Where my fellow cooks at???

[columbia]

Speaking of slow cooked meats, I'm going to try a brisket today with this rub:
http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs ... f_rub.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't have a fancy smoker like tifosi, but it should be good.

@badhands I haven't forgotten about that corned beef recipe....I just don't have my act together on all of the spices (and the 10 day period planned out).

[Shyster]

Penzey's Spices sells a pre-mixed blend specifically for making corned beef:
http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/ ... orned.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've used it before, and the result is absolutely delicious. Plus, my experience is that Penzey's products are tip-top in quality.

I can report that Branston Pickle is evidence that not every stereotype about a nation's cooking (in this case, British cuisine) is false. I would describe it as somewhere between "nasty" and "vile." And I'm someone who will eat just about everything. Oh well.

[tifosi77]

I don't have a fancy smoker like tifosi...

Nuttin' fancy about my set up. Just a Char Griller 1224 with the smoker box attached. Just got a rotisserie for it, too.


Also have a Char Griller 2137 Outlaw, which is basically the same grill scaled up 20%. Long story short, it doesn't have a lid.

EDIT: Wow, prices went up. Combined I don't think we paid more than $250 for the grills.

[tifosi77]

Today's festivities

Ramen Yokocho Fest


Kitakata (from Tokyo) is supposed to be quite the shiznit. And the 'ramen burger' from Jidaiya has been something of a phenomenon of late; they pop up at various locations and before they serve 25 orders they have 500 people in the queue.

[columbia]

Speaking of slow cooked meats, I'm going to try a brisket today with this rub:
http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs ... f_rub.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I split the difference between US and Central Europe and served it with some sauerkraut.

It was in the oven for 5 hours and got an ok crust. I'm glad that held off on being more aggressive about that, because it was perfectly cooked.

[FreeCandy44]

Today's festivities

Ramen Yokocho Fest


Kitakata (from Tokyo) is supposed to be quite the shiznit. And the 'ramen burger' from Jidaiya has been something of a phenomenon of late; they pop up at various locations and before they serve 25 orders they have 500 people in the queue.

I'd love to attend this.

[tifosi77]

Oh my god, what a total goat screw that ramen fest was.....!

Totally unprepared for the crowd that showed up. Venue was utterly overwhelmed. We got there at 11:45 and I estimated there were over 1,000 people in the line just to get in to the fest. You had to queue inside to get your food and drink tickets. Then queue at the ramen stand you wanted to try. Then queue to pick up your food. One of veeps at work got there early and she said the line to order from Kitakata (the Tokyo shop) was over 2 hrs.

With 1,000 people waiting to enter, I figured that was probably somewhere between a 4 and 8 hr wait. So Mrs Tif and I bailed and just went to our favorite ramen place in Torrance..... which is now under new management, and catering to a ‘younger‘ crowd. Oh boy... apparently catering to a younger crowd means serving sub par noodles with J-pop blaring in the dining room. So we went to a bar in our old hood in Redondo, where we learned that a pho place has opened 150 feet from our old apartment. Which... I mean, we love our house and our neighbohood. But we really miss Redondo. A lot. And now it has pho, which is like our favorite thing ever.

All this was after an unnecessarily troublesome fuel stop, and the total poop show that was the parking lot at Yokocho. I have a pretty short temper with stupid in general, but by around 1 o'clock this afternoon I swear I was ready punt a toddler.

[shafnutz05]

Fun fact: The eastern production facility for Nissin's Top Ramen noodles is located right off of US 30 in Lancaster, PA.

[Factorial]

Fun fact: The eastern production facility for Nissin's Top Ramen noodles is located right off of US 30 in Lancaster, PA.

Have seen that when going to the York Giant's beer garden.

[bh]

Well the world is just going Ramen crazy! My kids have been eating Ramen in ridiculous quantities lately.

[Shyster]

I love Asian noodles. Pho, lo mein, ramen (real ramen, not the instant college-student fodder) udon, soba, etc. Not to insult the Italians, but I would take a good bowl of miso ramen over anything from the Italian peninsula.

I recently watched the first episode of a documentary series from Korean television network KBS called Noodle Road. It covers the spread and history of noodles. According to the documentary, the oldest noodles ever found were recovered from a burial site in China associated with a 4,000-year-old Bronze-age Qijia culture. Interestingly, when the archaeologists ran DNA studies on the bodies at the site, they found the people were at least partially of Caucasian descent. They think they started out in Europe or western Asia and migrated further into what is now China looking for better pasturage. So it's possible that Europeans actually invented noodles on the road to China, and when noodles returned to Europe millennia later it was actually a homecoming of sorts.

[FreeCandy44]

Always been a big fan of Rice Noodles.

[tifosi77]

Reading the reviews of Yokocho on Yelp and it seems to be pretty universally derided for the poor planning and crowd control. One guy was bleating on about how he waited in line for four hours for a (half) bowl of Kitakata ramen, but 'it was totally worth it!'. Sorry, dude. The ramen could be accompanied with free 'servicing' from Chrissy Teigen and Kate Upton, I'm not blowing an entire Saturday afternoon queuing for it. I'm all growds up, now. To paraphrase Eddie Izzard, I have to do grown up things like watch telly and drive cars. And considering that 75% of the vendors at this thing are from the L.A. area, and we can (and did) get in our car and drive to a local ramen-ya and get noodles that are every bit as good as what's on offer inside your pokey event, I have no idea how anyone could justify going to this thing.

[Gaucho]

In fact... forget the ramen!

[viva la ben]

Oodles of noodles to you.

[columbia]

@tifosi

If you're going to rock that mustard sauce, you might as well get a hog bowl too:
http://gardenandgun.com/article/made-in ... uper-bowls" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bh]

Penzey's Spices sells a pre-mixed blend specifically for making corned beef:
http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/ ... orned.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's a really cool website. I hate trying to find spices in the grocery store. They seem pretty seasonable on prices as well.
Thanks!

[tifosi77]

@tifosi

If you're going to rock that mustard sauce, you might as well get a hog bowl too:
http://gardenandgun.com/article/made-in ... uper-bowls" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dude, those are really nice.

Very disappointed that he has no storefront to sell these; even if I never used it for its intended purpose, it would make a great service piece.

[tifosi77]

Mrs Tif had a very hectic work week, so I wanted to make tasty vittles for her on the weekend.

Saturday dinner: Torch-Seared Scallops, Red Pepper Sauce, Corn, and Almond-Blue Corn Dust

Spoiler:

Sunday lunch: Crab Salad With Alumni Mimosas

Spoiler:

Sunday dinner: Halibut SV, Roasted Parsnip Puree with Vanilla, Ginger-Cardamom Broth

Spoiler:

[shafnutz05]

Mrs Tif had a very hectic work week, so I wanted to make tasty vittles for her on the weekend.

Could you offer your consulting services in the Thread of Love?

[mac5155]

ha.

[mac5155]

Made some baked chicken breast. Brined it first. I can't believe I've been missing brining this long. It literally makes the chicken 3x better

[blackjack68]

My first stab at "Asian".

Boneless chicken thighs pounded out, dusted with Chinese Five Spice, browned and then cooked in Thai chili sauce until carmelized. Cut into strips and served over rice.

Will make again.

Oh, it was based off a Sticky Chicken recipe I saw Jamie Oliver do, but I think he added some sesame seeds at the end and toasted them a little.

[columbia]

Which one is Cal Ripken and which one is Tom Colicchio?

tifosi doesn't get to play, because he doesn't like baseball.

[count2infinity]

Spoiler:

Colicchio on left, but I'm a huge Top Chef fan. They are remarkably close in looks.