ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Rich:My wife and I have been out and seen couples not say a word to each other the entire evening. And they didn't even have phones out!
Hi Rich,
Well that sir is a whole new and blood chilling dimension… people that pay good money to dine out and don’t bother to talk with one another.
Reminds me of my wonderful grandparents who hated each other with a “nuclear capability.” My grandmother was impeccably neat and elegantly proper while my grandfather was an absolute slob, for lack of a better word.
Picture Jacqueline Kennedy opposite Broderick Crawford (Born Yesterday) and you have my grandparents.
Dining with them as a child was a major event and drama was a rock solid guarantee.
On one silent treatment occasion my grandfather was cleaning his shrimp that he decided were dirty in his Johnny Walker Black Label drink and then demanded a new drink as his was “dirty.”
By the end of the meal there was so much dropped and/or spilled food surrounding my grandfather that the flabbergasted and really FRUSTRATED waiter brought a hand vacuum cleaner to the abject HORROR of my grandmother.
With each errant piece of food that my grandfather dropped my grandmother would kick him under the table and kick him hard with her pointy toed shoes. How the man could walk after a meal is a mystery to me….. but I can tell you this; it was all deliberate as my grandfather lived to embarrass his “picture perfect” wife.
While they both spoke to my sister and I they routinely didn’t say a word to one another.
I once asked my grandmother how she “survived” my grandfather and she said, “Separate bedrooms helps.”
This utterly miscast couple would fit in perfectly into the scenario you described. Thanks for bring back what was for me a very pleasant memory.
Jeff
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Jeff: OK, let's talk about "fusion" cuisine. I just got back from a nearby town and lawd have mercy, I had the most unique fusion cuisine. Mexican and Southern BBQ fusion! Was absolutely delicious! Story was that after fisnin these two good ol'boys were hungry, one wanted Mexican, one wanted BBQ, and so the Redneck/Mexican fusion was born. I had fried catfish tacos with jalapeno slaw, and my wife had quesadillas with pimento cheese and pulled pork. Just delicious pork, smoky and tender.
OK, let's talk about "fusion" cuisine. I just got back from a nearby town and lawd have mercy, I had the most unique fusion cuisine. Mexican and Southern BBQ fusion! Was absolutely delicious! Story was that after fisnin these two good ol'boys were hungry, one wanted Mexican, one wanted BBQ, and so the Redneck/Mexican fusion was born.
I had fried catfish tacos with jalapeno slaw, and my wife had quesadillas with pimento cheese and pulled pork. Just delicious pork, smoky and tender.
Jeff it sounds an interesting mix.
I think i would like to try the jalapeño slaw with the pulled pork
I've never had catfish though
Catfish is good eating, mild fresh water fish. Big here down South, usually fried with a corn meal crust, either filets or whole smaller ones, the smaller ones are called fingerling catfish. Bones well isolated to the center so there's lots of meat to eat on the sides.
The traditional approach is of course served with hush puppies (fried balls of corn meal dough with spices), fries (aka chips I guess for your people living in current or former British countries), and coleslaw. Also good blackened, stands up to a spicy crust well.
Had great pinto beans too, mildly spicy with just enough kick. Definitely a place to revisit. The odd things you find here in the American South food wise.
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Jeff: Catfish is good eating, mild fresh water fish. Big here down South, usually fried with a corn meal crust, either filets or whole smaller ones, the smaller ones are called fingerling catfish. Bones well isolated to the center so there's lots of meat to eat on the sides. The traditional approach is of course served with hush puppies (fried balls of corn meal dough with spices), fries (aka chips I guess for your people living in current or former British countries), and coleslaw. Also good blackened, stands up to a spicy crust well. Had great pinto beans too, mildly spicy with just enough kick. Definitely a place to revisit. The odd things you find here in the American South food wise.
Aren't you in a former British country too Jeff?
I heard an interesting commentary on the radio the other day. Some professor was saying that Britain is a hidden Republic with an hereditary but powerless monarchy. The newly independent US, in defining presidential powers, made the mistake of giving the president the powers that they thought George III had (but in reality he didn't). Hence the US is a hidden Monarchy with a new king elected every four years. I think some of the context was actually about George III imposing taxes on the colonies under instruction from the government, but this being interpreted as the king doing his own thing.
Anyway, your previous king declared chips/ french fries to be freedom fries.
Graham
Former colony? Only if you count the original colonial states... I doubt you'd get Texas to go along with being considered ex-British!
Interesting comment, and sadly one that's proving all too true, the closet monarchy, with our current administration but that's as far as I think I'll go with that. Certainly there aren't enough checks and balances anymore.
And I think it was one idiot member of our Congress that started the whole "freedom fries" thing not our closet monarch of the time. But how they got named french fries in the first place is still a mystery to me. I always thought fried taters was a good enough name.
Of course down here in the South we save the big arguments for how best to make cornbread and grits. We don't put sugar in cornbread, at least not REAL Southerners anyway! Oh, and how many days to boil collard greens to make them completely inedible.
Dear Jeff, let me remind you how it all started...
The story goes that fries date back to 1680: the inhabitants of Namur, Andenne and Dinant in Belgium used to fish in the Meuse River and fry the little fish they caught to improve their diet. However, when rivers and streams froze over and it was dangerous to fish, people used to cut potatoes into the shape of little fish and fry them.
As for the name "French fries", it is alleged to come from either the Irish "to french", meaning "to cut", or from the American allies who, when they landed in the Belgian Ardennes, tasted our incomparable fried potatoes and called them "French fries", French for the language spoken by the inhabitants and fries because of the way they were cooked. Whenever the case may be, fries are definitely Belgian!
I will enjoy my fries this evening, accompanied with a good fresh Belgian "pint" of beer. And no, I won't have some ketchup on it but a good fat clot of mayonnaise.
"Believe nothing you read and only half of what you see, let your ears tell you the truth."
Interesting history, thanks! Maybe they should be Belgian fries...
I knew about the mayo vs. ketchup thing, in fact I often eat mayo on fries. My in-laws tell a story about when my brother-in-law was little they went to France. He had some fries and they asked the waiter to bring them ketchup for him (he was a kid after all) and the waiter sniffs, looks down his nose at them, and says "ketchup is not good" and walks off.
Fries are highly variable over here, from just delicious to absolutely awful depending on the cut and how they're prepared. I remember back when I was in college the ones at the college snack bar were dreadful, they were too cheap to buy fries made out of cut potatoes, they were made instead of left over potato scraps made into a mashed potato mess and extruded into a french fry shape. Disgusting, I remember the first time I got them there, they looked so big and juicy, and as soon as you put them into your mouth they just disintegrated into this awful textured mush. Ugh.
Oh, and I hate fries that still have the skin on the potato, though at least that way you know it's made of a real cut potato!
Jeff,
The complete polarization of the US Congress with both sides at constant sward point and with such bravado that neither side feels willing or able to back down is a travesty. Useless high drama and I mean BOTH sides, Democrats and Republicans alike.
Yuk, I rather talk about the French fries, which in Quebec they cover in rich gravy with chunks of curd cheese…. delicious.
Quick addendum, the Brits dunk their crisps (fries) in vinegar.
Personally I have no problem with ketchup, mayonnaise, or the delightful but heart stopping poutine.
Piaf: Quick addendum, the Brits dunk their crisps (fries) in vinegar. Personally I have no problem with ketchup, mayonnaise, or the delightful but heart stopping poutine. Jeff
I've never had poutine! But I have doused big chips in vinegar, it's tasty, especially malt vinegar. Fries and sometimes a burger are about the only things I ever put ketchup on. Sometimes hot dogs but usually that's hot mustard. I do know opinions about ketchup on dogs is sometimes a fighting thing leading to fisticuffs!
Lately I've tended to replace ketchup with Sriracha sauce. And there's only one brand that will do, the original!
My wife just gave me a present of an Anova sous vide cooker! Interesting device, really looking forward to trying this. Now I need to get more bags for my vacuum sealing thing.
The cooker is this tall cylinder, about 4 inches in diameter, that clamps to the edge of a pot you fill with water. It contains the circulating pump, heater, and a temperature control circuit, you set the temp using the digital display and control buttons on the top of the cooker thing.
I'll let you know how it works. I also have a new molecular gastronomy kit, so I need to make some foam and pearls and such.
Hi Jeff,
I had never heard or seen Poutine until I moved to Canada. To be honest, this old Florida Cracker thought the concept was…… well gross, who ever thought of gravy and chunks of cheese on French fries?
Well I was wrong…. this ain’t the first time. The stuff is delicious.
The fast food places McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, and KFC all offer it here with mixed results. KFC’s gravy on the fries is a winner, but Wendy’s currently has its insanely spicy Jalapeño Fresco chicken sandwich that goes remarkably well with the Jalapeño Ghost Pepper fries.
The combo makes the top of my head sweat but worth it.
Hot dogs, now you are talking. I take the hot dog and bun, cover it liberally with sliced sweet onions, relish, graded cheese, French’s Mustard (it’s tangy), and a little Ketchup. Sometimes a few Jalapeños and/or chili for something different.
I haven’t had lunch yet and this thread is making me hungry. I have a ham and cheese sandwich with onions and home-made cold slaw waiting for me. Messy, but delicious.
Jeff:My wife just gave me a present of an Anova sous vide cooker! Interesting device, really looking forward to trying this. Now I need to get more bags for my vacuum sealing thing.
Not a pressure cooker, it's a thing you clamp on the side of a pot full of water. It circulates the water and precisely controls the temperature of the water. You seal food in plastic bags, no air, and sit it in the water bath, which cooks it to the final temp. Their way of doing steaks is cook them in the bag to medium rare, take them out of the bags and then sear the outsides quickly. The steaks are medium rare all the way thru except for the charred outside edges, not just at the center.
http://store.anovaculinary.com/products/anova-precision-cooker/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=search+|+us&utm_term=22649660625&utm_content=4442983297
This is what she got me. It'll be interesting to experiment with it.
Jeff: Not a pressure cooker, it's a thing you clamp on the side of a pot full of water. It circulates the water and precisely controls the temperature of the water. You seal food in plastic bags, no air, and sit it in the water bath, which cooks it to the final temp. Their way of doing steaks is cook them in the bag to medium rare, take them out of the bags and then sear the outsides quickly. The steaks are medium rare all the way thru except for the charred outside edges, not just at the center. http://store.anovaculinary.com/products/anova-precision-cooker/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=search+|+us&utm_term=22649660625&utm_content=4442983297 This is what she got me. It'll be interesting to experiment with it.
That looks a really interesting product (except for the price rise of $50 if you choose a UK plug!)
We have a 'Mr D Thermal Cooker' which is rarely used by us. It's a glorified thermal flask shaped like a pan marketed for yachting. You cook in boiling water for about ten minutes on the hob, and then slip the inner pan into the insulated liner and lid and leave it for several hours. It's a bit like the old 'Haybox' idea. The disadvantage is that you have to have it more than 80% full of whatever you are cooking for it to work properly without cooling too quickly.
The Anova description has given me the idea that maybe I can place everything into Ziplock bags and achieve something similar with the Mr D full of hot water at the outset. It would certainly allow the cooking of several things at the same time, keeping everything separate.
We also have a couple of slow cookers or 'Crock Pots', but the results are quite variable. I suspect they don't have very precise thermostats ( if they have them al all!)
That Anova things looks awesome! I don't like much the engineering approach to cooking nor cluttering my kitchen with various devices, but that seems so far over the edge that I'm quite tempted...
I do have one of the original Crockpots. The results have indeed been varying. I've managed to make some good stews and I quite like the aspect that I can load it in the evening, turn it on in the morning and I'll have food when I come home. But it's difficult to find motivation and time for all that chopping up in advance, when you need to have the current evening's dinner prepared and consumed as well. Not to mention perhaps some free time.
No, I don't think it has any thermostat. It just relies on the very small power and the water/vapour circulation to keep the temperature somewhat constant.
--mika
I've seen things online under do it yourself sous vide cooking that seem to work, most of them based around cooking in a thermal cooler/ice chest to put lower demands on whatever heater you're using. I think some things will be good this way but a lot of the recipes seem like slow cooker ones, in that they use the tool (Anova, slow cooker, etc.) to do things that would be just as well done another way, but hey they're selling the product! I'll see though, probably some things, like cooking salmon, are great this way.
I have a slow cooker but have only ever used it for two recipes, one is a slow cooker lamb tagine which is really good, Moroccan style. The other is why I got it in the first place, and overnight slow cooker steel cut oatmeal recipe that is wonderful. When I was working I could set it up when I went to bed and wake up to perfectly cooked, creamy oatmeal.
The yacht/tail gating thing sounds very similar in concept. I will try it sometime this week and will report back on the results.
As to actual gourmet, I'm just preparing some false morels I picked up last weekend around the summer house. A totally exquisite taste, but potentially deadly unless you parboil them twice.
They'll probably end up in some soup or sauce for game some day, but tonight I'll just put them in the freezer after preparing them.
Potentially deadly? Makes a nice sauce for fugu then does it?
Guys,
We all know the drill: we are too busy, too stressed, have too much “important” stuff to do and we fail to make the most of the opportunities that we have.
Well life is too short for that.
We are fortunate enough to have a house with three decks and a roof top terrace but we never use them.
Today we decided to drop the busy schedule and enjoy fondue and wine accompanied by Handel’s Water Music (via Sony boom-box) while thoroughly appreciating our treetop second floor vista.
Salute!
Fondue earlier on the balcony, now ready for my mesquite-smoked barbeque blueberry chicken and bacon pizza. Sautéed mushrooms in garlic and lemon juice, sweet onions, green peppers and jalapeños. All over a bacon caesar dressing with a mix of Italian cheeses.
Well, I tried the sous vide cooker last night, I had some frozen fish I poached in the bag with lemon, butter, capers, and some white wine. Came out perfectly cooked from one end to the other, very moist and flaky fish. Remembered that I'm not as big a fan of poached fish as other preparations but it did it very well. Next time I'll cook the fish slightly less, to a lower temp, then finish it with some flour dredge in a pan to brown the outside.
This approach makes it about impossible to overcook the fish. I also made, in a pot, some lemon pepper orzo pasta with peas, lemon zest, butter, olive oil, and Parmesan.
OK, update on the sous vide thing. I did duck breasts last night, sear the skin side for a minute in a hot pan, put in bag, cook in the sous vide cooker, take out, pat dry, and do another sear on both sides, about minute each. Just perfectly cooked duck, was a hit.
Today we did shrimp and lobster in it. Perfectly cooked shrimp, most perfectly cooked I've had, and doubly so for the lobster. I put the lobster in a bag with butter and did 135 deg F for one hour. I have never had lobster so tender or buttery, I think lobster and shrimp are the "killer apps" for this.
Now to try a steak, same technique as the duck, only sear after cooking. Have high hopes for it.
Jeff: OK, update on the sous vide thing. I did duck breasts last night, sear the skin side for a minute in a hot pan, put in bag, cook in the sous vide cooker, take out, pat dry, and do another sear on both sides, about minute each. Just perfectly cooked duck, was a hit. Today we did shrimp and lobster in it. Perfectly cooked shrimp, most perfectly cooked I've had, and doubly so for the lobster. I put the lobster in a bag with butter and did 135 deg F for one hour. I have never had lobster so tender or buttery, I think lobster and shrimp are the "killer apps" for this. Now to try a steak, same technique as the duck, only sear after cooking. Have high hopes for it.
ooh! the duck sounds good :-) If the duck worked well and the steak is the same style of cooking i'm sure it will work good
I'm not yet very old yet and only occasionally grumpy but I do like to cook... This weekend was a 3-day one for us in the UK so I broke out the apron and prepared a little 2-course lunch for my wife and me. We started off with a crispy duck *** salad with blue cheese, pears, pecans and pomegranate with a grapefruit vinaigrette. Dessert was chocolate and raspberry éclairs which I hasten to add we didn't finish all by ourselves.
Absolutely beautiful and delicious looking! Love the sear you got on the duck, and that salad would be right up my wife's alley, mine too. Often we do a salad with Asian dressing of various types with seared tuna, rare in the middle of course.
Wife was away yesterday, so I made my fast track potatoes as I call them, for 1 person: 2 middle size potatoes, cut to 15 mm dice, put on the stove and cook them for about 5-6 min., while they cook chop 4-5 slices of bacon, chop 1/2 an onion, fry the bacon until light brown, save the bacon on a plate, leave the grease in the pan, ad chopped onion to the pan, the potatoes are now ready, discard the water return the pot with the potatoes and heat until all the water has evaporated, now the onions should be clear looking, ad the potatoes and fry until they start to take some color, ad the bacon and mix well. To this you can ad whatever leftover meat you have in the fridge hamburgers, chicken pork or some green salad, I like it with a couple of fried eggs or if available Thüringer Bratwurst (ask you local German butcher), Once tested a couple of times it will take you only 15 min. to make this and you will know how much pepper and salt you want to taste it with, I like it with a little Cayenne pepper.
And some good news about my water heating sun collector panels (water based). 5th of January I filled my propane tank with 272 Liter, now the 5th of June I had to fill it again, this time 279 liters. before sun panels I had to fill it every 2nd month, so 60% savings thats about 500 USD yearly, so the system will pay itself in 4 years.
Collecting Vintage B&O is not a hobby, its a lifestyle.
It summer and this thread is no stranger to hot dogs, so here is a new one that made a hit last night.
Cook bacon over medium low heat until crispy.
Remove and drain bacon grease.
Put hot dogs in pan and cook over medium low heat.
While hot dogs are cooking split buns open and lay in sliced pepperoni.
Sprinkle in layer of blue cheese.
Lay in hot dogs and put strips of bacon on one side.
Spread layer of mustard on bacon side, ketchup and pickle relish on opposite side.
Dress with chopped olives, jalapeños, and raw onions.
Sprinkle with Italian cheese mix plus parmesan cheese.
Broil in oven until melted, but take care not to burn the buns.
Enjoy!
The above photo is the "before" look, this is the "after" the cheese has been melted.
Well, I finally got around to doing steak on the sous vide thing. Outstanding, if I use this for nothing else this is worth it!
Went to the butcher and got 4 really nice fillets, about an inch thick. Sous vide cooked them for an hour at 130 deg F, then got a cast iron skillet up to about 500 deg F and slapped them in there for a minute or so each side to sear. Wow! Absolutely the tenderest steak I've ever had, and they were indeed medium rare all the way edge to edge top to bottom with the exception of maybe a couple of mm where the sear had cooked them more. No more just a little medium rare bit at the center. Plus you salt and pepper them before bagging them, and it seems to push the pepper flavor into the meat.
Trying NY strips next. I hear pork is another thing to do, for tenderness and such.
Søren Mexico: Wife was away yesterday, so I made my fast track potatoes as I call them, for 1 person: 2 middle size potatoes, cut to 15 mm dice, put on the stove and cook them for about 5-6 min., while they cook chop 4-5 slices of bacon, chop 1/2 an onion, fry the bacon until light brown, save the bacon on a plate, leave the grease in the pan, ad chopped onion to the pan, the potatoes are now ready, discard the water return the pot with the potatoes and heat until all the water has evaporated, now the onions should be clear looking, ad the potatoes and fry until they start to take some color, ad the bacon and mix well. To this you can ad whatever leftover meat you have in the fridge hamburgers, chicken pork or some green salad, I like it with a couple of fried eggs or if available Thüringer Bratwurst (ask you local German butcher), Once tested a couple of times it will take you only 15 min. to make this and you will know how much pepper and salt you want to taste it with, I like it with a little Cayenne pepper.
That is called 'biksemad'
Cheers
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
Aussie Michael:Rich: what's a boil?
There's a commercial spice packet available that's called "crab boil." You take a huge pot (~20 L) and fill it with water and put it on high heat. Once you have the water boiling, throw in the spice packet and a quartered lemon, along with a bunch of petite red skin potatoes. 15 minutes later, throw in some corn. 10 minutes later, throw in a few pounds of shrimp, crab, or whatever else you'd like (I like a clam or two myself). 5 to 10 minutes later, drain the pot, throw the food on the layers of paper on your table, and start eating.
Rich:I am easily amused. Proof:
No I didnt forget all you grumpy old men out there, I am now ready for the big sausage experiment, I have all the ingredients, the the funnels for my meat schredder, and now these