Food Prøn Forum

An endless open thread for Roasters to chat about wonderful, wonderful food.  Unleash your cherished recipes, recommend your favorite restaurants, or ask for cooking tips. As long as it’s about food, dish away. Newest comments appear at the top (150 per page), so read from the bottom if you need to catch up.

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Okay, stromboli time: I made a smoked fresh mozzarella, peppered kippered herring and sauteed orange Bell pepper stromboli that killed. My own dough with a little extra virgin olive oil drizzled over it as it went into the oven and then some smoked salt when it came out. Totally worth having the fire department show up because it leaked a bit. Next time I won’t be so cowboy as to cook it on a pizza screen.

Sounds good, Betty.  Homesick Texan has a post up about curing a ham - my first reaction was to go nuh-uh, but it actually seems a lot easier than I might have expected, not that I’ve tried it yet, mind.

Easter dinner, anyone? Or Passover?

My in-laws are bringing a ham. I’m cooking carmelized butternut squash, country green beans, scalloped potatoes and yeast rolls.

Spaghetti bomb? I’m in!

Pfff… Made that years ago :p

Actually, that’s the style of cooking I have in mind when I cook - not that specifically, but looking at things from new and “wrong” angles if I can.  I like to call it confusion food…

I’ m not speaking to anyone in here until one of you attempts to make this.

He’s got some skills, for sure.  Although one of things I like is that he’s not afraid to admit to failures, as and when.

Mike, that looks like a fantastic website to read, but I don’t think I could ever try half the stuff he does!

Oh, yah, she does.  Not a healthfood site by any means, but she has some fantastic ideas.

I’d also recommend The Food In My Beard, if you’ve never seen it.

Mike, many belated thanks for turning me on to the Pioneer Woman. Great stuff there!

Good website for anyone looking to either go part or even full veggie is http://vegandad.blogspot.com

There are some good recipes and some very creditable meat analogues, and the vegan plaint of “OMG big Agri!” is very minimal.

Yeah, I’ve seen stuff for baked roux before…  I don’t know.  It feels like cheating to me.  I also wonder how it compares to the standard - if it actually does cook away the floury taste.

Plus, of course, you can’t have a truly good gumbo without okra. ;)

The recipe looks fairly good, though, really.

I’ve had a few incidents of roux heartbreak as well, though I’ve pretty much got the hang of it now. Alton Brown has a shrimp gumbo recipe that features BAKED roux, which is impossible to screw up. I’ve used the technique successfully for other recipes too. It takes longer, though.

Nah, man, roux-based sauces are easy - at the most basic, you’ve only got 3 ingredients.  Fat, flour of some kind, and the liquid.

Broadly, the key is to cook away the starchiness in the roux and allow the fat to evenly penetrate the flour before it burns, which means patiently cooking the roux over a low-to-medium heat; you then have to take the roux off the heat to add liquid and whip it all in (personally, I disregard all of the above, but I’ve been making the stuff for years - you have to know the rules before you can break them successfully).

To cut a long, if you have patience and are careful, roux-based sauces are no problem.

Thanks Mike.

Although I know I will not remember this until AFTER my next sauce FAIL.

Protip for anyone making cheese sauce or any variety of white sauce - use a mixture of evaporated milk and milk.

May try this tonight.

Just need to get over the almond flour induced sticker shock.

Japanese Curry today, or Kare Reisu as they call it.

Ingredients
500gm chicken, 1/2” dice
2 celery sticks, rough chop
2 medium carrots, rough chop
2 medium potatoes, 1/2” dice
1 large onion, 1/2” dice
1/4 cup plain flour
3 tbsps flour
1 tbsp curry powder
water
Dash or two of soy sauce

1. Mix flour and curry powder, make a dark-ish roux with 2 tbsp of the oil. Set aside.

2. Use remaining oil to sear chicken in a saucepan. Add veggies, stir around for a few minutes. Pour in enough water to reach the top.  Probably around a pint or so, depending upon your pan, add couple of dashes of soy sauce.  Bring to fast simmer, and simmer covered for approximately 20 minutes, or until veggies are almost cooked.

3.  Turn down heat and add roux.  Stir around, and let it absorb into the sauce - should be just a few minutes.  Be careful not to let it stick.

Serve over rice.

Anyone got a good recipe for peanut sauce?  We’re having lunar New Year dinner for Valentine’s eve.  I usually wing it on the sauce but then I never remember what I put in it last time.  So I’m open to ideas.

I’m pretty sure I dated a girl in high school whose name was Tamarind. Other than that, never used it.

Tamarind broadly comes in two varieties - paste and actual tamarind.  If you buy the paste, you can usually add it straight in to the soup/sauce, no problem.  However, if you get dried tamarind, you need to soak it in water and then discard the tamarind itself.

mmmm, tamarind.

Haven’t tried tamarind it in, Mike. But I’ll see if I can find some today when I go to the store. I bet it would be good in it. It’s an evolving recipe, so I’m open to additions. ;-)

Betty - have you tried adding some tamarind, see how it’d shake out?

Thai chicken soup—mmmmmm! I love Thai food, but the Mister isn’t fond of it, so I almost never get to have it.

However, here’s an easy recipe for a reasonable approximation of Thai coconut soup:

BETTY’S “I WISH MY HUSBAND LIKED THAI FOOD” SOUP

This tastes sort of like Tom Kah Gai, which is my favorite Thai soup. It’s not the real deal because it lacks kaffir leaves, lemon grass and other stuff that would make my local grocer squench up his face and say, “huh?” if I tried to acquire it without a 45 minute drive into the Big City. But it’s pretty good.

Ingredients:

3 cups chicken broth (I use College Inn Thai Coconut Curry if I can get it, but regular works fine too)
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
1 inch or so fresh ginger, peeled and cut into fairly large chunks (so you can easily fish them out later)
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 finely chopped, seeded jalapeno
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp lime zest
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp sugar
1 lb or so sliced chicken breast
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions:

Combine broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, jalapeno, lime zest, ginger and sugar in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil slowly and cover partially, simmering for 10 minutes.

Add chicken and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add mushrooms and simmer another 5 minutes.

Remove ginger and stir in lime and scallions. Check chicken to make sure the slices are cooked through. If so, stir in cilantro and serve. If not, continue cooking for a couple of minutes until chicken is done.

That’s it. And now I have to go get the stuff for it because I’m craving Thai food like mad! And I’ll get to have the whole pot to myself because my husband doesn’t like Thai food. That’s the upside.

Umm, what the fuck is a chicken tender?

Yesterday, I made sambar and besan ki roti from scratch. 

Nothing else to report, I just wanted to boast…

Tonight, before we head out to play in the snow, I am making my lovely wife Chris thai chicken soup. Yes, it’s a Rachel Ray recipe (kill me!), but it’s really good and I’ve successfully made it so many times that I can make it without even looking at the recipe.  I use a lot more basil and cilantro (don’t tell lawnguylander), two limes, three poblanos and two chicken breasts (not tenders).

Sounds fantastic, HB. A neighbor won the wing-off with a green curry concoction that was pretty damn good. My Buffalo wings were great too, but nowhere near as creative.

As for our SuperDuper Bowl food spread it went something like this ...

Roast turkey, stuffing, sweet taters, mashed taters (it’s now called Thanksgiving on Super Bowl and has been a tradition at a buddy’s house for four years now) and roasted green beans, carrots and onions
One 2-pound tri-tip roast, marinated and smoked/grilled over mesquite
Five pounds of pork smothered in onions and sauerkraut, later add-ons, Frankfurters and Hebrew Nats, locally made sausage
Loaves and loaves of locally baked fresh bread, rolls and cookies
Four pies—Pumpkin, cherry, apple-cherry and blackberry
huge platters of fresh veggies and cheese
Freshly made salsa, home made tortilla chips
PBR, Newcastle, Sierra Nevada, Great White (local brew) Downtown Brown (local brew) Six Rivers IPA (local brew)
Wine, white red and the coolers Jess brought

Other attractions—two kids under two years of age, six dogs and five members of an Arcata Samba team who used the back room to sew tiaras and costumes while somewhat watching the game and which then caused some minor blushing when two of the menfolks moseyed around to the back window to watch the game on the back TV while taking a smoke break only to be greeted with a top-fitting where Drew Brees’ face shoulda been.

All-in-all, a great day.

Betty who won the wing-off and how did they do it?

We’re roughing it in the high Rockies at our cabin this weekend.  The intent was to go into town for their WinterFest (main attraction being the bed sled race) but the weatherman lied and instead of being cold but sunny it is cold, overcast, windy and snowing.  So we made a fire in the wood stove instead and I’ve got a pot of posole simmering on the back burner.

BTW if anyone is ever in the market for a wood stove I would so recommend Woodstock stoves.  The soapstone inserts give off a radiant heat that lasts a long time, they’re good looking and they have a catalytic combuster insert (basically a ceramic honeycomb) that re-burns the smoke as it goes up the chimney so nothing ends up coming out except water vapor.  But mostly I love it for the great ambiance!

Pioneer Woman has some epic recipes sometimes, although she’s a bit too meat-focused -STOP SNIGGERING AT THE BACK- for me sometimes.

I can also recommend http://www.fatfreevegan.com/ if you’re ever in the mood for some veggie cookery.  The blog generally is more entertaining than the rest of the site, food-wise.

Do you know what she used for breading?

Simple seasoned flour.

Thanks, too, Mike!  Love that website.  The homemade ranch looks great.  If I do these, I’ll stop at the bleu cheese though.  Nobody I know likes it.

Do you know what she used for breading?
Comment by Betty Cracker on 02/05/10 at 10:53 AM

I would love a breaded variation as well so I can add a ton of garlic.

Do you know what she used for breading?

Mike, that’s the way I have always done it save the homemade dip. They look awesome and Betty ya can;t go wrong. Another twist is to bread the wings, something my SiL used to do, they are even more awesomer.

@ HB—those sound great too! We’re having an Iron Chef [insert name of Betty’s pissant town here] wing cook-off with the neighbors on Super Bowl Sunday, though, and I have to make Buffalo-style wings. Mr. Cracker is from Buffalo, but do you think he has a recipe? No. He does not.

@ Mike—Perfect! Thank you!

Betty:

Ree Drummond has a good one: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/09/wings/

Betty, I’m doing the Asian style I highlighted earlier.

Anyone got a good Buffalo wings recipe? I tried one using the baking method rather than frying, and it was disappointing. Well, duh.

If you’re cooking rice daily, a rice cooker is pure win.

Dats me. I use the rice cooker as a secondary timer type-dealio as well. It does its thing in a set amount of time and when the tab pops I know it’s time to get all the other stuff out of the oven or the pot or the pan and prepare for serving and eating.

Well, I ended up not making French onion soup. However, I did try Dewberry’s roasted asparagus, and it was fabulous! Even the Most Picky Child on the Planet liked it!

Betty, it takes about 2 hours start to finish but, except for the 40 minutes or so when you’re browning the onions, you don’t have to be standing over the stove the whole time.  And it’s time well spent!

Definitely helps to have a food processor for slicing all the onions.

Mar, I might have to give that soup a whirl myself today (if it doesn’t take 5 hours to make). It’s been so damned rainy and cold for DAYS. French onion soup might be just the ticket.

To clarify my silpat desire - I’m not looking for the baking pan liners (I have some generic silicone ones), but the counter mat for rolling dough on. I have really crappy, old counter-tops and saw one of those in a demo in a kitchen store once.  It made me smile.

Short term, mar has it right.  Probably wouldn’t hurt to keep them in something air tight at the same time, and if you’re planning on baking a lot, a bread bin probably would be a good investment.

My grandmother used to bake her own bread.  She’d make 3 or 4 loaves at a time and wrap them in waxed paper which seemed to work really well.  (I loved to go over to her house on baking day because of the wonderful, wonderful smell!)

Alas, I don’t have time to make my own bread but I would recommend the waxed paper method.

Arrgh, help.

What’s a good way to store fresh bread for a few days? Wrapping in plastic would seem to invite sogginess. Wax paper? Foil? A shoe box lined with Corn Flakes?

HTP, how did the silicon baking sheets do as far as browning the cookies?

Just like a naked metal sheet. Maybe I’ve been using the word “sheet” a little sloppily. After looking at the box again I see these are called “baking liners.” I got this set from Costco for about $20.

I baked half on a naked baking sheet because I wasn’t sure how the liner/sheet/whatever would work (or smell). The other half were on the liner which I put on a sheet that is old and a bit nasty. There wasn’t any difference.

Speaking of browning, I just had to head back to the kitchen to stir the onions that I’m browning for Julia’s French onion soup.  kc and the hubbie have demanded that it become a Sunday night staple and I’m only too happy to oblige.  The smell in the house right now is wonderful!

Never heard of Silpat before (just Google’d it).  At least now I’ll know to not bother with trying it.  I’ve always been kind of wary of non-stick products.  HTP, how did the silicon baking sheets do as far as browning the cookies?

Silpat is grossly overrated. Shitty browning. I was seriously disappointed after dropping the bucks for it.

Nah, they didn’t smell. I have p. paper but I’m cheap so I’ll take the thing that can be re-used over the thing that can’t any day. Still need the paper for pie shells. Plus, I just used one to knead dough: A.W.E.S.O.M.E.

I hope they don’t make the cookies smell…
Comment by Hunger Tallest Palin on 01/30/10 at 07:59 PM

I have a couple of those and they’ve never left a smell, but I still prefer parchment paper.

What I’m looking to save up for is one of those silpat rou’l pat work mats, but even the small one is close to $50 bucks.

And that’s another thing - I don’t really see the point of a rice cooker. Maybe it’s just me, but how hard is it to cook rice in the first place…?

I thought the same thing until I had an Asian roommate.  It’s “push the ‘cook this shnizznit’ button” vs. “bring to a boil, reduce heat by some hard-to-determinte amount, then simmer for 20 minutes, then fluff and let sit for 5 minutes.”  If you’re cooking rice daily, a rice cooker is pure win.

Well, I’m going to play with my new silicon baking sheets so, nyah! to you.

I hope they don’t make the cookies smell…

Sorry, it’s just that I’m married to one and I know the type. ;-)

:-(

HTP - yes.

I have a question about rice cookers: How do you get that plasticy smell out?

Or am I just one of those annoying people who is always saying “What’s that smell?” about things no normal person can smell?

To each his or her own, Mar; for myself, I’ve never seen the need, I should qualify.

And that’s another thing - I don’t really see the point of a rice cooker.

I do.  Along with millions of Asians.  But feel free to not have one if you don’t want it. ;-)

And that’s another thing - I don’t really see the point of a rice cooker. Maybe it’s just me, but how hard is it to cook rice in the first place…?
Comment by Mike on 01/28/10 at 01:39 A

Come over to my place and I’ll show you :-)

And that’s another thing - I don’t really see the point of a rice cooker. Maybe it’s just me, but how hard is it to cook rice in the first place…?

I’m proud to be an American rice cooker/eater/person, mar.  I have a true-blue, mom and apple pie rice cooker.

It’s an Oster, made in China and proudly sold in these here United States by Tarjay.  And it only cost $16.  I’ve used it once and it was fine - but then again is better then when I try to do it in a pot and we’re not too picky :-)

I always find it sticks when I use a rice cooker.

Hm.  Never had that problem.

Any suggestions for a brand or model?

Zozirushi is the Cadillac but a little expensive.  However the one I bought in 1989 - when my Korean kids came home - is still cranking away.  I gave it to one of my sons as he entertains a lot more than I do now.  I now use a Tiger which is smaller, less expensive and works just as well.  You can find either in Asian markets where they sell kitchen stuff.

Stay away from any of the American brands - they don’t hold up well and splash out a lot of water while they’re cooking.

Any suggestions for a brand or model?

Thai hooker.

(kidding)

Rice cooker is the only way to go.  Totally fool proof.  A bit of an investment but they last forever.

Any suggestions for a brand or model? I find myself making a lot of rice these days.

I always find it sticks when I use a rice cooker.

But my Indian friend told me a much better way to cook manageable amounts of rice - the microwave.

I have heard microwave rice comes out pretty well.  But I was taught by Koreans and the rice cooker is the only way to go for them!  Plus you plug it in and forget about it while you’re fixing the rest of the stuff.  And when it clicks to “warm” it can stand for a long time before using.

Hi, I’m cross-posting this for any New Yorkers reading it: Soup and Bread is a very neat thing that some former co-workers of mine started in Chicago about a year ago, and it’s coming to the Bell House in Park Slope on February 4. Check it out if you can, and spread the word!

Gah, meant Steven Milloy.

HB - it reads like Steven Molloy’s take on veg*nism, tbh; I’m also reminded of the phrase that there is nobody more zealous than a convert.

The science is pretty well in regarding a well-planned vegetarian or low-meat diet—it’s generally healthier, with lower heart disease rates and so on; Seventh-Day Adventists have a general life expectancy approx 10 yrs higher than most and blah blah blah.

By and large, the healthiest diet for most people seems to be one involving very minimal or no meat intake—as long as it is well-planned.  I’ve known quite a few veg*ns in my lifetime, and some consisted solely on cheese, some mostly on felafel and so on.  A veg*n diet is not in itself a guarantee of health.

And it’s veg*n to include both vegetarians and vegans. And who wants to type both all the time..?

Here’s what appears to be an interesting read, a former vegetarian/vegan argues against their lifestyle and menu choices.

Rice cooker is the only way to go.  Totally fool proof.  A bit of an investment but they last forever.

Actually Mar, it was the use of the rice cooker that doomed me. The reason is because I added too many ingredients to the rice and didn’t allow enough time for the steaming once the tab popped. My rice needed for the presentation was gloppy and wet. Make no mistake, however, once it had properly steamed there wasn’t a bit left, it’s just my competition rice sucked.

Oh, and I am re-reading Eats, Shoots and Leaves

I think they made a porno with that title.

As long as you get something fairly decent, Mar… But my Indian friend told me a much better way to cook manageable amounts of rice - the microwave.

Equal quantities by volume of hot water and basmati, and you cook in an uncovered microwave dish for six minutes or so.  Works like a charm, every time.

because I mis-timed the cooking time for my rice, so stop snickering

Rice cooker is the only way to go.  Totally fool proof.  A bit of an investment but they last forever.

Guess I should work harder on my rogue apostrophes as well.

Oh, and I am re-reading Eats, Shoots and Leaves and I really need to work on semi-colon usage. Other than that, I hold up pretty well.

I have a Fagor pressure cooker and just love it.

hb, my mom was a fantastic special occasion chef, making things like an incredible beef bourguignon.  But she was a horrid day-to-day cook.  I think she just started reading a book and forgot she was cooking something.

My dad instituted a rule that we all had to cook one night a week starting in hs and that’s how I learned to cook.

Dewb, are you my long lost sister or something? My mom’s special dinners, Thanksgiving, Xmas, New Years, Super Bowl, Easter and the like were always fantastic, but as for a regular ol’ Monday in March, bleh.

If you have an email I’ll send you a radio interview that echoes how you learned to cook because it mirrors one of my buddy’s, who happened to defeat me in our last Iron Chef. (because I mis-timed the cooking time for my rice, so stop snickering).

I have never owned a pressure cooker either.

They usually have a pressure release valve - the model we have has a little doohickey on the top which not only serves to allow excess pressure to escape while cooking (sounding like a steam engine!), but also to allow release of pressure when off the heat.

Seriously, they’re definitely worth it.  Modern pressure cookers are safe and easy to use.

This post was paid for by the Promote Pressure Cooking PAC.

I’ve never had a pressure cooker.  My mom used to use one and the main thing I remember is that she could never get the thing open when the stuff was done.  She’d put it in the sink and run water over it to cool it down then I just remember her whacking at it with the rolling pin or something and cursing.

Seemed like a lot of effort to me. ;-)

But I’m assuming the newer ones have overcome that hurdle.

No, it was some sort of steel—if it was ever stainless, it had long since lost its shine by the time I got it. It had a black, hard plastic handle, a metal lid that screwed onto the pot and a metal doohickey on top to regulate the steam output.

Apparently I didn’t set that doohickey right and Ka-BOOM! Jeebus, what a mess it made. Pieces of metal and the handle were actually embedded in the wall. It’s really fortunate no one was in the kitchen at the time. It was like a bomb. A pea bomb!

Was a it a cast iron job?  Why anyone ever thought that was a good idea for pressure cookers, I will never know….

Anyway, the Hawkins cookers are definitely worth the outlay.  They’re easy to use, safe and even a little stylish…

Dude, I inherited the ‘splody one from my grandmother! I’m not that old. ;-)

Got one of these or very similar from the range - it’s fantastic, very safe. 

You’re showing your age, Betty - modern pressure cookers have multiple safety valves…

My crockpot carnitas were kinda “meh.” I’d double the spices next time, at a minimum. But I think I’ll make Homesick Texan’s version instead once we get the Dewberry report.

RE: pressure cookers—do y’all have the fancy, modern non-explosive kind? I’m still recovering psychologically from a near-tragic pressure cooker explosion that hurled shrapnel all over my kitchen (luckily unoccupied at the time) and placed at least one field pea in every square inch of surrounding surface area. This was YEARS ago, but I’ve never been able to get up the nerve to try pressure cookers again, even though they yield marvelous results.

RE: Super Bowl menus—since I’m rooting for the Saints, maybe I’ll do a regional dish like shrimp etouffee.

hb, my mom was a fantastic special occasion chef, making things like an incredible beef bourguignon.  But she was a horrid day-to-day cook.  I think she just started reading a book and forgot she was cooking something. 

My dad instituted a rule that we all had to cook one night a week starting in hs and that’s how I learned to cook.

I grew up eating tomato sauce out of a jar, but it’s so simple to make and tastes so good, I don’t know why anyone does that.

I was the exact same way, Dewb, even to the point where I no longer liked any sort of tomato sauce. But once I learned to make my own, well, all of that changed.

I was thinking I’d do my regular pork and sauerkraut for the Super Bowl, it’s been specifically requested, but that crock pot carnitas sounds deeelish.

That homesick Texan’s carnitas recipe sounds amazing.  I’m going to try that next weekend and report back.

Oh I made crock-pot carnitas myself over the weekend.  Funny.  They turned out great.  I live in a neighborhood with a heavy Hispanic population, so my local grocery has all the right cuts of meat.

My leg still hurts if I stand up for any length of time, so it’s things like crockpots and easy dinners.  Tonight it’s roasted asparagus, garlic bread and tortellini with homemade tomato sauce.

I grew up eating tomato sauce out of a jar, but it’s so simple to make and tastes so good, I don’t know why anyone does that.

Homesick Texan does some good stuff, recipe-wise.

I never did the seitan burgers or chickpea stuff last night.  I ended up making black bean burgers (because I loves me the pressure cooker!) instead, because the seitan I was saving for the burgers had gone off…

Tonight is chana masala, making a huge pot.

Ha, Mike, I just clicked on your link and found the writer said basically the same thing that I just did!

When I lived in New York back in the early seventies we tried to find some good Mexican food and couldn’t find any place that didn’t use bell peppers instead of chiles!  Times have changed now - seems like you can find real chile back there.

Betty, the carnitas sound great!  It’s funny how the carnitas recipe changes depending on the region.  In New Mexico where I’m from you cut the pork into cubes and marinate it in achiote, chiles and spices (dry rub like) then deep fry the cubes until done and serve them wrapped in tortillas with salsa.  I never saw the “pulled pork” style of carnitas until a restaurant called Chipotle opened here (which has now developed into a chain and, I will say, is pretty darn good).  I’m now a fan of both styles.

Going back to the Julia well and making French onion soup for dinner.  Simmering as I write and smelling just amazing!

Betty - Looks like a good recipe you have there; another one is http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2008/07/carnitas-hous ton-style.html

This evening, I myself will probably be cooking seitan burgers and possibly doing some Indian dish of my own devising (which I suspect already exists in some form but is not known to my Indian friend) involving chickpeas and potatoes.

Speaking of Indian food -
Chana Masala
2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 red chilli (not deseeded)
1 large onion
1 tbsp dried coriander
1 tbsp dried cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
4 cloves garlic*
1 inch of peeled ginger*
1/2 cup of strong black tea
Oil for frying
1 tsp garam masala
* Can subtitute garlic and ginger paste

Put tomates, onion, chilli, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander and turmeric into blender and whizz it until you have a thick, wet paste.

Heat oil in pressure cooker to medium heat.  Add paste, and cook until the oil separates out on top of the paste.

Add chickpeas and tea. 

Bring pressure cooker to full pressure, and then reduce heat.  Cook for approximately 5 minutes or (or if your pressure cooker has settings for chickpeas, follow them).

Allow to cool and reduce pressure as usual.  Remove lid, and stir contents around.  It should be fairly dry, without any gravy to speak of - if necessary, allow some liquid to cook off.

Just before serving, sprinkle with garam masala.

if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can substitute canned/cooked chickpeas and simply do it on the hob as you might otherwise.

Currently in the Cracker Crockpot:

Crock Pot Carnitas

1 pork butt, approximately 3 to 3 1/2 lbs.
1/2 tbsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tbsp. ground coriander
1 bay leaf
1/2 tbsp. minced orange zest
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 jalepeno, diced
1 bottle or can of beer (you want a lager)
2-3 dashes of Cholula (hot sauce)
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

Optional extras: Flour tortillas, diced avocado, sour cream, pico de gallo, black beans

Combine the salt, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder and coriander and rub the exterior of the pork butt until completely covered. Add the onions, garlic, jalepenos, bay leaf and orange zest to the crock pot and place pork butt on top. Carefully pour the beer around the pork, try not to knock too much of the rub off. If you have any extra spice rub, you can add it to the braising liquid. Cover and set the crock pot on low. Go to work. The pork should cook for about 8-9 hours, although I’ve left it cooking for 10 hours and it’s been just as delicious. You’ll know it’s done when the meat pulls apart easily with a fork.

Remove the pork from the crock pot, as well as any onions and peppers you’d like, and shred the meat with two forks. Mix the 2-3 dashes of Cholula into the pork and taste to see if you need to add more salt. Mix the cilantro into the shredded pork and serve with warm flour tortillas and any or all of the extras mentioned above.

Comment by Betty Cracker on 01/23/10 at 01:51 PM

Mar, my mother in law (who is Argentine), adds green olives and hard boiled egg to her version.  It’s kind of the classic Argentine empanada filling.

Around here, you often find picadillo mixed with scrambled eggs and served as breakfast tacos.  Delicious.

I second the slower cooker recipes.  I’ll think of what else I can add to the community cookbook.