What did you cook today?

[ChefKnivesToGo]

Nice spring meal.

[billk1002]

Back in FL, so I had a request to do pork chops from the butcher...

Garlic EVO spinach.
Roasted carrots.
Par boiled red potatoes, smashed with a pint glass in the skillet to get crispy.

Tsunehisa Z18 Damascus Santoku 185mm

Our happy place out on the porch

[ex1580]

Back in FL, so I had a request to do pork chops from the butcher...

Garlic EVO spinach.
Roasted carrots.
Par boiled red potatoes, smashed with a pint glass in the skillet to get crispy.


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Dinner with a view! Nice. I hope you have some binoculars to spy on passing boats. It's better than TV.

[ronnie_suburban]

Baby steps!

More pizza, again on the Ooni (for only the second time). . .


Sausage, Pepperoni & Onion Pizza
Dough: 100% King Arthur 00 flour, 66% hydration, 3% salt, 0.75% sugar
Fermentation: Instant yeast, 13-day fridge ferment
Toppings: Hot Italian sausage, hand-sliced pepperoni, mandoline-sliced red onion tossed in evoo, hand-grated whole milk mozzarella, hand-grated Parmano blend, seasoned & uncooked passata sauce.
Other Stats: 320g of dough, ~12-inch diameter, ~5-minute bake @ 800F


Side View & Konosuke MM Ginsan Gyuto, 240mm
In addition to this dough having quite a bit of age on it, I was determined to get it into and out of the oven using only the peel (no easy task for me at this hydration level), so I may have over-handled it a bit. Still, I was very happy with result, especially given my overall n00biness with the process. It was close to round in shape and it launched cleanly off the peel into the oven. That, my friends, is progress.

[ex1580]

Campfire? Creativity points count when you are trying to get kids to eat veggies.

Roasted brussels sprouts that were marinated in black rice vinegar and tamari sauce surrounding a noodle stir fry (tamari, fish sauce, rice vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, bean sprouts, baby corn, peas, etc). The noodles were some of those tomato basil flavored ones that needed to be used up but it worked.

Sorry, no knife picture. I couldn't set the Sukenari down.

[billk1002]

Happy Friday!!

Grilled salmon, mixed Asian veggies over couscous...

Shiro Kamo White #2 Gyuto 210mm

[trancher]

Happy Friday!!

Grilled salmon, mixed Asian veggies over couscous...

Happy Friday to you too, Bill.

Stellar work as always. Certainly a meal worthy of photography!

Enjoy your weekend!

[ronnie_suburban]

Happy Friday!!

Grilled salmon, mixed Asian veggies over couscous...

Happy Friday, Bill! That looks awesome. Fantastic menu, beautiful plates.

[ronnie_suburban]

A fairly faithful rendition of char kway teow . . .


Mise En Place & Konosuke MM Ginsan Gyuto, 240mm
Garlic chives, eggs, chopped garlic, lap cheong, homemade sambal, granulated sugar, fish sauce, shoyu, chow fun noodles, grocery char siu, oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, avocado oil, 26-30 shrimp and black pepper. No fish cakes and I forgot to buy bean sprouts but other than that, I think I got pretty close on this. Sadly, fresh rice noodles are not available anywhere near me, so these are actually made with potato. One of these days, I'm going to make them myself . . . but today was not that day.


Char Kway Teow
I just love this dish . . . hot, sweet, funky, meaty and noodley!

[ex1580]

Sadly, fresh rice noodles are not available anywhere near me, so these are actually made with potato. One of these days, I'm going to make them myself . . . but today was not that day.

I have tried this. It did not go well. The process is actually pretty easy but trying to keep the batter level was quite difficult. I have better/smaller sheet pans now so I should try again. I bet two quarter sheets would be a whole lot easier to manage than big half sheets. Not today though.

[ex1580]

Pancakes! Today they had chocolate pieces in them. It was supposed to be chocolate chips but it turns out that after some Easter cakes all we had were dark chocolate morsels which look like a chocolate chip that's been left in the sun. I gave them a rough chop and used them and the kids gave high praises so I guess it worked, haha. Otherwise it was business as usual.

All dressed up and ready to party!

Lookin' good!

I used a bit less water in the batter today and the pancakes were difficult to get a spatula under because they were sliding across the griddle like an ice rink, haha. Pancake hockey? After a bunch of pancakes I find that I need to give the griddle a minute for the heat to even out because the middle gets slightly cooler.

[billk1002]

Ronnie, just beautiful I mean Dam...

[ronnie_suburban]

Ronnie, just beautiful I mean Dam...

Thanks, Bill. That one is now tried and true, and has become a family favorite. It's hard to walk past the refrigerated case at the Chinese grocery store and not grab a pack of those fresh chow fun noodles.

Today, kind of a wacky breakfast . . .


Frittata
What made it 'wacky' was the inclusion of some stray matzoh I didn't know what else to do with. So, not at all a matzoh brei, (especially with the inclusion of cheeses and being served with meat, etc.) but more or less inspired by the notion. Fwiw, the sausages are some just-okay chicken breakfast links I got at Costco.

[ronnie_suburban]

Sadly, fresh rice noodles are not available anywhere near me, so these are actually made with potato. One of these days, I'm going to make them myself . . . but today was not that day.

I have tried this. It did not go well. The process is actually pretty easy but trying to keep the batter level was quite difficult. I have better/smaller sheet pans now so I should try again. I bet two quarter sheets would be a whole lot easier to manage than big half sheets. Not today though.

Your experience mirrors my concerns but this very recent, coincidentally-timed video from Pailin has me convinced that I should at least give it a shot . . .


Homemade Rice Noodles Will Change Your Life!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkFNT7jND6w

[ex1580]

Sadly, fresh rice noodles are not available anywhere near me, so these are actually made with potato. One of these days, I'm going to make them myself . . . but today was not that day.

I have tried this. It did not go well. The process is actually pretty easy but trying to keep the batter level was quite difficult. I have better/smaller sheet pans now so I should try again. I bet two quarter sheets would be a whole lot easier to manage than big half sheets. Not today though.

Your experience mirrors my concerns but this very recent, coincidentally-timed video from Pailin has me convinced that I should at least give it a shot . . .


Homemade Rice Noodles Will Change Your Life!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkFNT7jND6w

If I had little shims to level the pan in the oven I bet I could use a tray of water on a low rack and steam them in there. I don't have room for a giant steamer like that. Best of luck.

I've seen food dehydrators that have shelves that fit sheet pans and if you could turn that into a steamer or low heat oven it would be perfect.

[ex1580]

Part 1: Flat Bread

This was my "buss up shut" flat bread recipe but we left them round for use in the next part. This is different from the plain flat bread because there is butter layered into the bread.

It begins! Each of those balls was a flat piece of dough that was flattened, buttered, then cut from the middle to the outside. Then it was rolled into a cone shape and squished down to rest for a bit. Who doesn't love more butter?

I feel like I've been here already today.

Hot bread! There were extra, then the kids wandered through.

[ronnie_suburban]

I have tried this. It did not go well. The process is actually pretty easy but trying to keep the batter level was quite difficult. I have better/smaller sheet pans now so I should try again. I bet two quarter sheets would be a whole lot easier to manage than big half sheets. Not today though.

Your experience mirrors my concerns but this very recent, coincidentally-timed video from Pailin has me convinced that I should at least give it a shot . . .


Homemade Rice Noodles Will Change Your Life!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkFNT7jND6w

If I had little shims to level the pan in the oven I bet I could use a tray of water on a low rack and steam them in there. I don't have room for a giant steamer like that. Best of luck.

I've seen food dehydrators that have shelves that fit sheet pans and if you could turn that into a steamer or low heat oven it would be perfect.

Yes, that is one big-ass steamer, lol!

I'll probably try using a wok with a small rack and a lid. But even in her own edited video, there were clearly some moments when she struggled with it. There's a lesson there about the virtues of patience . . . at the very least.

[ex1580]

Part 2: Enchiladas!

Wisk that sauce! The mole sauce did not have time to thicken quite as much as I would have liked but it was still great. Of course, by the time the leftovers were getting portioned out it was nice and thick so I guess lunch tomorrow will be satisfactory.

The Sukenari HAP40 240mm gyuto plowed through all of this and made it fun as ever. I was reminded to make things smaller than usual because these are not tacos, haha.

A crazy flurry of assembling bread, sauce, cheese, veggies, etc, happened and...

Tada! The whole enchilada.

It was very good. I am stuffed.

[ronnie_suburban]

Part 2: Enchiladas!


PXL_20250420_211627474.MP-min.jpg
Wisk that sauce! The mole sauce did not have time to thicken quite as much as I would have liked but it was still great. Of course, by the time the leftovers were getting portioned out it was nice and thick so I guess lunch tomorrow will be satisfactory.


PXL_20250420_215409462.MP-min.jpg
The Sukenari HAP40 240mm gyuto plowed through all of this and made it fun as ever. I was reminded to make things smaller than usual because these are not tacos, haha.

A crazy flurry of assembling bread, sauce, cheese, veggies, etc, happened and...

PXL_20250420_232954388.PORTRAIT-min.jpg
Tada! The whole enchilada.

It was very good. I am stuffed.

That does look totally delicious. And on top of all that, an excellent knife (one of my all-time favorites) and even better knifery. Well done!

[billk1002]

I have tried this. It did not go well. The process is actually pretty easy but trying to keep the batter level was quite difficult. I have better/smaller sheet pans now so I should try again. I bet two quarter sheets would be a whole lot easier to manage than big half sheets. Not today though.

Your experience mirrors my concerns but this very recent, coincidentally-timed video from Pailin has me convinced that I should at least give it a shot . . .


Homemade Rice Noodles Will Change Your Life!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkFNT7jND6w

If I had little shims to level the pan in the oven I bet I could use a tray of water on a low rack and steam them in there. I don't have room for a giant steamer like that. Best of luck.

I've seen food dehydrators that have shelves that fit sheet pans and if you could turn that into a steamer or low heat oven it would be perfect.

I finally had a chance to watch Pailin's video from start to finish, I had forgotten how engaging she is, always a pleasure to watch.
Now I feel like I should make noodles!!