Recipe Thread

[Annik]

Here's an amazing thing good for all kinds of food. A roux!

A roux is a kind of thickening agent (like corn starch) and it's great for soups, sauces and gravy. You can have a light roux or a reeeeaaaally dark roux. The best part is that it's super simple and cheap. it's equal parts butter and flour.

Melt the butter down and then stir in the flour. Keep stirring, don't let that sucker burn. I like to get mine about the color of peanut butter. That's roux!

To make a boss cheese sauce for mac and cheese (or whatever), add milk, allow it to thicken and then add a crazy amount of shredded cheese.

You can use a roux in your soup to thicken the broth!

You can add it to meat-juices for gravy!

Roux is wonderful!

[Jackalope]

Roux + milk + cheese + noodles = win

[Annik]

Roux + milk + cheese + noodles = win

Oh yes, it does! The best part with this cheese sauce is that you don't have to bake everything. It's a pretty quick, homemade mac.

[Jackalope]

Cthulhu's World Famous(*) BBQ Ribs 'n' Chicken

Start with the rub -

1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup paprika
2 tablespoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder

Mix all ingredients thoroughly with a wire whisk ensuring that there are no clumps. Adjust amounts to taste. Makes about two cups.

Now for the meat -

1 or more racks of pork spareribs
Chicken thighs, as many as you like.

Trim excess fat from rack of pork ribs (trim off the brisket portion if you like, I usually leave it on), and trim excess skin and fat from chicken thighs.

Apply rub liberally to all outside surfaces of meat, marinate refrigerated, from 2-24 hours.

Smoke with the wood or charcoal of your choice at 225-250F until meat is done (185F measured with a thermometer). Rest and serve!

Expect spareribs to take up to 5-6 hours, baby backs will take less, maybe a lot less. Check every hour or so until they're close to done. Keep the heat as stable as you can.

(*) It's famous in my imaginary world.

[The Grand Nudger]

Greens & Soup Beans.

You're gonna need a big ass crock pot or a massive dutch oven (or both) for this one, and when you're done it'll feed an army.


-Prep-
1lb dry beans (I like the 15 bean mixes you can get at any grocer, just toss out the spice packet that comes with it - it's garbage)
2tbsp vinegar or lemon juice.

Rinse the beans, pick out any stones or bugs, and cover them with cold water to soak overnight. Whatever container you have just fill it to about two inches over the beans. The vinegar or lemon juice goes in, stir it around a little bit (soaking helps with digestion - less gassy beans - the vinegar is for something else I'll cover later). You can follow the directions for a quick soak on the beans if you like (quick boil, rinse and set) but I'm lazy, so I like to let em lie overnight.

After the beans have soaked and you're ready to cook you'll need-

5 large carrots (peeled and diced)
5 large celery stalks (rinsed and diced)
1 large sweet onion (peeled and diced)
1 large garlic clove, crushed/diced (about 2 teaspoons)
1 lb greens (I like to mix collards and kale) roughly chopped (if you don't like greens, leave em out)
1 lb salt pork or bacon (cube the saltpork to about 1inch - or chop the bacon - actually prefer salt pork for soups - the salt helps to offset the blandness of beans)

Toss the salt pork or bacon into a large dutch over or a huge skillet (pref one you can cover) with tablespoon of veggie oil (or bacon grease) on low and get it cracklin. Once you've got some of the fats rendered dump the carrots, onions, celery and garlic in, give it a stir, and cover for about 5 minutes (till the onions are translucent) stirring occasionally throughout. Once the onions are translucent toss the greens in, stir, and cover till they just begin to wilt.

Now we have delicious pork-ey goodness all over everything. Here in the last bit we're going to make the broth, give it a quick boil (safety first motherfuckers) and then transfer it to a slow cooker (on low) or turn the gas down as low as we can get it and let it go for about 8-10 hours. To do this, you'll need.

Enough chicken broth to cover the whole shebang (@ 50 ounces - the big swanson cans you see at thanksgiving - or just make your own)
14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes in tomato juice.
-a note on tomato juice, vinegar, lemon juice - any acid really. You'll hear people advise you not to add these things until the beans are fully, or nearly, cooked. They all slow the process of the bean becoming tender. In this recipe, with this cooking time - we actually want that to happen.....so that we can cook the beans in the broth long enough for them to absorb flavor without turning to mush. Redneck cooking 101 - slower is always better. If you don't like chunks of tomatoes you can use V-8. I love V-8 for any vegetable soups, and the V-8 with pepper really helps to spice em up. Keeping the beans from getting tender too early is especially important if you're using a bean mix - like we are- because not all beans cook at the same rate. Some -will- be done before others and regardless of our efforts and some -will- split. This is not an issue, it just thickens the broth. Overall, we want the insides of the beans to be tender, but we want the skins to stay tough enough to keep the beans together. Feel free to add the tomato at the end, omit the vinegar in the rinse if you like. Don't say I didn't warn you..lol.

1-2 tbsp chili powder. I like dark chili powder, it's sweeter and adds more color to the broth.
Salt and pepper to taste. If you used salt pork....you can skip adding any salt....right?
-some other things people add but I omit. Dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, parsley.....the list is endless.

Once you get the broth were you want it, dump in the pork and veggies, rinse the beans a couple more times, and toss them in too. Stir it all up, and bring the whole thing to a boil - just in case-. Once you've had it boiling for 2-3 minutes turn the heat down as low as possible and cover it for 8-10 hours. If you're using a dutch oven you can leave it on the range, or you can put it in the oven at about 205 (I'd go the oven route) - but imho it's just easier to transfer the whole pot over to a big slow cooker and give it maybe an hour or two on high then turn it to low. 8-10 hours no matter how you do it (may take longer, crockpots are not exactly standard). Plus you can leave it on low for a very long time without the beans going to mush thanks to the tomato and just keep getting yourself bowls full. Your soup aint done in 8-10 hours? NP, let it go longer.

Serve this with cornbread or burn in hell. If I had to guess I'd say this makes about 2-3 gallons of soup.

(The super traditional way to make this is with black eyed peas, collards, okra, sweet onions, and garlic - the only things you can reliably grow in the heat of the florida/georgia summer lol- you just put the pot outside to cook lol....i jest i jest)

[Rev. Rye]

Here's a lunch I like to make:

Sandwich: (filling from Top to Bottom): 4 half-slices of bacon, white turkey burger patty [ideally greased with peanut oil to prevent stickage], deli cheddar cheese, and some slices of deli Chicken all over a bagel.

Side: Portabella mushroom cap, celery stalk, 2 apples (Granny Smith and Braeburn).

Milkshake:
Step 1: Pour about 7/10 cup of milk (just estimate) into a Magic Bullet blender cup.
Step 2: Add a half tablespoonful of vanilla pudding mix and a dash of vanilla extract [needless to say, this is not halal] to the milk.
Step 3: Add 4 scoops of vanilla ice cream to the mixture and Blend.
Step 4: When it's good enough, add whipped cream and sprinkles.

[jonb]

Roux + milk + cheese + noodles = win

A dab of mustard added to the cheese will bring out the flavour no end. Noodles? For me it can only be macaroni the hollows add so much more to the texture. Just before serving sprinkle with parmesan. Now serve with a side dish of toast, celery, and raw carrot, all sliced into fingers which can be dipped. The extra textures turn a comfort food into a sensual experience.

[Jackalope]

Time to necro this thread.

So last week I made this dish that was awesome, and pretty forgiving. Inspired by classic French rustic cuisine. Measurements are inexact, and not critical at all.

Pre-heat a six quart or larger cast iron dutch oven over medium heat. Once fully heated, add just enough olive oil to lubricate the pot well (a couple of tablespoons is plenty. Brown three or four lamb shanks, once browned, remove them and set aside.

Prepare a mirapoix of chopped celery, onions, and carrots and deglaze with a cup or so of dry red wine (I used a merlot, but any wine worth drinking will do). Season with coarse sea salt and cook (stirring frequently) until the mirapoix is sweated and the onions are starting to caramelize.

Reduce the heat to low, and return the browned lamb shanks to the dutch oven, arranging them on top of the mirapoix, and add enough prepared stock to cover or nearly cover the shanks (I used beef stock, but chicken or lamb stock will suffice, as will a mixture of any of the three). Throw in a large sprig of fresh rosemary and a sprig of thyme.

Cover and simmer for two to two and a half hours. Remove the shanks and strain the liquid, discarding the solid bits. Return the liquid to the dutch oven, or a saucepan if you prefer. Reduce over medium high heat until the sauce thickens sufficiently. Season the sauce to taste. Do *not* use flour or cornstarch to thicken, or a roux, or anything like that. Reduce it to concentrate the flavor. Yeah it takes time, but it's necessary.

Serve with seasonal vegetables, mashed potatoes, rustic bread and the pan sauce.

You won't believe how good it is, and if I can't screw it up, probably no one can.

You can substitute nearly any meat that braises well (I've used leg of lamb, shanks, chuck roast, etc), and make whatever other substitutions suit your fancy.

[Lemonvariable72]

Time to necro this thread.

So last week I made this dish that was awesome, and pretty forgiving. Inspired by classic French rustic cuisine. Measurements are inexact, and not critical at all.

Pre-heat a six quart or larger cast iron dutch oven over medium heat. Once fully heated, add just enough olive oil to lubricate the pot well (a couple of tablespoons is plenty. Brown three or four lamb shanks, once browned, remove them and set aside.

Prepare a mirapoix of chopped celery, onions, and carrots and deglaze with a cup or so of dry red wine (I used a merlot, but any wine worth drinking will do). Season with coarse sea salt and cook (stirring frequently) until the mirapoix is sweated and the onions are starting to caramelize.

Reduce the heat to low, and return the browned lamb shanks to the dutch oven, arranging them on top of the mirapoix, and add enough prepared stock to cover or nearly cover the shanks (I used beef stock, but chicken or lamb stock will suffice, as will a mixture of any of the three). Throw in a large sprig of fresh rosemary and a sprig of thyme.

Cover and simmer for two to two and a half hours. Remove the shanks and strain the liquid, discarding the solid bits. Return the liquid to the dutch oven, or a saucepan if you prefer. Reduce over medium high heat until the sauce thickens sufficiently. Season the sauce to taste. Do *not* use flour or cornstarch to thicken, or a roux, or anything like that. Reduce it to concentrate the flavor. Yeah it takes time, but it's necessary.

Serve with seasonal vegetables, mashed potatoes, rustic bread and the pan sauce.

You won't believe how good it is, and if I can't screw it up, probably no one can.

You can substitute nearly any meat that braises well (I've used leg of lamb, shanks, chuck roast, etc), and make whatever other substitutions suit your fancy.

That sounds like love!!

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

(I used a merlot, but any wine worth drinking will do)

A LOT of people don't realize how fucking vital this is to good food. If a wine isn't good enough to serve at table, it isn't good enough to cook with.

That being said, here's a dessert the missus and I are bonkers for. It's easy and yummers.

1. Get a few good quality pears - almost any variety will do, just make sure they aren't overripe.

2. Remove the stems and cut the pears in half lengthwise (top to bottom, remove the seed core (a melon scoop works really well for this).

3. Poach the pears in a 50/50 mixture of your favourite sangria mix and honey for about a minute, just until the pears begin to soften.

4. Put the pears in the fridge for about 20 minutes, save the poaching mixture.

5. While the pears are cooling, thicken the sangria/honey mix with arrowroot. Keep warm.

6. When ready to serve, top the chilled pears with sweetened ricotta cheese and drizzle the sangria/honey stuff over the top.

Make it now, thank me later.

Boru