What are you cooking?

[Based1]

LOL I definitely feel you on that one!

Noodles is my fav, coz easy to cook and get back to ma pc in 5 mins

[LexW]

I finally made a chili I would actually rate as good to really good, rather than merely “okay” or “decent”.

Based it on the following recipe:

Best Damn Chili Recipe

Of course, it’s full of US-only ingredients, so I had to modify it. Replaced the fancy chopped/roasted tomatoes they used with… well normal chopped tomatoes, red halapenos with green, anaheim (?!) and red bell with the pointy red kind, and the “dark red” (?!) kidney beans with black beans (this latter being personal preference). Amazingly, all the other stuff, even the Coors and Chipotle, I already had around the kitchen.

I also used a slow-cooker instead of the way they suggest - obvs. pre-cooked the beef, vegetables, etc. as described (including frying the garlic a bit, important!) - then went for 2 hours without the beans in - then 10 with the beans in (hooray for slow-cookers), which made it amazingly tender and well-blended.

I also started playing with the Nutribullet we got for Christmas. Turns out as well as making NUTRIBLASTS!!!1111!!! (jesus how American and ridiculous is that manual? I guess it’s part of the charm though! ), it can make pretty good almond butter. Also who knew that spinach doesn’t taste of anything at all if blended at ultra-high-speed with fruit?

[theclockworkrat]

I’m sure we have some enthusiastic cooks amongst us.

Recently I’ve been experimenting with vegan cooking by using lots of vegetables and spices. Discovering how to use fenugreek has been my biggest discovery of late. Today I made a chickpea and carrot … thing which somehow tasted better than it had any right to be. I fried some roughly ground cumin and black pepper; chucked in chopped carrot, onion, jalapeno, garlic and ginger; added fenugreek, ground coriander, paprika and vegan bouillon, and finally tossed in a tin of chickpeas and a few handfuls of peas. Served with brown rice.

On Sunday I’ve got a roe deer haunch that I’m going to slow roast with your standard veg and garlic, and sprinkle with stock powder. Cannae wait!

[BillButNotBen]

This thread might be good for that… https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/forums/showthread.php?49869-What-have-you-cooked-today
It always makes me feel rubbish by comparison though.

[theclockworkrat]

Thanks. It didn’t come up on my search.

[theclockworkrat]

I did my venison roast today, well timed to be ready after coming home from a 40 minute run.

Now partially comatose on the sofa in front of a fire.

[theclockworkrat]

I cooked something up this evening to last for lunch over the next couple of days.

Cumin, fennel and black pepper briefly fried in coconut oil, then added a couple of small chopped onions, some garlic, ginger, couple of green chilli peppers. Tossed in some fenugreek, coriander leaves, bouillon, and a small splash of cider vinegar, then a tin of mixed beans. Preliminary testing suggests that it’s edible, but I’ll find out for sure tomorrow. Will serve with basmati rice, and have some tissues on hand for runny nose.

[theclockworkrat]

This evening I’m doing a venison curry with a coconut and fennel base. I’m going away for the week on work, so it’s good to have something ready to reheat at the hostel.

[alms]

From time to time I have these little ‘revelations’, going back to something I previously did, and finding the experience to be absolutely delightful, so pleasantly surprised by it.

One such experience can be had by throwing some chopped garlic into melting butter… stop and enjoy the moment …and then by adding something else to the skillet. Case in point, when the spinach leaves begin to slowly release their juice, inhale.

Turning so many vegetables, as well as other food, into sheer wonder, is some sort of magic spell, except anybody can do it. Maybe sometimes add chili pepper, too.

[theclockworkrat]

Mmm… that reminds me. It’s been far too long since I last made a saag. One for next weekend I guess.

Cooking really is magical. I can’t write for shit, but filling a house with the scents of hot spices and fried vegetables is my spell. Ratatouille visualised cooking better than I’ve seen anywhere else.

Caramelised butter makes for an amazing cheese sauce.

[alms]

I love that sequence!!

Creamy spinach then! Used fresh material, 500 grams, so I had to figure out a few things. Start by chopping an onion, a clove of garlic, and melt 50 grams of butter in a large skillet on the fire, then add onion and garlic. Add salt. Let go on high-ish heat, adding small splashes of water whenever needed, until the onion translucent. Leaving the heat there will slightly caramelize the onions towards the end, provided you let the water dry up enough.

Meanwhile, fetch a colander and a salad spinner. Wash the spinach twice, when done move a small amount to the colander to remove excess water (keep an eye on that onion!); move the latter to the spinner, and refill the colander. Spin to satifaction then move to a large bowl. Keep going until all of it is well dried.

The onion should be done by now, so let’s start adding some home-spun spinach to the skillet, then cover. The leaves will slowly lose their volume and make room for more, which you will add, until all the spinach is in, stir from time to time. As soon as the leaves have wilted enough, remove the lid and stir well to make sure all the spinach is coated and seasoned.

At this stage, I’ve got slightly salty, sweety spinach, which I like!, but I’m wondering: can I do something better? I’m unsure: potatoes? or maybe cream? A quick skim of potatoes and spinach doesn’t bring up quickly enough any interesting result, but the Pioneer Womancomes to rescue, with a recipe that looks *almost *exactly like the one I have on my hands. Except I’ll just add UHT cream to the cooked spinach! \o/ )o) (o( Super-win-win-the-spinach! You’ll want to let it sit for a while, instead of eating it right away - so the tastes can meld.

So, to recap:

500 grams of fresh spinach leaves
22% UHT cream
1 medium onion
1 clove of garlic
50 grams of butter
salt

You can do it the right way and follow PW’s instructions, my bass ackwards hack worked alright though!

[theclockworkrat]

I’ve been staying in a hostel so have had to cook with a more limited set of ingredients. Did a couple of veggie carbonaras and a tomato sauce that worked out fairly well despite the only spice being fresh chilli pepper. I’m taking a venison chilli we froze in December to do me a couple of days this week.

[alms]

Anyone has a nice recipe to share based on sauerkraut?

I’ll be using ready-made sauerkraut, and most of the stuff I can find is about *making *sauerkraut, rather than working with it. There’s this one with apples which seems nice, but not feeling totally sold on it - could use some help!

[Dubbill]

No specific recipe to recommend but I’m a big fan of Reuben sandwiches. You can cobble one together with salt beef or pastrami, emmenthal or gruyère, a sauce - mayonnaise with a squirt of sriracha works well, and some sauerkraut. Any bread sturdy enough to hold the above without falling apart is fine but rye is traditional.

[Fumarole]

A good Reuben with pastrami is to die for.

http://www.embersbrewhouse.com/home/wp-content/themes/gourmet/Gourmet/thumb.php?src=http://www.embersbrewhouse.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Reuben-Sandwich.jpg&w=590&zc=1&q=80&bid=1

[alms]

That looks super yummy, actually I’m looking up how to make pastrami myself (except I don’t plan on getting a smoker and wondering if I can get around that). I should’ve made it more clear, though, that I’m looking to use sauerkraut as a side-dish to sausages.

[Dubbill]

I’ve only ever had cooked sauerkraut as choucroute garnie but it might fit the bill. Never made it myself so take your pick from google, or your own preferred recipe source. The dish includes meats (so much pork) but focus on the sauerkraut element and it should work as a side.

[alms]

This is not likely to surprise anyone, on the offchance! Serious Eats has some real good content.

[theclockworkrat]

I made some Bird’s Eye hot sauce. It’s hot, and it’s tasty, so a nice success.

[Skalpadda]

Made some Easter dinner at work, I was mostly in charge of the meatballs and the cheesecake. Turned out pretty good.

This was the first time I used our two new induction stoves at work, and while they work just fine I am baffled by the decision to put bloody touch controls on them. So, instead of the age-old “turn a knob to the temperature you want”, you have to

1. turn the stove on
2. select the plate you want
3. repeatedly press the + or - signs until you reach the right temperature

… and there are 12 temperature steps, so if you want, say, 6, you have to input 8 button presses, on tiny glass touch-pads right next to the hot plates that get greasy and don’t recognise your presses half the time. Who on earth thought this was good design?