Cooking Thread

[Nathan Explosion]

I have not seen a cooking thread, just various threads asking about a certain recipe. I figured maybe people would like a central all encompassing thread. Maybe they won't. Either way, I think this is a good place to share some of our favorite recipes, from simple every day foods to special occasion meals.

I for one have really tried in the past year to become a good cook. Before I would just cook food that I like, but now that I'm single dad, I've been trying to cook good food for my kids.

I'll start with two recipes that I've made in the past week.

Earlier in the week I had come boneless center cut pork loin chops. I don't always have time to experiment, but I've been trying to learn how to put a good sear on cuts of meat and still keep it well cooked and moist. I took two chops, seasoned them and rubbed the seasoning in and let it marinate for a about 10 minutes. I then took a cast iron pan, heated it up on medium high and melted some butter. I seared both sides of the chops for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side before putting the whole pan in the oven heated to 350 F. I let them cook for 5 minutes more, removed from the oven, and then let them sit for 5 minutes before eating. When I cut into the chops, the knife sliced through with ease and the juices just came out onto the plate.

If there are any recommendations to make to improve this, I'm all ears.

The second recipe is a fajita one. I live in an apartment, on the 3rd floor with small children, so barbecuing is out of the question. So what I do with my beef fajitas is slice them up and throw them in a bowl. I then cut up red and green bell pepper and onion and mix it all together with the fajitas. I add some lime and fajita seasoning and mix it all together and throw it in the fridge for about an hour. I then cook these stir fry style on medium heat for about 40 minutes to let them soften up a bit (adding a top after you've browned them helps keep them moist and tender). The red bell pepper adds a nice hint of sweetness that is great.

I'm interested in hearing some of your favorite recipes in hopes of stealing some of them and using them myself. I have some more that I've picked up that range from a quick macaroni meal, to a chicken soup I love, to even charro beans.

[Dex]

I needed to type this up for a friend anyways, so might as well share here. Stole this recipe from my ma, who wasn't like an amazing cook but seemed to know all the basics.

Lasagna ala Dex:

Preheat oven to 350.

The Meat Sauce:
1 lb. ground beef
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
Seasoning to taste - I use salt, pepper, garlic salt/powder, onion powder, italian seasoning, oregano, basil, and crushed red pepper. I don't know exact amounts, maybe a teaspoon of each, but experiment until you find what works for you.

Brown the hamburger in a large pot. Drain fat. Add the tomato sauce, paste, and stewed tomatoes. (You can either cook the stewed tomatoes down until they become very soft, or throw them in a blender for a quick buzz if you want to speed up the process). Let simmer over low heat for at least 30 mins, stirring regularly.

While this is simmering, you can prepare the Cheese Sauce and noodles.

Grate 1 block (1 lb) of mozzarella cheese.

The Cheese Sauce:
1 (24 oz) container Cottage Cheese (You can also use Ricotta, but I actually prefer the consistency the cottage cheese adds, and its cheaper and healthier)
~1/4th of the grated mozzarella
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 tbsp Parsley
1 tsp. salt and pepper

Mix thoroughly.

- - -

To prepare the lasagna noodles, I fill up a medium casserole dish I am going to use with hot tap water (as hot as your sink will allow), and let the noodles rest in the hot water for 15 minutes. You may want to empty and refill with hot water halfway through just to keep things warm. Then remove the noodles and pat dry with some paper towels. Rinse and dry the casserole dish and you are ready to build.

Distribute your ingredients thusly (from bottom to top):
-layer of meat sauce
-layer of noodles (usually 4 noodles for me)
-layer of cheese sauce
-layer of meat sauce
-layer of noodles (4 more)
-layer of cheese sauce
-layer of meat sauce
-finish by topping with the remainder of the mozzarella cheese

Cover with foil (I'll usually insert some toothpicks to hold the foil up, otherwise it tries to steal all your cheese when you remove it).

Bake, covered, at 350 for 25 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for an additional 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes. Serve and thoroughly nom.



I actually made this recipe last night, and have leftovers in the fridge right now that will be in my stomach soon.

[jaffies]

Daaaaayyymn, Dex...

I hope this is a beginning of a beautiful thread

[Technique]

I start off by going to the refrigerator and grabbing some milk. I make sure to use both hands because milk is heavy.




After I put the milk on my table I proceed to grab the ingredient of my choice, in this case it's Golden Crisp. 's delicious



After acquiring the aforementioned item I carefully pour milk into a relatively spacious bowl. Then I unleash the Golden Crisp onto said bowl with milk and hammer it down that way It's not just on the top.



You're welcome.

[Dex]

I start off by going to the refrigerator and grabbing some milk. I make sure to use both hands because milk is heavy.




After I put the milk on my table I proceed to grab the ingredient of my choice, in this case it's Golden Crisp. 's delicious



After acquiring the aforementioned item I carefully pour milk into a relatively spacious bowl. Then I unleash the Golden Crisp onto said bowl with milk and hammer it down that way It's not just on the top.



You're welcome.

You put the milk in before the cereal?

[CosmicCowboy]

I found an interesting recipe for cooking beef ribs that I decided to try. I called for cutting the ribs into 1/3 to 1/2 " slices, marinating them, and then cooking them on a hot grill like a steak. Having cooked beef ribs before I had my doubts about this cooking method but the marinade sounded amazing so I decided to try it.

Heres how it starts...

4 pounds short ribs cut 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons ground black pepper ( i used coarse ground)
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon Asian (toasted) sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons Asian plum wine

Because of my doubts on grilling ribs like that I deboned the ribs before slicing to expand my options at the finish.

Mix all the other ingredients together and pour over the rib meat in a one gallon ziplock and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. I was concerned about the ribs being tough and actually left them in the refrigerator for a week. I tasted the marinade and it was everything I had hoped for...

After a week I decided to grill the ribs...used a finer mesh grill screen on the grill because of the small size of the pieces (most like 1"X2") and grilled them on a hot fire flipping them individually till most of the fat rendered off and the remaining riblets were caramelized with the marinade.

After they cooled I tasted one and the taste was amazing but they weren't what I considered to be tender enough to serve as an entree...sooooo

I put them in a saucepan and poured the marinade back over them and then added two water glasses (maybe 3-4 cups?) of caldo de res (about a heaping tablespoon of powdered beef broth in a glass of hot water) till the meat was completely covered and then simmered that uncovered for about two hours till it reduced down into this freaking amazing dark, thick, rich sauce, stirring occasionally at the end to keep it from scorching.

Served that over a bed of white rice with oriental veggies stir fried in olive oil and soy sauce and it was an absolute home run...probably the best oriental beef dish I have ever eaten...incredibly deep and rich multilevel flavors and no MSG.

I plan to do this with other cuts of coarser beef (we slaughter a grass fed steer every year so have lots to choose from)...

[pawe]

I cook in the kitchen like how Manu plays in the court...with a passion, and one of the things Im passionate about are good kitchen knives.
I recommend Shun specially their 7" or 8" chef knife, the Santoku and the sharpening system. Will cost you around $500 for those 3 pcs but you cant beat the balance and quality.

A pressure cooker and a good seasoned cast iron grill are also a must!

[clambake]

I found an interesting recipe for cooking beef ribs that I decided to try. I called for cutting the ribs into 1/3 to 1/2 " slices, marinating them, and then cooking them on a hot grill like a steak. Having cooked beef ribs before I had my doubts about this cooking method but the marinade sounded amazing so I decided to try it.

Heres how it starts...

4 pounds short ribs cut 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons ground black pepper ( i used coarse ground)
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon Asian (toasted) sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons Asian plum wine

Because of my doubts on grilling ribs like that I deboned the ribs before slicing to expand my options at the finish.

Mix all the other ingredients together and pour over the rib meat in a one gallon ziplock and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. I was concerned about the ribs being tough and actually left them in the refrigerator for a week. I tasted the marinade and it was everything I had hoped for...

After a week I decided to grill the ribs...used a finer mesh grill screen on the grill because of the small size of the pieces (most like 1"X2") and grilled them on a hot fire flipping them individually till most of the fat rendered off and the remaining riblets were caramelized with the marinade.

After they cooled I tasted one and the taste was amazing but they weren't what I considered to be tender enough to serve as an entree...sooooo

I put them in a saucepan and poured the marinade back over them and then added two water glasses (maybe 3-4 cups?) of caldo de res (about a heaping tablespoon of powdered beef broth in a glass of hot water) till the meat was completely covered and then simmered that uncovered for about two hours till it reduced down into this freaking amazing dark, thick, rich sauce, stirring occasionally at the end to keep it from scorching.

Served that over a bed of white rice with oriental veggies stir fried in olive oil and soy sauce and it was an absolute home run...probably the best oriental beef dish I have ever eaten...incredibly deep and rich multilevel flavors and no MSG.

I plan to do this with other cuts of coarser beef (we slaughter a grass fed steer every year so have lots to choose from)...

yeah, short rib meat is tough. did the 2 hours of braising do the trick?

[CosmicCowboy]

I cook in the kitchen like how Manu plays in the court...with a passion, and one of the things Im passionate about are good kitchen knives.
I recommend Shun specially their 7" or 8" chef knife, the Santoku and the sharpening system. Will cost you around $500 for those 3 pcs but you cant beat the balance and quality.

A pressure cooker and a good seasoned cast iron grill are also a must!

I use cheap (but good) Dexter Russell Sani-Safe chef knives from the restaurant supply...I have my own that no one else can use that I take with me when I cook. The second they start to get even slightly dull I hit them on the diamond steel and pop them back to razor sharpness.

[CosmicCowboy]

yeah, short rib meat is tough. did the 2 hours of braising do the trick?

Perfect. Just a slight bite but very tender. Flavor was just explosive.

[mrsmaalox]

That looks good CC, but do you think skipping the grilling and just braising longer would have given you similar results? I know it was the first time and you were experimenting, but that's just too much work for me

[CosmicCowboy]

That looks good CC, but do you think skipping the grilling and just braising longer would have given you similar results? I know it was the first time and you were experimenting, but that's just too much work for me

No, it wouldn't have been the same. Beef short ribs have a lot of fat and I wanted to render that out on the grill before I braised them...the heat in braising isn't high enough to break it down...

[clambake]

No, it wouldn't have been the same. Beef short ribs have a lot of fat and I wanted to render that out on the grill before I braised them...the heat in braising isn't high enough to break it down...

thats a good point.

now, come back to the politics forum.

[mrsmaalox]

No, it wouldn't have been the same. Beef short ribs have a lot of fat and I wanted to render that out on the grill before I braised them...the heat in braising isn't high enough to break it down...

I see. Well that recipe seems easily adaptable for a slow-cooker, so I'll try it that way. I've cooked melt in your mouth short ribs many times like that.

[CosmicCowboy]

thats a good point.

now, come back to the politics forum.

Yeah, it's probably pretty hard to have any decent political debates without an articulate conservative representative to attack...you can only get so much mileage out of picking on WC...

[clambake]

I see. Well that recipe seems easily adaptable for a slow-cooker, so I'll try it that way. I've cooked melt in your mouth short ribs many times like that.

i use a dutch oven, but taking it off the bone and grilling first might be brilliant.

[CosmicCowboy]

I see. Well that recipe seems easily adaptable for a slow-cooker, so I'll try it that way. I've cooked melt in your mouth short ribs many times like that.

Do you skim the lake of grease off when you are done?

[clambake]

Yeah, it's probably pretty hard to have any decent political debates without an articulate conservative representative...

you don't know how real this statement is.

its quite cruel of you to leave us with wild cobra and crookskanks.

[pawe]

That looks good CC, but do you think skipping the grilling and just braising longer would have given you similar results? I know it was the first time and you were experimenting, but that's just too much work for me

No, it wouldn't have been the same. Beef short ribs have a lot of fat and I wanted to render that out on the grill before I braised them...the heat in braising isn't high enough to break it down...

Leave it in a slow cooker/crock pot for 7-8 hours and it will be more tender, you dont even have to use a fork.

[clambake]

Leave it in a slow cooker/crock pot for 7-8 hours and it will be more tender, you dont even have to use a fork.

trying to remove the fat takes almost as long.

[CosmicCowboy]

you don't know how real this statement is.

its quite cruel of you to leave us with wild cobra and crookskanks.

Meh...I may visit again if I see an interesting topic but the first time y'all start that same old piling on attack crap I'm outa there.

[pawe]

You buy short ribs for the flavor in the fat.

[CosmicCowboy]

You buy short ribs for the flavor in the fat.

well , boy, then save your money and just buy a pound of manteca.

[clambake]

Meh...I may visit again if I see an interesting topic but the first time y'all start that same old piling on attack crap I'm outa there.

just messing with you. coundn't you tell with my response? there should be a blue





not messing with crookskanks.

[pawe]

well , boy, then save your money and just buy a pound of manteca.

If only heart disease is non existent, I'd be eating fat and grease everyday.