Forum:Dinner Club

< Index | Club discussion

Moving here, because some people get pissed with me posting this in the Saloon Bar.

So, here's the deal. Post a photo of your dinner, with explanation, and be ready to answer questions regarding the recipe :)

Crundy dinner 04/02/2010

Just a burger today

Here's your starter for 10. Double pork and apple cheeseburger with wholegain mustard and jalapeno relish. Was lovely but quite hard to eat, being 7 foot tall and all. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 22:18, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

Pork and apple sounds delicious, especially with some jalepeno relish, but mustard is the tool of the devil. If you had toasted the bun a little (more?), I'd probably still be looking at the picture. Overall, nicely done. ^{— Sincerely, Neveruse / Talk / Block} 22:21, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

The burgers weren't made by me, they were from the butchers. Do you seriously hate all mustard, even wholegrain? If you haven't tried it then do give it a go. The odd thing is it's nothing like mustard! Very very good with sausages or roast pork. I don't toast my buns personally, but that might be because I'm shit at it. Please to be explaining the "proper" amount one should toast a burger bun, with a score of crispiness on a scale of 1 to 10, and I shall attempt it next time. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 22:26, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

Looks good. Although I'm not a fan of meat+fruit. Never tried pork burgers so may have to do so. I take pictures of my dinner anyway (sometimes), so no reason I can't stick some in here :) --Worm^{(t | c)} 17:31, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

RE: toasting buns. It improves the flavor and adds another texture. Ideally one has a toaster oven with a timer and gets used to how long to set it for. Or it can be done under a broiler, again carefully using a timer. You're shooting for a consistent light brown, although dark brown might suit some people. If you overdo it a bit the black bits can be scraped off quite easily and the bun is still good. ħuman 23:08, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

Worm, I'm so trying this :)

Huw, kk, I'd have to use the grill because my toaster isn't big enough. Or, could you not cut the bun and then toast on the griddle before cooking the burgers? Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 12:48, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

Right, most toasters won't accommodate sandwich buns. I have a small "toaster oven" which is perfect for such chores. And, yes, toasting the bun on the griddle (weighted or unweighted) works fine. You could even butter it lightly first or fry it in bacon grease, lard, or suet... ħuman 13:03, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Just don't do what I did and forget to wrap the mozarella in the parma ham before you put it into the chicken. That took an age to sort out cos I had to unwrap and re-wrap everything. It's very nice though :) --Worm^{(t | c)} 14:42, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

Should I tidy up sometime?

Although there's a bit of space by the hairbrush...

Totnesmartin (talk) 13:02, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

Hmm, maybe clear the drugs away, but otherwise that's a standard work desk. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 15:15, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

Worm dinner 08/02/2010

Perfect presentation

Chicken, butternut squash and leek gratin, with soya beans. Got a subscription to Delicious magazine for Christmas and this is one of the first thing's I've done out of it. Very nice :) --Worm^{(t | c)} 20:24, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Cool. I love Delicious magazine, but I got a subscription to Olive from the parents this year so I'm on that for a while. Did you use shelled soya beans or edamame (in the pod)? Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 09:15, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

Shelled..less hassle :) The good thing about this was that I poached a whole chicken and only used half for this recipe, so I've got plenty left over to do Enchiladas tomorrow night. Plus chicken stock. Very thrifty. --Worm^{(t | c)} 09:34, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

Worm Dinner 10/02/2010

Start here

End here

Sorry to hog the page - I just love cooking and taking picture of it for some reason. So this time I used the other half of the chicken I poached for the last recipe, and made enchiladas - turning a nice array of ingredients into a pretty messy-looking dish, which did taste very nice though. The Guinness is just for me ... not the recipe :) --Worm^{(t | c)} 11:38, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

Wow! I thought it was Cannelloni when I saw the second picture :) Looks like a very veg-full dish. How many of your 5-a-day does that give you? P.S. I cooked Skate with capers and black butter, but didn't take a photo because I massively overcooked the skate in the court bouillon as my hob seems to have two settings: Max and off. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 22:45, 12 February 2010 (UTC)

Human's dinner Feb 14 2010

I ate a bunch of a cow's bum. At no point was it photogenic, but it was damn tasty. ħuman 02:49, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

Worm dinner 23/02/2010

Pork and peppers

Not really dinner, but I made my own Pork Scratchings. Lovely stuff :) Then I continued the pork theme with pork chop and Delia's piedmont peppers - always a winner! The peppers are really, really, really gorgeous. Seriously - try them. Simple, but tasty as hell. Worm^{(t | c)} 22:08, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

They look like roasted red peppers to me. Should they not be peeled after roasting? Oh by the way, I made Miso pollack with edamame noodles which was really nice, although I did add a little sweet chilli sauce and soy to the noodles. If you keep miso paste in the fridge then give it a go. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 13:25, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

Basically roasted red peppers, but stuffed with tomatoes, anchovies and garlic. Gorgeous. I guess you could roast them, peel them, then roast them again - not sure it's feasible though. :) Worm^{(t | c)} 22:22, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

Worm dinner 09/03/2010

Rack of lamb

More from me I'm afraid. Rack of lamb with cabbage and roast potatoes. Rack of lamb is always a good bet, and this was no exception :) 22:26, 9 March 2010 (UTC)

And very nicely presented, too. ħuman 00:19, 10 March 2010 (UTC)

ToP Dinner, 13 Mrch 2010

Roux

Gumbo

First the *ahem* "nutty" roux, and then the finished product--seafood gumbo.

Ooo..mussels. Love mussels. Can't get enough mussels. Nice work :) Worm^{(t | c)} 10:35, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

I will cut you next time you borrow my shit without asking. 05:23, 24 October 2011 (UTC)

Human dinner 3 26 or so 2010

yummy!

500 degrees (old money) for three minutes. Random paraphernalia also shown and identified. ħuman 05:22, 27 March 2010 (UTC)

Update, 400 F for 7 minutes is much better. ħuman 02:18, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

Human dinner a few weeks ago, repeating tonight

Chili I froze in early 2007.

Looking up one section made me hungry, might need some nachos with this... ħuman 04:22, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

Look, that's just not possible without nanobots - David Gerard (talk) 07:32, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

Hehehe... ħuman 01:31, 23 August 2010 (UTC)

Beef Wellington tonight

I bought the fillet from the local butcher's, and nearly had a heart attack when he rang it through the till. It tasted fucking delicious though. I will probably have an actual heart attack once all the cholesterol kicks in, lots of butter in this baby!

That's not blood, oh no, that's the 'juices'.

Looks awesome. Oh, and no, it isn't blood, it's metmyoglobin. I only know that coz of QI. P.S. If you like a good wellington with a twist, try one of these:

• Venison and wild mushroom wellington
• Mushroom wellington (this one is awesome, but it does need a lot of stilton)

Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 20:25, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

Wow I forgot about this forum. Gorgeous Wellington. 16:16, 31 May 2011 (UTC)

Spag bol last night

This is my favourite meal, and if I do say so myself; I make fucking good 'un!

Just needs half a pound of extra mature cheddar.

I like Bolognese so much I even make it in thre great outdoors:

The 'mince' is actually un-burgered burgers (which were made from 90% steak mince, and fucking delicious on the BBQ).

Fry off the onions.

Add the garlic (two thirds of a bulb's worth) and fry.

Add the mince and brown off, then chuck in plenty of tomato puree and Bovril.

Add mushrooms, the rest of the garlic, a tin of tomatoes, and enjoy a bottle or two of Loweswater Gold whilst it simmers away.

Spill some of your pasta on the floor, shout bollocks loud enough that people in the next tent look over, cover with cheese and stuff one's face.

It's Crundy curry night tomorrow as I cook for the missus and her mate whilst they drink wine, so wish me luck and stay tuned for more sad culinary photos! DeltaStar_{Senior Sysop}^{Speciationspeed!} 02:15, 26 August 2010 (UTC)

Isn't that more of a fett than a spag? Anyway, you oughtta duplicate this over at the recipe space, now that it's back! ħuman 01:46, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

I consider my bolognese pretty damn good, and it differs in many ways from yours. I wonder which one is best? There's only one way to tell.... </HarryHill> Worm^{(t | c)} 08:32, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

Whose has more coke? ħuman 08:36, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, the camping one wasn't spag bol, rather conchiglie bol - due to limited sizes of pans spaghetti (or taglatelli as I prefer) isn't the best pasta to cook when camping. I'll write it up and put it in recipe space when I can be bothered; it might be quite dificult to write up as I'm on autopilot whenever I cook this, and needless to say nothing gets measured! PS. Worm, I'm all for a bolognese fight, bring it on! (Don't wear white though) DeltaStar_{Senior Sysop}^{Speciationspeed!} 11:33, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

Using burger meat is a good idea, as long as they aren't padded out with rusk or breadcrumbs. Next time, try asking your butcher for chuck and get him to twice mince it for you (or mince it yourself) and cook it slowly. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 20:20, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

Oh, have you tried Heston's spag bol yet? Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 20:29, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

Not tried Heston's yet, but I will do - it's actually very similar to mine - for instance, I always make a soffrito (and I have the oxtail in the freezer). My problem is that any time I vary it, Mrs Worm complains that it's not the same. I will document it next time so you get the idea. :) Worm^{(t | c)} 00:47, 28 August 2010 (UTC)

So tell her it has a different name? ħuman 19:21, 28 August 2010 (UTC)

Managed to get more oxtail, as mine was a bit old. So I am off to get started with Heston's Bol. fingers crossed Worm^{(t | c)} 15:21, 28 August 2010 (UTC)

Jeez. Ok, I made curry as well, so it's not all been Heston, but I've just finished stage 1. The ragu and tomato sauce are on simmer - and I am knackered. OK, I don't have a mincer so I had to mince the oxtail by hand. This took an hour. This better be worth it :) Worm^{(t | c)} 20:47, 28 August 2010 (UTC)

How was it then? I've never tried it, not eating beef and all. P.S. Do you like sausages? If so then it's worth investing in a proper electric mincer with a sausage stuffer horn. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 10:34, 29 August 2010 (UTC)

Having it tonight, so I'll let you know (including pictures). Not much beef in it, a mix of pork and oxtail, I'm sure you could up with something to replace the oxtail. Love sausages, not sure I can convince Mrs Worm that we need another gadget though. I only got away with the pasta machine because she likes my home-made tagliatelle. Worm^{(t | c)} 11:48, 29 August 2010 (UTC)

Crundy curry tonight as promised

The best one so far!

Heh, I had that last night as well. You should try the Vindaloo as well. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 07:55, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

Gumbo!

Quite pleased with this for a first attempt. Bloody delicious it was, ah tell thee!

DeltaStar_{Senior Sysop}^{Speciationspeed!} 21:32, 6 October 2010 (UTC)

What is Gumbo anyway? Explain! I demand! Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 21:39, 6 October 2010 (UTC)

It's a Cajun Jambalaya. Kind of a stir fry-come-reduced stew-come-sticky rice dish. Fry off some veg (onion, celery, peppers (I believe these are the Cajun holy trinity), spring onion), then add the spices and herbs (white and black peppercorns, cayenne pepper, oregano and salt) add some meat/fish (I used posh pork sausage) then a load of stock, then add dry rice and leave it to cook in the stock. Very simple, but very tasty and satisfying. I always struggle to cook rice, so it's nice to be able to let it go all stodgey and say "that's how it's meant to be!". I'll type up a proper recipe some time soon.... DeltaStar_{Senior Sysop}^{Speciationspeed!} 22:06, 6 October 2010 (UTC)

Isn't it supposed to have okra in it? Or is that Cajun for "celery"? ħuman 03:58, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

Slight aside - Tip for light fluffy rice - rince very well, boil for five minutes, drain, steam for 10 minutes. Bootiful. Worm^{(t | c)} 08:59, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

Depends what rice you're using. Apparently the best way to do basmati rice is to boil until almost cooked, then put in the oven, covered. For long grain rice you're best cooking it fully, draining and rinsing until cold, drain some more, then stir fry it. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 09:15, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

My basmati rice seems to go from being crunchy to stodgey in about 7ms. I rinse it with cold water then boil for about 8-10mins. I assume you method (Crundy) involves adding just enough water for the rice to cook, therefore there's no need to drain it, just shove the pan in the oven? Or do you drain it then place the pan in the oven? Worm, I've never tried steaming rice, I might have to try that. Do you rinse with cold or boiling water? DeltaStar_{Senior Sysop}^{Speciationspeed!} 12:38, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

Yes I think the recipe I have (never tried it) is using the absorbtion method. I'll post the full recipe if you like? Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 12:48, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

Aye man, please. Or at least the ratio of rice to water needed.... DeltaStar_{Senior Sysop}^{Speciationspeed!} 12:53, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

I'll try and remember to do it tonight when I get a chance. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 13:01, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

Delia Smith's absorbtion recipe (which I have used - it works) uses a 2-1 ratio of water-rice (by volume) - a wide pan, put on a very low heat, just enough to tick over, and keep the lid on. Steaming method I got from Jamie Oliver. Wash in cold water to get rid of the starch, boil, then steam and it stays nice and fluffy. I do this by draining it after the boiling stage in a medium-fine colander, then putting the colander over a pan of water to steam. Worm^{(t | c)} 14:05, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

I only really use the absorbtion method for sushi rice nowadays (which you can't really cook any other way). I used to have a microwave rice cooker which worked, but left the rice a little clumpy. That used 1:1.5 rice to water ratio. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 14:47, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

Here you go:

“”For perfect results follow my recipe carefully and remember a few simple rules: Always wash the rice in several changes of water. This removes the starch left over from the milling process and helps to keep the grains separate during cooking. Always drain the rice in a colander for about twenty minutes until the grains are dry. Use a heavy saucepan with a tight fitting lid, or cover the pan with a sheet of aluminium foil before replacing the lid. Cook rice on a very low heat. Always finish off in a preheated oven gas mark 3, 325F (170C), for about twenty minutes. Indian restaurants use basmati rice, which, although more expensive than other varieties, has the right nutty aroma to complement our curries, in addition to being well suited for the sweet rice dishes popular in India.

From The Curry Secret. Good book if you like Indian restaurant food, but it contains nothing "authentic". By the way, she does say that the best way to cook rice is to use a steamer:

“”Use basmati rice. Supermarket own brands are fine. There is no need to wash the rice prior to cooking. Invest in an electric steamer. In the UK, Argos do them for about £18. Avoid the cookers which are sold as rice cookers – they invariably produce disappointing results. The best ones to buy are the steamers which have a clear plastic tower of usually of three levels. They can actually be used to cook anything from vegetables to fish, but they come into their own in the preparation of fluffy and tasty rice. Ignore the insructions which come with the steamer. Steamers come with a small plastic bowl which should be situated on the first level of the tower directly above the water when cooking rice (the upper levels should be removed and the lid should go straight on top of the first level). The method is simple: add a ½ tsp of salt to the bowl, and then add cupful of rice and cold water in a 1.0/0.8 ratio using a cup (i.e. slightly more rice by volume than water, as the rice gets most of the moisture from the steam). A cupful of rice is enough for two people. If in doubt, always add less water as you can always add a little more if the rice is not soft enough at the end of cooking. Set the timer for 22 minutes from a cold start, and don't lift the lid until the bell rings. Serve straight from the cooker. There should be no need to rinse the rice in water prior to serving. This method works for pillau rice too. Just add the fried rice mixture and proceed as above.

HTH Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 17:20, 7 October 2010 (UTC)

Ricetastic! I've got a steamer but have never used it for rice, I'll give that a shot next time. Cheers. DeltaStar_{Senior Sysop}^{Speciationspeed!} 09:03, 9 October 2010 (UTC)

Dagnammit! Just tried to do some rice like that and it was a disaster. 0.8 is nowhere near enough water, and 22minutes is nowhere near enough time. DeltaStar_{Senior Sysop}^{Speciationspeed!} 18:23, 22 October 2010 (UTC)

Well, I'm glad you were the guinea pig with that one. I'm prolly gonna do the vindaloo tonight or tomorrow. I'll just boil the rice :) Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 16:02, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Dinner

It's a thai tossed Salmon & basil stir-fry thing, later mixed with jasmine rice. Sen (talk) 20:10, 28 October 2010 (UTC)

Look at the pretty colours!

Nom nom nom

Looks awesome! Recipe? Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 20:19, 28 October 2010 (UTC)

Photoshopped. --I'm bored (talk) 20:35, 28 October 2010 (UTC)

Ingredients:

• Salmon (350-ish gram?)
• 1 Green, 1 Red, 1 Yellow Bell pepper (Combo bonus!)
• 6 red/green small chillies (+1 metabolism)
• 3 red medium chillies
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 shallots
• 2 spoons Dark Soy Sauce
• 2 spoons Fish Sauce
• 1 spoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon "Kaffir Lime" (optional)
• Lot's of fresh Basil leaves.

Cut with a knife the small chillies, and put them with the garlic inside a food chopper thing. You are supposed to use a mortar, but this works too. Let's designate the result as "hot goo".

Cut the bell peppers and medium chillies into strips. Designation: "Veggies".

Cut the shallots into little bits. Designation: "Shallots".

Cut the salmon into cubes.

Start with medium/high heat. Put 1 spoon olive oil in the Wok. To say the truth I think you can get away with even less (I just swirl it around a bit to coat the surface, and then throw some of it away). Then the hot goo. After 30sec or so, the shallots, and after 30sec or so again when they start to smell you switch to high heat and put the salmon in. Stir, stir, stir until it changes colour. Then I throw in the veggies in as well as the Soy Sauce, Fish Sauce and kaffir lime and some basil. (At which point your kitchen/house might end up smelling said sauces). Continue to stir. At some point, usually when the salmon begins to flake from the act of stirring alone you turn the heat off and throw the rest/most of the basil leaves in.

Somewhen during all that you also boil some rice. I usually just use a microwave rice cooker (not the same with microwaveable rice) and in the 15 minutes it takes to boil that, I finish cutting/preparing all the rest of the ingredients. I think you are supposed to serve that "on" rice, but I just throw the rice in the wok and mix everything up. Keep in mind that one characteristic of rice cookers is that the internal container is porous so when you lift it up, all the remaining water stays behind, otherwise I don't think that this would be a good idea. Sen (talk) 21:32, 28 October 2010 (UTC)

Nice. The pretty colors and the sharp knives are the only reason I cook anything. ħuman 00:52, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

Dinner 2

Did you know that prawns are sea insects?

Bonus Salad

Paella like thing. Rice ended up a bit mushy but still edible. Sen (talk) 00:33, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

I did some squishing. Nothing to see here ;) ħuman 00:49, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

Salsa

I'm a gonna make some. Bought 32 oz diced tomatoes, 16 oz tomato paste to thicken to suit, couple nice onions, 4 oz jar of garlic (peeling and mincing is for slaves), and a pound of jalapeno and serrano peppers, and a half dozen more plastic freezer containers. Probably cooking the mix tomorrow, only question is, did I store or junk that lovely art deco blender I had? ħuman 00:47, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

Turns out I stored the blender, but it doesn't do very well at chopping up peppers, by hand is just as easy anyway. ħuman 23:13, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

Was tasty, but I used a bit too much cumin, too little "tomato tang", and not enough "heat" for my taste (not that salsa can be made "wrong"...), so I gave most of it away for other people to nom nom nom and made some more Friday night/Saturday morning. Much closer to what I want this time. (sig added a few hours later) ħuman 23:13, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

PICO DE GALLO OR GTFO. 19:45, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

Jealous! I love salsa. Used to make it all the time when I worked as a chef because we had a Mexican-themed menu and it went in everything. Worm^{(t | c)} 10:58, 16 November 2010 (UTC)

Sea bass

Bollocks, I forgot to take a picture of this last night to post. Anyway, I thought I'd make something nice for the good ladywife, so I did moules mariniere (although somehow I forgot the shallots :-\) for a starter and I made up a sea bass dish which I guess would be called sea bass with crushed new potatoes and buttered corguette & carrot ribbons with a dill & creme fraiche sauce:

1. Boil some new potatoes until cooked, then drain. Keep warm.
2. To make the sauce, boil some good quality white wine (I used a nice Chablis) until the acrid smell goes, then add a knob of butter and a bit of concentrated chicken stock. Throw in some torn up dill (only a tiny bit, it's very strong) and take off the heat. Leave to cool.
3. Make corguette & carrot ribbons by cutting them in half lenghtwise and taking long peelings. Blanch the ribbons in boiling water (carrots first for a minute, then add the corguette for a minute) and drain, heat butter in the same pan and add the ribbons back, tossing lightly. You want the carrots to have a bit of crunch and for the corguette ribbots to not turn into mush.
4. Crush up the cooked warm new potatoes and pour in some olive oil and add some roughly chopped watercress leaves (stalks discarded). Oil the inside of a plating ring and lightly press the potatoes into it to form a cake in the middle of a warmed serving plate. Remove the ring, re-oil, and repeat for the number of dishes you are serving.
5. Add the creme fraiche to the cooled wine and stock and bring back to the boil without heating it too quickly or it will split.
6. To cook the fish, cut some slashes into the skin of sea bass fillets and season both sides with salt & pepper. Place skin side down into a very hot oiled frying pan and press down with a fish slice to stop it curling up. Turn the heat down to medium and cook until the fillets are cooked 3/4 of the way up, then turn over and cook for a further minute (or longer, depending on how thick your fillets are).
7. Top the potato cakes with the veg ribbons, then top with a fish fillet (skin side up) and pour some sauce around the potatoes. garnish with a sprig of dill on the fish if you're a pretentious twat like me.

Was awesome, although I did make a little boo-boo: I wanted the sauce quite thick so I just crumbled a little bit of a chicken stock cube into the wine and ended up with a sauce that was way too thick, so make sure you do use made up stock or add a bit of extra water. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 12:47, 8 April 2011 (UTC)

Polenta Chips

I've tried polenta a few times and hated it, but found that if you mix in a lot of parmesan and some butter and then let it set, cut into squares and shallow fry it, it's actually quite nice. I had some left over from last night so I made myself some polenta chips as a lunch snack. Seriously give these a go. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 15:34, 9 June 2011 (UTC)

Having fun with Tuna

My experimental dinner today/last night. Seared tuna in a garlic-fig marinade, topped with carmelized onions and finished with a sprig of rosemary. It turned out pretty well, I'll have to remember what I did. OmNom.--Dumpling (talk) 09:56, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

Looks yummy. I hate it when I make something good and forget to write down the recipe along the way... Welcome to the dinner club! ħuman 10:23, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

Yeah you'll have to try and remember roughly what you did with that one and post it here! Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 10:31, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

-bowbow- Thank you. I shall try my best to remember! --Dumpling (talk) 11:59, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

Ingredients for the Garlic Marinade(Mother has fig marinade left over, but I have no idea how to make that, soooo I just added it as a side):

• 2/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1/3 Cup Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
• 1/4 Cup Steak Sauce
• 1/4 Cup Water
• 1 Teaspoon of Salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
• 1/2 Yellow onion, minced
• 10 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

This amount is enough for about 4-5 people...I think.

• I sear the tuna in Olive Oil, not butter. A good 2-3 minutes on both sides...and I don't like mine well-done. So it's slightly pink in the middle. Yum.
• Now, for the caramelized onions, I prefer yellow onions, because they're much sweeter, and is a rather good contrast with the garlic and slightly peppered tuna. The oil I use to caramelize the onions is veggie oil, and when it starts to stick to the pan, I use a bit of broth water and a of white wine to continue the process until I get the nice texture I want. Which is usually not too brown and stringy...I like to chop the onion pieces a bit fat, so it has a nice 'crunch' to it, as well as a nice khaki color. Rosemary for a nice smell, decor, and color balance.

TADAA~

(ó㉨ò)ﾉ♡ Enjoy!

'

--Dumpling (talk) 09:04, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

Korean Brown Sugar Filling Hot Cakes AKA: Ho-Dduk 호떡

Not really a dinner...But it can be~ Haha. Actually, it's more of a snack or mini dessert.

To make the yeast:

• 1/2 cup of warm water
• 1 teaspoon yeast
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 cup of warm milk
• Canola Oil

Filling:

• 1 cup of Brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of cinnamon
• mashed up nuts

AND MIX IT!

★But in reality, you can use anything as a filling. But since it's mostly known as a dessert, the more popular fillings are brown sugar, cinnamon, red bean paste, sweet potato(boiled) with honey. But you can always try it with other stuff. My friend likes making a PB&J version. My dad likes turning it into a Ham and Cheese thing...like it's a Korean Hot Pocket of some sort. Oh well, It's just fun to experiment.

Instructions:

1. Combine the yeast and water---stir and leave it alone for about 5-8 minutes; it should give it enough time to dissolve.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Make a hole in the center...kinda like a well, and pour in the yeast mixture and the warm milk (Mmm...warm milk. TEAAAAA~).
4. Stir the dough till it just holds together, into a ball-like shape. You can transfer it to a new, clean bowl if you like.
5. Cover the bowl with the dough with a plastic wrap for about 3-5 hours for the dough to rise. (3 hours if you place it in a warm-ish place, 5 if it's in a cool area. Or, you could leave it in your fridge overnight)
6. Woo! Fun part. Divide the dough into about 15 pieces and make them into balls.
7. If you have something like a potato masher, cover it with foil, so it'd be easier to flatten the dough.
8. Flatten the dough a bit, then put the filling in the center and seal tightly. Kinda like making dumplings!
9. Heat the oil in the pan/skillet and add the Ho-dduk. Cook it for about 30-60 seconds, then turn it over and gently start flattening it. Take turns on flipping it over and flattening it (DON"T BREAK THE DOUGH!), 'till it gets a nice golden brown color.
10. Cool for about 5 minutes, then NOM! Careful with the filling. It's hot!

...I usually drink the ho-dduk with tea. Not that it...really...matters.

Cooking with science!

Got my molecular gastronomy chems in the post, so I made melon caviar and used it to top parma ham on blinis. Was tasty. Now trying to think of other things to spherify. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 12:58, 16 October 2011 (UTC)

Prosciutto and melon makes perfect sense and that looks delicious. Of course. How did the melon/agar balls come out and what process/ingredients did you use? 14:02, 16 October 2011 (UTC)

They were really nice, although:

1. I did "overcook" some of them a little, i.e. left them in the reaction bath a bit too long, so the gel coat was a bit thick
2. I added a bit of RO water to the melon before blitzing it in the blender to make it easier to strain, which meant that they didn't taste as strong as they should have

The process / ingredients used are you create a flavoured liquid (in this case melon) and make sure its pH is 5 or above (add Sodium Citrate if you need to raise the pH). Use an immersion blender to mix in Sodium Alginate at a ratio of about 1g/100ml, which takes a while, then leave the mixture in the fridge for about an hour to get excess air out (important! I didn't do this initially and the caviar didn't sink into the bath so they didn't form properly). After an hour skim off the foam and discard. Make a calcium bath by mixing either Calcium Chloride (1g/250ml) or Calcium Lactate (1g/100ml) into water. Use a large syringe to drip drops of the flavoured solution into the bath, from a height of about 20-30cm. Any lower and the drops won't sink, any higher and the drops will break up in the bath. Leave in the bath for 30 - 60 seconds to "cook", then strain out, rinse in RO / distilled water, then strain and use as soon as you can (as they carry on cooking even after rinsing). I used a sieve in the bath to drip into which makes it easy to just lift out, rinse, then serve with a teaspoon.

Note that this is known as "basic spherification". You can also do "reverse spherification" whereby you dissolve the calcium (has to be calcium lactate for reverse spherification) in the flavoured liquid and then drip that into an alginate bath. You can't really make caviar with RS though. See more details here. HTH. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 19:34, 16 October 2011 (UTC)

Barramundi with a chipotle cream drizzle and wild rice

I got some barramundi and couldn't think of a better way to prepare it than in a tiny amount of clarified butter at high heat just long enough to make a nice crust on both sides and cook it through. I got a heavy pan nearly smoking and cooked the fish for maybe 1.5 minutes per side tops. The drizzle is half a cup of heavy cream, salt to taste, finely minced shallot, and just chipotle powder to get a sense of the earthiness without adding much heat. The chile is key. Chipotles are dried smoked jalepeños from the end of the summer when most of the fruit flavor of the chile is gone, leaving an earthy flavor that's complimented nicely by the smoke. 05:02, 24 October 2011 (UTC)

Never heard of barramundi. Looks really nice though. What other fish are they similar to in taste & texture? Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 14:49, 24 October 2011 (UTC)

Birthday dinner

So it's coming up to that time of the year again whereby I make an excessive number of courses of weird food for us and friends. This year I'm going to play with my food, so I'm going for:

1. Duck Liver Parfait
2. Stilton with Honey Caviar & Black Tea
3. Pea Parmesan Noodles in Saffron Consomme with Morel Dust
4. Lychee & Lime Sorbet (palate cleanser)
5. Sous Vide 5-Spice Duck Breast with Pak Choi
6. Coconut Foam with Fruit Salad and Ginger

I might be tempted to try Hot Baileys Ice Cream as well, but that might be overkill. I'll let you know how I get on. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 10:41, 5 December 2011 (UTC)

Forgot to report back on this. So the pate was really good, but it's a fucking pain to run it through a sieve, although it did make the texture beautiful and smooth. The honey caviar was a pain to make (because it was difficult to drip the viscous honey into the bath) and didn't taste awesome anyway. The instant noodle dish wasn't very flavoursome, but I do like the idea so I think I'm going to try making a deconstructed miso soup with it (dashi stock with white miso noodles). The sorbet was more of an ice, but that was probably me making it wrong. Everyone still liked it though. The sous vide duck was fucking awesome. I'm going to do some more stuff sous vide now. Likewise the coconut foam is excellent, and I need to find more ways of serving it. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 10:58, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

Dolphin

I have a recipe from a family cookbook that actually calls for dolphin. The book was compiled for a reunion in 1990 but the recipe was submitted in 1985. Anyone interested? -- Seth Peck (talk) 22:10, 30 December 2011 (UTC)

They probably mean this. Ty^Annoy 12:15, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

The Juicy Lucy

The beginnings

All assembled and ready to cook

End product

The Juicy Lucy is a Minnesota invention, first created back in the 1920's in the old speakeasy days of St. Paul and Minneapolis (hence the name). At its essence, a Jucy Lucy contains cheese and other ingredients grilled in between two hamburger patties. In the case of the pictured Juicy Lucies, I used two half-pound patties of lean, 93/7 hamburger and sandwiched two 1.5 inch cubes of 4 year cheddar cheese between them. Of course, this recipe can be modified to cheeses and additions that suit one's taste. I've often used Swiss cheese and fresh mushrooms in the middle instead of cheddar and, in some places around here, you can even get them cooked with habaneros and Pepper Jack in the middle. Typically, I'd take it outside and grill them to perfection. However, since it's the Minnesota winter and it's too cold to grill, I used a stove-top griddle and grilled them as best I could there. It's recommended that, when attempting to create the Juicy Lucy, you cook the meat to medium and no longer because, after a while, the molten cheese in the middle may start evaporate. Recklessly Noise Punk ^{What's this button do? Uh oh....} 09:57, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

That's awesome. I have seen burger recipes before where you put the cheese in the middle of the burger, but I didn't know they had a name. Sadly I can't make them (as they're beef, I doubt the wife would eat pork a bit rare, and lamb mince would be a bit too fatty). I saw something where the guy made "perfect" burgers by mincing the meat through a coarse plate and then putting the strands into a long sausage, chilling it, then slicing the burgers off the roll. The idea was to bite across the grain rather than through it. I'll see if I can find it on youtube. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 10:54, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

Wikis about Burgers

For those hamburger lovers, I've created a new Wiki that is dedicated to burgers, burger joints, side dishes and all other things burger-related. Conservative Punk (talk) 22:19, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

lol did you recreate his wiki or is that on another hosting site? Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 10:09, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

His burger joint went out of business, so (as his number 1 competitor) I felt obligated to fill the vacancy with a burger joint of my own. Recklessly Noise Punk ^{What's this button do? Uh oh....} 13:03, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

Down? -- Seth Peck (talk) 04:32, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

I was wondering who knew about the Jucy Lucy in order to write an article on it. ListenerX^TalkerX 04:39, 2 February 2012 (UTC)

Why your truely, of course. I've been to just about every Jucy Lucy joint in the TC area. Recklessly Noise Punk ^{What's this button do? Uh oh....} 15:20, 19 February 2012 (UTC)

Valentines Meal

Kitteh took my seat!

1 & 3 were the nicest

Smoke with no fire!

I had to cook my Valentines Day meal last night instead of tonight as the wife is in court on Wednesday and so will be prepping files on Tuesday night. I went full Heston, other than cooking sous vide duck breast again (was meant to do sous vide venison steak, but everyone picked yesterday to sell out of venison steak). The Red Cabbage Gazpacho with Mustard Ice Cream was really good, but I think I added a bit too much vinegar to the soup. Will cut back next time. The Hot & Iced Tea was great, but my cup partition fell over while I was pouring mine so I didn't get the full "hot on one side cold on the other" effect. I'll have to ask someone to hold the partition in place next time! The whiskey gums were great, although the one made with Talisker had a bit too much of an aftertaste. The Highland Park was our favorite. I had a bit of a disaster with the Flaming Sorbet: I heated the ramekins in the oven with the stewed apple and sultanas, but as soon as I put them on the dry ice the heat just got sucked out of them so the whiskey didn't catch fire :-\ I'll probably do it without the dry ice next time. I also overcooked the crumble a bit. Otherwise was really nice. I would recommend the book to anyone who likes cooking weird food. Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 10:38, 14 February 2012 (UTC)

"I went full Heston" - wow, that service station has bucked up its act! Sophie^{because liberals} 10:43, 14 February 2012 (UTC)

Basically you are a god among men and I'm in even greater awe than I've never been ashamed of admitting. I would be honored to cook for you. Don't let it go to your head. I won't wash my hands. 04:07, 26 February 2012 (UTC)

Oh that reminds me, can you post / email me your fajita recipe that you explained a while ago? I want to give it a go with the chillis you sent. And yes the local supermarket does sell the right kind of tortilla wraps Crundy^{Talk nerdy to me} 09:08, 27 February 2012 (UTC)

Chili: the first attempt

My first attempt at making chili from scratch

I've never made chili before, and this recipe was my first attempt. The raw ingredients were:

• Half a green bell pepper
• A whole red bell pepper
• Two whole habanero peppers
• 4 stalks of celery
• A yellow onion
• An half cup of black beans (my co-worker would later laugh at me, saying "real chili doesn't have beans!")
• 2 whole tomatoes
• 2 butcher-shop fresh, spiced pork sausages

I sliced and diced everything up while cooking the beans, and then sauteed all the veggies in butter while cooking the sausage. I then mixed it all together in a dutch oven on my stove top and added 2 cans of tomato paste, two tablespoons of chili powder, one teaspoon of garlic salt, a pinch of ginger, a pinch of brown sugar, a sprinkle of parsley flakes, and then the best part: a couple drops of naga jolokia sauce. Stirred it all in, and let cook for about 20 minutes until it was hot. Made a delicious, albeit it spicy as fuck, meal. Reckless Noise Symphony (talk) 07:06, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

Looks good. The claim "real chili doesn't have beans" seems to be one promulgated by Texans, and should be thus dismissed purely on ideological principle. VOX^HUMANA 07:10, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

Even if you took the beans out, it would've made one awesome food dish. Reckless Noise Symphony (talk) 07:11, 12 March 2013 (UTC)