Where my fellow cooks at???

[count2infinity]

tif, what do you do for a living?

[tifosi77]

I'm a paralegal at a video game publisher. I read contracts all day and throw Nerf darts at my coworkers.

[count2infinity]

okay... i'm just seeing all this awesome food you have and wondering how you find the time.

[tifosi77]

Eh, not that much time. My wife went out to meet a girlfriend for breakfast at 9, and I started prep about 30 minutes after that. Finished up all the prep about 30 minutes ahead of our guest's 1 pm arrival, and then just had a few bits and bobs to cook a la minute to serve.

Not really all that much work, tbh. Thanks for the compliment, tho! I want people to be excited about the idea of playing with their food and having fun in the kitchen.

[columbia]

I had this (once again) over the weekend...

Classic Pork Picadillo-Stuffed Chiles in Tomato Broth
http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/view?recipeID=205" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.thepauperedchef.com/images/2 ... eno-27.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:drools:

It's fairly complex recipe, but the takeaway was that you can stuff a properly roasted poblano chile with just about anything, as long as it it covered with the batter in this recipe and fried. It's basically a meringue + flower.

For leftovers, a nice chipotle salsa subbed in well, when the tomato/cinnamon sauce was long gone.

[tifosi77]

There are few things that satisfy my cravings for Mexican food like stuffed chiles..... woot!

Going back to the earlier discussion about the impending CA foie gras ban...........

Chefs fight foie gras ban, plan simultaneous blow-out dinners

More than 100 California chefs have formed a group called the Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards (yes, the acronym spells CHEFS) to fight California's pending ban on foie gras. The ban on fattened duck or goose liver is set to take effect July 1.

The chefs -- including Joachim Splichal of Patina Restaurant Group, Charles Phan of the Slanted Door and Vinny Dotolo of Animal -- have signed a charter to promote a proposed Humane and Ethical Foie Gras Act that would mandate regular audits by certified animal welfare experts; cage-free birds; trained caretakers; feeding methods that do not harm the animal in any way; and reasonable limits on fattening.

The great thing about these proposed 'standards' is they represent best practices to which the foie industry (such as it is) pretty much already adhere. I think it would be frickin' genius if the CA ASSembly took this proposal to heart and it made it the law for foie producers to..... well.... to keep right on doing what they're doing.

[columbia]

Based on the last names in my elementary school, there has to be at least one Polish cook here.
Anyone with a drop-dead good recipe for haluski?

[tifosi77]

I do not have a good haluski recipe, but I do have a decent Internet connection.

*Googles 'haluski'*

Oooh, looks tasty!

[jimjom]

Based on the last names in my elementary school, there has to be at least one Polish cook here.
Anyone with a drop-dead good recipe for haluski?

Sweat cabbage, onions, bacon fat, butter w/salt & pepper to taste till its carmelized. Add noodles in last 5 minutes to get them nice and brown too.

[tifosi77]

Fancy it up by substituting duck fat for the bacon fat.... but still include bits of bacon.

*boom*

Or...............................................................

Steam the cabbage in whatever apparatus you deem appropriate to the task.

Make a basic egg pasta dough (1 whole egg, +1 yolk, 100 grams of AP unbleached flour), and knead for 10-12 minutes to develop gluten. Set aside to 'cure' for half an hour.

Crisp up a few rashers of bacon and drain on paper towels. Reserve some of the rendered fat.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

While the pasta is resting, cut the cabbage into small pieces and place in the carafe of a blender along with a tablespoon or so of the reserved bacon fat and enough chicken stock to get the blades working, and blitz until smooth. Season with S&P and balance the richness with some acid (Sherry vinegar) and allow to cool. Transfer the cabbage puree to the canister of a siphon and charge with two dealy bobs of CO2. Place in the fridge until needed, but be sure to allow to come to room temp before siphoning.

Saute the onions in whatever fat until they get caramelized, and transfer to the carafe of a blender with some chicken stock and blitz until smooth and allow to cool. Transfer the puree to a tall, narrow container and add in a tsp of soy lecithin (available at most health food stores). Set aside until ready to plate.

Make a quick sauce using grain mustard, garlic, piment d' Espelette and a little of your favorite German lager. Boil, simmer, reduce, strain, reserve.

Roll out the pasta dough into one 4" square sheet that's as thin as you can get it for each guest (or until you run out of pasta). Drop the pasta, one sheet at a time, in the boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes. Remove and quickly pat dry with a paper towel.

While the pasta cools, use an immersion blender to blitz the reserved onion puree for a few minutes until it starts to form a foam. The soy lecithin will stabilize this 'air' for about 20-25 minutes, so once you make it you have to be quick about your plating.

Arrange the pasta in the center of a plate. Swirl the mustard sauce, staring in the center of the pasta and moving out in increasing circles. Siphon a thumbnail-size dollop of the cabbage puree half way between the center point of the sheet and each corner. Fold each corner into the center to make a smaller square, and press down on the middle and around each cabbage bulb to get the pasta to stay closed. Using a large spoon, carefully - yet artfully - place some of the reserved onion 'air' over the pasta packet. Thin out some of the reserved sauce with a little warm water and spoon around the edges of the plate. Garnish with micro arugula and chives.

Serve.

[tifosi77]

Wait....... did I just massively over-think that?

[Godric]

Wait....... did I just massively over-think that?

lol. tldr, maybe I will read it tomorrow though... I don't know how you have the energy to write something so long I can't even read it at 11pm lol

[tifosi77]

Well, to be fair I'm on the West Coast. When I typed it it was only a quarter to nine here.

[columbia]

What happened in here last night?

[count2infinity]

my favorite part of tif's post

Crisp up a few rashers of bacon and drain on paper towels.

great word.

[count2infinity]

my baking stone broke

when looking online there have been many that have said using a 1/2" steel plate is actually better for cooking pizza and breads in ovens that can only get up into the mid 500's. I'm intrigued because this would solve the problem of breakage and would also be easier to clean. Anyone have experience with this (*cough* tif *cough cough*) and where to buy?

[tifosi77]

Had one of the most spectacular fail bombs of my life last night. A few months ago, I made a dish with cod, a Madeira reduction, and purees of celery root puree and chorizo that were both pretty good. Needed some tweaking, but overall it wasn't bad. Decided I'd make it for my wife last night..... and..... well............

I wanted to get some color on the plate so I decided I'd puree some purple carrots. The store didn't have any, but I have purple stuck in my head. I remembered a Heston Blumenthal recipe for a red cabbage gazpacho, so that's what went in my basket.

When all was said and done, I wasn't able to thicken the liquefied cabbage enough to make a puree consistency. So I decided I'd add some xanthan gum and process away.

Whoops................... I put probably 5x the amount of xanthan gum I should have used, and I almost instantly went from runny purple stuff to something more akin to a pink mousse-y gloop. And all the flavor went away, too. And this thing had the blitzed cabbage, plus was flavored with Dijon, champagne vinegar, thyme and garlic. But all it tasted like was..... meh. And it looked absolutely silly, too.

The Masala-spiced fish was cooked well, and the Madeira reduction (flavored with basil, cardamom and shallot) was good, if a little too sweet. Chorizo is always good.

But that darned pink foam..........

my baking stone broke

when looking online there have been many that have said using a 1/2" steel plate is actually better for cooking pizza and breads in ovens that can only get up into the mid 500's. I'm intrigued because this would solve the problem of breakage and would also be easier to clean. Anyone have experience with this (*cough* tif *cough cough*) and where to buy?

I'd just try to find a stone that can take the heat. The best substitute I've always heard is an inverted sheet tray. Just make sure it goes on the bottom of the oven, not on the bottom rack. (Same holds for the stone, too)

[columbia]

Old school eye-talian tonight:

sausage and peppers

[tifosi77]

Haha..... here it is..............

Fail, In Pink

[the wicked child]

I got a pizza stone for Xmas, but thus far my endeavors have been... less than satisfactory. At least, not any better than using a normal pan. I know part of this perhaps not knowing the "tricks" or such... but also probably need some suggestions in regards to dough and sauce and the like.

I'm not looking to make super gourmet pizzas necessarily, but to make a damn good pepperoni pizza would be a nice start.

[BigMcK]

Duck!

Why is it that duck can be cooked med-rare and you don't get ill like you would with chicken or turkey? Is there a safe temp that must be reached? I've had duck breast before that looked a bit pinkish (not that pink foam stuff in Tif's photo, tho), but it didn't dawn on me that it wasn't as done as other fowl must be to be safe to eat. A previously frozen duck completely thawed is going on the smoker tomorrow and a BBQ buddy told me that it doesn't need to reach 165 - 175 to be safe to eat. Is there truth in that statement?

Thanks, and Cheers!

[tifosi77]

Figure out what ducks do that chickens and turkeys don't (or rather can't), and you'll be on your way to the answer.

[count2infinity]

Figure out what ducks do that chickens and turkeys don't (or rather can't), and you'll be on your way to the answer.

they float... they're a WITCH! BURN THEM!

[tifosi77]

This weekend's adventures included okonomiyaki on Saturday, but I didn't photograph it.

Today for lunch I made:

Ankimo (monkfish liver) with Nira (garlic chives), Scallion Whites and a Ginger-Ponzu Sauce with Sriracha

Didn't quite get the liver right; which is a shame, cos this is very much considered 'Japanese foie gras'. It is prepared like a torchon, except instead of a towel the liver is wrapped in a double layer of plastic and foil, and then it is steamed rather than poached. The end result is delicious, however you cook it. But mine was just a tiny bit..... off.....

That was a starter course for:
Juniper-Crusted Red Snapper with a Ginger-Rum Dashi Broth

Not a very good idea to pair a rum-based broth with juniper spice. Just.... did not work. The broth will end up in another dish as some point, tho. Cool combination of flavors.

[columbia]

Eric Ripert alert for tifosi:

Three Dishes at Le Bernardin
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/ ... bernardin/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;