Cookin again

[Dannyalcatraz]

My mom has some kind of sensitivity to bell peppers, so we almost never use them or order dishes with them. So I’m experimenting more with poblano, Anaheim and hatch Chiles, fresh or smoked/dried.

So far, I’m liking the results. Better still, Mom is too.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Hatch chiles are fantastic. I had never had them back east, but they were all over the place at the stores out here in SF the first month or so we were here.

 

[CleverNickName]

CleverBiscuits
(family recipe)
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cold
About 1 pint of buttermilk, cold (more or less, depends on how dry your flour is)

Preheat your oven to 425°F.

Sift the first five ingredients together. Yes, with an actual sifter--my grandmother swore that it mixes air into the ingredients and, therefore, is the first step to making your biscuits fluffy. And we didn't argue with my grandma, because it was her kitchen and she had a slap like a brick.

Next, grate a whole stick of butter into the flour mixture, using the large holes of a cheese grater. (Pro tip: drop the whole stick of butter into the flour mixture first, to coat it...it makes it less slippery and easier to handle while grating.) Toss the grated butter shreds into the flour, gently flattening the shreds out into little flakes with your fingers, until well combined.

Pour the buttermilk into the mixture while stirring with a wooden spoon, just until the mixture starts to come together into a soft dough--don't worry about it being lumpy or uniform, you will finish "mixing" it in the next few steps. So: dump the almost-mixed contents of your bowl onto a floured surface, and use a bench scraper to push the dough together into a rough rectangle about 18" x 12" x 1" thick. Cut that rectangle in half, and stack it onto itself. Then using the heel of your hand, press it down into that same 1" thick rectangle. Then do it again: cut it in half, stack it, press it, shape it back into a rectangle. Do this a total of 4 times.

On the 5th time, instead of cutting it in half, cut it into 16 equal squares and arrange them an inch apart on a greased cookie sheet. (My grandma would use bacon grease for this, and she would be very sad to see me using parchment paper like a damned City Boy.) Brush with melted butter (or bacon drippings, grandma), and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

EDIT: Heh, woops. I see that I already posted this recipe here, with photos and everything.

 

[overgeeked]

Made a pot of refried beans today. No soaking over night required.

1 lbs pinto beans
8 cups water

Pick through and wash your beans. Pressure cooker for 45 minutes. Natural release for 30 minutes. Strain the beans and reserve at least 1 cup of the cooking water.

2-3 tbsp pork fat
1 onion, diced
1 tsp salt
3-4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp each of cumin, paprika, coriander, chili powder, oregano
1 cup reserved cooking water

Saute the onion in the fat. When they’re almost done throw in the garlic. Add the beans, lower the heat, and start smashing. Add the reserved cooking water a bit at a time until it’s a consistency you like. Add spices and mix well.

 

[overgeeked]

CleverBiscuits
(family recipe)
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cold
About 1 pint of buttermilk, cold (more or less, depends on how dry your flour is)

Preheat your oven to 425°F.

Sift the first five ingredients together. Yes, with an actual sifter--my grandmother swore that it mixes air into the ingredients and, therefore, is the first step to making your biscuits fluffy. And we didn't argue with my grandma, because it was her kitchen and she had a slap like a brick.

Next, grate a whole stick of butter into the flour mixture, using the large holes of a cheese grater. (Pro tip: drop the whole stick of butter into the flour mixture first, to coat it...it makes it less slippery and easier to handle while grating.) Toss the grated butter shreds into the flour, gently flattening the shreds out into little flakes with your fingers, until well combined.

Pour the buttermilk into the mixture while stirring with a wooden spoon, just until the mixture starts to come together into a soft dough--don't worry about it being lumpy or uniform, you will finish "mixing" it in the next few steps. So: dump the almost-mixed contents of your bowl onto a floured surface, and use a bench scraper to push the dough together into a rough rectangle about 18" x 12" x 1" thick. Cut that rectangle in half, and stack it onto itself. Then using the heel of your hand, press it down into that same 1" thick rectangle. Then do it again: cut it in half, stack it, press it, shape it back into a rectangle. Do this a total of 4 times.

On the 5th time, instead of cutting it in half, cut it into 16 equal squares and arrange them an inch apart on a greased cookie sheet. (My grandma would use bacon grease for this, and she would be very sad to see me using parchment paper like a damned City Boy.) Brush with melted butter (or bacon fat, grandma), and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

EDIT: Heh, woops. I see that I already posted this recipe here, with photos and everything.

Damn. Those sound good. Only biscuits I’ve ever done were the Dream biscuits from America’s Test Kitchen.

 

[Zardnaar]

Anyone got a meatball recipe for a pound of meat?

I used this one tweaking it slightly.

The Best Spaghetti & Meatballs Recipe | Beef + Lamb New Zealand

Beef + Lamb New Zealand | EVERYDAY | The Best Spaghetti & Meatballs

recipes.co.nz

Sause was a tweaked Italian tomato thing. Grated an onion into the breadcrumbs and let it sit for a bit. Served up on an open sandwich with a bit of sour cream.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

This week, a cousin of mine (who is staying with us 4 days a week for a job) figured out that Chicken Express sold fried chicken livers and gizzards. We decided to get a small order of each to try out, along with the other food we were getting for the household.

There were several sauce options; we chose Buffalo.

When we got home, we realized they’d given us LARGE orders of both. (My receipt showed the correct order & price.) So we had a massive surplus to work with.

FORTUNATELY, they were actually pretty decent, even though the Buffalo sauce was just…OK. But we still had. So. Many. So I’ve been experimenting with them.

Earlier this week, I took some of the fried liver and made a sandwich using caramelized onion cheddar- essentially having a liver & onion sandwich. It was pretty good.

But tonight, I tossed some fried gizzards in my French-fry Dipping Sauce (see below) before warming them in the toaster oven, and served it with a small side salad. And this was the best iteration of all. By tossing the gizzards in the sauce before putting them in the toaster oven to reheat, the sauce dried into a glaze, and the batter retained its crunchy consistency.

If/when I get CE’s liver or gizzards again, I’m using my homemade sauce on them.



*****

FRENCH-FRY DIPPING SAUCE

Mix equal parts A1 steak sauce with yellow mustard. Add Tabasco and black pepper to desired heat level.

*****


I came up with this mix in the late 1980s, when my college grill’s fries inexplicably stopped being “greasy” enough for seasoning to stick to them. No matter how much salt & pepper you used, they just tasted unseasoned. You could see the salt crystals bouncing off.

So to SEASON your fries, you needed to DIP them in something…and I was tired of ketchup. So I experimented a bit and came up with this. Obviously it worked on more than just fries, but I named it because of its original purpose.

I’ve tried this with other steak sauces, and it works just fine. But A1 remains my favorite.

 

[Bohandas]

Ok, I'm watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show and am now struck with the idea of using curry powder as an ingredient in meatloaf

 

[Jahydin]

*****

FRENCH-FRY DIPPING SAUCE

Mix equal parts A1 steak sauce with yellow mustard. Add Tabasco and black pepper to desired heat level.

*****

That sounds too fun. Thanks for sharing.

Looking forward to making this tomorrow.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Talked to our lawn maintenance guy the other day and found out we have not one but THREE piquin pepper bushes. Two are right next to each other, so that was an easy mistake to make.

But one is on a corner of our lot that I almost never go to during daylight hours, and is currently the size of a small tree- who’s is what I mistook it for. I now have no excuse not to try them out in something.

Beyond that, we’re going to have him plant some other pepper varieties on the front of our house. We’re thinking jalapeños , habaneros, and cayenne, but nothing is finalized. Here in Texas, they’ll bloom & fruit often, and I’ll never have to buy those kinds at the grocery again.

Might even put out a “Free to good home” sign to encourage our neighbors to try out.