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Chickpea salad for a New Year Brunch tomorrow. Chickpeas, cherry tomatoes, onion, cucumber, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and a tiny bit of salt. Feta on the side because we have a lot of people who keep Kosher here and I don't know if anyone else is bringing meat except for me, and it's turkey bacon. I was advised we have Hindus here, so I can't do beef bacon (and pork bacon is an obvious 'no' because Kosher).

Whole Foods brand turkey bacon, because it's bad enough being turkey bacon; a brand like Oscar Meyer just makes it worse.
That sounds really, really good. Big fan of chickpeas but apart from hummus one has to know what to do with them to make them not taste bland, sure sounds like you know how to do that.
A kefir smoothie with really thick, sour homemade kefir, frozen fruits processed until slush, and pomegranate juice. A few spins with the immersion blender broke up the curds and made it less yogurt-like. Very sour and fizzy, since I did a 48 hour room temperature ferment and a couple weeks in the fridge. The lid of the mason jar gave a satisfying pop when I opened it.

Also a bit of the clear whey I got when I (unsuccessfully) tried to strain it (it was too thick to strain).
Nice, big fan of kefir as well, used to drink it daily in my more health-concious days in the long ago. Really like that you made it at home, i made yoghurt at home before and i am kind of fascinated by the whole process of making fermented milk products by yourself ever since.
 
That sounds really, really good. Big fan of chickpeas but apart from hummus one has to know what to do with them to make them not taste bland, sure sounds like you know how to do that.
Aw, thanks. I love chickpeas, though some people do strange things with them. I tried this before sweet hummus was a short-lived fad, and it mostly tasted like almond butter rather than cookie dough. I think it'd need a bit of brown sugar, since that's what contributes to the flavor of actual cookie dough.

If you like fava beans, you should try making ful medames some time.
 
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Aw, thanks. I love chickpeas, though some people do terrible things with them. I tried this, and it mostly tasted like almond butter rather than cookie dough. I think it'd need a bit of brown sugar, if you're crazy enough to try making it.

If you like fava beans, you should try making ful medames some time.
I wish i hadn't clicked that link. Seriously, what the absolute fuck? :story:

Some thread tax: Posted above how me and GF had Osso Bucco for dinner (which was excellent), she also prepared Gremolata, a North Italian condiment which is, depending on where you at in the north, just very finely chopped garlic, parsley and lemon zest. Neither of us are or have ancestry in the north, the one she prepared was with capers instead of the garlic. We completely forgot about putting any of it on our initial meal, had seconds an hour ago, tried that stuff out and it is crazy how a simple condiment like that just elevated the dish. Just perfect counter balance to the heavy tomato base of the Osso Bucco sauce, never would've thought it's that good. Already told her i am going to put that on the next Carbonara i am cooking, even if i can practically hear my ancestors crying out in indignation about that (italian) food heresy :story: Seriously, it's so simple but so, so good.
 
I wish i hadn't clicked that link. Seriously, what the absolute fuck? :story:

Some thread tax: Posted above how me and GF had Osso Bucco for dinner (which was excellent), she also prepared Gremolata, a North Italian condiment which is, depending on where you at in the north, just very finely chopped garlic, parsley and lemon zest. Neither of us are or have ancestry in the north, the one she prepared was with capers instead of the garlic. We completely forgot about putting any of it on our initial meal, had seconds an hour ago, tried that stuff out and it is crazy how a simple condiment like that just elevated the dish. Just perfect counter balance to the heavy tomato base of the Osso Bucco sauce, never would've thought it's that good. Already told her i am going to put that on the next Carbonara i am cooking, even if i can practically hear my ancestors crying out in indignation about that (italian) food heresy :story: Seriously, it's so simple but so, so good.
Reminds me that I once tried a vegan puttanesca recipe, because I'm a weenie who doesn't like anchovies (but fish sauce is good for some reason). It was okay, but having had actual puttanesca, you can't really compare the two. I don't like the fishy taste in puttanesca, personally, but it's definitely not puttanesca without the anchovies.

I got some colatura di alici recently, so I might try making something closer to the real thing.
 
colatura di alici
This is pretty much as good as it gets even if it's basically just napolitano fish sauce. Watched a documentary about how it is prepared not too long ago, one of the things that showcases perfectly how extremely seriously Naples takes its cuisine. I am not sure if i wrote it ITT before but italian food autism is bad, Naples'
food autism plays in a league that's different from any cuisine on the planet.
 
Reminds me that I once tried a vegan puttanesca recipe, because I'm a weenie who doesn't like anchovies (but fish sauce is good for some reason). It was okay, but having had actual puttanesca, you can't really compare the two. I don't like the fishy taste in puttanesca, personally, but it's definitely not puttanesca without the anchovies.

I got some colatura di alici recently, so I might try making something closer to the real thing.
If you're super sensitive to the fish taste, maybe try something else like soy sauce (heresy, I know), coconut aminos or even plain old MSG to give that umami hit without the fishiness?
 
we just suffered a minor crisis because she used the wrong pot for the Osso Bucco and the sorta-roux started to burn, just transferred the dish to a glass dish and put it in the oven. It still really tastes good, no burnt aroma at all.
Wanna hear an ossobucco crisis? I was making jus for ossobucco and some dildo swapped the starch for confectionery sugar, and i made a sugar slurry and threw right into it

Beautiful focaccia by the way
 
I wonder is anyone has interesting suggestions for shrimp that isnt scampi, one of the boats in town got a very good catch of rock shrimp and id like to try something new.
 
I wonder is anyone has interesting suggestions for shrimp that isnt scampi, one of the boats in town got a very good catch of rock shrimp and id like to try something new.
Nothing fancy here, but blackened shrimp are great by themselves, as an appetizer, with steak or other seafood, etc. Salt/pepper/garlic/onion, a bit of cayenne & (smoked) paprika, then grill or pan sear.

Or skip the cayenne/paprika, dump too much minced garlic into some melted butter, and brush the shrimp continuously while grilling.

If you're up for breading & frying, you can make po' boys. Or throw them into pasta (along with pan-seared salmon or other light fish, and your favorite creamy/alfredo sauce).
 
I can't remember which thread it was on here (one of the tranny threads), but some munchie was begging for wonton soup from her paypigs. I had never heard of wonton soup, but it sounded great, so I went to the store and bought some wonton wrappers and got to work.

All the recipes I found were fairly straightforward... but I always go pretty hard on seasonings etc. So. Base of chicken stock, then simmer with: mushrooms, ginger slices, shallot, green onion, cilantro stems, bay leaves, Chinese five-spice, garlic, soy sauce, lime juice, mirin, fish sauce, hondashi, sweet chili sauce, msg, and... I think that's it.

Filling is some leftover chicken breast pulsed in the food processor with soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, garlic, onion, and cilantro.

Brought the broth to a boil after maybe an hour of simmering. Plopped in the wontons in batches, four at a time, then scooped them out after about three minutes. I was worried the wontons would fall apart the moment they hit the boiling broth, but didn't have a single one do that!

Garnished with green onions. Nigel approves.

Even had some leftover wontons which are now in the freezer for another day.

View attachment 8355583View attachment 8355584
Looks and sounds fantastic. I remember the last time i made (deep-fried) won tons i struggled so much with the folding that i eventually used a fork to clamp them shut, came out nicely in the end.

Girlfriend is a master at making these (Culurgiones, traditional and regional Sardinian dish from Ogliastra) and even she struggled with making the won tons not look like a mess:
IMG_5641.jpeg
 
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Yesterday my neighbors dropped me off a plate of the Christmas ham I gifted them.

Today will be either baked chicken with rice, or fried chicken with mashed potatoes. Either choice will come with a salad of cucumber, tomato, and onions. Maybe some broccoli and cauliflower as well.

I bought a rice cooker 2 years ago and never even used it yet.
 
I wonder is anyone has interesting suggestions for shrimp that isnt scampi, one of the boats in town got a very good catch of rock shrimp and id like to try something new.
One of my favorite shrimp dishes is Shrimp Harpin. I typically use the recipe from The New Good Housekeeping Cookbook (1986) because it omits the traditional slivered almonds, which I cannot stand the texture of.
 
I wonder is anyone has interesting suggestions for shrimp that isnt scampi, one of the boats in town got a very good catch of rock shrimp and id like to try something new.
Grilled Shrimp Fajitas. I don't have a recipe (or a grill), but I had some at a restaurant a long time ago and it was damn good.

I'm gonna be making baby back ribs with Bachan bbq sauce.
 
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