RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
What is everyone's favorite cook book? (besides momofuku milk bar 
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IronGAF Cookoff (hosted by OnkelC) Vol. 2
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It's basically the same as european kraut. Just slice the napa finely, put it in a mixing bowl and dump in a handful of salt. Mix it with your hand until the cabbage gets soggy and water starts foaming out. Then pack it tightly in a jar, put a weight on top and cover it with cheesecloth and let it ferment for two weeks.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
So there's no difference? XD
Pretty much, just they use Napa cabbage instead of regular cabbage. It has a different flavour and texture to it.
ElectricThunder
Member
Nice newcomers!
Crumble: The Spicy Billy Goat Kicker Perhaps the most intentionally boutique chip I've yet encountered right down to the plain, very small, brown paper bag it comes in---this is also, surprisingly, among the absolutely spiciest chips I've ever had combined with a generally uncommon texture beget by the fact that they explicitly use thick cut Russet potatoes as opposed to the usual suspects.
Cheese: Mull of Kintyre Extra Mature Scottish Cheddar If I've ran into cheese out of Scotland like this before, it must be slipping my mind entirely at present. Very strong flavour in a good way, with a bit of saltiness to it that mellows when handily melted into a creamy state---packing a respectable amount of delicious oil too. Combined with the powerful spices of the above chip, they melded pretty perfectly into a satisfying meal.
Crumble: The Spicy Billy Goat Kicker Perhaps the most intentionally boutique chip I've yet encountered right down to the plain, very small, brown paper bag it comes in---this is also, surprisingly, among the absolutely spiciest chips I've ever had combined with a generally uncommon texture beget by the fact that they explicitly use thick cut Russet potatoes as opposed to the usual suspects.
Cheese: Mull of Kintyre Extra Mature Scottish Cheddar If I've ran into cheese out of Scotland like this before, it must be slipping my mind entirely at present. Very strong flavour in a good way, with a bit of saltiness to it that mellows when handily melted into a creamy state---packing a respectable amount of delicious oil too. Combined with the powerful spices of the above chip, they melded pretty perfectly into a satisfying meal.
PsychoSoldier
Banned
My pictures aren't going to be as pretty as everyone else's but I'd like to contribute
Mashed sweet potatoes with slow-sauteed onions (I was going for caramelized but I got lazy) with turkey bacon and rosemary.
I also deglazed the pan between cooking the onions and turkey bacon with apple cider vinegar so it's got a nice tang to it.
Mashed sweet potatoes with slow-sauteed onions (I was going for caramelized but I got lazy) with turkey bacon and rosemary.
I also deglazed the pan between cooking the onions and turkey bacon with apple cider vinegar so it's got a nice tang to it.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Still been cooking pretty regularly, though I don't really take a photo most of the time, but I made a special effort this time so I thought why not.
I love chinese islamic food, mostly because it's all about spice, cumin and lamb, so I was pretty stoked to find this recipe for Xian cumin lamb with hand smashed noodles. Seriously one of the easiest noodles to hand-make, yet it's so good. If done right it's nice, thick and chewy with a silky texture. Also a fun way to play around with gluten.
Recipe here. Also a damn good site for recipes.
http://ladyandpups.com/2015/03/04/my-xian-famous-spicy-cumin-lamb-hand-smashed-noodles/
Tossed in with the lamb.
I love chinese islamic food, mostly because it's all about spice, cumin and lamb, so I was pretty stoked to find this recipe for Xian cumin lamb with hand smashed noodles. Seriously one of the easiest noodles to hand-make, yet it's so good. If done right it's nice, thick and chewy with a silky texture. Also a fun way to play around with gluten.
Recipe here. Also a damn good site for recipes.
http://ladyandpups.com/2015/03/04/my-xian-famous-spicy-cumin-lamb-hand-smashed-noodles/
Tossed in with the lamb.
My pictures aren't going to be as pretty as everyone else's but I'd like to contribute
Mashed sweet potatoes with slow-sauteed onions (I was going for caramelized but I got lazy) with turkey bacon and rosemary.
I also deglazed the pan between cooking the onions and turkey bacon with apple cider vinegar so it's got a nice tang to it.
Looks damn tasty. A tip for next time. Adding water to the onions every so often makes them caramelize a lot faster.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/01/the-food-lab-real-french-onion-dip-homemade-super-bowl-recipe.html
Article with that and more tips here if you're interested. I love onions and have personally tried it. I'll never do it the "slow" way again.
What is everyone's favorite cook book? (besides momofuku milk bar
Practically everything you need in one book.
It's a really great book, the recipes are all pretty basic which gives you room to experiment and improvise at your leisure, leaving you to create your own takes on any kind of dish, while giving you info on anything you're unfamiliar with.
That looks amazing, thanks for the link, I gotta try that out sometime
PsychoSoldier
Banned
Thanks for the tip. Gives me an excuse to buy more onions which my girlfriend will probably hate haha.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
Practically everything you need in one book.
It's a really great book, the recipes are all pretty basic which gives you room to experiment and improvise at your leisure, leaving you to create your own takes on any kind of dish, while giving you info on anything you're unfamiliar with.
.__.7
Practically everything you need in one book.
It's a really great book, the recipes are all pretty basic which gives you room to experiment and improvise at your leisure, leaving you to create your own takes on any kind of dish, while giving you info on anything you're unfamiliar with.
I'm not a fan, for beginners I think you need visual inspiration to help. Also humongous collections of recipes tend to have many bad ones in it (in fact many of the recipes weren't even tested, the book was written over 70 years ago too. And worst of all no pictures? How am I suppose to get inspired to cook if I don't have an idea of what it should look like.
For me I think everybody needs good practical books and good informative cookbooks that make you understand what you are doing with cooking:
For informative/scientific books:
Serious Eats
[URL="serious eats"]http://www.amazon.com/Serious-Eats-Comprehensive-Delicious-Wherever-ebook/dp/B005U3ZSZ4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1439261270&sr=8-2&keywords=serious+eats[/URL]
Maximum Flavor from the blog Ideas in Food
Michael Ruhlman's Ratios - great for learning basic cooking rules
http://www.amazon.com/Ratio-Simple-Behind-Everyday-Cooking/dp/1416571728/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439261433&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=ratiosruhlman
And from Serious Eats Food Lab this one I am really looking forward to since I am big fan of Kenji Alt Lopez.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0393081087/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Etrian Oddity
Member
What is everyone's favorite cook book? (besides momofuku milk bar
Those four books have given me insane inspiration and guidance as a chef.
I made flour tortillas for the second time.
The first time they were much too thick and just not very good. This time I got them considerably thinner. I put a ball of dough on floured parchment paper and rolled it with the rolling pin until it wouldn't go any wider. After that I flipped it onto my palm and did some pizza dough style hand stretches. They still aren't as flat as commercial ones. I don't know how to get them any thinner. They ballooned up like pita which was fun.
I made quick quesadillas with them. I took two of equal size and shape put cheese in the center and placed it on a buttered griddle. I used a hot salsa for dipping. It was really tasty.
The first time they were much too thick and just not very good. This time I got them considerably thinner. I put a ball of dough on floured parchment paper and rolled it with the rolling pin until it wouldn't go any wider. After that I flipped it onto my palm and did some pizza dough style hand stretches. They still aren't as flat as commercial ones. I don't know how to get them any thinner. They ballooned up like pita which was fun.
I made quick quesadillas with them. I took two of equal size and shape put cheese in the center and placed it on a buttered griddle. I used a hot salsa for dipping. It was really tasty.
I made flour tortillas for the second time.
The first time they were much too thick and just not very good. This time I got them considerably thinner. I put a ball of dough on floured parchment paper and rolled it with the rolling pin until it wouldn't go any wider. After that I flipped it onto my palm and did some pizza dough style hand stretches. They still aren't as flat as commercial ones. I don't know how to get them any thinner. They ballooned up like pita which was fun.
I made quick quesadillas with them. I took two of equal size and shape put cheese in the center and placed it on a buttered griddle. I used a hot salsa for dipping. It was really tasty.
Have you tried a tortilla press?
The thing with flour tortillas is that they have to be cooked as they are being pressed so an electric one may be required if you want that thinness http://www.kitchenkneads.com/Chef-Pro-Tortilla-Maker-10-inch_p_37.html
Thanks. I need to try making corn ones. The corn tortillas I buy from the supermarket suck, but I'm sure fresh would be better. Even if I didn't care for it as is, I could always slice them up and deep fry to get chips.
Honestly I just bought some flour and wanted to make the fastest bread possible. These beat out pita by an hour or so. I still put roasted garlic hummus on a few and topped with sumac and a drizzle of olive oil. Those were divine.
I've never tried one, not counting using the one that freshens the tortillas at Chipotle when I worked there. I've actually heard that you aren't supposed to use a press for flour tortillas but that might have been the presses that shape and don't cook.
Well traditionally most tortillas in Mexico are corn and pressed. I know that commercially flour tortillas have to be cooked and pressed at the same time because that will force it to stay thin and keep shape. Naturally flour will unstretch itself if you leave it alone hence why you can't use a traditional press if you want it thin thus using a rolling pin and really stretching out the gluten in it is the only way to go but I assume that also causes it to become chewy hence why commercial tortillas are pressed+cooked so they aren't chewy either.
Gotcha. I had problems shaping pretzels with the dough unstretching. I used a rolling pin here and it wasn't chewy in a bad way. I would have liked thinner since I can't imagine making a soft taco or burrito wrapped in one of these. I'm not sure if I would want another kitchen appliance for this one task though.
LyleLanley
Banned
I'm considering cooking short ribs for 72 hours via sous vide, has anyone tried it before? Any advice or recommendations?
Overrated IMO. I'd rather do a 36 or 48 hours braise but to be honest these days I never do more than 24. I'm not interested in making what some would call "meat jello" I still want my meat to have some bite.
Double seal if you go 72. Worth trying once, but like zyzyxxz said above, not something I do often.
LyleLanley
Banned
Thanks for the advice. I'm mostly doing it for the novelty of cooking something for 3 days.
i would be afraid of fermentation
LyleLanley
Banned
I'll let you know if I die on Thursday. Unrelated to that, anyone have a good hummus recipe? I've been making a decent basic hummus for a while but I want to make something spicier.
InfiniteBento
Member
I haven't posted any photos since I've started pastry school and just realized this today.
So heres a few I've taken over the past 6 weeks
There is a ton of other stuff not pictured but this what I've got so far. We've completed petite fours and breads and are on exam week right now (auuuuugggghhhh) but next week we start ice creams + ice cream cakes + sorbets. Hopefully I can upload more as I go
So heres a few I've taken over the past 6 weeks
All the breads we've made in the bread chapter -
Chocolate Croissants ! -
All of us cranking out some apricot danishes -
Beignets ! -
On to petite fours:
Chocolate Macarons with ganache filling -
More sweets (espresso tarts and madeleines included) -
Up close with my madeleines -
Fruit tarts ! -
There is a ton of other stuff not pictured but this what I've got so far. We've completed petite fours and breads and are on exam week right now (auuuuugggghhhh) but next week we start ice creams + ice cream cakes + sorbets. Hopefully I can upload more as I go
Cosmic Bus
pristine morning snow
I haven't posted any photos since I've started pastry school and just realized this today.
Heh, this is weird/funny to see because it looks exactly like the kitchen I went to school in, window placement and all.
I haven't posted any photos since I've started pastry school and just realized this today.
So heres a few I've taken over the past 6 weeks
There is a ton of other stuff not pictured but this what I've got so far. We've completed petite fours and breads and are on exam week right now (auuuuugggghhhh) but next week we start ice creams + ice cream cakes + sorbets. Hopefully I can upload more as I go
That all looks amazing. What did you find the hardest of what you've made so far?
I'm getting back into breads with fall approaching. Any new tips, techniques, or recipes you learned that you can pass on?
Also I have to know. Who eats all that delicious food?
Cosmic Bus
pristine morning snow
Students and faculty, at the school I was at. The pastry program ran a small retail storefront near one of the building entrances where most of the (successful) products would end up, and the income was cycled back into the school to pay for supplies and whatnot.
You were always allowed to take home some of what you had personally made, too, and anything that wasn't salable went into the student lunch room.
R
Rösti
Unconfirmed Member
A simple pizza I made today. Naan bread with pasta sauce as base. Yoghurt covered nuts, plain nuts, liquorice, blueberry crisp yoghurt, rum and raisin yoghurt, paprika powder and salt. Tasted quite great.
Now I wish I had a culinary school near me.
That's very different from anything I've had before. I'd love to give it a try.Rösti;175833510 said:A simple pizza I made today. Naan bread with pasta sauce as base. Yoghurt covered nuts, plain nuts, liquorice, blueberry crisp yoghurt, rum and raisin yoghurt, paprika powder and salt. Tasted quite great.
I made some chocolate chip cookies. Started with Kenji's recipe but with the following changes. I spilled some of the brown butter bringing it from 8 oz to probably 7 oz. After folding in the flour it for some reason seemed like it needed a lot more flour so I also added about 3 oz more flour. Here's how it came out.
The rows are the 3 batches. Batch number one just had an ice cream scoop onto the parchment paper. Number two was the same but with me pressing it down with my fingers. Batch 3 was the same but tearing the dough ball in half twice and putting the opposite ends together for extra cragginess. I made the mistake with batch 3 of putting it on the hot half sheet before tearing it though.
I made a wheat boule.
I converted the Serious Eats Workhorse Loaf with half whole wheat flour and changed it from 70% hydration to 80%. The problem is my scale got wonky and wouldn't read the 4g of yeast so I had to guess how much I put in. This loaf didn't have as much oven spring as I had hoped it would. I'm waiting for it to cool to cut in.
I converted the Serious Eats Workhorse Loaf with half whole wheat flour and changed it from 70% hydration to 80%. The problem is my scale got wonky and wouldn't read the 4g of yeast so I had to guess how much I put in. This loaf didn't have as much oven spring as I had hoped it would. I'm waiting for it to cool to cut in.
I made a wheat boule.
I converted the Serious Eats Workhorse Loaf with half whole wheat flour and changed it from 70% hydration to 80%. The problem is my scale got wonky and wouldn't read the 4g of yeast so I had to guess how much I put in. This loaf didn't have as much oven spring as I had hoped it would. I'm waiting for it to cool to cut in.
Invest in a micro scale some fold up and look "drug dealer chic" as if you weight stuff by the tenth of an gram.
codswallop
Member
I made a New York baked cheesecake (with sponge cake crust) for the first time! I hadn't actually made a cake that wasn't from a packet for over two decades, or at least I couldn't remember making a cake for that long. I've made desserts in that time, but not cakes.
It was pretty damned great. Probably the second best New York baked cheesecake I've ever had (that honour goes to Billy's Bakery in NYC - though I don't claim it's the best in NYC). Recipe.
It was pretty damned great. Probably the second best New York baked cheesecake I've ever had (that honour goes to Billy's Bakery in NYC - though I don't claim it's the best in NYC). Recipe.
Oh, this recipe looks great. I visited Xi'an a few years back but I was so sick from food poisoning at the time that I couldn't try any of the local food.
The wife and I were given this book from her aunt who was a caterer at the time. We just refer to is as "the bible" and will frequently look at it first before any other source. It's a really great book, as not only does it have a ton of recipes, it covers ingredient selection and preparation (such as how to cut meat, etc). It's a fantastic reference, and is the only physical cook book left that we have.Practically everything you need in one book.
Any tips for corn tortillas? I find, using a press, they're too small and too thick. Obviously being too thin a corn tortilla will just break apart, but I usually end up with 4" tortillas and that's smaller than I'd like. Maybe I just need a bigger press.
While that sounds awesome and I'd love a lab scale it was more my laziness than the scale's fault. I already had 1.8kg plus however much my mixing bowl weighs on the scale and zeroed it out before trying to get it to tell a 4g difference in weight. I should have simply weighed the salt and yeast in a separate bowl during the autolyse. I always try to avoid creating extra dishes when I can and it bit me in the ass this time.
That cheesecake is making me so hungry. I haven't had one in ages.
Corn is easy as hell but the thinness from pressing will depend on the type of press you are using and the masa. Are you using maseca instant stuff? If you find it difficult to press it to your desired thinness try adding more water to the dough.
If you have a tortilleria nearby I would just buy tortillas masa from them as the quality is way better than the grocery store dry mix stuff.
Masa should be very soft but not wet and I find it easiest to work with when it is room temperature or even warm and I like to press it between two pieces of burger patty paper
It's super cheap something you can pick up at most restaurant supplies for a few bucks or even your local supermarket. After I press them I do refrigerate the tortillas because they will stick to the paper at room temperature, after chilling them they will peel off easily.
codswallop
Member
Thanks, I'll give it a shot next time - I did add more water the last time and it was better, but probably still not enough. I'm using Maseca (in Australia this sort of stuff is not easy to find). We have greaseproof paper (labelled as baking paper, probably the same as wax paper) so I might give it a try with that instead of cling (saran) wrap, which is what I normally use.
Try warm water and then immediately after pressing transfer to a fridge. Unfortunately in Australia I don't believe you guys have a proliferation of Mexicans so probably no tortilleria.
InfiniteBento
Member
Sorry for the late response! We had exams this week so I've been very busy.
Breakfast pastries was probably the hardest. Pastry dough can be very testy and particular. Doing turns without a sheeter is a pain in the butt too ;___;
We get to eat everything we make. I've come to appreciate savory food after having constant sweets though, I admit. My freezer is full already and I'm not even half way done with my course !
Just got done reading Modernist Cuisine at Home... I need to find a cheap sous-vide cooker so many nice ideas!
so many nice ideas!Just got done reading Modernist Cuisine at Home... I need to find a cheap sous-vide cooker
Ah! I didn't know they had that version and apparently it was published back in 2012. The more you know.... ;-) I'm more likely to try that out as it's far more cheaper (~$100) than the 5 volume Modernist Cuisine, which is probably worth the ~$500 price tag but I can't afford it or justify it for the time being :-D
Etrian Oddity
Member
The tingliness of fresh szechuan peppercorns is so good
InfiniteBento
Member
I've begun ice creams and sorbet today. We are starting off making a bombe with rasberry coulis and a vanilla parfait with a French meringue bottom.
I'm pretty stoked for how its going to turn out.
I'm pretty stoked for how its going to turn out.
Thanks for keeping us updated on your cooking efforts in class, InfiniteBento!
I've dabbled with making various ice creams using Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home recipe book (most recently tried the Roasted Strawberry and Buttermilk Ice Cream recipe which I really liked), but I'm sure what you'll be doing is on another level from that
I've wanted to try my hand at making some different types of frozen yogurt and sorbets but haven't gotten around to trying those yet.Etrian Oddity
Member
I always failed at ice creams, but I could make great gelatos.
Red beet has been my most successful one, I got that onto a menu.
Red beet has been my most successful one, I got that onto a menu.
How did you make the ice cream? I never have but I figured that if you used an ice cream machine it was fairly straightforward.I always failed at ice creams, but I could make great gelatos.
Red beet has been my most successful one, I got that onto a menu.
Awesome. I'm jealous. They haven't started selling pumpkins by me yet. I can't wait to make my pumpkin soup.
I made a challah and vegetable beef soup tonight.
Here is the challah:
It came out huge. For reference that is a Half Sheet Pan. The internal dimensions are 16.5"x11.38" I was in a hurry to have it ready for dinner so I went with a simple three braid challah. I didn't see at the time that doing so increased the bake time tremendously. It baked for about an hour.
I used This Recipe.
Last night a picked up a ribeye from a discount grocery store. This was my first time making a low grade steak. It was very tough, Tonight I cooked the second one in the pack on a cast iron skillet, basting it in herb butter and then diced it into small cubes and added to the soup bowl. Other than that it was a standard soup. No pictures since it wasn't exactly photo worthy.