Whats cookin

Est.1961

 

 

Real G

I still enjoy mom’s cooking though she is no longer here - what I make is based on what she used to make for me.  My most cherished are her beef stew and twice baked potatoes.  I only make the potatoes on Thanksgiving, so they are extra special.  Shucks, I should have photographed them - they came out nice last year.

 

 

 

 

A lovely post Real G touched a chord my mum passed away suddenly in May last year, have been making favourite dishes lamb stew being at the top and her caraway seed cake she always had whenever I popped in.

 

I am very sorry to hear about the passing of your mother 1961.

My mother sat me down and showed me how to make the potatoes back when I was in high school, as I had bugged her to show me.  I learned how to do it quickly, as they are simple but just time consuming.  The stew took a lot longer to get right (I made a couple of really bad batches), but now can do it just by memory.  My mom started off with a recipie from a Japanese cook book, but deviated considerably as I found out when I tried to make it after her passing.  My Japanese vocabulary is limited to things like infra-red, machine cannon, variable geometry wings, reinforced armor and such, so the cook book was challenging to descipher!  Some of the instructions were questionable - who stews meat for only 20 minutes?

Such recipies are a labor of love.  When time does not permit, we fall back and punt.  Last night I used some leftover Christmas turkey in the freezer, some sad veggies in the fridge, and I made turkey casserole.

https://flic.kr/p/2cYpNEz][/url]Casserole by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

The panko crumbs on top give it a nice crunchy texture!

GMorrison

So 1961 we have Father Murphy coming for dinner in March. Tell me about the lamb stew.

 

Families have their own recipes the methods handed down no measurements. Amount dictated by mouths to feed and appetites. 

Lamb usually neck and or cutlets

Potatoes, Carrots, Parsnips, Swede and Onion.

Vegitable stock

Bunch of thyme and 2 bay leaves

Sprinkle lamb with flour brown in a stew pot ( large deep pot) quarter 3 onions chop vegetables into  large chunks add to pot with potatoes fill with vegitable stock drop in thyme and bay leaves bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for a hour and a half longer if necessary no rules. Towards the end you can place more potatoes on top to hold their shape if you want, the original potatoes will have broken down and thickened the stew. I like to give it a good stir during the cooking process.

Serve with crusty bread.

Hope you enjoy. 

Joe

I have to say each of the meals presented on this post look amazing, and delicious. I to like to cook, and I'm always up to trying new dishes. I will post some photos soon. Still working on a photo image site to download my photos. 

Thank you Real G 

Know what you mean I've swopped the lamb for ham, chicken even sausages before now as they were available in the fridge.

Last night we made minute steak AKA cube steak. You know what I mean, the thin beef steak with the square dimples in it. The term "minute steak" is really incorrect. If that cut of beef is only cooked for a few minutes it will be as tough as shoe leather. If cooked correctly it will be more tender than beef tenderloin. 

Salt and pepper the steaks and dredge them in flour. Brown them in a pan. Remove the steaks and add onions and mushrooms. Cook until tender and add beef broth. Place the steaks back into the pan and bring the liquid to a boil. Turn the liquid bown to a low simmer. Put a lid on the pan and slowly simmer (do not boil) for two hours. Remove the beef and make a gravy from the liquid. Serve with noodles. The beef will be fall apart tender. A knife will not be required.

JohnnyK

Last night we made minute steak AKA cube steak. You know what I mean, the thin beef steak with the square dimples in it. The term "minute steak" is really incorrect. If that cut of beef is only cooked for a few minutes it will be as tough as shoe leather. If cooked correctly it will be more tender than beef tenderloin. 

Salt and pepper the steaks and dredge them in flour. Brown them in a pan. Remove the steaks and add onions and mushrooms. Cook until tender and add beef broth. Place the steaks back into the pan and bring the liquid to a boil. Turn the liquid bown to a low simmer. Put a lid on the pan and slowly simmer (do not boil) for two hours. Remove the beef and make a gravy from the liquid. Serve with noodles. The beef will be fall apart tender. A knife will not be required.

Now there's a childhood memory!  Mom used to make cube steak a lot; if I remember correctly,  it's generally a cheaper cut.  She used to brown it and then cook it in the pressure cooker.

JohnnyK

Last night we made minute steak AKA cube steak. You know what I mean, the thin beef steak with the square dimples in it. The term "minute steak" is really incorrect. If that cut of beef is only cooked for a few minutes it will be as tough as shoe leather. If cooked correctly it will be more tender than beef tenderloin. 

Salt and pepper the steaks and dredge them in flour. Brown them in a pan. Remove the steaks and add onions and mushrooms. Cook until tender and add beef broth. Place the steaks back into the pan and bring the liquid to a boil. Turn the liquid bown to a low simmer. Put a lid on the pan and slowly simmer (do not boil) for two hours. Remove the beef and make a gravy from the liquid. Serve with noodles. The beef will be fall apart tender. A knife will not be required.

Johnny K,

That sounds good, I think I'll try it out!  

Here's a dish for the kitchen-challenged (but also a favorite of mine), cream chicken.  Pepper and flour chicken pieces, lay in a baking pan with a square of butter or margarine on each piece, bake @ 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, then dump a can of Campbell's cream of chicken soup on the chicken, garnish with parsley flakes, up the oven temp to 425 degrees F and bake for another 15 minutes.  I line the pan with heavy foil so cleanup is a snap.

https://flic.kr/p/Sg47RN][/url]Cream Chicken by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

Some delicious looking meals in this thread.  Mmmmmmm.....

I don't usually take pictures of my food (since most of it comes out of the microwave), but after looking through this thread I thought I'd share one of my favorite comfort foods.
It's hashbrown potatoes, with fried linguica sausage and chopped scallions.

Linguica is a Portuguese sausage, and is one of my favorites. If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it.
My all-time favorite sausage is andouille sausage.  I combine it with ground bison when I make my Cajun chili.  Have won a couple chili cook-offs with it. 

Cheers,
Mark

MrStecks

Some delicious looking meals in this thread.  Mmmmmmm.....

I don't usually take pictures of my food (since most of it comes out of the microwave), but after looking through this thread I thought I'd share one of my favorite comfort foods.
It's hashbrown potatoes, with fried linguica sausage and chopped scallions.

Linguica is a Portuguese sausage, and is one of my favorites. If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it.
My all-time favorite sausage is andouille sausage.  I combine it with ground bison when I make my Cajun chili.  Have won a couple chili cook-offs with it. 

Cheers,
Mark

 

Mr Stecks,

My mouth watered while I was reading the description and staring at the pic!

We have Portugese sausage here in Hawaii, and it is a local favorite.  Just throw on a fried egg and it’s a breakfast!

Real G,

That Cream of Chicken looks really good especially on a cold winter night here in Chicago.

Wowzers a cooking thread! I've found myself in the kitchen far more times than the modeling bench over the past year. Here's some of the past couple weeks' meals:

Untitled by Josiah McDonald, on Flickr

Homemade Pho with Goose

Untitled by Josiah McDonald, on Flickr

Some Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya in the trusty cast iron

Untitled by Josiah McDonald, on Flickr

Duck and Chicken Paella

Outstanding, Ygmodeler4! 

Those dishes look fantastic Ygmodeler4.

Tonight, these are lambchops with rosemary, thyme and garlic.  Done with the sear and just about to finish in the oven.  They were delicious.

Great dishes, cold weather food. I roasted a chicken from the "Zuni Cafe Cookbook". Salt rub, tucked fresh thyme under the skin, went into the refrigerator on Monday. Roasted with high heat on Thursday, 475 for an hour.

Served on a bread salad dressed with vinagrette and chicken drippings.

That's patience GM.  Looks great.

Tonight is a crockpot chicken tortilla soup made by my wife.

 PS I have two Shun Knives.  You can send your knives back and they will sharpen/recondition for no cost.

I need a crockpot. She really wants to get one.

Last night I made Chicken Marsala. It has to be about the easiest thng in the world, esp. with thin fillets available at the store.

Component parts:

And ready for consumption:

I’m glad it’s close to dinner time because I‘ve certainly gotten hungry reading this thread. My cooking skills aren’t bad, but they’re no where as good as I see here. Lately I’ve been trying my hand at baking. I’ve only done sweets so far, but I definitely want to try baking bread. Here are some pics of a few of the things I’ve made so far.

The first are brownies made with walnuts, dried cherries and chocolate chunks.

The next one is fruitcake. Now I know what a lot of you are saying, but this isn’t the kind you find in the round tin that lasts for 30 years. No, this is very tasty.

The last one, I just finished making this afternoo. This is a hot milk cake topped with chocolate ganache. I haven’t tried the cake yet, but the ganache is to die for.

Shoyu (Soy Sauce) Chicken

Corn in butter sauce

Japanese white rice

Last night made some beef short ribs using a Charlie Trotter recipe. Why are short ribs sooooooooo expensive? Any opinions? Think about it. Half of what you are buying is bone.

I make a couple of dishes things that usually come out pretty well.  First is Apfel Kuchen, a German style, apple pastry that is actually very simple to make.  Second, I have a great recipe for pizza, homemade crust, sauce and all.  Third, Chines style beef and broccoli, which is simpler than it would seem.  Sorry no pictures, I haven't made any of them in some time.

John

As I'm 50% Irish, 50% Manx here's my obiligitory corned beef and cabbage

Dr. John passed away last Thursday. A real NOLA legend, a unique individual. In honor of him, I put together a Gumbo last night.

Fry up some chicken thighs in seasoned flour.

Save the leftover flour and the frying fat for the roux. 

Ummhh! Nice dark chocolate color.

Toss in the Holy Trinity NOLA style- chopped red and green peppers, onion and celery. It stops the roux from getting any darker.

Add by the spoonful to the hot broth to make the base soup.

Add the Andouille sausage and garlic/ scallions.

Cook for 45 minutes, chop up and add back the chicken, and serve!

Brined pork chops in maple syrup, salt, sugar and herbs.

Garlicky greens from the garden.

Baked sweet potatoes with Cajun spice.

Paired up with our friend Dana's Kumquat mock marmalade.

Next day flatbread with chopped pork, plums, balsamic vinegar, ricotta and carmlized red onions.

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Ate out this evening with my wife and son, looking out the restaurant window I thought people could be forgiven for wondering where in the world we were. I had the the sea food platter definitely go back again some time.

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A friend has an avocado tree which produces fruit which resemble a cross between bowling pins and eggplants.  The flesh is the creamy type, not stingy at all.  So each year I eagerly await a paper bag full of heavy fruit.  I tried making guacamole but I am terrible at it, so I usually ask a former co-worker to make me some in exchange for some of the coveted avocados.  This time my sister's friend made me some, so it was Nacho Day last weekend!

I usually only use restaurant grade tortilla chips, but I got a bag of Tostitos with the guacamole so I used it.  Not too bad actually.

And a big shout out to Nino, who solved my annoying Flickr problem of url junk before and after my photos.  Thank you Nino!!!

Saturday was pizza night chez Morrison while we trimmed the tree.

Quatro Stagione my way. No silly dividing the pie into four sectors- one for each season.

My tomatoes, mozzarella, arugula. Canned artichoke hearts, jarred kalamata olives. Deli sliced prosciutto. Fresh mushrooms and garlic. Fresh crust dough.

Beer was also consumed.

GMorrison, oh man that looks super tasty.  I have a weakness for pizza.  

I posted this pic on anothter thread, but here are my twice baked potatoes that I mentioned earlier.  They make their appearance only once a year:

Hey with the holidays descended upon us, what has everyone been enjoying at the dinner table?  I saw a Youtube video for hasselback potatoes and gave it a try:

I got myself a knife sharpener, and it made all the difference in slicing all those spuds!  In the photo, I forgot to butter them one last time.

We had honey glazed ham from a popular store here in Hawaii (called Honey Glazed Hams Hawaii if you can believe that), the potatoes, and a green bean casserole that my sister made:

The dining room lighting is awful!