[Old Pa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lil' Knight /img/forum/go_quote.gif I guess it benefits a lot from burn-in.

Burn-in is good.

 

[IceClass]

Caribou liver(cream/vermouth) and heart (balsamic vinegar/olive oil/rosemary marinade), mashed potatoes w/yams & baked garlic, steamed brussels sprouts and cabbage.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I love to cook, but don't get much opportunity to these days. The office keeps me regularly - and we have accounts to order food from. Sounds nice (and don't get me wrong, it is) but I've been rotating through the same dishes for over six years. Even great food gets old after awhile.

Still, I have a big set of the older Calphalon pro gear. Anodized aluminum without the non-stick which I'm not crazy about.

I've been unusually lucky and spoiled when it comes to food. When I was a kid, a respected French chef moved in next door. He ran the food at American Airlines and had a five star restaurant locally. Terrific man - I wish he was still with us. Later, my cousin married the executive pastry chef at the Four Seasons. He's won the Coupe du Monde in Lyon and is an internationally recognized chef. He is very much alive and a hell of a guy. We cook every time I go over and I've picked up a terrific amount from him.

I'm not anywhere near his level, but I can cook, follow recipes and know my way around a kitchen.

I love it, too, and wish I had more time to cook.

My favorite is breakfast. I like to make eggs, potatoes, bacon, biscuits, pancakes, and everything else. I cook only from scratch. When there's time, there's nothing I like more than cooking on weekend mornings.

 

[buddhashenglong]

Pizza technique (at home) finally PERFECTED. Thin crust on an aluminum 16" round tray.
1. Preheat the oven as hot as it gets.
2. Spin the dough, set it on tray.
3. Top the pie.
4. Using a gas stove, crank one of the burners under the pizza(tray) until you hear a light sizzle.
5. Slowly rotate 1/4 turn every 30 seconds or so until pizza slides around on tray.
6. Take a peek and see if the bottom of the crust is close to the desired color.
7. Now broil the pizza top shelf in the already hot oven til the top sizzles.
8. Let it cool, slice, and enjoy!

 

[Marcus_C]

I must try them that way, my pizza bases never seem to cook evenly...

 

[buddhashenglong]

It took me longer to type that than to make this.

 

[Old Pa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus_C /img/forum/go_quote.gif I must try them that way, my pizza bases never seem to cook evenly...

I do a four minute crust prebake in a 400F oven before topping the pizza.

For SWMBO first Friday in Lent supper, I made a salmon and creamed corn fritata which we had with garlic crusty artisan bread toasts and steamed dressed green beans:

The fritata started with sauteeing two cloves of minced garlic in some good EVOO, then half of a chopped white onion and then 1 and 1/3 cans of pink Alaskan salmon untils all were lightly carmelized.

(NOTE: the amount of canned salmon, 1 and a third cans, was imposed on me when Lola, A/K/A Lodie the little ADD doggie, snarfed 2/3 of the first can of salmon which I had flaked onto a paper towel and left on the counter to drain while I went downstairs to work in my office- she was spoken to about this

).

I brought a pint container of egg substitutes (which we now like better than whole eggs) to room temperature and then added an ounce of half & half, some Bragg's, juice of one lemon, fresh cracked black pepper and seasalt, and a small can of creamed corn. The egg mixture was mixed into the sauteed components and cooked stovetop until it set before being finished in a 400F oven. Garnish was some fresh chopped Italian flatleaf parsley.

We agreed that it was the best fritata I had ever made and went well with a glass of pinot grigio. The fork you see in the upper right corner is SWMBO digging in already.

 

[Old Pa]

Got a couple pounds of 5/8ths inch thick round steak , trimmed off all the fate and connective tissue and sliced it cross-grain into two inch long strips. As you will see, I prefer chunkier strips of unpounded steak. Marinated the beef strips warm and cold in sweet marsala wine, worchestershire sauce, lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar. Drained beef and saved marinade.

Here's the beef strips seasoned with fresh cracked black pepper and seasalt in 2TBS of smoking hot sunflower oil getting a nice sear on in my big nonstick sautee pan before being reserved:

After setting my oven to 275F, I put 4TBS of good EVOO in the Le Creuset 2.75 quart dutch oven and sauteed some sliced mushrooms, then added five cloves of diced garlic, and a medium sliced sweet yellow onion. To this we added 1 TSP each of dry oregano, dill, nutmeg, thyme, rosemary, and sweet Hungarian paprika and 2TBS each of double strength tomato paste, prepared French dijon mustard, and prepared horseradish.

After this had cooked a bit, I sprinked 4TBS all purpose white flower over, stirred and cooked out the flour taste. The sauteed floured herbed vegetables were then deglazed with a cup of beef broth and the reserved marinade. Added the seared beef strips and their juices and brought the whole thing back to a simmer.

Then covered the whole thing and put it into the 275F oven for two and a half hours, stirring each hour. Add additional fluid if necessary. Removed from oven and stirred in a cup of non-fat sour cream.

Here we have it served over homemade buttered noodles with fresh chopped flatleaf Italian parsley:

Steamed dressed seasoned French green beans almondine and a glass of cab on the side. Yum!

 

[TheAudioDude]

Geez OldPa, your meals are damn excellent. I haven't cooked in over a month due to a hand injury but I'm living vicariously through your pictures.

BTW, what does SWMBO mean?

buddhashenglong- I'll have to try that pizza recipe. Pizza is my favorite food but I've never really made it from scratch.

 

[Old Pa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAudioDude /img/forum/go_quote.gif BTW, what does SWMBO mean?

You are too kind. She Who Must Be Obeyed.

 

[Toolfan26]

Old pa I was doing fine till I saw your photos, now i have to get something to eat!!!

Overall I really enjoy cooking. You can take a lot of pride in what you make and it is great to see others enjoying it. Being a about-to-graduate single male I am trying to learn as much as I can about cooking so I can fend for myself when I am on my own! I can follow recipes and know general cooking terms. Plus I am pretty good a grilling stuff too.

 

[Old Pa]

For the third Friday in Lent, I fixed SWMBO Baked Cod Supper:

Filets of cod were salted and peppered before being coasted with a 50/50 mix of French dijon mustard and non-fat mayo seasoned with dried tarragon and minced garlic before being covered with Japanese panko breadcrumbs and baked for 25 minutes at 350F. Served with loaded baked potatoes (from the same 350F oven, wish I had some fresh chives, but the garden is still months away

) and steamed dressed pea pods seasoned with fresh cracked black pepper and seasoning salt. Glass of pinot grigio on the side. Not so bad, as religious observations go.

 

[melomaniac]

simple dishes often do best: spaghetti with sweet italian sausage and grilled peppers, a green salad, and a bottle of deloach 2008 private collection pinot noir

 

[freakydrew]

I am an ok looking guy. I have a decent sense of humour and can carry on a conversation about a lot of things....I learned quickly in University that if I wanted to date women who were way out of my league I could either go to a gym and work out everyday or learn to cook....I was and still am way too lazy to work out everyday! I would perfect different recipes that I knew was relatively cheap, and not too hard to make but tasted great...I had a very successful dating life in university and recently married a woman 10 years younger than me and way too good looking for a guy like me because we shared a passion for cooking! good wine helps too.
my first dish, and I still go back to occasionally was breaded chicken breast stuffed with baby spinach and riccotta cheese....super easy to make and so damned good!
I would follow up with a dessert I later called "slide 'em into bed"...which was a variation on Bananas Foster with a whole lot of rum, chocolate, brown sugar and butter...over ice cream....(light the rum just when serving over the ice cream)....
We love cooking so much that for my wife's wedding shower last fall, all of the guests were asked to bring their favourite recipes so now we have a box with a whole bunch of awesome new things to create!
if I ever won the lottery the first thing we would do is take professional cooking lessons!

 

[Old Pa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freakydrew /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am an ok looking guy. I have a decent sense of humour and can carry on a conversation about a lot of things....I learned quickly in University that if I wanted to date women who were way out of my league I could either go to a gym and work out everyday or learn to cook

I just took a happy trip down memory lane recounting the innumerable times when in college that I got my knob polished after serving young women a dinner of my four meat red sauce over fresh pasta with hot crusty garlic bread, a simple tossed salad and several glasses of decent chianti. There remains method in my madness!