Fajitas, chicken or steak doesn't matter.

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:

quote:

Originally posted by Genorogers:

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
Maryland Crab Cakes. Very easy and very possibility the best you'll ever have.

What's your trick to keep the cakes from falling apart in the pan ?

Briefly, lump or claw crab meat, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper, beaten egg, mayo, salt, mix with Ritz crackers. Pan fry in combo of butter and olive oil til golden brown.

If you refrigerate the mix before forming the patties, they are easier and cleaner to make.

I'll give it a shot, thank you !

Ed, that’s a really hard one for me. I cook a lot, and I cook a lot of really great food, or so everyone says.

Based off your question;
“ If you were going to put forward one dish as your best, what would it be? Is it something you've been perfecting for decades?”

Crème Brûlée. I have been working on perfecting this since 2001. I feel that I have done just that. I would take the Pepsi Challenge with any chef, no matter their culinary education or fame, I am that confident that what I make is well, perfect.

I wish that you could taste this via YouTube.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Then I would ask him politely, yet firmly, to leave.

I honor Present Trump. I would never ask him to leave my house because of his preference for well done steak.

Chicken Cordon Bleu. With the chicken pounded very thin for many layers when rolled.

My German potato salad has drawn raves in the past, but the last two times out were met with meh. I do a fair chicken parmesan that my wife lets me have the kitchen to do. That's not easy for her. She runs a tight ship, and after I'm in there it looks like I've been experimenting with hand grenades for the government in there.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
Rack of lamb. It's super easy to grill to perfection, especially if you do sous vide.

I don't add much to it. S&P and garlic powder. If I'm doing sous vide, I'll toss in some sprigs of rosemary and thyme.

The secret ingredient is properly Frenching and trimming it, as well as removing as much fat and silver skin, while leaving the right amount of fat for flavor. Too much fat and it won't render properly, too little and it's drier than usual.

I cook in sous vide @134° approx 1hr, then sear on stupid high heat while painting with torch.

I grill it at ~400 on the grill for about 15-20 minutes. I don't know really what time and temperature, doesn't really matter. I just cook til seared well and internal temp is 133-135°. I prefer it on the medium side of midrare after carryover cooking.

Super simple main dish that seems way more impressive than it really is.

Made it last night for dinner. Easy, delicious, and looks fancier than it is.

Trimmed silver skin & fat:



Ready for bath:



After sous vide and searing:





Simple but fancy looking veggie side:



Ended up with seared lamb chops; grilled brussel sprouts; grilled garlic bread; and suddenly pasta (Parm something flavor).

One pot to make the pasta. wipe out and dry stock pot for sous vide. Fine paring knife. Tongs. Plus a few plates and silverware were all the dishes.

Perfect for prepping in advance and firing up the grill 30 minutes before serving just to sear, grill, toast everything. Plus easy cleanup/dishes at the end. Also all of it could be done in advance and transported to be finished cooking elsewhere.

Some excellent stuff in this thread. Thanks, guys. Too much to address all of it, but I'll hit some of the ones that jumped out at me.

Pipe Smoker, that frittata looks great. I forgot we do a similar one here. Used to be my thing until I taught my wife, now she makes it. I use a 13" wide, 2" deep cast iron skillet and do sausage crumbles, then remove them to add back later. Then I shred several potatos and onions, then brown them, and even out as a layer in the bottom of the pan as a "pie crust." Then I add a dozen or a dozen and a half eggs finely beaten with spinach, cheese, the sausage crumbles, then into the oven. Lots of leftovers that reheat very nicely, family loves it.

911Boss, those tacos look damn tasty. I am pleased to see that they are not over-filled, which is a beginner mistake that many never outgrow.

doublesharp, that's a simple meal any southerner worth their salt would be pleased to sit down to. Grew up with plenty of meals that looked just like that.

1lowlife, I'm gonna have to make that pot roast soon.

Jesse, that rack of lamb looks amazing. Damn.

Noah, your torch technique is on point, that's an incredibly even crust!

Being an asshole from El Paso, it seemed appropriate to me to make this on Independence Day. It wasn't as good the first day as I had hoped, but I packed it all away in storage containers filled with the juice from the pot and the leftovers have been amazing since given some time to soak up the flavor. We've been making quesadillas and street tacos. The meat is fall-apart soft and delicious. Gonna make a huge layered enchilada for dinner tonight and then freeze whatever else is left of the meat. I'll try to post some pics. I used this lady's recipe, worked out great. And you bet we actually have powdered Hatch green chilis. 3lbs of bagged carnitas cuts from Winco for $9, I'm calling it a win.



I just remembered I have something like ten pounds of Hatch green & reds, hot and extra hot in the freezer from when I drove through there last fall. Need to get into those soon.

Coffee marinated grilled pork tenderloin with orange risotto.

I just tried cooking something really serious for the first time in my life. It's a spatchcock whole chicken on a bed of potatoes,onions, and carrots, oven grilled using indirect heat on a Weber two burner propane grill. I used Veteran's brand Chicken & Pork spice rub on the chicken, with a little olive oil and butter rubbed under the breast skin and all over the bird before dousing it with the dry rub spice. I tossed the cut up potatoes, onions, and carrots in olive oil with some spices and cut up basil leaves before laying them out in the pan and placing the chicken on top.

No pics, I don't rate compared to you guys.

The eaters said it was good, though it's hard to gauge the sincerity of those statements, but it tasted pretty decent to me.

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Originally posted by Milliron:
Coffee marinated grilled pork tenderloin with orange risotto.

Wow. THAT sounds seriously good.

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Originally posted by wrightd:
No pics, I don't rate compared to you guys.

Nonsense.

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Originally posted by wrightd:
The eaters said it was good, though it's hard to gauge the sincerity of those statements[...]

It often is. Thankfully, my wife is pretty honest with me when I turn out something less than stellar. It doesn't always feel great, but then at least I know she isn't blowing smoke up my ass when I do knock one out of the park.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
I just tried cooking something really serious for the first time in my life. It's a spatchcock whole chicken on a bed of potatoes,onions, and carrots, oven grilled using indirect heat on a Weber two burner propane grill. I used Veteran's brand Chicken & Pork spice rub on the chicken, with a little olive oil and butter rubbed under the breast skin and all over the bird before dousing it with the dry rub spice. I tossed the cut up potatoes, onions, and carrots in olive oil with some spices and cut up basil leaves before laying them out in the pan and placing the chicken on top.

No pics, I don't rate compared to you guys.

The eaters said it was good, though it's hard to gauge the sincerity of those statements, but it tasted pretty decent to me.

I think that sounds damned good.

Wow - some mouthwatering choices up there. I can appreciate anyone who can crank out a complex recipe and make it work, mostly because it's a skill I don't have.

I'd like to see more recipes. For myself, I love eating Moules, ie, mussels, european style. Any randm cheap french, belguim, German, or netherland restuant can seemingly effortlessly make mussels taste great. I've tryed many, many recipes, and none of them tasted as good as anything I'd ever eaten in europe. Then one day, I tryed a Thai recipe I'd stumbled across. WOWO WOWOWOWOW! It was a whole nother ballgame.

Now I make it when I want to shine. Best of all, my buddys wife can't eat anything milk related (butter, milk, cream etc) and this has none of that in it! I pick the mussels and barranclesw off of the rocks, so super fresh. So good. Growing your own lemongrass and thai basil makes it even easier. Recipe follows:

Prep 15 mins, Cook 8 mins, Yield 4 Servings

Mussels are among the most flavorful ‘fruits of the sea’ and these Lemongrass-Coconut Steamed Mussels are plump, succulent and delicious. Littleneck clams can be used as well. They are steamed in an awesome Asian-style broth of lemongrass, coconut milk and Thai basil. Serve with lime wedges and crusty, grilled or toasted sourdough bread.
Ingredients
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (1 can)
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about a lime and a half)
8 oz. bottled clam juice
4 tablespoons brown sugar (not rounded)
4 tablespoons coconut oil
1 lemongrass stem, finely chopped or grated (pale part only with outer layer removed)
4 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed or finely minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons fresh Thai basil, cut into slivers
1/4 cup vegetable broth (or additional wine)
3 pounds mussels clams, cleaned of loose dirt and-or beards.
Fresh Thai basil sprigs for garnish
Lime wedges for garnish

Instructions
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice, clam juice and brown sugar; set aside.
Using a lidded pot large enough to contain all the mussels, set over medium heat, add the oil and when it is hot but not smoking add the shallots, then the lemongrass and ginger. Cook, stirring often until tender and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, do not allow the garlic to brown. Stir in the wine and vegetable broth.
Raise the heat to high and bring the pot to a boil. Add the mussels and cover with the lid and steam the mussels for 4 minutes, shaking the pot occasionally to redistribute the mussels. Remove the lid momentarily, and pour the coconut milk mixture over the mussels, sprinkle with the Thai basil and cover the pot again. Continue to steam the mussels, shaking the pot occasionally for another 3-4 minutes until the mussels have opened.
Remove the pot from the heat and transfer the mussels to individual bowls. Discard any mussels that have not opened. Ladle the lemongrass-coconut broth over the mussels and garnish with fresh Thai basil sprigs and lime wedges. Serve with crusty sourdough bread and a bottle of dry white wine.

05/30/21 Note: if using Vegeta in place of ¼ cup vegetable broth, 2 heaping (big) tablespoons is too much. Very salty. 1 regular spoonful should suffice.

In all seriousness, there really ought to be an official Sigforum cookbook.

Beef Bourguignon with bacon and multi-colored mini potatoes, brisket, mac salad, pulled pork, ropa vieja, trisket (tri-tip cooked like a brisket).









Tony.

quote:

Originally posted by Milliron:
In all seriousness, there really ought to be an official Sigforum cookbook.

“SIGforum cookbook”
https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...480060614#4480060614

Benny, that brisket looks amazing.

I forgot one of my old favorites to make, which is gyros with home made tzatziki. I've been making this recipe for twenty years now. Made tzatziki with the boy last week and we used some pre-made gyro meat strips my wife found at Costco that were pretty good. Made a damn fine meal. I cook in large amounts to have lots of leftovers, so bear that in mind with the recipes below and adjust for your own purposes. A lot of the details can be quibbled, but this is the way I do it, and it turns out great.

- Tzatziki -

You will need:
3 large English cucumbers
garlic
1 quart plain Greek yogurt (If you can get it, Zoi brand out of Auburn, WA is great)
lemon juice
cumin
dill
-maybe:
salt
pepper
vinegar
olive oil

Wash the cucumbers, and grate them through a fine grater into a large mixing bowl, skins, seeds and all. You may opt to peel them and scoop the seeds first, I do not. I like English cucumbers because they're a little denser and not as watery, but you could use whatever kind. If you leave the ends on and cut them in half, then you have a convenient handle for when you're grating down to the nub. Scoop the whole thing into a large, clean kitchen towel, bundle it up in the center and start twisting. Crank on that sucker and squeeze out all the juice you can. If you want to reuse the mixing bowl, dump the juice, rinse and dry the bowl so you're not adding too much moisture.

When finished, you should have a reasonably dry ball of shreds. Scoop your cucumber shreds out of the cloth into a large mixing bowl. Add 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice, and the garlic. How much garlic? Up to you. I used two tablespoons of the pre-minced stuff and it was about perfect, but we like garlic. The same goes for the dill, I used one package of what they sell in the stores here, which was a fistful size clump of sprigs. Processed, it was several teaspoons. Finely mince the dill (or use herb scissors like I do) and it. I like to pre-mix all these ingredients together at this point since it helps loosen up the cucumber.

Add the yogurt and combine. If you can get it, Zoi brand out of Auburn, WA is great, and is somehow available here. If not, any good, dense Greek yogurt ought to work fine. If you have runny yogurt, you can strain it in a cheesecloth to get it a bit denser so the end product isn't drippy. Thoroughly combine and add cumin to taste. Some people add salt, I skip it. Some people add olive oil - I do not, but you could. Some people add sugar. Those people have brain damage. A splash of white wine vinegar is also nice. Instead of that, I'll add a teaspoon or two of kalamata olive brine.

This part is important: let it rest in the refrigerator for at least several hours. Overnight is best.

- Gyro meat -
1lb ground lamb
1lb ground beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper


Preheat the oven to 325.
In a large bowl, combine lamb, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix well with your hands until just combined. You don't want to over-work the mixture.
Transfer the mixture to a loaf pan and pack it down firmly.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 155°.
Remove from the oven and let it rest.

Now, at this point, you have options. You can let it rest 15-20 minutes and you could just slice off the loaf and serve it on pita, or you could do it a better way.

Let the loaf cool, then refrigerate overnight. This will let the flavors develop, but will also make it easy to slice off very thin strips. You could also freeze it if you have good kitchen knives and the skills. Take these very thin strips and brown them in a pan. This step is the difference between "tastes pretty good" and "this tastes just like what I had at Spiro's downtown." I'm serious, totally worth it.

My gyro recipe is simply adding the above to a pita with fresh sliced tomato, red onion, romaine lettuce, and maybe some sliced kalamata olives.

Eggplant Rollatini or Gumbo.