chilies impart their own character on the food you use them in, in addition to the heat. If you can't appreciate that, better stay away from cooking spicy foods, because you'll just give spicy foods an undeserved bad reputation.

When I was a kid, our next-door neighbor made the best dynamites ever. They were very spicy elongated meatballs served on hot-dog buns and covered with a spicy tomato-based hot sauce. Heaven! She had a hot-dog stand and served burgers and fries there too, but the big draw for locals was dynamites. There is irrational "hot" and "hot" that flows from a natural progression of crafting good food that just happens to be spicy.

Mmmmmm...


I like how you think man... it's the same kind of process that gives us a dash of cayenne in our cocoa, and makes life better.

 

[dimensional]

Well this is the food thread, not the gauging interest in food thread.

Calling all food lovers and connoisseurs of PF .
A thread to post anything and everything about food.

Noted. ;)

Here's the recipe guys, I'll try to format it all fancy-like and everything.

Cookware Required:

a 12 quart soup pot
a blender
a large wok or deep pan
a flat tortilla pan

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon of chopped garlic (I like to use a bit more)
1 yellow onion
1 can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 tablespoons of preferred chicken bouillon
3 pounds of skinless, boneless chicken breast (you can use any chicken you like...)
6 roma tomatoes
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 package of preferred tortillas
and all the extra condiments for tacos like sour cream, etc.


Cooking the Chicken:

Place all of the chicken in a 12 quart soup pot, submerged in enough water to cover all of the breasts with a bit left on top. Cut half of the onion in longer pieces and put this in with the chicken. Also put one tablespoon of garlic with the boiling chicken, as well as two tablespoons of your preferred chicken bouillon (intensifies the flavor very nicely!). You want to let these breasts boil for about 45 minutes. The goal here is to get them as tender as possible. Once the breasts are done, take them out of the pot and set them aside to start cooling off a bit. KEEP THE STOCK!

Making the Sauce:

Now, you'll need a blender ready. Go ahead and open up the can of chipotle peppers. You'll need about 3 if you don't like the sauce *too* spicy. I usually use 5 or so! Put these in the blender with about half the remaining chicken stock. I don't have exact estimates on these quantities because I've been making this for years, but it works very well. If you need more stock later, you can very easily add more from the soup pot right back into it. Blend these peppers and the stock together into a very fine puree.

Preparing the Chicken for the Sauce:

All you really need to do here is shred the chicken breasts into very fine strips. This is very time consuming, so having some help is nice. I find doing this by hand to be quickest, although use what works best for you.

Put it Together!:

Chop up the other half of your onion, your garlic and your tomatoes. You'll want the pieces on all of these to be pretty small, since they are meant to be put in tacos. In your large wok or deep sauce pan, heat up 2 tablespoons of garlic. Put in your chopped onions first, and let those fry for about 5 to 7 minutes. Then you'll put in the garlic for another 5 to 7, and finally put the tomatoes into fry a bit as well. After all of the vegetables have been cooking together and caramelizing, you'll put in the entire amount of shredded chicken breast and then finally all of the sauce you just made. If you need more liquid constitution for your sauce, go ahead and add more of that chicken stock if you have any left. Now all you do is let this simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes, while stirring occasionally.

Make some Tacos:

This is the easy and funnest part. The way I usually do it is just get out all of my condiments (sour cream, lettuce, etc.) on a big table for everyone to make their own. You just need to heat up the tortillas on a flat pan for about 5 minutes on each side, and then serve em up!


I hope someone tries this out! :D

 

[Jasongreat]

I'm in the Carolinas area not infrequently... I almost went to Fig once, but didn't get the chance in the end. Baked beets and Schweitzer though?... I'm in.

Jason: Sounds good to me! I like the browned sausages as an element... a lot. Honestly, I think I might use your sauce as the base for sandwiches too... maybe add some sauteed peppers to finish... yeah.

Thanks Jason!

Your welcome, the sandwich idea sounds good, I can't believe I have never thought to try that. It also works great as a sauce for lasagna, just cut the sausages smaller or use ground sausage and add either some ricotta or cottage cheese to it, then spread between layers of noodles and top with romano and parmesan cheeses.

 

[Evo]

So many delicious recipes!

Tonight I am frying some cabbage, onions, and bacon. I'm a bit burned out on all of the heavy bean soups and pot roast.

 

[nismaratwork]

Your welcome, the sandwich idea sounds good, I can't believe I have never thought to try that. It also works great as a sauce for lasagna, just cut the sausages smaller or use ground sausage and add either some ricotta or cottage cheese to it, then spread between layers of noodles and top with romano and parmesan cheeses.

Lasagna... Oh man, that sounds so good!

Evo: Heh, it's good to take these little breaks. You always know it's time for something like that when you start to grave salad... or the house-plants. :winl:

 

[turbo]

I haven't cooked anything for days. With this raging head-cold, nothing tastes good. Even habanero relish and hot mustard can't break it up. I can't wait for food to start tasting good again.

 

[nismaratwork]

I haven't cooked anything for days. With this raging head-cold, nothing tastes good. Even habanero relish and hot mustard can't break it up. I can't wait for food to start tasting good again.

Your tastebuds must want to kick you in the capsaicin receptors...

 

[Evo]

I haven't cooked anything for days. With this raging head-cold, nothing tastes good. Even habanero relish and hot mustard can't break it up. I can't wait for food to start tasting good again.

Habaneros and other peppers don't affect the sinuses, you need horseradish, but if you have a head cold I wouldn't want to eat anything that would inflame your sinuses.

 

[nismaratwork]

Habeneros and other peppers don't affect the sinuses, you need horseradish, but if you have a head cold I wouldn't want to eat anything that would inflame your sinuses.

Snort a line a pseudofed and finely chopped wasabi root.

NOTE: THAT WAS A JOKE THAT COULD HARM YOU!Maybe just the usual nasal lavage with saline...edit: Evo: You're right that capsaicin won't clear the sinuses, but it will effect any mucous membrane STRONGLY, including the nose and sinuses. In fact, you can see from people who've been hit with OC spray that the body's reaction is to produce copious amounts of mucous and clear the system... which is admittedly worse than the cold I'd guess.

 

[Evo]

edit: Evo: You're right that capsaicin won't clear the sinuses, but it will effect any mucous membrane STRONGLY, including the nose and sinuses. In fact, you can see from people who've been hit with OC spray that the body's reaction is to produce copious amounts of mucous and clear the system... which is admittedly worse than the cold I'd guess.

Yeah, but that's going into the nose and eyes. I'm hoping turbo is not that desperate yet.

 

[nismaratwork]

Yeah, but that's going into the nose and eyes. I'm hoping turbo is not that desperate yet.

He's spice-crazy I tell yah!

 

[turbo]

He's spice-crazy I tell yah!

I fired up a hot-dog tonight and put a couple of tablespoons of horseradish and a lot of Farmer's brand hot mustard into that roll. I am still not clear. I have no wasabi...

 

[Evo]

I fired up a hot-dog tonight and put a couple of tablespoons of horseradish and a lot of Farmer's brand hot mustard into that roll. I am still not clear. I have no wasabi...

From the video of the people eating that wasabi oil sushi, there'd be nothing left in your skull. I didn't even know wasabi oil existed.

 

[nismaratwork]

From the video of the people eating that wasabi oil sushi, there'd be nothing left in your skull. I didn't even know wasabi oil existed.

Wasabi oil... the memory hurts me. Some people have a ****ing NASTY sense of humor, and I was on the wroooooong end of that prank. I don't think I've ever been in such acute distress outside of major injury...

Turbo-1: You're bonkers turbo, but I'll still talk to you... generous right? Maybe your nose is just shutting down in revolt from the things you do to it! How can a guy with such an array of good recipes be so gaga for spice?! I've eaten Thai street food that sounds less painful than some of your concoctions.

Anyway... Evo is still right about horseradish... and that's all wasabi is. So... do you have a Whole Foods or some other place you can buy some fresh, whole, horseradish root? Yes? Good! Well, buy some grate it like a carrot, and cut a chunk of it for later. Now, take what you have and finely chop it. Put it in a pot and cover with water (add an extra inch), add a teaspoon or so of booze (you're not eating this, so go for alcohol content). Cover and put over max heat. As soon as it starts to boil, turn down the heat so it's just simmering get your face over the pot and use a utensil to start mashing the now-soft horseradish in the pot, over the heat.

This should, if I'm right, liberate the more volatile compounds from the horseradish and send them sailing directly into your nose. If I'm wrong, you might get a mild chemical burn in your sinuses... fair warning!

Ah, remember that little chunk of horseradish you put aside? That, you just shred like cheese and mash with a potato or something similar. The trick there is to par-cook the potato, open it (think twice-baked) and stuff it with the shredded horseradish, bake until cooked... done.

You can eat cured horseradish of the beet-stained or white variety, but the pickling, while leaving a delicious and spicy product for a Hillel Sandwich, is not useful in terms of its most potent esters.

 

[HeLiXe]

The first time I had wasabi with sushi, I thought it was avocado...and I LOVE avocado...

 

[Evo]

The first time I had wasabi with sushi, I thought it was avocado...and I LOVE avocado...

rut ro, you had an avocado sized portion of wasabi?

 

[lisab]

The first time I had wasabi with sushi, I thought it was avocado...and I LOVE avocado...

My sinuses ache for you !

 

[HeLiXe]

rut ro, you had an avocado sized portion of wasabi?

about a teaspoon on a California Roll -_-

My sinuses ache for you !

Thanks Lisab...and all I had to drink was some hot green tea. It was an experience like no other.

 

[Evo]

about a teaspoon on a California Roll -_-

Thanks Lisab...and all I had to drink was some hot green tea. It was an experience like no other.

 

[HeLiXe]

Exactly LOLOLOL AND I was trying to be cool about it lol with tears streaming down from my face while I was coughing..."It's alright, I'm okay"

 

[nismaratwork]

Wow... That's about the time it's most prudent to curl into a fetal position and pray for death; I would have been begging for dairy or a gun.

 

[lisab]

Wow... That's about the time it's most prudent to curl into a fetal position and pray for death; I would have been begging for dairy or a gun.

Wow, are you *that* lactose intolerant ?

 

[DaveC426913]

Wow, are you *that* lactose intolerant ?

 

[nismaratwork]

Wow, are you *that* lactose intolerant ?

Oh man... no Lisa... dairy is the antidote to spice... water (which is what tea really is) just spreads around the pain. If you were kidding, then I'm still laughing my ****s off. Ah, good stuff, I can just imagine someone carrying a poison pill "allergen". "If I am captured, I will eat this peanut... death is certain!"

 

[HeLiXe]

Wow... That's about the time it's most prudent to curl into a fetal position and pray for death; I would have been begging for dairy or a gun.

Wow, are you *that* lactose intolerant ?

 

[lisab]

Oh man... no Lisa... dairy is the antidote to spice... water (which is what tea really is) just spreads around the pain. If you were kidding, then I'm still laughing my ****s off. Ah, good stuff, I can just imagine someone carrying a poison pill "allergen". "If I am captured, I will eat this peanut... death is certain!"

 

[nismaratwork]

You madam, are pure evil.

Oh, man...

 

[HeLiXe]

What is so good about string bean casserole?

 

[turbo]

What is so good about string bean casserole?

Nothing! It is the holiday dish from hell, made with commercially-produced crap and packaged as a pretend "tradition". I had an aunt that used to bring that as her meager contribution to Thanksgiving meals. The people (overwhelmingly female) that cooked for those gatherings did NOT hold her in high regard, to say the least.

The idiocy continues, of course. Last night I saw a commercial that explained how you could make a "tasty" dish by pouring Campbell's chunky soup over a bed of rice, and it would only cost you about $4. I hope nobody here is desperate enough to have to resort to that, or we are doomed.

Is there nobody left in America that can actually make a pot of soup (cheap food that will last for days and days of leftovers)? The commercials (Progresso, Campbell's) imply that if you want soup, you have to open a can. I think we all know better, but there is a whole generation or two of gullible fools (or perhaps just lazy people) out there that seem to have no idea how to cook the most basic foods. If you took away their can-openers, they would have to live the rest of their lives eating Hamburger Helper and Wonder Bread.

Sorry for the food-rant. My wife and I cook everything from scratch, so it seems so alien to deal with people who get everything out of cans.

There is a growing local-grains movement, with area farmers willing to branch out and supply oats, wheat, rye, barley, etc to that market. If it continues, a home-sized grain mill could be in our future. My wife has thrown herself into bread-making in the past year or so, and that's the next logical step. She spent the day with one of my aunts yesterday, teaching her how to make traditional European breads, and we got a call last night. One of the French loaves was already gone, and one of the rye loaves was almost gone. My uncle might gain weight.

 

[turbo]

If you like to cook, or even think you'd like to, buy a Hobart/KitchenAid stand mixer with accessories. You will find them on sale from time to time with a selection of add-ons such as a meat grinder, sausage-maker, vegetable slicer, etc. Just buy it! The motors in those old-fashioned machines are bullet-proof and strong as all get-out. They are very heavy and tough, and you can buy more accessories later if you want, because the basic mixer/PTO configurations don't change. My wife took a course in French provincial cooking many years ago, and the restaurant whose owner taught the course was equipped with Hobart mixing/processing machinery. The same brand that I had bought her years before that. The only difference was that the professional Hobart line featured very large equipment. Instead of unlocking and tilting up the head of a heavy home-version stand mixer, to disengage a Hobart, you had to throw a lever that lowered the mixing bowl from the mixing tool. Just a matter of ergonomics. Other than that, the machines were just scaled versions of one another.

I can't tell you how many gallons of pickles I have made over the years using that KitchenAid to slice all my vegetables. In that mode, it's like a Saladmaster on steroids. My wife makes cookies for our dog every few weeks using the meat-grinder. Grind up fresh beef liver, shred some carrots, and mix with whole grains, garlic, etc, and bake. Duke and his friend Max flip over them. I tried to make an initial batch using our blender to chop the liver before we got our 2-speed commercial-grade blender, and I had to shut it down because it was smelling hot.

The meat-grinder accessory on a heavy stand mixer is good for us for another reason. Venison is too lean to hold together well and make good burgers for grilling. Take that venison and run it through the grinder with an admixture of cheap fatty pork, and you have 'burger meat to die for. The cheap pork extends the (precious) venison and gives you a product that will hold together on the grill if you handle it gently.

 

[nismaratwork]

Nothing! It is the holiday dish from hell, made with commercially-produced crap and packaged as a pretend "tradition". I had an aunt that used to bring that as her meager contribution to Thanksgiving meals. The people (overwhelmingly female) that cooked for those gatherings did NOT hold her in high regard, to say the least.

The idiocy continues, of course. Last night I saw a commercial that explained how you could make a "tasty" dish by pouring Campbell's chunky soup over a bed of rice, and it would only cost you about $4. I hope nobody here is desperate enough to have to resort to that, or we are doomed.

Is there nobody left in America that can actually make a pot of soup (cheap food that will last for days and days of leftovers)? The commercials (Progresso, Campbell's) imply that if you want soup, you have to open a can. I think we all know better, but there is a whole generation or two of gullible fools (or perhaps just lazy people) out there that seem to have no idea how to cook the most basic foods. If you took away their can-openers, they would have to live the rest of their lives eating Hamburger Helper and Wonder Bread.

Sorry for the food-rant. My wife and I cook everything from scratch, so it seems so alien to deal with people who get everything out of cans.

There is a growing local-grains movement, with area farmers willing to branch out and supply oats, wheat, rye, barley, etc to that market. If it continues, a home-sized grain mill could be in our future. My wife has thrown herself into bread-making in the past year or so, and that's the next logical step. She spent the day with one of my aunts yesterday, teaching her how to make traditional European breads, and we got a call last night. One of the French loaves was already gone, and one of the rye loaves was almost gone. My uncle might gain weight.

You know that the whole "string bean casserole" is a creation of Campbells? It was just one of their recipe suggestions when they made their cream of mushroom soup. It's really disgusting in my view, although you can make a casserole of green beans from scratch that's good. In my experience, you take frozen beans, canned soup, canned fried dessicated onions... and just know that the onions go on top.

Whenever I see the result of that combo, I hear 'Mother's Little Helper' playing in my head.
When it comes to green beans, I like them Almondine.

turbo: I have a friend who, without his wife, would be a grown man eating boiled eggs, canned foods, and ramen. I've offered to teach him to cook, but as you say, it's an art that's under active assault.

 

[HeLiXe]

Nothing! It is the holiday dish from hell, made with commercially-produced crap and packaged as a pretend "tradition". I had an aunt that used to bring that as her meager contribution to Thanksgiving meals. The people (overwhelmingly female) that cooked for those gatherings did NOT hold her in high regard, to say the least.

The idiocy continues, of course. Last night I saw a commercial that explained how you could make a "tasty" dish by pouring Campbell's chunky soup over a bed of rice, and it would only cost you about $4. I hope nobody here is desperate enough to have to resort to that, or we are doomed.

Is there nobody left in America that can actually make a pot of soup (cheap food that will last for days and days of leftovers)? The commercials (Progresso, Campbell's) imply that if you want soup, you have to open a can. I think we all know better, but there is a whole generation or two of gullible fools (or perhaps just lazy people) out there that seem to have no idea how to cook the most basic foods. If you took away their can-openers, they would have to live the rest of their lives eating Hamburger Helper and Wonder Bread.

Sorry for the food-rant. My wife and I cook everything from scratch, so it seems so alien to deal with people who get everything out of cans.

There is a growing local-grains movement, with area farmers willing to branch out and supply oats, wheat, rye, barley, etc to that market. If it continues, a home-sized grain mill could be in our future. My wife has thrown herself into bread-making in the past year or so, and that's the next logical step. She spent the day with one of my aunts yesterday, teaching her how to make traditional European breads, and we got a call last night. One of the French loaves was already gone, and one of the rye loaves was almost gone. My uncle might gain weight.

Thx for sharing the food rant Turbo-1. I've never tried it but it seems disgusting and stupid... it makes more sense now that you and Nismar mentioned it is a "commercial" tradition. I like string beans, and I even eat them raw, but the casserole thing seemed somewhat gross to me.

It's cool that you mentioned your wife and the breads. I actually want to start making breads and plan to do so once my frikkin wrist gets better.

 

[nismaratwork]

Thx for sharing the food rant Turbo-1. I've never tried it but it seems disgusting and stupid... it makes more sense now that you and Nismar mentioned it is a "commercial" tradition. I like string beans, and I even eat them raw, but the casserole thing seemed somewhat gross to me.

It's cool that you mentioned your wife and the breads. I actually want to start making breads and plan to do so once my frikkin wrist gets better.

Brown some butter in a pan, toss in sliced almonds and toast them a bit... then in go the beans, salt, pepper to taste. Serve. THAT is how you treat really good string beans.


If you have some rough beans, a stir fry is my favorite, but you can make a decent bean casserole with string beans, asparagus, and a béchamel base.

 

[turbo]

If you have some rough beans, a stir fry is my favorite, but you can make a decent bean casserole with string beans, asparagus, and a béchamel base.

We grow our own string beans, and my favorite way to prepare them is steamed, tossed with a bit of butter, salt, and pepper. Heaven!

As the beans overwhelm us in quantity, we have to freeze them or can them to keep up. Those are great in the off-season, but nothing beats fresh-picked green beans just minutes from the garden.

For those who garden, here's how to freeze your beans. Put metal trays or cookie sheets in your freezer (we have two large chest freezers, so there is no space problem) and chill them while you are picking the beans. Immediately after picking, spread the beans out on the trays so they will freeze as quickly as possible. When they are frozen, put them in large freezer-bags. Since you didn't wash the beans, there won't be any water residue, and they won't freeze together. Want to put a handful of beans in a small batch of soup? Take a colander to the freezer and grab some beans. Rinse them off, snap the stems, and toss them in the pot. Much better than commercially frozen beans.

 

[Evo]

What is so good about string bean casserole?

My mother was French and my grandmother was English, so I grew up not knowing what a "casserole" was. They both cooked from scratch, although my mother tried to add some "american" food for my brother so he'd be accepted by his friends. I got the yummy snails, liver, and odd and exotic foods.

I think I was in my 20's when I went somewhere that someone served the traditional green bean casserole from campbell's, and to be honest, it's not bad. I had never heard of it. It's not something I've ever made or would, I'm not a fan of canned green beans, but it's not what a lot of food snobs say either. (I am a food snob, btw). Growing up we only had fresh green beans cooked with salt pork, onions, and new potatoes. I thought those were the world's best until I had the green beans stir fried with sesame oil at the chinese counter at the grocery store.