I'm a fan of Chef John (Food Wishes on YouTube), and get a lot of good tips and methods from his videos. I just followed his recent video "baked chicken and sausage gumbo".  In this video he has experimented with baking the roux rather than doing all the prep work on the stove. I followed his steps and it turned out nicely. The only variation was I did take it to the finish line in a large CI skillet and also used some wine to pay homage to my  first favorite video chef -- Justin Wilson. 

It was fun to try this a different way and it freed up time to make something else that my daughter wanted.

Two pictures because in my rush to try this I forgot the obligatory bed of rice.  LOL 

Just purchased the new Thermapen probe with the built-in IR sensor. It's pretty slick. Nice to know the temperature of the griddle before you pour in the pancake mixture.

Last night I used it to measure the temperature of the CI pan before I put in the lamb chops, then I used the Mk4 probe part to cook the lamp chops to 135º.  Lamb chops & oven fries. 

Cheese, you asked a few weeks ago about paella and I've been distracted every time I plan to make it. I did find a pic in an email from a while ago.  I followed a recipe for a guy on YouTube (Chef Johnny in San Antonio TX) and ended up trading some emails with him (thus the pic in an email).

This included many "traditional" ingredients, but the one thing that I have never seen elsewhere is the use of hard-boiled eggs.  I am the only one here who likes clams, scallops and mussels, so I usually don't include them.  In the place of those shellfish I have taken to using the eggs, which appearance-wise looks pretty cool and they also taste great once they have picked up  some of the spices.

The first few batches I made didn't turn out the way I wanted because I didn't get that crusty, crunchy texture to the rice on the bottom of the skillet. But I eventually got it so I can make a pretty good batch and have it when guests are visiting.

We did a Korean BBQ at home for Valentine's day.  It got a little bit smokey in the house.  Doing it outside would be better next time. 



Over the weekend we made hot pot since we still had the butane stove out.





One of my favorite burritos is a Don Miguel Steak and Bean burrito.   Unfortunately, it's not carried locally anymore so I tried to make my own version at home.  This is the first time ever making burritos at home.  They could have used some more spice/seasoning, but not bad.  I just used a pre-seasoned frozen sous vide steak and can of refried beans.











We ate 3 and froze 4.  I'll have to see how well they turn out when reheated from frozen.

Sunday, we made Indian.  I used some premade Tikka Masala sauce for the Chicken Tikka Masala and made an Indian Vegetable Curry based on an America's Test Kitchen recipe.  The recipe called for the canned diced tomatoes to be pureed in a food processor.  Rather than dirtying the whole food processor, I opted to use my stick blender.  Did a very nice job and less dishes!  Served with some microwaved Papadums.

I did use some file but that was near the end. Chef John's method (shown in the video) did work well and the roux was plenty thick and flavorful. 

So Rob, you used the filé more as a spice rather than a thickener...interesting. I need to get back into cooking a gumbo and a paella. It's been several years already.

OK...note to self...cook a gumbo, a paella & a jambalaya. 

Thanks Rob.

Authentic Indian food is definitely tastier and spicier than the stuff I've made.

Yup, there are a couple of Harris Teeters near me.  I don't shop there very often though.  Thanks for the heads up on the salmon!

Don't forget, next Tuesday is Mardi Gras!  Perfect time to make lots of cajun/creole food.  Last year I had live crawfish delivered.  I don't think we're gonna do that this year.  Maybe just make some gumbo and/or BBQ shrimp.

I also really wanna make Swedish Meatballs.  I think it's going to be hard to find lingonberries though.

Were the jalapenos spicy? 

I've had some jalapenos that had about the heat of a bell pepper and then occasionally you get some are "blow your mind" spicy.

Last night I made Swedish Meatballs.  I combined two different recipes that I had seen.  Turned out pretty good.  We also made some sous vide bread and butter pickles as a side and mashed potatoes.  I tried a different technique and boiled the whole yukon gold potatoes in heavily salted water.  Normally I always cube up the potatoes and boil in plain, unsalted water and season the potatoes after I've riced them.  I kinda liked this technique.















As I expected, I couldn't find any whole frozen lingonberries, but I did manage to find 2 different jars of lingonberry sauce/jam.  The lingonberries tasted to me just like cranberry sauce.  I wasn't really worth the trouble of finding or the cost.  The lingonberry sauce was $8.99!





This morning I made corned beef hash with an over easy egg and a slice of toast.

Wow, I love corned beef hash with an egg on top! My mom used to make that all the time when I was a kid. 

1. The jalapeños are just slightly hot because the seeds & membranes have been removed. It's that slight heat at the back of your throat contrasted with the sweetness of the corn meal & brown sugar crust and the sour cream. 

2. The Swedish meatballs look delicious, just the way I remember them. What's the sauce on the meatballs & potatoes?

3. I needed some lingonberry jam for a recipe. Found it at the local grocer...made in France...$9.99...tasted like cranberries.
Then I found some lingonberry jam at Williams Sonoma...made in Italy...$14.99...tasted like cranberries.
I'll not travel that path again.

4. I like to cut the potatoes into quarters and then boil in heavily salted water, it's easy & quick to cook.

5. The corned beef hash & egg looks delicious. I've never cooked that but I think I'm going to try it.

1. Ah, you removed the "good" parts of the jalapeno .

2. This was the first time ever making Swedish meatballs.  The sauce is just the remnants of the canola oil used to fry the meatballs, the fat/juice from the meatballs themselves, some butter, and finally heavy cream.  One of the recipes I saw made the gravy from 4 cups of veal stock and 2 cups of heavy cream.  That seemed like a lot of extra work whereas the other recipe just pan the pan sauce from the drippings and heavy cream.

3. I kinda wished I had done a bit more research on what exactly lingonberries tasted like.  On the other hand, I might have read other's descriptions as "cranberry" and probably not believed it until I tried it myself.  I wonder if frozen whole berries taste any different - I suspect they most likely taste just like a cranberry.

4.  The whole potatoes (albeit were on the small size) surprisingly only took about 20-22 minutes to cook through.  I might have actually slightly over cooked them as some of them split in half and fell apart as I was using a fork to transfer the cooked potato into the ricer.  I do really like the idea of cooking in salted water.  I think that seasons the potatoes more than just adding salt at the end.  That should have been obvious to me as I always insist on seasoning a soup broth at the beginning versus adding salt at the very end.  I also always cook my pasta in very heavily salted water.

5. We always buy Mary Kitchen Corned Beef Hash: https://www.amazon.com/Hormel-Mary-Kitchen-Corned-Hash/dp/B07GG7FNZW/ref=sr_1_1_sspa.  It's much better than Libby's in my opinion.  For some reason the corned beef hash at home never tastes like the generic kind served at most diners.  This is sorta like my quest to find the same tasting cottage cheese that you find on salad bars.  I've even bought the large industrial sized can of corned beef hoping it would taste the same as a diner, but alas it didn't.

Wow, I love corned beef hash with an egg on top! My mom used to make that all the time when I was a kid. 

Having the yolk run on top of the corned beef hash is the best!

Sometimes, something simple is very good and satisfying  .  Working at my desk yesterday, and Mrs. Z delivered this to me.    With the bonus slice of ham included ! 

Is that a grilled cheese and ham sandwich?  What kind of cheese is that?  The way it's melted looks amazing.

That bread is a brioche that HT carries. It makes amazingly tasty grilled cheeses and also French toast .

The brioche for French toast would really be amazing.

Costco Filet's for daughter's fifth birthday
St. Louis style ribs last night for family:
Chicken wings last week for weeknight dinner, Bad Byron's BBQ rub and tossed in Nando's Medium sauce to finish:
Costco brats and peppers for a weeknight meal:

For some reason I got hungry 30 seconds ago...

4.  The whole potatoes (albeit were on the small size) surprisingly only took about 20-22 minutes to cook through.  I might have actually slightly over cooked them as some of them split in half and fell apart as I was using a fork to transfer the cooked potato into the ricer.  I do really like the idea of cooking in salted water.  I think that seasons the potatoes more than just adding salt at the end.  That should have been obvious to me as I always insist on seasoning a soup broth at the beginning versus adding salt at the very end.  I also always cook my pasta in very heavily salted water.

I cook skinned potatoes in salt water, while whole ones (to peel after cook - or eat as-is for fresh/young ones that have soft skin) get to bath in unsalted water that is laced with caraway and some rough ground pepper.

@GoingMyWay  @Cheese   Have you tried IKEA Lingonberry Jam?  It's what they serve at the store with their Swedish Meatball Platter.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/sylt-lingon-lingonberry-preserves-organic-10308626/

Smaklig måltid!

Mike A.

Let's see: lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) translates to Preiselbeere in german, translating it back we're at the choices of:

cowberry [BOT.]   
lingonberry [BOT.]   
mountain cranberry [BOT.]   
lowbush cranberry [BOT.]

Pick one. All are tasty to meats when you want it sweater and fruity, whatever name you call it (because they're basically the same plant).

Is there a difference between peeling before cooking versus after cooking in terms of taste/texture?  I normally peel before because it's easier and faster - don't have to wait for the potato to cool before peeling and/or having the cooked potato start to crumble in your hands.

Sure there is, cooking them peeled bleeds them taste wise.

I would suggest to chat with a potato guy at your local farmers market, a good one will have more variety than 'potatoes' - not only in size and firmness but also in taste. You might be surprised should you usually only use the industry kind (which IMHO is bland and uninteresting).

To peel them after cooking make a cut around their waist pre-boiling and quench them in ice/cold water for just some seconds afterwards:

I suggest to not let them sit in the ice/cold water, 5-10 seconds exposure should be enough given quality potatoes.

Quote from: mike_aa on February 24, 2020, 03:28 PM

Have you tried IKEA Lingonberry Jam?  It's what they serve at the store with their Swedish Meatball Platter.

So @mike_aa .........does it still taste like cranberries? 

@Cheese   Jeeez, I dunno!  It tastes good to me, but I don't have the same discerning taste buds as all you aficionado cooks! 

Mike A.

I tried making pickled eggs for the first time, two different ways.  The dyed eggs with beets have a very mild flavor (only used 1/4 cup of vinegar). 







The other jar is too sour as the liquid is 100% vinegar.









Are there any other pickled egg fans out there?