I don't know, but when I think I've made something particularly delicious, I get an urge to take a picture of it. Luckily so far, they have all been good, and in the name of good will to all those who enjoy cooking and/or eating, I'm gonna share them and you folks should feel free to share yours. Again, you can rest easy knowing that every picture I will show is food I have made with my own hands.
For a refresher, you will again see my BLT:
(http://myweb.cableone.net/jjvargas/blt2.jpg)
Next is my jalapeno baked beans, sweet, savory, and holy cow did it have a bite!
(http://myweb.cableone.net/jjvargas/IMG_0454.JPG)
For the finale, my chicken cacciatore finshed just 30 minutes ago:
(http://myweb.cableone.net/jjvargas/IMG_0466.JPG)
I need to get a digital camera. My food blog lacks pictures. Mind you, I'm still working on my presentation skills and tools (this has actualyl been a big focus for me the week at work even), and thus anything I posted is liable to be an unappealing slab of meat rudely slapped on a paper plate.
I made a really killer kind of "steak sashimi" dish for lunch at work the other day though. blackened on the outside, and medium rare, served sliced with a slightly spicy shoyu dipping sauce. It was pure awesome.
Quote from: J ArcaneI need to get a digital camera. My food blog lacks pictures. Mind you, I'm still working on my presentation skills and tools (this has actualyl been a big focus for me the week at work even), and thus anything I posted is liable to be an unappealing slab of meat rudely slapped on a paper plate.
I made a really killer kind of "steak sashimi" dish for lunch at work the other day though. blackened on the outside, and medium rare, served sliced with a slightly spicy shoyu dipping sauce. It was pure awesome.
Well, all I can say is that I'm definitely no food artist. I plate it or bowl it and if it shows the food as moderately edible I take it, cause God knows I really want to eat it. I feel lucky that the camera caught the curtain of steam in the last pic, just looks tasty to me.
The steak sounds pretty awesome though I gotta say that I have litle aptitude for asian cooking, my Latin/Southwest kung-fu is getting stronger.
Well, in fairness, this is actually my chosen career, so I tend to take it a bit more seriously than I take my hobbies. ;)
Asian food is really my most comfortable domain. I started out in the business in a Japanese restaurant, and even before that, I was always more drawn to Asian styles of cuisine than Western ones. Japanese cuisine in particular speaks to the soul for me, as elegant simplicity is something I've always valued in everything, and it's realyl where I do my best, when I can focus.
But I do have some Western repetoire as well, I'm learning bit by bit to respect the French more than I have in the past, I love Italian and pride myself on my authentic Alfredo, and love the Mexican food as well. I'm also realyl kinda into the barbecue thing, as well as a few other choice bits of Southern cooking.
Care to share the recipe for that baked bean dish? That looks like exactly the kind of thing I love to eat (and my girlfriend hates when I do:o ).
sure, but since my cooking is largely extemporaneous, it will take me some time just to figure out my measurements. I'll post it by sometime tomorrow.
Broad sweeps and general ideas work fine for me. That bean dish just looks so good. Much appreciated!
All right, after hashing out the details with my wife: some amounts are approximate.
2 cans navy beans juice and all
4 strips of fried and chopped pepper bacon and keep 1 tablespoon of that grease!
1-2 tablespoons chopped jalapenos
1-2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 package of onion soup mix
1 package of Goya Sazon (http://store.cubanfoodguy.com/product_info.php?products_id=156)
1/8th cup brown sugar (to be honest, I think I'm gonna add more next time.)
Throw together into a slow cooker, give it a good stir so the tomato paste and sugar integrates. Cook for at least 3 hours so flavors can meld and things get hot.
Just popping this thread to mention that Sunday looks to be fancy meal night for the wife and I so there should be more pics by then. What will you see that night?
1st idea: getting a nice steak cut extra thick so I can treat it kinda like a roast. Only sticking point is the side. I was thinking of trying a wilted spinach.
Well, last Sunday, I attempted to make a cassoulet. It turned out quite good, except my oven seems to be broken and not getting hot enough, orth cheap disposable aluminum pan just doesn't hold enough heat to cook it properly, so some of the veggies came out a bit underdone. when I tried just giving it an extra long reheat time last night to homefully get everything cooked through, it basically did fuck all.
This is of course, really annoying. I don't do much with an oven as it is because they annoy me, and it annoys me even more when I have one that doesn't work for shit.
This Sunday, I dunno what's going on. In theory I tihnk I'm going over to my friend's house for the weekend in the next town, so I'm not sure if I'll cook anything, or if I'll wind up just eating out a lot.
I have three dishes on the docket though that I'd really like to try: chicken confit, pastrami, and roast/smoked duck.
We have a ton of chicken fat scrap at work, because the Korean woman who owns the place is an obsessive hoarder and doesn't like to throw anything away. I've done some experimenting, and it does seem to make an interesting cooking fat, though it has this wierd quality about it that seems to automatically mute any flavors it touches, which I suppose explains the colloquial use of the word schmaltz.
Pastrami I want to do because, well, I really love a good pastrami and haven't had any since I moved away from Vancouver. This is not likely to happen terribly soon however, as pastrami takes at least 3 weeks to brine, plus it's bite ass cold, so I'm not even sure if I'll have much luck getting enough heat in my smoker.
Duck because, well, mainly because I don't think I've ever actually had it, and it sounds like something that would be fun to make for Christmas this year.
This thread is great, and, for the record, JArcane's food blog is made of win.
Quote from: Thanatos02This thread is great, and, for the record, JArcane's food blog is made of win.
Now if only people would comment on it more. :P
Quote from: J ArcaneNow if only people would comment on it more. :P
I commented on it once, but I only recently started reading it. That said, I don't chat a lot on people's blogs.
I do consider this thread an open party. My only hope is that if you post a pic it's of something you made, and not just a pic of food you like. It is a free country though, so I won't flip out if it doesn't turn out that way.
Wish me luck for tomorrow! If it's good expect to see it here!
Mmmmm... food.
I like food.
Ok, so I got kinda lazy today, it was all wintery out and a lot of lounging was done. So I did something requiring some extra time, but less work.
(http://myweb.cableone.net/jjvargas/IMG_0469.JPG)
Chuck steak braised to tender and served as a BBQ sandwich with Cheese Potatoes from a box. Warm, sweet and savory. Nice for a cold, snowy day in North Dakota.
Dinner tonight was fettucine with beef, with a cabernet shiraz sauce with feta and olives.
It was pretty tasty.
Quote from: J ArcaneDinner tonight was fettucine with beef, with a cabernet shiraz sauce with feta and olives.
It was pretty tasty.
Showoff! :haw:
Damn. You guys are gonna force me to stop making hamburger helper, aren't you?
Hm..wonder if I have any chicken in the freezer...
Life is too short to spend it eating bad food. If you don't have enough time to eat well, you need to start prioritizing better.
Not that I don't have time, I'm just lazy. 3 kids are tough, but I never did much like cooking.
Quote from: shewolfNot that I don't have time, I'm just lazy. 3 kids are tough, but I never did much like cooking.
So plonk the oldest one in front of a few 24 hour Good Eats marathons. ;)
It is your duty as a child rearing patriotic American to ensure a continuing generation of folks with respect for food, thus securing our increasing prominence in the world food scene. :D
I've been working on the husband :D
Let me give you a few of his faves - Chef Boyardee Ravioli (now, I make real ravioli alfredo. His request!) Stroganoff (can of roast beef, can of cream of mushroom, can of milk, noodles)- still can't get him to eat the good kind :(. Doesn't like lamb, or goat.
Fuck, I'm not lazy, I got rednecked to death. Can't blame him- his parents grew up really poor and didn't eat "strange" and "foreign" foods. So they didn't make them.
My parents both are well traveled, and learned to eat all sorts of foods. I learned to make spaghetti sauce in Italy. I recreated what I had there. Should have measured, as I've never been able to make it since :(
I'm not a really awful cook, I'm just kinda slow, and lack any real subtlety. Chalk it up to never really being taught, but I still got tired of just eating your basic ramen noodle pack in college.
I had pretty good luck with my meal last night. I bought some fresh green beans and bacon, chopped about half a cup of onions mixed the beans with the onion/bacon mix. I was worried about how the beans would come out so I checked a cookbook to figure out how to cook them first. Lucky I did, too, since I discovered it was better (and simple) to boil them for about 10 minutes before I mixed them with the bacon.
The beans were the only real success. I also cooked some potato soup, but it was freeze-dried, and some breakfast steak (but it wasn't anything special, just a light meat dish to go along with the other dishes).
I'm in the same boat Thanatos. All I know about cooking I learned by watching my Mom, watching Good Eats, and by just trying shit out. I did green beans and bacon once too, but unlike you, it didn't occur to me to blanche them. It was pretty disappointing. :(
But hey, you live and you learn!
Prospective meal for next Sunday is link sausage with buttered onions and potatoes. Another great and for the wife and I, newly discovered, comfort meal.
Tonight's dinner is an odd one: Pastrami and cream cheese makizushi with pickled red and green onion and habanero pepper, served with eel sauce for dipping.
Last night was hamburger steak, gravy, mashed potatoes, and green beans.
So good. Even if the taters were over mushed (likes the lumpy ones) and the gravy was done too early.
God, what for tonight?
My wife bought a crockpot about a year ago, apparently for dust collection, because she rarely cooks (she can make like three things, none of which I'm too crazy about). Well, about a month and a half ago I started fooling with it. now I'm using it like twice a week- I love the whole slow cooking thing. I can make dinner at 9:30 in the morning, when the house it quiet and the kids are at school. I've done numerous stews and soups in it, spagetti sauce, roasts, ect. It is great if you want to clear out the cubbord or the veggie crisper. I highly recommend getting one- if for no other reason than beef stew is just about the ulitmate gaming meal.
Link Sausage with Buttered Onions and Potatoes!
(http://myweb.cableone.net/jjvargas/IMG_0470.jpg)
If we're all lucky, dessert will follow later tonight!
I love my crock pot. Even just using it for roasts is great.
Buy really crap cheap meats, and cook 'em forever. I like to get a tough meat and cook on low for 24 hours, from frozen. I cook veggies seperate.
To my fans out there, I did take a pic last week, but I didn't have the time to post it. Expect an extended Christmas edition. :)
My wife is getting really good with the crock pot - makes a mean "sweet and sour" pork roast.
And today she just bought a 10 pound 4 bone standing rib roast. For all you Good Eats fan boyz - we'll be using the slow cook then high heat approach for the first time. Wish us luck!
Quote from: James J SkachMy wife is getting really good with the crock pot - makes a mean "sweet and sour" pork roast.
And today she just bought a 10 pound 4 bone standing rib roast. For all you Good Eats fan boyz - we'll be using the slow cook then high heat approach for the first time. Wish us luck!
Oh boy, I like a good rib roast, and it is superb when it gets the high heat treatment at the end to get good and crusty!
Good Luck!
:steak:
I can't get any pics because my camera is teh suck, but I made 10 pounds of fudge. And tomorrow I'm making 10 more.
God, it's great too.