what's cooking? part 5: 2017-2027

tonight - whole roast rainbow trout stuffed with parsley, lemon and garlic. and a baked potato. i got quite excited about having a baked potato cos they're so impossible midweek when time is scarce, realised i hadn't cooked one in years. topped it with grated manchego and chopped scallions. glass of gruner veltliner relieving a horrible hangover after some friends' 40th celebrations yesterday :)

very nice!

i'm in the middle of a move and devoting a disproportionate amount of time to unpacking/setting up the kitchen bc i miss cooking.

moving update: my rad induction range was delivered today so i celebrated ironically by burning the hell out of my finger on a pan that was under the broiler.

made this tonight, it really livened up a fairly bland dinner of boiled potatoes and a chicken breast: https://food52.com/recipes/12000-old-bay-aioli

ooh i love old bay
it's really good on popcorn

been alternating butter chicken (from Ajanta book), vegetable korma, and paneer kofta (also Ajanta) for about one year, and I'm still not tired of it somehow

ooh i love old bay
it's really good on popcorn

― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Wednesday, August 2, 2017 3:46 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i just discovered this and it is otm

must try that. it's not so commonly available over here, i had to order a big tin on amazon. it is seriously addictive stuff.

you probably know this, but you can make it yourself

yeah i guess so - it is just a bunch of other stuff.

food - just a bunch of other stuff

yeah old bay is something you can make but it's also worth it to buy it because you get a free shaker to dispense it and it is already made!
if you couldn't order it on amazon i would offer to mail it to you
that's how tasty old bay is

my junkfood-approximating popcorn is drizzle of olive oil, old bay, nutritional yeast, and if i am feeling like i need a really serious treat, a little parmesan cheese

i went to a restaurant in a coastal town last weekend and we decided to get some popcorn shrimp--their interpretation was literal with fried jumbo shrimp in a box w/old bay popcorn.

I've never heard of it, what's it like? I thought you meant like a really dried up bay leaf

a delicious spice mix, lots of paprika iirc?

https://www.target.com/p/mccormick-old-bay-seasoning-6oz/-/A-13477467

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Bay_Seasoning

it is tasty, it really does go well with seafood

my brother made crab cakes with it a few weeks ago when we went down to the north carolina coast, they were amazing

I did actually google it, I was hoping for poetic descriptions of what kind of taste sensation it was!

old bae

taste is v similar to "shrimp/crab boil" seasoning

yea it is just kind of salty and little spicy but not too much

i think there is celery salt in there too?
I was hoping for poetic descriptions of what kind of taste sensation it was!
it's good but it doesn't deserve that kind a treatment imo ;)

celery salt is a magical thing
celery seed too

tried to make cacio e pepe tonight, failed
ugh. how can something so simple evade me so spectacularly. i ended up with oily peppery pasta that tasted vaguely of cheese. i think i needed way more cheese

anyone have a good tried & true method/recipe?

i've only done this successfully once: https://talesofambrosia.com/2013/03/04/how-to-make-spaghetti-cacio-e-pepe-like-a-roman/

and failed like 4 other times. but this is the one i want to get right. butter and evoo dilute cacio e pepe terribly.

this recipe i used called for a ton of oil & not much cheese

well the one i posted will solve that prob; my uneducated take is that the temperature where pecorino melts into a sauce is pretty hard to come by. recipes that use lots of oil or butter force a sauce by just making more liquid where this one can make a coagulated mess if the cheese heats up too much.

Inspired by SG's post above a bit making mushroom matar.
Xpost
This cacio recipe is killer and seems sorta foolproof
http://luckypeach.com/recipes/cacio-e-pepe/

interesting, i'll try that technique next time.

intriguing!

bless anyone that provides weights and temperatures in a recipe. I am going to try that one this weekend but without fresh pasta (I don't have a way to make it). outdoor_miner, please share a good mushroom matar recipe if you have/find one. I am trying to get away from using the same book for everything. I made some tandoori mushrooms with a cashew tamarind sauce (from ajanta) and some mushroom, chard, and corn tacos last week. So I am very much into the hongos rn.

Oh, that all sounds yumm.reminds me that I miss having huitlacoche around to play with.
Matar
Matar recipe came from my heart beets that u linked originally. Nice recipes there, thx for the tip!
Shrooms seemed to b enjoyed by everybody,was easy/wld definitely make again.

I haven't had huitlacoche, but Rick Bayless sure seems to love it in the red book. I will check out the matar (thanks). I found the korma from google, and I need to try some more of her recipes.

huitlacoche is very good

cooked this on saturday and it was amazing

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/02/sichuan-braised-eggplant-vegan-experience-food-lab-recipe.html

lol i did this seriouseats chinese eggplant recipe last night: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/02/braised-eggplant-with-tofu-in-garlic-sauce-recipe.html

also good!

dangit! that luckypeach is unavailable just days after i posted that link above. i remembered the method for the most part and made cacio the way they said (infuse crushed pepper in hot water, mash together parm. w/ 130 degree water, etc) and it was great.
Gonna make pop tarts here in a bit from minimalistbaker blog. wanted to make homemade nutella, but am a tiny bit lazy and just threw on some fruit compote instead. don't have much experience w/pie-type dough, but i have pastry flour and this looks pretty simple.

oh! those eggplant recipes both look like something i have to make tonight, picking one is gonna b a challenge

i tried making the old bay aioli the other night & it was delicious.

they should include aioli-making in crossfit workouts, i was pooped afterwards lol

otm it is tiring!

copying that cacio recipe from the internet archive to that perpetual rock of stability, ilx:

80 g semolina flour, plus more as needed
20 g 00 flour, plus more as needed
+ kosher salt
1 large egg
1/2 t (1 g) crushed black peppercorns
40 g finely grated D.O.P. pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for garnish
+ freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATION
Blend the semolina flour, 00 flour, and a pinch of salt in a wide bowl and create a well in the center. Crack the egg into a small bowl set on a scale. If the egg does not measure 50 grams, top it off with a few drops of water until it reaches the correct weight. Beat the egg with a fork or whisk, then pour it into the well. Work the flour into the egg, bit by bit, bringing flour into the egg from the edges of the well. Once you have a loose, shaggy dough, set the fork aside and begin kneading the dough in the bowl. When you have a cohesive mass, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it is smooth and does not crack or fray when gently stretched, about 8–10 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour, or in the refrigerator overnight.

Unwrap the dough and divide it into 3 pieces. Use a rolling pin to form each into an oval thin enough to be fed through the thickest setting of your pasta machine. Pass each piece of dough through the thickest setting several times, folding the dough in thirds and rotating it with each pass, until you have a uniform rectangle that is about 10 inches long and 1/8 inch thick. (If you need to move to a thinner setting to achieve this, feel free.) Dust the dough with semolina and let rest and dry for 10 minutes.

Affix the spaghetti attachment to your dough roller. (We’re actually making tonnarelli, not spaghetti, since the resulting noodle will be square at the end, not round.) Once the pasta sheets are leathery to the touch, pass them through the cutter. Gather the tonnarelli and dust them lightly again with semolina. Arrange on a rimmed baking sheet in a loose single layer, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to cook, up to 2 days. (The noodles will be notably more springy and delicious after 1 day of rest in the fridge.)

When you’re ready to cook, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, combine the crushed peppercorns with 3 tablespoons water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat; it should have reduced by about half. Let steep until ready to use.

Drop the tonnarelli in the boiling water and set a timer for 5 minutes.

When assembling the cacio e pepe, timing and heat are important. Place the grated cheese in a bowl. Pour the warm pepper broth over the cheese, leaving most of the peppercorns behind. Use a rubber spatula to mash the cheese and pepper broth together until you have a granular paste. Drizzle a spoonful or two of slightly cooled pasta water over the cheese, continuing to stir and mash and drizzle until you have a sauce the consistency of béchamel. Keep the sauce warm, but not over direct heat. When the timer goes off, check the pasta. Once it’s al dente, drain it into a colander, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water. Toss the pasta a couple of times to release some heat, and let it stand for 1 minute to cool slightly. (If the pasta is too hot when added to the cheese, the cheese will congeal into unappetizing lumps.) Add the tonnarelli to the pecorino sauce and toss, adding splashes of pasta water to create a creamy emulsion that clings to the noodles. Transfer the pasta to a warmed bowl and top with a sprinkle of pecorino and a few grinds of pepper.

so it is written, so shall it be done

what is 00 flour?

oh wait a sec, i need a pasta machine for this? nm, so not gonna happen

Don't /have to/ make pasta from scratch. Double nought is a special Italian grind specifically for pasta dough. Regular ap flour works fine ime

otm making pasta bit is totally optional tho may change the cook time if you use dried

Have freezer overflowing with ice cubes either way I guess is my takeaway

making pasta is fun and easy

I like making pasta ok but don't find it that easy :/

Gnocchi I find even harder in terms of getting the texture just right. But I find it more worthwhile I guess?

i skip to the part where it says make the sauce

dried spaghetti ride or die unless someone is serving/making me fresh pasta