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IronGAF Cookoff (hosted by OnkelC)

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Grecco

Member
Hello again. Today i had dinner alone so i decided to make my favorite recipe of all time. Carbonara.

PIC-0040.jpg


Apologies for the terrible picture. :lol Its my favorite pasta dish ever (Except maybe Vongole) Its also very simple. Eggs, Bacon, Pasta. I also like to add half a clove of garlic actually gives it a litle kick.
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
Hi Grecco, thanks for sharing! Carbonara is also one of my favorites. We'll make some pasta this weekend, too, an autumnish variant with bacon, mushrooms and cream.
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
The easiest pasta sauce ever: Sage butter, best with filled pasta like Tortellini or Ravioli:
smallP1010902.jpg


smallP1020050.jpg


Just take a good piece of butter, melt it, sautee a handful of sage leaves in it, salt it and pour over the pasta. Serve with some parmesan:
smallP1020057.jpg


Enjoy.
 

Gibbo

Member
I've been wanting to contribute to this thread for a very long time but I can't cook to save my life. I'm in Hong Kong for a biz trip for about 2 months and I think it would be a good time for me to start. My serviced apartment is pretty much stocked in terms of equipment so I just need to find the right ingredients. Any recommendations for a beginner?
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
Gibbo said:
I've been wanting to contribute to this thread for a very long time but I can't cook to save my life. I'm in Hong Kong for a biz trip for about 2 months and I think it would be a good time for me to start. My serviced apartment is pretty much stocked in terms of equipment so I just need to find the right ingredients. Any recommendations for a beginner?
Hi and welcome!
Recommendations would be easier if you could state some of your preferences (aka meat/fish/vegetarian). I imagine Hong Kong to be a great place to start learning cooking. Just to state the obvious, I'd start with learning how to cook rice and develop from there. Do you have any favorite dish(es) that you'd like to learn first?
 

Gibbo

Member
OnkelC said:
Hi and welcome!
Recommendations would be easier if you could state some of your preferences (aka meat/fish/vegetarian). I imagine Hong Kong to be a great place to start learning cooking. Just to state the obvious, I'd start with learning how to cook rice and develop from there. Do you have any favorite dish(es) that you'd like to learn first?

I was thinking of starting off with some pasta. I was looking around for ingredients just now; and it seems as though it would be much cheaper if I bought in rather than cook! Especially seeing how I'm living alone.
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
Tonights dish turned Pasta, mushrooms, bacon and cream from this:
smallP1020088.jpg


into this:
smallP1020100.jpg


and a salad as side:
smallP1020102.jpg


Zvarri!

I'll call it "Pasta with mushrooms, bacon and cream with a salad as a side".

Enjoy.
 

Kaako

Felium Defensor
Hands down, this is the most impressive thread I've seen on Gaf!
I freaking love cooking as well and I'll be sure to share some of my recipes in due time!

You guys are freaking amazing! O_O
*Kaako bows to OnkelC and the rest of the participants in this thread!*

Just WOW!
 

Grecco

Member
Core that picture killed my pc even with Cable modem.. :lol


Awesome pasta Onkel. Ive had a very similar dish but with peas in adition to bacon/cream/mushrooms.
 

Core407

Banned
Grecco said:
Core that picture killed my pc even with Cable modem.. :lol


Awesome pasta Onkel. Ive had a very similar dish but with peas in adition to bacon/cream/mushrooms.

1MB jpeg FTL. :( It was worth it, though! That food looks too good to beat.
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
Kaako said:
Hands down, this is the most impressive thread I've seen on Gaf!
I freaking love cooking as well and I'll be sure to share some of my recipes in due time!

You guys are freaking amazing! O_O
*Kaako bows to OnkelC and the rest of the participants in this thread!*

Just WOW!

Grecco said:
Awesome pasta Onkel. Ive had a very similar dish but with peas in adition to bacon/cream/mushrooms.

Thank you all. Core407, that's a sammich fit for kings.
 

Bildi

Member
Well, I finally took some pictures of a recipe I came up with (it's simple because I suck at cooking). It's hot because I like hot food. How much of each ingredient you put in depends on how hot you like things.

1. Cook some meat and throw in a few cut up chillies.

2. Put in some Sambal Oelek (which is basically crushed up chillies). This one is about 50% chillies but I think the last one I bought was 90% or something so try to make sure you get one with as high a % as possible since then you need less and it's hotter.

20070723_190305.jpg


I put in about this much (it wasn't enough with this weaker Sambal Oelek - could probably double it):

20070723_190444.jpg


3. Add some dried parsley and some diced tomatoes (fresh or tinned). Because the Sambal Oelek is so strong, the dish doesn't end up tasting all 'tomato-y'. If it tastes too tomato-y, put in more Sambal Oelek.

20070723_190643.jpg


It should look something like this:

20070723_191349.jpg


4. Mix in with some pasta, add parmesan cheese and sour cream.

20070725_192643.jpg


If you like blowing your nose and having tears running down your face - enjoy!
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
Bildi, that looks like extremely hearty! When working on ships, that was my prime way of preparing bolognese (cooking instead of frying the meat, oil on open fire would have been too dangerous most of the time). Thank you for sharing.
 

Bildi

Member
OnkelC said:
Bildi, that looks like extremely hearty! When working on ships, that was my prime way of preparing bolognese (cooking instead of frying the meat, oil on open fire would have been too dangerous most of the time). Thank you for sharing.
Sure thing!

Your pasta with bacon and mushrooms gets my mouth watering like no tomorrow each time I scroll past - it looks soooooooooooo good. I am definitely going to give it a shot - I'm buying some bacon and mushrooms this week.
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
Bildi said:
Sure thing!

Your pasta with bacon and mushrooms gets my mouth watering like no tomorrow each time I scroll past - it looks soooooooooooo good. I am definitely going to give it a shot - I'm buying some bacon and mushrooms this week.
yup, it's a fine, autumn-themed dish. You can go for any fresh mushrooms that are on sale now. And it's really easy to make, if you are interested in the prep, I can post some crucial pics in a few hours.
 

Bildi

Member
OnkelC said:
yup, it's a fine, autumn-themed dish. You can go for any fresh mushrooms that are on sale now. And it's really easy to make, if you are interested in the prep, I can post some crucial pics in a few hours.
That would be awesome :)

Particularly in relation to what went into the sauce. I look forward to some more pics. Many thanks in advance!
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
Bildi said:
That would be awesome :)

Particularly in relation to what went into the sauce. I look forward to some more pics. Many thanks in advance!
Prep is really easy, ingredients are (for two persons):
smallP1020088.jpg

pasta of choice (Paglia e Fieno for us),
400 grams of heavy cream,
200-250grams fresh mushrooms of choice,
150 grams bacon slices,
some lemon juice,
parsley and chives after taste.

Prepare/wash/peel the mushrooms and slice them:
smallP1020091.jpg


Get the pasta water going and heat a skillet to 2/3 of max heat. When the water starts starts boiling, fry the bacon strips without oil or fat until crunchy, thes set them aside and let them chill on a paper towel:
smallP1020093.jpg


Start the Pasta, fry the shrooms in same skillet until they start getting brown, then add the cream, salt and pepper and let it reduce to about half the original amount:
smallP1020094.jpg

smallP1020097.jpg


Finish Line:
When the pasta is al dente, drain it. chop the bacon strips:
smallP1020095.jpg


Add the chopped parsley and chives to the sauce, as well as a good squish of lemon juice. Mix the pasta with sauce, add the bacon crumble, stir again and serve!

smallP1020099.jpg


A good cheese to accompany this dish is grated gouda or edam. a salad goes nice with this dish, too.

Enjoy.
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
Something unusual tonight. We bought a bottle of pumpkin seed oil, which is a cold-pressed oil from roasted pumpkin seeds, a specialty from the austrian region of Styria. It's got a rich-nut-like taste and dark green texture. It is best used for salads and cold dishes, or as a spice for soups and sauces.

I made a "carpaccio"-esque dish from roast beef cold cuts, avocado, spring onions, radish, aforementioned oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper:
smallP1020153.jpg


smallP1020154.jpg


Enjoy. We did.
 

Captain N

Junior Member
OnkelC said:
Hi, you could try adding one or two tablespoons of olive oil per pound of flour to the dough for that extra fluffness.

awesome thanks..how do I know how much the flour weighs? I'm using three cups of flour.
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
Captain N said:
So since I already add 1/4 cup of olive oil do I add another two table spoons?
you didn't mention that you already use oil in your original post, sorry. have you tried letting the dough rise two times (once after 60 minutes, knead it down, then let it rise for another 30-45 minutes)?
 

Bildi

Member
OnkelC said:
Prep is really easy, ingredients are (for two persons):
...
A good cheese to accompany this dish is grated gouda or edam. a salad goes nice with this dish, too.

Enjoy.
Oh my God. That is the only phrase I can think of. While I applaud the lack of available smileys on gaf generally, we need a gigantic drooling smiley just for this thread.

Thanks heaps OnkelC - much appreciated! :)
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
Bildi said:
Oh my God. That is the only phrase I can think of. While I applaud the lack of available smileys on gaf generally, we need a gigantic drooling smiley just for this thread.
:lol
Bildi said:
Thanks heaps OnkelC - much appreciated! :)
always a pleasure. Keep us posted about the outcome.
 

OatmealMu

Member
So, is there a Website where I can list ingredients that I have lying around the kitchen and it'll give me recipes? I generally go for pre-made stuff, but I'm feeling adventurous today. ....And I don't feel like going shopping. :p
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
OatmealMu said:
So, is there a Website where I can list ingredients that I have lying around the kitchen and it'll give me recipes? I generally go for pre-made stuff, but I'm feeling adventurous today. ....And I don't feel like going shopping. :p
Sorry, don't know about such a website.
What's in the fridge?
 

OatmealMu

Member
OnkelC said:
Sorry, don't know about such a website.
What's in the fridge?

Too late. Already made dinner. :p

I randomly happened upon a recipe with the right ingredients and made this. Tasty, despite not having any sour cream and being forced to make a "substitute" (which didn't taste anything like sour cream, BTW).
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
OatmealMu said:
Too late. Already made dinner. :p

I randomly happened upon a recipe with the right ingredients and made this. Tasty, despite not having any sour cream and being forced to make a "substitute" (which didn't taste anything like sour cream, BTW).
heh, sounds good. nothing to do wrong with pasta, mincemeat and cheese, will do some bolognese tonight myself. Sorry for the late reply.

Yesterdays dish was a "Wurstslat" (literal translation "sausage salad"), made from polony, emmental cheese, yellow bell peppers, onions and pickles with a pickle water/mustard dressing, served with panfied potatoes:
smallP1020161.jpg
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
There are times for skilled cooking, and there are times when I'm just fucking hungry and craving for massive amounts of hot and hearty food. This time was tonight, Bolognese was the dish:
smallP1020162.jpg

Missing in the pic is a can of tomatoes.

smallP1020166.jpg


Enjoy (I had two of those).
 

Bildi

Member
I just popped in to check the ingredients list for the bacon and mushroom thing. I got my mushrooms yesterday so at lunch today I'm going to get the rest - looks like bacon and chives is all I'm missing.

And I might try to get some spinach pasta too. So expect some pics tomorrow!

By the way, how on earth are you supposed to store mushrooms? I've got them in the vegetable drawer in the fridge at the moment, but I have this feeling they're one of those "brown paper bag in a dark cupboard" things.
 

Bildi

Member
OK, here we go - based of OnkelC's recipe in post #1073. Thank you for the recipe OnkelC - it was really delicious and I've been really wanting to cook up something with a different taste to what I normally make :)

Here are my lovely mushrooms:

img_2061.jpg


and bacon:

img_2064.jpg


No, I didn't eat my dog, I think he was wondering why his dinner preparation was not receiving priority, and in any case why the hell was I not playing with him.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r89/Bildi777/Two-Off%20Pics/img_2059.jpg


Cooked up the mushroom and put in cream, salt and pepper. I also put in some milk and then thickened it all up with some corn flour because I had penne pasta instead of fetuccini and I didn't think the penne would hold a light sauce very well. After this shot I put in some parsley and chives.

img_2072.jpg


Stirred the sauce into my pasta, added the bacon, some more chives, and a bit of sour cream (I put sour cream on everything it seems):

img_2075.jpg


On the side I had some fantastic lettuce and tomatoes I got this week:

img_2074.jpg


And that's it! Only thing I forgot was the lemon juice but I still have another serve left so will add lemon juice in for tomorrow's dinner. Thanks again for the recipe OnkelC!
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
Bildi, awesome approach to the matter! I like the use of sour cream. Thanks for sharing, I am looking forward to seeing more!

After a small conversation with Hyoushi, I was tempted to make an italian Apple pie tonight, called "Tarta di Mele", which came out nice:
smallP1020319.jpg

Recipe to follow tomorrow, if there is interest.
 

Bildi

Member
OnkelC said:
Recipe to follow tomorrow, if there is interest.
There. Is. Interest. :lol

Tonight I thought I'd try something I don't really do - chicken and ham together. Wrapped bacon around the chicken, added a generous dose of lemon juice and some lemon pepper and then grilled it up:

img_2078.jpg


Took the leftover pasta with OnkelC's mushroom & cream sauce, added the bacon-wrapped chicken, and added some more lemon juice and bit more lemon pepper. Turned out alright!

img_2084.jpg
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
Looks good, Bildi, but if I might nitpick:
The chicken breasts turned that dark because of the added lemon juice. Due to the high temperatures in the skillet, the juice will burn and lose its strength. Better add immediately before serving! :)

I made some "Schweinefilet indisch" (Ingredients) (Preparation) yesterday, a Foccaccia with pesto (courtesy of the wife) will follow tonight.
 

Bildi

Member
OnkelC said:
Looks good, Bildi, but if I might nitpick:
The chicken breasts turned that dark because of the added lemon juice. Due to the high temperatures in the skillet, the juice will burn and lose its strength. Better add immediately before serving! :)
I see! Many thanks - I'm probably going to do something similar tonight so I'll try it a bit differently. I really appreciate your input - I had no idea :)
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
Bildi, you're welcome!
johnsenclan, nice loaf! What did you serve as sides?
mint and everybody else, thanks, looking forward to seeing new stuff!
Keep'em coming, folks!
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
Here's the recipe of the Tarta di mele, an easy to make italian variant of the universally acclaimed apple cake theme:

smallP1020176.jpg

6 apples (I used Elstar, every sour, non-mealy variant is oK),
2 eggs,
150 grams sugar, 1 pack of vanilla sugar,
100 grams flour, 1/2 pack of baking soda,
100ml milk,
one lemons' juice,
a bit of butter and flour for the form.

Sqeeze the lemon, peel the apples, remove the core, slice them really fine (eg with a cucumber slicer) and mix them with the lemon juice to prevent oxidation:
smallP1020182.jpg

smallP1020185.jpg


Melt the butter and whip it with the other ingredients to a rather foamy dough, carefully mix the apples with the dough:
smallP1020187.jpg

smallP1020188.jpg

smallP1020191.jpg


Put the mix in a buttered and floured tarte or spring form and bake it at 180 degrees celsius for 50-60 minutes:
smallP1020192.jpg

smallP1020193.jpg

smallP1020196.jpg

smallP1020202.jpg


Let it chill, sprinkle with powdered sugar and ...
smallP1020320.jpg

smallP1020322.jpg

smallP1020326.jpg


...ENJOY!

Share YOUR stuff, too, please.
 

Bildi

Member
mint said:
I love this picture :D
Glad you like it mint! I changed it to a link instead of a picture because I didn't want to risk the thread becoming about anything other than the glorious food (or put anyone off their food if they don't like dogs).

OnkelC said:
Here's the recipe of the Tarta di mele, an easy to make italian variant of the universally acclaimed apple cake theme
Thank you so much :) I will be making this next weekend - I was telling a friend about it who is quite adept in the kitchen and they offered to come over and "supervise" next Sunday.

OnkelC said:
I used Elstar, every sour, non-mealy variant is oK
Just to make sure I'm reading correctly - I should use a sour type of apple rather than sweet?

OnkelC said:
Sqeeze the lemon, peel the apples, remove the core, slice them really fine (eg with a cucumber slicer) and mix them with the lemon juice to prevent oxidation
Thank you for this tip - I remember hearing it somewhere but had forgotten it.

Another tip for the less experienced - olive oil and avocado DO NOT work together. I was experimenting last night and mixed lemon juice, olive oil and lemon pepper as a bit of a dressing to go on my meal which included avocado slices. Luckily I dipped some avocado in the dressing first to see how it tastes together and found that the two have some odd interaction and taste like crap. So I just put lemon and lemon pepper on my meal.

I took pics so will put them up tonight.
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
Bildi said:
Just to make sure I'm reading correctly - I should use a sour type of apple rather than sweet?
yes, it should be a sour type of apple. I don't know the names of your local apple types and/or if "Elstar" is available where you live, so this description must be enough ;)
 

capslock

Is jealous of Matlock's emoticon
Wow, Onkel, even by your standards you've been on a freakin' tear recently, when can we expect the next PDF?
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
capslock said:
Wow, Onkel, even by your standards you've been on a freakin' tear recently, when can we expect the next PDF?
thanks! :)
I love to cook, but I suck at layout and things, so if anybody else would like to take a shot at that matter (to give Jacobi a little break), fee free to do so.
 
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