Shel_B

I finally got around to opening and trying the Israel feta. I much prefer the other brined feta that TJ's carries as shown below. The somewhat milder flavor and softer texture makes the above feta my preference. Also, removing the top and opening the conainer of the Israeli feta was, for me, more difficult than it should have been. It won't find its way into my shopping cart again. Glad I tried it, though.

Just curious, what do you mean be it being "a thing?"

This afternoon I visited a market I've not been to in years. I went because I just discovered that they carried frozen or refrigerated coconut chunks which I plan to use with home made almond milk in both a drink and in a version of Haytaliyeh, a Lebanese milk pudding. While exploring the store, I made discoveries of various items I'd not seen elsewhere. A return trip when I have more time is in order to both explore more and purchase some of the intriguing and interesting items I found. Today I came across these items and purchased a package of each, thinking that the good folks here might have some thoughts about cooking and preparing them: I've eaten goat a few time when living in Mexico, but that was many years ago and it was prepared by someone else and it wasn't ground meat. Elk was enjoyed during a visit to Washinton state, also years ago, and also not ground. Any ideas on how these items can be enjoyed?

TJ's Steamed Pork Shu Mai With a nod to Sunset Magazine I grab these dumplings a few times a year, and tonight, as I was prepping to steam them, I remembered a recipe from Sunset Magazine that was published in the 1970s: Pepper‑Steamed Chicken With Roasted Onion Sauce. This evening, I riffed on that recipe and steamed the dumplings with an infusion of green onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. When cooked, I drizzled just a little of the "sauce" over the dumplings. Ended up with a kitchen filled with pleasant aromas and a very tasty, nicely flavored and nuanced, bowl of dumplings.

@JeanneCake @blue_dolphin I looked through my succotash recipe collection and found one or two that looked interesting. If you're still interested, send me a PM and I'll send them to you. I don't want to run afoul of the copyright police.

Just received a couple of pounds of raw, organic almonds from Massa Organics. I plan to make Haytaliyeh, a simple Lebanese/Syrian milk pudding sometimes made with almond milk. I'll make the nut milk, then the pudding. It'll be dessert for a pot of Makhlouta that my friend Sonia is making.

Rotisserie Chicken Tikka Masala When I saw this video ( https://youtu.be/blIoTNj-dN0?t=468 ), I was blown away. I've been looking for ideas for tasty and innovative meals that could be made quickly and easily. I've also been reading recipes and watching videos to get ideas for a full-blown Chicken Tikka Masala, so this was like manna from heaven, a two birds with one stone kind of thing. Well, one bird: A Costco rotisserie chicken. All the ingredients were on hand, and the meal came together this morning while doing other things ... that's how easy it is to put together. The red pepper flakes in the recipe were replaced with a blend of Aleppo, Kashmiri, and Smokey Piment d'Ville. I added ground cardamom and cashew nuts, the nuts adding a degree of creaminess to the sauce. I didn't add any cream, as shown in the video. Next time, I may add about 1/4 cup of cream along with the cashews. The paprika was replaced with a smoked version. Instead of regular crushed tomatoes, Bianco DiNapoli fire roasted tomatoes were used, and the sugar was turbinado. Then the sauce was given an E ride in the Vitamix. The smooth and somewhat smokey sauce went back into the pot for final tasting and adjustments and some crushed fenugreek leaves were added. Without marinating the chicken, some depth of flavor is lost compared to a regular tikka masala, but if you want a quick, inexpensive meal to put on your weeknight table, this is worth considering. The rice over which the chicken was placed was an aged, extra long grain Basmati from Kohinoor. Lovely rice. The way it was prepared, the sauce was a little thicker than desired, but a little chicken stock or dairy would fix that in a jiffy. There's enough sauce and chicken left over for two or three more meals.

Staff note: This post and responses to it have been moved from the Rancho Gordo: Beans and More discussion, to maintain topic focus. @JeanneCake @blue_dolphin I was eght, nine years old. Recipes weren't even in my thoughts. That said, over the years I've compiled a dozen or more succotash recipes. The issue with many contemporary recipes (for me) is that they stray far from what Mary made. They tend to be relatvely complex, with ingredients added to punch up what was essentially a simple Native American recipe, similar in respect to what has happened with Three Sisters Stew. When I want succotash, I cook up some corn kernels, lima beans, red pepper, onions, maybe some tomato, possibly a bit of garlic. If possible, I'll sauté the veggies in animal fat (tallow, goose or duck fat, once Bison Blubber) and use a home made chicken stock. If I can get ramps, which I've not had in a very long time, I'll use them instead of onion and garlic. Sometimes I'll add a chili pepper or flaked/ground chilies. A lot of people add bacon, which is a nice addition, but I generally stay away from it ... not that I've never used it. I like my succotash simple. I'll dig through my collection and post one or two that look interesting. That'll have to be tomorrow afternoon, at the earliest.

You're right ... I recall many people who disliked - detested - lima beans. I was not, and am not, in that group. When in grade school, we'd get a school lunch made by Mary Palladino, the "lunchroom lady." She ran the small cafeteria/lunch room, including menu planning and cooking. She frequently served succotash, and I'd always make sure she'd save some so that I could have seconds. Years later, I was a classmate of her daughter in high school, and when I found out that Angela's mother was the "lunchroom lady," and told that to Angela, I soon after found myself with an invitation to Mary and Angela's home where Mary made a big pot of succotash for me, enough for lunch and a batch to take home. Mary remembered me as "the little boy who loved her succotash." To this day, I still enjoy a bowl of succotash every now and then, and I still enjoy calling up my memories of Mary.

I'm a WaPo subscriber as well, so all was well. I make my "everyday" cornbread and muffins in an 8x8 pan and cook them in the big Breville oven. Since sweetie died, and I mostly cook for myself or one other person, I rarely use the regular oven. I go back and forth between cornmeal (Bob's medium grind) and Bob's polenta. I've got the product and the oven dialed in pretty well. Tried other, more "posh" brands, and have always returned to Bob's. The cardamom grabbed my attention when first reading your post. Marmalade, not so much, even though I loved sweeties marmalade. I may play around with lemon. Have made lemon-blueberry cornbread before, and it's a nice combo. I think some lemon zest would be very nice with the blueberries, not sure how it would go with the cardamom. Thanks so much for your help.

@gulfporter I'm a sucker for polenta with blueberries. As it happens, there are plenty of both here ... are you able to provide the recipe? Private is cool if there are copyright concerns.

Easy and Expeditious Lunch: The basis was ... to which was added a heaping handful of TJ's organic frozen spinach, TJ's frozen broccoli florets, diced small, a handful of trimmed leaves from TJ's frozen Brussels sprouts, and the whole dish was seasoned with a mixture of Booneville's smoked Piment d'Ville and ground Kashmiri pepper (a very nice combination, not too hot and quite flavorful). Lately, I've been working on a complicated art project a few of us are working on, and cooking has taken a seat at the back of the bus. Having some of TJ's frozen entrées and vegetables handy has been very helpful.

These were available at the sample table not too long ago. Overly sweet. Cookie description according to Trader Joe: The base is a butter Cookie. (We do mean this literally!) Butter is the second ingredient (after flour), and makes up 24%—almost a quarter of the recipe. A variety of fun, multi-textured Things are mixed into the Cookie dough before baking, including corn flakes, pretzels, marshmallows, semisweet chocolate chips, and crispy rice. Once baked, these circular, golden-brown confections entice with a sweet, buttery aroma. Each crunchy bite may lead to a piece of salted pretzel, or a cluster of rich chocolate chips. The marshmallows have taken on an almost toffee-like candy character. And the corn flakes and crispy rice bring a lighter, crisp crunch to the whole experience. This cookie is excessive in so many ways. It exemplifies the lack of subtlety and the style of excess that so many foods have taken on. If some is good, then more - much more - must be just right. Demasiado!

There's a pasta dish I make in which the sauce is boiled broccoli with the addition of some oil, perhaps a bit of meat, and some chili pepper flakes. The broccoli is boiled and essentially mashed, and then the pasta, cooked in the water in which the broccoli was boiled, is added. Here, in a few seconds, you can see what I'm trying to describe: https://youtu.be/wCDKnMwPQEk?t=47 Might this "sauce" freeze well for a week or so? Would the freezing destroy texture or flavor, or just ruin the sauce?

@Smithy Your postulation was a very fine post.

Perhaps that explains why my poaching chicken thighs disappeared ....

And what is the missing 7-degrees between simmering and boiling called and what would you cook at those temps?

@TdeV To answer your question about the shelf life of arrowroot, the simple answer, per the author of the linked srticle, is "I have found arrow root to have a limited shelf life." https://www.realbakingwithrose.com/blog/2014/04/05/the_secret_shelf_life_of_arrow

This is what I found. Thanks. https://scholars.direct/Articles/industrial-biotechnology/jib-3-003.pdf

Now that's interesting. The article says "... neither arrowroot nor cornstarch must come to a full boil to activate their thickening power." I've always been of the impression that cornstarch required coming to a boil in order to properly thicken a sauce or dish. Many years ago I observed that my chocolate pudding didn't properly thicken and was told, on this site, by folks more knowledgeable and experienced than I, that the mixture needed to come to a boil in order to thicken properly. Since that time, I've always taken my pudding to a boild and the results have been consistently good. Is there a difference between a boil and a full boil?

Here's a thought: Why not post the name of the site and the name of the article? Ex: AbcWebsite.com Bob's article about enzymes

Recently, I was intruduced to the concept of marinating various steak and beef cuts in fruit marinade. Pineapple, Asian Pear, Papaya marinades were used among others An acquaintance provided this link. https://youtu.be/OMWrbaOxj3k Have you tried this technique and what has been your experience?

@KennethT What's the technique that you use for hydrating and steaming Jasmine rice?

Some years ago, there was a local company producing a sauce that was supposed to be more like a Thai version. It was certainly not as sweet as that "Rooster" sauce that's so popuar these days. I've not seen the local sauce in a while. HTK is defintely worth a look. Her ingredient list is just about identical to the locally-made sauce I mentioned.

Do you store the cheese in the brine it came in, or do you refresh the liquid with fresh water, or ...? For those who feel I should Google this, I did, but I want opinions and ideas from the folks here as well.