Cooking with Maintankadin

Oh, I did track one down. It just wasn't stocked on the main shelves for whatever reason. There was a helpful dude who found a dusty jar of it in the back. I didn't check every store we had in town so I may have had better luck elsewhere but my particular Safeway seems to cater mostly to the Spanish and Asian(minus India of course) cultures as far as food items go. I check out stores for spices fairly regularly just because I like to and I don't recall ever seeing curry powder or garam masala on the shelves. I live in Longview, WA. Not exactly culturally diverse down here Unless you want a taco or some general tso's chicken.

Safeway is your problem. Safeway is a good enough store, but it caters more to local preferences. I shop for spices at Kroger chain stores (Fred Meyer's in WA) and, weirdly, Walmart/Sam's Club. If I need specialty spices or (dry) ingredients, I have a pretty helpful purchaser at a World Market about 2 hours away that orders them for me. She loves my cooking.

Gracerath wrote:Oh, I did track one down. It just wasn't stocked on the main shelves for whatever reason. There was a helpful dude who found a dusty jar of it in the back. I didn't check every store we had in town so I may have had better luck elsewhere but my particular Safeway seems to cater mostly to the Spanish and Asian(minus India of course) cultures as far as food items go. I check out stores for spices fairly regularly just because I like to and I don't recall ever seeing curry powder or garam masala on the shelves. I live in Longview, WA. Not exactly culturally diverse down here Unless you want a taco or some general tso's chicken.

for one, o/ to another PNW MTadin (see we need to get that get together planned!)

and two...ty now i am hungry for general tso's chicken....

I think that just convinced me to start planning one. Lets get Fridmarr, BlDavis, Gracerath, Aergis, Thalia, McDuffie, Myself, Skye?I think?, and any other WA/OR/ID Mtadin out here! We could have an awesome end-of-summer bar-b-que or something late September.

skye is in Korea (i love when he just wakes up in time for our firday night raids)
but i would love this!
ill start saving up some money to get my butt up there!

If I had any hopes of making it, I would, even though I don't live in the PNW.

Skye1013 wrote:If I had any hopes of making it, I would, even though I don't live in the PNW.

You get 30 days off pen

Yes, but I'm limited which days I can take due to exercises and other people's leave dates.

That and I'd much rather use that to visit Lev (and some other Aussie friends.) The PNW will be much easier to reach from the US.

I finally tracked down curry powder (which is a slightly different blend than the garam masala I picked up) and I'll have to figure out something to use that with. I think I could be lazy and mix some into yogurt as a marinade for chicken and it would be pretty tasty grilled.

My favorite meal lately has been steak and mushrooms. I found some thin cut petite sirloin steaks that I salt liberally and then I put in a hot pan for about 1 min per side and give them a nice sear. Then I add a chunk of butter to the pan with some mushrooms and salt. The water in the mushrooms deglazes the bottom and picks up all the delicious meat flavors. I add a splash of balsamic vinegar and some garlic powder (I'd use fresh but I'm lazy atm) and man, it comes out really freaking good. Add any juices that comes from the steak while they are resting as you cook the mushrooms too. So quick and easy.

bldavis wrote:ill start saving up some money to get my butt up there!

Don't you think it'd be wise to save up money to go visit your fiance first... considering you haven't seen her in what? Two years?

Nikachelle wrote:

bldavis wrote:ill start saving up some money to get my butt up there!

Don't you think it'd be wise to save up money to go visit your fiance first... considering you haven't seen her in what? Two years?

well being the drive to the seattle area takes less time than the flight to NC, plus i would have to drive nearly as far just to get to the airport - just easier to go to seattle


that and we havent even talked in 2 months
id say its pretty much over at this point

Plus we're way cooler than his fiance!

Random cooking thing: Soy Cream Sauce.

No, seriously. Stop making that face.

Mix 1 part soy sauce and 8 parts heavy cream over medium heat, and reduce until it's thickened a bit. That's it.

First ran across it in Kona Grill's Macadamia Nut Crusted Chicken, but this sauce works on all kinds of Chicken, Meatloaf, Burgers, and Pasta. It's very similar to a sauce I do for steak au poive, but that's another post.

Tonight I ran a bunch of baby bella mushrooms through the egg slicer, sauteed them in butter (4 tblsp), white wine (1/4 cup), tarragon, and minced garlic, then added the cream sauce (2 cups cream, 1/4 cup soy sauce), salt and pepper. Tossed with penne, although this would really work well with linguine as well.

My 8 year old had four servings of it.

I made this crock pot recipe yesterday and since I already typed it up to share on another site I figured I'd share it here too.

Bistro Chicken Thighs
(Link to cookbook)


10 Skinless, bone-in chicken thighs
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions (I used 1)
3 cloves garlic (I used 5)
2 tsp dried thyme
1 cup red wine
14oz can crushed tomatoes, with juice
1/2 cup fresh parsley (I omitted, forgot all about it)


Sprinkle thighs with salt and pepper, place in skillet, brown on both sides in olive oil, place in crock pot
Melt butter in same pan, saute thyme, chopped onion, and garlic until soft
Add wine and tomatoes, mix together and add to slow cooker

Cook on low for 8 hours



I served this over pasta and it was delicious. The sauce is rather thin so next time I'll probably try to thicken it with cornstarch or something. I also thought it could use more garlic, but I'm a garlic fanatic.

I've been mucking about with sous vide for a while using a dutch oven, electric thermometer and a bunch of fiddlying about. After a few months I got tired of the hassle and bought an actual sous vide machine for myself as a Christmas gift. I've been using it for a few weeks. I like the results enough that I went and bought a case of vacuum seal bags in bulk.

Last night we had a hanger steak for dinner:


Salt, pepper, couple pats of butter, seal, pop in the water bath at 133 degrees F for 24 hours. Sear in smoking hot pan for 30 seconds a side. Medium rare from edge to edge, and fork tender.

Five minutes after the sear I cut the meat -- you'll notice there's absolutely no juices on the cutting board.

You can use the liquid rendered in the bag as a base for a sauce (prep a simple roux with a tablespoon of butter and flour, add liquid and some herbs, maybe some diced mushroom, reduce to desired consistency).

I've made several steaks, ribs, and chicken breasts in the thing. I usually disdain breasts in favor of thigh meat, but there was a buy-one-get-two-free special on breasts at the market. My primary objection to breasts is they have no flavor and tend to be dry and horrible. With the sous vide they retained all their moisture, and with the long cooking time they soaked up a ton of flavor. For thighs I'd probably fry the skin separately because crispy chicken skin is almost as good as bacon.

I highly recommend playing around with the method. If you don't want to spring for any gear you can try using ziplock bags -- that's how I started.

that looks f-ing delicious!

It'd go great with my barbecue sauce:

3 cups ketchup
1 cup brown sugar (tightly packed)
1/2 cup worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup dijon mustard (or honey dijon/spicy mustard - really, depends on how sweet/spicy you like it)
1/3 cup whiskey
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2tbsp liquid smoke
2tbsp smoked paprika
1 1/2tsp onion powder
1 1/2tsp garlic powder
1-2tbsp cayenne pepper, to taste
1tbsp coarse salt (sea salt or ground rock salt)

Whisk all the ingredients together over low heat until they've combined, then bring to a slow boil and reduce to simmer for 20 minutes. Lasts for a really long time in the fridge, I've never had a batch spoil. It's always gone within days.

Gracerath wrote:I finally tracked down curry powder (which is a slightly different blend than the garam masala I picked up) and I'll have to figure out something to use that with. I think I could be lazy and mix some into yogurt as a marinade for chicken and it would be pretty tasty grilled.

Coriander
Cumin
Cloves
Green Cardamom
Turmeric
Cinnamon
= Garam Masala


Chicken Curry with coconut milk:

Roast Whole Star Anise, Cloves, Cinnamon stick, Black Pepper corns, Green Cardamoms (split with the side of a knife) in a large frying pan for a minute or two
Add 2-3 onions (finely sliced - they'll dissolve), 2 garlic cloves (crushed), 1 inch fresh ginger (finely chopped) and fry until the onions are soft and starting to caramelize.
Take a little butter and melt it. mix in ground cumin, ground coriander, ground turmeric, salt and crushed chillies and mix until it is a thick paste (this is where that curry powder can be used). Add paste to the pan and fry for a couple of minutes.
Take 4-5 chicken legs, prick them all over, and then place them in the pan. Brown the chicken on both sides then, with the skin up, add a little hot water. Cover, and leave to simmer for an hour or so.
20 minutes before serving add a tin of coconut milk (400ml) and two table spoons of tomato puree/tomato paste (the stuff that is really thick and comes in a tube). Stir vigorously and cover again. Put some rice on to cook.
After ten minutes, take the lid off the curry to reduce the gravy.

Beer is a good drink to go with it, the bitterness complements the curry very well.

It'd go great with my barbecue sauce:

Try adding some Tamarind pulp to that. Adds a nice sweet and spicy citrus flavour without the acidity of lemons or oranges.

Tamarind pulp isn't available where I live now. If I were worried about the acidity, I'd trim back on the vinegar and just swap in some zest. Probably start with 1/4 cup vinegar subbed out for 1 1/2 tbsp of zest and adjust from there.

If you're simmering instead of pan searing or shallow frying, I'd probably go for skinless chicken though - there's nothing better than crispy chicken skin, but soggy? Not so much. I also do my garam masala a bit differently. I mix it in with greek yogurt and use that as both a marinade and the base for the gravy. Then I add that to some minced shallots (sweated, not caramelized. The garam masala is bitter enough without adding the extra dose of bitterness from caramelized onions) and roasted peeled tomatoes and simmer that until the meat is cooked through and falling off the bone. Then I fish out the bones and gristle before serving. After dishing it out, I sprinkle on a little fresh chopped mint for color and flavor.

I also think I posted my garam masala mix in this thread somewhere? If not, let me know and I'll toss that up. It's quite a bit different than Fetzie's.

Fivelives wrote:Lasts for a really long time in the fridge, I've never had a batch spoil. It's always gone within days.

That recipe starts with about 5.5 cups of liquid before being reduced, so it must make a pretty good sized batch. That said, all of those ingredients are already preserved or are preservatives themselves. You could probably leave that at room temperature for a decade and not worry about it.

NOTE: That was some hyperbole, don't actually try that...

- there's nothing better than crispy chicken skin, but soggy? Not so much

Makes better gravy though.

Doing dinner for 10 for my mother-in-law's 70th birthday tonight.

Salmon fillets: Flour the skin side and place in oiled skillet skin-side down. Season with Dill and Lemon Pepper, cook on stove for 7 minutes, into oven to finish (around 7 minutes).
New Potatoes: Steamed and seasoned with salt, pepper, herbs, garlic, and butter.
Green Beans: Steamed and topped with Hollandaise sauce.

Jug o' Hollandaise on the side for anyone who wants it on their salmon.

I make my Hollandaise in a stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water (bowl not touching water). I melt butter, then add an equal part of cream once the butter is melted. This cools down the mix enough so the eggs won't scramble, so I add egg yolks and gently stir with a whisk until it starts to thicken. Be careful not to scramble your eggs. If things are getting hot, remove from heat and stir. Add salt and lemon juice to taste. Mixture will continue to thicken for quite some time, so if adding the lemon juice makes it too thin, just be patient. Sauce should be tangy and velvety.

For my basic mix I use around a half cup of cream and butter and 4 egg yolks. For tonight, I'll at least double that.

Tonight was stir-fry beef.

Get some high-quality steak cut thin into strips. Marinade in garlic, ginger, spring onion, chilli and a bit of soy sauce for 45 min.
Make a frying pan really hot, cook the beef for about a minute. It will still be rare when you take it out of the pan. Fry the veggies off, add the marinade.
To make the sauce, add some water to the pan, and dissolve in molasses sugar. Add some vinegar, salt, pepper and soy sauce. Thicken with a bit of tomato paste.
Add the meat back into the pan to warm through, serve with rice. Beef will be cooked to medium when you serve up.

Fridmarr wrote:

Fivelives wrote:Lasts for a really long time in the fridge, I've never had a batch spoil. It's always gone within days.

That recipe starts with about 5.5 cups of liquid before being reduced, so it must make a pretty good sized batch. That said, all of those ingredients are already preserved or are preservatives themselves. You could probably leave that at room temperature for a decade and not worry about it.

NOTE: That was some hyperbole, don't actually try that...

It's about a third of a gallon once it's done. I've still never had it last all that long, since whenever I make it everyone comes up with reasons to use it.

"Hey, let's try this sauce on BANANAS" wouldn't be too much of a stretch. But generally I make a batch right before doing a brisket, or smoking a whole hog or something. Lately I've been playing around with different rubs for pulled pork, so I've been going through this by the gallon.

RE: Sous vide

I've done sous vide method for duck breasts a few times and they've turned out quite delicious. I won't buy a machine (cause I don't do it often enough) but the dutch oven and zip top bag works just fine.

With that said, I don't like duck in general. I've a lower tolerance for any sort of gamey flavor in meat. Thats why I don't like most game animals (deer, elk, etc) or lamb. And duck. Crispy duck skin is divine, however.

For Christmas I got one of those crazy green non stick pans that were shown on the television. I forget what they are officially called but I can confirm that they do indeed work as advertised. However, something I didn't expect was that it basically needs to be treated like a cast iron skillet. Season it with some oil and just wipe it out after use. It is quickly becoming my favorite pan.