What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[Astronuc]

One of my favorite treats as a kid was a root beer float. I had to give those up fifteen years ago when I was diagnosed with metabolic syndrome [blood sugar problems]. In the past I couldn't stand the taste of diet drinks or diet ice cream, but I find that products sweetened with sucralose [Splenda] are pretty good. It dawned on me the other day that I could use diet root beer and low-carb ice cream and see how it goes. So last night I got some diet A&W RB and Breyers low-carb vanilla ice cream. Woohooo! It was pretty good! After fifteen years I can finally enjoy a tasty root beer float again... and without passing out when I'm done!

I used to order root beer floats at places like McDonalds or Burger King - before I more or less gave up on them. They really had a hard time with that.

The Deluxe Burger Bar with it's selection of multi-national beers spoiled me with regards to great burgers and a great beer selection. Friday night was usually spent at Deluxe.

 

[turbo]

We had an A&W drive-in shop two towns away. They had great RB floats.

Not as good as our home-made root beer, but still pretty good.

 

[turbo]

I'm cooking down a big batch of marinara today, with onions, basil, and mariana (Roma-style) tomatoes and jalapenos. I'm going to thicken it quite a bit, since it will form the basis for batches of chili. I'd like to be able to wait until the sauce tomatoes ripened en-masse to start making sauces, but unfortunately my plants are being damaged by late blight. There is no chance of saving them, so I'll salvage as many fruits as possible, before pulling and burning the plants. Sad.

 

[HeLiXe]

:( sorry turbo

 

[turbo]

:( sorry turbo

It happens, but I wish it hadn't happened. I love making up nice sauces and stocking the freezers with them. I feels great to go to a freezer and get some marinara, instead of heading to the pantry to open cans of store-bought tomatoes and try to dress them up. It's a matter of quality. I'd prefer to cook with my own produce, if at all possible.

 

[Evo]

Could i make peanut butter with peanuts and soft cheese?

Would it be as healthy?

If you have peanuts and a mortar and pestle, you can make your own peanut butter and get quite a workout at the same time. Peanut cheese? well, I've seen cheese logs rolled in nuts like pistachios before.

 

[Evo]

Oh, my neighbor is grilling steaks on his electric grill and they smell fabulous!

They've upped the fine for charcoal & propane grills to $200. The police went through the neghborhood posting notices on everyone's door last month.

 

[Evo]

I made chicken and dumplings last night. I didn't have milk for the dumplings and thought buttermilk might be too strong, so I substituted water.



Don't do it, my dumplings, although light and fluffy, were completely bland.

 

[WhoWee]

Oh, my neighbor is grilling steaks on his electric grill and they smell fabulous!

They've upped the fine for charcoal & propane grills to $200. The police went through the neghborhood posting notices on everyone's door last month.

I smoked a case of ribs with charcoal and hard woods for about 6 hours yesterday - my son said he thought the house was on fire when he turned onto our street.

 

[Evo]

I smoked a case of ribs with charcoal and hard woods for about 6 hours yesterday - my son said he thought the house was on fire when he turned onto our street.

LOL!

(send me some)

 

[HeLiXe]

I've never had chicken and dumplings

I bought the cheapest whole wheat bread at the store and just had a slice with some peanut butter. It is called Sara Lee Soft and Smooth something or other lol...I've never thought of bread as being smooth, not even this one...

 

[Evo]

I've never had chicken and dumplings

awww, when you come here, I will make you real old hashioned chicken & dumplings, the kind Jimmy Fallon raves about. His mother also seems to have made biquick dumplings.

I bought the cheapest whole wheat bread at the store and just had a slice with some peanut butter. It is called Sara Lee Soft and Smooth something or other lol...I've never thought of bread as being smooth, not even this one...

Ack, I've Sara Lee whole wheat bread, I ended up feeding it to the squirrels, so cloyingly sweet. It was like a desert bread, when the list list of ingredients is "flour, high fructose corn syrup, brown sugar, honey, molasses...

 

[lisab]

awww, when you come here, I will make you real old hashioned chicken & dumplings, the kind Jimmy Fallon raves about. His mother also seems to have made biquick dumplings.

Ack, I've Sara Lee whole wheat bread, I ended up feeding it to the squirrels, so cloyingly sweet. It was like a desert bread, when the list list of ingredients is "flour, high fructose corn syrup, brown sugar, honey, molasses...

eeew, sugary bread! A lot of store-bought spaghetti sauces are way, way too sweet too. Yuck.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

We had an A&W drive-in shop two towns away. They had great RB floats.

Not as good as our home-made root beer, but still pretty good.

As kids, we had a good old-fashioned A&W drive in within bicycle distance. On a hot summer day, a race to A&W for an RB float was always a good option. And they had the BEST tacos back then. I have never been able to figure out the source of the flavor but they were most tasty; esp with a RB float! Mmmmmmmmm. Almost makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

I've wondered if it might be that everything was fried in lard back then... I know it did provide for a different flavor for fried foods, as compared to the vegetable oils used today.

There was also a local, small, Mexican restaurant, back then, that created a lifetime taste mystery for me. They used some spice, or pepper, of combination of things that created the most wonderfully Mexican flavor - absolutely unique and highly addictive! This was our favorite place in all of Southern California to eat. And I have never been able to figure out what the spice was. Thirty-five years or so later, Tsu brought home some home-made salsa from a Mexican woman at work, and that salsa had exactly the same flavor. I recognized it in an instant - no doubt about it! After all this time I had finally found it... I thought. The woman who made the salsa couldn't remember which batch we got or what it was. She thought it might be one type of pepper providing the unique flavor, but I tried some and that wasn't it. Soooooooo close!

 

[HeLiXe]

awww, when you come here, I will make you real old hashioned chicken & dumplings, the kind Jimmy Fallon raves about. His mother also seems to have made biquick dumplings.

Thx Evo!

"flour, high fructose corn syrup, brown sugar, honey, molasses...

are you sure it wasn't one of their cakes? lol j/k *gets package to compare* Ah the label says no high fructose corn syrup...ingredients: Whole wheat flour, water, sugar, wheat gluten and yeast...and then 2% of everything under the sun -_- maybe the "soft and smooth" breads are an improvement + 2% of the kitchen sink

 

[turbo]

are you sure it wasn't one of their cakes? lol j/k *gets package to compare* Ah the label says no high fructose corn syrup...ingredients: Whole wheat flour, water, sugar, wheat gluten and yeast...and then 2% of everything under the sun -_- maybe the "soft and smooth" breads are an improvement + 2% of the kitchen sink

And it's the 2% of every inedible ingredient under the sun that really stinks! Well, you can eat them and most people do, but they don't appreciably contribute to the nutrition of the subjects, IMO.

 

[Evo]

Evo Child bought me a couple of beautiful delicata squash. This will be my first time preparing and eating them. They sound great.

http://summertomato.com/better-than-butternut-roasted-delicata-squash-recipe/

 

[rozer.ben0]

I like to eat noodles and also like pizza but don't how to make pizza there are so many types of pizza but i don't like all types of pizza some favourite pizza i like is cheese garlic

 

[daveb]

For those who love http://www.tarladalal.com/" cuisine!

 

[turbo]

For the last couple of days, I have been trying to salvage my sauce tomatoes (Marianas, hit by late blight) and freeze up some marinara. I use a food processor to pulp the tomatoes, chilies, green peppers, onions, fresh basil, and garlic, then simmer down to about 1/2 volume. Add salt and pepper to taste. With good sauce tomatoes, it should not be necessary to add any sugar, but that is an option if you have to contend with some tomatoes that are not fully ripe.

 

[Evo]

I'm making ratatouille tonight. For some reason it didn't have that acidic bite from the tomatoes, I think the onion was overly sweet, so I had to add another can of tomatoes. Tastes ok now. I'm wondering if it might be that my taste perception is changing. I've noticed that my sense of taste is hightened. I'm going to have to start altering old recipes.

 

[turbo]

I'm making ratatouille tonight. For some reason it didn't have that acidic bite from the tomatoes, I think the onion was overly sweet, so I had to add another can of tomatoes. Tastes ok now. I'm wondering if it might be that my taste perception is changing. I've noticed that my sense of taste is hightened. I'm going to have to start altering old recipes.

That's a tough evaluation. This summer, I have been laid low by very hot-humid periods, and the last couple of weeks, I have had to deal with repair-people who are saturated with fragrances. I have no desire to eat because I can't taste anything, but I force myself to do so. Not a good week. I'm up half the night because of illness.

 

[HeLiXe]

I've noticed that my sense of taste is hightened. I'm going to have to start altering old recipes.

This has happened to me recently...and my sense of smell. Sometimes I smell things that people smell when it gets stronger.

lately I spend more time trying to figure out what to eat than actually eating because I don't know what I'll like lol

 

[HeLiXe]

PB&P (Preserves) on toast :!)

 

[Borek]

That's for Evo, I know she likes Ramsay:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/gordon-ramsays-dwarf-porn-double-percy-foster-dies-in-badger-den/story-e6frf7jx-1226137921668

It would better fit old Favorite Food Shows threads, but it is locked.

Not that I believe a single word.

 

[Evo]

That's for Evo, I know she likes Ramsay:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/gordon-ramsays-dwarf-porn-double-percy-foster-dies-in-badger-den/story-e6frf7jx-1226137921668

It would better fit old Favorite Food Shows threads, but it is locked.

Not that I believe a single word.

He was on a roll, this was murder!

 

[turbo]

He was on a roll, this was murder!

This is when Evo convinces Greg to start a "pop reality" forum. I can see it coming!

Click on neutrons and get a Karsdashian!

Interested in inertia? I have a Lohan for you!

 

[Evo]

This is when Evo convinces Greg to start a "pop reality" forum. I can see it coming!

Click on neutrons and get a Karsdashian!

Interested in inertia? I have a Lohan for you!

NOOO! No pop tarts!

 

[turbo]

NOOO! No pop tarts!

But they have glaze and sugar sprinkles!

 

[lisab]

break up an oatmeal cookie into bite-size bits into a bowl

add peach slices also cut into bite-size

put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds

add a scoop of vanilla ice cream

o
m
g

 

[turbo]

break up an oatmeal cookie into bite-size bits into a bowl

add peach slices also cut into bite-size

put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds

add a scoop of vanilla ice cream

o
m
g

That sounds wonderful. Why didn't you post this before peach season (a month ago)? For shame!

 

[rhody]

Ok, you hot pepper freaks, our friend, contractor stopped over, told me how he prepared the ghost peppers I gave him. Fire up the grill, cut the top of the peppers off, clean out seeds, roast on the grill until soft. Stuff with cream cheese, throw on the grill until soft, consume, absolutely delicious, the cream cheese breaks the up the heat. I gave him some more peppers. He was very happy, said he will keep the seeds, didn't realize how valuable they really were. Here is a good recipe to try turbo. I may try it too soon.

Rhody...

 

[turbo]

I'll have to give that a shot. I do something similar with jalapenos and Hungarian wax chilies. I haven't tried it with habaneros because habs are generally to small to make good poppers AND I need to save as many habs as possible to make chili relish.

 

[WhoWee]

Ok, you hot pepper freaks, our friend, contractor stopped over, told me how he prepared the ghost peppers I gave him. Fire up the grill, cut the top of the peppers off, clean out seeds, roast on the grill until soft. Stuff with cream cheese, throw on the grill until soft, consume, absolutely delicious, the cream cheese breaks the up the heat. I gave him some more peppers. He was very happy, said he will keep the seeds, didn't realize how valuable they really were. Here is a good recipe to try turbo. I may try it too soon.

Rhody...

If you're talking about Bhut Jolokias - that sounds very good.

I recently cut some up along with fresh garlic and soaked the mix in olive oil for a few days. Then I rubbed about 12 pounds of boneless country ribs and chuck steak (cut similar) with the oil blend and dusted with Jamaican Jerk, lemon pepper, and garlic herb mix - and let them marinate overnight. I cooked most of them on a gas grill - lot's of flavor but not too hot.

I sliced and chopped the remaining pieces (about 3 pounds along with another 1.5 pound of boiled/chopped chicken and a handful of chopped shrimp) and combined with the remaining oil/pepper/garlic blend with some sesame seeds, ginger powder, oregano, basil, tarragon, sage powder to marinate overnight. The next day I tempered the marinating blend to room temperature and cooked in a big wok. When the meat was seared, I added some (pre-cooked) onion, mushroom, chopped tomato and cubanelles. When thoroughly mixed, I combined with thin pasta in a giant mixing bowl and served with parmesan garlic bread and a Caesar salad. It was very tasty - but every bite was hot.

 

[rhody]

If you're talking about Bhut Jolokias - that sounds very good.

I recently cut some up along with fresh garlic and soaked the mix in olive oil for a few days. Then I rubbed about 12 pounds of boneless country ribs and chuck steak (cut similar) with the oil blend and dusted with Jamaican Jerk, lemon pepper, and garlic herb mix - and let them marinate overnight. I cooked most of them on a gas grill - lot's of flavor but not too hot.

I sliced and chopped the remaining pieces (about 3 pounds along with another 1.5 pound of boiled/chopped chicken and a handful of chopped shrimp) and combined with the remaining oil/pepper/garlic blend with some sesame seeds, ginger powder, oregano, basil, tarragon, sage powder to marinate overnight. The next day I tempered the marinating blend to room temperature and cooked in a big wok. When the meat was seared, I added some (pre-cooked) onion, mushroom, chopped tomato and cubanelles. When thoroughly mixed, I combined with thin pasta in a giant mixing bowl and served with parmesan garlic bread and a Caesar salad. It was very tasty - but every bite was hot.

WhoWee,

Your rib recipe sounds good, I may try it sometime. I googled cubanelles, and the wiki said they were sweet. You could achieve the same effect from using about 1/3rd as much bhut jolokia. If you want, PM me your address and I will send you some seeds you can grow your own, they take take 6 months to mature, and are finicky, but worth the wait. What ingredient(s) made yours hot as you claim ?

I have a blend of hots, Anaheim, Long Red Slim Cayenne, Serrano Chili, Jalapeno M and Hungarian Wax Harvest, I am going to to try to grow some. The seeds are mixed, so it will be a surprise to see what comes up.

Rhody...

 

[WhoWee]

WhoWee,

Your rib recipe sounds good, I may try it sometime. I googled cubanelles, and the wiki said they were sweet. You could achieve the same effect from using about 1/3rd as much bhut jolokia. If you want, PM me your address and I will send you some seeds you can grow your own, they take take 6 months to mature, and are finicky, but worth the wait. What ingredient(s) made yours hot as you claim ?

I have a blend of hots, Anaheim, Long Red Slim Cayenne, Serrano Chili, Jalapeno M and Hungarian Wax Harvest, I am going to to try to grow some. The seeds are mixed, so it will be a surprise to see what comes up.

Rhody...

The secret is the oil - think Chinese hot pepper seed oil - (mixed well) it spreads the heat evenly. If you chop them up - scrape everything including the juices from the cutting board into the mix.

When I was single, one of my favorite (quick) dishes was fresh-chopped jalapenos and garlic with olive oil in a skillet with sliced beef and fresh Italian bread.

 

[rhody]

The secret is the oil - think Chinese hot pepper seed oil - (mixed well) it spreads the heat evenly. If you chop them up - scrape everything including the juices from the cutting board into the mix.

When I was single, one of my favorite (quick) dishes was fresh-chopped jalapenos and garlic with olive oil in a skillet with sliced beef and fresh Italian bread.

Thanks I will keep your secret quick dish in mind that sounds awesome and quick to make as well.

I just made a batch of chili about to transform part of it to GHOST chili, and let you know the outcome. I also am going to try (Lentils, rice, and burnt onions with a kick). The onions can be carmelized, but I like a mix, some brown, some black onions.

I will report back after dinner. So, do you want some ghost seeds ?

Rhody...

 

[turbo]

I made spicy grilled jumbo shrimp for supper. All day they marinaded in a mix of olive oil, burgundy, ketchup, lemon juice, jalapeno/garlic chili relish, habanero relish, with a bit of molasses, oregano, black pepper, and a little salt. I use cowboy chunk charcoal in the grill, and it gets really hot, so you can brush the shrimp with the marinade and get that coating browned/partially charred without over-cooking the shrimp. Got to keep them moving, brushing and flipping them, and transferring them to a platter when they look just right. Total time on the grill is less than 5 minutes, so most of the "cooking time" is in peeling and de-veining the shrimp and making and taste-testing the marinade.

 

[rhody]

I made spicy grilled jumbo shrimp for supper. All day they marinaded in a mix of olive oil, burgundy, ketchup, lemon juice, jalapeno/garlic chili relish, habanero relish, with a bit of molasses, oregano, black pepper, and a little salt. I use cowboy chunk charcoal in the grill, and it gets really hot, so you can brush the shrimp with the marinade and get that coating browned/partially charred without over-cooking the shrimp. Got to keep them moving, brushing and flipping them, and transferring them to a platter when they look just right. Total time on the grill is less than 5 minutes, so most of the "cooking time" is in peeling and de-veining the shrimp and making and taste-testing the marinade.

Turbo,

That sounds so good. You are a bad man, if and when we finally meet, my taste in food will never be the same. I have been successful in keeping my weight to within 15 lbs of college weight, but it I was around you for any length of time that would go right out the window.

Rhody... drools and slathers...

 

[turbo]

Turbo,

That sounds so good. You are a bad man, if and when we finally meet, my taste in food will never be the same. I have been successful in keeping my weight to within 15 lbs of college weight, but it I was around you for any length of time that would go right out the window.

Rhody... drools and slathers...

If you can come here fragrance-free (including detergents and fabric softeners), I will gladly treat you to a few meals on the deck. I prefer grilling and smoking. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen taking care of basics like making salsas, chili relishes, etc, but it really all comes together on the grill, IMO. Watch out, because when I am preparing a grilling-session, my wife often throws together potato or pasta salads that keep you saying "just one more spoonful". That's when the diet goes out the door.

When I make this grilled shrimp, it doesn't matter how much I make or how many people are around (few, these days, because my respiratory problems are worsening) - it disappears! I used to figure that 1/2# of tiger shrimp/person was about right for starters, since there would be other dishes, vegetables with dips, etc. Wrong! I could figure on 1#/person if it was going to be a leisurely cookout with beers, etc, and still, the shrimp would all be gone.

This is one of those dishes that my wife and I have developed over the years that would drive a restaurant. Shrimp is expensive, but if you have a batch marinaded every day and ready to grill as appetizers for the dinner-crowd... They are addictive, and they are good enough that people would shell out for double-orders of them and go lighter on the entrees.

Edit: BTW, I am the saucier of the family. One night about 20 years ago, she brought home a bag of raw jumbo shrimp and said "figure out something to do with it". The list of ingredients above is what I wrote down as I was tossing stuff together - I just surveyed the pantry and the 'fridge and used what we had on hand. I still have that little piece of paper in the recipe book, though I have never refined the "recipe" to include quantities. Anyway, the next night we had grilled shrimp and my wife said in that imperious voice "don't ever change it!". She did that when I started making pizza sauce even earlier, and we're still eating pizzas made with the same sauce ~25 years later. I don't have any set quantities for that recipe either. I just wing it, but it always seems to come out the same - at least with better quality control than commercially-available stuff.

 

[rhody]

Here is amount of ghost pepper I used to add to my personal chili dish:

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/5584/ghostw.jpg http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/2987/ghost1e.jpg http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/4119/ghost2v.jpg

When you get a piece of pepper you can hear it crunch, the skin is thick and crisp, the chili was fine, no need to drink to kill the heat, and once you have had the ghost the flavor is unlike anything you have ever had. I would say it is a success. If you want more heat, just double or triple the size of the diced pepper. Make sure you remove the seeds, if they get between your teeth they can be annoying and they have more heat than the pepper flesh.

Your turn to share a recipe next turbo, late this week or by next weekend after the peppers arrive.

Rhody...

 

[turbo]

Oh, you're bad.

 

[Evo]

I made fried eggplant the other night. If I am ever asked what I want for a last meal, properly prepared fried eggplant will have to be part of it, maybe fried eggplant and alaskan king crab legs. Takes time, first you have to "sweat" them with salt, and properly dry them, it's not something that you can make on the sur of the moment, but it's SOOOO DELICIOUS!

 

[rhody]

I made fried eggplant the other night. If I am ever asked what I want for a last meal, properly prepared fried eggplant will have to be part of it, maybe fried eggplant and alaskan king crab legs. Takes time, first you have to "sweat" them with salt, and properly dry them, it's not something that you can make on the spur of the moment, but it's SOOOO DELICIOUS!

Evo,

Since you and the Turbo man are very good cooks, what say I send a few peppers your way ? Then, you and Turbo can have a "ghost cook off". I am sure it would be very interesting. I would duplicate your recipes here, then vote for my favorite. I would need to follow your directions to the letter to be sure I got the recipe right. What say you ?

Rhody...

P.S. Next up sometime soon is my Lentils and Rice dish with a ghost kick. I will let you know how that turns out.

 

[turbo]

Since you and the Turbo man are very good cooks, what say I send a few peppers your way ? Then, you and Turbo can have a "ghost cook off".

Unfortunately, people on-line or watching TV don't know who is a good cook or not, because they can't think through the processes, nor can they sample the results. Hey, clueless! Who was the best cook?

I'll be happy to share anything that I can do with my ghosts. No competition necessary. We might have fun with it!

 

[rhody]

Unfortunately, people on-line or watching TV don't know who is a good cook or not, because they can't think through the processes, nor can they sample the results. Hey, clueless! Who was the best cook?

I'll be happy to share anything that I can do with my ghosts. No competition necessary. We might have fun with it!

Fine with me, looks like Evo is still on the fence. If she goes for it, remember to wear safety glasses Evo, just kidding, well maybe I am half serious, lol. After all your dodged space debris successfully yesterday.

Rhody...

 

[rhody]

To give you an idea of what colors and sizes of these ghost peppers, have a look:

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/4285/infinityj.jpg

That is a little more than one third of what I will be able to pick, on the order of 140 - 150 or so.
One guy at work at the seeds, he says they didn't bother him, I told him to save and plant them, he just doesn't listen.
I can see how creative mind minds could make art out of these, they remind me of fall foliage at its peak, vivid brilliant colors,
greens, orange and fire red. Cool, huh...

Rhody...

 

[turbo]

Beautiful, Rhody! Very attractive - looking peppers. I like the bi-colored ones. Red and green, orange and green.

 

[Evo]

To give you an idea of what colors and sizes of these ghost peppers, have a look:

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/4285/infinityj.jpg

That is a little more than one third of what I will be able to pick, on the order of 140 - 150 or so.
One guy at work at the seeds, he says they didn't bother him, I told him to save and plant them, he just doesn't listen.
I can see how creative mind minds could make art out of these, they remind me of fall foliage at its peak, vivid brilliant colors,
greens, orange and fire red. Cool, huh...

Rhody...

How many plants?

 

[rhody]

Evo,

That is about 1/5th of the peppers (about 150 or so total I figure) I got from three ghost plants. I will send some peppers your way but be careful with them. I don't want to make your health issues any worse.

I figured someone might have noticed the infinity symbol.

Rhody...