What's for Dinner part 8.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

8 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

Did you eat two porterhouse steaks?

I actually had two striploin steaks out for my brother and I, and ended up freezing one of them because they were just too big. As it happens, we didn’t even finish the one. Breakfast is going to be steak and eggs.

Ah, youth. Sadly, ah, old age.

Nah, the steaks were for three people. I'd die if I tried to eat both.

[VigoTheCarpathian]

RE:  meats and sauces - my personal experience has been it definitely depends on the quality and cut of meat.  Most beef I can afford on a regular basis can do with a little marinade, Worcestershire, herb butter or some kind of chimichurri.

Last night:  Our CSA use-up-the-rest-of-our-share meal.  Buddha bowls with coconut rice and quinoa, roasted beets and leeks, InstantPot pinto beans, sautéed greens (beet and turnip), and a quick tomatillo salsa.

 

[MercenaryChef]

14 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

Weigh in on the sauce with steak debate, if MC says it's wrong I'll take it on the chin (though not change my ways, a little pot of creamy pepper sauce to dip your chips in is a joy). 

classic french cooking was the inspiration for steakhouses, ie sauces! i am pro sauce! for kair's birthday some years ago we had a magnificent giant dry aged ribeye slathered in a ramp bearnaise before seeing the cure at madison square garden. that was the fucking best!

only time i am anti-sauce on steak is in the world of real japanese wagyu. that meat is just so fatty and rich with umami i want nothing more than flakes of maldon salt or in a super traditional preparation a tiny grating of real wasabi.

all this beef talk aside got a chicken roasting with assorted veggies and tatos for tonight. roasting chicken is maybe one of the greatest things you can do to a chicken.

[Fragile Bird]

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you, Chef!

[Xray the Enforcer]

Last night made gà kho gùng (aka chicken in a caramel sauce) and damn that's going on the regular rotation from here on out. Despite the name, the dish is not at all sweet due to the depth of caramelization and the other ingredients (shallots, ginger, generous amount of fish sauce). Served it with rice (ofc) and roasted delicata squash + roasted broccoli dressed in a modified nuóc mâm.

Sincere apologies to anyone who can read Vietnamese -- I'm struggling with the proper diacritical marks on the letters. 

[MercenaryChef]

12 hours ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

Last night made gà kho gùng (aka chicken in a caramel sauce) and damn that's going on the regular rotation from here on out. Despite the name, the dish is not at all sweet due to the depth of caramelization and the other ingredients (shallots, ginger, generous amount of fish sauce). Served it with rice (ofc) and roasted delicata squash + roasted broccoli dressed in a modified nuóc mâm.

Sincere apologies to anyone who can read Vietnamese -- I'm struggling with the proper diacritical marks on the letters. 

fuck yes! a favorite dish of mine!!

[Xray the Enforcer]

yeah! I've had versions in restaurants but never made it myself. I had no idea it was so freakin' simple, especially if you batch the caramel sauce ahead of time. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

1 hour ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

yeah! I've had versions in restaurants but never made it myself. I had no idea it was so freakin' simple, especially if you batch the caramel sauce ahead of time. 

Alright I've got to try this. On a similar note, a wonderful dish is African Peanut stew (it probably has different names depending on where you are. The combination of the two flavors plus a ton of veggies and sweet potatoes is to die for. Throwing in some chopped up steak also increases the taste. It's best when hot peppers are included. 

[Fragile Bird]

Do sweat potatoes taste like dirty socks?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

27 minutes ago, Fragile Bird said:

Do sweat potatoes taste like dirty socks?

Thankfully the peanut flavor is so strong that even dirty socks would taste good in the dish. 

[Xray the Enforcer]

11 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

African Peanut stew

This is a winter staple in our house! So good. We make ours with chicken and chiles, and we tend to serve it over millet.

The kho recipe I used was a combo of one in Into the Vietnamese Kitchen and some details from other recipes. Basically: dice up some chicken, throw it into a bowl with 3 tablespoons caramel, 3 tablespoons fish sauce, a couple of diced good-size shallots, and 2" of ginger that has been thinly sliced. I put in some white pepper because it was sitting on the counter, but you can skip that step if you don't have it. Let the whole mess marinate for a few minutes (I think I left it for 30 while I prepped other stuff). Then dump it all into a smallish pot with maybe 1/2 cup water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook cover until the chicken is done, then uncovered to thicken up the sauce a bit. Serve over rice with sliced green onions on top. 

(the base recipe omits the shallots and the white pepper; online recipes added all kinds of shit in there like garlic, chiles, shallots, etc. I was feeling incredibly lazy but also I had the shallots, so that's why I went with the variation I did.)

[MercenaryChef]

so at my new gig i am not the big boss so i am mostly coming someone else's food and realizing their vision, but staff meal is all me!

i take a lot of pride cooking a family meal for the team. on the rotation this week: adobo chicken tacos, korean grilled chicken, dandan noodles, meat loaf, Portuguese style fish stew. 

[BigFatCoward]

3 hours ago, MercenaryChef said:

so at my new gig i am not the big boss so i am mostly coming someone else's food and realizing their vision, but staff meal is all me!

i take a lot of pride cooking a family meal for the team. on the rotation this week: adobo chicken tacos, korean grilled chicken, dandan noodles, meat loaf, Portuguese style fish stew. 

Getting a new job in this climate shows how respected you must be in the industry. 

All of the above please except meatloaf, never tried it, never want to. 

Dinner tonight is sri lankan curry, skinless and boneless chicken thighs marinated in the base rub, my own concoction hot sauce (6 chillies, maruga scorpion, ghost, Carolina reaper, scotch bonnet, jalapeno and habenero) and honey (so it really caramelized and crisps up) cooked under incredibly hot grill. Served with sticky coconut rice. 

Topped with crispy onions, coriander, scallions and chopped peanuts. 

[MercenaryChef]

18 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

Getting a new job in this climate shows how respected you must be in the industry. 

All of the above please except meatloaf, never tried it, never want to. 

Dinner tonight is sri lankan curry, skinless and boneless chicken thighs marinated in the base rub, my own concoction hot sauce (6 chillies, maruga scorpion, ghost, Carolina reaper, scotch bonnet, jalapeno and habenero) and honey (so it really caramelized and crisps up) cooked under incredibly hot grill. Served with sticky coconut rice. 

Topped with crispy onions, coriander, scallions and chopped peanuts. 

first,  that curry sounds exceptional!

and second thanks for the kind words!

third, meatloaf is awesome!

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

18 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

my own concoction hot sauce (6 chillies, maruga scorpion, ghost, Carolina reaper, scotch bonnet, jalapeno and habenero)

I appreciate your dedication to the fire, but is the habanero necessary at that point? 

[BigFatCoward]

1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said:

I appreciate your dedication to the fire, but is the habanero necessary at that point.

I use the habanero and jalapenos as they come picked in vinegar, for preservation. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

56 minutes ago, BigFatCoward said:

I use the habanero and jalapenos as they come picked in vinegar, for preservation. 

I just think they taste bad, and you don’t need that extra heat if you’re already using a ghost pepper.

Also, if you grow your own peppers, put a ghost plant in the same pot you have some jalapenos in. It can make the latter way hotter.

[KingintheNorth4]

Two soft shelled tacos topped with cheese, red onions, and sour cream. I'm drinking Stella Artois. 

[Fragile Bird]

A grilled cheese sandwich, on whole wheat with Swiss cheese. And a nice glass of wine. White goes with cheese, but I wanted red. The US election makes me bloodthirsty, I guess.  

[kairparavel]

@Chataya de Fleury

If you find poblanos pretty spicy then habanero peppers will murder you. They start off fruity heat then you die. You need to scroll down a bit (in the link below) to see the Scoville units. Poblanos are 1000-4000. Habaneros are 100 000-350 000.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/rating-chili-peppers-on-a-scale-of-1-to-oh-dear-god-im-on-fire/

MC's love of cooking with spicy heat has built up my tolerance the past dozen years but every once in a while I wind up in agony. He made what I didn't realize was habanero and I have no idea what else salsa a few weeks ago that was homicide on a tortilla chip.