Food Porn

a reply to: TNMockingbird

wrap bacon around those jalapenos and they are what we call "armadillo eggs".

Tonight we are doing some asado. I remembered i have a ton of guajillo and new mexico pods, so made a chili sauce.

I have a pic of the pot cooking ill post up in a little bit. along with my herb garden.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

YUM!
Do it.

I had a blast, I hadn't cooked for a crowd in a while and I really enjoyed it!

Here's the asado right before we served it. The sauce is simply chili pods (de-seeded), a medium onion, 2 heads of garlic, and beef broth simmered for about 45 minutes, then run through the ninja (adding more broth until it becomes smooth)

Served with fresh tortillas (flour), some refried beans, and cilantro/lime rice. Next to barbacoa, asado is my favorite mexican meat dish



As mentioned, the herb garden. This is an image of 2 panels with 10 plants total. These are mostly oregano and basil:



You can see some of the other herbs waiting for me to finish making them a panel to hang on sitting in the flower bed in small pots. In the back is my Birds of Paradise tree. Here's a bloom of it with a bee doing his thing (they love the tree and are always all over it):



Here's another angle of one of the panels (i made them from an old set of cabinet doors, some hose clamps, a few colors of paint, and 2 bicycle hooks), a blurry hummingbird in the foreground:




And a closeup of one of my hummingbird friends:



Obviously i don't have an amazing camera. LOL.

We are working on the fairy garden for my wife right now. I may make a thread about it when we get it all done.

Tomorrow we are making a manicotti, using some of that basil and oregano.

a reply to: TNMockingbird

I going to try your jalapeno poppers recipe and wrap a few with bacon under BFFT's advisement.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
In the back is my Birds of Paradise tree. Here's a bloom of it with a bee doing his thing (they love the tree and are always all over it):

I had to go an look this up. What a cool tree, sadly it would not do well in our zone otherwise I would get one. Do the birds use it as well?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

We planted it 4 years ago, and the birds came the first year. That year we put in 2 red yuccas, 2 purple sage, this tree, and a bunch of lantana. The effect it hd ont he birds is what drove everything else after.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

It looks amazing. I think you should do a thread on your garden once it is complete.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus
You're a chef, I'm hoping you can give me some input on a recipe idea.

I want to make cannellini bean and parsnip soup.

I want to create an unctuous seafood stock out of shrimp, crab, lobster shells and cook the beans and parsnips in that. Maybe add some white miso paste. Thinking about adding some crab meat to this soup. And maybe a roasted bread crouton with cheese.

Also, I want to buy large portabella mushroom caps and layer cheese and one-inch sliced eggplant and another layer of cheese stacked. Maybe a slice of tomato as well.

a reply to: Mousygretchen

call me when dinners served....that all sounds pretty fantastic (and rich)

originally posted by: Mousygretchen
I want to make cannellini bean and parsnip soup.

I want to create an unctuous seafood stock out of shrimp, crab, lobster shells and cook the beans and parsnips in that. Maybe add some white miso paste. Thinking about adding some crab meat to this soup. And maybe a roasted bread crouton with cheese.

While I am not a minimalist when it comes to cooking I do prefer to allow the ingredients to speak for themselves. I think there are too many components in that dish and would either do a nicely prepared seafood stock reduction finished with some cream and prepare the beans and parsnips with some garlic in a more simple manner.

Grilled croutons are my preferred method if we are going to the whole slice route, I find the char they impart adds another textural and flavor profile over just broiling. One other thing, I never mix cheese and seafood, I find the cheese easily overpowers the delicate notes of the seafood.

Also, I want to buy large portabella mushroom caps and layer cheese and one-inch sliced eggplant and another layer of cheese stacked. Maybe a slice of tomato as well.

I need more info/detail, how is this being prepared? What type of cheese, tomato and eggplant? How is this cooked?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Okay.. Well, the crouton/cheese thing was an idea from the French onion soup. Usually that has cheese and a crouton.

To your point about getting a charred flavor from a crouton, good point and I agree about letting good ingredients shine.
And yes, a sacred rule in cooking- don't mix cheese with seafood :p

I first tasted parsnips a few months ago. I was surprised at the sweetness. Anyway, I absolutely adore under-used veggies.

The mushroom-eggplant thing. I was thinking about using large Portabella mushroom caps and sliced eggplant about an inch thick stacked upon each other. With mozzarella or gruyere in between the layers. So it would look like--
Mushroom on the bottom, cheese, eggplant slice, cheese, tomato slice. Roasted in an oven for about 20 minutes. Ill post a picture if I can.

Silly ATS.. "I cannot upload images because of ad blocker" bleh.

a reply to: Mousygretchen

I would recommended peeling and salting the eggplant first to remove some of the water and then cooking it partially in a 400 degree oven prior to assembling your Napoleon. It will end up absorbing the butter fat from the cheese otherwise and end up getting a greasy texture. I suggest gruyere over the mozzarella as the former melts better. Sprinkle some on the top of the tomato so it does not turn into mush. Make sure you salt and pepper the vegetables.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Excellent advice.. I don't want a greasy eggplant!
Thanks. I guess the oven will help "dry out" the eggplant slice.

originally posted by: Mousygretchen
Thanks. I guess the oven will help "dry out" the eggplant slice.

Yes, the eggplant cells trap a good deal of moisture and if you have something with too much fat it replaces the water as it steams out which is why it gets that greasy texture. You want to brush a piece of parchment paper with vegetable oil, place your slices on there, into a 400 degree oven and flip it after 10 or 15 minutes until it is nicely browned. After that let it cool slightly and make your dish as you described.

a reply to: Mousygretchen

Make sure we get a pic or two of the finished products.

So instead of eating in the dining room last night I made a huge seafood boil, threw some newspaper down and dumped it all on the cocktail table on the front porch. Lobster, crabs, shrimp, mussels, clams, potatoes and corn done up with some Old Bay and a bunch of other seasoning. Some cold beer and cocktails for the girls and we had a good time. Certainly not the most artful presentation but there was nothing left but newspaper when we were done.

I cooked up my first ever Laksa tonight... it wouldn't have won any cooking competitions, but it was good enough for me.



I used the following recipe with some mild changes: King Prawn Laksa
Hokkien noodles instead of vermicelli
Added red capsicum and zucchini and spring onions
Added some basa fillets alongside the prawns

I halved the recipe and still ended up with enough for 4 people... I must use tiny bowls compared to others.

a reply to: kaelci

That looks very appetizing. Is laksa similar to red curry paste? I have a great Asian grocer near by where I can get pretty much anything I need.

How spicy was yours?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I'm not entirely sure.. there were jars for curry paste also, which I was tempted to get! I was debating between the laksa, and a nice seafood curry. Went with the laksa. It -is- a bit spicy though! And apparently it's dependent on how much you put into the creation. I only put in a tablespoon for myself because I prefer things mild, and I'm cooking for a child too, and it was a bit lip tingly, but not hot by any means. The child drank all the soup and left everything else, and it was the soup that was tingly! So.

There were a couple different laksa pastes in the Asian section where I was searching, and all of them had slightly different ingredients and concentrations on the label. So I deliberately chose the one with the least chili.

I chose this paste here: Picture of the jar
There's also a recipe to make it: Laksa Paste

a reply to: kaelci

I did a little searching, it is similar to Thai red curry paste as it comes in various types. I think I may try this as I enjoy Southeast Asian cooking. The spicier the better.