What's Cooking

[Cheese]

Clock wise rotation:
Lemon dressing, shrimp, chives, parsley, peas, snap peas, asparagus tops, asparagus bottoms, lemon zest & tarragon with Orzo in the upper LH corner.

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This was served at just under room temperature...delicious.

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[GoingMyWay]

That shrimp orzo salad looks perfect for a light summer dinner.

Tried making yaka mein after seeing it on an old episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations.  It looks better than it tastes.  It was really lacking flavor.  I might have picked a bad recipe.  The seasonings were pretty much just

2tsp Zatarain's Creole Seasoning
1tsp Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic
1tsp Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic
3 tsp Better Than Bouillon Roasted Beef Base

Adding Sriracha did help though.

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Made eggs en cocotte for breakfast today.  The base tasted like cream of mushroom soup, which would make sense since it's shallots, mushrooms, and heavy cream.

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I found this Old Bay hot sauce at the grocery store yesterday.  It tastes good.  I like to make Old Bay wings with the dry seasoning.  I might have to try tossing some wings in this hot sauce.

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[GoingMyWay]

I got a new kitchen toy - a chamber vacuum sealer.  This is one of the first "small form factor" chamber vacuum sealers that I've found.  Most units are designed for commercial kitchens and are huge.  This only weighs 25lbs and it only takes up about a 14.5" x 14.5" footprint.  It's also on the cheaper side at only $599.99 versus $999+ for the Vacmaster VP215.  I had already pre-ordered the Avid Armor when I learned that Vacmaster is coming out with the VP200 for only $499.  The VP200 seems like a better deal as it's cheaper, can handle 12" x 12" bags, and has a vacuum hose port.  The Avid Armor can only handle 11" x 13".  Overall I am I happy to finally have a chamber vacuum sealer. 

So far we've tried making vacuum compressed watermelon.  It makes the watermelon denser and juicier.  We also tried making "instant" pickled watermelon rind and a pickled cabbage to go with our rice porridge for dinner.  It's nice to be able to vacuum seal liquids now (just gotta be sure to not overfill the bag or the liquid will bubble out).

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[GoingMyWay]

My wife cooked up a bunch of Taiwanese food yesterday.  Popcorn Chicken, 3 Pepper Chicken, Steamed Red Shrimp with Vermicelli, and Snow Pea Tips.

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[GoingMyWay]

We're attempting to make gravlax.  We looked at a few different videos for recipes.  We decided to moisten the fish with a little vodka and then equal parts of Demerara sugar and Morton Kosher Salt.  We're gonna leave it covered and pressed for 3 days in the fridge and then see how we do.

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Oh cottage cheese - one of my vices.  I am a full fat cottage cheese kind of guy and can't stand the ones where the curds almost squeak in your teeth.  I won't buy the name brands and locally only will buy the Food Lion brand.  Small curd is virtually impossible to find.  I suspect that cottage cheese might taste better at a salad bar due to longer exposure to the air - like many cheeses do.

Growing up as a kid cottage cheese was sprinkled with Lawry's Season Salt.  I prefer Chef Paul's Meat Magic on top now.  My wife and her whole family mixes cottage cheese with baked beans at Thanksgiving  [scared] [scared] [scared].

To each their own I suppose.

Peter

[member=1674]Peter Halle[/member] I finally remembered to try leaving an uncovered bowl of cottage cheese in the fridge last night.  The grocery store only had Hood brand 1% small curd.  It sat uncovered for probably 14 hours.  I think it did in fact taste better than right out of the tub.  Thanks for that suggestion!

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[Tinker]

Growing up on my uncle's dairy farm in the southern Berkshires, I remember making what was always referred as "Pot Cheese" My cousin put sour milk cuds into cheese cloth bags. She hung them over the kitchen sink to let all the liquid drain out. I don't remember how long it took, but I do recall about three bags at a time. I am with Peter that the commercial cottage cheese just doesn't cut it for flavor.

We also made our own butter and sold it to the neighbors. The home brewed butter I never developed an appreciation for. But the "pot" cottage cheese was delicious.
Tinker

 

[hdv]

Today I refound a recipe someone had given me years ago. I remembered that I found it delicious, so I tried it again this evening.

- Remove the ends of green asparagus and cut the rest into short bits
- Cut a shallot in thin rings
- Heat some oil
- Add the shallots
- When the shallots have glazed add the asparagus
- Stir fry for about 3 minutes
- Add a table spoon of ponzu (citrus seasoned soja)
- Sprinkle juzu flakes on top
- Add freshly ground black pepper
- Serve

Sorry, no photo's.

Anyone interested in Indian chicken Balti? That's one of my favourites.

 

[GoingMyWay]

Growing up on my uncle's dairy farm in the southern Berkshires, I remember making what was always referred as "Pot Cheese" My cousin put sour milk cuds into cheese cloth bags. She hung them over the kitchen sink to let all the liquid drain out. I don't remember how long it took, but I do recall about three bags at a time. I am with Peter that the commercial cottage cheese just doesn't cut it for flavor.

We also made our own butter and sold it to the neighbors. The home brewed butter I never developed an appreciation for. But the "pot" cottage cheese was delicious.
Tinker

Great to see you posting again [member=550]Tinker[/member]!

Today I refound a recipe someone had given me years ago. I remembered that I found it delicious, so I tried it again this evening.

- Remove the ends of green asparagus and cut the rest into short bits
- Cut a shallot in thin rings
- Heat some oil
- Add the shallots
- When the shallots have glazed add the asparagus
- Stir fry for about 3 minutes
- Add a table spoon of ponzu (citrus seasoned soja)
- Sprinkle juzu flakes on top
- Add freshly ground black pepper
- Serve

Sorry, no photo's.

Anyone interested in Indian chicken Balti? That's one of my favourites.

I don't think I've ever heard of chicken balti before.  Is it the same thing as curry or it is different?

 

[hdv]

As far as I know it is a curry. Apart from the spices, the main ingredients are chicken, tomatoes and yoghurt. If you want I'll translate my recipe for you tomorrow. It is real easy to make and tastes great (at least to me) with basmati rice, raita and naan bread.

 

[GoingMyWay]

I'd love the recipe.

 

[Gregor]

I'd love the recipe.

Me too.

 

[hdv]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]: I tried your Orzo salad today. I did not have any pasta and was not able to go shopping, so I used wild rice instead. That's a great recipe! I really enjoyed that meal. Thanks for sharing.

OK, here's how I make Indian Chicken Balti. It's probably not how the people from India themselves would make it (although it is close to authentic), but I and my wife love the taste of this dish.

You need: 3 tablespoons rice oil, 2 large yellow onions, a double filet of chicken breast, 6 ripe tomatoes, 3 or 4 tablespoons mild thick yoghurt (depending on your taste), juice of 1 lemon, 1 or 2 fresh green chillies, some sprigs of fresh coriander (only used to garnish before serving, can be left out if you don't like the taste)

For the spice mix: 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, freshly ground black pepper from the mill, 1/2 teaspoon dried coriander seeds, 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger, 2 teaspoons grated fresh garlic, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1 teaspoon chilli powder, 1 teaspoon salt (I leave this out myself)

Crush the spices in a mortar until you get a smooth paste. If needed add a few drops of oil. If you don't have a mortar, a blender might work as well (never tried it to be honest).

Cut the onions in rings. Chop the tomatoes (no need to skin them). Cut the chicken in cubes of about 35 mm (1.5 inch). If you don't want your meal too spicy, remove the seeds from the green chillies (I like to leave them in). After that chop them in rings or smaller pieces.

Heat the oil in a large thick-walled wok or cast-iron pan. Add the onions and stir until they are glazed. Add the spice mix. Fry while taking care not to burn the spices. Continue until the spices really start to give off their fragrance. Add the tomatoes. Wait until the juice of the tomatoes is thickened a bit. Add the chicken. Cover the pan and let cook for about 10 minutes. Add the yoghurt and let cook for another 10 minutes. Check once in a while that the food does not get burned. Add water if necessary. Add the lemon juice and fresh chillies and stir lightly. Garnish with fresh coriander (optional). Serve and enjoy!

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]: I tried your Orzo salad today. I did not have any pasta and was not able to go shopping, so I used wild rice instead. That's a great recipe! I really enjoyed that meal. Thanks for sharing.

[member=66485]hdv[/member]
Good for you... [big grin]...I think the wild rice variation would be delicious! Those green vegetables add a brightness to the meal.  [smile]

I'm going to try your Chicken Balti dish.

Would toasted sesame oil be a good substitute for the rice oil? I've never seen or heard of rice oil.

What fresh green chillies would you recommend? Locally, we always have poblano, jalapeño, New Mexico, serrano and habanero. Sometimes there's also some small Thai chillies available. The farmer's market is open today so I'll walk down and investigate what they have also, after I've finished my demo to 3 neighbors on the proper way to use & handle a chop miter saw.  [eek]

 

[hdv]

Personally I wouldn't use sesame oil. That type of oil has a tendency to be predominant in taste. Especially when it's heated too much. Plain rice bran oil is best. This is what I use: King's Rice Bran Oil

We use lombok chillies when the taste has to be moderate. For more fire we use rawit or Thai chillies. However, in India serrano type chillies are more popular. Here they are a bit hard to get, but if you can get them over there, I would recommend those.

Be careful not to mix red chillies with those bloody chopped off fingers!  [scared] [eek]

 

[GoingMyWay]

Thanks for the chicken balti recipe and the clarification on the oil and type of chilies to use.  I'd also never heard of rice oil before.

It's been 3 days and the gravlax is ready.  All the brown sugar seems to have melted/dissolved, but there's still a lot of salt on top.  We used Morton Kosher Salt because we've found that the Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt isn't salty enough for us and feared the salmon wouldn't be cured/salty enough.  We rinsed the salmon under water to remove all the excess salt.  The gravlax is very salty, almost bordering on inedibly salty like that Nova Lox I bought before.  We only ate the thinly sliced gravlax straight up.  It might be more tolerable on a bagel or piece of bread with a nice smear of cream cheese.

Next time we'll try using Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt.

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[hdv]

[member=66216]GoingMyWay[/member]: did you turn the fish every 12 hrs? When I look at the salt crystals I would guess not. I would have to look it up in one of my Swedish recipe books, but I think I remember from the last time I made gravlax myself that turning was a must. And dill! No gravlax without dill!  [cool]

But as far as salt is concerned. Yeah, my experience in Sweden is that the food can be quite salty over there.  [blink] I have learned to ask to go easy on the salt in restaurants, when I'm there.

 

[GoingMyWay]

Nope no turning, we chose the easy "set it and forget it" method.  I wonder if maybe 3 days also might have been too long?  We didn't have any dill.  My wife didn't think that would matter much, but all 3 recipes we watched used dill.

I actually like well seasoned foods so if I think something is salty then it must be really salty!

 

[hdv]

I don't know if it will be much different from what you used, but if you want I could translate an original Swedish recipe from one of my cookbooks to English for you. I can do that tomorrow. BTW, I am almost sure I let the salmon cure for no more than 48 hrs. Maybe that's the cause of the salty taste?

 

[GoingMyWay]

That would be great, if it's not too much trouble to translate.  Might be the combination of not turning, wrong kind of salt, no dill, and curing too long.

 

[Cheese]

I’ve wanted to make gravlax for the last 5-10 years but I could never decide on what recipe to use. Curing time varies from 2 days to 5 days, while some recipes say flip the salmon and others say just leave it alone.

Then there’s always the sugar to salt ratios... they are all over the map. The only thing every recipe agreed on was an abundant use of fresh dill.

I may have to revisit the recipe if I can settle on a sugar to salt ratio.  [big grin]