What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[turbo]

We hosted dinner for my father today, with a large pork rib roast, baked potatoes, home-grown buttercup squash from our cold-cellar, frozen home-grown Swiss chard, and other goodies. We brined the roast overnight with the same brine that Alton Brown recommends in "Romancing the Bird" rinsed it thoroughly, and dredged it in a coating of flour with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and turkey seasonings (Sage is SO good with pork). We roasted the pork in a shallow pan with a little water in the bottom, lightly covered with aluminum foil. When the pork was done, I made up a flour-water mix and whisked that into the juices that were boiling on the stove-top. The roast and the gravy were to die for! Moonie, even your inept brother-in-law (he of the dry pork roasts) cannot screw this up. When you brine the roast, it drives in juices, and the coating keeps in the juices while it's cooking. You've got to use very little water in the pan, so the juices from the pork get a chance to caramelize in the pan so you can make a nice DARK rich gravy! Since we tried brining roasts, we keep a super-sharp eye out for sales on pork - it has turned into our favorite meal.

My father's 82nd birthday is Wednesday, and we sent him home with a ton of food, as always.

 

[wolram]

Since I discovered Applegate Farm's All Natural Organic hot dogs, I have been doing a lot of independent research on quantum hot dogs. Through diligent and careful experimentation, I have discovered the fundamental units of this field. The frank length, the frank mass, and the frank time. The elementary units of the frank appear in multiples of 8, though the elementary units of the complementary bread seem to arise in multiples of 6 - an inequality that is inexplicable, and does not adequately resolve until one has fabricated 24 units of the basic compound.

Through the liberal application of habanero relish, I have been able to test these fundamental food compounds at higher and higher energies, though as yet I have been unable to find traces of the theoretical Hot Diggity Dog-zon from which the frank mass originates. I am approaching the energy-limitations of my testing apparatus, and judging from the looks of the larder, I may have to ration energy and either test less frequently or forgo testing at the highest energy levels until the inventory is replenished. 9 months/3 half-pint energy cannisters = almost certain curtailment.

LOL, you should be the funniest member.

 

[turbo]

LOL, you should be the funniest member.

Hey! I'm serious about this field of research!

 

[wolram]

Turbo, may be you are the one to ask about corned beef, not the stuff you get in a tin, this is joints of meat preserved in some way, the only place i have eaten it is Ireland and it is very good, i have searched all over for the method used without result.

 

[turbo]

Corned beef is beef that has been picked in brine. It is generally available in supermarkets year-round here, though some stores run special sales ahead of St Patrick's day. I've never had tinned corned beef, so I wouldn't know how they compare. Corned beef makes a nice boiled dinner, cooked in the same pot with cabbage, potatoes, onions, carrots, etc.

 

[wolram]

Is there a prefer ed brine? it is annoying you guys seem to have every thing, why the heck is England is so food poor.

 

[turbo]

I don't know what kind of brine the meat-packers use - I imagine that it's a saturated solution of salt in water, with some spices added.

Here's a recipe for corning your own beef briskets.

http://homecooking.about.com/od/beefrecipes/r/blbeef29.htm

 

[wolram]

Thanks Turbo, i printed off a copy for my file.

 

[wolram]

Hot chili

I found this in a mag and it is good.

1/4 cup vegetable oil
3-4 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut in pieces
2 onions chopped
2 green bell peppers
1 can 4 ounces chopped jalapenos
1/3 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup beer

Heat 2 table spoons oil in a skilllet over medium heat, add the beef and brown,
transfer to slow cooker, add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the skilllet and saute the
onions and green peppers until soft, transfer to slow cooker, stir in jalapenos, chili powdwer, oregano, cumin , salt and beer, cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 houres.

I had to half the measures.

 

[hypatia]

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE

Mix together
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter, room temp
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk

Mix in
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp any spice you like{I use cinnamon}

Fold in 1 quart of berries

spread into a 8x8 buttered pan

In a small bowl mix until crumbly.
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. butter
spread on the top

Bake in preheated 375 oven about 45 minutes.

This stuff rocks! heheh eating some now!

 

[wolram]

How come you ladies are not as fat as barrels eating all this sweet stuff?

I mean 3/4 cup of sugar!

 

[rewebster]

hey--turbo

have you ever 'brined' chicken?

 

[turbo]

hey--turbo

have you ever 'brined' chicken?

I have brined turkeys, and they come out juicy and delicious. I imagine chicken would be even more tender. I don't eat commercially packed chickens or turkeys because they are injected with MSG and I'm very allergic to that. I have to be careful of pork, too because a lot of pork is now water-added (with MSG included).

 

[rewebster]

What?!

no chickens running around that garden keeping the bugs down?

-----------------

are they too much, or have you got a local supplier then?

 

[hypatia]

How come you ladies are not as fat as barrels eating all this sweet stuff?

I mean 3/4 cup of sugar!

Because you only eat one slice of it, and take the rest of it to work and leave it in the break room.

 

[turbo]

What?!

no chickens running around that garden keeping the bugs down?

-----------------

are they too much, or have you got a local supplier then?

There is a farm a few miles from here that raises free-range Black Angus and free-range chickens and we buy from them. There is another place that raises turkeys, nearby. We are currently about out of poultry and will have to hit one of these places and stock up again. I don't want to get into raising chickens, in part because I would have to keep them penned. Where we live, there are weasels, fishers, raccoons, and other critters that would love me to provide them free chickens.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Because you only eat one slice of it, and take the rest of it to work and leave it in the break room.

Aw shucks, our break room is broken. It's specialized a black hole. Any remotely edible object or collections thereof are sucked into a gravity well instantaneously. Put 'em down, poof! gone. The gravity well seems to reject plates, though. It ate fourteen pizzas last week, leaving just the cardboard boxes. Any attempt to measure entropy fails as it also eats that as well. I can accept no other conclusion All the data is gone, too.

 

[Evo]

Good lord, I'm watching some stupid show on the Food Network and this "chef" is supposed to fix dinner at the Pixar studios and one of the themes is the movie "Ratatouille". Everyone is pronouncing it rat tat too eee. ARRRGGGGHHHHH It only has three syllables, not four. It's pronounced ra ta tooy.

Ok, no one cares except me.

 

[turbo]

Good lord, I'm watching some stupid show on the Food Network and this "chef" is supposed to fix dinner at the Pixar studios and one of the themes is the movie "Ratatouille". Everyone is pronouncing it rat tat too eee. ARRRGGGGHHHHH It only has three syllables, not four. It's pronounced ra ta tooy.

Ok, no one cares except me.

I don't care about ratatouille so much because US citizens routinely mangle French words. What makes my skin crawl is when "W" claims that some group has "nukuler" weapons. I'm assuming that his handlers WANT him to sound like a redneck hick without a clue, because he has not pronounced the word properly in 7 years.

To get back OT, I called my father this morning to wish him a happy 82nd birthday, and since we sent him home with lots of food last Sunday, he saved the big slice of roasted brined pork rib roast, gravy, potatoes, Swiss chard, and buttercup squash for his birthday lunch. We can't buy him anything he wants or needs, but we can keep him supplied with tasty food. His cooking is abysmal! Actually, he cooks lots better than many women I know, but he's lazy about it. He'll buy some Ragu spaghetti sauce, and saute pork sausage, garlic, etc to add to it, along with oregano, basil, etc, for instance. If anything takes longer than 20 minutes total prep/cooking time, he's not motivated.

 

[wolram]

Which is the best cut of steak for grilling and how thick should it be?

 

[turbo]

Which is the best cut of steak for grilling and how thick should it be?

It depends on the butcher and the quality of the meat. For a time, we had a local grocer who got incredible cuts of beef. I used to get 1-1/2" thick cuts of sirloin strip to grill. The beef at the local supermarkets is so lousy that even "tender" cuts like T-bone and porterhouse sometimes disappoint.

 

[wolram]

The local store is advertising 10 day Aberdeen Angus, it is expensive but i thought i would treat my self.

 

[Ouabache]

...one of the themes is the movie "Ratatouille". Everyone is pronouncing it rat tat too eee. ARRRGGGGHHHHH It only has three syllables, not four. It's pronounced ra ta tooy.

Ok, no one cares except me.

oui oui, ra-ta-tuye .. though Merriam Webster has their own unique pronunciation

Wollie, on steak for grilling, whichever cut you decide on, i recommend getting it dry-aged. It naturally tenderizes the meat and upon grilling this steak yields a delightful texture

 

[Evo]

oui oui, ra-ta-tuye ..

Yes, that's much better! I had a hard time trying to figure out how to write it phonectically.

though Merriam Webster has their own unique pronunciation

That's awful.

 

[Andre]

i thought i would treat my self.

A real treat for steak would be to pre-heat marinated steak (w/bbq sauce for instance) in a plastic bag in water of a hot bath tub temperature, ~100F or something for about 10-15 minutes (it should not discolor, then it's too hot), then put it in a pre heated frying pan. Fry both sides for only one minute just until the first streaks of dark brown appear. That's the way to keep the fluids inside and to get the melting sensation when eating. Serve with brown gravy or other light sauce. careful with salt pepper or spices, don't kill it's delicate taste.

Don't forget to honor it with a glass of Burgundy.

 

[Ouabache]

Fry both sides for only one minute just until the first streaks of dark brown appear. That's the way to keep the fluids inside and to get the melting sensation when eating. Serve with brown gravy or other light sauce.

Gravy on steak
After going through the effort of marinating and searing, you'll miss the amazing flavour you've created, by hiding it behind a gravy or sauce.

 

[wolram]

How do you clean roasting tins? i have tried brillo pads, bleach, Mr muscle, gunk and petrol, nothing gets them clean.

 

[turbo]

How do you clean roasting tins? i have tried brillo pads, bleach, Mr muscle, gunk and petrol, nothing gets them clean.

There's a difference between "clean" and shiny bare metal. I wash roasting pans in soap and water and scrape them to get off the residue from the last meal, but I don't obsess about getting off the dark layer of "seasoning". Same with our steel wok. Cast-iron NEVER gets cleaned in soapy water. Use a nylon pot-scraper to clean out any residue, scour the interior a couple of times with sea-salt, and put it away.

 

[wolram]

Wollie[/i], on steak for grilling, whichever cut you decide on, i recommend getting it dry-aged. It naturally tenderizes the meat and upon grilling this steak yields a delightful texture

Is it safe to eat when gets smelly? i have left meat in the fridge before and chucked it out
because it was going green and smelly.

 

[Moonbear]

Good lord, I'm watching some stupid show on the Food Network and this "chef" is supposed to fix dinner at the Pixar studios and one of the themes is the movie "Ratatouille". Everyone is pronouncing it rat tat too eee. ARRRGGGGHHHHH It only has three syllables, not four. It's pronounced ra ta tooy.

Ok, no one cares except me.

The character in the movie makes RAT a tooey, because he's a rat. The mispronunciation is on purpose in the movie.