What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[Evo]

Vincent's Chile Verde con puerco dish

Ingredients:

1 Pork shoulder cubed (you can ask the butcher to dice it up for you)

12 Tomatillos

1/2 cup diced Onion

1 bushel of Cilantro

2 tbsp Flour

3 tbsp salt

1 clove Garlic

1 tsp of diced Jalapeno (optional turbo-1)


Brown pork cutlets in large sauce pan for about 5 minutes add salt and onion powder, boil till fully cooked. Boil Tomatillos, diced Onion and Jalapeno then place in blender with chopped cilantro and Garlic clove with hot water used to boil the tomatillos. Once pork is finished place in sauce pan on medium heat, add Chile that you just blended with 1 tbsp flour, you can add the second tbsp if you want the chile more thick.

Cover and let cook for 10 minutes, serve with spanish rice and warm corn tortillas.

Ooooh, I am going to have to make that, I love tomatillos! I think I might cut down on the cilantro however. 1 US bushel = 35.239072 liters

 

[Moonbear]

A whole bushel of cilantro? I love the stuff, but not that much!

I wonder if he meant a "bunch"? The recipe sounds great! A new grocery store opened up here recently, and they have a really nice produce section with some of the harder-to-find vegetables and exotic fruits, so I'll have to see if they have tomatillos (sometimes the other stores do, but they never look very good and I don't trust them to be picked right since a lot of their produce is sold unripened and goes bad rather than ripens, and I don't think they know the difference).

 

[wolram]

Discovering red curry paste, it has the wow factor, i will include it in all my chili dishes from now on, i find a 1 to 1 with Tuboes relish is the magical number, boy this is a treat.

 

[vincentm]

I wonder if he meant a "bunch"? The recipe sounds great! A new grocery store opened up here recently, and they have a really nice produce section with some of the harder-to-find vegetables and exotic fruits, so I'll have to see if they have tomatillos (sometimes the other stores do, but they never look very good and I don't trust them to be picked right since a lot of their produce is sold unripened and goes bad rather than ripens, and I don't think they know the difference).

When shopping for produce my father (he's was a chef for 30+ years) taught me to pick your produce based on color and smell. A good tomatillo will have a nice bright green and a strong smell. when peeling them they're sticky to the touch, so you're going to want to wash your hands in between.

 

[Moonbear]

Discovering red curry paste, it has the wow factor, i will include it in all my chili dishes from now on, i find a 1 to 1 with Tuboes relish is the magical number, boy this is a treat.

I'm surprised you didn't know of red curry before. My first experience with it wasn't even an Asian dish, but served with fries on the request of my Welsh friend while we were at an Irish pub who insisted it was a staple in Britain (curry chips for the Brits). Then I had it in Thai dishes later, and really enjoyed those as well. It sure does sound like it would go well with turbo's relish on pretty much anything though.

When shopping for produce my father (he's was a chef for 30+ years) taught me to pick your produce based on color and smell. A good tomatillo will have a nice bright green and a strong smell. when peeling them they're sticky to the touch, so you're going to want to wash your hands in between.

Thanks! That's helpful since the produce managers/buyers around here clearly haven't a clue what they're getting, even with really common items (drives me crazy when I go to the grocery store and can't even find onions that have been properly dried...they look like they were packed up straight out of the ground and end up getting moldy/rotten quickly because the skins are a bit wet and the tops were cut off before drying too). We used to get onions to last the whole year from harvest to harvest, but buy them in the grocery store and you're lucky to get them to last a month.

 

[turbo]

Mmmm! The house smells great! I brined a boneless pork loin end roast for about a day and a half in salt, water, brown sugar, peppercorns and whole allspice with a few slices of candied ginger. (Boil the brine first, then chill it and dunk the roast in and add enough water so that it's covered, then into the fridge.) Anyway I rinsed that roast about an hour ago and dredged it in a mix of flour, salt, fresh-ground black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder, tossed it in a metal roasting pan and put it in the oven (preheated to 500 deg) for browning. Soon, I'll take it out, cover with foil and slow-roast it at 350 for a couple more hours, bake some potatoes, too. It's 76 deg outside, so supper is going to be out in the sun on the back deck, listening to the birds.

The purple finches showed up today, adding their songs to the goldfinches, juncos and others, so it's very relaxing to sit on the deck.

 

[Evo]

I was watching Alton Brown last night and he used a spice called "Grains of Paradise" instead of pepper.

A bit expensive, but I'm curious enough that I think I might buy some. He said he is absolutely crazy about them.

http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/grains-of-paradise

 

[turbo]

I was watching Alton Brown last night and he used a spice called "Grains of Paradise" instead of pepper.

A bit expensive, but I'm curious enough that I think I might buy some. He said he is absolutely crazy about them.

http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/grains-of-paradise

I'll have to see if I can get the local health food store to get some in. Their prices on spices are about 1/2 what the supermarkets charge, so maybe they won't be that expensive. $3/oz is definitely getting "out there".

 

[vincentm]

Mmmm! The house smells great! I brined a boneless pork loin end roast for about a day and a half in salt, water, brown sugar, peppercorns and whole allspice with a few slices of candied ginger. (Boil the brine first, then chill it and dunk the roast in and add enough water so that it's covered, then into the fridge.) Anyway I rinsed that roast about an hour ago and dredged it in a mix of flour, salt, fresh-ground black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder, tossed it in a metal roasting pan and put it in the oven (preheated to 500 deg) for browning. Soon, I'll take it out, cover with foil and slow-roast it at 350 for a couple more hours, bake some potatoes, too. It's 76 deg outside, so supper is going to be out in the sun on the back deck, listening to the birds.

The purple finches showed up today, adding their songs to the goldfinches, juncos and others, so it's very relaxing to sit on the deck.

I hate you When i get home, i'll post my dad's recipe for Pasta Aldente

 

[Evo]

I'll have to see if I can get the local health food store to get some in. Their prices on spices are about 1/2 what the supermarkets charge, so maybe they won't be that expensive. $3/oz is definitely getting "out there".

That's was the cheapest site I know of. Another site is selling it for $5.08 an ounce.

 

[turbo]

I hate you

Be nice! I'll save you a slice of that juicy roast and some gravy to put on your baked potato. Hurry. Supper is at 5:00.

 

[turbo]

The roast is juicy, but a little too salty, too. I didn't cook it yesterday because I was running a lot of errands and got back too late, so it spent an extra day in the brine. Stupid noob mistake. Won't do that again - I should have known better. It's still tasty, but I don't like meat to taste salty. The gravy is wonderful on baked potatoes, if a bit salty, too.

I've got a couple of fresh Atlantic salmon filets and tomorrow I'll brine them and hickory smoke them in a maple-syrup/black pepper glaze.

 

[wolram]

I discovered red curry paste , what an improvement this ingredient has made to my chili i think it is almost perfect now lots of bite but smooth.

 

[turbo]

I discovered red curry paste , what an improvement this ingredient has made to my chili i think it is almost perfect now lots of bite but smooth.

I may try to locate some of that. Undisclosed glutamates in processed foods can send me into anaphylactic shock, so I have to be real careful. Maybe I'll find out how to make my own. Safer than food-labeling Russian roulette.

 

[Moonbear]

I may try to locate some of that. Undisclosed glutamates in processed foods can send me into anaphylactic shock, so I have to be real careful. Maybe I'll find out how to make my own. Safer than food-labeling Russian roulette.

The one I have sounds safe. It's Thai Kitchen brand sold in the regular grocery store and the ingredients list is:
red chili, garlic, lemongrass, galangal (thai ginger), salt, onion, kaffir lime, coriander, pepper.

It's also labeled gluten free and vegan, in case anyone cares. It is processed in a facility that processes peanuts, if peanut allergies are a concern.

 

[wolram]

I was a bit suss of this stuff and actually read the label before buying, the one i have comes in a plastic bag inside a sealed pot, the only thing that worried me is there is no use by date.

 

[turbo]

The one I have sounds safe. It's Thai Kitchen brand sold in the regular grocery store and the ingredients list is:
red chili, garlic, lemongrass, galangal (thai ginger), salt, onion, kaffir lime, coriander, pepper.

It's also labeled gluten free and vegan, in case anyone cares. It is processed in a facility that processes peanuts, if peanut allergies are a concern.

Thanks, Moonie. I have to be extra-careful. My wife bought some gumbo seasoning that only cited normal spices on the label, and put me into a death spiral when I ate some of the gumbo for breakfast before heading out on a service call. I ended up in an ER in a town where I had gone to make a paper-mill service call. I was almost out of it and though I told the ER doc to give me epinephrine, she held off because "MSG reactions aren't life threatening." She finally administered it in my IV (instead of the more appropriate bolus) when one of the ER nurses screamed out my BP readings and TOLD her to do it STAT. Then when the epinephrine finally took hold, I had to ride out an eternity of convulsions while the three of them held me down. When I regained consciousness, the doctor appeared at my bed-side with tears in her eyes. I'm sure she thought that I would sue her and the hospital. I was just glad to still be alive. I'm pretty careful now. When someone tells you that an unresponsive patient hears and knows what's going on around them, believe it.

 

[turbo]

I had a late lunch today. Thin-sliced leftover Porterhouse with sauteed onions with cheddar cheese in grilled Jewish bread, dressed with mustard and lots of horseradish. I was about through the sandwich when it hit me: Apart from peanut butter and jam sandwiches (infrequent), this is the first sandwich I have eaten since last summer, at least, that did not have chili relish, hot salsa, or jalapeno rings on it.

 

[vincentm]

I can't eat all the foods that i love, being Type II diabetic, sucks

 

[turbo]

I can't eat all the foods that i love, being Type II diabetic, sucks

That's bad, Vincent. I hope you can keep everything in check. Diabetes can wreak havoc with circulation, vision, etc. All my best.

 

[wolram]

Stew in the pot for dinner tonight, i have done the meat Turbo style and have, mushrooms, swede and carrots in there with onions and garlic, black pepper, sea salt oregano and smoked paprika.

Hope it turns out good as i am hungry.

 

[turbo]

Stew in the pot for dinner tonight, i have done the meat Turbo style and have, mushrooms, swede and carrots in there with onions and garlic, black pepper, sea salt oregano and smoked paprika.

Hope it turns out good as i am hungry.

That sounds good. If it is not satisfactory, think while you're eating "what could I have done to improve this?"

 

[wolram]

That sounds good. If it is not satisfactory, think while you're eating "what could I have done to improve this?"

Cooked some thing else, well it was not to bad but not very full in flavour, i do not know i browned the meat well and added the pan juices.

 

[Moonbear]

Does anyone have a proper recipe for chicken francaise? I think it's supposed to be something fairly simple, but went looking online for recipes, and found a lot of wildly different variations that don't sound anything like the actual dish (Evo's usual gripe about online recipes). I decided to wing it based off the vague ideas from the recipes and while the chicken was cooked fine (that's the easy part), the sauce was TOO lemony (though the cat liked it...she almost never begs for food, because she knows she usually won't get any, but kept sticking her nose over my plate until I finally gave her a piece figuring she'd lose interest once she licked it and realized it was covered in lemon. Nope, she gobbled it up and asked for seconds! She was taking full advantage of the sympathy she gets after a bath...or actually, this time a shower...boy was she miffed...but too much shedding, scratching, and filthy fur from an escape into the garage required it.)

 

[wolram]

I have this idea for a (tart) first make pastry, sprinkle with strong cheese and chopped birds
eye chili's, fold pastry roll out, repeat several times, cut pastry into rounds and place in individual Yorkshire pudding tin.
Make blue berry jelly by simmering blueberries with a little sugar and water just until they start to break.
Fill the pastry with jelly and cook.
Does this sound good? My Yorkie pudd tin will do six at a time.

 

[NateTG]

I have this idea for a (tart) first make pastry, sprinkle with strong cheese and chopped birds
eye chili's, fold pastry roll out, repeat several times, cut pastry into rounds and place in individual Yorkshire pudding tin.
Make blue berry jelly by simmering blueberries with a little sugar and water just until they start to break.
Fill the pastry with jelly and cook.
Does this sound good? My Yorkie pudd tin will do six at a time.

Blueberries and peppers together sounds odd - no idea how well those two would play together. Otherwise it sounds very good.

 

[turbo]

Blueberries and peppers together sounds odd - no idea how well those two would play together. Otherwise it sounds very good.

You might think so, but let Woolie play - he could be onto something. My wife makes sweet jellies out of chili peppers, and they go really well on crackers with cheese, sardines, smoked oysters, etc. My nieces and nephews grew up feasting on this stuff at family get-togethers and they found out pretty quick that the green stuff (made of jalapenos) was pretty hot, and the innocent-looking pretty pink jelly (made from ripe habaneros) would give them a serious burn. When someone new would show up (say, during our Christmas Eve feast) the little rascals would say "We're eating the really hot green jelly on our crackers, but you should try the pink stuff first to see if you like it." Monsters!

 

[wolram]

Well it is made and the results are surprising, first you get the sweetness of the jelly,
then the cheesy taste, and after the second bite the chili hit kicks in, but next time i think i will blind bake the pastry.

 

[Moonbear]

Blueberries and peppers together sounds odd - no idea how well those two would play together. Otherwise it sounds very good.

Sounds like the same concept as something like mango chutney...it's both sweet and hot and very tasty.

 

[lisab]

Well it is made and the results are surprising, first you get the sweetness of the jelly,
then the cheesy taste, and after the second bite the chili hit kicks in, but next time i think i will blind bake the pastry.

What does "blind bake" mean ?

 

[wolram]

What does "blind bake" mean ?

It is the one where you fill the pastry with beans or some thing and then bake it, i may have used the wrong term, but it allows the pastry to cook evenly.

 

[Evo]

It is the one where you fill the pastry with beans or some thing and then bake it, i may have used the wrong term, but it allows the pastry to cook evenly.

That's correct. I have special aluminum "beans" for blind baking.

 

[wolram]

So Turbo, MoonB, Evo, why not try my blueberry pie, i am sure yours would turn out better than mine, i used four birds eye chili's chopped very fine and just guessed the cheese.

 

[turbo]

So Turbo, MoonB, Evo, why not try my blueberry pie, i am sure yours would turn out better than mine, i used four birds eye chili's chopped very fine and just guessed the cheese.

Woolie, you may have a few "good guesses" recipes under your belt. Please be assured that my wife and I have WAY more recipes pending. It's just the way things go. I don't mean to get too silly about it, but tonight I had been occupied all day (as had my my wife) so when it was time for supper I fried up a couple of hot dogs with rolls and chopped onions (all fried in butter, very hot) and dressed the 'dogs in green habanero relish and yellow mustard and dill-pickled jalapeno pepper rings. They were wonderful! It's not very different from what I've done in the past, but the the amounts and application of the dressings evolve over time. I'm honing in on what may be the perfect hot dog. If Astronuc shows up here this summer, I'd like to have him weigh in, too. These 'dogs are killers!

 

[Moonbear]

So Turbo, MoonB, Evo, why not try my blueberry pie, i am sure yours would turn out better than mine, i used four birds eye chili's chopped very fine and just guessed the cheese.

I'm not sure what kind of cheese you used. I'm not usually fond of cheese on pies. I have a friend who loves cheddar cheese on apple pies. I've tried it, and it's okay, but nothing I'd go out of my way to put on my pies. I might go for something like cream cheese though, and the chilis as a little surprise kick. (Was this where someone mentioned a chocolate cake with chilis in it?) I might consider it as an appetizer rather than a dessert though.

 

[W3pcq]

Avocado blended with sugar, lemon juice and mint, served over vanilla ice cream blended with bleu cheese.

 

[Moonbear]

That's correct. I have special aluminum "beans" for blind baking.

I learned something new. I knew of the technique, but never before heard that name for it.

 

[Evo]

Avocado blended with sugar, lemon juice and mint, served over vanilla ice cream blended with bleu cheese.

 

[Moonbear]

Avocado blended with sugar, lemon juice and mint, served over vanilla ice cream blended with bleu cheese.

I'm not sure about blue cheese and ice cream...can I serve it over a bed of lettuce or spinach instead of ice cream? Maybe with tortilla chips?

 

[turbo]

A couple of nights ago, I had been busy all day and hadn't prepared anything for supper, so when my wife came home from work, we sauteed some chopped jalapeno peppers, onions and garlic, and after those started to caramelize a bit, we stirred in about a pound of ground beef, and when the beef had browned, we added two cans of black beans (drained). Seasonings included some oregano and basil and some parsley, as well as some curry. When that was sufficiently heated we spooned that over corn tostadas, topped the whole thing with a fresh tossed salad and my home-made red tomato salsa (much hotter than any commercial salsa you can find). My wife had sour cream on hers, too. What a fast, tasty meal. There was a lot of the meat and vegetable mix left over (and more salad) so I had that for breakfast this morning. Woolie, this is drop-dead easy to make, and it would be a very nice quick meal if you rolled up the ground meat and vegetables in a soft flour tortilla. Pretty good bachelor food to have around.

 

[wolram]

Turbo you should be arrested for torturing my taste buds. LOL

It is Chinese take away for me tonight ,my daughter and bf are coming over and they do not like hot stuff. SAD

 

[Evo]

I am in Greek heaven tonight.

Marinated chicken breasts sauteed in olive oil, then tossed with diced roma tomatoes and kalamata olives, and covered with feta cheese. :!)

 

[turbo]

I am re-starting the wood stove now (cool night) so please for give the 1AM ramblings. For supper last night we had potatoes and onions in foil on the grill, fresh-dug parsnips (again, with onions) on the grill in foil, and grilled hot dogs dressed with chili relishes, mustard and pickled jalapeno rings. Heaven! Eating that food on the back deck with some quiet music playing and listening to the frogs in our pond croaking... priceless. Missing a picture of screaming pileated woodpecker at the top of a white maple just 50 ft away... Darn!

 

[iirevolverii]

Pizza ftw!

 

[wolram]

Is it possible to over do the chili content of a meal? i think my belly has gone on safari.

 

[scorpa]

MMMM I made manicotti stuffed with spinach, ricotta cheese, mozzarella and parmesan topped with tomato sauce the other night. It was so good, but I made way to much, I may need to freeze the rest.

 

[turbo]

It depends. Just a little heat can drive my father over the edge, although he used to enjoy hot peppers, etc. I had a late-night snack last night - a fried hot dog and roll dressed with spicy Farmer's brand beer mustard, Farmer's brand horseradish, my habanero relish and my dill-pickled jalapeno rings. 4 different kinds of heat, and it was great. I use chilies in almost everything - it reminds me of Monty Python's Spam restaurant. "How about chilies with a hot dog and chilies, and chilies? That hasn't got much chilies in it."

 

[wolram]

It depends. Just a little heat can drive my father over the edge, although he used to enjoy hot peppers, etc. I had a late-night snack last night - a fried hot dog and roll dressed with spicy Farmer's brand beer mustard, Farmer's brand horseradish, my habanero relish and my dill-pickled jalapeno rings. 4 different kinds of heat, and it was great. I use chilies in almost everything - it reminds me of Monty Python's Spam restaurant. "How about chilies with a hot dog and chilies, and chilies? That hasn't got much chilies in it."

Lol, i am still trying to find the perfect mix, one of them , two of them, half a dozen o f them, and a pinch of some other stuff, result total internal melt down, but a lovely taste.

 

[turbo]

I am still trying to perfect the hot-dog condiment mix. I tried Farmers's spicy Beer Mustard, Farmers's Horseradish, and habanero relish, but it wasn't the same without French's yellow mustard and my dill-pickled jalapeno rings. Next time out, I'm going to use raw chopped Vidalia onions instead of fried yellow onions, yellow mustard, horseradish, habanero relish, and jalapeno rings.

We got Vidalia onions this weekend. They are no good for cooking (too bland), but they are wonderful raw in sandwiches and salads. The Rotary Club sells them every year, and donates the proceeds to the local food pantry, so my wife and I always buy a couple of bags (50 lb for $50) and give away a lot of the onions to friends, family, neighbors... Hopefully, at least some of them will participate in the charity in the future.

 

[mcknia07]

We had the best meal. It was grilled veggies in a home made grillin sauce, and for dessert, papaya and pineapple. Yummy! I love just about anything on the grill, it has he best flavors.