What did I cook this weekend.....

[bob1852]

Oh. Well imagine my embarrassment


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Ingredients...

Roasting the yellow chilis and tomatillos...

And.......I forgot a finished pic. Oops.

 

[troy2000]

Pernil Asado 3, the Final Chapter: pulled pork sandwiches, with coleslaw and red vinegar sauce.

That pretty much wraps up the roast; there's nothing left of it but a few fatty scraps that didn't pull well. And the pan in the picture is empty; I was startled by how much pork five people packed away tonight.

 

[schematix]

Just picked up an 18lb side of prime grade rib eye from Costco. Outstanding piece of cow!

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Troy, Schematix: The term "NOM, NOM, NOM..." is running through my mind right now. That's some tasty looking food!

I made cupcakes for my girlfriend's B-Day. I'm not much of a baker, so some of you might scream "blasphemy!" when I tell you these cupcakes were from a boxed mix. My bit was the decorating. this is the 1st time I've attempted such fanciness with cupcakes, or any cakes for that matter. So $80 worth of cake decorating equipment & 4 hrs later, I ended up with these. It was hot that day, REALLY hot. Some of the frosting kind of melted a little bit.
At least my girlfriend liked them, her kids loved 'em.
The dark center is an Oreo cookie, the ladybugs are red M&M's.
Regards, GF.

 

[passedpawn]

Troy, Schematix: The term "NOM, NOM, NOM..." is running through my mind right now. That's some tasty looking food!

I made cupcakes for my girlfriend's B-Day. I'm not much of a baker, so some of you might scream "blasphemy!" when I tell you these cupcakes were from a boxed mix. My bit was the decorating. this is the 1st time I've attempted such fanciness with cupcakes, or any cakes for that matter. So $80 worth of cake decorating equipment & 4 hrs later, I ended up with these. It was hot that day, REALLY hot. Some of the frosting kind of melted a little bit.
At least my girlfriend liked them, her kids loved 'em.
The dark center is an Oreo cookie, the ladybugs are red M&M's.
Regards, GF.

Holy cow. I hope your gf was impressed, I am! Attention to detail is a rare quality. In my company it's the most important thing.

Good work!

 

[Goofynewfie]

Dad gummit. Now I need to not smoke my next bird and do one old style in the oven. Or maybe do both. I really need to make a Turkeyday Dinner in July or something.

I did this one in oven for easter

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Orange chicken last night. Marinaded the chicken in orange juice, soy sauce, ginger, sriracha, and chili sauce for about an hour, coated in corn starch and got it with the wok. Veggies were broccoli, onions, bell peppers, carrots, and snow peas. Reduced the marinade sauce and added a bit to the bowl with some thin spaghetti (a poor man's lo mein).

Lots of prep work but delicious

 

[DrunkleJon]

Just picked up an 18lb side of prime grade rib eye from Costco. Outstanding piece of cow!
View attachment 211189View attachment 211190

That is some gorgeous marbling. I bet that was one tasty slab of meat.

I did this one in oven for easter

What kind of rub do you use when you cook up your birds?

 

[passedpawn]

Failed at yogurt yesterday. Stayed mostly runny, not much curds. I think the plain yogurt I used to inoculate did not have a good live culture. I need to go to whole foods and get some good local hippy stuff.

 

[mattmmille]

Failed at yogurt yesterday. Stayed mostly runny, not much curds. I think the plain yogurt I used to inoculate did not have a good live culture. I need to go to whole foods and get some good local hippy stuff.

I've done yogurt a few times, but not recently. I recall that most of mine went well. One might have been a little too runny. You can drain it through cheesecloth and make Greek yogurt...or drain it longer and you have a yogurt cream cheese. The whey has some uses, but I can't remember any except feeding plants maybe? Google should help.

 

[Homercidal]

Got a couple of game hens to cook tonight. Need some ideas. I just planned to roast with a few spices, but it sounds boring.

 

[ChefRex]

Failed at yogurt yesterday. Stayed mostly runny, not much curds. I think the plain yogurt I used to inoculate did not have a good live culture. I need to go to whole foods and get some good local hippy stuff.

I used Activa for a starter with good results and have it going for the last six months is so.

 

[Hello]

I'll be sending my blackmail demands via PM, let's see, what's a really good Florida beer?

If you have to ask that then you don't deserve any FloridacigarcitybrewingBeer!

 

[Temptd2]

Failed at yogurt yesterday. Stayed mostly runny, not much curds. I think the plain yogurt I used to inoculate did not have a good live culture. I need to go to whole foods and get some good local hippy stuff.

If you can find it, try the Fage 2% or whole milk yogurt. I buy the small cups of it at WalMart - perfect for a starter. Makes a nice thick yogurt.

But then, I also use half & half, not milk - 1 gallon half & half and 1 container of the yogurt = MANY 4 oz. canning jars of thick and luscious yogurt goodness! I think I posted pics somewhere upthread!

 

[passedpawn]

If you can find it, try the Fage 2% or whole milk yogurt. I buy the small cups of it at WalMart - perfect for a starter. Makes a nice thick yogurt.

But then, I also use half & half, not milk - 1 gallon half & half and 1 container of the yogurt = MANY 4 oz. canning jars of thick and luscious yogurt goodness! I think I posted pics somewhere upthread!

My failed batch was Fage "Total 0%", which is non-fat. BTW, I'm certain my temps were at about 115 when I added the whole container of yogurt. Then I kept in oven, which stayed at about 100F, for 24 hours. I have some Activia. I think I'll give that a shot tonight (I didn't get out for the hippy yogurt).

 

[Temptd2]

Hmmm, not sure if the nonfat nature of your starter contributed to the failure or not - what kind of milk were you using?

I warm up the half & half to 110*. I stir the yogurt in a 2 cup measuring cup to loosen it up, then add a little of the warm half & half a bit at a time til the yogurt is easily pourable, then add that to the remainder of the gallon of half & half, and whisk in well.

I do mine in my dehydrator at about 110*. It fluctuates from about 104* to 118* as the dehydrator cycles on and off. I use my digital corded probe thermometer to keep track of it. 8 hours and it's perfectly thick and beautiful stuff. You can literally hold the cup upside down and the yogurt doesn't budge - you have to spoon it out.

I hope your next batch works great for you! It's so disappointing to spend the time and money to make something like that and have it fail.

 

[ChefRex]

I've only done organic whole milk, 8 or 9 hours at 100F or so does the trick.

 

[Tamarlane]

I used to make yogurt regularly and would use whatever live active yogurt was cheap to inoculate it. I would heat to 190 then let it cool to 100. Pitch the starter (1 tablespoon per quart), pour into a cookie jar, wrap in a warm towel and stick it in a cooler overnight. Strain if you like it thick. You can use the whey to see what other random foods around the kitchen taste good fermented.


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[passedpawn]

Hmmm, not sure if the nonfat nature of your starter contributed to the failure or not - what kind of milk were you using?

I warm up the half & half to 110*. I stir the yogurt in a 2 cup measuring cup to loosen it up, then add a little of the warm half & half a bit at a time til the yogurt is easily pourable, then add that to the remainder of the gallon of half & half, and whisk in well.

I do mine in my dehydrator at about 110*. It fluctuates from about 104* to 118* as the dehydrator cycles on and off. I use my digital corded probe thermometer to keep track of it. 8 hours and it's perfectly thick and beautiful stuff. You can literally hold the cup upside down and the yogurt doesn't budge - you have to spoon it out.

I hope your next batch works great for you! It's so disappointing to spend the time and money to make something like that and have it fail.

2% milk. Needs to be low-fat for wife. She's a "clean" and low-cal eater. I bought a yogurt strainer on Amazon tonight, so I'll wait till this weekend to continue my attempt.

BTW, she (wifey) likes crunchy snack foods. So today I made a bunch of low-carb nacho chips tonight for her by cutting low-carb tortillas into triangles and baking them.

I also made cheese crisps for her. They are tasty, but the Parmesan I used also had asiago cheese in it and while they were thin and crispy, they were VERY strongly cheesy. I need to find a better cheese to use for those. I also made these crisps from my favorite Cabot Hot Habanero, and those were supergood, but my wife won't eat that because it's a scorcher.

 

[troy2000]

Got a couple of game hens to cook tonight. Need some ideas. I just planned to roast with a few spices, but it sounds boring.

May be too late now to do you any good, but game hens go well with orange sauces or glazes. A quick google will give you honey orange glazes, orange sauces with or without marmalade, etc.

 

[bob1852]

May be too late now to do you any good, but game hens go well with orange sauces or glazes. A quick google will give you honey orange glazes, orange sauces with or without marmalade, etc.

I really like a bourbon jalapeño-jelly glaze (2:1 jelly to bourbon) for quail. I bet it would be great on Cornish hens.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Failed at yogurt yesterday. Stayed mostly runny, not much curds. I think the plain yogurt I used to inoculate did not have a good live culture. I need to go to whole foods and get some good local hippy stuff.

Hey Passed, you might find this useful:
https://www.lehmans.com/p-924-reusable-yogurt-starter-cultures.aspx
I've never used it, but it sounds like you just feed it every so often like you would a sourdough starter.
Regards, GF.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

My mother in law is staying with us to help with the baby while my wife recovers, and does some of the food shopping when I am at work. The other day she brought home some japanese eggplant because they are so cute, but didnt have a meal planned for them.

So I made Caponata in honor of my grandmother (RIP).

Its in the fridge doing its necessary overnight chill as we speak, and I'm going to pick up some rolls tonight after work.

 

[JonM]

I mixed up some leftover smoked chicken with a jar of grocery store tomato/basil sauce and mixed it up with pasta and zucchini. It was just okay. I think smoked chicken would be much better with a cream sauce or maybe pesto (or both!), so I'll try that next time.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Can you believe I have never had smoked chicken?

Grilled, bbq, poached, sauteed, fried, stewed... but never smoked.

 

[JonM]

Cold leftover smoked dark meat chicken is unbelievably good. Pair that with a salad and you have one of the world's greatest hot-weather meals.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

Cold leftover smoked dark meat chicken is unbelievably good. Pair that with a salad and you have one of the world's greatest hot-weather meals.

Now I just need a source. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Temptd2]

2% milk. Needs to be low-fat for wife. She's a "clean" and low-cal eater. I bought a yogurt strainer on Amazon tonight, so I'll wait till this weekend to continue my attempt.

BTW, she (wifey) likes crunchy snack foods. So today I made a bunch of low-carb nacho chips tonight for her by cutting low-carb tortillas into triangles and baking them.

I also made cheese crisps for her. They are tasty, but the Parmesan I used also had asiago cheese in it and while they were thin and crispy, they were VERY strongly cheesy. I need to find a better cheese to use for those. I also made these crisps from my favorite Cabot Hot Habanero, and those were supergood, but my wife won't eat that because it's a scorcher.

If you have a Costco nearby - they sell a tray of 4 different types of cheeses which are cut into "cracker" sizes - they make the BEST cheese "crackers" - I put them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, you need to leave about an inch between each slice so they don't run together, then bake them at 350* til they're bubbly. Let cool, then eat. They get crunchy good!

If they DO run together, don't panic - a pizza wheel separates them again nicely! Let cool a bit first, then run the wheel where they need to separate.

Even the non-Low Carb bunch in my family loves those.

You can sprinkle a little garlic powder or other seasoning on them before baking if you want, but I usually don't bother.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Can you believe I have never had smoked chicken?

Grilled, bbq, poached, sauteed, fried, stewed... but never smoked.

Thank the maker this isn't a certified BBQ thread or I wouldn't mention this but.......

I typically find smoked chicken to be the best thing a BBQ restaraunt offers.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Tortellini in a thick cheese sauce (mozzarella, asiago, Parmesan, small light roux, pinch of clove) sliced grilled herbed chicken, roasted tomato and herb sauce over top. (If the tomato and herbs had been added directly to the cheese sauce, it would have been a pretty classic AL FONO)