The Food and Beverage Thread

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: The Food and Beverage Thread

What fruits do you guys put in fruit salad? I was thinking of making one to have to snack on for a couple days and was thinking of putting a pineapple, grapes, oranges, and then slice up a banana whenever I eat it but can't think of anything else to go with it. I don't like cherries.

[Stumbleweed]

Re: The Food and Beverage Thread

Mix of melons (watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe), grapes, strawberries, blueberries, and bananas is my favorite. If you really want it to snap, make sure there's some shredded mint leaves in there. Hit the fruit with some lime/lemon juice to keep the color past a 30 minutes or so. Oranges are good too, I'd go with a satsumi or those "Cuties" mandarins... tangerines are easier to peel and have less pith so you won't have to spend a bunch of time supreming citrus.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: The Food and Beverage Thread

Yeah I had mandarins in mind for this. I've kind of spoiled myself on tangerines compared to oranges. Tangerines taste better, IMO, and are easier to peel and don't have to deal with those big *** orange seeds. I forgot about watermelon.

[Jonesy]

Re: The Food and Beverage Thread

My wife cooked a fantastic pumpkin and bacon soup last night. I'm not much of a soup guy but with it being winter here, a bowl of this goodness with a few small pieces of crusty sourdough was so damn good!

[Husker_OS]

Re: The Food and Beverage Thread

I've started eating a new meal for dinner(or lunch depending on the day).



Crab meat, scrambled eggs, flax seed. Tastes good and is extremely healthy.

[Stumbleweed]

Re: The Food and Beverage Thread

Speaking of healthy, I'm destroying part of a huge lentil salad I made last night. French green lentils, minced shallots, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, orange peppers, dijon mustard, sherry vinegar, lemon juice, fresh thyme, fresh oregano, and tons of olive oil. I gets my fiber!

Very easy to put together... just cook the lentils in water until they're soft but have a bite to them still, combine with all the other ingredients, blast with olive oil, season, and serve. This is more of a French flavor profile, but you could hit it with paprika, turmeric, parsley, etc. and change it to more of a Middle Eastern/Moroccan style.

[The GIGGAS]

Re: The Food and Beverage Thread

Speaking of healthy, I'm destroying part of a huge lentil salad I made last night. French green lentils, minced shallots, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, orange peppers, dijon mustard, sherry vinegar, lemon juice, fresh thyme, fresh oregano, and tons of olive oil. I gets my fiber!

Very easy to put together... just cook the lentils in water until they're soft but have a bite to them still, combine with all the other ingredients, blast with olive oil, season, and serve. This is more of a French flavor profile, but you could hit it with paprika, turmeric, parsley, etc. and change it to more of a Middle Eastern/Moroccan style.

Did you ever get around to doing that recipe site?

[Stumbleweed]

Re: The Food and Beverage Thread

Nah man, I'm spread like 12 different ways with websites now and just don't have any time for that sort of thing. The MMJ reviews and writing take up the majority of my time, cooking is done when I have the chance these days, which sorta sucks. My co-worker and I are planning some freaky molecular gastronomy MMJ edibles soon though... he's a bad-*** chef (way better than me) and knows about all that stuff, so we're planning some medicated lemon curd alginate spheres and other fun stuff.

I've mostly been refining my pasta skills, been getting really velvety and lasting sauces thanks to cooking the pasta in just enough water to cover instead of the ol' "gallon per pound" rule... that leftover super-starchy and salty pasta water is the bizness when it comes to thickening a sauce and making it hold to noodles.

Also discovered this crazy **** the other day... chocolate + water + whisk = stable chocolate mousse:

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If you're looking for a ridiculous cooking blog, this lady inspires the crap out of me, both with her cooking and her photography: http://www.luxirare.com

Check out the food entries (the blog is also about the clothes she designs and makes), especially the Bento Box, the parfaits, and the "Imitation of Nature" avocado salad. So freaking awesome.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: The Food and Beverage Thread

With it being summer, I'm gonna have to dig out my ice cream maker and get some strawberry & banana ice cream going here soon.

[Stumbleweed]

Re: The Food and Beverage Thread

You can make banana ice cream with just a food processor... really good and it has a different and somehow almost nicer texture than many ice creams (almost like a frozen custard). Chop banana into 1" pieces, freeze, puree until it magically turns into ice cream (it sticks to the side of the bowl and is kinda annoying at first but then it just happens), then freeze to harden. You can add honey or peanut butter to it (or strawberry puree/jam I'd imagine)... good stuff.

[Stumbleweed]

Re: The Food and Beverage Thread

Speaking of ice cream, I'm doing a Stout ice cream tonight. Made the Stout reduction last night (using a local microbrew, Strange Brewing's Paint It Black Stout) and I'm gonna just blend that in with some heavy cream infused with some dark chocolate (it s a coffee-tasting stout) and see how it turns out. If it needs a nice mouthfeel, I'll go the French custard route and sick 6 eggs in there to help the ice crystals stay smaller. A high-ABV beer would've helped with that as well, but this one is in the 6-7% range... should be good though.

Also made a mustard with a the remnants of a flat growler of their Strange Pale Ale... need to food process that tonight and jar it up, but it tasted pretty damn good. Yellow mustard seeds, black mustard seeds, garlic, shallots, brown sugar, honey, apple cider vinegar, the pale ale, salt/pepper... good times.

[Stumbleweed]

Re: The Food and Beverage Thread

Speaking of ice cream, I'm doing a Stout ice cream tonight. Made the Stout reduction last night (using a local microbrew, Strange Brewing's Paint It Black Stout) and I'm gonna just blend that in with some heavy cream infused with some dark chocolate (it s a coffee-tasting stout) and see how it turns out. If it needs a nice mouthfeel, I'll go the French custard route and sick 6 eggs in there to help the ice crystals stay smaller. A high-ABV beer would've helped with that as well, but this one is in the 6-7% range... should be good though.

They have a supremely cherry-flavored beer there called the Cherry Bomb and it's almost lambic levels of fruitiness. It's still sorta cherry season, so I was thinking of doing that with a warm cherry compote, some candied almonds, and cocoa nibs...

Also made a mustard with a the remnants of a flat growler of their Strange Pale Ale... need to food process that tonight and jar it up, but it tasted pretty damn good. Yellow mustard seeds, black mustard seeds, garlic, shallots, brown sugar, honey, apple cider vinegar, the pale ale, salt/pepper... good times.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: The Food and Beverage Thread

I was thinking of doing a chicken with tomato sauce over ziti. Not sure how to cook the chicken, any suggestions? I was also considering baking the whole thing, any suggestions there?

What do you guys like to put in italian based/inspired salads? Just the usual stuff? I did an asian salad last week that was awesome. Its amazing how bad fresh lettuce makes that bagged, preprepped lettuce taste.

[EnigmaNemesis]

Re: The Food and Beverage Thread

I would recommend, and this is just me, take the chicken breast if that is what you are using, soak it in a water and salt brine (kosher I used and water) for 20 minutes. What that does is tenderizes the meat, as well as kills any bacteria that is present and the meat taste cleaner and fresher. After that is done, dry the meat with a paper towel and pound the thick side a little so it is more uniform for cooking. Then in a skillet on the stove, I would put a little extra virgin olive oil and butter (1/2 TBS each). Take some Spanish seasonings, Sazon and rub the chicken both sides, then some Adobo sprinkled on both sides.

When the skillet is hot enough, medium heat and the oil starts to steep, place the chicken breast in the skillet. Cook about 5-7 minutes each side. while reducing the heat a hair below medium.

When the chicken is done, slice it on an angle about 1/2 thick pieces and then place it in the sauce that is cooking. Let simmer another 1/2 hour.

The chicken will be amazingly juicy, and the thin slices are not over powerful.

You can do the same for any red meat with the above methods mentioned, but only cook that 3-4 minutes each side (depending on thickness) so the center stays cool pink and tender, slice against the grain on an angle for super tender pieces. You can make any "top round" sub-par steak taste delicious and tender when cut to that spec and cooked right. (when the meat is places in the sauce and simmered, combined with the spices, you swear initially it taste like sausage, for those who dont eat pork and want different texture, it is a good alternative, besides turkey sausage obviously)

Here is a pic of some steak I did in a skillet and put over a fresh Romaine salad, with home made balsamic dressing.

[Stumbleweed]

Re: The Food and Beverage Thread

Yeah, brining pretty much makes any meat better... huge thing for good fried chicken.

I just did a pork chop butterflied and cooked with some fennel pollen and salt/pepper, some asparagus cooked in rice vinegar and the pork pan juices... not a bad 10 min meal.