Come all ye self-styled chefs and kitchen users, we must talk.

Making a dal from Indian Home Cooking tonight at Mrs. Tanglebones' request. I'd post pics, but it'll look like brown mush, despite tasting delicious

Tanglebones wrote:

Making a dal from Indian Home Cooking tonight at Mrs. Tanglebones' request. I'd post pics, but it'll look like brown mush, despite tasting delicious :)

Ooohhh. I recently discovered that I love Indian food. Did some searching online and I love how there are Non-vegetarian sections to many Indian recipe pages. Have any good recipes you can share along the no veggie line?

Tigerbill wrote:
Tanglebones wrote:

Making a dal from Indian Home Cooking tonight at Mrs. Tanglebones' request. I'd post pics, but it'll look like brown mush, despite tasting delicious :)

Ooohhh. I recently discovered that I love Indian food. Did some searching online and I love how there are Non-vegetarian sections to many Indian recipe pages. Have any good recipes you can share along the no veggie line?

No veggies? Not sure that I have any great recipes on me that aren't copyright protected, but any books by Suvir Saran or Monica Bhide will have delicious recipes that are designed to be cooked by non-Indians.

I didn't take pictures, but I made grilled yogurt-marinated lamb kabobs earlier in the week with the recipe from here.

Very, very tasty, even though the kids didn't appreciate it. There's been a lot of plain cooking around here lately, though. I did make some tasty soup:

Fast Chickpea/Tomato soup
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
4 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp rosemary (I used 1 tsp dried)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat oil, then saute garlic 1 minute. Add tomatoes, cook about 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil, and simmer 10 minutes. Scoop out (all, part, or none of the) solids and puree (or use an immersion blender). Correct the seasoning.

Would go well with garlic croutons; we had it alongside grilled cheese sandwiches on a rainy damp day -- delicious.

I'm pretty sure that copyright doesn't cover recipes, although the actual copy in the book will be covered (which is why Coke and KFC are secret recipes).

Tigerbill wrote:

I love how there are Non-vegetarian sections to many Indian recipe pages. Have any good recipes you can share along the no veggie line?

You say this like it's an unusual thing.

For a non-veg indian recipe this one is apparently awesome and tasty according to my brother.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/da...

And if I remember I'll look out the truly amazing lamb and ginger one that my brother also loves.

And I can absolutely and totally recommend this book, just about the best curry recipe book I've read and sufficiently compact that you're not bewildered by choice.
http://www.amazon.com/Great-Curries-...

Just got back from the in-laws on Long Island. Cooked a tasty gourmet meal for them. My Mother-in-Law has a newly-discovered allergy to whey protein, so the challenge was not putting any dairy in anything I normally would. No sautéing in butter, no cream in the sauce, no anything in the potatoes...luckily, eastern Long Island is a great produce county, so there was plenty of flavor to be had on its own.

I wound up roasting a chateaubriand she had in the freezer (thawed out better than expected), making a oyster/crimini mushroom-and-Bordeaux reduction sauce for it. Would have used cream, but wound up with extra thickening from a cornstarch slurry instead, which was just fine. The sauce turned out better than anticipated. It was accompanied by simply-roasted fresh (and I mean fresh) asparagus, in oil, garlic, and lemon (and salt/pepper, of course), and dairy-free mashed potatoes. She had a margarine that was dairy-less, so I used that and chicken stock to get the consistency right. Oh, and I used Yukon Golds, because they are almost buttery by themselves, and already yellow. They were missing a little...unctuousness, perhaps, but after putting some crispy shallots on top (used canola oil to make those), they were a rather believable facsimile of the real, dairy-laden thing.

Oh, and while diving through the pantry I found a 25-yr real balsamic vinegar that she didn't even know she had (!). The stuff was amazing. So I made a couple loaves of simple Italian bread (mine was just a 65% hydration loaf with a bit of brown sugar and olive oil added), and had everyone dip the bread in a mixture of the balsamic and E.V. olive oil. Man, that balsamic vinegar was amazing. I wish I could have taken the bottle home with me.

Tanglebones wrote:

Making a dal from Indian Home Cooking tonight at Mrs. Tanglebones' request. I'd post pics, but it'll look like brown mush, despite tasting delicious :)

Ooh, I love dal - it's a staple of my 'cook-a-sh*t-ton-and-freeze-in-glasslock-pots-to-take-to-work-for-lunch' rotation. I use a Covent Garden Soup Company recipe, which takes well under an hour to make, and is superb. Also, turns out a delightful yellow/orange colour instead of the mud colour that some dals turn out as.

Jonman wrote:
Tanglebones wrote:

Making a dal from Indian Home Cooking tonight at Mrs. Tanglebones' request. I'd post pics, but it'll look like brown mush, despite tasting delicious :)

Ooh, I love dal - it's a staple of my 'cook-a-sh*t-ton-and-freeze-in-glasslock-pots-to-take-to-work-for-lunch' rotation. I use a Covent Garden Soup Company recipe, which takes well under an hour to make, and is superb. Also, turns out a delightful yellow/orange colour instead of the mud colour that some dals turn out as.

This one takes about 30 minutes; I start the tadka (tempering oil) at around the 25 minute mark, and do the prep work in the first ten minutes the lentils are cooking. The recipe calls for lemon or lime juice as the only souring agent, but I also throw some mango powder in; I also usually increase the amount of garlic to double what's called for. It's become my go-to quick and easy healthy meal. For enough to completely stuff two people, it only takes around 2-3 tablespoons of oil.

wanderingtaoist wrote:

Asparagus is one of the things I'm looking forward to the whole year). What is your harbinger of spring? Oh, and we planted herbs and strawberries, can't wait for them.

Enough warmth to switch from winter coat to spring jacket on my walk to work. And eventually just forgo jackets entirely and wear pants and a polo.

Also: Baseball.

wordsmythe wrote:
wanderingtaoist wrote:

Asparagus is one of the things I'm looking forward to the whole year). What is your harbinger of spring? Oh, and we planted herbs and strawberries, can't wait for them.

Enough warmth to switch from winter coat to spring jacket on my walk to work. And eventually just forgo jackets entirely and wear pants and a polo.

Also: Baseball.

Wait, you wear polos to work? Note, work wear word does. Hawaiian shirts might be acceptable.

There are benefits to working for those commie libruls. Especially when you don't need to do much face-time work with clients.

wordsmythe wrote:

There are benefits to working for those commie libruls. Especially when you don't need to do much face-time work with clients.

Save a spot for me in Mecca.

Meh, in Austin, polos are the default work attire. And software engineers are way more casual than that.

Yeah, but tech guys and southerners also wear awkward goatees as the default.

Just a note on Henckel's: they normally come in two different quality levels. The entry level version has a logo comprised of a single stickman with a spear (stick?), while the higher quality knives are done by a brand whose logo are twin stickmen hugging. The price difference may be up to an order of magnitude different.

MoonDragon wrote:

Just a note on Henckel's: they normally come in two different quality levels. The entry level version has a logo comprised of a single stickman with a spear (stick?), while the higher quality knives are done by a brand whose logo are twin stickmen hugging. The price difference may be up to an order of magnitude different.

IMAGE(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/44/Henckels_intl_logo.png)
IMAGE(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b2/Logo_zwilling.jpg/90px-Logo_zwilling.jpg)

So much gluttony. So much lust. So much food. So much envy on my side... (total spam-troll-tag post)

I really dig cooking and my biggest recent project was a Thanksgiving feast last fall (I am european, remember). Brined turkey, cornbread stuffing, homemade gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, cranberry dip - the whole nine yards. Cost me a fortune (try finding a turkey in Europe -_-'), but my guests were uuh-ing and aah-ing all night.

I'd hit the kitchen a lot more, if I wasn't still living from my meager scholarship.

I have to admit I didn't thoroughly read every post in this thread, but what are your guys opinions on stoves? I learned cooking with a gas stove, when I was a kid, now all you find is either ceramic stove tops or electric ones - hate those two. I haven't gotten around to try an induction stove, but I image it would be closer to a gas stove, since you are controlling the energy flow much more directly.

Well the wife is out for the weekend and I am stuck at home alone... do I drink myself into a stupor? NO! Instead I cook, and this time around I was craving greek salad. I did a bit of hunting around and arrived at this for the dressing:

250ml olive oil
250 ml red wine vinegar
1 tbs of oregano
1 tbs of basil (dried)
1 tbs dijon mustard
1/4 tbs of pepper (although I might add more)
1/4 tbs salt
3 cloves of minced garlic
5 minced sun dried tomatoes

The salad was a thin bed of lettuce topped with fresh feta, kalamata olives, diced tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, and red onions that had first been tossed with the dressing. To finish it off I warmed up some pita bread.
IMAGE(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3427/4569394005_a57ed080d5.jpg)
IMAGE(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3468/4569393403_ae7c29b84c.jpg)

The only disappointing part of the salad was the pita bread. I really should have tried to make my own ala hubbinsd. Anyway, happy eating.

Great lighting in the shots.

My latest batch of tarragon and white wine Bearnaise-Mayonnaise is officially delicious.

Made homemade wheat pasta last night that turned out really well. Couldn't be easier to make:

(note: all measurements are approximate, I usually just eyeball everything)

1 cup high-gluten (e.g. bread) flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
2 eggs
1/8 cup olive oil
2-3 large pinches kosher salt

A big stand mixer with a dough hook is practically a must; so are the roller/cutter attachments.

Put both cups of flour into the mixing bowl, form a bowl shape in the flour. Crack both eggs in, add olive oil and salt. Mix together with a fork, slowly adding in flour until a dough starts to form. Use the dough hook to continue mixing, on speed 1 or 2. Add in water at about an ounce at a time, letting each ounce of water completely soak into the dough and mix in. (that is, every minute or so). Do this until the dough forms into a ball, and is slightly tacky. If it gets too tacky from over-watering, add in some flour to dry it out. Do this while mixing until the correct consistency is reached. Put some plastic wrap over the dough and let it rest for about 1/2 hour.

Roll it out, and cut. Boil for about 4 minutes (floats when done) in salted water with some olive oil poured in to keep the noodles from sticking together. Voila!

Recipe for a really good, cheap red sauce:
2 cans (I think they're about 32 oz each?) of cheap-ass Hunt's spaghetti sauce (usually about 99 cents each. I get the mushroom flavor, but any flavor will do)
1 28-oz can whole tomatoes, undrained
2 lbs italian sausage (I usually get 1 lb hot and 1 lb sweet from the local butcher shop)
about 1/3 cup dried Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, etc)
about 1/4 cup sugar
about 1/4 cup olive oil
salt
pepper

Brown the sausage in a big stock pot, drain. Return to pot and add the rest of the ingredients. When it comes to the seasonings/sugar, I usually wait a bit and add them in slowly, tasting as I go. If it's bland, add salt/pepper. If it doesn't have a lot of flavor, add italian seasoning. If it's bitter/acidic, add sugar. Let the whole mixture simmer for an hour or two (or more), allowing the whole tomatoes to break apart. The longer you simmer, the better the flavors come together. Like any red sauce, it's even better the next day or when frozen. This will make enough for 4 hungry people, with leftovers.

When served over fresh pasta, pour a dollop of olive oil on top of the sauced pasta grate some fresh parmesan on top of that.

next time there is a meet up (that I can attend!) food needs to be brought. There has been to many good looking food posts.

Bacon, avocado and lettuce sandwich, on a nutty bread spread with kale pesto and drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

For breakfast this morning.

WIN!

I did something interesting last night.

I used portioned chicken thighs that my wife mistakenly picked up instead of chicken breasts and I wondering if the taste profile was thrown off because of that or not.

I made Farafelle pasta with a garlic/rosemary wine reduction with roma tomatoes added for a little color and flavor. My wife and kids loved it, but I know I am my own worst critic but I felt it tasted off. I didn't have access to my grill so I just used the sauce pan I was going to make the reduction in for the chicken and then just deglazed the pan after.

Is there anything I might have done different? Could anyone offer any changes? This kind of came off the top of my head and what was in the fridge. I find some of my best ideas come that way. That is why I like the show Chopped on Food Network. It makes them think of stuff on the fly and try to figure something out with the oddest ingredients.

Demonicmaster wrote:

I did something interesting last night.

I used portioned chicken thighs that my wife mistakenly picked up instead of chicken breasts and I wondering if the taste profile was thrown off because of that or not.

I made Farafelle pasta with a garlic/rosemary wine reduction with roma tomatoes added for a little color and flavor. My wife and kids loved it, but I know I am my own worst critic but I felt it tasted off. I didn't have access to my grill so I just used the sauce pan I was going to make the reduction in for the chicken and then just deglazed the pan after.

Is there anything I might have done different? Could anyone offer any changes? This kind of came off the top of my head and what was in the fridge. I find some of my best ideas come that way. That is why I like the show Chopped on Food Network. It makes them think of stuff on the fly and try to figure something out with the oddest ingredients.

Funnily enough, I did the exact same mistaken purchase on my last Costco run to restock the freezer once we'd moved.

The taste is probably off because thighs are dark meat instead of light, so there's a different taste, but more importantly, they're much fattier.

You might try trimming a lot of the fat off before you cook with them. It's a pain in the ass, and very time consuming, but it'll make them closer to breast meat, and as an added bonus, is healthier!

By the way, my favorite cooking show is having a sale on their 10 year anniversary cookbook. If you order it, you also get the latest season of the show on DVD.

http://www.americastestkitchentv.com

IMAGE(https://m1.buysub.com/webapp/wcs/stores/CooksIllustrated/images/CH49_right_sidebar.gif)

Yeah, chicken thighs are denser, taste differently, and tend to be a bit chewier.

I am interested in making the same thing again but use white meat. I was just wondering if anyone could suggest something to add to maybe change the flavor profile a little.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Yeah, chicken thighs are denser, taste differently, and tend to be a bit chewier.

Guess why.

wordsmythe wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

Yeah, chicken thighs are denser, taste differently, and tend to be a bit chewier.

Guess why.

Those muscles are used more than the chest muscles. Then again with all the growth hormone/steroids farmers are giving animals, when I see a chicken benching weight I think I just might give serious thought to going vegitarian.