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What we need around here are some Good Eats
Wonder_Hippie
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This thread is multi-purposed.
Purpose the first:
Chefs. We love 'em. They feed us. Let's honor them and discuss them. I'm talking TV chefs, local chefs, a parent, whatever. My favorite is, above all others, Alton Brown.
Good Eats is far and away my favorite show on television. My girlfriend and I watch it together, and she gets a kick, being a chemist, out of the science (gastro-whatever, I can't remember the actual word for it right now), and I love watching people give me ideas to do new things with my favorite foods. There's an episode about scallops that fed us for weeks once I got my oven repaired.
Purpose the second:
Food. We all have to eat it at some point or another. From your mothers teet to the crap you shake out of the toaster once a year, what's your favorite food? Styles, specific dishes, regional things, whatever. My two answers for this one would be Thai food and leftover cornbread in buttermilk. Most people turn their noses up at the second, but really, don't knock it 'till you try it. Warm, moist cornbread absorbing that sour, almost bitter buttermilk just takes me back to a better place, a time where I didn't have college loan debt and subsistence concerns.
Purpose the third:
Cooking. My father taught me from an early age that a man that can't cook is a man that can't live. I've held that flawed lesson with me for most of my life, and have been cooking for only slightly less than that. I've really perfected a few recipes, concocted a handful of my own, and found some real standbys that I always know will impress relatives and future inlaws when needed. My favorite thing to make is pretty easy and pretty quick, but I have a way of making it my own that I haven't found anywhere else.
Bolognese, which often gets confused as a tomato sauce when made incorrectly, is pictured here over spaghetti noodles. It's a lighter, olive oil sauce that's just easy to make and isn't hard to make well. I've got my own twist that involves shredded chicken breast, tarragon, a white wine my stepfather makes, and a dashing of various herbs and spices more traditional to French food than Italian.
So, herein we shall discuss all things food. Tell me who your favorite chef is, what your favorite dish is, and what you enjoy making yourself, and anything else you can think of that would interest a whole thread full of foodies.
Purpose the first:
Chefs. We love 'em. They feed us. Let's honor them and discuss them. I'm talking TV chefs, local chefs, a parent, whatever. My favorite is, above all others, Alton Brown.
Good Eats is far and away my favorite show on television. My girlfriend and I watch it together, and she gets a kick, being a chemist, out of the science (gastro-whatever, I can't remember the actual word for it right now), and I love watching people give me ideas to do new things with my favorite foods. There's an episode about scallops that fed us for weeks once I got my oven repaired.
Purpose the second:
Food. We all have to eat it at some point or another. From your mothers teet to the crap you shake out of the toaster once a year, what's your favorite food? Styles, specific dishes, regional things, whatever. My two answers for this one would be Thai food and leftover cornbread in buttermilk. Most people turn their noses up at the second, but really, don't knock it 'till you try it. Warm, moist cornbread absorbing that sour, almost bitter buttermilk just takes me back to a better place, a time where I didn't have college loan debt and subsistence concerns.
Purpose the third:
Cooking. My father taught me from an early age that a man that can't cook is a man that can't live. I've held that flawed lesson with me for most of my life, and have been cooking for only slightly less than that. I've really perfected a few recipes, concocted a handful of my own, and found some real standbys that I always know will impress relatives and future inlaws when needed. My favorite thing to make is pretty easy and pretty quick, but I have a way of making it my own that I haven't found anywhere else.
Bolognese, which often gets confused as a tomato sauce when made incorrectly, is pictured here over spaghetti noodles. It's a lighter, olive oil sauce that's just easy to make and isn't hard to make well. I've got my own twist that involves shredded chicken breast, tarragon, a white wine my stepfather makes, and a dashing of various herbs and spices more traditional to French food than Italian.
So, herein we shall discuss all things food. Tell me who your favorite chef is, what your favorite dish is, and what you enjoy making yourself, and anything else you can think of that would interest a whole thread full of foodies.
Wonder_Hippie on
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I wish I could be Gordon Ramsey, not because I wish I could cook, but because I want to yell at people. Also pretend vomit when people bring me shitty food.
Spices should be used early and often during the creation of food.
Being prepared doesn't just mean having the ingrediants, but also having them in a state of ready for you to add them just as they are needed. If you need to dice something up, cut it up ahead of when you plan to cook so you aren't trying to do too much at the same time and end up fucking everything up.
pleasepaypreacher.net
I cook, mainly because my wife is too busy to do so, but also because I actually like doing it. Right now, though, we live in a small apartment, with little to no cooking space, and very little in the way of equipment. Our next place WILL have a larger kitchen, with plenty of storage options for the myriad of cooking supplies I will need/want.
The first dish? Chicken & 40 cloves from the Garlic episode of Good Eats. I've been dying to make that. 2nd dish is the Seafood roulade. ooooooh yes.
And I'll be damned if I don't have a Thanksgiving there within the first 2 years. Either a family get together, or a friends-only "Thanksgiving after Thanksgiving".
Oh- and a small embarrassed admittance: I like Rachael Ray. I didn't used to, but she's really grown on me, and I like her story. And for some reason, I find her kind of hot.
Rachel Ray, though. Her voice is like nails on chalkboard for me.
In all seriousness, here are some of the dishes that I have made and like to make; they are good standbys for "bring a dish" family potlucks, holiday parties, etc., which is typically what convinces me to cook.
- Corn Casserole. Google "jiffy cornbread casserole" for a bunch of recipes; it's basically creamed corn, jiffy cornbread mix, sour cream, and butter. I'm always shocked by how many people haven't had anything like it. This is one of the very few dishes where mine tastes better than my mother's, but of course I'm cheating: she's too health conscious to throw a container of sour cream and a stick of butter into a 6-person casserole.
- Scalloped potatoes. Everyone's knows these, but the difference between good scalloped potatoes and that stuff that comes out of a box is amazing. Again, Google will bring up all kinds of recipes with variations; I have good luck with the recipes with "extras" like crumbled bacon, green onions, etc.
- Bread. It's not that hard to make bread that tastes good, especially if the ingredients are good. I have a recipe that I found somewhere on the web for a "pumpkin banana nut bread" that I make around Thanksgiving. Swing by the store for a container of cream cheese, bring it and a loaf of that bread to work to share, instant "good cook" reputation!
With that in mind here's a quick tip. Salsa compliments grilled chicken incredibly well.
Oh, wow. That does sound delicious. I should have watched the special features on Once Upon a Time in Mexico for that ages ago. I've been using achiote paste with an orange juice sauce for a Mexican chicken soup for a long time now, and it's always been tasty there.
Here's the video. Comes out really tender.
I had some collard (collared?) greens around Thanksgiving this year and they were so, SO good. Yum.
It's terribly unhealthy (usually) and I find the majority of it to be bland. I have not had any offerings of southern food outside of what the deep south serves. My father is the first generation of his family to move north and my mother is in the second generation. Both have histories firmly rooted in Alabama. So yes, I may live in Ohio but i'm quite sure the food my parents serve is painfully southern soul food.
Maybe i've just developed a strong distaste for it while growing up, but I personally see the cuisine to be so lacking in variation that it barely deserves mention.
So long as boys make the noise
maybe to curb a long debate over the word "southern" you could drop some examples of what you don't like?
I associate "southern" food with very spicy, very rich food, but I wouldn't say "bland"
I host a podcast about movies.
Not the beautiful country side? Nice people? Shoney's and Big Boy's sucks too. Dunno how far or where South you live. Myself, I reside in southern Mississippi. There's an abundance of short order stalls every where that carry fried food, there's tons of real barbecue joints, and plenty of great home owned and operated digs that serve collard and mustard greens, mashed potatoes, roast, fried chicken, etc. Fried catfish is a delicacy around here, and it's awesome when you find a good fish house.
One of the good things about being on the south side of the Mississippi River is the amount of cajun and creole over run. Jambalaya, boudin, andouille, etoufee, gumbo, etc.
Anyway.
I recently got a citation against me here on these forums (speaking of which, it's strange seeing Wonder_Hippie not jailed. ;-) :-P ) Why? Necrobumping a thread. Someone said that tasting barbecue was like tasting fire. Well that's just simply not the case because barbecue is cooked with low heat and smoke, not fire. :-D
I was compelled to correct a general misgiving about the art of cue.
I made cooking a hobby of mine. And, like the OP author, have adopted Alton Brown as one of my favorite television people. Love the guy. He recently came to Natchez Mississippi and the area, and declared that one of the restaurants I've gone to from time to time to be home of the best fried chicken in the world.
I agree.
It's aggravating to see him host Iron Chef. I like Iron Chef, but the whole premise of the show is so beneath AB. He's all about wit, humor, and is incredibly organized. Iron Chef is campy and doesn't lend itself to explanation or grace.
And did anyone see the awesome episode of Good Eats where he shared some of his cocktail recipes? That's where I got my julep AND my martini tips from. Mmmm.
The last thing of his that I cooked were some baby back ribs roasted in the oven. They didn't quite turn out as I had hoped, and the sauce didn't boil down to a syrup like his, but I was cooking for way more people and had to make some adjustments.
His recipe for whole striped bass in a salt dome is delicious.
I haven't prepared anything in a while. Been busy and poor, what with the holidays. I pan cooked some salmon the other day, though.
Yes, I know. I know. Guinness with fish? Well, it's the best I had. Dry county. White wine is hard to come by. Good white wine even more so. Much better than what I had the night after.
Anyway. Cous cous, grilled vegies, and a few different types of olives was great. Had some warmed pita along with it.
Music humor, food humor, and beer humor in one photo. Ba dump pish. ;-)
I've been wanting to make some falafel for a while, but if I do I'd have to either make some hummus or baba gannuj with it, and I'm simply not sure if I want to take the time for either of them.
Maybe I'll start a fire and roast some egg plant or something. Maybe even cooks some portobello. Any suggestions?
I used to be in love with this Sikh girl. Beautiful and can cook everything from northern India. But that's a different story all together.
From the sounds of it, he doesn't have a very good idea of what constitutes southern cuisine. Lack of variety? O_o
Bobby Flay is a tool
What are your favorite southern dishes?
(Edit: I do tend to enjoy the cajun style, as well as proper barbecue.)
Hello southern cooking.
Speaking of which, I want it to be known I want Bobby Flay to die in a horrible fiery gas grill accident.
My favorite things simple stuff like sweet potatoes or Subji/Tarkara dishes. That being said I'm currently trying to work on my sauces.
So all southern people only eat creole foods and barbecue?
So all southern food is rich and spicy and bland?
My point is that creole food and barbecue only make up a small percentage of southern food. Hell I think saying that creole cooking is southern may be an over generalization as it could deserve a separate categorization.
You said it. Not me.
I included creole, cajun, and soul food in the catagory of southern foods. Barbecue as well, but it's evident up north, just different styles.
Rachael Ray - initially I liked her. Simple recipes can be good, and she had some good ideas. Then all of a sudden she was EVERYWHERE and instantly annoying. Uck.
Bobby Flay - toolbag. Who knows if his stuff is good or not. Can't watch him.
Alton Brown - probably has the best show on there. Obviously a favorite.
Ina Garten - gooooood food. I like her show but it's very "wow I'm fucking rich, check out my amazing house." Which sort of goes with her food, which has a lot of cream and butter in it. But it is good.
The hot Italian chick - the food she makes looks great but she annoys the crap out of me.
Emeril - please god no. Totally obnoxious.
Paula Dean - super cute but I don't ever try to cook Southern food. She makes it look easy though.
Sandra Lee - DIAF, and her food looks like crap.
There are others of course but these were the ones I could remember.
Also I really enjoy the food competition shows. The one with the sugar creations in particular was awesome. Also the pizza making/dough tossing competition.
The Frugal Gormet, Justin Wilson, Julia Child; all great fun to watch.
Though I think Yan from Yan Can Cook (so can you!) is still on sometimes.
Alice B. Toklas
and not just for the Hashish Fudge either. The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook really helped me learn some good French cooking and was a good read too. Also Gazpacho, when made correctly, is damn good.
Don't forget Nigella Lawson.
I simultaneously agree and regret that it's some of the most unhealthy food I've ever had, especially soul food. And, generally, it does look terrible unless prepared very carefully and sparingly. However, if mush on a plate is your digs, some of the best options are going to be southern foods. Sawmill gravy on biscuits, buttermilk cornbread with cracklings with some brunswick stew, country fried steak and fried green tomatos, and that's traditional Low Country home cooking. There's the whole world of Louisiana/Mississippi/Alabama Creole stuff Sleep was talking about, what with the spicy and Southern Fried French.
I could see how you would find it lacking variety, because it takes really delving the depths to get to the real meat of it. Once you get in there, though, you find pot pie succotash (this is actually a southern thing, but most other forms of succotash are considered yankee foods), blackberry dishes, plenty of seafood and okra, fried catfish and hush puppies, greens and fatback, hominy, etc.
Oh, and beignets. Fuckin' beignets. They're going to kill me.
I do like Emeril, though. Something about him, he entertains me. The "BAM" thing does get annoying.
Maybe I don't go too far beyond Birmingham when visiting relatives in Alabama but I really don't see much of a creole influence there.
I can imagine finding it boring if all you've been exposed to is friend "_____" whatever. But we also have a rich history of fresh vegetables right from the field. Venison, turkey, lamb, trout, etc. So, yeah. If someone thinks that southern food has no variety, it's most likely not their fault, but the fault of stereotypes. Kinda like how Olive Garden and Italian aren't really the same.
One of the big things down here right now is throwing a short order stand inside gas stations. It's tacky as hell, but then again, so is most of the south. I quit visiting my parents when my mom went through that tacky home style phase and decorated the entire house in that shit. But that's another story. Back on topic.
One of the few short orders that I like. I stopped by there this morning and got some biscuits and tomato gravy. Mmmmmmmmmmm. I get up ten minutes early before work now so I can stop by. Eat them in my car before I head back out.
I should be ashamed. In the fervor to defend my homeland's cuisine, I totally forgot to mention my mother's pot pie. It is heaven on a plate. I can't find it the same anywhere.
The trick is that she uses biscuit dough for the crust.
I also love dumplings.
He's a fuckin chef. Unlike Bobby Flay, who just rehashes recipes, Emeril modifies and creates his own recipes.
I'm peculiar about mine myself. I love it paper thin if I can find a good place that does it. Middendorfs near New Orleans excells in it. Just don't drink the water if you're in the area. They get it straight from Lake Pontchartrain... well. That's all that needs to be said about it.
If the lake they caught the fish or raised them in is muddy, that will cause the fish to taste like the filth you find at the bottom of a drained swimming pool.
I dunno about creole/cajun in Birmingham, but I do know there's an amazing cue joint on the way there called Dreamland.
I said south side of the Mississippi River. As in, not Illinois, Mr. Smarty Pants.
Sax: He said south end of the Mississippi. But yes, Cuba does have delicious food. Poor people make the best creations, sometimes.
Here in Portland I'd argue we have better than average Asian food (mostly Japanese and Thai, not so much Chinese). Also the best microbreweries, obviously. Also a couple of very good Mexican restaurants.
Basically what I'm saying is that I've eaten in a whole lot of gay bars and restaurants down by Piedmont Park.
Oh, and Nigella... mmmm. If she were to do a show in nothing but an apron, I would not watch anything else ever again. And the TIVO would be full.
*edit- Gotta give some love to my favorite sushi place, though. Cho-Cho San on Ventura Blvd- best sushi EVER.
Not to mention that Ohio isn't really known for a damn thing when it comes to cuisine. We just have imitations of everything a lot of promotional fast food.