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Béchamel uses flour and butter instead of cornstarch and wine. Any reason why this would be preferable? Both are similar in caloric content, carbohydrate content, etc.
10W40 and human meat are roughly comparable to olive oil and pork loin.
seriously though, it's just a centuries old proven french method. I'm not saying it's better, just that it's a good way to go and then you can say you know how to make one of the 5 mother sauces of french cuisine.
you're a nerd. I thought you'd find it interesting.
consistency might be nice also. I think it tends to do better with cheeses that might get otherwise oily.
you're a nerd. I thought you'd find it interesting.
I do.
And to be honest, as much as I idolize French cooking in general (and Julia Child in particular) in an abstract sense, I have to admit that I do tend to go for "over the top" when it comes to flavor. This is largely antithetical to French cuisine, which is all about subtlety. The Italians (and to a lesser extent, the Greeks and Turks) really do Strong Cheese well. Not sure why the Spanish never really made a name for themselves in this regard...
On the other hand, now you've got me thinking about Gruyère... I think I'm gonna do it. (But not for about a week. I've got two more recipes queued up that I've been obsessing over and need to try first.)
In other news, I finally plate a dish such that it's halfway presentable:
I'm really getting this Tilapia with mango salsa down. The jalapeno & chili mix is dialed in 100%; just a hint of lingering burn as a coda to the sweetness of the mango and lime. I've decided I need to go with a second avocado in the mix next time- the ideal ratio of avocado to mango appears to be 1:1. Adding about a half-cup of uncooked sweet corn to the salsa was an experiment, and definitely proved to be the right move. Gave it a nice crunch that had been lacking.
This would be a $30 entree at a downtown restaurant, and I get four servings out of a batch.
I've been hitting up every boutique grocer / butcher shop I can find, and haven't managed to locate human meat yet...
bechamel is the base for the mornay sauce which is often used for mac + cheese. just swap in your favorite moldy, tangy cheese and bam, flash flood in flavor town.
Gonna do this thing, full on Frenchy-style*.
* = Wisconsin style.
Yes, it's Boar's Head. This was literally the only Gruyere which wasn't $20 or more at the local European grocer. This one is fairly firm, and seems to be rather mature. Haven't opened it for a tasting yet. This might be a lesson, or it might be decent. I really miss the Aspen Marketplace grocery in Hoboken, NJ, where they had a dedicated cheese concierge, and he'd talk with you, let you sample the products, etc...
It wasn't cheap, but man, you knew EXACTLY what you were getting.
Will probably be tuesday-wednesday before I can get around to it. Got a sausage / onion / kale dish that I'm planning for tomorrow.
I used to want to be a chef. Then I realized, as a former radio DJ, that, like radio DJ's, the bottom 99% of chefs work long hours under terrible conditions for **** money. I'm much happier having this as a hobby than a job.
Been planning an oddball, and fortuitously enough, was really craving meat tonight.
12 oz chicken sausage, casing removed and chopped into ~1/4" slices (I used Aidells sun-dried tomato variety, which was definitely the right decision), two big bunches lacinato kale (de-veined, chopped, blanched and dried ahead of time), one large red onion, a shitload* of minced garlic, lemon juice, and black pepper.
That's it. That's literally the whole recipe.
Saute the diced onion in olive oil on high for 2-3 minutes, then add the sausage. Cook on medium heat until the sausage browns, then dump in the kale, garlic, 3 tbs lemon juice, and a generous grinding of pepper. Cover for about a minute, and serve:
At the risk of employing hyperbole, deer** sweet jesus, this is ******* amazing. Definitely gonna become a regular in the rotation.
* =
I'd like to pause for a moment and reflect on the subject of garlic, both generally and as it applies to shitloads.
I was raised in a fresh-garlic home. As a kid, we always pressed our own garlic. As an adult, I own a nice garlic press. I have attended the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival (Saugerties, NY) and loved it. Here are actual photos from the 2015 Garlic Festival to prove it:
(And if you hang on until the end, I'll also post a picture of a dead rat, because reasons.)
All of that having been said, I find myself in possession of a jar of prepared, minced garlic. I have no idea why I have this. For all I know, I've been carrying it around since I lived in Hoboken, NJ in 2013, when I first started seriously entertaining the notion of cooking from scratch. At any rate, I decided to open it. And holy ******* adjective-appending sheep *********, this stuff is amazing.
In the first image in this post, it's shown in the grinding mortar being softly pulverized (pestle not shown), but really, that step wasn't necessary. The flavor profile of this garlic is unlike anything I've ever experienced. It's potent, yet restrained to the point where I don't feel at all bad about heaping two large spoons of it into the aforementioned dish, which is precisely what I did.
And I don't regret it.
It's different from freshly-pressed garlic somehow. More mellow? Is that the word I'm searching for? Not quite sure how to describe it... You get a lot more of the base savory flavor before the spice kicks in and overwhelms the palate. I've no idea idea why this is, but I shall be re-stocking the cupboard of this item.
** =
And finally, as promised, a picture of the dead rat that I saw on the way home from the 2015 Saugerties Garlic Festival, on the 4/5 Lexington Line downtown from Harlem / 125th St:
I've been a good boy the past year. Gone from 220 lbs to 175, and feeling great. Haven't given up booze or anything dramatic like that, mostly just cooking from scratch literally* every single night rather than processed frozen meals or take-out, reasonable portions, cut way down on breads and other processed grains, and I've not indulged much in gluttonous things.
* = Ok, to be fair, it's more like literally every third night, with the other two being re-heating of the leftovers of said aforementioned home-cooked meals. Means the same thing.
That having been said, I feel the need to visit two specific restaurants before I depart Chicago.
One is CoalFire pizza.
I saw this picture on the cover of Chicago magazine about a year ago, while in New York, and thought "Damn, that's a fine-looking pizza." Turns out they're located about a mile from me. Gonna hit that one up next weekend.
The other is Kumo's Corner. There's no polite way to say this, but from everything I've read, they serve the best motherfucking hamburgers this side of the gates of hell.
Hence, I now present gratuitous burger-**** (all customer images from Kumos, taken from their Google reviews). There are a couple of photos towards the bottom of the one I really want to try. Brie, bourbon-poached pear, caramelized onions, and pancetta. They call it the Lair of the Minotaur.
Last edited by Joe Perez; 05-09-2017 at 10:33 PM.
Reason: Fixed image of pizza
Have paused for a bit to let the breasts simmer. My first 100% from scratch, no bottles or jars, "literally ground my own spices with the mortar-n-pestle" orange chicken.
Dis be smellin' guuuuud.
Whoever said that a woman's place was in the kitchen, didn't know how to cook.
Much saliva was lost in the viewing of the above burger post.
Here's the kicker: After the GM and VP begged me to stay an extra month so we can finish the base design for Control Room 2 and get the equipment powered up, I spoke w/ my future employer and we worked it out. So I'll be staying in Chicago until the first week of July, which means I'm gonna eat more than one of those *****. I'll accept votes on which one I should order after The Minotaur. The menu: https://kumascorner.com/#menu
Don't care. I'm fast approaching 170 lbs, which at my height and build means I have plenty of room to indulge. I seriously still can't believe how nothing more than eighteen months of clean, simple, delicious eating has helped me drop nearly 50 lbs. It's downright embarrassing to look at photos of myself from two years ago. And not "delicious*" as in "ads for weight-loss products", I mean ******* gourmet-level, Nobu Matsuhisa, $30 a plate kinda ****. Every, single, night. For all those out there in internetland who love to eat but feel like a fatty, learn to ******* cook. I cannot stress this enough.
* = asterisk negates meaning of word which precedes it.
Anyway, following-up from the previous. This is one of the more prep-intensive dinners I've done recently, in terms of time spent and dishes used.
But holy ******* sheep, was it ever worth it.
I need to boil down the sauce a tad more for the next batch, and I forgot to buy toasted sesame seeds this afternoon, but god damn... You know how when you order Chinese take-out, and the menu has a little
symbol next to the Orange Chicken, and despite the fact that you took the time to learn how to say 辣 请, IN ******* MANDARIN, to the lady at the counter, it still comes out as a tepid, sticky weaksauce? Well I have MASTERED that 娘 recipe, bitches! My lips are still burning, and yet NONE of the sweet-savory goodness was sacrificed in the process.
Note to self: you are out of the expensive Japanese stir-fry oil. Buy more. A lot more. Before you move to a place where they don't have a good import-grocer. Like, see if they'll sell you a whole, unopened case.
Joe, you really should be sharing some of your recipes. I as well I'm cooking for myself during the week (well trying to), so I'm looking for new recipes I can make small batches of.
I hate making big recipes (even though more cost effective) and then eating the same thing 4-5 days in a row. I hate freezing food and the way it ruins the texture when thawed.
Still never been to Kumos, touch base for some company when you do head there (assuming availability of course).
Where are you located? I work about a mile from the original, in Avondale.
Originally Posted by z31maniac
Joe, you really should be sharing some of your recipes. I as well I'm cooking for myself during the week (well trying to), so I'm looking for new recipes I can make small batches of.
I post 'em when I can remember how I made 'em.
For the orange sauce, I printed out three recipes I like online, taped 'em up by the stove, and mix-n-matched 'em during the prep. Here's my best recollection for an amount that made 3-4 servings, and I'll note that I went for *all* the flavor here. This sauce was probably more intense than some people would like.
In a medium saucepan, combine
1 cup orange juice (I used 1 cup water, and a couple spoons of FCOJ which I keep in the freezer for cooking.)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
3 tbs soy sauce
~2 tbs dried orange peel (grated)
Raise to a boil, then turn to low, and add:
3 tbs cornstarch
1 cup brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup Truvia brown-sugar blend, which is what I keep in the cupboard for all cooking / baking needs. Some people suggest honey, but honey is expensive and the flavor will be lost among all the other ingredients.)
Edit: too much brown sugar. Cut this amount by about 1/2.
About 2 inches worth of fresh ginger root, grated
Quite a lot of minced garlic (I like garlic a lot, so I used 6 large cloves. You may use less)
Quite a lot of crushed red pepper flakes (this is totally a "to taste" thing. I didn't even measure, just dumped in several tbs, as I like it spicy. You can add it slowly if you wish to fine-tune the heat.)
Simmer until it thickens.
For the main dish, I brined and then cooked 6 decent-size frozen skinless boneless chicken breast tenderloins ahead of time. I didn't weigh the chicken, just used enough for 3-4 servings. Stick 'em in a freezer bag, then toss it into the fridge in the morning. When you get home, add a mixture of 4 tbs salt in 4 cups water to the bag, and let sit on the counter for an hour or two. Remove from the bag and pat dry. Heat a frying pan to high. Add stir-fry oil (it should be hot enough that the oil smokes a little), and lay in the chicken. Cook on high for one minute, reduce heat to low, turn chicken over, cover, and let cook for 10 minutes without lifting the lid. Then remove the pan from heat and let rest, still covered, for another 10 minutes. Remove, dice, and transfer to a prep dish.
A note: Some people recommend browning the chicken at this step. My experience is that this results in dry chicken.
While the sauce simmers, prep the following:
1 red onion, coarsely chopped.
1 red bell pepper, ditto.
1 medium-sized carrot, coarsely sliced.
1 big handful of snow peas. Remove ends, then chop in half.
Raise the frying pan to medium-high heat. Coat with stir-fry oil, then add the onion. Cook for about 5 minutes, covered, stirring frequently. Then add the bell pepper and cook for a few more minutes. Then add the chicken and cook for a few more minutes. Then the carrot, cook, and finally the snow peas. The idea here is that some ingredients require more cooking than others, and again, this is totally a "by-feel / to-taste" thing.
Once you're happy with the consistency, reduce heat to very low, and dump the sauce into the pan over the chicken & veg. Stir.
While that simmers, dice one scallion per intended serving. For leftovers, do this the day of.
Heat a second frying pan to high, add oil (I ran out of stir-fry blend and switched to sesame oil, which smokes a lot but imparted a great flavor to this last step.) Throw in a big heap of bean sprouts, and stir for about a minute. We just want to sear them a tad, not turn them to mush. Again, for leftovers, do this step one serving at a time, just before serving. Immediately plate the bean sprouts, top with the mix, and top that with the scallion.
This is where I'd add the toasted sesame seeds if I'd have remembered to buy them.
Quite spicy, but I had possibly the most delicious lamb I've eaten thus far had for dinner a few nights ago. Bonus goose appetizers. Pictures don't do it justice.
05-02-2017, 02:31 PM
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