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Post by Goldbrick on Aug 17, 2023 11:03:37 GMT -5
I know we have a " what are you eating " slot, but how about cooking. I know I'm not alone when it comes to pipe smoking kitchen monsters. I spent a lifetime in grocery retail, and at least once or twice a week some little gal, old or young, would tell me how to cook something, and the last twenty years or so I found myself passing some of what I learned back to a few customers. Retired now, with a back and legs that are shot from hard floors and heavy lifting, I welcome a chance to sit down and chop, stir, mix, or peel, so four of five nights out of seven the cooking is on me. So the wife does the dishes, the laundry, cleaning{ with me dusting }and finds time to help me in the yard, and I manage the supermarket trips, keep the freezers and ice-box rotated and clean, plan most meals and cook a big part of them...it's a cool deal. Anyway...I made some killer cabbage to go with tonight's shrimp...I slow-cooked most of a large cabbage with a chopped white onion ,and a bit of celery, in 1 cup of water, and 1 cup of stock from a ham we cooked Monday  Oh my goodness...it's so good I want to run out and buy another ham!!! It's like something your granny would fix. Okay, now tell me about something you fix, or have fixed, or hope to fix...and how you did it , or do it, or hope to do it. |
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Post by oldcajun123 on Aug 17, 2023 11:29:04 GMT -5
 Herbert we make a Shrimp, ham and corn soup, fresh corn, fresh shrimp , thinly sliced ham laid flat and sliced in small squares so you get ham all over! MabSa Say Bon.,
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Post by Silver on Aug 17, 2023 11:37:05 GMT -5
I do a lot of the cooking, too, Herb. During the warmer months, it's a lot of grilled food. I make most of the dinners in the summer. When we're stuck indoors, my wife is the boss in the kitchen. I'll cook 2 to 3 dinners a week then then. I have a few go-tos. Chili, stir-fry, goulash, pasta sauces and meatballs. Since it'll be stormy this afternoon, I will be cooking indoors. I'll be making a beef stir-fry with green beans and onions.
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Post by Silver on Aug 17, 2023 11:40:07 GMT -5
I also make kimchi, fermented garlic dill pickles, pickled jalapeños (and other chiles), pickled mixed vegetables, hot sauce, bbq rubs and sauces.
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Post by Goldbrick on Aug 17, 2023 11:57:49 GMT -5
Herbert we make a Shrimp, ham and corn soup, fresh corn, fresh shrimp , thinly sliced ham laid flat and sliced in small squares so you get ham all over! MabSa Say Bon., Shrimp ham and corn, yes indeed, hard to go wrong there... |
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Post by Plainsman on Aug 17, 2023 11:59:30 GMT -5
When I have guests I often make a slow-cooked venison roast. Lean and dense! Leftovers I chop up, add BBQ sauce, and make tacos barbacoas. Quick and good. (I’m big on quick these days.)
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Post by username on Aug 17, 2023 12:04:14 GMT -5
I tend to grill often either on my George foreman (quick and easy) or if it's the weekend at my dad's on the traeger. Sadly alot of my home cooking these days is pop open the box and follow the directions it's still cooking but I'm not making stuff from scratch.
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Post by Goldbrick on Aug 17, 2023 12:07:02 GMT -5
I do a lot of the cooking, too, Herb. During the warmer months, it's a lot of grilled food. I make most of the dinners in the summer. When we're stuck indoors, my wife is the boss in the kitchen. I'll cook 2 to 3 dinners a week then then. I have a few go-tos. Chili, stir-fry, goulash, pasta sauces and meatballs. Since it'll be stormy this afternoon, I will be cooking indoors. I'll be making a beef stir-fry with green beans and onions. That's the sprit Pete...soups ,stews, chili, pasta, Meatloaf are all in my wheelhouse , rice too...I did a chicken stir-fry night before last, and chicken fried rice with the leftovers last night. Fried chicken I leave to my wife, and I can't beat her fried fish. Potato Salad is all on her to; her's is unreal, and I don't bake either, except for cornbread. |
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Post by trailboss on Aug 17, 2023 12:09:40 GMT -5
My wife did a majority of the cooking when we were raising kids, I was more of a weekend cook. I worked in the meat business for 8 years and foodservice distribution for 16 years. In the course of that time I got to know and pick the brains of a lot of great cooks by chefs from Monterey/ Carmel, San Francisco, Napa valley, etc. And the foodservice company (SYSCO) had a state of the art test kitchen with regular seminars and guest chefs popping in. I like to cook and was fortunate to meet so many of them people.
Even though I eat out a lot for work, the time and attention one can give at home is far more appealing and better than one can get dining out if you follow the basic principles of cooking, which is not that hard to learn. And of course if you can source the ingredients to pull it off.
(I do not eat at the really ultra high restaurants where a meal for the wife and I could approach $500,, I think that there comes a point of diminishing returns….just my opinion)
Having said all of that, I think that what is inferred by the previous posters is a great approach. Focus on some recipes/ dishes that are in your wheelhouse, and roll with it.
It goes without saying that shopping when there are deals to be had, and the produce is in season can make a big difference in the cost of a meal, but not all produce is equal. The specialized produce stores like Sprouts here in the Southwest will produce a far tastier end result than say Walmart or Food City which is a regional grocer for the local Hispanic population…. that market has Chiles/ canned/ spices that you cannot find elsewhere.
The specialized regional produce stores have buyers in the field that culll the herd when making deals with farmers and brokers.
Bon Apetit!
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Post by Goldbrick on Aug 17, 2023 12:11:02 GMT -5
When I have guests I often make a slow-cooked venison roast. Lean and dense! Leftovers I chop up, add BBQ sauce, and make tacos barbacoas. Quick and good. (I’m big on quick these days.) We slow-cook venison in cheap white wine, the make bar-b-que with it, but I mostly just do the chopping on that one...the wife's sauce is hush-hush.  |
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Post by Silver on Aug 17, 2023 12:15:19 GMT -5
This is already a fun thread.
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Post by trailboss on Aug 17, 2023 12:16:27 GMT -5
I really have no experience with wild game, envious of those that do.
When I was in the meat business I regularly picked up New Zealand venison flown into LAX, and since I worked for the buyer he had the shipper add a gift box for me in each shipment…. those were some good times, that meat was phenomenal.
Not wild game, certainly!
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Post by Darin on Aug 17, 2023 12:24:34 GMT -5
I recently made homemade Ricotta cheese.
1 quart whole milk
1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
Pinch of Sea Salt
Put milk in the pan, add a pinch of salt
Bring milk uo to 185F stirring occasionally
Add Vinegar and lightly stir as curds form
Maintain 185F for 15-20 more minutes
Use slotted spoon and transfer to cheese cloth inside a colander.
Allow to drain according to how dense you want it.
Note: If for a dessert, you can substitute lemon juice for the Vinegar.
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Post by trailboss on Aug 17, 2023 12:27:46 GMT -5
Just to add…
When I worked with SYSCO I took a couple days off and accompanied a buyer in the course of his rounds. We had a produce buying office in Salinas where I was domiciled as a driver.
We went to the lettuce fields, and the buyer competed with Costco, Darden restaurant group ( Red Lobster, Olive Garden, etc..) He bought the center of the field crops that were the choicest heads of lettuce. All the edge rowed stuff went to the retail grocers.
The same was the case with Artichokes, berries, Spinach, stone fruit etc…
That was really eye opening, and educational.
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Post by Plainsman on Aug 17, 2023 13:24:55 GMT -5
I really have no experience with wild game, envious of those that do. When I was in the meat business I regularly picked up New Zealand venison flown into LAX, and since I worked for the buyer he had the shipper add a gift box for me in each shipment…. those were some good times, that meat was phenomenal. Not wild game, certainly! I can imagine how good that was. 90% of the meat for me and the dogs is rifle-got. Does it taste better that way? Probably not, but I imagine it does. The dogs, on the other hand, are SURE that it does as they are in on the whole process. |
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Post by trailboss on Aug 17, 2023 13:39:46 GMT -5
I ate a fair amount of venison in the days of my yute’, between my dad and my uncles when we lived in Colorado there was plenty of it on hand.
They knew how to dress the game and handle it properly, always enjoyed it as a kid.
The NZ venison was better though being farm raised on grass, it really had no “gameiness”, it really was delicious and tender.
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Post by zambini on Aug 18, 2023 17:09:40 GMT -5
I tried making mozzarella cheese last week but it came out as requeson. The idea was to make pizza from scratch but ended up having to buy cheese even if everything else was from scratch.
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Post by Goldbrick on Aug 18, 2023 18:22:29 GMT -5
I tried making mozzarella cheese last week but it came out as requeson. The idea was to make pizza from scratch but ended up having to buy cheese even if everything else was from scratch. You learn as much from failure as you do success...but failure costs a bit more. |
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Post by zambini on Aug 20, 2023 13:12:37 GMT -5
I tried making mozzarella cheese last week but it came out as requeson. The idea was to make pizza from scratch but ended up having to buy cheese even if everything else was from scratch. You learn as much from failure as you do success...but failure costs a bit more. Absolutely. I'll try again after consulting with our milkman. In the mean time I ended up making empanadas (turnovers) with the requeson and some corn in epazote. They came out pretty good. |
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Post by trailboss on Aug 20, 2023 13:33:24 GMT -5
You learn as much from failure as you do success...but failure costs a bit more. Absolutely. I'll try again after consulting with our milkman. In the mean time I ended up making empanadas (turnovers) with the requeson and some corn in epazote. They came out pretty good. When I lived in Colorado, my buddies mom used to make empanadas, they were pretty awesome. |
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Post by toshtego on Aug 20, 2023 16:37:53 GMT -5
You learn as much from failure as you do success...but failure costs a bit more. Absolutely. I'll try again after consulting with our milkman. In the mean time I ended up making empanadas (turnovers) with the requeson and some corn in epazote. They came out pretty good. Empanadas are a favorite in this this part of New Mexico. Often a sweet and savory elk filling. Pumpkin is another favorite. |
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JimK
Junior Member
"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light".
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Post by JimK on Aug 21, 2023 9:52:12 GMT -5
I like making spaghetti sauce. I always add ½ cup of red wine, ½ cup of beef broth & a shot of Worcestershire sauce. If I have any left over grilled beef, that goes in there, too. And there's the usual herbs; oregano, basil, thyme, & cumin, along with garlic, onion, & green pepper. That's pretty much it.
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Cooking
Aug 21, 2023 10:49:31 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Darin on Aug 21, 2023 10:49:31 GMT -5
Thatsa' good gravy, huh!? 😛
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Post by Goldbrick on Aug 21, 2023 11:01:44 GMT -5
I like making spaghetti sauce. I always add ½ cup of red wine, ½ cup of beef broth & a shot of Worcestershire sauce. If I have any left over grilled beef, that goes in there, too. And there's the usual herbs; oregano, basil, thyme, & cumin, along with garlic, onion, & green pepper. That's pretty much it. I use ground venison, and when they are in season I run a zucchini through the food processor, and stir that in as well; it's a nice twist of flavor, and it helps thicken the sauce too. At one time we had a friend who used ground turkey, and added chopped carrots , but she's been bared from our home for some time.  |
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Post by zambini on Aug 21, 2023 15:51:26 GMT -5
Absolutely. I'll try again after consulting with our milkman. In the mean time I ended up making empanadas (turnovers) with the requeson and some corn in epazote. They came out pretty good. Empanadas are a favorite in this this part of New Mexico. Often a sweet and savory elk filling. Pumpkin is another favorite. Candied pumpkin sounds like a great dessert filling. I'll have to try it once the season arrives. Does elk taste like venison? |
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Oh my goodness...it's so good I want to run out and buy another ham!!! It's like something your granny would fix.
Herbert we make a Shrimp, ham and corn soup, fresh corn, fresh shrimp , thinly sliced ham laid flat and sliced in small squares so you get ham all over! MabSa Say Bon.,
