What's cooking? part 4

re losing the zeal for cooking, this is only tangentially related and probably not the appropriate thread but...

about a year ago i 'retired' from cooking: jordan decided to go kinda low carb (salads for dinner every night, basically) which took off the pressure i'd put on myself to cook. he makes his own salads and i eat whatever is easy (lots of those simple and small TJ frozen meals). it's one of the best decisions i've ever made and my life is so much better for it!

I live off a combo of those two things 90% of the time, now. And bulk frozen costco dinners.

friend gave us a batch of preserved lemons. they're so freakin' yum. so gonna stuff some tofu that has been fried somewhat with that and olives and hope it ends up looking as good as http://veganmenu.blogspot.com/2008/07/tofu-stuffed-with-preserved-lemons-and.html
also due up for side: roasted brussels w/ splashes o'reduced balsamic.

i really wanna make some preserved lemons

i tried once, using the same recipe my aforementioned friend uses (his Egyptian mother's) and ended up with olde salty lemons. wish i knew what went wrong. not knowing sort of makes me leary abt trying again someday

my improvised dinner of which i am insanely proud (bcz every time i make something like this it's really lopsided and not at all balanced or delicious):

- half a pound of elbows, al dente
- 1 pt of cherry tomatoes, roasted with s/p/oo/two sprigs of thyme at 400* for 20 min
- 1 clove of garlic, microplaned
- a ton of coarsely grated parm-regg
- a bit more fresh thyme
- a gentle splash of balsamic

oh my god

I am marinating a bottom round roast for sauerbraten on Friday or Saturday.

I figure if I'm going to do this, I might as well go all the way -- going to make spaetzle and braised red cabbage along with the sauerbraten.

That sounds absolutely fantastic. I've never made spaetzle, maybe I will give it a try.

i have! it was fun other than making a bit of a mess out of my colander.

i am baking bread for the first time in over ten years

chili on the stove now. looking good. have never used fake ground beef before, but throwing that in in a minute. gonna have roasted potatoes with it and cheddar on the chili so it will be close to chili cheese fries which rule, obv

i deep-fried some brussels sprout leaves tonight. the recipe i was working from warned they would bubble up upon hitting the oil and i used a good-sized pot, but it was still pretty scary to watch.

quite obsessed with eggplant at the moment. made this yottam ottolenghi recipe for imam bayildi about a week ago. but more commonly i will just make pasta with roasted cubed eggplant, mix with halved cherry tomatoes with some roughly torn basil, garlic and chilli fried in oil dripped over at the end, sometimes a bit of balsamic vinegar mixed in with the eggplant and tomato. just a very easy thing to cook and i find it extremely satisfying.

other current love: squash. really easy to make a butternut squash soup if you just roast a squash, leave it to cool, fry onions garlic and ginger and chili flakes, add the squash, a can of coconut milk, some stock, put in the immersion blender, voila.

i've been super into eggplant too and prob have ottolenghi to credit, since it's nothing that was cooked in my parents house when i was growing up. there are just so many ways to prepare it. he's got another one where iirc you roast eggplant halves and fill them with bulgur wheat and top w/yogurt and stuff and it made for an amazingly complete meal.

i want to like squash soup but the ones i have tried always turn out sweet?

anyone have a ~hella~ savory squash soup recipe?

nothing i've ever tried but this guy with dashi and miso seems like it would fit the bill: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/10/miso-squash-soup-recipe.html

wow yes this looks perfect

hell yes 2 the eggplant! been roasting and just eating plain lately. also, i think i made this up a few weeks ago when i had some cooked freshly cooked eggplant and also french lentils hangin' out: take slices of roasted eggplant, slather w/generous dollop tahini , and lay some lentils over that. so obvious and simple, but, winnerwinner

made this recipe from vegan yum yum book (kinda highly rec.) http://smithsvegankitchen.blogspot.com/2012/02/red-white-cauliflower-bake.html
and is in the oven now. i expect nothing less than plowing through a couple pieces. it looks nice. had some sauteed leeks that got thrown in the "bechamel", but just followed recipe, basically

at what point should we start a new "what's cooking?" thread?

here are 5 things I made this weekend in order of good to best, w/ accompanying recipes:

5. kasha -- I have never made this before! It was simple but very delicious, and the leftovers went really well with #3
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017205-kasha

4. broccoli cheese soup - this was very heavy and delicious, but maybe not as much BOOM POW CHEESE!!!! as I would have liked? But don't get me wrong, it was still quite cheesy; I think I just need to add some salt when I eat it. The broccoli flavor is way more pronounced than other BC soups I've had in the past. This is an excellent recipe for someone who loves BC soup but only a good-to-great recipe in general.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/10/broccoli-cheddar-cheese-soup-food-lab-recipe.html

3. miso chicken - I've made this before and it's deceptively simple and flavorful. I love it!
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017699-miso-chicken

2. double buckwheat blueberry pancakes - at first I was like "hm these taste so interesting! do I like these? but then I was like "wow I REALLY like these!!!". Don't serve them to children. Do serve them to grown-ups who love great food. Also you have to make #5 first bcz it uses leftover cooked kasha in it.
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017208-double-buckwheat-blueberry-pancakes

1. hummus tehina from Zahav - this is killer. it's the best hummus I've ever made. We're not reinventing the wheel here, folks -- this is simple quality at its finest. Go full Ina and get the best tahini, dried chickpeas, etc.
https://food52.com/recipes/42695-zahav-s-hummus-tehina

i made a really good broccoli cheese soup on friday, though of the vegan variety with a cashew cream with nutritional yeast and lemon and veg stock instead of actual cheese sauce. but it was tasty as hell, despite my reservations as to the culinary merits of nutritional yeast (find it kind of gross if it's too noticeable).

but broc soup def the right thing to be eating in october imo

i made chicken & dimplings but effed up the DUMPLINGS! so turned it into chicken noodle soup instead..damn it was good

going to do some manner of chicken salad but I'm thinking I may have had my fill of vinegar lately, anyone got any favoured alternative dressings? is some sort of lemon/mustard/sugar/oil combo actually good or would it be too much? perhaps looking for something a bit lower key

STEVIE'S FIRST STEAK!!!! I cooked this (testing w a thermometer like every 30 seconds) and it turned out GREAT and now I have gone from feeling v unsure to v confident in my steak-cooking abilities over the course of like 15 minutes. I can cook a steak!!!!!!

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/5803-steak-with-ginger-butter-sauce

Why is "cooking a steak" an art form?? It seemed so incredibly straightforward: heat pan real high, add oil, add steak, turn ever 30-60 seconds, use a thermometer to check for doneness, you win

kasha + fried eggs is one of favorite winter breakfasts

Idk what kind of chicken salad uses a vinegar dressing, so yeah I'd def go with oil/lemon/dijon mustard/maybe some fresh thyme?

grilling a steak is the art form, it's man's work, truly the one form of cooking that the ladyfolk will never master

*pokes charcoal with a stick, scorches steak*

Cooking one steak isn't too crazy, but cooking a couple and trying to get them all to appropriate levels of done-ness without overcooking is always really difficult for me.

i'm no longer vegetarian but we still cook vegetarian/vegan at home, i feel pretty confident cooking all kinds of things but meat & seafood intimidates me a lot

Ppl make a big whoop about cooking steaks because steaks are expensive and they want to feel superior. It's not actually that hard. I cooked a steak last night without a thermometer and it turned out great. Don't let blowhards intimidate you from doing anything - ever!!

never use oil when i cook steak, personally

i don't think it's difficult but many many people do it badly or haven't a clue what they're doing.

I haven't seen it, but apparently a video exists of someone castigating Jamie Oliver for coming from a position of privilege when it became obvious she didn't understand how to boil a pot of water

I have trouble believing this happened as described, but... maybe

Many people do lots of things badly -- shouldn't stop them or others from trying!! I'm on a NO INTIMIDATION kick rn, you'll have to excuse me

Well yeah, they have to try!

I have faith that notional lady could boil water. It's in her grasp.

(do not attempt to grasp actual boiling water)

I only added oil bcz it was a stainless steel pan. I am still learning how to stainless steel -- can I fry w/o oil??

why would you not use a cooking fat

alternative would be using cast iron or a seasoned surface afaik

I advise using a charcoal grill that has never been cleaned

the lil bit of fat added by cooking a dang steak with oil/butter is well worth the improvement in flavor/browning

in for a penny in for a pound m8

the birth-death loop is best realized with a dollop of butter

my cast iron is kinda fucked up rn, i need to reseason it

If I'm cooking something like steak or frying the outside of chicken thighs or something before putting it in the oven I usually rub the meat with a bit of oil rather than putting oil in the pan. I don't know why I do this, maybe because I'm often rubbing it with seasoning or spices? Does it make any difference?
Cooking steak in butter is A++++ though

just don't really feel like you need oil on a steak and it doesn't boost the flavour imo, worsens it in some cases, i read this somewhere and have followed it since - i use a cast iron griddle pan.

it's good to tip it on its side and sear the fat.

steak and butter is nice for sure.

Many people do lots of things badly -- shouldn't stop them or others from trying!! I'm on a NO INTIMIDATION kick rn, you'll have to excuse me

yeah i wasn't saying people shouldn't try, just that even though cooking steak is easy this doesn't mean the message on how to do it is out there. i also thinks it takes a decent bit of practice/tolerance of smoke to appreciate how hot the grill should be.

one of the most satisfying things to cook.

I've got a (fairly old) Tefal frying pan that I've totally fecked by frying a steak on high heat that was rubbed with a mix of spices including a fair bit of brown sugar. Steak was ace but I've been trying to get the burnt stuff off for days.

i have had the same griddle for like 8/9 years - i tend to put it on the biggest gas ring and by the end my entire flat, which is open plan is filled with smoke. feel like a big steak in a tefal-type pan would be sort of tricky but i don't have a cast-iron pan

sugar is a bit of a nightmare at high heat - puts me off grilling indoors with marinades or whatever.