What did I cook this weekend.....

[S-Met]

Its just so beautiful, kinda brings a tear to my eye. I don't have my pressure cooker right now, on loan to my sister-in-law. She can hardly make toast in a toaster. She can barely make microwave popcorn. She struggles to make cup-noodles.

Her kid needs food that isn't processed. Its on loan for a good cause.

And yes, its electric. Wife and I gave a detailed tutorial of use and risks and get frequent how-to-calls.

 

[Staestc]

Turned out to be a great IP pot roast recipe!

 

[applescrap]

That pot roast looks awesome staestc. I made some cookies with royal icing. Should bake one day and ice on another.

 

[Staestc]

Thai green curry....

Someone asked for the recipe awhile ago, here it is.

~1.5 cups sliced lemon grass
20 garlic cloves
1-2 serrano
1 bunch cilantro
1 big bunch Thai basil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons galangal powder
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 cup palm sugar
1/2 cup tamari
2 cans of coconut milk

Steep the lemon grass in a quart of boiling water for 20 minutes. Strain to remove the lemon grass and toss everything (except for one of the cans of coconut milk) into the vitamix and blend the hell out of it. It will start out brown but then turn pea green. (If you use regular basil it may be a brighter green, but the flavor is better with Thai basil)

Strain into a big pot to separate out all of the solids and add another can of coconut milk.

Bring to a boil and add whatever meat/veggies you want.

Serve over rice or rice noodles, and garnish with shredded carrot, cilantro, bean sprouts, and Sriracha.

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Thanks for posting this! Wife and I had a Thai green curry at a resturant in Dallas Saturday and it was just awesome. This recipe is definitely on my todo list!

 

[user 211287]

Try either Mae Ploy or Maesri brand green curry paste before going through the effort to make it from scratch. Small cans of it are cheap and lots of places use their pastes. Maesri is sweeter but has no shrimp paste. Personally i prefer Mae Ploy pastes.

Maesri ingredients

Mae Ploy

 

[Temptd2]

I like those Mae Ploy pastes too - I have the Massaman and the Panang. Both yummy!

 

[Schlenkerla]

This... Just starting, making chipotles, smoked chicken and a pork shoulder

 

[Schlenkerla]

I guess a picture would help.

 

[user 211287]

I like those Mae Ploy pastes too - I have the Massaman and the Panang. Both yummy!

Yep and a 14oz tub is like 5 bucks. Thats a LOT of curry! A couple heaping tbs per can of coconut milk is enough for those that dont want it too spicy. I really like the red and panang. Green really isnt my bag. I prefer yellow over massaman and just add some tamrind to sour it if you want it similar to massaman.

Another thing i recommend is Chao Thai brand coconut cream powder. Keep it on hand in case you need a boost without adding more liquid. Turns a watery curry into a more creamy curry.

 

[Hanglow]

A very quick and tasty chickpea+aubergine curry

 

[user 211287]

I made some of that the other day shahi style. (little bit of cream added to the chana masala) Simple way is just add a tbs of heavy cream to your recipe.

 

[user 211287]

Arroz Con Pollo

 

[Schlenkerla]

Last week I pressure cooked raw peanuts in salt, cayenne pepper, and taco seasoning and then dried them. Eating them now.....

They're pretty tasty.

 

[JohnSand]

I baked an apple pie in the charcoal grill. Okay, it was a frozen pie. I was lazy and hungry. And my wife complains about the mess when I make pie crust.
Then I toasted some pumpkin seeds in the grill, after carving the pumpkins.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I guess a picture would help.View attachment 595275

This is that chicken stuffed with one orange, one lemon, two limes and a head of garlic.

I wrapped this sucker in foil last night. Then put it back on the smoker with the shoulder. Late last night pulled it chilled overnight. Later today, warmed it for several hours today at 170F.

Opened the foil and it split like national lampoons Christmas vacation turkey Except it's not dry.

It split into 4 sections when I opened the foil. - LOL

View attachment 20181030_210639.jpeg

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I baked an apple pie in the charcoal grill. Okay, it was a frozen pie. I was lazy and hungry. And my wife complains about the mess when I make pie crust.
Then I toasted some pumpkin seeds in the grill, after carving the pumpkins.

So how was the pie? I've never done pie on the grill, but I've been seriously thinking of giving it, or something similar a try. Seems like a frozen pie might be a good place to start.
Regards, GF.

 

[JohnSand]

So how was the pie? I've never done pie on the grill, but I've been seriously thinking of giving it, or something similar a try. Seems like a frozen pie might be a good place to start.
Regards, GF.

The pie is very good. The grill is an Akorn, which has excellent draft/temperature control. I use their Smokin' Stone for indirect heat. Because I use lump charcoal, it's important to let all of the smoke burn off before baking, otherwise the food absorbs smoke. I've baked muffins, cornbread and now pie in the grill.

 

[Oldskewl]

I baked an apple pie in the charcoal grill. Okay, it was a frozen pie. I was lazy and hungry. And my wife complains about the mess when I make pie crust.
Then I toasted some pumpkin seeds in the grill, after carving the pumpkins.

I love roasted pumpkin seeds. This is my go to recipe. You have to try it. My kids usually eat them up before I get to eat many of them. My son is in Boy Scouts and he collected the seeds from all of the pumpkins they carved at this weeks meeting. I have plenty this year!

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/93450/sweet-and-spicy-pumpkin-seeds/

 

[Temptd2]

The beginnings of this recipe came from a post on a low-carb forum I belong to. This is the original link posted there:

https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2018/10/pig-in-pumpkin-trick-and-treat.html

Of course I have never met a recipe I didn't think I could improve so here is MY version! And I most certainly did NOT skim any fat - the sauce was perfectly thickened into a nice gravy as evidenced by what's on the mashed potatoes - no further thickening needed.

Char's Pig in a Punkin

1 good-sized pie pumpkin or other round/flat squash like Turbin
3 pounds pork shoulder, cut into largish cubes
Seasoning Mix - see below
2 tablespoons flour (optional but it does thicken the gravy - you could omit and pour the liquid into a pan and thicken with your choice of LC gums)
1 large shallot, cut into fine dice
1/2 a medium sweet or red onion, cut into dice
1 brown ale or similar dark beer - Modelo Negra would work fine here too
12 ounces water
2 tablespoons chicken stock paste
2-3 tablespoons fat - duck, bacon, lard, olive oil will all do

Seasoning Mix - mix all ingredients together in a small bowl
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon each: onion powder, garlic powder, Hatch or other chile powder, smoked paprika, rubbed dried sage, rubbed dried thyme, rubbed dried rosemary (when I say rubbed what I mean is, measure the dried herb into your hand and rub with the thumb of your other hand. It releases the oils and gives more flavor that way.)

Directions

Remove any gristle/silverskin from the pork cubes. Don't cut all the fat off though. It helps with tenderness and flavor.

Place the cubes into a large ziploc bag and shake into a single layer. Sprinkle half the seasoning mix on the cubes; turn bag over and sprinkle the other half of the seasoning mix onto the second side. Close bag and shake well to distribute the seasonings. Refrigerate overnight or 24 to 36 hours if you can!

When ready to cook - preheat the oven to 350* F. Wash the outside of the squash. Cut a lid from the squash - you want to insert your knife at a 45* angle so that the lid will fit back on without falling into the pumpkin - it shrinks as it cooks. Scrape out insides of stringy stuff and seeds - reserve the seeds for another use if desired. Place the cleaned pumpkin in a baking dish because liquid WILL leak out during cooking!

Add the flour if using to the meat in the ziploc bag; reseal and shake to distribute it well.

Brown the meat in batches in fat of your choice. I used duck fat. Brown all sides of the meat. As you finish each batch, place the cubes into the pumpkin and sprinkle with some of the onion and shallot. After the bottom layer goes in, add your chicken stock paste. Continue til all meat is in the punkin - if you have meat left that won't fit in, place it in a baking dish.

Now pour in the brown ale/beer to come up about halfway in the pumpkin. Add an equal amount of water. If you're also cooking the excess meat in a baking dish, add a bit of chicken stock paste and beer and water to that dish as well. Put the lid on the pumpkin; cover the baking dish tightly with foil. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and put into the preheated oven.

Roast at 350* for an hour, then turn temp down to 325* and roast til meat is very tender - mine took about 3 hours. Then I turned the heat down to 185* because it wasn't dinnertime yet, and it sat at that temp about 45 minutes.

Carefully remove from oven. Remove the pumpkin lid and cut the pumpkin in half - if you have meat in a baking dish, combine the meat from the pumpkin with it and all the liquid too. Thicken if needed. Cut pumpkin into serving pieces.

We had ours with mashed potatoes and the sauce made a great gravy. The meat stayed in chunks although it's harder to tell from the pictures but it was so tender you could cut it easily with a fork!

 

[applescrap]

Whoa!!

 

[imasickboy]

Yes, im familiar with it. The NuMex Suave is very similar to it. Burpee also carries Zavory. Chileplants.com had seedlings this year but now they are out until next year.

I went with Trinidad Perfume and Aji Dulce #1 from CrossCountryNurseries (chileplants.com). Both are nearly heatless. The problem with the no heat hybrids is the seeds might be worthless because they are not stable.

The Perfume and Dulce are stable and should be heirlooms so if you like them you got lots of seeds for the following year. The Perfume is also supposed to be a SUPER productive plant.

This one comes VERY highly recommended too if you want more of a bonnet flavor and some heat. ....Rocotillo capsicum chinense

I specified chinense because their is another one with a similar name but it is a type of baccatum.

I make quite a bit of hot sauce and i hate using stuff like yellow or red bells for filler when making a milder hab/bonnet sauces. Mild habs are also flat out killer in Caribbean/South American bean dishes. A sofrito for beans just isnt the same without Aji Dulce.

Now that I'm at the end of the growing season, and drying everything I have left over, I'm loving the habanada that I grew since the zavory weren't available from my usual source. I think I may like these even better. Nearly double the size, and fruity like I cannot believe. Yield was ridiculous, and I probably couldn't be happier with another pepper.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Seared scallops, cod, saffron rice and veg. I think I nailed the sear on the scallops this time.

 

[passedpawn]

I think I nailed the sear on the scallops this time.

Yes, yes you did. Those monster scallops are calling my name.

 

[TwistedGray]

The pie is very good. The grill is an Akorn, which has excellent draft/temperature control. I use their Smokin' Stone for indirect heat. Because I use lump charcoal, it's important to let all of the smoke burn off before baking, otherwise the food absorbs smoke. I've baked muffins, cornbread and now pie in the grill.

Absolutely love my Akorn

 

[davidabcd]

hot dogs

I know you posted around two weeks ago for this but, if I could give a post multiple likes, hotdogs would get it. Well done. I don't have the equipment to roll with it. Love to see it.

 

[TwistedGray]

Pork bellies cooked various ways.

Smoked with cherry wood for four hours after basted in an IPA BBQ sauce I made plus a basic pork rub. It's nom nom good!

This one went into the Instapot for 1hr 20mins then cast iron skillet for 5min and 15min more in a mini oven at 450°. It's amazing, too!

 

[davidabcd]

Sirloin (in cast iron) tacos. Smacked.

I'm not sure what "smacked" means but that is a commercial worthy pic. Love the mid-rare.

 

[davidabcd]

I just love my Instant Pot!

THAT is nice. It's good to see good cooking around the country.

 

[davidabcd]

Bolognese sauce on pasta. And garlic cheesy rolls.

NICE. It's good to see like-minded souls. That looked like a lemon zester? I'll keep that in mind when grating in the future.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

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Seared scallops, cod, saffron rice and veg. I think I nailed the sear on the scallops this time.

Those scallops are absolutely GORGEOUS! Well done!
Regards, GF.