What did you cook today?

[ronnie_suburban]

No meal prep today, as lunch and dinner both consisted of more homegrown tomatoes, plus a combination of homemade and restaurant leftovers. But I did start a new pickling project/experiment . . .


Peppers & Yu Kurosaki VG10 Fujin Gyuto, 210mm
Just under three pounds of jalapenos and hot Hungarian wax peppers from my friend's farm.


Sliced Peppers, Onions & 2% Salt
Decided to chuck an onion in there but I'm not sure where this is going just yet. I salted it and plan to drain the liquid for a while, certainly overnight and probably longer. After that, I might let it ferment (like a sambal) or I might soak it in some sort of vinegar/oil brine (like a giardiniera). I guess I'll have a better sense of my next steps once the desired amount of liquid has drained off and I can taste everything.

[KnightKnightForever]

Chicken Tikka masala tonight!

[Bob Z]

Chicken Tikka masala tonight!

Interesting knife there, what might it be and how do you like it?

[KnightKnightForever]

Chicken Tikka masala tonight!

Interesting knife there, what might it be and how do you like it?

It's a Moritaka kamagata. I really like it! I appreciate its versatility as a chopper and a slicer. I really like the rock finish on it too - food does not stick to it nearly as bad as some of my other knives. The surface area is handy also, because you can chop a large amount of veg in a small area.

[Chappychap]

Busy week at work so have been quiet, but catching up on the thread this evening I can some really great dishes here guys. That tikka masala brings back some memories!

Ordered takeout tonight (BBQ) but sneaked in some cooking at lunch. Some assorted sashimi to use up + rice in the Cuckoo + a wish to test out my new single bevel knives = chirashi bowl!

[ronnie_suburban]

Busy week at work so have been quiet, but catching up on the thread this evening I can some really great dishes here guys. That tikka masala brings back some memories!

Ordered takeout tonight (BBQ) but sneaked in some cooking at lunch. Some assorted sashimi to use up + rice in the Cuckoo + a wish to test out my new single bevel knives = chirashi bowl!

That chirashi bowl looks beautiful. You've move from one place to another, both of which are strong in fish & seafood. And slicing beautiful pieces like those is the epitome of meaningful cooking. Nice!

I definitely felt the need to cook but I was looking for something simple, so back to Dinner 101, aka grilled chicken thighs. It had been a couple of weeks since we had them. But first, side dish prep . . .


Mise En Place & Kuwabara White #2 Tall Petty, 115mm
Garlic chives, minced garlic & grated ginger, Japanese eggplant, corn starch (for slurry), soy sauce, 5-year black vinegar, veg oil and 4x gelatinous pork stock.

Hadn't used the kuwabara in a few months. Fun but definitely in need of a sharpening before the next time out.


Stir Fried Eggplant
Garnished with garlic chives.


Grilling
Seasoned with Manale spice mix. These were pretty big and took nearly 30 minutes to cook, covered, on the indirect side of the fire.


Plated Up
I also had a long week at work. Felt good to put that on the shelf and disengage via a little cooking.

[Chappychap]

Thanks Ronnie. I do feel very lucky to be near a LOT of salmon especially. I also took your recommendation on HMart - I have a feeling I'm going to be hitting up that seafood counter soon and learning how to use that deba. Thanks again for the tip there (pun not intended...)

....I also had a long week at work. Felt good to put that on the shelf and disengage via a little cooking.

Couldn't agree more. Feels like the 'quiet' part of summer is long gone. Need that cooking mediation to start safe sine nights. And those chicken thighs look phenomenal as always!

Felt bad when I was messing about with a 300mm yanagiba and moribashi on my lunch earlier knowing that you're stuck with a cafeteria microwave. Hope you're adjusting ok...

[MajorMajor]

Busy week at work so have been quiet, but catching up on the thread this evening I can some really great dishes here guys. That tikka masala brings back some memories!

Ordered takeout tonight (BBQ) but sneaked in some cooking at lunch. Some assorted sashimi to use up + rice in the Cuckoo + a wish to test out my new single bevel knives = chirashi bowl!

526CF884-A34D-4304-BCF4-50598FD00944.jpeg

Looks amazing

[slensgra]

Not fancy, but it tasted great! Bacon. tomato and cucumber.

[ronnie_suburban]

Started the day by getting back to my current pickling project . . .

Decided on a sambal-type preparation. I let the salted mixture pictured upthread sit for approximately 48 hours, and drained it occasionally, after which it had lost about 20% of its weight. Next, I hit it with the stick blender, then added 1% more salt, just under 1% granulated sugar, 8 medium cloves of crushed garlic, a smidge of grated ginger and a splash of Botanist gin. Mixed it all together, then transferred it to the fermentation vessel . . .


Fermentation Begins
I love that this vessel is made of glass, so I can see what's going on inside without having to even touch it. That said, I'll be keeping my eye on it and checking it for flavor in about 14 days.

Next up, brunch. Got my hands on some very good commercially made nova, so I decided to scramble up some eggs . . .


Nova, Scallions & Scrambled Eggs
Garnished with chives, and served with some more of our homegrown tomatoes. It's been a bumper crop for our tomatoes this year.

We're having friends over tonight, so I decided to bust out another ribless roast on the Weber . . .


Trussed, Oiled & Seasoned
Even boneless, this bigboi came in at just under 8 pounds.


15 Minutes In On The Kettle
Destination 125F. I've got a small fire going of lump charcoal and oak. And once again, the high-tech aluminum foil baffling system. Hoping to check back in later with some results photos but with friends coming over, that might be iffy.

[ronnie_suburban]

Our friends are bringing salad, dessert, etc., but I figured mushrooms would go well with the ribless roast . . .


Mushroom Mise En Place & Konosuke Fujiyama FM Blue #2 Funayuki/Gyuto, 240mm
Creminis, shallots, red wine, minced garlic, 4x gelatinous pork stock, black pepper, salt and evoo.
This is pretty much the default mushroom prep over here, especially when serving with beef.


Low & Slow
The creminis will release their moisture then reabsorb all the flavors in the pot. When the final liquid is mostly reduced, mount with butter and serve.


Grill-Smoked Ribless Roast
This took about 2.5 hours to get to 125F. I really like the B&B lump charcoal. It's typically very big, long-burning pieces, which are ideal for a longer cook. The B&B, combined with a couple of chunks of oak, was a great combination.

[Jeff B]

...And once again, the high-tech aluminum foil baffling system...

Very nice, I see a patent in your future!

[ronnie_suburban]

...And once again, the high-tech aluminum foil baffling system...

Very nice, I see a patent in your future!

LOL . . . I'm a regular Thomas Edison!

I did see an aftermarket piece for sale online a while ago that's designed to do the same thing in a Weber kettle. It was made of stainless steel and cost over $100. I'm sure it does a nice job but it just seemed unnecessary and way too expensive. With foil, I can form it to do exactly what I want and I can unfold it to tent the roast after it comes off the grill. Plus, no storage issues.

[XexoX]

LOL . . . I'm a regular Thomas Edison!

I did see an aftermarket piece for sale online a while ago that's designed to do the same thing in a Weber kettle. It was made of stainless steel and cost over $100. I'm sure it does a nice job but it just seemed unnecessary and way too expensive. With foil, I can form it to do exactly what I want and I can unfold it to tent the roast after it comes off the grill. Plus, no storage issues.

A cheap aluminium cookie sheet could be bent and shaped if you wanted a more permanent solution. A lot less then $100. I find them at estate sells for 2 or 3 bucks.

[stevem627]

Ronnie the fermenting peppers look like a great idea. I’ll be curious to see what you think about them when they are finally ready.

[ronnie_suburban]

LOL . . . I'm a regular Thomas Edison!

I did see an aftermarket piece for sale online a while ago that's designed to do the same thing in a Weber kettle. It was made of stainless steel and cost over $100. I'm sure it does a nice job but it just seemed unnecessary and way too expensive. With foil, I can form it to do exactly what I want and I can unfold it to tent the roast after it comes off the grill. Plus, no storage issues.

A cheap aluminium cookie sheet could be bent and shaped if you wanted a more permanent solution. A lot less then $100. I find them at estate sells for 2 or 3 bucks.

Believe me, that was the first thing I tried. Alas, they really don't work because of the cross grates on the Weber models. The "baffle" pieces need to be no more than about 5" wide, otherwise, they won't fit. Cookie sheets that narrow aren't long enough. And even if if they were, the standard grates are very close together, so not even a cheap, thin, rimmed, standard, grocery store cookie sheet will fit between them. I suppose I could cut the rims off of them but that's diminishing returns.

Ronnie the fermenting peppers look like a great idea. I’ll be curious to see what you think about them when they are finally ready.

Thanks, Steve. We'll see how it goes. I made a red version about a year ago that turned out very good . . .


Homemade Sambal - 2020 Edition

The method (adapted from one provided on Chinese Cooking Demystified's youtube channel) was totally solid but I felt like the recipe was a bit too ginger-forward for my taste. This time, I dialed that back, so I'm hopeful it'll be a success.

Tonight's ribless roast turned out really well . . .


Plated Up
Ribless roast, slow-cooked mushrooms and an excellent 'ratatouille salad' that our friends brought. The greens were spinach and arugula, and it was topped with grilled pieces of squash, eggplant and tomato -- veggies typically found in a ratatouille -- and dressed with a nicely balanced vinaigrette.

[Chappychap]

I continue to be in awe at Ronnie always pushing the limits!!! Love the creativity and improvisation. Looks really tasty.

On my end, I saw figs in the supermarket randomly today. After a long bike ride, the Flavor Bible gave me an idea for a salad using them, using spinach, charred figs, walnuts, shallots, honey, balsamic and lemon. Was a good accompanyment to the star of the show, leftover pulled pork from the local BBQ on Friday night, atop of grilled bread! Turned out to taste a little too good for a leftover meal, but pulled pork with anything tends to do that

Next time those figs are getting the Bernzo...

[ronnie_suburban]

I continue to be in awe at Ronnie always pushing the limits!!! Love the creativity and improvisation. Looks really tasty.

You're way too kind. Like you, I keep myself as open as possible to inspiration from wherever I can find it, and then I play the hand I'm dealt.

On my end, I saw figs in the supermarket randomly today. After a long bike ride, the Flavor Bible gave me an idea for a salad using them, using spinach, charred figs, walnuts, shallots, honey, balsamic and lemon. Was a good accompanyment to the star of the show, leftover pulled pork from the local BBQ on Friday night, atop of grilled bread! Turned out to taste a little too good for a leftover meal, but pulled pork with anything tends to do that

Next time those figs are getting the Bernzo...

That's a lovely looking meal and the salad sounds great. You clearly made the most out of those leftovers, too. Can't wait for you to break out the Bernzo! (where's that Beavis & Butthead emoji?)

We started out with a fine brunch once again, as we're still working through the exceptional cache of nova I scored . . .


Nova, Scallions & Scrambled Eggs
With homegrown tomatoes and a toasted sesame seed bagel. Garnished with chives.

Next up, a quickie stir fry for dinner . . .


Preliminary Mise En Place & Konosuke Fujiyama FM White #1 Gyuto, 210mm
Left side, marinade (front to back): veg oil, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, baking soda, corn starch and Shaoxing wine.
Right side, sauce (front to back): soy sauce, oyster sauce, corn starch, black bean garlic sauce and pork stock.

A bit of a gather but overall, not too ridiculous an ingredient count.


Mise En Place
Long beans, red bell pepper, slivered garlic, marinated beef (pepper steak tenders, whatever those are), sliced ginger, scallions and veg oil.

The first time I made this, I used bitter melon, which I did not like because I found it way too bitter. I've done it a few times since then and now just use whatever I have on hand. So today, long beans and bell peppers.


Plated Up
With some Zojirushi'd jasmine rice, and garnished with every bit of greenery that I'd already prepped earlier in the day.

[XexoX]

I continue to be in awe at Ronnie always pushing the limits!!! Love the creativity and improvisation. Looks really tasty.
...

Mr. Suburban is awesome!

[ronnie_suburban]

A mainly-leftovers Monday. I got home from work later than usual and just wanted to cook something . . .


Mise En Place & Kuwabara White #2 Tall Petty, 115mm
Whole cumin seed, jalapenos & serranos, spice plate (ground cumin, turmeric, hing, garam masala, salt, Kashmiri chile powder), amchur powder, grated ginger & sliced garlic, dried fenugreek leaves, okra, buttermilk, canned tomatoes (didn't think this relatively long cook would be a good allocation of my homegrowns), ghee and yellow onion.

I did want/need to get RID of the okra but it was in much better condition than than it looks in this shot. It was from a few different sources, hence the variation in color. Started by blooming the cumin seeds in the ghee and building from there . . . fresh aromatics, spices (minus the amchur), okra, then liquids. Simmered low, partially-covered, for about 90 minutes, until the liquid was reduced and the okra was suitably soft. Dashed in the amchur at the very end.

I sharpened the Kuwabara since the last time I used it the other day (Nubatama Platinum 1k hard) and it was screaming sharp. In fact, it repeatedly dug into the board while I was working.


Plated Up
Okra 'Masala' - garnished with chives. There was also some leftover ribless roast and some slaw but the okra was the star of the show.

Happy Monday!