Post if you made something for the first time today!
I did my first roast today! Normally my wife does roasts, as the oven makes me nervous. I did an outside round roast (bottom round) and it came out beautifully! Every time I do something new I'm convinced it's not going to work, but it was great!
What did you do that was new to you?
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tcamp
Feb 4, 2013 09:34 AM
I spent some quality time on Amtrak over the weekend and listened to a bunch of Splendid Table podcasts. As a result, I tried out Anna Thomas' recipe for greens soup. Super easy, caramelize onions (I had some frozen), chop 2 bunches of greens, add a couple of tablespoons of arborio rice plus broth/water, cook and puree. It was pretty good and undoubtedly healthy. Next time, I will add some additional spices.
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melpy
Feb 4, 2013 09:32 AM
For Superbowl yesterday, all requests from fiancé:
Shrimp spread (staple from the 80s) - it was decent
Prosciutto bread- tries to imitate A &S deli in Fairfield, PA. I didn't like it
Scallops wrapped in bacon then dipped in major Gary's chutney. Chutney was a little gingery, not the brand I was looking for.I also had crabbies and pizza dip on hand but he was too full having also insisted on ordering a pizza. These I had made previously however.
Obviously a case of eyes or mind being bigger than one's stomach.
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I made Bourguignon d'Agneau for the first time this week and it turned out great. I only did half the recipe to test for a dinner party but I liked it a lot. It needed some more liquid after being in the oven for 3 hours so I will check it half way through the next time and add more liquid if needed. I used this link for the recipe (it is really just like Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon but with lamb):
http://alaycook.wordpress.com/2010/02... -
Aromatherapy
Feb 4, 2013 09:19 AM
Goat shoulder. About a 1.5 lb. chunk, bone in. Browned on all sides in oil in a skillet, into a small enameled cast-iron dutch oven. Deglazed with a glug of white wine, added that and some chicken stock, salt, several peeled garlic cloves and 2 smallish rosemary branches (plant not dead yet!). Covered, into a cold oven set at 200 for 2 hours, another 2 hours at around 215. Kept warm while I degreased and reduced the cooking liquid. Really good, texture something like braised lamb shank.
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greygarious
Feb 4, 2013 09:11 AM
Although I used canned corn, the corn chowder I winged because the half&half needed to be used up fast, came out quite well. Besides, who wants a thick creamy soup during the heat of the corn harvest season? I also winged a lemon-coconut pound cake that was a comedy of errors, from the seizing up of the virgin coconut oil to plugging in the mixer when it was set on hi speed, to misjudging the baking time when using mini-loaf pans. I saved them just shy of burnt, and the cake tastes fine. I just wouldn't want to serve it to guests.
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LiveRock
Feb 4, 2013 09:00 AM
I made my traditional beef stew recipe this weekend but added trotters (fresh pigs feet) to the stew for the first time. I had read an interview a while ago where a chef (Todd English perhaps?) said these make all the difference in a stewed beef recipe and holy cow (no pun intended) was he right!
I added approx. a pound of fresh trotters cut into two inch chunks after browning the beef and just before putting the stew in the oven, removing them from the stew just before serving. There was no pork flavor in the stew whatsoever but this was the silkiest most rich tasting beef stew I ever made!
Trotters will most definitely be used in all of my beef braises from now on and I can't wait to try it with short ribs!
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I made a gluten-free cake with coconut flour, coconut oil, raw honey (and some other ingredients). It was interesting, although it looked like a regular cake on the inside, it didn't rise (despite 6 eggs and baking powder).
It was O.K., guests enjoyed it. The browned edges were really chewy, overcooked eggy. -
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I made this Pizza Bianca recipe from Smitten Kitchen: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/0.... I had lots of time to lounge around today waiting for the dough to proof. I almost set off my smoke detector waiting for the oven to heat up, and it never quite got as hot as I wanted... my oven thermometer only registered at 450F, although the preheating light showed that it was at 500F. Oh well. It was still delicious, especially with a glass of red wine! I am always terrified of yeast based baking and was pleasantly surprised at how easy this recipe was.
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EWSflash
Feb 2, 2013 05:50 PM
Not a big deal, but I found a bag of sweet brown rice at an Asian market that looked very interesting, and i'm cooking it now in my rice cooker. I hope it has somewhat the texture of pearl barley.
Man, it was so hard not to type "Pearl Bailey" for some odd reason. -
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Found a jar of amaranth in the fridge that I thought was something else for a long time. Looked on line for how to cook it and decided not to go with the popping technique since everyone was warning about the baby seeds flying everywhere if not well attended.
Most recipes called for 2 cups of water to 1 cup of seeds, but the result was called soft grits or porridge. I used 1-1/2 cups water to 1 cup seeds, brought to boil covered, pinch salt, simmered covered for 20 minutes, turned off heat, left covered on the hot grate for another 20 minutes.
It didn't fluff much, but the water was absorbed and it wasn't porridge. Not much flavor but a little crunch. It's got good protein, lysine amino acid, calcium and iron and other minerals.
I don't plan to make any recipes with it; just add a spoonful to a cup of soup or toss some in a stir fry.
I think I prefer quinoa to amaranth. Anybody ever try this?
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greygarious
Feb 1, 2013 09:24 PM
I braised a small section of pork shoulder with a lot of onion, some garlic, a very old bottle of hard cider (barely any carbonation when opened), and some prunes. Seasoned with Accent, vadouvan, and Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute. It is only two portions' worth so it cooked faster than I expected. It's a good thing I checked it at an hour. It is quite yummy. Wish it had been a bigger piece of pork! Didn't use a recipe but must make a note of it so I can do it again sometime.
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A corn meal-whole wheat tart crust, with a filling of sauteed greens and caramelized onions, along with eggs-cheese-cream. The new part was the crust, which was pressed into the tart tin rather than rolled. Adapted from recipe here: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-winte...
Got started late, so the tart/quiche is still in the oven -- will report on the crust later. (Pretty sure the filling will be tasty no matter what.)
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re: MazDee
I have found that chili should be meat OR it should be veggie (no comments here about the true definition of chili, please?).
Combining the two ideas hasn't worked for me. I make a veggie "chili" with chickpeas, sometimes beans, and lots of veggies in a tomato and chicken stock base which is really good.
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Corn chowder. It seemed like a soup kind of day here. I've made many different soups, but never corn chowder. I "followed" a recipe found online, but made small changes. It was good.
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re: plasticanimal
Well, I found a recipe that included some chiles, which sounded good. Turns out I didn't have the chiles I thought I had in the pantry, so that was out. That recipe didn't include potatoes, I did. No big changes. The best thing I did? I thought that grilled corn would be great in it, but this is winter in Ohio... so I took frozen corn (thawed) and tossed it in a nearly dry wok over high heat, with just a slight film of bacon grease. That gave me some carmelization on some random kernels, as if they had been cut from a nicely grilled ear. I'll definitely do it again.
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Fish en papiliotte Asian style. Just some sole with a touch of soy sauce, rice wine topped with green onions and garlic.
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I made a pre-fab sour cherry-strawberry pie with cream cheese topping. I made it up and it is amazing.
Pre-fab is a pie concept that I came up with where you bake the crust all the way through all by itself naked and then cook the filling separately, then combine them.
I whipped up some cream cheese and lemon and vanilla and sugar and a bit of heavy cream, then piped it on top of the cooled pie.
It is really yum.
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re: sandylc
ChrisOfStumptown
Feb 3, 2013 06:28 PM
I was going to say this sounds like blind baking, but realized that whenever a blind baked crust gets filled, it goes back in the oven. At least that's how I've seen people do it.
Congratulations on your creation!
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