What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[Borek]

I like eating pickled food, but I've always been afraid of making it myself.. the above description does not help
Aren't you afraid of growing the wrong bacterium and causing food poisoning?

No.

I have heard it may happen, and I am not neglecting the possibility, but I know a lot of people doing it - and as far as I can tell it always works. And when it doesn't work, it is obvious from the smell.

 

[Monique]

I was wondering, do you use 'regular' cucumbers or gherkins for the pickling? Gherkin pickles are very common around here, but I've never seen cucumber ones.

 

[Borek]

Regular ones:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PicklingCucumbers.jpg

Actually I would never choose those, they are way too big. When pickled they would have a hole inside, filled just with sour brine. Not that it tastes bad or something, but when you want to cut them they squirt

 

[Monique]

Those look like Gherkins to me? A cucumber would be slender, long and smooth with a particular cucumber taste, while a gherkin is small, fat and spiny with a neutral taste. I guess I just need to taste your pickle in order to make up my mind So you pickle them whole, or do you also cut them before the pickling? (I'm picking your brain here)

 

[turbo]

I make my pickles with Northern pickling cucumbers and pick them small. They are spiny, crisp, with a nice tart taste.

 

[Borek]

I have never seen gherkins (or I didn't know I have seen them), but according to wiki picture they have different skin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gherkins.jpg

According to this page:

http://www.foodsubs.com/Squcuke.html

we are looking for Kirby cucumber.

Pickled whole.

 

[Evo]

I have never seen gherkins (or I didn't know I have seen them), but according to wiki picture they have different skin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gherkins.jpg

According to this page:

http://www.foodsubs.com/Squcuke.html

we are looking for Kirby cucumber.

Pickled whole.

Kirby is excellent!

 

[mozhe]

i like chocolates and ice creams

 

[physics girl phd]

According to this page:
http://www.foodsubs.com/Squcuke.html

Is it just me, or does anyone else find this image on the page distracting?:

Does this ad purposefully hint at pregnancy-pickle-cravings? (which I didn't have BTW... I had tomato cravings...)

 

[turbo]

I have never seen gherkins (or I didn't know I have seen them), but according to wiki picture they have different skin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gherkins.jpg

According to this page:

http://www.foodsubs.com/Squcuke.html

we are looking for Kirby cucumber.

Pickled whole.

Borek, if you can order the seeds, try out Northern Pickling cucumbers. They are high-yielding, crispy and tart. They have small bumps on the skin topped with tiny black spines, which rub off easily. We pick them when they're small (maybe 4") and pickle them whole for our dill pickles. Northern Pickling is an organic variant bred in Maine and the plants are extremely cold-tolerant, which is great for late season harvesting. Johnny's Selected Seeds carries them, but maybe you can find a source locally. This is one of those plants that fruits more heavily if you pick the cukes regularly before they get big.

 

[Ms Music]

Monique, Borek - I clicked one of the links on the bottom of the page of the wiki image, and linked back to this page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickling" that says they are gherkins, so maybe the same thing?

That recipe sounds very good, I may have to try it. I am very picky of my pickles, and haven't had a good one in 20 years. The friend that gave me the best pickle I ever had forgot to get the recipe from her grandma, so I never got it.

My brother has just started getting into pickling vegetables, and is nervously trying light fermentation. Light meaning just a couple of days... ;) I don't think he has had any batches go bad yet, and he is perfecting his recipe nicely. Perfect amount of heat, garlic, and vinegar. yum. I think I could easily get addicted to that stuff, I may have to start joining him with making it. Anybody else pickle or ferment vegetables?

Oh, and back to gherkins, I keep saying I want to grow these adorable things: http://www.territorialseed.com/product/7232/292" I wonder if the citrus flavor would make for a better pickle.

 

[Monique]

Monique, Borek - I clicked one of the links on the bottom of the page of the wiki image, and linked back to this page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickling" that says they are gherkins, so maybe the same thing?

It's ok, at least I know what it looks like. I would have picked the wrong type of cucumber for sure, the very long ones. I do have a container that would fit them though, I bought it especially to pickle vegetables, but it now houses my supply of spaghetti

I'm eating mixed vegetable pickles right now, together with pickled ginger.. yummy!

 

[Evo]

Oh, and back to gherkins, I keep saying I want to grow these adorable things: http://www.territorialseed.com/product/7232/292" I wonder if the citrus flavor would make for a better pickle.

Those are cute! I haven't grown those, but I did grow lemon cucumbers (shown in borek's list). Those were very good.

 

[turbo]

My wife and I had guests for supper last night. Haven't seen them for a couple of years, so we planned ahead for a cookout. Menu:

Appetizers - cheddar and goat cheeses with various crackers, mustard, dips, small cocktail tomatoes and fresh cucumber spears, and home-made bread-and-butter pickles. Also my marinated spicy grilled jumbo shrimp. The marinade is based on red wine with olive oil, ketchup, lemon juice, molasses, salt, pepper, oregano and hot chili relish.

Main course - grilled rib-eyes with home-made dry rub, skinless chicken thighs basted with a sweet-hot BBQ sauce while grilling, grilled ears of sweet corn, tossed salad, macaroni salad with ham, bacon and ripe olives, and steamed fresh green beans in hot milk and butter.

Dessert - Soft German sugar-cookies stuffed with lemon curd and cake-y muffins topped with cinnamon sugar.

I've probably forgotten some stuff, but it was a fun cook-out. In retrospect, I should have boiled/steamed the corn instead of grilling it because it was sugar-and-gold corn, which is more delicate than the regular yellow varieties around here, and dries out more easily on the grill.

The rib-eyes came out pretty tender because I used a method championed by my gardening-buddy neighbor. Get the rib-eyes about 1-1/4"-1-1/2" thick and sear them over a hot bed of charcoal until you get a nice attractive char, then immediately put the steaks into a tight-sealing Tupperware container and get the lid on fast to keep in the heat. Let the steaks "sweat" and relax for at least 10-15 minutes before serving. When you're ready to serve the steaks, they practically fold in half when you pick them out of the Tupperware. I use a marinade dish with raised pyramid-shaped protuberances on the bottom and on the inside of the lid. This let's the juices drain from the steaks, and helps prevent re-absorption by keeping the steaks above the juices.

 

[Borek]

You gave them garlic?

 

[turbo]

Yes, they got German and Russian garlic, too, to take home, as well as a fresh loaf of Beer Barrel rye bread and some left-overs.

 

[DaveC426913]

Is it just me, or does anyone else find this image on the page distracting?:

Does this ad purposefully hint at pregnancy-pickle-cravings? (which I didn't have BTW... I had tomato cravings...)

I haven't been - and have no plans to be - pregnant, but those ads still annoy me. I do find them highly distracting. Not sure why.

I sure wish they would hurry up and pass into oblivion like every other ad ploy does.

 

[Evo]

I use a marinade dish with raised pyramid-shaped protuberances on the bottom and on the inside of the lid. This let's the juices drain from the steaks, and helps prevent re-absorption by keeping the steaks above the juices.

All of the cooking shows say to let the meat rest in it's juices to allow them to re-absorb, and be juicier. But you're saying that allowing the juices to run out makes them juicier?

 

[turbo]

All of the cooking shows say to let the meat rest in it's juices to allow them to re-absorb, and be juicier. But you're saying that allowing the juices to run out makes them juicier?

If you watch Alton Brown's show on cooking steaks, he says to place them on an overturned bowl and cover them for a few minutes so that they are not sitting in their own juices. He's absolutely right about this one. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and them.

I am not trying to make the steaks juicier - just trying to make them more tender.

Brown's method of cooking a steak is to preheat a cast-iron skillet in the oven, put it on the stove-top on a hot burner, sear the steak on both sides, then pop the skillet and steak back into the oven to finish cooking inside, then relax the steak on an inverted dish before serving. My neighbor's method is better, and I use that when I can cook on the grill. Sear the steaks on both sides, immediately pop them into an air-tight container and let the residual heat continue to cook the steaks for 10-15 minutes or more.

 

[hypatia]

I slathered a rib roast with olive oil and coated it with just cracked pepper. Cooked it low and slow on the BBQ...and the last 30 minutes put on some red and green peppers then added some cherry wood, and let it smoke. It is to die for good.

Thin slices on medallions of French bread with the peppers and a dab of horseradish. Yummy!

 

[Evo]

I slathered a rib roast with olive oil and coated it with just cracked pepper. Cooked it low and slow on the BBQ...and the last 30 minutes put on some red and green peppers then added some cherry wood, and let it smoke. It is to die for good.

Thin slices on medallions of French bread with the peppers and a dab of horseradish. Yummy!

Meat is at it's best prepared simply. That makes my mouth water.

 

[turbo]

Anybody into prepared mustard? My wife ran into an overstock sale on Raye's stone-ground mustards and bought 3 different types. Right now, I'm working on the Spicy Horseradish. Great on hot dogs with my jalapeno/dill relish. Raye's is the last mill in the US making stone-ground mustards. The company started up in 1900 to provide fresh prepared mustard to the sardine canneries. The sardine canneries are long-gone, but Raye's is still going strong, with LOTS of specialty varieties.

As an aside, I have perfected a way of making pan-fried hot dogs that is out of this world. I like the dogs to be browned, and use high heat to do this. Get the frying pan too hot, though, and the skin of the hot dog is browned before the interior is properly heated. Now I preheat my little Griswold #5 on high flame while nuking the hot dog for 45 seconds on high. Butter the roll and toss that into the pan to start toasting and as soon as the hot dog is out of the microwave, slide it right into the pan to brown. When the roll is toasted, shut off the gas and keep cooking the 'dog with the residual heat while loading the roll with condiments. Perfect 'dogs every time.

I don't do much with the microwave except for reheating left-overs, but in this case, it's a really great tool. Perfect internal temperature in the 'dog without over-cooking and drying.

 

[Evo]

Hey turbo, I've got some ground venison and was wondering how you've used it, or if you've used it ground.

I was looking at some recipes and was thinking of doing a meatloaf, but one recipe that got 5 stars said it had to be eaten the same day because the leftovers smelled like cat food.

 

[turbo]

We use ground venison any place that you'd use ground beef. Beware making patties out of it if it hasn't been amended with some suet or ground pork because it is so lean that the patties don't hold together well while grilling. I like using it for shepherd's pie, spaghetti sauce, and soups though.

 

[Evo]

I was thinking of mixing it with ground beef for a meatloaf, but maybe I should make something like chili where it's mixed with more ingredients? I just made a shephard's pie the other night.

 

[turbo]

I tend to use regular hamburg in highly-spiced food like chili. I like the taste of venison and tend to use it in simple dishes where its flavor can come through.

We always have soft tortillas in the refrigerator, so if I was stuck for a quick meal idea, I'd consider sauteing the ground venison with onion, peppers, and garlic and a little salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture onto a tortilla, top with some cheese, roll it up, and microwave just a bit to melt the cheese. Serve with fresh or canned salsa. The fresh cilantro is coming in well, here, so I'd definitely mince some leave into the salsa a bit before serving.

 

[Evo]

Are there any poisonous wood ears? I have an abundance of wonderful wood ears here, they are all up and down the trees. If I could get at them without killing myself, would they be edible?

 

[Evo]

OMG, OMG! I made the venison meatloaf. OMG!

The BEST meatloaf I've EVER had.

The people that butchered this deer are the best...EVER. The meat had no gamey smell. Hardly any odor at all. I don't know what they do, but they do it right. Everything I've tried of theirs has been awesome. Evo Child's BF said they are just hunters that are friends of his. I'd pay twice the going price for their meat, if they would let us pay.

Anyway, I used 1 pound of ground venison & 1 pound of ground beef

First mix together

1 finely diced onion
2 finely diced garlic cloves
1 8 ounce can of Hunts tomato sauce
2 eggs
1 cup of Progresso Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup of Quaker Old Fashioned oats
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons Morton's Nature's seasonings

Mix together well and let sit for 1 hour

After an hour add the venison and beef and mix thoroughly with a large fork. Do not use your hands, you will compress the meat mixture too much.

Fold into an 8 X 8 inch baking dish, lightly pressing evenly with fork and making a slight indentation in the middle. (I oiled the dish with canola oil first)

I also coated the loaf with ketchup, but you can leave that out or use your favorite meatloaf topping.

Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 70 minutes.

 

[turbo]

When I got up this morning and wandered out to the kitchen for my coffee, what was thawing on the counter?

We'll see what my wife has planned come supper-time.

 

[Evo]

I'm eating leftover meatloaf right now for breakfast. The fruit bat gave it two thumbs up, although Evo Child said it could have used more seasoning. If she thinks it needs more seasoning I wonder what she would have said about the original 5 star recipe I altered?

The original had plain, unseasoned breadcrumbs, no garlic, no worcestershire sauce and no seasoned salt. It was just meat, bread, tomato sauce, onion, and egg. It's the one the reviewer said tasted like cat food the next day and had to be thrown away. Of course, it could have been the quality of the venison they used.

 

[Borek]

It's the one the reviewer said tasted like cat food the next day

Whenever I read such statements I wonder f these people really know how cat food tastes, or if it is only a metaphor.

 

[turbo]

Whenever I read such statements I wonder f these people really know how cat food tastes, or if it is only a metaphor.

People make statements like "bland as wallpaper paste", too. I wonder how many people have actually eaten wallpaper paste?

 

[lisab]

When I got up this morning and wandered out to the kitchen for my coffee, what was thawing on the counter?

We'll see what my wife has planned come supper-time.

I'd have to be extraordinarily hungry before I'd eat bear.

 

[turbo]

Mmm! Spaghetti made with mostly garden vegetables. Two jalapenos and one Hungarian chili provided the heat.

 

[turbo]

Nice fresh salsa with tortilla chips for a light supper. Moskvich tomatoes, bell peppers, Hungarian wax chilies, jalapenos, onions, minced garlic, salt, lime juice, cilantro. All vegetables/fruits but the onion and lime came from our garden. I love this time of year!

 

[nucleargirl]

Are there any poisonous wood ears? I have an abundance of wonderful wood ears here, they are all up and down the trees. If I could get at them without killing myself, would they be edible?

Hm, I checked this and apparently you should not even eat the edible kind fresh - they have some kind of chemical that makes the skin very photosensitive? I didn't understand it very well but I would stick to the dried kind from the Asian store just to be on the safe side.

 

[Evo]

Thanks nucleargirl. Since the trees are growing along a creek and I'd have to risk my life climbing dead trees to get to them, I think I'll just keep buying the dried ones. Seems a shame though, they look great. These are near enough a tall bank that I could rake them off, then pick up the ones that fell to the ground.

 

[Evo]

I made "jalapeno popper dip" last night. I found some recipes, but they called for canned pickled jalapenos, so I made up my own recipe.

Unfortunately, I didn't measure anything. Here's a close guess.

12-14 ounces of cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large finely diced garlic clove
1 tablespoon of minced onion
2 splashes of soy sauce
1 smoked turkey thigh, finely chopped (meat, not skin or bones)
1/2 cup of shredded 4 cheese Mexican blend cheese (Monterey Jack, Queso Quesadilla, cheddar and assadero
10-12 fresh jalapenos (I seeded, deveined, diced and sauteed in oil until limp because I have a bad esophagus, or you can just throw them in raw and chopped, or you can grill the jalapenos first before chopping)

Stir everything together well and pour into baking dish. Heat at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly.

This dip has the Evo Child seal of approval. Her exact words "why do you make stuff like this when I'm on a diet?"

 

[turbo]

I just formed and turned out two loaves of beer barrel rye for their final rise. Unfortunately, I can't figure out where my wife stashed the semolina, so I had to dust the bread peels with corn meal instead. I'd rather not use corn meal because it will scorch at 375 deg, but it will have to do. At least the bread stone scorches it quickly, so the bread doesn't pick up that flavor.

 

[Astronuc]

Shamelessly stealing Evo jalapeño soup recipe -

make soup base with smoked turkey carcass, strain, add a chopped onion, can of hunt's petite diced tomatoes, an assortment of dried beans, chicken bouillion, and several diced jalapenos

add another diced pepper after it cooked for some crunch

add 2 cups of chopped smoked turkey

 

[turbo]

My wife and I boil smoked turkey (or roasted turkey) carcasses to make soup stock and often freeze it after straining out the solids. When you boil a carcass, you'll end up with lots of shreds of meat that are nice to make a bulky-roll sandwich out of.

The soup can be anything, generally with fresh vegetables and beans, pasta or potato. About anything goes. With soups, we just "wing it". They are always good, just some are better.

 

[Moonbear]

I made an improvised stuffed mushroom recipe this weekend (I saw the really large mushrooms in the store and just had to make stuffed mushrooms). I started with the basics...the chopped mushroom stems, a little garlic, onion, bell pepper and celery sauteed in lots of butter. Once it was melted down a bit (until the onions were clear), I added some plain breadcrumbs and a sprinkling of panko breadcrumbs for a tiny bit of crunch. Added some crab meat (the better quality stuff sold by the fish counter that is cooked, but tastes fresh, not the stuff in cans in the tuna aisle) and just let that warm through a bit. Oh, I added a little salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and garlic and onion powder while the vegetables were cooking...not a lot of seasoning, just a little (that's why I don't use seasoned bread crumbs, because I think they're over-seasoned).

Stuffed the mushrooms with the stuffing, sprinkled on a touch of finely grated parmesan reggiano, topped with a lightly sauteed (in olive oil) slice of eggplant (just to get it started cooking) a little tomato sauce (I was making that homemade too...yesterday was a big cooking day for me), and a bit more parmsan cheese.

Baked for about 30 min at 350 F. Very yummy! I winged it on the crab meat stuffing, but it tasted pretty much like I thought it should. The little bit of eggplant parmesan on top went with it really nicely.

 

[turbo]

I made an improvised stuffed mushroom recipe this weekend (I saw the really large mushrooms in the store and just had to make stuffed mushrooms). I started with the basics...the chopped mushroom stems, a little garlic, onion, bell pepper and celery sauteed in lots of butter. Once it was melted down a bit (until the onions were clear), I added some plain breadcrumbs and a sprinkling of panko breadcrumbs for a tiny bit of crunch. Added some crab meat (the better quality stuff sold by the fish counter that is cooked, but tastes fresh, not the stuff in cans in the tuna aisle) and just let that warm through a bit. Oh, I added a little salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and garlic and onion powder while the vegetables were cooking...not a lot of seasoning, just a little (that's why I don't use seasoned bread crumbs, because I think they're over-seasoned).

Stuffed the mushrooms with the stuffing, sprinkled on a touch of finely grated parmesan reggiano, topped with a lightly sauteed (in olive oil) slice of eggplant (just to get it started cooking) a little tomato sauce (I was making that homemade too...yesterday was a big cooking day for me), and a bit more parmsan cheese.

Baked for about 30 min at 350 F. Very yummy! I winged it on the crab meat stuffing, but it tasted pretty much like I thought it should. The little bit of eggplant parmesan on top went with it really nicely.

that sounds really good!

 

[Evo]

I made an improvised stuffed mushroom recipe this weekend (I saw the really large mushrooms in the store and just had to make stuffed mushrooms). I started with the basics...the chopped mushroom stems, a little garlic, onion, bell pepper and celery sauteed in lots of butter. Once it was melted down a bit (until the onions were clear), I added some plain breadcrumbs and a sprinkling of panko breadcrumbs for a tiny bit of crunch. Added some crab meat (the better quality stuff sold by the fish counter that is cooked, but tastes fresh, not the stuff in cans in the tuna aisle) and just let that warm through a bit. Oh, I added a little salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and garlic and onion powder while the vegetables were cooking...not a lot of seasoning, just a little (that's why I don't use seasoned bread crumbs, because I think they're over-seasoned).

Stuffed the mushrooms with the stuffing, sprinkled on a touch of finely grated parmesan reggiano, topped with a lightly sauteed (in olive oil) slice of eggplant (just to get it started cooking) a little tomato sauce (I was making that homemade too...yesterday was a big cooking day for me), and a bit more parmsan cheese.

Baked for about 30 min at 350 F. Very yummy! I winged it on the crab meat stuffing, but it tasted pretty much like I thought it should. The little bit of eggplant parmesan on top went with it really nicely.

Ooh, that's unique and you used eggplant! I've got to try that! Sounds delicious!

 

[Ouabache]

Shamelessly stealing Evo jalapeño soup recipe -

make soup base with smoked turkey carcass, strain, add a chopped onion, can of hunt's petite diced tomatoes, an assortment of dried beans, chicken bouillion, and several diced jalapenos

add another diced pepper after it cooked for some crunch

add 2 cups of chopped smoked turkey

Yummm.. sounds like a variation on traditional bean & smoked ham hock soup . I substitute other smoked meat for variation (ham, turkey, chicken, venison), whatever you happen to have on hand. With that tastey stock from simmering the turkey carcass, you don't really need the chicken bouillion. You might want to saute a few minced cloves of garlic with that onion and toss a bay leaf or 2 in there. And after the soup has simmered for awhile and beans are cooked through, some other tastey additions are shredded carrot, chopped celery & peas. The late additions don't need to cook very long. Like your jalapenos, they taste great al dente.

 

[Evo]

With that tastey stock from simmering the turkey carcass, you don't really need the chicken bouillion.

I added some for the flavor and saltiness, my personal taste.

You might want to saute a few minced cloves of garlic with that onion and toss a bay leaf or 2 in there.

I do that with my traditional bean soup, this one I wanted to taste different, it came out very well.

 

[DaveC426913]

Hm, I checked this and apparently you should not even eat the edible kind fresh - they have some kind of chemical that makes the skin very photosensitive? I didn't understand it very well but I would stick to the dried kind from the Asian store just to be on the safe side.

What is the skinny on wild mushroom-picking? It is generally ill-advised, is it not? Because of the ease of misidentification.

I love mushrooms, and it would be fun to learn up on them and pick some, but I suspect this is not a good hobby to get into only halfway.

 

[turbo]

What is the skinny on wild mushroom-picking? It is generally ill-advised, is it not? Because of the ease of misidentification.

I love mushrooms, and it would be fun to learn up on them and pick some, but I suspect this is not a good hobby to get into only halfway.

Some mushrooms can closely resemble others at various stages of their lives. The father of a friend of mine was an old and experienced mushroom-gatherer, but he got fooled by a very poisonous mushroom. I forget the name, now (this was years ago) but the initial effects can be fatal, though they generally subside, only to roar back after a few days to cause the bulk of the fatalities. His father survived it, but was touch-and-go for a while.

 

[DaveC426913]

...the initial effects can be fatal, though they generally subside...

I know what you meant but this was kind of funny the way you worded it.

I'm imagining a fatal reaction - that subsides after a while.

(In the words of Monty Python: "Well I got better...")

 

[turbo]

I know what you meant but this was kind of funny the way you worded it.

I'm imagining a fatal reaction - that subsides after a while.

(In the words of Monty Python: "Well I got better...")

I'm not dead!

Edit: While the initial effects can result in fatalities, the worst of the symptoms can resolve, allowing the patient to think that he dodged a bullet. Then a few days later, vital organs like kidneys, liver, etc start shutting down - that's when the majority of the poisoned will die. I'll have to do a bit of research to see if I can dig up the 'shroom that did that to him. It might have been a member of the amanita family - they are quite plentiful in this area.