What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

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The discussion revolves around a vibrant exchange of food-related topics, with participants sharing favorite recipes, culinary experiences, and kitchen mishaps. A notable focus is on lentil recipes, with suggestions for dishes like chocolate lentil cake and lentil lasagna, as well as creative uses of lentils in various cuisines. Participants also share recipes for pasta with pesto, grilled shrimp marinades, and Indian dishes like dahl and gulab jamun. There’s a strong emphasis on improvisation in cooking, with many contributors discussing how they cook "by feel" rather than following strict measurements. The conversation also touches on cultural influences, such as the appreciation for Lebanese and South Indian cuisine, and the importance of traditional meals like the Indian sadya. Additionally, humorous anecdotes about kitchen disasters and the challenges of cooking techniques, like frying mozzarella sticks, add a lighthearted tone to the thread. Overall, the thread celebrates the joy of cooking and the communal sharing of food experiences.
  • #4,081
Ms Music said:
Shellac? I thought you *ATE* them!

And I agree with Lisa, they need to be arranged by color.

That coming from someone that had a tough time staying in my truck this morning. I desperately wanted to pluck the pine branches from the trunk of the car in front of me today.
Just being creative that's all, people make decorations out of garlic etc... we have some fake dried garlic decorations in the kitchen. These ghost peppers are so good looking it would be a waste not to create something cool to look at out of them. That way you would never have to learn what they really were like to eat. :eek:

Rhody... :redface:
 
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  • #4,082
turbo said:
"large" shrimp can fall through the gaps in my grill's grates

and...

I'm pretty much the only person that eats my habanero relish
Not if you use one of those cookie cooling grids you buy at a kitchen place on top of the grill. Then, you could use the large ones. A cookie grill's cost is modest too. You must be used to the heat more than most, that is why I am not surprised the heat of these peppers doesn't bother you

I am going to try a heat mat experiment once my next batch of peppers germinate. I want to see how the soil temperature at various spots can be controlled before I blow money on heat tape.

Rhody...
 
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  • #4,083
turbo said:
Could be more hot grilled shrimp this weekend. My wife just called from the supermarket asking what size she had bought last time. It really matters, because "large" shrimp can fall through the gaps in my grill's grates, while "jumbo" shrimp can be handled with less care. That's a big deal, because when the temperature on your cooking surface varies (some places hotter than others), it is important to be able to handle the shrimp with tongs and move them from zone to zone when flipping them. I hate over-cooked shrimp (ruins the texture and flavor), and when you have to use smaller shrimp and resort to using a clam-shell wire basket, the little rascals don't get the individual attention that they deserve, and you have to shoot for a mean in which all shrimp are cooked to some level of browning (of the marinade), but some end up being over-cooked.

I hope she gets a deal on jumbo shrimp and buys them. The next batch will feature 1# of shrimp and two de-seeded Ghosts. If that doesn't meet our expectations for heat, I won't bother de-seeding the next batch (or will remove the seeds, and add the placentas back to the marinade before blending). When making habanero relish, I don't de-seed the chilies. I remove the stems and chop them whole in a food processor with the other ingredients. That may explain that I'm the only one who eats that stuff neat on hot dogs and hamburgers. My wife generally wants me to save the last bite of a hot-dog that I have dressed that way, but I'm pretty much the only person that eats my habanero relish.

Turbo, have you noticed any large price fluctuation on lobster, scallops, or shrimp in the past few weeks?
 
  • #4,084
WhoWee said:
Turbo, have you noticed any large price fluctuation on lobster, scallops, or shrimp in the past few weeks?
No, but my wife does all the shopping. She's the one with the prices in her head.
 
  • #4,085
rhody said:
Not if you use one of those cookie cooling grids you buy at a kitchen place on top of the grill. Then, you could use the large ones. A cookie grill's cost is modest too. You must be used to the heat more than most, that is why I am not surprised the heat of these peppers doesn't bother you

I am going to try a heat mat experiment once my next batch of peppers germinate. I want to see how the soil temperature at various spots can be controlled before I blow money on heat tape.

Rhody...
I have always been keen to eat really hot stuff. I don't know why. I have given my habanero relish and habanero/jalapeno relish to several people over the years. Everybody uses them as ingredients in other dishes - but nobody uses them neat on burgers, dogs, etc.
 
  • #4,086
(sorry Rhody - it was a tease, mostly because shellacking the peppers is about the only thing I would know to do with a ghost plant, I didn't actually expect a response)

But since you guys are still talking ghosts here, I will post this here. I was looking for recipes for hot sauce, as I might attempt that with one of my brother's dried ghosts... And I stumbled on this website. Go to the bottom of the page to see a picture of his tree! He grows it inside under grow lights, I guess he is from my neck of the woods.

http://ghostpeppers.com/

Also, if I do make hot sauce this weekend, have any of you ever used vodka instead of vinegar? Or in addition to vinegar? If made with a ghost pepper, it probably wouldn't matter, but that is what bugs me about hot sauce is that you taste the vinegar.
 
  • #4,087
Ms Music said:
Also, if I do make hot sauce this weekend, have any of you ever used vodka instead of vinegar? Or in addition to vinegar? If made with a ghost pepper, it probably wouldn't matter, but that is what bugs me about hot sauce is that you taste the vinegar.
That's the thing I dislike about bottled hot pepper sauce, the vinegar. I'd also like to make something hot and flavorful without adding a vinegar taste.

Wow, that guy has an awesome tree. I know I could have that if I wasnt't moving. The sunroom I have here makes a phenomenal year round growing area.

:frown:
 
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  • #4,088
Yeah, it is too bad you have to move. I sure wish I had a room like that! It would be hard to leave for me, too.

I will let you know how it goes when I make this. It may not be this weekend, but if I have time I will. Since the peppers were given to my brother, I feel he needs to have his share of it, so he can have input whether it be tomato based or fruit based. And I need to go to the liquor store if it is to have vodka...

Also be warned, I never follow recipes to the T. I tweak and taste and tweak and taste... Any recipe will have to be an approximation.
 
  • #4,089
That's the thing I dislike about bottled hot pepper sauce, the vinegar. I'd also like to make something hot and flavorful without adding a vinegar taste.

Wow, that guy has an awesome tree. I know I could have that if I wasn't moving. The sun room I have here makes a phenomenal year round growing area.

Evo, Ms Music,

I took a screen grab of the tree in your link for everybody to see.
This is proof positive that the Nagaland reference I found and posted the other day is true.
This "ghost tree" has to be at least 8 feet tall maybe more, and the number of peppers on the section shown is phenomenal. If that is a window frame on a house that has to be at least 4 feet off the ground to begin with.

Here is what the website owner had to say:
"I think this is the largest Ghost Pepper Plant outside of India, if you have a bigger
one send me a picture. I have spent a long time to get on this big
Good luck growing one if you try !"
I would be willing to bet that ghost tree is in a big pot and is indoors and coddled in the winter. Ms Music said he uses a grow lamp, must be a big one if he does !
I say let's try collectively to grown one at least 12 feet, I like a challenge. Is anyone with me on this ?
Evo, you already said you would be in. Just grow it as big as your Apartment allows.

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/3424/ghosttree.jpg

Borek,
I agree that direct flash won't work, reflection from the floor will kill the image. Best I can think of is to put them together so that they form small hill, and try to take picture with flash from side.
Here is a flash picture dead on looking down image adjusted using Windows Live Photo Gallery. Better in some ways than the last non flash version, but the 640x480 conversion definitely loses some of the detail.

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/1922/ghostflash.jpg

Now that leaves us with the subject of peppers, WhoWee and Evo, I will put some in the mail after work on Friday. BTW, I haven't heard is Astronuc got his seeds or not, everyone else is accounted for I believe.

One story before I finish this. I gave peppers to a friend and warned him about using gloves. He didn't use them when he separated and put the seeds aside, and brushed his nose. He was in pain, and washed with soap and water three times, still there, checks on the internet and is recommended to use olive oil which he does followed by vinegar. He then washed his hands with soap and water a couple times more, and was eventually clear. He is getting gloves like I recommended and had a nice chuckle about it, but at the time, it wasn't funny. If you do get the oil on your sniff your hands carefully you can't miss it, the smell is sweet.

Rhody... :wink:
 
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  • #4,090
I have no gloves. I sliced and de-seeded the ghost for the shrimp marinade with bare hands. No problems. The only time I've ever had much of a problem is when I used my thumbnail to de-stem a large batch of habaneros when making relish. The quick of that nail burned for that night and most of the next day.

I wash my hands after processing chilies - it's a habit I got into while I was a chemist. Wash your hands, so that when you get caught short and have to head to the bathroom, you won't experience any surprises.
 
  • #4,091
rhody said:
Evo, Ms Music,

I took a screen grab of the tree in your link for everybody to see.
This is proof positive that the Nagaland reference I found and posted the other day is true.
This "ghost tree" has to be at least 8 feet tall maybe more, and the number of peppers on the section shown is phenomenal. If that is a window frame on a house that has to be at least 4 feet off the ground to begin with.

Here is what the website owner had to say:

I would be willing to bet that ghost tree is in a big pot and is indoors and coddled in the winter. Ms Music said he uses a grow lamp, must be a big one if he does !
I say let's try collectively to grown one at least 12 feet, I like a challenge. Is anyone with me on this ?
Evo, you already said you would be in. Just grow it as big as your Apartment allows.

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/3424/ghosttree.jpg

Borek,

Here is a flash picture dead on looking down image adjusted using Windows Live Photo Gallery. Better in some ways than the last non flash version, but the 640x480 conversion definitely loses some of the detail.

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/1922/ghostflash.jpg

Now that leaves us with the subject of peppers, WhoWee and Evo, I will put some in the mail after work on Friday. BTW, I haven't heard is Astronuc got his seeds or not, everyone else is accounted for I believe.

One story before I finish this. I gave peppers to a friend and warned him about using gloves. He didn't use them when he separated and put the seeds aside, and brushed his nose. He was in pain, and washed with soap and water three times, still there, checks on the internet and is recommended to use olive oil which he does followed by vinegar. He then washed his hands with soap and water a couple times more, and was eventually clear. He is getting gloves like I recommended and had a nice chuckle about it, but at the time, it wasn't funny. If you do get the oil on your sniff your hands carefully you can't miss it, the smell is sweet.

Rhody... :wink:
That would definitely make a gorgeous christmas wreath!

I am up to the tree challenge. It will be fairer to you guys now because if I still had the sunroom, I would blow you guys away!

I only have 9' ceilings.
 
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  • #4,092
turbo said:
I have no gloves. I sliced and de-seeded the ghost for the shrimp marinade with bare hands. No problems. The only time I've ever had much of a problem is when I used my thumbnail to de-stem a large batch of habaneros when making relish. The quick of that nail burned for that night and most of the next day.

I wash my hands after processing chilies - it's a habit I got into while I was a chemist. Wash your hands, so that when you get caught short and have to head to the bathroom, you won't experience any surprises.
Uh, Turbo, after you said you didn't use gloves, don't let the Mrs. tenderly kiss any finger(s) you used to cut and handle peppers with, or for that matter let Duke lick them either. That would not be a pretty sight, I assure you.

Rhody... :bugeye: :cry: :frown:
 
  • #4,093
rhody said:
Uh, Turbo, after you said you didn't use gloves, don't let the Mrs. tenderly kiss any finger(s) you used to cut and handle peppers with, or for that matter let Duke lick them either. That would not be a pretty sight, I assure you.

Rhody... :bugeye: :cry: :frown:
I regularly use cap-based topical arthritis treatments on my knees, feet, etc, and fingers. If a cop wanted to bring me down with pepper-spray, (s)he'd probably have to score a direct hit on my eyes. Otherwise, they would just make me feel better and I'd be more of a handful.
 
  • #4,094
Evo said:
That would definitely make a gorgeous christmas wreath!

and...

I would blow you guys away! I only have 9' ceilings.

I feel a shellacking coming on at Evo's for the holidays. That's what I like, spunk and a little competitive spirit.

I just google imaged "http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...c.r_pw.&fp=b865fe9839cf7b6c&biw=1664&bih=822"", and guess what came up on the first page, my pepper circle from my post yesterday. ACK...

I know from experience so far, these things are leggy and love to spread out. You almost need to wrap them with wire or something and encourage them to grow up versus out. If I had a twelve foot tree that would produce fruit for even ten years I would have bushels of these things, and twice a year or more too. Then I would be asking myself, what have I done, I created a GHOST MONSTER !

Rhody...
 
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  • #4,095
Yay! Do it!
 
  • #4,096
rhody said:
Evo, Ms Music,

I took a screen grab of the tree in your link for everybody to see.
This is proof positive that the Nagaland reference I found and posted the other day is true.
This "ghost tree" has to be at least 8 feet tall maybe more, and the number of peppers on the section shown is phenomenal. If that is a window frame on a house that has to be at least 4 feet off the ground to begin with.

Here is what the website owner had to say:

I would be willing to bet that ghost tree is in a big pot and is indoors and coddled in the winter. Ms Music said he uses a grow lamp, must be a big one if he does !
I say let's try collectively to grown one at least 12 feet, I like a challenge. Is anyone with me on this ?
Evo, you already said you would be in. Just grow it as big as your Apartment allows.

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/3424/ghosttree.jpg

Borek,

Here is a flash picture dead on looking down image adjusted using Windows Live Photo Gallery. Better in some ways than the last non flash version, but the 640x480 conversion definitely loses some of the detail.

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/1922/ghostflash.jpg

Now that leaves us with the subject of peppers, WhoWee and Evo, I will put some in the mail after work on Friday. BTW, I haven't heard is Astronuc got his seeds or not, everyone else is accounted for I believe.

One story before I finish this. I gave peppers to a friend and warned him about using gloves. He didn't use them when he separated and put the seeds aside, and brushed his nose. He was in pain, and washed with soap and water three times, still there, checks on the internet and is recommended to use olive oil which he does followed by vinegar. He then washed his hands with soap and water a couple times more, and was eventually clear. He is getting gloves like I recommended and had a nice chuckle about it, but at the time, it wasn't funny. If you do get the oil on your sniff your hands carefully you can't miss it, the smell is sweet.

Rhody... :wink:

Dem peppers... 0.0.

I'm a big fan of spicy cooking, but it's hard to find any non-standard peppers (Jalapeno, anaheim, serrano). I used to live near a Korean owned asian market that sold these peppers that were very spicy. They were long and thin and three of them (the first time) destroyed me , but they were great after getting used to them.
 
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  • #4,097
turbo said:
I regularly use cap-based topical arthritis treatments on my knees, feet, etc, and fingers. If a cop wanted to bring me down with pepper-spray, (s)he'd probably have to score a direct hit on my eyes. Otherwise, they would just make me feel better and I'd be more of a handful.
Uh, uh, no pepper spray for you my friend a taser is the only thing that will bring you down I am afraid, or some stinky fragrance thing to close your airway suddenly.

Rhody...
 
  • #4,098
hyde2042 said:
Dem peppers... 0.0.

they were great after getting used to them :-p.

You hit the nail on the head my friend... I am finding what you said to be true, you brain is adapting to the sympathetic nervous system JOLT. Amazing, huh ?

Rhody...
 
  • #4,099
rhody said:
You hit the nail on the head my friend... I am finding what you said to be true, you brain is adapting to the sympathetic nervous system JOLT. Amazing, huh ?

Rhody...

Indeed it is. I kept going back... and they kept getting better. Crushed red pepper does nothing for me anymore unless it's from a thai chili.
 
  • #4,103
pani puri!
its the best!
its a complex recipi but its D best!
 
  • #4,104
Turbo, and everyone else who has or is getting peppers,

I just discovered the full ripe shelf life is about one week or so, after that the start to rot in different places, my advice take the fully ripe ones, put in zip lock bags and throw them in the fridge or freezer, I am going to be taking the seeds from a bunch of ripe ones tomorrow. I still have a bunch of new buds and I picked a dozen and a half smaller peppers. I have to laugh, the last few people I gave them to I warned them to use gloves. Well they all didn't and in some way shape or form have suffered. This pepper demands respect. Live and learn I guess.

Any new recipes to report on, Turbo ?

Rhody...
 
  • #4,105
rhody said:
Any new recipes to report on, Turbo ?

Rhody...
Nothing new yet, though I do have all the fixins' for another batch of hot grilled shrimp and might have time for that this weekend. Today, I pulled all my sauce-tomato plants and put the wire baskets away, and looked my chilies over. I have more chilies than I had hoped for, but I'm afraid I won't get enough of the nice ripe ones and will have to process and freeze them while green or orange. There is just not enough season left to ripen them.
 
  • #4,106
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-goldwyn/physicist-cracks-bbq-mystery_b_987719.html"

Ever wonder why you get "a stall" when smoking meat, trying to get it to that final temperature where it is perfect ? It has long vexed grillers of BBQ, read the article, here is a short summary.
The conclusion was inescapable: "Since there was a deep, glistening pool of melted fat in the smoker, the rendering fat hypothesis is busted. The barbecue stall is a simple consequence of evaporative cooling by the meat's own moisture slowly released over hours from within it's pores and cells. As the temperature of cold meat rises, the evaporation rate increases until the cooling effect balances the heat input. Then it stalls, until the last drop of available moisture is gone."

I am sure Turbo can testify to this. They say the stall drives griller's nuts because you think it is done, and it really isn't because of the evaporative cooling, and the finally slow rise to the proper serving temperature.

Rhody...
 
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  • #4,107
rhody said:
I am sure Turbo can testify to this. They say the stall drives griller's nuts because you think it is done, and it really isn't because of the evaporative cooling, and the finally slow rise to the proper serving temperature.

Rhody...
Oh, yeah. I learned that the hard way, and brought a really nice cut of pork back into the house to finish cooking it in the oven. I had been smoking that meat all day for pulled-pork sandwiches with the neighbors that evening and the internal temperature just wasn't going anywhere. First time making pulled pork with the new Char-Griller.
chargriller.jpg


I never had (knowingly) had that problem before, but I fooled myself with a nice new digital thermometer. Even though the smoking chamber was hot and smoking nicely, and the temperature in the hood of the charcoal section of the grill was high enough, the meat just wasn't heating up internally, so I panicked.

All the smoking that I had done previously had been in a Brinkman with no thermometer, no draft control, no damper, etc, and things came out great. It wasn't until I got my fancy Char-Griller with the smoking/indirect-cooking features, draft control, chimney damper, etc that I got fooled this way. With the primitive equipment, my method for whole turkeys and for pulled pork was to start smoking in the morning and keep the smoker running all day. Ah, the bliss of ignorance.
 

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  • #4,108
turbo said:
Oh, yeah. I learned that the hard way, and brought a really nice cut of pork back into the house to finish cooking it in the oven. I had been smoking that meat all day for pulled-pork sandwiches with the neighbors that evening and the internal temperature just wasn't going anywhere. First time making pulled pork with the new Char-Griller.
chargriller.jpg


I never had (knowingly) had that problem before, but I fooled myself with a nice new digital thermometer. Even though the smoking chamber was hot and smoking nicely, and the temperature in the hood of the charcoal section of the grill was high enough, the meat just wasn't heating up internally, so I panicked.

All the smoking that I had done previously had been in a Brinkman with no thermometer, no draft control, no damper, etc, and things came out great. It wasn't until I got my fancy Char-Griller with the smoking/indirect-cooking features, draft control, chimney damper, etc that I got fooled this way. With the primitive equipment, my method for whole turkeys and for pulled pork was to start smoking in the morning and keep the smoker running all day. Ah, the bliss of ignorance.

There are 2 quick fixes you might want to try. First, if the meat has adequate smoke exposure - wrap in foil to hold the juices and return to smoker. For thick boneless cuts - if you don't want to slice - try inserting metal skewers through the center for heat transfer - cook from the inside.
 
  • #4,109
Ms Music said:
(sorry Rhody - it was a tease, mostly because shellacking the peppers is about the only thing I would know to do with a ghost plant, I didn't actually expect a response)

But since you guys are still talking ghosts here, I will post this here. I was looking for recipes for hot sauce, as I might attempt that with one of my brother's dried ghosts... And I stumbled on this website. Go to the bottom of the page to see a picture of his tree! He grows it inside under grow lights, I guess he is from my neck of the woods.

http://ghostpeppers.com/

Also, if I do make hot sauce this weekend, have any of you ever used vodka instead of vinegar? Or in addition to vinegar? If made with a ghost pepper, it probably wouldn't matter, but that is what bugs me about hot sauce is that you taste the vinegar.

Turbo, Ms Music,

I just went to his website and ordered his How To book for 10 $. I will let you know how it works out, it looks like one of those on-line books with a password. If he can grow them 8 feet or more in Texas, I can try from here as well. He claims he is making about 2,000 $ a month from his products. Good for him. There is a market out there I tell you, he is proof positive there is.

Rhody...

P.S. Nice warm day here, almost 80 and dry, plants on the deck, and being warmed by the trek decking. It's weird, you have to basically torture the plants for them to produce hotter peppers, it is a fine line, dancing with the devil, too much abuse, and they die and you are back to square one. In an odd way, it reminds me of riding my bike near or at the limit, same result if you push too far.
 
  • #4,110
rhody said:
If he can grow them 8 feet or more in Texas,
.

Try Seattle! Texas wouldn't be surprising, but he is in Seattle. The land of no summer... (well at least the last two summers have sucked royally) I read through that page again, and he mentions he got some smoked ghosts from India that tasted nasty. Now I wonder again if that is what I have.

Update on my hot sauce, I let my brother try it and he liked the smoky flavor, so it didn't go down the drain. He says every time he tries it it is even hotter, so I guess one week later it is still ripening. And I didn't put any of the pepper in it at all! Only the infused vodka. I can't wait until I have the time to make it again. This time with a fresh habanero. That I will harvest the seeds from... :D

rhody said:
it reminds me of riding my bike near or at the limit, same result if you push too far.

Please don't!

Enjoy the book!

Last minute thought... If it IS a smoked ghost, do you think the seeds would still be viable?
 

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