Favorite Food/Meal to Cook?

[DubCoffman62]

I would, but Lincoln is a wasteland for good pizza. It's a hell of a lot of work to make pizza at home. The wife loves it and wants me to make it every week, but four hours in the kitchen with a 500-degree oven kinda wears on you.

Lincoln? Well no wonder. I have a pizza stone too and used to dabble in homemade pizza but after buying the ingredients, messing up your kitchen for me it's worth it to shell out the 20 bucks for a 12" personal with pepperoni & sausage and a small Mediterranean salad.

 

[TooTall]

Made some chicken tonight with turkey pepperoni, a pizza type sauce, mushrooms and sauteed onions and peppers, cheese... It was pretty fantastic.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

I've got a rub and a BBQ sauce recipe that I've been using for years.


Cajun Rub

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons granulated garlic
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 bay leaves, crumbled

Mix brown sugar, oregano, parsley, garlic, onion powder, paprika, thyme, black pepper, salt, celery salt, white pepper, cayenne, and bay leaves in a bowl. Pulse in a spice grinder in two batches to a medium-fine grind.



Use only baby back ribs - they have the most meat for the least price. Be sure to pull the membrane off the back of the rack before you do anything else.

Rinse your ribs and pat dry, then coat lightly with olive oil and rub it in until they're tacky. Coat both sides evenly with the rub, then wrap in plastic and refrigerate for six hours, preferably overnight.




This sauce recipe is from Tyler Florence (Tyler's Ultimate). It's sweet, and balances the spice from the rub.

Tyler's Ultimate BBQ Sauce

2 bacon slices
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 onion
3 smashed garlic cloves
2 cups ketchup
1 cup peach preserves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard or 1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground paprika

Wrap the bacon around the middle of the thyme sprigs and tie with kitchen twine so you have a nice bundle. Heat a 2-count of oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the thyme bundle and cook slowly for 3 to 4 minutes to render the bacon fat and give the sauce a nice smoky taste. Add the onion and garlic and cook slowly, without coloring, for 5 minutes. Add all of the rest of the sauce ingredients, give the sauce a stir, and turn the heat down to low. Cook slowly for 20 minutes to meld the flavors. Put some sauce in a separate bowl for basting, reserving the remaining sauce for serving.



Ribs are best in a smoker or on the grill, but these can also be done in the oven. Bake the ribs without sauce (just the rub) for about two hours at 250 degrees. Be sure to put enough water in the bottom of your roasting pan so the ribs don't dry out, and add more if it steams away.

After about two hours pull the ribs out and roll them in a dish of the sauce, turning so all sides are covered. Return them to the oven for 30 minutes, then repeat the rolling in sauce maneuver. Return to the oven once more for another 30 minutes, remove and let rest.

I cut my ribs in two-rib sections, that way you can pull one out and use the other as a handle while you gnaw the meat off the bone.

I just made this for dinner last night. Damned good.

Had to improvise a bit for the rub - used fresh oregano & garlic rather than dried - omitted a couple things here & thre - threw in some Tony's creole seasoning - skipped the homemade sauce in favor of Sweet Baby Ray's. Ended up cooking them for about 8 hours Saturday - delicious!

 

[DubCoffman62]

Lately I've been going to the deli for cold cuts, fresh Italian bread and provolone, add some roasted pimentos, some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and you're in heaven. It's not really cooking but what the hell.

 

[knapplc]

Lately I've been going to the deli for cold cuts, fresh Italian bread and provolone, add some roasted pimentos, some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and you're in heaven. It's not really cooking but what the hell.

That's cooking. It's not a four-course meal, but it's still the combination of flavors you think sound good, which is all cooking really is.

If you have a George Foreman Grill, they make a great panini press. Toss some mustard, meat and cheese on a roll, squish, and you're a French chef!

 

[DubCoffman62]

That's cooking. It's not a four-course meal, but it's still the combination of flavors you think sound good, which is all cooking really is.

If you have a George Foreman Grill, they make a great panini press. Toss some mustard, meat and cheese on a roll, squish, and you're a French chef!

I've actually had a panina bought off a street vendor in Paris in an ally way just of Boulevard de Sebastopol in Paris.

 

[knapplc]

I've actually had a panina bought off a street vendor in Paris in an ally way just of Boulevard de Sebastopol in Paris.

My sister-in-law lives in Paris and the last time we were over there, the guy tried to screw over the Americans on the meat & cheese. She ripped him a new one in pretty salty French. Dude was pretty shocked that an American spoke his language so well, but she's learned the language from her husband, who swears impressively.

I loved France, and the food was outrageous. I don't do much French cooking at home, aside from paninis every once in a while. I consume plenty of their wine, though.

 

[WolverineMike]

marinated some flank steak last night in soy sauce/garlic/pineapple juice/honey/brown sugar

slapped it on the grill to a nice medium rare. let it rest for 8 minutes then sliced it thin.

served over brown rice I tossed with peas and cashews and topped with homemade pineapple salsa.

 

[DubCoffman62]

My sister-in-law lives in Paris and the last time we were over there, the guy tried to screw over the Americans on the meat & cheese. She ripped him a new one in pretty salty French. Dude was pretty shocked that an American spoke his language so well, but she's learned the language from her husband, who swears impressively.

I loved France, and the food was outrageous. I don't do much French cooking at home, aside from paninis every once in a while. I consume plenty of their wine, though.

The first time my wife and went I wandered about the city eating from random street vendors and bistros off the beaten path while she spent entire days in museums. The was very simple but tasty. My wife had horrible luck however. It seemed like each time we went out together for dinner she'd inadvertently order some sort of braised meat in a pot with potatoes and carrots. The last night we were there she was determined to enjoy her meal and she was trying to get our waitress who spoke English well to explain the menu to her. That didn't go well as the waitress told her "Ma'am, I'm very busy with many tables, I do not have time to explain for this!" She once again blindly ordered and ended up with the braise meat in a pot. The waitress could see she was upset and served us some complimentary champagne and sorbet afterward which was nice but my wife doesn't drink and prefers ice cream. We decided to walk back to out hotel with was pretty much a straight shot down Rue de Rivoli from Brasserie Bofinger near Bastille. On the way back some drunk dude stop and started pissing in the gutter and that was enough for her. We got a cab and vowed never to step foot in Paris again. She was actually there a few weeks ago though and had a much better time. She was with a friend that spoke french and knew the city pretty well and had some nice meals like the pressed duck (no clue what it is but sounded good).

 

[knapplc]

Paris can be a rough go if you're not used to it, and it's spotty on whether speaking the language is helpful. Most everyone there seems to speak English, which is good because Je ne parle pas Francais.

My in-laws live on Montparnasse not too far from le jardin du Luxembourg, which is a fantastic location just across the street from the Sixth. Tons of great food right on the street, boulangeries within easy walking distance that blow away any bread available anywhere in Nebraska and they have a market twice a week a couple blocks away with fresh.... everything. The olive stands alone are worth the plane ticket over there.

We haven't been back for a while, and now the in-laws are moving south of the city to some little village west of Orly, so it looks like I won't be spending much time in Paris anymore.

Duck is one of the French specialties, of course. I still have a tin of confit de canard in my wine cellar that I'm holding onto. It's probably rotted by now but I can't make myself open it without having more at hand. And I'm all out of foie gras, too. Foie gras and a bordeaux make the world's greatest snacky dinner.

 

[DubCoffman62]

Paris can be a rough go if you're not used to it, and it's spotty on whether speaking the language is helpful. Most everyone there seems to speak English, which is good because Je ne parle pas Francais.

My in-laws live on Montparnasse not too far from le jardin du Luxembourg, which is a fantastic location just across the street from the Sixth. Tons of great food right on the street, boulangeries within easy walking distance that blow away any bread available anywhere in Nebraska and they have a market twice a week a couple blocks away with fresh.... everything. The olive stands alone are worth the plane ticket over there.

We haven't been back for a while, and now the in-laws are moving south of the city to some little village west of Orly, so it looks like I won't be spending much time in Paris anymore.

Duck is one of the French specialties, of course. I still have a tin of confit de canard in my wine cellar that I'm holding onto. It's probably rotted by now but I can't make myself open it without having more at hand. And I'm all out of foie gras, too. Foie gras and a bordeaux make the world's greatest snacky dinner.

I walked there from my hotel, beautiful spot and did you notice that almost all of the trees are almost perfectly aligned? I walked through the Greek quarter on the way back. All of the restaurants there looked like overpriced tourist traps with beautiful facades so I bought a gyro from a street vendor which was excellent. The foi gras was delicious too although it's served a bit differently there than it is here, at least from what I've seen. Every time I've had it here it's slightly warmed up on the grill and served with toasted sliced of baguettes while over there each time it was served cold with what looked to me like Wonder bread.
I walked into one bistro and there was this guy smoking a cigarette, reading the paper with a dog at his feet. Some motherly looking woman was my server, I ordered the tartare which was delicious but I couldn't help noticing that it looked a bit like canned dog food with pickles and onion mixed in. Oh, I forgot to mention that the guy smoking and reading the newspaper was the cook.

 

[knapplc]

Yeah, I had experiences with the cooks like that. It's very different over there.

Do you ever watch Anthony Bourdain's show on Travel Channel? He's been a huge inspiration to me about street food. I used to focus on restaurants only and thought the street vendors would poison me, but Bourdain had a great point - these street vendors usually live in the neighborhood and serve food to the same people every day. If it's bad, they'll go out of business or get beaten up. They're usually one of your best bets for food.

 

[DubCoffman62]

Yeah, I had experiences with the cooks like that. It's very different over there.

Do you ever watch Anthony Bourdain's show on Travel Channel? He's been a huge inspiration to me about street food. I used to focus on restaurants only and thought the street vendors would poison me, but Bourdain had a great point - these street vendors usually live in the neighborhood and serve food to the same people every day. If it's bad, they'll go out of business or get beaten up. They're usually one of your best bets for food.

I've watched his show a few times but I find him a bit insufferable. The street food in Asia looks great and would love to go over and try it. If you ever go to Mexico definitely try the street food, it's fairly wonderful and you usually won't get ripped off like you will in a restaurant.

 

[WolverineMike]

we had a great experience in Paris. I think a lot depends on your attitude. If you come across as a "smug American" you'll usually have bad service and not much help. We learned if you at least try and speak the language, people generally helped us.

 

[DubCoffman62]

we had a great experience in Paris. I think a lot depends on your attitude. If you come across as a "smug American" you'll usually have bad service and not much help. We learned if you at least try and speak the language, people generally helped us.

I can speak it some but not fluently. I'm much better at reading it and understanding. I speak Spanish so that makes it easier for me to kind of take wild guesses because although they're two different languages there's enough similarities to make a connection.
Another thing, the French people I met were generally very nice, the only assholes I met were tourists from Canada. They were all wearing Canada hats or t-shirts (at least the group I met in Versailles) because, in their own words, they didn't want to be mistaken for Americans.