Food Porn

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: QuailSeed

Do you use fresh fava beans? I don't recall ever seeing them frozen, but I don't have access to the same sources you do.

Yes, you parboil fresh fava beans for a minute and then place them in an ice bath to stop the cooking, after that you shell them and puree. In a pinch I would use dried beans that you reconstitute. Not sure how peas would work. If you want the entire recipe let e know.


Fava beans have a very earthy component that regular peas do not have.

Yes,please. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would love the recipe for your pureed fava beans.

a reply to: QuailSeed

2 pounds fava beans
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
1 small potato
1 cup fresh parself, losely packed
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

Blanch beans in boiling water for 2 minutes. Plunge in ice bath. Peel and add to food processor. Peal and boil potato along with carrot and celery in water used for beans. When softened add to processor with olive oil, salt, pepper and parsely. Puree until smoth, adding reserved water if necessary to acheive smooth consitency. Use immeditately or store covered for 2 days.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: QuailSeed

2 pounds fava beans
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
1 small potato
1 cup fresh parself, losely packed
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

Blanch beans in boiling water for 2 minutes. Plunge in ice bath. Peel and add to food processor. Peal and boil potato along with carrot and celery in water used for beans. When softened add to processor with olive oil, salt, pepper and parsely. Puree until smoth, adding reserved water if necessary to acheive smooth consitency. Use immeditately or store covered for 2 days.

Thank you. This is more complex than I expected.

Honestly though, two minutes to cook the fava beans doesn't seem like enough time to cook them thoroughly. Wouldn't they have a kind of crunchiness after only two minutes of cooking?

a reply to: QuailSeed

No, they are cooked at that point and you do not want them to be mushy.

originally posted by: network dude
a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

And at the end of times, if that's all that's left, you will survive while I live off my fat storage.

I do have a request for the food folks here. I really enjoy sushi and seaweed salad. I have not found a source for seaweed salad, or a way to make it like I get it from the restaurants. Any tips?

I love a good seaweed salad – it’s very good for you (as you no doubt know) – full of sea minerals, etc. A few years ago, I was searching for good recipes for it. The recipes are not in my file, which means it’s probably somewhere in my recipe “Box.” Rather than spend the next three hours going thru the “Box,” I thought it would be faster to look these up online.

I know of a large Korean grocery that makes their authentic seaweed salad on site. Problem is that’s about a 60 mile roundtrip for me. The nearest Japanese grocery is about a 30 mile roundtrip for me.

The standard seaweed salad, found in the Sushi section, is made up of different kinds of seaweed and it’s all seaweed. Some, if not all, can be found in health food stores. Some online, but you have to know what specific types of seaweed to look for – which can be a problem.

Note that if you use cucumber for these salads, ideally it should be Japanese cucumber. If that’s unavailable (and they usually are unavailable), the best subs are baby Persian cucumbers (Trader Joe’s) or hothouse English cucumbers. The thin, unwaxed skins are left on.

Here are four different kinds of seaweed salad.

1.) Korean Seaweed Salad

You can increase the different types of seaweed and leave out the cucumber & radish.

1 oz Sea Mustard (Miyeok or Brown Seaweed) 미역 (dried)

¼ Cucumber 오이 (about 70g)

3 oz Radish (Korean Radish) 무 (Korea radish preferred but can use western radish)

¼ Onion (Medium) 양파

½ tsp Garlic (minced) 다진 마늘

½ tsp Salt 소금 (may need less or more depending on the brand)

2 tbs Vinegar 식초

1⅓ tbs Sugar 설탕

1 tsp Soy Sauce for Soup (Gukganjang) 국간장 (optional, use regular soy sauce or add more salt)
2 tsp Sesame Seeds 깨 (optional)


Link for fuller instructions:

crazykoreancooking.com...

2.) Japanese Cucumber Seaweed Salad
• 1 small cucumber, sliced into thin rounds
• 2 oz rehydrated and softened wakame seaweed, cut into about 2 inch lengths
• 4 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
Click on following link for fuller instructions:

japanesefood.about.com... _source=msn&utm_campaign=adid-9eb601dd-1a55-4257-990a-91e5c3282118-0-ab_msb_ocode-22840&ad=semD&an=msn_s&am=broad&q=japanese%20seaweed%20salad%20recip e&dqi=&o=22840&l=sem&q999&askid=9eb601dd-1a55-4257-990a-91e5c3282118-0-ab_msb



3.) Hawaiian Seaweed Salad

• ½ lb fresh* ogo (limu manauea in Hawaiian, sea moss in English)
• ½ yellow bell pepper, large dice
• ½ red bell pepper, large dice
• 1 cucumber, sliced or diced
• 1 tomato, cut into wedges or diced
• 1 scallion or green onion, finely sliced
• dash of hot red pepper flakes
Dressing
• 4 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned)
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• a few drops of toasted sesame seed oil (optional)

*I’m not sure how much dried ogo is needed to make ½ lb of rehydrated ogo.


4.) Hawaiian Poke (Raw Tuna* & Seaweed Salad)
1 lb sashimi-grade ahi tuna diced
2 tablespoons dried ogo seaweed (rehydrated in room temp. water & squeezed out before use)

Dressing
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon Mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
2 tablespoons minced green onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped sweet onion (Maui, Vidalia, Peru, etc.)
½ teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
fresh chili pepper, seeds removed, minced (quantity according to taste)

* slices of boiled octopus tentacles can be used instead of the raw tuna.

Dried Ogo can be found on Amazon.com under “Poke Mix.” Incredible, they sell everything..

Or hawaiianfoodonline.com
www.hawaiianfoodonline.com...

Being that blood oranges are in season I made the wifey a blood orange Cosmopolitan and then a salad of baby arugula, blood oranges, cherry tomatoes and a gorgonzola dressing:



For dinner we had homemade parpardelle with meat Bolognese sauce and grated parmigiano:

Valentine's dinner started with some shrimp cocktail with homemade sauce and a martini for me and a bacon-vodka bloody mary for the wifey.



We then had grilled filet mignon (I braved the 10* temps to fire up the grill) with herbed maître'd butter, caramelized onions and porcinis, creamed spinach and pommes anna. This went well with a 2005 Chateau Batailley Pauillac.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

i made some filets last night, with some snowcrab and baked potato

No pics. And it was closer to 80 yesterday here in West Texas.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
i made some filets last night, with some snowcrab and baked potato

No pics. And it was closer to 80 yesterday here in West Texas.

I'm fairly certain we wont see 80 until June.

How did you do the steaks?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

salt and pepper over lump oak charcoal.

i was going to melt a garlic butter on it....but already had garlic butter for the crab. So i just dipped the steak in that.

Being that it was 7* here yesterday I opted to make one of my favorite winter dishes, cassoulet, which, if you never had it, is the French version of baked beans. There are numerous recipes and what protein(s) you can include so I decided to go with pork belly (sautéed in bacon fat) and duck confit. It has some very nuanced flavors, as it cooks for so long, and it makes wonderful leftovers (I warmed some up this morning and made a couple of poached eggs to go on top for breakfast). It went very well with my pain au levain and a nice 2005 Château Laffite-Teston Vielles Vignes.

We had a few people over for dinner last night and everyone was in the mood for pasta.

We started with coscia e formaggio (ham and cheese) topped with figs:



For the entrée we had homemade gnocchi with Amatriciana sauce served with a Brunello Di Montalcino. I was hoping to have some left over for tonight but everyone asked for seconds so I am SOL:



We also had a light dessert of olive oil cake, braised figs and orange marmalade with some vin santo:

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus


Being that blood oranges are in season I made the wifey a blood orange Cosmopolitan and then a salad of baby arugula, blood oranges, cherry tomatoes and a gorgonzola dressing:



For dinner we had homemade parpardelle with meat Bolognese sauce and grated parmigiano:

I LOVE arugula. Everything looks so good. Homemade pappardelle!

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

Valentine's dinner started with some shrimp cocktail with homemade sauce and a martini for me and a bacon-vodka bloody mary for the wifey.

We then had grilled filet mignon (I braved the 10* temps to fire up the grill) with herbed maître'd butter, caramelized onions and porcinis, creamed spinach and pommes anna. This went well with a 2005 Chateau Batailley Pauillac.

Bacon vodka? I don't know about that, but everything else looks like Food Paradise. Jumbo shrimp, grilled filet mignon with herbed butter, caramelized onions & porcini mushrooms, and pommes anna.

Do you adopt the gourmet-food deprived?

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I see you changed your avatar for St Paddy's day.

originally posted by: QuailSeed

Bacon vodka? I don't know about that...

It's bacon. Bacon needs no explanation.

...but everything else looks like Food Paradise. Jumbo shrimp, grilled filet mignon with herbed butter, caramelized onions & porcini mushrooms, and pommes anna.

Do you adopt the gourmet-food deprived?

We frequently adopt people on a one night basis.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

Being that it was 7* here yesterday I opted to make one of my favorite winter dishes, cassoulet, which, if you never had it, is the French version of baked beans. There are numerous recipes and what protein(s) you can include so I decided to go with pork belly (sautéed in bacon fat) and duck confit. It has some very nuanced flavors, as it cooks for so long, and it makes wonderful leftovers (I warmed some up this morning and made a couple of poached eggs to go on top for breakfast). It went very well with my pain au levain and a nice 2005 Château Laffite-Teston Vielles Vignes.

Cassoulet is one of those dishes I've read about, but never got to taste the real thing. I think Julia Child made hers with goose and some kind of sausage -- I'd have to look that up.

Yours looks delish.

You probably made your own "pain au levain." Chateau Lafite for breakfast?!

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: QuailSeed

Bacon vodka? I don't know about that...

It's bacon. Bacon needs no explanation.

...but everything else looks like Food Paradise. Jumbo shrimp, grilled filet mignon with herbed butter, caramelized onions & porcini mushrooms, and pommes anna.

Do you adopt the gourmet-food deprived?

We frequently adopt people on a one night basis.

There's hope! I have to agree bacon is delicious on almost anything. Why not vodka?

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

We had a few people over for dinner last night and everyone was in the mood for pasta.

We started with coscia e formaggio (ham and cheese) topped with figs:


For the entrée we had homemade gnocchi with Amatriciana sauce served with a Brunello Di Montalcino. I was hoping to have some left over for tonight but everyone asked for seconds so I am SOL:

We also had a light dessert of olive oil cake, braised figs and orange marmalade with some vin santo:

I LOVE figs! Everything else on the menu looks yummy too. I've never heard of olive oil cake. Bet it's good.

Which reminds me, I was going to ask you what's your favorite olive oil?

originally posted by: QuailSeed

Cassoulet is one of those dishes I've read about, but never got to taste the real thing. I think Julia Child made hers with goose and some kind of sausage -- I'd have to look that up.

I have prepared it with goose before, this is one of those recipes where you have the option of adding several different types of meat if you like. The sausage you are referring to was most likely Saucisse de Toulouse which is the typicall style used for cassoulet.

Yours looks delish.

Thank you, it tasted good too.

You probably made your own "pain au levain." Chateau Lafite for breakfast?!

Yes, the bread was mine and there was no Lafite left to drink for breakfast.