What's cooking? (1 Viewer)

[ChristopherG]

Mike, that looks delightful!

 

[Mike Frezon]

Chris:

It was SO GOOD--maybe a bit more of the low-fat mozzarella cheese on top than the recipe calls for ( ) but all-in-all an extremely healthy and really tasty meal. Of course, you could add in any number of ingredients into the filling (which also includes the ricotta cheese/egg mix).

It's a bit more wieldy than our attempt to create a pizza on a riced-cauliflower crust. This held together much better.

It doesn't hurt that I absolutely love spaghetti squash.

And leftovers tonight (after our trip to the gym!)!

 

[BobO'Link]

Man, that looks good! I might even be able to get my wife to actually eat squash if I made that! As long as she didn't see the crust being made, that is...

Might I suggest you use fire roasted tomatoes the next time? The amount of flavor they impart to those simpler dishes is amazing.

 

[Johnny Angell]

We are thinking about getting one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TJ1OZRK/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

It's getting good reviews on Amazon. Anyone here use one?

 

[Johnny Angell]

Stacy and I bought the smoker and used it yesterday. First thing we did was smoke two extra thick pork chops. The chops were cooked perfectly and tasted wonderful and were tender. However next time I do something like chops or steaks, I'll definitely finish them on the grill because the smoker does not sear them for the flavor and appearance one really wants in a steak.

It was much less of a thrash to use. Put liquid in the water pan, turn it on, put the built in meat probe into the meat, add wood chips via the external chip loader. Monitor via blu tooth. The smoker can be turned on/off, temperature changed, and time of cooking set via the IOS app.

Next weekend, we have to try some sort of roast.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Talk about taking things UP a level, Johnny!

I didn't realize how big that thing was. The product picture at the top of the Amazon page has no perspective...but when I scrolled down and saw the picture in the description with the guy standing next to the unit, that explained a whole lot!

Seems like the more you smoked at any one time, the more efficient usage would be.

How long did those two chops take to cook?

LOVE the sound of the Bluetooth/iOS technology. It must nearly make things foolproof!

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Just watched an episode of "Cook's Country" or something similar. They did a home-made corned beef. Looked wonderful. Something I'll definitely be trying out soon, leave the chemicals out and do it yourself Although it called for "pink salt", never heard of it, but I'll find it somewhere.

Just as a word of advice here, you do not need to use "pink salt" to create your cure. All the Prague powder or pink salt is in the case of curing salt is regular old table salt with sodium nitrate and food coloring added. The sodium nitrate just gives whatever you cure a longer shelf life but that's about it. Also sodium nitrate is not particularly good for your heart...so you do not need to use it unless you plan on having your beef hang around for a long time.

Salt, basically any kind will do as long as you plan to cook when you are done curing and you do not plan to keep the roast around for a long time. If you are going to cure it, cook it, and then eat it all within a couple of weeks no need to add sodium nitrate to the equation.

I saw my grandparents cure their own corned beef many times. Here was the method they used for making the cure...

You drop a potato into the container with the water you will use for the cure. Then you add salt to the water until the potato floats. Then you can add whatever other spices you desire and drop your piece of meat in. The length of time for the cure is mostly up to you but was usually between 2 to 3 days. Sometimes my grandfather liked to go longer but it just makes the meat saltier. I would say 5 days was usually the max.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Talk about taking things UP a level, Johnny!

I didn't realize how big that thing was. The product picture at the top of the Amazon page has no perspective...but when I scrolled down and saw the picture in the description with the guy standing next to the unit, that explained a whole lot!

Seems like the more you smoked at any one time, the more efficient usage would be.

How long did those two chops take to cook?

LOVE the sound of the Bluetooth/iOS technology. It must nearly make things foolproof!

We smoked the chops for 2 hours at 225 degrees. The smoker has an oven temp and a built in meat probe, so I was able to track both temps via my iPhone. The only reason I paid regular visits were to put in more wood chips. If I stayed in my living room, the bluetooth connection was just fine. When I strayed further in the house, I would lose the connection, but it was not hard to reconnect.

 

[DaveF]

Brine marinade pork chops, grilled. Beta tester of a friend's beer.

 

[DavidMiller]

Sirloin Steak with White Wine Demi-Glace and Butter-roasted garlic-herb potatoes with peas

 

[KPmusmag]

Just as a word of advice here, you do not need to use "pink salt" to create your cure. All the Prague powder or pink salt is in the case of curing salt is regular old table salt with sodium nitrate and food coloring added. The sodium nitrate just gives whatever you cure a longer shelf life but that's about it. Also sodium nitrate is not particularly good for your heart...so you do not need to use it unless you plan on having your beef hang around for a long time.

Salt, basically any kind will do as long as you plan to cook when you are done curing and you do not plan to keep the roast around for a long time. If you are going to cure it, cook it, and then eat it all within a couple of weeks no need to add sodium nitrate to the equation.

I saw my grandparents cure their own corned beef many times. Here was the method they used for making the cure...

You drop a potato into the container with the water you will use for the cure. Then you add salt to the water until the potato floats. Then you can add whatever other spices you desire and drop your piece of meat in. The length of time for the cure is mostly up to you but was usually between 2 to 3 days. Sometimes my grandfather liked to go longer but it just makes the meat saltier. I would say 5 days was usually the max.

This is true, I have cured using plain salt many times, but know that the nitrate salt will keep the meat pink, like purchased corned beef. The meat will turn brown/gray with regular salt but will still taste great. Just don't expect the traditional pink color, that's my only point. Also, I have made the Cook's Country (ATK) version and it uses a comparatively small amount of pink salt, a very small portion when the meat is divided.

 

[Johnny Angell]

View attachment 38135
Brine marinade pork chops, grilled. Beta tester of a friend's beer.

That a beer he made himself? How was it?

A closer look at the pic shows it's a home brew and I love the brand name, "Rocket Scientist." Still want to know your opinion of the beer.

 

[DavidMiller]

Peppercorn Steak with a Peppercorn sauce, Fried Green Beans and Cauliflower baked mash.

 

[DaveF]

That a beer he made himself? How was it?

A closer look at the pic shows it's a home brew and I love the brand name, "Rocket Scientist." Still want to know your opinion of the beer.

Yes, my friend is getting into homemade brewing. I think he did it in his basement, but I don't know for sure. It's possible he's having it done through one of the local breweries.

The beer was pretty good. I'm not much a beer drinker and prefer whites, wheats, and such light beers. His skewed that way, but was a bit sour.

I like the name too, and it's fitting as he's got a background in the sciences and has worked at NASA.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Anyone here smoke a brisket? How long did it take? Any tips on smoking a brisket will be welcomed. I've got a 4 pounder I'm going to try.

 

[DaveF]

Anyone here smoke a brisket? How long did it take? Any tips on smoking a brisket will be welcomed. I've got a 4 pounder I'm going to try.

A friend is cooking theirs for 20 hours in their Big Green Egg.

 

[DaveF]

Made Buttermilk Pancakes and Bacon this morning. I'm not good at bacon. I'm trying the baking approach, but the recipes say 15-20min, and I need almost double that. Don't know what the deal is. Otherwise, the pancakes came out good. I've finally got that figure out to cook them golden / golden brown (vice burnt on the outside and batter on the inside)

 

[DaveF]

Tonight, grilled some quarter-pound burgers. And since I had leftover bacon from breakfast...
I originally was going to an avocado cheeseburger, but wth the bacon and tomato, I decided the avocado was best served on the side for a little color.

And the (Florida) sweetcorn was good! Some of the best early-season corn I've had in a while.

 

[Johnny Angell]

A friend is cooking theirs for 20 hours in their Big Green Egg.

Been doing some research and have settled on a 1-1/2 hours per pound at 225 degrees.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Spaghetti squash returned to the Frezon's dinner table last night:

Turkey Taco Spaghetti Squash Boats!

The recipe came from skinnytastes.com. My wife basically made up a Mexican meat mix with ground turkey and taco seasoning. She left off some of the other ingredients (because the cupboard was bare--pico de gallo, tomatoes, scallions and Mexican cheese). But what she did was tasty. The spicy meat sauce, the spaghetti squash and some low-fat sour cream

Peg cooked the squash in the microwave (put the entire squash in with several holes poked all over for about ten minutes). She then sliced in half, seeded it, brushed with olive oil and roasted in the oven for another 20 minutes to brown it up a bit.
She tells me that it's even easier to cook in the crock pot (with enough forethought).

HERE'S the recipe. And here's what their version of it looks like (when the cupboard's not bare)!