What's cooking? (2 Viewers)

[BobO'Link]

That's the base for real mac 'n cheese. Make the bechamel, add your cheeses and milk, stir in cooked pasta, and bake until you get that slight crispy goodness on top. We leave off the panko and let the cheese brown on top.

 

[DaveF]

That's the base for real mac 'n cheese. Make the bechamel, add your cheeses and milk, stir in cooked pasta, and bake until you get that slight crispy goodness on top. We leave off the panko and let the cheese brown on top.

It was a tossup between Mac and cheese or spaghetti and meatballs tonight. Then I realized I was short on time and worn out, and decided to go with the Alfredo recipe I saw while scanning the cookbook...a few pages from the others in the pasta chapter.

This Alfredo doesn’t really use a bechamel: no flour. Just cream and butter.

 

[EricSchulz]

This was amazing and SO simple to make: Baked Eggs with Curried Spinach!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I didn’t have a chance to write about it on Saturday, but we hosted a dinner party for my wife’s birthday this past weekend and I did all the cooking. My wife loved the tapas-style small plates I did on Christmas, so we did that again with a slightly tweaked menu:

Appetizers:
-bacon-wrapped water chestnuts
-homemade bagel chips
-homemade lox

Middle-evening fare:
-pizza Bianca mini-flatbreads (fontina cheese, arugula, diced tomatoes, prosciutto)
-brisket sliders with carnelized onions

Final course:
-Fish taco station (panko-crusted flounder, homemade pico and assorted toppings)

Finished off the evening with a pot of my favorite coffee (Dead Man’s Reach from Raven’s Brew) and it was a pretty perfect night. I wanted to get pictures but I was just too busy to stop.

The bacon-wrapped water chestnuts were served on a Millenium Falcon-shaped cutting board. And I got to use my new Japanese knives for the first time and I am so happy with how well they cut!

 

[DaveF]

On the cooking shows, I always see the chefs using towels for quick cleanup and pot holders. And I've repeatedly been frustrated washing my hands multiple times in dealing with cooking. So I decided I'd try what the chefs do. I ordered some cheap towels, and my wife found a cheap towel rack and set up cooking towels on a cabinet door. I love it. I grab a towel when I'm starting a big recipe and throw it over my shoulder or stuff it into an apron pocket. Pretty handy.



Speaking of aprons, my wife got me a no-tie Japanese-style apron last year for anniversary. It's revelatory; I wish I'd had one of these sooner. I don't know what she bought in particular, but it's like this:
https://www.amazon.com/RISHIL-WORLD...en+apron&qid=1549851874&s=home-garden&sr=1-19

 

[DaveF]

I made bolognese sauce tonight. It's not difficult, but it takes a while. I started at 2pm, and dinner was at 8pm. The big cook is three to four hours of low simmering the sauce.

The ingredients. I normally buy a pound of "meatloaf mix". But Wegmans didn't have any today. So I bought a pound each of Pork, Veal, and Beef. I chopped them into thirds and put two "meatloaf mix" packs in the freezer for future use.

Spoiler: The Cook Process

Make the mire poix



Cook the meatloaf mix in the mire poix until it loses the pink, but isn't browned.


Add whole milk and cook until evaporated.

Add white wine and cook until evaporated.

Get ready to add the diced and chopped tomatoes and juice.

This needs to cook at a bare simmer for over three hours. My stove runs too hot the front burners a lowest give a strong simmer to boil. The small back burner even at the lowest caused strong simmer and risk burning the center, even with the dutch oven. Last year I was seriously considering buying a new stove to get better flame control over low. But a friend recommended a heat diffuser, the copper plate I'm using here. It worked great. A good $55 spent. (I'd previously had and tried a flame ring, which raises the pot up a quarter inch higher. That didn't do any good. Not recommended)





Cook the sauce for 3+ hours until evaporated.

Boil the fettuccine.

Mix the pasta with butter and sauce and little reserved pasta water.

Serve with fresh grated parmesan, and remaining wine.

 

[KPmusmag]

I made bolognese sauce tonight.

I love that ATK Bolognese sauce and yours looks fantastic.

 

[greenscreened]

I made bolognese sauce tonight. It's not difficult, but it takes a while. I started at 2pm, and dinner was at 8pm. The big cook is three to four hours of low simmering the sauce.
View attachment 55149
The ingredients. I normally buy a pound of "meatloaf mix". But Wegmans didn't have any today. So I bought a pound each of Pork, Veal, and Beef. I chopped them into thirds and put two "meatloaf mix" packs in the freezer for future use.
View attachment 55150 View attachment 55151 View attachment 55152
Make the mire poix
View attachment 55153

View attachment 55154 View attachment 55155
Cook the meatloaf mix in the mire poix until it loses the pink, but isn't browned.
View attachment 55156 View attachment 55157

Add whole milk and cook until evaporated.
View attachment 55158 View attachment 55160
Add white wine and cook until evaporated.
View attachment 55161
Get ready to add the diced and chopped tomatoes and juice.
View attachment 55162
This needs to cook at a bare simmer for over three hours. My stove runs too hot the front burners a lowest give a strong simmer to boil. The small back burner even at the lowest caused strong simmer and risk burning the center, even with the dutch oven. Last year I was seriously considering buying a new stove to get better flame control over low. But a friend recommended a heat diffuser, the copper plate I'm using here. It worked great. A good $55 spent. (I'd previously had and tried a flame ring, which raises the pot up a quarter inch higher. That didn't do any good. Not recommended)



View attachment 55163 View attachment 55164

Cook the sauce for 3+ hours until evaporated.
View attachment 55165
Boil the fettuccine.
View attachment 55166
Mix the pasta with butter and sauce and little reserved pasta water.

View attachment 55167
Serve with fresh grated parmesan, and remaining wine.

I'll bet it tasted as good as it looks.

I learned about the pork-beef-veal combo from ATK's 'Skillet Lasagna'.
Never thought to look for the ground veal!

Because of that, I did ask the butcher at a Safeway recently for meatloaf mix, w/wo seasoning.
Then I explained to him what it consisted of and I got a strange look.

Maybe it's a regional thing.

 

[BobO'Link]

I'll bet it tasted as good as it looks.

I learned about the pork-beef-veal combo from ATK's 'Skillet Lasagna'.
Never thought to look for the ground veal!

Because of that, I did ask the butcher at a Safeway recently for meatloaf mix, w/wo seasoning.
Then I explained to him what it consisted of and I got a strange look.

Maybe it's a regional thing.

I can also see getting strange looks asking for "meatloaf mix" as that's not common. At least not around here (Mid-South) where "meatloaf" is a regular meal. But most home cooks in these parts use ground beef, crackers, and egg (along with other spices - onion, salt, pepper, etc. - basically whatever your mom uses) for "meatloaf mix" and whip it up when needed. I've never seen pre-packaged "meatloaf mix" in the store.

Around here you normally just get the ground meats from the butcher and combine them yourself in the proportions you want/like/need. That's what I do. I pick out the cuts I like, take them to the window, and request to have them ground. I mix them at home.

I second the use of a diffuser. We have a gas stove (by choice) and the burners just won't go low enough for long, slow, simmers. The diffuser solved that. Ours is iron but works quite well. I may look into a copper one as there are times we could use two.

 

[greenscreened]

I can also see getting strange looks asking for "meatloaf mix" as that's not common. At least not around here (Mid-South) where "meatloaf" is a regular meal. But most home cooks in these parts use ground beef, crackers, and egg (along with other spices - onion, salt, pepper, etc. - basically whatever your mom uses) for "meatloaf mix" and whip it up when needed. I've never seen pre-packaged "meatloaf mix" in the store.

Around here you normally just get the ground meats from the butcher and combine them yourself in the proportions you want/like/need. That's what I do. I pick out the cuts I like, take them to the window, and request to have them ground. I mix them at home.

I second the use of a diffuser. We have a gas stove (by choice) and the burners just won't go low enough for long, slow, simmers. The diffuser solved that. Ours is iron but works quite well. I may look into a copper one as there are times we could use two.

I did see it mentioned in season 6 - episode 6 of America's Test Kitchen 'One-Skillet Dinners'.

Julia mentioned some meatloaf mixes contain spices and to avoid them.

Since the show is taped in Mass, maybe it's a regional thing.

I think I'll pick my cuts of meat as you suggested and have them grind it fresh.

 

[BobO'Link]

I did see it mentioned in season 6 - episode 6 of America's Test Kitchen 'One-Skillet Dinners'.

Julia mentioned some meatloaf mixes contain spices and to avoid them.

Since the show is taped in Mass, maybe it's a regional thing.

I think I'll pick my cuts of meat as you suggested and have them grind it fresh.

Could be. Down here, a "meatloaf mix" is a spice packet you add to ground beef. I've seen it but never used it.

 

[DaveF]

I second the use of a diffuser. We have a gas stove (by choice) and the burners just won't go low enough for long, slow, simmers. The diffuser solved that. Ours is iron but works quite well. I may look into a copper one as there are times we could use two.

“Heat Diffusers by BellaCopper | The Grommet”

https://www.thegrommet.com/diffusers-by-bella-copper

 

[greenscreened]

Not to disagree with you, but have never found a better way to separate eggs than by hand. Just cup your hand, using your fingers as a strainer, whites fall through, yolk stays behind. Just be sure to use a separate bowl in case you break a yolk, you can toss that one without ruining the entire batch.

This way is pretty cool, and fast.
Haven't read the whole thread, so hope it hasn't been posted:

 

[greenscreened]

Beef Stew, per ATK. Pretty good. I think I'm still looking for something in my beef stew, but this was good. I'll try rutabaga with it sometime. It could use more potatoes, so adding a few rutabaga would work.
View attachment 14860

Looks good.

Is there, or have you tried adding celery in it?


Regarding cast iron, I haven't been able to properly season my several Lodges', especially the grill one, as I used my stove top and oven, and also kind of rushed the process.

I think I'll strip them down and start from scratch using the wok burner and try using scraps of fat from the butcher.


I've got five carbon steel woks, the largest is a 19" which is seasoned perfectly.
Now all I do is run it under hot water and wipe it with a clean paper towel each time, several on average, until the last fresh paper towel is completely clean.

Those I seasoned using my outdoor propane wok burner, which is somewhere between 110,00-120,000 BTU's...the only way to stir fry.

When I put it on a little less than medium, the flames still jump over the sides of the 19" one, which can scorch my arm if I'm not paying attention.

Drizzled, then swished around a little peanut oil with a clean PT until it dries, then repeat as necessary.
I think I did it around a dozen times, which took 2-3 hours.


My local Bi-Mart used to have a 3.5 Lodge a while back that I sadly didn't buy, as I had thought of using them for individual mashed sweet potato servings, half stove top, last half oven.

Lodge is a good starter cast iron, but here's links to the most sought after brands (used) that get passed down for many decades.
Unlike Lodge, they are already smooth when brand new.

A few of the prices are up there:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_od...d+skillet.TRS0&_nkw=griswold+skillet&_sacat=0

https://www.ebay.com/sch/items/?_nk...s=&LH_CAds=&satitle=wagner+skillet&rmvSB=true

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I’m thinking about buying a deeper cast iron skillet than the one I normally use so I can play around with skillet fried chicken. In the past, I had always done my fried chicken in a large pot but I want to give the skillet method a try.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

It’s too bad we don’t have a larger NYC-area membership. I’d love to host food-themed vintage movie nights!

 

[greenscreened]

As for browning meats, I would normally use cast iron, but I want to be able to add acidic items to it, including tomato sauce, so all the goodness gets added together, and not wasted.
.
Will I get better browning from an enamel dutch oven (which I don't have) than I would from my All Clad frying pan?

I have been craving some sausage and peppers for almost a year now and I can't wait any longer!

 

[Johnny Angell]

It’s too bad we don’t have a larger Little Rock-area membership. I’d love to host food-themed vintage movie nights!

Corrected.

 

[Sam Posten]

It’s too bad we don’t have a larger NYC-area membership. I’d love to host food-themed vintage movie nights!

I'm thinking of going to Photo Plus Expo this year, so if you are up for a movie night around then lmk!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I'm thinking of going to Photo Plus Expo this year, so if you are up for a movie night around then lmk!

When is it?