I got some kirby cukes at the last farmers market of the year...In about a weeks they'll be dill pickles

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^^^ cool! For the first time in my life I bought expensive pickles recently. They were awesome. I bought some kirby's and put them in the brine after the pickles were gone and 2 weeks later they were just OK. Too much cucumber taste. But the original pickle brine can't be too hard to duplicate. A grapeleaf is in the brine. Mine are all gone but have fresh ones all summer.

Po' Boy Tower with two different remoulades, caper dill pickle and tomato horseradish

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^^^ mmmmmm.......that looks fantastic, Shaun.....nice job!

Wow! That looks awesome!

This was a fun one and it turned out great. Copycat Caribbean Roast Pork Sandwich with black beans & rice from Paseo's in Seattle rated one of the best sandwiches in America.

Sandwich: https://www.seattletimes.com/news/recipe-for-the-paseo-sandwich-at-home-make-your-own-and-let-the-healing-begin/

Black Beans: https://www.potsandpins.com/blog/2010/07/paseo-black-beans.html


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The recipe called for a bone in pork shoulder. I picked up a 3lb boneless Duroc shoulder and added a couple of ham hocks for flavor and collagen as the marinade becomes the sauce and it is delicious. I transferred the ham hocks to the bean pot after braising was completed then shredded the meat in the beans before discarding the bones. The flavor combo in the sandwich is fantastic - Toasted Baguette/ garlic aioli/ cilantro/ pickled jalapeno/ braised pork/ sauteed onions/ more cilantro/ romaine lettuce/ more garlic aioli. This was a huge hit with the family, completely worth the effort, and I'll definitely be doing it again.

I've been meaning to share this with other foodies on this thread.

We did the Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole thing in August. We had dinner at an amazing restaurant in Jackson Hole called the Blue Lion. They served bread with a mystery flavored oil prior to the entrees. We were all blown away with how good it was but none of us correctly guessed what it was. We all thought it may have some garlic in it but we were wrong. It was scallion oil. We'd never heard of it before and it was amazing. Haven't tried making it yet but here is a link that appears to closely represent what we had per the server's description.

https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/chinese-scallion-oil-recipe/

Thanks Baz and Mark, it was definitely super tasty and have made it twice since then. Like all sandwiches it's even better when wrapped for 5 minutes, just enough time for the magic to happen (would love to know the science behind wrapped sandwiches) but the shrimp were still warm to hot.

These are the kind of sandwiches I love, crockpot meat based. This must have been excellent and I will be shopping for a picnic shoulder this week.

The pickles are pretty much done, you can tell the brine has turned cloudy. Ill give them another day or two before refrigerating to stop the fermentation, so they can get dillier, and garlicier..

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Some shots from some epic meals in Flushing

This brings tears.. of goodness and spice!!

L-R sliced fish with tofu in hot oil, CHONGQING CHICKEN (SICHUAN LA ZI JI) so good so spicy... you cant stop eating it...if you do the heat comes on strong... even with the Szechuan peppercorns (numbing), and cold cucumber salad... only the temp is cold ..


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Hot Pot.. so good in cooler weather


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In one of the videos I watched featuring this sandwich I note that I came wrapped which I considered, did not do, but would highly recommend. Also, be generous with the Aioli.

Black pepper beef chow mein tonight. Ever since making spaghetti all’assassina, I've been lusting after authentic chow mein with the same toasted/charred/crisped noodles and a proper smoky wok hei effect. Finally found real fresh lo mein so it was on. Sirloin, sliced and velveted with dark soy and grated ginger, red & green peppers, onions garlic. All done in stages in a hand hammered wok from Shanghai. And now I know why the local authentic Chinese restaurant said they don't make chow mein, it's too hard and takes too long. But I'm here to say it's worth it! Noodles were smokey, a little char which I can improve on and the whole dish was alive, that is it wasn't one note, each bite was its own flavor.

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Couple weeks ago one of the BOGO specials at Publix was their Extra Large size cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined with tail left on.

I eat them with cocktail sauce ala shrimp cocktail style.

YUM!

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Felt like an Oklahoma burger day. Real aged (crystally) English cheddar makes a huge difference. Getting a prime rib for Christmas I found out the butcher will grind any combination of meat I want so looking forward to some great burgers in '24. These were just market ground but still tasty. Not sure if I posted but I did dice up a lightly frozen sirloin and pulsed it a few times in the processor and that made an amazing burger, so tender and tasty. Apparently a protein develops if you over-process beef that makes burgers tough and less tasty so the least amount of grinding is best.javascript:winopen('upload.html')

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Did some baking for Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow..

Bourbon St Brownies..

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I may or may not have sampled one or two... must resist, They have to last until tomorrow afternoon..

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Table is set.
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Flank steak is ready to be cooked, it's sitting in the fridge. Cake is baked and cookies cooked.
Merry Christmas guys and gals!

Burgers look amazing, as always, Shaun!

Brownies look incredible, Tim...well done with the Jack! ;)

Your table setting is beautiful, Scott! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Last minute dinner plan. It's hard to beat a good old fried Oklahoma onion smash burger. Been on my mind since Shaun's recent post. Some of my best yet. I usually use 80/20 ground chuck but Kroger had 85/15 on sale. Really couldn't tell any difference. Patties rubbed with soy sauce (as I always do with burgers) and seasoned with Montreal Steak Seasoning. Hit the onions with some Kosmos SPG prior to the flip. Used one slice yellow american and one slice white american. YUM!

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A nice end to the old year, and nice way to start the new..

The GF cooked up some Gumbo for me

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Nice pot of pozole on the cook top for New Years Day dinner.

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Beef Wellington http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1704169819.jpg

Fun with homemade pie crust:

Apple
(butter under the vented crust and egg wash/cinnamon sugar on top)
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Shepard's w/ onions garlic carrots peas cheese and sweet potatoes.
(McCormicks Montreal Steak for the burger)
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Pad Tai
(w/ coconut milk, tai curry, pad tai sos, peanut butter, basil, brown sugar, fish sos, lime)
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Ramen
(w/ ginger broth, dried mushrooms, fried pork wonton/gyoza)
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Big cooking night, Thor's Hammer Beef Shank osso buco and meatballs in fresh compari and canned San Marzano tomato sauce. Very simple. Extremely tasty.

I have to turn the shank over on its side to submerge the marrow overnight for incredible goodness. Have to think of some kind of special potatoes or polenta or risotto.

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Made Shrimp Pad Thai for lunch today.....using noodles, pad thai seasoning packet, jar of pad thai sauce and fresh shrimp. The shrimp were the best part of the meal.

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7 lb Thor's Hammer Osso Buco, cooked on and off for 3 days in the crock pot with rosemary thyme masarepa-based creamy polenta. Pic 3 is onyly after day 1. Wish I had taken a pic tonight before trying to get it out. It was glorious. The beef shank was a Christmas present from a dear friend who loves to cook as much as I do. Can't wait to do some fun things with the beef stock.

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Looks fantastic, Shaun......YUM!

Pork loin leftovers brine'd in apples, apple cider vinegar, rosemary garlic, brown sugar. Seared and baked low to 140deg. Still a little dry.
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This Japanese wild rice mix is nutty and hearty. Mixed veggies onion and dried cranberry.
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Italian Wedding Soup made with homemade chicken meatballs and Acini di Pepe pasta garnished with a mixture of ricotta and parmesan. Buon Appetito!

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Plated in our "new to us" mid-century modern dinnerware set handed down from my in-laws. Poppytrail Peppertree by Metlox. We have filled in pieces from ebay. Very cool set and goes well with our kitchen granite.

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^^^

soup looks delicious Mark!

love the mid-century artwork too, very cool. What other pieces do you have?

I like some of the 20s and 30s designs.

You guys are AMAZING.


I just left a long explanation which at least one person will find aggravatingly tedious, regarding Rain-X, so I won't do that again here this morning regarding pie crust. I can make a flaky pie crust that practically disappears in your mouth. PM me if you are curious.

I'm using half lard and half butter in pie crusts and winging it these days. $5 for one supermarket crust? So easy to make and freeze them yourself.
The bonus is when it's better than anything store bought. I'm still batting .500 but getting better.
Just takes a little practice and experimenting to see what the dough is doing and what it needs.


Also found some King Arthur pizza flour and made a few pizza crusts as well from one batch. The brand is quite glutenous compared to All-Purpose. I do have a Kitchen-Aid mixer which will beat the gluten into anything. More flour. More oil. Dab of water.
Made the mistake of using quick rise yeast and had to put the fridge rounds in the freezer without too much settling time. They became half risen quickly. Coated every side with lots of olive oil and into plastic wrap.
Actually that might have been a 'happy little accident' because it was easy to nuke 30 sec, rotate and push onto flat cast iron, marinara and toppings, into the very hot oven about 20 minutes, done.
So much better than than supermarket. And inexpensive.

Here is the rest of the collection: Large platter, serving bowl, gravy boat (missing matching ladle), numerous bowls, salad plates dinner plates and coffee mugs. No one in the family wanted the set following my MILs' passing prior to covid and my FIL's move to an ALF 3 yrs ago so we took it out of storage about 6 mos ago and are loving it.

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We found everything in the first photo on eBay to add to the basic collection.

Cool stuff! Thanks!

That is very cool stuff, thanks for taking pics, I love the midwestern wheat theme!

John, I use Crisco for pie crusts. Would love it if butter or butter flavored Crisco would be better or just as good, but it is neither. And the secrets are flour/shortening cut to the point it looks like sand, careful sprinkling of REALLY COLD water, and then handling it NOT AT ALL after adding water. Just fluff with a fork and make into balls to roll out. The crust around Doug's Beef Wellington at the top of this page actually looks like it was done well.

Color me impressed! Job well done, Sir.
I made Indian Butter Chicken yesterday.

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Garlic Shrimp Pasta w/broccoli, carrots, and corn.

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This thread makes me hungry. There are some busy cooks here!
I bought King Arthur pizza flour once and had good results, which I attributed to the extra gluten. I tried bread flour with a couple of tablespoons of vital gluten in it and found it worked just as well. I've been putting vital gluten in all of my bread lately. I think it gives a better texture.

I've (mostly) failed on my last few dozen or so attempts with making bread and crusts.
All were edible but that's not enough.

There is a delicate balance between fats and flaky crispy, sticky gluten holding it together, and yeasts rising and conditioning, and all the other good stuff.

Adding a bit of sticky flour to all-purpose is well within the realm of future baking. Or into the mixer. Whatever works.
Usually my breads don't rise and are too crumbly.

I'm just a pure layman pastry chef here, starting my culinary education from scratch.
(no pun intended)

My wife makes a no knead bread that crusts up rather well. It’s one of those cook in parchment paper in a le creuset that you heat in the oven for a half hour deals. We use regular old bread flour for it. Recipes are all over - it’s the cook in heated cast iron bit that gives the crust. May be worth a try.