Cooking

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Streetwise on the subject of 2 pans. If you got yourself the right "chicken fryer" you could have 2 pans but one would be a pot. 

 

[Flumpweesel]

Foods I freeze, pretty much anything I cook I make at least one extra portion and decide if it's tomorrow food or freezer food.

But some foods are best cooked in high quantities and anything with tomatoes tastes better after freezing in my opinion.

The list of favourites are;

Chili , Bolognese, arribatta style sauces, stews, casseroles, currys, hashes and hotpots. The only difference when I cook to freeze is I reduce the sauce a bit further than normal and add a little bit of water when I'm reheating (mircowave or pan). 

All frozen in single portions (bags squished flat). I quite often cook them in massive quantities because it saves so much time later.  Also anything that befits from a slow cook (anything with beef) this process pays really off.

[Tanked]

On 12/3/2021 at 12:53 PM, KaitieG said:

My brother has exactly 3 pieces of cookware: a cast iron griddle, a cast iron fry pan, and a cast iron dutch oven.  I have the same lodge pan that @Streetwise bought and I like it well enough for things--especially bread and pizza, but my favorite is this one.  It's an old garage sale find, weighs about half what the newer lodge pan weighs and has this nice smoooooooth finish.  

I wish I had only 3 pieces of iron cookware.  I would choose a garage/flea market find over a new piece of cast iron any day.

 

On 12/3/2021 at 7:32 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

Come to think of it, cooking alone wasn't so bad.  😜

Except when you have to eat the mistakes!

[lefty o]

On 12/4/2021 at 9:24 AM, Tanked said:

I wish I had only 3 pieces of iron cookware.  I would choose a garage/flea market find over a new piece of cast iron any day.

 

Except when you have to eat the mistakes!

thats why you are supposed to have a dog. the dog will love the mistakes!🤪

[eatyourpeas]

On 12/4/2021 at 7:55 AM, lefty o said:

thats why you are supposed to have a dog. the dog will love the mistakes!🤪

... and the peas! 🤣

[lefty o]

On 12/4/2021 at 10:00 AM, eatyourpeas said:

... and the peas! 🤣

dang right!!!

[Patrick_G]

What a great thread. It’s cool that so many of us are using cast iron pans! I’m guessing most of us have gas stoves, but is anyone using these pans on a smooth surface electric? 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

On 12/4/2021 at 10:58 AM, Patrick_G said:

is anyone using these pans on a smooth surface electric?

I want to know how they perform on an induction range! 

[Patrick_G]

On 12/4/2021 at 4:07 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

I want to know how they perform on an induction range! 

I’ve read good things about cast iron on induction. It seems like a good match right? 

Haha just got this text from my wife! 😀

Edited December 5, 2021 by Patrick_G

[eatyourpeas]

Gotta love the Goodwill store!!! 😍

@Patrick_G and @OnlyGenusCaps, they flawless on electric and induction. Very efficient!

[Patrick_G]

On 12/4/2021 at 4:29 PM, eatyourpeas said:

Gotta love the Goodwill store!!! 😍

I agree! This is actually an ongoing estate sale store that’s open every other weekend. It’s sort of a gathering place for a certain type of Vashon resident. There usually a line at opening time on fridays! 

[eatyourpeas]

On 12/4/2021 at 4:33 PM, Patrick_G said:

I agree! This is actually an ongoing estate sale store that’s open every other weekend. It’s sort of a gathering place for a certain type of Vashon resident. There usually a line at opening time on fridays! 

Lucky you! 😀

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Patrick_Gyour wife is doing it right! She knows where her food comes from! 
I used an induction cooktop for years and yes the cast iron did well. However, it was difficult once it got too hot to control and get it down and for that reason when we moved and started over with the kitchen I went to a dual fuel range. The fine adjustments of a good gas range top just can’t be beat. Plus these new burners are spectacular, at altitude I can boil water in minutes. I just think in general with all the work people like Kenji-Alt, NY Times, America’s Test Kitchen and Serious Eats are doing I just think it makes it so easy to be a home cook.  
Cast iron is also excellent for baking, cornbread is crustier, breads more evenly heated and baked , and pizzas there’s nothing like a personal pan pizza using sourdough. 

And holy schnikes glad I am not in Vashon, I’d be bankrupt by now and morE overweight then I already am from all the fine food I’d cook on all my vintage cast iron! 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Beardedbillygoat1975 ATK! Woot! The Nerd's kitchen go to buddy!!!

[Patrick_G]

On 12/4/2021 at 9:43 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

I just think in general with all the work people like Kenji-Alt, NY Times, America’s Test Kitchen and Serious Eats are doing I just think it makes it so easy to be a home cook.

I agree and I’ll add YouTube. I love that I can learn how home cooks around the world cook. 

 

[Tanked]

What are your least favorite/used Ironware?

I purchased my newest and least favorite ironware in the '90s.  The 10" grill skillet and the Perch cornbread pan were a good idea at the moment, but a a real pain to clean.  There is probably something wrong with my technique because for me, the Perch pan makes a better Jello mold.  I can't get the cornbread out of the pan with the scales intact.

[JettsPapa]

On 12/3/2021 at 6:32 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

True fact.  There is nothing like cooking a meal for an appreciative partner.  However, that can then flip on its head when it leads to the seemingly inevitable result of offspring who then respond to involved and time consuming cuisine with "I don't want that on my plate!"  Come to think of it, cooking alone wasn't so bad.  😜

When our children were young and didn't want certain foods my wife would often try to accommodate them.  I'd tell her "We're not running a cafe."

[Patrick_G]

On 12/5/2021 at 9:12 AM, Tanked said:

What are your least favorite/used Ironware?

I purchased my newest and least favorite ironware in the '90s.  The 10" grill skillet and the Perch cornbread pan were a good idea at the moment, but a a real pain to clean.  There is probably something wrong with my technique because for me, the Perch pan makes a better Jello mold.  I can't get the cornbread out of the pan with the scales intact.

I don’t have a piece that I dislike but my “lightweight” Wagner 10 get the least use. I like the thickness on the heavy weight lodge skillet better. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I have a son with sensory issues. If it does not look right, smell right, chew right then it’s a no go. Baking usually works out but other attempts lead to @JettsPapas report of running a cafe and preparing 3 meals. 

[Patrick_G]

On 12/5/2021 at 10:22 AM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

I have a son with sensory issues. If it does not look right, smell right, chew right then it’s a no go. Baking usually works out but other attempts lead to @JettsPapas report of running a cafe and preparing 3 meals. 

My daughter has mental health issues that manifest in similar ways when it comes to food. It can be tough! A ton of collaborative problem solving has resulted in detente on the issue. She doesn’t have to eat anything she doesn’t want but she’s not allowed to complain about it either! Fortunately with foods that aren’t on her no go list she’s an adventurous and enthusiastic foodie. 

[JettsPapa]

On 12/5/2021 at 12:22 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

I have a son with sensory issues. If it does not look right, smell right, chew right then it’s a no go. Baking usually works out but other attempts lead to @JettsPapas report of running a cafe and preparing 3 meals. 

For a while our children were eating a lot of spaghetti.  They didn't know until years later that my wife was putting vegetables they wouldn't otherwise eat into a food processor and adding them to the sauce.

[Patrick_G]

On 12/5/2021 at 1:05 PM, JettsPapa said:

For a while our children were eating a lot of spaghetti.  They didn't know until years later that my wife was putting vegetables they wouldn't otherwise eat into a food processor and adding them to the sauce.

When my kid was little she wouldn’t eat mushrooms so I made up a name “chicken possum” and she loved them. 😆

[PineSong]

For any of you who despair about your children having a narrow range of foods they'll accept, I was a kid who ate only about 7 things. I hated many textures, colors, origins of foods. Saltines were my idea of the perfect food! Parental pressure did not sway me and likely made the situation worse (with good intentions all the while).

Then in college I lived in a very diverse apartment complex and was introduced to Indian food, Lebanese food, Chinese food, Korean food...no pressure, no power struggle, and I dove in and never looked back. Your kids may also choose more widely when they are on their own 🙂

@Streetwise  --my favorite things to make a big batch of and freeze smaller servings of are broccoli- rice casserole, a recipe called "Betty Crocker Impossibly Easy Vegetable Pie" you can find online (and you could put meat in it if you are a meat person), baked ravioli, and a recipe called "Beefless Stew" made with portabella mushrooms but could of course be made with actual beef. Kinda heavy on the comfort food--Italian mom cooking dies hard.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@JettsPapa then they started making pasta out of veggies....genius. 

[dasaltemelosguy]

I've been scouring this thread jealously as I consider myself an old NYC 'foodie', in the consumption sense.  I envy people who can create great flavors and dishes. In this art, you people are creators, I'm a mere consumer. 

To that end, I'm little more than a tourist here, but I may have something to add of interest. It requires some explanation but I'll be mercifully brief!

My grandparents were all from Italy. Two from Napoli and two from the Calabria area. All lived in NJ & NYC and none spoke any English (although I think one of my grandmothers knew more English than she chose to let on!).

I spoke no Italian save a few curse words and I can read a mean menu 😋but that's about it!  Family gatherings when I was growing up looked not unlike a scene from Goodfella's, minus the money and murders! 

I remember seeing them working feverishly on Sunday's ragu. They would literally begin around 4am as a real, Calabrian "sauce" is an all-day event. 

This classic Italian meat sauce recipe is from these people. As they 'came over' in the late 1800's, it's probably from the 19th century, but who really knows. It was scribbled down on paper in Italian, sandwiched inside of an old cookbook, literally covered in sauce stains, written by one of my grandmothers in the 1970's, and my father translated it for me. 

It is very simple but laborious and takes a minimum of 8 hours to make (my wife feels after 4 hours of cooking it is still considered "raw")! And indeed, the character changes with the hours, especially as the meat liquifies and blends with the tomatoes. The acid cooks off to create a smooth, almost drinkable "gravy" (commonly referred to as "gravy" in NJ, but as "sauce" in NY!). 

For most of you, it's probably dated and simplistic. It's at least 100 years old if not more and the references are all 'pots and flames'. We added modern references for substitutions and ingredients. While simple, it's a lot of work and literally takes an entire day to make, commercially impractical for most and difficult to find in restaurants. 

It is a rich marinara in 2 hours but by hour 8, it's a thick, rich, creamy, oily, smooth, almost drinkable elixir of glorious, liquified meat and tomato, that soon becomes deceptively decadent, dunk-able, debilitating, seductive, statin doubling, blood pressure raising, artery clogging perfection.

This is but one small example of how they did it in the old country!

 

Calabrian Style Sauce with Meatballs

Ingredients for Sauce:
2 cans tomato paste (Amore, Cento, or Trader Joe’s).
1 large can San Marzano crushed tomatoes.
3 tablespoons garlic powder.
3 large dried bay leaves.
4 large cloves of fresh garlic.
1 cup water (use ½ at a time).
1 teaspoon basil (dried).
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (to line the pot).

Directions for Sauce:
1.    In a medium-to-large pot, sauté the tomato paste in olive oil.
2.    Add garlic powder, ½ cup water, and basil to the paste.
3.    Simmer for 5 minutes.
4.    Add 1 large can crushed tomatoes and ½ cup of water. 
5.    Bring to a boil on high heat.
6.    Turn down heat to medium and simmer slowly for a minimum of 5 hours.
7.    Remove skin from 4 large cloves of fresh garlic and slice the garlic as thinly as possible (use razor blade).
8.    Fry garlic in a small pan with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, watching carefully that it browns and is slightly crisp but does not burn.
9.    Add garlic with all of the olive oil in the pan to the sauce.
10.    While sauce is simmering, prepare the meat (as below) and add it to the sauce at the 5th hour and continue simmering for 3 additional hours.

Ingredients for Meatballs:
1 ½ lbs. ground beef.
2 eggs.
½ cup Italian grated cheese (Locatelli Pecorino Romano is best but Trader Joe’s Romano is good too-avoid parmesan).
2 tablespoons Italian parsley (dried).
2 teaspoons garlic powder.
2 slices white bread soaked in water, pressed to remove excess water, broken into small pieces (soaked and wringed bread is better, avoid breadcrumbs).
3 tablespoons olive oil (for frying).
¼ lbs. Auricchio Provolone (or use the sharpest Provolone available - sub Parmesan cubes, or mozzarella cubes for a milder experience).

 

Directions for Meatballs: 
1.    Mix all ingredients together including the bread pieces.
2.    Mix very well and form into meatballs.
3.    Cut Auricchio Provolone into about ½” cubes. It melts and flows into the meat and keeps the center moist.
5.    Place in a large pan and brown the meatballs.
6.    When meatballs are browned and slightly crisp on the outside, put them in the sauce.

 

7.    Italian Sausage:
8.    Use ½ lb. Italian sausage. Choose a sausage with a lot of fennels. 
9.    Brown in a pan with olive oil, and place in the sauce.
(All of the meats should be fully covered and simmering in the sauce for 3 more hours while adding water for evaporation)