Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: karajorma on June 21, 2016, 08:01:35 am
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A while back we had a thread about food and as you might expect, a community of people who want to make their own games had many members who also liked to cook. So I figured we should have a thread on here where you could talk about whatever it is you are making in the kitchen and maybe even share some recipes.
I'll get the ball rolling. Since I live in China, getting good Western food is somewhat of an issue. So a while back, I decided that if I couldn't buy stuff I missed eating, I'd just make a list of all the stuff I missed and learn to make it myself. In general that's gone pretty well (with only a couple of occasions where I wasn't happy with the result). Being British, one thing I really miss on a cold day is a good meat pie. So I decided to take a stab at a steak and Guinness pie a little while back and I was quite happy with the result. Of course, the way to make better food is to start using local ingredients and since I live near the Tibetan border there was no doubt where I'd have to go with that.
So here's a Yak and Guinness Pie for you to all look at. And yeah, the pastry is made from yak butter too. :D If anyone is interested, I'll share the recipe. Although since you poor bastards can't get hold of yak, you'll have to make it with beef.
[attachment DELETED!! by Strong Bad]
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Looks nice. I'd like to try making pastry at some point.
I am soon to start baking a flapjack as part of my offering for "Cake Wednesday" at work tomorrow. I have copped out of making anything more complicated this time. I (sort of) follow a recipe but I'm usually lazy and don't use scales to measure amounts - I generally eyeball them. The following is mostly from memory.
Ingredients (note this is for a baking tin of about 40cm x 22cm x 2.5cm size):
- ~4 average size cupfuls of milled oats (probably equating to about 450g)
- 350g unsalted butter
- ~600g golden syrup (probably overestimating this here)
- 400g demerera (or other brown) sugar
- ~2 cupfuls dried cranberries
- ~2 cupfuls raisins
- ~1 cupful dessicated coconut.
Method:
1. Preheat oven to ~150C (300F). Line baking tray with baking paper.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan. Once some has melted, brush the baking paper some of with it.
3. Add the syrup and sugar to the melted butter. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved.
4. Remove from the heat. Add oats to a mixing bowl, and pour in the butter-syrup-sugar mixture (alternatively if your saucepan is big enough, add the oats to that).
5. Give it a good stir. Add dried fruit. Stir some more.
7. Using a wooden spoon or a spatula, cram the mix into the baking tin, making sure to get it as level as possible.
8. Bake for about 40 minutes.
9. Remove from oven. Let it cool for maybe 30 minutes to an hour, and then cut into squares.
10. (Optional). Put in refrigerator to help solidify it faster. Cutting before putting in the refrigerator can aid with cutting it proper after it has chilled; it will likely heal up as it will still be squishy but I find it helps.
I've done a few variations without any fruit and with caramel, chocolate or Caramac toppings, which people have enjoyed. Completely messed up my attempt at a fudge-chip containing one though. The fudge pieces must have crystallized as they baked, so the whole thing was so hard it could have been used as a roofing material. Anyway, some people liked it.
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...Today, I learned that "flapjack" is not a synonym for "pancake" outside of the United States (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flapjack_(oat_bar)).
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what the **** do you guys call flapjacks??
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what the **** do you guys call flapjacks??
...It's literally in the opening paragraph:
In other countries, including Canada, the United States, and South Africa, such products are referred to as "oat bars", while the word "flapjack" is used to describe a pancake.
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Delicious, Flavorful Chili
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground pork (or beef, if preferred)
2 16oz cans chili beans
2 16oz cans diced (or petite diced) tomatoes
1 cup chili powder
2 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 12 ounce bottles/cans of light beer (i.e. Coors, Miller, etc. I don't recommend spending money on "craft beer" for this.)
1. In a very large skillet or stockpot, begin browning meat. Slowly add one container of beer to meat while cooking. Cover if desired to speed browning process.
2. Spoon out excess grease if needed. Do not fully strain.
3. Add tomatoes, beans, and dry ingredients, then stir thoroughly. Bring to a low boil.
4. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about an hour. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and burning.
5. Let cool and serve with your choice of add-ins--cheese, saltine crackers, etc.
This makes a nice, meaty, mild bowl of chili that is perfect for cold weather, without being too spicy to enjoy. It also makes a lot of chili. Enjoy!
Next time, enchiladas.
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I could use a nice, simple, chilli recipe. I think I'll have to try that one out myself.
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I highly recommend this book, everything I've cooked out of it has been spectacular:
(http://www.tastespotting.com/features/wp-content/uploads/americastestkitchencookbook.jpg)
They test out multiple methods to find the best approach and explains the reasoning for each recipe.
Anyway I will be away next week on vacation in New Hampshire which typically results in lots of great grill works, such as the Bacon Wrapped Salsa Cheese Dog:
(http://i67.tinypic.com/15rbfk2.jpg)
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Felicity Cloake's How to Cook the perfect... (https://www.theguardian.com/profile/felicity-cloake+lifeandstyle/series/how-to-cook-the-perfect) series is much the same (and free!). I'm always getting compliments for my tomato soup cause of her suggestion to roast the tomatoes first.
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I used to enjoy watching that show (America's Test Kitchen) after we moved and couldn't afford cable (long story). Seemed like they always had a great method or utensil to check out every week. Also seemed like I never managed to catch it from beginning to end.
I have a small number of cookbooks that I barely use anymore, though I occasionally flip through them for baseline ideas or inspiration. My wife hates that I don't go by recipes when cooking and just eyeball all the measurements as I'm going.
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Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas -- A bar & grill twist on a tex-mex staple)
16 oz diced chicken
1 cup buffalo wing sauce*
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
8 oz sour cream ranch dip**
1 small can of diced green chile peppers
3-5 diced green onions--reserve some for topping (sometimes called scallions)
3-4 cups shredded cheese (cheddar or appropriate blend)
8 large flour tortillas
* -- Wing sauce is similar but distinct from Tabasco and similar cayenne pepper sauces. I use Frank's Red Hot Sauce (the original buffalo wing sauce)
** -- This is available in many grocery stores, but can be made easily by adding 1 envelope of ranch dip/dressing mix to 8 ounces of sour cream.
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cook chicken until done, add wing sauce and stir to mix thoroughly. Let cool.
3. Mix two cans of condensed soup (do not add water), ranch dip, chiles, and some of the green onions.
4. Into each tortilla, layer shredded cheese, sauce mix, and chicken mixture. Roll tightly and place in baking dish.
5. Spoon remaining sauce mixture over enchiladas, sprinkle remaining shredded cheese, and garnish with remaining green onions if desired.
6. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until bubbling and cheese has melted. Remove the foil for the last 5-10 minutes if you want a browned look to the cheese.
Notes: I have never managed to get eight filled tortillas to fit in a baking dish properly, it always tops out at seven with plenty of filling leftover. So I make a sort of tostada with the remaining ingredients as an appetizer. In fact, I haven't figured out why I just don't make them all tostadas.
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Porkception AKA Pigs in a Pig Blanket
(http://i63.tinypic.com/jv3hnt.jpg)
Picked up some pork medallions, half were done up in a Carolina sauce the other half wrapped in bacon. Set them on the grill for a bit on low heat then served with corn on the cob and sauteed snap peas.
Pork already transcends when grilled but when wrapped in the smokey crunch of bacon it was just sublime.
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Beef Wellington from a while ago
(http://i.imgur.com/EdPfKSw.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/7rc6pDF.jpg)
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Looks really nice. I've never been willing to try a beef wellington just cause I was worried about the possibility of it going massively wrong (undercooked pastry is a big worry for me).
How easy was it to make?
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Smoked Brisket. Sorry for potato quality.
(http://puu.sh/qiLE2/456d1ea759.jpg)
(http://puu.sh/qiLGp/c07ed566e9.jpg)
Definitely worth the 20 hour wait.
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Looks awesome O___O.
I can say something about my little progress in the kitchen because I finally learned how to make beef steak which doesn't taste like a shoe :P. Time is critical here.
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Man, brisket is one of those pleasures I've had to miss out on--my smoker isn't large enough for a full-size one. What'd you season that one with?
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What'd you season that one with?
Salt Lick marinade and rub. Marinaded for 5-6 hours then rubbed. Smoked for 20 hours at 181F (82.7C).
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Someday I will learn to cook something more complicated than boxed pasta and store-bought sauce. That day is not today.
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From scratch oven baked french fries for my wife right now. Why spend the extra money on bagged fries when a 10 pound bag of potatoes is so much cheaper?
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From scratch oven baked french fries for my wife right now. Why spend the extra money on bagged fries when a 10 pound bag of potatoes is so much cheaper?
Well I suck at peeling potatoes so sometimes I can't be bothered. (Seriously, it takes me about 2-3 minutes per potato!)
But yeah, home-cooked chips taste so much better.. I rarely eat store bought if I've taken the trouble to cook something myself.
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Well I suck at peeling potatoes so sometimes I can't be bothered. (Seriously, it takes me about 2-3 minutes per potato!)
Why peel 'em? I've been cooking with skin-on 'taters for years, and it's super tasty and easy.
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From scratch oven baked french fries for my wife right now. Why spend the extra money on bagged fries when a 10 pound bag of potatoes is so much cheaper?
the labour involved in slicing up all those potatoes?
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Well I suck at peeling potatoes so sometimes I can't be bothered. (Seriously, it takes me about 2-3 minutes per potato!)
Why peel 'em? I've been cooking with skin-on 'taters for years, and it's super tasty and easy.
For chips?
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For chips?
Yeah! What harm is a little potato skin on the ends of your chips? It's good for you: extra fiber or something.
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From scratch oven baked french fries for my wife right now. Why spend the extra money on bagged fries when a 10 pound bag of potatoes is so much cheaper?
Well I suck at peeling potatoes so sometimes I can't be bothered. (Seriously, it takes me about 2-3 minutes per potato!)
But yeah, home-cooked chips taste so much better.. I rarely eat store bought if I've taken the trouble to cook something myself.
Um, who said anything about peeling them? Just scrub with produce brush, cut into fries, and bake. Leaving the skin on the potato means better fries, IMO.
the labour involved in slicing up all those potatoes?
Labor? Um...ok. Cutting up two or three potatoes is nothing. And the oven has to heat up anyway, so no big deal there.
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I'm not a particularly big fan of potato skin so I always peel it. But yeah, home made chips are miles ahead of store bought.
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I got into a habit of not bothering to peel 'taters in the army, originally because there was usually limited time to eat so instead of peeling the potatoes I just picked some of the more darkened and particularly cancerous looking growths off of them (these were often inside the potatoes anyway, so peeling them did nothing for that) and happily ate the most of them.
Ever since then I just haven't felt the need to peel potatoes.
It feels more like a social convention than something actually worth doing to me, plus it's really annoying how you get sticky boiled potato on your fingers when peeling boiled potatoes. Practically all potatoes I've eaten since have had no peels worth nothing, compared to the thick hides of the army food 'taters. Besides, there's nothing wrong with some potato peels, as long as there's not like sand and dirt on them.
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I've always felt that actually thoroughly peeling potatoes is a waste of time--unless you're strictly going for presentation. Herra Tohtori is right though--definitely pick the bad bits off (dig out mold/fungus stuff). I think the last time I completely peeled potatoes was for mashed potatoes for Christmas dinner--and that only for the kids.
Fun idea--if you ARE into peeling the potatoes, I've seen quick recipes where you lightly oil and season up the skins and bake them quickly and make little snack chips out of them.