Quantcast

Nobody's Food...

jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
19,799
8,383
Nowhere Man!
My dad peels the green away. I have always been suspect of that. My mom used to throw them away. So I do too. Thanks for the info.
 

Nobody

Danforth Kitchen Whore
Sep 5, 2001
1,481
3
Toronto
My dad peels the green away. I have always been suspect of that. My mom used to throw them away. So I do too. Thanks for the info.
Yeah, to reiterate:

The 'green' is chlorophyll and only indicates excessive exposure to sunlight. That's it for the 'green' thingy. The same exposure to sunlight will most likely create solanine throughout the potato - which has NO color variance!

Green? Toss 'em!


and now for something completely different!

Caprese Salad part II

 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
Green? Toss 'em![/B]

and now for something completely different!

Caprese Salad part II



My wife and I make that all the time. It's great for bringing to parties!

We usually use the sliced tomatoes on the bottom with a leaf of basil between the tomato and the mozzarella.
Fresh real deal Mozzarella is the key!
Drizzle with olive oil and some fresh crushed salt and black pepper.
 

jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
19,799
8,383
Nowhere Man!
I am so hooked up when it comes to fresh tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. I sometimes grate some Piave cheese on top of the salt and pepper.
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
I am so hooked up when it comes to fresh tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. I sometimes grate some Piave cheese on top of the salt and pepper.
Oh I forgot a main ingredient when we make ours - Prusciutto
 

Yeti DHer

I post here but I'm still better than you
Sep 7, 2001
1,145
0
The Foothills
NOBODY!!! It's been a damn long time since I've heard from ya... Good to see you're still visiting RM! I remember back in '00 or '01 I came down to visit you and we went to a real nice restraunt in SB and had filet mignon... I haven't had anything close to that since then!!!
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,375
12,529
In a van.... down by the river
Interesting... I've never seen nor heard of putting pepper on caprese. We usually do just mozzarella, tomato, basil, a bit of salt and some EVOO.

Edit: And Costco is now tempting me with *real* mozzarella di bufala imported from Italy... :rant:
 

Nobody

Danforth Kitchen Whore
Sep 5, 2001
1,481
3
Toronto
:drool: One of my personal favorites. Sometimes I get just toss some grape or cherry tomatos (generally I cut them in half) in a bowl with the small balls of mozzarella, some fresh basil leaves, EVOO, balsamic & cracked black pepper...SO good!!!
y'mean, like this?

 

Nobody

Danforth Kitchen Whore
Sep 5, 2001
1,481
3
Toronto
NOBODY!!! It's been a damn long time since I've heard from ya... Good to see you're still visiting RM! I remember back in '00 or '01 I came down to visit you and we went to a real nice restraunt in SB and had filet mignon... I haven't had anything close to that since then!!!
Hey, Chris! I remember kinda egging you on about that back then. I think it was the Fish Enterprise, down near the waterfront.

Yep. There were some good times back then, no question!
 

Nobody

Danforth Kitchen Whore
Sep 5, 2001
1,481
3
Toronto
Interesting... I've never seen nor heard of putting pepper on caprese. We usually do just mozzarella, tomato, basil, a bit of salt and some EVOO.

Edit: And Costco is now tempting me with *real* mozzarella di bufala imported from Italy... :rant:
It's a Fusion Cuisine thingy.

Nothing gets across the Atlantic without some modification.

In the case of my latest version, I had WHITE balsamic vinegar!

Oy!
 

Nobody

Danforth Kitchen Whore
Sep 5, 2001
1,481
3
Toronto
...and White Balsamic has about 1/3rd the taste impact of regular Dark Balsamic...

and yeah, sometimes the tomatoes are crap - this is the Great White North, after all...
 

geargrrl

Turbo Monkey
May 2, 2002
2,379
1
pnw -dry side
Do you make it yourself? I'm thinking of a black-bean refried bean thing, as opposed to the basic pinto bean...

Plus, I gotta develop my own salsa recipe. Up here, it's pretty pale stuff, i have to say.

Speaking of refried black beans, try them Yucatan style with a little lime juice in them.
 

Nobody

Danforth Kitchen Whore
Sep 5, 2001
1,481
3
Toronto
Pic in a minute...

...or 330 or so...



Still writing it out for quantities, but here's the ingredients:

Cherry tomatoes, quartered and concasseed [seeded and de-watered]
Red onion, coarsely chopped
Basil, fresh, chiffonaded
Appledore Cheese, crumbled
Feta Cheese, small cubes
Nuts, Toasted - Pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, pepitas
scallions, chopped green ends only
Cucumber, de-moistured, coarsely cut.

Dressing:

Fig Balsami Vinegar
Honey
EVOO
Tablespoon of Deli Mustard.

Something like that...
 

Nobody

Danforth Kitchen Whore
Sep 5, 2001
1,481
3
Toronto
I had to do some basic research on this, so share and share alike! Enjoy!

In cooking, espagnole sauce is one of the mother sauces that are the basis of sauce-making in classic French cooking. Auguste Escoffier codified the recipe in the late 19th century, which is still followed today. Even though espagnole is the French word for Spanish, the sauce has little connection with Spanish cuisine. According to Louis Diat, the creator of vichyssoise [chilled potato soup, btw] and the author of the classic Gourmet's Basic French Cookbook: "There is a story that explains why the most important basic brown sauce in French cuisine is called sauce espagnole, or Spanish sauce. According to the story, the Spanish cooks of Louis XIII's bride, Anne, helped to prepare their wedding feast, and insisted upon improving the rich brown sauce of France with Spanish tomatoes. This new sauce was an instant success, and was gratefully named in honor of its creators."

The basic method of making espagnole is to prepare a very dark brown roux, to which are added several gallons of veal stock or water, along with 20 or 30 pounds of browned bones, pieces of beef, many pounds of vegetables, and various seasonings. This blend is allowed to slowly reduce while being frequently skimmed. The classical recipe calls for additional veal stock to be added as the liquid gradually reduces but today water is generally used instead. Tomato sauce is added towards the end of the process, and the sauce is further reduced.

Espagnole has a strong, even somewhat unpleasant taste and is not itself used directly on food. As a mother sauce, however, it then serves as the starting point for many derivative sauces.

Examples are:
Sauce Africaine
Sauce Bigarade
Sauce Bouguignonne
Sauce aux Champignons
Sauce Charcutiere
Sauce Chasseur
and Sauce Chevreuil

[which are just as far as the "Cs". There are hundreds of others in the classic French repertoire.]

A typical espagnole recipe takes many hours or even several days to make, and produces four to five quarts of sauce. In most recipes, however, one cup of espagnole is more than enough, so that the basic recipe will yield enough sauce for 16 to 20 meals.

Frozen in small quantities, espagnole will keep practically indefinitely. I use a small-cube ice tray and end up with little frozen cubes of the stuff!! I do it for stock, too! (only bigger cubes)


Ingredients:

4 quarts brown stock, hot*
1 1/2 cups brown roux**
1/4 cup bacon fat, rendered
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup tomato puree
1 bouquet garni

In a stock pot, whisk the hot stock into the roux.


In a large saute pan, heat the bacon fat.

Add the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until wilted, about 5 minutes.

Stir the tomato puree into the vegetables and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the tomato/vegetable mixture to the stock/roux mixture.

Add the bouquet garni and continue to simmer, skimming as needed.

Season with salt and pepper. Simmer the sauce for about 45 minutes.

Strain the sauce through a China cap. Lumps suck.

* & ** = I'll do a basic roux and brown stock in a little while. don't bust my chops, k?
 

Nobody

Danforth Kitchen Whore
Sep 5, 2001
1,481
3
Toronto
BASIC BROWN STOCK

7 pounds beef marrow bones sawed into 2-inch pieces
8 ounces tomato paste
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups dry red wine
1 bouquet garni
Salt and pepper
8 quarts of water

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Place the bones in a roasting pan and roast for 1 hour.

Remove the bones from the oven and brush with the tomato paste.

In a mixing bowl, combine the onions, carrots, and celery together.

Lay the vegetables over the bones and return to the oven. Roast for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drain off any fat.

Place the roasting pan over the stove and deglaze the pan with the red wine, using a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the pan for browned particles.

Put everything into a large stockpot. Add the bouquet garni and season with salt.

Add the water. Bring the liquid up to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

Simmer the stock for 4 hours, skimming regularly.

Remove from the heat and strain through a China cap.

Yield: about 1 gallon.

hahahhhahah - no, seriously.
 

crashdwn22

Chimp
Jan 3, 2007
62
0
My favorite cut of meat for easy grilling is a nice think flank steak. marinate it in a pinapple-Teryaki marinade, serve it with grilled pinapple slices...mmm.
 

Nobody

Danforth Kitchen Whore
Sep 5, 2001
1,481
3
Toronto
Last week was the first time in years that I was able to cook:

a] Outdoors

AND

b] Over Hardwood Charcoal!

Go Oak!

 

Nobody

Danforth Kitchen Whore
Sep 5, 2001
1,481
3
Toronto


Real Simple Pizza:

EVOO brushed over the bread
Sauce spread thinly - for flavor, not substance.
Crumbled Goat Cheese
Crumbled Aged Cheddar
Thinly Sliced Mexican Vine-Ripened Tomatoes*
Thinly Chiseled Onions
1/4" Sliced Cremini Mushrooms
Crumbled Parmesan
Chopped Chives.

450F oven for about 10 minutes.

Bene!
 

Nobody

Danforth Kitchen Whore
Sep 5, 2001
1,481
3
Toronto
Italian Brown Mushroom

Looks like the standard White Cultivated Mushroom

When it grows larger, it opens up and turns into a Portobello.

Half-way between the two it's sometimes called a Portobellini.

An excellent online resource for these sorts of questions is:The Cook's Thesaurus
 

Nobody

Danforth Kitchen Whore
Sep 5, 2001
1,481
3
Toronto
BARBECUE!!!
[not Grilling!!]

Butterflied Boneless Leg o Lamb*



Sliced and Ready...



*Butterflied -
My loosely applied term for slicing open something not made of fruit or vegetable matter.

Butterflied Shrimp, for instance, are deveined but cut open so that in cooking they look like two cashews joined back-to-back.

In this case, a local butcher had cut short the upper leg, then 'boned' it without opening it fully, then wrapping in for roasting. I sliced it open and worked it a bit to approach the long, open look you see here.

Then, seasoned it.

I used a smoked pepper mixture based on Lagasse's Creole rub, a lot of garlic powder, some other stuff, and the juice of a lime.

After letting it sit for about 1hr in the fridge, I had a hot enough grill to start the process. High heat over the red coals for about 10 minutes, flipped for 15 [soaked the dry side with beer on the turnover both times] then off the high heat for around 20 minutes, flipped, smoked, beered, etc, 10-15 minutes.

Then...orgy.
 

Nobody

Danforth Kitchen Whore
Sep 5, 2001
1,481
3
Toronto


Pounded out a very thin, dry crust - i wanted crispy. You can do whatever you want...

Jerk Marinade-coated Halal chicken thighs, marinated in the fridge, covered, 36 hrs.

Chicken grilled over medium hardwood coals for about 25 min, turning as needed, squirting the light char as it came around with limejuice and beer.

Oven to 425F [-ish].

Once the chicken was grilled and slightly cooled [so i could chop it up without burning my li'l fingies] I assembled the pizza.

Lightly brushed the crust with EVOO
Spread out the Sauce [basic marinara]
Sprinkled the Cheese [Shredded soft Parma]
Distributed the Chicken
Chucked on some Tomatoes, Onions, Mushrooms and Olives.
Tossed in a few stray chunks of Feta.

Drizzled a little EVOO over the top.

Into the oven, 12.5 minutes.

Bam!

Snack time!!

Now, for some Negra Modelo and a shot of Cuban white rum!
 

jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
19,799
8,383
Nowhere Man!


Pounded out a very thin, dry crust - i wanted crispy. You can do whatever you want...

Jerk Marinade-coated Halal chicken thighs, marinated in the fridge, covered, 36 hrs.

Chicken grilled over medium hardwood coals for about 25 min, turning as needed, squirting the light char as it came around with limejuice and beer.

Oven to 425F [-ish].

Once the chicken was grilled and slightly cooled [so i could chop it up without burning my li'l fingies] I assembled the pizza.

Lightly brushed the crust with EVOO
Spread out the Sauce [basic marinara]
Sprinkled the Cheese [Shredded soft Parma]
Distributed the Chicken
Chucked on some Tomatoes, Onions, Mushrooms and Olives.
Tossed in a few stray chunks of Feta.

Drizzled a little EVOO over the top.

Into the oven, 12.5 minutes.

Bam!

Snack time!!

Now, for some Negra Modelo and a shot of Cuban white rum!
Mine didn't turn out like yours?? I used to much sauce and cooked the chicken (used breast cutlets) to long. My oven is effed up too. I need a thermometer. Thanks for the recipe.
 

Nobody

Danforth Kitchen Whore
Sep 5, 2001
1,481
3
Toronto
Here are 9 powerful reasons to drink water (with tips on how to form the water habit afterwards):

1 Weight loss. Water is one of the best tools for weight loss, first of all because it often replaces high-calorie drinks like soda and juice and alcohol with a drink that doesn't have any calories. But it's also a great appetite suppressant, and often when we think we're hungry, we're actually just thirsty. Water has no fat, no calories, no carbs, no sugar. Drink plenty to help your weight-loss regimen.

2 Heart healthy. Drinking a good amount of water could lower your risks of a heart attack. A six-year study published in the May 1, 2002 American Journal of Epidemiology found that those who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a heart attack during the study period than those who drank less than two glasses.

3 Energy. Being dehydrated can sap your energy and make you feel tired -- even mild dehydration of as little as 1 or 2 percent of your body weight. If you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated -- and this can lead to fatigue, muscle weakness, dizziness and other symptoms.

4 Headache cure. Another symptom of dehydration is headaches. In fact, often when we have headaches it's simply a matter of not drinking enough water. There are lots of other causes of headaches of course, but dehydration is a common one.

5 Healthy skin. Drinking water can clear up your skin and people often report a healthy glow after drinking water. It won't happen overnight, of course, but just a week of drinking a healthy amount of water can have good effects on your skin.

6 Digestive problems. Our digestive systems need a good amount of water to digest food properly. Often water can help cure stomach acid problems, and water along with fiber can cure constipation (often a result of dehydration).

7 Cleansing. Water is used by the body to help flush out toxins and waste products from the body.

8 Cancer risk. Related to the digestive system item above, drinking a healthy amount of water has also been found to reduce the risk of colon cancer by 45%. Drinking lots of water can also reduce the risk of bladder cancer by 50% and potentially reduce the risk of breast cancer.

9 Better exercise. Being dehydrated can severely hamper your athletic activities, slowing you down and making it harder to lift weights. Exercise requires additional water, so be sure to hydrate before, during and after exercise.
 

Nobody

Danforth Kitchen Whore
Sep 5, 2001
1,481
3
Toronto
How much water? This is a debatable question. What's clear is that the old recommendation of "eight 8-ounce glasses a day" isn't right, for several reasons: that amount includes all dietary water intake, including food and non-water beverages; it also ignores a person's body weight, which is an important factor in figuring the amount; it also varies if you are sick or exercise. It's also not good to just drink when you're thirsty -- you're already dehydrated by then. Best is to form a routine: drink a glass when you wake up, a glass with each meal, a glass in between meals, and be sure to drink before, during and after exercise. Try to generally keep yourself from getting thirsty.

Carry a bottle. A lot of people find it useful to get a big plastic drinking bottle, fill it with water, and carry it around with them all day. I like to keep a glass of water at my desk, and I drink from it all day long. When it's empty, I fill it up again, and keep drinking.

Set a reminder. Set your watch to beep at the top of each hour, or set a periodic computer reminder, so that you don't forget to drink water.

Substitute water. If you would normally get a soda, or an alcoholic beverage, get a glass of water instead. Try sparkling water instead of alcohol at social functions.

Filter. Instead of spending a fortune on bottled water, invest in a filter for your home faucet. It'll make tap water taste like bottled, at a fraction of the price.

Exercise. Exercising can help make you want to drink water more. It's not necessary to drink sports drinks like Gatorade when you exercise, unless you are doing it for more than an hour. Just drink water. If you're going to exercise, be sure to drink water a couple hours ahead of time, so that it will get through your system in time, and again, drink during and after exercise as well.

Track it. It often helps, when forming a new habit, to keep track of it -- it increases awareness and helps you ensure that you're staying on track. Keep a little log (it can be done on an index card or a notebook), which can be as simple as a tick mark for each glass of water you drink.
 

Jr_Bullit

I'm sooo teenie weenie!!!
Sep 8, 2001
2,028
0
North of Oz
I drink hot water (or tea), but just hot water during the day. Started doing it with my Mom when she was losing her baby weight when my kid brother was born (so....17 years now...eesh). Works really well during wintertime to prevent munchies (keeps you warm/energized and 'full' feeling).