Cooking!

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WearsHats
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Cooking!

Post by WearsHats » Thu Jan 01, 2015 3:19 pm

Do we have a cooking thread? I thought we had a cooking thread. I can't find it. Maybe it was on the old forum. Or the one before that. Whatever. Now we have (another?) one.

Just a place to share your favorite recipes, cooking tips, and ideas, and to ask questions. Because why not?

Last night, we had roast duck for dinner. I like roast duck. We don't have it very often at all, but I like it. And the rarity makes it feel more festive.

Roasting a duck just involves putting it in the oven. You want it to be elevated from the bottom of the pan so it can roast instead of boiling in the juices.

But what do you use as a sauce? Sauces for roast duck basically come in three varieties: apricot (Chinese duck sauce), cherry, and orange. I like apricot best, but I prefer to do it my own way.

My perfect recipe for sauce to accompany roast duck (or other poultry):
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Re: Cooking!

Post by RocketScientist » Sat Jan 03, 2015 1:13 pm

Interesting. I just usually go for a bottled hoisin sauce and scallions, wrapped in flour tortillas when I have duck. Not that I have it often, either. My ex- used to hang the duck over the sink for days to drip some of the grease out, and then make his own tortillas. But that is way too much effort for too little return, IMO.

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Re: Cooking!

Post by WearsHats » Sat Jan 03, 2015 2:58 pm

Hmm. Somehow I never thought of homemade Peking duck. Interesting.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by RocketScientist » Sat Jan 03, 2015 5:07 pm

He even used to do the water bath thing with ginger and some other stuff. His father was really into making it at home, and always hand made the duck pancakes. I'm just not that dedicated or energetic. You know what else works, if you don't want to do a whole duck? Chicken thighs. You can use them in place of duck, and it's quite similar. In fact, simulated Peking duck is the only way I can choke down brown chicken meat. Normally the texture is too squishy for me. Pretending it's duck helps immensely. You don't get the same skin texture, though. You know, I don't think I've actually had duck any other way than Peking, now that you mention it. And I can't recall when was the last time we did duck at all. And I hardly ever see it at the grocery store, anymore. Hypothesis: Endangered duck farms?

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Re: Cooking!

Post by WearsHats » Sat Jan 03, 2015 5:41 pm

Duck is expensive. It's also less commonly used in White American cooking. (It shows up mainly in Chinese or French cuisine.) But you can find it. You just need an upscale and/or specialty grocery store. (Either something like Whole Foods or an Asian market.) And they are farmed. ... I try not to think about that part. I've seen video of a duck farm. It was like something out of a sci-fi dystopia. Then again, we get kosher duck, so the farm might be different.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by Synch » Sat Jan 03, 2015 7:43 pm

I've never had duck, but I always mean to. I think I'll have it out at a restaurant next time I see it on the menu.

Will post up my Moroccan chicken tangine recipe when I have time.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by SeeAMoose » Sat Jan 03, 2015 9:22 pm

You know, for someone who loves food (and cooking) as much as I do, it's surprising I've never had duck... might have to fix that at some point :P

As for recipes, I have two awesome and simple recipes for sweet potatoes. I have these because we harvested over a hundred pounds of sweet potatoes from the garden and are still trying to make our way through them... Anyways it always seems like people overdo sweet potatoes to turn them into something that's almost a dessert, but not quite. I don't have exact proportions on anything, but it's pretty easy to do by eyeing it.

Recipe 1:
Sweet Potatoes: 4-6 lbs
Butter: 1 stick
Maple Syrup: 1-2 tbsp. (to taste)
Orange Zest from 1-2 oranges
Salt and freshly cracked pepper

Cook sweet potatoes, add ingredients, mash together manually or with a mixer, enjoy!

Recipe 2:

See Recipe 1 but replace orange zest with 1-2 tbsp of minced chipotle peppers. (I also used some birch syrup in addition to the maple syrup to add some complexity... but that was mostly because I have birch syrup and have been trying to find a use for it...)
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Re: Cooking!

Post by Zathyr » Sun Jan 04, 2015 2:53 am

I've had duck, more often overseas than domestic. I tried a little Peking duck in Beijing, and roast duck in Germany. It's not my favorite food. Then I've never liked anything that tastes too fatty.

Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, I love. I always let their sweetness stand and prefer to make them into something more savory. They go great in curries - cook them up in a korma sauce with some chick peas and some other veggies and mm mm good! And kale! Sweet potatoes and kale - they go surprisingly well together, complementing each other in a way I never expected until I tried it. In fact, let me see if I can pen this recipe down:

Halibut-sweet potato-kale pasta:
Yes I know it sounds weird, but it is in fact quite possibly the most heavenly thing I've ever eaten in my life.

Pasta: Thicker noodles are better. Spaghetti works, or something like egg noodles - whatever you like can work, really. Um, half a pound maybe? I don't weigh my pasta - I really have no idea. I eyeball everything. One portion.
One medium-sized sweet potato
One piece of halibut, on the small side works. Um, about 5 oz?
About 3 leaves of kale
About a quarter cup of pine nuts - completely optional, but I like them in this dish
Parmesan cheese
Tomato broth: about a cup and a half (honestly the first time I made this I just watered down some spaghetti sauce and added a few things. It should be a good bit thinner than tomato soup to start. It'll thicken considerably. If you want to make something from scratch, start like you're making a sauce for pasta:
- 1/2 cup tomato (however you like it, stewed, fresh, crushed, puree...)
- garlic and herbs and spices, to taste *especially (ideally fresh) tarragon; I'd avoid adding sugar, and I go light on the salt, personally. You can make it a little spicy if that's what you like. I do. :d
- 1 cup water
- about 2 green onions (3 or 4 if they're small, 1 if it's really big..)
- in addition, a small dash of cinnamon, and a bit of ginger - they hide in the bigger flavors, but they really help to tie things together.

Get some water boiling for the pasta. Start your broth. When you chop the green onion, add the white part of it early and save the green for later. Don't forget the tarragon - it's just not the same without it. One, maybe two springs of fresh tarragon, chopped, should be good. If you're using dried tarragon, be generous with it. Then you can peel the sweet potato if you want but I generally just wash it off well, and chop that up and add it to the broth.

In a wide, deep pan, with a small amount of oil and some garlic, bring to a high heat (try not to burn the garlic) and add the halibut. Get the garlic on top of it and keep on one side (shift it a little now and then to keep it from sticking to the pan) until the top starts to lighten in color, then flip to sear the other side. It depends on what you're making, but while the halibut's on that first side is generally when you want to start cooking your pasta. For the fish, if you can break it up with a spatula, it's good. Halibut's kind of meaty - it won't just break apart. Go ahead and use a little force, break it up into bite-sized chunks and stir it up to sear the bits. Reduce heat and pour the broth into this pan. Let it simmer on low heat, uncovered, while the pasta is cooking. Add more water if it seems to be cooking down too much.

Wash the kale, tear the leaves off the stem, and tear them up into bite-sized bits. They'll be added later. Soon.

When the pasta's almost done (like 90% cooked) take it off the stove, drain it, and add it into the pan with the broth. Add the greens of the green onions. Add the pine nuts. Give it a stir. The broth should really be more of a sauce at this point. Sprinkle the kale over the top. Cover the pan and let it simmer for about 2 minutes. This will basically steam the kale enough to cook it. (This is my favorite way to cook up kale, basically steamed briefly over some kind of sauce. It'll pick up some of the flavor of the sauce and green up and soften a little while still keeping a lot of the fresh flavor. Nummy.) Then stir everything up well and sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese over the top - I like to give everything a generous dusting. Cover, and turn off heat. Let it sit for a few minutes to cool and thicken. Then eat it! It's pretty hearty. This should be enough for two. Maybe more. Or if you're me you plan on eating half but then you eat the whole thing because it is so dang tasty. And REGRET NOTHING! :grin:

I've experimented with some variations of this dish. As much as I like other cheeses, I really think parmesan is the right one here. I've tried using other fish, but halibut really has just the right flavor and texture for it. I've been meaning to try it with tofu - I think some extra firm tofu could work, and then maybe you could lose the cheese and add a little more salt to compensate and it should make a good vegan dish (assuming an egg-free pasta).
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Re: Cooking!

Post by WearsHats » Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:30 am

Duck doesn't have to be fatty. There's a thick layer of fat underneath the skin, but the meat itself is fairly lean. It can end up very different, depending on how you cook it.
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Things I've cooked recently...

Post by spiderwrangler » Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:08 pm

I had the idea to start this because there have been a number of food related posts I've read on here, which are lacking in recipe/technique, etc. And others that have had the relevant details to replicate the poster's efforts, but they are scattered across the forum. I envision this as a food related version of the "Today I..." thread, and can serve as a repository for food knowledge.


I'll go first.

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This is my 10 gal kettle I use for brewing beer, filled with hot water. But what could I be making?

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SOUS VIDE BEEF! Two tri tip roasts, kept at ~140F for 3 hours. If you've never done/heard of sous vide, the concept is to hold the meat (or veg, etc) in a water bath matching the final desired internal temp until the food reaches it. The food goes in a bag (fancy folk vacuum seal it), with as few air pockets as possible. I rely on the weight of the water to push most of it out. It allows for a gentler cook, and for searing at the last moment that ONLY hits the outside, for meat in particular, it avoids the 'grey ring' and leaves a wonderful texture. The amount of time in the bath is fairly forgiving too, it just needs to be in long enough, after that it can sit at temperature for hours and NEVER OVERCOOK. This makes it great if you really like rare/medium rare steak/etc and struggle to hit the right range with other methods.

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Out of the bag a few hours later and patted dry (crucial for the next step). These had spices on them in the bag (cumin, garlic, salt, chili powder, onion powder), otherwise they would be an even more unappetizing grey color...

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FIRE! Fast and high application of heat comes via a torch... which is damn fun. Surface should be dry, otherwise the torch has to evaporate all the moisture before it can sear the food.

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They look much better post-fire application.

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Perfectly delicious and ready to go in my belly.

I've done sous vide mostly on beef in the past, but will be doing pork this week, and have made some awesome sea scallops as well. For veg, the torch at the end wouldn't be needed, but it would allow you to cook them to just the right level, without overcooking them to mush.
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Re: Things I've cooked recently...

Post by Synch » Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:16 pm

*cough* http://goblinsforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1324

Can we merge those into here?

EDIT: Those steaks look mighty tasty, too!
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Re: Things I've cooked recently...

Post by spiderwrangler » Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:24 pm

Synch wrote:Can we merge those into here?
Sure! Somehow I didn't see that... but seems like Wears and I had a similar thought..
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Re: Cooking!

Post by WearsHats » Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:51 pm

"Notice:"
Topics merged. :)
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Re: Cooking!

Post by SpeaksManyLanguages » Thu Apr 30, 2015 12:41 am

I've never heard of sous-vide cooking before, but now i want that beef so much :shock:

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Re: Cooking!

Post by RocketScientist » Thu Apr 30, 2015 2:23 am

That looks delicious, spider. How was it?

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Re: Cooking!

Post by spiderwrangler » Thu Apr 30, 2015 4:35 am

It was very good, tender throughout with a nice flavorful sear.

SML, I believe the French started it. Main advantage is that you don't overcook it (if left at temp for hours and hours, there would be a drop in texture quality), and it can just sit until needed, making timing easier.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by nikohl » Thu Apr 30, 2015 4:38 am

I watch a lot of cooking programmes while I'm working/chilling at home, because they're always available via catch up TV, on Netflix, highlights on youtube and so on. So I see and hear about a lot of fun ingredients and techniques, and I do try a few. Sous vide is niiiice, but I rarely do it at home. If only I had a blowtorch...

I make a lot of random dishes, plus also occasionally strange preserves and so on. I'll try to remember to share them here in future.

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Re: Cooking!

Post by spiderwrangler » Thu Apr 30, 2015 4:47 am

Before I had the torch, I'd do sous vide, then rub with oil and drop in a screaming hot skillet, just long enough to seat without cooking too much more.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by nikohl » Thu Apr 30, 2015 5:00 am

Yeah, that's what I do. To be fair, that's what I do without sous vide, too, because my partner and I take our steaks on the blue side of rare when we've got good-quality enough cuts that we can do that and still have a nice tender meal. Sous vide softens up the slightly tougher (and therefore way more affordable) cuts without making them taste like (or have the mouth feel of) well-done meat. S'good.

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Re: Cooking!

Post by spiderwrangler » Thu Apr 30, 2015 1:03 pm

I forgot to take pictures while in prep, but here is a mess of mac and cheese (going to a party for a bit at a friends house, plus some for us at home!).

Gluten free, BTW.

Image


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The one in the foreground has black pepper on the top, my wife can't handle the heat of pepper, so I left it out of the sauce. Otherwise, I'd put it in the sauce rather than on top, but that's the one that's going to the party.
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Re: Cooking!

Post by nikohl » Thu Apr 30, 2015 2:13 pm

Yum, gluten free mac and chee! (...se. But that part didn't rhyme.) I don't get on with wheat as much as I'd like, given how much I love toast, so I like gluten free or low-gluten recipes...they spare me a sore tummy. That looks delish though, I might have to make it.

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Re: Cooking!

Post by SeeAMoose » Fri May 01, 2015 7:12 am

My kettle pizza gets here today (in theory) tomorrow there shall be pizza!
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Re: Cooking!

Post by RocketScientist » Fri May 01, 2015 7:25 am

What is kettle pizza?

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Re: Cooking!

Post by nikohl » Fri May 01, 2015 8:22 am

Well, I forgot to take a picture, but for lunch today I made slow-braised pork cheeks in a simple stew (mirepoix, garlic, red wine, red lentils and a little bit of stock), served with lamb's lettuce and toast with bone marrow butter. It was pretty yummy.

I'm not going to bother with pork cheeks very often though, they're not that easy to get hold of "ready to use" from a butcher or anything round here, and I did not particularly enjoy having to mandhandle an entire frickin' pig head in my kitchen to acquire them. The dog's happy though, he got all the bits that were above the cheek meat that I had to remove to get at them, plus the ears.

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Re: Cooking!

Post by SeeAMoose » Fri May 01, 2015 10:22 am

Kettle pizza is an add-on that will turn a kettle grill (round charcoal grills like a weber) into a pizza oven capable of reaching over 700 degrees.
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