What Have You Cooked Recently?

[KifflomKween]

Absolutely do this. This is one of the things that really made me enjoy cooking more, after weighing and figuring out the price of the meat and finding out it was much cheaper to buy whole birds and piece them out each week I started making my own stock. It feels really good, you feel like you're really using the whole bird and it gives you a better idea of how to use the meat since you're more aware of where the cuts come from. Reduce down your stock and freeze it, it's great.

Tax: Roasted a whole chicken with a lemon garlic paste under the skin. Mashed potatoes made with coconut milk since it was something I knew I had based on a previous discussion ITT, it was very good as a non-dairy option.

That's one of the things I learned during my cooking journey, how to disassemble the whole chicken into parts and cook it. It really does cut down on the price. Usually I just throw out the bones. How many times do you use them for broth?

I like your recipe, I will add it to my book.

 

[Dawdler]

Chatgpt also said I could freeze a ton of chicken bone and cartillage leftovers and then boil them all to make a broth, is this true? Sounds gross.

Usually, you process leftovers (boil to a soup etc) and not freeze them.

Chatgpt suggested I make a soup with leftover ragu by adding it to a pan with some water and rice. I did that, it really is amazing.

There's not a world of difference between a sauce and soup, just the amount of water and size of parts.
You start with saute of onions, flour, garlic etc. which is the same for both.
You can make goulash and eat it with bread, put potatoes in, or put pasta with or mashed potatoes on side. It's a multi purpose dish.
Soups were usually made of low quality parts that took forever to boil. The original recipes were just "food for the poor" with cartilage, bones, marrow etc. to add taste and all other ingredients that were left over.
It is easy to cook like that, you just start with base and then add the most tough ingredients that take longest to cook and add softer ones at the end.
I toss food in as it is prepared/cut and it works out fine and saves on time. Cut onions, put them to roast, cut carrots, put them in, part tomatoes, put them in. Saw no purpose in preparing everything then emptying cups and be left over with a load of dishes and wasted time.

 

[Stan]

I tried to make butter chicken today, but as I carried on with the recipe and the smell of the chicken and curry gravy started filling the kitchen I started to feel nauseous.

The others ate it and said it was good, but I couldn't stomach it. It must be something wrong with me. Maybe the meds stop me from tolerating this kind of food. It sounded tasty in concept and I've had it before and liked it, or else I would not have made it. Disappointing.

 

[KifflomKween]

I tried to make butter chicken today, but as I carried on with the recipe and the smell of the chicken and curry gravy started filling the kitchen I started to feel nauseous.

The others ate it and said it was good, but I couldn't stomach it. It must be something wrong with me. Maybe the meds stop me from tolerating this kind of food. It sounded tasty in concept and I've had it before and liked it, or else I would not have made it. Disappointing.

Don't feel too bad about it. Food tastes like dishwasher to me when I am anxious.

 

[Iron Jaguar]

I made this a while back and gave some to my neighbour, a retired pastry chef. He said the pastry was "perfect".

 

[Stan]

That's one of the things I learned during my cooking journey, how to disassemble the whole chicken into parts and cook it. It really does cut down on the price. Usually I just throw out the bones. How many times do you use them for broth?

Should be just one time use, but your stock boil can be as short as an hour or so or as long as overnight. It depends on how much bones you have, what kind of bones you're working with (pork and beef take will need much longer than poultry; the shortest cook time will be for shellfish heads + legs + carapaces like shrimp, crab and lobster) and your time constraints. You can't really overcook stock unless the pot goes dry, but the bones will get soft after a while. They are edible at that point but best just to strain it off and toss, the flavor has long since boiled out into the stock.

An instant pot or slow cooker can prep stock for you safely over long periods of time, but some pro chefs to just turn the fire to a bare simmer and leave for the night with the big pot simmering and then they got consommé for tomorrow.

 

[Peaches the Wonder Cat]

Grilled pork tenderloin, and roasted some potatoes and other veggies in the oven with tasty animal fat.

 

[Niggs Monaghan]

I made this a while back and gave some to my neighbour, a retired pastry chef. He said the pastry was "perfect".

Oh I love this guy, been wanting to make his meat pies recipe for so long. He has the coziest voice, an absolute lad.

I made a really nice bolognese last night using a whole bulb of oven-roasted garlic, cento crushed tomatoes, basil from my dad's garden, grated carrot and sauteed onions, and half ground beef half ground pork. Added spices, dried oregano and pecorino romano. Came out lovely, not acidic at all, very savory and meaty.

 

[PositiveMonk]

How many times do you use them for broth?

Only once, as @Stan said. To add though, keep a stock bag where you toss your bones and vegetable peels/cuts in the freezer. For a while I was stuck in a loop where I would make vegetable soup each week, use the peels and cuts from the vegetables to make stock, which went into my soup. It was very satisfying. I also like to use my steamer insert when making stock, I invert it and press it down on the solids so that I find it easier to clean the stock. I usually aim for about 5 hours, and then I'll check if the bones break and crumble easily. I've started to reduce my stock a lot more aggressively to cut down on storage space used, I end up with about 11 1/2 cup cubes which I melt with 1/2 a cup of water.

That's one of the things I learned during my cooking journey, how to disassemble the whole chicken into parts and cook it.

Don't forget to use the organs in your stock if it comes with the bird. I like to save the wings and drumettes separately, and every 3 or so chickens I make hot wings.

Today is bread day! The best day. There are many things a person can do with their time, baking fresh homemade bread is better than most of them. Using a mixture of whole wheat and bread flour, topped with sesame seeds and baked in my Dutch oven.

 

[KifflomKween]

Today is bread day! The best day. There are many things a person can do with their time, baking fresh homemade bread is better than most of them. Using a mixture of whole wheat and bread flour, topped with sesame seeds and baked in my Dutch oven.

If I had more stale bread rn I'd do this

 

[エボラちゃん]

Italian style meatballs pasta.

Spoiler: Recipe

Ingredients:

Meatballs: (quantity ~14)
- 300g (10oz) lean ground beef
- ~150g (5oz) pork sausage (skinned)
- 1 whole egg
- 1 big garlic clove, minced
- 1 medium size onion, minced
- ~30g (1oz) panko or crushed white bread
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- pinch of nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp Italian spice mix or/and dried oregano
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- drizzle of olive oil

Sauce:
- 1 can of crushed tomatoes (400g/14oz)
- ~70g (2.5oz) tomato concentrate
- 2 Serrano peppers, de-seeded and sliced
- 1/2 cup beef broth or water
- 2 tbsp Italian spice mix or/and oregano
- ground black pepper
- pinch of salt
- 1 or 2 tsp garlic powder
- some freshly chopped basil at the end

Steps:
Mix all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl, shape the meat around golf ball size. (An ice cream scoop can help.)
Heat some olive oil and cook (medium heat ~6/10) the meatballs ~5 minutes in a pot (I use a dutch oven), flip them so they cook evenly.
After 5 minutes, add the mixed preparation for the sauce, bring to a boil and let simmer for ~15 minutes.
Adjust cooking time if needed, add water if the sauce is too thick, add chopped basil before serving.
Served with pasta and grated cheese.

 

[Stan]

Spam musubi.
I want to like Spam but I think what I actually like is rice balls.
Spam has this unfortunate cat-food-like smell, it's a little better after cooking and improves if you add a bunch of eel sauce, but that's me covering up the flavor of Spam (such as it is.)

Maybe I should try making poke bowls or rice balls, without the Spam.

 

[thejackal2]

Spam musubi.
I want to like Spam but I think what I actually like is rice balls.
Spam has this unfortunate cat-food-like smell, it's a little better after cooking and improves if you add a bunch of eel sauce, but that's me covering up the flavor of Spam (such as it is.)

Maybe I should try making poke bowls or rice balls, without the Spam.

I had it in Hawaii which you'd think would have a high floor for the dish and fwiw I didn't really like it from either place. As you said, Spam just sorta sucks. Replace it with even oscar myer grilled bologna type shit and sure.

Speaking of trash tier but sometimes tasty meats I cooked some brats tonight. first of the summer. always a great nostalgia bite. I boil them like a heathen of course.

 

[𝕺𝖑' 𝕯𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖞 𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖘𝖔]

A grilled cheese with a little bit of harissa because I'm high and got munchies

 

[cold comfort]

Boiled some noodles along with a handful of edamame. Mixed together chopped kimchi, peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, and a grated garlic clove and poured that over. Super easy and tasted great.

 

[Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X]

If you can get some fresh mozzarella (or burrata if you're feeling fancy), prosciutto, and cantaloupe, you can add that to the arugula and make a really tasty salad. You're half way there with the ingredients you have.

Yeah so I made this. I went with mozzarella instead of burrata for financial reasons (broke nigga). Looks gay as usual, but tastes good, I really enjoy the contrast between saltiness and sweetness. Thanks a lot for the recipe!

 

[Pickman's Modeling Agency]

Beef stroganoff looks like barf but tastes delicious. I have a bunch of dill in the garden and we have always used it in stroganoff, but imagine my surprise when I was browsing recipes* and most of them didn't call for dill. Am I crazy? Has my family been cooking weird stroganoff all this time?

*I know how to make it, but I like looking at other recipes to see if anyone has a variation that sounds interesting before I cook something.



ETA: I asked Nigel to go to the store to grab a couple of ingredients I needed, including mushrooms. And I didn't even think about telling him how many I needed, just assumed he'd grab one of those pre-measured containers. Nigel returned with exactly four white button mushrooms

(He went back out, lol - ended up using a little over a pound because mushrooms are fucking delicious)

 

[DatBepisTho]

I remembered I have forbidden rice so I'm making some sweet potato and pork bowls with broccoli and homemade charsui sauce.

I love my zojiroshi rice maker, but the three hour wait for the GABA setting kills the man in my household. :v

 

[deadson]

Chatgpt also said I could freeze a ton of chicken bone and cartillage leftovers and then boil them all to make a broth, is this true? Sounds gross.

Yes, you can do that if you're not making soup or stock that moment.

Making stock from chicken (or any animal/veg) is fundamental, otherwise you'd have a bland soup. To elevate the flavor, try roasting the bones with herbs and veggies before covering with water, and then simmer for a long time. I like to go for a 10-12 hour simmer, but it's usually only calls for a 1 hour simmer. Don't boil it either! That'll break the flavor down from what you want it. Once it's at the flavor level you want, you can take it off the heat. Edit to add; Don't forget to skim the scum from the top of broth while it simmers, that shit is nasty!

Another fun thing to do when making soups is to make a double stock (repeat the process but use the stock you just made instead of fresh water). It's super tasty and can be used in a ton of stuff.

 

[KifflomKween]

Yes, you can do that if you're not making soup or stock that moment.

Making stock from chicken (or any animal/veg) is fundamental, otherwise you'd have a bland soup. To elevate the flavor, try roasting the bones with herbs and veggies before covering with water, and then simmer for a long time. I like to go for a 10-12 hour simmer, but it's usually only calls for a 1 hour simmer. Don't boil it either! That'll break the flavor down from what you want it. Once it's at the flavor level you want, you can take it off the heat. Edit to add; Don't forget to skim the scum from the top of broth while it simmers, that shit is nasty!

Another fun thing to do when making soups is to make a double stock (repeat the process but use the stock you just made instead of fresh water). It's super tasty and can be used in a ton of stuff.

That sounds wonderful. I will try, thanks.