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Post by carllove on Jan 9, 2022 18:28:16 GMT
Started these last night - Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls.
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Post by Kapitan on Jan 9, 2022 18:54:00 GMT
Oh my...those look unbelievable.
I was thinking of trying (for the first time ever) scratch-made cinnamon caramel rolls over the holidays, but I didn't ever get to it. Which is probably for the best, in terms of what I really don't need to be eating! But seriously, those look amazing.
I've got some marinated chicken thighs in the oven and am about to make some Mexican rice, with a fajita, rice, and beans (which I made yesterday) dinner as the end result in mind.
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Post by carllove on Jan 9, 2022 19:03:26 GMT
The Cinnamon rolls were amazing! My sourdough starter was at the perfect stage so they rose beautifully and had a nice sour tinge. So easy to make with the stand mixer.
We will be eating more steak tonight. That tomahawk was 3.5 pounds! It was perfect. I use the reverse sear technique. It’s a long process grilling a tomahawk - but so worth it when you get that perfect, tender pink inside and that amazing crust! Now I’m getting hungry!
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 4, 2022 12:29:41 GMT
I am getting close to claiming to have mastered homemade pizza. I did a pepperoni and mushroom one earlier this week that was very, very good. The only thing preventing my unmitigated bragging is that it's still slightly inconsistent: I don't always have the same success with the crusts' texture. But I swear, I will get to 100%!
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 6, 2022 13:16:49 GMT
Today I'm going to make something that, had you said it to me as a child or teenager, I'd have looked at you like you were nuts: goulash (or goulasch).
See, when I was a kid, this was an occasional school lunch or a budget-stretching dinner at home made of elbow macaroni, hamburger, and tomato sauce. Nothing wrong with that, but not really something to get excited for, either.
It was only in adulthood that I realized the dish is based on a Hungarian stew of beef, tomatoes, potatoes, aromatics like onions and garlic, and probably most important, peppers and paprika. (It can, but doesn't have to be, served on noodles. I don't know where the macaroni version comes from...) Like most dishes, there is no single version of it: it's like chili in that there are as many versions as cooks, and different people insist on different components. As some people insist chili must, and others say it can't, have beans, goulash may or may not have potatoes, or egg noodles, or kidney beans, or caraway seeds.
My plan is cubed beef, onions, garlic, carrot, celery, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, red bell peppers, and seasonings (lots and lots of paprika, marjoram, pepper, bay leaves) simmering in beef stock, with potatoes going in later. I think I might try adding caraway seeds, though I never have before and hope that doesn't ruin it! I got some good pretzel rolls to serve with it: nothing like dipping breads into soups and stews!
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 24, 2022 18:07:03 GMT
After seeing this video, I decided to try to make a (cast iron) pan pizza tonight. I haven't ever tried that before. I won't be using their no-cook sauce technique, or the overnight (almost-)no-knead dough, though, in that the sauce seems harder than just making a normal sauce, and the dough takes too long and I want it tonight. (I also don't really see the benefit: you save a few minutes of kneading, but you have to make it a day in advance? Doesn't seem worth it. Kneading for a few minutes isn't that hard.)
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 25, 2022 13:40:14 GMT
The pizza was a pretty big success! The only thing I'd do differently next time is use maybe 15-20% less dough, as it puffed up even a bit deeper than this deep dish pizza was intended. (I had reviewed a few different recipes, and the recommendations were wildly different: one called for almost 2.25 cups flour; the other, about 1.25 cups--both for the same sized cast iron pan.) I split the difference, at about 2 cups. I should have gone with about 1.5. The dough--a slightly wet dough, really did rise a lot.
Pepperoni, mushrooms, and olives were the topping. The crust was golden brown and almost fried in spots, with the oiled pan doing its work. Cheese all the way to the edge turned slightly crisp as intended.
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Post by Kapitan on May 8, 2022 16:06:14 GMT
Tis the season for ramps. I only learned of this great herb-vegetable's existence maybe half a dozen years ago, but now the few weeks they are around each spring is a highlight. Picture a green onion, but with a flat leaf at the top rather than the tubelike top of a green onion or chive. Now imagine them tasting like a cross between garlic and onion. That's a ramp. Delicious!
Yesterday I used them to make garlic-ramp mashed potatoes as well as a mushroom-ramp-red wine sauce to have over steak alongside a salad to try to keep a heart attack away a day or two! A very "supper club" sort of dish, really.
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Post by Kapitan on May 18, 2022 17:03:28 GMT
The other day, I had a strange fixation on making chicken marsala. I have no idea why: I hadn't just come across it in some cooking show or anything, it just popped into my head. As far as I can recall, not only had I not made it before but not even had it. The dish is basically a chicken cutlet (like a schnitzel for the more Germanic-minded among you), then a sauce of mushrooms and onion/shallot, marsala wine, chicken stock, and cream.
I wandered to the fortified wines section of the liquor store and was surprised that down there by the ports and such were several choices of marsala. I think there were four varieties, which (for such a small, neighborhood liquor store) was a surprise. I grabbed one, came home and made the dish.
(Or did I?)
I should note, I had some beef stock on hand and used that instead of chicken. In the end, I am not sure I was a huge fan of the marsala. However, upon further inspection, it turns out I'm not sure whether I like marsala: see, I accidentally grabbed madeira, which must have been right beside the first few marsalas I saw, and my mind just assumed the similar-length word starting with M was the same thing... Turns out there is a dish called chicken madeira, too, and it's the same as chicken marsala except with madeira and beef stock instead of marsala and chicken stock.
So after all that trouble, I still don't know whether I'd like chicken marsala, but I know I'm lukewarm on chicken madeira. And I've got most of a bottle of madeira to try to figure out how to use up...
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Post by Kapitan on Jun 26, 2022 18:11:02 GMT
My cherry tomato plant and serrano chili plant are both bearing fruits--which is actually pretty early for that around here. Neither is ready for any harvesting, but the tomato plant has several fruits that are actually turning yellow-orange, so they're getting there. The peppers aren't as far along, but there are a few tiny little fruits growing.
Of course I've been harvesting the herbs all along, but it's nice to know the fruits are coming. Often I don't get any until late July, so as I said, it's a nice, early surprise.
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Post by carllove on Jun 27, 2022 1:34:08 GMT
My cherry tomato plant and serrano chili plant are both bearing fruits--which is actually pretty early for that around here. Neither is ready for any harvesting, but the tomato plant has several fruits that are actually turning yellow-orange, so they're getting there. The peppers aren't as far along, but there are a few tiny little fruits growing.
Of course I've been harvesting the herbs all along, but it's nice to know the fruits are coming. Often I don't get any until late July, so as I said, it's a nice, early surprise.
I had to pick some jalapeños today. None of my tomatoes have turned yet, but it finally cooled off, so hopefully it will happen soon. Looks like I’m going to have a lot of cucumbers and melons judging from the flowers. Listened to the new SOS while I was weeding and watering today in the beautiful 75 degree weather. It was a good day, except for my husband breaking my well seasoned pizza stone! Those large Pampered Chef stones are expensive!
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 31, 2022 13:04:54 GMT
Yesterday, with a great special on pork shoulder, I made carnitas. There's no magic to them, a pretty simple thing to cook that you can ignore all day in a warm oven as they slow cook, crank it up at the end to brown them, and presto.
But I also decided to try to make (corn) tortillas, too, which I've done maybe 3-4 times before. And like always, I just can't get them to turn out. I think part of my problem is, I'd be better off with a tortilla press to get the right shape and thickness without going over them with a rolling pin and ending up with odd shapes or uneven thickness. But they also never are as flexible as good, fresh corn tortillas from people who know what they're doing. They were OK, but just not right.
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Post by carllove on Jul 31, 2022 13:29:10 GMT
Canned 5 quarts of tomato sauce yesterday. Friday night I made Kosher dill pickles and pickled jalapeños.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 31, 2022 13:34:38 GMT
I love homemade pickles and pickled jalapenos! I never go through the full canning process, and instead just do them "quick pickle" or "refrigerator pickle" style, but even so, they're delicious and less expensive than store-bought. (And far less work than true canning, though obviously they don't keep as long.)
As well as the great deal on pork shoulder, my coop had some fantastic looking lamb sirloin chops, so I got a package of that (about .75 lb, boneless). I've been thinking of doing an Indian-flavored curry with that and cabbage, maybe potatoes. If I go that route, I'll make naan--which, unlike tortillas, I can really do well! But I'm not sure, i might go a more traditional northern European kind of dish with the same ingredients. I'd better decide soon, because if I'm going the Indian route, I'll want to marinate the lamb.
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Post by carllove on Jul 31, 2022 13:36:58 GMT
I love homemade pickles and pickled jalapenos! I never go through the full canning process, and instead just do them "quick pickle" or "refrigerator pickle" style, but even so, they're delicious and less expensive than store-bought. (And far less work than true canning, though obviously they don't keep as long.)
As well as the great deal on pork shoulder, my coop had some fantastic looking lamb sirloin chops, so I got a package of that (about .75 lb, boneless). I've been thinking of doing an Indian-flavored curry with that and cabbage, maybe potatoes. If I go that route, I'll make naan--which, unlike tortillas, I can really do well! But I'm not sure, i might go a more traditional northern European kind of dish with the same ingredients. I'd better decide soon, because if I'm going the Indian route, I'll want to marinate the lamb.
You had me at Indian! Dang - now I’m hungry! Sounds wonderful!
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