cooking thread...

[mamona]

3 hours ago, Spiel said:

Here's the ingredient list for the sausage loaf Doug.

link to the file is broken

[Spiel]

40 minutes ago, mamona said:

link to the file is broken

Strange, it was there. I edited it. Hope it worked.

[mamona]

All good now 

[misfish]

Lollipop chicken last night. DANG they are something lickable. These things  are so good.

Tonight, ricotta ,spinach and crab meat pasta rolls

[akaShag]

Very interesting!

How was it?  A bit bland?  It almost sounds like a yummy dessert!

Doug

[mamona]

That's illegal Brian 

1 hour ago, misfish said:

Lollipop chicken last night. DANG they are something lickable. These things  are so good

This is illegal! 

[smitty55]

Fresh Asparagus is still in season. Last week IG had nice young spears on sale. I bought 4 lb of nice younger pinky size. Anyone here enjoy cream of Asparagus soup? I happen to have a great recipe for a non dairy concentrate that you freeze in containers and then mix with equal amount dairy. Back in the 90's when I moved to the country there was a local farm that sold fresh asparagus each spring and also this soup concentrate. It was all on the honour system, they had a fridge in the open garage where you'd pick up and leave the money. Well a few years later some lowlife stole all the cash and of course they basically had to shut it down and ruin it for everyone. Anyway, about 20 years back I dropped in on Bernie and asked him if he would share his soup concentrate recipe with me. He said to come back in a couple days and he'd get his wife to type it up for me. Still have it. Didn't make it for a long time actually but it got resurrected on a whim looking at spring sales a few years back and it's like I'd forgotten how good this cream soup was. So we did a triple batch and then a double the next year. Ran out since then and I decided it was time this year to transfer all those empty containers taking up room back to the freezer. I did 2 triple batches in the last couple weeks. The big change in the base recipe this year was to add wild leeks to the pot while it simmers, after trying the first batch there was no doubt I was doing it again. Not to take away from the original recipe at all. I used a quality immersion blender in the large pot, so much better than dealing with transferring to a plastic blender.

Here's some pics to give you an idea. Better than any restaurant I'd wager easily. I've got 30 containers frozen now, each one gives two smaller bowls, just perfect for part of a nice meal.
Cheers
 

[mamona]

Looks delicious 

[akaShag]

Looks great, smitty.  I make a lactose-free (vegan, in fact) cream of asparagus soup.  If the consistency is not quite "creamy" enough at the end, I stir in instant potato flakes until I get the consistency I want.  Recipe:
 

DOCTOR DOUG’S CREAM OF ASPARAGUS SOUP

 

1 medium-sized sweet onion, diced

3 tbsp Becel margarine (or butter, or whatever you use)

2 cups+ diced (raw) potatoes (I use Yukon Gold)

900 ml beef or chicken broth (I use Campbell’s beef broth)

Large bunch asparagus (maybe five inches in diameter)

4 stalks celery, diced

Cream (about 1 cup, I use 5% cream)

Salt, pepper, ground nutmeg

(grated cheddar)

(ham)

 

Saute the onion in margarine or butter until soft, then add the potatoes, spices, and half the broth.  Simmer until the potatoes are cooked.  Prepare the asparagus by breaking off the woody ends and cutting the spears into about 2” pieces.  Add the asparagus and celery to the pot, add the rest of the broth, and cook over medium/low heat until everything is cooked.  Allow the soup to cool enough that you can put it through a blender to puree it, then return the puree to the pot, add the cream, and heat through.  I suggest it would not be a good idea to re-boil it, just get it hot enough to eat.  Correct the spices if you wish, or let the diners do this themselves with fresh ground pepper or whatever.  Another great garnish is grated cheddar cheese.

 

When I re-heated some left-overs I threw in a handful of baked ham chunks before I zapped the soup in the microwave.  The ham added a lovely flavor to the soup, and could easily have been part of the original pot.

 

Enjoy!  This recipe serves about six.

 

 

VEGAN version:

 

Use Campbell’s Vegetable broth instead of beef/chicken broth, and omit the cream, cheese and ham.  If the soup needs to be thickened, add instant mashed potato flakes, a tbsp. at a time, stirring them in, until you get the consistency you wish.  If you do use the potato flakes, you will almost certainly need to add more salt.  The flakes absorb the salt and somehow magically remove the saltiness.  I don’t know how or why, just trust me on this.

 

So, were you going to share your recipe?

Doug

[smitty55]

Here's the recipe with my added notes. I cook it for a good half hour at least before letting it cool some and then use the blender. One time when doing up a container I decided to add some leek butter to the pot along with the half and half and it was a big hit, so this time I added the leeks to the concentrate, more like a half cup. I'll likely still add the butter anyway as it help to richen the texture as well. The asparagus tips are still raw and crunchy so it helps to simmer it for a while to soften them up some if you want. Otherwise once the container is removed from the freezer and the base is placed in the pot still frozen and then the dairy added it's ready in about 15 minutes.

 

[misfish]

When it is so darn good, ya just have to have again. Added a couple of turkey thighs for my weekend work sandwiches.

[akaShag]

and here is a new use for turkey LEGS:

 

 

[misfish]

2 pack back ribs,$21. Why not,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Over indirect coals. Kept temp at 275 ( learning the coal system) for 3 hours.

Done

 

 

[akaShag]

Almost bought some of them today at No Frills, then decided the freezer is still pretty full...........I went to buy drumsticks on sale, they were sold out.  😲

But those ribs DO look good, might go back and see if they get in some drumsticks, and maybe pick up some ribs too............but I won't be doing them on charcoal, I gave that up some time in the 70s....good on you Brian for going old school.

Doug

[misfish]

Food basics Doug

 

Been Charcoal now 2 years. Love it.

Seen neighbor leave half way cooking this past week with his 2 tanks. Reason I went coal. I know I always got a back up bag or 2.

 

 

Edited July 4, 2022 by misfish

[akaShag]

4 minutes ago, misfish said:

Food basics Doug

now as I think of it, yes that was where I saw the ribs.  I went THERE looking for their buck-apiece quarter pound lean beef burgers.  They were sold out too.............

Glad I have the house BBQ hooked up to the natural gas.............

[misfish]

8 minutes ago, akaShag said:

Glad I have the house BBQ hooked up to the natural gas..

Fancy we are eh. LOL

 

[akaShag]

4 minutes ago, misfish said:

Fancy we are eh. LOL

 

Yep.  when THAT tank is empty, I am in trouble.  Mind you, I left it on overnight one time, God knows how much gas that burned!

[misfish]

Pizza night

Came across a jar of tomato sauce I have never seen before. Found it interesting,and had the right flag colors on the side,so I decided to try it. Was also near the local Italian bakery, so stopped in and said, WTH, lets get a bag of their home made pizza dough. What turned out to the be owner, was telling me it is the greatest. I replied back,I use to work for the greatest Italian resturanti in my younger years,and they sir,had the best dough I have ever tasted to this day, but,I will give you an honest opinion when I come back to get my morning expresso, on you.

So home,get everything chopped up, FRESH . Made a Canadian pizza as I have to share this with the mrs,s.or it would be loaded with many other things. Chovies,olives and onions and some hot peppers.

So,as far as the dough, Beni,moto. Very nice soft crust. Not chewy. The sauce, another A+. Way to many toppings for some,but got,s to fill the belly. Needed more cheese,but ran out. Fresh tomaters after cooking,that is the signature of this. Nice and fresh on the bite.

 

 

[Spiel]

On 4/25/2022 at 7:24 PM, Fisherman said:

This works for either regular white or a medium rye bread. If you're making white just use 3 3/4 cup white, for rye split as below.

2 1/4 cups white flour,  1 1/2 cups rye flour (bulk barn).

1/3 cup sugar, pinch of salt

1 pack of Fleishmans fast rising yeast and 6 teaspoons of Fleishmans bread booster.

1 1/2 cups of milk and 4 tablespoons butter (no margi, yuck).

Mix dry ingredients in the mixer bowl,  warm the milk for about 2 minutes in MW with butter til it's melted, stir and add to the dry mix.  I run the mixer with the dough hook for about 4 minutes on #2 speed.  Pre heat oven to about 150F for a couple minutes and turn off.

Take the dough and knead it for about 2 minutes on a floured surface,  and fit into a 9x4 inch bread pan, spray with PAM, (I prefer glass pan).  Put into the oven for about 45-50 mins or until doubled.  Take out of oven, preheat to 350F, insert loaf pan for about 23-25 minutes.  Take it out of loaf pan onto a cooky grill and let it cool.  Store in a paper bag, plastic will make it sweat too  much.  If the smell doesn't make you drool, you have covid. I found the Fleishmans bread booster made a big difference.

 

Well I finally found a source for the "Fleishmans bread booster" (Fortino's) as well as some Rye Flour (Bulk Barn) and followed your recipe to T Fisherman.
I may have miss judged the liquid measurement a little as I need to add just a wee bit more flour to pull the dough together into a ball, other wise all good.

I just had a slice while still warm slathered in melting butter, delicious! Thank you Sir for sharing your bread recipe. I'll definitely be saving it for future use.

 

[Fisherman]

Glad it worked out for you Spiel, it put an aroma in the house you just start drooling, lol.

[misfish]

14 hour brisket. Triple smoked apple. I am not a fan of hickory. Just does not make me happy happy. After 6 hours in the smoker, move to the charcoal grill, indirect heat. Got the temp at 275. Left for 6 hours, wrapped for another 1.5. Remove foil and basted 1/2 hour over the charcoals. wrap buns and on the cold side to get all warm and soft. Wrap again to rest and well,chow down time ya,ll.

[mamona]

14hrs... looking so delicious! I am happy to see tomato on your plate 🤣

[misfish]

Turkey thighs , marinated in fresh lemon juice for 3 hours, wrap with bacon and on the coals indirect heat. Yup, winner, winner.  Turkey bacon wrapped dinner.

[akaShag]

23 hours ago, misfish said:

Yup, winner, winner.  Turkey bacon wrapped dinner.

Looks fabulous, Brian.  I don't think I ever saw turkey thighs for sale........

Tonight here it is roast smoked pork loin, with GRAVY!!!  If you don't find smoked pork loin gravy to be one of the best things you ever ate, you are legally dead.

Doug