The Deskthority Cooking Thread

[mr_a500]

I just made pizza again.

pizza Aug 28.jpg

The dough is only 4 ingredients (according to Naples pizza makers): flour, yeast, salt and water. That's it. The sauce is an organic tomato sauce (uncooked) with olive oil, fresh oregano, fresh basil, salt and pepper. Toppings are olives, mozzarella, a tiny bit of cheddar and fresh basil (I was out of portabello mushrooms, which I normally add). The cost of this awesome pizza is only around $12 (Canadian!).

I've made even better pizzas before, but my new "high-tech" oven - with computer controlled bullshit (which turns off broil without me asking it to) is far worse than any oven designed in the 1950's.

pizza.JPG

[tigpha]

Pizza!

The oven wouldn't happen to be Internet Connected, or Smart, perchance? Any specific brand I should choose to avoid?

[mr_a500]

It's a GE Profile. What a piece of shit. It seems to be programmed to avoid burning out the cheap heating elements rather than for proper cooking. Everything has 2 temperatures: maximum and off - and it decides when to turn them on and off. It's almost like the HAL 9000 of ovens.

"Turn on the broil, HAL"
"I can't do that, Dave."
"Turn on the f-king broil now! And stop calling me 'Dave'".
"I'm sorry, Dave, but I just can't do that."

[vometia]

[PlacaFromHell]

I love to cook there you have some of my abominations:


Italian pizza dough with pategrás cheese


Homemade smash burger with onions and bacon (I had no cheese )


Hokkaido milk bread, it burned a bit

[Obscure]

I got this one just today. Had to take some photographs as I guess it is not stainless and will change its looks soon. A colleague of mine got it from Tokyo for me. I explicitly ordered a traditional model and, as he told me, the shopkeeper pretended asking: why this one? Waiting for it for six weeks I'm quite happy about the outcome. I'm a bit curious about who made it and out of which steel etc. I'm sure these ancient characters will tell - if someone is able to decode them. But proof of time will show if it's rubbish anyway.
After looking at the pics above, I get pleasure to improve my pizza-skills. Well, my new darling should be able to atomize onions as well as ninja zombies or flying cows and other severe kitchen-invaders.
The other souvenirs are in the Japan Trend shop thread.

[mr_a500]

Nice knife! I've got a Wüsthof Classic knife.

It was super-sharp when I got it, quite capable of killing those pesky ninja zombies or flying cows, but now it's so dull I couldn't even kill a bowl of jello. I've tried sharpening with files (not computer files, the metal kind), but it doesn't seem to keep an edge.

Edit: I ordered a Wüsthof sharpener for my knife (...mainly because I was worried about those zombies). Americans on Amazon.com get free 2-day shipping. Here in Canada, Amazon.ca charges for shipping and gave me a delivery estimate of 4-6 weeks!

[Obscure]

Wüsthofs are great - one of only two big forges still producing in Germany.
This would open a new thread, but as one cannot cook without a knife in most case I leave a comment here. A file is a bit harsh but at least you do not overheat the edge as you can do with belt-sanders or a flex grinder. Give it another try - it's a meditative activity. There is a horrific bunch of knife-sharpening tutorials out there, which most of all recommend using a whetstone and none of them recommending a file. You will find an appropriate one. Or go to a shop and let someone else sharpen it for you. Dull knife is no possible option - it is a cake-server. If you are suicide endangered put your knives in a locker, gl

Edit: One of those sharpeners with two ceramic wheels? - not the worst choice. But it cannot fix a damaged/scalloped cutting edge. If so the blade will need a basic grind first. I'm quite afraid of zombies but dull knives scare me to death.

Styrian apple pie with pumpkin seed oil

[mr_a500]

That is one hell of a strange looking apple pie. I would have thought that was an extra large batch of green play dough.

[mr_a500]

I made "Kentucky fried chicken", using the secret (not so secret now) 11 spices recipe of the original.

fried chicken.JPG

Here's the recipe:

Code: Select all

    2/3 tablespoon salt
    1/2 tablespoon thyme
    1/2 tablespoon basil
    1/3 tablespoon oregano
    1 tablespoon celery salt
    1 tablespoon black pepper
    1 tablespoon dried mustard
    4 tablespoons paprika
    2 tablespoons garlic salt
    1 tablespoon ground ginger
    3 tablespoons white pepper

    2 cups flour

You're supposed to soak the chicken in buttermilk and egg before putting on the coating.

It tastes almost like the original Kentucky fried chicken, but slightly different, probably because I don't use a pressure cooker and I'm using olive oil. I also think monosodium glutamate was one of the "secret spices" used, but obviously I didn't add that.

If Kentucky Fried Chicken was as good as it was in the 80's (and earlier), I wouldn't have to go through all this to make my own. I'd just buy it. But since Pepsi bought it and turned it into "KFC", they poisoned a once-great meal. I hear they get their low quality chicken from Mexico or even China now.

[PlacaFromHell]

I made "Kentucky fried chicken", using the secret (not so secret now) 11 spices recipe of the original.

fried chicken.JPG

Here's the recipe:

Code: Select all

    2/3 tablespoon salt
    1/2 tablespoon thyme
    1/2 tablespoon basil
    1/3 tablespoon oregano
    1 tablespoon celery salt
    1 tablespoon black pepper
    1 tablespoon dried mustard
    4 tablespoons paprika
    2 tablespoons garlic salt
    1 tablespoon ground ginger
    3 tablespoons white pepper

    2 cups flour

You're supposed to soak the chicken in buttermilk and egg before putting on the coating.

It tastes almost like the original Kentucky fried chicken, but slightly different, probably because I don't use a pressure cooker and I'm using olive oil. I also think monosodium glutamate was one of the "secret spices" used, but obviously I didn't add that.

If Kentucky Fried Chicken was as good as it was in the 80's (and earlier), I wouldn't have to go through all this to make my own. I'd just buy it. But since Pepsi bought it and turned it into "KFC", they poisoned a once-great meal. I hear they get their low quality chicken from Mexico or even China now.

Try to marinate your chicken in a brine with some of the spices, you will get a much better result. I also use just buttermilk with no eggs, but I'll try it next time.

[mr_a500]

Brine, eh? What spices? (...are they secret?)

I used to marinate chicken, usually in white wine (...and secret spices), wasting time and money. I found out it makes no difference because chicken at the grocery store is now soaked in water to increase the weight (and cost) of the chicken. Most of the time, my chicken is too moist and I have to try to get rid of the water.

[PlacaFromHell]

Oh, I understand. At least with my chicken it makes a difference, it's more tender and juicy after 3 hours inside a brine. I was talking of the spices of your recipe
BTW, look at the roast chunk I'm eating right now:

[mr_a500]

I bet most people wouldn't be able to identify the food in this picture:

Korean food.jpg

[Obscure]

Vienna woods autumn Dal

in the pot:
water, salt, 1/2 buillon cube
red lentil
potatoes
pascal celery
Pattypan (Schwoughksie) Squash

in the pan:
olive oil
onions
garlic
rocotillo chili
Curry Tree Herb
Cumin seed
Cinnamon
Onion Seeds
Garam Masala
Curry Madras powder
Turmeric powder
Nutmeg
Neapolitan sauce someone left in the fridge, you may use diced tomatoes
Lemonbasil
grated lemon peel
black pepper, salt

pan and pot are put together in the end and cooked for another several minutes
You may add juice of a lemon

to be served with Basmati rice and a cream topping of
Smetana (15% fat) (sour cream)

be careful, you cannot stop eating!

[XMIT]

I too enjoy pizza from time to time. Here's a simple Pizza Napoletana.

IMG_20191013_180110.jpg (696.14 KiB) Viewed 12917 times

[mr_a500]

Vienna woods autumn Dal

in the pot:
water, salt, 1/2 buillon cube
red lentil
potatoes
pascal celery
Pattypan (Schwoughksie) Squash

in the pan:
olive oil
onions
garlic
rocotillo chili
Curry Tree Herb
Cumin seed
Cinnamon
Onion Seeds
Garam Masala
Curry Madras powder
Turmeric powder
Nutmeg
Neapolitan sauce someone left in the fridge, you may use diced tomatoes
Lemonbasil
grated lemon peel
black pepper, salt

pan and pot are put together in the end and cooked for another several minutes
You may add juice of a lemon

to be served with Basmati rice and a cream topping of
Smetana (15% fat) (sour cream)

be careful, you cannot stop eating!

That looks interesting and I like your ingredients - all except the onions (which I hate and think should be illegal in most countries). Actually, I don't mind onions that have been boiled to death to remove their flavour - because it's the flavour that I violently hate.

I think I'll try your recipe - or at least something similar.

I too enjoy pizza from time to time. Here's a simple Pizza Napoletana.

IMG_20191013_180110.jpg

What temperature was your oven? It looks pretty good, but I don't understand how the cheese could get burnt while the crust looks like it spent too long on too low a heat. I'd think the crust would have some dark burn spots on it too - like this picture from a famous Naples pizza place:

[Findecanor]

I made "Kentucky fried chicken", using the secret (not so secret now) 11 spices recipe of the original.

Have you seen the Youtube series on Glen&Friends Cooking about cracking the recipe?

Your spice mix is on that show, but they thought another was more authentic. I tried that one ... but with Quorn. (I'm a vegetarian so cooking a veggie replica myself is the only way for me to taste anything approaching KFC... )
However, I couldn't taste much else than salt and pepper in the crust to be honest. After the first batch, I doubled up the amount of herbs and I still couldn't taste much else than salt and pepper.

Curious enough, according to their very subjective tests, they found it tasted better when dipping the chicken in just water beforehand (like they do at KFC nowadays) and instead having the milk and egg powder in the spice mix.

As to marinating beforehand, that is pretty much compulsory when cooking many type of faux meat if you want it juicy: it could otherwise get very dry when fried.

[mr_a500]

Have you seen the Youtube series on Glen&Friends Cooking about cracking the recipe?

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out. The description was interesting because it confirms my timeline for when Kentucky Fried Chicken started to suck. It was still good in Canada up until the early 80's. What I didn't know is that the American restaurants were different from the Canadian ones and apparently started to go bad in the 60's. (I never went to one in the US)

I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't eat mammals. (is there a term for that? nonmammaliantarain?)

[mr_a500]

I got this one just today. Had to take some photographs as I guess it is not stainless and will change its looks soon. A colleague of mine got it from Tokyo for me. I explicitly ordered a traditional model and, as he told me, the shopkeeper pretended asking: why this one? Waiting for it for six weeks I'm quite happy about the outcome. I'm a bit curious about who made it and out of which steel etc. I'm sure these ancient characters will tell - if someone is able to decode them. But proof of time will show if it's rubbish anyway.

After seeing your knife, I've been doing some research on Japanese knives. I'm thinking of getting something like this:



It should be sharp enough to cut off 4 limbs before my torso even hits the ground.

[webwit]

My cheap Ikea knife is as sharp as those expensive knives. The only difference is how often you need to sharpen. Unless you are a chef and do lots of cutting, you don't need an expensive one.

[mr_a500]

My cheap Ikea knife is as sharp as those expensive knives. The only difference is how often you need to sharpen. Unless you are a chef and do lots of cutting, you don't need an expensive one.

Oh yes, I do. I need an expensive one. I want to be able to look down at my knife and say, "Holy shit! This is a fucking nice knife. I'm far superior to all those losers with cheap IKEA knives!"

[Findecanor]

I might need a sharp knife for piercing the skin of tomatoes, and a sharp serrated knife for cutting bread.
But most of the time, I actually prefer a somewhat non-sharp knife so that I wouldn't have to worry too much about cutting my own skin while cooking.

[webwit]

My cheap Ikea knife is as sharp as those expensive knives. The only difference is how often you need to sharpen. Unless you are a chef and do lots of cutting, you don't need an expensive one.

Oh yes, I do. I need an expensive one. I want to be able to look down at my knife and say, "Holy shit! This is a fucking nice knife. I'm far superior to all those losers with cheap IKEA knives!"

[mr_a500]

[XMIT]

I too enjoy pizza from time to time. Here's a simple Pizza Napoletana.

IMG_20191013_180110.jpg

What temperature was your oven? It looks pretty good, but I don't understand how the cheese could get burnt while the crust looks like it spent too long on too low a heat.

545 F, but the pizza stone had cooled too much and/or never properly heated up. This was pizza #4 of 4, a quick-and-dirty run for the kids.

It's best if the stone has a while - an hour? - to come up to temperature. I've had better results before.

[Obscure]

Thank you for inspiration. Today I got the dough right for the first time. Only 15 g of fresh yeast for 500 g flour, 250 ml water, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, some sugar. Resting for 12 hrs. But my oven is too small and heat comes mostly from above. Still sufficient space for improvement.. I think you have to know very well how the oven behaves and adjust the amount of moisture in the covering via the tomato sauce to get optimal results. I put a sliced fig on the pizza as an experiment. Very neutral taste, you wont even notice, if you don't know it. Not the flash I expected. Obligatory oregano from Crete, Kalamata olives with core, olive oil with garlic for the edge, black pepper. I made four pizzas, mostly with mozzarella, only this one with Emmental cheese.
Best with Zwettler Zwickl beer (neither clarified nor pasteurised) and vintage MX blues.

[adhoc]

Since getting a kid, I have been the chef of the household so my wife can focus on our daughter. Sundays have turned into meal prep for me. Here’s one of my favorite things: it’s basically roasted pork with fat webbings and a bit of lemon with a bit of veggies and crispy potatoes.

Before:


After:

[Obscure]

Asparagus, best with AEK II
Cook the asparagus (better with the green ones, but white is ok) than roll in breakfast bacon, stir-fry, add egg salt and pepper.