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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Looks like a good rub, HTP.  I like to add a little sugar to mine, just for the extra browning and such; I’ve also heard that it helps break down the meat.

Dinner on a slushy snowy eve:
Bonless pork ribs with this dry rub sloooow cooked in a crockpot.

The collard greens we didn’t make on Thanksgiving Day because we realized that would be too much food, even for us.

Mashed potatoes (small red, skins on, made with chicken broth, butter and a touch of heavy whipping cream).

Redbeard, the local-grown food pirate king. 

The town where I used to live in Germany was actually built in the ruins of a palace owned by the Emperor Barbarossa - which can be translated as redbeard.

Good food, too - it was at the junction of several differing food traditions, French, Italian, German, Swiss, and they all were represented in this one little town.

And there was this one little Italian bar that did the best cappucinos I have ever had.

Michael is kind of a jerk but like I said, he clutches under pressure.  Bryan, on the other hand, rises to it.  So it’s going to be him and Redbeard fighting it out.  I’m giving Redbeard a slight edge.

I’m a Kevin fan, too (not just because we have the same name).  I think Bryan is a bit of a robot, but he has a good heart. Michael is horrible. If he wins, I will have the sads.

Redbeard

See that’s a perfect nickname.  Redbeard, the local-grown food pirate king. 

The brothers with their stunt casting sibling rivalry get on my nerves, even though I know it’s manipulated by the magical elves.  The producers must ask them every time they’re in the confessional if there’s sibling rivalry and then dutifully they respond accordingly.

Last Wed. the hubbie and I decided Redbeard’s restaurant would be the only one we really wanted to eat at.  The other contestants keep slamming him for his food being “too simple” but the judges keep wanting seconds. I think that’s what ultimately counts.

Okay, Mar I’m game.

The Voltaggio brothers sort of creep me out, although I much prefer Bryan to Michael.  I’m a Kevin fan I think.

Helloooo <echo>hello, hello, hello</echo>?

Anyone (anyone) here (hereherehere)??

Man red velvet cake is definitely a thread killer!  Who knew?

Anyone watching Top Chef?  I’m betting on Kevin or Brian to take it myself.  Michael clutches in the big moments and I think his big bro has got him psyched out.  And Kevin just chugs along making delicious, perfectly cooked meals.

Aksherlee… According to my research, the earlier forms of cocoa actually reacted with the butter used in cakes to turn red or reddish-brown, which is why red velvet cake, at least prior to reliable articifial food colourings, was a chocolate cake.

And if you’re after a good dense flourless chocolate cake recipe, you can’t beat Joe Pastry, who is my go-to guy for baking stuff. And he’s a real mensch if you talk to him, too.

Betty C—If you find the RVC recipe, I’ll try it as is.

My favorite chocolate cake ever is the Fudge Cake from Joy of Cooking.  Unlike most cakes that are much too fluffy, this one is dense and incredibly fudgy (as opposed to just chocolaty).

Chocolate lovers - check out J.‘s great pics of a walking chocolate and pastries tour they took in Paris! (Lucky people!)

In defense of red velvet cakes, though, the non-dumbed down recipe I refer to contains a lot more cocoa than the ersatz RVCs most often passed off as the genuine article. IIRC, it has at least a quarter cup or so, which, combined with all that sugar, makes for a definite chocolately taste. But it’s true that a RVC is no chocolate cake, and if that’s what you’re after, you’re better off going with something like this.

Mrs. P FTW!

unmistakable hint of cocoa

Now that’s the problem right there. I resent a cake-tease.

Well, now y’all are gonna force me to dig up that old red velvet cake recipe, if only to restore the reputation of this fine confection. Maraschino cherries? Really? Of course you use cream cheese frosting—there is no other alternative.

Red velvet cake has suffered the sad fate of other difficult-to-make foods that were dumbed down and co-opted by our microwave culture. If you’ve had red velvet cake that didn’t have cream cheese frosting or that didn’t feature a subtle yet unmistakable hint of cocoa or that tasted very similar to white or yellow cake, well, I respectfully submit that you’ve never had a proper red velvet cake.

And that’s not surprising considering that to make a proper red velvet cake, you have to buy special flour and sift ingredients in order several times, etc. It’s a pain in the ass. But SO worth it!

I’ll dust off the three wooden Grey Goose boxes that contain my not yet digitized recipes and find it for you.

Glix, take out the red food coloring and the painfully ineffectual dram of cocoa, keep the cheerful artificiality of the maraschino cherries, add some pineapple and coconut and call it Ambrosia Cake, an item people actually want to eat for something other than faux-retro chic.

I’m sorry, Red Velvet fans, but a cocoa cake should commit itself to chocolatehood or get off the cake stand. “Cocoa-infused” doesn’t cut it.

I wonder why nobody tries making one that tastes like cherry.  Add some maraschinos on top too.

This is interesting.  I’ve got Google ads for a fruit basket company, a couple of restaurants and an exterminator.  Not quite sure how to interpret that!

My only experience with Red Velvet cake was from an aunt who was the worst cook in the family.  I strongly associate it with things like carob instead of actual chocolate and the taste of artificial sweetener.

I sometimes wonder what it might taste like made by someone who could cook, but I’m afraid the fear barrier may be too high.

I think red velvet cakes taste like yellow or white cake with a strong undertaste of red food coloring.  Not a fan of them.  Although they are bearable if you use cream cheese filling and frosting. ;-)

Mrs P—What do red velvet cakes taste like?  Armadillo?

I’ve been veg before too, but I couldn’t keep it up.  My now-12 year old went through a stage where he was too.  We stopped at Mikeska’s one time (the Columbus Tx branch—‘cause each of the Mikeska bros runs his own emporium and is pit king of a different area of Texas) and they have easily 200 stuffed heads on the wall.  The kid looked at his plate; he looked at the wall; he looked at his plate again and then he wouldn’t eat meat for a year. 

We tried every meat substitute around to try and get him enough protein.  I was glad when he started eating meat again.  I don’t know how a 12 year old boy could be a vegetarian.  The kid eats from dawn to dusk and wakes up hungry the next day.  Of course, he’s grown 6 inches in the last year.

Oooooh… Yum.  That sounds delish.

And smoked tofu is awesome - have you tried freezing it as well?  The texture gets denser and more meaty, and it absorbs marinades better - the water forms crystals which melt out when you defrost it, leaving holes throughout.  It’s basically distilled tofu…  I can imagine that frozen tofu which was smoked afterwards would be pretty damn good. I may have to drag that tofu out of the freezer and do some smoking.

My plan with this is to not be weird about it - like I’ll use meat-based stock/bouillon cubes and powders if I want some extra flavour. I’ve done the vegan thing before, and it’s frankly a huge pain, and besides, I can’t give up bacon! That would be immoral.

Gosh Mar, that sounds good.

I might try doing smoked seitan, though

Yummy.  At least as good as smoked tofu. ;-)

I make a kind of sauce/spread thing where you take fresh tomatoes, set them in a pan with 1/2 inch or so of good olive oil in the bottom and bake until they are cooked down, rich and delicious.  I can imagine that doing this in a smoker would add that extra dimension of flavor.  Serve it over pasta and you’d probably forget meat even existed.

I tend to use a more primitive smoker - foil-lined bucket or similar, grill over it, some kind of lid.  Hey, it works.

It’ll be relatively moot, soon - I’m trying to go more veggie.  I have an arthritis-like thing going on, and I’m cutting down on meat as a possible aggravating factor. Not cutting it out, just going to 90% veggie. I might try doing smoked seitan, though; that’d be interesting.

I really do prefer charcoal as well, but sometimes use gas for the day to day stuff. I probably grill dinner 4 times a week.

As for BBQ, I worked my way through a number of wood smokers before I finally settled on a Traeger wood pellet model. I can load it up and go to bed, and the thermostat will keep it cranking all night long.

justlen - we have one large grill for steaks, etc. and another (a Weber Performer) for roasting.  The first grill has adjustable cast iron grates.  Both charcoal - I hate cooking with gas.  We did the turkey on the Weber with excellent results.

The Weber is also great for smoking.

Wow, where did this come from?  So, stuffing?  I like to make a basic bread stuffing using a rustic ciabatta bread - buy it a couple of days ahead to let it get a little hard then slice and toast in a 325 degree oven till completely dry.  Chunk up with a big knife then add mushrooms, onion, celery and garlic cooked until translucent and soft in a stick of butter.  Combine with the usual batch of herbs (sage is a must do) then add two cups of chicken broth mixed with 2 beaten eggs.  Don’t forget plenty of salt and pepper.  When all the liquid is absorbed turn into a baking pan and bake at 350 covered for 45 minutes, uncovered until nice and crusty on top.  To. Die. For.  (Note:  will probably cook quicker at sea level - this is adjusted for 5,000 feet.)

We always have sausage cornbread dressing too, DB.

That is because we are cracker cousins and that is cracker comfort food.  The few generations above me hailed from Arkansas, but going back you basically hit all the low parts on the southern poverty tour.  When my kids ask their ethnic heritage, I tell ‘em, a fourth German, an eighth Mexican (from their dad) and a whole bunch of mixed up cracker from my side. 

I honestly didn’t realize that cracker could be an insult until I was an adult.

I usually do make it, but I ate it all and I am too lazy to make it again today.

I am too, I’ve got like 5 grills and smokers.

Len: Surely you mean make? The sauce is easy…  And so much better, too. /barbecue snob

Good stuff.

I have had the same sans cranberry which I don’t like. No cuban bread around here that I know of.  We’re pretty “white bread” in these parts, lol.

Damnit, I may have to go out to get more BBQ sauce.

We always have sausage cornbread dressing too, DB. And damn, that chocolate pecan pie sounds good!

Thanksgiving went off without a hitch. Glad it’s over and all the relatives have cleared out.

Foodwise, I always look forward to the day after Thanksgiving, when we’ll have what we call Thanksgiving sandwiches for lunch. They consist of layers of the following on Cuban bread with mayo:

Homemade cranberry sauce
Dressing
Gravy
Leftover turkey

Good stuff.

I make the leftover stuffing into a patty, fry it up and pair it with an over-easy egg.

Potato casserole for breakfast, yum.

Making bibimbap is approximately four times as labor-intensive as preparing a complete Thanksgiving feast, and takes twice the dishes.

On the other hand, I now know how NOT to use a mandoline.

Really, what’s wrong with “blanching” vegetables in the microwave? And does anybody know how to get coddled egg out of burnout velvet?

By the way, this chocolate pecan pie was quite the hit.

My mother in law forgot she told me to bring pie so we had a dessert face off—cherries jubilee vs. pumpkin & pecan pie.  We were all the losers.

How can you people talk about food right now? [Urp]

Oyster dressing. Not regional Western PA, just a family idiosyncrasy.

Easy as hell to make, and gets better every day it’s left over in the fridge for reheats with gravy.

Up here in Joisey its mostly basic white bread cube stuffing with celery, onion and broth.  I always add garlic to the saute.  A good friend of mine adds Italian sausage.

Stuffing the bird has nearly fallen out of favor, so I guess its all dressing now…

Yeah!  Fun, food.

As today is the national holiday of food, this is certainly appropriate launch.

so, the issue I’d like to discuss is regionality in dressing or stuffing.  What’s in yours?

Mine is southern cornbread-sausage, just like my great grandmother used to make.  Never cooked in the bird.  I love it although there’s a reason I only eat it once a year.  If I eat somewhere else and they don’t have it, I must make it the next day or it hasn’t been Thanksgiving.

Turkey, meh.

Thanks, Kevin and Len!  Nice Thanksgiving present for us all.

YEAH!

I’m always up for BBQ talk.

Welcome to the soft launch! Thanks to justlen for the idea.