Whatcha Cooking today?

[worth1]

This is mouth watering.
Took the roast out and put in cold garage to cool overnight.
Got the grease off and put in oven to warm and crisp up.
Took the juices and got remaining grease from it.
All this and the onions and carrots went in the skillet with the grease.
It carmalized in the hot fat and back in the kettle with juices.
The fat was allowed to cook off all the moisture and flour was added to make a roux.
It has some time to go.
Once done it will go in the juices after I strain off the solids I can't emulsify.
The roast looks burned but it isn't.
That's a deeply carmalized sugar from the wine.
The roast was cooked at 190F for hours in the juices with cover on.

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[worth1]

Finally getting around to posting pictures.
Had a giant sweet potato with it.
The potato was sprinkled with brown sugar cinnamon all spice and nutmeg.

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[karstopography]

Trout Amandine per Brennan’s recipe #1. Super tasty. Served with haricot verts and Jasmine Rice. Too good.

[maxjohnson]

Made deviled eggs and dirty rice the other day. Dirty rice is becoming my favorite cheap meal, and possibly my new overall favorite dish.

And today meatloaf with more bread than beef. Going cheap to save money, I have a feeling in the future all ground beef cooking will have to be substituted with ground pork.

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[Sue_CT]

First time making Indian Curry for lunch! I must say it surprised me, lol. It was one of those fresh meal kits that you can get where they send you the recipe and all the ingredients. I poured out the ingredients and picked up a tiny little green chili that looked like a jalapeno,but was much smaller. It was maybe 1 1/2 inches long and only about 1/4 inch wide. Puny little thing. The recipe said add half. I thought, really? Half of that little thing? What kind of chili is that? So I checked the ingredient list and yup, just a jalapeno. I scoffed. Half that little thing in a pound of ground turkey? I sliced it thinly, removed maybe half the seeds because they were brown and didn't look that appetizing. Well I was really surprised at the level of heat in the Curry! Don't think I have ever had a jalapeno so hot that adding that little would have created as much heat as it did. I know smaller varieties of chilis tend to be hotter, but does the same rule of thumb apply to chilis in the same variety? Maybe I should be buying or picking my jalapenos when they are much smaller to get more heat.

[worth1]

I'm making real, not American goulash and steamed dumplings.
Very authentic and rib sticking good in this cold weather we are having.
Drove home in sleet at a temperature of 28F.

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[Sue_CT]

Looks delicious, Worth!

[pepperhead212]

Today, I made a Kerala style sambala, with 4 different vegetables in it, plus some coconut - what makes it Kerala style. It's not a one dish meal, since the seasonings for the masala paste are toasted in a skillet. Since I didn't have fresh coconut, I used dried, unsweetened, reconstituted some, in hot water. So that was my first step - rehydrating 1/3 c dried coconut in 1/2 c hot water, then 1 oz dried eggplant (about 3/4 lb before drying) in hot water.

Meanwhile, the dal gets pre-cooked. Wash
3/4 c toor dal, and place in the IP with 2 c water, 3/4 tsp turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp asafoetida. Set to pressure cook for 10 minutes, release naturally, then mash the dal, after cooled some.

Sambar Masala Paste

Combine in about a 10" skillet:

2 tsp coconut oil
5 Kashmiri peppers, broken up some
2 Thai peppers, broken up some (or 2 more Kashmiri, for less heat)
2 1/2 tb coriander seed
1/4 tsp cumin seed
1/4 tsp fenugreek
1/2 tb channa dal
20 black peppercorns
10-12 curry leaves
4 tb chopped shallots
soaked coconut, strained and squeezed dry (save water)

Melt the coconut oil in the skillet over very low heat - I do this over a pilot light, while measuring this stuff out. Put the dry ingredients and curry leaves in the skillet, and toss to coat with the oil, then add the shallots and coconut. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 6-7 minutes, or until leaves, peppers, and coconut starts getting a little browned. Remove to a plate to cool. Grind to a paste with about 1/2 c water (I added a little more).
Ingredients for the sambar masala paste, toasted. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Sambar masala paste. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Any vegetables can be used, within reason! This time, I used some potatoes and a sweet potato, peeled and diced, a small butternut, a couple frozen tomatoes, and some dried eggplant. Here I put about 6 cups of those cubed up vegetables in the dal, 3 c water, about 1½ tsp salt then set for 6 minutes, and let the pressure release naturally.
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut, eggplant, and tomatoes, ready to cook with the pre-cooked dal, for the sambar. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Here, I stirred in the masala paste, and 1 1/2 tb tamarind concentrate, and let it simmer for several minutes.
Sambar, after cooking the masala paste several minutes, before adding the tarka. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Last, a simple tarka - 1 tb coconut oil, 3/4 tsp black mustard seed, and 6 curry leaves, cooked until sputtering. Stir in, and serve.
Simple tarka for the sambar - some mustard seed and curry leaves, cooked in coconut oil.. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Kerala style sambar, with potato, sweet potato, butternut, and eggplant. by pepperhead212, on Flickr


I was going to make some quick (non-fermented) idli to eat with it, but it got too late - maybe tomorrow, when I share it with some friends.

[karstopography]

Chicken Tortilla Soup, the easy way. First buy a rotisserie chicken. Mince a couple cloves of garlic, fine chop a jalapeño or two, sweat those some until fragrant in a little oil, then add a couple of good sized fresh ripe tomatoes diced, a whole bundle of cilantro, one bunch, 1-2 cups chopped, 6 cups of chicken stock, lower sodium type, at least a tablespoon, maybe 2 of ground cumin, add in the deboned chicken. Let it simmer a while. Serve with tortilla chips and monterrey jack or some Mexican blend cheese.

[GoDawgs]

Yesterday it was pork chops in mushroom-onion gravy.



Today it will be salmon patties.

[Tormato]

Made deviled eggs and dirty rice the other day. Dirty rice is becoming my favorite cheap meal, and possibly my new overall favorite dish.

And today meatloaf with more bread than beef. Going cheap to save money, I have a feeling in the future all ground beef cooking will have to be substituted with ground pork.

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I've read that the least expensive protein to raise is turkey. One analyst believes it will replace chicken in the future.

Yesterday at my local WalMart there was an entire open freezer bin, that's usually reserved for beef, with plant based "chicken" nuggets. At nearly $12/lb, I will check at each visit whether it sells. I find it hard to believe that people will change their buying habits, unless there is no other choice. I know few people that actually like turkey. Ground turkey might be OK with them, as it is easy to flavor.

I looked at my meatloaf recipe, 3/4 cup breadcrumbs to 2 lbs of ground beef (and close to a cup of diced Vidalia onion). If I was to cut down on the beef, I think I would add a bit more bread crumbs, some more onion, and experiment with a ground beef/lentil mix. I have a years supply of lentils, and 6 + months of ground beef in the freezer (@1.49 to 1.99/lb). Watching other people shop over the last several months, I knew what was coming.

[karstopography]

Chili tonight, no beans. Not necessarily against beans in Chili, just not my jive. Will serve with fritos, chopped onions, and sharp cheddar. Using 85/15 grass fed. I’ve used coarse ground Brisket, Venison, and cubed chuck and other cuts, it all scratches the itch.

[Tormato]

First time making Indian Curry for lunch! I must say it surprised me, lol. It was one of those fresh meal kits that you can get where they send you the recipe and all the ingredients. I poured out the ingredients and picked up a tiny little green chili that looked like a jalapeno,but was much smaller. It was maybe 1 1/2 inches long and only about 1/4 inch wide. Puny little thing. The recipe said add half. I thought, really? Half of that little thing? What kind of chili is that? So I checked the ingredient list and yup, just a jalapeno. I scoffed. Half that little thing in a pound of ground turkey? I sliced it thinly, removed maybe half the seeds because they were brown and didn't look that appetizing. Well I was really surprised at the level of heat in the Curry! Don't think I have ever had a jalapeno so hot that adding that little would have created as much heat as it did. I know smaller varieties of chilis tend to be hotter, but does the same rule of thumb apply to chilis in the same variety? Maybe I should be buying or picking my jalapenos when they are much smaller to get more heat.

First, how do you know if it was a jalapeno, or if it was something substituted?

With hot (not mild) peppers, you just don't know what the heat level will be. With the same variety, they will generally get hotter the more ripe the pepper is. Environmental growing conditions can also have an effect. Reading a bit about Scoville units, it seems the medium hot peppers have the widest range in heat level. A variety could be 10,000 one day and 40,000 the next, a 4X difference, although only a 30,000 total difference. A very hot pepper, may have a range of 100,000 to 200,000, for a smaller 2X difference, but a larger 100,000 total difference.

I just received Jamaican Bell in the MMMM swap. A note says "mild with a hot top". I know that there is more membrane and seeds near the top of many peppers. But, I don't know if the flesh of this pepper is hotter at the top.

[Sue_CT]

I don't know for sure, but it looked like a tiny jalapeno. I stopped using jalapenos in my salsa in the summer because there was never much heat from them, including the ones I grew myself. I have had more heat from peppers that should be milder than I have been getting from grocery store or home grown jalapenos lately. I have had a poblano hotter than a jalapeno. I guess it could have been a serano, but it was much smaller than even those, as I have grown those also. Just don't know. Now I wish I had taken a photo. I can't think of what else it would be, but I am certainly not an expert on Chile peppers. Anyway, I enjoyed the unexpected heat. Not ready for the really hot ones, but it was nice to get a little real heat in a dish.

[Tormato]

Chili tonight, no beans. Not necessarily against beans in Chili, just not my jive. Will serve with fritos, chopped onions, and sharp cheddar. Using 85/15 grass fed. I’ve used coarse ground Brisket, Venison, and cubed chuck and other cuts, it all scratches the itch.

The best chili that I ever made was using ground turkey. With a lighter flavor than ground beef, all of the other flavors came through much stronger. I doubt that I'll ever use ground beef again in chili. I'll save it for other recipes. It might take some time for me to scratch the itch just right, as I never had a recipe for that turkey chili. I just threw things in and hoped for the best.

[karstopography]

I don’t use much ground turkey these days. We used to in the winter make escarole soup with turkey meatballs and that was terrific. Escarole can be sort of hard to find here in our little not so Italian hamlet. I direct seeded some, but it was non-viable seed. My castelfranco radicchio did sprout and is out in the garden growing nicely. I was just sitting by the fire in the fireplace looking at recipes for that.

Ground turkey seems variable and maybe the difference is whether it is all white meat or not. Seems like some I have tasted has a odd turkey taint or flavor. I could see using the more neutral tasting ground turkey for chili.

[pepperhead212]

@Sue_CT I'd be willing to bet that it was a serrano pepper, not a jalapeño. They haven't been breeding the heat out of those yet, as with jalapeños, as you've noticed. Problem is, you just don't know what they are, in stores - could be a mild one, or one of the hot varieties! You just have to pop one, to find out, before buying a batch.

[Sue_CT]

It was soooo tiny, I have never used a pepper that tiny before. I wondered if the smallest from a given plant are actually the hottest. Smaller and hotter than my home grown Serano's, anyway. Almost like the size I imagine a bird pepper might be. I have never used those. But I have used dried arbol chiles, and it was much smaller than those, at least half the size. Interesting. I am wondering if they got some wrong peppers mixed into a delivery of jalapenos or someone grabbed what looked to them like a jalapeno but was actually something else. That seems less likely since these types of meals need to appeal to a large number of people and they don't tend to go too too hot on anything. Not that this was too hot for me, but I think it might be for many. Although had I followed the instructions it would have been more what I have come to expect, lol. I am going to keep my eye on other offerings in the spicey catagory and see what other kinds of chile peppers they use.

[Sue_CT]

So I called the company and this is hillarious. The first guy said it looked like an Indian green chili pepper. It does. This is very similar to what it looked like although I think even smaller than this: https://pipingpotcurry.com/indian-green ... use-store/
Then he said it was a "capsicum", lol. I could have told him THAT.

I called back and spoke to someone else. Apparently whatever it was, was an error. It was supposed to have a sunny yellow chile pepper. So they are crediting my account $11.00 for the error, even though I like it, lol. They are sending me a list of the chili peppers they use, I guess there are over 20 different ones.

[pepperhead212]

Maybe it was a true Indian, or Thai peper - not something I was expecting! Thai bird peppers are the best known of the type, but there are also Indian varieties - ones we rarely see, and rarely see seeds for. Here's one I am considering - the Kanthari, which is the Indian version of the Bird's Eye, and here's what I thought was funny - they say it's not "extremely hot", and only gets up to 50,000 - 100,000 SUs.
https://www.seedsofindia.com/item/Hot-P ... ILABLE-242

And a funny thing about the way Indians refer to peppers - in blogs from India, when I see recipes calling for a "capsicum", what I have found that means is a bell pepper! Of course, that's also a capsicum, but the hots are all referred to by other names, and the capsicum is just the sweet pepper, and if it is just capsicum, it is the red, unless it is specifically calls for green.