cooking thread...

[akaShag]

Wife and I are up in Oddawa looking after grandkids, and doing gluten-free stuff. The pantry and freezers are full to overflowing with ultra-processed stuff, hard to find anything I actually would enjoy eating.  I did hit the grocery store yesterday so I could put on a brunch today with bacon and eggs, hash browns and other good stuff, plus some yellow and orange peppers AND canary melon and Santa Claus melon.  Not that I ate any of that stuff...

Doug

[misfish]

4.30 AM start, 9 hours later

 

[Carp]

Dang, that looks sooooo gooood. 🤤

[Spiel]

Well it's that time of year, lots of garden goodies to use up and always trying new ways and ideas to do so.
So on Sunday I made a home made pizza sauce from heirloom tomatoes, basil and oregano all from my buddies garden and a couple of Quiche pies with Breakfast Sausage, Garden Peppers and Broccoli.

Then last night I had it in my head to make a Chicken Clubhouse Pizza if you will. Ground Chicken, Bacon, Onion, Garden Tomatoes and Jalapeno Peppers atop my home made dough, sauce and shredded Gouda. Then dressed with shredded Lettuce and a drizzle of Ranch Dressing. It was pretty Damn good though a tad over cooked. I did however manage to ingest all of it. 

 

[misfish]

Try the maters fresh after the pie is cooked. Total different taste. Nice and fresh.

[misfish]

Looked up the old smoking thread, but way way back there some where.  Non the less, this is cooking. 

2 slabs of pork bellies. Cured 8 days, brown sugar and sea salt. Smoked with 2 pans apple and finish off with 1 pan  black cherry.  Cool down time for now. Will slice and fry tomorrow, so the Mrs,s and I can enjoy a nice toasted bacon cheese tomato sandwich. I,ll give my thoughts after about the cherry smoke. I was told by a good friend, it's the tops. Like a cherry on a sundae. 

[misfish]

Vac pac , and even some bits for salads. Some for BBQ banquet burgers tonight. 

Nice to have a slicer,but me blade will do.

[akaShag]

How did you like the cherry smoke?  I use three pans of maple for my bacon.  I do use cherry sometimes on other things, and had an awesome batch of cherry smoked steelhead a number of years ago.

The bacon looks great, and reasonably lean.  Did you trim the pork bellies?

Doug

[misfish]

11 hours ago, akaShag said:

How did you like the cherry smoke?  I use three pans of maple for my bacon.  I do use cherry sometimes on other things, and had an awesome batch of cherry smoked steelhead a number of years ago.

The bacon looks great, and reasonably lean.  Did you trim the pork bellies?

Doug

Thanks Doug. Cherry was ok. Prefer on fish. Yes,trimmed the bellies myself. It was over cooked for frying,so eat just the way it is. Just warm it up. 

[Spiel]

Any guesses?

Hint, I made this dish 5 days ago and had enough leftover raw ingredients to make it again, including a dark Roux
This time however I decided to give the 3 proteins a smokey BBQ flavouring ahead of assembling the dish.
Another hint, the Holy Trinity is ready to sweat and the Basmati Rice is patiently awaiting my efforts. 

[CrowMan]

 Gumbo or Jambalaya  ?

Mix me up a Sazerac and put on some Charmaine Neville...and it'll be just like sittin' at a table on Frenchmen St..

[misfish]

My dishes will be turning a twist from now on out. Big changes, and they have already started. Mrs,s has blown out diabetes now,so this means,special foods and ya,no more white starches and all that good stuff. Big shocker was having yams with no melted butter and brown sugar drizzle.  I am cooking for 2, so will not be that bad. I will not be making  a him and hers. What I cook for her,is what I will be eating as well. I have to say,most is ok,but tonight's dinner was a bit on the ,no taste side for me. 5 grain pasta,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Thank goodness,my home made sauce had some kick to it.

 

Got some reading and learning ahead of me,but I can live on lean meats and fish and brown rice.

Oh,the smoker is not going away. I still need to get my treats. LOL

Chris, some jambalaya would be nice right about now. Hell,even some of that redneck, red beans ham and rice. I will stop now,

[Spiel]

17 hours ago, CrowMan said:

 Gumbo or Jambalaya  ?

Mix me up a Sazerac and put on some Charmaine Neville...and it'll be just like sittin' at a table on Frenchmen St..

 

Gumbo it was and it was delish. I got into it so quickly I never grabbed a picture. Perhaps tonight, there's lots left over. 

[Spiel]

14 hours ago, misfish said:

My dishes will be turning a twist from now on out. Big changes, and they have already started. Mrs,s has blown out diabetes now,so this means,special foods and ya,no more white starches and all that good stuff. Big shocker was having yams with no melted butter and brown sugar drizzle.  I am cooking for 2, so will not be that bad. I will not be making  a him and hers. What I cook for her,is what I will be eating as well. I have to say,most is ok,but tonight's dinner was a bit on the ,no taste side for me. 5 grain pasta,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Thank goodness,my home made sauce had some kick to it.

 

Got some reading and learning ahead of me,but I can live on lean meats and fish and brown rice.

Oh,the smoker is not going away. I still need to get my treats. LOL

Chris, some jambalaya would be nice right about now. Hell,even some of that redneck, red beans ham and rice. I will stop now,

 

 

Well that sucks Brian but there are some pretty good healthy recipes out there, Hell I even cook a few of them here from time to time. 

It was Gumbo Brian, I've not ever tried my hand at jambalaya, I should do so one cold snowy day this winter. 

[CrowMan]

Spiel...there's really not that much difference between Gumbo and Jambalaya. I do like your idea of adding some smokey BBQ flavour..for both. Either way, that's damn good eatin'. Curious...did you throw in some Okra ? A traditional addition, but sometimes hard to find this time of year.

Misfish..that's a bummer, but hey it's an opportunity to get creative with some new recipes....and I don't think there's much that comes off a smoker that plays with your insulin levels.

Last night, we had PEI mussels steamed in a garlic, leek, tomato, parsley and Chablis broth. On the side, a green salad with some Burrata to balance things out. All pretty quick and easy...fairly healthy too except for perhaps the toasted (white) baguette to mop up all the juices.

 

[Spiel]

4 hours ago, CrowMan said:

Spiel...there's really not that much difference between Gumbo and Jambalaya. I do like your idea of adding some smokey BBQ flavour..for both. Either way, that's damn good eatin'. Curious...did you throw in some Okra ? A traditional addition, but sometimes hard to find this time of year.

Misfish..that's a bummer, but hey it's an opportunity to get creative with some new recipes....and I don't think there's much that comes off a smoker that plays with your insulin levels.

Last night, we had PEI mussels steamed in a garlic, leek, tomato, parsley and Chablis broth. On the side, a green salad with some Burrata to balance things out. All pretty quick and easy...fairly healthy too except for perhaps the toasted (white) baguette to mop up all the juices.

 

Thanks CM, no, no Okra, I've tried it it not a great fan.
The smokiness was a good touch and my daughter who shared in the bounty agreed. 

But you got me drooling with your repast of last evening given that I love fresh Mussel's, Burrata and Baguettes. Heck even the red and green stuff look's delicious.    😁

[CrowMan]

33 minutes ago, Spiel said:

Thanks CM, no, no Okra, I've tried it it not a great fan.
The smokiness was a good touch and my daughter who shared in the bounty agreed. 

But you got me drooling with your repast of last evening given that I love fresh Mussel's, Burrata and Baguettes. Heck even the red and green stuff look's delicious.    😁

Yeah I get it, Okra is not for everyone. My wife and I like it, my kids and grandkids not so much. If they come over, after slicing up the Okra, I'll soak it in vinegar for a few minutes (then rinse)...it removes the "slime" that turns a lot of people off. However, Okra does help thicken (along with the roux) the Gumbo to give it that proper consistency.

Not sure if you've tried "filé powder" in your Gumbo. I use it if Okra is not available. Again, it thickens the Gumbo and gives it that authentic Cajun flavour and texture. I usually pick up a jar when I'm down south, as it's difficult to find in local stores...but I see you can buy it on Amazon. 

Yup we eat mussels at least twice a month from October to May...in summer I find they're not as plump and tasty. They're relatively cheap, twice the protein of steak by weight, and low fat...plus you can do them in anything from a coconut milk curry to plain ol' beer...what's not to like..

My apologies if this all sounds too nerdy...but there's two things I geek out about...fishing and food..

[Spiel]

8 minutes ago, CrowMan said:

Yeah I get it, Okra is not for everyone. My wife and I like it, my kids and grandkids not so much. If they come over, after slicing up the Okra, I'll soak it in vinegar for a few minutes (then rinse)...it removes the "slime" that turns a lot of people off. However, Okra does help thicken (along with the roux) the Gumbo to give it that proper consistency.

Not sure if you've tried "filé powder" in your Gumbo. I use it if Okra is not available. Again, it thickens the Gumbo and gives it that authentic Cajun flavour and texture. I usually pick up a jar when I'm down south, as it's difficult to find in local stores...but I see you can buy it on Amazon. 

Yup we eat mussels at least twice a month from October to May...in summer I find they're not as plump and tasty. They're relatively cheap, twice the protein of steak by weight, and low fat...plus you can do them in anything from a coconut milk curry to plain ol' beer...what's not to like..

My apologies if this all sounds too nerdy...but there's two things I geek out about...fishing and food..

Not nerdy at all CM, I'm a foodie and love trying new things whenever and wherever I can. Fellow member here aplumma (Art) has been an on going source for many food related things, both Okra and Gumbo File are things he has brought to my attention. As for Okra, the slime did turn me off, not the taste mind you, just the slime.   

As for the "Gumbo File" I'd honestly forgotten all about since aplumma brought to my attention years ago, not something I've seen on the shelves locally hence my forgetting about it. Where do you source it CM?

[CrowMan]

 

18 minutes ago, Spiel said:

Not nerdy at all CM, I'm a foodie and love trying new things whenever and wherever I can. Fellow member here aplumma (Art) has been an on going source for many food related things, both Okra and Gumbo File are things he has brought to my attention. As for Okra, the slime did turn me off, not the taste mind you, just the slime.   

As for the "Gumbo File" I'd honestly forgotten all about since aplumma brought to my attention years ago, not something I've seen on the shelves locally hence my forgetting about it. Where do you source it CM?

I usually buy it down south...my wife and I love New Orleans...we've been there over a dozen times over the years. It makes for a great getaway...warm when we're not, and I don't have to say anything about the food and music (good  fishing too if you're so inclined). Our favourite spot is the Snug Harbour ...we've seem everybody from Wynton Marsalis to the Neville Brothers there...Charmaine Neville was the regular Thursday night act for years. And for the best meal...Commander's Palace bar none.

Anyway I digress...like I said, I see you can now buy  filé powder on Amazon.

[misfish]

6 hours ago, CrowMan said:

Misfish..that's a bummer, but hey it's an opportunity to get creative with some new recipes....and I don't think there's much that comes off a smoker that plays with your insulin levels.

Oh I am confident I will come up with healthy eats. Tonight is chicken fajitas with peppers and mushrooms. Whole wheat wraps. I am making her lunches now as well. Natural sugar fruits,grapes,bananas strawberry and blue berry's. and salmon or tuna sandwiches . She also gets 1 boiled egg.

[akaShag]

3 hours ago, misfish said:

Oh I am confident I will come up with healthy eats. Tonight is chicken fajitas with peppers and mushrooms. Whole wheat wraps. I am making her lunches now as well. Natural sugar fruits,grapes,bananas strawberry and blue berry's. and salmon or tuna sandwiches . She also gets 1 boiled egg.

Hmmmm.  My wife suffers from migraines, and has for her entire adult life.  For about five years, the neurologists had her on various elimination diets.  The worst one was no onions, tomato, or something (garlic, maybe)...........so I made food for her, and food for me and the kids.  Lots of that stuff freezes just fine, so I would make a LOT of something she could eat, and freeze individual portions for her.  Just sayin'.......

 

Doug

[Spiel]

So I'm hosting an appreciation event for my customers and friends this Sunday, no I didn't know it was Grey Cup (yawn*) but it does require food for the 40 plus invitees.

Today was an busy afternoon of Chili making. There's approximately 9 pounds of meat in this pot. Taste testing through the afternoon suggests I have a winning pot happiness for my friends.



 

[Spiel]

The early Birds tomorrow will be rewarded. Two dozen Carrot, Apple, Cinnamon muffins with Rum soaked Raisins.

 

[akaShag]

39 minutes ago, Spiel said:

The early Birds tomorrow will be rewarded. Two dozen Carrot, Apple, Cinnamon muffins with Rum soaked Raisins.

 

What time do you open?    😉

Doug

[akaShag]

My wife has been away for a bit, and I was at deer camp for a week, so I have been enjoying LOTS of wild game.  But I rarely take pictures of my meals, even when my wife isn't around.  (If she is, she wonders what the heck I am doing taking pictures of the food...)

One dish I dreamed up and would make again was ground venison, cooked with diced vidalia onions, with green peppercorn sauce and acini de pepe pasta.  First meal was all that mixed together.  On the rebound, I took half of the leftovers, put it in a loaf pan, added a layer of shredded mozarella, a second layer of the meat and pasta mixture, topped it with a generous layer of mozarella, and into the oven at 325 for three quarters of an hour.  Very toothsome.

A hunting buddy shot a nice bull elk in BC this fall, and gave me some elk steak.  I pan-fried it to just barely rare, then cooked a couple free range eggs in the pan juices.  Those eggs had been collected less than a couple hours before they went into the pan.  That one I did photograph. And for the record, I actually had a SALAD with it!

Doug