food porn

[ellencho]

I thought it might be fun to have a thread where we could post good looking pics of food we've either made or eaten.

Here's my first contribution to the thread:
Chocolate pecan chewies
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/chococookie3_24MAR05.jpg
Peanutbutter oatmeal chocolate chip
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/pbcookie2_24MAR05.jpg

If anyone wants recipes PM me and I'll gladly send them to you.

[Kuroyama]

Ellen

F-a recipe, do I look like Betty Crocker?? (Kuro hoping Ellen knows (roughly) what I look like...)

Ellen please bundle up that bundle of baked-love-goodness, and send it to; Southern Japan, c/o the bald Black guy that hasnt found a Mrs. Fields in his new hometown yet...

[ellencho]

More food porn. I made pad thai tonight using lots of leftover meat and veggies that I wanted to emtpy from my fridge.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/finishedpadthai30MAR05.jpg

Tomorrow I am making a rib roast for my brother. I'll try to take pics of that if I remember.

[Dialectic]

Ellen you are awesome. Will quite possibly become the Best Thread Ever.

[Kuroyama]

Normally right about this time Ellen would be killin me with that pic of Pad Thai, but last night the MomInLaw took me out (waitaminit...I PAID!) anyway... the fam went out for okonomiyaki...and as usual they overordered thinking that just because Im big as a horse... I can eat one.

BTW since Ive been here... I HAVE eaten horse... Ill go into that next login... DSL coming soon!

[rainshowerz]

SHOOT! I made pork loin for the first time (with portobello mushrooms on the side), and it turned out GREAT 8) But I didn't take any pictures of it, and my bf wolfed 1/3 of it down for dinner, and any leftover shots won't do it any justice...Argh.

[ellencho]

Normally right about this time Ellen would be killin me with that pic of Pad Thai, but last night the MomInLaw took me out (waitaminit...I PAID!) anyway... the fam went out for okonomiyaki...and as usual they overordered thinking that just because Im big as a horse... I can eat one.

BTW since Ive been here... I HAVE eaten horse... Ill go into that next login... DSL coming soon!
pics K pics! I've never eaten horse myself but I'd be curious to see how it's served. And seriously, you need to take pics of all the good food in Japan for everyone in the states to see how we're missing out!

And rain, you TOTALLY have to take pictures of your food successes! I love roasting pork loin too and the bf and I use the leftovers for cuban sandwiches later on in the week.

[Scowl]

My lunch today. It probably tasted a lot better than it looks here. There'd be more color if I had fried the rice, but that just would have been way too much egg.

I know, not much, but I thought I'd start small with my first entry.


http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid163/p5ac359f9b60ce7cce9f07405c2666da0/f49f02f1.jpg

[vsoy]

Scowl, it looks delic! Love that old school style, tomato and egg combo. Is that stir fried cabbage on the side? Mmmm...

[Scowl]

I learned most of my cooking from grandma, so my stuff is pretty old-school, right down to the inability/unwillingness to use cook books. I'm still trying to perfect the tomato eggs (is there another name for that besides tomato egg?), but I'm having trouble getting it to just the right consistency that I like.

Is that stir fried cabbage on the side?

Yep, sure is. Too bad I didn't have any of those tiny shrimp things to throw in.

[ellencho]

Scowl your pic is awesome. The cabbage looks especially good, I've never had tomato eggs before, but if you describe the texture that you want vs the texture that you get, maybe some of us can help you trouble shoot. Is it the same thing as scrambled eggs with tomato in it?

So here's the promised pics of rib roast dinner. I aged the rib roast in my fridge for six days and it turned out really tender and flavorful. Here are before and after pics.

Aged for 6 days and ugly as hell:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/aged6days31MAR05.jpg

After trimming and roasting for 2.5 hours:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/ribroastA31MAR05.jpg

Served with sauteed broccoli rabbe and fingerling potatoes roasted in some of the leftover fat from the roast. Sorry about the darkness of the image.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/dinnerplate31MAR05.jpg

Homemade chocolate cake for dessert
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/pieceofcake31MAR05.jpg

[B the student]

damn this thread is making me hungry

[inferno]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/ribroastA31MAR05.jpg

Be careful, ellen. That pic could be used by the prosecutor as evidence against you in court.

[angi]

sticky! sticky!

[lynjess]

OMG ellencho if you keep posting those pics I'm gonna have to make a trip to yer house for dinner.

[ellencho]

I baked a loaf of regular soft white bread today. I was a bit worried that I might not have baked it long enough but it turned out just fine. Pat and I each had a slice with nice creamy French butter.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/slicedwb02APR05.jpg

[Scowl]

I've never had tomato eggs before, but if you describe the texture that you want vs the texture that you get, maybe some of us can help you trouble shoot.

I try to get the eggs really thin and soft, but I'm always afraid of under-cooking it, so it always ends up a bit harder than I would like. Actually, it probably should be just ever-so-slightly under cooked. I need to get the tomatoes softer, too, without burning up all the juices.

Is it the same thing as scrambled eggs with tomato in it?

Well, sorta, but a lot softer, wetter, and with a lot more sugar and salt.

Today's lunch:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid163/p2b85b03797ad6c14fa69bff85f0d7357/f49b7834.jpg

[Altaira]

I like (mostly vegetable) baked dishes with creamy and crunchy textures, like Broccoli Casserole


http://www.outofthefryingpan.com/recipes/images/casserole.broc.blue.jpg

[ellencho]

I've never had tomato eggs before, but if you describe the texture that you want vs the texture that you get, maybe some of us can help you trouble shoot.

I try to get the eggs really thin and soft, but I'm always afraid of under-cooking it, so it always ends up a bit harder than I would like. Actually, it probably should be just ever-so-slightly under cooked. I need to get the tomatoes softer, too, without burning up all the juices.
Is there any way that you can cook the tomatoes in the pan first, letting them soften to the way you like, and then raising the heat, adding the eggs and cooking the eggs fast? When I make scrambled eggs, I like to use high heat, and I cook them until they look like they're almost at the consistency I like. Eggs can hold in a fair amount of heat, so I remove them from the heat as soon as I can and then let the residual heat trapped in the eggs finish cooking them while they're on my plate. That way you avoid burning/overcooking your precious eggs.

Don't be afraid of undercooking your eggs, the chances of getting sick from eggs is pretty low unless you've got a compromised immune system. I'd rather have slightly undercooked eggs than slightly overcooked eggs.

:wink:

PS your lunch looked really good! Did you use ham?

[ellencho]

I like (mostly vegetable) baked dishes with creamy and crunchy textures, like Broccoli Casserole


http://www.outofthefryingpan.com/recipes/images/casserole.broc.blue.jpg
Did you make that? If you like creamy and crunchy you must like gratins a lot then. I like nearly any type of gratin. I guess the ones that people in this country are familiar with are mac and cheese and potatoes gratin.

So tonight I brought out the old deep fryer and fried up a storm. Chicken tenders, chicken fried steak and corn dogs. And just to be healthy, some carrot sticks and celery with bleu cheese dressing!! :P
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/frieddinner02APR05.jpg

This is a pic of more of the tenders and if you look on the upper left you can see two pieces of chicken fried steak.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/friedfoodB02APR05.jpg

[Altaira]

ellencho wrote: Did you make that?

Unfortunately, I cheated and used a google image pic . . .
but I know how to make it:

rice or pasta (optional)
peas
broccoli
onion (optional)
ground turkey (optional)
cream of mushroom or whipped cream cheese (which I prefer)
- mix together-
top with cheddar and baked leeks or naturals potato chips (instead of the trans fat filled fried onion rings unless you make them yourself)
-bake-

Those fried foods look scrumptious. I love corn dogs, especially ones bought at county fairs. It's a psychological thing.

[da Tao]

Damn.... :cry: I WANT THAT ROAST! ah...

At first when I scanned the subject line, I thought it was about Nigella Lawson - whose cooking show is also known as Gastro Porn... for good reason. (Incidentally, are Chinese cooking show still exclusively hosted by married older (45-60) women? Also, who wants to start a poll on the most attractive TV cooking personality?)

Back to the thread, I said elsewhere that I will post some Czech food pics from my recent trip. So if people prod me hard enough, it will be here sooner. (As for my own cooking, I will have to look around.)

-G

P.S. which one of you can't resist eating strips of fat on a steak or on a roast? Clogging arteries right here baby.

[ellencho]

P.S. which one of you can't resist eating strips of fat on a steak or on a roast? Clogging arteries right here baby.
One of my brothers used tease our dogs with steak fat and dangle it in front of them, but usually our dogs are so obedient that they'll never take anything without permission. One time our mini poodle got so fed up with the teasing that he snatched it up out of my brother's hand and ran away. We had to give the other dog a treat because we didn't think it was fair that Bumper got to eat fat even though Remy was being obedient.

[vsoy]

I love the fat off a roast or steak, but not huge chunks of fat. When it's marbelized piece of meat with small bits of fat, it's heaven. I discretely ingest the fatty parts and it's a secret pleasure.

My mom told me to enjoy it while you're young because when you're older, you can't eat it. She eats the most ridiculously healthy diet but her cholesterol is very high, thanks grandma. With the except of half n half, cheese and the occasional bacon and steak, I think I eat pretty low fat but looks like genetics is catching up with me, cholesterol was just over 200 last year :cry: I did eat a couple of slices of a big greasy pizza a day or two before my cholesterol was checked, dunno if that could screw up the results.

EC, where do you get your ideas, inspirations for dishes? I go through these periods of creativity and periods of no idea what to make. For me, it's usually driven either by a recipe in the paper or something on sale at the supermarket. But often times, if a recipe calls for too many ingredients that I don't normally buy, or something really expensive, I lose enthusiam.

[xian]

Normally right about this time Ellen would be killin me with that pic of Pad Thai, but last night the MomInLaw took me out (waitaminit...I PAID!) anyway... the fam went out for okonomiyaki...and as usual they overordered thinking that just because Im big as a horse... I can eat one.

BTW since Ive been here... I HAVE eaten horse... Ill go into that next login... DSL coming soon!

Basashi is dope.

I used to live in Kumamoto where it is chou meibutsu. In the future I hope to open a ride and eat horse ranch.

[Tyger Durden]

This thread really IS arousing! :shock:

good-looking food. Seriously. :)

[silkie]

OMG ellencho if you keep posting those pics I'm gonna have to make a trip to yer house for dinner.

Ellen,
If you keep posting that pic I am going to go over and force you to marry me!!!

(don't worry, you'll get over it after a while...)

[silkie]

My lunch today. It probably tasted a lot better than it looks here. There'd be more color if I had fried the rice, but that just would have been way too much egg.

I know, not much, but I thought I'd start small with my first entry.


http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid163/p5ac359f9b60ce7cce9f07405c2666da0/f49f02f1.jpg

And scowl, that dish is fantastic.
I was in Tibet for once and strangely even though it is not Tibetan I had it every single day...

That looks super hearty...

[silkie]

Ellen

F-a recipe, do I look like Betty Crocker?? (Kuro hoping Ellen knows (roughly) what I look like...)

Ellen please bundle up that bundle of baked-love-goodness, and send it to; Southern Japan, c/o the bald Black guy that hasnt found a Mrs. Fields in his new hometown yet...

haha- Kuro, your post reminded me of a joke about a US expat in Asia who misses American cookies... here goes:

Joe is an American guy who has been living in Japan for 2 years and misses the good ole' cookies he used to get in the States, so he has a ritual where his wife (who remains in the US) will bake him a batch of cookies and sends it over to Japan with a video tape of all the American shows he can't get in the Far East. The guy would then invite his fellow American expats to come over and watch the shows and chomp on the cookies.

So one time when the cookies arrived, his buddies are over and they started devouring the cookies as soon as the care package is open.

Then they took the video tape and started watching football, Seinfeld episode, etc., when about 1 hour into the video tape, the shows gave way to a low budget porn video. In it the chic is in the middle of blowing a guy when shortly he blows the load into her mouth.

She then turns around to spit the load into a pan of cookie dough next to her...

"Joe," says the chic, "I want a divorce..."

[Bizarre_Female]

Ellen, you need to open up a restaurant..your food makes my mouth water.

[rainshowerz]

This is a pic of more of the tenders and if you look on the upper left you can see two pieces of chicken fried steak.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/friedfoodB02APR05.jpg
Man, Ellen is the Jenna Jameson of food porn. *drool* If you had your own site, I'd be a loyal subscriber :wink:

[ellencho]

Thanks for all the compliments guys. Cooking/baking is something I do to relax and is one of my ways of showing folks I care for them.

For the past couple of months I've been interested in baking my own breads and having finally handed in my masters' thesis this Friday, I celebrated by baking two loaves of rich brioche, a eggy/buttery substantial bread, one for myself and one for my ever patient advisor.

Here's a pic of the loaves. I saved the lopsided one for myself and the nicer one was for Dr Tudor. He's the best.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/2briochesB03APR05.jpg

Here's a pic of the bread cut open. It turned out really good. Very tender and soft inside and the crust was a combination of crunchy and chewy!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/cutbrioche03APR05.jpg

Tonight we had a light dinner since the brioche from last night was so rich. I made lavash pizzas. It's really quite easy and doesn't take too long.

This is what you need
Two sheets of lavash or any thin flat bread
olive oil
a couple thin slices of mozzarella
a couple thin slices of prosciutto or any type of ham
salad mix
your favorite salad dressing (vinegary, non-creamy ones work best)

Heat up your oven to 425.
Cut up each sheet of lavash into four pieces and rub one side of each piece with a super thin coating of olive oil. Don't use too much your final product will end up soggy. Put the lavash, oil side down on cookie sheets and top with a bit of your mozz.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/uncooked04APR05.jpg

Bake uncovered, in the oven for about 5 minutes or until cheese gets all melty. While it's baking, take about 4 handfuls of salad and add enough dressing to taste.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/melted04APR05.jpg

Take lavash out of oven, and tear the prosciutto atop your pizzas. Sorry for the blurry pic.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/withprosciutto04APR05.jpg

Next, add as much salad as you like atop your prosciutto and lavash.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/lavashpizzas04APR05.jpg

Yay it's ready!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/closeuppizza04APR05.jpg

[blockthebox]

That lavash pizza with prosciutto looks delish, but HOLY SHIT - that rib roast is, like, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. When you say you age it, what does that mean? And what do you use?

Mas!

[ellencho]

That lavash pizza with prosciutto looks delish, but HOLY SHIT - that rib roast is, like, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. When you say you age it, what does that mean? And what do you use?

Mas!
Thanks btb!

**edit** I just realized I wrote a lot so I'm going to bold the important parts.

Nearly all meat you find in the supermarket has been aged for some period of time. I think in general, for beef, it's about one week of aging after slaughter before the meat is carved up and sent to the stores. I believe that unaged beef has a really unpleasant metallic taste, and doesn't taste particularly beefy. When you age beef you're letting it sit, uncovered in a humidity and temperature-controlled room, ~40 degrees F for X number of days. The purpose of this is to allow the beef to break down its own muscle fibers, resulting in a more tender texture. and it'll dehydrate a bit too, and lose water weight, which is believed to result in a "beefier" flavor.

I think supermarkets take the beef directly from their suppliers, and just put it out in their coolers. I don't think most chain supermarkets even "butcher" their meat anymore, meaning they don't get whole sides of beef and process them into smaller more manageable parts. I think they'll get butchered parts and then they'll just cut them into customer-sized pieces.

To age your own beef at home, all you need is some sort of rack to leave your beef on, and a working refrigerator with space for the beef. Also, from personal experience, bone-in roasts tend to age better than boneless. Oh and it might drip while it ages so make sure there's something underneath to catch the drippings. So all you do is leave the roast in the fridge for ~5 days and when you're ready to use it, slice off the discolored dried parts, and cook it up.

I just realized I wrote a lot so I'm going to bold the important parts.

[vsoy]

Doesn't meat get kind of funky smelling when you don't deal with it in a day or two of purchasing it from the supermarket? I assume you age it in the fridge unwrapped so maybe the plastic wrap is retarding the aging process and promoting spoilage?

[ellencho]

Doesn't meat get kind of funky smelling when you don't deal with it in a day or two of purchasing it from the supermarket? I assume you age it in the fridge unwrapped so maybe the plastic wrap is retarding the aging process and promoting spoilage?
The plastic wrap prevents air from circulating around the meat and encourages the proliferation of anaerobic bacteria and if anything makes it rot faster. When you age, the meat is left unwrapped so it doesn't rot like packaged meat does. But it's true, aFter you've left your meat in the fridge for a couple days, it does begin to smell odd but that's normal.

[vsoy]

I was cleaning up pics on my computer last night and I found this one from last year.

http://tinypic.com/2lc01v


I really like how the tomatoes line up with the houses and even the deck railing. Little houses of ticky tacky with little 'maters all lined up in a row. Tomato paradise in suburban hell.

Am I an idiot or something? I can't figure out how people put the image on the page so people don't have to click on the url. I've been using tinypic.com and I've tried pasting the link, url, the img within the img and url buttons.

[awong]

I am not sure why its not working, I tried to edit it and it hasn't worked.

I've gotten tinypic to work many times on mm.com and its pretty much the identical forum software too

[Dialectic]

I am not sure why its not working, I tried to edit it and it hasn't worked.

I tried too! No clue!

[vsoy]

I was a little sloppy back there, I was trying too many permutations and I thought I had the syntax right for just a url.

My question was how Ellen and Scowl got their pics of bread, lunchies right there ON the page so hungry folks don't have to move their hand to click on it.

[ellencho]

Aw, you guys are missing out, the tomato pic is pretty cool. The tomatoes are really plump and bright red, and the sky is really clear and blue.

I use photobucket.com as my imaging host, and then I just use the IMG tags before and after the image URL.

[vsoy]

Trying one more time with photobucket link:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/Tomato_row_2004_4.jpg

ooh it works. Thanks Ellen and awong. Photobucket is the way to go. Don't know why tinypic was not working for me for the longest time.

[awong]

on photobucket you can click on the image and use the larger one. I think you are using the thumb nail

[Scowl]

I've definitely got to try that pizza one of these days.

I was planning on making something more flamboyant than usual just for this thread, but I got sick and now all I can eat is that rice-soup stuff (not congee). Here it is with chili bamboo shoots, pickled cucumbers, and shredded dried pork.

After two days of this stuff, I really need a burger. And a beer.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid163/p9b84dd2aa7ec4d7f25e71f7549753fb9/f4909583.jpg

[ellencho]

For someone who's sick, you still manage to make sick people food look tasty. When I'm alone and sick all I make is tea. When I'm at my mom's house and sick I get lots of good stuff.

[DijabutiA]

Dayum Nuna, I need to come over to your house! :D

[ellencho]

Ok it's been a while since I posted but that's only because I was away in NY for my brother's 19th birthday (aw, 19, so cute). But I did manage to snap some nice pics of our dinner out, the bbq we ate and my dinner tonight.

Here's a couple pics of dinner. We went out to this Chinese seafood restaurant in NY, we're on a first name basis with the head waiter and we don't normally order from a menu. We just tell him what we want, and he talks to the chefs and they make whatever we like.

This is a steamed fish dish.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/steamedfish08APR05.jpg

Salt and pepper squid
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/saltpeppersquid08APR05.jpg

Fried soft shell crab
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/softshellcrab08APR05.jpg

Tofu and shrimp with mixed veggies
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/tubushrimp08APR05.jpg

This I found really funny. They cut the carrots into the shape of a rooster
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/cockcarrot08APR05.jpg

On Saturday I smoked two racks of ribs
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/finishedribs09APR05.jpg

This is them sliced up
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/ribsB10APR05.jpg

On Sunday Jamie requested spanikopeta, which is a Greek spinach and cheese filled pastry. I also made him a tiramisu but I forgot to snap a pic.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/bakedspanikopeta10APR05.jpg

For dinner tonight we had curry noodles with pea leaves, pork, squid and shrimp
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/dinner12APR05.jpg

[cattygurl]

Ellen,

Marry me!

[ellencho]

Sure, sure, the food makes folks want to marry me, but wait till you gain 20 lbs in the first year :twisted: then you'll all be thinking divorce when even your largest pair of fat pants won't fit!!!

[DijabutiA]

Do you do kalbi too nuna?? When can I come over?

[ellencho]

Oh I totally make my own kalbi. THe week before I got my digital camera, I made my own at home for another bbq. It turned out pretty good too. I don't work from an actual recipe for kalbi, I just start making the marinade and stop when it tastes right.

[ellencho]

Tonight was Indian night. All of these dishes were served with a simple boiled basmati rice.

I made my own fresh paneer (Indian cheese)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/freshpaneer13APR05.jpg

I used it to make a palak paneer with spinach and spices
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/palakpaneer13APR05.jpg

Along with the paneer dish I made a chicken tikka masala type dish
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/CTM13APR05.jpg

Then at the last minute I made my own aloo gobhi
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/aloogobhi13APR05.jpg

[Taliesin Stormheller]

All the food on this thread looks GREAT :D I feel like eatin'.

[ellencho]

dinner was spaghetti and meatballs with jarred sauce. The picture was an afterthought so the dish you're looking at was thrown together after everyone else had served themselves.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/dinner14APR05.jpg

dessert was a chocolate roulade filled with vanilla pastry cream. I think I need to figure out how to set the flash for my camera.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/dessert14APR05.jpg

[Infectious]

dinner was spaghetti and meatballs with jarred sauce. The picture was an afterthought so the dish you're looking at was thrown together after everyone else had served themselves.


Ellen, that's some huge meatballs! How big is the plate?

[angi]

Ellen,

Marry me!

me too!

ellen, you're 'pose to post some recipes for us not so creative in the kitchen types...

****drooooool****

[toml]

dinner was spaghetti and meatballs with jarred sauce. The picture was an afterthought so the dish you're looking at was thrown together after everyone else had served themselves.


Ellen, that's some huge meatballs! How big is the plate?

Haha! I was going to say the exact same thing!

& compared to the amount of pasta? Haha. That's awesome!

[blockthebox]

I swoon every time I see this thread. Palak Paneer and chicken tikka masala are two of my favorites dishes.

[maogirl]

i feel so sad that i'm on dialup and can't fully appreciate the glory of ellen's cooking. :cry:

[ellencho]

Ack, you guys were right, I was totally slacking on posting my recipes! Anyway, I apologize in advance for only having one pic for this post, I got distracted by a phone call, and instead of snapping pics along the way I was flapping my gums.

Tonight we had dwenjang (or denjang) jjigae. Dwenjang is a Korean style fermented bean paste, similar to miso, and it's sort of a hearty spicy tofu soup and it's easy to make, but the thing is, it contains ingredients that you'll probably have to buy at your local Korean grocery store.

This is one of those dishes that every Korean grandma or mommy knows how to make but it varies from household to household. So the way I make it, might not be the way that Djabuti's mom makes it, or blockthebox's mom makes it but that's sort of the cool thing about it - you can make it to suit your own personal tastes. My mom has been known to add spam to her dwenjang jjigae.

I like to make my own beef stock from scratch, because the beef stock you get at the supermarket is seasoned with aromatic veggies that will take away from this tasting properly Korean, so I suggest you make your own beef stock. I used about a half lb bone-in beef shank, and I simmered it for 2 hours on low heat in about 4 cups of water. You won't need any salt or pepper, bceause the dwenjang you're going to add to it is awful salty.

Ok, so now that you have your beef stock this is what you'll need:
Dwenjang (roughly 2/3 cup, maybe more)
gochujang (a Korean chili paste) 2 or 3 Tbs according to your taste
dried anchovy powder - like a 1/4 tsp
any sort of spicy green pepper
a block of tofu, whatever texture you like, cubed into bite-sized pieces
any sort of veggies you like - mushrooms, squash, zucchini, potatoes
scallions, thinly sliced into rounds

Remove the bone and beef from your stock and once cooled shred the meat up into small chunks.

Begin by adding the dried anchovy powder, maybe half of the dwenjang, and half of the gochujang. Stir it in, a whisk works pretty well in my opinion, but chopsticks or a spoon are fine. Taste it, and keep adding the dwenjang and gochujang until it tastes right. It should be somewhat salty, but not overpoweringly so. If it's become too salty you can always dilute it with a bit of water.

Once you're happy with your broth, go ahead and add your block of tofu and the shredded meat and any veggies (if using mushrooms, don't add them yet) back into the pot and cover, and leave it at a simmer for 20 minutes at the least, and up to an hour if you like. You can pretty much let it simmer for as long as you like, but remember that your soup level will drop from evaporation, even if the top is on.

If you're planning on adding enoki mushrooms, those tiny thin strands of mushrooms, add them at the last minute, and stir them in gently so as not to disturb the tofu. Then garnish with a sprinkling of scallions. Serve with hot bowls of rice and whatever banchan (side dishes, like kimchi) that you like.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/upclosedwengjang16APR05.jpg

[cattygurl]

Ellen, I know your address.

Once I get things squared away over here, I'm moving in.

[rising7]

This is the most delicious topic ever.

[vsoy]

I bought a bunch of strawberries on sale last week but they were so tasteless, here are some things I made this weekend to use them up.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/pancakes.jpg
Buckwheat pancakes with strawberry sauce

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/cheesecreampie.jpg
cream cheese pie

[ellencho]

Yeah, strawberries are in season now - sorry you ended up with a tasteless bunch. I try to smell the bottom of the package beforehand to make sure it smells sweet.

Did you make the buckwheat pancakes and the pie from scratcH?

[vsoy]

They're from scratch. The pancakes are not true buckwheat pancakes in that it's a 50% regular white flour and 50%buckwheat. I just like the color and slightly nutty taste the buckwheat lends to the pancakes.

The pie is a cottage cheese/cream cheese mixture with eggs and sugar topped with a sour cream topping with mashed up graham crackers for a crust. I don't have the recipes with me, but I'll post them if people want. The pie can be low fat (neufatel cream cheese and low fat sour cream) and still be very tasty. I can't taste the difference.

[Kuroyama]

I suck. While Ellen has been playing Time Magazine Photog at the NY eats, Ive been stuffing my face over here in Miyazaki, but havent taken the camera ONCE.

Here are some of the more interesting eats I failed to snap:

1) Horumohn. (Basically, Japanese chitlins) I dont know a single Black person that doesnt have at least ONE member of their family that cooks this stuff. It smells so rank that I never found out how it tasted... 30 years later in JAPAN of all places, Im mackin on it. Apparently the Japanese dig it. Who knew?

2) Momoyaki. (Roasted Chickin gizzards). With shochu this stuff is nectar. In the single month Ive been here Ive had it delicious, and Ive had it served like rubber. Its great when its great.

3) Uma no tategae. (Raw horse neck flesh - PETA come get me now, though its apparently a delicacy in southern JP so you may have a hard time convincing the locals that my act was criminal) Its raw horseflesh from the neck. Its smooth and buttery tasting. It was served at a sushi bar, so I thought it was just some sea creature that LOOKED like a horse (like a seahorse or something). When we drove home Im like: so what kind of sea creature was that? They said: "horse". So I said; "no, I know it LOOKED like a horse, but what kind of sea creature is it really?" They said; "No, it LOOKS like a horse because it IS a horse, like horse racing? Horseback riding? The horse in your belly?

4) Ramen. When I was a kid I fell in love with cup ramen. It took years to break me of that, but over here the PHAT bowls of meltylicious roated meats and vegetable shoots and godDAMN goddamn! I need to get pix.

[cattygurl]

I love Japanese Ramen. A place near my parent's pad has a char chiu ramen where the pork just melts in your mouth. So good.

[ellencho]

That's one thing I've always wanted to learn to make on my own - ramen noodles. I can make my own egg noodles, for Italian-type pastas but I know that ramen noodles are a bit different and use a different recipe.

Oh, and speaking of char siu, sometimes if I have extra char siu laying around I'll slice that up and put it in my instant ramen. Not surprisingly, it really adds to othe flavor and enjoyment of one's ramen.

[dragon]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/finishedribs09APR05.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/closeuppizza04APR05.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/ribroastA31MAR05.jpg



OH-MY-FUH-RIGGIN'-GAWD....

Marry me, Ellen! Never in the history of mankind have there been two who were more meant for one another than us...please...I beg you...

[rainshowerz]

^Dragon, you're gonna have to duke it out with my boyfriend, and--oh yeah--Ellen's bf! Every time I logon to this site, my bf's like, "Sooo, has Ellen posted any more food porn?" :lol:

[dragon]

^Dragon, you're gonna have to duke it out with my boyfriend, and--oh yeah--Ellen's bf! Every time I logon to this site, my bf's like, "Sooo, has Ellen posted any more food porn?" :lol:

Yup! I figured as much...but, you ladies just don't understand some of the motivating factors involved that make men do what they do...

En Garde!...

[awong]

getting strawberries in my area is about a 45 min drive, I dunno if we have any more fresh ones...

[ellencho]

When I was little my mom took us strawberry picking once. All I remember is that it was warm, the berries were sticky, and we took a shit load at home that we ended up freezing since everyone was sick of strawberries from picking and eating so many the day before.

Ok, so tonight was oxtail soup. It's a REALLY easy recipe but it takes time to make. I didn't take as many pics as I should have, but trust me on this, it's F-ing easy so you don't need all the pics to guide you through the process. Usually my mom would serve this soup with the meat on the bone so we could pick through and get all the meat ourselves. In this particular instance I picked the meat off of the bones, but it isn't necessary at all.

These are oxtails btw, just in case any of you are going to try this recipe for the first time and have never seen oxtails.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/oxtail_190x190.jpg

Here's what you need to make the soup itself:

A bunch of scallions, cut into thirds
half a head of garlic, peeled and smashed
6 lbs of oxtails
salt, pepper
extra bunch of scallions, cut into thin rings for garnish

This is what you do - Take the oxtails, and soak them in cold water for 2 hours, or overnight even. If you soaked them overnight drain them and rinse them in more cold water. If you did the 2 hour soak, change the water, and soak another 2 hours. The blood draws out of the oxtails and you'll have some red-tinted water. Don't worry you're not losing any flavor or anything by doing this, you're just making it less scummy when it comes time to boil it.

Now put your oxtails in a big stock pot, and cover them with about 12 cups of water (~3 L of water). Add the garlic and the scallions and allow it to come to a boil, but don't let it boil hard, turn your heat all the way down to the lowest setting and let it simmer, covered for 4 hours. Better yet, if you have a crock-pot you can half this recipe and cook it in there overnight or while you're at work/school.

Allow the pot to cool down (overnight with the lid on sitting out on the countertop is ok if you don't open the top to peek in during the last 15 minutes of cooking). Then put it in the fridge and allow your soup to gelatinize and the fat to rise to the top and solidify.

Ok, so when you finally open your pot of soup you'll notice a creamy white layer of pure fat. You're going to want to remove that.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/skimmingfat23APR05.jpg

Underneath you'll see that the oxtails have pretty much given their all because you've broken down all of their collagen straight into gelatin. Cool huh? Meat jell-o.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/gelatin23APR05.jpg

Now you want to melt your meat jell-o so you can remove the oxtails and pick out the meat. Go ahead and put your pot over a medium flame and in 10 minutes or so your gelatin will have liquified enough for you to remove the oxtails. Once you've removed the oxtails, strain your liquid into a new pot and season to taste with salt and pepper. You can toss all of the scallions and garlic.

Let the oxtails cool for a bit, and then begin removing the meat from the bone.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/thecarnage23APR05.jpg

Add the meat back into the broth and let it heat through on medium heat.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/meatinbroth23APR05.jpg

Some folks like to serve their rice separate from their oxtail soup but I like the rice IN my soup. Sprinkle the extra scallions on top.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/readytoeat23APR05.jpg

[Dialectic]

Oh my God I know I'm not hungry, but dang am I hungry ....

[da Tao]

Ok, so when you finally open your pot of soup you'll notice a creamy white layer of pure fat. You're going to want to remove that.

:shock:

NOOO! DON'T DO IT! NOOOOOOOOOOOOooo...... :cry:

[ellencho]

Ok, so when you finally open your pot of soup you'll notice a creamy white layer of pure fat. You're going to want to remove that.

:shock:

NOOO! DON'T DO IT! NOOOOOOOOOOOOooo...... :cry:
Oh, don't be sad da Tao, next time I make oxtail soup I'll save the fat in an envelope and send it to you so you can enjoy it in all its flavorful heart clogging glory :wink:

[ellencho]

Ok so this was tonight's dinner. We had kalbi (the non-aggressive well seasoned type) and bibimbap. The kalbi was homemade, the bibimbap I bought because sometimes I break down and buy convenience foods ok? Are we ok with that? STOP JUDGING ME!!! :x

So this is my recipe for kalbi. This is another one of those recipes that everyone's mom does differently. Some folks put pears or kiwis or some other fruit in their recipe. I do no such thing. I am a kalbi minimalist, and I add only what is necessary for good, clean flavor. You can use any meat you like. I prefer beef short ribs because they have a nice texture, and a good meaty rich flavor.

Also, some people marinate their kalbi overnight, or even longer. When I decided I wanted kalbi for dinner tonight, it was a spur of the moment decision, so I needed a quick marinade that would flavor my meat in a short period of time. Most folks will marinate their meat a couple hours, or as long as overnight, I think I marinated like 1 hour, and I was able to do this because I used a hand blender to blend up my marinade, let that steep for a bit, and then I strained it out onto my meat. I don't think most people do this, but hey, it worked for me so I'm not complaining.

Here's what you need:
Meat - about a lb or so, sliced about 1/4 inch thick.
1/3 c soy sauce
1/4 c mirin
1-2 Tb sesame oil (depends on how much you like sesame oil)
1 Tb sugar
5 cloves garlic
a bunch of scallions, about 2 Tb of the green part cut into rings, the rest of the scallions cut into 1/2 inch rounds.
about 1.5 inches of ginger
pepper
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/seasonings27APR05.jpg

Mix all ingredients together except the 2 Tb of green scallion rings.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/marinade27APR05.jpg

Blend them up finely, and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Then strain mixture onto your meat. If you really want to skip this step it's ok, but when you go to cook your meat the bits of garlic/scall/ginger might burn onto your pan.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/strainingmarinade27APR05.jpg

Allow meat to marinate as short as 1 hour, and as long as 24 hrs.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/meat27APR05.jpg

Heat up skillet to medium high. This stuff will cook fast. Oiling the pan is optional. If you get the pan hot enough you shouldn't need it. Go ahead and add your meat in one layer. It's better if meat doesn't overlap.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/addmeat27APR05.jpg

Allow meat to brown, then flip.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/cookmeat27APR05.jpg

When all meat is cooked, garnish with leftover scallions.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/alldone27APR05.jpg

So usually Koreans will eat kalbi wrapped up in a nice fresh lettuce leaf with some spicy bean paste. Since I wanted bibimbap, I figured I could forgo the lettuce.

Bibimbap, for those who don't know, is rice, a bunch of banchan (usually Korean veggie side dishes, but sometimes meat too) and some seasoned spicy hot pepper paste. If you go to a decent Korean supermarket you can usually buy your own bibimbap banchan. Here's the one I bought.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/banchan27APR05.jpg

So this is a very minimalist way of serving it. Some folks put a fried egg on top but I don't care for that.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/bibimbap27APR05.jpg

Along with that I bought some tofu banchan, and some pickled radish banchan.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/dubuchim27APR05.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/mubanchan27APR05.jpg


For dessert we had Babambar. Bam is Korean for chestnut. They were a little freezer-burnt but still good and creamy.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/babamba27APR05.jpg

[Dialectic]

We had kalbi (the non-aggressive well seasoned type) :lol:

Everything looks amazing as usual!!!

[vsoy]

So that's what kalbi and bibimbap and banchans look like! Yum!

The kalbi looks a lot like a signature dish I like to make with flank steak, shitake mushrooms and some dark green vegetable like gai lan(chinese broccoli). I usually serve with lots of rice, but I'll have to try serving it with lettuce leaf.

It is more or less the same marinade but I like to mix in a tablespoon of cornstarch before adding the sesame oil. The mushrooms are hydrated and sliced up before sauteeing with sugar and soy sauce. Then meat is cooked, picked up and then veggies are cooked in that fragrant meat oil.

Here's an pic of some flank steak with spinach. You can even see the steam rising :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v734/vsoy/IMG_0101.jpg

[ellencho]

vsoy, the beef and spinach looks delicious - perfect for anemic weaklings like myself :)

My most favorite way of eating kalbi is straight off of a grill. Since I live in an apt I had to settle for a cast iron skillet. It still came out good though. Once I even made kalbi in a George Foreman grill and I enjoyed it from there as well.

[Scowl]

Tofu!

Fried.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid166/pd080d7c2f77c1803986b9efabae56173/f44de7ed.jpg

Cold, with the thousand year old eggs.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid166/p1fe293916a1537bfe92ff9f78d6a15dd/f44de7ef.jpg

I'm not gonna say anything else, because I'm tired and hungry.

[cattygurl]

Fried tofu.

I fucking love that shit.

DROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

I'll pass on the thousand-year-old eggs, though. I'm not a huge fan of egges to start with. I'm just a picky, picky eater.

[ellencho]

kick ass scowl!

[Scowl]

The eggs are definitely an acquired taste.

I used to hate that shit. That was actually the first time I tried frying tofu; it came out alright, but extra-firm tofu is the devil. ellen, you know anything about that? I was thinking about adding a ton of oil for kind of a "deep fried" effect, but I could just hear grandma over my shoulder, "That's too much oil! What do you need so much oil, for? You're going to have heart problems when you get old!" The eggs aren't really necessary with the cold stuff, but without them it's kind of a different dish, really.

Got any suggestions for dipping sauce? I usually just have soy sauce with garlic and sometimes scallions in it, but it's starting to get old.

When it gets hot, I'm going to have to make some stinky tofu, and post that. That stuff stinks, but damn is it good. Shit, I'm getting hungry again.

[cattygurl]

I add a bit of grated ginger, OR grated daikon radish to my dipping sauce!

I also add Lee Kum Kee's Char Chiu oil(sp). Yum.

[ellencho]

That was actually the first time I tried frying tofu; it came out alright, but extra-firm tofu is the devil. ellen, you know anything about that? I was thinking about adding a ton of oil for kind of a "deep fried" effect, but I could just hear grandma over my shoulder, "That's too much oil! What do you need so much oil, for? You're going to have heart problems when you get old!" The eggs aren't really necessary with the cold stuff, but without them it's kind of a different dish, really.
I've never deep fried tofu myself, I usually buy it already fried and then use it in my cooking. Since tofu, even well drained and dried tofu is so wet I'd worry about it popping in my face.

[da Tao]

^ You deserve an electrical deep fryer for you next gift getting occasion.

[ellencho]

daTao, would you believe I already own my own deep fryer? I bought it from hsn.com they were having some sort of sale with free shipping so I thought, why the heck not. The funny thing is, I bought it close to my birthday and my little brother was going to buy me a deep fryer so as you can imagine he was peeved he missed his chance.

Sorry I've been slacking on the pics all. Tonight was pizza night. I made four pizzas, one mexican pizza and three cheese pizzas with fresh mozz.

Here's the mexican pizza. I made it using leftovers from Wednesday night. It turned out pretty durn good with Frank's hotsauce added :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/finishedmexi06MAY05.jpg

Here's one of the cheese pizzas.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/cheese06MAY05.jpg

I like my pizzas extremely thin crusted, here's a pic of the crust, and speaking of crust, for all you Spongebob fans, there's a pic of Mr Krabbs from Spongebob Squarepants in the background on the TV.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/crust06MAY05.jpg

[vsoy]

Yum! Nothing like homemade pizza! I'm waiting for store bought pizza and I'm going to be so disappointed after looking at your pics :cry:

Fresh mozzarella on pizza rocks, but whenever I use fresh mozzarella on homemade pizza(I love thin crust too), it gets all watery and sometimes the pizza breaks or gets soggy. I use a pizza stone but maybe I'm loading too much cheese? I know that sounds crazy, how can too much cheese be a bad thing?

[cattygurl]

^^ I prefer my crust thin, too!

I actually make my own pizza dough. A bread machine has been a lifesaver for my overworked hands!

[vsoy]

^^Breadmachines are lifesavers/timesavers for making dough! I don't use it to bake bread very often, just for pizza or dumpling dough and the occasional banana bread loaf.

[cattygurl]

Yup. I RARELY use it to BAKE... but I do use it often to make dough for pasta, pizza, bread, quick breads, make jam, and make starters, poolishes, bigas, etc.

[ellencho]

Fresh mozzarella on pizza rocks, but whenever I use fresh mozzarella on homemade pizza(I love thin crust too), it gets all watery and sometimes the pizza breaks or gets soggy. I use a pizza stone but maybe I'm loading too much cheese? I know that sounds crazy, how can too much cheese be a bad thing?
I know exactly what you mean by watery and soggy crusted. Definitely use less fresh mozz and space it out more. I love my pizza stone I use it for baking bread as well as just pizza.

And now I totally want a bread machine to knead stuff for me. I fricking HATE kneading. When I make bread, I try to find recipes that let your kitchenaid do the mixing instead of doing it by hand.

[ellencho]

Here's a couple pics of stuff I've eaten in the past couple of days.

Corned beef sandwich on homemade bread with coleslaw and mustard (in the sandwich!)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_0832.jpg

Squid, pork, snow peas, maitake and trumpet royale mushrooms, and white Chinese chive stir fry.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_0844.jpg

On Sunday I visited http://www.capogirogelato.com in Philly and it was honestly the best gelato I ever had in my entire life, including the gelato I ate in Italy. On the left is pineapple gelato, and the right is grape gelato. They really tasted like the fruits they were made from, with the nice creamy gelato background. They have a different selection of gelati every day that they list on their website. Yes I am totally obsessed.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_0830.jpg

And this is the homemade bread I used in my corned beef sandwich. In the background is some leftover breakfast cornbread.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_0804.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_0829.jpg

[vsoy]

My god Ellen! Those has got to be the most beautiful loaves of bread I've seen in a long time. They' re gigantic, they must be like 4 lb loaves!

I don't know if getting a bread machine will give you results as nice as your Kitchen Aid and the max capacity for many models seem to be at 2lbs. Can the Kitchenaid really mix that much dough or do you do multiple batches and combine them all to make your mega loaves?

I've made some ugly loaves in my bread machine with gnarly, knotted tops(actual description in troubleshooting guide!). It's from not measuring ingredients carefully, too much flour not enough liquid. If I goof up one of these days, I'll have to take a pic of my frankenloaf.

[ellencho]

I think each loaf of bread took a little bit more than a lb of flour each and maybe 10 ounces of water. I did them both separately because I didn't want to over-stress my mixer with a huge hunk of dough. For some reason, the KA mixer that I have says you're not supposed to use the dough hook at faster than speed 2. I used mine at about 5.

And regarding your bread from your bread maker, I'd highly recommend buying yourself a digital kitchen scale. I do all my baking using mass instead of volume these days. IMO it makes a bit difference.

[cattygurl]

I agree.

A good kitchen scale is the best. I prefer to get ones that do both grams and ozs.

Soehnele (sp?) makes excellent digital scales, as with Tanita.

Yeah, I heard that depending on the bread, you don't want to build up too much gluten (which develops from kneading). The faster the speed = more kneading. Do you have a stand mixer, Ellen?

If ppl are going to get a bread machine, I like my Breadman Ultimate (about 99 bucks) but the Zojirushi also makes excellent bread machines.

I am a kitchen appliance SLUT. I have so many kitchen tools, it's ridiculous.

[.vhg//ALITA]

http://www.rawsalmon.net/vhg/Pictures/erin/wXP_212626_01.jpg

broccoli beef with black bean hot sauce and sauteed onions. sorry the camera's so shitty...=P made the dish meself hehe. it's like the traditional broccoli + beef with an extra "kick" :twisted:

[vsoy]

Black bean sauce rocks! I like to use it in a tofu/eggplant/ground meat dish, will have to try it with the beef and broccoli.

[inferno]

Best Fruit Cake Recipe Ever

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 dash lemon juice
4 large eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup dried fruit
1 cup chopped nuts
1 or 2 quarts whiskey
1 teaspoon baking soda

Before you start, sample the whiskey to check for quality. Good, isn't it? Now go ahead. Select a large mixing bowl, measuring cup, etc. Check the whiskey again, as it must be just right. To be sure the whiskey is of the highest quality, pour one level cup into a glass and drink it as fast as you can. Repeat.

With an electric mixer, beat 1 cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of shugar and beat again. Meanwhile, make sure that the whiskey of of the highesst quality. Cry another tup and Open 2nd quart if nesecary.

Add 2 arge leggs, 2 cups of dried druit and beat 'til high. If Druit gets stuck in the beaters, juss pry it loose with a zcrewscriver. Sample the whiskey again, checking for tonscisity. Then sift 3 cups of salt or anything, it really doesn't matter, sample the Scotch



Sift 1/2 pint of lemon juice. fold in chopped butter and strained nuts.Add a babblespoon of brown thugar, or whatever color you can find and wix mell.. grease oven and turn cake pan to 350 degreez, Now pour whole mess into the boven and ake. sampel scotch agian and ho to ged.?

http://www.pinds.com/photo-album/images/3079/kitchen-mess.jpg

[lynjess]

wow inferno, you need to keep that kitchen of yours clean

[lynjess]

hey ellen how do you store your bread? i wanna make my own bread too but i heard fresh baked bread goes bad in like a couple days.

[cattygurl]

depends on the type of bread.

All fresh bread needs to be eaten in a few days. The best way for bread with no or little fat it in (i.e. baguettes - french) should be stored in a paper bag. They WILL get rock hard in a day or two.

Soft breads can be stored in ziploc bags for a day or two- after that, pre-slice it and freeze it.


Basic summary:
crusty bread with crispy crust- paper bag (as not to soften/ruin the crust).
soft bread- ziploc bag (but not more than a day or two before ferrying off to the freezer).

[ellencho]

Yeah catty's right on the money.

Usually if you reheat crusty bread the following day, it softens the crumb a bit and it's just as good as if you ate it the day before. Just be sure to store the bread with some sort of covering over the cut end, like foil. If you're going to save it for longer than overnight then wrap the entire thing in a plastic bag and store it in the freezer. Or out on the counter in a paper bag if you're going to eat it the next day.

When you're ready to use it, if it's been frozen, take it out and let it defrost before sticking it in a 400 degree oven for 5-7 minutes to heat it through, with the aluminum foil still covering the cut end to keep some of the steam in.

[ellencho]

Crab cakes and arugula/raddichio/carrot salad.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_0990.jpg

Oh yeah, and chocolate eclairs and napoleons for dessert bitches! And no, I did not make them myself, I leave that up to my friendly neighborhood patisserie.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_0991.jpg

[cattygurl]

ooooh

did you make the crab cakes? Recipes! I want recipes! :D

[ellencho]

Yeah I made the crab cakes. I got the recipe from Cook's Illustrated. It's really easy.

Pan-Fried Crab Cakes with Old Bay Seasoning
7/1995

The amount of bread crumbs you add will depend on the crabmeatís juiciness. Start with the smallest amount, adjust the seasonings, then add the egg. If the cakes won't bind at this point, then add more bread crumbs, one tablespoon at a time.

Serves 4
1 pound lump crabmeat (preferably jumbo lump), picked over to remove cartilage and shell fragments
4 medium scallions , green part only, minced (about 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley or cilantro, dill, or basil, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs , or up to 1/4 cup (see headnote), fine
1/4 cup mayonnaise
table salt
ground black pepper
1 large egg
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons vegetable oil


1. Gently mix crabmeat, scallions, herb, Old Bay, bread crumbs, and mayonnaise in medium bowl, being careful not to break up crab lumps. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Carefully fold in egg with rubber spatula until mixture just clings together.

2. Divide crab mixture into four portions and shape each into a fat, round cake, about 3 inches across and 1 1/2-inches high. Arrange on baking sheet lined with waxed paper; cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes. (Can refrigerate up to 24 hours.)

3. Put flour on plate or in pie tin. Lightly dredge crab cakes. Heat oil in large, preferably nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Gently lay chilled crab cakes in skillet; pan-fry until outsides are crisp and browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Serve hot, with or without following sauce.

Creamy Dipping Sauce
Serve with crab cakes or other fried fish.


Makes about 1/2 cup
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce , minced
1 small clove of garlic , minced
2 teaspoons fresh cilantro leaf , minced
1 teaspoon lime juice from 1 small lime


1. Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

[cattygurl]

I looooooooove Cook's Illustrated. One of my favorite cooking mags!

[Altaira]

wow inferno, you need to keep that kitchen of yours clean

What do you expect from a wild bachelor? *laughs*

Ellencho, are you sure you don't want to be a restaurateur or chef? Or make extra money on the side with cooking/recipes.

[fatmaneatschild]

Crab cakes and arugula/raddichio/carrot salad.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_0990.jpg


:shock: That looks so tastey, I can eat about anything right now :lol:

[ellencho]

Altaira, I thought about the whole chef/restaurant thing for a while, but I realized I'd rather cook for the pleasure of myself and loved ones than for strangers, some of whom can be unappreciative. Also, I don't like the idea of sweating on a line, standing on my feet all day, and about coming home smelling of food either :wink:

Anyway, it's been a while, here's some food porn to tide you over for the next couple days or weeks, depending on how lazy I feel. But I will be visiting my mom's home this weekend so maybe I'll click some decent pics there too.

This is dinner from over the weekend. Lasagne and meatballs. Yay.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1039.jpg

This is the inside of the lasagne. I used jarred sauce (Bertoli is my favorite), jarred mushrooms (we like em better than fresh in lasagne, the texture appeals to us) and I used those no-cook noodles that you just lay in the dish.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1043.jpg

These are the meatballs. 2/3 ground beef, 1/3 ground pork.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1042.jpg

This is the bowl that I put the meatballs in. I made it in 1996 or so at one of those paint your own pottery places. I'm such a girl.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1040.jpg

[ellencho]

Oh yeah, with the leftover meatballs I made a couple pizzas later in the week.

Here's a meatball pizza
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1035.jpg

This is a plain cheese pizza
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1036.jpg

[ellencho]

We went out for Chinese on Friday night. I think it's called Hartsdale Seafood, it's in Hartsdale NY. They're not one of your cookie-cutter Chinese restaurants that serves sauce that come in 5 gallon buckets. We know the owners, and we know the head waiter so we get served pretty good food without having to look at the menu. We just tell them what we want and it'll come out 20 minutes later. I didn't get pictures of all the food we got, but here's four of the dishes we had.

It's soft shell crab season so we got two of those and split them between my grandparents, my mom and myself. They were fried and had some sort of spicy garlicy dry topping.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1048.jpg

This is usually served during their dim sum service, but we managed to get a big platter of it during dinner service. I have no idea what kind of fish these are but they're fried whole and you eat the whole thing. The bones aren't really a factor since they're so soft. I'd bet these are a good source of calcium.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1049.jpg

This dish is two types of mushrooms and snow pea leaves. The large scalloppy looking things are mushrooms and they were SO soft.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1051.jpg

And this last dish is their dry shrimp chow fun. It was really nice and they gave us some large shrimp.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1050.jpg

[ellencho]

Tonight we had roasted pork loin, potato gnocchi and sauteed broccoli, with everything homemade.

Gnocchi used to be my culinary archnemesis but I've figured it out. It's really simple, potato, flour, salt, peccorino romano cheese, salt, and an egg all mixed together until it has the texture and feel of playdough. Then you form them into these little dumplings and boil them until they float.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1079.jpg

After boiling them, I sauteed them in olive oil and butter, salted, peppered and nutmegged, then grated some pecorrino cheese over them.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1082.jpg

The pork loin is actually quite easy because I used a probe thermometer for it. You tie up a 2 lb pork loin, salt and pepper the outside. Then put it in a 475 degree oven for 20 minutes. Then remove it from the oven, turn down the temp to 325 and actually let it sit out on the countertop for 20 minutes. Then stick it back into the oven until the internal temperature rises to 145 degrees (that took about 40 minutes or so). Then you let it rest for about 15 minutes before you cut it up. The holes you see in the meat is where the probe thermometer went through the roast.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1084.jpg

The final plate.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1086.jpg

[fatmaneatschild]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1086.jpg[/quote]

Ellen, you just love to tease don't you? :lol:

[dragon]

Here's a meatball pizza
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1035.jpg

Sweet-Mother-McCree...

It's like, I hate your man more and more as each day passes...

[Dialectic]

At some point, there WILL be a party at Ellen's house :P

[vsoy]

Dang ellencho, I think you must be channelling some dead Italian grandmother when you make gnocchi, they look GOOD! I've been on a quest to find a good store-bought brand and few fall into the halfway decent category. Please post the recipe for gnocchi!

I'll wash your dishes....hell, do you take pets? I'm housetrained :lol:

[ellencho]

I've never tried store bought gnocchi before, but I know Trader Joe's has their own. MAybe you could try that?

Gnocchi is incredibly easy, but I don't have a straightforward recipe with actual weights and measures in it. I'll just describe what I did last night.

I bought two lbs of idaho potatoes, and baked them for 1.25 hrs at 375. Then I riced them, and let them cool to room temp. I like to rice them hot because it ends up fluffier that way. After they cooled, I dumped them out onto the countertop, made a well and mixed in about 1/4 c grated hard italian cheese, about 1 tb of kosher salt, and a large egg. It was pretty sticky at this point. Then I think I added the equivalent of about 2 cups of flour, maybe a bit less, maybe 1 3/4 cups, gradually, working it until it no longer stuck to the table and had the consistency of play dough. Just use a pastry cutter and slice through your ball of dough, and see if it cuts through like it does playdough.

Then I took the dough rolled it into ropes, and cut them up into bite sized pieces. I made those little dents with forks and then boiled them up. I then strained them, and added them to a waiting pan with olive oil and butter melted in it. I seasoned with nutmeg, salt and pepper and more cheese.

[da Tao]

Man I have been lying low on the food thread lately... looks like I missed out on a lot of good stuff!

Ahhh!!! They serve gnocchi here in the caf, but it is the mass produced messhall type... still I lap it up cause it's cheap.

Altaira, I thought about the whole chef/restaurant thing for a while, but I realized I'd rather cook for the pleasure of myself and loved ones than for strangers, some of whom can be unappreciative. Also, I don't like the idea of sweating on a line, standing on my feet all day, and about coming home smelling of food either :wink:

This doesn't directly relate to the quote, but if a girl comes home smelling like food, I would spend extra time on the foreplay part... (not that I don't already) :lol:

INCIDENTALLY, I somehow got myself in a situation where I have Swedish and Finnish au pairs (international babysitters in early 20s) over for dinner... I am gonna glean what I can from here, or else it is minced meat lettuce wrap and ad hoc stirfry!

btw, my stirfry sauce is a bit weird... I use half a bowl of water, a teaspoon of cornstarch (I am pretty sure it is cornstarch), some sugar, random splash of rice wine and some soya sauce. The problem is that the sauce reduces quickly and turns into this sweet gum. Is it too much cornstarch? Heat too high/ too long? I remember making this work before... year ago. :oops:

(I will be ending work soon, so I will be a bit scarce around the boards.)

[ellencho]

Hmm, well, you're not using too much cornstarch. Maybe you can use more than your half bowl of water then? Or add a bit of oyster sauce for some depth? The trick I've noticed with cornstarch in sauces is that once you get it boiling is when it really begins to thicken. If you reduce it too much you'll have too thick and gummy of a sauce.

When I do stir fries at home I use a bunch of oyster sauce, sriracha and then add some water or chicken stock to loosen up my sauce. If it becomes too thin, I take a tsp of cornstarch and mix it with about 1/4 cup of water, then add it to the stir fry sauce until it thickens to my liking. I've also found that garnishing with chopped scallions brightens up a stir fry well.

[vsoy]

I usually add cornstarch solution a few minutes before I turn off the heat. Right away, mix very well to distribute the cornstarch. When it starts to thicken or almost at the consistency you want the sauce, turn off the heat.

Personally, I generally use a more concentrated cornstarch solution, 1 tablespoon cornstarch+4-6tablespoons of water if I have already marinated my meat. But I've used the 1 teaspoon to half a cup ratio with soy sauce/booze/hoisin sauce for unmarinated meat and that has worked well for me too. The hoisin is like candy, mmmm, you'll have those au pairs eating out of your hands :P

[da Tao]

Thanks Ellen and vsoy! The dinner worked great - minced meat in lettuce cups and ultra-stirfry (watercrest, siu tong choy, carrot, garlic, peas in a pod, oyster mushrooms, baby corn, tofu)

Pictures of the dishes and the au pairs with my roommate soon! (I am holding out for a pic with even more scandinavian girls... hehe)

[kimtae]

Kill two bird with one stone. you should marinate your stir-fry meat or seafood in a little rice wine along with any other flavorings that you want to infuse more deeply into the food (soy sauce, ginger juice, garlic juice, lemon, whatever you like) for about 30 minutes. After you've coated the food with your marinade, add in a little corn starch and mix well. This keeps your food from drying out in case you over-cook, trust me, your meat or seafood will come out much juicier and more succulent than if you don't do this. It also has the added benefit of automatically thickening the sauce. You really can only fail with this if you are a real klutz in the kitchen. You measure the starch to just be enough to create a slightly pasty coating around the food and you shouldn't have to worry about over-thickening.

[ellencho]

Twice baked potatoes with ham, gruyere, peas and carrots, and tiramisu. All homemade bitches!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1098.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1101.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1103.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1105.jpg

[ellencho]

So I dunno how many of you know this, but I live in Philly, which is known for its cheesesteaks. I don't mind going out for cheesesteaks but I prefer to make them at home where I can eat them and keep clean easier than I can when I eat them out at the cheesesteak stand. They're awfully easy to make, especially if you pick up the meat from a Korean market where it comes already thin cut, and is probably better for you than that processed steak-ums shit you get at the supermarket and cheaper, 2.50 a lb, where else can you get steak for that cheap? I think steakums is more expensive per lb than Korean supermarket sliced ribeye.

This is what you'll need. (enough for 6 people)
6 hard hoagie rolls (in Philly we use Amoroso brand, the interior is soft, the exterior is crusty and chewy)
2 green bell peppers diced
2 non-green bell peppers diced (your choice of color, I used orange today)
2 large onions diced
2-3 lbs of thin sliced ribeye steak
any cheese you like (cheez whiz is authentic)
olive oil
salt

Here's the veggies chopped up
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1125.jpg

Cook them down at medium heat in olive oil and a bit of salt until they're softened and translucent.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1126.jpg

Once the veggies are cooked down you can start the meat, it takes very little time for it to cook through since it's cooked so thin.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1127.jpg

Split rolls, add meat, veggies, and your cheese. Eat up.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1129.jpg

[vsoy]

Sigh, I miss good Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. Outside of northeast, it just isn't the same.

I didn't know you can make them with thin sliced ribeye :idea:
I love cheesesteak with those hot Italian peppers.
Just what exactly is the steamums made of anyways? Do we want to know? :lol:

[DijabutiA]

Good Lord Nuna! You trying to fatten up your BF before you eat him or something? :lol:

[ellencho]

Tonight we had homemade tortellini. I made the pasta earlier this morning, and rolled it out in the afternoon. They were filled with three cheeses - ricotta, peccorino romano and mozzarella.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1395.jpg

So all I did was boil them and then add some jarred tomato sauce (Bertolli is my personal favorite).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1400.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1398.jpg

For angi and apollyon I used some kitty bowls to serve them in.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1396.jpg

And dessert was chocolate macarons filled with a milk chocolate ganache. Macarons are a French cookie, they are made with almond flour instead of wheat flour and sort of taste like a grainy brownie (but in a good way).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1406.jpg

[maogirl]

*drool*

i had the best macaroons in barcelona at paul's...they had pistachio ones...oh, so good...

ellen, you should try stuffing tortellini with truffles, parmesan and rucola...absolutely the best!

as an alternative, if you like stinky blue cheeses, gorgonzola and prosciutto.

[ellencho]

Truffles and anything sounds good :)

Tonight we had a copykat meal. There's a website called www.topsecretrecipes.com run by this guy named Todd Wilbur, and every week he makes a recipe clone from different sorts of popular food around this country. Sometimes it's a recipe for a candy bar, other times it's a recipe from a chain restaurant. Usually he's pretty spot-on.

I made his recipe for Cheesecake Factory's Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp. I usually don't like CF, but this dish was pretty good. When I make it at home, I cut down on the amount of coconut milk and up the amount of chicken stock. If you have all the spices that this recipe takes, I highly recommend it, it doesn't take too long, and it's fun to garnish your curry with the different toppings.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1411.jpg

Bang-Bang Chicken & Shrimp

***Curry Sauce:***

2 teaspoons chili oil
1/4 cup minced onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
3 cups coconut milk
***

2 medium carrots, julienned
1 small zucchini, julienned
1/2 cup frozen peas
***Peanut Sauce***

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons water
4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon chili oil
***

2 chicken breast fillets
16 large raw shrimp, shelled
1/4 cup corn starch
1/2 cup vegetable oil
***

4 cups cooked white rice
***Garnish ***

1 1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley, crumbled
2 tablespoons chopped peanuts
2 green onions, julienned

1. Make the curry sauce by heating the chili oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
When the oil is hot add the onion, garlic, and ginger. SautÈ for about about 30 seconds
then add the chicken broth. Add the spices (cumin, coriander, paprika, salt, black pepper,
and turmeric) and stir well. Simmer for 5 minutes then add the coconut milk. Bring mixture
back up to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken.
Add the julienned carrots and zucchini, and the frozen peas. Simmer mixture for 10 minutes
or until carrots become tender.
2. Make peanut sauce by combining peanut butter, water, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime
juice, and chili oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat just until mixture begins to
bubble, then cover the pan and remove it from the heat.
3. Toast the flaked coconut by preheating your oven to 300 degrees. Spread coconut on a baking
sheet and toast it in the oven. Stir the coconut around every 10 minutes or so that it browns
evenly, but watch it closely in the last 5 minutes so it doesn't get too dark. After 25 to 30
minutes the coconut should be light brown. Take it out of the oven and let it cool.
4. Cut the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces. Coat the chicken and shrimp with corn starch.
Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add the coated chicken to
the pan and sautÈ it for a couple minutes, turning as it cooks. Add the shrimp to the pan.
Cook the shrimp and chicken for a couple minutes, until it's done, then remove everything to
a rack or towel to drain.
5. Build the two plates (or you can divide the meal into four portions) by filling a soup bowl
with 2 cups of white rice. Press down on the rice. Invert the bowl onto the center of a plate,
tap it a bit, then lift off the bowl leaving a formed pile of rice in the center of each plate.
Arrange an equal portion of chicken and shrimp around the rice. Spoon the curry sauce and
vegetables over the chicken and shrimp, being careful not to get any sauce on top of the rice.
6. Drizzle peanut sauce over the dish concentrating most of it on the rice. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon
of crumbled, dried parsley over the center of the rice. Add a tablespoon of chopped peanuts on the
parsley, then place a pile of julienned green onions on top. Sprinkle 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of toasted
coconut over the chicken and shrimp and serve it up.

[KeJia Sista]

So I dunno how many of you know this, but I live in Philly, which is known for its cheesesteaks. I don't mind going out for cheesesteaks but I prefer to make them at home where I can eat them and keep clean easier than I can when I eat them out at the cheesesteak stand. They're awfully easy to make, especially if you pick up the meat from a Korean market where it comes already thin cut, and is probably better for you than that processed steak-ums shit you get at the supermarket and cheaper, 2.50 a lb, where else can you get steak for that cheap? I think steakums is more expensive per lb than Korean supermarket sliced ribeye.



We don't eat beef... is there anything that will make a reasonable substitute?

Ke Jia

[ellencho]

If you can find any thinly sliced meat it'll still come out good. Perhaps you cold take some chicken breasts, freeze them half way and then slice them really thinly. Also you might be able to find chicken steakums, I've seen them in Philly at the supermarket before.

I know they have chicken alternatives at all good cheesesteak stands in PHilly. Some even offer a vegetarian equivalent, but I say, what's the point?

[KeJia Sista]

Thanks! BTW, was there a recipe for the twiced baked potatos or just the photo?

Ke Jia

[ellencho]

I'll PM you the twice baked potatoes recipe. It's from Cook's Illustrated or AMerica's Test kitchen, I can't remember.

[angi]

i want kitty plates!


*DROOL*

god ellen, i would so love to live with u

[ellencho]

Sorry for the lack of food porn for the past couple weeks. I'm experimenting this month by not cooking on the weekdays, to see if I can save money on food by just drinking yogurt lassis and eating mueslix, and then eating regular food on the weekends. So far I've been saving quite a bit of money.

Anyway, I visited a friend of mine over in S. Philly. We ate at Cafe de Lao. They serve a bicultural menu of Thai food and Laotian food. Good lord, I don't think there's a single type of asian cuisine that I don't like. THis restaurant was really good and I'd definitely eat there again. Here's what we had.

An appetizer assortment with different types of dumplings, fried rolls, and sate. Everything was seasoned nicely and all of the ingredients were fresh and crunchy.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1532.jpg

For my entree I had a jungle pork. It was lightly spicy, and had an assortment of mixed veggies in it. I tried to get something that wasn't overly unhealthy because I knew I'd want a dessert afterwards. Jungle curries are different from other Thai curries in that they're spicy but they don't have a coconut milk or cream base. I think they use a stock instead, which is partially what makes them less heavy than your average red or green curry.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1533.jpg

This is what my friend Emily had and what I wanted to get originally but felt that it might be too heavy. She had a curry noodle soup with chicken. THe chicken turned out to be overcooked, it tasted like it was leftover from another day, but the noodles and the curry soup were excellent.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1534.jpg

And for dessert I had a thai dessert plate with foi tong, tong yip and some mung bean thingie. It was sweet and fragrant and nicely textured. This was my first time tasting something like this and I was excited to try it since I had seen it in a cookbook before, but never had the supplies with which to make it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1535.jpg

[ellencho]

My brother and his gf came over to get away from their hot apt, so I made an impromptu and modified Thanksgiving for dinner. But instead of using turkey, I used chicken breast that I just happened to have ready to go. Along with the pan roasted chicken, we also had roasted potatoes, stuffing, and spinach patties.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1536.jpg

[DijabutiA]

I just wanted to say, Simply Ming is a PIMP. His mom and his dad are awesome too.

[ellencho]

My grandfather always teases my grandma so I always got a kick out of the way Ming and his pops make fun of the mom.

[ellencho]

Ok, I know lighting is important in porn, but when I'm in a restaurant I always feel weird about using a flash. I never want to disrupt someone's meal with my flash going off.

So yesterday was my mom's birthday, and my brother and I travelled through three states to have dinner with her in NYC.

While my brother was at band practice, my mom and I shared a bowl of patbingsu over at Koryodang.
http://www.koryodang.com/
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1741.jpg

Then we went to dinner at YAMA (the 17th and Irving PL branch).

My mom and brother started with eel hand rolls.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1743.jpg

Then we all enjoyed a plate of fried soft shell crabs. The crabs were juicy and meaty, and the dipping sauce had a tiny bit of heat to it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1744.jpg

For our entrees, Doug and mom both had sashimi specials
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1746.jpg

I had the Yama meze (at least I think that's what it was called). Clockwise from the top left - shrimp and green bean tempura, next was sort of a cross between a gyozai and a shumai filled with pork and shrimp, beef teriyaki, four types of sushi, and rice.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1747.jpg

[ellencho]

And I tried something new for dinner tonight. I made chicken under a brick. I think that dish originated in Italy, and basically it's a spatchcocked chicken (backbone cut out, the rest of the bird laid out flat and pounded down to an even thickness) that is cooked with a weight on it to maximize crispiness of the skin. Instead of using a brick, I took a cast iron skillet and in it I weighed it down further with a pot full of water. This is the chicken that resulted. It had an awesome amount of crispy crust and was really easy to cut up. The meat was really juicy and cooked perfectly inside.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1753.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1754.jpg

[little mixed girl]

^ daaamnnnn
that chicken looks so good!
tonights dinner of kroger oven pizza now doesn't seem so special.

the past few months that i have lurked in this food forum have me motivated to try and cook...
but in the end that motivation quickly dies with my lack of wanting to go to the store and buy food that doesn't have to be put in the microwave...
*sigh*

[ellencho]

Ok, so my brother and I had a rather disappointing meal at Penang today, but I did manage to eat some delicious ABC. I don't know what ABC stands for, any M'sians out there who want to translate?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1911.jpg

[ellencho]

Oh yeah, the roti canai was delicious as usual but my beef rendang sucked ass. I don't think we'll be eating there for a while.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1912.jpg

This was the beef. It wasn't nearly spicy enough, and the curry was too wet.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v250/ellencho/IMG_1913.jpg

[maogirl]

Ok, so my brother and I had a rather disappointing meal at Penang today, but I did manage to eat some delicious ABC. I don't know what ABC stands for, any M'sians out there who want to translate?


that looks like ice kacang or chendol...i have never heard of ABC??

jade, any idea?



ps guess what, my mom taught me how to make adobo while i was in manila! i'd put up the recipe but i left it with my brother, haha. i also learned how to make goat kare kare. apparently, the secret ingredient is beer.

[awong]

http://tinypic.com/dlhm5y.jpg

[JadeDragon]

Ok, so my brother and I had a rather disappointing meal at Penang today, but I did manage to eat some delicious ABC. I don't know what ABC stands for, any M'sians out there who want to translate?


ABC stands for "Air Batu Campur" in Malay or "mixed ice", and is pretty much the same thing as ice kacang or chendol (shaved ice, red beans, sweet corn, grass jelly, syrup, condensed milk). Man, I miss local food... :cry:

[vsoy]

awong, are those pineapples from your backyard? Wow that is so cool! What is that in the middle?

[awong]

yeah those are the pineapples from the backyard, 2 more should be comming out next week or so. They are about the size that the supermarkt sells.

i don't know what the one in the middle is, all I know is it was rotten inside and couldn't be eaten when it was opened.

banana trees are starting to show small green bananas now.

[inferno]

http://tinypic.com/dlhm5y.jpg

awong, are those pineapples from your backyard? Wow that is so cool! What is that in the middle?
An inflated pineapple.

[maogirl]

An inflated pineapple.


:lol:

you and your pineapples...

:wink:

[awong]

I think I am going to get more pictures soon, my mom said some peppers are starting to grow,

she told me when she buys fruits at the store she saves the seeds to grow.

[kimtae]

I think I am going to get more pictures soon, my mom said some peppers are starting to grow,

she told me when she buys fruits at the store she saves the seeds to grow.A lot of fruit from stores is radiated at low levels so the seeds are sterile. I've never been able to sprout any apples or oranges but I've tried a lot from store bought seeds. Good luck with that.

[awong]

with the oranges, in florida used to be filled with orange groves, a lot of the seeds my mom got from were from the local farmers who didn;'t use insectiside. unfortunately I think most went out of business b/c of the developments growing in my area. I think it took a few years, but the star fruit my mom grew came from the supermarket seeds. Those starfruit are expensive too.

I think you are right though about the the seeds being sterile, b/c I think there have been some fruits that haven't grown at all.

Stilling waiting for hte lychee to come out, the plant is there, but no fruit yet

[vsoy]

Also with supermarket produce, some are hybrids and the seeds they produce do not end up giving rise to plants like the parent plant.

I've also heard that chain supermarkets spray stuff on garlic to inhibit mold and growth so if you want to plant cloves, you're better off using garlic from Asian superrmarkets which do not spray.

[.vhg//ALITA]

*poke* I decided to make bread on my own for the very first time last night =P My mom always used the bread machine and it usually turns out really dense with a thick crust (it never totally rises =( ) so I decided to do it without a breadmaker =P

that and i'm a poor college student who can't afford one anyway.

http://vhg.rawsalmon.net/Pictures/focaccia1.JPG

ze ingredientsssss

http://vhg.rawsalmon.net/Pictures/focaccia2.JPG

After the first fermentation.

I didn't take any pictures of the second one because I wanted it cooked, but the finished product came out like this:

http://vhg.rawsalmon.net/Pictures/focaccia3.JPG

there were four "sections". note two of them are "missing". yeaaaaaa.

It's REALLY FUCKING GOOD right out of the oven. I'm definitely doing this again. oh and <3 cook's illustrated - I took the recipe from the book my dad gave to my mom. ^_^

[.vhg//ALITA]

muffins, anyone?

http://vhg.rawsalmon.net/Pictures/food/muffin1.JPG

http://vhg.rawsalmon.net/Pictures/food/muffin2.JPG

[ellencho]

Well haven't your paws been busy vhg. Nice!

If you still have any leftover muffins, it tastes really good if you cut them in half and brown the cut half in some butter in a frying pan.

[kimtae]

Well haven't your paws been busy vhg. Nice!

If you still have any leftover muffins, it tastes really good if you cut them in half and brown the cut half in some butter in a frying pan.There is something seriously wrong with you. You and Catty need to sit down and find some kind of middle ground. Fried muffins!!!
Take some bleached white flour (sugar) add sugar and butter, bake then fry again in butter. ACK!!! I need a fribulator :shock: :shock: :shock: .

[ellencho]

Well haven't your paws been busy vhg. Nice!

If you still have any leftover muffins, it tastes really good if you cut them in half and brown the cut half in some butter in a frying pan.There is something seriously wrong with you. You and Catty need to sit down and find some kind of middle ground. Fried muffins!!!
Take some bleached white flour (sugar) add sugar and butter, bake then fry again in butter. ACK!!! I need a fribulator :shock: :shock: :shock: .
Aw, wait till you try it and you'll see how right I am. It's a good way to eat older muffins. The heat and the steam that is built up during cooking softens the entire muffin and then you get the bonus of a crispy toasted muffin as well. Nobody said to use a whole lb of butter to fry them up in, you could get away with less than a teaspoon of butter.

[Dialectic]

Mmm, and if they're chocolate muffins, add a dollop of peanut butter afterwards, and it's like a soft, hot Reese's in your mouth!!! :D

[kimtae]

You people are sending me into a diabetic coma.

[DijabutiA]

I heart Muffins.

:lol: ; my mom always made that premix stuff but it was still delicious... the apple one is my favorite.

[vsoy]

Frying muffins?! Agh you people are going to kill me! I was able to jiggle my cholesterol number to just below 200 by eating rice and beans the week before my test.

vhg you've been the busy baker! Haha I spy the mini plastic trash container with the muffin wrappers! i've been freezing muffins and taking them out on days I'm too busy for oatmeal. Butternut muffins taste like pumpkin/carrot cake!

[DijabutiA]

http://www.marthawhite.com/images/products/products_muffins.jpg

me <3 Apple Cinnamon

[ellencho]

Sorry to be so stingy with the porn all. I have been taking pics of my food as usual, but I haven't really had any pictures or pictorials that I really liked lately. However, since tomato season is ending I thought it would be a shame not to make something using the last of the summer tomatoes.

Ellen's recipe for Tomato pie.

Yes, I know the name of this dish is boring, but I didn't want to make up some long-ass name for something so delicious, I hate when people do that.

This is almost like a French or Swiss pizza. Instead of using a dough crust, puff pastry is the crust and gruyere is used in place of mozzarella. What I like about this "pizza" is that instead of using a tomato based sauce, you use a "pesto". I use the term very loosely since there are no nuts in it, but it's got some very similar components and is easy to make if you have a food processor.

Serves 4 for main course, 8 for appetizer
What you will need:
3 or 4 scallions, depending on size
1 cup of parsley leaves
2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup of oil
1 Tb of dried oregano, 3 Tb if fresh
1/4 lb of gruyere, grated finely
1 pack of puff pastry, defrosted according to package directions
whatever tomatoes you like. I happened to have local tomatoes and cherry toms
salt and pepper
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tomatopie/bitsandpieces.jpg


Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Lay out your puff pastry and using a pizza cutter cut off about 1/2 an inch from the edges of your sheet.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tomatopie/cutedges.jpg

Use the cut strips to make yourself a crust for your pie. Fold over any overhang from the strips. Press them down lightly onto the puff pastry. Then poke your pastry with a fork along the entire non-crust surface. Bake for 15 minutes.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tomatopie/poked.jpg

While you wait for your pastry to bake, gather up the ingredients for the "pesto". It's easier if you roughly cut up the scallions and garlic beforehand. Don't forget to season with salt and pepper.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tomatopie/almostpesto.jpg

Give it a whiz until it looks like this.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tomatopie/pesto.jpg

Now prepare your tomatoes. Cut them into thin slices and lay them out on paper towels. Salt them and then lay more paper towels over them to draw out some excess moisture. If you have to use extra paper towels that's cool.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tomatopie/tomatoes.jpg

Hopefully by now your puff pastry is ready to go.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tomatopie/bakedpuff.jpg

For one tomato pie (this recipe makes two) add a layer of half of the pesto, half of the tomatoes, and half of the gruyere evenly.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tomatopie/pestotop.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tomatopie/tomsadded.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tomatopie/cheesetopped.jpg

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until cheese has melted to your liking.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tomatopie/finishedpie.jpg

Let sit for a couple minutes before cutting into it. Hooray!
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tomatopie/finalplate.jpg

[ellencho]

Here's some bonus porn for you all. It's fig season so I bought myself a pint of figs, some Maytag blue cheese and some delicious prosciutto. This is so retardedly easy to make.

You only need 3 ingredients.
Figs
prosciutto
cheese of your choice (manchego is exceptionally good in this)
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/figsnack/IMG_1979.jpg

Heat up your oven to 425. Cut top off of fig, and make an X with your knife partway down your fig. Don't go all the way to the bottom.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/figsnack/IMG_1982.jpg

Now take a small hunk of cheese and press it into the fig.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/figsnack/IMG_1985.jpg

Wrap some prosciutto around your fig. It doesn't have to cover the entire thing.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/figsnack/IMG_1988.jpg

Stick it in the oven for 6-7 minutes or until cheese begins to melt and prosciutto looks crispy.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/figsnack/IMG_1998.jpg

Don't forget to let it cool or you'll be burnt by melted cheese napalm. Yay! Fig snack!

[ellencho]

I made two types of tortellini last night.

One was your standard cheese tortellini
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tortellini/cheeses.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tortellini/cheesetortellini.jpg

I served them in a jarred tomato sauce.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tortellini/cheeseinsauce.jpg

The second type I made was a tortellini stuffed with braised oxtail.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tortellini/braisedoxtail.jpg

I removed the meat from the bones and then processed it without anything else.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tortellini/shreddedoxtail.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tortellini/processedoxtail.jpg

I served them with the same jarred tomato sauce but I added a ladel-ful of the braising liquid to it to mellow it out a bit.
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a120/foxandpoo/tortellini/meatpasta.jpg

Normally with just the plain cheese ones I can scarf down an obscene amount of them, but since I had also served the meat ones, and since they were so rich we got full really fast.

And just in case anyone is wondering, yes I real