What Are You Chef-ing Tonight, Dr?

caliking

Canugghead said:

@caliking almost hit the Dislike because it's not in a stand-alone thread 

Truth be told, I wasn’t sure this would turn out great, as I’ve never made beef stroganoff before. And, I didn’t take enough pictures for a separate thread  

 Turns out that it’s quick enough to do on a weeknight. I’ll skip the sour cream next time, as I don’t think it added much.  Velveting the beef was a win, though. 

kl8ton

Ribeye
Grilled asparagus
Salad with chicken tenderloin chunks

caliking

good lord @kl8ton. That looks phenomenal… the meal, the plating, the pic. Makes me want to eat the screen!

kl8ton

caliking said:

good lord @kl8ton. That looks phenomenal… the meal, the plating, the pic. Makes me want to eat the screen!

Hey thanks. That's minced garlic clinging to those asparagus stalks!

Buckwoody Egger

quite a day in the thread for things that sound dirty but aren’t!! 

great cooks, thanks for bringin it

lousubcap

@kl8ton - great banquet topped with a magazine quality photo.  Nailed that cook.  

Buckwoody Egger

The stolen story of the turkey burgers.  Probably written by Michael Scott at Dunder Mifflin. Compiled with excerpts from today’s WAYCTD posts.  

Time to head to the egg. A little bit first about what we are grateful for. The turkey and cow dedicated their lives to their domesticated predators. Before the turkey was ground, let’s at least hope the meat fell off the bone with a little tug.  (That’s what she said). Plate of raws loaded. The attentive labrador retriever blocked my path to the grill.  Wag yourself, I said, preparing to slide by also carrying some wagyu. After some traumatic OT forum post readings, I felt certain that I could also be someone’s prey. Donning a foil hat, I had to hide the meat, otherwise none would have made it to the sauce. It would be the first time for a little beef stroganoff at the grill.  

We made it safely thank goodness. Last week’s foil hat was already cooking on the top rack. It was a diorama of my latest science fiction novella. The aliens sent to save us are large and green but don’t be scared. They are without ill will or illness. It is just minced garlic clinging to those asparagus stalks!

My time at the grill was a great solo run. The veggies overcooked. If I changed anything I would go 45 minutes in the foil to get a little more bite.  Velveting the beef was a win, though.

Dinner was scrumptious. All that was left…..Turkey burgers!!!!



soundtrack at the grill tonight was Al Franken’s Grateful Dead Playlist. 

hoosier_egger

Ribeyes, potatoes and squash from the garden. 

lousubcap

@Buckwoody Egger - great prose right there.  You are on a French Onion roll.  

Legume

@Buckwoody Egger is that just Althea on repeat?

Buckwoody Egger

lol Cap, very nice!  Perhaps, Legume, if Althea was in the authors imagination, but otherwise you have still made an astute topical observation.

Ozzie_Isaac

Wow!!  Some amazing cooks going on here!

Ragingirishman2

Left over brisket in a taco with egg and cheese. 

shtgunal3

@Ragingirishman2 Yessir!!!

Legume

Buckwoody Egger said:

lol Cap, very nice!  Perhaps, Legume, if Althea was in the authors imagination, but otherwise you have still made an astute topical observation.

https://teachrock.org/video/al-franken-on-althea/

Buckwoody Egger

cool, that definitely helps me get your joke. also obviously the nassau 1980 version is the one he selected for his spotify playlist.

https://jambands.com/features/2007/11/20/a-taylor-twofer-ann-coulter-and-al-franken/

now that ^^^^ is a fun read almost 20 years later. just found it googling around, neither al f or ann c have been in my orbit historically

Ozzie_Isaac

Fufu with a Ghana Fish Stew and fried plantains. Did not disappoint.

Used this Okporoko to add depth to the stew and stock.

JohnInCarolina

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Fufu with a Ghana Fish Stew and fried plantains. Did not disappoint.

Used this Okporoko to add depth to the stew and stock.

Who are you and what have you done with Ozzie?

GrateEggspectations

Very cool, @Ozzie_Isaac. Even cooler to know the backstory as to how you arrived at this cook. Looks killer!!

caliking

Looks good @Ozzie_Isaac ! What did you think about the fufu?

Had to look up okporoko. Dried fish is its own cuisine category  where my Pops grew up. He'd probably dig this stew. 

fishlessman

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Fufu with a Ghana Fish Stew and fried plantains. Did not disappoint.

Used this Okporoko to add depth to the stew and stock.

my dog brought me home a piece of that fish a few weeks ago. now i know what to do with it

Ozzie_Isaac

caliking said:

Looks good @Ozzie_Isaac ! What did you think about the fufu?

Had to look up okporoko. Dried fish is its own cuisine category  where my Pops grew up. He'd probably dig this stew. 

TL:DR - pounded yam when cooked properly has a great texture for stew and had nice toasty notes to the flavor.

———————————————-

Went back to the store to get Yams and the owner recommended using pounded Yam powder, it worked well.  She also txt’d me a YouTube video on how to make it.  Was harder to make than the lady in the video made it look.  There are no measurements provided on the bag and it is all done by feel and experience.  I had to add way more water than I expected.  They said to cook it until it started to brown slightly, took a fair bit of heat and then it started to get cinnamon and nutmeg scents coming off.  I was concerned because you add zero seasoning to it.  It had some nice toasty flavors by itself and it scratched my bread itch.  It was a consistency more like really sticky mashed potatoes but still had some stretchiness and glutinous feel.  It was perfect for the stew because it sucked up so much flavor and broth, almost like a sponge.  I will definitely do it again, might go wild and season it.

Traditionally you pull off a small piece and dip it in the stew with your hand and eat it. I found a spoon worked better for me.

The stew was really good, I rehydrated the okporoko in boiling water, reduced to a simmer and added black garlic stems and skins that we used for a cucumber salad, along with some left over scallion and jalapeños.  Used Zatar seasoning also.  I was surprised that the fermented fish had such a wonderful strong smell that it didn’t get a more intense flavor to the broth or a bunch of salt.  I peeled all the rehydrated meat out and added to the stew. For the Ghana Fish Stew I doubled the cayenne , added a red bell pepper, tripled the garlic and added a Caroline reaper to kick up the heat some.  After I cooked it down some I added cod chunks marinated in lemon and salt, then reduced heat to 165 and served as soon as cod hit 145.  Will definitely do this again, but change up the seasonings some.  Overall it was a success.  The shop owner really helped with advice on cooking, she showed me what to look for and how to break down and prep the dried fish, and recommendations on rehydrating.  She was so kind and walked us through a bunch of other stuff at the store and shared her number if we had any questions, she asked for a photo of the finished dish!  We asked about the dilonbolonbo “tea” because there was nothing at all online about it.  She laughed and said you drank vegetable water!!  It turns out dilonbolonbo is a vegetable like spinach that they sell dried, the actual tea was in an identical bag next to it.  She gave us the tea bag for free and laughed the whole time. It was great.  This shop will be a regular haunt.  If you didn’t know it was there, you wouldn’t know because the signage says it is an African Beauty Salon.  We lucked out because we had an Uber driver who told us about it.

here is the pounder yam:

JohnInCarolina said:

Who are you and what have you done with Ozzie?

Haha!  I can cook whatever I want now all the time.  It is great!  No longer stuck with weekly rotations.  So many dishes and options out there.  Plus all the amazing cooks on this thread are an inspiration.  Was on an Asian kick, but now trying some African cuisines and will try some Caribbean stuff to.  Not enough days left to try everything!

caliking

Thanks for the deets, @Ozzie_Isaac. Sounds even more delicious!

BeanHead

@Ozzie_Isaac our local African grocery is also attached to a hair salon and if they are in the middle of a hairdo you just hangout until somebody can help you in the shop. It is the best and feels a lot like getting groceries in Ghana. 

Ragingirishman2

Oklahoma onion burgers on the Blackstone. 

GrateEggspectations

Still had half a bag of nacho chips from the other night, so nachos again. 

caliking

Ragingirishman2 said:

Oklahoma onion burgers on the Blackstone. 

I’ve had these on my mind for over a month. This will go down this weekend. Thanks for the nudge! 

Botch

Dashi-Butter Chicken, a Food Wishes recipe:
 

 
Chicken breast cutlets are marinated in Japanese condiments, sauteed, then a pan sauce is made with the drippings, broth, instant dashi, rice vinegar, mirin, reduced, and butter whisked in.  
This wasn't good; there was something in there that just didn't taste right.   I didn't let the pan sauce reduce enough, and also learned microwaving is not a good way to cook stringbeans.  First time Chef John has let me down...

DoubleEgger

Joojeh Kebabs

DoubleEgger

And the rice