As someone who regularly smokes meats in the summer months I'm very much aware of the barbecue mentality. I love eating smoked meats but if I'm not making it myself there's little satisfaction in being forced to wait the same amount of time. I'd rather just go to the BBQ place and get food NOW.
I got the idea watching an episode of No Reservations in (I think) Uzbekstan where these guys would take their tagine-style clay pots to the market, fill them up with veggies and meat and water, then hand them off with a couple dinars/rubles/shekels to a guy who would basically tend a huge basement stove that they could slow-cook on. A portable version of that could possibly have a niche.
I could see a we'll cook what you bring sort of service working, though I'm not sure BBQ is the best option mostly because of the time involved.
It does require specialized equipment, though, which not everyone has space for or is willing to invest in. I don't think it would work in KC, just because barbecue is so readily available (including equipment - finding a smoker you can borrow isn't that hard); but in parts of the country without so many cows around, I could see it being a success.
Exactly. A county fair somewhere outside of BBQ country, but where people might be able to go to the butcher and grab a side of ribs that they want smoked in proper KC barbecue style? Awesome.
I kinda see what Nute is talking about, but the closest I can think is a place like this, where they do custom meat processing and things like deer or pork processing -- that place will take your animal and turn it into what you need, like hams and stuff.
Nutmeg works like salt for cheese without adding so much salt you loose the cheese taste yet again. Also, if using a simple bechamel sauce as the base the big key is to make sure the consistency is right and that you actually cook out the flour. People tend to put in waaaaaay to much to begin with so you get the flour starch taste (and texture) instead of the flavors. I tend to go light on clove for a traditional bechamel since it can overpower other flavors so quickly and use shallots instead of an onion brulee. Another nice tip for a good bechamel is to toast the flour fist to draw more flavor and add some depth to the profile.
The reason Nute's idea probably won't fly is that it just takes so long to smoke stuff. A slab of ribs will take around five or six hours to smoke. Your customer base is basically the set of people who a) like smoked stuff b) are willing to wait six hours or more for smoked stuff but c) don't own their own smoker and for whom d) buying smoked food from a restaurant / stand / whatever isn't acceptable. Basically, like, three people.
As promised, photos of French Silk Pie (filling recipe courtesy of The Pioneer Woman; crust courtesy of the supermarket fridge). Damn our countertops are ugly.
I like baking but decorating isn't a strong suit, so IMO this turned out ok :) It's for my son's birthday party today, the kids will all take a minifig home with them (the pirate is MINE). I've never had much luck at anything other than cream cheese icing for carrot cake, so cheated like hell and used Betty Crocker frosting, which turned out magnificently. It was also the first time I'd used gel colours which are MUCH better than the liquid colours. The photo makes the middle stud (a huge Rocky Mountain marshmallow cut in half, thanks America!) look really wonky :(
Lego cake and minifigs were a huge success. Now to figure out how I can make a minifigure head as a cake :)
One large multi-layer square round cake, and a smaller one-layer (maybe six-inch) round one on top? The base of the head should probably just be a plating thing. Just a thought. :)
Easy to do with Rice Crispies Treats... but if that was the only cake, then it would be a little too much for me. But Yeah a solid round vanilla spongecake and then layering from small to big to small again. Minifig related: And his house: This year I just baked and assembled the houses and let the kids decorate.
I'll be making a ton of food for Christmas this year (my mom is having surgery and can't, so I'm coming home from school to help out), does anyone have any easy ideas for side dishes? Something that can handle sitting out for an hour or so would be ideal!
Hm. Well, I could link you to an entire recipe section, or I could ask for more details. :) Favorite ingredients/least favorite ingredients/rules to follow or to break?
My favorite ingredient is sweet potatoes (so versatile!) and I know that anything involving corn or potatoes is always a hit with my family! I've been cooking since I was in middle school, so don't worry about difficulty level, but less time is always better when it comes to holiday cooking. Also, I make the best bread from scratch so any ideas for fillings for mini sandwiches would also be pretty great! (I could serve them during the present opening since that always takes forever and people get hungry again even after we just ate lolz)
I was going to suggest some sort of sweet potato mash or casserole, so woo! As for a specific recipe, I am afraid I can't provide one since I yet have found one for myself that uses raw potatoes as opposed to canned and comes out right. I ruined a casserole this past week with potatoes that didn't cook properly :C
I have a really good sweet potato casserole that's topped with a gingersnap streusel, if any of you are interested. It uses fresh as opposed to canned.
Here we go. It's a recipe I've made 2 years running so far, and it is tasty, both the day of and as leftovers. The gingersnaps give it a complexity that makes it less overpoweringly sweet, like some casseroles can get.
Tome-chan, I'll link you to a huge list as soon as I find it. In the meantime, French onion soup tonight. :D Edit: technically, Thai-ish chicken legs for the roommate who's starving now, cheater marinated cucumber salad to go with it, and French onion soup for later tonight. I'm doing Smitten Kitchen's slow-cooking method, so already my entire apartment smells like onions and butter. Good times. :D
Yay! Thanks guys :D To show my epic gratitude, I'll make sure to post a recipe and pictures when I make my special apple pie turnovers!
All right, it's SNACK TIME. CHOOSE YOUR WEAPONS! One 9" round pan. You can also use a bundt cake pan. I do not have one of those. Some garlic. Mince your own or be a lazy butt like me and use about 1 tablespoon of the already-chopped stuff. Half a loaf of butter. About a cup of shredded parmesan cheese. One tin... cardboard... tube thingy of biscuits. NOT THE FLAKY SHIT. That will not fly here. First off, throw that butter in the pan. Then take it out and unwrap it and throw it in the pan. Put that in the oven and pre-heat it to 350. My oven is old as balls so this takes a while. In the meantime, mix your cheese and garlic and add spices and/or herbs (and/or "herb", I suppose) to taste. LOOK AT THAT SHIT, WILL YOU. That is going to coat these cheesy garlicky balls of goodness. Speaking of balls... not that we were. Biscuits, mofo! But those are too big. What to do? VOILA! Where once there were 8, now there are 32? SORCERY? No, man, just math and a knife! Take your nuggets of fetal biscuit dough and roll them in your cheesy garlic herb mix. Don't skimp with that shit, COAT these mofos. My god. They should have sent a poet. DO NOT EAT THIS YET. It is not yet ready. Because our oven is balls-old, it's still pre-heating. This is not for the recipe, this is for me. AND YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY. Take your pan out of the oven with all that melted butter in it, and shove your cheesy nuggets in it. Sprinkle the leftover cheesy garlic melange on top. Put it in the oven, set a timer for about 20 minutes, and find something to amuse yourself. ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? Ding-ding! Get some! Don't panic if it looks like this. The cheese on top blackens a bit but it is SO GOOD. You can pull it apart like monkey bread and it's cheesy and garlicky and buttery and SO DAMN GOOD. Such a master chef.
Hello guys! You see, today I received my paycheck and went grocery shopping. At home, I saw that I had useful stuff that would go to waste if I didn't cook it, so I just improvised and... Teriyaki chicken stew happened. I have never cooked anything with teriyaki, but since today I was in a great "just received paycheck" mood, I improvised. I took one purple onion, two old tomatoes and chopped it all, putting it into a pot with some oil in it, and leaving it on the weakest fire possible. In the meanwhile, I took some chicken and passed it through some bread crumbs, then browned lightly in a pan. Then I just threw the browned chicken in the pot with the onion and tomatoes. That (with some seasoning, of course) would've been enough to make a pretty nice stew, but I saw a bottle of teriyaki sauce sitting there, gathering dust, and decided to take a chance. I threw roughly 1/3 of a cup of teriyaki in the pot, 1/4 of soy sauce and 1/4 of water, and just left it there for a long time, in that tiny little fire. A half of an hour later or so, it was as you see in the photo. I served it with some mashed potatoes and it was an absolute success in the table. I seriously didn't give teriyaki sauce the credit it deserves, I guess!
Made pork rilette over the weekend (it is meat jam) Used 2/3 shoulder, as store only had a little pork belly left, and red wine as had no white wine in the house. Still turned out fine. Pork is the cheapest meat here in HK, makes for good sandwiches to take to work. Toasted bread/ gherkins or tomato/ lettuce
Nute If you do not start a cooking blog where every post sounds like that one RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE we are no longer friends.
So, for the 3rd year in a row, I'm cooking Christmas dinner! Last year was alright, but I tried to do too much and cooked a ham and a turkey breast because I wanted some turkey. This year, I have given in to the idea of just having a ham, so here's my menu: Ham with maple syrup (or coca cola, still to be determined) glaze Mashed Potatoes Scalloped Potatoes with Gruyere Gingersnap Sweet Potatoes Cornbread Stuffing Green Beans and Bacon Biscuits or Rolls (either going to make some biscuits or buy some rolls, haven't decided) Birthday Cake (My SO's mom's birthday is on Christmas) I kind of want a pumpkin pie, but I might be the only person that eats it, so maybe I can find some sort of tiny one. I think I got it all covered! I already have the ham, a nice spiral-sliced one, lurking in the back of the fridge. I know I'll have a ton of ham left over, but I'm going to make soup again.
I seem to have achieved the ideal texture on the lazy woman's pulled pork I just made. Three hours of roasting in the cocotte with (probably) too much liquid, then leaving the lid off for the last hour. Yum. :D Now, if I hadn't fallen asleep before making last night's bread, this would be so much tastier. Ah, well.
And that's why you do ad-supported blogs. Or put up a Paypal donation link. Or do a Kickstarter. What I'm saying is there are options.
Indeed. We pay Lum so he can run this place and also drink. If Nute keeps up the funny, surely a similar arrangement can be reached.
Made chili last night. Kind of amazes me how low calorie this stuff can be if you do it right. 20z 99% fat free turkey 2 strips bacon 1 tsp additional bacon grease 1 large yellow bell pepper 1 poblano pepper .5 jalapeno 2 stalks celery 1 large sweet onion 14 oz can diced tomatoes 14 oz can black beans chipotle chili spice blend Makes six 12oz servings, clocking in with 240 calories, 4g fat, 28g protein, 23g carbs, 5g sugar, 6g fiber. Just look at that pot of deliciousness!
One of the things that sucks about being good at making Christmas dinner is that you lose room for flexibility in the menu. Everyone has their favorites, and I'm prohibited from not making those dishes on pain of death. :( Which is why much of my attention has shifted to the dessert portion of the meal; while some people do have their favorites on that front (tres leches cake), I haven't yet received nearly as many implied death threats. So here's the current thinking on the menu: Dinner Porcini crusted prime rib Three-cheese scalloped potatoes Cream spinach Brussel Sprouts Maybe one other side dish; it'll have to be something I cook on the stovetop because the oven is basically claimed Whatever I can get my cousin to bring Dessert - Cookies. I haven't decided what yet. Probably some chocolate peppermint sandwiches and maybe one other. - Tres Leches cake - Daquoise. This is my great experiment for the year; I have a recipe from Cook's Illustrated that involves covering it in chocolate ganache... - Mini rasberry cheesecake. I was flirting with the idea of making some drinking chocolate, but I don't think the crowd I have would be all that enthused about it.
Rather than drinking chocolate, you could do a Christmas themed dessert martini (if most people are of age). My favorite is mixing white chocolate liqueur with peppermint schnapps~ Use: 2 oz. heavy cream (half&half works too) 1 1/2 oz. vanilla vodka 1 oz. white chocolate liqueur (Godiva is the yummiest) 1 oz. peppermint schnapps Get some peppermint candies for crushing and garnishing too. If you want the drinks frosty cold, stick the martini glasses in the freezer beforehand. Coat the rim with simple syrup and garnish with crushed peppermint candies. Combine the schnapps, vodka, cream, and liqueur in a cocktail shaker. Throw some ice in, and shake vigorously (very therapeutic). Strain into the martini glasses and serve right away! You don't need to use a cocktail shaker if you don't have one (I don't). You can use a jar, mixing pitcher, two slightly different sized glasses, or even just a tall glass with something flat pressed over the lid. Pretty much anything goes as long as the ice and ingredients don't all slosh out.
oh god. If we're talking martinis I cannot stress to you enough that you need, NEED, to go out and get this: It tastes like cake. Not just like vodka flavored cake. CAKE. It is so fucking dangerous. Mix this with any Godiva of your choice. A little white Godiva, some Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate vodka and a little beet juice? Motherfucking red velvet cake martini. You're welcome.
It's definitely very cakey. Like, disturbingly so. Add to some OJ for a creamcicle screwdriver. Sodium?
