Cooking!

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Re: Cooking!

Post by archonix » Sun Aug 21, 2011 10:53 pm

tyocham wrote:Thanks, guys!

Actually, I should mention that I made the following modifications:

We didn't have any Old Bay seasoning, so I added a bit more salt (as well as salting and peppering the fish itself, AND the dredging flour). Also, to the batter and the dredging flour, I added a bit of granulated garlic. This made a world of difference. The first piece I cooked was pretty bland. After I made the changes, I cooked another small piece, and it was 100 times better.

Also, this recipe serves 4-6 people. I had to cook for 20, heh!

The head chef was there, too, but he opted for chicken. I was a bit disappointed, but one of my co-workers told me he could've eaten the whole pan of fish. That's all I needed to hear!

Wow, that's a lot of people to feed. And yes, garlic is always a good thing to add.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by D.B. » Mon Sep 26, 2011 8:17 pm

See, this thread is about cooking. Not necessarily successful cooking. Therefore today's entry is brought to you in the spirit of Learn From My Fail.


Coconut rice:

I've seen someone make this before. it looks easy.
  • Buy canned coconut milk.
  • Put rice in pan and pour on coconut milk.
  • Boil.
  • Drain once rice is soft and eat delicious coconut rice.
Now my version. See if you can spot the exact moment it all goes wrong. Hint, quite early on.
  • Coconut milk is expensive. But this dissolvable stuff is cheap! I bet it'll work just as well!
  • Put rice in pan and pour on dissolved coconut stuff.
  • Boil
  • Try to drain. Will not drain. White fluid is too thick.
  • Idea! Put pan back on hob and turn up the heat! The water will evaporate off leaving only rice!
  • Ahh, but the rice at the bottom burns. And the rest continues to soften until almost indistinguishable from the white fluid.
  • Pour rice + gel suspension onto plate, leaving burnt layer in pan. Who cares about presentation, it's taste that matters!
  • This is gritty and odd.
  • Someday I will die. When I do so, all being well, I will have change in my pocket totalling at least £2 in today's money. For £2 I can buy a frozen pizza from shop down the road. I will reget it on my death bed if i have to look back and say, "If I had but spent this loose change, I wouldn't have had to eat that gritty rice stuff!"
  • Buy pizza.
  • Cook.
  • Eat.
The sub plot to all this is the chicken in sauce I was making to go with the rice. Now, I've been working my way through Farmer Joe'sTM "Clucky" Dip Bag* of assorted frozen chicken bits, and had gotten down to the last two or so. The rather gribbly looking ones, where if i was were to make a cartoon about the chicken's life prior to this, it would have a droopy comb and a smoker's cough. You may remember me talking in chat over the weekend about the oddly chewy chicken I'd eaten earlier. That was one of the better looking remaining bits. I chose the best of what was left for this.

It went quite appropriately with the rice. Don't think I'll bother cooking that last piece up.



*Not actual name, but gives a much better impression of the meat quality.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by Terry Y » Mon Sep 26, 2011 9:05 pm

Some suggestions:

First, if you have to reconstitute the coconut milk, do so before you do anything else. Then add to the rice. After you bring the rice to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is done to your liking.

If that doesn't work, buy more pizza.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by D.B. » Mon Sep 26, 2011 9:45 pm

That's pretty much what I did. Though i did add some extra water half way through when i was worried i'd not put quite enough in. Maybe that screwed me over.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by Terry Y » Mon Oct 10, 2011 1:46 am

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

You will need:
Image
(Software)
One butternut squash, peeled and seeded
1/2 medium onion, diced
About 1 cup of brown sugar (plus more for later, if you want it)
1 cup of butter (in 1/2 cup sticks)
Chicken stock
Milk
Salt
Pepper

(Hardware)
Big pot
Blender
Knife
Ladle
Spatula
Baking pan

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350

1. Peel the squash, cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Place in baking pan
2. Image
Cut 1/2 cup stick of butter into chunks and place on the squash. Cover with brown sugar.
3. Bake squash for one hour. Remove
Image
(You'll notice I didn't peel my squash before-hand. I suggest you do if you don't want to burn your fingers.
4. In your big pot, add another 1/2 stick of butter and diced onions. Cook on medium-low heat until translucent, about 8 minutes.
5. Cut squash into 1-inch chunks and place in big pot. Add about 1.5 to 2 cups chicken stock and about 1/4 cup of milk. Also add salt and pepper (you won't need much) and a bit more brown sugar if you think you need it. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
Image
6. Kill the heat and very carefully move the mixture to the blender. Pulse a few times, then hit "Puree" and blend for about 20 seconds, or until smooth.
7. Transfer back to pot, adjust seasonings as needed.
Image
8. Serve and enjoy
Image

NOTE: Next time, I think I'll add a bit of nutmeg to the mix, but alas, I had none on hand.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by Moleman » Wed Oct 12, 2011 12:33 pm

This looks gorgeous. I haven't had this since the last time I stayed in America (when I booked a great room may I add :) ). I'm a veggie though, is there any particular stock you would recommend to use instead of the chicken stock? I don't cook too much, put this looks like it might not be too difficult to do actually.
Last edited by Moleman on Mon Jul 23, 2012 1:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by Terry Y » Wed Oct 12, 2011 5:31 pm

Moleman wrote:This looks gorgeous. I haven't had this since the last time I stayed in America. I'm a veggie though, is there any particular stock you would recommend to use instead of the chicken stock? I don't cook too much, put this looks like it might not be too difficult to do actually.
You can always use vegetable stock, which is actually a misnomer, as it's really broth. But, you know, "tomato, to-mah-to."
"I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food." - Julia Child
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Re: Cooking!

Post by archonix » Mon Nov 14, 2011 4:31 pm

Sweet'n'Salty Brazilian Nuts

You need:

Brazil nuts
Salt
Butter
A frying pan (or skillet depending who you ask)

Melt a little butter into the pan, enough to cover the whole bottom in a nice greasy sheen, then toss in your nuts in and move them around constantly over a medium heat, keeping them coated in the butter for about 5 minutes or until they begin to turn brown and take on a slightly waxy appearance. Now carefully extract your nuts on to grease paper and sprinkle them with salt and sugar. Leave to cool.

A delicious salty snack. :)
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Re: Cooking!

Post by Moleman » Fri Nov 18, 2011 9:23 am

Definitely worth checking out bbcgoodfood for recipes. They're really easy to follow for complete cooking catastrophes such as myself and they have a massive range of dishes.

Can recommend looking the jerk chicken recipe off that site.

Sorry this is such a lazy post but the recipe is only a google search away!!
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Re: Cooking!

Post by archonix » Fri Nov 25, 2011 1:40 pm

Rather randomly, while making a somewhat spicy noodle soup, I thought to myself "what would happen if I dropped an egg in here?"

Turns out what happens is a delicious poached egg in soup, with noodles.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by Terry Y » Fri Dec 09, 2011 5:03 pm

POST-WORKOUT SMOOTHIE

Just threw this together on a whim and it was darned good - full of vitamins, protein and...all that good stuff your body needs I guess?

Anyway, you will need:

1 banana
1 tbsp. fat-free plain yogurt
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 tsp. Nutella
1.5 tsp. peanut butter
1/2 cup low-fat milk (2% or below)
1 blender

Put everything in the blender and start on the lowest setting to chop up the banana. Then gradually speed up the blender until everything is smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy.
"I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food." - Julia Child
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Re: Cooking!

Post by archonix » Wed Jan 11, 2012 4:39 pm

Ginger and lemon tea. It's not really a recipe, more an attempt at stuff.

Grate a fair amount of ginger into a coffee press, add just over a cup of hot water, some lemon and a little bit of lime. Optionally a little honey. Now leave it to soak for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Press. Pour.

I think I made mine a bit gingery but it's very tasty and quite refreshing after a hard day of work.

Don't use powdered ginger from a tub, it doesn't work. I tried. Somehow all the flavour seems to disappear to somewhere. Fresh or dried ginger root is what you need and you can get that from a lot of places.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by Terry Y » Thu Feb 02, 2012 5:54 pm

Chipotle Chicken Salad Sandwich

SOFTWARE:
About 12-13 oz chicken breast meat (I got mine from a can, because times are lean. But if can cook your own, go ahead)
1 large rib celery, diced
1/4 onion, diced
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, seeds removed, diced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Kosher salt to taste. I went with a teaspoon.
White pepper to taste
Bread

HARDWARE
Cutting board
Knife
Plastic container
Colander

1. Take the chicken meat from the can and drain it
2. Chop up the chicken meat to a fine consistency
3. Dice the veggies
4. Add all ingredients to container and stir to combine
5. Refrigerate for at least one hour (skip this step if you're hungry)
6. Toast the bread
7. Make a sandwich
8. Eat the sandwich

Keep an eye on the salt, as canned chicken and peppers are already plenty salty.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by Terry Y » Sat Feb 25, 2012 6:21 pm

Sweet & Spicy Spam Stir-fry. It's really amazing how versatile Spam is. That fact that it's cheap is also nice!

Image

SOFTWARE:
(for stir-fry)
5 oz. Spam, cubed (I used Spam Lite, which has less fat, salt, etc.)
1/2 cup sliced onions
1/2 cup sliced green bell pepper
Mae Ploy (Sweet Thai chili sauce) for topping
Oil for sauteing

(for sticky rice)
1/2 cup rice
1 cup water

HARDWARE:
Saucepan
Skillet
Knife
Cutting board

PROCEDURE:
1. Prepare sticky rice per manufacturer's instructions
2. While that's going, slice your veggies and cube the Spam
3. Put skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the veggies. Saute the veggies until browned on the edges, but still firm
4. Add Spam to the skillet and continue to cook until heated through.
5. Place prepared rice in a bowl
6. Top with stir-fry
7. Add generous amounts of Mae Ploy to taste.
8. Consume

If you have a rice cooker, I highly suggest you use it. Trying to make sticky rice properly on a regular cook top is kind of tricky. At least, it is for me. My rice was kind of "al dente," which isn't good for rice.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by SirMustapha » Sun Feb 26, 2012 7:02 pm

I felt like chewing the screen, looking at that photo. I guess that means you succeeded, right? It looks like the kind of quick and tasty food that I enjoy making and eating.
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