Idle Food - Cooking!

[YoThatLimp]

Yeah you do miss out on the smoke, I might try my bbq next, I just need to figure out how many BTUs my grill is would hate to run out of propane in the middle of the process. 

[Bjorn]

I'm not much of a cook, but I do make a variety of pretty good bbq. I do pork loins in a crock pot, which is probably pure heresy in the bbq world.  I cook it half submerged in apple juice, with the top covered in ********* slices.  Loins tend to be on the lean side, and are easy to accidentally dry out.  The juice and ********* keeps that from happening, plus gets a bit of fruity flavor in (which I like in certain meats).  The day I cook it, I'll just cut it into slices like filet mignon.  Then for leftovers I'll usually tear it up into a kind of pulled pork for sandwiches and wraps. 

 

An excellent side are baked beans with apples chopped up into them.  I fry some apples up in butter and brown sugar to soften them up some, then toss them into some honey flavored baked beans and let them finish cooking in there.  Simple, tasty and usually a surprise treat as it's rare for people to have had that before (at least not in my neck of the woods). 

 

I do have a bit of an obsession with trying to mix fruit into my cooking when I make anything.

[YoThatLimp]

I'm not much of a cook, but I do make a variety of pretty good bbq. I do pork loins in a crock pot, which is probably pure heresy in the bbq world.  I cook it half submerged in apple juice, with the top covered in ********* slices.  Loins tend to be on the lean side, and are easy to accidentally dry out.  The juice and ********* keeps that from happening, plus gets a bit of fruity flavor in (which I like in certain meats).  The day I cook it, I'll just cut it into slices like filet mignon.  Then for leftovers I'll usually tear it up into a kind of pulled pork for sandwiches and wraps. 

 

An excellent side are baked beans with apples chopped up into them.  I fry some apples up in butter and brown sugar to soften them up some, then toss them into some honey flavored baked beans and let them finish cooking in there.  Simple, tasty and usually a surprise treat as it's rare for people to have had that before (at least not in my neck of the woods). 

 

I do have a bit of an obsession with trying to mix fruit into my cooking when I make anything.

Pork and apple is like, a classic combo dude, sounds delicious. 

 

BBQ is so weird because there is a really passionate obsessed community out there, it is a little crazy.

[Badfinger]

Yeah you do miss out on the smoke, I might try my bbq next, I just need to figure out how many BTUs my grill is would hate to run out of propane in the middle of the process. 

 

What was the rub you used on the pork shoulder?

 

I am all for adding and using fruit for things.

[undermind9]

i have a neighbor that smokes ribs and they are quite amazing.  she uses an electric smoker and seems pretty effective.  It kind of takes all the guess work out of charcoal heating & propane maintenance, ive never been able to cook them so tender indoors

[Ucantalas]

I'm not much of a cook, but I do make a variety of pretty good bbq. I do pork loins in a crock pot, which is probably pure heresy in the bbq world.  I cook it half submerged in apple juice, with the top covered in ********* slices.  Loins tend to be on the lean side, and are easy to accidentally dry out.  The juice and ********* keeps that from happening, plus gets a bit of fruity flavor in (which I like in certain meats).  The day I cook it, I'll just cut it into slices like filet mignon.  Then for leftovers I'll usually tear it up into a kind of pulled pork for sandwiches and wraps. 

 

An excellent side are baked beans with apples chopped up into them.  I fry some apples up in butter and brown sugar to soften them up some, then toss them into some honey flavored baked beans and let them finish cooking in there.  Simple, tasty and usually a surprise treat as it's rare for people to have had that before (at least not in my neck of the woods). 

 

I do have a bit of an obsession with trying to mix fruit into my cooking when I make anything.

Meat and fruit is a combination I didn't really have growing up, but in the past couple of years it's something I started playing around with and it's really a great combo.

[Dewar]

Using an electric smoker is great because they heat slow (so you don't have to worry about the big oven element causing big fluctuations in temperature) but are still electric so you can buy a simple PID that turns them on and off depending on a temperature probe, for more accurate temp control than the built in thermostat or running charcoal/gas. My ex-housemate had one and we used it all the time.

 

For the pork (or any meat really) I recommend a good (organic and local if possible) apple vinegar. The acid has the effect of loosing up the collagen a little, but it doesn't get very sour, just an extra tingle.

[YoThatLimp]

What was the rub you used on the pork shoulder?

 

I am all for adding and using fruit for things.

 

It was a mix of paprika, garlic, onion and brown sugar it made a pretty good 'bark'!

 

 

I made hollandaise sauce tonight to go with our eggs and bacon for dinner and it turned out OK, I put a touch too much cayenne pepper in so it was a little too hot. Does anyone have a good hollandaise recipe?

[JonCole]

I made the below sandwiches for breakfast and they were delicious (not my picture), here's the highly recommended recipe - http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/04/ham-and-cheese-sliders.html

 

[dibs]

I made roast stuffed butternut squash. Based on a vegetarian Jamie Oliver recipe, I added both ham and chorizo. I'm cleaning out the fridge for the long weekend!

[YoThatLimp]

Dibs, that looks awesome!

 

So the one thing my wife really misses from New Zealand that she can't get in the states is a decent meat pie, we just do not consume them. I have finally made a mince and cheese she was really happy with, with a little Watties Tomato sauce it felt like home!

 

[Badfinger]

I've been experimenting with BBQ lately, I have never really made any before. This pork shoulder sat in my oven for about 12 hours at 225 degrees. 

 

Great thread, you guys are going to make me step up my cooking game!

 

You've inspired me to give this a shot. Just put it in the oven a few minutes ago. Will report back before I go to bed.

 

 

e: The meat got to 135 in less than three hours (currently at ~160 six hours in). I was baffled how it could take 8+ hours for a piece of barbecue to reach temperature when it went so quickly at first. This afternoon, I have learned a lot of cool shit about how cooking barbecue works.

 

http://www.genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/stallbbq.html

[YoThatLimp]

You've inspired me to give this a shot. Just put it in the oven a few minutes ago. Will report back before I go to bed.

 

 

e: The meat got to 135 in less than three hours (currently at ~160 six hours in). I was baffled how it could take 8+ hours for a piece of barbecue to reach temperature when it went so quickly at first. This afternoon, I have learned a lot of cool shit about how cooking barbecue works.

 

http://www.genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/stallbbq.html

 

Awesome dude! How did you season it? yeah initially you think "well, I've fucked up something here" haha, those last few degrees takes forever! How are you serving it? 

Post pics when your done!

[Badfinger]

So! I just now took this out of the oven. 12 and a half hours later...

 

 

PORK!

 

Depending on how tender it is, I'm going to either pull it or just slice it and serve it. Quick fork test tells me pulling should probably be no problem. It's almost 10pm now, so this isn't for a meal or anything. This was just to do it because it seemed really neat and I've never done it before.

 

Less "bark" than yours. Brown sugar/salt/paprika/garlic powder/onion powder, same basic deal. I probably just used less overall. Smells great, when I was moving in and out of the house and through the kitchen. Set the oven to 225, set the thermometer to 197 and let it rip. If I do it again I will probably do a more thorough job of defatting the piece. I mostly just did a real rough job to get the skin and big obvious chunks off before going. It's resting for another few minutes and then moment of truth.

 

e: pulled it. It's good. I like it.

[YoThatLimp]

Looks great!

[osmosisch]

I've been practising my bakery. Turned out very tasty though the dough was a tad dry.
 

[YoThatLimp]

Does anyone have any good dessert recipes? I am looking for something with chocolate.

 

 

That pie looks great osmosisch!

[dibs]

Marinaded pork with cashews, coriander, rice vermicelli, spinach and peanut sauce. Nomnom.

 

[dibs]

Does anyone have any good dessert recipes? I am looking for something with chocolate.

 

 

That pie looks great osmosisch!

 

Bash the shit out of a few unopened packets of Maltezers. Serve with vanilla icecream.

[Moom]

I've been working on making good homemade Pizza for the past year or so and am still trying to figure out what is the best way to make dough. I've found 1 or 2 ways that I like but I was wondering what are y'alls personal preference?

[YoThatLimp]

I've been working on making good homemade Pizza for the past year or so and am still trying to figure out what is the best way to make dough. I've found 1 or 2 ways that I like but I was wondering what are y'alls personal preference?

I personally tend to just use this recipe, turns out really well!

http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/1016230/robertas-pizza-dough.html

Making pizza is sort of scary, that over is so damn hot, hah. I need to practice transferring the pizza to the hot stone, I always seem to botch it. 

[JonCole]

I use this recipe - http://americanfood.about.com/od/pizzainsideandout/r/nypd.htm

 

I don't have a stand mixer, I usually just make sure to mix and knead thoroughly so there are no pockets of flour and then let it rise overnight. Some recipes have you hand-knead for 15+ minutes, which I really can't handle without turning my arms into jelly.

[Badfinger]

Have any of you ever grilled pizza? It's been forever since I have, but I really want to try it again.

[Moom]

Have any of you ever grilled pizza? It's been forever since I have, but I really want to try it again.

 

I haven't had it recently but I plan to some time soon. Absolutely fantastic.

 

I personally tend to just use this recipe, turns out really well!

http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/1016230/robertas-pizza-dough.html

Making pizza is sort of scary, that over is so damn hot, hah. I need to practice transferring the pizza to the hot stone, I always seem to botch it. 

 

Thats why I use a Pizza pan. You can find good ones that capture the heat and still give the crisp outside and soft inside for about $15. Just keep it as low as you can on the lowest rack possible and leaving the oven on at 450 F should be fine. Then again all ovens are different and distribute heat differently.

 

That recipe is also one of my personal favorite although I never could find the ingredients list so it always felt off. Thanks for that.

 

I was given the book Pizza Dough 100 Delicious, Unexpected Recipes by Gabi Moskowitz that has perhaps my favorite dough since it has little tricks to making it rise and ready for cooking real quick.

 

I use this recipe - http://americanfood.about.com/od/pizzainsideandout/r/nypd.htm

 

I don't have a stand mixer, I usually just make sure to mix and knead thoroughly so there are no pockets of flour and then let it rise overnight. Some recipes have you hand-knead for 15+ minutes, which I really can't handle without turning my arms into jelly.

 

Honestly a stand mixer is a rip off if  you don't use it all the time. Any regular hand mixer or mixing utensils can do the same job in the same amount of time for cheaper and less hassle. Adam Savage of Mythbusters and the Tested dot com folks did a podcast on kitchen essentials for anyone interested a month or two ago for anyone interested.

[JonCole]

I use a pizza stone and peel, one essential element is having a good peel with a very narrow edge that lets you transfer the dough very easily (thicker peels sometimes let the pizza get caught at the end and you get a weird bunched up side of the pizza). I also prepare the pizza on the peel, mostly because I don't have a large butcher's block or counter space to do it. So, I flatten the dough on the peel and thus there's a decent amount of flour on the peel already. In addition, when I've spread the dough to my satisfaction I wrap it around a rolling pin and then apply a fair amount of semolina (use to use cornmeal, semolina is better) to the peel. You basically want enough so that there are no visible large gaps between the grains - it shouldn't be an even, 100% layer but you want to see more semolina than peel. Roll out the pizza over the semolina and start applying ingredients.

 

I like to add mostly room temp or cold ingredients to the pizza to avoid sticking. If you put hot sauce and freshly sauteed ingredients on top, the dough will get stickier much faster. After I apply each layer of stuff (which is usually sauce, a little bit of cheese, 90% of the ingredients, more cheese and then the rest of the ingredients) I briefly check the sticky status by shaking the peel by the handle. If at any point the dough doesn't move freely on the peel, I gingerly lift whatever edge is sticking and throw some more semolina beneath. Also, don't put a ton of stuff on top of your pizza. I always put very little sauce, just enough cheese to make a decent layer, and then three or four types of veggies/meats max.

 

Anyways, the reason I mention a stand mixer is for the dough hook. There's really no alternative tool that does exactly what a dough hook does on a stand mixer other than hand kneading. Handheld mixers that have a dough hook accessory are also generally notorious for having it break or not having enough leverage on the bowl to do it properly. I wouldn't say a stand mixer is a kitchen essential, especially for myself as I don't have a dishwasher. It would just make the job a bit easier.