Voodoolily's Snacktastic Recipe Thread!!

[Salamok]

I pretty much despise garlic powder, only place i ever used it was for dry rubs but a few years ago i discovered dried garlic, the powder is now completely dead to me.

[Sky]

I use it in my poultry rub, which is (iirc):

Garlic powder
Onion powder
Sage
Rosemary
Thyme
Marjoram

...and there's one other I can't quite remember just now. I don't use much of the powders, though. Sometimes a little chipotle powder.

[NowhereMan]

I like my tomatoes strained and the seeds out.  When I make something like lasagna, I want the sauce very smooth and not chunky at all.  My hands also get irritated from too much tomato and I hate wearing gloves when I cook.  I also don't use tomato paste when I make sauce.

Wouldn't it be easier for you to just passata in that case?

[apocrypha]

I use it in my poultry rub, which is (iirc):

...what your avatar is doing? 





OK. Enough with the Daffy Duck jokes now. 

[Signe]

I've made passata before but I'm not sure what you mean by "wouldn't it be easier"?  If you mean making a large amount of it, I don't cook with tomato sauce so often that it would pay off to store my own puree.  I

[voodoolily]

My marinara is pretty decent. When it's tomato season I use fresh toms (blanched and skinned, then seeded) and can up jars and jars of this sauce to use all winter. Buy whole toms instead of diced (minimal processing = more tomato flavor and less dilution from juices). Put all of the toms (not the juice) into a roasting pan with some peeled garlic and a small onion, quartered. Hit the whole lot with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast at 375-400 (depending on hot your oven is) for about 45 minutes, or until the toms start to go brown on top. Mince the onion.

Smash this all up in the reserved tomato juices (I use a potato masher or a few whacks with my immersion blender), add a cup or so of cheap red wine and simmer over low for 30 minutes or so. I recommend using fresh herbs (add late) but if you're using dried herbs add them at the start. S&P to taste, if it's too tangy a little bit of honey is fine. I also like a pinch of chili flake in mine.

A good marinara is extremely versatile, too. You can make great Bolognese from it by adding it to some ground chuck/venison (brown first, then add sauce). You can make puttanesca by adding minced anchovies, olives and capers. You can make an arrabbiata by adding more garlic, basil and chili flake. You can make fra diavolo by adding lots of garlic, minced fresh hot chili and chili flake (serve with prawns).

Edit: spell check and such.

[NowhereMan]

I've made passata before but I'm not sure what you mean by "wouldn't it be easier"?  If you mean making a large amount of it, I don't cook with tomato sauce so often that it would pay off to store my own puree.  I

It's very commonly available in UK supermarkets, I just figured that it probably is in the US too and so you'd just need to buy a few packets of half decent passata rather than going to all the trouble of purreeing and cooking down tinned tomatoes. Based on the lengths you went to preparing it though I'll guess it isn't that easy to buy in the US.

[Signe]

Oh, you mean the packages of commercial passata.  I haven't used them.  I thought you mean making my own, like in the Italian sense.  They don't call it passata in the US, though.  I think here most people would just use a jar of jarred tomato sauce, like Ragu, if a recipe called for passata.  Or tomato juice if it were for a Bloody Mary.

mmmm.  Bloody Mary.   

[Yegolev]

um why the garlic powder instead of garlic?

Same reason I don't wear my good pants to do yardwork.  I was trying a new method and didn't want to open the jar since it was likely to have problems.  Also I like garlic powder well enough.

Buy whole toms instead of diced (minimal processing = more tomato flavor and less dilution from juices). Put all of the toms (not the juice) into a roasting pan with some peeled garlic and a small onion, quartered. Hit the whole lot with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast at 375-400 (depending on hot your oven is) for about 45 minutes, or until the toms start to go brown on top. Mince the onion.

Smash this all up in the reserved tomato juices (I use a potato masher or a few whacks with my immersion blender), add a cup or so of cheap red wine and simmer over low for 30 minutes or so. I recommend using fresh herbs (add late) but if you're using dried herbs add them at the start. S&P to taste, if it's too tangy a little bit of honey is fine. I also like a pinch of chili flake in mine.

Cook the tomatoes first?  OK.

[Nebu]

I find that my red sauce never tastes good the day I make it no matter how much I preconcentrate it.  I don't know what magic happens in the refrigerator overnight, but when I let my sauce set, it always tastes better on the second and third day.  As a chemist I should know why... but I'm not entirely sure. 

[apocrypha]

I make a really quick tomato sauce that's very similar to yours VL, from a Jamie Oliver book:

Gently fry a few sliced cloves of garlic in olive oil for a minute or so, until it starts to colour, then chuck in 3 good tins of tomatoes and a big handful of fresh basil leaves. Roughly crush the tomatoes down with a wooden spoon and add some salt & freshly ground black pepper. When it comes to the boil take it off the heat and strain it through a fine mesh sieve back into the pan, mushing it through with a spoon again. Scrape it all off the bottom of the sieve but leave the garlic & basil behind.

Bring to the boil again, turn the heat down and simmer for 5 mins or more until it's a good, thick consistency. That's it! Keeps for a week in the fridge, freezes well, great as a pasta sauce base or on pizzas and very easy. You might want to add a very small pinch of sugar when you're using it, but taste it to see - it only takes a tiny smidge if the tomatoes are a bit sour tasting.

[Sky]

Heathens. You need to start with onion and pepper, then garlic, then tomatoes. You'd be burned at the stake in my town if you did otherwise.

[Yegolev]

Now I want to make a meatloaf.

[voodoolily]

Heathens. You need to start with onion and pepper, then garlic, then tomatoes. You'd be burned at the stake in my town if you did otherwise.

Your town of Vikington, VT?

[Sky]

Your town of Vikington, VT?

A man can dream.

More like Pastafazool, NY. 

[Yegolev]

I would very much like to obtain a fantastic ice-cream maker before July 4th.  This is because I promised my wife I would have cinnamon ice cream for her on her birthday and it looks like I'm going to have to take matters into my own, sweaty hands. Anyone know anything about making ice cream?

[schild]

Anyone know anything about making ice cream?

I've made it a couple times before.

1. Be careful with the salt.
2. You're having trouble finding cinnamon ice cream >_> Seems fairly common. No Ice Cream shops In Buttfucksouth, US?

[Cadaverine]

I would very much like to obtain a fantastic ice-cream maker before July 4th.  This is because I promised my wife I would have cinnamon ice cream for her on her birthday and it looks like I'm going to have to take matters into my own, sweaty hands. Anyone know anything about making ice cream?

The folks had a hand-cranked ice cream maker back in the day.  All I remember was rock salt, shitloads of ice, pain in the ass for only a little ice cream, but it tasted really damn good.  Closest I can think of is Bryers ice cream.  The the home made stuff didn't hold up to well before it melted, though.

If you're looking for Cinnamon Ice Cream, I'd look into special ordering some, to be honest.  Easier, and probably not too much more expensive.  There's an ice cream shop here in Omaha that has it year round, so unless you're living somewhere shittier than Omaha, NE you should be able to find some in town.

[sigil]

I would very much like to obtain a fantastic ice-cream maker before July 4th.  This is because I promised my wife I would have cinnamon ice cream for her on her birthday and it looks like I'm going to have to take matters into my own, sweaty hands. Anyone know anything about making ice cream?

The folks had a hand-cranked ice cream maker back in the day.  All I remember was rock salt, shitloads of ice, pain in the ass for only a little ice cream, but it tasted really damn good.  Closest I can think of is Bryers ice cream.  The the home made stuff didn't hold up to well before it melted, though.

If you're looking for Cinnamon Ice Cream, I'd look into special ordering some, to be honest.  Easier, and probably not too much more expensive.  There's an ice cream shop here in Omaha that has it year round, so unless you're living somewhere shittier than Omaha, NE you should be able to find some in town.

It's got to be a regional thing, as in being from the south my thought is why in God's name would you make cinnamon ice cream? It's a pain in the  ass but I have a small self contained unit that has to be deep frozen for a couple of days. I make a mean french vanilla, where the key is you're almost making custard but not quite, because then it would be frozen custard. :D I  am usually satified with that, as the mouth feel and the flavor of the stuff I make absolutely blows away anything else I've done.

Hmm, think I'll make some for this weekend :D

[Yegolev]

Sigil is the winnar.  I can get it at Coldstone (I assume) but not at a food store where I can take home a carton, which is the actual request, so there you go.  Cinnamon ice cream at home.

I also want to be so careful with the salt that I avoid it if I can, so if those freeze-the-bowl jobs actually work, I'm thinking about getting one.  I suppose the problem there is that you have to wait for the bowl to freeze and you can't get a lot of it at one time.  Salt and ice, I can probably crank out a lot... but then I don't need that much.  Decisions.

Funny story, my dad's sister made some ice cream at a family gathering when I was young, however she used Cremora instead of cream.  It was nasty.  Stupid rednecks.

[schild]

Be careful with coldstone, their flavors are seasonal. If they have it, just get it in a carton at Coldstone and bring it home. Also, the internet. Put in your zip code. I GUARANTEE there's a upper-scale jerkoff ice cream parlor near you. It boomed before cupcakeries did.

[Yegolev]

Coldstone is indeed seasonal, as are the grocery stores, and naturally my wife wants out-of-season ice cream.  She was on a peppermint ice cream thing for a bit, and she's not even a peppermint fan.  I think it's the challenge, or a "fuck you, I'm eating shit out of season" attitude.  Also I (my house and spouse, that is) am about as far away from Atlanta, culturally, as I can get without being in Alabama so I'd have noticed a ice cream boutique around here.

I might look around again online, you seem very sure of yourself.  However my wife has been on the Internets a bit and if she says she can't find a gallon tub of cinnamon ice cream, I'm likely to believe her.  I'll look around, though it might be neat to use my Kitchenaid mixer to make ice cream.

[voodoolily]

I would very much like to obtain a fantastic ice-cream maker before July 4th.  This is because I promised my wife I would have cinnamon ice cream for her on her birthday and it looks like I'm going to have to take matters into my own, sweaty hands. Anyone know anything about making ice cream?

If you have a KitchenAid stand mixer then just get the ice cream maker attachment. It's fantastic, and isn't one more appliance. I have made ice cream plenty of times and it's easy and tasty. If you can find a basic "blank" ice cream recipe you can simmer the cream and milk with a couple cinnamon sticks and a vanilla bean (accentuates the flavor) for 15-20 minutes and then add a sprinkle of cinnamon powder at the end before you plunk it in the freezer.

Edit: ooh, and you could add some crushed Red Hots to the ice cream. Yum.

Also, here's a link to the espresso ice cream I made last summer, it includes the recipe for the "blank".

[voodoolily]

Also, in my recipe I used 2.5 cups cream and 0.5 cups water; use 2 cups cream and 1 cup milk instead. That's a tweak I've made since then.

[Hoax]

Working on beta v0.1 of my beer based Carne Asada marinade.

I'm currently going with fresh picked oranges mostly for citrus along with one little lemon, I've got 2 limes from the store on standby though if I decide it needs it in the next 6 hours.  I used Tecate for the beer, though I may switch to Dos Equis in future versions.  I added lots of onions and fresh cilantro and some oregano and chili powder though I doubt they'll have a ton of impact at the amounts currently in there.  I considered garlic but opted against it because I want to start simple and work my way up.  The second liquid is my big problem and the main reason I'm posting here.  Google results are all over the map, vegi oil, vinegar (white, red wine, sherry and cider), soy sauce, papaya juice (wtfux).  So I'm at a loss on this final component.

[sigil]

Also, in my recipe I used 2.5 cups cream and 0.5 cups water; use 2 cups cream and 1 cup milk instead. That's a tweak I've made since then.

Thanks for that blank, It's replaced mine.

Wound up making pecan praline ice cream for a friend of mine. swapped dark brown sugar and added some butter to the blank, then added chopped pecans brushed with melted butter and then toasted.

[voodoolily]

My best ice cream so far was "Moon Pie" - roasted bananas (sprinkled with brown sugar and butter) and toasted marshmallows with Nilla Wafers. Tasted just like old fashioned Moon Pies but better.

[Samwise]

All this ice cream talk is making me want an ice cream maker.  Cashew ice cream, hazelnut ice cream, avocado ice cream... 

[Nebu]

... avocado ice cream

Wouldn't that be like tofu ice cream?  Avocado has so little taste to it that it tastes like whatever you add to it (like tofu). 

Strong flavors with your ice cream, man.  We don't want no cucumber ice cream!  Now that you mention it, cucumber may be a nice alternative to avocado!

[schild]

Avocado ice cream may work but it would take such a large amount of avocado that it may be the most expensive ice cream one could try to make on their own.

[Samwise]

Avocado has so little taste to it that it tastes like whatever you add to it (like tofu). 

You should try having a ripe one sometime.   

There used to be a place not too far from my work that made avocado smoothies, using avocado ice cream as a base and blending it with a whole ripe avocado.  Om nom nom nom.  Sadly they've closed down and the handful of other places that do avocado smoothies don't do them as well. 

Avocado ice cream may work but it would take such a large amount of avocado that it may be the most expensive ice cream one could try to make on their own.

I've got an uncle with an avocado tree in his back yard.     Acquiring fresh avocados in quantity would not be a problem as long as I did it in season.

(edit) Also, store-bought avocados are probably cheaper here than in Texas.  I haven't done any cross-country comparison shopping to make sure, but they don't have to travel nearly as far to get to me.

[Hindenburg]

Ahm, avocado is crazy cheap. To the tune of a dollar a kilo.

[Nevermore]

Avocado has so little taste to it that it tastes like whatever you add to it (like tofu). 

Different avocados can have enormous variations in flavor and texture.  Some are almost flavorless and don't have a very good texture (we call them 'watery').  Some are almost creamy and have a very nice, rich flavor.  Hass avocados tend to be better than typical Florida avocados, but the Floridas are much bigger.  Even the Hass can taste different; I've found the California ones to be better than the Mexican or Chilean.  The best avocados I ever had where the ones from the tree in my grandparents' back yard.  They were the size of the big Floridas but the taste and texture of a good Hass.  Sadly, that tree is now long gone.

Avocado trivia:  All Hass avocados are descendants from a single tree.

[Sky]

I'm still trying to get the fiancé into avocados, I love 'em but she takes a while with any new food. She still doesn't eat tomatoes or cukes on her salad, and hardly any red peppers. She's lucky I let her in my kitchen imo. I love a nice creamy avocado on just about anything.

[Nebu]

I think my problem with avocado is the texture and not the flavor.  I just can't get past a "creamy" fruit.