Whatcha Cooking today?

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GoDawgs
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#441

Post: # 30927Unread post GoDawgs
Sun Sep 20, 2020 11:25 am

Two days ago when it was still very overcast and sopping wet outside from Sally's rain, I decided it was the perfect time to play in the kitchen making dumplings. It was something I hadn't done in a long time. I made a batch of Japanese pork filled gyoza dumplings. The dough is just flour and boiling water mixed together and kneaded. Oh man, it feels so nice kneading very warm dough!

The 3" wrappers came out sort of round but the dough is stretchy so that a few tugs can help correct some seriously out of round ones. Regardless, when they're filled and pinched shut, it doesn't really make a difference. One batch of dough makes about 48 wrappers. It had been so long since I had made wrappers that I forgot to use parchment paper instead of plastic. It was hard getting some wrappers up off the plastic in usable shape.

Image

I only know one method of pinching them shut but it works. These will be fried but for now the whole batch is in the freezer for later quick fix.

Image

The next day I made half a batch of Chinese spinach and Mushroom dumplings that look identical to these. Those will later be steamed but for now they too are in the freezer. Stocking up on quick good eats!

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worth1
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#442

Post: # 30940Unread post worth1
Sun Sep 20, 2020 2:09 pm

I already had the taco meat cooked up so I went to the store and picked up guacamole dip, salsa, tortilla chips, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream and those fancy big city style Stand and Stuff taco shells from Old El Paso.
Sometimes a girl has to treat herself and take a break from cooking.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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pepperhead212
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#443

Post: # 30942Unread post pepperhead212
Sun Sep 20, 2020 2:36 pm

I love Chinese dumplings, but I can't even remember the last time I made them from scratch! Some friends and I used to make them and freeze a lot - usually around 300 at a time. The best dough we came up with was just flour and water, but with some tapioca starch added - 1 c to 5 c all purpose flour, to make it easier to stretch, when folding. I think it was 2 c water to that - mixed in the FP, and enough flour so that the dough seemed a little dry, when squeezed between the fingers, but after it rested an hour or two, while we prepared the fillings, it was not dry, but it was also not sticky, like a pasta dough. We rolled it out, using the pasta roller, down to the next to the last thickness, and cut it into 3" rounds. We had sort of a game, and he did all of the rolling, and she and I, and sometimes a third person, did the cutting, filling, and folding, and usually 3 of us could stay ahead of him, but 2 could barely keep up with him! We just put them on bare pans, and froze them - the dumps just broke loose from the pans, when taken out of the freezer, and we'd freeze them in batches of 45 - the amount we usually had, with their kids.

Dip sauce is what makes them, or "dump sauce", as he nicknamed it, and the name stuck. That sauce I could make in my sleep, I've made it so many times, but years later I started making a Vietnamese dip sauce - Nuoc Cham, that I now also make every time with dumps. And very recently, I found a simple Cambodian dip - wasn't sure how it would be, but it was delicious, and everyone liked it. It was just some crushed black pepper, lime juice, salt, and palm sugar, that's it. I don't make it every time, only when a larger number of people will be eating with me.

I am getting a craving for dumps now.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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worth1
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#444

Post: # 30944Unread post worth1
Sun Sep 20, 2020 2:57 pm

Only steamed dumplings for me with fresh ginger, soy sauce, hot pepper dipping sauce of some unknown recipe I had at one of my favorite restaurants.
I asked the Asian owner for it and she laughed at me. :lol:
But she did commend me on ordering somewhat real Asian food from time to time. :)
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.

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GoDawgs
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#445

Post: # 30945Unread post GoDawgs
Sun Sep 20, 2020 3:01 pm

The dough for these is just 3c AP flour and 1 cup boiling water. Once mixed up it gets kneaded for 7 minutes and then a 30 minute rest in the refrigerator.

The pasta roller! DUH! Why didn't I think of that? I used a 1" x 8" dowel that I bought in a Chinese grocery and that takes forever. Thank you for the idea. The dough is so pliable it would be very easy to gather the scraps after cutting out the circles and re-roll and cut.

I have a great book called A World Of Dumplings with dumplings from all over the world. Super book:


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worth1
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#446

Post: # 30956Unread post worth1
Sun Sep 20, 2020 6:20 pm

Not really cooking.
Taco night.
20200920_181746.jpg
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Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.

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worth1
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#447

Post: # 30957Unread post worth1
Sun Sep 20, 2020 6:33 pm

First taco.
20200920_182734.jpg
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Worth
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JRinPA
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#448

Post: # 30972Unread post JRinPA
Sun Sep 20, 2020 10:07 pm

First deer of the year on Saturday. Button buck shoulder roast tonight, french onion soup and mustard, wrapped in foil and oven roasted. Some pathetic looking but tasty garden carrots thrown in. That onion soup and mustard is the standard roast I grew up with. This was so good I ate one whole shoulder myself, teasing the dogs on and off that I dropped some. It was spectacular.

The only pics I can take are the leftovers.
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I also set up 4 lbs of flats and shanks for pastrami. The "flat" is what I call the big rectangular piece that makes up the bottom outside of the hind quarter.
03.JPG
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karstopography
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#449

Post: # 31279Unread post karstopography
Thu Sep 24, 2020 7:25 pm

304B9047-755A-42A8-BD82-1054CD2B4EDE.jpeg
Chef Martin Yan’s Chinese Okra cashew chicken recipe. I omitted the cashews, but otherwise pretty faithfully followed the recipe. Delicious! Another great way to use Ridged Luffa.
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Zone 9b, located in the Columbia bottomlands, annual rainfall 46”

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worth1
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#450

Post: # 31289Unread post worth1
Fri Sep 25, 2020 6:00 am

Cheeto's and coffee for breakfast.
Last night cold weiners and cheese with lime water.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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JRinPA
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#451

Post: # 31301Unread post JRinPA
Fri Sep 25, 2020 11:24 am

Well where are the pics of the cheetos...did you sous vide them?

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worth1
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#452

Post: # 31309Unread post worth1
Fri Sep 25, 2020 1:55 pm

JRinPA wrote: Fri Sep 25, 2020 11:24 am Well where are the pics of the cheetos...did you sous vide them?
It was dark in the truck as I was sitting on the side of the street at the job site.
Making up for it because I left at 11:15 and went home by way of the metal supply place.
Stopped off there then stopped at the store to get a fresh bone in USDA prime ribeye.
It is in the sous vide as we speak for two hours.
Oven on 400F for baked potato and giant baked onion.
Having a bourbon and coke and making a job take off list for the grill I am going to start building this weekend.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

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pepperhead212
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#453

Post: # 31406Unread post pepperhead212
Sat Sep 26, 2020 11:10 pm

I didn't cook much today - finished off some leftovers, which I always have in the fridge, so I will have to cook soon! But I did replenish an ingredient that I always have on the door of the fridge - hot oil! My method is to crush up some Thai peppers - about 2 1/2 oz, or about 1 1/4 cups, and put them in a bowl. Then, in a 3 qt saucepan (a 2 qt might be too small, as this foams up), heat a little over a pint of vegetable oil to 420° - not canola, as this hardens when cold, like olive oil. I then take the pot outside, as even with my commercial style range hood, the fumes can get bad! (Sometimes I'll use the side burner on the grill, if that is uncovered). After putting it on a brick, or something safe for the heat, I dump the crushed peppers in, then run! :o The temperature of the oil is enough to caramelize the peppers, and give the oil a delicious flavor, but not so hot they burn, since it cools, from the peppers cooking. Here are the darkened peppers, still cooking in the oil:
ImageCrushed peppers added to 420 degree oil, for Chinese hot oil. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

When totally cooled, I strain it first through a fine metal strainer, let that totally drain into the bowl, then I strain it through this ultra-fine strainer. It slows toward the end, but all the oil goes through:
ImageSecond straining of the hot oil. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageFinished hot oil. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

This year, I used all Jyoti peppers - an Indian pepper, much like the Thai peppers I grow, and when I used them in similar dishes, about the same heat, around 60-70k. The good flavor it gave in this was very similar, too, with the caramelizing of the peppers in the oil.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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JRinPA
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#454

Post: # 31411Unread post JRinPA
Sat Sep 26, 2020 11:56 pm

I dump the crushed peppers in, then run! :o
Fire in the hole gets a new meaning...
So you use that all the time? Oil laced with hot peppers in pint jar? How do you use it for cooking/eating? Olive oil with oregano and garlic, we use for hoagies. That kind of thing?

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pepperhead212
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#455

Post: # 31423Unread post pepperhead212
Sun Sep 27, 2020 9:07 am

[mention]JRinPA[/mention] This is the type of hot oil used a lot in Chinese coooking, which is how I started using it, and over the years, I tried many ways of making it, with many peppers, and this is what I've settled on. You really don't want to make it using one of those methods where you heat up the oil and peppers together slowly, standing there stirring it! :lol: I use it on many things, besides Asian, as the flavor of the toasted peppers goes with many foods - much better than sprinkling vinegar on most things! I had a bean salad that I used the end of the bottle in, which prompted me to make more. Same thing with nam prik pao - a Thai sauce I make a simplified version of, with just garlic, shallots, and hot peppers, cooked until caramelized in oil. The fantastic flavor goes with all sorts of foods, not just Thai. I have stir-fried many types of vegetables, and just stirred in a tb or so of nam prik pao, and served it with many non-Asian foods, as well as Asian. The hot oil is a good way to add some heat to a simple stir-fry, too.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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pepperhead212
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#456

Post: # 31464Unread post pepperhead212
Sun Sep 27, 2020 11:12 pm

And here's that other "hot sauce" I made today - Nam Pla Prik - using my last harvest of Thai peppers. Even simpler than the hot oil - hardest part is getting the sliced peppers into the bottle! The amounts, in volume, are approximately two parts fish sauce to one part thinly sliced Thai peppers.
ImageLast harvest of Thai peppers for the season, chopped up for Nam Pla Prik 9-28 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImagePeppers, ready to add fish sauce to, to make Nam Pla Prik. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageNam Pla Prik, ready to steep in the fridge. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

After a couple weeks in the fridge, it's ready to add to things, for that delicious fish sauce flavor, with a kick! It can be replenished when maybe half empty, and the peppers will keep flavoring the new fish sauce for a long time.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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worth1
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#457

Post: # 31516Unread post worth1
Mon Sep 28, 2020 6:42 pm

I don't always eat cauliflower but when I do.
Topped with freshly ground black pepper kosher salt and freshly grated nutmeg.
Put the whole thing in leaves and all.
Got some mesquite charcoal going on the grill.
Gonna flash cook a cheapo select grade top sirloin steak ultra rare.
It really is the only way tho eat these things.
But what I'm a gonna do is after the second and only flip I will cover it with crumbled blue cheese.
20200928_180813.jpg
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Worth
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You might as well be arguing with a cat.

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pepperhead212
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#458

Post: # 31608Unread post pepperhead212
Tue Sep 29, 2020 9:45 pm

I had some work done at the orthodontist today, so I made something soft - a sambar, made with okra, eggplant, and some tomatoes, from the garden. I used some tamarind powder as a shortcut, instead of the usual paste, so the hardest part of it was cutting up the vegetables. I did this in the instant pot - sautéed some onion in a little oil, adding the garlic, curry leaves, and sambar masala, and cooking about a minute, then I added the tomatoes, eggplant, and okra, plus 4 cups water, and 3/4 c moong dal. Salted it to taste, and added the tamarind powder (started with 2 tb, but ended with about 3 tb) then I slow cooked it 2 1/2 hrs, added 1/2 c brown basmati, and cooked another 1 1/2 hrs. Had to cool it to lukewarm to eat, but it was still delicious...and very soft to eat!
ImageAbout 12 ounces of tomatoes, chopped up for the sambar. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageEggplant, for the sambar. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageProbably the end of the okra for the season, trimmed for the sambar. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageFinished sambar by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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GoDawgs
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#459

Post: # 31617Unread post GoDawgs
Wed Sep 30, 2020 7:02 am

Yesterday I made pork chops in mushroom onion gravy. We hadn't had that in a while. Good stuff and we'll have the leftovers today.

Image

I picked the first two yellow squash from the new planting and sister Pickles picked two more eggplants so she stirfried them with some green pepper in the old wok and added an oyster sauce based sauce.

Image

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karstopography
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Re: Whatcha Cooking today?

#460

Post: # 31619Unread post karstopography
Wed Sep 30, 2020 7:41 am

A634F752-0FF8-415E-8639-A49D3CF26665.jpeg
Eggplant on the menu here also.
Going to slice this meal sized black beauty eggplant in rings, pan fry in seasoned bread crumbs, top with fresh mozzarella and homemade tomato sauce from my dwindling stash of frozen garden tomatoes. Eggplant and tomato sauce go so well together.
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