Doodad

After reading this thread this morning, we are having piri piri chicken for dinner. He is marinating now. I got to looking at my Asian cookbooks to see if this was covered. It was not, but on a whim I looked at bang bang chicken and it is very similar. Tahini instead of peanut butter and the some more typical Chinese ingredients. Is it related at all? It looked very similar.

Not to hijack, but how it the name of that town pronounced?

Well, unless you are Samson it is unlikely to hurt you in the long run. I personally could not rock a hairnet, but that is just me. I am not a cook, but play one at home. I do however have years of business experience in two careers. The best advice I can offer is to keep your head down, ears open and mouth shut. Don't offer advice or criticism unless asked. Smile, volunteer if late duty comes up, show up early.

Are you that guy who got sent home first on Top Chef? Seriously, I would cut it. It is cooler, looks professional and first impressions do count.

Take a tip from cultures in hot climates. Tabouleh, hummus and meat on the grill.

Years ago, we had orange and grape chips in Canada. It was like eating a crispy Nehi.

Well he did set the wrong temp on the ovens and burn his hazelnuts in the process.

We make our own berbere spice blend because it is hard to find around here. I found one brand one time, but it really was not all that good.

I would not worry so much about the fried chicken. I understand your concern and desire, but when we would go on picnics and grandma fried chicken, we knew what to expect. And it was always delicious. The only other thing I could think to tell you is somehow work panko into the freshly fried chicken? That or only cool it on the uppper margin of food safety requirements.

We made ginger snap/coconut ice cream back in the Spring. Ginger extract, crushed ginger snaps, coconut milk and shredded coconut in ice cream base. It was very good.

This thread had me hungry so I made my version last night. We had some homemade pickles and cilantro in the kitchen garden so it made sense. Dang that was good. I have two more patties so lunch tomorrow as well.

Picking our first of many to come from the garden tomorrow. I wanted to give my wife the honor. We are growing Better Boy, Juliette (roma) and Sweet 100. Looking good so far.

Coming from a military background, the night before trash day is "Last Call" around here. You are not allowed to cook other than heating items or toasting bread for a sandwich. Now it is just the two of us and I have slowly learned to cook for two. This is made more difficult by the fact that my wife gets lunch as part of her job. I almost have to shop every other day to keep from buying all the good things I stumble across in the store. And the freezer is still full of sale items I could not resist or the smoked pork when requested to make bbq.

FLIP, Blais' restaurant here, had a banh mi burger at one time that was outstanding. Not on the menu now for whatever reason. So yes, ground pork makes sense to me. I always add some to meatloaf to keep it moist.

Too bad fish is out as that was indeed my first thought as is all seafood when talking Carib. Tacos really are not their thing, but I can understand where you are coming from as far as feeding a bunch. I would not make homemade tortillas you will have enough on your hands as it is and fresh tortillas are not hard to find anymore. I am going to second the ropa vieja. I make that in a crock pot alot and we do end up putting it in taco shells especially at leftover time. And that would make another easy prep and serve addition to your meal. So back to carib. Grilled mojo pork or chicken would be another go to for me. Had mojo flank steak last night. Look up tamarind based marinades as well. This is common for various meats. Things on skewers in various marinades would keep you organized on the grill and make for quick and easy placement in their serving vessels. Plantain chips if you can set up a fryer? Mango/black bean salsa? We made that last night with the mojo beef. Hope that helps.

Ok, so I have some fresh pink gulf shrimp, smoked sausage, already poached chicken, some smoked oysters, leftover rice and a full pantry. I was thinking jambalaya of sorts, but wanted to think outside the box. Lack of sleep due to keeping racoons at bay (long story) has clouded my thinking. All suggestions are appreciated. Fried rice balls with fillings? We are over Mex as this week I made a whole bunch of stuff with Mex flavors that we reinvented over the week. Thanks

I think it was those deep cold snaps in FL that did it.

As an added hilarity, the chef at my wife's work did indeed serve this today. She is trained in patisserie so I love to hound her about things like this.

LOL, mac and cheese casserole and collards. Make you slap yo mama they are so good. Just an expression BTW. I have never seen rice with bbq. Other than Asian bbq, but that is another delicious topic. Good luck!

Some inspiration: Brisket and ribs bbq and all the fixins. And both Carolina sauce recipes Recipes for sauce: (from the Jurassic Pork site which is great) East Carolina Sauce: 1 cup vinegar 2 tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon cayenne 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup water; optional Pour it all in a wine bottle, stick the cork back in and give it a shake. No refrigeration necessary. Yella Sauce: 3/4 cup yellow mustard 3/4 cup red wine vinegar 1/4 cup sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons butter or margarine 2 teaspoons salt 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 1/4 teaspoons ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce In a medium saucepan, combine ingredients, stirring to blend. Over low heat, simmer 30 minutes. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving. Refrigerate unused sauce up to several weeks.

It will render given enough time, but in an enclosed container it will not go anywhere. For smoking bbq I leave it in place as it "bastes" the meat. For oven or such, I trim it to a reasonable thickness to protect the meat, but not swim in grease. The carnitas need a bit, but in a crockpot I think I would trim it almost to the meat.

Pulled pork is the manna from heaven that is blessed by rub, anointed by smoke and exalted through the South. Kidding aside, pulled pork is bbq. Slowly cooked on wood until the collagen breaks down and it can literally be pulled apart with a fork or hands. It typically uses a whole pork shoulder or butt for the meat. I am partial to the portion of the shoulder with the blade bone. It develops a dark crispy crust and luscious interior. After pulling it is typicalyy sauced and served on plate or bun. Choice of sauce or slaw is optional but in East Carolina slaw is always at least on the plate so you can add. Carnitas uses a similar cut of meat, but cut in cubes and cooked in a dutch oven or similar with some liquid and seasonings. The fat eventually renders out (like bbq) and the pork crisps up in its own fat. It too can then be pulled with fork or hand and served typically in tortillas with your fave condiments. It is the crispness of carnitas that I think is closer to bbq and if seasoned as bbq makes a passable substitute. IMHO

The kitchen at my wife's work does an in pot method for theirs. It is okay, but I like to dog the chef about it. The sauce saves it and really is the only difference between it and carnitas. Which brings me to a point. I would apply rub and make carnitas. Shred it and sauce it and you are much closer than a crockpot. I have done both and like the carnitas method much more.

I would have to say homemade tomato sauce. Peeling and deseeding pounds of tomatoes then cooking down for what frankly was less tasty than canned. That and ravioli. Boy did we botch that.

We do a couple of methods. In fact I had tacos last night. First, soft tacos are typically wheat tortillas not corn. Those we wrap in a damp towel and place in a warm oven while cooking. Corn tortillas are the bomb though. I have a large griddle and can do about 8 at a time to give them a little body and flavor. If doing enchiladas, we dip in hot enchilada sauce and roll with filling into the bake dish. Either style of tortilla goes into a towel lined ceramic casserole dish with a lid for service at the table.