Cookin again

[Dannyalcatraz]

I am having a bad, very bad, totally horrific cooking day. Ever make a recipe you know worked before and have it turn into a disaster? Beef carbonnade isn't supposed to be difficult, and I'm more than a little worried it's in the process of destroying the pot. Oh, well.

Absolutely!

Most recent major disaster was a decade ago. I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich SO BADLY I stopped everything else I was doing to make one. I constructed my sandwich with the bread, butter and assortment of cheeses while I got my pan up to temp. Dropped some butter in the pan and dropped the sandwich onto it. As I did so, I noted that the butter melted & browned super quickly, indicating my pan might be too hot, but I didn’t drop the heat as I cooked my meal.

…and got distracted by the TV.

Because of this, I didn’t notice that side one of my sandwich was being overcooked until it was utterly blackened. Realizing my error, I flipped it, thinking that I’d simply scrape off the burnt bread.

…and got distracted by the TV, with predictable results.

My plated sandwich looked like two pieces of tire rubber with a creamy golden substance oozing from between them. I tried scraping of the blackened bread only to find more blackened bread beneath.

I ate that whole damn sandwich- I was hungry, and this mess was MY mistake. It tasted exactly how you would expect: cheese coated charcoal. One of my worst meals ever.

And I have NEVER repeated that mistake since, because the spectre of that sandwich is in my mind every time I want to make another one.

 

[prabe]

Absolutely!

Most recent major disaster was a decade ago. I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich SO BADLY I stopped everything else I was doing to make one. I constructed my sandwich with the bread, butter and assortment of cheeses while I got my pan up to temp. Dropped some butter in the pan and dropped the sandwich onto it. As I did so, I noted that the butter melted & browned super quickly, indicating my pan might be too hot, but I didn’t drop the heat as I cooked my meal.

…and got distracted by the TV.

Because of this, I didn’t notice that side one of my sandwich was being overcooked until it was utterly blackened. Realizing my error, I flipped it, thinking that I’d simply scrape off the burnt bread.

…and got distracted by the TV, with predictable results.

My plated sandwich looked like two pieces of tire rubber with a creamy golden substance oozing from between them. I tried scraping of the blackened bread only to find more blackened bread beneath.

I ate that whole damn sandwich- I was hungry, and this mess was MY mistake. It tasted exactly how you would expect: cheese coated charcoal. One of my worst meals ever.

And I have NEVER repeated that mistake since, because the spectre of that sandwich is in my mind every time I want to make another one.

Yeah, this wasn't that sort of distraction. This was a recipe my wife and I both remember making successfully before--in terms of flavor, and texture, and not trashing the pot--that this time just made a tasty terrible mess: I ended up using Barkeeper's Friend on our 7+ quart Le Creuset. (And, since I had it out, a handful of skillet-type things that needed it, and the sink.)

We had to replace our cooktop a couple of months ago, and it's possible we (well, I) haven't yet acclimated to the new one, which does seem more ... assertive, maybe aggressive.

 

[overgeeked]

Well, good news. My wife's birthday dinner came out tasty, if not exactly the texture I expected; and even though I was willing to clean out the Le Creuset, she is--and she seems to be having some success.

Is it a Dutch oven or cast iron? I had a disaster with one of those. It took a few hours of work but eventually got it clean with boiling water, a chainmail scrubber, and elbow grease.

 

[prabe]

Is it a Dutch oven or cast iron? I had a disaster with one of those. It took a few hours of work but eventually got it clean with boiling water, a chainmail scrubber, and elbow grease.

It's a 7+ quart (28 cm) Le Creuset enameled cast iron Dutch oven--it was a wedding present for a previous marriage. We tag-teamed with a steel scrubber, and I eventually broke out the Barkeeper's Friend.

EDIT: She got up from the table and beat me to starting to clean. I'm not That Guy who makes a Fancy Special Occasion Dinner--getting everything in the kitchen dirty--and expects the partner to clean up.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Is it a Dutch oven or cast iron? I had a disaster with one of those. It took a few hours of work but eventually got it clean with boiling water, a chainmail scrubber, and elbow grease.

Doing exactly that with my big one right now.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

We had to replace our cooktop a couple of months ago, and it's possible we (well, I) haven't yet acclimated to the new one, which does seem more ... assertive, maybe aggressive.

Our current cooktop has an “Ultra Hot” burner. And the big triple burner’s lowest setting is “Simmer”, which is too hot for a lot of dishes.

 

[Bohandas]

Experiment 1: Dino nuggets + leftover egg foo young sauce
Result: Tasty

Experiment 2: Dino Nuggets wrapped in bacon, cooked in a microwave
Result: Tasty, but not sufficiently better than the dino nuggets by themselves to warrant extra time and expense

Experiment 3: Dino Nuggets wrapped in bacon + leftover egg foo young sauce, cooked in a microwave
Result: Ingredients heat at different rates; sauce boiled down to a gritty tar-like substance by the time bacon was done. Still edible because most of the sauce fell off before that point

 

[Zardnaar]

Made two nights of meals. Big pan of mince, beans, tomato, spices. Extra hot and spicy the packet said wasn't as hot as my recent creations.

Lightly grilled fresh bread home made as a bed, topped with cheese, sourcream and a new sweet Chilli sauce that was great. Side salad and washed down with a 4.5 Obolon beer from Ukraine.

Of course something went wrong. Plate ended up on the floor all over the carpet. Thankfully I have carpet cleaner and a washer. There was enough left over to have a smaller portion and leave enough for game night tomorrow.

As per usual I blame the French. Give the yanks a break they've had a rough year. Ukrainian beer was quite good.

https://www.newworld.co.nz/shop/product/5109842_ea_000nw?name=pale-lager-4.5%25-can

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I was inspired by George Motz’s video on the Mississippi Slugburger (see video below), and wanted to try out a variation on one. Note: the burger does not include slugs. The name comes from the burger’s original cost of 5¢- a “slug”. Slugburgers have breadcrumbs added to the meat in order to stretch the meat, a measure born of economic hardship. The rest of the burger is similarly austere: a little salt added to the meat; a simple bun with yellow mustard, and some pickles. No cheese.


While I intend to try the original some day, tonight I wanted to upscale the idea a bit. Instead of the plain, chunky breadcrumbs, I wanted to try fine, seasoned breadcrumbs. I used fancier bread and spicy brown mustard. I added cheese & bacon.



INGREDIENTS

3lbs ground meat
1/2 can Progresso Garlic & Herb breadcrumbs
Roasted Garlic bread, sliced & toasted
Bacon
Dietz & Watson caramelized onion cheddar
Mayo
Guilden’s Spicy Brown mustard
Sliced dill pickles

Tonight’s burgers were 1/4lb each, topped with 2 (thick) slices of cheese and 2 bacon strips. Because the bread had a small cross-section, i didn’t flatten the patties that much and I could only fit 2 pickle slices per burger.

The remaining 2lbs of meat/breadcrumbs mix was stored in one of these:

Burger Master® 8-in-1 Burger Press and Freezer Container

Go beyond the burger press by instantly shaping and storing your homemade burger patties!

www.shapeandstore.com

(Very handy product, highly recommended!)



RESULTS:

The burgers were tasty and super sloppy.

Even though my breadcrumbs were much finer than the original recipe (as depicted in the video), there was still a noticeable difference in the way & speed the patties developed a crust while cooking as compared to normal.

I used 2 slices of cheese per patty, which might have been overkill. Because this cheese is slightly stickier & crunblier than some, I usually get it sliced thick AND get paper placed between the slices…but I forgot the second part. That meant I couldn’t easily separate individual slices. Oh well!

The bacon did what bacon does.

The small bread contributed to the sloppiness. Tasty though it was, it wasn’t big enough to control all the various slippery ingredients. Next time I make these, I’ll either get real burger buns or another kind of roll or bread to build on.

 

[Zardnaar]

I was inspired by George Motz’s video on the Mississippi Slugburger (see video below), and wanted to try out a variation on one. Note: the burger does not include slugs. The name comes from the burger’s original cost of 5¢- a “slug”. Slugburgers have breadcrumbs added to the meat in order to stretch the meat, a measure born of economic hardship. The rest of the burger is similarly austere: a little salt added to the meat; a simple bun with yellow mustard, and some pickles. No cheese.


While I intend to try the original some day, tonight I wanted to upscale the idea a bit. Instead of the plain, chunky breadcrumbs, I wanted to try fine, seasoned breadcrumbs. I used fancier bread and spicy brown mustard. I added cheese & bacon.



INGREDIENTS

3lbs ground meat
1/2 can Progresso Garlic & Herb breadcrumbs
Roasted Garlic bread, sliced & toasted
Bacon
Dietz & Watson caramelized onion cheddar
Mayo
Guilden’s Spicy Brown mustard
Sliced dill pickles

Tonight’s burgers were 1/4lb each, topped with 2 (thick) slices of cheese and 2 bacon strips. Because the bread had a small cross-section, i didn’t flatten the patties that much and I could only fit 2 pickle slices per burger.

The remaining 2lbs of meat/breadcrumbs mix was stored in one of these:

Burger Master® 8-in-1 Burger Press and Freezer Container

Go beyond the burger press by instantly shaping and storing your homemade burger patties!

www.shapeandstore.com

(Very handy product, highly recommended!)



RESULTS:

The burgers were tasty and super sloppy.

Even though my breadcrumbs were much finer than the original recipe (as depicted in the video), there was still a noticeable difference in the way & speed the patties developed a crust while cooking as compared to normal.

I used 2 slices of cheese per patty, which might have been overkill. Because this cheese is slightly stickier & crunblier than some, I usually get it sliced thick AND get paper placed between the slices…but I forgot the second part. That meant I couldn’t easily separate individual slices. Oh well!

The bacon did what bacon does.

The small bread contributed to the sloppiness. Tasty though it was, it wasn’t big enough to control all the various slippery ingredients. Next time I make these, I’ll either get real burger buns or another kind of roll or bread to build on.

Think I've watched that one.

I vaguely remember crumbed meat patties here but I can't remember what they were.

By 1980s food standards they were great vs the other horrible food. Mince stew, mashed potato, boiled cabbage bleah.