Picky eaters

[Shirley]

https://youtu.be/1VbZE6YhjKk?si=9LD6GNPdpA7hjO1J

lol good one

[Shirley]

99, I'm curious to know if there's a thing you learned in culinary school that has changed the way you've cooked ever since? Big, small, whatevs.

As an example, I'm all about the protein, so if a recipe calls for 1# of chuck, steak, outside skirt steak, whatever, cut into bite-size pieces, I'd use 1.5# so there'll be more leftovers. But, I soon learned that when you crowd meat like that, it steams instead of cooking, turns gray, and doesn't taste as good.

tia

[jhawks99]

Gosh, I dunno, I've probably learned more after leaving than during.

Justin Wilson always said that diced onions take an hour to cook. I've found that to be true for soup, stew, gumbo, chili etc. I got an autographed book from him.

All sauces are variants of the five mother sauces.

I still suck at garde manger.

[KUTradition]

i’ve been on a baking kick lately

put together my own recipe for ginger snaps (with fresh ginger), and “artisan” green chile bread

the wife says maybe my next career move should be culinary

(i’ve also been baking dog treets)

[Shirley]

i’ve been on a baking kick lately

put together my own recipe for ginger snaps (with fresh ginger), and “artisan” green chile bread

the wife says maybe my next career move should be culinary

(i’ve also been baking dog treets)

I understand you have to be much more precise when it comes to baking than cooking.

After standing there chopping vegetables, et al for a meal, I'm frequently reminded why I couldn't be a cook.

My feet and lower back wouldn't let me.

[jhawks99]

I often wonder if my knees would hold up for an 8 to 10 shift. Probably not.

[KUTradition]

i’ve been on a baking kick lately

put together my own recipe for ginger snaps (with fresh ginger), and “artisan” green chile bread

the wife says maybe my next career move should be culinary

(i’ve also been baking dog treets)

I understand you have to be much more precise when it comes to baking than cooking.

After standing there chopping vegetables, et al for a meal, I'm frequently reminded why I couldn't be a cook.

My feet and lower back wouldn't let me.

processing roasted green chile kills my feet and back, and that’s only doing 1/5 bushel at a time

prepping a pork butt for the smoker and had to fresh grind 2 tablespoons of black pepper…forearms were burning

[jhawks99]

i’ve been on a baking kick lately

put together my own recipe for ginger snaps (with fresh ginger), and “artisan” green chile bread

the wife says maybe my next career move should be culinary

(i’ve also been baking dog treets)

I understand you have to be much more precise when it comes to baking than cooking.

After standing there chopping vegetables, et al for a meal, I'm frequently reminded why I couldn't be a cook.

My feet and lower back wouldn't let me.

processing roasted green chile kills my feet and back, and that’s only doing 1/5 bushel at a time

prepping a pork butt for the smoker and had to fresh grind 2 tablespoons of black pepper…forearms were burning

I use a coffee grinder for pepper corns, dried chiles and whole spices.

https://www.amazon.com/KRUPS-Electric-C ... 926&sr=8-3

[KUTradition]

I understand you have to be much more precise when it comes to baking than cooking.

After standing there chopping vegetables, et al for a meal, I'm frequently reminded why I couldn't be a cook.

My feet and lower back wouldn't let me.

processing roasted green chile kills my feet and back, and that’s only doing 1/5 bushel at a time

prepping a pork butt for the smoker and had to fresh grind 2 tablespoons of black pepper…forearms were burning

I use a coffee grinder for pepper corns, dried chiles and whole spices.

https://www.amazon.com/KRUPS-Electric-C ... 926&sr=8-3

i actually considered that, but didn’t want to go through the fuss of cleaning the coffee grinder

in hindsight, a little bit of coffee on the butt might not be too bad

[jhawks99]

I have one dedicated to spice grinding. I grind coarse salt in it to clean

[zsn]

Using salt to clean is a great idea! Why didn’t I think of that! I also have a dedicated spice (coffee) grinder but I have been using a damp paper towel to clean and then leaving it open to air dry overnight.

[Shirley]

Chorizo, Kale, Chickpea and Potato Soup

It's what's for dinner!

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

oil of your choice

500g potatoes, chopped into 2cm cubes

1x 14.5oz can of chickpeas, drained

1 sprig of fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary

2 tsp thyme

1 bay leaf

1 quart chicken stock (+ 1 15oz can, because I use more of everything)

150g kale, roughly chopped (Buy Baby Kale = no chopping required)

80g chorizo, finely sliced (= 2 packages ie 4 total Sausages)

How to make it...

1. In a large, deep saucepan, fry the onion and garlic in 1tbsp oil and a splash of water.
Cook for around 7-8 minutes or until softened.

2. Add the chickpeas, chopped potatoes and herbs into the pan with the chicken stock. Stir, cover, bring to a boil and then leave to simmer for around 30 minutes.

3. If using loose as opposed to dried herbs, remove these from the pan now.

Next, add the kale and cook for another 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, gently fry the chorizo in a pan for several minutes until it starts to release it's oil. Finally, add the chorizo with any remaining bits of fat to the soup.

Feel free to top up with a little boiling water if the stock has reduced too much.

This serves 4 and is particularly comforting on a cold day!