what's cooking? part 5: 2017-2027

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

otm
making pasta from scratch may be fun for some people but i am not one of them

i rarely do it, but the texture of fresh is SO worth the little trouble it takes if one has one of those hand crank machines. used to work in a place where coworker wld come in everyday and make it for pm service and it took her abt a half hour from start to finish. and it's fun to mess w/flavors. once made a beet pasta using a juiced beet for ravioli for a special valentine's day dinner and pasta was purty

i'm sure it's great if you enjoy it
fresh pasta is in the category of things i will gladly pay an expert to make for me. croissants, pasta, probably some other things.

^^ agree

filo pastry

^^^ also agree (though I might make gnocchi or gnudi again, no equipment needed)

Sushi is in the 'pay to have it made' category for me.

I've started buying fresh pasta from the supermarket. It's not as good as the fresh pasta I had out the other week but a good little upgrade from dried. not as convenient though in terms of it lasting forever like dried.

I think of them as just different animals. Dried has a toothiness that u can't get from fresh and fresh is so delicate at it's best

disagree! It's easier to get an even toothiness with fresh. You barely have to cook it though. dried can get that slippery coating kind of thing. tbf I often have dried brown pasta which probably needs a bit more cooking than white.

Can I just say that the trend of overly patronizing instructions in online recipes is driving me bananas

The five-step method for an easy, tasty homemade enchilada sauce recipe turns into war & peace bc the author has to add all her concern-trolling
"now make sure you get all your spices measured before you start"
"heat the oil - dont walk away from the stove"

OMG. SHUT. UP.

ugh that's even worse than recipes bloated with jokes
stfu

i finally unpacked my cookbooks after they were in attic storage for a year and it is so much more enjoyable browsing through them rather than food blogs and cooking websites

What is the conventional ilxwisdom regarding preparing corn tortillas for enchiladas? Warm in dry pan? Warm over open flame? Quick dip in hot oil? Dip in sauce before rolling?

Enchiladas are a pain in the ass to make imo.

cheap fresh tortillas from masa harina, dip in sauce, and quick fry in oil on skillet imo

it'd probably also work well making from better store bought masa. I just think fresh is best for avoiding tears, and a tortilla fancier than maseca probably won't make much difference in enchiladas.

Dip before fry??? I assumed it was fry then dip.

yeah, i see that in recipes as well. my father-in-law has been making them for decades, and he dips in sauce before frying. it makes the skillet pretty messy.

we also do not bake them, though. it looks like this may be a difference in assembly between enchiladas and enchiladas suizas

i hate handling slimy sauced tortillas so i just make layered enchilada casserole now #lazy

the method described in beloved ilx favorite the border cookbook is to heat 1/2" to 1" of oil in a small skillet till hot. dip the tortillas in until they go limp (happens almost immediately ime), then sauce them, fill them, and roll them.

this has worked great for me so far.

fry then dip imo

border cookbook is so great, could be my favorite cookbook tbh

In Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen, he has recipes where he warms up the tortillas and then spoons sauce over, and then he has the "..."other" style of enchilada preparation: a cold tortilla is dipped in a robust red chile sauce, then seared quickly on an oiled surface. One taste and you'll understand why they're a favorite street food."

So I guess the dip-cold-and-fry method may be the street food style that is usually done with red sauce?

taking that book out led to creamy beet greens, potatoes, and poblano tacos, as it usually does

that pepper-infusion cacio e pepe method i reposted a little while ago worked pretty well. gradually building the sauce with pepper water and pasta water before adding the pasta seemed to prevent any major clumping. i will say that i would add pepper to finish much more aggressively than the recipe implies--the infusion is a nice backbone but it doesn't really kick your ass with black pepper like i want.

obv much better than any oil/butter method.

I don't understand the "keep the sauce warm, but not over direct heat." part. Does that imply that you should turn on your oven?