f13.net forums - Voodoolily's Snacktastic Recipe Thread!!

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May 04, 2024, 07:23:07 PM

we're back, baby

Righ has had cravings for this for a couple weeks now after like 6 years. Strange it came up.

My wife was making some cornbread to bring to her mom's house for Mother's Day and liked my idea. Unfortunately she forgot to pick up the bacon. Cornbread with maple syrup (instead of honey) was goddamned tasty, however. Look forward to adding in copious amounts of bacon.

You can always toast the cornbread and put the bacon on top. It'd stay crispier that way anyhows.

I second SPT's recommendation for a Top Chef thread. Schild will also give a nod, I'm sure of it.

Why doesn't one of you just create a thread? When did people start needing permission to create new topics?

haha I started looking around to see if there was already one and got sidetracked by the funny pictures thread.

Chrysanthemum salad with poached egg and warm bacon vinaigrette
Serves 2 for brunch or a light supper. Don't use an aluminum pan for this or else the vinegar you'll add will react with the pan and make everything taste tinny and "off".

~6 cups chrysanthemum leaves (this was a full typical produce-sized bag, after cleaning - sold in Asian markets as tong hao)
2 eggs
4 slices of bacon, minced
2 tbsp minced shallot
1 tsp lemon zest
1/4 c white wine vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp Dijon or spicy brown mustard
1/2 tsp minced thyme
S&P

Stem and scrupulously wash the greens, pinch off the large stems and shake the leaves out to dry (since I don't have a salad spinner, I invented a technique where I soak them in a sink of cold water, shaking them a bit to knock out the dirt, then strain and rinse again, then place a large bowl over the strainer and shake off the water).

Poach the eggs - simmer in hot water with a splash of vinegar until the whites set up. You don't want the water boiling or you'll end up with wispy whites like egg drop soup. I crack the eggs into a small bowl and then gently dip the bowl into the water and slide them out. Note that the photos clearly show that I overcooked mine ever-so-slightly. You want runny yolks. Mine were more like custard. Hey, nobody's perfect.

Render the bacon bits for a minute over medium-low heat, then add the shallot and lemon zest. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon and shallot are browned and crispy. Add the lemon zest and juice, vinegar, mustard and thyme and whisk until emulsified. Salt and pepper (and more lemon or vinegar) to taste. Yes, you have just made salad dressing with bacon fat. You can thin this with a little olive oil if you want to make it healthier, but if you're eating salad with bacon and eggs on it, I'd say you've already given up.

Plate the leaves and top with poached egg, then dribble the bacon vinaigrette over the top. Add a crack of black pepper to finish. Serve with a crusty bread (we had poppyseed bialy) and prosecco (or leftover Domain Labbé).

That means I probably fucked up the spelling.

(checking) Yeah, it's supposed to be Domaine Labbé. Sigh.

Also, I forgot to tell you to turn off the burner when you are whisking the salad dressing. Turn it off! And leave it off!

Sometimes I just gotta be me.

And leave the burner on..

Sometimes I leave the burner on for hours.

This is not a good thing.

VL I demand a vegetable curry recipe better than Mark's from Top Chef.

Just kind of a general thing I can throw whatever I want into. Also you can't say you've already posted it on your blog.

And while we wait for VL to respond I'll amuse Signe:

50 Helpful Kitchen Tips!

1. For cleaning smelly hands after chopping onions or garlic, just rub them on a stainless steel spoon. The steel is supposed to absorb the odor.

2. Fresh coffee beans can also absorb nasty odors from your hands.

3. If you happen to over-salt a pot of soup, just drop in a peeled potato. The potato will absorb the excess salt.

4. When boiling eggs, add a pinch of salt to keep the shells from cracking.

5. Never put citrus fruits or tomatoes in the fridge. The low temperatures degrade the aroma and flavor of these persnickety fruits.

6. To clean cast iron cookwear, don’t use detergents. Just scrub them with salt and a clean, dry paper towel.

7. Will milk curdle if it is allowed to boil? It turns out that this age-old piece of wisdom isn’t true, after all. Milk that has been boiled is perfectly safe to consume.

8. To clean an electric kettle with calcium buildup on the heating element, boil a mixture of half white vinegar and half water, then empty.

9. When storing empty airtight containers, throw in a pinch of salt to keep them from getting stinky.

10. If you are making gravy and accidentally burn it, just pour it into a clean pan and continue cooking it. Add sugar a little at a time, tasting as you go to avoid over-sugaring it. The sugar will cancel out the burned taste.

11. Burned a pot of rice? Just place a piece of white bread on top of the rice for 5-10 minutes to draw out the burned flavor. Be careful not to scrape the burned pieces off of the bottom of the pan when serving the rice.

12. Before you chop chili peppers, rub a little vegetable oil into your hands and your skin won’t absorb the spicy chili oil.

13. If you aren’t sure how fresh your eggs are, place them in about four inches of water. Eggs that stay on the bottom are fresh. If only one end tips up, the egg is less fresh and should be used soon. If it floats, it’s past the fresh stage.

14. To banish ants from the kitchen, find out where they are coming in and cover the hole with petroleum jelly. Ants won’t trek through the jelly. If they are coming under a door, draw a line on the floor with chalk. The little bugs also won’t cross a line of chalk.

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25. Toothpaste is a great silver cleaner.

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27. Baking soda is an extremely effective cleaner, though. Use it with vinegar to deodorize drains and clean stovetops and sinks.

28. A favorite tip of thousands of grandmas: when you nick your finger while cutting veggies, wait until the bleeding stops and paint on a layer of clear nail polish. It will keep juices out of the wound and won’t fall off into the spaghetti sauce like a bandage.

29. The jury is still out on what to put in the bag of brown sugar to keep it from going hard: a slice of apple, a piece of bread, and a shard of a terra cotta pot have all been used.

30. Got a nasty invisible splinter from your kitchen tools? Put a piece of adhesive tape on the area and then pull it off to remove the splinter.

31. When you burn yourself in the kitchen, just spread mustard on the affected area. Leave it for a while and it will ease the pain and prevent blistering.

32. For aluminum pans that are looking dull, just boil some apple peels in them. This will brighten up the aluminum and make your house smell yummy.

33. To keep cookies fresh, savvy grannies like to put some crumpled-up tissue paper in the bottom of the cookie jar.

34. If your salt is clumping up, put a few grains of rice in with it to absorb excess moisture.

35. To clean fruit stains off of your fingers, rub them with a fresh, peeled potato. White vinegar can also do the trick.

36. Keep iceberg lettuce fresh in the fridge by wrapping it in a clean, dry paper towel and storing lettuce and paper towel in a sealed baggie in the fridge.

37. If your loaf of bread is starting to go stale, just put a piece of fresh celery in the bag and close it back up. For some reason, this restores a fresh taste and texture to the bread.

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39. When making a soup, sauce, or casserole that ends up too fatty or greasy, drop in an ice cube. The ice will attract the fat, which you can then scoop out.

40. To reuse cooking oil without tasting whatever was cooked in the oil previously, cook a 1/4″ piece of ginger in the oil. It will remove any remaining flavors and odors.

41. If your milk always goes bad before you can finish it, try adding a pinch of salt to the carton when you first open it. It will stay fresh days longer.

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43. Remove tea or coffee stains from your fine china by mixing up a paste of baking soda, lemon juice, and cream of tartar. Rub it over the stains and they’ll come off easily.

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45. For splinters under the fingernail, soaking the affected finger in a bowl of milk with a piece of bread in it is said to draw out the splinter.

46. Did grandpa ever give you a drink of cola for an upset tummy? It turns out that this is actually a pretty effective remedy. The sugar and carbonation can soothe many tummy problems - but it can also exacerbate others.

47. Putting salty bacon on a boil is said to “draw the poison out” of boils.

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49. A cotton ball soaked in white vinegar and applied to a fresh bruise will reduce the darkness of the bruise and help it disappear sooner.

50. Drinking cranberry juice and eating blueberries regularly will help stave off urinary tract infections.

Quote from: Ookii on May 19, 2008, 08:09:16 AM

14. To banish ants from the kitchen, find out where they are coming in and cover the hole with petroleum jelly. Ants won’t trek through the jelly. If they are coming under a door, draw a line on the floor with chalk. The little bugs also won’t cross a line of chalk.

Witchcraft!

Re: curry. It depends on if you want Indian or Thai curry. Which one?

Both!

Although I'd imagine Indian curry would be healthier eats than Thai curry, the latter I assume is made with coconut milk.

I know lots of those. I have charcoal cans in my fridge and bananas all over the house! Ohhhhh, I see.

Quote from: SuperPopTart on May 19, 2008, 06:20:46 AM

Sometimes I just gotta be me.

And leave the burner on..

Sometimes I leave the burner on for hours.

This is not a good thing.

I almost scarred myself for life doing that.

Woke up in the morning, decided I wanted hangover curing ramen, put one of those pots with the copper colored bottom on the electric stove and set that shit to high to get some water boiling. I wandered off to my room, started fucking w/ my computer, totally forgot about the pot+water+heat combo. A fucking long time later it dawned on me. I come into the kitchen, the water has evaporated and the pot smells funny. I grab it and yank it off the stove...

Fucking molten metal starts pouring everywhere, it misses my leg by about 2 inches and completely melts one of the stove knobs. I mean just piles of this quicksilver looking stuff. That copper colored shit had completely melted and when I took it off the heat everything went to hell. Scary stuff.

I usually prefer northern Indian food, so it's not much healthier. I'll post some curry for you later.

Quote from: Hoax on May 19, 2008, 10:34:57 AM

Fucking molten metal starts pouring everywhere, it misses my leg by about 2 inches and completely melts one of the stove knobs. I mean just piles of this quicksilver looking stuff. That copper colored shit had completely melted and when I took it off the heat everything went to hell. Scary stuff.

I was wearing shorts too, it would have fused to my fucking leg by the looks of everything else it hit... I'm sure that would have been unpleasant.

And I bet now you watch that shit like a hawk. I screwed up some soup when I was a little kid (like 10) doing the same thing and ever since I keep a keen eye on anything on the stove.

Some people only learn the hard way.

I'd also like to note I'm disappointed it's taking so long for this curry recipe, I hope the length of wait isn't in relation to the posting of pictures or anything else silly.

No, it's cuz I'm at work and don't have time to type up a whole recipe. I hafta make one up for you on the fly, y'know.

Yeah all I hear are excuses.

Look at this bread from Tastespotting, it hasn't even been kneaded properly!

Okay, I usually just dump curry powder and dhana jeera onto onions and cauliflower while they're sauteeing in butter, then I add salt and pepper, some chilis and a splash of cream. This works for sweet potato too. If you're using regular potato, dump some mustard seed in there too, and top with chopped cilantro. If you wanna do it from scratch, use a mortar and pestle on some cumin, cardamom and coriander seed, add some fenugreek and caraway seed and mash it up with grated turmeric and ginger root. Throw in some curry leaves and whack it good. Stir it into meted butter or stick it in a pot of lentils with carrot, potato and onion. I dunno.

For Thai, use your food processor to blend a bunch of cilantro (including the stems and washed roots), a jalapeño, a coupla cloves garlic and some roasted shallot, an inch each of peeled ginger and lemongrass stem and some lime juice and zest, add a tsp of shrimp paste and some palm sugar, and then a splash of fish sauce. There. Easy enough? You can put this on eggplant and green beans with a splash of coconut for green curry.

Is the cream really necessary?

I don't know how to make southern Indian food.

Edit: You can make biryani without cream, just add some cashews and raisins. If you're looking for low-cal/fat food, I'd generally steer clear from Indian and Thai. Sorries!

Eh, thanks for trying.

Apparently this is win:

* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 cloves crushed garlic
* 2 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 1 cube vegetable bouillon
* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
* 1 1/2 cups water
* salt and pepper to taste
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large saucepan over medium-high, heat oil and saute onion, and garlic until golden. Stir in curry powder and tomato paste, cook 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Stir in tomatoes, vegetable bouillon cube, mixed vegetables, water, salt and pepper to taste. Cook approximately 30 minutes until vegetables are well done (not crunchy). Sprinkle with fresh cilantro prior to serving.

I IM'd you a link to a similar recipe, but I guess that's not worky?

Also, if you're gonna phone it in with that many ingredients, you may as well just get Tasty Bite.

Oh I'm at work so I'm not on IM and I am not aware of this "Tasty Bite" that you describe.

I mean this one basically contains onions, garlic, curry power, tomato paste, tomatoes, veggie bouillon and vegetables. I don't even need to have any fish sauce, shrimp paste, ginger, lemongrass, or roasted shallots!

awesome, for real

Here's a vegetarian Indian curry I made last week that was really nice. The sauce seems pretty versatile; we put it over cauliflower, sauteed beet greens, and zucchini. It uses milk instead of cream.

http://www.syvum.com/cgi/online/serve.cgi/recipes/srcpv12.tdf?0

Tasty Bite! They have it at Trader Joe's (and many other regular grocery stores). Boil in a bag or microwave! Most are <300 cals/serving (a 10 oz. bag is two servings).

Quote from: Ookii on May 19, 2008, 02:13:37 PM

You said you wanted Thai curry too. Thai curry is extremely easy to make if you have an Asian grocery store near you. All you need is a good Thai curry paste, coconut milk, fish sauce, and possibly some chicken stock. Also coconut milk is good for you.

http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/brands.html

Quote from: voodoolily on May 19, 2008, 02:32:34 PM

Tasty Bite! They have it at Trader Joe's (and many other regular grocery stores). Boil in a bag or microwave! Most are <300 cals/serving (a 10 oz. bag is two servings).

That's the one thing we don't have down here, a Trader Joe's. I hear they are great stores.

Shrimp roll with fresh-baked pain au levain, homemade mayo with fresh tarragon, thyme, fennel and parsley flowers; and home-grown baby heirloom lettuce and arugula

Respect the sandwich!

Do you have a recipe for a good mayo? Something maybe flavoured will dill or chive?