Lilija

Oh, crazy, I JUST made that cobbler last weekend, for a Mother's Day barbecue, only I used the jarred peaches, and frozen raspberries. Good stuff. I think for this weekend's barbecue, I'm gonna replicate that salad. Looks good. I love a good cucumber salad, but I never thought of putting shredded cheese in it. Nice. I look at this thread a lot, (and Ducky's "feeding Mr. E" thread) for ideas when I have to feed my parents and their peers. Great comfort food.

I made the roast, today, using the CI method listed here... it came out very well, considering I screwed it up beyond recognition. Cut the roast lengthwise, last night, rubbed, and wrappeed it up. Seared it in a black pan, today, put the meat thermometer in, set it for 105, and popped it in the oven at 250. (I didn't have all night, I figured it would be low enough and still work out). First off, it smelled delicious, very rich and beefy. No other seasonings besides the salt, and really that's all it needed. Here's the fail part...apparently, my thermometer doesn't do well below a certain temperature, so every time I looked in on it it only registered "Lo" which means it's about 20 degrees colder than the coolest setting. Ok...fine...but boy it was taking a while to come to temperature. After an hour, I took it out and stared good and hard at the thing, and I'm thinking "this looks...done. More than done." Sure enough, I jiggled and poked the thermometer, and 155F popped up >.< So, yeah, I way overcooked it. It was evenly brown and lovely outside, but just a hint of pink at the ends, and maybe med-well in the center. Sigh... It looked like it was gonna be leathery, so I made a fast bernaise. Let me just say, if you folks ever doubted that CI recipe, don't. Even my WAY the hell overcooked doorstop came out tender and lovely, rich, beefy, flavorful. Not dry, either. Not drippingly bloody and juicy like I like...but not dry, amazingly enough. It was a little chewy, but not tough or stringy. Amazing. It tasted a lot like well done prime rib, believe it or not! Definitely a keeper. Now I have to find another eye round, to try and do this the right way, I can only imagine!

I've had one of these doorstops sitting in my freezer for a few months, thank goodness for this thread! I went from not knowing what to do with it, to now having a hard time narrowing down my options!

I had it twice, already. It's suprisingly good. Light batter/breaded coating, moist white meat, no gristle or anything, and it's nicely seasoned. It goes well with their already awesome biscuits. My only complaint is that it's a bit bland, the coating could use a little more oomph, maybe some more black pepper. Otherwise, the quality is there, and I can see myself craving them in the future. Their other nod to the South, the "Sweet Tea" is ungodly, though.

Why not just do the steak in the cast iron, without the oven?

Whoa. Just. Whoa. You might have invented a new craving for me.

I think you're overthinking this just a little. You're working on theory, but have you actually tasted real fried chicken? How about fried chicken without skin? Nevermind about all the moisture loss and heat diffusion...how about what it tastes like? Skin is a whole other component, that people eat. Yes it gets crispy under the batter. The batter clings to it and forms a crispy crunchy jacket. When I hear "fried chicken", it calls to mind a certain product, the Southern US style. If you're going for something different, then okay. But, I see you're thinking of flour and buttermilk and all, so I assume you're aiming for Southern Fried Chicken. That product is leagues away from a boneless, skinless, chunk of brined and sous-vided chicken. What you're concocting sounds alright, tasty, but not "fried chicken". Did you find that "Cook off" thread I mentioned?

I have not much to add, besides this: If you take the skin and bone off of fried chicken, you are left with a stunted, flavorless chunk which most people think of as a nugget. Which doesn't even count when referring to fried chicken. There's a cook off about fried chicken around here somewhere, if you do a search and read through it, you can gain tons of tried and true wisdom for your quest for the perfect fried chicken.

I make sorta-trifles a lot, too. They're my go-to take along fruity desserts... I make homemade pound cake, let it sit a day, then cube it. I brush it with equal parts of amaretto and orange juice, then layer it with (here's where I cheat) vanilla instant pudding or white chocolate flavored, fresh raspberries, blueberries, and thawed frozen strawberries. I run half the strawberries through the food processer with a bit of sugar to make something of a coulis, to bind it. So, into my trifle bowl goes moistened boozy cake cubes, pudding, berries-sauce, cake, pudding, fresh whipped cream (the real deal!) and a layer of the most attractive berries scattered across the top. It's a hit, everywhere it goes, but I totally fake it with the pudding. I really can't be bothered to make a custard for something that gets lost with everything else. I've faked it futher with Entemann's poundcake, and while good in a pinch, I felt it lacked. Just for myself, because I craved it, I did the same thing with just banannas. I was dying for a banana dessert, and my husband hates that good ol' southern banana pudding, so I made a banana only trifle, with cake, amaretto (but I bet rum would kick ass!), vanilla pudding, and whipped cream. If you diced a mango and added it with the banana, maybe a squeeze of lime in with the orange and amaretto (or rum...or Malibu!)...shredded coconut layered within...wow. I think I just talked myself into a new version of my trifle.

Let me preface this by saying this: I love my mother. I do, really. She lives close by, we're always together, we talk on the phone about 9 times a day. My son is at her house right this minute, and I think they're going to see Iron Man together tomorrow. The only thing she taught me about food, was what not to do. She despises vegetables, and anything spicy or exotic. I learned to cook on my own by reading my grandmother's cookbooks, and I managed to survive that way. The biggest thing she gave me in the kitchen was free reign. One day, I spent the entire day making linzertortes, one dozen enormous raspberry buttery sandwich cookies, which I served to her company with pride. I've been making Thanksgiving dinner since I was 12. Not well, at first, but I did it, and served it to a mixed group of family and friends with my mother right behind me, glowing with pride. She's got wonderful common sense, and great street smarts...She taught me her attention to detail, and her craftiness. She taught me her smooth social ways, and sometimes I channel her in awkward situations (otherwise, I'm a total wallflower, I couldn't talk my way into our out of anything. Sometimes, just sometimes she enters my head and takes me through awkward situations). She taught me how to wear makeup and how to wear jeans that make me look like I have a butt. She taught me bluntness, and how to tell it like it is. How to work hard, and make your own living. She was a single mom from when I was 6, and she raised me in sort of a casual way. I learn by hanging out with her, and her grownup friends, and being accepted as a miniature grownup since I was very young. I learned gardening, and a love for growing things at her side. I learned rudimentary Polish (enough to understand any conversation, but I speak very little), and even less Russian. I learned to bargain shop, barter, and I definitely learned the value of a dollar. She was very hard on me about school, and made me practice my handwriting and reading skills at every turn (for which I am still exceedingly greatful.). Through her, I learned to drink and party responsibly, and be graceful in everything I do. Every bit of this has served me well in my adult life, and I owe her vast tribute, but not here on eGullet...because the woman didn't teach me how to cook, not a bit.

But it would make kind of a cute screenname...

...when you peruse the boards, and avoid certain threads because a craving for whatever the topic is about would be inconvienent. I just almost, but stopped myself from clicking on the Macaroni and Cheese thread down there in "Cooking". Mainly because I wouldn't have the opportunity to make it till Sunday or Monday. Also, I read the Dunkin Donuts vs Krispy Kreme thread, and entertained for a moment, stopping at DD to get a coffee and donut tomorrow. I. Hate. DD. When an eGullet craving hits, it must be appeased immediately. I swear, this place is worse than TV commercials.

I've had both on their own, I'm having a tough time imagining the taste, but it looks stunning in the glass. I might have to give it a try, since on their own, they're both good

I wouldn't give up butter or good olive oil. I wouldn't give up beer, or milk (it's getting ridiculous, here, though seems to go up directly related to gas prices...) even if I have to get a cow. I wonder what our town codes say about owning a cow... All these suggestions are great, I mirror them. Also, like Hummingbirdkiss said, start making like, everything from scratch. You can make your own yogurt (and from yogurt, yogurt cheese...you can use it as a stand in for creme fraiche, sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt cheese in for cream cheese, all depending on the recipe...this is a very underappreciated staple!) bread, stocks, sauces, tofu. So many choices, and on the cheap. Even with your limited time, you can select one Sunday project to research and create, freezing or storing it for the upcoming week. The way I look at it: It's cheaper than going out!

When I worked in a deli, some of our staff creations actually made it on the menu. Most notably, my co-worker's veggie sub. She brought sprouts from home, then loaded on the provolone, shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, roasted peppers, hot cherry peppers, salt, pepper, oil and vinegar. It was a delicious sloppy mess. Sometimes she mixed it up with thin sliced sharp cheddar, and once horseradish cheese (!!). My own contribution to the menu was one of the many ways I would defile an innocent toasted onion bagel. Onion bagel, toasted with our decidedly awesome house made tuna salad, tomatoes, raw onion, hot peppers, and a splash of vinegar. Mmm. I might make myself one of those tomorrow for lunch. I also used to have bagels with PB&J. You can only eat so many sandwiches, working in a deli. We got one free meal a day, so we made them creative. Hot open roast beef subs with cheddar and gravy, pizzas made on sub bread with salami, ham, pepperoni, and 4 kinds of cheese, chili dogs, ghetto Italian hot dogs, I could go on and on...come to think of it, if WE ran the menu and specials every day, things would be a lot different now, I think.

We're not in full on summer menu, but we're getting closer. I think it's mainly because we're sick of heavy stews and stock winter food. So far it's been limited to grilling outside (in a hoodie) and running back in, to enjoy it in the warmth of the kitchen. Over the weekend, we had fajitas, which is somewhat summery, but without the homemade salsa, which is VERY summery. One baby step at a time.

No shortages here, not in Costco or our local Shop Rite. No limits, no empty shelves, no hiked prices.

Actually, after writing that, I looked it over and thought I should rephrase. But, what I mean is, in a nutshell, it's perfectly possible to cook great food without ever tasting it, if you know what you're doing.

I gotta stand up for Randi, here... I detest eggs, but I make the best omelets around. You know your ingredients, know how they react, what they do, and you're halfway there. Substitute taste for sound, sight, texture. Knack, experience, knowledge, skill, and kitchen magic bring it all home. I wouldn't deliberately eat a mushroom with a gun pointed at me, but I've been making them for as long as I've been cooking...you read enough recipes, get enough honest educated opinions while you're cooking, it just comes together. I'm certain she knows how much salt to put in a quantity of liquid to make it taste right, whatever's floating in it. By the way, I've been reading this thread from day one, and I'm pretty impressed at how you pull it all together. I've had to cook for large groups of fussy, sometimes bitchy people before, and I know it's tough.

Glad to see Drew getting some recognition here. He's a friend of a friend, and he has a good place, good food.

As far as Jersey having the cannoli as the official dessert.... Sure, only if we all start calling it a "guh-nOOL"

The recipe that I posted on that thread you linked doesn't have sugar, it's a powerfully flavored Asian style non-sweet teryaki. Or, for spicy, buy or make some good jerk seasoning, the wet paste kind, add in a splash of lime juice and olive oil, marinate overnight and grill low and slow. That's our favorite grilling method.

Oh, Cheez-its I am hopelessly addicted to them. My husband too. We used to buy two boxes. One for us to eat immediately, and the other one to get us through the week (ok, the next day or two). We would stand at the pantry with a glass of milk and a box of them, and pass both back and forth, like junkies. I don't buy them any more, at ALL. Ok, once in awhile, I'll get a tiny bag from a vending machine, if I'm really hurtin, but, that's it. There is nothing else I'm as powerless about. I swear they dust those things with crack.

This is going to sound really pedestrian, but I got this recipe this past Superbowl from a resturaunt owner, for a teryaki-sort of wings, and they were total crack. When I made them, we had some leftovers, but I hesitated to put them in the fridge right away, because I wanted to nibble on them at room temp. They were gone in a short time, we couldn't stay away. What I really liked was that they had a great Amer-Asian thing going, without being even a little sweet. I'm not a fan of sweet glazey meats, at all. For a few pounds of disjointed wings (no real measurements, but when I say too much, I mean more than you think you would typically add): a cup-ish of soy sauce half as much sake 2-3 diced fresh jalepenos and way too many scallions garlic fresh grated ginger fresh black pepper finally, about half a cup of sesame seeds Like, at least a bunch of scallions, 4-6 cloves of garlic minced, a piece of ginger the length of your thumb grated, and something like 1/8th to 1/4 cup of black pepper Mix everything but the black pepper and sesame seeds, and marinate the wings for a few hours. Dump the whole shebang in a big pan with sides, then dust the top with all that pepper, turning the wings so they're nicely coated with pepper then top with a blanket of sesame seeds. You want the pepper freshly ground, on the coarse side, not that grey table dust. Bake them at like 325ish for a long time, longer than you should, probably. Eat with rice. Lots of fluffy jasmine rice, and make sure you spoon up some of that marinade and mushy scallions, peppers and garlic for your rice. I ate one or two for leftovers, and made my husband go back to his friend, Drew, and get his recipe. Good stuff. I also use wings for making arroz con pollo I find that they're easiest to eat from a bowl of rice, without resorting to flavorless boneless skinless chunks. When I make jerk chicken, I always make thighs for the husband and a few lbs of wings. That's all we ever need, wings and thighs. When I make Buffalo wings, I mix equal parts of cornstarch and Wondra flour, then season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and deep fry. My sauce is the standard half and half Franks and butter, with a squeeze of sriracha for some extra heat and fruitiness. Wings are my single favorite part of the chicken. Love to cookem. Love to eatem.

Mm, poetry. Even the part about the carrots!