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laminated

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,283
Tried my hand at macarons. I am not good at this piping thing.... I used a snipped zip-loc bag, maybe I should get a piping kit.

uujDizZ.jpg


d54No9H.jpg

Added 1/3rd cup of sugar instead of the 1/4th the recipe asked for. Ended up a little too sweet. -_-

Your photos aren't showing up for some reason.
Edit: And neither are mine! I guess its an issue with imgur.

Here's what I made throughout the week.

Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang: one of my favorite soups. It takes a while to compile all the different components. Quail eggs, ground pork, sliced pork tenderloin, fried scallions.


Fried chicken: still experimenting. I added msg to the egg/milk brine and it really took it to another level.

Fried rice: made with shrimp and ground pork left over from the noodle soup dish.

Mashed potato duck balls: never had the famous ones from Portos, but someone posted a photo of them on instagram and I thought I'd try to make my own version. The filling is duck leg, shitaki mushrooms, shallots, seasoned with xawaash and lime juice. The exterior is coated with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.
 

whatsinaname

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,047
Your photos aren't showing up for some reason.
Edit: And neither are mine! I guess its an issue with imgur.

Here's what I made throughout the week.

Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang: one of my favorite soups. It takes a while to compile all the different components. Quail eggs, ground pork, sliced pork tenderloin, fried scallions.



Fried chicken: still experimenting. I added msg to the egg/milk brine and it really took it to another level.


Fried rice: made with shrimp and ground pork left over from the noodle soup dish.


Mashed potato duck balls: never had the famous ones from Portos, but someone posted a photo of them on instagram and I thought I'd try to make my own version. The filling is duck leg, shitaki mushrooms, shallots, seasoned with xawaash and lime juice. The exterior is coated with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

Yeah, look like an intermittent issue. I can see your pics though.

What did you use for the soup broth?

Frying still intimidates me a little. Once I get my probe thermometer, I need to start working on that.
 

laminated

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,283
Yeah, look like an intermittent issue. I can see your pics though.

What did you use for the soup broth?

Frying still intimidates me a little. Once I get my probe thermometer, I need to start working on that.

Hey I can see your macarons in Safari but not Chrome. Dude they look really good!! What flavor is it? Hazelnut, coffee? I've never even attempted them, I hear they're very hard to make.

My broth is made of pork neck bones (mild, smooth pork flavor, but no silkiness due to lack of collagen), dried squid, dried shrimp, onion, and yellow rock sugar. Its simplicity is what makes it nice, similar to how udon broth is simple but very nice, especially for a breakfast soup.

A probe is essential for deep frying. Get on that! Hope you have a good range hood to exhaust that fry oil smell too :D
 

whatsinaname

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,047
Hey I can see your macarons in Safari but not Chrome. Dude they look really good!! What flavor is it? Hazelnut, coffee? I've never even attempted them, I hear they're very hard to make.

My broth is made of pork neck bones (mild, smooth pork flavor, but no silkiness due to lack of collagen), dried squid, dried shrimp, onion, and yellow rock sugar. Its simplicity is what makes it nice, similar to how udon broth is simple but very nice, especially for a breakfast soup.

A probe is essential for deep frying. Get on that! Hope you have a good range hood to exhaust that fry oil smell too :D

I went super basic with the flavours. Vanilla in the cookies. Some almond essence in the buttercream.

Tasty's recipe looked almost foolproof, so went with that. The other recipes I looked at seemed like they wouldn't work without a thermometer and/or stand mixer.

https://tasty.co/recipe/macarons

Ordered a nice probe thermometer via massdrop, hopefully it gets here next week. :D
 
Oct 25, 2017
6,374
So I made homemade chicken noodle soup using some homemade chicken stock and this is the best soup I've ever had. I get Pho every now and then from this great Vietnamese restaurant and honestly, this isn't "better" but it would give it a run for its money. I think the big trick to it was grated ginger as it was starting to come to a boil.

XFADYCP.jpg
 
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Deleted member 4452

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,377
I bought some avocado that were still firm to make some guacamole friday. They accidently stayed overnight in the car trunk and froze. How will that affect the taste?

So I made homemade chicken noodle soup using some homemade chicken stock and this is the best soup I've ever had. I get Pho every now and then from this great Vietnamese restaurant and honestly, this isn't "better" but it would give it a run for its money. I think the big trick to it was grated ginger as it was starting to come to a boil.
What I love about homemade pho is putting in extra ingredients/vegetables, like you have. I personally like to use carrots and daikon plus extra onions
 

laminated

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,283
So I made homemade chicken noodle soup using some homemade chicken stock and this is the best soup I've ever had. I get Pho every now and then from this great Vietnamese restaurant and honestly, this isn't "better" but it would give it a run for its money. I think the big trick to it was grated ginger as it was starting to come to a boil.

XFADYCP.jpg

Damn i want to see your soup, but now i can't see the image regardless of whether i use safari or chrome.
 
Oct 25, 2017
6,374
I don't know how people feel about cooking shows but I've been getting really into this show Final Table where a bunch of highclass professional chefs compete with one another and I'm realllllly digging it.

I bought some avocado that were still firm to make some guacamole friday. They accidently stayed overnight in the car trunk and froze. How will that affect the taste?

I doubt it would affect the taste, just keep them a firmer for longer. What are you putting in your Guac?

Damn i want to see your soup, but now i can't see the image regardless of whether i use safari or chrome.

It's not super pretty lol. Also I've been having problems with images in the thread too. Anyone else dealing with it?
 

fadedbones

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,589
Using chrome and android and I haven't been able to see any recent pictures :(
You people are my inspiration to learn more, this is dreadful :/
 

Chitown B

Member
Nov 15, 2017
9,584
I made this last night. It's always great for winter.

Cheeseburger Soup

1 ½ lb. ground beef
1 medium chopped onion
4-5 big carrots, shredded
3-4 stalks chopped celery
2 tsp. dried basil
1 stick butter, divided
16 oz. Velveeta
3 cans chicken broth
5 medium peeled, diced yellow potatoes
½ c. flour
3 c. milk

In large pot, brown beef. Drain and set aside. In pot, sauté onion, carrots, celery & basil in 2 tbsp. butter till vegetables are tender (about 10 min). Add broth, potatoes & beef. Simmer 10 min. until potatoes are tender. (Make Roux): In skillet, melt the rest of the butter. Add flour – cook, stirring 3-5 min. or till bubbly. Add to soup & bring to a boil. Cook & stir for 2 min. Reduce heat - add cheese, milk and salt & pepper to taste. Cook till cheese melts. If using low sodium broth make sure to add more salt.
 
Oct 25, 2017
6,374
Anyone have any recommendations for pan sauces? Everytime I try to make one I get the consistency wrong and its too watery but I'm always afraid of reducing too much. I can't find a balance :\


Just a basic recipe of onions, garlic, tomato, salt, lemon juice, olive oil. I got a mortar and pestle recently and just want an excuse to crush stuff up :D

Probs a bit late but Iimes > lemons for guac in my experience. Honestly I like limes better for a lot of things.
 

Briareos

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,035
Maine
Anyone have any recommendations for pan sauces? Everytime I try to make one I get the consistency wrong and its too watery but I'm always afraid of reducing too much. I can't find a balance :\

What are you afraid of with the reduction? How much liquid are you adding? Wine vs stock?

Probs a bit late but Iimes > lemons for guac in my experience. Honestly I like limes better for a lot of things.

This is true, although I come from the avocado + salt + lime juice minimalist school of guacamole.
 
Oct 25, 2017
6,374
What are you afraid of with the reduction? How much liquid are you adding? Wine vs stock?

I'm bad at measurements. I want to say maybe a quarter a cup with a good glug of some alcohol, usually, a Modelo just cause I have those on hand. I'm just wondering, is it supposed to have the whole coat a spoon consistency before adding something like butter?
 

Cosmic Bus

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,011
NY
It's holiday office party season so I've been having to do a shit ton of buffet desserts over the last two weeks:

1200 cookies
1500 churros
250 pieces of carrort cardamon cake
300 banana tarts
300 chocolate pecan tarts
250 pieces of cheesecake
150 pieces flourless choc cake
150 pieces vegan spice cake

this is all on top of keeping the restaurant itself stocked with our usual desserts, crackers, pasta, oh and all of it entirely by myself. Feeling new levels of exhaustion.
 

whatsinaname

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,047
It's holiday office party season so I've been having to do a shit ton of buffet desserts over the last two weeks:

1200 cookies
1500 churros
250 pieces of carrort cardamon cake
300 banana tarts
300 chocolate pecan tarts
250 pieces of cheesecake
150 pieces flourless choc cake
150 pieces vegan spice cake

this is all on top of keeping the restaurant itself stocked with our usual desserts, crackers, pasta, oh and all of it entirely by myself. Feeling new levels of exhaustion.

Holy shit!

It took me 5 hours today to make 28 macarons and 7 creme brulees... Will be spending another 2 hours making some lemon posset tomorrow night. All to prepare for one party on Friday. -_-
 

laminated

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,283
It's holiday office party season so I've been having to do a shit ton of buffet desserts over the last two weeks:

1200 cookies
1500 churros
250 pieces of carrort cardamon cake
300 banana tarts
300 chocolate pecan tarts
250 pieces of cheesecake
150 pieces flourless choc cake
150 pieces vegan spice cake

this is all on top of keeping the restaurant itself stocked with our usual desserts, crackers, pasta, oh and all of it entirely by myself. Feeling new levels of exhaustion.

That's fucking crazy. Are you the sole baker or pastry chef there?
 

Cosmic Bus

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,011
NY
Yes, the one and only. And only like three hours of overtime in those two weeks! More parties this weekend, too... ugh.
 

laminated

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,283
Made an easy meal of pork belly tonight. Yesterday night I cured the meat with a 50/50 mix of sugar and kosher salt with a little five spice mixed into it. I sprinkled plain salt onto the skin. I let it cure overnight until I got home from work, so about a 17 hr cure. I then rinsed some of the cure off and patted it dry. I cooked it low and slow in a 275 degree oven for 1 hr 30 m. After that, I cranked up the oven to broil to blister the skin and get it crispy. I don't think my oven gets very hot because it took 30 m to get only moderate blistering. As you could see, parts of the skin were blackening, so I took it out. I think it could've gone another 15 m. Parts of the skin were very crispy, while others were hard instead of crispy, and kind of stuck to your teeth when you ate it. Next time, I will only cook it on low for 1 hr, then crank it up to broil to give it plenty of time for the skin to crisp up. The meat was plenty juicy while not falling apart, and it was able to withstand the high temperature cooking without drying out.

As you can see, I got a janky piece that had some of its skin removed. I didn't notice it at the time. I cut it into slices and ate it with rice. For toppings, I fried some scallions in grapeseed oil and drizzled it over the rice and pork. I also added some sliced cucumber and sprinkled everything with Shichimi Togarashi. I also drizzled on some Golden Mountain Seasoning sauce.

The pork belly was very juicy, and it still had very good crispiness. It's a standard "asian" meal that I'm used to eating.

 
Oct 27, 2017
10,201
PIT
So I got a two for one deal on beef chuck roast, last week I made sesame beef and broccoli and this weekend I'm making a beef curry.
 

whatsinaname

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,047
Made an easy meal of pork belly tonight. Yesterday night I cured the meat with a 50/50 mix of sugar and kosher salt with a little five spice mixed into it. I sprinkled plain salt onto the skin. I let it cure overnight until I got home from work, so about a 17 hr cure. I then rinsed some of the cure off and patted it dry. I cooked it low and slow in a 275 degree oven for 1 hr 30 m. After that, I cranked up the oven to broil to blister the skin and get it crispy. I don't think my oven gets very hot because it took 30 m to get only moderate blistering. As you could see, parts of the skin were blackening, so I took it out. I think it could've gone another 15 m. Parts of the skin were very crispy, while others were hard instead of crispy, and kind of stuck to your teeth when you ate it. Next time, I will only cook it on low for 1 hr, then crank it up to broil to give it plenty of time for the skin to crisp up. The meat was plenty juicy while not falling apart, and it was able to withstand the high temperature cooking without drying out.

As you can see, I got a janky piece that had some of its skin removed. I didn't notice it at the time. I cut it into slices and ate it with rice. For toppings, I fried some scallions in grapeseed oil and drizzled it over the rice and pork. I also added some sliced cucumber and sprinkled everything with Shichimi Togarashi. I also drizzled on some Golden Mountain Seasoning sauce.

The pork belly was very juicy, and it still had very good crispiness. It's a standard "asian" meal that I'm used to eating.

Ooh, I have all the stuff needed to do this (except the pork belly). Might make it this weekend. I usually make twice cooked pork when I am craving pork belly. Boil first and then wok fry with leeks or cabbage, whatever I am feeling like that day.
 

Deleted member 11637

Oct 27, 2017
18,204
I have a bunch of cocoa powder I haven't been using, so I tried my hand at brownies based on this recipe, with 50/50 brown and white sugar, a tablespoon of walnut oil, chopped toasted walnuts and dark chocolate peanut butter cups. They're dangerously good.


 

dedacc

User requested ban
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
318
So I made my salmon tagliatelle tonight and I thought I might try making it by cooking the salmon in the honey mustard sauce instead of broiling it. And my word - it turned out to be better than when I made it with all the ingredients separated. Might need to cut the crème fraîche though and replace it with something a tad lighter for future endeavours.
 

laminated

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,283
So I got a two for one deal on beef chuck roast, last week I made sesame beef and broccoli and this weekend I'm making a beef curry.

I plan to make Japanese curry with chuck this weekend. I like using the spicy S&B brand. Been craving curry with big portion of steamed rice.


Ooh, I have all the stuff needed to do this (except the pork belly). Might make it this weekend. I usually make twice cooked pork when I am craving pork belly. Boil first and then wok fry with leeks or cabbage, whatever I am feeling like that day.

I've never made twice cooked pork using that method. How long do you boil for?


I have a bunch of cocoa powder I haven't been using, so I tried my hand at brownies based on this recipe, with 50/50 brown and white sugar, a tablespoon of walnut oil, chopped toasted walnuts and dark chocolate peanut butter cups. They're dangerously good.




That looks ridiculously good. Especially with the peanut butter cups. That takes it over the top! I'm afraid to make that because I live alone and would probably eat more than I should :(
 

laminated

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,283
When your occipital neuralgia is so bad you can't fall asleep, you make BREAKFAST TACOS. Normally, I only eat breakfast tacos or burritos when I visit my family in San Diego because the restaurants down there make it how I like it. And how I like it is with tortillas made with pork fat.

The tortilla recipe I used is from Rick Bayless. Super simple. The hardest part is rolling a circle which I cannot fucking do. That's why my tortillas look like naan. But its the taste that matters, right? RIGHT?!

When you add your cheese, the move is to wrap them in aluminum foil, just like your local taqueria, because the steam helps to melt the cheese! I am using cheddar and monterey jack.

It turned out really really good. Just make sure to season your potatoes and eggs and you're good to go!

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Weird shape but tastes delicious! It's all about the pork fat!
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Melted cheeeeeese
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dckvDGz.jpg
 
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Deleted member 11637

Oct 27, 2017
18,204
That looks ridiculously good. Especially with the peanut butter cups. That takes it over the top! I'm afraid to make that because I live alone and would probably eat more than I should :(

Thanks! Between the walnuts and chocolate peanut butter cups they're still perfectly moist and chewy two days later. Those CPB cups are my main sugar rush lately, just 6g of sugar for one bite with my morning coffee.
 

Keen

Member
Oct 29, 2017
110
I don't know how people feel about cooking shows but I've been getting really into this show Final Table where a bunch of highclass professional chefs compete with one another and I'm realllllly digging it.

I liked it, but found the presentation to be somewhat too American; if that makes sense. But the actual chefs were amazing, as were the cooking shown. I just wish they showed more of the cooking.

Currently watching Masterchef Professionals UK, which is one of my favorite cooking shows alongside Masterchef Australia. The talent displayed is amazing, and Marcus Wareing is one of my absolute favorite "cooking personalities". Monica Galetti is great too of course.



Have to start posting here more, used to post a lot at the "old" site. Have been slacking here too much.

Also, happy bday OnkelC!
 

laminated

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,283
I made beef curry three days ago and used up the rest of it for udon soup. After the third day, the curry is grainier because the potatoes have broken down due to multiple reheatings, but it was still good. When I make curry I use S&B Extra Hot and I enhance it using suggestions from Japanese Cooking 101. They add ketchup (I used tomato paste), soy sauce, and apricot jelly. I enjoy their recipe.

I also cut up some Japanese sweet potato into matchsticks and made shrimp tempura with them. The shrimp was seasoned with salt, pepper, msg, and scallions. And I made a basic version of korean dipping sauce for the shrimp. It's the same dipping sauce you'd get with Korean seafood pancakes. It has soy sauce, rice vinegar, and some sugar.

 

FaceHugger

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
13,949
USA
I got another chef's knife for Christmas. Friends and family keep buying me knives because they know I like to cook.

I now have three expensive Japanese steel chef knives, two 8 inch and one 7. I think I may regift one I haven't used yet, store another, and keep this latest one I just got:

https://smile.amazon.com/Cangshan-62731-Carbon-Damascus-Forged/dp/B01MY4EA9L/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1545263418&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=japanese+chef+knife&th=1

I sharpened and used it earlier, really nice. I don't know if it's $200+ good, but I like it more than the one I've been using.
 

laminated

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,283
I got another chef's knife for Christmas. Friends and family keep buying me knives because they know I like to cook.

I now have three expensive Japanese steel chef knives, two 8 inch and one 7. I think I may regift one I haven't used yet, store another, and keep this latest one I just got:

https://smile.amazon.com/Cangshan-62731-Carbon-Damascus-Forged/dp/B01MY4EA9L/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1545263418&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=japanese+chef+knife&th=1

I sharpened and used it earlier, really nice. I don't know if it's $200+ good, but I like it more than the one I've been using.

Nice. I own this MAC Pro 8" chef's knife that I haven't even used yet because I have no confidence in sharpening it. It's my only knife over $100. The everyday knife I use is a $40 MAC.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/macpr8hoedch.html
 

Cosmic Bus

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,011
NY
Cosmic Bus I came across this article about pastry chefs. It mentions restaurants hiring one pastry chef, but no pastry cooks to help. It sounded like the situation you are in. Anyway, I thought you might find the article interesting.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/22/t-magazine/american-pies-cakes-desserts.html

Thanks, I did enjoy reading it 👩‍🍳

Definitely sounds familiar, everything I make has to be essentially self-contained and ready to serve because the line cooks are the ones plating it up for service. I'd like to be more creative, but our small, badly designed kitchen (historic building, recently renovated) limits a lot what I could potentially do. Too bad I can't have the money to just open a little shop of my own!
 

Briareos

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,035
Maine
Any of you all ever make Tiramisu? What strength coffee do you use? Low dose french press or diluted espresso or something else?

Hm, apparently I've posted ours a lot... 2013 variant:

IMG_2697.jpg


2016:

IMG_5495.png


2017 (clearly my second piece based on the messy plating):

IMG_6811.png


My wife declares: strong pot from freshly ground beans, as well as espresso powder mixed in with the liquor. Her's is pretty much the best I've ever had, and tastes almost identical to what they serve at Pompi in Rome.
 

Funky Papa

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,694
I have a question for you, Iron-Era: what can I do with chicken leftovers from stock?

I'm back to cutting, so I make about 5 litres of chicken stock/soup per week and there's a significant amount of meat after it, but it's fairly insipid after giving up most of its flavour. Spanish cuisine rules mandate croquettes, but that kind of negates that thing about shedding weight.

Any ideas? I'm just tired of eating it straight along the soup.

PS: for what is worth, I use two meaty chicken carcasses, two pieces of beef knuckle and a small piece of ham bone along the usual vegetables per each 2.5 litres.
 

laminated

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,283
I have a question for you, Iron-Era: what can I do with chicken leftovers from stock?

I'm back to cutting, so I make about 5 litres of chicken stock/soup per week and there's a significant amount of meat after it, but it's fairly insipid after giving up most of its flavour. Spanish cuisine rules mandate croquettes, but that kind of negates that thing about shedding weight.

Any ideas? I'm just tired of eating it straight along the soup.

PS: for what is worth, I use two meaty chicken carcasses, two pieces of beef knuckle and a small piece of ham bone along the usual vegetables per each 2.5 litres.

 

Funky Papa

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,694
I've been around serious bodybuilders since I was 18.

Each time I see them eat (the food itself and the amounts of it) I want to puke. I'm not about that "entire breast of microwaved chicken for lunch" life.

Still, I have no idea what to do with those chicken peelings.
 

FaceHugger

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
13,949
USA
Making some Puerto Rican style inspired rice (sofrito, lots of garlic, diced potatoes, green olives, Sazon, Adobo), only I am using fresh ground Mexican beef chorizo for the first time - just picked it up from the butcher at the international grocer. I hope I don't fuck this up.
 
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whatsinaname

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,047
Made some egg puffs for a brunch I was heading out to. Something I ate a ton of as a kid. (Puff pastry sheet + curried onions/tomatoes + boiled egg).

LCnmSk9.jpg


Also finally bought a decent probe thermometer. Will make some forays into deep frying now, maybe with some Korean fried chicken.

dd88LGH.jpg